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‘Everyone is breathing this’: how just trying to stay warm is killing thousands a year in the world’s coldest capital
Tue, 08 Apr 2025 04:00:37 GMT
In Ulaanbaatar, coal fires heat almost every home. But as extreme weather drives families off the Mongolian steppes into the city the air is becoming more deadly
The eldest child was away training for the army when his family died in their sleep. All six of them, two adults and four children, were poisoned by carbon monoxide gas seeping out from their coal-fired stove into their home in Ulaanbaatar in January, the coldest month in the world’s coldest capital city.
Mongolians were touched by the tragedy but there was anger a month later when, during a two-day parliamentary hearing forced by a public petition against pollution levels, the government released figures showing there had been 779 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in the country in the past seven years. By 19 February, when a couple in their 40s were found lifeless in their bed, that number had risen to 811.
Continue reading...A three-yearly environmental update issues stark warning over biodiversity – and reports air pollution has improved in some areas
A major new report on New Zealand’s environment has revealed a worrying outlook for its unique species and highlighted declining water health, while also noting some improvements in air quality.
The ministry of the environment’s three-yearly update, Our Environment 2025, collates statistics, data and research across five domains – air, atmosphere and climate, freshwater, land, and marine – to paint a picture of the state of New Zealand’s environment.
Continue reading...The Duchess of Sussex fawns over entrepreneur guests and delivers overwrought messages to listeners, while claiming her lifestyle brand is ‘an extension of my essence’. It's a bit much
Remember the girl boss? She burst in to the zeitgeist in the 2010s, riding the era’s nebulous wave of female empowerment and proving that women could become incredibly rich by helming capitalist empires – just like men. Branding-wise, she had some issues: beginning with that infantile moniker and peaking with a series of toxic workplace scandals. This – combined with the fact that celebrating corporate greed took on an even more nauseating hue post-pandemic – means we haven’t heard from her for quite a while.
Yet this new podcast from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is alive with the spirit of the girl boss. Confessions of a Female Founder with Meghan sees the royal quiz ladies on how they made their fortunes: starting with Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder and CEO of the dating app Bumble, who was once the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. Meghan has a vested interest in such success stories – hot on the heels of her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, the self-styled lifestyle guru is launching a business of her own. As ever sells preserves, teas and those dried flowers she sprinkled on a vegetable frittata in the TV show, much to her guest Mindy Kaling’s amusement. But As ever is more than a money-making scheme: it is, as our host puts it on this podcast, “an extension of my essence”.
Continue reading...Jon Di Stefano on the environmental credentials of smaller developers. Plus Mike Leonard on how the future homes standard should ensure low-carbon construction
Craig Bennett of the Wildlife Trusts highlighted some issues with the way UK housebuilders are delivering (or not delivering) housing (UK housebuilders ‘very bad’ at building houses, says wildlife charity CEO, 1 April). But should we be lumping every housebuilder together?
In December, the Federation of Master Builders reported that small housebuilders deliver only 10% of new homes today, compared with 40% in the 1980s. This diminished contribution has been called out by the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, as a top priority for Homes England to address. Competition and innovation beget sustainability, affordability and quality in housing delivery. As someone who has made the jump from a larger housebuilder to a smaller one, I have seen this firsthand.
Continue reading...We do not have the luxury of rejecting solutions before we have thoroughly investigated their risks, trade-offs and feasibility
As a lifelong scientist, I have always believed that if something is possible, we can find a way to achieve it. And yet, one of the starkest realities we now face is that the world is failing to meet its climate goals. Last year marked a historic and deeply troubling threshold: for the first time, global temperatures exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Without drastic and immediate climate action, this breach will not be temporary. The consequences – rising sea levels, extreme weather and devastating loss of biodiversity – are no longer projections for the distant future. They are happening now, affecting millions of lives, and likely to cause trillions in damages in decades to come.
But we must think beyond our immediate horizons. When I read The Iliad, I am reminded that it was written 2,800 years ago. I often wonder: in another 2,800 years, what will people – if humanity as we know it still exists – read about our time? Will they see us as the generation that failed to act or one that made the choices necessary to safeguard the planet for the future?
Continue reading...Intelligence reports warn law enforcement about “acts of violence against electric vehicles” and the danger of battery fires.
The post Police Across the Country Are on High Alert Over Tesla Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts he’s nixing contracts and grants amid DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. But those trims won’t hit SpaceX.
The post DOGE’s Pentagon Budget Cuts Don’t Touch Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared first on The Intercept.
Florida prosecutors say Michelle Taylor used gasoline to set a fire that killed her son. Top forensic chemists say they’re wrong.
The post The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway. appeared first on The Intercept.
Net zero is a target that countries should be striving for to stop the climate crisis. But beyond the buzzword, it is a complex scientific concept – and if we get it wrong, the planet will keep heating.
Biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield explains how a loophole in the 2015 Paris climate agreement allows countries to cheat their net zero targets through creative accounting, and how scientists want us to fix it
Continue reading...
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.
Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post First Trump Targeted Pro-Palestine Students. Now All Kinds of Foreign Students Are at Risk. appeared first on The Intercept.
White House has said US courts can’t order return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wife has been protesting outside court
A federal judge on Friday afternoon ordered the US to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison after a Trump administration attorney was at a loss to explain what happened.
The wife of the man, who was flown to a notorious Salvadoran prison had earlier joined dozens of supporters at a rally before a court hearing on Friday, where his lawyers had asked the judge – Paula Xinis – to order the Trump administration to return him to the US.
Continue reading...In what may be an American first, President Donald Trump pardoned a company sentenced to $100 million in fines for breaking money laundering laws.
The post Trump Just Pardoned … a Corporation? appeared first on The Intercept.
Dogs in court, alpacas on trains … the debate shows how much we lean on animals, and how little we regard their wellbeing
It’s not the first time that the justice system has been accused of going to the dogs – but it may be the first time it’s been meant literally.
According to recent reports, defendants and witnesses in England and Wales have taken to bringing pets to court with them for emotional support, “causing chaos”. Judiciary officials have advised judges on how to deal with the issue after anecdotal reports of dogs barking, urinating and defecating, jumping up and otherwise disrupting proceedings. Assistance animals, such as guide dogs and medical alert dogs, are highly trained and covered under equality legislation to enter courts. “Emotional support animals” (ESAs), however, are not regulated in the UK; they may not necessarily even be trained at all.
Elle Hunt is a freelance journalist
Continue reading...Elaborate deception was only recently discovered when judge visited government office to renew his ID card
Police in the Brazilian state of São Paulo have uncovered that a judge spent 23 years working under a false identity – and a distinctly British one.
Born José Eduardo Franco dos Reis – a name fairly typical in a country once colonised by Portugal – he entered law school and served for over two decades as a judge using the false name Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield.
Continue reading...Erez Reuveni no longer on Kilmar Abrego Garcia case after not ‘vigorously’ defending Trump administration
A federal justice department attorney has been placed on leave by the Trump administration for purportedly failing to defend the administration vigorously enough after it says it erroneously deported a Maryland man to El Salvador, which a US judge called a “wholly lawless” detention.
The action against justice department lawyer Erez Reuveni came after US district judge Paula Xinis had ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who lived in the US legally with a work permit, be returned to Maryland despite the Trump administration’s position that it cannot return him from a sovereign nation.
Continue reading...South Carolina resumed executions with the firing squad killing of Brad Sigmon last month. Mikal Madhi’s execution date is days away.
The post Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, or Firing Squad? An Inhumane Decision for Death Row Prisoners appeared first on The Intercept.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts he’s nixing contracts and grants amid DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. But those trims won’t hit SpaceX.
The post DOGE’s Pentagon Budget Cuts Don’t Touch Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared first on The Intercept.
She lost her job at Emerson College after screening a film critical of Israel. Her lawsuit seeks to leverage an unusual Massachusetts free speech law.
The post This College Staffer Lost Her Job After Showing a Film Critical of Israel. Now She’s Suing Over Free Speech. appeared first on The Intercept.
US marshals sent to deliver letter warning Liz Oyer about testifying to Congress over actor’s gun case, lawyer says
The Trump administration-led justice department planned to send armed US marshals to deliver a letter warning a career pardon attorney about testifying to Congress after she says she was fired over a case involving the actor Mel Gibson, her lawyer said in a letter seen by Reuters on Monday.
“This highly unusual step of directing armed law enforcement officers to the home of a former Department of Justice employee who has engaged in no misconduct, let alone criminal conduct, simply to deliver a letter, is both unprecedented and completely inappropriate,” Michael Bromwich, a lawyer representing the fired pardon attorney Liz Oyer, wrote to the justice department.
Continue reading...At a Congressional hearing earlier this week, Matt Blaze made the point that CALEA, the 1994 law that forces telecoms to make phone calls wiretappable, is outdated in today’s threat environment and should be rethought:
In other words, while the legally-mandated CALEA capability requirements have changed little over the last three decades, the infrastructure that must implement and protect it has changed radically. This has greatly expanded the “attack surface” that must be defended to prevent unauthorized wiretaps, especially at scale. The job of the illegal eavesdropper has gotten significantly easier, with many more options and opportunities for them to exploit. Compromising our telecommunications infrastructure is now little different from performing any other kind of computer intrusion or data breach, a well-known and endemic cybersecurity problem. To put it bluntly, something like Salt Typhoon was inevitable, and will likely happen again unless significant changes are made...
Kat Abughazaleh has been critical of what she describes as Democrats’ lack of vision and says the party has lost touch with many of its voters, especially young people
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old progressive TikTok star, wants to do campaigns differently. So the very online candidate for a solid blue congressional seat in Illinois is channeling her energy into in-person events.
The entry fee for her campaign’s kick-off event was a box of tampons or pads to be donated to The Period Collective, a Chicago-based non-profit that distributes free menstrual products to low-income communities in the area. The debut was such a success, she said, they filled her campaign manager’s SUV with donations. (“I want him to get pulled over so bad,” Abughazaleh quipped in a video for her YouTube series How to Run for Congress.) It’s part of her pledge to disrupt politics as usual and run a campaign centered on mutual aid and community organizing instead of a candidate-centered “vanity project” that relies on expensive TV ads and “grifty” fundraising texts.
Continue reading...In a special episode, Jonathan Freedland and Annie Karni of the New York Times look at what seems to be a long-term question for US politics. With Republicans fighting each other in the House and Senate, and Democrats struggling to command the room, is Congress broken?
Annie’s new book with Luke Broadwater is called Mad House: How Donald Trump, Maga Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man With Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
Archive: PBS Newshour, NBC News, WISH-TV, KPRC 2 Click2Houston, Face the Nation, CNN, CBS News, ABC7, ABC News
Continue reading...In “Secrets and Lies” (2000), I wrote:
It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.
It’s something a bunch of us were saying at the time, in reference to the vast NSA’s surveillance capabilities.
I have been thinking of that quote a lot as I read news stories of President Trump firing the Director of the National Security Agency. General Timothy Haugh.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote:
We don’t know what pressure the Trump administration is using to make intelligence services fall into line, but it isn’t crazy to ...
Republicans need to worry about getting bullied by Elon Musk, and Democrats need to worry about AIPAC, Sanders said.
The post Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending appeared first on The Intercept.
John Kelsey and I wrote a short paper for the Rossfest Festschrift: “Rational Astrologies and Security“:
There is another non-security way that designers can spend their security budget: on making their own lives easier. Many of these fall into the category of what has been called rational astrology. First identified by Randy Steve Waldman [Wal12], the term refers to something people treat as though it works, generally for social or institutional reasons, even when there’s little evidence that it works—and sometimes despite substantial evidence that it does not...
The Trump administration’s detention of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk rests on an opinion article she wrote in 2024, her lawyers said in a filing.
The post In Trump’s America, You Can Be Disappeared for Writing an Op-Ed appeared first on The Intercept.
Florida prosecutors say Michelle Taylor used gasoline to set a fire that killed her son. Top forensic chemists say they’re wrong.
The post The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway. appeared first on The Intercept.
I accompanied one of the students who fled Trump’s crackdown. It gave me clarity on what’s at stake.
The post This Is Not About Antisemitism, Palestine, or Columbia. It’s Trump Dismantling the American Dream. appeared first on The Intercept.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who started the now-infamous group chat coordinating a US attack against the Yemen-based Houthis on March 15, is seemingly now suggesting that the secure messaging service Signal has security vulnerabilities.
"I didn’t see this loser in the group," Waltz told Fox News about Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Waltz invited to the chat. "Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean, is something we’re trying to figure out."
Waltz’s implication that Goldberg may have hacked his way in was followed by a ...
“Do your job!” the crowd chanted, urging Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the most outspoken DOGE supporters, to rein in Elon Musk.
The post GOP Leaders Said Don’t Do Town Halls. This Indiana Republican Did — and Got an Earful. appeared first on The Intercept.
Use them up in fishcakes, roll them into balls, use them to thicken soups … the possibilities are almost too numerous to mention, but our culinary experts have had a go anyway
How can I turn leftover cooked potatoes – mashed, roasted, boiled – into dinner?
This sounds like a job for queen of spuds Poppy O’Toole, whose latest book just so happens to be all about the tuber. We all know that mashed potatoes can cause heated debate, with smooth and buttery making some folk purr, while others prefer a bit of texture, and this also affects what you do with any spares. “It can be difficult to use leftover mash, because many recipes depend on how creamy you like it to begin with,” says the author of The Potato Book, although she says one “surefire way” begins by putting a good splash of olive oil in a frying pan on a medium-low heat. “Fry two chopped spring onions [green bits and all] until soft, add the leftover mash, and fry until hot and almost caramelising.” Season, and you’ve got a great base for all sorts.
Alternatively, O’Toole might mix her mash with a handful of crumbled feta, some cooked and squeezed spinach, a pinch of chilli flakes, a little grated nutmeg and lemon zest, plus salt and pepper. “Divide into pingpong ball-sized portions, then wrap in filo glued together with a touch of water. Shallow fry in oil until golden and crisp all over.” Perhaps the easiest solution of all, though, is to use excess mash to thicken soups: “Sweat some leeks, add the mash, season and cover with vegetable stock and 100ml whipping cream,” says O’Toole, who then cooks the lot for 30 minutes before tucking in with a good hunk of bread.
Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
Continue reading...US president had said he would impose extra levies unless China withdrew its 34% retaliatory tariffs by today
The European Union still wants to avoid a trade war with the United States despite Donald Trump’s administration’s rejection of the “zero for zero” offer on all industrial goods put forward by Brussels, an EU spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that the European Union needed to lower its non-tariff barriers, including those created by value-added taxes and food safety regulations, if it wanted to reach a deal.
Continue reading...Drink removed from draft list after lobbying from whiskey-making Ireland and wine-producing Italy and France
Amid the economic maelstrom of Donald Trump’s trade war, drink makers might take a small drop of comfort: the EU has dropped plans to hit American bourbon with retaliatory tariffs.
Bourbon and other US whiskeys have escaped EU countermeasures after heavy lobbying from the EU’s drinks-producing countries – such as whiskey-making Ireland and the wine behemoths Italy and France – who feared their alcohol industries would become casualties of a global trade war.
Continue reading...A soothing treat to start the day – or finish supper with. Just be sure to use perfectly ripe mangoes
Blueberries actually have a pinch of acidity that helps lift this rather mild and soothing puréed mango.
I like to use a thick, strained Greek-style yoghurt here, and only partially mix it into the purée to leave some attractive swirls of it marbled through the fool.
Continue reading...The creamy pistachio bar is all over TikTok, but good luck trying to find it in shops. Connoisseurs, market-watchers and the woman who invented it discuss its sudden rush to fame
I stand in my local Lidl, staring gloomily at the chocolate bars. The man beside me seems similarly disappointed. “Are you looking for the Dubai chocolate?” he asks. It might be kept behind the till, I say, given how precious and popular it is. He stops the security guard and she looks at us sympathetically. No chance, she says. They sold out in hours.
If you don’t spend your life on TikTok, the latest viral food trend may have passed you by. But you won’t escape it for long. “Dubai chocolate” has gone mainstream.
Continue reading...From planning ahead and avoiding freezer burn to creating flavour bombs in ice trays, here are some expert tips
Preparing meals in advance and portioning out meat, fruit and vegetables to be frozen can save money, avoid waste and cut the time you spend cooking.
Continue reading...We asked experts on what are the benefits and risks of taking the highly touted supplement. This is what they said
Fish oil is a perennial wellness topic, partly because there’s so much conflicting information.
“People perceive fish oil to be a wonder supplement,” says Amelia Sherry, clinical nutrition coordinator at the Mount Sinai hospital.
Continue reading...This week: what happens to products after we review them; spring gardening gear; and anti-ageing essentials (including sunscreen)
At the Filter, we test a LOT of products. We’ve put everything from mattresses to treadmills through their paces to try to help you make better-informed shopping decisions. However, that means our expert testers can accumulate a lot of products. After all, you can’t find the best air fryer without taking a few for a spin. So, with sustainability – as well as journalistic independence, unswayed by promises of freebies – in mind, we’ve always promised to return samples to the manufacturer after testing or, where that’s not possible, donate them to good causes.
That’s where I come in. As the Filter’s researcher, it’s my job to not only help find and source products but also rehome them when they’re finished with. I’ve been tasked with getting everything, from blenders to electric toothbrushes and even food, from writers’ homes across the country to charities that can benefit from them the most.
Anti-ageing products that actually work: Sali Hughes on the 30 best serums, creams and treatments
‘Cute, but doesn’t taste too good’: the best (and worst) Easter chocolate treats, tested
Continue reading...From bunnies to, er, squirrels and croissants, these Easter chocs are a cute alternative to traditional eggs. But are they any good? Our in-house chocolate fiend finds out …
• The best stand mixers to make baking easier
I’m a big chocolate lover, and Easter is as good a time as any to branch out, try something new and spend a few extra pounds on something special. While the wheel doesn’t need reinventing, it’s been particularly fun to see a lot more unconventional shapes popping up this year.
For my ideal Easter egg, I look for something made with good-quality chocolate that isn’t sickly sweet. For milk chocolate, I like at least 40% cocoa solids, and for dark 60%. Anything much higher than that can be a bit intense for an Easter egg, and almost too grownup – after all, it still needs to be fun! Personally, I lean towards chocolate with a bit of texture and added crunch to keep things interesting, and good thickness is always a winner.
Continue reading...What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.
From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk.
Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems?
Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all
Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
Continue reading... |
Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post First Trump Targeted Pro-Palestine Students. Now All Kinds of Foreign Students Are at Risk. appeared first on The Intercept.
Rallies come as US Treasury secretary says he believes country can reach ‘some good deals’ with trading partners
South Korea’s government has approved Tuesday 3 June as the date for a snap presidential election, following the removal from office of Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his declaration of martial law.
The move comes after Yoon’s removal after the country’s constitutional court voted unanimously on Friday to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach him over his ill-fated declaration of martial law in December.
Continue reading...Just weeks away from graduation, some international students at Arizona State University have been blocked from completing degrees.
The post At Least 50 Arizona State Students Have Now Had Visas Revoked, Lawyer Says appeared first on The Intercept.
Leaders around the world have reacted with a mix of a mix of confusion and concern after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on some of its largest trading partners, upending decades of US trade policy and starting a possible global trade war. The tariffs range from 10% to 49% on all goods imported from abroad
‘Nowhere on earth is safe’: Trump imposes tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica
War-torn and struggling countries among those facing steepest Trump reciprocal tariffs
The move has sent shock waves through a region of US strategic importance that had respected Trump as tough on Beijing
Vietnam had tried to appease Donald Trump: tariffs on US goods were reduced; regulations were passed to allow Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its Starlink in the country. The prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, even joked in January that he would happily “play golf all day long” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida if it could “bring benefits to my country and my people”.
The strategies do not appear to have worked. Trump has inflicted an extraordinary 46% tariff on Vietnam that threatens to devastate its economic growth plans and undermine relations between the two countries. The tariff has sent shock waves through Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse where Trump has always been fairly popular, and across south-east Asia.
Continue reading...US president had said he would impose extra levies unless China withdrew its 34% retaliatory tariffs by today
The European Union still wants to avoid a trade war with the United States despite Donald Trump’s administration’s rejection of the “zero for zero” offer on all industrial goods put forward by Brussels, an EU spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that the European Union needed to lower its non-tariff barriers, including those created by value-added taxes and food safety regulations, if it wanted to reach a deal.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president says men’s capture shows Moscow is trying to involve Beijing in the war ‘directly or indirectly’
Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese nationals fighting with the Russian army in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
They are two of what Ukraine’s president described as many more Chinese members of the Russian armed forces, and their capture prompted him to accuse the Kremlin of trying to involve Beijing in the conflict “directly or indirectly”.
Continue reading...Drink removed from draft list after lobbying from whiskey-making Ireland and wine-producing Italy and France
Amid the economic maelstrom of Donald Trump’s trade war, drink makers might take a small drop of comfort: the EU has dropped plans to hit American bourbon with retaliatory tariffs.
Bourbon and other US whiskeys have escaped EU countermeasures after heavy lobbying from the EU’s drinks-producing countries – such as whiskey-making Ireland and the wine behemoths Italy and France – who feared their alcohol industries would become casualties of a global trade war.
Continue reading...Wall Street rises after Treasury secretary says US can reach ‘some good deals’ with trading partners
Rachel Reeves stepped in to soothe stock market jitters on Tuesday amid signs that the punishing global sell-off triggered by US trade tariffs was starting to ease.
The chancellor told parliament she had spoken to Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, who confirmed “markets are functioning effectively and that our banking system is resilient”.
Continue reading...At a Congressional hearing earlier this week, Matt Blaze made the point that CALEA, the 1994 law that forces telecoms to make phone calls wiretappable, is outdated in today’s threat environment and should be rethought:
In other words, while the legally-mandated CALEA capability requirements have changed little over the last three decades, the infrastructure that must implement and protect it has changed radically. This has greatly expanded the “attack surface” that must be defended to prevent unauthorized wiretaps, especially at scale. The job of the illegal eavesdropper has gotten significantly easier, with many more options and opportunities for them to exploit. Compromising our telecommunications infrastructure is now little different from performing any other kind of computer intrusion or data breach, a well-known and endemic cybersecurity problem. To put it bluntly, something like Salt Typhoon was inevitable, and will likely happen again unless significant changes are made...
Chief economist Phil O’Donaghoe says ‘global shock’ from protectionist US trade policy justifies more aggressive move from Reserve Bank
Deutsche Bank says the Reserve Bank of Australia will follow the script from previous crises and deliver a double rate cut when it next meets in May, as Donald Trump’s threats of even higher tariffs on China added to fears of a looming global trade war.
Financial markets and economists were in agreement the RBA would lower the cash rate from 4.1% to 3.85% in five weeks’ time, saying the decision is “locked in” after the US president’s “liberation day” trade on 2 April sent financial markets tumbling late last week.
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Continue reading...A swift loss of £4tn from global stock markets has led some to liken Trump’s trade war to 1929 Wall Street crash
Donald Trump’s escalating trade war has plunged global financial markets into the steepest rout since the spread of the Covid pandemic five years ago.
Drawing parallels with the 1929 Wall Street crash and the ensuing 1930s Great Depression, the US president’s “liberation day” tariff plan has led to warnings of a global recession from leading economists.
Continue reading...Beijing accuses US of blackmail and adding a ‘mistake on top of a mistake’ as Wednesday deadline for latest levies looms
China’s government says it will “fight to the end” if the US continues to escalate the trade war, after Donald Trump threatened huge additional tariffs in response to China’s retaliatory measures.
On Tuesday, China’s commerce ministry accused the US of “blackmail” and said the US president’s threats of additional 50% tariffs if Beijing did not reverse its own 34% reciprocal tariff were a “mistake on top of a mistake”.
Continue reading...President poised to further impose taxes after Beijing announced a 34% tariff on US imports as global markets fall
Donald Trump has threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on imports from China on Wednesday unless the country rescinds its retaliatory tariffs on the United States by Tuesday.
The news comes on the third day of catastrophic market falls around the globe since Trump announced his trade war last Wednesday with tariffs on the US’s trading partners.
Continue reading...15 medics and rescuers killed last month in Gaza were shot in upper body ‘with intent to kill’, says president of Palestinian Red Crescent Society
Russia, China and Iran will hold consultations at expert level on the Iranian nuclear programme in Moscow on Tuesday, Russian’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has been cited as saying.
Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iran unless it comes to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme, and the Kremlin said earlier today that Russia was ready to do all it could to help resolve tensions between the Washington and Tehran.
Macron said he strongly opposed any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. “We are firmly opposed to the displacement of populations and to any annexation of both Gaza and the West Bank,” Macron told journalists. “This would be a violation of international law and a serious threat to the security of the entire region, including Israel,” he said.
Macron said Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007, should have no part in governing the strip after the war and reiterated his support for a reconstruction plan for the territory endorsed by the Arab League. “I salute here the crucial work of Egypt on this plan, which offers a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and should also pave the way for new Palestinian governance in the enclave led by the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “Hamas must have no role in this governance, and must no longer constitute a threat to Israel.”
Continue reading...From Muslim Indian women’s lives to a Danish time looper, all six contenders for the £50,000 prize are from independent presses, as translator Sophie Hughes earns an unprecedented third nomination
Hiromi Kawakami and Solvej Balle have made this year’s International Booker prize shortlist, which for the first time is comprised entirely of books published by independent presses.
British translator Sophie Hughes has been shortlisted for her translation of Perfection, originally written in Italian by Vincenzo Latronico. This marks the third time Hughes has been shortlisted for the prize, making her the award’s record holder for the most times shortlisted and longlisted.
Continue reading...Contracts show fictional country created by fugitive Indian guru would control vast swathes ‘with full sovereignty’
Followers of a fugitive Indian Hindu guru on a mission to establish his own state are popping up across Latin America, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy land in Ecuador, Paraguay and now Bolivia.
At the end of last year, a representative of the Baure Indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon signed a “perpetual” contract leasing 60,000 hectares (148,260 acres) of their vast rainforest for $108,000 (£81,910) a year.
Continue reading...Elections set for 3 June after months of political turmoil triggered by Yoon Suk Yeol’s shock declaration of martial law and subsequent impeachment
South Korea will hold a presidential election on 3 June, the country’s acting president said on Tuesday, after predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office over a disastrous declaration of martial law.
The government “is to set June 3 as the date for South Korea’s 21st presidential election”, prime minister Han Duck-soo said, adding that the day would be designated as a temporary public holiday to facilitate voting.
Continue reading...Police say man landed on island in attempt to meet the Sentinelese people – a tribe untouched by the industrial world
Indian police said on Thursday they had arrested a US tourist who sneaked on to a highly restricted island carrying a coconut and a can of Diet Coke to a tribe untouched by the industrial world.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel – part of India’s Andaman Islands – in an attempt to meet the Sentinelese people, who are believed to number only about 150.
Continue reading...Three claimants allege Mumbai-based consultancy firm discriminated against them during restructuring
A UK division of the Indian conglomerate Tata “deliberately orchestrated” a redundancy programme in a way that unfairly targeted older, non-Indian nationals, an employment tribunal has heard.
Three claimants allege the Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is valued at almost £110bn on the BSE stock exchange in Mumbai, discriminated against them on grounds of age and nationality during a restructuring that began in mid-2023.
Continue reading...We’d like to hear from people about the impact Trump’s tariffs might have on them and their businesses
Donald Trump has unveiled his global tariffs on US trading partners including 10% on UK exports to the US, 20% on the EU and 34% on China. However, the US’s closest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, have been exempt from the latest round of tariffs.
Wherever you are in the world, we’d like to hear how you might be affected by the tariffs. What preparations or changes are you making to your business? Do you have any concerns?
Continue reading...Despite Thai advisers, the series failed to escape the western lens of its rich protagonists and the history of the country’s representation
One of the first things I noticed when I sat down to watch the eagerly awaited third series of The White Lotus was the birdsong. The distinctive call of two species peculiar to Thailand – the coucal and the Asian koel – conjure up precisely how it feels to be there, in the midst of a tropical soundscape. Then there are the exquisite opening credits, which plunge the viewer into a visceral experience of the Thai cultural environment: based on reimagined traditional Buddhist temple painting, the key protagonists are “Thai-ified” as they merge into the mural motifs.
The expertise of an array of famous Thai actors, pop stars, fashion models and celebrities – along with the somewhat heavy hand of the Tourism Authority of Thailand – have helped this series achieve a cultural authenticity like no other previous western drama set in Thailand. Things have certainly come a long way since British governess Anna Leonowens (played by Deborah Kerr) waltzed gaily around the royal palace of Yul Brynner’s shiny-headed King Mongkut in the 1956 hit musical, based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage production, The King and I (perhaps unsurprisingly banned in Thailand for its derogatory portrayal of a highly revered monarch). Gone too are the crass depictions of Bangkok from the 2011 comedy The Hangover Part II; or the classic Lord of the Flies-style narrative that is explored in Danny Boyle’s 2000 adventure The Beach. In both these cases, the ill-fated western tourist faces crude symbols of the dangers posed by the tropics – from predatory sharks to kleptomaniacal monkeys and gun-toting cannabis farmers.
Rachel Harrison is professor of Thai cultural studies at Soas University of London
Continue reading...Brother of Jagtar Singh Johal claims he is being ‘mentally tortured’ through unwarranted detention
The British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal, detained for seven years in an Indian jail, has been placed into solitary confinement and under 24-hour surveillance despite being acquitted of all terrorism charges against him by a Punjab court on 4 March, his family have claimed.
Johal is still facing the exact same charges in a parallel case in a clear example of double jeopardy, his brother Gurpreet said when giving testimony at Westminster to an all party committee on arbitrary detention. He said the Indian courts have not granted his brother bail, despite the prosecutor’s failure to produce any credible evidence or witnesses in the Punjab court.
Gurpreet said UK consular staff met his brother in jail on Tuesday and were told he had been put into solitary confinement with a 24-hour guard, adding no explanation had been given.
Continue reading...In what may be an American first, President Donald Trump pardoned a company sentenced to $100 million in fines for breaking money laundering laws.
The post Trump Just Pardoned … a Corporation? appeared first on The Intercept.
China has dramatically increased military activities around Taiwan, with more than 3,000 incursions into Taiwan's airspace in 2024 alone. Amy Hawkins examines how Beijing is deploying 'salami-slicing' tactics, a strategy of gradual pressure that stays below the threshold of war while steadily wearing down Taiwan's defences. From daily air incursions to strategic military exercises, we explore the four phases of China's approach and what it means for Taiwan's future
Continue reading...US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who started the now-infamous group chat coordinating a US attack against the Yemen-based Houthis on March 15, is seemingly now suggesting that the secure messaging service Signal has security vulnerabilities.
"I didn’t see this loser in the group," Waltz told Fox News about Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Waltz invited to the chat. "Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean, is something we’re trying to figure out."
Waltz’s implication that Goldberg may have hacked his way in was followed by a ...
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, Daniel Neuenschwander, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Vice President for Exploration and Human Spaceflight, Mayumi Matsuura, have signed a new statement of intent focused on Moon and Mars activities. This statement marks their intention towards a step forward in space exploration cooperation between ESA and JAXA, and lays the groundwork for expanded collaboration between the two agencies in advancing science, technology and international partnerships.
“Do your job!” the crowd chanted, urging Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the most outspoken DOGE supporters, to rein in Elon Musk.
The post GOP Leaders Said Don’t Do Town Halls. This Indiana Republican Did — and Got an Earful. appeared first on The Intercept.
Rescue efforts are entering their third day and attempts to find survivors are intensifying after a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand, killing at least 1,600 people and injuring more than 3,400. At least 139 others are missing. The initial quake struck near Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, collapsing buildings, downing bridges and buckling roads, causing mass destruction in Myanmar's second largest city
Continue reading...In a special episode, Jonathan Freedland and Annie Karni of the New York Times look at what seems to be a long-term question for US politics. With Republicans fighting each other in the House and Senate, and Democrats struggling to command the room, is Congress broken?
Annie’s new book with Luke Broadwater is called Mad House: How Donald Trump, Maga Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man With Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
Archive: PBS Newshour, NBC News, WISH-TV, KPRC 2 Click2Houston, Face the Nation, CNN, CBS News, ABC7, ABC News
Continue reading...Republicans need to worry about getting bullied by Elon Musk, and Democrats need to worry about AIPAC, Sanders said.
The post Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending appeared first on The Intercept.
Amid a wellspring of discontent over the Pennsylvania senator’s coziness with Israel and Republicans, people are demanding campaign donation refunds.
The post Small-Dollar Donors Are Asking John Fetterman for Their Money Back appeared first on The Intercept.
US president had said he would impose extra levies unless China withdrew its 34% retaliatory tariffs by today
The European Union still wants to avoid a trade war with the United States despite Donald Trump’s administration’s rejection of the “zero for zero” offer on all industrial goods put forward by Brussels, an EU spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that the European Union needed to lower its non-tariff barriers, including those created by value-added taxes and food safety regulations, if it wanted to reach a deal.
Continue reading...She is one of the heirs to the Walt Disney fortune – and has long argued for rich people like her to pay more tax. Now she is working out how best to meet the challenge of Trump, Musk and the politics of chaos
My conversation with Abigail Disney opens with the kind of bog-standard line that starts most chats. But because she is a left-leaning American, with a record of righteous criticism of the man now once again in charge of her country, I suspect it might invite a very long answer indeed.
Still, out it comes: “How are you?”
Continue reading...PM appears at Commons liaison committee with questions to also focus on international affairs and defence
Half of Britons (51%) think the government should impose retaliatory tariffs on imports from the US, according to polling by More in Common, a campaign group. Last week, just before the Trump tariffs were announced, YouGov published figures suggesting 71% of Britons would favour retaliatory tariffs against the US.
Yesterday YouGov also released polling suggesting that only around a third of voters think Keir Starmer and the government played a significant role in ensuring the US tariffs imposed on the UK are relatively low.
Continue reading...Kat Abughazaleh has been critical of what she describes as Democrats’ lack of vision and says the party has lost touch with many of its voters, especially young people
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old progressive TikTok star, wants to do campaigns differently. So the very online candidate for a solid blue congressional seat in Illinois is channeling her energy into in-person events.
The entry fee for her campaign’s kick-off event was a box of tampons or pads to be donated to The Period Collective, a Chicago-based non-profit that distributes free menstrual products to low-income communities in the area. The debut was such a success, she said, they filled her campaign manager’s SUV with donations. (“I want him to get pulled over so bad,” Abughazaleh quipped in a video for her YouTube series How to Run for Congress.) It’s part of her pledge to disrupt politics as usual and run a campaign centered on mutual aid and community organizing instead of a candidate-centered “vanity project” that relies on expensive TV ads and “grifty” fundraising texts.
Continue reading...With a byelection looming, the focus is on Runcorn where people voted for Labour in great numbers last year – but so far they feel short-changed
Crises suit him – whether in Southport, Ukraine or the White House. Facing the headwinds of the Donald Trump storm, Keir Starmer’s “we have your back” pledge yesterday at a car factory in Solihull heralded a welter of “further and faster” and “fight for the future” to match his apocalyptic “the world as we knew it has gone”. The psephology supremo Prof John Curtice says of the prime minister: “He’s brilliant at bad news.” Coping with catastrophe is his forte.
Yet the planet-wide tremor didn’t feature on the doorsteps of voters last weekend, as I listened to their conversations with Labour canvassers for the Runcorn and Helsby byelection next month. Fear of economic cataclysm as a result of Trump and his tariffs hadn’t arrived yet. But it is coming.
Continue reading...I accompanied one of the students who fled Trump’s crackdown. It gave me clarity on what’s at stake.
The post This Is Not About Antisemitism, Palestine, or Columbia. It’s Trump Dismantling the American Dream. appeared first on The Intercept.
Nathaniel Smith, previously a NSW state MP, is a member of the party’s religious conservative faction
The new Liberal candidate for the seat of Whitlam once claimed school students were being “brainwashed” by Marxist and woke ideologies – despite replacing another candidate dumped by the party for his controversial views.
The party’s New South Wales branch administrative committee confirmed on Sunday Benjamin Britton had been disendorsed after Guardian Australia revealed a string of controversial views on fringe podcasts last year, including that women should be banned from frontline roles in the military and that the education system was “indoctrinating” young Australians about Marxist ideologies.
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Continue reading...Peter Dutton says policy would be ‘gamechanger’ despite experts questioning whether it would work
The Coalition’s plan to create a domestic gas reservation for the east coast would drive down household gas bills by 7% and industrial gas bills by 15%, newly-released estimates.
The opposition’s long-awaited modelling by Frontier Economics, released on Tuesday evening, estimated the changes would bring down new domestic gas supplies to $9 or $10 a gigajoule, and came after experts shed doubt on whether the policy could drive down prices through a government market intervention.
Continue reading...Prime minister asks ‘how can you believe what they’ll do after the election’ as opposition leader accuses Labor of having the wrong priorities
Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of “gaslighting” Australians on key Liberal policies in a spirited first leaders’ debate of the election campaign which focused heavily on energy, health and tax policies.
Neither man made a major misstep in the Sky News forum on Tuesday evening in western Sydney, where Albanese was voted the winner in a poll of 100 undecided voters. Albanese won 44 votes, Dutton won 35 and 21 remained undecided.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Dutton makes opening remarks
Peter Dutton is now giving his opening remarks, saying it has been a tough three years for Australians. He says the government has made a number of mistakes, “starting with the voice [referendum]”:
Almost 30,000 small businesses have gone broke … when you go to the supermarket now, you’re now paying 30% more for groceries, paying about 32% more for your electricity …
We want to make sure that we can get gas for Australians, so that we can fix up the energy system, which is driving up the cost of everything. And if we can do that, we can get our country back on track.
But what matters is how you respond, and we’ve responded the Australian way.
Now is not the time to cut. Now is not the time to look backwards. Now is the time to look forward and see the opportunities and build Australia’s future.
Continue reading...Conservation groups condemn the move along with the government’s decision to extend the life of coal power stations
Queensland’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2035 could face the scrap heap, with the state energy minister ordering a review of the ambitious legislation.
The Clean Economy Jobs Bill was passed into law last year, with the backing of both Labor and the Liberal National party.
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Continue reading...Tom Homan is taking heat in Sackets Harbor, New York, after ICE agents detained a mom and her three children in a raid.
The post Trump’s Border Czar Faces Backlash in His Hometown for Locking Up a Local Family appeared first on The Intercept.
Grassroots revolt is taking shape across the country via elections, town halls, and Tesla protests.
The post Unplugged: The Backlash Against Trump–Musk appeared first on The Intercept.
In what may be an American first, President Donald Trump pardoned a company sentenced to $100 million in fines for breaking money laundering laws.
The post Trump Just Pardoned … a Corporation? appeared first on The Intercept.
Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post First Trump Targeted Pro-Palestine Students. Now All Kinds of Foreign Students Are at Risk. appeared first on The Intercept.
Duke of Sussex challenging last year’s ruling that Home Office body fairly gave him different level of protection
The Duke of Sussex claimed he had been “singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment”, as he appeared at the high court in London in the latest round of legal action over his security arrangements in the UK.
Prince Harry is challenging the dismissal of his high court legal action against the Home Office last year, over a decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.
Continue reading...Just weeks away from graduation, some international students at Arizona State University have been blocked from completing degrees.
The post At Least 50 Arizona State Students Have Now Had Visas Revoked, Lawyer Says appeared first on The Intercept.
Raising standards, including safety, should be at the heart of Labour’s plans for preschool
Figures showing a steep increase in the number of safety incidents involving children at nurseries in England are a reminder that the government-funded expansion of early years education needs to be monitored closely. The increased entitlement to free places, which was announced by the last government and is being rolled out gradually, is hugely welcome. Bridget Phillipson’s decision to prioritise new nurseries in the north and Midlands in the first round of funding was a good one.
High-quality preschool settings are a crucial foundation for future learning. They are particularly important at a time of rising concern about young children’s development – with growing numbers arriving in reception classes unable to feed themselves or go to the toilet. Currently, early learning opportunities are not evenly or fairly distributed – partly because providers rely on income from fees as well as public funding. The 4,000 new state nursery places that are due to come on stream by September should provide a boost to preschoolers in poorer parts of the country.
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...Rallies come as US Treasury secretary says he believes country can reach ‘some good deals’ with trading partners
South Korea’s government has approved Tuesday 3 June as the date for a snap presidential election, following the removal from office of Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his declaration of martial law.
The move comes after Yoon’s removal after the country’s constitutional court voted unanimously on Friday to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach him over his ill-fated declaration of martial law in December.
Continue reading...US marshals sent to deliver letter warning Liz Oyer about testifying to Congress over actor’s gun case, lawyer says
The Trump administration-led justice department planned to send armed US marshals to deliver a letter warning a career pardon attorney about testifying to Congress after she says she was fired over a case involving the actor Mel Gibson, her lawyer said in a letter seen by Reuters on Monday.
“This highly unusual step of directing armed law enforcement officers to the home of a former Department of Justice employee who has engaged in no misconduct, let alone criminal conduct, simply to deliver a letter, is both unprecedented and completely inappropriate,” Michael Bromwich, a lawyer representing the fired pardon attorney Liz Oyer, wrote to the justice department.
Continue reading...At a Congressional hearing earlier this week, Matt Blaze made the point that CALEA, the 1994 law that forces telecoms to make phone calls wiretappable, is outdated in today’s threat environment and should be rethought:
In other words, while the legally-mandated CALEA capability requirements have changed little over the last three decades, the infrastructure that must implement and protect it has changed radically. This has greatly expanded the “attack surface” that must be defended to prevent unauthorized wiretaps, especially at scale. The job of the illegal eavesdropper has gotten significantly easier, with many more options and opportunities for them to exploit. Compromising our telecommunications infrastructure is now little different from performing any other kind of computer intrusion or data breach, a well-known and endemic cybersecurity problem. To put it bluntly, something like Salt Typhoon was inevitable, and will likely happen again unless significant changes are made...
Elections set for 3 June after months of political turmoil triggered by Yoon Suk Yeol’s shock declaration of martial law and subsequent impeachment
South Korea will hold a presidential election on 3 June, the country’s acting president said on Tuesday, after predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office over a disastrous declaration of martial law.
The government “is to set June 3 as the date for South Korea’s 21st presidential election”, prime minister Han Duck-soo said, adding that the day would be designated as a temporary public holiday to facilitate voting.
Continue reading...In “Secrets and Lies” (2000), I wrote:
It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.
It’s something a bunch of us were saying at the time, in reference to the vast NSA’s surveillance capabilities.
I have been thinking of that quote a lot as I read news stories of President Trump firing the Director of the National Security Agency. General Timothy Haugh.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote:
We don’t know what pressure the Trump administration is using to make intelligence services fall into line, but it isn’t crazy to ...
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts he’s nixing contracts and grants amid DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. But those trims won’t hit SpaceX.
The post DOGE’s Pentagon Budget Cuts Don’t Touch Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared first on The Intercept.
Ukrainian president says forces captured two Chinese men fighting for Russia in eastern Ukraine and calls for response from Beijing
The US administration is reportedly considering withdrawing up to 10,000 US soldiers from central and eastern Europe, according to a report by US broadcaster NBC News.
The unconfirmed plans are understood to be looking at reducing US presence in Poland and Romania, despite what regional leaders see as a growing threat from increasingly aggressive Russia.
Continue reading...Drink removed from draft list after lobbying from whiskey-making Ireland and wine-producing Italy and France
Amid the economic maelstrom of Donald Trump’s trade war, drink makers might take a small drop of comfort: the EU has dropped plans to hit American bourbon with retaliatory tariffs.
Bourbon and other US whiskeys have escaped EU countermeasures after heavy lobbying from the EU’s drinks-producing countries – such as whiskey-making Ireland and the wine behemoths Italy and France – who feared their alcohol industries would become casualties of a global trade war.
Continue reading...Musk’s unsuccessful attempts may be sign of growing rift between US president and tech billionaire
Elon Musk made personal, repeated attempts to try to get Donald Trump to back off from the wave of global tariffs that have created turmoil in international markets, it was reported on Tuesday.
Musk’s failure to get Trump to listen, however, is evidence to some observers of a growing rift between the US president and the world’s richest person, who has been leading the White House’s efforts to curb federal spending as head of the unofficial department of government efficiency (Doge).
Continue reading...Wall Street rises after Treasury secretary says US can reach ‘some good deals’ with trading partners
Rachel Reeves stepped in to soothe stock market jitters on Tuesday amid signs that the punishing global sell-off triggered by US trade tariffs was starting to ease.
The chancellor told parliament she had spoken to Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, who confirmed “markets are functioning effectively and that our banking system is resilient”.
Continue reading...Chancellor says asking shoppers to prioritise UK products would make country too ‘inward-looking’
Rachel Reeves has declined to back calls for the UK government to launch a “buy British” campaign in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs, saying it would make Britain too “inward-looking”.
However, Downing Street said the Cabinet Office was examining procurement rules and said there were already policies in place to incentivise using the government’s purchasing power for British companies.
Continue reading...Big tech bet on Trump – now tariffs are tanking stocks, IPOs are stalling, and Musk’s role in Washington may be ending
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. It’s been a busy week in tech news: Donald Trump’s tariffs led to an enormous sell-off of tech stocks; Elon Musk and Trump are playing will they, won’t they with the billionaire’s departure from the White House; and TikTok has been temporarily rescued from a ban, yet again.
Continue reading...On 1 April, thousands of workers at HHS and agencies like the CDC were let go, leaving those left to piece together the cuts and mourn the research that can’t go forward
For the past two months, members of the Elon Musk-led “department of government efficiency” (Doge) have stalked the halls of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Atlanta headquarters.
Several employees told the Guardian that if a Doge staffer walked through their offices and saw a badge at an untended workstation, its owner would be fired promptly. Firing someone for a security violation gave Doge an excuse to circumvent the defenses of civil service protection, or performance reviews, or seniority.
Continue reading...Let’s stop all the moaning about stock market crashes and soaring grocery prices. It’s time to focus on the upsides!
There’s been a lot of doom-mongering about tariffs recently, hasn’t there? Oh no, my life savings are going to get wiped out and I’m never going to be able to retire! Oh no, grocery prices are going to triple! Oh no, it looks suspiciously as if Donald Trump has used ChatGPT to guide his fiscal policy and now we’re going to see another Great Depression! Moan, moan, moan.
While it might be true that much of these predictions are coming from highly credentialed economists and people who tend to know what they’re talking about, I’d like to remind you that there are two sides to every story – and it’s always worth looking at both of them. You’ve already heard from voices who reckon Trump’s tariffs are misguided and dangerous. Now it’s time to focus on the people who support the president’s assessment that tariffs are a “very beautiful thing” that will usher in a new golden age.
Continue reading...Tycoon was named in Lords as having obtained injunction against Telegraph to stop publication of misconduct allegations
The retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has lost a legal case against the UK government after complaining about being publicly named in the House of Lords as facing misconduct allegations.
The case, which was said to be a test of the concept of parliamentary privilege, was launched after Lord Hain announced in the House of Lords in 2018 that Green had used the courts to obtain an interim injunction against the Telegraph to stop publication of the allegations.
Continue reading...Those who lose benefit payments will find it difficult to access care and support services, says Policy in Practice
Hundreds of thousands of seriously ill and disabled people will become “invisible” and cut adrift from local support services as a result of the government’s £5bn programme of disability benefit cuts, experts have warned.
Claimants who do not qualify for personal independence payment (Pip) or incapacity benefits would lose a “marker of need” with local councils and NHS bodies, making it “nearly impossible” for them to access help, said the consultancy Policy in Practice.
Continue reading...It is Fifa’s own policies and hunger for monetization that has helped prevent American soccer from growing organically
Colin Cowherd peered down from his studio desk perched high above the chairs assigned to the guests on his Fox Sports talkshow. He had a simple question for Fifa president Gianni Infantino. More of a demand, really.
“Give me something about America that you really love,” Cowherd said.
Continue reading...Backbench groups revive controversial issue to counter threat of Reform UK and tackle unauthorised working
More than 40 Labour MPs from three influential backbench groups have called on ministers to introduce digital IDs, which they claim would boost productivity in delivering public services and crack down on illegal employment.
The open letter – organised by the Rother Valley MP, Jake Richards – has been signed by the co-chairs of the Labour Growth Group, Chris Curtis and Lola McEvoy, as well as Jo White, who convenes the Labour Red Wall Group. Other signatories include Dan Carden and Jonathan Brash, members of the Blue Labour group of socially conservative MPs.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Scale of looming job losses prompts NHS leaders to ask Treasury to cover costs
Hospitals in England could axe more than 100,000 jobs as a result of the huge reorganisation and brutal cost-cutting ordered by Wes Streeting and the NHS’s new boss.
The scale of looming job losses is so large that NHS leaders have urged the Treasury to cover the costs involved, which they say could top £2bn, because they do not have the money.
Continue reading...Report released as Labour admits it will break promise to enact law by 36th anniversary and rewrites key proposals
Bereaved families have urged ministers to introduce the Hillsborough law in full, according to a new report, as Labour admitted that a promise to bring legislation to parliament by the 36th anniversary of the disaster would be broken.
The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and the Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds attended the “family listening day” event on 3 February, which the Ministry of Justice funded, organised by the campaign group Inquest.
Continue reading...President poised to further impose taxes after Beijing announced a 34% tariff on US imports as global markets fall
Donald Trump has threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on imports from China on Wednesday unless the country rescinds its retaliatory tariffs on the United States by Tuesday.
The news comes on the third day of catastrophic market falls around the globe since Trump announced his trade war last Wednesday with tariffs on the US’s trading partners.
Continue reading...Ministers and more than 70 MPs attended photo call with Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed whose travel ban was called unacceptable
Cabinet ministers and more than 70 parliamentarians staged a show of solidarity with two MPs who were detained and barred from entry to Israel in what was the first time British MPs had been banned from the country.
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, joined the photocall in Westminster Hall on Monday with the MPs, along with Hamish Falconer and housing minister Rushanara Ali. It was organised by the Rochdale MP Paul Waugh.
Continue reading...Navigating a ‘new era’, the government must shed some of its old assumptions and begin to hug Europe close
In his speech to the Labour party conference in 2005, Tony Blair used a seasonal analogy to make the case for embracing disruptive but inevitable change. “I hear people say we have to stop and debate globalisation,” Mr Blair told delegates. “You might as well debate whether autumn should follow summer.”
Twenty years on, to quote the billionaire US hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, it is the threat of a self-inflicted “economic nuclear winter” that haunts the global economy. Donald Trump’s imposition of swingeing US tariffs has unleashed mayhem on stock markets across the world, upending assumptions governing the world trade order since Bretton Woods. As Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said at the weekend: “Globalisation as we’ve known it for the last couple of decades has come to an end.”
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...Readers respond to the killing of Palestinian paramedics and aid workers by Israeli forces
I have given up expecting anything but silence on Gaza from this Labour government. In fact, I am expecting nothing other than what I did from its predecessors, ie a complete refusal to condemn these most atrocious and clear examples of war crimes and genocidal actions, and also of the denial of our right to peaceful protest. I don’t expect much different from our European neighbours, and as for the US, well…
I appreciate the Guardian giving a platform to those like Nesrine Malik who give voice to our bewilderment, grief and frustration (Politicians want to normalise what’s happening in Gaza. Our moral outrage won’t let that happen, 7 April). But what I don’t see anywhere is anyone trying to answer the question: why? Why does Israel have to be supported no matter how reprehensible its actions? Why are Palestinians different from Ukrainians in deserving to live in peace in their land?
Continue reading...Barbados PM and Caricom chair calls on Washington to engage in talks to ‘keep prices down for all of our people’
The Caribbean is a friend, not an enemy, leaders in the region have told Donald Trump after the US president’s imposition of worldwide import tariffs.
The prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, invited Trump to talk with leaders in the region and “work together to keep prices down for all of our people”, adding: “I say simply to President Trump: our economies are not doing your economy any harm in any way. They are too small to have any negative or distorted impact on your country.”
Continue reading...Relatives of Agnes Wanjiru say 13-year fight for justice has taken ‘heavy toll’ after meeting with John Healey
The family of a Kenyan woman who was allegedly killed by British soldiers have said their 13-year fight for justice has taken a “heavy toll”, and that they have been offered “too many empty promises” after a meeting with the defence secretary.
Agnes Wanjiru was 21 when she disappeared in March 2012. She was last seen in the company of British soldiers in a bar in a hotel in Nanyuki, a town in eastern Kenya where the British army has a military base, BATUK.
Continue reading...Erez Reuveni no longer on Kilmar Abrego Garcia case after not ‘vigorously’ defending Trump administration
A federal justice department attorney has been placed on leave by the Trump administration for purportedly failing to defend the administration vigorously enough after it says it erroneously deported a Maryland man to El Salvador, which a US judge called a “wholly lawless” detention.
The action against justice department lawyer Erez Reuveni came after US district judge Paula Xinis had ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who lived in the US legally with a work permit, be returned to Maryland despite the Trump administration’s position that it cannot return him from a sovereign nation.
Continue reading...We’re interested to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been faring amid sharp ups and downs in recent months and years, and how this may affect them
US president Donald Trump’s trade war, political elections and societal shifts ushering in dramatic change and dire public finances in multiple countries, the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic have been creating tumultous conditions on international markets for the past few years.
We’d like to hear how people’s invested pension savings have been affected by this series of economic shocks. Has your invested portfolio sustained big losses, or have you enjoyed staggering stock market gains? How may you and your plans be affected by it all? Tell us.
Continue reading...The University of Pennsylvania has been a target of Canary Mission, a pro-Israel “blacklist” group. Turns out the call was coming from inside the house.
The post Pro-Israel Group That Attacked UPenn Was Funded by Family of UPenn Trustee appeared first on The Intercept.
Temporary protected status lets people stay when it’s not safe for them to go home, but Ice is arresting them anyway
Venezuelans with legal permission to live and work in the United States are being unlawfully arrested by federal authorities at their homes, in their cars, at regular immigration check-ins and on the streets, attorneys say.
They are then stuck in immigration detention around the country, sometimes for weeks, despite the law explicitly banning the government from keeping them behind bars.
Continue reading...US and Europe criticised by head of Norwegian Refugee Council for ‘neglect’ of people living ‘subhuman’ existence
World leaders should be ashamed of their neglect of people whose lives were “hanging by a thread” at a time of surging violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the international charity leader Jan Egeland has said.
In a stinging attack on aid cuts and the “nationalistic winds” blowing across Europe and the US, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s head told the Guardian how people were living out in the open, in overcrowded, unsanitary displacement encampments around the city of Goma, where 1.2 million people have had to flee from their homes as the M23 rebels advanced through the DRC’s North and South Kivu provinces.
Continue reading...White House has said US courts can’t order return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wife has been protesting outside court
A federal judge on Friday afternoon ordered the US to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison after a Trump administration attorney was at a loss to explain what happened.
The wife of the man, who was flown to a notorious Salvadoran prison had earlier joined dozens of supporters at a rally before a court hearing on Friday, where his lawyers had asked the judge – Paula Xinis – to order the Trump administration to return him to the US.
Continue reading...Chief economist Phil O’Donaghoe says ‘global shock’ from protectionist US trade policy justifies more aggressive move from Reserve Bank
Deutsche Bank says the Reserve Bank of Australia will follow the script from previous crises and deliver a double rate cut when it next meets in May, as Donald Trump’s threats of even higher tariffs on China added to fears of a looming global trade war.
Financial markets and economists were in agreement the RBA would lower the cash rate from 4.1% to 3.85% in five weeks’ time, saying the decision is “locked in” after the US president’s “liberation day” trade on 2 April sent financial markets tumbling late last week.
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Continue reading...“Do your job!” the crowd chanted, urging Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the most outspoken DOGE supporters, to rein in Elon Musk.
The post GOP Leaders Said Don’t Do Town Halls. This Indiana Republican Did — and Got an Earful. appeared first on The Intercept.
Amid a nationwide deportation crackdown, eight Arizona State University students may be forced to leave the U.S.
The post Eight International Students at ASU Have Had Their Visas Revoked appeared first on The Intercept.
Leaders around the world have reacted with a mix of a mix of confusion and concern after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on some of its largest trading partners, upending decades of US trade policy and starting a possible global trade war. The tariffs range from 10% to 49% on all goods imported from abroad
‘Nowhere on earth is safe’: Trump imposes tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica
War-torn and struggling countries among those facing steepest Trump reciprocal tariffs
Brother of Jagtar Singh Johal claims he is being ‘mentally tortured’ through unwarranted detention
The British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal, detained for seven years in an Indian jail, has been placed into solitary confinement and under 24-hour surveillance despite being acquitted of all terrorism charges against him by a Punjab court on 4 March, his family have claimed.
Johal is still facing the exact same charges in a parallel case in a clear example of double jeopardy, his brother Gurpreet said when giving testimony at Westminster to an all party committee on arbitrary detention. He said the Indian courts have not granted his brother bail, despite the prosecutor’s failure to produce any credible evidence or witnesses in the Punjab court.
Gurpreet said UK consular staff met his brother in jail on Tuesday and were told he had been put into solitary confinement with a 24-hour guard, adding no explanation had been given.
Continue reading...Dogs in court, alpacas on trains … the debate shows how much we lean on animals, and how little we regard their wellbeing
It’s not the first time that the justice system has been accused of going to the dogs – but it may be the first time it’s been meant literally.
According to recent reports, defendants and witnesses in England and Wales have taken to bringing pets to court with them for emotional support, “causing chaos”. Judiciary officials have advised judges on how to deal with the issue after anecdotal reports of dogs barking, urinating and defecating, jumping up and otherwise disrupting proceedings. Assistance animals, such as guide dogs and medical alert dogs, are highly trained and covered under equality legislation to enter courts. “Emotional support animals” (ESAs), however, are not regulated in the UK; they may not necessarily even be trained at all.
Elle Hunt is a freelance journalist
Continue reading...The UK is known for its national parks: areas of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and crystal-clear streams and lakes. But research has shown that England’s most protected rivers are full of pharmaceuticals.
In episode one of a two-part series, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about the problem of chemical pollution in our waterways, and how it could be contributing to what the World Health Organization has described as ‘the silent pandemic’ – antimicrobial resistance.
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Continue reading...Adam Gabbatt reports on the visa and green card-holders being held in US detention centres
“Border Patrol always had the right to grill people trying to enter the US, right,” Guardian US reporter Adam Gabbatt tells Michael Safi. “But from what we can tell now, Border Patrol agents are now much more likely to basically get into people’s business, so to search people’s devices, particularly mobile phones, and there seems to have been a real spike in the number of people being questioned and now detained. We’ve seen that with tourists, but also people on green cards and working visas.”
One of those people was Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian entrepreneur who had travelled to the US on a work visa many times.
Continue reading...Residents of Sackets Harbor, New York, protested the detention of a mother and her three school-aged children.
The post Family Detained in Immigration Raid in Tom Homan’s Hometown Is Released appeared first on The Intercept.
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, John Brewin and Nooruddean Choudry as Fulham beat Liverpool 3-2 and Southampton are relegated
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today; Liverpool suffer a second Premier league defeat of the season thanks to a great Fulham performance. Thwere were three goals in 13 first-half minutes as Liverpool at times looked they were already on the beach.
Continue reading...Under Arnolds Field, tonnes of illegally dumped waste have been burning for years, spewing pollution over the area. Locals fear for their health – and despair that no one seems willing to help
By William Ralston. Read by Sam Swainsbury
Continue reading...She lost her job at Emerson College after screening a film critical of Israel. Her lawsuit seeks to leverage an unusual Massachusetts free speech law.
The post This College Staffer Lost Her Job After Showing a Film Critical of Israel. Now She’s Suing Over Free Speech. appeared first on The Intercept.
Intelligence reports warn law enforcement about “acts of violence against electric vehicles” and the danger of battery fires.
The post Police Across the Country Are on High Alert Over Tesla Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
Florida prosecutors say Michelle Taylor used gasoline to set a fire that killed her son. Top forensic chemists say they’re wrong.
The post The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway. appeared first on The Intercept.
Google is part of a Customs and Border Protection plan to use machine learning for surveillance, documents reviewed by The Intercept reveal.
The post Google Is Helping the Trump Administration Deploy AI Along the Mexican Border appeared first on The Intercept.
Objections from a top immigration official that none of the protesters were convicted of crimes were overruled amid political pressure.
The post Germany Turns to U.S. Playbook: Deportations Target Gaza War Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
The shape of the Trump 2.0 White House has spurred serious concerns about public health and reproductive rights, and left military leaders 'stunned' and former intelligence experts 'appalled'. From a vaccine skeptic in charge of running the department of health, to a wrestling mogul in charge of the country's education, and even a ‘deep state conspiracy theorist’ becoming head of the FBI, the Guardian US live news editor Chris Michael takes us through the six most controversial members, and what their appointments could mean for the country
Continue reading...US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who started the now-infamous group chat coordinating a US attack against the Yemen-based Houthis on March 15, is seemingly now suggesting that the secure messaging service Signal has security vulnerabilities.
"I didn’t see this loser in the group," Waltz told Fox News about Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Waltz invited to the chat. "Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean, is something we’re trying to figure out."
Waltz’s implication that Goldberg may have hacked his way in was followed by a ...
The Trump administration’s detention of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk rests on an opinion article she wrote in 2024, her lawyers said in a filing.
The post In Trump’s America, You Can Be Disappeared for Writing an Op-Ed appeared first on The Intercept.
We’d like to hear from UK renters who have been asked to pay a fee or higher rent because they owned a pet
MP Taiwo Owatemi’s £900 expense claim for a landlord’s surcharge to let her keep her dog in her London flat has prompted ministers to ask the Commons authorities for a review of allowance rules.
The MP, who has a cockapoo called Bella, made her expense claim last August and it was accepted by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa). But security minister Dan Jarvis said on Sunday he would not have made such a claim, and criticised the rules that allowed his Labour colleague to do so.
You can see the article that included respondents to this callout here.
You can contribute to open Community callouts here or share a story here.
Continue reading...A GP surgery in one of the most deprived areas in the north-east of England is struggling to provide care for its patients as the health system crumbles around them. In the depths of the winter flu season, the Guardian video producers Maeve Shearlaw and Adam Sich went to Bridges medical practice to shadow the lead GP, Paul Evans, as he worked all hours keep his surgery afloat. Juggling technical challenges, long waiting lists and the profound impact austerity has had on the health of the population, Evans says: 'We are seeing the system fail'
Continue reading...
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
Are you looking for a new graphic design tool? Would you like to read a detailed review of Canva? As it's one of the tools I love using. I am also writing my first ebook using canva and publish it soon on my site you can download it is free. Let's start the review.
Canva has a web version and also a mobile app
Canva is a free graphic design web application that allows you to create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, banners, and more using professionally designed templates. You can upload your own photos from your computer or from Google Drive, and add them to Canva's templates using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It's like having a basic version of Photoshop that doesn't require Graphic designing knowledge to use. It’s best for nongraphic designers.
Canva is a great tool for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers who don’t have the time and want to edit quickly.
To create sophisticated graphics, a tool such as Photoshop can is ideal. To use it, you’ll need to learn its hundreds of features, get familiar with the software, and it’s best to have a good background in design, too.
Also running the latest version of Photoshop you need a high-end computer.
So here Canva takes place, with Canva you can do all that with drag-and-drop feature. It’s also easier to use and free. Also an even-more-affordable paid version is available for $12.95 per month.
The product is available in three plans: Free, Pro ($12.99/month per user or $119.99/year for up to 5 people), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, minimum 25 people).
To get started on Canva, you will need to create an account by providing your email address, Google, Facebook or Apple credentials. You will then choose your account type between student, teacher, small business, large company, non-profit, or personal. Based on your choice of account type, templates will be recommended to you.
You can sign up for a free trial of Canva Pro, or you can start with the free version to get a sense of whether it’s the right graphic design tool for your needs.
When you sign up for an account, Canva will suggest different post types to choose from. Based on the type of account you set up you'll be able to see templates categorized by the following categories: social media posts, documents, presentations, marketing, events, ads, launch your business, build your online brand, etc.
Start by choosing a template for your post or searching for something more specific. Search by social network name to see a list of post types on each network.
Next, you can choose a template. Choose from hundreds of templates that are ready to go, with customizable photos, text, and other elements.
You can start your design by choosing from a variety of ready-made templates, searching for a template matching your needs, or working with a blank template.
Inside the Canva designer, the Elements tab gives you access to lines and shapes, graphics, photos, videos, audio, charts, photo frames, and photo grids.The search box on the Elements tab lets you search everything on Canva.
To begin with, Canva has a large library of elements to choose from. To find them, be specific in your search query. You may also want to search in the following tabs to see various elements separately:
The Photos tab lets you search for and choose from millions of professional stock photos for your templates.
You can replace the photos in our templates to create a new look. This can also make the template more suited to your industry.
You can find photos on other stock photography sites like pexel, pixabay and many more or simply upload your own photos.
When you choose an image, Canva’s photo editing features let you adjust the photo’s settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), crop, or animate it.
When you subscribe to Canva Pro, you get access to a number of premium features, including the Background Remover. This feature allows you to remove the background from any stock photo in library or any image you upload.
The Text tab lets you add headings, normal text, and graphical text to your design.
When you click on text, you'll see options to adjust the font, font size, color, format, spacing, and text effects (like shadows).
Canva Pro subscribers can choose from a large library of fonts on the Brand Kit or the Styles tab. Enterprise-level controls ensure that visual content remains on-brand, no matter how many people are working on it.
Create an animated image or video by adding audio to capture user’s attention in social news feeds.
If you want to use audio from another stock site or your own audio tracks, you can upload them in the Uploads tab or from the more option.
Want to create your own videos? Choose from thousands of stock video clips. You’ll find videos that range upto 2 minutes
You can upload your own videos as well as videos from other stock sites in the Uploads tab.
Once you have chosen a video, you can use the editing features in Canva to trim the video, flip it, and adjust its transparency.
On the Background tab, you’ll find free stock photos to serve as backgrounds on your designs. Change out the background on a template to give it a more personal touch.
The Styles tab lets you quickly change the look and feel of your template with just a click. And if you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload your brand’s custom colors and fonts to ensure designs stay on brand.
If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you’ll have a Logos tab. Here, you can upload variations of your brand logo to use throughout your designs.
With Canva, you can also create your own logos. Note that you cannot trademark a logo with stock content in it.
With Canva, free users can download and share designs to multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack and Tumblr.
Canva Pro subscribers can create multiple post formats from one design. For example, you can start by designing an Instagram post, and Canva's Magic Resizer can resize it for other networks, Stories, Reels, and other formats.
Canva Pro subscribers can also use Canva’s Content Planner to post content on eight different accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, and Tumblr.
Canva Pro allows you to work with your team on visual content. Designs can be created inside Canva, and then sent to your team members for approval. Everyone can make comments, edits, revisions, and keep track via the version history.
When it comes to printing your designs, Canva has you covered. With an extensive selection of printing options, they can turn your designs into anything from banners and wall art to mugs and t-shirts.
Canva Print is perfect for any business seeking to make a lasting impression. Create inspiring designs people will want to wear, keep, and share. Hand out custom business cards that leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
The Canva app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Canva app has earned a 4.9 out of five star rating from over 946.3K Apple users and a 4.5 out of five star rating from over 6,996,708 Google users.
In addition to mobile apps, you can use Canva’s integration with other Internet services to add images and text from sources like Google Maps, Emojis, photos from Google Drive and Dropbox, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Bitmojis, and other popular visual content elements.
In general, Canva is an excellent tool for those who need simple images for projects. If you are a graphic designer with experience, you will find Canva’s platform lacking in customization and advanced features – particularly vectors. But if you have little design experience, you will find Canva easier to use than advanced graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for most projects. If you have any queries let me know in the comments section.
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