The city of Bath does not fight shy of promoting its Jane Austen connections, tempting in visitors from around the world by organising tours, balls, afternoon teas and writing and embroidery workshops inspired by the author. If you have the inclination, you can buy souvenirs ranging from Jane Austen Top Trumps to a Mr Darcy rubber duck.
But in this, the 250th anniversary year of her birth, an exhibition is being launched daring to point out that in truth Austen wasn’t terribly happy during the five years she lived in the city.
Called The Most Tiresome Place in the World: Jane Austen & Bath, the exhibition at the museum and venue No 1 Royal Crescent highlights the rather miserable time she had in the Georgian city.
Although she disliked Bath, Jane Austen used the city extensively as backdrops in two of her novels, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA
Izzy Wall, the curator for the exhibition, said: “Bath is known for Jane Austen and I think just about every organisation in Bath, including us, use it. We benefit from the association. But she didn’t like living in the city. She’s got lots of not particularly pleasant things to say about it.”
When Austen was told the family were moving from Hampshire to Bath, she is said to have fainted. “How much that is exaggerated, we’ll never know, but it’s a good story,” Wall said. “She was pulled up from her lovely idyllic country life into a big smoky city.
“We look at Bath today as a beautiful, historic town but in Austen’s time it was still a building site in places. Every house had a smoking chimney and it was lacking in proper sewage. Parts of it, at least, wouldn’t have been the nicest place to be.”
A manuscript of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel The Watsons, which is going on display in Bath in an exhibition looking at her time in the city. Photograph: The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford,
Austen lived in Bath between 1801 and 1806. In a letter she wrote that features in the exhibition, she described her first view of Bath as “all vapour, shadow, smoke & confusion”.
There was grief in 1805 when Austen’s father caught a fever in Bath and died. “He was frail,” said Wall, “but it was out of the blue, a heartbreaking thing for Jane Austen. Her father was loving and kind and really supportive of her writing. It also meant financial insecurity for the family.”
Wall said Austen barely wrote when she was in Bath. “The only thing she wrote was the start of a novel called The Watsons. She had a go at writing but didn’t get very far.”
Visitors will see a segment of The Watsons manuscript, borrowed from the the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford. It is thought to be the first time it has returned to Bath since Austen wrote it.
Wall said that after the family left Bath for Chawton in Hampshire, Austen became productive again. A letter Austen wrote in 1808 that also appears in the show describes her “happy feelings of Escape!” after leaving Bath.
Though she didn’t like Bath, that doesn’t mean she wasn’t inspired by it. She had visited before the family moved and used the city extensively as backdrops in two of her novels, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.
Wall said Bath was a key place for Austen. “She was absorbing everything, watching and weaving it into her narratives.” She said fans loved walking in the streets Austen knew. “But we want to lift the lid, scratch the surface and look into the complex relationship she had with the city.”
The title for the exhibition is taken from a conversation in Northanger Abbey between Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney when he says: “For six weeks, I allow Bath is pleasant enough; but beyond that, it is the most tiresome place in the world.”
As well as the exhibition, the house will be running tours, talks and events in a programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Jason Aldean is taking his Full Throttle Tour global. The ACM Artist of the Decade and multi-time Entertainer of the Year announced the international extension of his current tour today (July 1), revealing a run of shows in Australia and New Zealand for early 2026.
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The newly announced dates will mark Aldean’s debut headline performance in New Zealand and his first time returning to Australia since 2016, when he became the first headliner to sell out CMC Rocks QLD. The 2026 leg kicks off February 19 at Spark Arena in Auckland, before heading to Australia for a mix of arena shows and festival appearances. Aldean is also set to headline the inaugural Sunburnt Country country music experience, which includes stops in Toowoomba, Hunter Valley and Canberra.
Corey Kent will join as a special guest on all dates, while Australian country star Brad Cox will open the Sunburnt Country festival dates.
Produced by Live Nation, the Full Throttle World Tour continues Aldean’s global touring legacy following a massive U.S. leg that launched in May 2025 and resumes July 17 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 2026 extension marks his first time headlining in New Zealand and his long-awaited return to Australia since 2016, when he became the first artist to sell out CMC Rocks QLD as a headliner.
Aldean has racked up 30 No. 1 country radio hits across his career, along with over 20 million albums sold and nearly 20 billion global streams. His current single “Whiskey Drink” marks his 30th chart-topping hit, following previous anthems like “She’s Country,” “Amarillo Sky,” and “Big Green Tractor.”
Tickets for the newly announced Australia and New Zealand shows go on sale Monday, July 7 at 1 p.m. local time.
A range of presales begin Wednesday, July 2, including Mastercard, Live Nation, and One NZ offerings, with select early access also available for Face to Face Touring members. More information, including VIP packages, is available at livenation.com.au and livenation.co.nz.
AU/NZ 2026 TOUR DATES: Feb. 19 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena Feb. 21 – Toowoomba, QLD – Sunburnt Country Feb. 22 – Brisbane, QLD – Brisbane Entertainment Centre Feb. 25 – Melbourne, VIC – Rod Laver Arena Feb. 26 – Sydney, NSW – Qudos Bank Arena Feb. 28 – Hunter Valley, NSW – Sunburnt Country Mar. 1 – Canberra, ACT – Sunburnt Country
A prospective cohort study led by Yang Shao, PhD, president and CEO of Geneseeq Technology Inc. and professor at Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, published in Nature Medicine, on a blood test capable of simultaneously detecting 13 types of cancer. The test demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity and was able to identify early-stage cancers that often go unnoticed during routine screenings.
Traditional cancer screening methods are often invasive, expensive, and time-consuming, which can reduce patient adherence. In addition, several cancers — such as pancreatic cancer — are typically asymptomatic in their early stages and progress rapidly, with no established screening protocols currently available.
This prompted the development of less invasive approaches, such as multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood tests that can detect a cancer signal from circulating cell-free DNA. These simple blood tests analyze plasma cell-free DNA using genetic and fragmentomic-based features from whole genome sequencing to simultaneously detect multiple cancer types. Although promising, current MCED tests still have relatively low sensitivity, typically less than 60%. Experts, including those from the American Cancer Society, cautioned that widespread use could create a false sense of reassurance and potentially deter patients from following up with standard screenings.
Researchers have developed an MCED blood test that detects 13 cancers: breast, cervical, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, gastric, liver, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, biliary tract, and lymphoma. These cancers account for 66.6% of all new cases and 74% of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The test uses two main classifiers: the detection-of-cancer classifier, tasked with confirming the presence of cancer, and the tissue-of-origin classifier, responsible for pinpointing the primary site of malignancy by analyzing and integrating feature frameworks, including copy number variations, fragment size coverage, fragment size distribution, nucleosome footprint, and fragment-based methylation.
To develop the test, researchers analyzed 6553 blood samples, 3076 from patients with cancer and 3477 from healthy individuals, divided into a training dataset of 4807 samples and an internal validation dataset of 1746 samples.
Independent validation was performed using a prospectively enrolled cohort of 1465 participants in an age-matched fashion, comprising 732 patients with cancer and 733 non-cancer individuals between April and November 2021. In the third ongoing phase, 3724 asymptomatic adults aged 45-75 years in the Jinling cohort underwent both complete physical examinations and the MCED test in June 2023.
Positive Results
In independent validation, the MCED test showed an overall sensitivity of 87.4% and specificity of 97.8%. The sensitivity was particularly high for certain cancer types, such as 100% for liver and biliary tract cancer, 94.5% for lung cancer, and 82.3% for colorectal cancer. Even cancers that are difficult to diagnose early, such as pancreatic and ovarian cancers, showed a sensitivity of 76.9% for pancreatic cancer and 90.5% for ovarian cancer. Breast cancer had the lowest sensitivity at 63.8%.
The test was effective in detecting early-stage disease, with a sensitivity of 79.3% for stage I and 86.9% for stage II cancer. This increased to 92.4% for stage III and 97.1% for stage IV. When considering the top two tissue origin predictions, the accuracy increased to 90.7% for the internal set and 91.7% for the independent set. It performed best in identifying cancers of the colon-rectum, lungs, and liver but was less accurate for pancreatic and stomach cancers, correctly identifying the origin in 50% or fewer cases.
In a prospective screening cohort of asymptomatic individuals, the MCED test identified 23 of 43 cancer cases within 1 year, with an overall sensitivity of 53.5%. When limited to the 13 cancers that the test was designed to detect, the sensitivity increased to 62.1%. Most of these cases (93%) were early-stage cancers (stage 0, I, or II). The specificity remained high at 98.1%, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 25% and a negative predictive value of 99.4%.
Notably, 8 of the 23 positive patients who received a positive MCED result had their cancers undetected through physical examination, and 4 had cancers for which there is currently no recommended screening, highlighting the potential of the MCED test to effectively detect cancers that would otherwise have gone undetected.
“Our study demonstrated high sensitivity, highlighting our classifier’s ability to detect cancer cases, even in populations with lower disease prevalence. This underscores the capacity of our classifier to effectively detect incident cancer cases under real-world screening conditions, facilitated by comprehensive physical examinations,” the authors concluded.
These findings suggest that the MCED test could be a valuable complement to existing screening methods, particularly for cancers without routine early detection tools. The ability to detect early-stage pancreatic and ovarian cancers is particularly promising. However, broader validation across diverse populations, cost-effectiveness analyses, and studies on the psychological impact of screening outcomes are critical before widespread clinical implementation.
One key limitation was that the PPV achieved was 25% for the MCED test, which was lower than the 38% reported in the PATHFINDER study published in 2023.
“The PATHFINDER trial enrolled participants with a higher cancer prevalence and utilized the MCED test results to trigger diagnostic workup, systematically investigating participants with positive test results, thus inherently enriching their cohort for cancer diagnoses within the workup pathway. Conversely, the Jinling study adopted a standardized comprehensive physical examination for all participants as the primary screening modality, independent of MCED test outcomes and within the context of lower cancer prevalence,” the researchers noted.
However, the absolute number of false positives in the Jinling study was low (20 of 3724 participants, or 0.54%). False-positive results can lead to unnecessary anxiety, further invasive diagnostic procedures, and potentially inappropriate treatment for patients. The researchers emphasized the need to improve the sensitivity of the MCED test for very early-stage cancers while reducing false positives.
SEOUL – Shares in South Korean companies tied to the hit Netflix series Squid Game (2021 to 2025) slumped on June 30 following the release of the show’s final season, which debuted to a lukewarm audience reception despite topping global streaming charts.
Artist Company, an entertainment agency in which Squid Game’s main actor Lee Jung-jae is the largest shareholder, tanked by as much as 21 per cent. Artist Studio, a unit of Artist Company, also declined 24 per cent. South Korea-based Dexter Studios, a visual effects production firm that is a partner on the blockbuster production, fell 8.5 per cent.
“Much of the criticism stems from how the show ended – viewers whose interpretation of the show’s worldview doesn’t align with theirs,” said Mr Kim Hern-sik, a pop culture critic in Seoul. “It’s hard to top Season 1 – it was a global sensation.”
The third season of Netflix’s anti-capitalist parable, which premiered on June 27, was directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk and stars Lee, Lee Byung-hun and Im Si-wan, among other South Korean actors.
The television series topped the global TV show rankings on Netflix in all countries, according to FlixPatrol, which tracks viewing on streaming services. Season 3 earned an 83 per cent approval rating among professional critics and a 51 per cent approval rating from audiences, according to review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
First released in 2021, Squid Game became a cultural phenomenon, igniting global conversations with its brutal social allegory and captivating visuals. It remains Netflix’s most-watched show of all time, drawing about 600 million views to date across the first two seasons.
The South Korean dystopian survival thriller has won six Emmy awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Hwang, in 2022. Bloomberg
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Picture early 20th-century France: dusty roads, fewer than 3,000 cars in total, and a country where hitting the highway was a daring adventure. Enter brothers André and Édouard Michelin – tire manufacturers with a dream.In 1900, they launched the Guide Michelin, a complimentary handbook packed with maps, repair tips, and places to rest or dine. It was a clever ploy to encourage travel and tire wear.However, to everyone’s surprise and delight – the guide quickly found a new purpose: enhancing gastronomic exploration.
In 1926, Michelin introduced a single star for “fine dining,” and by 1931, fleshed this out into the familiar one–two–three star system – laying the groundwork for culinary prestige.Here’s how the Michelin brothers transformed a humble tire company’s pamphlet into the global authority on culinary excellence.Let’s take a trip down that delicious journey!
From a motorist’s manual to a cultural icon: The becoming
What started as an unlikely venture of a tire company changed the course of how people tasted and praised meals. In 1889, the Michelin brothers founded their tire company in Clermont-Ferrand. As automobiles slowly began appearing on French roads – fewer than 3,000 nationwide – the brothers recognized a business opportunity. They created a guidebook with maps, garage listings, tire-repair advice, and hotel and restaurant suggestions to entice drivers to travel – and wear out tires faster.The inaugural edition appeared in 1900. Over 35,000 copies of this complimentary guide were distributed – fuel for the infant auto industry.
Legend has it that, somewhere along the line, guides were repurposed to support mechanics’ workbenches. Moved by this realization, Michelin began charging a modest seven francs in 1920. As the saying goes, “people truly respect what they pay for.”
From maps to meals: Emphasizing restaurants
Initially, restaurant listings played a minor role. But by the 1920s, Michelin noticed that diners prized culinary guidance the most. They decided to run the guide ad-free, add detailed restaurant categories, and recruit anonymous inspectors – paid diners tasked with assessing establishments impartially.
1920–1931: The stars were born
As the guide gained credibility, its restaurant section began to attract more attention. Michelin hired anonymous inspectors to dine incognito, providing impartial evaluations.In 1926, they introduced the first star: a single indication of “fine dining.” This simple star sent shockwaves through the culinary world – it wasn’t just a meal; it was recognition.Only five years later, in 1931, came the now-iconic three-tiered hierarchy:One star: “Very good restaurant in its category.”Two stars: “Excellent cooking, worth a detour.”Three stars: “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.” That year also saw the guide donning its signature red cover, emblematic of its transformation into a hallmark of luxury.
The secret sauce behind the shining stars
What makes a Michelin star so coveted?Inspection standards: Inspectors remain anonymous, pay their own bills, and return multiple times to ensure consistency. Judging hinges on five core factors: ingredient quality, cooking technique, chef’s personality, value, and consistency.Credibility through anonymity: This covert evaluation builds trust. Michelin’s unswerving standards – undeclared visits, tab payment, and no decor bias – promote fairness and respect, even among the elite chefs being reviewed.Influence and pressure: Stars carry enormous weight. Gaining one can make a chef overnight; losing it can devastate careers. The tragic case of Bernard Loiseau, who died amid rumors of losing a third star, sparked debate about the psychological toll of Michelin’s influence.
Going global, gastronomically
Beyond France: Global expansion and modern adaptationsPost-World War II, guide production resumed, helping rejuvenate travel and hospitality. From the 1950s onward, the Michelin Guide went global – Italy in 1956; from the 2000s, it jumped continents to New York (2005), Tokyo (2007), and Hong Kong (2009). Today, it spans over 40 countries and evaluates more than 30,000 establishments.Michelin also introduced the Bib Gourmand in 1997, recognizing restaurants that deliver excellent food without the indulgence of stars, making the guide more inclusive.
The dark side of the moon: The star’s shadow
With prestige came pressure. Michelin recognition can be transformative – reservations soar, global acclaim follows. Yet, it also comes with pressure. Stars opened doors – and shut them. Chefs felt immense stress to maintain standards. In 2003, tragic rumors linked the suicide of Bernard Loiseau to the fear of losing a third star. Some chefs even returned stars voluntarily, rejecting the intense scrutiny.Critics have also accused Michelin of promoting elitism and sidelining regional authenticity in favor of conformity.
The hall of fame
Eugénie Brazier – Six-Star Pioneer: In 1933, Lyonnaise chef Eugénie Brazier became the first person to hold six Michelin stars – three for each of her two restaurants – a feat that stood unparalleled until Alain Ducasse in 1998.Brazier and Marie Bourgeois became the first three-star female chefs, featured in the 1933 edition.The 1939 guide was even repurposed by Allied forces for its reliable maps during D-Day.The guide has embraced diverse talents. Vegan chef Claire Vallée earned her star, and Lung King Heen became the first Chinese restaurant to ever receive three stars.
From tires to tastemakers: The lasting (and tasty) legacy
What began as a marketing gimmick morphed into an authority in fine dining. The Michelin star system, born from a desire to prompt travel and rooted in delicious discovery, has reshaped global dining in the 20th and 21st centuries. Michelin’s guide restructured food culture, blending rigorous evaluation with the romance of travel. It launched restaurant empires, invented celebrity chefs, and extended gastronomic frontiers. Today, its stars guide diners across continents, inspire chefs to new heights, and maintain strict standards from invisible tables behind kitchen doors. To this day, the Michelin Star system remains a marvel of corporate creativity and cultural transformation. Alberto Pic’s 3-star valuation, Mère Brazier’s pioneering tenure, and Loiseau’s tragic story – all serve as testament to this fascinating pivot from industrial marketing to gastronomical reverence. From humble tire guides propping up mechanics’ benches to red books held by gourmands worldwide – the Michelin journey is a testament to transformation, taste, and tenacity in the pursuit of excellence.
On world food day, Vardhan Puri shares his biggest kitchen disaster
Good morning from London, here are the opening calls
General view of the City of London skyline, the capital’s financial district, in October.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering all the action in European financial markets on Tuesday, as well as the latest regional and global business news, data and earnings.
Futures data from IG suggests a generally positive start for European markets, with London’s FTSE looking set to open unchanged at 8,774, Germany’s DAX up 0.2% at 23,955, France’s CAC 40 up a notch at 7,679 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up slightly at 39,865.
The generally positive start for Europe comes as global investors begin to assess the trade talks and the tariff landscape as U.S. President Donald Trump’s 90-day reprieve from higher import duties is set to expire next week.
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed overnight as investors assessed the record gains on Wall Street and the prospects for trade deals, while U.S. equity futures were little changed early Tuesday after the S&P 500 notched another record to close out a stunning quarter.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that there are “countries that are negotiating in good faith.” However, he added that tariffs could still “spring back” to the levels announced on April 2 “if we can’t get across the line because they are being recalcitrant.”
Canada walked back its digital services tax in an attempt to facilitate trade negotiations with the United States. Ottawa’s move to rescind the new levy comes after President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would be “terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada.”
The big data release in Europe on Tuesday is the latest preliminary inflation data from the euro zone. Analysts expect the rate to have hit 2% in the year to June, which would be in line with the European Central Bank’s target.
Earnings are set to come from Sodexo and Sainsbury’s. Other data releases include German unemployment figures and U.K. Nationwide house prices data.
CNBC continues coverage of the ECB’s forum in Sintra, Portugal, where central bankers have gathered this week.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that two common types of hormone therapy may alter breast cancer risk in women before age 55. Researchers discovered that women treated with unopposed estrogen hormone therapy (E-HT) were less likely to develop the disease than those who did not use hormone therapy. They also found that women treated with estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy (EP-HT) were more likely to develop breast cancer than women who did not use hormone therapy. Together, these results could help to guide clinical recommendations for hormone therapy use among younger women.
The two hormone therapies analyzed in the study are often used to manage symptoms related to menopause or following hysterectomy (removal of uterus) or oophorectomy (removal of one or both ovaries). Unopposed estrogen therapy is recommended only for women who have had a hysterectomy because of its known association with uterine cancer risk.
Hormone therapy can greatly improve the quality of life for women experiencing severe menopausal symptoms or those who have had surgeries that affect their hormone levels. Our study provides greater understanding of the risks associated with different types of hormone therapy, which we hope will help patients and their doctors develop more informed treatment plans.”
Katie O’Brien, Ph.D., lead author of NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
The researchers conducted a large-scale analysis that included data from more than 459,000 women under 55 years old across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Women who used E-HT had a 14% reduction in breast cancer incidence compared to those who never used hormone therapy. Notably, this protective effect was more pronounced in women who started E-HT at younger ages or who used it longer. In contrast, women using EP-HT experienced a 10% higher rate of breast cancer compared to non-users, with an 18% higher rate seen among women using EP-HT for more than two years relative to those who never used the therapy.
According to the authors, this suggests that for EP-HT users, the cumulative risk of breast cancer before age 55 could be about 4.5%, compared with a 4.1% risk for women who never used hormone therapy and a 3.6% risk for those who used E-HT. Further, the association between EP-HT and breast cancer was particularly elevated among women who had not undergone hysterectomy or oophorectomy. That highlights the importance of considering gynecological surgery status when evaluating the risks of starting hormone therapy, the researchers noted.
“These findings underscore the need for personalized medical advice when considering hormone therapy,” said NIEHS scientist and senior author Dale Sandler, Ph.D. “Women and their health care providers should weigh the benefits of symptom relief against the potential risks associated with hormone therapy, especially EP-HT. For women with an intact uterus and ovaries, the increased risk of breast cancer with EP-HT should prompt careful deliberation.”
The authors noted that their study is consistent with previous large studies that documented similar associations between hormone therapy and breast cancer risk among older and postmenopausal women. This new study extends those findings to younger women, providing essential evidence to help guide decision-making for women as they go through menopause.
Source:
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Journal reference:
O’Brien, K. M., et al. (2025). Hormone therapy use and young-onset breast cancer: a pooled analysis of prospective cohorts included in the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaborative Group. The Lancet Oncology. doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00211-6.
TAIPEI, Taiwan, July 1, 2025 —ASUS today announced that the VivoWatch ECG app has been certified by the Food and Drug Administration Thailand (FDA Thai). A major advancement for smart healthcare innovation in Thailand, certification for the ECG software marks a milestone for ASUS, underscoring its expanding role in the global digital health landscape and its commitment to medical-grade technology innovation.
ʺOur goal is to empower individuals and healthcare providers with the best health monitoring tools,ʺ said Joe Hsieh, COO and Global Senior Vice President of ASUS. ʺThis certification validates our technology and also reinforces the ASUS commitment to expanding global access to smart, medical-grade health solutions.ʺ
Intuitive and efficient monitoring
With the new ECG app, users can measure their ECG readings directly via ASUS VivoWatch. To take a measurement, the user places a fingertip on the watch–face sensors for 30 seconds. It will display the results and even allow users to easily share them with their healthcare provider. Compatible ASUS VivoWatch models include the latest ASUS VivoWatch 6 and ASUS VivoWatch 6 AERO.
Ready for personal and institutional use
The ECG functionality enabled by ASUS VivoWatch is ideal for individual consumers as well as for use in hospitals, clinics and any other healthcare setting. It can also be integrated into business-to-business (B2B) solutions to enhance VIP patient care and support premium health management services.
In addition to the newly activated ECG function, ASUS VivoWatch also supports blood pressure monitoring. This means that VivoWatch enables users to track two essential cardiovascular indicators simultaneously. With accurate, real-time date, the solution helps detect potential health issues, making it a valuable asset for institutions aiming to improve both care quality and operational efficiency.
ECG feature available now
To enjoy the benefits of the accurate ECG feature today, users simply need to update both the ASUS HealthConnect app and the ASUS VivoWatch software.
The Indian women’s team will look to continue its winning momentum when it faces England in the second of five T20Is at the Bristol County Ground on Tuesday.
The opener saw the Women in Blue thrash the host by 97 runs, courtesy of stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana’s maiden T20I century and debutant Sree Charani’s four-wicket haul.
ENG-W vs IND-W 2nd T20I – Match Details
When will the second T20I between England Women and India Women take place?
The second T20I between England Women and India Women will be held on Tuesday, July 1.
Where will the second T20I between England Women and India Women be held?
The second T20I between England Women and India Women will take place at the Bristol County Ground in Bristol.
At what time will the second T20I between England Women and India Women start?
The second T20I between England Women and India Women will begin at 11:00 PM IST. The toss will take place at 10:30 PM IST.
Where to watch the live telecast of the second T20I between England Women and India Women in India?
The second T20I between England Women and India Women will be televised live in India on the Sony Sports Network (Sony Sports 1 channel).
Where to watch the live stream of the second T20I between England Women and India Women in India?
The second T20I between England Women and India Women will be streamed live on the SonyLIV app and website in India.
A two-year study has mapped behavioural patterns and scent-marking preferences among India’s last wild lions, offering rare insights into how they communicate.
Among all observed behaviours, sniffing was the most common, accounting for nearly 40% of the recorded actions. This was followed by scratching and spraying.
As Gir’s lion population grows, knowing where and how they mark territory can guide conservation practices, from protecting key habitats and movement corridors to planning for coexistence in shared landscapes.
Mammals, most prominently carnivorous species, use scent-marking as a crucial form of communication. Lions, for example, use urine, faeces, and secretions from scent glands to leave behind long-lasting chemical signals on trees and trails. While these are invisible to the human eye, they carry a meaning for other lions in that area.
A study conducted in Gujarat’s Gir Forest focussed on decoding some of this hidden communication. “This is the first detailed scientific study of scent-marking in free-ranging Asiatic lions, and it reveals how scent is a powerful tool for territory defence, mate attraction, and social interaction,” says Mohan Ram, Divisional Forest Officer, Wildlife Division, Sasan-Gir, Gir National Park and Sanctuary, and one of the lead researchers.
Leaving a mark
Gir Forest, which includes a national park and sanctuary, is spread across nearly 1,900 square kilometres in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region. It is home to over 40 species of mammals, including leopards, hyenas, and jackals, but the lion is its undisputed icon. To understand how the big cats use scent to communicate, researchers collaborated with Gir’s seasoned field trackers. These experts helped identify trees that showed signs of regular scratching and are favoured spots for lion scent-marking.
At 36 such locations, the team installed motion-triggered infrared cameras between March 2022 and April 2024. “Across three seasons, we faced all kinds of challenges, from sensor triggers caused by birds or wind to monsoon rains that washed away scent marks. Reaching camera trap locations during heavy rain was a task in itself. Plus, the volume of data collected was enormous, and it took a lot of effort to sift through and sort out usable footage,” says Ram.
Each time a lion passed by the cameras captured a short video and a photograph. In total, they logged over 15,000 wildlife detections, of which 1,542 featured lions. Every lion video was carefully analysed for specific behaviours such as sniffing, scratching, spraying, rubbing, and even climbing. “Camera trapping helped us capture behaviour without disturbing the lions. We also kept the camera settings standard across sites and seasons to ensure consistency,” says Ram.
Researchers also documented tree characteristics such as species, height, girth, and proximity to roads or water to understand what made certain trees more likely to be used as scent posts.
The data was then grouped by season, time of day, the lion’s age and sex, and the traits of the marked trees. Using statistical tools, the team mapped out behavioural patterns and scent-marking preferences across the Gir landscape.
Marking scent part of daily routine
Among all observed behaviours, sniffing was the most common, accounting for nearly 40% of the recorded actions. This was followed by scratching (30%) and spraying (12%). Young lions were more likely to climb trees, possibly as playful behaviour or a way of learning.
Males were the more active scent-markers, often around pride territories. Females also left their mark, especially when they were in heat. “It’s a key part of territorial and reproductive strategy in a species with such a limited geographic range. Sub-adults were also seen using the same trees repeatedly, almost like they were learning how to mark territory,” says Ram.
Young lions were more likely to climb trees, possibly as playful behaviour or a way of learning, according to a study on Gir lions. Image by Mohan Ram.
Most of these behaviours occurred in the early morning hours, with scratching and spraying peaking at 3:44 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. respectively. This pattern suggests that scent-marking is a deliberate and well-timed part of the lions’ daily routines.
Winter turned out to be the busiest season for scent-marking. This aligns with the peak of lion mating season, highlighting the link between chemical communication and reproduction. “Cooler temperatures meant more lion movement, which led to more marking. Interestingly, lions often chose tilted trees (around 45 degrees) because the spray lands better and holds fragrance longer, especially in the monsoon,” says Ram.
Identifying a good marking spot
Lions also didn’t mark trees at random. They showed clear preferences for certain species, especially Butea monosperma and Syzygium cumini. “We noticed that the lions preferred trees with soft bark or gum, species with strong secondary metabolites, likely because the scent tends to linger longer. Teak trees were avoided; the bark is too hard to claw,” says Ram.
Location played a key role too. Most of the marked trees were near forest trails and water sources. Trails serve as lion highways, ideal places to advertise presence to rivals or potential mates. “The preferred trees were often near trails, indicating lions may be aligning marking behaviour with movement corridors, possibly even taking human presence into account,” explains Ram.
Moist environments may also help preserve chemical signals for longer durations. Scrub habitats, in particular, recorded more scent-marking activity. Their open structure likely makes scent-posts more visible and accessible.
Female lions left scent marks, especially when they were in heat, noted the study. Image by Mohan Ram.
Why studying behaviour matters
Asiatic lions differ from their African counterparts in many ways. They live in smaller groups, don’t breed in synchrony, and are confined to a single, limited landscape in western India. These unique conditions shape how they interact, compete, and survive.
By identifying where and when scent-marking takes place, this study offers valuable insights into lion behaviour. The findings can help conservationists refine strategies for habitat protection, water management, boundary marking, and lion monitoring ensuring the continued survival of India’s last wild lions. “Knowing which tree species lions prefer can guide habitat improvement efforts. It can even help prevent poaching by identifying high-use marking spots,” says Ram.
The researchers recommend that future studies combine scent-marking data with GPS collaring to track individual lions over time. This approach could reveal more details such as whether specific lions favour particular trees, and how their marking behaviours shift with seasons, age, or social status. All these insights could be particularly valuable as the lion population eventually grows and begins expanding into Gir’s neighbouring areas. “It can directly inform habitat planning beyond Gir, and support strategies for lion movement and coexistence with local communities,” Ram says.
Read more: Asiatic lion population has grown 172% in 25 years
Banner image: A study found that among all observed behaviours of Gir lions, sniffing was the most common, accounting for nearly 40% of the recorded actions. Image by Mohan Ram.
