Elephants invade as habitat loss soars

Elephants invade as habitat loss soars

Entertainment SS   4:50 PM

These elephants have been invading farms. These are personal farms. So the people are really suffering,”  Leonard Akam told Mongabay over the phone. Akam is the head of Boje, one of the largest communities near the reserve. “The destruction an elephant can cause in a day is more than the job of three people. It is just like a bulldozer paving a path.”

This increase in human-wildlife conflict comes as habitat in the Afi River reserve and other nearby protected areas is disappearing

The region’s most iconic resident is arguably the Cross River gorilla, Africa’s most endangered ape. However, it is not clear whether the gorillas permanently reside in Afi River Forest Reserve or merely stray in at intervals. Regardless, the reserve is an important corridor that connects fragments of habitat that sustain the estimated 300-or-so surviving gorillas that live along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon.

Gorillas are known to inhabit three key protected areas in Cross River: Mbe Mountains Community Forest, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary and Cross River National Park. Afi River Forest Reserve joins these areas together, allowing what would be disjunct populations to interbreed.

Research suggests that, because there are so few gorillas left, failure to maintain connectivity between these fragmented populations would severely impede the exchange of genetic material, without which the subspecies would decline.

The one film everyone needs

The one film everyone needs

Health SS   4:42 PM

Barbie has been Mattel’s bread and butter for far too long, so who can blame them? I will not at all pretend to care about (or for) the kind of craftiness it takes to run a multibillion-dollar business at any level, but I do understand that all businesses, big or small, need constant perception management and increasing social currency. Getting someone like Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Frances Ha) to write and direct a story about every girl’s best friend, Barbie, was a stroke of brilliance on part of the corporation, and Warner Bros.

Sitting here in 2023, we all recognize marketing efforts, and also appreciate a job well-done. We also have the self-awareness to recognize when something is marketed and targeted at us, and to not be too flattered by it. But when the material being marketed is what is possibly one of the most important pieces of social theory simplified for appeal and comprehension across demographics, we’re all for it.

And that is what Barbie is. It’s How the Patriarchy Ruins Everything 101.

It is not feminist agenda, although, just by the virtue of the writer and director being a woman, Greta Gerwig’s film becomes a feminist work, or at least a work with feminist concerns.

Hours-long standoff in Pittsburgh's

Hours-long standoff in Pittsburgh's

Entertainment SS   4:39 PM

The situation escalated as the suspect barricaded themselves inside a residence, leading to a prolonged standoff. Hundreds of rounds were reportedly discharged during the confrontation.

Despite the efforts of emergency crews and law enforcement, the confrontation concluded with the death of the gunman at around 5:08pm, as confirmed by Pittsburgh Public Safety officials. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provided assistance to local authorities throughout the incident.

Authorities have not yet released the identity of the deceased suspect. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges law enforcement officers face while carrying out their duties, especially in situations that can unexpectedly escalate.

A spokesperson for the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office mentioned that the deputies were responding to a situation involving an eviction from a property obtained through a sheriff's sale. 

Here's how Melissa Joan Hart Maxim photoshoot.

Here's how Melissa Joan Hart Maxim photoshoot.

Health SS   4:10 PM

According to the actress, once she was done with the premiere and was being taken to the airport to shoot Scary Movie in Vancouver, she received a dreadful call, telling her she had been fired from the horror comedy film.And I was put in a limo, and I was taken away, and I had just broken up with my boyfriend while we were in the movie, and I’m crying and I’m upset,” the No Good Nick star recalled.

The limo’s driver took a detour and Hart ended up going to the Planet Hollywood afterparty, where her lawyer showed up and added to her suffering.

“My lawyer shows up and goes, ‘You did a photo shoot for Maxim magazine?'” she shared. “I’m like: ‘Yes, I did.’ They’re like, ‘Well, you’re being sued and fired from your show, so don’t talk to the press, don’t do anything.'”

She then got a “phone call on my cellphone from my mother, my producer, who was like, ‘What did you do?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, whatever my publicist told me to do at the photo shoot. Like, I did a photo shoot for Maxim! It’s Maxim, of course you’re gonna be in your underwear.'”

The Melissa and Joey alum went on to explain that the production house instigated the issue from a line on the cover, reading, “Sabrina, your favorite witch without a stitch,” which they claimed violated her contract with Archie Comics, which prohibited Hart from playing the character [Sabrina] naked.

How the Captain Corelli Greek island

How the Captain Corelli Greek island

Entertainment SS   2:39 PM

 

Casting the island as a rustically charming and authentically  destination, the story has helped cement Kefalonia’s reputation as a firm holiday favourite among the British. But these days, there’s more to talk about. A crop of smart new openings, from restaurants to retreats, has infused the quiet  with a breath of fresh air; one that’s decidedly more grown-up, sophisticated and three-dimensional.

“One of my early summer memories is the island flooded by Italian tourists, who lived in basic-service rooms and used to pay the rental fee by selling the fish they caught while scuba diving,” says Gavriela Danali, the owner (and interior designer) of the three-bedroom, bohemian-chic  in the sleepy village of Makriotika. “But Kefalonia has been obviously upgraded in the last years, with visitors looking for sophisticated accommodations and fine dining,Kefalonia’s forested, green interior has its charms, but it’s easy to get swept away by the famous beaches. Fifteen minutes from Makriotika is Myrtos, the beach of postcard recognition, with blindingly white pebbles and water the iridescent blue-green of a peacock’s breast, while Sami – another island favourite – is 20 minutes away.

About 45 minutes north of Makriotika is the historic harbour of Fiskardo, perhaps the island’s most upmarket destination, with shiny, celeb-studded yachts, stylish restaurants and Venetian architecture, mercifully left untouched by the 1953 earthquake that ravaged the rest of the island. In 2019, archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck just off the harbour, its cargo of amphorae spilt across the seabed.

Henry Cavill eyes more inspiring

Henry Cavill eyes more inspiring

Entertainment SS   2:56 PM

 During an interview with ScreenRant, "There is so much in the way of conversations to be had. Obviously, I have a very close connection to the character,” Cavill said when asked about coming back as the superhero.

I don’t mean romantically; I mean his love for Earth and for the people who live here, and to make people feel powerful — to make people feel like Superman themselves.”

“I have plenty of desires for this, of course, which will be discussed more in time. But the most important thing, which I will be aiming for, is for the audience to leave the cinema and to feel like they can fly, to feel like they can protect, and to feel like they want to give to everyone else. That would be my goal,” Cavill added.