Цибулеві котлети – проста дієтична страва, яка готується за 10 хвилин. До того ж, такі котлети досить ситні. Подробиці Тих, хто боїться запаху цибулі з рота, потішимо гарною новиною – при правильному приготуванні котлети повністю позбавляються властивої цибулі гіркоти. Для приготування 4-5 котлет вам знадобиться 3 цибулини, 2 яйця, кілька зубчиків часнику та трохи […]

  Починати день з великої склянки води є однією з найбільш корисних для здоров’я звичок. Але приблизно кожна друга людина п’є недостатньо, констатують фахівці Німецького товариства харчування (DGE). Експерти DGE підкреслюють, що звичка починати день зі склянки води сприяє багатьом позитивним процесам в тілі людини “Тіло не може функціонувати без достатньої кількості води. Проблема полягає […]

Not everyone is happy as another state scraps its solar energy sweetener for homes as a federal government battery subsidy kicks in.

MET Eireann has slapped 14 counties with a Status Yellow thunderstorm warning – and it’s already in affect.

The alert warns of heavy showers with scattered thunderstorms and localised flooding – and it will remain in place until 5pm this evening in some spots.

WXCHARTS

Met Eireann thunderstorm warning for 14 counties counties today[/caption]

Meteologix

Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are also possible tonight[/caption]

The Status Yellow alert is in place for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, Leinster, Tipperary and Waterford.

Met Eireann‘s forecast confirmed that heavy showers will develop across north areas of the country, some of them heavy with localised flooding and scattered thunderstorms.

There is a status yellow thunderstorms warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo from 7am this morning.

It will last until 5pm today and warns of heavy showers with scattered thunderstorms.

A status yellow thunderstorm warning for Leinster, Tipperary and Waterford has been in affect since midnight and the warning will last until 2pm this afternoon.

The UK Met Office has also issued a Status Yellow alert for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry.

This is in place since at 6am this morning and will last until 9pm tonight.

Meteorologist Matthew Martin said: “We have some warm and humid air moving up from the Bay of Biscay today. That’s going to bring plenty of rain and showers and possibly some thunderstorms also.

“And there is a status yellow thunderstorm warning in operation for many counties today, with a shot of some heavy downpours bringing some localised flooding.

“So do keep a close eye for updates on those warnings as the day progresses.”

He continued: “So for today, our breaths of rain and possibly a few embedded thunderstorms will push north over Ireland.

“A mix of bright spells and showers will then follow from the south later this afternoon and evening.

LOCALISED FLOODING

“But the rain is going to linger in Ulster until night fog. So the potential for some localised surface flooding with all that rain.”

Today is set to be a humid day with temperatures ranging between 16C to 21C with moderate southeast winds.

And the weather expert confirmed that scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible tonight.

Lowest temperatures will range from 10C to 15C.

Showery rain will clear to the north early on tomorrow with a mix of sunshine and highest temperatures of 17C to 21C.

A few heavy or thundery downpours may develop in the south and southwest in the afternoon and evening.

Saturday will be another showery day with sunshine and the chance of a few thunderstorms once again.

Highest temperatures of 16C to 20C in generally light westerly or variable winds.

‘MUCH WARMER’

Sunday will be rather cloudy for a time with a few light showers spreading from the west – but it will become sunnier later in the day with highs of 15C to 18C.

It will be mostly dry on Sunday night with just a few showers in the northwest.

Lowest temperatures of 8C to 11C, coolest in the south and southeast under the clearer skies.

Donegal Weather Channel said that Ireland looks set to become “much warmer” from around midweek next week.

They said: “From around mid week next week there are strong signs things will become drier and also gradually becoming much warmer also.

“From around midweek next week and into the end of next week high pressure looks set to dominate and stay close to Ireland with temperatures rising into the low 20s mid week and into the mid 20s by the end of next week and then possibly into the high 20s by the end of next weekend.

“Into the following week some models show a potential for very hot air moving northwards up across Ireland so it will be interesting to see if this trend continues over the next few days on models.”

A MASKED goblin figure chases two unsuspecting tourists along the busy streets, shrouded in a long multicoloured cloak.

A few feet away, a priest carries a goat, preparing to sacrifice its blood to Voodoo gods and share its meat with other believers.

Kennedy News and Media

A Zangbeto ‘goblin’ guardian’ chases tourists in the world’s ‘Voodoo capital’[/caption]

Kennedy Newsand Media

An altar appears to be covered in the blood of a sacrificed animal[/caption]

Kennedy Newsand Media

Voodoo dolls are used to cast love spells[/caption]

Kennedy Newsand Media

Brit tourist Keiran Brown poses with a snake around his neck after his visit to the Temple of Pythons[/caption]

Welcome to the Voodoo capital of the world: Ouidah, in Benin, West Africa.

Here the ‘goblin’ guardians, known as the Zangbeto, roam the streets wielding wooden swords – ready to ward off evil in both the human and spirit world.

Visitors flock to the tiny city, which has a population of 162,000, to witness sacrificial rituals and buy artefacts that are believed to bring good fortune, such as the heads of dogs and other animals.

Despite its lack of attention in most mainstream holiday brochures, 337,000 tourists are reported to have visited Benin in 2019 and the numbers are believed to be growing.

These so-called ‘dark tourists‘ include Brits like Viktor Wynd – owner of London-based tour company Gone With the Wynd, who takes up to three tours a year – and Kieran Brown, an ex-barman turned TikTok travel influencer.

Benin, for its part, is happy to welcome intrigued visitors, with priests charging for their guidance and private rituals, and public festivals and Voodoo events charging admission fees. 

Kieran, 30, from Sidcup, Kent, visited the country during his tour along Africa’s coastline and recalls his nerve-racking encounters at local landmarks including the Temple of Pythons.

Inside a sealed room at a religious sanctuary, locals worship snakes instead of fearing them, and Kieran encountered dozens of the creatures slithering around.

Snakes are said to represent the Voodoo god Da, who is believed to bring fertility and life to its worshippers.

The priest even put one around Kieran’s neck but insisted the potentially deadly pythons do not hurt humans.

Kieran tells The Sun: “There was a thick door, the guy opened it, and there were around 60 to 70 pythons.

“He put them around our neck and they seemed pretty chilled.

“I didn’t feel any energy and I don’t believe in that but the people in the town are heavy believers.

“That’s the most popular religion in that side of the world, there is more Voodoo than Christianity.”

‘Land of the dead’

It’s thought 60million people around the world practice Voodoo, which is believed to have originated in Ouidah and where around 60 per cent are said to be followers.

Voodoo – known traditionally as Vodoun, or Vodún – was officially declared a religion in Benin in 1996, and the annual festival, on January 10, attracts worshippers from all over the globe. 

Followers believe spirits control both the human world and the ‘land of the dead’, with different deities relied on to protect everything from villages to trees and rivers. 

They not only worship them from small shrines in their homes but they also attend public and private rituals led by community priests, who can be male or female. 

Voodoo dolls are sold at markets and sellers even claim the infamous figurines are able to make people fall in love with you.

Snakes are worshipped as gods and animal sacrifice – including that of dogs – is commonplace and is often part of Voodoo initiation ceremonies.

Dark arts

During his visit, Kieran also recalls his encounter with one of the striking Zangbeto.

These oddly dressed, masked figures act as the unofficial police on the streets of Ouidah, and are believed to keep residents and the religion’s witches and spirits in line. 

Their name itself comes from ‘zan’, meaning night, and ‘gbeto’ that refers to person or people – so translates to ‘people of the night’, although they now appear in daylight hours as well.

Kieran said: “When we were there we were walking around and there was a man dressed up as a Zangbeto and people were trying to get close to him and he chased people.

Kennedy Newsand Media

Voodoo dolls on sale in the city of Ouidah[/caption]

Kennedy Newsand Media

Masks and preserved animal parts are sold on the street[/caption]

“We were walking through a street and he saw us. Because we were the only white people we stood out.

“It was a man dressed up like a goblin, he had a thick mask on.

“I can’t explain it but he was dressed like a monster, people were running away when it came close.

“People were trying to annoy it by running towards it and eventually it would snap and start chasing you, it seemed to be like a game, everyone was chanting.”

Temple of Pythons

Ouidah is home to the religion’s Mecca, The Sacred Forest, where trees are considered holy and capable of granting wishes.

Due to the rituals of spells and sacrifices, parallels have been drawn to witchcraft, which was greatly feared in 13th to 15th century Britain and led to the execution of those accused of practising it. 

However, Voodoo is now recognised as a protected religious belief in Britain under the Equality Act 2010.

And expert Viktor explains that Voodoo remains an everyday feature throughout Benin – visible on the streets and with most people’s homes featuring aspects of the religion.  

AFP

A statue representing past kings in the town of Ouidah[/caption]

Kennedy Newsand Media

Snakes are worshipped in the Temple of Pythons[/caption]

AFP

A Voodoo priest rides a cow before the animal is sacrificed[/caption]

Viktor, who is also a Voodoo artefact collector and runs The Viktor Wynd Museum in Hackney, East London, said: “Wherever you go in Benin, everyone has a Voodoo altar and everyone goes to the Voodoo priests. 

“Each person has one main Voodoo spirit that they serve. 

“People dressed as Zangbeto do these dances to regulate the spirit world and the world of the living. They’re intermediaries with the other world.

“There’s always something happening so a few weeks before we go we’ll WhatsApp the priests and get all sorts of interesting invitations.

“There’s Voodoo in the Caribbean and it’s very underground but in Benin it takes centre stage. That’s why people find it so interesting.

“It’s fought back against the dominance of Muslims and Christians, who have marginalised the religion in other parts of the world.”

While Benin is credited as being the origin of Voodoo, it has spread to neighbouring countries such as Nigeria, Togo and even the Caribbean.

In Togo, Kieran visited the world’s biggest Voodoo market, where he found skulls of various animals – including dogs.

The traveller spoke to the local Witch Doctor, who said each skull has different properties and are often prescribed to cure illnesses. 

Kieran said: “That region of the world in particular, I went to the world’s biggest Voodoo market in Toga, where you can buy every type of animal skull.

“It was a bit creepy, we were walking and there was every skull you can buy.

“We spoke to the Witch Doctor, he explained it’s normal in this culture. When I posted a video people were horrified but they could be horrified with some of the things in Western culture.

“There were Voodoo dolls and spells, he said it is possible to make another person fall in love with you, but I didn’t believe it.”

Kennedy Newsand Media

A Voodoo shrine in Benin[/caption]

Kennedy Newsand Media

Another Zangbeto in the streets of the city[/caption]

Kennedy Newsand Media

Goat slaughter

Every year on January 10 the Vodoun (Voodoo) Festival is celebrated across Benin and especially in the city of Ouidah, where practitioners gather to honour their spirits with sacrifices, dancing and singing.

The festival begins with the slaughter of a goat to honour the religion’s spirits. 

The blood is used as an offering to the spirits and the animals – such as chickens, goats, sheep and cows – are then cooked and shared amongst the worshippers.

Despite experiencing the ‘creepiness’ of the voodoo market and rituals, Kieran would recommend Voodoo tourism to Brits who want to explore that part of the world.

Meanwhile, Viktor is keen to share his passion for the area and religion with the world and invites those who are intrigued to his museum and to join his unorthodox holiday tours.

Gone With The Wynd

Viktor Wynd is a collector of Voodoo paraphernalia[/caption]

Kennedy news and media

Viktor’s museum houses an array of unusual artefacts and creepy curiosities[/caption]

A DAD was killed as he tried to save his pet dog which had fallen over a steep cliff into the sea, an inquest has heard.

Gary Conlon, 64, was on holiday with his family when the tragic accident happened at Porth Joke beach in Crantock, Cornwall, last October.

An inquest at Cornwall Coroner’s Court heard Gary had gone out with his dog called Monty for a morning walk while the rest of the family got ready to go to Padstow for breakfast.

But witness Daniel Beesley saw a man on the headland coastal path waving his arms saying that his dog had gone off the cliff into the water.

In his statement Mr Beesley said he could see Monty swimming in the water and was “fine”.

But Gary took off his walking boots and socks as he edged along the loose shale.

Mr Beesley said: “I shouted to him two or three times that it was too dangerous and that he would slip but he ignored me.”

He said Gary, who ran his own electrical business, squatted down to look over the cliff and started to climb down.

He had gone around 4ft when he slipped and fell landing on a flat rock before hitting the water.

Mr Beesley said Gary panicked before waving his arms and tried to scramble to the rocks but was battered about by the strong waves and was swept into a cave.

Pathologist Dr Tim Bracey said Gary, of Eccleshall, Staffordshire, died from cold water immersion and a chest wall injury, and he also had heart disease.

His family had heard emergency services and a helicopter near to where they had their holiday apartment.

They discovered that it was Gary who had been recovered from the sea but efforts to save him failed.

Monty was rescued from the sea and taken to a vet’s for treatment.

Katrina, who was Gary’s wife of 43 years, said he was very fit for his age and had a “zest for life, had a wicked sense of humour and was the life and soul of the party”.

The couple had been on holiday with their daughter, her partner and their new born baby daughter and regularly visited Cornwall.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and said Gary’s boots and the dog lead were found at the top of the headland path.

Officers said Gary had tried to “slide down” the cliff when he fell and that Monty was rescued alive from the sea.

The assistant coroner for Cornwall Emma Hillson recorded a misadventure conclusion.

All fire and no smoke is one way to describe The Beginning After the End anime. The first run itself was nothing short of contentious and controversial. But on the whole, it was disappointing to most fans, including readers. To add insult to the injury, the animators continued with the run. Pretty disappointing, isn’t it? […]

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Ananda Lewi

Harris Yulin, a