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The 24 Best Movies on Apple TV+ Right Now (April 2025)
Thu, 10 Apr 2025 19:00:00 +0000
The Gorge, Number One on the Call Sheet, and Blitz are just a few of the movies you should be watching on Apple TV+ this month.
Match ID: 0 Score: 55.00 source: www.wired.com age: 0 days
qualifiers: 35.00 (best|good|great) (show|movie), 20.00 movie
“The Studio” Pokes Fun at Hollywood’s Existential Struggle
Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000
The new Apple TV+ show follows a bumbling studio executive who’s caught between making great movies and making marketable ones. The industry itself faces a similar challenge.
Match ID: 1 Score: 55.00 source: www.newyorker.com age: 0 days
qualifiers: 35.00 (best|good|great) (show|movie), 20.00 movie
No 1 Happy Family USA to Sloborn: the seven best shows to stream this week
Fri, 11 Apr 2025 06:00:01 GMT
Ramy Youssef’s warm, witty animated comedy follows the travails of a Muslim-American family who are determined to prove their loyalties to the US during a dark time for their community
As the co-creator of the brilliant comedies Ramy and Mo, Ramy Youssef has been exploring the Muslim American experience with wit and precision for several years. His latest series is an adult animation about the Hussein family. It begins in 2001, which patriarch Rumi is confident will be a good year for the family – this optimism is misplaced. The series is a study in privilege and diasporic desperation, with a dark subtext: despite his best intentions, Rumi’s desire to fit in and prove himself and his family’s loyalty to the US is almost never rewarded. But, as ever, Youssef renders the Husseins’ travails with warmth, comedy and humanity.
Prime Video, from Thursday 17 April
Ernest Borgnine is a butcher looking for love in a compassionate Paddy Chayefsky-scripted slice of life that still resonates
Ernest Borgnine had the sort of face that suggested he was never young – or, at the very least, that he always looked older than he was. In truth, Borgnine didn’t get his start as a screen actor until his early-to-mid 30s, having spent his young adulthood serving in the navy after high school and re-enlisting after the attack on Pearl Harbor. With his stocky figure and boisterous gap-toothed grin, Borgnine had no conventional leading-man qualities, yet his unique magnetism made him an unlikely star, someone who could play tough guys or working stiffs with broad relatability. He was the people’s star.
Borgnine hadn’t been in movies very long when he took the title role in Marty as a pug-ugly butcher who’s 34, still lives with his widowed mother in The Bronx and has all but given up on the prospect of marriage. To say the part resonated with viewers would be a understatement: Marty won both the first-ever Palme d’Or and best picture Oscar, and Borgnine won best actor for a performance that spoke (and still speaks) to the yearning of lonely souls who have a lot of love to give, but need someone to discover it. There’s a sweaty earnestness to Borgnine here that’s completely winning, because he’s incapable of playing it cool or disguising his inexperience. He can only be himself.
Continue reading...Republicans need to worry about getting bullied by Elon Musk, and Democrats need to worry about AIPAC, Sanders said.
The post Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending appeared first on The Intercept.
Intelligence reports warn law enforcement about “acts of violence against electric vehicles” and the danger of battery fires.
The post Police Across the Country Are on High Alert Over Tesla Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
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
Portugal’s greenest region, an Algarve food truck and a monastery stay on the Camino de Santiago are among our tipsters’ highlights
Chus, who owns the local bar where I used to live in Galicia, shuts every September and decamps to Portugal. This entails a journey of 10 miles to the seaside town of Moledo. On his recommendation we caught the ferry across the wide estuary and reached Moledo within 20 minutes. The town beach is sheltered by a fortress island and Monte de Santa Trega. It’s popular with Spaniards who can’t resist the lower prices on this side. Moledo has a long season because it’s a haven for kitesurfers. Think Donegal with warm weather. Chus recommended Hotel Porta do Sol (doubles from about €110). As with most things, he was right. Well-appointed and unpretentious. A bit like my old local.
Tom
Beleaguered UK universities have a golden opportunity. If the government passes it up, it risks billions in revenue
Shocking stories told at a US universities conference in San Diego described Donald Trump’s assaults on research grants, academics and students. Foreign students face deportation for infractions as minor as parking or speeding tickets. A reported 500 student visas have been suddenly revoked – with some students sent to deportation centres, and others told to “self-deport”. With a million foreign students warned by their universities not to travel abroad for fear of never getting back in, that’s a strong deterrent to others deciding whether to study in the US.
Jo Johnson, former minster for universities, King’s College London visiting professor and chair of the Lords education committee, listening to this list of persecutions, spoke to me from San Diego. “The UK should be extending the warmest of welcomes, a safe port in a storm,” he says. Concerns about immigration numbers shouldn’t enter the calculation about attracting foreign students. “We need these highly motivated, highly educated people.” He reels off the great benefits they bring: “They are our second largest export after finance, bringing over £40bn to our economy. Our workforce needs them, with an ageing population and a falling birthrate.” If Britain turns such students away, there will be global competition for them.
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...After dysentery killed their mother and the civil war came to their home in Omdurman, Haroun and his young siblings were forced to set off on an epic quest to reach El Geneina
They were huddled together on the bare floor of an abandoned house – four orphans who had travelled nearly 1,000 miles after having to flee from their home in the city when Sudan’s brutal civil war erupted.
Having escaped ferocious fighting around Omdurman, twin city of the capital, Khartoum, they had arrived in Darfur, the sprawling region in western Sudan that has become synonymous with ethnic cleansing, massacres of civilians and widespread gang-rape and sexual violence during the ongoing conflict between Sudan’s armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Continue reading...Imagine that all of us—all of society—have landed on some alien planet and need to form a government: clean slate. We do not have any legacy systems from the United States or any other country. We do not have any special or unique interests to perturb our thinking. How would we govern ourselves? It is unlikely that we would use the systems we have today. Modern representative democracy was the best form of government that eighteenth-century technology could invent. The twenty-first century is very different: scientifically, technically, and philosophically. For example, eighteenth-century democracy was designed under the assumption that travel and communications were both hard...
Douglas Alexander’s unpublicised trip to talk with counterparts coincides with that of Adm Sir Tony Radakin
A trade minister has travelled to China for an unpublicised visit this week at the same time as the head of the British military, the Guardian has learned.
Douglas Alexander, the minister for trade policy and economic security, is paying a visit to Beijing this week for talks with Chinese counterparts. He is also due to visit Hainan and Hong Kong.
Continue reading...Daughter of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, 79 and 75, says they have ‘no idea’ why they have been in jail for two months
An elderly British couple taken captive by the Taliban have been interrogated 29 times since they were imprisoned more than two months ago, and still have “absolutely no idea” why they have been incarcerated, their daughter has said.
No charges have been brought against Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife, Barbie, 75, who ran school training programmes and were arrested alongside an American friend, Faye Hall, as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, in central Afghanistan, in February.
Continue reading...Switzerland is leading the world in purifying its water of micropollutants, a concoction of chemicals often found in bodies of water that look crystal clear. They include common medicines like antidepressants and antihistamines, but have unknown and potentially damaging consequences for human and ecosystem health.
In the second of a two-part series, Phoebe Weston travels to Geneva to find out how the country has transformed its rivers from sewage-filled health hazards to pristine swimming spots. She tells Madeleine Finlay how a public health disaster in the 1960s spurred the government to act, and what the UK could learn from the Swiss about taking care of a precious national asset.
From sewage and scum to swimming in ‘blue gold’: how Switzerland transformed its rivers
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post Trump Appears to Be Targeting Muslim and “Non-White” Students for Deportation appeared first on The Intercept.
Just weeks away from graduation, some international students at Arizona State University have been blocked from completing degrees.
The post At Least 50 Arizona State Students Have Now Had Visas Revoked, Lawyer Says appeared first on The Intercept.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...Forever running out of juice? Top up your battery-powered devices with our expert picks, from tiny smartphone chargers to portable power banks and even a power hat
• The best iPhones in 2025: which Apple smartphone is right for you
It’s disempowering when your smartphone, laptop or other important gadget runs out of battery. With the flash of a graphic or a plaintive bleep, we lose a way to entertain ourselves, get things done, stay in touch or even get home safely. There’s a time and a place for a digital detox – but what is the time, and where am I?
Carrying a power bank is your ticket out of electronic oblivion. These pocket-sized cuboids plug into compatible devices and charge them, often via assorted connections, including USB-C and USB-A. Most power banks are made for charging smartphones and smaller gadgets, such as fitness trackers and earbuds, but some models can also charge power-hungrier laptops and large portable speakers.
Best power bank overall:
Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-port 20k
£79.99 at Argos
Best power bank for portability:
Anker Nano
£29.99 at Anker
Best budget power bank:
Belkin BoostCharge 10k with integrated cable
£24.99 at Belkin
Best power bank for speed and power:
Cuktech 15 Ultra
£89.99 at Amazon
Best high-storage power bank:
Anker 165W
£89.99 at Anker
Honor Magic7 Lite smartphone (battery: 6,600mAh)
Honor Magic7 Pro smartphone (battery: 5,270mAh)
Acer Aspire Vero 16 laptop (65W three-cell li-ion battery)
Continue reading...In this second extract from Frances Ryan’s new book, actors, politicians, athletes and models offer their advice on living with physical and mental health conditions
Rosie Jones, comedian
If you have a shot of whisky, and then you have a shot of pickle juice, it tastes exactly like a cheeseburger. Honestly, it does, try it. That, and … be whoever you want to be. Having a disability is not a disadvantage; it’s a different perspective. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, and sometimes a weakness can become our biggest strength.
Marsha de Cordova, MP
Follow your dreams and pursue your passions, even if you’re afraid. Don’t let your disability – or anyone’s opinion – hold you back. Find yourself a good mentor and have a plan.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts he’s nixing contracts and grants amid DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. But those trims won’t hit SpaceX.
The post DOGE’s Pentagon Budget Cuts Don’t Touch Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump administration says it’s enforcing existing mandate applying to people age 14 and older without legal status
A federal judge is allowing the Trump administration to move forward with a requirement that noncitizens in the US must register with the federal government, in a move that could have far-reaching repercussions for immigrants across the country.
In a ruling on Thursday, judge Trevor Neil McFadden sided with the administration, which had argued that they were simply enforcing an already existing requirement for everyone in the country who wasn’t a US citizen to register with the government.
Continue reading...Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post Trump Appears to Be Targeting Muslim and “Non-White” Students for Deportation appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s attacks on the courts and Big Law are an existential threat to the legal system. Expect a reckoning.
The post The Clear and Present Danger to the American Rule of Law appeared first on The Intercept.
Priya doesn’t know why her pal takes so long to reply. Mandy says she gets distracted and forgets. You decide whose explanation pings true
Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror
She’s on social media all the time, but she takes for ever to respond to me and I worry we’re losing touch
I see a text and think, ‘I’ll reply later when I have time’, then just forget. I’m not brushing Priya off
Continue reading...Rümeysa Öztürk says she’s experienced difficulty getting care and had her hijab ripped off without permission
Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University student who was detained by US immigration authorities last month, says she has had multiple asthma attacks since she was arrested and detained and has had difficulty getting medical attention.
Öztürk, 30, was detained by masked, plainclothes officers as she walked in a Boston-area suburb on 25 March. A judge ordered that the Turkish national and doctoral student who was in the US on an F-1 student visa cannot be deported without a court order. But she remains detained at the South Louisiana Ice processing center in Basile.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed.
The House on Wednesday passed a bill restricting district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions in a move that would vastly diminish the ability of courts to block Donald Trump’s policies, The Hill reports.
Dubbed the No Rogue Rulings Act, the legislation would limit judges to providing relief only to parties directly involved in the suit. It passed in a 219-213 vote.
Since President Trump has returned to office, left-leaning activists have cooperated with ideological judges who they have sought out to take their cases and weaponize nationwide injunctions to stall dozens of lawful executive actions and initiatives.
These sweeping injunctions represent judicial activism at the worst.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want you to believe that somehow these nationwide injunctions being issued by courts across the country against Donald Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional actions are unfair.
Here’s the message: If you don’t like the injunctions, don’t do illegal, unconstitutional stuff. That simple.
Continue reading...Imagine that all of us—all of society—have landed on some alien planet and need to form a government: clean slate. We do not have any legacy systems from the United States or any other country. We do not have any special or unique interests to perturb our thinking. How would we govern ourselves? It is unlikely that we would use the systems we have today. Modern representative democracy was the best form of government that eighteenth-century technology could invent. The twenty-first century is very different: scientifically, technically, and philosophically. For example, eighteenth-century democracy was designed under the assumption that travel and communications were both hard...
Justices uphold judge’s order and say Trump officials must ‘facilitate’ return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to United States
The US supreme court upheld on Thursday a judge’s order requiring Donald Trump’s administration to facilitate the return to the United States of a Salvadoran man who the government has acknowledged was deported in error to El Salvador.
US district judge Paula Xinis last week issued an order that the administration “facilitate and effectuate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, in response to a lawsuit filed by the man and his family challenging the legality of his deportation.
Continue reading...Marco Rubio provides two-page memo to judge who asked government for evidence against Columbia student activist
Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages US foreign policy interests.
The two-page memo, which was obtained by the Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent US resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the war in Gaza.
Continue reading...The Trump administration filed no new evidence in its case against Khalil, according to a new filing ahead of Friday's hearing.
The post The Case Against Mahmoud Khalil Hinges on Vague “Antisemitism” Claim appeared first on The Intercept.
Foreign ministers will gather in London and seek to exert diplomatic pressure demanding a ceasefire
The British government is bringing together foreign ministers from nearly 20 countries and organisations in an attempt to establish a group that can drive the warring factions in Sudan closer towards peace.
The conference at Lancaster House in London on 15 April comes on the second anniversary of the start of a civil war that has led to the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, but has been persistently left at the bottom of the global list of diplomatic priorities. Half of Sudan’s population are judged to be desperately short of food, with 11 million people internally displaced.
Continue reading...South Carolina resumed executions with the firing squad killing of Brad Sigmon last month. Mikal Madhi’s execution date is days away.
The post Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, or Firing Squad? An Inhumane Decision for Death Row Prisoners appeared first on The Intercept.
Questions about who profited from Trump’s tariff flip-flop revived the push to ban members of Congress themselves from trading stocks.
The post How Much Did Congress Make Off Market Turmoil and Why’re They Allowed to Make Anything at All? appeared first on The Intercept.
A conversation with the Massachusetts congresswoman on challenging executive authority and the ICE abduction of Rümeysa Öztürk.
The post Unchecked: Rep. Ayanna Pressley on the President’s Power Grab appeared first on The Intercept.
Going beyond their critique of the infamous Signal chat, progressives demanded to know the White House’s legal justification for its Yemen strikes.
The post Progressives Push to Assert Congress Power Over Yemen War appeared first on The Intercept.
The U.S. moved toward tariffs that protected U.S. workers, industry, and the environment, says one expert. Trump is undoing it all.
The post What Could Progressive Tariffs Actually Look Like? appeared first on The Intercept.
At a Congressional hearing earlier this week, Matt Blaze made the point that CALEA, the 1994 law that forces telecoms to make phone calls wiretappable, is outdated in today’s threat environment and should be rethought:
In other words, while the legally-mandated CALEA capability requirements have changed little over the last three decades, the infrastructure that must implement and protect it has changed radically. This has greatly expanded the “attack surface” that must be defended to prevent unauthorized wiretaps, especially at scale. The job of the illegal eavesdropper has gotten significantly easier, with many more options and opportunities for them to exploit. Compromising our telecommunications infrastructure is now little different from performing any other kind of computer intrusion or data breach, a well-known and endemic cybersecurity problem. To put it bluntly, something like Salt Typhoon was inevitable, and will likely happen again unless significant changes are made...
In “Secrets and Lies” (2000), I wrote:
It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.
It’s something a bunch of us were saying at the time, in reference to the vast NSA’s surveillance capabilities.
I have been thinking of that quote a lot as I read news stories of President Trump firing the Director of the National Security Agency. General Timothy Haugh.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote:
We don’t know what pressure the Trump administration is using to make intelligence services fall into line, but it isn’t crazy to ...
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts he’s nixing contracts and grants amid DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. But those trims won’t hit SpaceX.
The post DOGE’s Pentagon Budget Cuts Don’t Touch Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared first on The Intercept.
She lost her job at Emerson College after screening a film critical of Israel. Her lawsuit seeks to leverage an unusual Massachusetts free speech law.
The post This College Staffer Lost Her Job After Showing a Film Critical of Israel. Now She’s Suing Over Free Speech. appeared first on The Intercept.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who started the now-infamous group chat coordinating a US attack against the Yemen-based Houthis on March 15, is seemingly now suggesting that the secure messaging service Signal has security vulnerabilities.
"I didn’t see this loser in the group," Waltz told Fox News about Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Waltz invited to the chat. "Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean, is something we’re trying to figure out."
Waltz’s implication that Goldberg may have hacked his way in was followed by a ...
Republicans need to worry about getting bullied by Elon Musk, and Democrats need to worry about AIPAC, Sanders said.
The post Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending appeared first on The Intercept.
John Kelsey and I wrote a short paper for the Rossfest Festschrift: “Rational Astrologies and Security“:
There is another non-security way that designers can spend their security budget: on making their own lives easier. Many of these fall into the category of what has been called rational astrology. First identified by Randy Steve Waldman [Wal12], the term refers to something people treat as though it works, generally for social or institutional reasons, even when there’s little evidence that it works—and sometimes despite substantial evidence that it does not...
Our baking columnist’s take on the viral bar is made with vermicelli pastry, dark chocolate and white chocolate pistachio cream. It’s simple. Just chill!
This is my take on the viral sensation originally created by Dubai-based chocolatier Sarah Hamouda, founder of Fix Dessert Chocolatier. Her ingenious bar, filled with crunchy kataifi pastry and a luscious pistachio cream, took the internet by storm with its well-balanced flavour combination and addictive texture. I’ve skipped ready-made pistachio cream in favour of a homemade blend, which is free from artificial colours and flavours, and if you can’t find kataifi pastry (it’s normally available fresh in international supermarkets), Shredded Wheat makes an excellent substitute. The result is a luxurious, crunchy treat that’s perfect for sharing – it stores well, too.
Continue reading...A political prisoner lifts the lid on the hardships and fantasies of life in Iran’s most notorious jail
The Iranian political prisoner Sepideh Gholian’s account of life on the women’s wards in Bushehr and Evin prisons is a blindsiding blend of horrifying concrete detail, dizzying surrealism and wild optimism. In every line and in every moment it attempts to recreate, it is entirely and unconditionally defiant. For the reader, discombobulation comes from (at least) two directions. At one moment, you are presented with, for example, the story of a woman attempting to abort her foetus under permanent camera and human surveillance, because the consequences for her unborn child, herself and other family members if the pregnancy continues are unimaginably violent. At another you are instructed how to make elephant ears pastries, designed for large gatherings of visitors, in the cheery tones of the encouraging expert (“It’s not at all messy and impossible to get wrong. You don’t even need an oven. The sweetness is up to you.”)
Gholian was detained and tortured in 2018 after helping to organise a strike by sugarcane workers. Released on bail at the beginning of 2019, she was quickly rearrested after Iranian state television broadcasted her “confession”, evidently obtained under duress, and returned to prison. On her release four years later, she recorded a video message in which she removed her hijab, denounced the regime and called for the downfall of supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Unsurprisingly, the video went viral, and even less surprisingly she was immediately returned to Evin prison, where she remains (the introduction by journalist Maziar Bahari tells us that, for “security reasons”, he can’t tell us exactly how her writing has been smuggled out).
Continue reading...Portugal’s greenest region, an Algarve food truck and a monastery stay on the Camino de Santiago are among our tipsters’ highlights
Chus, who owns the local bar where I used to live in Galicia, shuts every September and decamps to Portugal. This entails a journey of 10 miles to the seaside town of Moledo. On his recommendation we caught the ferry across the wide estuary and reached Moledo within 20 minutes. The town beach is sheltered by a fortress island and Monte de Santa Trega. It’s popular with Spaniards who can’t resist the lower prices on this side. Moledo has a long season because it’s a haven for kitesurfers. Think Donegal with warm weather. Chus recommended Hotel Porta do Sol (doubles from about €110). As with most things, he was right. Well-appointed and unpretentious. A bit like my old local.
Tom
Foreign ministers will gather in London and seek to exert diplomatic pressure demanding a ceasefire
The British government is bringing together foreign ministers from nearly 20 countries and organisations in an attempt to establish a group that can drive the warring factions in Sudan closer towards peace.
The conference at Lancaster House in London on 15 April comes on the second anniversary of the start of a civil war that has led to the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, but has been persistently left at the bottom of the global list of diplomatic priorities. Half of Sudan’s population are judged to be desperately short of food, with 11 million people internally displaced.
Continue reading...This week: what happens to products after we review them; spring gardening gear; and anti-ageing essentials (including sunscreen)
At the Filter, we test a LOT of products. We’ve put everything from mattresses to treadmills through their paces to try to help you make better-informed shopping decisions. However, that means our expert testers can accumulate a lot of products. After all, you can’t find the best air fryer without taking a few for a spin. So, with sustainability – as well as journalistic independence, unswayed by promises of freebies – in mind, we’ve always promised to return samples to the manufacturer after testing or, where that’s not possible, donate them to good causes.
That’s where I come in. As the Filter’s researcher, it’s my job to not only help find and source products but also rehome them when they’re finished with. I’ve been tasked with getting everything, from blenders to electric toothbrushes and even food, from writers’ homes across the country to charities that can benefit from them the most.
Anti-ageing products that actually work: Sali Hughes on the 30 best serums, creams and treatments
‘Cute, but doesn’t taste too good’: the best (and worst) Easter chocolate treats, tested
Continue reading...What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.
From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
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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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