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Being grateful means being mindful of the blessings we daily take for granted. This mindset is a doorway that leads all of us desperate dieters to a safer place. A place where we can sit still long enough to actually see what’s on our plate and be thankful for it.

I’m not just referring to food, although that is undoubtedly a big part of it. I am thinking of our gigantic to-do list and everything we seem to pile on our plates in terms of daily responsibilities. Some of these we have to accomplish, but others can easily be delegated or managed in such a way that allows us to prioritise, so that we have more time to take better care of ourselves. 

The gratitude attitude is helping me see things for what they are and I cannot do that when I’m on the run. We desperate dieters are notorious for eating on the run and not taking the time even to sit down to take a deep breath and be mindful of what we’re putting inside our bodies. We eat when our spirit is high and we eat when we’re feeling low. God help us to slow down enough to notice these destructive behaviours, especially when they become a pattern.

Stop the insanity campaign

As we enter this fall season, I do hope you will join me in a thanksgiving campaign to stop this insanity — the insanity of continuing to do what we do and expecting different results. Let us force ourselves to slow down, sit down and say a prayer of gratitude for our food that is strictly for the nourishment of our bodies and not to pacify our emotions.

We need to slow down enough to process those emotions so that we’re not stuffing ourselves with junk instead of dealing with the real issues. Let us no longer be held hostage by our taste buds or emotional eating. Let us be thankful for all the signs our bodies send us to alert us to revise what we’re doing. Signs like headaches, bloating, inflammation or joint pain are all a red flag for a bigger issue.

Tuning in to our body’s distress signals

Do you recall the tip of the iceberg that caused the great Titanic to sink? When we fail to listen to all the distress signals our bodies relay day in and day out, we suffer the more immense consequences of our sunken ships that we could have saved. Therefore, let us be truly grateful for every signal and let us treat each of them seriously by immediately changing the course of our daily actions.

Where we get stuck

Those actions will look different for each of us, depending on where we got stuck. For some of us, it will be reducing sodium in our diets. For, others it will be reducing the size of our portions at each meal. Yet for some, it might be adding thirty minutes of activity or incorporating weights into our routines. Whether it’s reducing sugar or eliminating empty carbohydrates from our diets, may we learn to sit in gratitude as we make the changes we each need to make.

Yes, an attitude of gratitude is no doubt a doorway to a healthier and more peaceful way to live our lives in such a way that we are mentally present. This sets us up to live in the present and not wallow in a sea of worry and anxiety, especially in these COVID-19 months that have only added more stress to our lives.

I am thankful for each of you as you join me on this long journey one day at a time, one meal at a time, one victory at a time. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Dance Dance Dance

Haruki Murakami

Translated from the Japanese by Alfred Birnbaum

London: Vintage, 2003, 393 pp

This is Murakami’s sixth novel, written just as he was becoming famous in Japan. Taken out of context, the title seems to be about having fun; it is, in fact, named after an American pop song, one of numerous musical references in the book. Yet, the first appearance of the word, dance, in the story is more ambiguous. It seems to be more about just getting through life and doing what you have to do. Only later does one understand that it’s about needing and loving others. Meanwhile, many other things remain ambiguous throughout.

The protagonist and narrator, an unnamed Japanese man in his thirties who lives in Tokyo, experiences only fleeting moments of fun in the course of the story. Yet, in contrast to some other Murakami novels, the ending holds out the promise of real happiness. Still, the narrator hedges his bets, saying, “anything can happen. This world is more fragile, more tenuous than we could ever know”. (p. 392)

Memory plays a big part in unlocking the plot. After recurring dreams of the Dolphin Hotel, where he had stayed four years before with a woman he cared for, but who disappeared, the narrator feels compelled to return there, though it was far from attractive: “Its corners caked with unfulfilled dreams.“ (p. 4) What draws him back is a premonition that he belongs there and that this woman is cryingout to him.Travelling to Sapporo, where the hotel is located, should be easy as he has no fixed commitments. In fact, he is lonely, his wife having left him and a good friend having died; he thinks his work as a commercial writer is meaningless. Hopefully, by returning to the Dolphin Hotel, he can shake off his feeling of being an outsider and reclaim himself.

The protagonist’s existential crisis and his social critique are expressed in a particularly acute manner. The meaninglessness of his work is the entry point for the narrator to inject many critical comments on “the giant anthill of an advanced capitalist society”, which provides work but no meaning in life, which entails massive waste from thrown-out restaurant food to unnecessary military expenditures, and invites corruption of various kinds. Assumedly echoing Murakami’s own views, the narrator describes advanced capitalism as the “new mysticism. People worship capital, adore its aura, genuflect before Porsches and Tokyo land values. Worshipping everything their shiny Porsches symbolize. It’s the only stuff of myth that’s left in the world”. (p. 55)

In contrast, the protagonist extols his simple life and loves his used Subaru.Music, reading, a good meal and finding a companionable woman are his idea of pleasure. He seems to be a very rational person, a quite ordinary guy and is puzzled by the weird things that begin to happen to him. Yet, this is a Murakami novel, almost always furnished with an alternative reality, and he is soon “caught in the cross hair of the real and the imaginary”. (p. 161)

Arriving at the Dolphin Hotel expecting to find his former lover and return to the past, instead he finds the epitome of the advanced capitalismhe scorns. The hotel’s previously shabby façade has been supplanted by an enormous, glittering “Bauhaus Modern-Art Deco symphony of glass and steel”, equipped with the requisite luxuries. The old hotel’s air of eccentric mystery is gone and he fears he will not find what he is seeking. Though his queries produce no answers about what happened to the old hotel, arousing his suspicions that something is fishy, the new one houses a set of characters who will eventually change his life. He befriends the charming receptionist who instinctively seeks him out when confronted by strange happenings in the hotel, as well as a teenage clairvoyant, a poor-little-rich girl, whose parents have neither the time nor insight to meet her emotional needs. Most surprising is that he finds the Sheep Man, whom he knows from his previous visit, in a parallel world hidden in the corners of the hotel. To the Sheep Man, he is able to confess his feelings of alienation: “How nothing touched me. And I touched nothing. How I’d lost track of what matters.” (p. 83)

The Sheep Man suggests a throw-back to a time when life was simpler and there was more harmony between man and nature. It is he who instructs the protagonist to dance, starting him on the process of reconnecting with himself and creating meaning in life through his relationships with others. But before that happens, he meets a number of singular and sometimes flamboyant characters, as only Murakami could have created, and undergoes experiences ranging from the tender and intimate to the horrifying. But the greatest creation is the voice of the protagonist-narrator which balances betweencynicism and innocence without missing a beat. “Dance Dance Dance” is available at Readers Bookshop.

LOS ANGELES — Disney announced on Thursday a new "Star Wars" film from the director of "Wonder Woman" and several new TV series within the sci-fi franchise, including two spin-offs from the creators of smash hit "The Mandalorian".

Patty Jenkins will direct "Rogue Squadron", which is set in "a future era of the galaxy" and will be the next "Star Wars" movie released, scheduled for Christmas 2023.

"This story will introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots, as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill ride," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Disney's investor day.

Jenkins immediately posted on Twitter a video of herself donning a "Star Wars" starfighter helmet and marching toward an X-wing, adding she had been inspired to take on the film by her air force pilot father.

"So when he lost his life in service to this country, it ignited a desire in me to turn all of that tragedy and thrill into one day making the greatest fighter pilot movie of all time," she said.

Jenkins will be the first woman to direct a "Star Wars" feature film.

Kennedy also announced "Rangers of the New Republic" and "Ahsoka," series for the Disney+ streaming platform that will be developed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, set simultaneously and sharing storylines with their "Mandalorian" show that launched the enormously popular Baby Yoda character.

"These interconnected shows, along with future stories, will excite new audiences, embrace our most passionate fans and will culminate in a climactic story event," said Kennedy.

Another new series will be "Lando", based on fan favorite Lando Calrissian from the original "Star Wars" film trilogy. It will be helmed by "Dear White People" creator Justin Simien.

A previously announced "Rogue One" spinoff Disney+ series, titled "Andor", has just begun production in London and will tell "the building of a revolution", said returning star Diego Luna.

Stellan Skarsgard and Fiona Shaw join the cast of the "tense, nailbiting spy thriller" created by "Bourne Identity" screenwriter Tony Gilroy.

Hayden Christensen, the divisive star of the poorly received "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, will return as Darth Vader in "Obi-Wan Kenobi", another previously announced Disney+ series starring an also-returning Ewan McGregor. Production starts in March.

And a "Star Wars" mystery thriller entitled "The Acolyte" will be directed by "Russian Doll" co-creator Leslye Headland and "set in final days of the high Republic era".

At the start of Disney's investor day Kareem Daniel, head of the company's distribution unit, previewed plans to "release roughly 10 Marvel series, 10 'Star Wars' series" as well as 15 Disney series and 15 Disney films on Disney+ "over the next few years".

Another "Star Wars" movie is currently being written by Taika Waititi ("Jojo Rabbit"), Kennedy confirmed, adding that his "approach to 'Star Wars' will be "fresh, unexpected and unique".

LONDON — Whether toted by Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher or “Sex and the City” actress Sarah Jessica Parker, handbags pack a powerful punch, a British exhibition reveals.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is showing some 300 items at the exhibition called “Bags: Inside and Out” that opens on Saturday.

They range from a 16th-century embroidered purse to a contemporary plastic rucksack by British designer Stella McCartney.

The decorative arts and design museum has chosen to focus on the accessories for its first exhibition since England’s lockdown was lifted in early December.

It looks at the “It bag” craze that kicked off in the 1990s, with women flocking to buy a certain designer style, influenced by celebrity images.

One such bag on show is a purple sequined Fendi baguette bag once carried by the Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw, played by Parker in the hit HBO show.

There is also a formidable leather handbag once carried by Thatcher, known as her “secret weapon”.

Thatcher’s assertive armoury of bags even led to the creation of a new verb: “to handbag”, or browbeat into submission.

“These portable, yet functional accessories have long fascinated men and women with their dual nature that combines private and public,” said Lucia Savi, the exhibition’s curator.

From the Hermes

Kelly to Lady Dior

Bags are a connecting link between the home and the outside world and allow people to carry money or important documents out of sight.

The exhibition’s first part looks at the different uses bags are put to.

An imposing Louis Vuitton trunk from the early 20th century was made for long voyages while a tiny leather bag measuring just 16 centimetres can squeeze in a purse, an opera glass, a notebook and a mirror: all you need for a night at the opera.

The second part of the exhibition looks at bags and identity: what a bag says about the owner and their aspirations.

Some have become closely associated with celebrity owners, such as Hermes’s “Kelly”, a bold trapezoid-shaped bag. It was renamed after the icily stylish actress Grace Kelly was photographed carrying it.

Others include the Lady Dior, known as a favourite of Princess Diana, and the Hermes’ Birkin bag created after the fashion house’s head Jean-Louis Dumas met the British-born actress Jane Birkin on a plane.

These days it is social media that fuels desire for the latest bag.

‘Instagrammable’

On video, Chinese influencer Tao Liang, known as Mr Bags, talks about the designs he has collaborated on with top luxury brands such as Burberry and Chanel.

All of them are “very instagrammable”, he says.

“Who doesn’t want a picture of themselves with a nice bag?” says the fashion blogger who claims to have 5 million followers on China’s Weibo.

Sometimes a bag can carry a political message, however, such as the bag bearing the slogan “My Body My Business”, created by US-Swedish artist Michele Pred.

A final section of the exhibition examines the techniques used to make bags, including quirkier designs such as the US designers Thom Brown’s handbag from last year in the shape of a dachshund, inspired by his dog Hector.

As fast fashion falls out of favour, designers are looking at new technologies and recycling to reduce environmental impact. A pioneer in this area, Stella McCartney, used plastic waste taken from the sea to make a rucksack on display.

The contents of a handbag remain sacrosanct, especially in the case of Queen Elizabeth II, who has remained loyal to the conservative Launder brand and has several of its bags.

Visitors to the show can see one from her collection, known as the Traviata, but the contents remain firmly off bounds.

It was on several media channels this week. It was reported that back in May this year many Swedes had received chip implants inside their hand allowing them to be recognised by various digital systems, to effect payment or have access to restricted locations, without the need to bear any device (other than the implant), smartphone or card, or to go through a traditional fingerprint or a more recent iris scan.

France-based journalist Pascale Davies wrote: “Thousands of people in Sweden are inserting tiny microchips under their skin,[..they] are supposed to make daily life convenient. They open a perspective to replace traditional keys, cards, IDs” (https://eufactcheck.eu).

What is the ideal personal identification (PID) method? Is it available yet? If you put aside digital high-tech for a moment, the answer is yes, the method is definitely here. Actually, it has been here for a long, long time. It is simply when your relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or those who know you, recognise you, without having to explain why, just when they see you or hear you!

To qualify as ideal, a digital PID method must match this natural method.It must be easy, simple, immediate and fool proof. The world of high-tech is not too far from achieving this trick.

Of course, we first think of biometrics and of the various such systems introduced over the years, from the time-honoured fingerprints to iris scan. Voice recognition, face recognition, palm hand scan and even posture detection are also frequently used. The smartest schemes and devices try to optimise PID results by combining several of these biometrics. This ensures higher speed and improved accuracy.

An intelligent use of combined biometrics by using digital devices is nothing but the imitation of the natural way to infallibly recognise people (by relatives, friends, etc.). It does not take a rocket scientist to analyse and to understand that the others recognise you when they see your face or hear your voice. The senses play the role of detectors. The difficulty comes in making advanced digital electronics do the same.

In a world where online work and communication aredramatically increasing, an ideal digital high-tech PID is becoming a necessity. Because each biometric method has limitation, researchers are going for the above-mentioned combination of biometric systems. It is sometimes referred to as “biometric fusion” (Alessandra Lumini, University of Bologna, Italy).

Here again, imitation of life is the name of the game. It is possible to confuse a person with another for a few seconds, if spottedin a crowd, in poor light, or if you just hear their voice in a very noisy environment. But if you are given the possibility to see the face while at the same time hearing the voice, the chance for a mistaken identity is remarkably reduced. This is precisely what high-tech digital PID systems are trying to achieve. You just show up and/or say something, you even don’t touch anything (a critical point in these times of viral infection), and you are instantly identified.

Iris ID (irisid.com) has developed a“contactless, biometric time and attendance solution” that combines iris scan and face recognition. Speed, accuracy, and safety are guaranteed with the technology.

Reaching the ideal PID solution with digital high-tech one day soon is almost a certainty. Some scholars believe that it may become even smarter that human’s natural recognition and make less mistakes.

BUENOS AIRES — Tributes to late football legend Diego Maradona have included plans to rename a stadium and a street in his honour and put his face on a banknote. Now, a giant mural has been painted in Argentina to remember the icon, who died last month.

Street artist Alfredo Segatori, 50, has painted a huge mural 20 metres high and 40 metres wide in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires to honour the country's favourite son.

The mural is in the heart of the traditional Boca neighbourhood that is home to the imposing Bombonera Stadium where Maradona once played for domestic giants Boca Juniors.

"Now I say I have a religion, that religion is Diego. I want to believe in 'the Diego' — we're proposing a little bit of fantasy, metaphor and imagination," said Segatori.

There's nothing new about the idea of sanctifying Maradona: Franco-Spanish musician Manu Chao wrote a song about Saint Maradona, while a group of supporters founded the Maradonian Church in 1998 with the former footballer as its godhead

Segatori's "Saint Diego of the Boca Neighbourhood" mural shows Maradona holding up a ball from the 1986 World Cup, where he captained Argentina to victory.

"He's special, he's [a] patron of artists, the dispossessed and sportsmen, too. That's sort of the connotation we want to give this project," said the street artist.

Segatori said he had long thought about such a project, but that it was always "for later". However, news of Maradona's death on November 25 from a heart attack caused the artist "total sadness". and he started painting immediately.

"We were missing a Diego here in this neighbourhood," said Segatori.

There are other murals of Maradona in Buenos Aires — such as in Villa Fiorito, the neighbourhood where the star was born, or on the walls at his first club Argentinos Juniors — but not in Boca. There's even one in Naples, where he spent seven years playing for Napoli.

In fact, Napoli have decided to rename their stadium after Maradona, who guided the club to its most successful period, winning two Serie A titles and the UEFA Cup.

It was while playing for Napoli that Maradona led his native country to glory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Segatori said he was "successful" in depicting Maradona with "a beautiful expression of calm and good vibes from up above".

"Maradona always had a close relationship with artists, many bands dedicated songs to him, and in this pandemic context in which art has been hit hard by the pandemic, we needed a wink from Diego," Segatori said.

KATHMANDU — The highest point on Earth got a bit higher on Tuesday as China and Nepal finally agreed on a precise elevation for Mount Everest after years of debate.

The agreed height of 8,848.86 metres — unveiled at a news conference in Kathmandu — was 86 centimetres higher than the measurement previously recognised by Nepal, and more than 4 metres above China's official figure.

This discrepancy was due to China measuring the rock base on the summit and not — as with the new reading — the covering of snow and ice on the peak.

Everest straddles the border of Nepal and China.

Employing trigonometry hundreds of miles away on the Indian plains, British colonial geographers first determined Everest's height in 1856 at 8,840 metres above sea level.

After Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa famously first reached the summit of Everest on May 29, 1953, an Indian survey readjusted the altitude to 8,848 metres.

That measurement was widely accepted, with the number appealing not only to ambitious mountaineers but also inspiring names for adventure clothing lines, restaurants and even a vodka brand.

In 1999 the US National Geographic Society concluded the world's highest point was 8,850 metres but Nepal never officially recognised this — although it is widely quoted.

Tectonic plates 

China meanwhile conducted several surveys of its own, and in 2005 came up with a measurement of 8,844.43 metres .

The provoked a row with Nepal, which was only resolved in 2010 when Kathmandu and Beijing agreed that their measurements referred to different things — one to the height of Everest's rock and the other to the height of its snowcap.

Nepal decided to conduct a survey — initially alone and later joined by China — after suggestions that tectonic plate movements including a major earthquake in 2015 may have affected the height.

About 300 Nepali experts and surveyors were involved in the exercise — some on foot and others in helicopters — to reach data collection stations.

Last spring, Nepali surveyors reached the summit of Everest with over 40 kilogrammes of equipment, including a Global Satellite Navigation System receiver.

They spent roughly two freezing hours collecting data as dozens of climbers stood on top of the mountain.

"Climbing Everest alone is a challenging task, but we also had to measure it," Khim Lal Gautam, a Survey Department official who lost a toe to frostbite in the expedition, told AFP.

China involvement 

Nepal was due to release the results earlier this year but then China became involved after a visit to Nepal in October 2019 by President Xi Jinping.

This year a Chinese survey expedition had a more quiet working space on the summit as they were the only climbers on a mountain shut because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dang Yamin, an expert at the National Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that the final result was an average value between the measurements by Nepal and China, in accordance with scientific rules.

"Various countries have completed the measurement of the height... several times," said Padma Kumari Aryal, Nepal's land minister.

"The results have been different on different occasions, so today we end these speculations."

WARSAW — The developer of Cyberpunk 2077, the much-delayed video game that is reported to be one of the most expensive ever made, has promised a "new quality" in experience for users when it finally launches worldwide on Thursday.

With a global publicity campaign in full swing, Marcin Iwinski, director and co-founder of CD Projekt RED, spoke to AFP from a Warsaw studio decorated like a scene from the dystopian game.

He brushed off criticism over the delays and said: "This time it's happening.”

"We are an innovative company and it is not in our DNA to take shortcuts," said the Polish developer, whose last game "The Witcher" became a global blockbuster.

With Cyberpunk 2077, he said he wants to draw gamers into an "immense" online world. The English version contains 450 hours of dialogue voiced by 125 actors.

The main character in the game is gun-toting, leather-clad "V", who features in the yellow advertising posters in a marketing campaign spanning 55 countries including New York's Times Square.

The publicity is comparable "to that of a good film", said Iwinski, who declined to disclose the cost which media reports put in the tens of millions of euros.

The total budget for the game is estimated at 1.2 billion zloty (270 million euros, $328 million), according to analysts at Polish bank BOS, which would make Cyberpunk 2077 one of the most expensive video games ever made.

CD Projekt RED's hugely successful "The Witcher: Wild Hunt" was a sombre fantasy whose monster-slaying hero endowed with superhuman powers was a product of the imagination of Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.

It was launched in 2015 and is still much loved by gamers for its storyline, dialogue, graphics and humour, as well as the openness of its world.

Instead of simply producing a new version of The Witcher, CD Projekt RED decided to launch itself into the punk fantasy world of Cyberpunk — the popular pen-and-paper role-playing game written by Mike Pondsmith.

Iwinski said he wanted to bring "a new quality" into the video game work "in terms of immersing the player in the story, the interaction with other characters, the dialogue and the movement" in Night City — a conflict-ridden American megacity.

'An extrapolation 

of the future' 

Adam Lach, a Polish photographer and avid gamer, said Cyberpunk 2077 was "something exceptional in popular culture".

The game raises "questions about our outlook on the world, where we are headed, while other games are just entertainment", Lach said.

The launch has been anything but smooth, however.

The game was delayed three times this year, sparking a fierce backlash from gamers — some of whom even sent death threats

The developers blamed the coronavirus pandemic and the complexity of creating such a vast world for nine different platforms.

The game will also be coming out in 18 languages — and will be fully dubbed in 10 languages.

It features the face and voice of actor Keanu Reeves, best known for the "Matrix" and "John Wick", whose participation was greeted with euphoria by fans.

But beyond the glitz of Hollywood, Iwinski said the dystopian vision of Cyberpunk and the cyberware implants used by V are part of "an imaginable reality".

"Cyberpunk is an extrapolation of the future. We will see if it will turn out like that."

First launched in 1997 as the ML-Class before being redesignated as the GLE-Class in a 2016 nomenclature shake-up at Mercedes-Benz, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer’s mid-size premium SUV was the first of a new crop of modern luxury SUVs. Arriving long after the original 1971 Range Rover luxury SUV — not to mention the 1976 Monteverdi Safari and 1979 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen — the ML-/GLE-Class was soon followed by the BMW X5, Infiniti FX and a great many others, having effectively kick started what is now a wildly popular, broad and staple automotive segment.

Clean and crisp

Launched last year, the latest GLE-Class marks the fourth generation since the original ML-Class, and brings forth a host of new and improved technologies for enhanced efficiency, refinement, connectivity, safety, driver assistance and ergonomics. In terms of design, it is very much an evolutionary step, of only slightly increased size, yet, retains many traditional hallmarks including its forward jutting body coloured C-pillar and blacked out cargo area glass. Incrementally sharpened over generations the latest model gains bigger lower intakes and slimmer and wider rear lights.

With cleaner, less cluttered surfacing, crisper lines, aggressive twin ridge bonnet creases, and smartened up and more expressive headlights and grille, the new GLE-Class has a fresher and more athletically upmarket aesthetic, especially with the sportier optional AMG body styling option, as driven. Marginally longer and lower, the new GLE-Class also achieves low SUV aerodynamic drag co-efficiency at CD0.29. Meanwhile weight reduction construction and components including some fiber-reinforced plastic body panels somewhat off-set new equipment mass, but it still weighs in at a hefty 2,220kg, as driven in GLE450 guise. 

Silky straight-six

The entry-level petrol powered model — bar the US market 4-cylinder GLE350 — the GLE450 4Matic is hardly a slouch, and in fact returns almost exact performance and acceleration figures as its predecessor’s junior high performance Mercedes-AMG GLE43 variant. Powered by Mercedes-Benz’ latest twin-turbo direct injection 3-litre engine, which marks a return to a smoother and more inherently balanced in-line “straight” six cylinder configuration — in place of the outgoing V6 — the GLE450 is a properly brisk mover, developing 362BHP at 5,500-6,100rpm and 368lb/ft throughout a broad and easily accessible 1,600-4,500rpm range.

Silky and eager throughout the range, the GLE450’s straight-six spools up swiftly and is responsive from low down, building to a muscularly capable and versatile mid-range before seamlessly soaring towards its redline with a distant but visceral staccato soundtrack. Posting swift 5.7-second 0-100km/h acceleration and a 250km/h top speed, the GLE450’s combustion engine is aided by a mild hybrid starter/generator system, which recuperates kinetic braking energy, runs ancilliary systems for improved 8.3-9.4-litres/100km combined cycle fuel efficiency, and can develop 22BHP and 184lb/ft to pitch in for short bursts of enhanced performance. 

Control and commitment

Driving all four wheels with a slight but variable rear-bias, the GLE450 4Matic turns into corners with rear-drive like agility, but generates much more mechanical road-holding. Meanwhile its electric-assisted steering was light and direct, if not particularly nuanced for feel and texture. Belying its great height and weight, the GLE450’s handling proved reassuring, yet, adjustable through corners — happy to very briefly flick out the rear in its sportier, less intrusive driving modes to pivot its weight, but then dig tenaciously back into the road before blasting off onto a straight.

Surprisingly nimble and committed in handling, and flat through corners with its taut body control, the driven GLE450’s optional lowered steel spring suspension, huge 21-inch alloy wheels and staggered low profile tyres complemented its sportier side, but made for a slightly firm ride quality over more jagged and sudden lumps and bumps. That said, the GLE450 was smooth, vertically settled and stable over most textures and especially at highway speeds where it excelled. Meanwhile, its smooth and quick shifting 9-speed automatic gearbox well distributed output for performance versatility and efficiency.

Classy and comfortable

Thoroughly well-equipped with a vast array of advanced standard and optionally available driver assistance, safety, infotainment, comfort, connectivity and other features, the GLE-Class can also be specified with an E-Active Body Control system powered by the 48V mild hybrid system. Individually controlling each wheel’s movement, this is a pricy option, but one that would yield new dimensions of handling ability and ride comfort. That said, the driven GLE450 did feature active brake assistance, a combination of 360° camera and active parking assistance, and much more including underbody protection.

With a longer wheelbase providing increased rear legroom and driving stability, the new GLE-Class is more spacious than its predecessor in most ways, including headroom, despite a lower roof. Spacious inside for front and rear passengers, it however loses some minimum configuration boot space, but gains overall maximum cargo volume. Classy, refined and business-like rather than ostentatious, the GLE450’s clean, fresh and horizontally-oriented cabin features quality leathers, textures, trim, fit and finish, and includes and an advanced single frame twin digital instrument and infotainment console. Driving position is meanwhile supportive, comfortable and well-adjustable.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3-litre, twin-turbocharged, in-line 6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 83 x 92.4mm

Compression: 10.5:1

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 9-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

Gear ratios: 1st 5.35; 2nd 3.24; 3rd 2.25; 4th 1.64; 5th 1.21; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.86; 8th 0.72; 9th 0.60

Reverse / final drive: 4.8 / 3.27

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 362 (367) [270] @5,500-6,100rpm

Specific power: 120.7BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 163BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 368.8 (500) @1,600-4,500rpm

Specific torque: 166.7Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 225.2Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 5.7-seconds

Maximum speed: 250km/h

Fuel consumption, combined: 8.3-9.4-litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 190-214g/km

Fuel tank: 85-litres

Length: 4,924mm

Width: 1,947mm

Height: 1,772mm

Wheelbase: 2,995mm

Track, F/R: 1,667/1,687mm

Overhang, F/R: 925/1,004mm

Headroom, F/R: 1,074/1,027mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,506 / 1,482mm

Loading height: 783mm

Boot capacity, min/max: 630-/2,055-litres

Cargo capacity: 780kg

Unladen weight: 2,220kg

Steering: Electric-assisted, rack and pinion

Turning circle: 12-metres

Suspension: Double wishbone/multi-link, adjustable damping

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres, F/R: 275/45R21/315/40R21

TOKYO — Japan space agency officials on Sunday hailed the arrival of rare asteroid samples on Earth after they were collected by space probe Hayabusa-2 during an unprecedented mission.

In a streak of light across the night sky, a capsule containing the precious specimens taken from a distant asteroid arrived on Earth after being dropped off by the probe.

Scientists hope the samples, which are expected to amount to no more than 0.1 grammes of material, could help shed light on the origin of life and the formation of the universe.

"After six years of space travel, the box of treasures was able to land in Australia's Woomera this morning," Databus-2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda told a press conference.

The capsule carrying samples entered the atmosphere just before 2:30am Japan time (17:30 GMT Saturday), creating a shooting-star-like fireball as it entered Earth's atmosphere en route to the landing site Down Under.

A few hours later, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed the samples had been recovered, with help from beacons emitted by the capsule as it plummeted to Earth after separating from Hayabusa-2 on Saturday, while the fridge-sized probe was about 220,000 kilometres away.

"The capsule landed in perfect form, and the probe is moving on to another mission," Tsuda said.

The capsule, recovered in the southern Australian desert, will now be in the hands of scientists performing initial analysis including checking for any gas emissions.

It will then be sent to Japan.

Megan Clark, chief of the Australian Space Agency, congratulated the "wonderful achievement".

"2020 has been a difficult year all around the world" but the Hayabusa-2 helped "renew our faith in the world, and our trust [in] and appreciation" of the science of the outer universe, she said.

Samples with organic material? 

The samples were collected by Hayabusa-2, which launched in 2014, from the asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometres from Earth.

The probe collected both surface dust and pristine material from below the surface that was stirred up by firing an "impactor" into the asteroid.

The material is believed to be unchanged since the time the universe was formed.

Larger celestial bodies like Earth went through radical changes including heating and solidifying, changing the composition of the materials on their surface and below.

But "when it comes to smaller planets or smaller asteroids, these substances were not melted, and therefore it is believed that substances from 4.6 billion years ago are still there", Hayabusa-2 Mission Manager Makoto Yoshikawa told reporters before the capsule arrived.

Scientists are especially keen to discover whether the samples contain organic matter, which could have helped seed life on Earth.

"We still don't know the origin of life on Earth and through this Hayabusa-2 mission, if we are able to study and understand these organic materials from Ryugu, it could be that these organic materials were the source of life on Earth," Yoshikawa said.

"We've never had materials like this before... water and organic matters will be subject to research, so this is a very valuable opportunity," said Motoo Ito, senior researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

Half of Hayabusa-2's samples will be shared between JAXA, US space agency NASA and other international organisations, and the rest kept for future study as advances are made in analytic technology.

More tasks for Hayabusa-2 

The work is not over for Hayabusa-2, which will now begin an extended mission targeting two new asteroids.

It will complete a series of orbits around the sun for around six years before approaching the first of the asteroids — named 2001 CC21 — in July 2026.

The probe will not get as close as it did to Ryugu, but scientists hope it will be able to photograph CC21 and that the fly-by will help develop knowledge about how to protect Earth against asteroid impact.

Hayabusa-2 will then head towards its main target, 1998 KY26, a ball-shaped asteroid with a diameter of just 30 metres.

When the probe arrives at the asteroid in July 2031, it will be approximately 300 million kilometres from Earth.

It will observe and photograph the asteroid, no easy task given that it is spinning rapidly, rotating on its axis about every 10 minutes.

But Hayabusa-2 is unlikely to land and collect samples, as it probably would not have enough fuel to return them to Earth.