List of All Articles with Tag 'and'

Ancient remnants of a long-lost part of the Earth believed to be 120 million years old have been located by experts in Borneo. New discoveries about our planet are continuously being made by experts, from finding continents that have been missing for hundreds of years to discovering vast oceans hidden beneath the Earth’s crust. Now, a new amazing discovery revealed details of the 120-million-year-old tectonic plate, now named Pontus. A prediction of the crust’s existence came when Suzanna van de Lagemaat, a graduate geologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and her supervisor, Douwe van Hinsbergen, analysed geological data from mountains in the Asia-Pacific region. While studying rock formations in northern Borneo, Van de Lagemaat came across some clearcut signs of the ancient Pontus plate, explaining: “We thought we were dealing with relicts of a lost plate that we already knew about.” She continued: “But our magnetic lab research on those rocks indicated that our finds were originally from much farther north, and had to be remnants of a different, previously unknown plate.” Researchers estimate that the Pontus plate, which formed part of the world’s crust before the break up of supercontinent Pangaea, was around a quarter of the size of the Pacific Ocean, based on reconstructions of what it would have looked like 160 million years ago. Pontus sat beneath the vast ocean that separated Eurasia and Australia at the time. As Pangaeo separated, it’s believed the plate was swallowed up by other plates that carried countries such as The Philippines and Borneo to their current day locations. Van de Lagemaat’s research focussed on a complex region of tectonic plate activity known as the Junction Region. It runs between Japan, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea, and down to New Zealand. Through her research, she was able to use the data to create a clip reconstructing the tectonic plate movements that have occurred from the time of the dinosaurs up to the present day. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians date back decades, but what are the key issues?

Yossi Sneider says his cousin and her two children were taken from their home in southern Israel.

With all the access teenagers today have to the internet and social media, they may see more distressing news stories than even their parents. Palestinian militant group Hamas – deemed a terrorist group by the UK Government – invaded Israel on Saturday from Gaza, with rocket attacks by air as well as military in boats. Since then, Israel has sealed the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip off from food, fuel, medicine and other supplies, while launching retaliatory air strikes on the territory, which is home to 2.3 million people. The most recent numbers suggest 900 people have been killed in Israel, 700 in the Gaza territory and the West Bank, and many hostages have been taken. Hamas has pledged to kill captured Israeli hostages if attacks target civilians in Gaza. The conflict has sparked protests by pro-Palastine and pro-Israel groups in the UK and prompted political division on social media. Teenagers are likely to be exposed to a lot of the news, internet discussion and perhaps distressing images of conflict. So how should parents approach this? Talk about it at home Dr Jeri Tikare, clinical psychologist at Kooth, a digital mental health platform, believes parents should be as truthful as they can with their teenagers. “This means that it is important for us to not to hide things away from them. It is better for them to hear it from us (their people of safety) as opposed to reading it or hearing it from others,” he says. “Also bearing in mind the curious nature of the mind. It is inevitable that for things that they do not understand, they might research and look for answers. “It can be helpful if they get their information from a reliable source which can feel contained and reassuring. But share information at a level that is developmentally right and just enough to help the young person feel contained and safe.” Check yourself As the parent, learn the basics of what is going in the conflict yourself from reputable sources so you can have balanced, informed conversations with your child. “It can also be useful to be aware of our own reactions as parents or primary caregivers,” he says. “One of the ways young people learn and develop is via observing and then modelling adult behaviour. Hence, they can pick up anxieties or worries displayed by parents.” Validate and normalise expressing emotion If your teen is particularly affected by distressing news stories about war and conflict, Tikare encourages parents to give their teenagers the opportunity to express how they are feeling in different ways – such as writing, drawing, stories, songs, and things that feel helpful for the young person. “Some find a feelings box helpful,” he adds. “It might also be helpful to introduce them to some simple relaxation techniques such as taking three deep, slow breaths, breathing in for a count of three and out for three.” Be there for them Giving your teenager the space, time and encouragement to open up about how they feel on any subject – world news or otherwise – is key. “I know that life can be hard, busy and sometimes young people are aware of this and might not want to disturb you,” Tikare says. “Therefore, it might be helpful to make a conscious effort to let them know that you are mindful of how difficult it can be and reassure them that you are available to talk about things. “Giving them extra love and attention at this time can be helpful, especially at difficult times like this.” Discuss social media Tikare acknowledges that television, social media and other platforms “can be very distressing and exacerbating” for teenagers. But you may not be able to prise your child away from posting on their social media accounts altogether. “It would depend on the motivation behind posting and where they are posting,” Tikare says. “Posting about the feelings experienced around the conflict in a supportive and possibly moderated space, with people sharing similar feelings associated with the conflict, can help normalise the experience and leave them feeling less alone. “On the other hand, it could also expose them to content and comments that could potentially trigger distress.” So be sure to make them aware of the content they may come across online. Read More Autumn décor ideas for a seasonal refresh Why you shouldn’t tidy your garden too much in autumn World Mental Health Day: 5 ways to beat anxiety and change your life Alternative veg to grow for next season How to spot if your child is struggling with their mental health – and what to do next Does your pillowcase make a difference to your skin and hair health?

'All of Us Strangers' director Andrew Haigh was compelled to make the film because he was so moved by the original book 'Strangers' by Taichi Yamada.

BA, Virgin Atlantic and El Al are now the only airlines with direct flights from Israel to the UK.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has waded in on Andre Onana's poor start to life at the club, comparing his situation to that of predecessor David de Gea. Onana has made a string of errors during his time with the Red Devils so far.

The Birmingham church group are sheltering in Jerusalem while waiting for a flight home from Israel.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola refused to go into detail over a post-match scuffle involving Kyle Walker, Erling Haaland and a member of Arsenal's coaching staff.

History shows they are inappropriately targeted over actions in the Middle East, the foreign secretary says.

The sleepy countdown to the 2024 presidential primaries got a jolt on Monday when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped his primary challenge to President Joe Biden and announced plans to run as an independent -- a move that triggered a barrage of attacks from former President Donald Trump and Republicans worried over polling that shows the longtime Democrat could gnaw into Trump's support.

Whether it's on a bus or a train, you've probably noticed how the seats have a distinctly bold and garish pattern - but why is this the case? Well, it's not for aesthetic design reasons but rather it's down to the fact that the patterns are able to effectively cover up stains. Just think about how many people get on public transportation for their daily commute to work, the millions of people who will plonk themselves on those seats throughout the year as well as those using the nighttime service. There are bound to be drinks and food spilt on the seat, and so in response to this inevitability it's better to have busy patterns rather than plain ones - otherwise we would perhaps think twice about sitting. But nowadays, the various patterns on different modes of public transportation are seen as iconic designs for that particular area of the world. For example, last year Premier League football team Arsenal released shirts with a design inspired by the bold pattern which appears on Piccadilly line trains. Meanwhile, there are a number of factors to think about when designing the seat pattern such as how it looks in both daylight and artificial light. @plutosdestiny Bus seats are made of a special fabric with unusual patterns because it helps them mask stains, wear and tear and look fresh without the need for much maintenance. The weird, mind-bending patterns are designed to make the seats appear clean and unworn, even though they conceal a lot of dirt within those wild patterns. [Credit - KubulMKM - YT] The fabric is also an integral consideration, the material used for the seats is moquette and it is different to the sofa you sit on at home. “Coming from the French word for carpet, moquette has been seen and sat upon by millions of commuters on buses, trains, trams and trolleybuses for over 100 years,” the London Transport Museum explained. “It is produced on looms using the Jacquard weaving technique, with a pile usually made up of 85% wool mixed with 15% nylon.” But what makes it the ideal material for this purpose? “Moquette was chosen for public transport for two reasons," it continued. "First, because it is hard-wearing and durable. Second, because its colour and patterns disguise signs of dirt, wear and tear. On top of this moquette had the advantage of being easy and cheap to mass-produce.” Something to contemplate next time you're sitting on the bus or tube. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.