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Mexico’s new president ran on climate goals. Will she follow through?
Mon, 10 Jun 2024 10:30:12 GMT
Claudia Sheinbaum, a former climate scientist and Mexico City mayor, has often led with politics over the environment
The month before Mexico’s 2 June presidential vote the country was bedeviled by water cuts and blackouts as a record heatwave took the country beyond red and into an ominous purple on the weather map.
As dehydrated monkeys dropped dead from trees, the landslide victory of Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist, might look like salvation. But her record paints a more complicated picture – one where climate convictions have often, and may still, come second to political pragmatism.
Continue reading...In Gainesville, Florida, children are on the front lines of the hazards long ignored by local and state government officials.
The post For Decades, Officials Knew a School Sat on a Former Dump — and Did Little to Clean Up the Toxins appeared first on The Intercept.
Former Nationals leader says ‘aspirations have to take a secondary position to the economic reality’ after Peter Dutton said he would oppose government’s targets
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Morrison cabinet colleague Keith Pitt have called for the Coalition to abandon the Paris global climate change agreement and related emissions reduction targets, as the prime minister accused opposition leader Peter Dutton of walking away from climate action.
Dutton has said he would oppose the government’s target of a 43% cut to 2005-level emissions by 2030, telling the Australian newspaper there was “no sense in signing up to targets you don’t have any prospect of achieving”.
Continue reading...Grange festival, Hampshire
Director Walter Sutcliffe’s modern-day production of Monteverdi’s take on Emperor Nero scores some hits but as many misses. Musically, though, it is outstanding
A surfeit of sex, skulduggery and self-interest makes Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea the most deliciously amoral of operas. Laced with acid wit, it also happens to be very funny, a fact not always realised by director Walter Sutcliffe in this serviceable modern-dress production for the Grange festival.
Emperor Nero’s machinations to replace his obdurate wife, Octavia, with the coolly calculating Poppea are highly entertaining. Of course, there’s nothing new about politicians behaving badly, and Sutcliffe pulls off a couple of scenic updates brilliantly. Nero and Poppea have some of the most erotic language in all opera. Watching them sexting each other, their steamy words complete with mischievous emoticons projected overhead, is hilarious. Nero and Lucan drugging themselves up to the eyeballs also works a treat, the actors navigating a fine line between toxic masculinity and an awkward homoeroticism.
Continue reading...More than 400 scientists write to political parties urging ambitious action or risk making Britain and the world ‘more dangerous and insecure’
After five years of record heat and record floods, one might assume British politicians would also pay record attention to the climate issue in the current election campaign.
But with the manifestos due this week, concerns are growing that the response of the two main parties will range from tepid progress to a great leap backwards, despite the certainty of further climate chaos during the next parliament.
Continue reading...Exit polls suggest support for Greens fell in Germany and France, leading to fears of weakening of climate ambitions
Green parties have shed seats in the European elections, provisional results suggest, raising fears that the continent may be on the verge of weakening its climate ambitions. Projections for the new European parliament showed the Green faction pushed from fourth into sixth place, with 53 seats, amid a broader shift to the right.
In Germany, a core Green stronghold, the party’s vote share appears to have nearly halved since the last election in 2019. Exit polls suggested it fell 8.5 percentage points from 20.5% to 12%. In France, where the far right was leading and President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections, support for the Greens fell by the same amount.
But the party scored smaller victories elsewhere. In Denmark counting showed the Greens with three seats, a gain of one, while in Sweden they were expected to have held three seats. A Green-Left coalition looked to have narrowly beaten the far-right for first place in the Netherlands.
Bas Eickhout, one of the two lead candidates for the Green party, said he was not disheartened by the projected results and pledged to push for an acceleration of the Green Deal.
“I wouldn’t say that this is a referendum on the Green Deal itself,” said Eickhout, referring to a package of environmental policies whose cross-party support started to fray in the final months of the outgoing parliament.
“Even if that were [the case], there are mixed results,” he added. “We have become the biggest in the Netherlands. Would you then say the Netherlands is in full support of the Green Deal – and Germany not? I think that’s too simplistic.”
The Greens did unusually well at the last elections in 2019 as student protesters led by Greta Thunberg forced climate change up the political agenda. But the faction is expected to lose votes as war and economic troubles crowd out environmental concerns in the minds of voters.
They could still play a key role in choosing the next EU Commission president, depending on the level of support for centrist parties.
In Germany, where the Greens are in a coalition government, the losses were met with disappointment from the party and climate activists. They have traditionally been buoyed by younger voters, some of whom now appear to have drifted to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), as well as newer parties, according to polling data from public broadcaster ZDF.
Across Germany, the Greens’ biggest losses appear not to have gone to another party – but to people who did not vote at all.
“I think voters are giving very mixed signals,” said Eickhout, commenting on the reported shifts in young German voters.
He also said there was “one big lesson is that our biggest problem so far is that the Green Deal has been too much a Brussels agenda” and called for more debate in the 27 member states.
Technology was once simply a tool—and a small one at that—used to amplify human intent and capacity. That was the story of the industrial revolution: we could control nature and build large, complex human societies, and the more we employed and mastered technology, the better things got. We don’t live in that world anymore. Not only has technology become entangled with the structure of society, but we also can no longer see the world around us without it. The separation is gone, and the control we thought we once had has revealed itself as a mirage. We’re in a transitional period of history right now...
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.
A clever, meat-free pasta sauce using soffritto, red wine, plus maybe a smidge of Marmite, to create a deceptively dense flavour
While today’s recipe is from Tuscany, it is also thanks to a girl who went to my school. She lived outside town, in a big house with both a swimming pool and chickens. I never actually saw the house, or jumped in the pool, but I did hear about the chickens that lived in a cage at the bottom of the garden and laid more eggs than the family could eat. There was also the story about how, one day, this girl stopped her uncle from killing one of the chickens, which meant that for Sunday lunch they had roast potatoes, fried eggs and gravy made from Marmite. I remember being thrilled by this story, the idea that she had put herself between an uncle (with a gun, knife, rope, his bare hands? I had no idea) and the hen, therefore saving its life; and that, while the family ate Marmite gravy, the chicken ran free.
Scappato means run away, escaped, scarpered. It’s a nice thought that this recipe for penne con pollo scappato, or pasta with chicken that has fled the coop, was the result of a feisty young girl and a fortunate hen somewhere in Tuscany. It is probably more likely, though, that it was the result of no chickens at all. Along with Sicilian pasta con le sarde al mare (pasta with sardines still at sea) and Neapolitan spaghetti alle vongole fujute (spaghetti with clams that have fled), penne con pollo scappato is part of a family of recipes brought about my resourceful necessity. I have a book about Tuscan food that calls such recipes cucina del’ inganno, which translates as “cooking of deception”, but I think the meaning is slightly different in Tuscan – cunning, and also protective, something you do in order to make something as good as you can with whatever you have to hand. This one is certainly a clever recipe, the well-cooked soffritto of carrot, celery, onion and wine, mixed with rosemary, tomato concentrate from a tube and a long cooking time result in a flavour so deep that it is every bit as good as meat.
Discover Rachel’s recipes and many more from your favourite cooks in the new Guardian Feast app, with smart features to make everyday cooking easier and more fun
Continue reading...Antonio Soprano was told to walk more than a mile to McDonald’s for food as there was none at Sevington
An Italian lorry driver has described the country’s new post-Brexit controls as a “mess” after his lorry was held inside a government-run border post for more than two days.
Antonio Soprano, 62, who was stopped while bringing plants into the country from central Italy, said he was offered nothing to eat during his 55-hour ordeal, and instead was told by border officials that he should walk to a McDonald’s more than a mile away to get a meal.
Continue reading...Blue crabs with no natural predators have been disrupting prized shellfish populations on Italy’s coast. So revenge is on the menu
In a down-to-earth suburb of Catania on Sicily’s east coast, smoke billows from street stands selling traditional grilled horse meat, and local youngsters gather around kiosks selling the region’s unique handmade drink, seltz limone e sale (seltzer with lemon and sea salt). It is here that a family of charismatic ex-fishers have opened a seafood restaurant that bravely challenges long-held regional conventions.
The Salamone family sell all the usual local specialities in their slick new business “La Fish”, such as Sicily’s famous swordfish, sardines and tuna. However, the feature of tonight’s tasting menu – attracting customers who range from local families to food connoisseurs – is a relative newcomer to these shores and to Sicilian tables: the Atlantic blue crab.
Continue reading...A classic will-they-won’t-they, a history-changing drama, one of the the most talked about shows of all time and the return of Muslim punk – the year’s best telly so far
BBC Two/iPlayer
It often feels like we’re living through bleak times. This series is an antidote to contemporary woe as the queen of good vibes Andi Oliver travels to various troubled but resilient corners of the UK, meets community heroes and organises massive parties for them. It’s a simple formula but it involves bucketloads of lip-smacking food and enough stories of kindness, selflessness and ingenuity (the episode about the local arts centre in Stoke-on-Trent will make you want to move there) to get you believing in human potential again. Lovely.
What we said: “As a premise, Andi Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts is about as heartwarming as a Guyanese pepper pot cooked in a Cornish community cafe.” Read the full review
The disconnect between promises and the material lives of voters that opened up in the referendum has not been repaired
Remember Brexit? For a topic that dominated several years of British political life after 2016, and the last general election, its near-total absence from this one is remarkable. Brexit did not come up once in the BBC leaders’ debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. It did once in the seven-way debate on Friday, raised by the SNP’s Stephen Flynn, who described it as an unmitigated disaster. The silence is beginning to feel less like omission than an act of collective repression.
Between the Tories and Labour there is a silent agreement, perfectly observed in the English tradition of avoiding uncomfortable conversations. It is increasingly jarring. Brexit’s consequences are now part and parcel of our layered crises. It features in the cost of living crisis – it has driven up inflation, accounting for a third of food-price inflation since 2019, according to an LSE paper. It lurks in the labour market, where higher immigration from outside the EU has not plugged a shortfall of hundreds of thousands of EU workers. It holds back growth, clobbering small businesses and choking bigger ones desperate for labour. As was the conclusion of a report this year summarised by London mayor Sadiq Khan: “The hardline version of Brexit we’ve ended up with is dragging our economy down.”
Continue reading...Repairs complete but security concerns after Israeli operation to free hostages mean food has not yet been distributed
Humanitarian assistance has begun to come ashore in Gaza from a US-made pier once more, two weeks after the short-lived sea corridor was suspended due to storm damage, but security concerns after one of the bloodiest days of the war meant the aid was not distributed.
The head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain, said the food distribution from the pier had been “paused” because she was “concerned about the safety of our people”. An Israeli military operation on Saturday freed four hostages but killed 274 Palestinians and left one Israeli commando dead. McCain told CBS’s Face the Nation programme that two of WFP’s warehouses in Gaza had also been rocketed and a staffer injured.
Continue reading...Reports and emails show a landfill at the top of a hill is leaching dangerous toxins into the Napa River
Famous for its lush vineyards and cherished local wineries, Napa valley is where people go to escape their problems.
“When you first get there, it’s really pretty,” said Geoff Ellsworth, former mayor of St Helena, a small Napa community nestled 50 miles north-east of San Francisco. “It mesmerizes people.”
Continue reading...Andrew Bailey’s office has a losing record of fighting against exonerations recommended by local prosecutors — but it’s not giving up.
The post Missouri’s Attorney General Is Waging War to Keep the Wrongly Convicted Locked Up appeared first on The Intercept.
Technology was once simply a tool—and a small one at that—used to amplify human intent and capacity. That was the story of the industrial revolution: we could control nature and build large, complex human societies, and the more we employed and mastered technology, the better things got. We don’t live in that world anymore. Not only has technology become entangled with the structure of society, but we also can no longer see the world around us without it. The separation is gone, and the control we thought we once had has revealed itself as a mirage. We’re in a transitional period of history right now...
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...Michelle Roach bought a used ice-cream van in order to bring cheap, affordable food to Liverpool's struggling communities. She wanted a vehicle with freezers built in for frozen food, and also something cheerful that was able to break down stigmas around food poverty. Using a '10 items for £5' model, Michelle sources discount food from supermarket surplus and donations.
The Guardian's Christopher Cherry follows Michelle and the van on its rounds, with the service struggling to meet overwhelming demand as the cost of living crisis deepens, and the UK's general election fast approaches.
Continue reading...South Africa's case against Israel over allegations of genocide before the international court of justice has raised a central question of international law: what is genocide and how do you prove it? It is one of three genocide cases being considered by the UN's world court, but since the genocide convention was approved in 1948, only three instances have been legally recognised as genocide. Josh Toussaint-Strauss looks back on these historical cases to find out why the crime is so much harder to prove than other atrocities, and what bearing this has on South Africa's case against Israel and future cases
What is the genocide convention and how might it apply to the UK and Israel?
‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid
On the last day of his Huginn mission, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen takes us on a tour of the place he called home for 6 months: the International Space Station. From the beautiful views of Cupola to the kitchen in Node 1 filled with food and friends and all the way to the science of Columbus, the Space Station is the work and living place for astronauts as they help push science forward.
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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Interesting story of breaking the security of the RoboForm password manager in order to recover a cryptocurrency wallet password.
Grand and Bruno spent months reverse engineering the version of the RoboForm program that they thought Michael had used in 2013 and found that the pseudo-random number generator used to generate passwords in that version—and subsequent versions until 2015—did indeed have a significant flaw that made the random number generator not so random. The RoboForm program unwisely tied the random passwords it generated to the date and time on the user’s computer—it determined the computer’s date and time, and then generated passwords that were predictable. If you knew the date and time and other parameters, you could compute any password that would have been generated on a certain date and time in the past...
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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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
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.
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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
Data shows that when Americans’ preferred party is in the White House, they’re more likely to boast of a booming economy – even if it’s untrue
When he delivered his State of the Union address in March, Joe Biden framed the state of the American economy as a true success story, pointing to the historically low unemployment rate and falling inflation as signs of the country’s robust recovery from the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now, our economy is literally the envy of the world,” the US president said. “And it takes time, but the American people are beginning to feel it.”
Continue reading...Labour leader does not deny his party is considering a capital gains tax rise for the second time in two days
Davey sums up the Lib Dems’ plans on health and social care
And he says he wants to mention one other policy he is particularly proud of – the proposal to give proper bereavement support to parents whose partners have died.
Continue reading...Homeland security head also defends timing of president’s border action as measure faces criticism from both parties
The US homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, defended both the timing and substance of Joe Biden’s new executive order to restrict immigration at the southern border, as the president faces criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike over the measure.
The order, issued on Tuesday, tells officials to shut down asylum requests once the average number of encounters between legal ports of entry reaches 2,500 or more. If the number of encounters falls to 1,500 or fewer for seven consecutive days, the border would reopen two weeks later.
Continue reading...My assumption that all dogs vote Labour or, at a pinch, Lib Dem, was shaken by two people who identified theirs as likely Reform voters
If you’re feeling over- or underwhelmed by the election (probably both), have you considered how your pets would vote? This perennial can of worms was reopened on French social media recently by a creator asking whether viewers’ animals were leftwing or rightwing. Her luxurious-looking cat was rightwing, she said, with a “vibe de petit bourgeois”. Responses included another animal lover claiming, inflammatorily, that “all cats are rightwing”, a horse accused of having a Facebook account to post “you can’t say anything these days” updates and many rabbit owners regretfully identifying their pets as far-right voters.
In this household’s menagerie, past and present, we all think the tortoises – rampant individualists – are no-such-thing-as-society Tories (my elder son singled out the smallest, sexual harassing one as “incredibly far right”, which tracks). Consensus was complete on our deceased whippet: spoiled ballot paper or “they’re all the same” apathetic abstainer. Initially, I assumed all of my many hens have been socialists, but there’s the pecking order business, plus they like a strong leader and enforce aggressive anti-pigeon border control. I hope their strong collectivist impulses would win out, but I can’t be certain.
Continue reading...More than 400 scientists write to political parties urging ambitious action or risk making Britain and the world ‘more dangerous and insecure’
After five years of record heat and record floods, one might assume British politicians would also pay record attention to the climate issue in the current election campaign.
But with the manifestos due this week, concerns are growing that the response of the two main parties will range from tepid progress to a great leap backwards, despite the certainty of further climate chaos during the next parliament.
Continue reading...Money raised in manifesto commitment would be used to recruit 8,000 more GPs and speed up cancer treatment
The Liberal Democrats are to announce plans to overhaul capital gains tax to raise £5bn for the NHS, making them the first party to announce a big tax change as part of their spending plans.
The party’s leader, Ed Davey, said the change was “making tax fairer” and the party said it would hit only the wealthiest. The party will unveil its manifesto on Monday.
Continue reading...Ex-president makes direct appeal to service workers in swing state Nevada, which polls suggest is leaning his way
At a campaign rally Sunday in sweltering hot Las Vegas, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told the crowd he would seek to end taxation of income from tips, a direct appeal to service workers in the swing state of Nevada, which polls suggest is leaning his way ahead of the 5 November election.
That promise reveals one more point to a vague Trump tax plan that has so far included pledges of tax relief to middle-income workers and small businesses. Current law requires tipped employees to report those tips as income.
Continue reading...The draconian restrictions on asylum-seekers owe a lot to Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, but the path was paved by Democrats.
The post Joe Biden’s Cruel Border Shutdown Follows in Clinton and Obama’s Footsteps Too appeared first on The Intercept.
We would like to hear how people are experiencing the UK election through the WhatsApp group you share with your family or friends
The Guardian is trying to understand how people are consuming news during the general election – and the role that WhatsApp is playing.
How are you experiencing the election through the messaging app? Has your family or friends WhatsApp groups being overrun by politics? Are you mainly in agreement or are your friendships being tested by political bickering in your group chat? Are you being overwhelmed with memes and video clips?
Continue reading...Surprise announcement comes amid internal party pressure and fresh allegations over expenses claims
Douglas Ross has announced he will stand down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives on 4 July amid growing internal pressure over his multiple roles in the party and fresh allegations about improper expenses claims.
In the surprise statement on Monday morning, Ross also said he would quit as an MSP at Holyrood should he win the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency at the Westminster election.
Continue reading...The disconnect between promises and the material lives of voters that opened up in the referendum has not been repaired
Remember Brexit? For a topic that dominated several years of British political life after 2016, and the last general election, its near-total absence from this one is remarkable. Brexit did not come up once in the BBC leaders’ debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. It did once in the seven-way debate on Friday, raised by the SNP’s Stephen Flynn, who described it as an unmitigated disaster. The silence is beginning to feel less like omission than an act of collective repression.
Between the Tories and Labour there is a silent agreement, perfectly observed in the English tradition of avoiding uncomfortable conversations. It is increasingly jarring. Brexit’s consequences are now part and parcel of our layered crises. It features in the cost of living crisis – it has driven up inflation, accounting for a third of food-price inflation since 2019, according to an LSE paper. It lurks in the labour market, where higher immigration from outside the EU has not plugged a shortfall of hundreds of thousands of EU workers. It holds back growth, clobbering small businesses and choking bigger ones desperate for labour. As was the conclusion of a report this year summarised by London mayor Sadiq Khan: “The hardline version of Brexit we’ve ended up with is dragging our economy down.”
Continue reading...Since he was elected as the town’s MP, the Workers party leader has grown his huge online audience, but now faces a tough election battle with Labour
George Galloway was in full flow as he addressed tens of thousands of viewers online one evening in late March.
In a five-minute monologue, the newly elected Rochdale MP dismissed what he described as the “official narrative” of the murders of the US president John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and senator Robert F Kennedy. They were, he said, “a pack of lies”.
Continue reading...Exit polls suggest support for Greens fell in Germany and France, leading to fears of weakening of climate ambitions
Green parties have shed seats in the European elections, provisional results suggest, raising fears that the continent may be on the verge of weakening its climate ambitions. Projections for the new European parliament showed the Green faction pushed from fourth into sixth place, with 53 seats, amid a broader shift to the right.
In Germany, a core Green stronghold, the party’s vote share appears to have nearly halved since the last election in 2019. Exit polls suggested it fell 8.5 percentage points from 20.5% to 12%. In France, where the far right was leading and President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections, support for the Greens fell by the same amount.
But the party scored smaller victories elsewhere. In Denmark counting showed the Greens with three seats, a gain of one, while in Sweden they were expected to have held three seats. A Green-Left coalition looked to have narrowly beaten the far-right for first place in the Netherlands.
Bas Eickhout, one of the two lead candidates for the Green party, said he was not disheartened by the projected results and pledged to push for an acceleration of the Green Deal.
“I wouldn’t say that this is a referendum on the Green Deal itself,” said Eickhout, referring to a package of environmental policies whose cross-party support started to fray in the final months of the outgoing parliament.
“Even if that were [the case], there are mixed results,” he added. “We have become the biggest in the Netherlands. Would you then say the Netherlands is in full support of the Green Deal – and Germany not? I think that’s too simplistic.”
The Greens did unusually well at the last elections in 2019 as student protesters led by Greta Thunberg forced climate change up the political agenda. But the faction is expected to lose votes as war and economic troubles crowd out environmental concerns in the minds of voters.
They could still play a key role in choosing the next EU Commission president, depending on the level of support for centrist parties.
In Germany, where the Greens are in a coalition government, the losses were met with disappointment from the party and climate activists. They have traditionally been buoyed by younger voters, some of whom now appear to have drifted to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), as well as newer parties, according to polling data from public broadcaster ZDF.
Across Germany, the Greens’ biggest losses appear not to have gone to another party – but to people who did not vote at all.
“I think voters are giving very mixed signals,” said Eickhout, commenting on the reported shifts in young German voters.
He also said there was “one big lesson is that our biggest problem so far is that the Green Deal has been too much a Brussels agenda” and called for more debate in the 27 member states.
Leader talks of ‘fully costed, fully funded’ plans for NHS, nursery places, social care and university funding
In the sunny garden of a local community centre in Thurrock, a relaxed-looking Keir Starmer, shirt sleeves rolled up, was surrounded by a buzz of television cameras, reporters and Labour party activists taking selfies.
Hundreds of miles away in North Yorkshire, Rishi Sunak, who had cancelled a press event on Saturday amid the fallout from his D-day blunder, spent a quiet day in his constituency, nursing his wounds.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Party plans to set up more than 3,300 nurseries in existing primary schools in England for children from nine months old
Labour has pledged to create more than 100,000 new nursery places for children from nine months old, helping to both drive up standards and meet demand, as a key manifesto offer for working parents.
The party plans to set up more than 3,300 new nurseries in existing primary schools in England to support a major expansion of childcare.
Continue reading...George Cottrell, who was jailed in US for wire fraud, has been seen at Reform UK leader’s side over the last week
Nigel Farage is facing questions over why he is being accompanied on the campaign trail by an aristocratic friend who spent eight months in jail in the US for wire fraud.
Known as “Posh George”, George Cottrell was a volunteer for Farage in 2016 before his arrest in the US on money-laundering charges and ultimate guilty plea to one count of wire fraud in a case unrelated to his work at Ukip, Farage’s party at the time. The crime was committed in 2014, before Cottrell worked for either the anti-EU party or Farage.
Continue reading...In response to the ex-Tory MP’s article, John Robinson hopes future Labour ministers have time to do their jobs properly and Peter J Atkins points out the darker side of Stewart’s beloved Cumbrian dry-stone walls. Plus letters by Ian Smith and Diana Morgan
Yet another election; yet more promises to put things right, to make everything better; yet more politicians telling us that they are listening and will enact our concerns and needs; yet more excuses and denials about broken promises and things not done; yet more politicians telling us that they are totally right and the other lot are totally wrong. Who to believe? Most of us know the country is broken. All of us know, depending on our political persuasion, who is to blame – it’s the other lot.
Yet it’s not that simple. Rory Stewart almost put his finger on it in describing that he left parliament after having five ministerial posts in four years and being unable to complete his job in any of them (I’d like to say Johnson and Brexit made me quit politics. But they were symptoms of the problem, not the cause, 3 June).
Continue reading...The party’s antics since 2016 have estranged much of its classic base, which is more worldly and liberal than many realise
To understand the meltdown the Conservative party faces, you do not have to go too far from Westminster. A short hop on a commuter train will do it – out into the suburbs and towns of the home counties, mostly still understood as true-blue heartlands but now full of a mixture of uncertainty, unease and anger that seems to have drastically shaken those age-old loyalties.
Last week, I was in Godalming in Surrey, represented for almost 20 years by Jeremy Hunt, the Tory politician who has held four cabinet posts since 2010 and is now somewhat desperately trying to remind his colleagues of the importance of the centre ground of politics. Life there looked largely easy: a seemingly bustling high street, enviably large houses and the sense of a corner of the country little used to political ruptures. To mark the 80th anniversary of D-day, the local shops were draped with an array of European flags; the scene in front of me seemed to crystallise the very English affluence that fosters calm and endless continuity.
John Harris is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Campaigners say election shows rejection of ‘hate politics’ after marginalised groups vote to deny BJP a majority
It was widely described as the week that India’s beleaguered democracy was pulled back from the brink. As the election results rolled in on Tuesday, all predictions and polls were defied as Narendra Modi lost his outright majority for the first time in a decade while the opposition re-emerged as a legitimate political force. On Sunday evening, Modi will be sworn in as prime minister yet many believe his power and mandate stands diminished.
For one opposition politician in particular, the humbling of the strongman prime minister was a moment to savour. Late last year, Mahua Moitra, one of the most outspoken critics of Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), found herself unceremoniously expelled from parliament and kicked out of her bungalow, after what she described as a “political witch-hunt” for daring to stand up to Modi.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey look at what might be on offer as the political parties launch their manifestos this week. Plus, what Pippa learned from her exclusive interview with Keir Starmer
Continue reading...The federal trial of the president’s son undermines Trump’s claim of a weaponized DoJ, but the right aims to make hay regardless
The picture of criminal behavior and a dissolute lifestyle was painted in sometimes painfully frank testimony in a Delaware court room last week and would have been difficult to hear for the family of any defendant.
But Hunter Biden, the man in the dock in Wilmington, is no ordinary plaintiff; he is the son of the president of the United States.
Continue reading...In the run-up to July's election, the Guardian video team will be touring the UK looking at the issues that matter to voters. In a week when an attack on a refugee camp in Rafah and the Labour party's treatment of Diane Abbott and Faiza Shaheen dominated the headlines, we spoke to voters in Ilford – North and South – who were protesting locally about Gaza. We asked whether these issues would make a difference to how they vote in the election, met canvassers getting behind independent candidates, and spoke to business owners about their political priorities
Continue reading...Activists suing the Biden administration over Gaza policy are demanding the judge recuse himself over the sponsored trip.
The post A Federal Judge Visited Israel on a Junket Designed to Sway Public Opinion. Now He’s Hearing a Gaza Case. appeared first on The Intercept.
Pay rise for Pennon Group CEO Susan Davy comes despite outrage over Devon diarrhoea outbreak caused by polluted water
The boss of South West Water’s owner has received a pay increase of £300,000, weeks after an outbreak of diarrhoea caused by a parasite in Devon’s water supply.
Susan Davy, the chief executive of Pennon Group, was awarded £860,000 in total pay for the latest financial year, up from £543,000 the year before, according to accounts published on Monday.
Continue reading...She is quitting the Commons with no regrets. The UK’s first female foreign secretary discusses chauvinism, Corbyn, contempt for politicians – and her worst period in office
Hanging near Margaret Beckett’s desk in parliament is a cartoon, drawn by her cousin, of things she has loved. It depicts her and her late husband, Leo, surrounded by the trappings of ministerial office, alongside their trusty caravan. Even as foreign secretary, she refused to give up holidaying in it, battling to establish secure phone lines on campsites and trundling through France with her close protection officers following in a camper van. If some found it incongruous, she didn’t care.
“I remember when I was at college, at some do or another, people were passing round the bottle and I was – like everyone else – swigging out of it. And somebody was saying: ‘Oh no no no, you’re not somebody who should ever be seen swigging out of a bottle.’ It was the same sort of reaction,” she says, with a hint of satisfaction. There is a stubborn streak in Beckett, a dogged refusal to be pigeonholed or cowed, that has underpinned an extraordinary half-century in politics.
Continue reading...The U.S. has trained 15 coup leaders in recent decades — and U.S. counterterrorism policies in the region have failed.
The post After Training African Coup Leaders, Pentagon Blames Russia for African Coups appeared first on The Intercept.
The federal judge hearing a human rights case disputed allegations he might be impartial but recused himself out of an “abundance of caution.”
The post Judge Who Went on Israel Junket Recuses Himself From Gaza Case appeared first on The Intercept.
The Guardian lockdown love story that ended in ‘I do’; the incredible story of Maxwell Smart, who lost his family in the Holocaust at 10 and avoided detection from the Nazis for two years; and Philippa Perry advises a reader not to invite his alcoholic father to his wedding.
Continue reading...Andrew Bailey’s office has a losing record of fighting against exonerations recommended by local prosecutors — but it’s not giving up.
The post Missouri’s Attorney General Is Waging War to Keep the Wrongly Convicted Locked Up appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump fans say his conviction is an overreach. But a close look at another recent fraud trial shows his case was run-of-the-mill.
The post To Understand the Trump Verdict, Look at the Case Against Shukhratjon Mirsaidov appeared first on The Intercept.
There are many topics up for healthy debate at the moment — yet we remain united against the Russian enemy
“I am concerned that people here are becoming more fatalistic, and care less about the danger,” says Gregory Scherban, a friend of mine, a Kharkiv resident and a volunteer helping the evacuation of those escaping the new Russian assault in the villages in north-east Ukraine.
I understand what he means. Walking with colleagues through northern Saltivka – once a populous residential area on the edge of Kharkiv that was hit by heavy shelling in the early stage of the war – we hear the sounds of explosions. I’m scared but my colleagues from the area are calm. “It’s too far away,” they say, casually. An air alert warns about further strikes, but the communal workers nearby continue repairing the road as if nothing is going on. The air alert can be on for dozens of hours at a time, so not resuming activity isn’t an option.
Continue reading...Investors are rattled after far right parties make gains in European elections, while analysts at JP Morgan say a Labour win would support UK stocks
The euro continues to bob around a one-month low this morning, at $1.0763 against the US dollar:
French banks are being hit by the political uncertainty created by Emmanuel Macron’s snap election.
Investors are assessing Macron’s gamble in attempting to reassert his authority after voters shifted en masse to the Far-right during the EU elections, in both France and Germany. The euro has dropped sharply against the dollar, to $1.074, the lowest in a month amid the surprise turn of events.
Continue reading...Germany will not follow France and hold a snap vote despite the ruling coalition’s dismal performance in the EU election, a spokesperson says
Reaction to Emmanuel Macron’s shock election announcement continues to roll in.
Celine Bracq, director general of the Odoxa polling agency, told the AFP news agency it was a “poker move” at a time when there is a “strong desire on the part of the French to punish the president”.
It’s something extremely risky. In all likelihood, the National Rally, in the wake of the European elections, could have a majority in the National Assembly and why not an absolute majority?”
The most likely outcome is more fragmentation, more deadlock and chaos. A complete paralysis.”
Continue reading...After populist gains in France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands in EU elections, Macron announces he will dissolve French parliament. Plus: a new series exploring the angst at heart of US election
Good morning.
Parties on the populist right made stunning gains in the European parliament elections last night, with voters in France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands pushing for far-right leaders to represent their interests in the EU. While the centrist pro-European parties appeared to have held the majority, the results are likely to complicate EU lawmaking.
What do these far-right gains mean? Voters often use European elections as a low-cost way of delivering a kick to their incumbent governments. While the far right’s gains are causing warranted concern, support for the center-right establishment held, and leftwing parties made some surprising gains, too.
Why is Macron calling snap legislative elections? In dissolving parliament, Macron is being accused of gambling with the future of France – but some also view it as an attempt to make the best of his weak position by reclaiming the initiative and forcing the National Rally into election mode faster than it would have liked.
How has France’s far-right party responded? At a National Rally celebration held east of Paris, Macron’s announcement was met with loud cheers and applause. “We’re ready for power if French people put their trust in us,” said Le Pen.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron calls a snap election and the hard right wins big in Germany – but that’s far from the whole picture
In Germany, the further rise of the far right was expected – every poll had predicted as much. What was not expected, however, was that revelations of alleged corruption and involvement of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) with the Russian and Chinese governments would apparently matter so little to its voters. Though the resulting gains – the AfD jumped to 16% from 11% in 2019 – were overall more modest than looked probable in the spring, across east Germany the far right came out ahead of all other parties.
Mariam Lau is a political commentator for Die Zeit
Continue reading...‘Audacious’ move by Macron seen as attempt to catch RN off-guard and reclaim initiative after EU poll drubbing
France is braced for its “most consequential” election in decades after the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, stunned politicians and the public by announcing snap legislative elections following a drubbing at the hands of the far-right National Rally (RN) in Sunday’s European parliamentary elections.
The RN won about 32% of the vote on Sunday, more than double the 15% or so scored by Macron’s allies, according to exit polls. The Socialists on 14% came within a whisker of the Macron group.
Continue reading...Far right celebrates in France, Germany and Austria, but mainstream centre parties on course to hold majority
It wasn’t just in France that the far right was celebrating on Sunday night. In Germany and Austria, parties on the populist right made stunning gains in the European elections – but despite that, the pro-European centre appeared to have held in a set of results likely to complicate EU lawmaking.
In France, Emmanuel Macron called snap legislative elections after a crushing defeat of his allies by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, while in Germany, Olaf Scholz’s coalition had a bad night as the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) made significant gains.
Continue reading...As National Rally achieves best ever result in France, populists also make gains in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has been accused of gambling with French democracy after announcing that he will dissolve parliament and call snap legislative elections in the wake of his allies’ crushing defeat to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in Sunday’s European parliament elections.
On a night that saw far-right parties make significant but far from conclusive gains in Europe, the RN won about 32% of French votes, more than double the 15% or so scored by Macron’s allies, according to projections, with the Socialists just behind on about 14%.
Continue reading...TUC says only Costa Rica had similar increase in first quarter as ONS data expected to show further rise in April
Unemployment is rising in the UK at the fastest pace among 38 of the world’s richest countries, according to an analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
In a release a day before official labour market figures are expected to show another increase in joblessness in Britain, the union body looked at data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) covering the first three months of this year.
Continue reading...The governing coalition of Alexander De Croo lost its ability to form a majority – while an expected surge for far right Vlaams Belang failed to materialise
Belgium is heading for a new government after a general election in which an expected surge for the far right party Vlaams Belang failed to materialise and the outgoing governing coalition headed by liberal prime minister Alexander De Croo lost its ability to form a majority.
Vlaams Belang’s arch rival the nationalist party N-VA (New Flemish Alliance) was on course to remain the largest party in Belgium’s parliament on Sunday while De Croo’s liberal party, Open VLD, slumped in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of the country.
Continue reading...Marine Le Pen’s far-right party see unprecedented result as stepping stone to presidential elections in 2027
At a smart party venue overlooking the woodland of the Bois de Vincennes, east of Paris, members of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National, or RN) clinked glasses to the sound of jazz piano. Savouring their historic result in the European elections, they were also looking forward with excitement to the sudden, shock parliamentary election in France.
“We’re ready for power if French people put their trust in us,” said Le Pen to cheers and applause from senior party officials in suits and cocktail dresses, after the president, Emmanuel Macron, made the dramatic and unexpected announcement that he was dissolving the French parliament in the wake of the results. The election, called for three weeks’ time, saw Le Pen’s anti-immigration party, with around 31% of the vote, come first – and more than double the score of the president’s pro-European centrists.
Continue reading...Government employees are using their official badges to demonstrate against U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
The post “Not the Career in Public Service I Signed Up For”: Federal Workers Protest War appeared first on The Intercept.
A proposed New York training facility shows how establishment politicians only understand governance through policing.
The post New York Spends $225 Million on Its Own “Cop City” — to Make the Whole City Run on Cops appeared first on The Intercept.
Antonio Soprano was told to walk more than a mile to McDonald’s for food as there was none at Sevington
An Italian lorry driver has described the country’s new post-Brexit controls as a “mess” after his lorry was held inside a government-run border post for more than two days.
Antonio Soprano, 62, who was stopped while bringing plants into the country from central Italy, said he was offered nothing to eat during his 55-hour ordeal, and instead was told by border officials that he should walk to a McDonald’s more than a mile away to get a meal.
Continue reading...Claudia Sheinbaum, a former climate scientist and Mexico City mayor, has often led with politics over the environment
The month before Mexico’s 2 June presidential vote the country was bedeviled by water cuts and blackouts as a record heatwave took the country beyond red and into an ominous purple on the weather map.
As dehydrated monkeys dropped dead from trees, the landslide victory of Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist, might look like salvation. But her record paints a more complicated picture – one where climate convictions have often, and may still, come second to political pragmatism.
Continue reading...Ex-president will reportedly talk to officials via video call from Florida, with his lawyer, for hush-money conviction
Donald Trump is scheduled to be interviewed by New York probation officials Monday, a required step before his July sentencing in his criminal hush-money case, according to three people familiar with the plan.
The former president will do the interview via a computer video conference from his residence at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, the people told the Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the plans publicly.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Brisbane Christian school issues apology two years after gender contracts
A Pentecostal Christian school has expressed regret for introducing a controversial student gender and sexuality contract two years ago.
We regret any distress or concern which was caused to students, parents and guardians of students or prospective students of the college.
We are working closely with all of our suppliers to ensure eggs remain available for our customers and we are providing support to the industry in responding to the Avian Flu cases in Victoria.
Continue reading...Oldest surviving MP can clearly recall the 1926 general strike, part of his long and immensely eventful life
The period after the general strike of 1926 was a desperate time for Britain’s mining communities. Faced with increased hours but slashed wages, the miners had walked out, and many stayed on strike for six months until, without pay and often in terrible need, they were forced to back down.
To a five-year-old Patrick Duffy, however, whose father, James, had moved from the west of Ireland to work in coalmines in Wigan and then Doncaster, those were thrilling days – and 98 years on, he can still clearly recall snippets of them.
Continue reading...Underlining his credentials as a creative thinker, the economist and Labour candidate for Swansea West offers a hopeful vision of the nation’s future – spurning leftwing utopianism as well as tackling 14 years of creeping decline
As proposed national rallying cries go, perhaps this one lacks swagger. But its modesty is deliberate, as the economist and Observer columnist Torsten Bell’s surprisingly hopeful new guide to halting this country’s crumbling decline explains. Chest-beating political promises to put the Great back into Great Britain are, he writes, really just distracting from the real issue, which is that the British are exceptional all right – only not in a good way. We stand out from our pack of medium-sized, richer-than-average countries for our low productivity, chronic wage stagnation and American-style high inequality (but sadly without the higher growth of the US).
We have truly world-beating housing costs, higher than any other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country but Finland, but magically still deliver less living space per capita in return than famously cramped New York; we boast, if that’s the word, fewer hospital beds than all bar one other OECD nation.
Continue reading...Chris Minns says review of Molly Ticehurst’s interactions with government agencies will be provided to her family and the public
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has vowed the state will learn from “anything that has gone wrong” in the lead-up to Molly Ticehurst’s “preventable” death after her parents called for changes to a government program they said gave her “false hope” of home safety in the fortnight before she died.
Molly’s parents, Kate and Tony Ticehurst, would be provided with a report detailing the interactions their daughter had with NSW government agencies and service providers, Minns pledged, after they alleged she was promised security upgrades to her home that were not delivered before she died.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
Continue reading...GambleAware signals collision course with industry as charity brands current warnings ‘inadequate’
Adverts for bookmakers and online casinos should carry smoking-style warnings, the UK’s leading gambling charity has said, as it warned that a marketing surge during the Euro 2024 football tournament could make it harder for people to cut down or quit.
GambleAware called for an end to the industry-approved “Take Time To Think” slogan, which appears on gambling adverts, labelling the message “inadequate”.
Continue reading...Campaigners say lower speeds reduce casualties but scheme has since been amended to give people more choice to rescind limits
Vehicle damage claims in Wales have fallen by 20% at one leading car insurer since the nationwide 20mph speed limit was introduced there last September.
Wales was one of the first countries in the world, and the first nation in the UK, to introduce legislation for a default 20mph speed limit in built-up areas last year.
Continue reading...The Met chief says the number of abusive men is beyond the police’s capacity to cope with. Politicians need a plan for victims
Mark Rowley, head of the Metropolitan police, described the extent of violent crime committed by men against women as “eye-watering”. In a report last week for the London policing board, he said that with up to 4 million mostly male perpetrators of violence against women and children in England and Wales, the scale of the problem is “beyond policing and justice system capacity”. The Met’s figures show that 50% of violence suffered by women in London relates to domestic abuse, with 1m reports to police in England and Wales annually. New research from the National Police Chiefs’ Council will be published over the summer. The National Crime Agency estimates that 750,000 adults have a sexual interest in children.
Some in the women’s sector welcomed Mr Rowley’s bluntness. For England’s most senior police officer to outline the problem so clearly is preferable to it being ignored or shunted behind priorities such as counter‑terrorism and fraud. But for victims and those at risk, it is chilling to learn that that the police believe only a massively upscaled, multi-agency approach would enable them to do their job.
Continue reading...Groups issue call to next government amid criticism of online fashion retailer’s labour practices and accusations of copying
Workers rights campaigners have called for the UK’s next government to oppose the online fashion business Shein joining the FTSE, arguing that a London listing would be “yet another betrayal to working people everywhere and the planet”.
Alena Ivanova, campaigns lead at Labour Behind the Label, said it had heard the news of senior British politicians courting Shein’s £50bn listing “with dismay” given what she claimed was a lack of transparency about its supply chain and ethical concerns.
Continue reading...Modi becomes second leader in Indian history to win three consecutive terms, but opposition leaders snub ceremony
Narendra Modi has been sworn in as prime minister of India for a historic third term, ushering in a new era of coalition politics for India’s strongman leader.
The ceremony, which took place at the presidential palace on Sunday evening, marked Modi’s return to power, only the second leader in India’s history to win three consecutive terms.
Continue reading...Workers for US defence contractor KBR concerned after colleagues die on island with no hospital-grade health facility
Migrant workers employed by the US defence contractor KBR on the British-owned island of Diego Garcia have expressed concerns for their safety after the recent deaths of two of their colleagues, the Observer has learned.
The most recent death on Diego Garcia, which is host to a strategic American military base in the British Indian Ocean Territory, came on 5 January. Relemay Fabula Gan, 41, from the Philippines, died after suffering a collapsed lung following several weeks of illness after a Covid diagnosis, her family said.
Continue reading...Three US nationals on trial in Democratic Republic of Congo over events in May described as an attempted coup
More than 50 people, including three US citizens and a Belgian, have gone on trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo over what the army has described as an attempted coup.
The actions of the three Americans were “punishable by death”, Judge Freddy Ehume told the military court in the DRC capital, Kinshasa.
Continue reading...The Guardian is reporting from the constituency of Clacton to find out what issues people there care about most – and we want your help
The Guardian will be reporting from Clacton ahead of the general election, where Nigel Farage said he would stand as an MP and take over as leader of Reform UK, after changing his mind while spending time on the campaign trail.
This will be part of a series of pieces from across the country focused on finding out what matters most to the people who live there.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron’s hopes for a summer of sporting pride now look like a very long shot
Emmanuel Macron had hoped that this would be a summer of sporting celebration for France, dominated by the first Paris Olympics for a century. Instead, events on track and field are now set to be eclipsed by political turmoil, following Mr Macron’s decision to call a snap parliamentary election following his humiliating defeat at the hands of the radical right in this weekend’s European polls.
In the lead-up to the Olympics - now less than 50 days away - Mr Macron had already been desperately searching for the feelgood factor. Having previously lamented the modest size of the national medal haul at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he used a recent television interview to demand a top-five finish for France this summer on home soil.
Continue reading...Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who ordered live gunfire on students in 2003, approved by Iran’s Guardian Council
Iran’s Guardian Council has approved the country’s hardline parliament speaker and five others to run in the country’s 28 June presidential election after a helicopter crash that killed the president, Ebrahim Raisi, and seven others.
The council again barred the former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a firebrand populist known for the crackdown that followed his disputed 2009 re-election, from running.
Continue reading...Diane Rwigara’s name missing from list of candidates to challenge Paul Kagame in 15 July vote
A prominent opponent of the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, has been barred from standing in next month’s election to challenge his three-decade rule.
Diane Rwigara, the leader of the People Salvation Movement, who was also barred in 2017, launched her election bid in May and submitted her candidacy last week. Her name was missing from the provisional list of candidates announced by the electoral commission on Thursday.
Continue reading...The charge of an illegitimate marriage is all that’s left after a court acquitted Khan over his handling of a classified cypher.
The post Imran Khan Remains Imprisoned Over His Wife’s Menstrual Cycles. State Department Says That’s “Something For the Pakistani Courts to Decide.” appeared first on The Intercept.
The board had proposed appending a statement that would have undermined a Palestinian scholar's article. The students rejected it.
The post Columbia Law Review Is Back Online After Students Threatened Work Stoppage Over Palestine Censorship appeared first on The Intercept.
Microsoft recently caught state-backed hackers using its generative AI tools to help with their attacks. In the security community, the immediate questions weren’t about how hackers were using the tools (that was utterly predictable), but about how Microsoft figured it out. The natural conclusion was that Microsoft was spying on its AI users, looking for harmful hackers at work.
Some pushed back at characterizing Microsoft’s actions as “spying.” Of course cloud service providers monitor what users are doing. And because we expect Microsoft to be doing something like this, it’s not fair to call it spying...
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Jonathan Wilson, Sid Lowe, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Ewan Murray to preview Groups A and B
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; we begin with Group A. What shape are the hosts Germany in under Julian Nagelsmann? Does the country expect? Will Kai Havertz lead the line? And what of Scotland? Can they spring a surprise and make it through a major tournament group stage for the first time in their history? Hungary and Switzerland will also be in their way.
Continue reading...The White House has a goal to conserve 30% of US land and water by 2030 – Trump has different plans
A week after his presidential inauguration, Joe Biden cited the climate and biodiversity crises as reasons to set a sweeping new goal – to conserve at least 30% of America’s vast lands and waters by the end of the decade.
Three years on, new protections have spurred meaningful progress towards meeting the target by 2030.
Continue reading...In 20 years, this Essex club has tumbled down the leagues and seen its ground fall apart. Is a revival finally coming – or will hopes be dashed again? By Tim Burrows
Continue reading... submitted by /u/Maxie445 [link] [comments] |
Sixteen women have accused the magician of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour spanning decades. Copperfield’s lawyers say the allegations are ‘not only completely false but also entirely implausible’
The celebrated American magician David Copperfield has been accused by 16 women of engaging in sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour, according to a Guardian US investigation.
Lawyers for Copperfield denied all the allegations of misconduct and inappropriate behaviour. They described the allegations against him as “false and entirely without foundation”. They also said there had been “numerous false claims” made against him in the past, but that none had been proved. They noted that he had never been charged with a crime.
Continue reading...Sixteen women have accused the magician of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour spanning decades. Copperfield’s lawyers say the allegations are ‘not only completely false but also entirely implausible’
The celebrated American magician David Copperfield has been accused by 16 women of engaging in sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour, according to a Guardian US investigation.
Lawyers for Copperfield denied all the allegations of misconduct and inappropriate behaviour. They described the allegations against him as “false and entirely without foundation”. They also said there had been “numerous false claims” made against him in the past, but that none had been proved. They noted that he had never been charged with a crime.
Continue reading...Legislature passes bill, with name change to commemorate riots that spurred action, which awaits governor approval
A New York City subway station would be renamed to commemorate the Stonewall riots that galvanized the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, under legislation approved by state lawmakers as they wrapped up their session this month.
The state legislature approved a bill Wednesday directing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to change the name of the Christopher Street-Sheridan Square subway station in Greenwich Village to the Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument station.
Continue reading...Found guilty on 34 counts by a New York jury, Trump might find himself campaigning behind bars.
The post These Convictions Thwart Trump’s Plan to Pardon Himself appeared first on The Intercept.
Technology was once simply a tool—and a small one at that—used to amplify human intent and capacity. That was the story of the industrial revolution: we could control nature and build large, complex human societies, and the more we employed and mastered technology, the better things got. We don’t live in that world anymore. Not only has technology become entangled with the structure of society, but we also can no longer see the world around us without it. The separation is gone, and the control we thought we once had has revealed itself as a mirage. We’re in a transitional period of history right now...
Twelve jurors in New York have presented their fellow Americans with a simple question: are you willing to elect a convicted criminal to the White House?
On Thursday, Donald Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. The verdict makes him the first president, current or former, to be found guilty of felony crimes in the US's near 250-year history. Regardless, the conviction does not disqualify Trump as a presidential candidate or bar him from again sitting in the Oval Office.
Trump, who opted not to take the stand during the trial, has denied wrongdoing, railed against the proceedings and ahead of the verdict compared himself to a saint: “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. The charges are rigged,” he said on Wednesday. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to appeal the verdict.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine has been in court over the last several weeks covering all the developments – here are three testimonies he found most memorable.
Could Trump go to prison? Here’s what happens next after the guilty verdict
The Guardian is reporting from the constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington to find out what issues people there care about most – and we want your help
The Guardian will be reporting from Hackney North and Stoke Newington – the constituency of Diane Abbott MP – ahead of the general election. This will be part of a series of pieces from across the country focused on finding out what matters most to the people who live there.
Diane Abbott has promised to stay on as MP for as “long as possible” setting up a possible clash with Keir Starmer after a deal for her to retire from parliament broke down.
Continue reading...We’ve been working with community reporting teams to tell the story of modern Britain. With a momentous election on the horizon, do you have a story to tell about your local area?
As the UK faces a momentous general election, which polls suggest could see the end of 14 years of Conservative party rule, the video team wants to hear from people who have a story to tell about their community.
As video producers, we have spent the past four years working with community-based reporters across the UK to highlight the reality of what is happening in their areas, unearthing unique perspectives from people who are often overlooked in the story of modern Britain.
Continue reading...ANC leader and president accepts he will need help of opposition parties to tackle serious problems facing country
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said that his African National Congress (ANC) would seek to form a government of national unity with a broad group of opposition parties.
“The purpose of the government of national unity must be, first and foremost, to tackle the pressing issues that South Africans want to be addressed,” Ramaphosa said late on Thursday after a marathon ANC meeting.
Continue reading...Michelle Roach bought a used ice-cream van in order to bring cheap, affordable food to Liverpool's struggling communities. She wanted a vehicle with freezers built in for frozen food, and also something cheerful that was able to break down stigmas around food poverty. Using a '10 items for £5' model, Michelle sources discount food from supermarket surplus and donations.
The Guardian's Christopher Cherry follows Michelle and the van on its rounds, with the service struggling to meet overwhelming demand as the cost of living crisis deepens, and the UK's general election fast approaches.
Continue reading...Government prosecutors claimed they didn’t know a former detainee recanted his testimony in interviews with the government.
The post Guantánamo Prosecutors Accused of “Outrageous” Misconduct for Trying to Use Torture Testimony appeared first on The Intercept.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, revealed the tactics and traits that help him face the daily frustrations of leading a country at war for more than two years.
Within a ceremonial room inside Kyiv’s presidential compound, Zelenskiy spoke for nearly an hour with a Guardian team, including the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner. The interview took place during perhaps the toughest time for Ukraine since the early days of the war. Russia is on the offensive in Kharkiv, an advance that follows months of delay in the US Congress over the passing of a major support package, limiting Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities
Continue reading...Ahead of the election in India, the Guardian’s video team travelled through the country to explore how fake news and censorship might shape the outcome.
Almost one billion people are registered to vote. The country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been in power for more than 10 years, and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) is seeking a third term.
But critics of Modi and the BJP say his government has become increasingly authoritarian, fracturing the country along religious lines and threatening India’s secular democracy. At the same time, the space for freedom of speech has been shrinking while disinformation and hate speech has exploded on social media.
In Gainesville, Florida, children are on the front lines of the hazards long ignored by local and state government officials.
The post For Decades, Officials Knew a School Sat on a Former Dump — and Did Little to Clean Up the Toxins appeared first on The Intercept.
A senior USAID adviser said he was pressured to resign days after the agency censored his presentation.
The post He Made a PowerPoint on Mothers Starving in Gaza. Then He Lost His Government Job. appeared first on The Intercept.
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.
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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.
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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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Continue reading...All over the country, architecture firms make the case for bigger jails — then get hired to design them.
The post The Little-Known Reason Counties Keep Building Bigger Jails: Architecture Firms appeared first on The Intercept.
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