Beer-mongers around the world, your prayers have finally been answered – English supermarket Asda has launched aspecial underwear that promises to sculpt your beer belly, tone your behind and hide love handles.

Called Manx, after the female underwear brand Spanx, this miracle undergarment will save you the effort of having to suck in your belly every time you go out. They may not be the sexiest underpants you’ve ever seen but if you’re not big on diets and exercising they may be the only way to get that streamlined silhouette you’ve always dreamed of. Asda claims its specialists have been working on Manx underwear for an entire year, getting fabric percentages just right and adding control areas in problem areas.

Manx is 85% polyamide and 15% elastane, which helps compress flabby areas. A double knitted panel flattens and firms your beer belly, while the side panel going from the waist down to the thighs compresses love-handles and tones your buttocks. Their unusual shape helps support lower back, but I’m pretty sure many guys won’t be to eager to put on something that covers their rib cage and will probably prove a turn-off in the boudoir.

Women have been wearing deceiving accessories like padded bras and body-sculpting undergarments for years, and it’s time boys started playing dirty as well. With a price tag of just £10 ($16), we’re bound to see a lot less beer bellies walking down the street. Now if only they’d come up with something to hide them at the beach…

Alexander Pylyshenko, 40, owner of his own private zoo, in the Ukrainian city of Vasylivka, will be spending 35 days caged with two lions, in a stunt he hopes will raise awareness to the poor treatment of lions held in captivity.

The brave zoo owner says he will live like a lion from the moment he enters the cage. That means he will sleep on hay on the floor and eat from the meat that will be given to the lions through the cage bars. As for personal hygiene, Pylyshenko has built a toilet and shower inside the enclosure, but he’ll have to restrain from using shampoo, shower gel or deodorant, as big cats hate sharp odours. While lioness Katya and her mate Samson seem to get along just fine with their caretaker, things might not be as peaceful when they share a living space 24/7, especially since the female is expected to give birth during the five week period, and lionesses are known to be quite over-protective of their cubs.

But Alexander Pylyshenko, who has studied lions his entire life, is confident he will survive this dangerous test, and draw attention to the problems of big cats in captivity. He also plans to paint portraits of the lions while living with them, and sell them to raise money for charity. His 35-day experience living with two lions will be recorded via four webcams, which will broadcast it on the Internet.