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LOS ANGELES — Long before he was the auteur behind some of the most spectacular, extravagant action movies ever made, Luc Besson was a young boy in love with a comic book character.

He first encountered Laureline, the heroine played by Cara Delevingne in his forthcoming sci-fi spectacular “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”, when he was 10 and living some 40 kilometres from Paris.

Bored by the tedium of the bucolic life, he would look forward to pilgrimages to his local store, where in 1969 he happened upon the “Valerian and Laureline” comic strip in a publication called “Pilote”.

“It was at the time when there was no internet, one TV channel in black and white, and my stepfather didn’t have music at home. So life was pretty cold,” the French filmmaker, 58, told AFP. 

“There wasn’t much going on, not much possibility to escape, and then suddenly... I remember the first few pages in ‘Pilote’. It was a comic book and suddenly you have a couple travelling in space and time and fighting aliens.”

One of the first things he noticed, he told AFP in a recent interview in a Beverly Hills hotel, was an independence of spirit in Laureline that he had not encountered before.

“She was free, she was kicking ass, killing aliens. The first image of this woman was very strong and I was in love right away with her. She was so sexy,” he recalled. 

‘High octane’

It was an image of femininity which was to stay with Besson, informing countless movies in which he featured lethal female protagonists — sisters doing it for themselves, who didn’t need men to show them how to hold a gun.

Besson started out in the 1980s with French-language action movies influenced by Hollywood before international success came with “The Big Blue”, then “Nikita”, about a female assassin, and “Leon: The Professional”, about a young girl who becomes the protegee of a contract killer. 

Since those days, he has directed a string of movies that have earned mixed reviews, but he has been making big bucks with his motion picture house EuropaCorp as producer of high-octane series “The Transporter” and “Taken”. 

If Laureline was his first love, the father-of-five did not let the grass grow beneath his feet, going on to marry four times, including a brief union with Milla Jovovich, his star in dystopian cult classic “The Fifth Element” (1997). 

Besson has developed a knack over the years for uncovering female talent, whether introducing Jovovich or extracting Natalie Portman’s breathtaking debut performance in “Leon” (1994) when she was just 13.

“In the 1970s and 80s, the movies were totally on the men’s side and it’s not fair... The girl is in the back crying, ‘When are you coming back?’” Besson told a news conference for “Valerian” before his interview with AFP.

“That’s not my vision of the relationship between men and women. Maybe I was raised a certain way that I was lucky enough to see that they are both very strong.” 

Besson was known early in his career as a pioneer of the French “cinema du look”, which was said to favour style over narrative, but to claim that he doesn’t care about substance would be to sell him short.

‘They cheat millions’

While at heart an effects-laden action movie set in outer space, “Valerian” explores weighty but earthly concerns like climate change, diversity and the difficulties of life as an immigrant.

It was filmed in Paris last year against a background of political change in Europe and the United States, with the centre increasingly at threat from populists on the fringes.

Besson is reluctant to talk about domestic politics, but is happy to describe “Valerian” as an allegory for the overweening power of Big Business.

The bad guys in his movie, he contends, could just as easily be real-life executives from scandal-hit Volkswagen, which admitted in 2015 that some 11 million of its diesel cars were fitted with “defeat devices” used to cheat on emissions tests. 

“These big, huge companies like Volkswagen — they cheat millions of people by saying ‘Our cars are clean’. They cheat, and they go away and they don’t want to pay,” he bristled.

But while Besson wants his films to have gravitas — to avoid just being “like a cheeseburger” — he warns against filmmakers being too po-faced about their art.

“I love to talk about all these things — about ecology, immigration — with a little smile and having fun at the same time,” he says. 

“Because I think at the end of the day, you watch the film and you say, ‘We had fun, it was incredible’ — but something is left.”

“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” hits theaters in the US on July 21 and in France five days later.

LOS ANGELES — “War for the Planet of the Apes” is officially the box office champ, during a weekend that demands a close look.

Fox and Chernin Entertainment’s latest “Apes” movie is coming in on the low end of expectations with $56.3 million from 4,022 locations. It was pegged at $60 million - $65 million earlier in the week, but is ending up about the same as 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, which kicked off the modern trilogy with $54.8 million during its opening weekend. 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” was a bigger hit with a $72.6 million domestic opening, when it hit theatres against the third weekend of “Transformers: Age of Extinction”.

One way “War for the Planet of the Apes” stands out from other big-budget studio films is its rave reviews — it currently has a 94 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, which depicts the titular war between apes and humans, is directed by Matt Reeves, who joined the franchise when he stepped in on “Dawn”. Much has been made of the noticeable updates in technology that have gone into bring Andy Serkis’ character Caesar, the lead ape, to life. Woody Harrelson, in human form, joins the franchise as the villain, while Steve Zahn, as a chimp, offers comic relief.

“First and foremost the movie came in right where we expected it to,” said Fox’s distribution chief Chris Aronson, who pointed to a potentially “soft” next few weeks that could give “Apes” a long runway. “We’re going to play for quite some time,” he said.

“Spider Man: Homecoming”, meanwhile, is landing in second with about $44.2 million. That is a 61 per cent drop from last weekend’s heroic opening, which is probably a steeper falloff than Sony would have liked to see. That said, the movie’s total domestic gross in two weekends — $208.3 million — is already higher than the entire run of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”. “Homecoming” is a hit with critics and audiences (93 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes; A CinemaScore), and dominated social media chatter for weeks leading up to its release. Tom Holland is the teen in the red suit, who first joined the Marvel universe in “Captain America: Civil War”.

The weekend’s other major release apart from “Apes” is the horror flick “Wish Upon” from Broad Green Pictures and Orion Pictures. The movie is entering the box office with a whisper, about $5.6 million from 2,250 locations. The fright-fest is directed by John R. Leonetti based on a script by Barbara Marshall. Its primarily young cast, led by Joey King, includes two Netflix alums in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s” Ki Hong Lee (aka Dong), and “Stranger Things’” beloved Barb, Shannon Purser. The movie was largely panned by critics, with a 20 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, and it also carries a lacklustre audience appeal with a C CinemaScore.

Universal’s “Despicable Me 3” is showing in third place for the weekend, expecting to earn an additional $19.4 million from 4,155 locations. And Sony’s “Baby Driver” stays in the conversation with a strong 32 per cent hold that should land it in fourth. Edgar Wright’s latest is racing to $8.7 million from 3,043 locations. Rounding out the top five is the indie darling “The Big Sick” from comedian Kumail Nanjiani. The movie expanded to wide release (2,597 spots) during its fourth weekend in theatres, and should earn $7.5 million.

“It’s amazing that this independent film has found its footing as a family movie among all the summer blockbusters,” said Amazon Studios’ marketing and distribution chief Bob Berney in a statement. “The comedy and universal themes are connecting with audiences across the country.”

Finally, keep an eye on “Wonder Woman”, which is finishing in sixth this weekend with $6.7 million, and closing in on several benchmarks. By Monday, it is expected to cross $381 million domestically, which would put it past “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 2” to become the third highest Warner Bros. movie ever. It is also only a few million shy of passing “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”, which with $386.2 million is currently the highest grossing movie of the summer so far. “Wonder Woman” has already blown past the domestic totals of fellow DC Comics movies “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad”.

Coffee drinkers live longer, according to two large-scale studies released on Monday that add to extensive research indicating coffee consumption is associated with better health.

The studies examined the health histories of hundreds of thousands of people who were tracked over many years. They found that coffee-drinking reduced the risk of various diseases among people from several ethnicities, and this effect was seen in drinkers of regular or decaffeinated coffee. And the more coffee consumed, the greater the benefit.

These are observational studies, not controlled clinical trials. So while they demonstrate an association, they don’t prove cause and effect. But at the least, researchers said the latest evidence reinforces a large body of previous reports indicating there’s no harm from coffee — and that it might very well benefit people’s health.

Both of the new studies were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. They asked participants about whether they drank coffee, and if so, how much. Participants were also asked about habits that influence health, such as smoking, exercise and heart disease.

One study was led by Veronica W. Setiawan of the University of Southern California. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, it examined coffee-drinking habits among more than 180,000 whites, African-Americans, Latinos, Japanese-Americans and native Hawaiians. They were followed for an average of 16 years.

The other was performed by European scientists from Imperial College London and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), led by Marc J. Gunter of the IARC. It examined coffee-drinking among more than 520,000 adults from 10 European countries.

The study led by Setiawan found those drinking one cup of coffee daily had a 12 per cent lower risk of death from heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, respiratory and kidney disease. For those drinking 3 cups a day, the risk reduction rose to 18 per cent.

In previous studies, the great majority of those examined were white, meaning that environmental and lifestyle differences among ethnicities could have confounded the results. But her study found these benefits to occur regardless of the ethnicity studied.

The study led by Gunter likewise found a lower death risk from various ailments, including digestive, circulatory and liver disease. The relationship was the same regardless of country, the study found. It was funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumers and IARC

The studies make a significant contribution to knowledge about coffee and health, said Peter Adams, professor of the Tumour Initiation and Maintenance Programme at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.

“It’s good to know that not everything that gives you a buz is bad for you,” Adams said by e-mail.

“These two publications extend the findings of previous studies indicating the apparent benefits of coffee drinking,” he added. “While the data across these and previous investigations seems consistent and compelling, to be really convincing it is important to figure out how it works.

“As the authors note, coffee is a complex concoction, and caffeine itself does not seem to be responsible. Coffee does contain many other candidate molecules, for example anti-oxidants.”

“However, recent studies have challenged the view that anti-oxidants are always beneficial. Oxidants may not cause aging as previously thought, and anti-oxidants can even help cancer cells to survive!”

“So until we figure out how it works, you can keep drinking coffee and stay off the expensive anti-oxidants from the pharmacy,” he said.

Coffee is most renowned for its stimulant effect, provided by caffeine. However, individuals respond differently based on their genetics. Some people are metabolically fast at breaking down caffeine, others metabolise it more slowly.

This has health consequences. One of the few studies that showed some harm in coffee found that slow metabolisers who drank four or more cups of regular coffee a day experience a 36 per cent greater risk of nonfatal heart attacks.

However, fast metabolisers who drank that much coffee had a lower risk of heart attacks. The presumptive explanation is that the noncaffeine components of coffee exert beneficial effects, and fast metabolisers clear caffeine quickly enough to avoid harm from an excessive dose.

MUMBAI — A plus-sized Indian woman is challenging body stereotypes and defying Internet trolls with a series of yoga videos that are proving a hit on social media.

Dolly Singh, 34, has gained something of a fan following online for promoting body positivity by showing that size is no barrier to mastering complex yoga moves.

“To say ‘You can’t do this because you have so much weight,’ I don’t believe that,” Singh tells AFP after completing her morning stretch in a Mumbai park.

Four years ago a doctor advised her to lose weight following an ankle sprain. Singh, who is 150cm tall, weighed almost 90 kilogrammes at the time.

She got a trainer and embraced the “whole frenzy of losing weight” but grew bored of running so she signed up for something she had never done before — yoga.

“The first class I was thinking ‘Can I really do this because I have a big body?’ After two or three class I realised people were looking at me and thinking ‘Oh my god she can do this’. My body had a certain kind of stamina, of flexibility.”

Singh, who works for a TV channel in India’s financial capital, soon realised there were limitations to group classes and sought the instruction she needed from videos online. 

“We all have different bodies and if my teacher doesn’t have a belly, how will they know what the problems are of having a big belly,” she explains, laughing.

“I’m a big busted person and if the teacher isn’t how are they going to understand that when I’m doing a Halasana [plough pose] I’m almost choking to death!”

Singh started filming herself to monitor her progress and then began posting clips of her yoga poses on Instagram.

‘Online trolls’

Soon she was inundated with messages, mainly from foreigners at first but then from Indian women saying that Singh was an inspiration to them.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by some people saying they would feel alienated in a room full of perfect yoga bodies, how they would feel that everyone is watching them.

“There’s an idea of not showing your body if you’re big bodied. You’re supposed to hide everything because its not appealing or it’s not something people like to see but that’s just something that’s been sold to us,” she insists.

The response has not all been positive however. Singh says she has been the victim of body shaming online.

“Indian men have not been encouraging at all. There are a lot of people who write very nasty comments. They would say something like ‘You’re just a fat blob, you look just like an elephant or bear, or you’re unfit or it’s because you’re eating so much food. 

“I completely ignore these things. You can’t fight Internet trolls. I don’t know these people so why should it bother me?”

Singh, who currently weighs 73kg, says she will continue trying to sell “a more positive body image” and “challenge notions of fitness and beauty”.

“I’m not aiming to have this thin figure but I am aiming to have a beautiful flow and make my body strong through yoga,” she says, smiling.

With its long-standing motto of Vorsprung durch Technik — or ‘Advancement through Technology’ — as a background theme or inspiration, Audi unveiled the world’s most advanced self-driving car at an extravaganza event showcasing the brand’s direction and technologies for the near future. Taking centre stage at the one-brand Audi summit exposition in Barcelona, Spain, Audi’s fourth generation A8 luxury flagship saloon is slated to hit showrooms later this year as a 2018 model. Spearheading the Ingolstadt manufacturer’s drive towards a highly advanced automotive future, the A8 leapfrogs systems currently offered by Audi’s traditional premium German rivals.

With Audi AI (artificial intelligence) technology and zFAS central vehicle assistance control unit premiering with this model, the Audi A8 is the first series-production car with level three autonomous driving capability — measured on a scale of zero, with no assistance, to full self-driving cars at level five. A hallmark feature of the new A8, Traffic Jam Pilot allows for self-driving ability at 60km/h or less in certain situations. Autonomously starting, accelerating, braking, steering and handling situations where other vehicles cut in close in front, Traffic Jam Pilot requires the driver to be ready to re-take control when necessary rather than to be monitored with by the driver, as with rival systems.

Capable of self driving and remotely self parking, the A8’s autonomous abilities leverage ultrasound and radar sensors, laser scanners, camera-based systems, high performance data processor and rapid Internet connectivity. A significant step towards a “surely autonomous” future of driving, as predicted by Audi Board of Management Member for Technical Development Peter Mertens, Audi AI in future will encompass a broader range of self-learning functions, and along with My Audi connectivity platform and Audi E-tron electrified drive, will be what Audi stands for in the future, as elaborated by Mertens in his opening remarks at the Barcelona event.

Currently utilising supervised learning development methods for application in the A8, Audi AI is also evaluating deep reinforcement methods in artificial intelligence, and had scale models displayed at Barcelona, which could, through trial and error, navigate obstacles and self-park. However, for future, Audi AI is expected to develop into a broader system integrating and interplaying various technologies that will be able to interact with other vehicles and infrastructure. Audi AI will thus become a “thinking, empathetic assistant” able to anticipate driver wishes and “proactively support them”, whether suggesting and booking services or independently carry out tasks (parking, refuelling, charging and car wash) at specifically designated Audi AI Zones, according to Audi literature. 

In addition to driving efficiency and safety improvements that AI and autonomy is anticipated to eventually yield, Audi also highlights time-saving as another benefit, with its 25th Hour project looking at ways to adapt a fully piloted car’s interior and systems for optimal time-management for work or leisure during a journey. However, with fully automated driving still a way off into the future, Audi has founded the Beyond initiative, which takes a multi-disciplinary approach to research the legal, ethical and acceptance issues related to automotive AI. In the meantime, the introduction of the A8’s Traffic Jam Pilot system will be conducted in a step-by-step approach as and when the statuary framework in individual markets is clarified.

Much to the crowd’s pleasure during the opening spectacular, Audi’s iconic 1980s Pike’s Peak winning Quattro S1 racer and legendary driver Walter Rohrl were reunited on stage. With is distinctively viciously five-cylinder acoustics and angular, be-winged body, the S1 was a reminder of Audi’s past and a then-crucial moment in the brand’s development, much as the A8 stands to become yet another transformative moment. The loud and proud Quattro S1 was juxtaposed with Audi’s latest stealthy and silent Formula E racer. The first of the German brands to enter Formula E, Audi’s commitment to an electric future is already beginning to bear fruit.

Adopting certain hybrid electric technologies across the A8 model range, Audi will also introduce a dedicated A8 L E-tron Quattro hybrid model soon after, and is set to launch an all-electric series-production SUV in 2018, based on the E-tron Quattro Concept from the 2015 Frankfurt motor show. Committed to sustainability and efficiency in electric and combustion engine drivelines, Audi’s AI systems look to reducing urban pollution from drivers looking for parking spaces, while the company also plans to convert its Brussels E-tron plant, where its first electric cars are being built, into a CO2 neutral facility.

Audi A8: Technological tour de force

Set stands to become the most technologically sophisticated luxury car when it goes on sale, the Audi A8 was publically unveiled at the Audi summit days ago, but selected media had an opportunity to view the car in more detail and appreciate its design detail and expression the day before. Seemingly sitting on all four wheels with an authoritative stance to emphasise its Quattro four-wheel-drive, the A8 also features a flowing roofline and optional laser headlights. Dominated by its vast and upright hexagonal grille, the A8 detailed and fluent body surfacing and crisp ridges were of particular interest when viewed in a studio setting.

Under its sculpted bonnet the A8 will initially be offered with a turbocharged 3-litre V6 engine, with V8, W12 and full hybrid versions soon to follow. However, all models will feature a 48v hybrid technology, which utilises regenerative braking to charge. This system allows for significantly enhanced efficiency by allowing the car to coast with the engine switch off when coming to a stop, and for more extensive and smoother operation of the fuel-saving stop/start system. It will also power the A8’s innovative AI-integrated fully active suspension, which uses cameras to ‘‘read’’ the road and electromechanical to control each wheel for enhanced, ride comfort, handling and safety.

In addition to highly autonomous driving and parking and extensive safety and assistance technologies, the A8 features all-wheel steering across the range for enhanced agility, stability and manoeuvrability. Inside its plush leather and open-pore wood trimmed cabin, the A8 features a reductive horizontally-orientated design, with tactile buttons and 10.1-inch infotainment screen blending almost invisibly with high gloss black trim when off. From the screen and glass-look buttons and touchpad, one accesses vast infotainment features, including self-learning navigation system. Additionally, its touch pad is highly responsive to written input, while voice control recognises natural speech patterns.

Among the latest additions to Mercedes-Benz’ ever burgeoning model lines catering body styles to different niches, the GLC-Class Coupe is, however, an alternative spin-off of the GLC-Class mid-size SUV. Sporting a significantly lower roofline and rakishly angled hatchback at the rear in place of the SUV version’s more traditional estate-like body style, the GLC Coupe is a flashier, less practical vehicle than its taller GLC SUV sister. Virtually identical in mechanicals, platform and technology, the Coupe may be more of a fashionably impulsive alternative, but it is, however, imbued with enough of a sporting flavour to distinguish itself from the SUV.

Fashion statement

In essence a car-based vehicle with SUV proportions and ride height and a ‘4-door coupe’ body, the GLC Coupe sacrifices some practicality and space for fashion and design. A direct rival to the BMW X4 and is a junior scale model to complement Mercedes’ own GLE-Class Coupe. Smoother, less complicated or aggressive, and with more flowing lines than the former the GLC Coupe has a smaller and less imposing scale than the latter, and consequently, seems less excessive than and would be expected to have a broader appeal than either X4 or GLE Coupe. However, and regardless of the Coupe’s charms, the GLC SUV remains the better all-rounder.

Sharing the same width and wheelbase as the GLC SUV, the Coupe is, however, lower and longer at the rear overhang, and is the heavier of the two versions at 1785kg in GLC250 Coupe 4Matic, as driven. In terms of design, the Coupe has a distinctly sportier and flowing appearance, with broad two-slat chequered grille, big lower intakes, and assertively raised and ridged boned. Its rakishly arced silhouette, muscular haunches, sculpted side character line and big protruding sills all converge towards a slanted and pertly up-tilted rear end. Meanwhile, optional staggered 255/45R20 front and vast 285/40R20 rear tyres, further accentuate the GLC Coupe’s squat and urgent demeanour.

A sportier flavour

Powered by the ‘250’ iteration of Mercedes’ familiar direct injection turbocharged 2-litre four-cylinder engine, the GLC250 4Matic Coupe’s performance and characteristics are very similar to, but slightly lesser than, the GLC300 4Matic — powered by a more powerful variant, and featured in these pages on previous occasion. With the same faintly distinct four-cylinder chatter at idling, the GLC250 Coupe sounds throatier, growlier and fruitier acoustics when pushed hard. Crackling and rorting when upshifting at high load and rpm in Sport+ driving mode, the GLC250 Coupe, however, develops 33BHP and 14lb/ft torque less than the previously driven GLC300 SUV , and is 0.8-seconds slower through 0-100km/h, given the same gearing but a 50kg disadvantage.

Quick spooling with little turbo-lag from standstill, the GLC250 revs willingly to its 208BHP maximum at 5500rpm, but is best at its broad and brawny mid-range sweet spot, where it develops 258lb/ft throughout 1200-4000rpm.

Welling up with an urgent wave of accessible and versatile mid-range torque, the GLC250 is confident and quick inclines and when overtaking, which is aided by Mercedes’ new 9-speed automatic gearbox. Slick, smooth and quick shifting and with a broad range of ratios for responsiveness, flexibility, refinement and efficiency, the new gearbox is a big improvement on its 7-speed predecessor, and helps the GLC250 achieve brisk 7.3-second 0-100km/h acceleration, 222km/h top speed and modest 6.9l/100km fuel efficiency.

Buttoned down

Smooth, composed, refined and comfortable — if slightly firmer — the GLC250 Coupe drives very similar to the GLC SUV, as is to be expected. However, with firmer optional sports suspension and massively wide and lower profile rear tyres complementing its more aggressive design and optional AMG body styling, the driven GLC Coupe was more eager, agile and taut through corners. With quick and direct electric-assisted steering, the GLC250 Coupe is tidy and progressive turning in when driven moderately briskly, but pushed hard and aggressively into a corner and expected under-steer seems a little more pronounced than in the GLC SUV.

This is perhaps due to its staggered wheels with slimmer front and broader and grippier rear tyres, but a more committed cornering line can be achieved by turning in tight and early and perhaps by slight lift-off to pivot weight to the rear and outside wheel. With huge grip at the rear when leaned on, the GLC Coupe’s optional rear tyres are reassuring, while oversteer is caught and corrected quickly by aggressively cautious electronic stability controls, even when driving in the less intrusive but still active ‘‘off’’ setting. Meanwhile, the rear drive-biased 4Matic four-wheel-drive system sends more power frontwards to find additional traction and stability through corners and over loose surfaces.

Hunkered down

Stable and reassuring on highway and smooth if slightly firm over imperfections, the GLC250 Coupe is well controlled through corners with little body lean. Over crests and dips there is little vertical pitch while rebound is settled. Brakes are, meanwhile, confident. Well-insulated from noise, harshness and vibration inside, and with a supportive, comfortable and well adjustable seating position, the GLC Coupe has a hunkered down driving position and cabin ambiance. And while front visibility is good, the GLC Coupe’s low roofline, small glasshouse, rakish and thick pillars and wide accentuated body and surfacing does, however, restrict side, rear and over shoulder visibility compared to its SUV sister.

The GLC250 Coupe, however, feature a rearview camera and parking assistance system, which one relies on more often than in the SUV, while a tight turning circle helps manoeuvrability. Meanwhile, optional blindspot and lane-keeping assistance would be worthwhile options to invest in, among numerous driver assistance systems available.

Well-spaced and packaged in front, the GLC Coupe’s rear headroom is compromised compared to the SUV, but suffices, while luggage capacity is reduced somewhat. Luxurious and sporty with optional AMG Line interior, the Coupe features good quality finish, textures and materials, with uncluttered and user-friendly layouts, with forward jutting dashboard, clear cone-like instrumentation, and both touchpad and rotary controls for its tablet-style infotainment system.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2-litre, turbocharged, in-line 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 83.1 x 91.9mm

Compression ratio: 9.8:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 9-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

Ratios: 1st 5.35 2nd 3.24 3rd 2.25 4th 1.64 5th 1.21 6th 1.0 7th 0.86; 8th 0.72; 9th 0.6

Reverse/final drive ratio: 4.8/3.27

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 208 (211) [155] @5500rpm

Specific power: 104.5BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 116.5BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 258 (350) @ 1200-4000rpm

Specific torque: 175.8Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 196Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 7.3-seconds

Maximum speed: 222km/h

Fuel consumption, urban/extra-urban/combined: 8.4-/6-/6.9-litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 159g/km

Fuel tank: 66-litres

Length: 4732mm

Width: 1890mm

Height: 1602mm

Wheelbase: 2873mm

Track, F/R: 1620/1619mm

Overhang, F/R: 831/1028mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.32

Headroom, F/R: 988/972mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1455/1436mm

Loading height: 824mm

Boot capacity, min/max: 500-/1400-litres

Unladen weight: 1785kg

Steering: Electric-assisted, rack and pinion

Turning circle: 11.8-metres

Suspension: Multi-link, anti-roll bars

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres, F/R: 255/45R20/285/40R20 (optional)

PARIS — What inspires humans to acts of generosity? Economists, psychologists and philosophers have pondered this question for millennia.

If one assumes that human behaviour is primarily motivated by self-interest, it seems illogical to willingly sacrifice resources for others.

In an attempt to solve this paradox, some experts have theorised that giving satisfies a desire to boost one’s standing in a group. 

Others have suggested it fosters tribal cooperation and cohesion — a key element in mammal survival. Yet another explanation is that we give only because we expect to receive something in return.

The real answer, a study recently suggested, may be much simpler: Giving makes us happy.

Scientists conducted an experiment with 50 people at a lab in Zurich who reported on their own happiness levels after acts of generosity.

Consistently, they indicated that giving was a feel-good experience. 

At the same time, MRI scans revealed that an area of the brain linked to generosity triggered a response in another part related to happiness.

“Our study provides behavioural and neural evidence that supports the link between generosity and happiness,” the team wrote in the journal Nature Communications.

Trial participants were promised an amount of 25 Swiss francs (23 euros or $26) per week for four weeks. 

Half were asked to commit to spending the money on other people, while the rest could plan how they would spoil themselves. No money was actually received or spent by either group.

Don’t hoard, be happy

After committing to spending, the participants replied to questions while their brains were being scanned. The questions evoked scenarios pitting the participants’ own interests against those of the beneficiaries of their experimental largesse.

The researchers examined activity in three areas of the brain — one linked to altruism and social behaviour, a second to happiness, and a third area involved in decision making.

The group that committed to giving money away reported being happier than self-spenders, the team found — even without having acted on their pledges.

The degree of happiness they reported was independent of the amounts they committed.

The findings have implications for education, politics, economics and public health, said the researchers.

“Generosity and happiness improve individual well-being and can facilitate societal success,” they wrote.

“However in everyday life, people underestimate the link between generosity and happiness and therefore overlook the benefits of... spending” on others.

Fascinating questions remain.

“Can communication between these brain regions be trained and strengthened?” asked Soyoung Park of the University of Luebeck in Germany, who co-authored the study.

“Does the effect last when it is used deliberately, that is, if a person only behaves generously in order to feel happier?”

On Monday, a different study said humans were wired to help less fortunate people, but only if this does not upend the existing social pecking order.

Humans are big fans of bees. We rely on them to pollinate crops like almonds, watermelons and apples.

But bees probably are not big fans of humans — at least, not of our agricultural practices.

In particular, they ought to be offended by our fondness for a widely used class of pesticides called neonicotinoids (neonics, for short).

Studies in the lab have shown that some doses of neonics are outright lethal to many bees and that even sublethal doses can shorten a colony’s lifespan and harm its overall health. Results have been similar in small-scale field studies.

Still, exactly how these pesticides, which are applied to seeds before planting, would affect bees in the real world remains something of a mystery. Scientists have been locked in a fierce debate over how much — and for how long — bees encounter these pesticides in their daily lives. After all, the conditions in a field are far more complex than those in a lab.

Now, two studies published side by side in the journal Science attempt to answer this contentious question.

One of the studies was conducted in Canada. It combined large-scale field work and laboratory experiments to better understand real-world neonic exposure levels and their effects on honeybees.

The other was conducted in large fields in Hungary, Germany and the UK. Its goal was to understand how the effects of neonics vary between countries and how exposure during the flowering season affects the long-term health of a bee colony.

The research, published on Thursday, provides a lot of new information and poses still more questions. Here are some of the key takeaways:

—Bees are exposed to neonicotinoids for longer than we thought

In the Canadian study, biologist Amro Zayed and his team at York University in Toronto monitored 55 honeybee colonies in 11 locations from May through September 2014, a longer time than previously measured. They found that honeybees placed near cornfields planted with neonic-coated seeds were exposed to detectable levels of neonicotinoids for three to four months.

Even some of the bees placed far away from agricultural crops were exposed for around one month as the pesticide moved through the ecosystem. (More on that in a bit).

In the European study, a team led by Ben Woodcock and Richard Pywell from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in England studied bees in 33 sites, each split into areas that were treated with pesticides and areas that were not. They found that bees were exposed to neonics even in the untreated fields. This was particularly surprising considering that the chemicals have been restricted in Europe since 2014.

The researchers said this indicates that the pesticides remain in the environment long after a treated crop has been harvested.

In general, both studies showed that the concentrations of neonicotinoids that bees actually encounter in fields are indeed dangerous for bees.

Woodcock’s team found that, in Hungary and the UK, the more neonicotinoids there were in the ecosystem, the smaller the size of the honeybee colonies and the lower the fertility rate of wild bees.

Zayed and his team showed that worker honeybees died around five days sooner when exposed to neonics. That amounted to a 23 per cent decrease in lifespan.

Exposed worker bees also displayed different behaviour than unexposed bees. They tended to fly farther from the hive, as if they were lost. That symptom has been seen in previous studies.

The worker bees also were slower to recognise and remove dead or dying bees from the hive. This is important because removal keeps colonies healthy by eliminating potential sources of disease, Zayed said.

Perhaps most devastating, exposed honeybee colonies had difficulty keeping a laying queen. This can be catastrophic because if a replacement queen is not raised within three days of the previous queen’s death, no new eggs can be produced, and the colony will quickly die.

Between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of Zayed’s exposed colonies would have died without outside help, he said.

In both studies, neonicotinoids were found in untreated areas and plants.

Zayed’s group found that most of the contaminated pollen collected by Canadian honeybees actually was from untreated wildflowers, not from treated corn or soy.

While scientists do not know how neonicotinoids spread in the environment, there are several plausible explanations.

Since these pesticides can dissolve in water, it is likely that dispersal occurs when neonic-contaminated water is sucked up by other plants, Zayed said.

Richard Shore and Pywell, both researchers from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said that water, soil and dust are all possible ways neonics might spread.

One of the biggest messages from the European study is that the real world is incredibly complex, said Maj Rundlof, who studies bees at the University of California, Davis and Lund University and was not involved in either of the new studies. The variation is so great, both within and between countries, she said, that there must be a wide variety of factors at play.

One is the particular combination of agrochemicals to which bees are exposed. Farmland may be treated with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and more. Just as some medications can interact with others, Zayed said, agrochemicals can join forces to intensify harm to bees.

Zayed’s team analysed the toxicity effects of the two most common combinations found in their field tests. In one case, the results were startling: When the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam was combined with the fungicide boscalid, the neonic became twice as toxic to honeybees.

Additionally, the Woodcock team found that neonics had different effects in different countries. The pesticides did the least damage in Germany, and the team has a number of ideas as to why.

The German bee colonies were much healthier overall, with fewer instances of disease and parasites. They also had different diets, consisting of only about 15 per cent neonic-treated rapeseed; in Hungary and the UK, by contrast, rapeseed accounts for 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the diet.

— This does not necessarily mean we should ban neonicotinoids

The study authors and multiple other experts said it would be premature to ban neonicotinoids.

Norman Carreck, who researches bees at the University of Sussex and did not work on the new studies, said the EU’s 2014 moratorium on neonics has led to pest problems in England. The moratorium forced farmers to use alternative pesticides, and their effects on bees are mostly unknown.

“Farmers do an important job,” Zayed said. In making a decision about neonicotinoid use, we need to find a solution that “would reduce the cost to pollinators but at the same time still allow farmers to produce an economically viable crop”.