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Thalassothérapie : les meilleures cures pour se détendre et faire le plein d’énergie : Femme Actuelle Le MAG

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Northern Ireland’s DUP leader Donaldson steps down after sex offence charges

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The leader of Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party has stepped down from the top job after being charged with sexual offenses of a historic nature, the party said in a statement on Friday.

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Jeffrey Donaldson left his post with immediate effect pending the outcome of the judicial process, the Democratic Unionist Party said. In accordance with party rules, it has suspended him from membership.

The announcement came after police in Northern Ireland said a 61-year-old man had been arrested and charged with non-recent sexual offenses. A 57-year-old woman was charged with aiding and abetting additional offenses, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said. Both suspects are due in court on April 24. 

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British police generally do not identify suspects by name.

The resignation of Donaldson, who has been party leader since 2021, throws the DUP into disarray ahead of U.K. parliamentary elections expected later this year. As the biggest unionist party, the DUP is the voice of Northern Ireland voters who seek to maintain the region’s historic ties to the United Kingdom. 

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Donaldson is a pivotal figure in the DUP, taking the party out of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing administration for more than two years to pressure the U.K. central government into amending post-Brexit trading arrangements. The DUP agreed to return to power-sharing with the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein earlier this year following a series of assurances about Northern Ireland’s constitutional position within the United Kingdom.

Donaldson has been a member of Parliament since 1997. He was initially a member of the Ulster Unionist Party but left the party over its support for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that largely ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. He joined the DUP in 2004.

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Gavin Robinson, the member of Parliament for Belfast East, was named interim party leader.

(AP)

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It’s a red slab that’s played a key role in Scottish and English royal history and now… the stone’s coming back home to a new £27 million museum!

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What is it about a slab of red sandstone that’s persuaded a hard-pressed Scottish council to spend £27 million on it?

That’s the sum required for a new museum in Perth.

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It opens on March 30 and will be full of interesting stuff. But the main reason it’s been built is to house the Stone Of Scone.

The slab is also known as The Stone Of Destiny. It has been used in the coronation of monarchs since 1307 and Scottish ones for centuries before that.

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Now the stone, which used to be in Edinburgh Castle, is coming home. There are many romantic rumours about its origins — one traces it back to the book of Genesis.

Rock star: Mark Jones travels to Perth in Scotland ahead of the opening of its new £27 million museum (pictured)

Rock star: Mark Jones travels to Perth in Scotland ahead of the opening of its new £27 million museum (pictured)

The museum's star artefact will be the Stone Of Destiny (above), which has been used in the coronation of monarchs for centuries

The museum’s star artefact will be the Stone Of Destiny (above), which has been used in the coronation of monarchs for centuries 

But more prosaic 3D imaging proved that it was indeed quarried near the ancient village of Scone, a mile or so from Perth.

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Once in the new museum, which will be housed in the old city hall, the stone will be free to see, but you will have to book a slot.

The opening is a chance to laud the attractions of Perth and Perthshire. Geographically, it’s like a big heart in the centre of Scotland, an easy drive from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

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It’s usually promoted as ‘the gateway to the Highlands — a rural expanse of low hills, lochs and rivers and (for Scotland) a relatively dry and mild climate.

Start at Scone Palace itself, where the stone was first used to crown a king, Kenneth MacAlpin, in 843.

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The palace is a handsome pile, rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style, but with the original abbey chapel on Moot Hill above it.

Marks recommends visiting Scone Palace (pictured), where the Stone of Destiny was first used to crown a king, Kenneth MacAlpin, in 843

Marks recommends visiting Scone Palace (pictured), where the Stone of Destiny was first used to crown a king, Kenneth MacAlpin, in 843

It does very well out of events such as the Scottish Game Fair in July. You can stay in a huge apartment and have the estate to yourself if the Earl of Mansfield and family are not in residence.

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I stationed myself at The Taybank in arty Dunkeld, built on land reclaimed from the Tay when Thomas Telford put his bridge over it in 1809.

It’s a pubby hotel with terrific food by Gemma, its own sauna and riverside ‘beach’.

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Mark bases himself at The Taybank (pictured) in Dunkeld, which is on the banks of the River Tay

Mark bases himself at The Taybank (pictured) in Dunkeld, which is on the banks of the River Tay

Mark describes The Taybank as a 'pubby hotel with terrific food'. Above, the hotel's restaurant

Mark describes The Taybank as a ‘pubby hotel with terrific food’. Above, the hotel’s restaurant 

It’s dog-friendly, too. I walked mine to Birnam, on the opposite bank, where an ancient sycamore is the last remnant of the great forest that so spooked Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play.

Centuries of prosperity have left the city with fine streets, riverside walks, cafes and parks.

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It was once the capital, and with its magical Stone Of Destiny back, Perth will once again feel like the very heart of Scotland.

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Belgium’s forced adoption scandal: Victims on lifelong quest for truth

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REPORTERS

REPORTERS © FRANCE 24

From the post-war period until the mid-1980s, thousands of children were forcibly taken from their young Belgian mothers and sold to adoptive families by Catholic institutions. Today, many victims are desperately trying to trace their origins and demanding answers from those responsible for this scandal. Our correspondent Alix Le Bourdon reports from France and Belgium.

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Gotland island, a strategic location in the Baltic Sea, remilitarises as Sweden joins NATO

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FOCUS

FOCUS © FRANCE 24

Sweden joined NATO earlier this month, becoming to become the 32nd member of the military alliance. Around the Baltic Sea, nations are worried about what Russian President Vladimir Putin could do next after showing he was capable of invading Ukraine. Sweden has officially ended its traditional neutrality and its prime minister has even told Swedes they need to be prepared for war. Military service was already reintroduced back in 2018. Our reporters Clovis Casali and Julien Sauvaget went to the Swedish island of Gotland, deemed the most strategic location in the Baltic Sea.

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MICHAEL MOSLEY: The test that reveals Covid has made us more stupid… and what you can do about it

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Are we becoming slower-witted? The answer should worry all of us.

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A few years ago I made a TV programme called The Great British Intelligence Test where we measured the brainpower of the nation and ­carried out the largest intelligence experiment of its kind.

More than a quarter of a million ­people took our special IQ Test, developed for us by scientists from the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College ­London. (You can see what we put ­people through by searching online for ‘Michael Mosley IQ test’.)

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We discovered, unsurprisingly, that when it came to problem-solving, ­people in their early 20s did the best; they have more knowledge on their side than, say, a teenager, but their brains are also working faster than people who are middle-aged or older.

The reason problem-solving ability falls with age is, in part, linked to how well insulated the connections are between your brain cells.

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Dr Michael Mosley made a TV programme called The Great British Intelligence Test

Dr Michael Mosley made a TV programme called The Great British Intelligence Test

As we age, the myelin sheath that ­surrounds the brain’s wiring gets ­thinner and communication between our neurons slows. Our brains quite ­literally slow down.

But there was some good news for older people; while other cognitive skills decline with age, verbal ability increased, peaking in people in their 70s. Oddly enough, cat lovers scored higher on verbal ability than dog lovers (though that may have been chance), as did book readers and people who are fond of fruit and veg.

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But the biggest surprise came much later, long after the programme had aired on TV.

That’s because the test was put online in 2019, before the Covid pandemic swept the world, and the researchers continued to ­collect data well into 2020, when the outbreak was at its worst.

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By this point they’d included questions about whether people had had Covid and, if so, how it had affected them.

They found that people who had been infected scored lower on the IQ tests, particularly when it came to something called ­executive function, a measure of ­mental skills such as memory, ­flexible thinking and self-control. If your executive function is affected, this can make it hard to focus, follow directions and ­handle emotions.

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The team have since completed a larger study involving more than 112,000 people, which was published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This confirmed the long-term impact that Covid can have on our brains. People who had a mild infection lost a couple of IQ points, but those who developed long Covid saw an average fall in IQ of about six points.

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And the results of this study fit in with another more worrying trend, which is that IQ scores have been falling worldwide since the 1970s. In a 2018 study ­published in Proceedings of the National ­Academy of Sciences, researchers looked at the IQ scores of young men in Norway, recorded when they were ­conscripted for compulsory ­military duty. Over a 40-year period, beginning in 1970, there was a steady decline of about seven points per generation.

This phenomenon has since been recognised in other ­countries, including the U.S. and the UK.

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While no one really knows exactly what’s going on, there’s a suggestion that it could be to do with rising levels of obesity and our growing reliance on ultra-processed food, both of which are bad for the brain.

Being struck down by an ­infectious disease, particularly one that persists (like Covid), is also a surefire way to reduce your IQ score.

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There is also a growing concern, among some researchers I’ve ­spoken to, that the rise in ­artificial intelligence will add to downward pressure on human intelligence, as we increasingly rely on machines to do our ­thinking for us.

So what can you do to keep your brain in good shape?

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There is plenty of evidence that eating a healthy diet can make a big difference. A study of 70-year-olds by ­Edinburgh University in 2021 found that those who were eating a Mediterranean diet (rich in olive oil, nuts, veg and fish) scored highest on a range of memory and thinking tests.

More surprisingly, playing ­computer games also seems to be good for improving your cognitive skills. That’s ­certainly what we found in The Great British ­Intelligence Test — a finding backed up by a recent, more ­rigorous study, ­published in JAMA Network Open in 2022.

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Scientists at the University of Vermont looked at data from nearly 2,000 children and found those who reported playing fast-action video games for three hours a day or more did better on tests of impulse ­control and ­working memory than ­children who claimed never to play video games.

Not only that, but brain scans showed they had greater activity in regions associated with ­attention and memory, the result of all those hours spent trying to shoot things and avoid being shot.

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And last, but by no means least, do keep challenging ­yourself mentally. There is plenty of evidence that taking up new hobbies, like ­dancing or painting, will keep your brain young.

Conversely, withdrawing from the world can lead to brain shrinkage, reduced brain cell ­connections and even falling ­levels of hormones in the brain that are essential for long-term repair and maintenance.

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I intend to do what I can to keep my neurons going for as long as possible and, as poet Dylan ­Thomas put it, to ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light’.

One of the hardest things to treat is a chronic wound, like those caused by type 2 diabetes.

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Now researchers at ­Sheffield University are using ionised gas (gas with an ­electrical charge) to treat chronic wounds: the gas ­creates a chemical cocktail in the wound, helping to kill bacteria and speed up ­healing. With antibiotic resistance on the rise, this could be a game changer.

Your dog really does understand 

Our dog, Tari, died a couple of months ago, and I still find myself shouting ‘walkies’ as I head for the front door, forgetting she is no longer around.

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I’ve often wondered whether she understood the word ‘walkies’, or whether it was my tone of voice and behaviour (i.e. the fact that I’d be standing by the front door with a lead in my hand) that gave her the clue.

A recent study suggests that dogs understand us better than we think. Researchers at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest monitored dogs’ brain waves when they heard their owners say words they assumed the dogs knew, such as ‘ball’. 

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They found that when the dogs were given a toy that matched the word their owner said, their brain activity was different from when they were given something that didn’t match it.

The researchers said this is proof that dogs actually understand the meaning of words. Our canine friends are even more remarkable than most of us already believe.

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Bitter-tasting veg may boost your mood 

Many people struggle with eating bitter green vegetables such as kale, chard and chicory. Yet these are particularly good for us — and here’s more about why.

Bitterness is one of our five ‘basic’ tastes (the others are sweet, salty, sour and umami. Humans are ­particularly sensitive to bitter ­flavours, probably because bitterness is often associated in the natural world with poison, something to be avoided.

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Yet bitterness is also a sign that food is rich in beneficial plant compounds called polyphenols. Recent research by Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan provided ­fascinating insights into why polyphenols are so good for us. 

They point out that we have taste receptors throughout our body. You find them, for example, in the gut, where they respond to polyphenols you’ve eaten by releasing hormones that improve your blood sugar levels and your mood.

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Men even have similar sensory receptors in the testicles that seem to play a role in the production of healthy sperm. That could explain why men who eat lots of bitter, leafy, green vegetables tend to have higher sperm counts and better sperm motility. 

Something to bear in mind next time you are shopping for veg.

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Thai PM Srettha Thavisin believes in a ‘more democratic’ future for Thailand

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Srettha Thavisin became Thailand’s prime minister in August 2023, putting an end to nine years of the country’s military dominating its politics. In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, the businessman-turned-politician said he “truly believes” the future of Thailand will be more democratic. 

Will the future of Thailand be more democratic than the past? “Yes I truly believe [so],” the Thai premier told FRANCE 24 in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

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Thavisin is the country’s first civilian prime minister in nine years. The army’s coup in 2014 overthrew the democratically elected government at the time. “I can’t worry for things I have no control [of],” he replied when asked about the risk of another coup. “My goal is clearly to make the lives of the Thai people better.”

Turning to the conflict in neighbouring Myanmar, Thavisin asserted that “at the moment”, it “hasn’t reached the point where there is a full civil war”.

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“The first word we should discuss is humanitarian assistance,” he added. “If there are people who need help, then we will help them.”

The Thai premier also spoke about a “four-eyes meeting” with French President Emmanuel Macron on March 11, in which the two leaders discussed the war in Ukraine

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“I think he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) wouldn’t dare to invade other nations,” Thavisin said.

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Oscar-winner ‘Oppenheimer’ opens in Japan after months of nuclear theme concerns

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Oscar best picture winner “Oppenheimer” was finally released on Friday in Japan, where its subject — the man who masterminded the creation of the atomic bomb — is a highly sensitive and emotional topic.

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The US blockbuster hit screened in the United States and many other countries in July at the same time as “Barbie”, inspiring a viral phenomenon dubbed “Barbenheimer” by moviegoers.

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But while “Barbie” was released in Japan in August, “Oppenheimer” was conspicuously absent from cinemas for months.

No official explanation was offered at the time, fuelling speculation the film was too controversial to be shown in Japan — the only country to have ever suffered a wartime nuclear attack.

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Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities in August 1945, days before the end of World War II.

Japan is the only country to have suffered a wartime nuclear attack
Japan is the only country to have suffered a wartime nuclear attack. © Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP

At a large cinema in central Tokyo where “Oppenheimer” was showing on Friday, there was none of the prominent promotional material that might be expected for a global megahit.

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Instead only one small poster advertised the film, which was shot on a $100 million budget and collected nearly $1 billion at box offices worldwide.

“It is a long, three-hour movie, but I watched it attentively, because it was so powerful,” audience member Masayuki Hayashi, 51, told AFP after the film.

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Japanese distributors may have chosen to avoid a summer release close to the bombings’ anniversary, said 65-year-old Tatsuhisa Yue.

But “it would have been unthinkable if a movie which describes how the weapon was developed didn’t show here”, he said.

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“The movie arrived late, but I think it was good that it finally opened in Japan.”

‘America-centric’

The film tells the story of US physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who oversaw the bomb’s invention.

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It drew rave reviews and was the most decorated title at this month’s Oscars, scooping seven awards including best director for Christopher Nolan and best actor for star Cillian Murphy.

But in Hiroshima, the city devastated by the first nuclear bomb, the biopic’s Academy Awards success met a mixed reaction.

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'Oppenheimer' stars Irish actor Cillian Murphy
‘Oppenheimer’ stars Irish actor Cillian Murphy. © Robyn Beck / AFP

Kyoko Heya, president of the city’s international film festival, told AFP after the awards ceremony that she had found Nolan’s movie “very America-centric”.

“Is this really a movie that people in Hiroshima can bear to watch?” she asked.

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Today the city is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people, but the ruins of a domed building still stand as a stark reminder of the horrors of the attack, along with a museum and other sombre memorials.

Heya said that after much reflection, “I now want many people to watch the movie.”

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“I’d be happy to see Hiroshima, Nagasaki and atomic weapons become the subject of discussions thanks to this movie,” she said.

Last year, viral “Barbenheimer” memes sparked anger online in Japan, where media reports have highlighted critics who say the film does not show the harm caused by the bombs.

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Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities in 1945
Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities in 1945. © Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP

“There could have been much more description and depiction of the horror of atomic weapons,” bomb survivor and former Hiroshima mayor Takashi Hiraoka, 96, said at a special screening in the city earlier this month.

“Oppenheimer” was also shown at a preview event in Nagasaki, where survivor Masao Tomonaga, 80, said he had been impressed by the movie.

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“I had thought the film’s lack of… images of atomic bomb survivors was a weakness,” said Tomonaga, who was two when the second bomb was dropped and later became a professor studying leukaemia caused by the attacks.

“But in fact, Oppenheimer’s lines in dozens of scenes showed his shock at the reality of the atomic bombing. That was enough for me.”

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(AFP)

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