United News of Bangladesh

Feeling stressed, unwell, or burnt out at work? A Swiss town is offering a unique approach to healing: art therapy through museum visits, prescribed by doctors. In Neuchâtel, Switzerland, a two-year pilot project has been launched where doctors can prescribe free visits to any of the town's four museums for patients they believe could benefit from exposure to art. Mangal Shobhajatra may get a new name: Farooki Local authorities are covering the costs of these "museum prescriptions," based on a 2019 World Health Organization report which highlighted the positive effects of the arts on mental health, trauma recovery, cognitive decline, frailty, and premature mortality. Art can serve as preventive medicine, helping to relax the mind. Additionally, museum visits encourage physical activity through walking and standing for extended periods. Julie Courcier Delafontaine, a council member in Neuchâtel, noted that the COVID-19 crisis also contributed to the program's creation. "During the lockdowns, people realized just how much we need cultural sites to feel better," she said. So far, around 500 museum prescriptions have been distributed, with a budget of 10,000 Swiss francs (around $11,300). If successful, the program could be expanded to include other forms of artistic expression, such as theatre or dance. Although the Swiss national healthcare system doesn't yet recognize culture as therapy, Courcier Delafontaine hopes the program’s success will change that. Marianne de Reynier Nevsky, the town’s cultural mediation manager, who helped create the program, mentioned a similar initiative in Montreal, Canada, in 2019. She believes it could benefit a wide range of patients, such as those suffering from depression, chronic illness, or mobility issues. The goal is also to encourage patients who are reluctant to leave their homes to get moving. Dr. Marc-Olivier Sauvain, head of surgery at Neuchâtel Hospital, has already prescribed museum visits to patients to help them prepare physically for surgery. He expects a wider rollout after a control group is established. "It's wishful thinking to tell patients to walk or stroll to improve fitness before surgery," Sauvain explained. "Museum prescriptions offer both physical and intellectual exercise." For patients, this approach is often more appealing than traditional treatments. "It's really nice to prescribe museum visits rather than medications or tests that patients don’t enjoy," Sauvain said. World Mime Day 2025 celebrated in Dhaka Some visitors to the museums, like poet and retired teacher Carla Fragniere Filliger, have expressed their support for the initiative. "I think it’s a great idea," she said during her visit. "There should be prescriptions for all the museums in the world!"

Just days after an unexploded World War II bomb near Paris’ Gare du Nord made headlines, a different kind of spectacle unfolded across the street: Louis Vuitton’s fashion show extravaganza on Monday evening. The only bursts of excitement at Paris Fashion Week came from fabric, form, and a whirlwind imagination. When designer Nicolas Ghesquière took his bow, the audience’s admiration reached a fever pitch, with French first lady Brigitte Macron, in a rare display of enthusiasm, leaping to her feet to kiss him. When should you eat? Before, after — or even while — exercising? A station full of mystery The show took place at "L’Étoile du Nord," described by Louis Vuitton as "a hidden station where past and future travelers converge, evoking the golden age of railway adventure." The event was held in the historic 1845 building, originally designed for the Compagnie du Nord railway company. Its atrium was meticulously transformed into a grand train station waiting room for the ready-to-wear show, reinforcing the themes of travel, anticipation, and adventure — central to Vuitton’s identity. From their front-row seats, Emma Stone, Jennifer Connelly, Ana de Armas, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lisa, Jaden Smith, Ava DuVernay, and Sophie Turner watched attentively as projected shadowy figures drifted across the upper windows, like ghostly travelers from another time. This evoked Vuitton’s origins at the dawn of the Orient Express and haute couture, when wealthy women needed to bring numerous cases to store their extensive traveling wardrobes. On the runway below, Ghesquière wove a story of train stations, both real and imagined, styling passengers for unknown journeys. There were detectives in trench coats, campers in chunky New Wave sweaters, and party girls rushing to catch the last train in ruched velvet. Ghesquière is renowned for his cinematic styling, drawing from a vast range of film influences—whodunnits, fantasies, and comedies. Aarong unveils world's largest craft store in Dhanmondi In other instances, a voluminous layered tulle skirt in deep fuchsia captured Ghesquière’s knack for blending different centuries, paired with a contemporary architectural knit top and sleek, futuristic hair. When the tracks got bumpy However, while the narrative was rich, some of the styling occasionally veered off course. One look, in particular, featured a hybrid fisherman’s hat so oversized it nearly obscured the model’s vision, paired with an enveloping scarf, shapeless dress, and a horizontally placed belt buckle above the bust, which made even seasoned fashion insiders raise an eyebrow. While some outfits were exciting, others felt like mismatched passengers on the wrong train. While fluid, translucent trenches and cleverly constructed jumpsuits stood out, some pieces seemed overcomplicated, leaning more toward hurried layering than artful disarray. Fashion on a synthesized beat A notable collaboration with electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk merged Vuitton’s travel legacy with the band’s vision of movement and modernity. 'Trans-Europe Express' was emblazoned on pinstriped jumpsuits and accessories, reinforcing the rhythm of the journey. Additionally, Vuitton revived its 1988 ceramic-bezel watch, nodding to precision in both travel and design. As the last model exited the train station set, a question lingered: Has Ghesquière lost his spark after 11 years at the helm? Perhaps not yet, but this season’s journey, while evocative, didn’t always have a clear final destination.

If you listen to some self-proclaimed exercise experts on social media, they swear that working out on an empty stomach burns more fat. But it’s a common misconception that exercising in a fasted state improves performance or burns more calories, said Abby Langer, a dietitian in Toronto. “The research shows that in terms of gains, it doesn’t really make much of a difference,” she said. Does that mean you should load up on protein and carbs right before a workout? No, that’s not true either. Here’s a look at when — and how — you should eat, before, after or even during a workout. (And remember, experts say what you eat is more important than when you eat.) What’s the case for eating before exercising? The calories in food literally are energy, so you need them to fuel your body for a proper workout. Eating too much too soon beforehand, though, can be problematic. Exercising diverts blood from organs including the stomach to the muscles, said Langer, author of “Good Food, Bad Diet.” So exercising on a full stomach affects the digestive process, which could cause cramping or even make you feel sick. That’s particularly the case with meals high in fat, protein or fiber, which take longer to digest than carbohydrates. Langer recommends eating a high ratio of carbs beforehand and waiting two to three hours before intense exercise. Surprising health benefits of walking barefoot at home “You don’t want to eat a big steak an hour before you play hockey,” she said. If you exercise first thing in the morning or before dinner, it’s OK to have a carb-rich snack like a banana with peanut butter or yogurt with fruit beforehand. It will give you the energy to perform well, and you can fuel up afterward with a full meal. When — and what — should you eat after exercise? That steak may serve you better afterward because that’s when a higher ratio of protein is easier to digest, said Krista Austin, a physiologist in Colorado Springs. Austin said if it will be an hour or longer before you can have a full meal, it’s better to have a high-protein snack in the meantime to help curb your appetite. The reason has little to do with muscle recovery or nutrient absorption: Rather, people who are too hungry make poor dietary choices. “A lot of people get very hungry about an hour after exercise, and you don’t want to do that,” said Austin, author of “Performance Nutrition: Applying the Science of Nutrient Timing.” “You want to catch it early, or you go and overeat.” But it’s another myth that you need to grab a protein shake within minutes of finishing to build the biggest muscles, Langer said. Many exercise enthusiasts point to what’s known as an “anabolic window” of about an hour within exercising that the body is primed to repair muscle. For the average person, you have a much longer window, and nutrient timing is less important than making sure you consume some protein at every meal, Langer said. The body needs a continuous supply of amino acids like protein for muscle repair and maintenance, she said, which means about 25 to 30 grams at every meal, depending on various factors. Ramadan 2025: Five tips for mental and emotional well-being while fasting “Prioritizing that will help with goals, either muscle building, satiety, weight loss, all of that,” Langer said. How about eating during exercise? Most people who are eating enough throughout the day don’t need anything during a workout. Langer and Austin said the threshold is about an hour of intense exercise. Longer than that — say you're training for a marathon — and you can benefit from a carb-rich snack in the middle. Instead of focusing on when to eat, Austin said to focus on what and how much. She cautioned against overcomplicating the topic and recommended following the USDA’s My Plate recommendations for a balanced diet. “The biggest thing we need to teach people is that nutrition is simple,” she said. “Maybe you need to stop focusing on the concept of nutrient timing and just make sure that you’re consistently eating throughout the day and focus on health.”

Taking a shower, grocery shopping, moving around the kitchen, getting dressed, the underappreciated link between these mundane activities is good balance, which geriatricians say is key to maintaining an independent lifestyle as we age. In the US, about three million older people seek medical care for fall-related injuries each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But falls are not inevitable, said Roopa Anmolsingh, a geriatrician who created the Cleveland Clinic’s balance classes. “Some people have a misconception that part of getting old is, you’re going to fall. That’s not true,” Anmolsingh said. “You can control how you fall, or if you fall.” To prevent falls, geriatricians say people should start asking themselves questions about their balance as early as 50 years old. Do I ever feel unsteady? Besides muscles and bones, other systems in the body can affect balance, so it’s important to have a doctor check you if you ever feel unsteady, even if only occasionally. The cause could be related to blood pressure, a medication, inner-ear function, a nervous system issue or countless other potential problems. Setting boundaries at workplace improves health and well-being Even if unsteadiness is not an issue, you can determine whether you still might need an intervention with an easy at-home assessment. Standing next to a wall or something that can lend support if needed, raise one leg. If you can balance on each leg for 10 seconds, you should be fine, said Greg W. Hartley, a University of Miami professor of physical therapy specializing in geriatrics. “If you can’t do that, then you should probably go see a physical therapist,” he said. Another assessment, which Hartley recommended doing supervised, is called TUG, for “timed up and go.” Sit in a chair and start a timer when you stand. Walk 10 feet (3 meters), come back and stop the timer upon sitting back down. If it takes longer than 15 seconds, the risk for a fall is very high. Twelve seconds or less, the likelihood of a fall is almost zero. The National Council on Aging offers an online resource to assess the risk of a fall with questions about medications, whether you worry about falling and if you have trouble stepping over a curb, among others. What can I do to improve balance? Because muscle mass begins to decline in most people during their 30s, geriatricians say the best way to preserve good balance is to stay physically active throughout life. But it’s never too late to start prioritizing it, Anmolsingh said. Tai chi and yoga are particularly good for older adults because they involve controlled movements while shifting body weight. There also are individual exercises people can work into their everyday lives. Morning coffee may lower risk of early death, study finds Anmolsingh recommended standing on one foot while waiting in line at the grocery store. At home, try sitting up and down from a chair several times without using arm rests. While holding onto a chair or the wall, do three-way leg lifts on each side, lifting a leg to the front, side and then back. At the kitchen counter, take a few steps to the side in each direction. How often should I do the exercises? For general physical activity, which will improve balance as well as mood and overall health, the National Institute of Aging recommends at least 150 minutes per week. That should include a mixture of stretching to improve flexibility, an aerobic activity increasing the heart rate and strength training with weights or resistance bands. For balance-specific exercises, it’s particularly important to do them regularly because it takes at least 50 hours of training to have a measurable impact, Hartley said. Besides strengthening the associated muscles, doing exercises repetitively for extended periods trains the brain to react properly when you slip or trip. “Just like an athlete needs to do repetition to train for a sport, you’re doing repetition to train for everyday balance activities,” he said.

Early in his career, Justin Stewart balanced multiple jobs to make ends meet. He worked as a full-time news show production assistant from 3 a.m. until noon, then rushed to another job renting cars at an airport or pulling shifts in retail stores, reports AP. At times, he even slept in his car between jobs. Eventually, he was hospitalised for exhaustion and a staph infection. Morning coffee may lower risk of early death, study finds “While people around me admired my hustle, I paid the price in the end,” Stewart recalled. “The doctor told me, ‘You’re too young to be this stressed. You need to quit something.’” Now 36, Stewart began setting boundaries. He let go of side jobs, realising he could manage without extra income. If colleagues contacted him after hours, he made it clear he was off-duty and offered an alternative contact. Setting boundaries in work and life can be difficult. Many struggle to say no, particularly to a manager, while others enjoy the satisfaction of being needed or pleasing others. Should You Drink Hot or Cold Water? However, experts emphasise that learning to decline requests is crucial for safeguarding physical and mental health. Like any new skill, establishing boundaries becomes easier with practice. Well-being experts and organisational behaviour specialists, along with other workers, shared strategies for setting limits. Schedule Intentionally Although adding tasks to your calendar may seem counterproductive when trying to reduce your workload, it can help you take better control of your time. Bobby Dutton, founder of event production company GBM6, uses a method called “aggressive calendaring.” He schedules tasks he’s prone to procrastinate on, like handling contracts, for every Monday at 2 p.m. To avoid overload, he also books time for regular tasks such as making coffee, walking the dog, and eating lunch. Prepare a Script For those unaccustomed to saying no, it can help to write down what you’ll say and rehearse it. Stewart practised informing colleagues when his workload became overwhelming, using phrases like “This is a lot for me” or “You gave me seven stories; I can manage four or five.” Cara Houser, a workplace engagement coach, suggests you don’t need to justify your refusal. You can simply say you’re unavailable at that time, followed by “Thanks for asking, and I hope to have more capacity next time.” If the person argues, Houser advises responding with, “I understand how you feel. But I’ve decided to handle things this way today.” Entrepreneur Amber Krasinski, raised in a working-class environment where refusing a boss could mean losing pay, often uses “Not yet” when turning down a project. “That phrase has helped me in many situations,” she said. This underused type of care can help in stroke recovery, report says Know Your Limits It can be tempting to agree right away when asked to help, but sometimes stepping back is the better choice. Before responding to a new request, take five minutes to assess your workload, energy, and priorities, suggests Israa Nasir, a New York-based psychotherapist. Nasir recalls how a former boss would frequently text work-related queries at 10 p.m. on weekends. Instead of saying, “Don’t text me,” she proposed, “Can we check in before the weekend so I can plan my time?” Nasir also advises keeping track of activities or interactions that leave you feeling drained. Add these to a “No List” — a tool to help decide when to decline, though it doesn’t mean you reject every request. Use Technology Wisely Mobile devices make it easier to work from anywhere, but they can blur the line between work and personal time. However, there are ways to limit distractions. After realising she checked email too often on weekends, Nasir moved her Gmail app to the second page of her iPhone from Friday night to Sunday night. Email signatures can also help manage expectations. Candice Pokk, a senior consultant in organisational effectiveness at Segal, includes a “Well-Being Notice” in her emails that reads, “Receiving this email outside normal working hours? I’ve sent this at a time that works for me. Please respond when it suits you.” Be Selective About Meetings With online meetings becoming more common, it’s easy for others to fill your calendar with invitations. Accepting all invites can leave little time for other tasks. Janine Pelosi, CEO of video technology company Neat, believes workers should feel free to leave meetings that aren’t relevant, if the work environment allows it. If unsure about the value of a meeting, Pelosi recommends requesting an agenda or asking for the desired outcome in advance. Set Time Limits Lori Perkins, 65, worked long hours until a cancer diagnosis changed her routine. During chemotherapy, she could only manage about four hours a day, feeling sluggish and drained. After treatment, Perkins realised she would survive and questioned whether she wanted to continue at the same pace. She now limits her work as owner of Riverdale Avenue Books to around 50 hours per week, reducing her manuscript reviews. Rather than send rejection letters, she tells authors to check back in a few months when it’s less hectic. She practices saying “no” in her head and journal, recording her experiences. This has given her time to enjoy museums, friends, and theatre. “No changed my life,” Perkins said. “I’m a different person now because I truly embraced saying no.”

Ready to make a difference? Declutter your wardrobe and donate clothes to help those in need. It is a simple way to simplify your life and give back to others. Start by organising your wardrobe, choosing items in good condition, and making space while making a positive impact. Tips to Declutter Your Wardrobe to Donate Some Clothes Set Clear Goals Before you start decluttering, define your goals. Are you looking to reduce clutter or simply donate clothes? Setting clear objectives will keep you focused and motivated throughout the process.  Knowing why you are decluttering helps you make quicker decisions about what to keep and what to donate. It also ensures that you remain committed to the task, reducing the chances of giving up halfway. A clear goal can make the decluttering process more purposeful. Read more: How to Identify an Authentic Bangladeshi Jamdani Saree? Schedule Time for Decluttering Decluttering your wardrobe is a time-consuming task, so it is essential to set aside dedicated time. Depending on the size of your wardrobe, you might need a few hours or an entire day. Block out this time on your calendar to avoid distractions.  By allocating specific time, you can focus on the task at hand without feeling rushed. It also helps you mentally prepare, making the process smoother and more organised. It is necessary to remember that rushing can lead to poor decisions. Empty Your Closet Completely Start by emptying your entire closet. This allows you to see everything you own and prevents you from overlooking any items. Spread your clothes out on your bed or floor to get a full view.  By emptying your closet, you can better assess what you have, making it easier to identify duplicates or items you no longer need. It also gives you a clean slate to reorganise your space once the decluttering is complete. This step is crucial for thorough decluttering. Read more: Personal Grooming Tips and Tricks for Better Life and Career Categorise Your Clothes Create categories for your clothes: Keep, Donate, Toss, and Unsure. This methodical approach helps you organise your wardrobe more efficiently. As you sort through each item, decide which category it belongs to.  By doing this, you can streamline the decluttering process and make better decisions. It also makes it easier to identify which clothes are suitable for donation and which need to be discarded. Organising items into categories prevents you from keeping unnecessary clutter. Evaluate Each Item for Condition Carefully inspect each piece of clothing for wear and tear. Check for stains, holes, or fading. Only donate items that are in good condition. This ensures that your donations are usable and appreciated by the recipients. Evaluating the condition also helps you identify clothes that need repair before donation. Clothes in poor condition should be discarded or recycled. By donating only quality items, you contribute to the well-being of those in need and ensure your donations have a positive impact. Read more: Gemstones Guide: Precious, Semi-precious Stones Used in Jewelry Consider Last Worn Dates If you have not worn an item in over a year, it is time to consider letting it go. Clothes that sit unworn in your closet are prime candidates for donation. This rule helps you make quick decisions and reduces the emotional attachment to items.  By considering when you last wore something, you can better assess its relevance in your current wardrobe. Items that are no longer worn often indicate a change in style, size, or need. Letting go of these items frees up space and benefits others. Prioritise Fit and Comfort Try on clothes to ensure they still fit and are comfortable. If an item does not fit well or feels uncomfortable, it is unlikely you will wear it again. These items should go into the donation pile.  This ensures that your wardrobe consists only of clothes you love to wear. It also makes your daily dressing routine easier and more enjoyable. Donating ill-fitting clothes gives someone else the chance to use them, while you make room for items that suit you better. Read more: How to find right perfume, body spray for you

Usually travelling with a baby or a toddler is troublesome. Babies need some additional stuff. It may happen that parents forget to pack an essential thing before the journey or get frustrated by the agile child. To prevent such mishaps you need to be cautious. Whether it is a plane, train, or road trip with your infant or toddler, organised preparation can make your vacation easy, joyous and trouble free. Check here for proven tips for travelling with a baby.  15 Tips to Travel Safely with Babies  Get to the spot early  Remember flying with a baby takes crucially more time than travelling on your own. Try to arrive 30 minutes to 20 minutes before your flight so that you cannot sweat thinking about missing your flight. Here the simple fact is that travelling stress is dictated by your departure time. When you hustle to reach the bus terminal, train station or airport you go through extra stress.  Therefore, it would be wise to reach the spot early to entertain your baby for a longer stretch of time outside the comforts of home. Besides, it gives you a chance to feed your baby, and do the other necessary procedures in a relaxed manner. Read Excessive Crying in Infants: Possible Reasons, Tips of Soothing Prepare for the climate While planning a vacation, it is a very essential part to be aware of the climate. Sometimes, you need to travel from a cold climate to a warm climate, or vice versa. If you are planning to travel to a cold destination, make sure you bring extra warm clothes for you and the baby. While touring in a hot destination with warm climate, pack comfy wear for the baby and for adults bring shorts, T-shirts and soft comfortable cotton wear.  Travel light You can’t take everything when you make a journey with your baby. If  you leave most of the baby stuff at home during travelling you may need those things. To avoid such a dilemma, you can make a list of essential stuff for your infant or toddler. Such you can make your baggage light without leaving essential things behind at home.   Bring only what you need Don’t take so many things when you are travelling with your baby. If you take so many things, you cannot concentrate on your baby. You can buy your necessary items once you arrive.  Read Breastfed Infant’s Slow Weight Gain: Common symptoms, reasons, solutions Take breastfeeding gadgets While packing bags, make sure you bring some type of relief for yourself in case the baby isn’t feeding well. Even if you don’t usually pump breast milk, take a manual pump so that it could be a vacation-saver if the baby is leaving you engorged.  Diaper  Of course, bring more diapers than you think you will need. However, you don’t need to bring the whole case. You can carry diapers in your back bag so that you can use them whenever you need them.  Stay calm Travelling with a baby can be stressful, but most of that stress is due to worries. When you are anxious, you cannot calm your baby which can ultimately give discomfort to other passengers.  Naturally, babies can cry on a journey, but you need to handle that situation with comfort and calmness. So, try to stay cool though it is not as easy as we know. The calmer you stay, the more your child will mirror your emotions.  Read Why Self Care of Moms is Important: Tips for busy mothers Bring enough baby food If you breastfeed your baby, you do not have to worry about baby formula. But if you don’t breastfeed, you need to take formula. In the case of an older baby, you need enough food for him or her. Actually, once a baby finds a formula it likes, it’s typically the only one they will eat. So, make sure you bring enough baby formula or food for the length of your trip. Of course, you can buy formula or food for your baby after reaching your travel destination. But sometimes, you don’t get the right one you usually use for your baby. By taking unauthorised or unhealthy foods, your baby can become sick, then your journey will be difficult. If you are going on an air journey, you need to know that some foods are not allowed to cross borders, especially fruits and meats. So, check with border security ahead of time to determine what foods are allowed. Read Common Sleep Problems in Children: Causes, Symptoms, Ways to Help Buy the baby’s own seat When a baby naps in the parent’s arms, it is difficult to tolerate for a long time. While resting on mom or dad’s arms or shoulders, babies may not sleep so easily, which, incidentally, isn’t always comfortable for the parent either.  If you have the ability, you can buy an extra seat for your baby. Definitely, this decision depends on your finances. If you can secure a restless baby in a seat rather than bouncing them on your lap for a long time. There’s a better chance they’ll actually sleep during the journey. Certainly, it can be a game-changer, to make your journey comfortable.  Fly during nap or happy time If you book your seat beside the window and everything departs smoothly, your kid may be too distracted to sleep because they like to enjoy everything new.  But booking seats that correspond with a child’s nap schedule at least gives you better odds for a smoother trip.  Read Motivating Kids to Study, Do Homework, Get Good Grades: Know Secret Ways However, if you can’t fly when your lovely kid usually sleeps, try to plan the trip during periods of the day when your baby usually stays in a happy mood. You can take a journey in the afternoon or evening also. If the weather is fine and relaxing and your baby will enjoy that. Two aisle seats  Booking two aisle seats so that you can provide a much-needed change of scenery for an infant-in-arms. Each time the child is taken on a journey, they’re reintroduced to a new environment and new neighbours. The new environment recaptures their attention. Besides,  it’s much easier for you to get up and soothe your baby by walking up and down the aisle. Feed them during take-off and landing Feed your baby during take-off and landing. You need to feed your baby before landing as after you need time to settle off. And during taking off, you feed your baby as you may not get suitable time in the journey to feed your baby. Read How to Stay Physically Active during Pregnancy Babies are especially sensitive to the changes. Uncomfortable sensations make them exhausted. You can comfort the baby by nursing. But if they don’t want to eat, give them a pacifier. Bring cheap toys Toys can make babies pacify easily. To save money, make sure you take cheap toys so that you don’t mind losing or accidentally leaving on the plane. Wrap them in cheap wrapping paper like a gift. Whenever your child gets restless during the journey, give them a new gift and help them unwrap it. Definitely, they will enjoy playing with the paper, then the actual toy. Bring a tablet with shows When you are travelling with older babies, tablets have become an essential travel item for your baby. Your baby can have an enjoyable time playing games or watching kids' movies on the tablet. Besides, there are a lot of fun baby apps to download to give your baby a comfortable and relaxed journey.  Read Eating Disorders in Children, Adolescents, Adults: Types, Causes, Symptoms, Ways to Help Make sure you bring a portable power charger. If possible, take two gadgets, like a table and a smartphone. One gadget should be typically available for the parents' usage. It can also support you if one gadget runs out of battery power. Slow down This is the most important baby travel tip. Don’t try to repeat the way you usually travel before a baby. Things are different now as you are a parent now. So try to avoid too many hustles, activities or sightseeing in one day. Plan your tourism activities or adventure itinerary ahead with a fresh and recharged mind. Break up the day and make a planned and nice routine.  However, don’t worry if you don’t have to fill your days with constant activities. Read Learning Disabilities in Children: Types, symptoms, ways to help Bottom Line Journeys can give you the scope to make some amazing memories that last a lifetime. Though making a trip with your baby might be challenging, you can easily conquer it and make the journey enjoyable. A little precautions and planning can help you get the most out of your vacation time with your lovely baby. You can consider our above-mentioned tips to make a baby-friendly trip.

When the Tokyo Olympics began during a worsening pandemic in Japan, the majority of the host nation was in opposition, with Emperor Naruhito dropping the word “celebrating” from his opening declaration of welcome. But once the Games got underway and local media switched to covering Japanese athletes’ “medal rush,” many Japanese were won over. They watched TV to cheer on Japanese athletes in an Olympics that ended Sunday with a record 58 medals for the home nation, including 27 gold. There are still worries that Japan will pay a price for hosting these Games; recent days have seen record numbers of virus cases. But for now, among many, a sense of pride and goodwill is lingering. “Having the games in the middle of the pandemic didn’t seem like a good idea, and I did wonder if they should be canceled,” said Keisuke Uchisawa, 27, an office worker. But the medal haul, he said, was “very exciting and stimulating. Once the Games started, we naturally cheered the athletes and simply enjoyed watching them.” Read: Olympic photos from far above and underwater His wife Yuki, a medical worker, worried especially about the pandemic. But she began cheering when she noticed patients at her hospital beaming as they watched the Games. “I saw the power of sports, and I thought it was wonderful,” she said. “Athletes made outstanding performances, and we wanted to cheer for them.” The couple were recently picking out matching Olympics shirts and pandemic masks from an official goods store in downtown Tokyo. The store, almost empty before the Games, was crowded on a recent weekday toward the end of the Olympics. Many customers appeared to be workers from the neighborhood dropping by during lunch breaks. Beforehand, a lot of Japanese expressed reluctance or opposition to holding the Olympics during a pandemic that, for them, was worsening. A series of resignations of Olympic-linked officials over sexism, past bullying and Holocaust jokes also hurt the Games’ image ahead of the July 23 opening. There were protests on Tokyo streets and on social media. After the opening ceremony, however, many opponents started to cheer. More than half of Japan’s population watched the event, according to rating company Video Research — the highest rating for an Olympic opening ceremony in Japan since 61% for the 1964 Tokyo games, a time when far fewer people had televisions. Outside the National Stadium, where dozens of demonstrators regularly held anti-Olympic rallies, many fans stood in a line next to the Olympic rings waiting to take selfies. It was the closest they could get to locked-down, spectator-free stadiums. Opposition to the Olympics has steadily dropped in recent weeks. One poll taken by the Asahi newspaper just ahead of the Olympics showed opponents fell to 55% from around 70% earlier this year, and 56% of the respondents said they wanted to watch the Games on TV. And separate surveys taken by the Yomiuri newspaper and TBS Television at the end of the Games showed more than 60% of their respective respondents said it had been good to hold the Games. Those who felt intimidated by the unwelcome mood in the beginning began to feel relieved. “It was a bit scary to get on a train wearing an Olympic volunteer uniform” early on, when people were still more strongly opposing the Games, said Asuka Takahashi, a 21-year-old student who helped at the beach volleyball venue. She felt less tension after the Games started, and thought more people were interested in them than she had initially believed. Read: Over 450 Covid cases confirmed during Tokyo Olympics And when Takahashi recently visited Olympics stores, she also saw that lots of merchandise was sold out. “Many Japanese,” she said, “are enjoying the Olympics in the end.” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, criticized for insisting on hosting the Olympics despite the virus, was likely hoping for this evolution in sentiment. He has been trying to reverse nosediving support ratings for his government ahead of general elections expected in the autumn. “Japanese Olympians’ outstanding achievements will give us strength, too,” said Tateo Kawamura, a veteran lawmaker of Suga’s governing party. Suga called and congratulated judoka Naohisa Takato, who won the first gold for Japan, and has since publicly congratulated medal winners on Twitter. Suga has repeatedly said there is no evidence linking the upsurge in cases to the Games — and, in fact, barely more than 400 positive cases were reported inside the Olympic “bubble” from early July until the closing ceremony. But whether the Games lift public sentiment in a lasting way could hinge on how the virus plays out. “The government has forced the holding of the Olympics and Paralympics in order to regain popularity ... but it’s a risky gamble,” Seigo Hirowatari, a University of Tokyo law professor emeritus, said during a recent online event. While some have tried to see the positive side of the Olympics, others remain opposed. There’s a new word floating around to describe what some see as a growing pressure to support or even to talk about the Games: “Oly-hara” or Olympic harassment. Medical experts have raised alarms as virus infections accelerate in Tokyo; daily cases surged to new highs during the Olympics. On Aug. 5, Tokyo logged 5,042 cases, an all-time high since the pandemic began early last year. Experts say the ongoing infections propelled by the more contagious delta variant could send the daily case load above 10,000 within two weeks. Nationwide, total cases exceeded 1 million, with more than 15,300 deaths. Last week, Japan’s government introduced a contentious new policy in which coronavirus patients with moderate symptoms will isolate at home as the surge of cases strain hospitals. That policy was needed, the government said, in spite of an expansion of the state of emergency from Tokyo to wider areas that will last until the end of August. Read: Mixed bag: Erratic Pandemic Olympics come to a nuanced end “If you turn on the TV, there is nothing else but the Olympic Games, and people are not sharing in a sense of crisis” about the exploding infections amid the festivity, said Dr. Jin Kuramochi, a respiratory medicine expert. “People will see the reality after the closing ceremony.” Those who opposed the Games say the money should have been spent on health care and economic support for pandemic-hit people and businesses. The $15.4 billion cost of the Games — largely shouldered by Japanese citizens’ tax money — has caused concerns. That leads to sentiments like the one from Yoko Kudo, a preschool teacher. “I hope” she said, “at least the rest of the world will thank Japan for achieving the Games despite the difficulties.”

Ready to go out on the town before summer ends? In parts of the U.S., you might have to carry your COVID-19 vaccine card or a digital copy to get into restaurants, bars, nightclubs and outdoor music festivals. After resisting the divisive concept of vaccine passports through most of the pandemic, a fast-growing number of private venues and some local officials are now requiring proof of immunization in public settings to reduce the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus — and to assuage wary customers. It’s unlikely the U.S. will adopt a national mandate like the one in France, which on Monday began requiring people to show a QR code proving they have a special virus pass before they can enjoy restaurants and cafes or travel across the country. Read: COVID vaccines to be required for military under new US plan But enough venues are starting to ask for digital passes to worry some privacy advocates, who fear the trend could habituate consumers to constant tracking. ___ WHO’S ASKING FOR VACCINE PASSPORTS? New York City set the tone last week when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city will soon require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for anyone who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, see a performance or go to the gym. But a growing number of private venues, from Broadway theaters to music clubs in Minneapolis and Milwaukee, have established their own similar rules for patrons. “I’m a firm believer in the right for people to choose whether or not they get the vaccine,” said Tami Montgomery, owner of Dru’s Bar in Memphis, Tennessee, which will start asking for paper vaccine cards along with photo identification on Thursday. “But it’s my business and I have to make decisions based on what will protect my staff, business and customers.” Organizers of the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago said on its opening day in late July that more than 90% of some 100,000 attendees presented proof of a vaccination, while most of the rest showed they’d recently had a negative COVID-19 test. Hundreds of others were turned away for lack of paperwork. Only in a handful of states — Texas and Florida are the biggest — are private businesses prohibited from requiring proof of vaccination. HOW DO THEY WORK? In some places, venues are simply asking you to bring your vaccination card — the same piece of paper you get from health providers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Taking a picture of that card at home and then showing the image to the bouncer at the club can also work. New York City offers a streamlined way of showing a photo through its NYC COVID Safe App, in which people can store images of their vaccine cards and then display them in the app when needed. Other places are encouraging people to register their credentials using a scannable digital pass like New York’s statewide Excelsior Pass or similar systems adopted by California, Hawaii and Louisiana and private companies like Walmart and the airport security app Clear. Some of the state-sponsored digital passes verify a person’s vaccine credentials through a state or local immunization registry. Read: Canada begins allowing vaccinated US citizens to visit again Such passes are designed for convenience and to prevent fraud. But that’s also where the biggest privacy concerns emerge, said Adam Schwartz, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. ___ WHAT’S WRONG WITH QR CODES? The barcode known as a QR code was originally designed to help track products in a factory. These days, it’s increasingly being used to track people’s devices. “Those systems are a giant leap towards tracking people’s location,” Schwartz said. “There’s a very real risk of mission creep once there are scanners at doors and people are showing their scannable token to pass through.” But the coalition that helped create the Smart Health Card framework used by New York, California and the Canadian province of Quebec say they’ve already set privacy safeguards to guard against misuse of health data. So long as a venue is using a VCI-compliant scanner, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, said Dr. Brian Anderson, chief digital health physician at MITRE and co-lead of the Vaccination Credential Initiative, which counts Apple, Microsoft and the Mayo Clinic among its members. “That app won’t store an individual’s data beyond the time that the QR code is scanned,” he said. ___ WHY NOT STICK WITH PAPER? Proponents of digital passports say they’re more convenient for already-overwhelmed restaurants and other venues because workers don’t have to peer at everyone’s vaccine cards before letting them in. Lines move faster, and the digital scan reassures those who don’t want to risk damaging or losing their paper cards. It’s also easy to fake a paper card or a photo of one. The startup CrowdPass, which generates QR codes so vaccinated people can attend events, said it helped get about 15,000 people swiftly admitted into the recent Newport Folk and Newport Jazz festivals in Rhode Island. The events required attendees to digitally upload proof of full vaccination or a recent negative test. Demand was slow at first, said Duncan Abdelnour, the startup’s co-founder and president. “But since the delta variant has sprung, we’ve had a huge uptick.” Among its clients are couples planning weddings and organizers of other small events. Abdelnour said the biggest spike in calls came after New York City’s announcement. Read: Saudi Arabia opens Umrah pilgrimage to vaccinated worshipers from abroad It’s a crowded market that includes apps made by Clear and Walmart, many of which have now signed onto the VCI’s privacy standards and code of conduct. But for Schwartz, of the EFF, the best advice for venues that need to see proof of vaccination is to stick to asking for the CDC card or a photo of it. The process of making vaccination checks should end when the pandemic does, Schwartz said. “Some of the companies that are in this space have a track record of being in the business of monetizing data,” he added. “I’m not going to name names, but they’re the last people that should be involved in developing scanners for proof of vaccination.”

The eruption of COVID-19 last year caused the proportion of people working from home in the U.S. to nearly double, with the shift most pronounced among college graduates and workers in such fields as finance and professional services. The share of employed people working from home shot up from just 22% in 2019 to 42% in 2020, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was among the striking findings of an annual government survey that documents the far-reaching impact the viral pandemic has had on Americans’ everyday lives since it struck in March of last year. The American Time Use Survey details how people spent their time in 2020, from working to relaxing to sleeping. The survey participants, all of whom are ages 15 or over, are interviewed by phone about everything they did in a 24-hour period leading up to the interview. (For 2020, the report covered only May through December, after the virus caused the suspension of data collection earlier in the year.) Because of the pandemic and the widespread social distancing it required, people on average spent more time last year sleeping, watching TV, playing games, using a computer and relaxing and thinking — and less time socializing and communicating in person — than in 2019. Adults also spent more hours, on average, caring for children in their household. Read: What is a COVID-19 vaccine “breakthrough” case? The survey also lends support to concerns that the pandemic worsened isolation for millions of Americans. With people working from home or attending school online, the time they spent alone increased. Among Americans ages 15 and over, time spent alone each day increased by an average of an hour. For those ages 15 to 19, it rose 1.7 hours per day. Among workers with at least a bachelor’s degree ages 25 and over, 65% who were employed reported working from home in the 24-hour survey period in 2020 — a 28 percentage point increase from 2019. By contrast, only 19% of employed workers in the same age bracket whose maximum education level is a high school diploma worked at home in 2020, up from 13% in 2019. The transition to remote work was less common in sectors of the economy that involve face-to-face contact or specialized commercial equipment — from leisure and hospitality to transportation and utilities — than in sectors that do not. While the share of people working remotely rose for both men and women, the increase was slightly higher among employed women. The share of women working from home jumped by 23 percentage points in 2020 compared with a 16 percentage point increase among men. More time spent at home, working or otherwise, meant that Americans spent less time on the road. Average time spent on travel, such as commuting to work, declined by 26 minutes per day from 2019 to 2020. Liana C. Sayer, director of the Maryland Time Use Laboratory at the University of Maryland, suggested that the shift to telework has likely accelerated Americans’ preference for flexibility in setting their work schedules — and perhaps raised expectations that employers will accommodate them. Read: China rebuffs WHO’s terms for further COVID-19 origins study “Workers have indicated in surveys done by companies and other research groups that they prefer having the ability to work at home and set their starting time and their ending time as they find most appropriate for their other needs,” Sayer said. “Some are signaling that they don’t really want to go back to life as it was in the office before the pandemic.” The Labor Department’s annual survey seeks to measure how, where and with whom Americans spend their time. The latest results revealed that the increased time spent on child care in 2020 reflected the cancellation of in-person school instruction, sports and other events for children. Adults whose youngest child was between ages 6 and 12 spent 1.6 hours more per day caring for a child while doing something else as their main activity than in 2019. At the same time, fewer adults living with children provided child care on a given day in 2020. That might have reflected less time devoted to picking up and dropping off children from in-person activities. The data also showed increased gender differences in child care: Women spent 13 more minutes a day in 2020 on direct care for children in their household in 2020 compared with 2019, while men spent roughly the same amount of time in 2020 as in 2019. And women spent 46 minutes more than men doing education-related activities for children in their household in 2020. In 2019, men and women had spent roughly the same amount of time on these activities. An analysis of the survey data by the Brookings Institution found that mothers of children 12 and under at home spent, on average, more than eight hours on child care. The Brookings analysis also found that working mothers provided 7.4 hours of child care on weekdays in 2020, spending more time than employed fathers, unemployed fathers and fathers not in the labor force. Read:It was premature to rule out Covid lab leak: WHO “Child care is now a full-time job for mothers,” said Lauren Bauer, a fellow in economic studies at Brookings. “They’re spending more than eight hours a day doing child care, and their work hours have suffered. Even if they’re juggling both child care responsibilities and working, they’re now working less than they would before.” With many businesses closed because of public health recommendations, the survey found less time spent at bars, restaurants, grocery stores and shopping malls and more time spent at home. People ages 15 and over also spent more time with members of their own household than in 2019 and fewer hours with everyone else. People spent, on average, 32 minutes per day more on sports and leisure in 2020 — a function, in part, of the decline in employment and travel during the pandemic. They also watched more TV and benefited from a few more minutes of sleep each day. “If people are well-rested, I don’t think that’s the worst thing in the world,” said Daniel Hamermesh, an economist at Barnard College who studies the economics of time use. “I’m in favor of more leisure. So I don’t think this implies anything negative about the economy that we didn’t already know.”