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  • Prince Harry in UK for Queen Elizabeth’s death anniversary, seeks path to reconciliation

    Prince Harry in UK for Queen Elizabeth’s death anniversary, seeks path to reconciliation

    Prince Harry is in the United Kingdom this week for a packed schedule of charitable engagements, but behind the public appearances, there’s reportedly a personal goal, too — reconciliation with family.

    Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex delivers a speech during the annual WellChild Awards in London on September 8.(AFP)

    According to close friends, Prince Harry wants to keep coming back to meet family and wants to bring his wife, Meghan Markle and children along, The Times report said.

    In May, Prince Harry openly expressed his intention to reconcile with his royal family. In an emotional interview with the BBC, he said he was “devastated” at losing a legal challenge over his security in the UK.

    “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,” said Prince Harry, who said the dispute over his security had “always been the sticking point,” he said at the time.

    Another friend of Prince Harry told The Times that he made it “absolutely clear” that he wants to rebuild ties with the royal family. “It’s on them now,” he said.

    However, those in royal circles see it differently. His unwise choice of words about Charles’s health and repeated suggestion that the King should have intervened in his security battle — something the King would never consider, given his constitutional role may have only compunded the situation.

    Prince Harry’s first visit to the UK in months

    This week marks Harry’s first extended visit to the UK in months. He arrived in London ahead of the WellChild Awards on Monday, the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

    On Tuesday, he travelled to Nottingham for an event focused on supporting young people affected by violence. The rest of the week will be spent in private meetings and receptions with several of his patronages, including the Invictus Foundation, Scotty’s Little Soldiers, and The Diana Award.

    His itinerary has been described as “jam-packed with hardly any downtime,” but amid reconciliatory efforts, there is one question left– Will Prince Harry meet with his father, King Charles III?

    The two have not seen each other since February 2024, when Harry made a brief visit following the King’s cancer diagnosis. While both sides are said to miss each other, no meeting is currently scheduled.

    In a recent BBC interview, Harry acknowledged the deep fractures within the family, especially with his father. “I don’t know how much longer my father has,” he said. “He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. But I would love a reconciliation.”

    If that happens, it would be the first time the two have met in more than 18 months. Royal biographer Tom Bower called it “a meeting full of peril.”

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  • Pakistan Railways signs phase-I of Dedicated Freight Corridor to boost cargo movement

    Pakistan Railways signs phase-I of Dedicated Freight Corridor to boost cargo movement

    ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Railways has inked Phase-I of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), a flagship project set to boost freight capacity, speed up cargo movement to and from Karachi Port, and ease congestion on roads and terminals.

    Addressing the ceremony, Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said the project will prove to be a milestone for Pakistan Railways. He added that it will not only modernize freight transportation but also strengthen Pakistan Railways’ revenue base through freight charges, track access fees, and revenue-sharing mechanisms.

    The minister emphasized that the government is fully committed to launching Phase-II of the DFC at the earliest, reflecting the prime minister’s vision of transforming Pakistan Railways into a key driver of trade facilitation and modernization.

    He expressed deep gratitude to DP World and the Government of the UAE for their valuable support, stating that their collaboration marks the beginning of a new era for Pakistan Railways.


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  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Vittoria Ceretti Pics

    Leonardo DiCaprio, Vittoria Ceretti Pics

    Paul Thomas Anderson’s $140M feature One Battle After Another had its world premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood tonight.

    Among those walking the red carpet were stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall and Chase Infiniti, as well as attendees such as Anthony Kedis, Dove Cameron and Scott Cooper. Warner Bros. Discovery brass was also well represented by David Zaslav, Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca.

    Scroll through the photos below to see them all.

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  • FIFA World Cup qualifiers: Tunisia qualifies for World Cup with late win over Equatorial Guinea

    FIFA World Cup qualifiers: Tunisia qualifies for World Cup with late win over Equatorial Guinea

    Tunisia players celebrate after their win during a football match. File
    | Photo Credit: Reuters

    Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane sent Tunisia to the World Cup with a goal in the fourth minute of injury time that secured a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea on Monday (September 8, 2025) in qualifying.

    Romdhane was teed up by fellow substitute Firas Chaouat and sparked wild celebrations for the visitors on the track behind the goal.

    Tunisia needed a win to secure a spot at next year’s tournament in North America with two games to spare. It tops Group H with 22 points from eight games, 10 points ahead of second-placed Namibia, which has a game in hand. Tunisia has yet to concede a goal in qualifying.

    It is the seventh time Tunisia has qualified for the World Cup, and third in a row. It went out in the group stage in 2018 and 2022.

    In another Group H match, Malawi came back from two goals down to draw with Liberia 2-2 with goals from Gabadinho Mhango and Chawanangwa Kaonga in the 72nd and 80th minutes.

    In Group G, Algeria played to a goalless draw at Guinea and remained top of the group with 19 points, four more than Uganda. Uganda kept up the pressure by beating Somalia 2-0 to be level on 16 points with Mozambique.

    Mozambique beat Botswana 2-0.

    Madagascar clinched a convincing 3-1 win against Chad to be on 16 points, second to Ghana in Group I. Ghana boosted its hopes of qualifying as the group winner by topping Mali 1-0 in Accra.

    Morocco, which has already qualified, made it seven wins out of seven matches after a 2-0 result at Zambia. Guinea-Bissau beat Djibouti 2-0.

    Libya defeated Eswatini 2-0 in Group D to be on 14 points, two behind leader Cape Verde, which has a game in hand.

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  • Berberine improves cognitive function in diabetic encephalopathy mice

    Berberine improves cognitive function in diabetic encephalopathy mice

    A recent study published in Engineering has shed new light on the potential therapeutic effects of berberine (BBR), a natural compound derived from traditional Chinese medicine, in treating diabetic encephalopathy (DE). The research, conducted by a team from the State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, reveals that BBR can significantly improve cognitive function and protect cerebral vessels in type 2 diabetic encephalopathy mice by modulating the gut microbiota.

    Diabetic encephalopathy is a condition characterized by cognitive impairment due to chronic hyperglycemia, often leading to severe neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. The pathogenesis of DE is complex and involves factors like cerebrovascular inflammation, which can be exacerbated by the activation of inflammatory pathways such as Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). The study investigates the role of BBR in mitigating these effects by targeting the gut microbiota, which has been increasingly recognized for its influence on neurological health.

    The researchers used a type 2 diabetic encephalopathy KK-Ay (2DEK) mouse model to evaluate the efficacy of BBR. The mice were divided into three groups: a control group, a low-dose BBR group (100 mg/kg/day), and a high-dose BBR group (200 mg/kg/day). After ten weeks of treatment, the cognitive functions of the mice were assessed using novel object recognition and step-down tests. The results showed that BBR treatment significantly improved cognitive performance, with the high-dose group demonstrating the most substantial improvements.

    High-resolution imaging via fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography (fMOST) revealed that BBR treatment enhanced the integrity of brain vessels. The average vessel diameter, vessel length density, and total vessel volume were significantly improved in the parietal association cortex (PtA) and the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus. These findings suggest that BBR can protect cerebral vessels from hyperglycemia-induced damage.

    The study also explored the mechanism by which BBR exerts its protective effects. It was found that BBR inhibits the production of δ-valerobetaine (δ-VB), a metabolite produced by the gut microbiota that can cross the blood-brain barrier and activate the TLR-4/MyD88/NF-κB inflammatory pathway in blood vessel endothelial cells. By reducing δ-VB levels, BBR interrupts this inflammatory pathway, thereby protecting cerebral blood vessels and improving brain function.

    To further validate the role of the gut microbiota, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was performed using gut microbiota from BBR-treated mice. The results confirmed that the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in mediating the therapeutic effects of BBR. The transplanted microbiota significantly improved cognitive function and reduced inflammation in the recipient mice, similar to the effects observed with direct BBR treatment.

    The study also analyzed the changes in the gut microbiota composition following BBR treatment. The results showed that BBR increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria, such as Bacteroides and Akkermansia, which are known to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These SCFAs are known to have anti-inflammatory effects and may contribute to the overall therapeutic benefits of BBR. Conversely, BBR reduced the levels of harmful bacteria, such as Escherichia-Shigella and Klebsiella, which are associated with increased inflammation.

    The study provides compelling evidence that BBR can protect cerebral vessels and alleviate diabetic encephalopathy by modulating the gut microbiota and reducing the production of harmful metabolites like δ-VB. These findings highlight the potential of BBR as a therapeutic agent for DE and underscore the importance of the gut-brain axis in managing neurological disorders. Future research should focus on clinical trials to further explore the therapeutic potential of BBR in human patients with DE.

     

    Source:

    Journal reference:

    Zhang, Z.-W., et al. (2025). Berberine Protects Cerebral Vessels and Alleviates Diabetic Encephalopathy by Inhibiting the Production of δ-Valerobetaine in the Gut Microbiota. Engineering. doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2025.04.018

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  • US job growth through March expected to be revised down sharply – Reuters

    1. US job growth through March expected to be revised down sharply  Reuters
    2. Will Nonfarm Payrolls revisions hint at a 50 bps Fed cut next week?  FXStreet
    3. Major jobs revision Tuesday could show the labor market is weaker than previously thought  CBS News
    4. Tuesday: Employment Statistics Preliminary Benchmark  Calculated Risk
    5. Data, With a Dose of Ugly  TheStreet Pro

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  • Homage: Queer lineages on video—Selections from Akeroyd Collection – Announcements

    Homage: Queer lineages on video—Selections from Akeroyd Collection – Announcements

    The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University presents Homage: Queer lineages on video, an exhibition of eight time-based works by contemporary artists who use single- and multi-channel video installations to pay tribute to formative figures and overlooked histories. Curated by Rattanamol Singh Johal, the exhibition upends conventional modes of commemorative image making, such as portraiture, documentary, and monuments, by foregrounding performative interventions, selective appropriation, and imaginative staging.

    In their video works, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Tony Cokes, Carolyn Lazard, Kang Seung Lee, P. Staff, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul preference desiring, melancholic and reflexive forms of relationality across generations through works that posit queer forms of kinship. In a challenge to the preoccupation with visibility and publicness across the politics of identity and representation, these works demonstrate the potential of anachronistic gestures, formal affinities, and archival adjacencies in reframing relationships between artists and their chosen ancestors. The resulting constellation reveals modes of memorialization–of paying homage–that disturb canonicity and heroization through constant creative reinterpretation. 

    Some of the artists engage with formal structures and characteristics of experimental film and early video. Disparate legacies of these avant-garde forms of the 1960s and 1970s are made manifest in their contemporary works, which surface issues of landscape and ecology (Weerasethakul), disability and perception (Lazard), and representation and narcissism (Bopape). Deploying sound, slowness, flash, and flicker, these artists attempt a queer reorientation of spectatorial sensibilities, directing them towards questions of place, identity, and access while retaining visual tropes of experimental moving-image practices.

    Queer subjects and their ongoing investments in nurturing resistance, artistic expression, and joy are mobilized in installations by Lee, Cokes, Staff, and Tiravanija. As diverse artists across generations address the ongoing impact of HIV/AIDS on culture and lived experience, significant actors and histories from different contexts are brought into affective dialogue. The body is addressed and implicated across all these works, which consider the legacies and lived experiences of illness that have catalyzed communities of care and networks of solidarity among the living and the long departed.

    The exhibition is accompanied by a 68-page publication with contributions by Rattanamol Singh Johal, Binghao Wong, Piper Marshall, Gaëtan Thomas, and Lynton Talbot. 

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  • Jamea Richmond-Edwards: Another World and Yet the Same – Announcements

    Jamea Richmond-Edwards: Another World and Yet the Same – Announcements

    Jamea Richmond-Edwards: Another World and Yet the Same
    September 13, 2025–June 14, 2026
    Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College

    The Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College presents Jamea Richmond-Edwards: Another World and Yet the Same, a large-scale survey of work by Detroit-based artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards. Highlighting her interdisciplinary practice, this exhibition features a selection of mixed-media paintings from the past seven years alongside a body of newly created work debuting at the Wellin. For over a decade, Richmond-Edwards has drawn inspiration from the communities and cultural signifiers of her hometown of Detroit, using her art to reflect on personal experiences and broader social and environmental themes. In this exhibition, the artist weaves an epic narrative following a caravan of family and friends on a fictional journey to Antarctica to build a new egalitarian society. This fantastical expedition explores the challenges of creating a utopia on a rapidly shrinking continent and examines the complexities of self-determination.

    Richmond-Edwards draws inspiration from diverse sources, including the biblical stories of Exodus, the science fiction mythology of jazz musician Sun Ra, and the exploration of both real and imagined continents. Her work reflects a deep engagement with themes of migration, resilience, and the quest for a more equitable world. The exhibition’s title, borrowed from the seventeenth-century dystopian literary work about a voyage to the oceans south of Africa entitled Mundus alter et idem by Joseph Hall, underscores the artist’s exploration of the potential for societal transformation.

    Jamea Richmond-Edwards: Another World and Yet the Same is curated by Alexander Jarman, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions and Academic Outreach, Ruth and Elmer Wellin  of Art at Hamilton College. A fully illustrated exhibition catalogue will be published in 2026, edited by Tracy L. Adler, Johnson-Pote Director of the Wellin Museum of Art, with contributions by Alexander Jarman; Melanee C. Harvey, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Art History at Howard University; and Juana Williams, independent art curator and writer based in Detroit. 

    Alongside the solo exhibition, the Wellin Museum presents EXODUS, a group exhibition curated by Richmond-Edwards to honor the mentors and peers who have profoundly shaped her artistic journey. Featuring artists Akili Ron Anderson, Wesley Clark, Larry W. Cook, Shaunté Gates, Hubert Massey, Stan Squirewell, and Felandus Thames, EXODUS highlights the vital role of artistic kinship and collaboration in navigating both personal and structural challenges within the creative field.

    Public programs
    Friday, September 12 at 1pm (Facebook Live): Virtual artist & curator preview
    Saturday, September 13: In-person panel discussion (2:30pm) followed by opening reception (4–6pm)
    Monday, October 6 at 4:30pm: Hybrid “artists in conversation” lecture featuring Jamea Richmond-Edwards

    About the Wellin Museum of Art
    A teaching museum located on the campus of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, the Wellin Museum invites visitors to discover the arts and form unexpected connections through groundbreaking exhibitions, a globally representative collection, and innovative programming for the campus community and beyond. Artists whose work has been featured in solo exhibitions organized by the Wellin include Jeffrey Gibson, Yun-Fei Ji, Yashua Klos, Sarah Oppenheimer, Michael Rakowitz, Elias Sime, and Renée Stout, among many others. Through its exhibitions, public programs, publications, and educational outreach, the Wellin Museum sparks dialogues across disciplines, inspires experimentation, and fosters creative inquiry. Opened in 2012 under the leadership of Tracy L. Adler, the innovative facility was designed by Machado Silvetti Associates and features a 27-foot-high visible archive, a large exhibition gallery, and other amenities that foster common exchange and learning.

    For more information, visit here, subscribe to the museum’s newsletter, and join the conversation on social media.


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  • A single high dose of LSD can ease anxiety and depression for months – Genetic Literacy Project

    1. A single high dose of LSD can ease anxiety and depression for months  Genetic Literacy Project
    2. Psychedelic drug popular in 1960s could ease anxiety as doctors share warnings  yahoo.com
    3. Single Dose of MM120 Shows Rapid Anxiety Reduction in GAD, With Maurizio Fava, MD  HCPLive
    4. LSD May Ease Anxiety Symptoms for Months, Study Finds  Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
    5. One dose of LSD provides weeks of anxiety relief, study finds  University of Cincinnati

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  • ‘Fine tech companies tens of billions for deepfake scams’

    ‘Fine tech companies tens of billions for deepfake scams’

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

    This article is the latest part of the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign

    Martin Lewis has called for Big Tech companies to be threatened with fines worth “tens of billions of pounds” to end the menace of AI-generated deepfake adverts on social media platforms, stressing the damage to British victims’ mental health as well as their finances.

    Speaking at the FT Weekend Festival on Saturday, the consumer champion said it was not unusual for “300 to 400” scams a day featuring his image to appear across different social media platforms, including deepfake videos in which the Money Saving Expert founder appeared to be promoting fraudulent investment schemes.

    “There are scam ads of me in computer games that children play, they’re all over the place,” he said. “I have people on my team who can spend half their week dealing with scam ads with me in [and getting them taken down].” He questioned why he had to fund this, and not the online tech groups.

    Lewis said he had attended meetings with Big Tech companies who had told him they were investing in better software to spot and remove scam ads, but were resistant to his calls to employ more people to do so.

    “Does Big Tech want scams on their platforms? No. I don’t believe they do. But this is a financial decision, not a technological decision,” he said to a round of applause from the audience in the FT Money tent at Kenwood House in north London.

    “The reason they don’t crack down on scams is because it would slow down the advertising process and decrease their revenue. When we do put regulations in place . . . we need to be fining them tens of billions of pounds for bastardising our economy and hurting vulnerable people when they allow [scam ads], so much so that it is worthwhile financially for them to change their advertising practices to avoid the fines.”

    Lewis waged a successful campaign to have scam ads included in the scope of the UK’s online safety bill in 2023, but a consultation on tackling scam ads will not take place until next year, leading him to fear consumers will not be protected by any additional legislation “until 2027” at the earliest, assuming UK regulators are “brave enough to enforce it”.

    He expressed his deep frustration that for now, consumers remain unprotected. “When you’re scammed, especially for older people; you’re in retirement and your money’s gone . . . you hate yourself forever that you fell for it.”

    Six years ago, Lewis personally sued Facebook for defamation over the issue of scam adverts fraudulently featuring his image, donating his £3mn out-of-court settlement to Citizens Advice to help victims of fraud. 

    Meta, the owner of Facebook, was approached for comment.

    Nearly 80 per cent of scams originate online, according to research by banking trade body UK Finance, with social media platforms accounting for around three-quarters of this total.

    Advances in generative AI technology have led to a surge of investment scams with deepfake videos featuring the images of celebrities ranging from Elon Musk, Lewis, stars of the British TV series Dragons’ Den and the FT’s senior economics commentator Martin Wolf.

    Last week, on ITV’s This Morning programme, Lewis was visibly upset when he met Gill Casey, the widow of 85-year-old Tim Casey who lost £120,000 to a deepfake scam that used his image to promote a fraudulent crypto investment scheme.

    On another occasion, he said he had been approached by a member of the public who had fallen victim to a similar deepfake investment scam featuring Lewis’s image, but who refused to believe it was not real. “It took me over 20 minutes to persuade him it was a scam,” he said. “It’s funny, and it’s tragic, and it’s happening everywhere.

    “I almost think the word ‘scam’ inures us to it . . . this is sophisticated organised crime. [Big Tech] needs to deny these criminals the oxygen of publicity.”

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