الملكة إليزابيث تتسلم مفاتيح إدنبرة ثم تعيدهاhttps://aawsat.com/home/article/3727401/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AB-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AD-%D8%A5%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%AB%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7
الملكة إليزابيث تتسلم مفاتيح إدنبرة ثم تعيدها
في احتفال تقليدي لافتتاح أسبوع هوليرود للعائلة المالكة
الملكة إليزابيث الثانية تصل إدنبرة في أسكوتلندا (د.ب.أ)
الملكة إليزابيث الثانية تصل إدنبرة في أسكوتلندا (د.ب.أ)
وصلت ملكة بريطانيا، إليزابيث الثانية إلى إدنبرة مع أفراد من عائلتها، لتبدأ أسبوعاً من الفعاليات الملكية في أسكوتلندا. وانضم إليها ابنها الأصغر، الأمير إدوارد، وزوجته صوفي في احتفال تقليدي لافتتاح أسبوع هوليرود للعائلة المالكة. وفق موقع «بي بي سي» البريطاني.
وتعاني الملكة البالغة 96 عاماً، من مشكلات في القدرة على الحركة، وأُكّد قرار السفر إلى إدنبرة صباح يوم أمس (الاثنين) فقط.
كانت الملكة قد قلصت ارتباطاتها في الفترة الأخيرة، وشوهدت آخر مرة على الملأ خلال احتفالات اليوبيل البلاتيني.
وبعد وصولها إدنبرة، شاركت الملكة فيما يعرف باسم «حفل المفاتيح»، وذلك في الفناء الأمامي لقصر هوليرودهاوس.
ملكة بريطانيا تشارك في «حفل المفاتيح» (د.ب.أ)
خلال الحفل، الذي يمثل بداية الأسبوع الملكي في أسكوتلندا، قدم اللورد بروفوست مفاتيح المدينة للملكة بشكل رمزي، إلا أن التقاليد تملي عليها أن تعيدها بعد ذلك، وتعهد بحفظها إلى المسؤولين المنتخبين في إدنبرة.
ومن المتوقع أن تبقى الملكة في القصر، مقر إقامتها الرسمي في العاصمة الأسكوتلندية، حتى الأول من يوليو (تموز).
وتتضمن المعالم التقليدية للأسبوع الملكي، تنظيم حفل في حديقة هوليرودهاوس، المقر الرسمي للملكة في إدنبرة.
وكان أُكد في مايو (أيار) الماضي، على أن الملكة لن تشارك في الاحتفال العام الحالي.
وبدلاً عن ذلك، سيستضيف أمير ويلز والأميرة الملكية والأمير إدوارد وصوفي الحفل، يوم غدٍ (الأربعاء)، لتكريم الأشخاص الذين قدموا مساهمات إيجابية للمجتمعات في جميع أنحاء أسكوتلندا.
وتشمل الفعاليات الأخرى حفل استقبال للفائزين بجوائز دوق إدنبرة الذهبية، استضافه الأمير إدوارد في هوليرودهاوس.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during the Armed Forces Day at a military base in Gyeyong, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP)
South Korea's Lee Urges North Korea to Restore Dialogue, Pledges Military Buildup
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during the Armed Forces Day at a military base in Gyeyong, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday called on North Korea to help restore trust and resume dialogue, a day after Seoul and Pyongyang traded barbs over a landmine incident that South Korea's military and the UN Command said amounted to an armistice violation.
"I hope that the North joins us now on the path of restoring trust and resuming dialogue, following a long interruption," Lee said in an address marking the country's Armed Forces Day, adding that his administration would "consistently pursue practical measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas."
The comments came after Seoul's military and the UN Command said North Korea violated the Korean War armistice following a landmine blast last week that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, rejected the findings in a statement on Wednesday, accused Seoul of fabricating the results and warned of retaliation.
Lee reaffirmed his goal of securing the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea, calling it part of a long-standing push for self-reliant national defense.
In a wide-ranging defense reform agenda, Lee also said in his speech that South Korea would build nuclear-powered submarines by the mid-2030s and upgrade missile defense capabilities, including AI-based command-and-control systems and high-energy laser interceptors.
He said the modernization drive would also involve expanding AI capabilities, restructuring the military for future warfare and strengthening the country's three-axis defense system for detecting and intercepting missile threats.
Lee's government has sought to reopen dialogue with North Korea, but Pyongyang has largely rejected Seoul's overtures while pressing ahead with border fortification work along the DMZ.
Butterfly Wing Patterns May Trick Predators with Motion Illusionshttps://aawsat.com/node/5324615
A green-veined white butterfly perches on a cluster of purple lilac flowers, taken in Mareil-Marly, France, on April 22, 2019, in this photograph released on September 30, 2026. Helen Briolat/Handout via REUTERS
Butterfly Wing Patterns May Trick Predators with Motion Illusions
A green-veined white butterfly perches on a cluster of purple lilac flowers, taken in Mareil-Marly, France, on April 22, 2019, in this photograph released on September 30, 2026. Helen Briolat/Handout via REUTERS
When a bird lunges at a butterfly in mid-flight, it may see something that is not there — the insect's wings flashing beneath may not be moving where they appear to be moving. By the time the predator realizes the illusion, the butterfly already may have escaped.
Researchers studying this natural defense have found that contrasting wing patterns can work together with wing movements to create misleading motion signals, making it harder for predators to judge a butterfly's speed and direction during flight.
"The patterns on butterfly wings combine with their wingbeats to create optical illusions, making it look like the butterfly is moving in a different direction to its actual course," said Jolyon Troscianko, a professor at the University of Exeter in England and a leader of the study published in the journal Nature. "This is likely enough to save a butterfly from the split-second moment when a bird would try to catch it."
The idea that stripes and other bold markings can create "motion dazzle" has long been proposed by scientists. But experiments involving animals including zebras, snakes and lizards have produced mixed evidence, and many studies did not account for the movements of wings or limbs.
A fritillary butterfly perches on red clover flowers, taken in Le Planay, Areches-Beaufort, France, on July 25, 2026, in this photograph released on September 30, 2026. Emmanuelle Briolat/Handout via REUTERS
"Butterfly wings are flexible surfaces that clap together and fling apart, and also pivot forwards and backwards in a figure-of-eight as they fly. This movement means that a stripe across the forewings can be visibly and slowly moving down on the down-stroke," Reuters quoted Troscianko as saying.
"But on the up-stroke, this stripe is rapidly folded away and twisted in line with upwards flight direction. Together these make the downwards motion of the butterfly much more visible than its upwards motion, even though it is flying up," Troscianko added.
To investigate the idea, the researchers combined high-speed filming of real butterflies, computer modelling, simulated evolution and touchscreen experiments.
"Stripes are particularly good at interfering with the circuits that detect motion," Troscianko said. "The barber pole illusion is a good example — stripes moving sideways can look like they're moving up or down instead."
The patterns also appear to increase uncertainty about a butterfly's position during an attack.
"This increased 'confusion' effect would be almost impossible to overcome without evolving a fundamentally different visual system," Troscianko said, suggesting it may have been pivotal to the success of the butterflies as a group.
Not all butterflies appear to use this strategy, however.
"The least motion-confusing butterflies are typically brown or red," Troscianko said, suggesting that some species may rely more on camouflage or on warning colors that may signal to predators that the insect is toxic, poisonous or has a bad taste.
To test whether the effects could influence attacks, the researchers recruited 100 human volunteers and carried out 3,000 virtual butterfly-catching experiments. Participants watched videos and attempted to catch butterflies by tapping a screen. Butterflies that were predicted to produce stronger visual confusion caused people to aim farther behind them.
"Predation experiments with live birds and butterflies would have been ideal in many ways, but likely impossible and unethical in practice," Troscianko said.
A European swallowtail butterfly rests on purple lilac in Mareil-Marly, France April 20, 2019, in this handout image released on September 30, 2026. Helen Briolat/Handout via REUTERS
Because the neural circuits involved in motion vision are quite fundamental in vertebrates, Troscianko said, the researchers hope the findings can translate between different species.
Butterflies face multiple predators, and motion confusion may not fool them all equally.
"For now, we've only looked at bird vision," Troscianko said. "In principle, similar effects could happen in predatory insects like dragonflies and robber flies. However, they have much faster vision than birds, so the illusions might not work for them. Indeed, dragonflies and robber flies do successfully hunt butterflies quite often."
Beyond biology, the team's motion-vision tools could have practical applications, from improving how movement is displayed in flight or combat simulators to developing patterning that protects personnel, vehicles, drones or robots in motion when being targeted visually.
"I'm most excited to explore how useful our models could be for improving road safety and reducing discomfort and stress in the built environment, where flashing, moving and striped objects can cause harm or danger," Troscianko said.
Japan Tightens Rules for Foreigners Wanting Permanent Residencyhttps://aawsat.com/node/5324614
Japan Tightens Rules for Foreigners Wanting Permanent Residency
Foreign residents wishing to stay in Japan permanently will have to prove their annual income is above average. Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP
Japan toughened on Thursday requirements for foreigners wanting to obtain permanent residency, as part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's push to tighten immigration controls.
Under new rules that will come into effect in stages, foreign residents wishing to stay in Japan permanently will have to prove their annual income is above average and they can carry casual conversations in Japanese.
Application fees will also rise 20-fold from Thursday and at one immigration office in central Tokyo visited by AFP this week hundreds of people queued, hoping to wrap up procedures before the price spike.
"I understand that over-accepting foreigners... might dilute Japan's unique culture. But at the same time, given its low birth rate and aging population, Japan has to accept foreigners," said American-born university student Yujie Chono, who was among those waiting.
The 22-year-old told AFP, in fluent Japanese, that he had been waiting for five hours to file his paperwork.
Previous guidelines did not lay out specific thresholds for income, pension or language skills.
Even though Japan has a rapidly ageing population and is suffering labor shortages in many sectors, opposition to immigration is growing, prompting a push by Takaichi for tighter regulations on foreign nationals.
"As the number of foreign residents in Japan increases, the government is facing the fact that some citizens feel anxiety and a sense of unfairness," Takaichi said in an extended post on X on Sunday, adding that she was pushing for "orderly coexistence" with foreign nationals.
Programs to attract international workers have fueled public worry.
Anti-immigration sentiment has spread across social media and false claims have circulated widely, including that a significant portion of welfare payments in Japan go to foreigners and that they are making Japanese streets less safe.
Experts and many business leaders warn however that Japan must welcome more foreign workers to sustain itself.
Japan needs to open its doors to more foreigners, the Nikkei business daily said in a recent editorial.
"Japan should stop viewing foreigners merely as a temporary labor force and instead promote their long-term settlement by expanding Japanese-language education and improving their treatment," it said.
- Anti-immigration sentiment -
Foreigners were a major issue in last year's upper house election which saw the sharp rise of the "Japanese-first" Sanseito party, which describes immigration as a "silent invasion".
The new rules for permanent residency come after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last year pushed to tighten regulations for business manager visas, meaning entrepreneurs will be forced to leave Japan if they don't meet the new conditions.
Some foreign residents seek permanent residency to secure long-term stability, employment freedom and to earn trust within Japanese society. Those without permanent residency often have a difficult time seeking mortgages, for example.
Thursday's changes may prevent some people from applying for permanent residency but should not immediately push anyone out of the country.
Under the regulations, the application fee for permanent residency will soar to 200,000 yen ($1,275) from the current 10,000 yen.
Candidates must also show "understanding" of social rules and demonstrate expected pension benefits equivalent to someone who has paid pension insurance for 30 years.
Having lived in Japan for a decade, permanent residency applicant Chono said he saw both sides of the debate but that the country needed young people "to support its future".
"In recent years, I believe there had been a strong push to promote cultural diversity. The momentum has stalled, perhaps, and maybe it may never fully return," he said.
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