Category: News

Lamborghini has just launched a baby stroller that costs the same as a used car in good condition.

They call it the Reef Al Arancio, and it looks more or less like any other baby stroller.

The only thing that’s different is the badge.

Well, the price too.

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This Lamborghini stroller costs the same as a used car in good condition

The Lamborghini Reef Al Arancio features a ‘proper’ car-like suspension, all-terrain wheels and Lamborghini logos and badges throughout.

It’s painted black, with orange accents throughout, and production is limited to 500 units worldwide.

Because of course it is.

The price is absolutely mind-blowing.

Lamborghini will sell you one of these for £4,000, equivalent to around $5,179 at the time of writing.

You can buy a used car in great condition for that, or a decent car-inspired watch.

But, as we all know, there are a lot of people with a lot of money in the world, so this’ll no doubt be sold out within days.

When automakers build something that isn’t a car

Automakers are particularly keen to diversify these days, constantly introducing new products that have nothing to do with cars.

For example, Bugatti, Porsche and Mercedes have all recently unveiled their new residential buildings.

Obviously, these projects have actual construction and design companies behind them, but Bugatti, Porsche and Mercedes (and others) collaborated through the whole process, and they slammed their logos everywhere.

Then there’s Tesla, a brand that famously sells a bunch of things that aren’t cars.

To name a few, there’s the Tesla Tequila, Tesla GigaBier, and – of course – the Cybertruck cat bed.

Then there’s the odd Cybertruck-inspired Cyberspoon, which is literally just a spoon launched in partnership with McDonald’s China for the McFlurry ice cream.

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Treat Mum to a special Italian dining experience, complete with a complimentary Aperol Spritz on her special day

Bella Italia is making Mother’s Day even more special this year by offering all mums a complimentary Aperol Spritz.

The offer is available when dining at any Bella Italia restaurant on Sunday, 30th March 2025. (Available 28th to 30th March 2025 in Scotland).

This exclusive offer is the perfect way to celebrate Mum with a delicious Italian meal, whether it’s a family lunch, a relaxed evening out, or a heartfelt toast to the most important woman in your life.

Alongside the classic Aperol Spritz, a soft drink alternative will also be available, ensuring every mum can enjoy a refreshing treat.

With a menu full of Italian favourites, including creamy Carbonara, hearty Bolognese, hand-stretched sourdough pizzas and oven roasted Sea Bass, Bella Italia provides the perfect setting for a memorable Mother’s Day meal.

Whether you’re sharing a comforting pasta dish or indulging in a classic Tiramisu, it’s a chance to relax, reconnect, and celebrate the occasion with the warmth of Italian hospitality.

The Mother’s Day Aperol Spritz giveaway is part of Bella Italia’s ‘Feel Bella’ initiative, which celebrates the joy of dining together. Inspired by the Italian tradition of bringing loved ones around the table, Bella Italia creates a welcoming atmosphere where guests can escape the everyday, savour delicious food, and make meaningful memories.

A Bella Italia spokesperson said:

“Mothers deserve to be celebrated, and what better way to show appreciation than by sharing a meal together? Our Mother’s Day Aperol Spritz giveaway is a small way to say thank you while enjoying great food, great company, and an Italian dining experience. Through our ‘Feel Bella’ initiative, we want to bring people together and create special moments that will be cherished for a long time.”

With over 70 restaurants nationwide, Bella Italia remains a favourite destination for Italian inspired cuisine. Whether it’s a well-loved pasta dish, a hearty pizza, or a sweet indulgence, there’s something for every mum to enjoy.

For full terms and conditions, participating locations, and more information, visit BellaItalia.co.uk.

Terms & Conditions:

Enjoy a complimentary Aperol Spritz when dining at Bella Italia on 30th March 2025 (28th to 30th March in Scotland). A soft drink alternative is available. Eat-in only. Not valid with any other offer, discount, or promotion. Not available for delivery, click & collect, or takeaway. Not valid at Center Parcs locations, Jersey, London Paddington, Leicester Wigston, or Dover. Offer has no cash value and is subject to availability. Offer can be redeemed by each guest on tables of up to 10 guests. Bella Italia reserves the right to withdraw this offer at any time without notice.

 

Paul Givan announced that the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) will continue into 2025/26 and that the subsidy cap, the maximum amount that can be claimed per child, has also been increased to reflect the anticipated rise in childcare fees from April 2025.

It means parents will be able to claim up to £184 per child, rising from the previous £164.

There will also be a rise in the administrative payment paid to providers delivering the scheme.

While the announcement was welcomed in the Assembly, those campaigning for more help with childcare costs are still being priced out of the workplace, with many parents opting to leave work as they are unable to afford childcare costs.

Campaign group Melted Parents NI said the announcement will do little to assist parents, who continue to face childcare bills which can mount to more than £10,000 every year.

They added that the cost is making some families choose between working and leaving their careers as they’re unable to meet the costs — and that in reality families will be ‘worse off than before’.

“We genuinely can’t comprehend how the Education Minister thought this cap increase would be enough for families with the highest childcare bills,” said a spokesperson for Melted Parents NI.

“For some parents, their bills per child for full-time childcare are reaching £1500 a month. This 10% increase in the cap is being framed as significant, yet it amounts to a maximum of just £17 more per month for those facing bills well over £1,000. An extra £17 a month won’t keep parents in work or prevent them from falling into debt due to childcare costs,” the group added.

“We need meaningful action to lower families’ bills. Due to recent increases, the 15% subsidy has already been wiped out for many families leaving them worse off than before the subsidy was introduced.”

Parents are spending an average of over £10,000 every year on childcare according to Employers for Childcare in a 2023 survey, though fees have increased further in the last year.

Melted Parents NI are planning a march for childcare in Belfast on Saturday, April 5 to highlight their growing concerns.

The march will see parents walk from Writer’s Square to Belfast city centre at 10.30am.

The group says the reality remains that childcare costs are higher than rent and mortgages, with many parents leaving an already under pressure workforce as they can’t afford the rising costs.

Making the announcement during Education Questions in the NI Assembly on Monday, Paul Givan said: “Since the scheme launched in September, it has helped ease the financial burden on thousands of parents throughout Northern Ireland, providing over £6.5million in savings for working families.

“This is £6.5million additional money Northern Ireland parents have in their pockets as a direct result of the scheme.

“When combined with Tax-Free Childcare, it is estimated that these working families will have saved over £14 million since September 2024.

“I am therefore pleased to announce that the NICSS will continue into 2025/26.”

The Minister said he was aware that many childcare providers are preparing to increase their fees further over the coming weeks and to offset that added: “I am also increasing the subsidy cap by 10% from April 1, 2025, to ensure that the vast majority of parents continue to receive the full subsidy available.”

The NICSS was first introduced in September 2024 and provides a 15% subsidy on childcare costs to support working parents with children who have not yet started primary school.

It is delivered by registered childcare providers participating in the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme, including daycares, playgroups, childminders, and Approved Home Childcare.

The Minister continued: “We are also increasing the administrative payment to providers who facilitate the scheme in recognition of their increased operating costs and to ensure these costs are not passed on to parents.

“The NICSS continues to provide valuable support to working families and I will consider what more can be done when my budget for next year is confirmed. I would encourage any parents or providers who have not yet signed up to register and take advantage of the scheme.”

Constance Marten, 37, and Mark Gordon, 50, are accused of the gross negligence manslaughter of their baby in early 2023.

The couple kept the birth of their fifth child secret and went on the run on January 5, 2023, after their four other children were taken into care, the Old Bailey was told.

When their car burst into flames on a motorway near Bolton, they abandoned their belongings and travelled by taxi to Essex and London and on to the South Downs where they slept with the young girl in a flimsy tent, jurors heard.

Having carried the child in a Lidl bag during her short life, the baby was abandoned amid rubbish in the same bag after she died, it is alleged.

Following a police search, her body was found in a disused shed near Brighton following the couple’s arrest in Golf Drive, Brighton, on February 27, 2023.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Tom Little KC asserted there were two possible ways the baby died – by exposure to the extreme cold or by smothering while co-sleeping while her parents, who would have been exhausted from days on the run.

He told jurors that the conditions the defendants lived in with their baby were “utterly reckless, utterly dangerous”.

The background of social services’ involvement with the family was important because the defendants had been warned “time and again” of the dangers of sleeping in a tent with a young child, he said.

Mr Little said: “They exposed her to the cold. They exposed her to the damp in winter conditions and they did so with woefully inadequate clothing.

“Any child that becomes hypothermic in those conditions, we say, must amount to a breach of duty of care. If death was caused by smothering or suffocation, one of the reasons for that must have been conditions in that tent.

“The second defendant (Marten) fell asleep with the baby underneath her jacket zipped up in that tent. If that is what occurred, it represents a breach of that duty of care by the parents because they were in that tent together.

“We say the risk of death by hyopthermia or suffocation was obvious, but also it was a serious risk of death.”

The defendants’ failure to report the child’s death was an attempt to “hide potential evidence and cause of death,” he said.

Jurors were told the defendants were convicted at an earlier trial of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice.

The defendants, of no fixed address, have denied manslaughter and a second charge of causing or allowing the death of a child between January 4 and February 27, 2023.

The Old Bailey retrial continues.

• Sowmyanarayan Sampath is the CEO of Verizon Consumer Group.

• He is also a dad to two sons, ages 12 and 15.

• He avoids phones in front of his kids but doesn’t set specific time limits for his sons.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sowmyanarayan Sampath, executive vice president and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I’m the CEO of Verizon and also the dad of two boys, who are 12 and 15. They got phones when they were about 10, which is when they started walking places and going to activities without my wife and me. The phones were a tool to coordinate with them.

When it comes to digital wellness for teens, I’m like patient 0, right in the middle of it. I see no conflict at all between running a digital communication corporation and telling others to put the phone down. Here’s what that looks like for my family.

We believe technology is good

My wife and I started conversations about phones with the foundational belief that technology is good. I think smartphones are one of the most important human inventions of the last 1,000 years. They’re beneficial for knowledge, connection, safety, and fun.

Yet, I try to avoid being on my phone in front of my sons. My wife and I set limits around when and how our boys can use their phones. We don’t see this issue as black and white, good or bad. I think that’s where many digital wellness campaigns fail: they miss the nuance in this conversation.

I want phones to enhance real life

These days, the average teen spends about five hours on social media and picks up their phone hundreds of times each day. I don’t want that for my sons. I want phones to enhance their lives, not detract from them.

That means taking time away from the phones to create space for other fun things in life, including learning, physical activity, and relationships. We encourage phone-free time and don’t allow social media until they are 13.

I try to make phone-free time fun. I know I’m competing with the phone for my sons’ attention. Watching a football game together, going for ice cream, or even walking the neighborhood makes it easier for them to put their phones down.

We don’t allow phones at the dining table or at night

We have two strict boundaries about phone use: no phones at the kitchen table when we’re having a meal and no phones in the bedroom at night. At first, we had the boys put their phones on the kitchen counter during meals, but now we don’t have to do that. They know not to check their phones, even if they’re in their pockets.

When the boys were allowed to have their phones in their rooms after lights out, we noticed that they’d wake up groggy or tired. Now, they charge their phones downstairs at night. My wife and I do the same thing because we want to lead by example.

I avoid being on the phone around them

I want to be present when I’m with my sons, so I avoid using the phone around them. I don’t doom scroll or even joy scroll when they’re with me.

I’m most intentional about this on the weekends. On Saturdays and Sundays, I don’t check my phone until noon. That gives me uninterrupted family time to go to sports practices, birthday parties, and other activities. As the CEO of a global company, I know that if there’s a major emergency, my team will find a way to reach me.

We don’t set specific time limits

My wife and I use the Verizon Family app to monitor our kids’ phone use, including who they’re messaging with, the apps they use, and their screen time. It also helps us teach them responsible use: If I tell my sons to put down their phones, they might not listen, but if I show them they’ve already spent three hours on it, they’re more likely to join me for a swim or a basketball game.

Still, we don’t set specific screen limits. My kids have shown they’re responsible and can balance time with and without their phones. That’s more important to me than giving them an arbitrary limit. Some days, they spend more time on the phone than others, like if they’re using it to research school projects.

We encourage calling rather than text

My family loves video calls. I will always answer a call from my wife or sons, even if I’m in a meeting and need to just say, “I’ll call you back.” We regularly video call the grandparents, cousins, and extended family because it provides a much more robust connection than you can get over text. I encourage the boys to call friends, but they mostly chat.

I understand this won’t always be perfect

Sometimes, we all have bad or busy days. In those days, we learned more heavily about technology and the passive entertainment phones can provide. That’s OK. Being mindful about technology is an ongoing daily conversation.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Selena Gomez’s mother Mandy Teefey has recently clapped back at a male investor after he made a snide comment about her achievements.

Mandy took to Instagram on March 10 and posted of herself holding Selena as a baby as she recalled a business meeting when the investor told her that giving birth to the Emilia Perez star was her biggest success.

In her social media post, Selena’s mom began, “All my female entrepreneurs! Quick lesson, if someone ever discredits you, even with a proven track record, be kind to yourself and let it motivate you.”

“Fundraising for your dream can take the life out of you and instill false doubt,” she continued.

Mandy said, “I have given my all for everything I have and especially Wondermind.”

“I have hurdles to jump for many different reasons, but this one made me laugh. I had a pitch, we nailed it, I was the only woman in the pitch,” recounted the 48-year-old.

Mandy mentioned, “The investor went on and on about the other players and looked at me and said, ‘And Mandy, you gave birth to Selena.’”

“I took a minute and just laughed while saying, ’Yes, hell yes I did and the singer’s Gracie and 13 Reasons Why and Wondermind and I must say, that’s a bigger accomplishment [than] being charismatic,’” stated the entrepreneur.

Mandy noted she’s a “mom, CEO and co-founder to a company that is made to better people’s life”.

“Don’t try to shame me or downplay motherhood. I’m quite happy with how my life turned out,” she admitted.

The Only Murders in the Building actress’ mother explained, “I hope he gets happy with his and learn to respect all people and not Bro out to get the courage to attempt an insult.”

“Missed the mark, my guy,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, Mandy reportedly cofounded the mental health organisation Wondermind with her daughter Selena.

By Adam Presser, Head of Operations & Trust and Safety

• New Family Pairing features give parents additional tools to set boundaries and customizable limits for their individual family needs
• A new in-app meditation feature is designed to help teens wind down if they use TikTok after 10pm
• Since our Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Feed launched, it is now available in more than 100 countries and is enjoyed by millions of teens every week

Every day, teens around the world express their creativity, connect with friends, and learn on TikTok. We build the strongest safeguards into teen accounts by default to help ensure young people have positive experiences on our app — and to give parents peace of mind. We see this with the success of #LearnOnTikTok which is igniting new interests in everything from local geology to ancient history. And since launching a feed dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), millions of teens use it every week. Today, we’re expanding our family features to provide parents with more options for tailoring their teens’ account. We’re also introducing a feature to help teens build balanced digital habits.

Simple supervision tools for families

Since launching Family Pairing – TikTok’s parenting controls – five years ago, we’ve continually added new features based on feedback from families, as well as guidance from leading experts. Today, we’re enhancing Family Pairing by launching a way for parents to block their teens from being on TikTok during times that they control. No teen or family is the same, and whether it’s during family time, school, at night, or a weekend away, caregivers can use our new Time Away feature to decide when it’s best for their teens to take a break. Parents can also set a reoccurring schedule to best suit their family life. If plans change, teens can request extra time, but parents make the final decision.

We’re also adding a Family Pairing feature that can allow parents to see who their teen is following on TikTok, and who follows them, along with accounts their teen has blocked. With increased visibility into their teen’s network, parents will be better equipped to have ongoing conversations and help their teens develop the digital literacy skills they need.

We also hear that parents want to know more about the content their teens engage with on our app. In response, in the coming months, when a teen reports a video they think may be against TikTok’s rules, they can choose to alert a parent, caregiver, or other trusted adult at the same time, even if they aren’t using Family Pairing.

With these latest updates, parents can now view or adjust more than 15 safety, well-being, and privacy features. This includes:

• Re-enabling our feed dedicated to STEM, if their teen has turned it off. This is now available in more than 100 countries and is enjoyed by millions of teens every week.
• Setting customizable daily screen time limits. For example, parents could choose to limit their teens to 30 minutes on TikTok during the week but a little longer on a weekend. Once a parent-set limit has been reached, a teen can only use TikTok if their parent shares a unique passcode. Even if a parent doesn’t customize their teen’s settings, everyone under 18 has a 60 minute daily screen time limit by default.
• Switching their teen’s account back to the default private setting, if their teen has made it public.

Helping teens learn balanced digital habits

We’re also announcing a new way to encourage young people to switch off at night. If a teen under 16 is on TikTok after 10pm, their For You feed will be interrupted with our new wind down feature. At launch, this is a full-screen takeover with calming music to help teens relax and be mindful of the time. If a teen decides to spend additional time on TikTok after the first reminder, we show a second, harder to dismiss, full-screen prompt. As before, we deliberately do not send push notifications to teens at night, which cannot be changed.

We designed these features to reflect best practices in behavioral change theory by providing positive nudges that can help teens develop balanced long-term habits. In countries where this has already been piloted, the vast majority of teens decide to keep this reminder on. In the coming weeks, we’ll also test adding meditation exercises to the wind down reminder, as research shows that mindful meditation can improve sleep quality.

As with any new feature, we look forward to hearing feedback from our community, and to inform our future plans, we’re conducting research with parents and teens around the world to understand how else we can help with the development of balanced habits.

Partnering with industry and civil society to build consensus on age assurance

Age assurance is one of the most complex areas that online platforms, policymakers and regulators are grappling with. We continue to enforce our age rules and add additional ways to confirm the age of people who use our platform. As part of our enforcement, we continue to use technology, like machine learning, to prevent people under 13 from being on our platform and make sure that teenagers are in the right age appropriate experience. In addition, we’re partnering with Telefónica to understand how people can use age information from their phone provider to confirm their age. TikTok also supports the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Age Assurance, an initiative convened by the Centre for Information Policy Leadership and the WeProtect Global Alliance, that brings together online platforms, regulators, policymakers, privacy and child rights organizations to discuss industry-wide approaches to age assurance.

We constantly work to simplify things for caregivers, so they can feel confident supporting their teens. Our Digital Safety Partnership for Families is designed to make it easier to start conversations about online experiences and set positive digital boundaries together. It’s intentionally not specific to any single app or service and includes suggested agreements for when devices and parental supervision tools are used. Throughout 2025, we’ll continue to make deliberate decisions to keep TikTok safe, especially for teens.

Dr. Vicki Harrison, Member of TikTok’s Content Advisory Counsel and Program Director for Stanford Psychiatry’s Center for Youth Mental Health & Wellbeing:

“TikTok has responded to calls from both youth and their families for more tools that will help them support their wellbeing while using the app. Prioritizing sleep, balanced usage and more parent-teen interactions around social media use are all positive steps that I hope we see more of.”

Stephen Balkam, CEO and Founder of the Family Online Safety Institute: 

“TikTok’s latest iteration of its parental controls and online safety tools is a welcome development for families looking to both protect their children from harm and empower them as responsible digital citizens. Most importantly, these tools give parents greater support in fostering open, ongoing conversations about their children’s technology use.”

Indonesian authorities rescued a critically endangered baby Sumatran elephant after it became separated from its mother at a palm oil plantation, a local official said on Tuesday.

Sumatran elephants are on the brink of extinction with only about 2,400-2,800 left in the world, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The two-month-old male calf was found at an oil palm plantation in Riau province on the western island of Sumatra on Monday after residents alerted authorities, local conservation agency official Ujang Holisudin told AFP.

“We suspect this elephant was left behind by his group or his mother,” Ujang said, adding that the calf was alone when authorities found him.

The baby elephant is in good health after medical checks and was brought to the conservation agency’s elephant training centre near the provincial capital Pekanbaru, he said.

Authorities were monitoring for elephant herds near the area to see if the calf could be reunited with its family.

“It is our hope that the group can be found and we can reunite (the calf). That is our hope,” Ujang said.

Elephant populations are threatened by rampant poaching for their tusks, which are prized in the illegal wildlife trade.

The Southeast Asian nation is battling wildlife crime and several cases of elephant poisoning have been reported in recent years.

Deforestation has also reduced their natural habitat and brought them into increasing conflict with humans.

mrc/jfx/pbt

Last Updated:March 11, 2025, 17:00 IST

In a revelation, Nikki Tamboli’s father mentioned that they have not celebrated Holi in 4 years after the demise of their 29-year-old son.

Nikki’s father will join her in a special Holi episode. (Photo Credit: Instagram)

Celebrity MasterChef continues to entertain viewers with its culinary challenges and reality drama. After weeks of tasks and eliminations, six contestants Tejasswi Prakash, Gaurav Khanna, Faisu, Rajiv Adatia, Nikki Tamboli, Archana Gautam and Usha Nadkarni remain in the show, one of whom will be declared the winner. Besides the tension, the celebrities are gearing up for a special Holi celebration episode. Hina Khan and Rocky Jaiswal will be joining as guests along with family members of the contestants.

Nikki Tamboli’s father graced the set of Celebrity Masterchef to support his daughter and celebrate Holi. Nikki was thrilled to have her father on the show and touched his feet to take blessings. Chef Ranveer said, “Digambar ji, your one call and that one I Love You changed Nikki’s life.” In a heartbreaking revelation, he mentioned that they have not celebrated Holi in 4 years after the death of their 29-year-old son. He said, “It has been four years, Sachin passed away, tabse humne holi nahi manayi. Tabse usko yeh hai ki Sachin dada nahi raha. Since then Nikki hasn’t celebrated Holi.”

Nikki lost her brother Jatin Tamboli on May 4, 2021, from COVID-19 related complications.

In a previous episode, Nikki prepared Farah Khan’s famous roast chicken which she revealed was one of her father’s favourite dishes. Nikki had an emotional time as she recalled her strained relationship with her father because he disapproved of her entertainment career. With her perfect dish, Nikki won the judge’s heart and also earned the immunity pin.

Thereafter, Chef Ranveer Brar encouraged her to call her father, who was thrilled to hear about her achievements and praised her cooking. In an emotional moment, he said, “I love you, Nikki,” which brought her to tears. Farah Khan also lauded Nikki’s culinary skills, making it a heartfelt and memorable experience.

Nikki Tamboli earlier shared that her presence on the show is a tribute to her family. Talking about her father, she said that she hopes that her participation would reinforce her bond with her father, who taught her to cook as a child.