Donald Trump has doubled down on his threat to take out Iran by claiming the entire country could be wiped out in one night.

The US president claimed over the weekend that Tehran had until Tuesday evening to open the major oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, or face total wipeout.

In a post on TruthSocial on Tuesday, he said: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!

“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

The country closed the waterway, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil supply, in response to US-Israeli strikes five weeks ago – knocking the global economy in the process.

While describing the US military’s “historic” mission to rescue two airmen from Iran during a press conference on Monday, the president interrupted himself to reissue his warning.

“The entire country could be taken out in one night. And that night might be tomorrow night,” the president said.

During an earlier Easter address, Trump claimed Iran is “not too strong at all” compared to a month ago, when the US-Israeli strikes began.

He also told the press that the US would target Iranian civilian infrastructure if it does not surrender.

“And if they don’t, they’ll have no bridges. They’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything,” Trump said.

Then he claimed he “won’t go further, because there are other things that are worse than those two”, adding: “If I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil.

“Because it’s there for the taking. There’s not a thing they can do about it.

“Unfortunately the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me, I’d take the oil, I’d keep the oil […] make plenty of money and I’d also take care of the people of Iran.”

The president also upped his attacks on UK prime minister Keir Starmer, comparing him to Neville Chamberlain who championed the appeasement policy for Adolf Hitler prior to World War 2.

As we age, it’s natural for our bodies, minds and everyday lives to change. And those shifts bring about changes to our sexuality, too.

But different doesn’t necessarily mean bad. It’s very much possible to have satisfying sex well into your 60s and beyond, even if it’s not the same kind of sex you had in your younger years.

For some, that may mean trying different sex positions that honour their current body and its abilities, while also exploring other intimate acts that don’t necessarily include penetration.

“Getting older is not about trying to be able to do the same sexual activities you’ve always done before,” clinical sexologist and sexuality educator Lawrence Siegel told HuffPost, “but to find positions and paces that are more comfortable and make the sexual act more enjoyable.”

“If sex is painful or uncomfortable, it leads to disappointment and avoidance, which detracts from the quality of life for both individuals and couples,” he added.

Finding ways to be more present and comfortable in your body and less caught up in your thoughts can make sex much more pleasurable at any age.

“People who enjoy sex over their lifespan all report being able to enjoy first and foremost being in their bodies,” said sex therapist Nan Wise, author of Why Good Sex Matters.

“Rather than thinking so much about how our bodies look to others, the ability to feel connected with the sensations in our bodies and appreciate all that’s right with our bodies, rather than focus on how we think our bodies should look and feel, is key to lifelong sexual potential.”

We asked sex experts which positions they recommend for folks in their 60s and beyond.

In the classic missionary sex position, the receiving partner is lying flat on their back, while the penetrating partner is on top of them and they’re facing one another. In this variation on missionary, the receiving partner lays on their back with their legs in the air and places a pillow beneath their lower back. It’s a great option if standard missionary puts too much pressure on the penetrating partner’s hips or back, said sex therapist Jesse Kahn.

“If they’re on a bed, the penetrating partner then stands at the edge of the bed. This gives the partner lying down additional support while the partner standing up is able to use more of their body for force, rather than predominantly their hips,” Kahn, the director of the Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in New York City, told HuffPost.

Sixty-nining is when two partners are giving and receiving oral sex simultaneously. The inverted position of the two bodies – their face by your genitals, your face by their genitals – sort of looks like the numbers 6 and 9, hence the name.

Traditionally, 69ing is done with one partner lying on their back and the other on top, straddling their partner’s face. But you can also do it lying on your sides, facing one another.

“You can play around with positions based on each person’s needs, such as one partner being on top of the other or the sideways 69,” Kahn said. “The sideways 69 reduces stress on the joints and body to hold yourself up by having both partners laying on their sides. Of course, being on a soft surface, such as a bed, can help with comfort and reduce stress on the body as well.”

Also known as “supported rear entry,” the speed bump is a position that involves the receiving partner lying on their stomach with a pillow (wedged-shaped ones can be useful here) beneath their hips, with the penetrating partner on top in a tabletop position, entering from behind.

“This position allows the bottom partner to control the depth and angle of the penetration,” said Siegel. “It can also make it easier to hit the G-spot, as well as giving more control to those that find deep penetration either comfortable or uncomfortable. There can also be added clitoral or penile stimulation by grinding against the pillow or bolster underneath.”

For a non-penetrative option, you can have the person on top lay face down, across the back of the partner on the bottom.

“This can be particularly fun when a good massage oil is added and it becomes about bodies rubbing against each other and does not have to involve penetration at all,” Siegel said.

“In situations where both partners have vulvas, this position affords the person on top to grind their clitoris and vulva against the buttocks of the person below. It can also be an ideal position for strap-on play, even in the absence of physical limitations.”

Doggy style is when the receiving partner is on all fours and the penetrating partner kneels and enters them from behind. Kahn recommends this one for folks with lower mobility and hip pain, but notes that it might not be so comfortable for people with certain types of back pain.

For additional support, the receiving partner can also try placing a pillow (or a sex wedge, if they have one) beneath their pelvic area.

“In this position, you can also play around with your leg position, such as wide-legged, based on each person’s body’s needs,” Kahn said.

When spooning, “both partners are lying on their sides, facing the same direction, with the back of one partner against the front of the other,” Siegel explained.

The benefit of this position: It allows you to explore many different types of stimulation without a whole lot of physical effort, he said, such as “reaching over and playing with your partner’s breasts, vulva, penis or belly, holding them close as you press against them,” Siegel said.

“This could be a good position for entering your partner’s vagina or anusor just sliding your penis between your partner’s thighs if full intercourse is not desired. This can be helpful for those with limited mobility, knee or back pain or upper-body weakness.”

Remember that sex doesn’t need to be centered around genital penetration to be pleasurable. For many older adults, “it’s about sharing intimacy, affection and emotional gratification,” Siegel said.

The original version of this story was published on HuffPost at an earlier date.

Lots of research suggests that healthy hearts lower our risk of dementia.

But it seems gut changes might matter, too.

Dr David Vauzour, lead researcher of the paper published in Gut Microbes, said: “Even in people who had only just begun noticing mild memory changes, there were clear shifts in both their gut bacteria and the metabolites they release into the bloodstream”.

The researchers looked at stool samples from 150 adults aged 50 and over. Some were healthy, while others had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), sometimes seen as a precursor to dementia.

There was also a third group of people who performed normally on cognitive tests but who said they felt like something “wasn’t quite right” with their memory or cognition.

All participants gave the researchers both fasting blood samples (which were used to identify 33 key molecules made in our gut) and stool samples (used to identify the gut bacteria of participants).

“We explored whether specific combinations of these gut and diet-derived chemicals could separate the healthy from those experiencing early cognitive decline,” Dr Vazour said.

“What we found was really striking. Even in people who had only just begun noticing mild memory changes, there were clear shifts in both their gut bacteria and the metabolites they release into the bloodstream.”

They built a machine-learning model on just six of these metabolites. It was able to classify people into the three groups with 79% accuracy, and could tell cognitively healthy adults apart from those with mild cognitive impairment with over 80% accuracy.

The chemical changes seen in participants’ blood samples seemed to be linked to the bacteria present (or absent) in their stool, which Dr Vaxour said adds “weight to growing evidence that the so‑called gut–brain axis ― the communication network between our digestive system and the brain ― may play an important role in cognitive ageing”.

The study’s co-author, Dr Simon McArthur from Queen Mary University of London, has high hopes for the findings.

“While we’re not yet at the point of providing a diagnostic test, our work suggests we may be able to use dietary and microbial information to help catch the presence of dementia earlier in life, potentially even before significant brain damage has occurred,” he said.

“We hope this work will pave the way for simple, non-invasive blood tests capable of identifying people at higher risk of memory decline years before dementia is typically diagnosed.”

For his part, Dr Vauzor added, “If particular gut bacteria or the chemicals they produce contribute to early cognitive decline, treatments involving diet, probiotics, microbiome‑based therapies, or personalised nutrition could one day form part of dementia prevention strategies.”

However, writing for the Science Media Centre, Prof Eef Hogervorst, a Professor of Biological Psychology at Loughborough University, wasn’t as convinced.

He said, “It is an interesting finding and a very well-written paper with good theory and impressive statistical analyses, but with small groups and no follow-up, I think the conclusion that this can be an early diagnostic marker for cognitive decline and even dementia may be a little overstated.”

Donald Trump could be pressured to de-escalate tensions in Iran either by military leaders or Republicans in Congress, according to a US national security analyst.

The president issued an expletive-laden rant at Iran over the weekend, threatening to bomb civilian infrastructure unless it opens the oil shipping lane – the Strait of Hormuz – before his self-imposed deadline tonight.

Ben Rhodes, who served as the deputy US national security adviser under Barack Obama, said Trump was operating outside of the usual checks and balances US presidents usually rely on.

He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “It increasingly feels like at times, not all the times but at times, it is one man in one room making decisions or making threats and a government adjusting to that.

“We’re seeing a lack of expertise, a lack of thinking even two steps ahead, and I think that’s probably a sign they’re not following the normal process.”

“It’s kind of frightening really,” Rhodes added, pointing to the senior figures within the first Trump administration who stood up to the president.

Trump said: “This time, on the military side, with the selection of Pete Hegseth, he got the secretary [of defence] he wanted. Someone who principally would just follow Trump’s directive and be something of a spokesperson for them.

“Frankly, I think the checks are going to come from external sources.”

Rhodes suggested now it might all come down to Republicans in Congress who are “terrified about the political unpopularity of this war, from the markets and stock markets Trump pays attention to”.

He said he believes they will have more impact at “restraining Trump” than any process within the Pentagon or government.

Rhodes also claimed he hopes military leaders will pressure the president behind the scenes as Trump continues to threaten “absolute war crimes”.

“It’s a very important test really if the US military is willing to say no to Trump. He didn’t like it when they said no to him in the first term,” Rhodes said.

“There’s no way around the fact that we may be approaching that point because the war itself, I would argue, may be illegal but these things he’s threatening are clear war crimes.”

But the specialist warned Trump has set so many objectives for this war so will be pushing for a victory of some sorts.

“That is not something the Iranians are going to give him, right, because they control the strait,” Rhodes added.

He said they would most likely to have to resolve the war over negotiations with other countries around the table.