13 March - The Knowledge

In the headlines

Gary Lineker will return to Match of the Day on Saturday, after BBC Director General Tim Davie announced a review of the corporation’s social media guidelines and apologised for the disruption to sport programming over the weekend. Lineker, who was taken off air over his criticism of the government’s language on asylum seekers, said it had been a “surreal few days”. Michelle Yeoh has become the first Asian woman to win Best Actress at the Oscars, for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The multiverse adventure movie was the night’s big winner, picking up seven awards including Best Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay; Best Actor went to Brendan Fraser for The Whale. History was also made at Crufts, where four-year-old Orca (below) became the first lagotto Romagnolo to win Best in Show. The curly-haired retrievers were originally bred for duck hunting, but are now more commonly used to sniff out truffles.

Fashion

Many of the stars at last night’s Oscars hopped on the rather risqué trend for sheer, barely-there dresses. Emily Ratajkowski opted from a see-through silver frock with strategically placed brocade; Lady Gaga wore a black Versace gown with a gauzy corset; Rihanna showed off her baby bump in a laser-cut leather dress with sheer panelling. If you want to try the look yourself, says Eliza, a good way to start is a mesh top, which can be worn with a matching skirt or dressed down by pairing with jeans and mules. To make it more appropriate for everyday dressing, layer an “embroidered bralette” underneath.

On the money

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco made a $161bn profit last year, the highest ever by a publicly listed company. “If my back of envelope calculation’s correct,” says Bloomberg journalist David Ingles on Twitter, “that works out to be $5,000 every second.”

Eating in

Environmental campaigners are urging Brits to eat squirrels, says Sophie Morris in the I newspaper, because ballooning populations are damaging local ecosystems. I ordered two “vacuum-packed critters”, priced at £4.95 each, which arrived “beautifully skinned, with deep purple flesh”. They’re a bit of a faff to prepare – “squirrels are small, therefore they have tiny bones” – but the meat “speaks for itself in terms of depth of flavour”. After dicing and cooking them with some wine, veg and spices, the resulting ragù was “meltingly soft”. Order yours here.

Inside politics

Donald Trump and his team are busy “workshopping new nicknames” for his chief GOP rival Ron DeSantis, says Bloomberg. The former president still favours “Ron DeSanctimonious”, but others around him “don’t think it’s a bullseye”. Alternative monikers include “Ron DisHonest”, “Ron DeEstablishment”, or even “Tiny D” – the Florida governor is only 5ft 9in.

Noted

It might be terrifying when someone tries to open a plane door mid-flight, as one unruly United Airlines passenger did last weekend, says The Washington Post. But they’ll never succeed. People are simply not strong enough to overcome the “tremendous pressure holding the door in place” at a typical cruising altitude of 35,000 feet – more than 1,100 pounds against each square foot.

Snapshot

It’s a new kind of electrified bandage that can help a wound heal 30% faster, says IEEE Spectrum. The stretchy, wireless, battery-free plaster wraps around “injury sites” and creates a small electrical field to “lightly zap” the affected area, encouraging cells to grow back. It works especially well on people with diabetes, which can slow down blood circulation and make it harder for wounds to heal.

Quoted

quoted 13.3.23

“All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.”

Irish playwright Seán O’Casey