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It’s not your mom’s tampon.

That’s the promise made by San Francisco-based startup Sequel, whose spiral tampon design was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration this month.

Since the tampon was invented to absorb menstrual flow in 1931, its design has remained largely the same.

That is until four years ago when Stanford classmates and Sequel co-founders Greta Meyer and Amanda Calabrese presented their new spiral tampon featuring diagonal grooves as a class project.

After receiving $5 million in funding and FDA approval, Meyer and Calabrese are ready to market Sequel as an “elevated product experience” for all who menstruate.

“The intent behind our design, which has this helical spiral indentation around the outside, is that those grooves are designed to make that flow path longer and therefore make [the tampon] absorb more easily,” Meyer told NBC News on Friday.

The FDA deeming Sequel safe for consumers has been a “great milestone for the company,” Meyer continued, but there’s still a long way to go.

The menstrual product industry has historically resisted disruption. Though a handful of startups have focused on sustainable alternatives in recent years, Sequel instead seeks to differentiate itself through product design.

As Calabrese told the Wall Street Journal, “[Investors] see that you have players that have dominated this industry since the beginning of this product coming to market … and them not being challenged on the actual product level.”

Sequel’s co-founders hope to partner with boutique fitness studios in the coming months, before selling spiral tampons online in late 2023.

In 2022, Tampax manufacturer Proctor & Gamble accounted for almost 40% of domestic tampon sales.

In order to shake up the industry, Sequel’s co-founders have focused on building a social media presence and visibility at festivals like South by Southwest, where they hosted a panel called “Periods on TikTok?! Using Content to Crush Stigmas.”

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Hostage told Hamas crowd he hoped to see wife and daughters after release – suggesting he didn’t know they were killed on 7 October

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Hostage told Hamas crowd he hoped to see wife and daughters after release – suggesting he didn't know they were killed on 7 October

A released Israeli hostage told a Hamas crowd he hoped to see his wife and daughters after his release – suggesting he did not know they had been killed on 7 October.

Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy were the latest hostages freed this morning in front of a crowd of heavily armed fighters.

Both Mr Ami, 56, and Mr Sharabi, 52, were taken from Kibbutz Be’eri during the 7 October attack. Mr Levy, 34, was abducted from the Nova music festival.

It was not known if Mr Sharabi was aware his wife and children had been killed by Hamas over a year ago. His Bristol-born wife Lianne Sharabi, along with their children 16-year-old Noiya and 13-year-old Yahel, were killed while Mr Sharabi and his brother Yossi were taken hostage.

Yossi was later killed while in captivity.

Mr Sharabi was paraded on a podium by armed Hamas personnel and interviewed before his release earlier today.

In one of his answers, which was clearly given under duress, he said he was hoping to see his wife and daughters very soon, according to translations provided by our US partner NBC News.

Eli Sharabi appeared 'skinny' and 'gaunt', his relative said. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Eli Sharabi. Pic: Reuters

Mr Sharabi also told the crowd he was aware of his brother’s death and said he was “very angry” with the Israeli government.

All three hostages made similar critical comments about Israel while on stage with the armed men.

The comments came as Stephen Brisley, Mr Sharabi’s brother-in-law, told Sky News presenter Anna Jones this morning that he wasn’t sure if he had found out about his family’s fate.

Israeli hostages are released by Hamas. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Israeli hostages were paraded on stage before being released by Hamas. Pic: Reuters

“All the way through this, we’ve wondered whether what’s kept him going is the prospect of being reunited with Lianne and the girls,” he said.

He described his brother-in-law as looking “skinny” and “gaunt”.

“You could see how skinny he is, how pale he is. You wonder how much daylight he’s seen – very gaunt face,” he said.

“I think what struck me the most is that Eli has a very happy face, he smiles with his whole face and smiles with his eyes and it was the lack of light in his eyes that I think is one of the most distressing parts of it.”

The hostages were reunited with family. Pic: IDF
Image:
The hostages were reunited with family. Pic: IDF

Israeli captive, Ohad Ben Ami waves as he is escorted by Hamas fighters. Pic: AP
Image:
Israeli captive, Ohad Ben Ami waves as he is escorted by Hamas fighters. Pic: AP

Photos after his release showed Mr Sharabi reuniting with his wider family.

Gaza ceasefire latest: Live updates as Hamas releases three Israeli hostages

Israeli captive Or Levy after his release. Pic: AP
Image:
Israeli captive Or Levy after his release. Pic: AP

Mr Brisley added: “You don’t know what the last 491 days have done to him, but it’s clearly had an incredible impact on him, and it was written all over his face.”

Armed and masked Hamas fighters. Pic: AP
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Masked and armed Hamas fighters during the handover. Pic: AP

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We will not accept the shocking scenes that we saw today.”

(L-R) Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami, and Or Levy. Pics: Bring Them Home Now
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Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami, and Or Levy (L-R). Pics: Bring Them Home Now

Read more:
What’s in the ceasefire deal?
The Israel-Hamas war in numbers

In return for the captives’ release, 183 Palestinian prisoners were released – some of which were convicted of being involved in attacks that killed dozens of people.

A bus carrying several dozen Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s Ofer prison arrived in the occupied West Bank, where their families and friends were waiting.

A Palestinian prisoner is checked by medical personnel after being released from Israeli prison as a result of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Pic: AP
Image:
A Palestinian prisoner is checked by medical personnel after being released from an Israeli prison as a result of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Pic: AP

Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said some of the prisoners also looked to be in a “very bad condition”.

And in a statement later on Saturday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “dismayed to see his (Mr Sharabi’s) frail condition and the circumstances of his release”.

He added: “Having met his relatives I appreciate the deep pain they have endured and my thoughts are with them.

“We must continue to see all the hostages freed – these people were ripped away from their lives in the most brutal circumstances and held in appalling conditions.

The ceasefire must hold and all efforts need to focus on full implementation of the remaining phases. This includes the return of further hostages, the continued increase of aid into Gaza and securing lasting peace in the Middle East.”

Some 18 Israeli hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners have been freed since the ceasefire began on 19 January.

Under the deal, 33 Israeli hostages are to be released in an initial stage in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Negotiations on a second phase of the deal began this week. It is aimed at returning the remaining hostages and agreeing to a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in preparation to end the war.

It is feared US President Donald Trump’s proposal to move the Palestinian population out of Gaza so the US could take over could complicate the second and more difficult phase of the ceasefire.

Hamas’s cross-border attack into Israel saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and around 250 people taken hostage.

Since then Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 47,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

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Israel reacts with anger to hostage treatment – where does this leave the ceasefire?

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Israel reacts with anger to hostage treatment - where does this leave the ceasefire?

From the moment they stepped from the Hamas vehicle, to be seen alive for the first time in 15 and a half months, the three hostages were clearly gaunt and in poor health.

Reports in Israel say they have lost up to 30% of their body weight and they are in a bad medical condition.

Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy looked much frailer than any of the hostages released previously during this phase of the ceasefire. Their time in captivity has obviously been punishing.

Gaza ceasefire latest

Like previous hostage releases, they were humiliatingly paraded on stage but this time interviewed in front of the crowd, in a propaganda stunt for Hamas.

Eli Sharabi said he was looking forward to seeing his wife Lianne and two daughters again – he didn’t know that all three of them had been killed on 7 October.

Pic: IDF
Image:
Pic: IDF

The hostages were paraded on stage before their release. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The hostages were paraded on stage before their release. Pic: Reuters

Pic: IDF
Image:
Pic: IDF

His brother Yossi was also taken hostage but died last year in Gaza.

Israeli media is reporting that Or Levi was unaware his wife had been killed at the Nova music festival.

It has all caused a real feeling of shock and anger in Israel tonight and a new urgency to get all of the hostages home as quickly as possible.

Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted angrily, promising a response. The Israeli president has described it as a crime against humanity and the IDF point man for the hostages has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Any action by the Israeli government could threaten the ceasefire and therefore the release of more hostages. As the hostage families forum and Israel’s president have said, the most important thing is freeing all the captives and getting them home.

Many of the Palestinian prisoners are also returning home looking painfully thin and with stories of being beaten in detention. One prisoner had to be carried off the Red Cross bus by a medic from the Palestinian Red Crescent earlier today.

The Palestinian prisoners released today say they were forced to watch a video of the destruction of Gaza before they were freed.

But there has been a shift in tone and mood after today’s events and it’s unclear what happens next.

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Mexico: 41 killed and bus completely burned out after collision with truck

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Mexico: 41 killed and bus completely burned out after collision with truck

At least 41 people have died after a bus and a truck collided in southern Mexico, authorities say.

The bus, with 48 people on board, was travelling between Cancun and Tabasco when the accident happened near the city of Escarcega early on Saturday, according to reports.

Thirty-eight passengers on the bus as well as two of the drivers died, along with the truck driver, said officials in Tabasco state.

They also said that recovery work was continuing.

Bus crash in Mexico. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Bus crash in Mexico. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Images from the scene showed the bus completely burned out following a fire after the collision. Only the metal frame remained.

Bus operator Tours Acosta said on Facebook that it was “profoundly sorry about what happened”.

It added that it was working with authorities to find out what happened and if the bus had been travelling within speed limits.

Javier May Rodriguez, governor of Tabasco, said on social media that the incident took place near Escarcega.

“We are coordinating with federal and Campeche authorities to provide the required assistance,” he said. “The secretary of government is closely following up on the situation.”

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Ovidio Peralta, the mayor of Comalcalco, a town in Tabasco, said: “We are attentive to the federal and state authorities to help with whatever they request.”

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