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Posted March 01, 2019 13:46:25 A tarantula has been caught on camera eating an opossum in the Amazon rainforest. key points: The encounter is the first ever recorded Spiders commonly eat vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and tadpoles Researchers also found centipedes in the Amazon consumed snakes bigger than them The gruesome encounter was filmed by scientists researching how spiders and other invertebrates eat mammals and reptiles. It shows the giant spider grabbing the still-twitching mouse opossum by the neck and dragging it along the forest floor. A mouse opossum is a small marsupial that lives in South America and can grow up to around 12 centimetres in length. “Invertebrates preying on vertebrates is common, but it’s generally not assumed to be an important source of mortality for amphibians and reptiles,” University of Michigan researcher Rudolf von May said. “Our knowledge of these interactions remains limited.” Mr von May and fellow researchers made their

In this episode of Head to Head , Mehdi Hasan challenges Gowher Rizvi, the adviser to the prime minister of Bangladesh on  international affairs , on the state of the country’s democracy and whether it is heading towards authoritarianism. Once one of the poorest countries in the region, Bangladesh’s economy has been booming over the last decade, with economic growth faster than its neighbours India and Pakistan. It also boasts lower infant mortality and longer life expectancy than its peers. Just because a party has been elected three times, it is not a one-party state. Gowher Rizvi However, human rights groups warn that the country is becoming increasingly autocratic, accusing the government of clamping down on any form of dissent and hounding and locking up its political rivals. In recent general  elections, Bangladesh’s ruling party, the Awami League, reasserted its power following a landslide victory. The opposition rejected the results amid violence which saw 17 ki

Posted March 01, 2019 13:01:32 Photo: Mr Trudeau says he has done nothing wrong and will not resign. (AP: Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) It has been a long time in politics since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won the general election in 2015, surfing into office on a wave of optimism. Key points: Canada’s former justice minister alleges close Trudeau aides pressured her to settle a bribery case for a major construction firm In testimony to the House of Commons, the ex-minister said there had been veiled threats and the intervention was “not appropriate” Mr Trudeau says he and his staff have done nothing wrong, but the scandal comes months out from an election While the progressive, self-confessed feminist Prime Minister immediately became one of the internet’s favourite world leaders , scandals and missteps have taken the shine off him at home. None more so than this week when one of Mr Trudeau’s former Cabinet colleagues fronted the House of Commons j

Updated March 01, 2019 14:05:31 Photo: Zali Steggall will run against Tony Abbott in the seat of Warringah. (ABC News: Jerry Rickard) Zali Steggall is a poster person for a batch of high-profile centre-right independents contesting seats in the May election. Her bid to oust Tony Abbott from his Liberal heartland seat of Warringah in Sydney is receiving national attention and the former prime minister is clearly feeling under pressure. But according to qualitative research in the seat this week, Ms Steggall — former Olympian, lawyer, local — is yet to embed herself in the minds of those voters who are potentially willing to turn against Mr Abbott. The focus groups, sponsored by the University of Canberra’s Democracy 2025 project and conducted by Landscape Research, found mixed feelings about Mr Abbott, who has held the northern beaches seat since 1994, but uncertainty about alternatives. The issues that matter The four groups, each of seven to nine “soft” voters (who ha

Updated March 01, 2019 11:56:02 Photo: Tim Lawless says there are about 15 per cent less buyers in the market than there were previously. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore) Australian home prices fell a further 0.7 per cent last month and are now down nearly 7 per cent from their peak, as the downturn extends beyond Sydney and Melbourne. Key points: Sydney (-10.4pc) and Melbourne (9.1pc) have had the biggest prices falls over the past year Five of the eight capital cities have had falling prices over the past year, as has regional Australia CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless says widespread price falls are an indicator that lending restraints are dampening the market The latest February figures from CoreLogic show Darwin and Perth are once again leading the monthly declines in prices, slumping 1.7 and 1.5 per cent respectively. Sydney and Melbourne have still suffered the worst fall over the past year, down 10.4 and 9.1 per cent respectively. Even the Brisbane market, which did not e

Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press LOS ANGELES — With Dirk Nowitzki celebrating an unofficial farewell tour in his 21st NBA season, the Dallas Mavericks are starting anew with one of the best young international players in the world. Luka Doncic   was named the NBA’s Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November, December and January. He’s the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year, too. “He’s at a high level of no f–ks given when he plays basketball,”  Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers said.  “It’s fun to watch.” Doncic, who turns 20 on Thursday, is averaging 20.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists during his first year with the Mavericks. “He’s really an all-around package on the offensive end, whether it’s the shot, drives, floaters, the passes,” Nowitzki said. “He’s a big guard, he can see over some of those traps [teams are] throwing at him. His basketball IQ is out of this world for 19. … He’ll be fun to watch for Mavs fans for a very long time.” The Mav

Updated March 01, 2019 12:39:43 Police in Sydney have arrested a woman as part of an ongoing investigation into a multi-million dollar fraud against the National Australia Bank (NAB). Key points: Police arrested Helen Rosamond as part of an investigation into allegations of corrupt commissions at NAB Authorities said the commissions were valued at about $40 million over five years The alleged fraud was reported by a whistle blower but no-one at the bank was under investigation, NAB said In February 2018, detectives from NSW Police’s Financial Crimes Squad established Strike Force Napthali to investigate allegations of corrupt commissions being paid for contracts with the bank. Police claim those commissions were valued at about $40 million over a five-year period. The woman arrested is Helen Rosamond, a director of events management company Human Group — a former supplier to NAB. Ms Rosamond will be charged with 56 counts of bribing an agent and two counts of gaining

On a Friday evening earlier this month, Lily Somerville and Megan Markwick had just returned to the flat they share in London after a flight in from New York. In only another day, though, they’d be gone again, taking their electro-folk band IDER on a European tour. The inaugural stop? Back to their old college in South West England for the first time since their student days, when they met in a music course and began playing elegant, harmony-laden acoustic music together. They’re excited. “Feeling a bit full circle, you know?” Somerville told MTV News before they made the trek. The pair have plenty to feel sparky about. In the years since a 2013 Falmouth University campus piece described them as “a banjo and guitar wielding female folk duo who are snowballing to success,” Somerville and Markwick have gilded their analog sound with a digital edge: Synthesizers, keyboards, and electronic percussion feature on “Brown Sugar,” their R&B- and Kendrick Lamar-inspired latest single. It

Updated March 01, 2019 11:34:52 Three staff at the Lucas Heights nuclear facility have been decontaminated after being exposed to a chemical spill. Key points: Australia’s only nuclear reactor is located at Lucas Heights, about 40km south of Sydney’s CBD Two men and a women were decontaminated and taken to Sutherland Hospital The facility has had several contamination scares in recent years A spokesman for Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) said the workers were exposed to sodium hydroxide when a cap came off a pipe in the nuclear medicine manufacturing building. NSW Ambulance said the chemical splashed onto the arms and faces of the two men and a woman who have all been taken to Sutherland Hospital for further assessment. Sodium hydroxide is corrosive and can cause severe burns. The ANSTO spokesman said the building where the incident occurred was not associated with the nuclear reactor. “Before 8am this morning, a cap came off a pipe r

Stop what you’re doing, Jonas Brothers fans: Nick, Joe, and Kevin are officially getting the band back together. This is not a drill. The Jonas Brothers are coming back with a brand new ~aesthetic~, single, and what will likely be an entirely new legion of fans, too. And we didn’t even have to wait until the year 3000 to see it happen. The bros took to social media on Thursday (February 28) with a surprise announcement: the trio are releasing new music on Friday (March 1) with their comeback single “Sucker.” It’s OK if you need to pinch yourself, because this sure feels dreamlike to us, too. “Sucker” will be available worldwide at 12 a.m. ET on Friday via your favorite music streaming service. Can the world handle another Jonas Brothers craze? But that’s not all. The trio will also be appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden , which you can snag a sneak peek at ahead of its airing next week. It’s all part of a massive Jonas-centric takeover, which will run from Monday

Updated March 01, 2019 06:39:22 Photo: Kirsten O’Doherty worked her way up to the general manager position at AbbVie. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito) When Kirsten O’Doherty was studying to be a pharmacist at university, she already knew she wanted to be the first female general manager of a pharmaceutical company. Key points: An equal number of male and female CEOs is expected by 2100 Male managers currently earn on average $162,000 more than their female counterparts Businesses can get more women with family-friendly work, female board members and reporting requirements, experts say Today, that’s exactly what she does as Australia New Zealand general manager for pharmaceutical giant AbbVie, which makes some of the top-selling medications in the world. “I certainly was ambitious early and I definitely wanted more,” she said. Ms O’Doherty started out as a hospital pharmacist and worked her way to the top of her industry. While she wasn’t the first female general ma

By Georgia Waters Posted March 01, 2019 06:46:21 Photo: It looks very unlikely that a majority of Britons would vote to leave a second time around. (ABC News: Bridget Brennan) Once unthinkable, the spectre of a second Brexit referendum has again been thrown into the spotlight after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn backed a public vote . But it’s not as easy as going back to the polls for a re-run. So how would it work? 1. First, the Brexit deadline would need to be extended Britain is currently set to stop being a member of the European Union (EU) at the end of March — specifically, at 11:00pm on March 29, London time. That date marks two years since Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union was triggered , the process by which a country ceases to be a member of the EU. After the activation, there follows a two-year period to negotiate a withdrawal agreement, AKA the turmoil we have been witnessing since March 2017. But once Article 50 is triggered, the country’s exit fro

Bleacher Report’s “Are You Listening?” series is about amplifying the voice of the modern black athlete, embracing their humanity and choosing to practice empathy… Read More from Viral News Updates https://ift.tt/2IDWV8m

By Sara Radin Historically, our relationship with romantic comedies has been complicated. Though the popular film genre has been known to give the loveless a healthy dose of hope, these movies have been predominantly written and directed by men, thus spreading harmful stereotypes and warped, patriarchal perceptions of relationships. Films such as Annie Hall (1977), Sixteen Candles (1984), Jerry Maguire (1996), Runaway Bride (1999), and Failure to Launch (2006) have mirrored the ways in which society has been wired to see a woman’s worth only through the eyes of cisgender men: men may pursue women, but women may not pursue men; women have no agency in relationships; women are simply not enough when single, unmarried, or without children. Take Hollywood’s damsel in distress complex, in which only a man can save a woman from a poor circumstance (or turn her from a tomboy or nerd into a sexually attractive woman ). Or the hopeless romantic guy who falls for the beautifully quirky,