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Weather tracker: southern China hit by floods as north suffers from drought
Mon, 24 Jun 2024 10:37:49 GMT
Heavy rainfall in Guangdong causes flooding, landslides and mudslides, while northern China gripped by heatwave
Guangdong province in southern China has once more experienced severe flooding, two months after the late April floods and landslides led to more than 50 deaths.
On Sunday 16 June, heavy rainfall affected the area, with an average of 199mm falling in Pingyuan county. The town of Sishui experienced the highest rainfall totals of 367mm, with three others in the area recording more than 300mm.
Continue reading...The defiant Russia-North Korea friendship pact raises big questions for Washington and Seoul – but also for Beijing
A quarter of a century ago, Vladimir Putin flew to Pyongyang to sign a “friendship treaty” with Kim Jong-il that helped revive Russia’s relations with North Korea without obliging the two sides to come to each other’s aid in case of a military attack.
With his visit last week, Putin has in effect gone further into the past, signing a deal with Kim Jong-un reminiscent of the 1961 security pact that existed under the Soviet Union during the cold war. But today Russia is engaged in a hot war in Ukraine that Putin has made his foreign policy priority, and a nuclear North Korea has become a crucial lifeline of munitions for his military.
Continue reading...Beijing ramps up pressure over ‘crime of secession’ while Taipei says China has no jurisdiction over Taiwan and urges its people not to be intimidated
China has threatened to impose the death penalty in extreme cases for “diehard” Taiwan independence separatists, a ratcheting up of pressure even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction on the democratically governed island.
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has made no secret of its dislike of President Lai Ching-te, who took office last month, saying he is a “separatist”, and staged war games shortly after his inauguration.
Continue reading...Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after falling victim to an all-out assault from Rohit Sharma and being beaten by 24 runs by India.
After Rohit’s 92 from 41 balls helped India post 5-205 in St Lucia, Travis Head’s 76 kept Australia in the game before they finished 7-181 in reply.
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The most Scottish thing about it is that even though they’ve been eliminated from the tournament, things can still get even worse for Steve Clarke, his players and the Tartan Army. Spain beating Albania is far from unthinkable. Italy beating Croatia is far from unthinkable. Portugal beating Georgia is far from unthinkable. Denmark beating Serbia is far from unthinkable. Turkey beating the Czech Republic is far from unthinkable. And England thrashing Slovenia is – look, go with us on this one – far from unthinkable.
There is no such thing as fear in football. No place for it, no reason for it either” – Alessandro Bastoni, the Chuck Norris of the Italy camp.
‘It was 100% a penalty’ Steve Clarke said, somehow forgetting to add ‘but only if you ignore Stuart Armstrong pulling the shirt of Willi Orban (which sounds like an insult against the Hungarian prime minister) beforehand’. It’s almost as though he wants to fuel a sense of injustice and detract away from Scotland’s first shot on target, in a game they needed to win, only occurring in the 97th minute” – Noble Francis.
Some highlights of Euro 2024 so far. 1) CR7 passed in front of the goal. 2) CR7 passed in front of the goal. 3) CR7 passed in front of the goal. 4) CR7 passed in front of the goal” – Krishna Moorthy.
Re: Antony Train’s splendid suggestion about geographical features on shirts (Friday’s letters). I’d also suggest including archaeological sites. That way Stonehenge could perfectly reflect whatever England formation put out: A rough arrangement of statuesque figures, defying all expert analysis, as no one can quite figure out how they got there or what their purpose was in the first place” – Justin Kavanagh.
I wonder whether any of your resident geniuses can inform me about the amazing ball repellent that infects the corner flag quadrant. No one ever places the ball in the quadrant any more … why? Is it for fear that it will be ejected, or explode releasing poison gas or party streamers. What? If I can get hold of some of the stuff, I’m hoping it is also a dog repellent so as to stop horrid owners letting their dogs poop on my front lawn, and walk away without cleaning up” – Richard Fernandez (this should help, Richard – Euro 2024 Daily Ed).
This is an extract from our daily Euros football email … Euro 2024 Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
Continue reading...GeoGPT developed as part of Chinese-funded earth sciences programme aimed at researchers in global south
Geologists have raised concerns about potential Chinese censorship and bias in a chatbot being developed with the backing of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), one of the world’s largest scientific organisations and a Unesco partner.
The GeoGPT chatbot is aimed at geoscientists and researchers, particularly in the global south, to help them develop their understanding of earth sciences by drawing on swaths of data and research on billions of years of the planet’s history.
Continue reading...My poems were written in anger after Tiananmen Square. But what motivates most prison writing is a fear of forgetting. Today I am free, but the regime has never stopped its war on words. By Liao Yiwu
Continue reading...Robert O’Brien explains his outline to sever US-China economic ties would only be to send in ‘fighting force’
Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Robert O’Brien – tipped to play a leading role if the ex-president returns to the White House – backtracked on parts of his proposal to sever US-China economic ties, an aspect of which called for sending the entire US Marine Corps to Asia.
O’Brien, who recently submitted a 5,000-word article outlining his thinking to Foreign Affairs, explained on Sunday that instead of the “entire US Marine Corps”, it would be only the “fighting force”. And he said some Marines would still be stationed at bases like California’s Camp Pendleton and North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune.
Continue reading...Beverley Bathija and Paula McEwan respond to Adrian Chiles’s article about his father’s watch
Adrian Chiles’s article resonated with me (My dad has died but his watch ticks on. Why does that feel so heartless?, 19 June). Last week I travelled from Kenya to a small town in India for the fourth time in nine months, where I was summoned as my mother’s end was near.
Each time I visit, I try to find some way to soothe what is left of her days, and seek to understand what still holds her attention amid the pain and loss of independence.
Continue reading...Zambia’s Mubita Nawa, who is on shortlist for top job, is accused of involvement in an attempted extortion in 2022
A candidate to be the next head of Interpol has been accused of involvement in the kidnap, detention, assault and attempted extortion of two Indian businessmen.
Lawyers for Vinod and Uddit Sadhu have written to Interpol saying the allegations against Mubita Nawa, a deputy commissioner of police in Zambia, suggest he is “plainly unsuitable” to be its next secretary general.
Continue reading...Emergency unit opens as much of north India has been battered by relentlessly high temperatures every single day since mid-May
As Dr Amlendu Yadav flicks the switch, the large pipe starts gushing water while he shovels ice into the tub. In two minutes, it is full, ready for the next patient in his newly created emergency heatstroke unit at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in the Indian capital.
The point, he explains, is speed. Heatstroke patients need to be dunked in the bath the moment they arrive at the hospital if they are to stand a chance of surviving.
Continue reading...Over 200 signatories urge government to reverse decision enabling action against writer under anti-terrorism law
More than 200 Indian academics, activists and journalists have published an open letter urging the Indian government to withdraw last week’s decision sanctioning the prosecution of the Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy under the country’s stringent anti-terrorism law.
“We … deplore this action and appeal to the government and the democratic forces in the country to ensure that no infringement of the fundamental right to freely and fearlessly express views on any subject takes place in our nation,” the group said in the letter.
Continue reading...As Republicans thirst for restarting federal executions, Absolute Standards told Connecticut lawmakers it hasn’t made or sold pentobarbital since December 2020.
The post Company Linked to Federal Execution Spree Says It Will No Longer Produce Key Drug appeared first on The Intercept.
Project 2025 — a road map for the next Trump White House — urges overturning Supreme Court precedent, and a trickle of bills may tee up challenges.
The post Can Conservatives Expand the Death Penalty Using the “Trigger Law” Playbook? appeared first on The Intercept.
Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto discusses Venezuela’s bid to join the BRICS alliance, the impacts of U.S. sanctions, and the battle over Citgo.
The post The Venezuelan Perspective appeared first on The Intercept.
Countries in the 27-nation bloc formally approve the launch of accession negotiations on Tuesday
A member of Russia’s lower house of parliament said law enforcement authorities need to do more to protect civilians from ex-convicts who have returned home from fighting in Ukraine.
Nina Ostanina, a Communist Party deputy who has been sanctioned by Western countries over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, told the gazeta.ru newspaper in an interview that violent crimes involving decommissioned soldiers “will be even more numerous” if authorities do not act.
Continue reading...UAVs continually kill civilians, but the U.S. military wants to expand its arsenal with an army of new, mass-produced kamikaze AI drones.
The post Cheap and Lethal: The Pentagon’s Plan for the Next Drone War appeared first on The Intercept.
Increasing use of fans, air coolers and air conditioners is placing ‘serious’ strain on grid in north of country
Engineers in India have warned of the possibility of prolonged power outages in the north, where a heatwave has brought misery for millions of people.
Demand for electricity has soared due to fans, air coolers and air conditioners being run constantly, placing a strain on the grid in Delhi and elsewhere in the north. Manufacturers of air conditioners and air coolers report sales rising by 40-50% compared with last summer.
Continue reading...Nikhil Gupta accused of plotting to kill US resident who has advocated for sovereign Sikh state in northern India
An Indian man suspected by the US of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil has pleaded not guilty to murder-for-hire conspiracy charges in a federal court in Manhattan.
Nikhil Gupta, 52, has been accused by US federal prosecutors of plotting with an Indian government official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US resident who has advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.
Continue reading...Being beholden to partners could be a necessary restraint on Indian PM – or he could double down on oppressive policies
As Narendra Modi traversed the country during recent months, campaigning for a third term in power, he repeated the same refrain. The past decade “was just a trailer”, the prime minister told crowds, adding: “There is plenty more to come.”
The expectation, among his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and most analysts and pollsters, was that India’s election would easily return him to power with the same – if not stronger – supermajority that he has enjoyed over the past decade.
Continue reading...Culture is increasingly mediated through algorithms. These algorithms have splintered the organization of culture, a result of states and tech companies vying for influence over mass audiences. One byproduct of this splintering is a shift from imperfect but broad cultural narratives to a proliferation of niche groups, who are defined by ideology or aesthetics instead of nationality or geography. This change reflects a material shift in the relationship between collective identity and power, and illustrates how states no longer have exclusive domain over either. Today, both power and culture are increasingly corporate...
Kuo Chiu, known as KC to his friends, teaches urban design at Tunghai University in Taiwan. He’s also one of many of the country's citizens who practises rifle skills in his spare time, in case of a Chinese invasion.
The population of Taiwan has long grown familiar with Beijing’s pledge to one day ‘unify’ what it claims is a breakaway province. But recently, there has been a significant increase in aggressive and intimidatory acts.
Taiwan’s 160,000 active military personnel are vastly outnumbered by China’s 2 million-member armed forces, leading many civilians to turn to voluntary medical and combat training to protect themselves.
The Guardian's video team spent time with KC to see how he is preparing
Continue reading...For the second time, the IFC is bucking recommendations to offer money as reparations to people hurt at a chain of schools it invested in, Bridge International Academies.
The post World Bank Financing Arm Rejects Calls to Directly Compensate Victims of Harm at Kenya Schools appeared first on The Intercept.
Ahead of the election in India, the Guardian’s video team travelled through the country to explore how fake news and censorship might shape the outcome.
Almost one billion people are registered to vote. The country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been in power for more than 10 years, and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) is seeking a third term.
But critics of Modi and the BJP say his government has become increasingly authoritarian, fracturing the country along religious lines and threatening India’s secular democracy. At the same time, the space for freedom of speech has been shrinking while disinformation and hate speech has exploded on social media.
We know turbulence is a common part of flying – but are some routes more prone? And where is it the worst? Turbulence is the leading cause of in-flight injuries to crew and passengers and after the fatal Singapore Airlines incident and injuries to passengers above Turkey on a Qatar Airways flight, you might be wondering if flights are about to get bumpier. Incidents of severe turbulence are on the rise – increasing by 55% between 1979 and 2020 – and the climate crisis is thought to be a responsible factor
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Continue reading...Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, has been slowly swallowed by the sea over the past few decades. This has led to the relocation of the school and many homes, resulting in a dwindling population. Currently, there are only four students attending the school, often leaving just one in each classroom. The village has experienced severe coastal erosion, causing 1.1-2km (0.5-1.2 miles) of shoreline to disappear since the mid-1950s
Continue reading...“I don’t want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people.”
The post “Utterly Dismayed”: Air Force Engineer Resigns as Dissent Against Gaza War Slowly Spreads Within Military appeared first on The Intercept.
The task force revealed its plans not in a communiqué to faculty and students — but instead in an Israeli newspaper article.
The post Columbia Task Force for Dealing With Campus Protests Declares That Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism appeared first on The Intercept.
Project 2025 — a road map for the next Trump White House — urges overturning Supreme Court precedent, and a trickle of bills may tee up challenges.
The post Can Conservatives Expand the Death Penalty Using the “Trigger Law” Playbook? appeared first on The Intercept.
Items containing ‘forever chemicals’ linked to cancer risk, lower fertility and developmental delays
A new law coming into effect in Colorado in July is banning everyday products that intentionally contain toxic “forever chemicals”, including clothes, cookware, menstruation products, dental floss and ski wax – unless they can be made safer.
Under the legislation, which takes effect on 1 July, many products using per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances – or PFAS chemicals linked to cancer risk, lower fertility and developmental delays – will be prohibited starting in 2026.
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If there were any doubts in voters’ minds about Rishi Sunak’s lack of leadership they have been wiped away by this sorry episode
Two weeks ago the Guardian revealed that Craig Williams, the prime minister’s parliamentary private secretary, had placed a £100 bet on a July election three days before Rishi Sunak named the date. Mr Williams, the Conservative candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, admitted to having “a flutter” on the timing of the general election, which he said was a “huge error of judgment”. But he has refused to answer questions about whether he was privy to inside information before placing the bet.
Instead of suspending Mr Williams’s campaign, Mr Sunak professed that it was “disappointing” and hid behind the Gambling Commission’s inquiry into the bet. It’s possible that Mr Williams did not know the date of the election and was having a punt. Like Nero, Mr Sunak is fiddling while Rome burns.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...If the Biden administration is serious about protecting press freedoms, officials from Washington might want to have a stern talk with federal prosecutors in Detroit.
The post Federal Prosecutors Attacked Me for My Reporting — and They’re Doing It to Hide Info From the Public appeared first on The Intercept.
This live blog is now closed. For the latest on abortion news in the US, read our coverage here.
Vice President Kamala Harris just took the stage to address a crowd at the University of Maryland, her first event of the day to mark the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision.
Maryland is a deep-blue state with an abortion referendum on the ballot and a surprisingly competitive Senate race that could help determine the balance of power in Congress. Ahead of Harris’s remarks, Maryland Democrats and reproductive rights leaders emphasized the stakes in November.
Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for the state’s open seat, said Trump was “proud as a peacock” for setting in motion the fall of Roe, and warned that Republicans saw the state as an opportunity to win back control of the chamber.
Speaking before Harris, she said of Republicans: “Make no mistake about it. They would take the first opportunity to ban abortion nationwide.”
Alsobrooks faces Larry Hogan, the state’s former two-term Republican governor, who, in a sign of the fast-shifting politics of abortion, has recast himself as “pro-choice” and said he supports the state’s abortion referendum.
Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, urged voters who want to protect access to abortion to send Alsobrooks with him to the Senate.
“Larry Hogan’s undergoing some election year conversion like none other I’ve ever seen,” the senator said, pointing to Hogan’s record as governor, when he vetoed a law that would have expanded abortion access.
“A vote for Larry Hogan is a vote to put the Maga Republicans in charge of the United States Senate.”
In November, Maryland voters will decide whether to approve a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to abortion and “reproductive freedom,” in the state’s constitution. It is widely expected to pass because of broad support for protecting abortion access, which is legal in the state.
Trump has not denied, much less shown remorse, for his actions. Instead, he proudly takes credit for overturning Roe.
In a court of law, that would be called an admission. Some would say, a confession.
…
Continue reading...The administration says the “Azov Brigade” is separate from the old, Nazi-linked “Azov Battalion.” The unit itself says they’re the same.
The post The U.S. Says a Far-Right Ukrainian Army Unit Can Now Get Aid. A Photo Shows Training Was Already Happening. appeared first on The Intercept.
The donation, one of the largest in the school’s history, was made as right-wing megadonor Leo shopped a new law school center.
The post Texas A&M Wants to Keep Emails About Leonard Leo’s $15 Million Gift Secret appeared first on The Intercept.
Renaldo Gouws suspended days after white-led party joined coalition government with ANC
A South African MP has been suspended by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for racist comments, less than a week after the white-led party formed a coalition government with the African National Congress.
A clip of Renaldo Gouws saying “Kill all the kaffirs” – a racial slur for black people – and then repeating the phrase using a swear word and the N-word, has gone viral online.
Continue reading...President is sworn in for second term as head of coalition government after losing parliamentary majority
South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa warned of the dangers of “toxic cleavages” in one of the world’s most unequal countries, after he was inaugurated for a second term as president – this time at the head of a coalition government with his African National Congress party’s biggest rival.
The ANC lost its parliamentary majority in 29 May elections, for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power in 1994 after apartheid, as millions of voters defected to breakaway parties amid chronic unemployment and the declining quality of public services.
Continue reading...From the jump, the lawsuit challenging the legality of mifepristone was a cynical, propagandistic endeavor. In a 9-0 opinion, the Supreme Court threw it out.
The post GOP States Double Down on Fighting Medication Abortion After Supreme Court Keeps It Legal appeared first on The Intercept.
There is a lot written about technology’s threats to democracy. Polarization. Artificial intelligence. The concentration of wealth and power. I have a more general story: The political and economic systems of governance that were created in the mid-18th century are poorly suited for the 21st century. They don’t align incentives well. And they are being hacked too effectively.
At the same time, the cost of these hacked systems has never been greater, across all human history. We have become too powerful as a species. And our systems cannot keep up with fast-changing disruptive technologies...
“I don’t want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people.”
The post “Utterly Dismayed”: Air Force Engineer Resigns as Dissent Against Gaza War Slowly Spreads Within Military appeared first on The Intercept.
The task force revealed its plans not in a communiqué to faculty and students — but instead in an Israeli newspaper article.
The post Columbia Task Force for Dealing With Campus Protests Declares That Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism appeared first on The Intercept.
UAVs continually kill civilians, but the U.S. military wants to expand its arsenal with an army of new, mass-produced kamikaze AI drones.
The post Cheap and Lethal: The Pentagon’s Plan for the Next Drone War appeared first on The Intercept.
“They attacked in the middle of the day. People were going to the market. They gave no warning.”
The post Medical Aid Worker Describes the Bloody Aftermath of Israel’s Hostage Rescue appeared first on The Intercept.
The Republican amendment to the annual defense budget is just one of several proposals to restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The post House Votes to Block U.S. Funding to Rebuild Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
Dan Osborn, running as an independent, has racked up endorsements in a race that could help determine Senate control in 2024.
The post UAW Endorses Nebraska Underdog Threatening to Unseat a Republican Senator appeared first on The Intercept.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, revealed the tactics and traits that help him face the daily frustrations of leading a country at war for more than two years.
Within a ceremonial room inside Kyiv’s presidential compound, Zelenskiy spoke for nearly an hour with a Guardian team, including the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner. The interview took place during perhaps the toughest time for Ukraine since the early days of the war. Russia is on the offensive in Kharkiv, an advance that follows months of delay in the US Congress over the passing of a major support package, limiting Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities
Continue reading...Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto discusses Venezuela’s bid to join the BRICS alliance, the impacts of U.S. sanctions, and the battle over Citgo.
The post The Venezuelan Perspective appeared first on The Intercept.
The administration says the “Azov Brigade” is separate from the old, Nazi-linked “Azov Battalion.” The unit itself says they’re the same.
The post The U.S. Says a Far-Right Ukrainian Army Unit Can Now Get Aid. A Photo Shows Training Was Already Happening. appeared first on The Intercept.
The defiant Russia-North Korea friendship pact raises big questions for Washington and Seoul – but also for Beijing
A quarter of a century ago, Vladimir Putin flew to Pyongyang to sign a “friendship treaty” with Kim Jong-il that helped revive Russia’s relations with North Korea without obliging the two sides to come to each other’s aid in case of a military attack.
With his visit last week, Putin has in effect gone further into the past, signing a deal with Kim Jong-un reminiscent of the 1961 security pact that existed under the Soviet Union during the cold war. But today Russia is engaged in a hot war in Ukraine that Putin has made his foreign policy priority, and a nuclear North Korea has become a crucial lifeline of munitions for his military.
Continue reading...This live blog is closed.
Ukraine’s state security service (SBU) said it had detained a “mole” spying for Russia who passed on information about Ukrainian troop positions on the border with Belarus.
The SBU wrote on Telegram:
At the instruction of the occupiers (Russian military), the ‘mole’ established the locations of fortified areas and the approximate number of Ukrainian troops defending the border with Belarus.
He also tried to transmit the coordinates of warehouses with weapons and ammunition of the armed forces of Ukraine in the region.
For the first time, the EU has adopted a measure targeting specific vessels contributing to Russia’s warfare against Ukraine, which are subject to a port access ban and ban on provision of services.
These vessels can be designated for various reasons such as the transport of military equipment for Russia, the transport of stolen Ukrainian grain, and support in the development of Russia’s energy sector, for instance through the transport of LNG components or transshipments of LNG.
Continue reading...Robert O’Brien explains his outline to sever US-China economic ties would only be to send in ‘fighting force’
Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Robert O’Brien – tipped to play a leading role if the ex-president returns to the White House – backtracked on parts of his proposal to sever US-China economic ties, an aspect of which called for sending the entire US Marine Corps to Asia.
O’Brien, who recently submitted a 5,000-word article outlining his thinking to Foreign Affairs, explained on Sunday that instead of the “entire US Marine Corps”, it would be only the “fighting force”. And he said some Marines would still be stationed at bases like California’s Camp Pendleton and North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune.
Continue reading...Countries in the 27-nation bloc formally approve the launch of accession negotiations on Tuesday
A member of Russia’s lower house of parliament said law enforcement authorities need to do more to protect civilians from ex-convicts who have returned home from fighting in Ukraine.
Nina Ostanina, a Communist Party deputy who has been sanctioned by Western countries over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, told the gazeta.ru newspaper in an interview that violent crimes involving decommissioned soldiers “will be even more numerous” if authorities do not act.
Continue reading...Watering down of bill means chance to curb use has been lost, professor says. Follow today’s news headlines live
More reaction to the vaping decision:
The chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia, Terry Slevin, said the PHAA supported the government legislation as originally put forward, “and that remains our strongly preferred model”.
Someone I spoke to earlier talked about the days when we were trying to get smoke-free zones in restaurants and pubs and clubs.
We got restaurants first, and we got pubs and clubs some years later, because tobacco control has always been a long, slow road.
That means we need measures to ensure that there is no advertising of these products allowed to pharmacists, that there’s no wining and dining of pharmacists to try and get certain vape products into pharmacies, and we need to ensure that vapes remain a therapeutic product and not a consumer good that’s just available to anyone going to a pharmacy.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For the latest on abortion news in the US, read our coverage here.
Vice President Kamala Harris just took the stage to address a crowd at the University of Maryland, her first event of the day to mark the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision.
Maryland is a deep-blue state with an abortion referendum on the ballot and a surprisingly competitive Senate race that could help determine the balance of power in Congress. Ahead of Harris’s remarks, Maryland Democrats and reproductive rights leaders emphasized the stakes in November.
Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for the state’s open seat, said Trump was “proud as a peacock” for setting in motion the fall of Roe, and warned that Republicans saw the state as an opportunity to win back control of the chamber.
Speaking before Harris, she said of Republicans: “Make no mistake about it. They would take the first opportunity to ban abortion nationwide.”
Alsobrooks faces Larry Hogan, the state’s former two-term Republican governor, who, in a sign of the fast-shifting politics of abortion, has recast himself as “pro-choice” and said he supports the state’s abortion referendum.
Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, urged voters who want to protect access to abortion to send Alsobrooks with him to the Senate.
“Larry Hogan’s undergoing some election year conversion like none other I’ve ever seen,” the senator said, pointing to Hogan’s record as governor, when he vetoed a law that would have expanded abortion access.
“A vote for Larry Hogan is a vote to put the Maga Republicans in charge of the United States Senate.”
In November, Maryland voters will decide whether to approve a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to abortion and “reproductive freedom,” in the state’s constitution. It is widely expected to pass because of broad support for protecting abortion access, which is legal in the state.
Trump has not denied, much less shown remorse, for his actions. Instead, he proudly takes credit for overturning Roe.
In a court of law, that would be called an admission. Some would say, a confession.
…
Continue reading...Biden and Harris give forceful campaign statements blaming Trump for ending right to abortion access
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris marked the second anniversary of the US supreme court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade with forceful campaign statements that laid the blame squarely on Donald Trump for ending the national right to abortion.
In a video released on Monday, Biden pledged to restore the right to an abortion and “protect American freedom” if he is re-elected.
Continue reading...Karoline Leavitt bashes ‘biased coverage’ and predicts ‘hostile environment’ for Trump at Thursday’s debate
CNN abruptly terminated a live interview with Donald Trump’s spokesperson on Monday after she criticised the two journalists whom the network chose to moderate the much anticipated upcoming debate between the former president and Joe Biden.
Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign national press secretary, became embroiled in a heated exchange with Kasie Hunt, the presenter of CNN This Morning, after saying Trump would be entering a “hostile environment on this very network” when he debates the incumbent president in Atlanta on Thursday.
Continue reading...Barbara Res, lead engineer on Trump Tower construction, tells MSNBC of her former boss’s ‘ridiculous remarks’
A former employee of Donald Trump’s pre-presidency organization has publicly claimed that he once made jokes about Nazi “ovens” while Jewish executives were in the same room.
Barbara Res – a lead engineer on the construction of Trump Tower and author of a memoir, Tower of Lies, about her almost two decades working for the former president – told MSNBC on Sunday that her erstwhile boss would make “ridiculous remarks”.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/cos [link] [comments] |
Over the next few weeks, the Guardian will profile figures playing a key role in boosting the ex-president’s attempt to regain the presidency
It takes a village to run a presidential campaign, and in the case of Donald Trump’s bid for reelection, that village is led by a group of shadowy, wealthy and well-connected figures working to shape the infrastructure of the election and his policies and messaging.
Meet the election operators.
Continue reading...As Republicans thirst for restarting federal executions, Absolute Standards told Connecticut lawmakers it hasn’t made or sold pentobarbital since December 2020.
The post Company Linked to Federal Execution Spree Says It Will No Longer Produce Key Drug appeared first on The Intercept.
Project 2025 — a road map for the next Trump White House — urges overturning Supreme Court precedent, and a trickle of bills may tee up challenges.
The post Can Conservatives Expand the Death Penalty Using the “Trigger Law” Playbook? appeared first on The Intercept.
Dismissal of Lt Gen Yuriy Sodol comes amid series of personnel changes by Ukrainian president
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has replaced a high-ranking army official leading troops in the country’s embattled east who has been accused of incompetence and abuse of power during the 28-month war with Russia
Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, gave no reason for the dismissal of Lt Gen Yuriy Sodol as head of the Joint Forces Command of Ukraine’s armed forces. He said Sodol had been replaced by Brig Gen Andriy Hnatov in the post, which involves strategic planning of operations.
Continue reading...Several people missing after eight-storey building in Fryazino erupted in flames
Two men jumped to their deaths and several other people are missing after an eight-storey office building near Moscow erupted in flames.
Video taken in the town of Fryazino on Monday showed smoke and flames billowing out of at least three of the building’s top floors and a group of four people huddled around a broken window trying to escape.
Continue reading...Health service in England issues update saying there is ‘no evidence’ hackers published entire database
Stolen data published online has been confirmed as having come from the NHS provider Synnovis, NHS England has said.
Synnovis, which manages blood tests for NHS trusts and GP services, primarily in south-east London, was the victim of a cyber-attack – understood to have been carried out by the Russian group Qilin – on 3 June.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak has heavily criticised comments from Nigel Farage that the west provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Archie Bland reports
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: The Reform leader keeps wheeling out his Ukraine-sceptic, Russia-curious foreign affairs takes – but why?
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Good afternoon. Try as the Tories and Lib Dems might to inject a bit of urgency with their “10 days left to save the country/the NHS” messaging, the truth is that this election campaign has entered a strangely languid phase. Significant policy announcements are behind us; the Institute for Fiscal Studies keeps making the same point about the main parties’ conspiracy of silence, only to be met by, predictably, silence; even the Tory betting scandal feels like a nail in the coffin rather than a dagger in the heart. Nothing changes. All that’s left is to complain about polls, or, if you’re Kemi Badenoch, start dropping hints about a leadership election.
Except! Here comes Nigel Farage, edgelording his way through a Nick Robinson interview on a Friday night with some dubious comments about Ukraine and somehow still making the same point three days later. Which is weird – because it seems like exactly what the Tories would like him to be talking about. More on why Farage is so determined that you keep thinking about whether or not he likes Vladimir Putin, plus the mysterious disappearance of Keir Starmer’s favourite novel, after the headlines.
Manifestos | The hard choices on tax and spending that will face Britain’s next government are being ducked by Labour and the Conservatives, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said. In a withering assessment of the party manifestos, the IFS said the leading parties had “singularly failed even to acknowledge some of the most important issues and choices to have faced us for a very long time”.
Gambling allegations | The Conservatives have launched their own inquiry into whether politicians or officials gambled on the timing of the election, Rishi Sunak has said. Sunak told reporters he was not aware of any further candidates being looked into and was not himself being investigated.
Conservatives | The party is rerouting resources to defend at least three seats held by cabinet ministers with majorities of more than 20,000. Tory activists and candidates have been diverted to campaign for home secretary James Cleverly, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden and environment secretary Steve Barclay.
Continue reading...Yes, the Reform leader’s words were opportunistic. But at their root is a call for peace – and that should be on everyone’s minds
Is Nigel Farage guilty as charged? An appeaser, a disgrace, an apologist for Putin, an insult to Ukraine, says a chorus of British party leaders on the election campaign trail. They are clearly delighted to hurl abuse at the surging Reform party, an attack that does not involve spending public money.
What Farage said was that Nato and the EU bore some responsibility for Putin’s attack on Ukraine, through its 20-year-old “provocation” of Moscow – extending Nato membership to encircle Russia’s national boundary. It had broken the old rule: “Don’t poke the Russian bear, it tends to react.”
Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
A number of players in Germany are not just representing their countries – they are playing for their own futures
By Ben McAleer for WhoScored
The goalkeeper has been linked with a Premier League move and his stock has risen significantly this summer. The Georgia No 1 has made more saves (16) than any other keeper in Germany. Valencia are likely to have a long list of suitors knocking on their door. The 23-year-old, whose father Davit was also a goalkeeper, is still in the infancy of his career. He will be a man in demand once the tournament draws to a close.
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The most Scottish thing about it is that even though they’ve been eliminated from the tournament, things can still get even worse for Steve Clarke, his players and the Tartan Army. Spain beating Albania is far from unthinkable. Italy beating Croatia is far from unthinkable. Portugal beating Georgia is far from unthinkable. Denmark beating Serbia is far from unthinkable. Turkey beating the Czech Republic is far from unthinkable. And England thrashing Slovenia is – look, go with us on this one – far from unthinkable.
There is no such thing as fear in football. No place for it, no reason for it either” – Alessandro Bastoni, the Chuck Norris of the Italy camp.
‘It was 100% a penalty’ Steve Clarke said, somehow forgetting to add ‘but only if you ignore Stuart Armstrong pulling the shirt of Willi Orban (which sounds like an insult against the Hungarian prime minister) beforehand’. It’s almost as though he wants to fuel a sense of injustice and detract away from Scotland’s first shot on target, in a game they needed to win, only occurring in the 97th minute” – Noble Francis.
Some highlights of Euro 2024 so far. 1) CR7 passed in front of the goal. 2) CR7 passed in front of the goal. 3) CR7 passed in front of the goal. 4) CR7 passed in front of the goal” – Krishna Moorthy.
Re: Antony Train’s splendid suggestion about geographical features on shirts (Friday’s letters). I’d also suggest including archaeological sites. That way Stonehenge could perfectly reflect whatever England formation put out: A rough arrangement of statuesque figures, defying all expert analysis, as no one can quite figure out how they got there or what their purpose was in the first place” – Justin Kavanagh.
I wonder whether any of your resident geniuses can inform me about the amazing ball repellent that infects the corner flag quadrant. No one ever places the ball in the quadrant any more … why? Is it for fear that it will be ejected, or explode releasing poison gas or party streamers. What? If I can get hold of some of the stuff, I’m hoping it is also a dog repellent so as to stop horrid owners letting their dogs poop on my front lawn, and walk away without cleaning up” – Richard Fernandez (this should help, Richard – Euro 2024 Daily Ed).
This is an extract from our daily Euros football email … Euro 2024 Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
Continue reading...Violence could indicate Kremlin is struggling to maintain order with Putin’s attention focused on conflict
Sunday’s terrorist attacks in Dagestan that left at least 19 people dead have highlighted Russia’s growing difficulties in managing a tide of Islamist terror at home as its security forces are engaged in the war in Ukraine.
The attacks, carried out by four gunmen in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala, and two in the seaside city of Derbent, appeared to catch Dagestani officials by surprise. At least 15 police officers were among those killed, and the attackers also burned down a synagogue and set fire to a church in acts that Russian officials are clearly concerned could lead to a tide of inter-ethnic violence at home.
Continue reading...Reform UK leader accuses group of trying to stop his party breaking through into parliament
Nigel Farage has launched a stinging attack on the Daily Mail group, accusing the newspapers of trying to stop Reform UK “breaking through into parliament” by publishing reports that suggest he is an ally of Vladmir Putin’s administration.
Farage said the newspaper, which has often been supportive of him in the past, was “collaborating with the Kremlin to protect the dying Conservative party”, also lashing out at Boris Johnson for joining condemnation of his comments about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...Three days of mourning declared after 15 people reportedly killed during multiple assaults in restive province
Five people responsible for multiple gun attacks targeting churches and synagogues in Russia’s Dagestan region have been “eliminated”, said the authorities as the region began three days of mourning.
A criminal investigation has been launched under anti-terrorism laws after gunmen killed 19 people in co-ordinated attacks in two cities in the restive region in the North Caucasus.
Continue reading...Heavy rainfall in Guangdong causes flooding, landslides and mudslides, while northern China gripped by heatwave
Guangdong province in southern China has once more experienced severe flooding, two months after the late April floods and landslides led to more than 50 deaths.
On Sunday 16 June, heavy rainfall affected the area, with an average of 199mm falling in Pingyuan county. The town of Sishui experienced the highest rainfall totals of 367mm, with three others in the area recording more than 300mm.
Continue reading...We would like to hear from people who may have been affected by the ransomware attack
Russian hackers have stolen records covering 300m patient interactions with the NHS, including the results of blood tests for HIV and cancer.
Seven hospitals run by two NHS trusts were affected by the attack, which targeted Synnovis, a private/NHS joint venture that provides pathology services such as blood tests and transfusions. It is unclear at this stage if the hack involves only hospitals in the trusts or is more widespread.
Continue reading...Israel destroyed much of Gaza’s internet infrastructure. A Saudi proposal to rebuild it was watered down after Israeli and U.S. protests.
The post Israel Opposes Rebuilding Gaza’s Internet Access Because Terrorists Could Go Online appeared first on The Intercept.
![[The Economist] Sun Machines: Solar, an energy source that gets cheaper and cheaper, is going to be huge](https://external-preview.redd.it/lFQqkWRtlJ408Lzxh-KSDRTWjZa2f6KHQy_cm_Jwm08.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=5934bf67bc4fa61691c9184a5ad34f0f1079b440 "[The Economist] Sun Machines: Solar, an energy source that gets cheaper and cheaper, is going to be huge") | submitted by /u/FlyEagles35 [link] [comments] |
Experts say Starmer can honour pledge to move to net zero and cut bills – if plan embraces onshore renewables and focuses on poorest
Labour appears poised to win a historic election victory on 4 July. In the series Life under Labour, we look at Keir Starmer’s five key political missions, and ask what is at stake and whether he can deliver the change the country is crying out for.
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Continue reading...‘Threat notice’ flags elevated supply risks, as expert warns problems will get worse without urgent addition of more back-up resources
Gas supplies in southern states will likely remain strained the rest of this winter, and the problems will worsen without the urgent addition of more backup resources, analysts including the market operator say.
Those states, particularly Victoria, have drawn down their gas storages in recent weeks as cold weather increased demand. Gas-fired power generation has also been double that expected on some days amid unusually calm periods, and gas production at Victoria’s Longford plant has dropped because of unscheduled maintenance.
Continue reading...Speculative applications for renewables schemes are slowing clean electricity transition, study finds
Two-thirds of applications to build renewable energy projects in Great Britain have failed to get through the planning stage over the past five years, hampering efforts to shift towards clean electricity generation.
A study of Britain’s “renewables pipeline” found that 63% of mooted projects were either abandoned, refused planning permission, or an application was withdrawn or ultimately expired between 2018 and 2023. The remainder of the applications were either approved or revised, according to the research by the consultancy Cornwall Insight.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/Doener23 [link] [comments] |
We look at general election pledges from Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems on tax, spending and benefits
The manifestos are out, and every party fighting for your vote in the general election has included promises that could have an impact on your personal finances. How much of your earnings you take home, what the state pension will be worth, and how easy it will be to get on the housing ladder are among the key policy battles. We’ve looked at the pledges in the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties’ manifestos on these and other key areas.
Continue reading...There is a lot written about technology’s threats to democracy. Polarization. Artificial intelligence. The concentration of wealth and power. I have a more general story: The political and economic systems of governance that were created in the mid-18th century are poorly suited for the 21st century. They don’t align incentives well. And they are being hacked too effectively.
At the same time, the cost of these hacked systems has never been greater, across all human history. We have become too powerful as a species. And our systems cannot keep up with fast-changing disruptive technologies...
“I don’t want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people.”
The post “Utterly Dismayed”: Air Force Engineer Resigns as Dissent Against Gaza War Slowly Spreads Within Military appeared first on The Intercept.
Increasing use of fans, air coolers and air conditioners is placing ‘serious’ strain on grid in north of country
Engineers in India have warned of the possibility of prolonged power outages in the north, where a heatwave has brought misery for millions of people.
Demand for electricity has soared due to fans, air coolers and air conditioners being run constantly, placing a strain on the grid in Delhi and elsewhere in the north. Manufacturers of air conditioners and air coolers report sales rising by 40-50% compared with last summer.
Continue reading...UAVs continually kill civilians, but the U.S. military wants to expand its arsenal with an army of new, mass-produced kamikaze AI drones.
The post Cheap and Lethal: The Pentagon’s Plan for the Next Drone War appeared first on The Intercept.
Dan Osborn, running as an independent, has racked up endorsements in a race that could help determine Senate control in 2024.
The post UAW Endorses Nebraska Underdog Threatening to Unseat a Republican Senator appeared first on The Intercept.
Twelve jurors in New York have presented their fellow Americans with a simple question: are you willing to elect a convicted criminal to the White House?
On Thursday, Donald Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. The verdict makes him the first president, current or former, to be found guilty of felony crimes in the US's near 250-year history. Regardless, the conviction does not disqualify Trump as a presidential candidate or bar him from again sitting in the Oval Office.
Trump, who opted not to take the stand during the trial, has denied wrongdoing, railed against the proceedings and ahead of the verdict compared himself to a saint: “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. The charges are rigged,” he said on Wednesday. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to appeal the verdict.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine has been in court over the last several weeks covering all the developments – here are three testimonies he found most memorable.
Could Trump go to prison? Here’s what happens next after the guilty verdict
Mozilla, the maker of the popular web browser Firefox, said it received government demands to block add-ons that circumvent censorship.
The post Firefox Browser Blocks Anti-Censorship Add-Ons at Russia’s Request appeared first on The Intercept.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, revealed the tactics and traits that help him face the daily frustrations of leading a country at war for more than two years.
Within a ceremonial room inside Kyiv’s presidential compound, Zelenskiy spoke for nearly an hour with a Guardian team, including the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner. The interview took place during perhaps the toughest time for Ukraine since the early days of the war. Russia is on the offensive in Kharkiv, an advance that follows months of delay in the US Congress over the passing of a major support package, limiting Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities
Continue reading...Watering down of bill means chance to curb use has been lost, professor says. Follow today’s news headlines live
More reaction to the vaping decision:
The chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia, Terry Slevin, said the PHAA supported the government legislation as originally put forward, “and that remains our strongly preferred model”.
Someone I spoke to earlier talked about the days when we were trying to get smoke-free zones in restaurants and pubs and clubs.
We got restaurants first, and we got pubs and clubs some years later, because tobacco control has always been a long, slow road.
That means we need measures to ensure that there is no advertising of these products allowed to pharmacists, that there’s no wining and dining of pharmacists to try and get certain vape products into pharmacies, and we need to ensure that vapes remain a therapeutic product and not a consumer good that’s just available to anyone going to a pharmacy.
Continue reading...Items containing ‘forever chemicals’ linked to cancer risk, lower fertility and developmental delays
A new law coming into effect in Colorado in July is banning everyday products that intentionally contain toxic “forever chemicals”, including clothes, cookware, menstruation products, dental floss and ski wax – unless they can be made safer.
Under the legislation, which takes effect on 1 July, many products using per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances – or PFAS chemicals linked to cancer risk, lower fertility and developmental delays – will be prohibited starting in 2026.
Continue reading...Scientists warn of ‘scary’ feedback loop in which fires create more heating, which causes more fires worldwide
The climate crisis is driving an exponential rise in the most extreme wildfires in key regions around the world, research has revealed.
The wildfires can cause catastrophic loss of human life, property and wildlife and cause billions of dollars of damage. Scientists say this is climate change “playing out in front of our eyes”.
Continue reading...Many describe Hunt as a good local MP but some are looking to tactical voting to punish the Conservatives
The beautiful Surrey Hills are well known for two things: a high concentration of some of the UK’s richest residents, who commute from the “stockbroker belt” to well-paying jobs in London, and some of the country’s most popular cycling routes.
The two combined on a recent chilly Saturday morning in a 100km bike ride that passed through the picturesque lanes of the newly created Godalming and Ash constituency. Most of the 10 riders from Velo Club Godalming Haslemere were happy to chat politics as they pedalled up (and down) 1,168 metres of the county’s steepest hills on customised carbon-fibre racing bikes, some of which cost more than a family car.
Continue reading...The star met an eco-activist who was convinced we’re all being poisoned by a chemical that was banned in 1981. Then he went to a toxic site and got sick. Head inside staggering new podcast Buried: The Last Witness
An opera-loving member of high society turned eco-activist who was forced into police protection with a panic button round his neck. A Hollywood actor who recorded said activist’s life story as he was dying from exposure to the very chemicals he was investigating. Throw in two investigative journalists who realise not everything is as it seems, then uncover some startling truths, and you have “podcasting’s strangest team” on Buried: The Last Witness.
On their award-winning 2023 podcast Buried, the husband and wife duo Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor dug into illegal toxic waste dumping in the UK and its links to organised crime. This time, they focus on “forever chemicals”, specifically polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and set out to discover whether one whistleblower may have been decades ahead of his time in reporting on their harmful impact.
Continue reading...There has been a lot of toxicity in the comments section of this blog. Recently, we’re having to delete more and more comments. Not just spam and off-topic comments, but also sniping and personal attacks. It’s gotten so bad that I need to do something.
My options are limited because I’m just one person, and this website is free, ad-free, and anonymous. I pay for a part-time moderator out of pocket; he isn’t able to constantly monitor comments. And I’m unwilling to require verified accounts.
So starting now, we will be pre-screening comments and letting through only those that 1) are on topic, 2) contribute to the discussion, and 3) don’t attack or insult anyone. The standard is not going to be “well, I guess this doesn’t technically quite break a rule,” but “is this actually contributing.”...
President is sworn in for second term as head of coalition government after losing parliamentary majority
South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa warned of the dangers of “toxic cleavages” in one of the world’s most unequal countries, after he was inaugurated for a second term as president – this time at the head of a coalition government with his African National Congress party’s biggest rival.
The ANC lost its parliamentary majority in 29 May elections, for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power in 1994 after apartheid, as millions of voters defected to breakaway parties amid chronic unemployment and the declining quality of public services.
Continue reading...There is a lot written about technology’s threats to democracy. Polarization. Artificial intelligence. The concentration of wealth and power. I have a more general story: The political and economic systems of governance that were created in the mid-18th century are poorly suited for the 21st century. They don’t align incentives well. And they are being hacked too effectively.
At the same time, the cost of these hacked systems has never been greater, across all human history. We have become too powerful as a species. And our systems cannot keep up with fast-changing disruptive technologies...
SEMrush and Ahrefs are among
the most popular tools in the SEO industry. Both companies have been in
business for years and have thousands of customers per month.
If you're a professional SEO or trying to do digital
marketing on your own, at some point you'll likely consider using a tool to
help with your efforts. Ahrefs and SEMrush are two names that will likely
appear on your shortlist.
In this guide, I'm going to help you learn more about these SEO tools and how to choose the one that's best for your purposes.
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a popular SEO tool with a wide range of
features—it's the leading competitor research service for online marketers.
SEMrush's SEO Keyword Magic tool offers over 20 billion Google-approved
keywords, which are constantly updated and it's the largest keyword database.
The program was developed in 2007 as SeoQuake is a
small Firefox extension
Features
Ahrefs is a leading SEO platform that offers a set of
tools to grow your search traffic, research your competitors, and monitor your
niche. The company was founded in 2010, and it has become a popular choice
among SEO tools. Ahrefs has a keyword index of over 10.3 billion keywords and
offers accurate and extensive backlink data updated every 15-30 minutes and it
is the world's most extensive backlink index database.
Features
Direct Comparisons: Ahrefs vs SEMrush
Now that you know a little more about each tool, let's
take a look at how they compare. I'll analyze each tool to see how they differ
in interfaces, keyword research resources, rank tracking, and competitor
analysis.
User Interface
Ahrefs and SEMrush both offer comprehensive information
and quick metrics regarding your website's SEO performance. However, Ahrefs
takes a bit more of a hands-on approach to getting your account fully set up,
whereas SEMrush's simpler dashboard can give you access to the data you need
quickly.
In this section, we provide a brief overview of the elements
found on each dashboard and highlight the ease with which you can complete
tasks.
AHREFS
The Ahrefs dashboard is less cluttered than that of
SEMrush, and its primary menu is at the very top of the page, with a search bar
designed only for entering URLs.
Additional features of the Ahrefs platform include:
SEMRUSH
When you log into the SEMrush Tool, you will find four
main modules. These include information about your domains, organic keyword
analysis, ad keyword, and site traffic.
You'll also find some other options like
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have user-friendly dashboards,
but Ahrefs is less cluttered and easier to navigate. On the other hand, SEMrush
offers dozens of extra tools, including access to customer support resources.
When deciding on which dashboard to use, consider what
you value in the user interface, and test out both.
If you're looking to track your website's search engine
ranking, rank tracking features can help. You can also use them to monitor your
competitors.
Let's take a look at Ahrefs vs. SEMrush to see which
tool does a better job.
The Ahrefs Rank Tracker is simpler to use. Just type in
the domain name and keywords you want to analyze, and it spits out a report
showing you the search engine results page (SERP) ranking for each keyword you
enter.
Rank Tracker looks at the ranking performance of
keywords and compares them with the top rankings for those keywords. Ahrefs
also offers:
You'll see metrics that help you understand your
visibility, traffic, average position, and keyword difficulty.
It gives you an idea of whether a keyword would be
profitable to target or not.
SEMRush offers a tool called Position Tracking. This
tool is a project tool—you must set it up as a new project. Below are a few of
the most popular features of the SEMrush Position Tracking tool:
All subscribers are given regular data updates and
mobile search rankings upon subscribing
The platform provides opportunities to track several
SERP features, including Local tracking.
Intuitive reports allow you to track statistics for the
pages on your website, as well as the keywords used in those pages.
Identify pages that may be competing with each other
using the Cannibalization report.
Ahrefs is a more user-friendly option. It takes seconds
to enter a domain name and keywords. From there, you can quickly decide whether
to proceed with that keyword or figure out how to rank better for other
keywords.
SEMrush allows you to check your mobile rankings and
ranking updates daily, which is something Ahrefs does not offer. SEMrush also
offers social media rankings, a tool you won't find within the Ahrefs platform.
Both are good which one do you like let me know in the comment.
Keyword research is closely related to rank tracking,
but it's used for deciding which keywords you plan on using for future content
rather than those you use now.
When it comes to SEO, keyword research is the most
important thing to consider when comparing the two platforms.
The Ahrefs Keyword Explorer provides you with thousands
of keyword ideas and filters search results based on the chosen search engine.
Ahrefs supports several features, including:
SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool has over 20 billion
keywords for Google. You can type in any keyword you want, and a list of
suggested keywords will appear.
The Keyword Magic Tool also lets you to:
Both of these tools offer keyword research features and
allow users to break down complicated tasks into something that can be
understood by beginners and advanced users alike.
If you're interested in keyword suggestions, SEMrush
appears to have more keyword suggestions than Ahrefs does. It also continues to
add new features, like the Keyword Gap tool and SERP Questions recommendations.
Both platforms offer competitor analysis tools,
eliminating the need to come up with keywords off the top of your head. Each
tool is useful for finding keywords that will be useful for your competition so
you know they will be valuable to you.
Ahrefs' domain comparison tool lets you compare up to five websites (your website and four competitors) side-by-side.it also shows you how your site is ranked against others with metrics such as backlinks, domain ratings, and more.
Use the Competing Domains section to see a list of your
most direct competitors, and explore how many keywords matches your competitors
have.
To find more information about your competitor, you can
look at the Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools and type in their URL
instead of yours.
SEMrush provides a variety of insights into your
competitors' marketing tactics. The platform enables you to research your
competitors effectively. It also offers several resources for competitor
analysis including:
Traffic Analytics helps you identify where your
audience comes from, how they engage with your site, what devices visitors use
to view your site, and how your audiences overlap with other websites.
SEMrush's Organic Research examines your website's
major competitors and shows their organic search rankings, keywords they are
ranking for, and even if they are ranking for any (SERP) features and more.
The Market Explorer search field allows you to type in
a domain and lists websites or articles similar to what you entered. Market
Explorer also allows users to perform in-depth data analytics on These
companies and markets.
SEMrush wins here because it has more tools dedicated to
competitor analysis than Ahrefs. However, Ahrefs offers a lot of functionality
in this area, too. It takes a combination of both tools to gain an advantage
over your competition.
When it comes to keyword data research, you will become
confused about which one to choose.
Consider choosing Ahrefs if you
Consider SEMrush if you:
Both tools are great. Choose the one which meets your
requirements and if you have any experience using either Ahrefs or SEMrush let
me know in the comment section which works well for you.
He was a Hollywood sensation headlining on Saturday Night Live – and was still too young for a driving licence. But things did not always go well for The Breakfast Club actor
If your formative years were shaped in any way by the 80s teen movies of John Hughes – crushes, triumphant underdogs, and an everlasting hankering for American high-school lockers – those actors feel something akin to long-lost relatives. Anthony Michael Hall has had an enduring acting career doing other work: he’s a 56-year-old father and looks nothing like his teenage self. But he can’t escape the nerdy kid in Weird Science, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. If he is tired of reminiscing about films that are 40 years old, he doesn’t show it.
Hall has now been acting for 48 years. One of the biggest lessons his career has taught him is to “stay humble, because the journey will humble you. You have to continue to earn your place.” He has seen it all: extreme fame in his youth, followed by a bit of a crash in his 20s. Hall struggled to re-establish his career until he became the lead, in his 30s, in the sci-fi series The Dead Zone in the early 2000s. There have been highs – he has worked for directors such as Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan – as well as lows (he had a part in Freddy Got Fingered – watching the 2001 comedy, the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw wrote that it, “was among the worst experiences of my life”). Such is the life of a steadily working actor.
Continue reading...The task force revealed its plans not in a communiqué to faculty and students — but instead in an Israeli newspaper article.
The post Columbia Task Force for Dealing With Campus Protests Declares That Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism appeared first on The Intercept.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
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