De rechter heeft een voormalig bewindvoerder uit Rotterdam veroordeeld voor het stelen van geld bij haar cliënten. Zij krijgt anderhalf jaar cel, waarvan een half jaar voorwaardelijk. De vrouw was op vrije voeten en moet nu terug de cel in.
‘I love going to the Middle East,’ says Ferrari driver
Qatar and Abu Dhabi races could still be cancelled
Lewis Hamilton said he hopes the Formula One season can still end at the two scheduled rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with the finale still in doubt because of the war in the Middle East.
Formula One is pressing ahead with its original plan, although a contingency is understood to be in place to host a final round in Imola if the volatile situation means both meetings have to be cancelled.
Continue reading...Andy Burnham has navigated his way through a first high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump at the UN general assembly in New York. The prime minister’s aides were delighted with how the meeting went, as Trump praised the US-UK relationship and described Burnham as a ‘natural businessman’. The anticipated sticking points – the Chagos Islands, West Bank settlement sanctions and Ireland – appear not to have derailed the talks nor cast a shadow over the future relationship. Lucy Hough speaks to policy editor Kiran Stacey – watch on YouTube
Continue reading...‘I didn’t celebrate. I went home to rest. It was a hard fight’
Hrgovic stopped Briton to win the IBF heavyweight title
Filip Hrgovic, the new IBF world heavyweight champion, has offered a candid insight into the ordeal he endured before beating Moses Itauma in a shock stoppage victory last month, revealing he absorbed so many heavy punches in the first eight rounds that he felt headaches for a number of days afterwards.
“I felt fucked up,” said the 34-year-old Croat. “I received a lot of shots and I was bruised. I had a bit of a headache for a few days. On the Wednesday after the fight I was back in the gym, working out already, but for a few days I felt really tired and bruised, with some headaches.”
Continue reading...Player reflects on critics, says ‘they’ve tried to kill me’
Jorge Jesus launches passionate defence of 41-year-old
Cristiano Ronaldo said he considered quitting international football after the World Cup, but confirmed he plans to play on for Portugal and hopes to reach 1,000 goals for club and country. Ronaldo, who is 21 goals shy of the milestone, accepted some critics are trying to “kill” him but is determined to carry on.
Ronaldo, who has won 233 caps for his country, captained Portugal in the summer at the World Cup, where they exited to Spain in the last 16. Asked if he considered walking away from international duty, he replied: “Yes, I did. Of course, I’m always thinking about my decisions, my future, the present also. I’m a thinker; you have to think. This is why you see me here now, it means I will continue.
Continue reading...An Invisible Force Has a Mysterious Effect on Aging, Scientists Discover in 'Startling' Breakthrough
Scientists have discovered that the removal of Earth's magnetic field influences the lifespans of fruit flies in complex ways, a finding that sheds light on the aging process as well as the risks of future human space travel, according to a study published in the journal Aging on Wednesday.
All life on Earth has evolved under the planet’s geomagnetic field, a vast bubble lined with electrical currents that is generated in the core and extends out into space. This protective magnetic shield is a major factor in Earth’s habitability, as it wards off harmful radiation from space, allowing life to flourish on the surface.
Many migratory animals—including fish, birds, and insects—can clearly sense Earth’s magnetism and use it for navigation. But much less is known about how the field interacts with living cells and their components, such as mitochondria, the famous “powerhouses” that generate most of the energy that fuels life.
To better understand this mystery, scientists observed two populations of fruit flies in a “hypomagnetic” shield system, a cylindrical benchtop apparatus that essentially blocks the influence of Earth’s magnetic field. One group contained “wild-type” healthy flies, while the other was made up of “mutant” flies carrying a gene defect called Pink1, which is associated with early-onset Parkinson’s disease in humans and specifically involves mitochondrial dysfunction.
The removal of the magnetic field’s effect extended the lifespan of the Pink1 group by 20 percent but reduced their mobility, whereas the healthy flies experienced just the opposite—reduced lifespan, but improved mobility.
“We had an idea that there would be a difference just based on the fact that we know that every organism has developed under a magnetic field,” said Jacob Reed, a PhD student in bioscience at the University of Nottingham who co-led the study, in a call with 404 Media. “But we didn't really plan that there would be this difference in the experiment.”
“I think we're the first to show that there's an effect in an organism that has a disease phenotype,” added co-lead Lisa Chakrabarti, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Nottingham, in the same call. “We're really drilling into what the differences are between having that applied pressure or relieving it.”
While there is a lot of research into the effects of hypermagnetic fields on life—meaning magnetic fields that are stronger than Earth’s—the “biological consequences of hypomagnetic fields remain poorly understood,” according to the new study.
To fill in this research gap, Reed developed an initial pilot study of diseased and healthy flies using the magnetic shielding apparatus, and was surprised to find that the Pink1 population of flies seemed to live longer.
“I was really confused at first,” Reed recalled. “I was thinking: ‘Why are these Parkinson's flies living longer than some of the wild-type flies?’ I had to double-check all of my data. From that, we realized that was what's happening and developed the experiment.”
The team observed dozens of diseased and healthy flies living in these hypomagnetic spaces over the course of their lives, which normally last about two months. In particular, they monitored shifts in the energy metabolisms and chemical outputs of mitochondria using quantum diamond sensors.
The experiment showed that the absence of Earth’s magnetic field changes how cells age and produce energy, producing clear and measurable effects on longevity. The researchers also saw shifts in locomotion by tracking how far flies climbed upward against gravity in their containers. However, it will take more research to unravel the complex mechanisms that underlie these observable changes.
“This is the early stage, where we can say there is a very real effect,” Chakrabarti said. “As soon as you take off the geomagnetic field, there are physiological effects that we can measure in the mitochondria, in the cellular physiology, and in big things like lifespan and climbing as well. It's a definite interaction between Earth's magnetic field and physiology.”
The researchers plan to build on their work by studying different organisms in hypomagnetic fields to see if they experience similar mitochondrial and behavioral changes. This work could eventually inspire therapeutic treatments for humans with various conditions, and could also help prepare astronauts for deep space missions beyond Earth’s magnetic field. It is already well-known that astronauts are exposed to harmful radiation outside of the magnetic field, but little is known about the specific impact of the absence of the field itself on human physiology.
“The link with interplanetary space travel is absolutely key,” said Chakrabarti. “There could be subtle differences that we don't really notice while we're on Earth. Unless we know what those parameters are to measure, we're going to be sending astronauts up there that are potentially going to really suffer over the short, or even or the longer, term.”
“All of this is out there at the moment, but what we're saying is that we definitely see a really reproducible and startling effect of removing the geomagnetic field,” she concluded.
DEN HAAG (ANP) - Minister Pieter Heerma van Binnenlandse Zaken gaat onderzoek doen naar de werkwijze van organisaties die zijn ingehuurd om onderzoek te doen naar buitenlandse inmenging en manipulatie. De CDA-minister zegde dat toe tijdens een debat na vragen van BBB-leider Henk Vermeer.
Vermeer haalde een artikel in EW aan waar uitgebreid wordt geschreven over de werkwijzen van Justice for Prosperity, Stichting Weerbare Democratie, Stichting Democratie Monitor en Voor Ons Nederland. Volgens het magazine voldoen de onderzoeken niet aan wetenschappelijke normen. Heerma noemde niet welke organisaties zijn ingehuurd door zijn ministerie en ook niet welke organisaties worden onderzocht.
De minister erkende dat de publicatie van EW een rol heeft gespeeld bij zijn besluit om een onderzoek in te stellen naar de werkwijze. "In het artikel staat dat het niet altijd van voldoende kwaliteit lijkt te zijn en daar gaan we wel degelijk naar kijken."
NEW YORK (ANP/AFP) - De voormalige machtige filmproducent Harvey Weinstein heeft bij de nieuwe behandeling van een zaak rond seksueel geweld vijftien jaar gevangenisstraf gekregen. Het gaat om het misbruik van zijn voormalige productieassistent Miriam Haley.
Weinstein dwong Haley in 2006 tot orale seks. Hij kreeg daar eerder al eens 23 jaar cel voor, maar die straf was na een hoger beroep in 2024 vervallen. De zaak kwam opnieuw voor de jury, die hem in 2025 alsnog schuldig bevond.
De 74-jarige Weinstein werd en wordt met veel meer gevallen van seksueel wangedrag in verband gebracht. In onderzoeken van The New Yorker en The New York Times hebben meer dan tachtig mensen hem beschuldigd. De aantijgingen waren het begin van de MeToo-beweging.
In Californië wordt nog een straf verwacht voor de verkrachting en het misbruik van een actrice in 2013. Hij is al schuldig bevonden. Een zaak rond de actrice Jessica Mann is na drie mislukte pogingen om hem te vervolgen door de aanklagers gestaakt.
DEN HAAG (ANP) - Een natte herfst en winter zijn waarschijnlijk nodig om in het komende voorjaar een goede uitgangspositie te hebben voor een volgend droogteseizoen. Dat zei Harold van Waveren, voorzitter van het landelijke crisisteam over de droogte, in een presentatie voor Tweede Kamerleden. "Herstel gaat maanden duren, met name voor het grondwater."
De rivieraanvoeren dalen op dit moment zelfs nog, aldus Van Waveren. Het zal weken of maanden duren voordat de rivieren weer op een normaal niveau zitten. Mogelijk wordt op de IJssel eenrichtingsverkeer ingevoerd, waardoor sommige binnenvaartschepen honderden kilometers zouden moeten omvaren.
Het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat komt later met een evaluatie van de keuzes die overheden hebben gemaakt om met de gevolgen van de droogte om te gaan. Topambtenaar Liz van Duin gaf alvast een voorschot: "Zo'n lage rivierstand hadden we niet helemaal zien komen op deze termijn. Die was wel in beeld, maar toch vooral voor later."
BAKOE (ANP/RT) - Lewis Hamilton ziet niets in het toevoegen van een sprintrace bij de Grote Prijs van Monaco. "Het slaat nergens op", zei de zevenvoudig wereldkampioen in de Formule 1 op de persdag voorafgaand aan de Grote Prijs van Azerbeidzjan. "Een sprintrace is niet de oplossing voor een circuit als in Monaco. Daar moet iets anders voor worden bedacht om het spannend te maken."
De Formule 1 kondigde eerder deze maand aan het aantal sprintraces volgend seizoen uit te breiden van zes naar tien. Ook Monaco kreeg het format toegewezen, hetgeen bij veel coureurs de wenkbrauwen deed fronsen. Inhalen is op het smalle en bochtige circuit van het vorstendom vrijwel onmogelijk.
"Het positieve is dat we een extra kwalificatiesessie krijgen, wat best leuk is. Ik vind ook dat de sprintraces echt iets nieuws aan de sport hebben toegevoegd, maar ik denk dat we voor een locatie als deze iets nieuws moeten bedenken", zei Hamilton. "Monaco is een prachtige plek en er ligt een geweldig circuit om op te rijden, maar de race zelf is oersaai."
South Korean researchers have published details of how their four-legged robot completed a marathon on a single battery charge – nearly two years after it crossed the finish line. RAIBO2 covered the 42.195 km (26.2 mile) course of the Sangju Dried Persimmon Marathon in November 2024 in 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 52 seconds. As The Register reported at the time, its developers described it as the first quadruped robot to complete a full marathon at an official event. The new paper published in Nature this week explains how the team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), led by associate professor Jemin Hwangbo, squeezed more than three times the range per battery charge from RAIBO2 than recent comparable quadrupeds. Humans remain quicker. Kenya's Sabastian Sawe set the official world record of 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds at the London Marathon in April, becoming the first person to break two hours in a competitive marathon. Wheels are more efficient on smooth ground, but legs allow robots to cross stairs, rubble, slopes, and other uneven terrain. That makes quadrupeds potentially useful in mountainous areas and disaster zones. Robot dogs have already been deployed to help with the nuclear clean-up at the UK's Sellafield facility, while military applications are considerably less cuddly. The trade-off is range. The researchers say recent quadrupeds generally manage about 20 km per charge because their joints expend energy supporting the machine's weight, while repeated contact between foot and ground introduces further losses. Hwangbo's team combined lightweight mechanical hardware, low-loss motor-driving circuitry, and an energy-optimized locomotion policy trained through reinforcement learning. RAIBO2 completed the course at an average speed of 2.64 metres per second, negotiating 286 m of elevation change and slopes reaching 18.4 degrees. RAIBO2 consumed 1,280 watt-hours from a battery with 2,016 Wh of capacity. Its total cost of transport – the energy required to move a given weight over a given distance – was 0.25, compared with the researchers' human benchmark of 0.37. They say it is the first quadruped robot to beat that figure. The researchers said: "Compared with existing quadrupeds, RAIBO2 offers more than three times the travel range per battery charge. This breakthrough in energy efficiency paves the way for extended outdoor applications in which prolonged battery life is critical." The efficiency record does not make RAIBO2 autonomous, however. Stairs or mountainous terrain might require variations in the energy loss models and constrained robot postures, and require a more environment-aware strategy. "In addition, our study assumes human operation, yet autonomous navigation requires planners that can identify energy-optimal paths based on global map understanding. The loss models developed in this study provide a valuable foundation for addressing these challenges," the paper said. The researchers believe their work could extend the range of future legged robots. Whether those machines spend the extra mileage inspecting disaster zones, carrying deliveries, or chasing humans is a matter for whoever buys them. ®
Lucho Maya has added a photo to the pool:
Romain Grosjean dissected the role Mercedes have played in Kimi Antonelli’s stunning 2026 season in the latest episode of Beyond The Grid.
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Liam Lawson returns to Racing Bulls for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull for the last three rounds.
