Features

LONDON — Bob Marley, Kylie Minogue and Grace Jones are among artists from around the Commonwealth who have made it onto King Charles III's playlist in a collaboration with Apple Music.

And the UK head of state revealed on Friday the "joy" that music has brought to his life.

The monarch has joined forces with Apple to launch "The King's Music Room", where he is expected to reveal a surprising appreciation of disco, reggae and Afrobeat, according to a press release.

Australian superstar Kylie Minogue and contemporary artists such as Nigerian-American singer Davido and Raye also make it into the king's top tracks, which will be broadcast in full on Monday to mark Commonwealth Day.

Looking back in time, Charles will also share his love of 1930s crooners.

The king recorded the show, in which he will recall stories from his meetings with some of the chosen artists, for Apple Music 1 in his office at Buckingham Palace.

"Throughout my life, music has meant a great deal to me. I know that is also the case for so many others," the king said in a trailer for the show, while sitting at an antique desk in Buckingham Palace.

"It has that remarkable ability to bring happy memories flooding back from the deepest recesses of our memory, to comfort us in times of sadness, and to take us to distant places.

"But perhaps, above all, it can lift our spirits to such a degree, and all the more so when it brings us together in celebration. In other words, it brings us joy," he added.

The show will go online at 6:00am (6:00GMT) on Monday.

"Human curation has always been a key pillar of our unique editorial approach," said Rachel Newman, Apple Music's global head of content and editorial.

"We are honoured that King Charles III chose to share his personal playlist with us, and with music fans around the world," she added.

The king said in the trailer, which was sound-tracked by a rendition of Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved" by the King's Guard Band, that the project was "such an interesting and innovative way to celebrate this year's Commonwealth Day."

The Commonwealth is a bloc of 56 nations, most of which are British ex-colonies.

Master of The King's Music Errollyn Wallen, who can act as an adviser to the monarch in musical matters, said the playlist demonstrated Charles' "wide-ranging enthusiasm for music".

"The Commonwealth has produced more than its fair share of wonderful songs, singers, and musicians, and this fun and eclectic collection is a great reminder of this treasure trove of creativity," she added.

By Dr Silvia Zayadin,
Veterinarian

Birth defects in pets — abnormalities that occur either at birth or during developmental stages — can significantly affect the quality of life and well-being of our furry companions.

These conditions often require dedicated care and management from both pet owners and veterinary professionals. 

Defects can impact various parts of the body or organ systems, leading to unique challenges in the pet’s daily life and routine.

Causes

Most of the causes are unknown. In certain cases, abnormalities in the mother’s metabolism, trauma or infections and exposure to chemicals or drugs during pregnancy can lead to such defects.

There are known breeds to have higher chances of certain defects and others are genetic mutations and are inherited problems.

It is recommended that newborn pets be examined by a veterinarian shortly after birth to evaluate them for birth defects that may not be visible or known to the owner. The veterinarian can also discuss treatment options if there are abnormalities noted.

Common birth defects in pets

Some birth defects are easy to spot by pet owners or veterinarians because they affect the outside of the body.

However, others may not be noticed until a closer examination or specific tests are done.

Here are some of the most common birth defects we see at our practice:

Umbilical and Inguinal Hernias Hernias 

happen when there’s a weakness in the muscle wall, causing internal tissue to push through and form a bulge.

They can vary in severity depending on what’s protruding and where the hernia is located. Umbilical hernias appear near the belly button, while inguinal hernias are found in the groin area.

Certain dog breeds, like Pekingese, are more prone to these issues. Hernias are a condition that typically requires surgery to repair and fix the defect.

Cryptorchidism (undescended testicles)

This is a condition in male animals where one or both testicles fail to drop into their usual position in the scrotum and stay in the abdomen or groin area instead.

This condition can increase the risk of testicular cancer and other health issues, so it’s often recommended to remove the undescended testicles surgically.

Cryptorchidism is more common in smaller breeds, like Yorkshire Terriers, Poodles and Persian cats.

Hip dysplasia

Hip dysplasia is a genetic condition where the hip joint doesn’t develop properly, causing the head of the femur to be misaligned in its socket.

This leads to abnormal friction between the bone and cartilage, resulting in arthritis and mobility issues.

In severe cases, it can significantly affect the pet’s quality of life.

Large-breed dogs, like German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, and Golden Retrievers, are more prone to hip dysplasia, while it’s considered rare in cats.

Treatment typically involves surgery, such as corrective procedures or a total hip replacement. 

For less severe cases, a more conservative approach may include lifestyle adjustments, joint supplements, and physiotherapy.

Hydrocephalus: understanding ‘water on the brain’

Hydrocephalus is a condition where cerebrospinal fluid builds up abnormally in the brain, causing dangerously high pressure.

This can lead to neurological symptoms like poor coordination, seizures, head tilting, and changes in behavior. 

Small-breed dogs, such as Chihuahuas and Pomeranians, are particularly prone to this condition.

In some cases, hydrocephalus can be managed with medication, but more severe cases may require surgery to place shunts that drain the excess fluid and regulate brain pressure.

Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to managing the condition and improving your pet’s quality of life.

Limb deformities

Abnormal limb conditions, such as extra toes, twisted or shortened legs or congenital limb malformations, can affect

your pet’s ability to move and lead to secondary issues like joint pain.

Treatment options depend on the type of deformity and can range from medications and surgical corrections to physical rehabilitation.

Heart defects

Congenital heart defects, such as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) or ventricular septal defect (VSD), cause abnormal blood flow, leading to symptoms like weakness, exercise intolerance, and heart murmurs.

In severe cases, these conditions can be life-threatening.

Certain breeds, like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Persian cats, are more prone to heart defects.

Treatment options include medications, dietary changes, lifestyle adjustments, and in severe cases, surgical correction.

While congenital limb and heart defects in pets can pose challenges, with the right care, management and timely interventions, many pets can live full, happy lives.

Early detection and tailored treatments are key to ensuring their well-being and maintaining their quality of life.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

PARIS — Our ancestors were making tools out of bones 1.5 million years ago, winding back the clock for this important moment in human evolution by more than a million years, a study said on Wednesday.

Ancient humans -- also called hominins -- such as the robust Australopithecus are known to have used fragments of bones to dig up tubers from termite mounds.

Even today our closest living relative, chimpanzees, use sticks in a similar way to dig out termites for a tasty treat.

And more than 2 million years ago, hominins were using crude stone tools in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge, one of the world's most important prehistoric sites.

But there were no known examples of anyone systematically making bone tools more than 500,000 years ago -- until now.

At Olduvai, a Spanish-led team of researchers found 27 tools made out of the leg and arm bones of big mammals, mainly elephants and hippos.

The discovery "sheds new light on the almost unknown world of early hominin bone technology," they wrote in a study in the journal Nature.

To the untrained eye, the tools might seem like random bits of bone.

But for the researchers, they are proof of the remarkable cognitive abilities of our distant ancestors, showing they were capable of choosing the appropriate material and fashioning it for their needs.

"There is a clear desire to change the shape of the bone to turn them into very heavy, long tools," Francesco d'Errico, an archaeologist at France's Bordeaux University and study co-author, told AFP.

The unknown hominins used rocks as hammers to shape the bones. The resulting tools ranged from 20 to 40 centimetres  long, some weighing up to a kilograme.

"In some cases there are even notches in the middle of the bone, possibly so they could hold it better in their hands," d'Errico said.

The big, pointy tools are thought to have been used to butcher the carcasses of large animals.

From axes to needles 

At the time, stone tools were being made in a far more rudimentary manner.

Very few large stone tools have been found at Olduvai, d'Errico said, possibly because the quartz available at the site was not well-suited to the difficult job of cutting up big animals.

It was the Acheulean culture, which was emerging in Africa at around the same time, that first cut stones into hand axes, also called bifaces.

This invention represented a major advance, making it possible for ancient humans to properly slice or skin their prey.

"The hypothesis of the study is that the bone-cutting at Olduvai is an original invention, during a moment of transition to bifaces," d'Errico said.

According to this theory, the bone techniques developed at Olduvai disappeared from the planet for a million years.

It would eventually reappear in places such as the area of modern-day Rome, where a lack of good big rocks spurred hominins to carve elephant bones into hand axes.

It is also possible that the techniques continued throughout the years "but these bones have not been properly identified in other archaeological sites", d'Errico said.

As the human line evolved, so did the sophistication of the tools we carved out of bone.

For example, the first needles with eyes were made from bone in China and Siberia, only arriving in Europe around 26,000 years ago, d'Errico said.

But that is another "very long story", he added.

PARIS — The Pompidou Museum in Paris has invited art-lovers in for a last look at its collection before it closes its doors for a five-year major renovation.

The museum, one of the world's biggest modern art spaces, will host a series of performances this weekend before its permanent collection is removed ahead of the renovation work.

From Monday, specialists will begin taking away the roughly 2,000 items on permanent display -- from paintings by Francis Bacon to the sculptures of Marcel Duchamp.

Temporary exhibitions will run until September, when the public will be shut out entirely for five years while a colossal overhaul, including asbestos removal, takes place.

"This colossal operation has taken months, even years, to prepare," production director Claire Garnier told AFP.

The museum is one the most visited in the French capital and a beloved landmark, designed by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and opened in 1977.

It will be free for visitors to enter from Friday evening when Paris-based DJs Louise Chen and Busy P (Pedro Winter) are scheduled to play inside, with attendees invited to dress or create accessories inspired by the permanent collection.

The museum will remain open to the public free-of-charge over the weekend and until late on Monday evening, with music, dance and educational workshops scheduled to take place in different parts of the building.

Distinctive features

The museum's collection will now be spread across a number of museums in several countries, with its works lent as far afield as Malaga in Spain, the Chinese city of Shanghai, the Belgian capital Brussels and major museums in Australia, Japan and the United States.

From its opening in January 1977, the museum, named after France's former president Georges Pompidou, enjoyed extraordinary attendance figures, said Garnier.

Apart from the pandemic years, it has welcomed an average of four million visitors a year, making it one of the most visited sites in Paris.

The building's distinctive features, which include exposed multi-coloured tubes running inside and outside, were dreamed up by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.

The state of Paris's often crowded cultural attractions hit the headlines in January when the head of the Louvre warned that the world's most-visited museum was suffering from water damage, poor maintenance and long queues.

President Emmanuel Macron visited afterwards to promise that it would be "redesigned, restored and enlarged" with a multi-year overhaul forecast to cost up to 800 million euros ($830 million).

The Pompidou museum's renovation work has a provisional budget of 262 million euros. 

LOS ANGELES, United States — Best actor winner Adrien Brody broke the record for the longest-ever Oscar acceptance speech on Sunday, as a lengthy gala suffered a small ratings dip, reaching some 18 million people on US network ABC and streamer Hulu.

Despite promising to be "brief" on multiple occasions during his marathon monologue, "The Brutalist" star Brody clocked a whopping five minutes and 40 seconds on stage, surpassing an eight-decade-old record.

The ceremony itself, in which low-budget indie "Anora" took five Oscars including best picture, overran to nearly four hours.

British star Greer Garson, who won best actress for "Mrs Miniver" in 1943, had held the record with a five-minutes-and-30-seconds speech, according to the Guinness World Records website.

The Academy introduced time limits and the practice of "playing off" winners with music following Garson's speech. But Brody on Sunday ordered the orchestra to stop.

"Please, turn the music off. I've done this before," said Brody, who won best actor in 2003 for "The Pianist".

"It's not my first rodeo, but I will be brief. I will not be egregious, I promise," said Brody, before continuing for another 90 seconds.

The preliminary 18.1 million US audience figure, shared by ABC on Monday, includes Hulu. The Oscars went live on streaming for the first time, with technical glitches meaning some online viewers missed the final prizes.

It means a recent three-year streak of improved Oscars ratings has ended.

Last year's comparable early ratings figure was 19.5 million, for a gala that saw Christopher Nolan's blockbuster "Oppenheimer" dominate prizes, and featured live musical performances from smash hit "Barbie".

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Oscars ratings sank as low as 10.4 million.

The Academy Awards telecast regularly topped 40 million just a decade ago.

'Acid and affection' 

Sunday night's show received generally positive reviews.

Variety called the 97th Academy Awards "successful in more ways than not," and said Conan O'Brien "absolutely rocked his debut at host, walking the perfect line between acid and affection."

The Los Angeles Times declared the show "generally navigable in spite of a pointless excursion into a dancing-singing salute to James Bond films".

Indiewire called it "one of the best Oscars telecasts in years", but The Hollywood Reporter found the evening "unstable" and "uneven".

Brody's extended speech was perhaps appropriate for "The Brutalist," a three-and-a-half hour drama that features an intermission.

Brody plays a brilliant architect, haunted by the Holocaust, who moves to the post-World War II United States to begin a new life.

The actor used his speech to thank more than a dozen people by name, including his mother and father, "Brutalist" director Brady Corbet, co-stars Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones and his girlfriend Georgina Chapman.

In a bizarre moment on his way to the stage, Brody paused and removed chewing gum from his mouth, tossing it to Chapman, who caught it.

"I forgot I was chewing gum... 'I've got to get rid of this somehow!'" Brody later explained, in a post-victory interview Monday on "Live with Kelly and Mark".

Brody concluded his speech with a more serious note.

"If the past can teach us anything, it's a reminder to not let hate go unchecked," he said.

WASHINGTON — A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on Sunday after a long journey through space, marking only the second private mission to achieve the milestone -- and the first to do so upright.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down shortly after 3:34 am US Eastern Time (8:34 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side.

"Y'all stuck the landing, we're on the Moon," an engineer at mission control in Austin, Texas, called out as the team erupted in cheers.

A first image is expected soon. CEO Jason Kim later confirmed that the spacecraft was "stable and upright" -- in contrast to the first private landing last February, which came down sideways.

"We're on the Moon!" Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, rejoiced.

Nicknamed "Ghost Riders in the Sky", the mission is part of a NASA-industry partnership aimed at reducing costs and supporting Artemis, the programme designed to return astronauts to the Moon.

The golden lander, about the size of a hippopotamus, launched on January 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, capturing stunning footage of Earth and the Moon along the way. It shared a ride with a Japanese company's lander set to attempt a landing in May.

Blue Ghost carries 10 instruments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-tolerant computer and an experiment testing the feasibility of using the existing global satellite navigation system to navigate the Moon.

Designed to operate for a full lunar day (14 Earth days), Blue Ghost is expected to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on March 14, when Earth blocks the Sun from the Moon's horizon.

On March 16, it will record a lunar sunset, offering insights into how dust levitates above the surface under solar influence -- creating the mysterious lunar horizon glow first documented by Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan.

Hopping drone 

Blue Ghost's arrival will be followed on March 6 by fellow Texas company Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission, featuring its lander Athena.

In February 2024, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to achieve a soft lunar landing -- also the first US landing since the crewed Apollo 17 mission of 1972.

However, the success was tempered by a mishap: the lander came down too fast and tipped over on impact, leaving it unable to generate enough solar power and cutting the mission short.

This time, the company says it has made key improvements to the hexagonal-shaped lander, which has a taller, slimmer profile than Blue Ghost, and is around the height of an adult giraffe.

Athena launched on Wednesday aboard a SpaceX rocket, taking a more direct route toward Mons Mouton -- the southernmost lunar landing site ever attempted.

Its payloads include three rovers, a drill to search for ice and the star of the show: a first-of-its-kind hopping drone designed to explore the Moon's rugged terrain.

NASA's private Moon fleet 

Landing on the Moon presents unique challenges due to the absence of an atmosphere, making parachutes ineffective.

Instead, spacecraft must rely on precisely controlled thruster burns to slow their descent.

Until Intuitive Machines' first successful mission, only five national space agencies had accomplished this feat: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India and Japan, in that order.

Now, the United States is working to make private lunar missions routine through NASA's $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

The missions come at a delicate moment for NASA, amid speculation that it may scale back or even cancel its Artemis lunar program in favor of prioritizing Mars exploration -- a key goal of both President Donald Trump and his close adviser, SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

LOS ANGELES, United States — Hollywood's biggest night of the year was its usual festival of glitz, humour, emotional actors and some overly-long speeches.

Here are some of the standout moments from the 97th Academy Awards:

New host 

First time host Conan O'Brien kept it mostly light, with his usual blend of silly and sharp.

His pre-taped opening saw a worker hammering on his dressing room door, urging the redhead to hurry to the stage.

Inside the dressing room, O'Brien was emerging from Demi Moore's recumbent body, in a riff on satirical body-horror flick "The Substance," in which an aging Moore takes an off-market drug to try to recapture her youth, with dire consequences.

After examining himself in the mirror -- and seemingly being pleased with what he saw -- the comic plunged back into Moore's body in an apparent search for lost items.

"That was weird," he said after taking the stage.

"Yeah, awkward. I'm missing some car keys."

 Gaza 

After past years when host Jimmy Kimmel took shots at President Donald Trump, the 2025 Oscars had appeared set to be a largely politics-free evening, until "No Other Land" won the documentary feature award.

The film, made by Palestinians and Israelis, follows young Palestinian Basel Adra, recording the gradual destruction of his homeland, as Israeli soldiers demolish homes and evict those living there.

The poignant story contrasts his struggles with the freedoms enjoyed by Jewish Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham.

Accepting the award, Abraham criticised the "atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people" and called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held after the October 7, 2023 sudden attack by Hamas fighters.

He called for Israel and the Palestinians to walk "a different path, a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people".

"And I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path."

Gene Hackman 

Morgan Freeman led tributes to Gene Hackman, whose body was discovered in his New Mexico home, along with that of his wife and their pet dog, last week in what police said were circumstances "suspicious enough" to investigate.

"This week, our community lost a giant and I lost a dear friend," Freeman said of the 95-year-old Oscar winner.

"Like everyone who ever shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone's work.

"He received two Oscars, but more importantly, he won the hearts of film lovers all over the world."

Doing it for the kids 

Picking up his award for best supporting actor, Kieran Culkin said he had almost turned down "A Real Pain" because he didn't want to be away from his children to film it abroad.

But if it was hard to leave his two kids, he revealed that -- if he gets his way -- there might be even more soon.

Culkin said his wife had previously agreed to a third child after he won an earlier award.

"Turns out, she said that because she didn't think I was going to win," he said.

"After the show, we're walking through a parking lot. She's holding the Emmy... and she goes, 'Oh, God, I did say that. I guess I owe you a third kid.'"

But, he told her he actually wanted four.

"She said, 'I will give you four when you win an Oscar.' I held my hand out, she shook it.

"And I have not brought it up once. Until just now," he added.

Shaken, and stirred 

The ceremony paid tribute to Hollywood's best-loved spy, James Bond, just days after long-time producers Barabara Broccoli and Michael Wilson relinquished creative control to Amazon.

One-time Bond girl Halle Berry introduced the section, which kicked off with a succession of clips of actors who have played the super-spy, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig.

That was followed by a montage of the kind of high-octane stunts that characterize perhaps the most durable franchise in cinema history.

Musical stars Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye took turns to belt out theme songs from movies gone by -- "Live and Let Die", "Diamonds are Forever" and "Skyfall".

It’s never easy to see a child struggling with a learning difficulty. And in many cases parents of a child with a learning difficulty try to push their child to achieve more. It is always a challenge to find the balance between when to push and when to embrace the reality of the situation.

Here are some methods on how to build the confidence of a child with a learning difficulty and simultaneously support their development:

1. Accepting a child’s uniqueness

The hardest part of being a parent of a child with special needs, or any learning difficulty, is accepting the reality of their struggles.

Many parents aspire for their children to excel, but accepting the reality of a learning difficulty can be challenging.

The sooner they embrace it, the earlier they can begin supporting their children in overcoming their challenges.

2. Understanding a child’s needs

Not every learning difficulty is the same.

And not every child is the same too! Each child has a unique brain with unique strengths and challenges.

It is vital to understand a child’s specific diagnosis and how it affects their ability to learn.

3. Focusing on strengths, not just challenges

If it were the other way around and someone only focused on your challenges, how would it feel? It’s important to address areas of difficulties, but it’s also important to celebrate their strengths.

4. Setting SMART goals

Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART).

You can focus on one aspect at a time, starting with one or two goals to avoid overwhelming your child.

5. Celebrating progress

To ensure that they remain motivated, make sure you celebrate every achievement, no matter how small.

Positive reinforcement will boost self-esteem and help a child realise that effort leads to progress.

6. Encouraging self-advocacy

As a child grows, they will need to learn how to speak for themselves and ask for what they need.

The better they can verbalise their needs the easier things will be for them.

7. Fostering a growth mindset

Keep working towards a growth mindset.

If a child believes that their abilities can be developed through effort and perseverance, chances are that they will overcome their learning difficulties.

Make sure that your child sees challenges as opportunities to learn, rather than obstacles.

Keep reminding them that setbacks and challenges are a normal part of the learning process.

8. Partnering with educators and specialists

It’s always better when the school and parent work together.

Working closely with a child’s teachers, special education staff and therapists will create a more supportive environment.

9. Adjusting goals as needed

When things begin to feel overwhelming, adjust the goals and what is expected of your child.

And at the same time, if a child is moving faster than expected, adjust accordingly.

Flexibility is crucial when working toward goals.

10. Being patient and persistent

Progress usually takes time that’s why it’s very important that we remain patient and persistent.

Even if things get challenging, persistency is key.

11. Thinking of ways to target the weakness 

Addressing the weakness by increasing the skill, will, in many cases, result in a permanent solution.

Understanding how your child’s brain works and what skills are weak, will help you understand how to move forward in rewiring their brain As a parent, the way you encourage and believe in your child’s abilities will be the foundation for future success.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine