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Middle East crisis live: US, UK, EU and Middle Eastern countries call for immediate Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire
Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:46:17 GMT
Joint statement from group of nations comes after Israel’s foreign minister said ‘no ceasefire in the north’
Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that trade unions in the country have called on people to show solidarity, and for “the owners of food establishments, bakeries, gas stations and pharmacies to keep their establishments open, and facilitate everything necessary for our people.”
In a statement the trade unions also called on “merchants not to raise prices and not to exploit people.”
They want to do exactly what Hamas did in the south. Remember, we have been in this situation for a whole year. In the past week, the army has fought as it should, as we expect, to bring us back home. It seems we are again taking two steps back.
Continue reading...Whether you’re a seasoned cake maker or simply inspired by the return of The Great British Bake Off, these baking essentials will have you knocking up showstoppers in no time
One essential baking tool is simply not enough, according to Benoit Blin, pastry chef, judge on Bake Off: The Professionals and author of Bake with Benoit Blin. A rolling pin, fluted cake tin, balloon whisk and silicone spatula – to “get all the batter out” of a bowl – top his baking kit list.
But this isn’t a sign that you need everything but the kitchen sink to be able to whip up a showstopper. As with most things in life, you often need less than you think, so consider what you plan to bake and equip accordingly.
Continue reading...Researchers develop grain with lower glycaemic index and more protein that ‘could have big impact in Asia and Africa’
Scientists in the Philippines have created a new variety of rice that could help reduce the growing burden of diabetes.
More than 537 million adults worldwide are living with the chronic disease – a number that is expected to grow to 783 million by 2045. Being overweight, genetics and a lack of exercise contribute to type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form. Type 2 occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough of the insulin hormone, leaving too much glucose in the blood, and cells develop a resistance to insulin.
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Lila Tamea was one of the worshippers inside Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque in Liverpool when it was targeted by far-right rioters in August. Alongside Imam Adam Kelwick, she went out to speak to them and offer food. In the weeks that followed, Lila took a leading role in trying to rebuild her community after the violence. But now, despite promises of community cohesion in Liverpool, fear and paranoia are still a daily reality for Muslim women
Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
Continue reading...Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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As the Birmingham band fronted by the late Trish Keenan put out their final release, we pick the best from their eerie, evocative sound world
Originally a limited-edition sold on tour, and the band’s last release before singer Trish Keenan’s death in 2011, mini-album Mother Is the Milky Way was more about fragmentary sound collages than songs. But In Here the World Begins, which floats Keenan’s vocals over a murky, slowed-down tape loop, has a strange and compelling power.
Continue reading...Lobbyists and lawmakers have coordinated to enact new laws that increase criminal penalties for peaceful protests
Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion, a new Guardian investigation reveals.
Records obtained by the Guardian show that lobbyists working for major North American oil and gas companies were key architects of anti-protest laws that increase penalties and could lead to non-violent environmental and climate activists being imprisoned up to 10 years.
Continue reading...Court proceedings have suggested that very few of the young people involved shared openly racist views. Judges were told youths saw the unrest as a social event
The footage played in court lasted only seconds. A 16-year-old boy, dressed all in black with his face covered, hurled a rock towards riot police from the steps of Bolton’s cenotaph. Around him people chanted: “Allah! Allah! Who the fuck is Allah?”
Little over two weeks later the teenager stood, bewildered, in the glass dock of Manchester youth court, with a conviction for violent disorder.
Continue reading...Whether you’re a seasoned cake maker or simply inspired by the return of The Great British Bake Off, these baking essentials will have you knocking up showstoppers in no time
One essential baking tool is simply not enough, according to Benoit Blin, pastry chef, judge on Bake Off: The Professionals and author of Bake with Benoit Blin. A rolling pin, fluted cake tin, balloon whisk and silicone spatula – to “get all the batter out” of a bowl – top his baking kit list.
But this isn’t a sign that you need everything but the kitchen sink to be able to whip up a showstopper. As with most things in life, you often need less than you think, so consider what you plan to bake and equip accordingly.
Continue reading...Ex-president’s defense claims New York attorney general wanted to punish his ‘highly successful’ Wall Street dealings
Donald Trump’s legal team and state prosecutors will go head-to-head in a New York appeals court on Thursday over his ongoing effort to throw out an approximately $450m civil fraud judgment against him.
The former US president is disputing Manhattan supreme court judge Arthur Engoron’s 16 February decision after finding that Trump lied to financial institutions and insurers about his wealth. Trump’s case was litigated during a months-long civil trial in Manhattan in fall 2023.
Continue reading...Government had objected to report’s publication as it may ‘damage trust of affected communities’
The Home Office has been forced to release a suppressed report on the origins of the Windrush scandal by a tribunal judge who quoted George Orwell in a judgment criticising the department’s lack of transparency.
For the past three years, Home Office staff have worked to bury a hard-hitting research paper that states that roots of the scandal lay in 30 years of racist immigration legislation designed to reduce the UK’s non-white population.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Middle East, read our full report:
Lebanon’s minister of culture, Judge Mohammad Wissam El-Mortada, has been speaking to Sputnik Radio, and Lebanon’s National News Agency is carrying some quotes from the interview.
In it, he said “Lebanon is engaged in a confrontation in defence of everything that is humane in this world against the enemies of humanity. Israel is exceeding all restrictions.”
Continue reading...Attorney General Andrew Bailey scuttled a deal that would have spared Williams’s life, and the courts and governor failed to intervene to stop the execution.
The post Missouri Kills Marcellus Williams Over Objections From Prosecutor and Victim’s Family appeared first on The Intercept.
As the state keeps details around the death penalty hidden, an investigation into its execution team raises questions about how incarcerated people are treated in their final moments.
The post In Alabama, Officers Accused of Violence and Misconduct Carry Out Secretive Executions appeared first on The Intercept.
A lawyer for Eric Adams confirmed the raid at Gracie Mansion and says ‘he has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court’
The US District Court of the Southern District of New York has issued a press guidance for its 11:30am press conference, according to reports.
The guidance said the presser concerns “significant public corruption charges,” according to New York Daily News’s Molly Crane-Newman.
Continue reading...The source of the quote corrected Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, but they kept accusing the Palestinian House representative of antisemitism anyway.
The post CNN Anchors Won’t Stop Lying About Something Rashida Tlaib Never Said appeared first on The Intercept.
A subtle bipartisan shift in the language of immigration has opened the door to vilification and dehumanization.
The post You Should Stop Calling Immigrants “Migrants” appeared first on The Intercept.
Weapons used in earlier Israeli strikes into Lebanon that have killed civilians have been found to be U.S.-made.
The post Israel Bombed Lebanon Today, Killing Hundreds. The U.S. Is Sending More Bombs. appeared first on The Intercept.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Council of UC Faculty Associations filed a formal complaint against the UC system.
The post California Professors Fight Back Against Violent Repression of Palestine Protest appeared first on The Intercept.
So far, no one has been able to hold the notorious Israeli spyware firm accountable for complicity in human rights abuses.
The post These Human Rights Defenders Were Hacked by Pegasus. Now They Want Police to Charge the Spyware Maker. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump always wants to cast himself as a victim. Delaying his sentencing until after the election makes that harder.
The post It’s Good Trump Won’t Be Sentenced Until After the Election appeared first on The Intercept.
An Intercept investigation reveals that the Army National Guard has known about poisonous lead dust at armories open to the public for years, but is doing little to respond.
The post The National Guard Knows Its Armories Have Dangerous Lead Contamination, Putting Kids and Soldiers At Risk appeared first on The Intercept.
Since 2021, Israeli soldiers have met weekly protests in the West Bank village with deadly force.
The post Israeli Soldiers Killed 15 Protesters in the Same Place They Shot Aysenur Eygi appeared first on The Intercept.
In addition to billions in weapons, the U.S. military is renovating an air base in the south of Israel, according to a new contract.
The post U.S. Army Is Upgrading an Israeli Base to Make Room for New Boeing Jets appeared first on The Intercept.
A subtle bipartisan shift in the language of immigration has opened the door to vilification and dehumanization.
The post You Should Stop Calling Immigrants “Migrants” appeared first on The Intercept.
Maura Finkelstein was terminated by Muhlenberg College for an Instagram repost.
The post Meet the First Tenured Professor to Be Fired for Pro-Palestine Speech appeared first on The Intercept.
Comments are strongest yet against allowing Ukraine to launch long-range missiles into Russian territory
Vladimir Putin has escalated his nuclear rhetoric, telling a group of senior officials that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons.
His remarks on Wednesday came during a meeting with Russia’s powerful security council where he also announced changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president urges world leaders to back peace plan in general assembly speech ahead of Biden meeting
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the United Nations that Russia is planning to attack Ukrainian nuclear power plants as he repeated his calls for unity from world leaders in order to force Russia to the negotiating table to conclude a “just peace”.
His comments came as Vladimir Putin on Wednesday escalated his nuclear rhetoric, telling a group of senior officials that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons.
Continue reading...A lawyer for Eric Adams confirmed the raid at Gracie Mansion and says ‘he has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court’
The US District Court of the Southern District of New York has issued a press guidance for its 11:30am press conference, according to reports.
The guidance said the presser concerns “significant public corruption charges,” according to New York Daily News’s Molly Crane-Newman.
Continue reading...Exclusive: America Pac has up to 400 employees in each of the seven key states, with the campaign dependent on it
Donald Trump’s mass voter turnout program in crucial battleground states is now principally being run by America Pac, the political action committee backed by the billionaire Elon Musk, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.
The Trump campaign gambled with its general field operation for the 2024 cycle and outsourced it to Super Pacs, while it targeted its focus on turning out Trump supporters in rural areas who typically do not vote.
Continue reading...Republicans are making anxiety around masculinity a key voting issue – but the Democratic nominee is hoping to turn it to her advantage
A man in a baseball cap strides through a field of corn. A woman in flannel turns and smiles, a line of trucks visible behind her. As piano music swells, an American flag ripples in a gentle breeze. This video is pure, uncut Americana. Naturally, it’s a political ad.
Specifically, it’s an ad made by the Lincoln Project, a group of moderates and former Republicans united by a desire to topple Donald Trump and support Kamala Harris. And it’s making one of the most obvious appeals to men and masculinity yet in the 2024 election.
Continue reading...Harris is leading in five of seven key battleground states – but her leads are only one or two percentage points
Amid the turbulence, conflict, hyperbole, unprecedented misogyny, and downright hate that provides the backdrop for US elections this year, one thing remains in equilibrium: the 2024 presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris may lead following a honeymoon, a great nominating convention, and a solid debate performance, but she never leads by much. Former President Donald Trump may at other times lead nationally and in a few battleground states, but by one or two percentage points, more or less.
Around 5%-8% of voters remain undecided but they are probably not really focused on anything more than keeping their job, getting the kids off to school, grocery shopping, and the other demands of everyday life. And there is only a little wiggle room, with so many decided voters firm in their support for their candidate or their intense disgust for the other candidate.
John Zogby is senior partner at the polling firm of John Zogby Strategies and is author of Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read the Polls and Why We Should
Continue reading...With SpaceX, Starlink and X, Musk has more foreign policy sway than probably any unelected person in US history
Shortly after the apparent second assassination attempt against Donald Trump, Elon Musk wrote in a now deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,” with an emoji of a person thinking.
Musk later said his post was intended as a joke. But it could be interpreted as a call to murder Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – at least by one of Musk’s almost 200 million followers – which is presumably why the Secret Service is investigating it.
Continue reading...Ex-president’s defense claims New York attorney general wanted to punish his ‘highly successful’ Wall Street dealings
Donald Trump’s legal team and state prosecutors will go head-to-head in a New York appeals court on Thursday over his ongoing effort to throw out an approximately $450m civil fraud judgment against him.
The former US president is disputing Manhattan supreme court judge Arthur Engoron’s 16 February decision after finding that Trump lied to financial institutions and insurers about his wealth. Trump’s case was litigated during a months-long civil trial in Manhattan in fall 2023.
Continue reading...He was the BBC’s North America editor, living in Washington DC for eight years before returning to a shockingly changed UK. He discusses social media, antisemitism, centrist dads and the sudden embrace of conspiracy theories
When Jon Sopel left London in 2014 for Washington DC, to become the BBC’s North America editor, everything seemed fairly stable. “The boring coalition with Clegg and Cameron, who didn’t seem that different as people,” he remembers. “Brexit was not even a glimmer.” Nor was the rest of the turmoil to come: Boris Johnson, the pandemic, Liz Truss, even Donald Trump in the US. When Sopel moved back in 2022, the country felt completely different – “like a nervous breakdown”, he says, and eerily unfamiliar. Trying to get his head around it all has resulted in a book, Strangeland: How Britain Stopped Making Sense.
“It was quite triggering to write,” he says with a small laugh, “just thinking how crazy it was.” Same here – I had wiped the words “tractor porn” from my mind until Sopel’s reminder in a chapter about the worst of our MPs (this is Neil Parish who was forced to resign in 2022 after being caught accessing explict material in the House of Commons).
Continue reading...‘I shoot flamboyantly dressed drag artists getting their groceries. Monica’s closest store had wide aisles – which were perfect for shooting – and affordable prices’
I started working on a series called Girls Gotta Eat in 2016. It was born out of anguish. A perfect storm had been brewing. My eldest child was getting ready to go to college and Trump was in office, beginning to wreak havoc on the US, particularly the minds of self-possessed, authority-questioning women. The #MeToo movement had gone viral and then a relative, an evangelical Christian, wrote on my Facebook wall: “Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein are just two poor guys who have been maligned by the media, and the truth about their good character will be revealed.”
I was quaking with rage. How could this woman, so close to me in age and also the mother of two daughters, say something so blindly naive, something that she was so sure was correct? I tried to appeal but she was unreachable and uninterested. I realised I needed to turn my distress into something positive that might help me reach this woman and people like her.
Continue reading...Stoking and exploiting racist fears of immigrants is essentially all that Trump is running on.
The post Trump’s Conspiracy Theory Campaign appeared first on The Intercept.
Ukrainian president says he is grateful for latest funds but it is unclear if he will receive clearance to use US missiles deep into Russia
Ukraine’s foreign minister has discussed ways to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine with his Chinese counterpart at the UN general assembly, Kyiv said on Thursday.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who had earlier met Russia’s top diplomat, told a security council session this week that diplomacy was the only solution to the war in Ukraine.
Continue reading...FBI investigating call in which AI appearing to be Dmytro Kuleba asked Ben Cardin ‘politically charged questions’
A deepfake “actor” imitating Ukraine’s recently departed foreign minister targeted the chairman of the Senate’s powerful foreign relations committee in a suspected attempt at election interference, US officials have confirmed.
Ben Cardin, the Democratic senator for Maryland, grew suspicious during a pre-arranged Zoom call on 19 September with a person posing as Dmytro Kuleba, who stepped down as Ukraine’s top diplomat in a government reshuffle this month.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/Nexusyak [link] [comments] |
Ukraine president made forceful call for ‘just peace’ at UN, but winning more US support and fending off Russia are both uphill battles
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come to the US with a mission: to sell his vision for a Ukrainian victory despite the growing odds against Kyiv in its war with Russia.
The Ukrainan president spoke out forcefully on Tuesday and Wednesday in the security council and then at the general assembly of the United Nations, calling on other countries to back Ukraine’s proposal for a “just peace” and refrain from holding alternative talks with Vladimir Putin.
Continue reading...Labour’s leadership should have defended its choice to cut winter fuel payments. Instead, it chose the worst of all options
Sir Keir Starmer talks a lot about how tough he is. The word came up a number of times in his speech to Labour delegates in Liverpool this week. It is undoubtedly true that his own personal resilience through some very choppy moments helped secure an election landslide. He also says he accepts unpopularity as the price of power. So what does the new prime minister with a huge parliamentary majority do when he faces a small challenge over one of his unpopular decisions? His team pushes the argument far away, rather than engage with it.
The argument was over the cut to winter fuel payments, while Sir Keir’s would-be opponent was Sharon Graham, leader of Unite, Britain’s second-biggest trade union. Her motion opposing the cut was scheduled for early Monday afternoon while the entire frontbench was in Liverpool. Then, just a few hours before the scheduled time, Ms Graham was told that the motion would be moved. It would now take place almost at the very end of the conference. By the time the non-binding motion was heard, and passed by a show of hands, Sir Keir was on his way to New York for the UN general assembly.
Political history is full of Labour leaders who find their own party conference to be a source of annoying opposition. Hugh Gaitskell, Harold Wilson, Jeremy Corbyn (over Brexit policy): they all had to face the rough music of Labour members. The constitutional historian Meg Russell relates that “as early as 1907 Keir Hardie … threatened resignation rather than be held to conference policy on female suffrage”. Similarly, no Labour party conference is complete without a few stitch-ups, nobbles and other backroom deals. If Bismarck really did compare laws to sausages (“it is better not to see them being made”), the old Prussian should have tried sitting in the meeting room of a conference centre at some blurry hour after midnight.
But still, there is a reason Clement Attlee called Labour conference “the parliament of the movement” – and parliaments have debating chambers. This Labour government’s first significant budgetary policy was to means-test the winter fuel allowance, and Labour MPs admit to receiving a deluge of mail on the subject. The Unite motion suggests a number of means to avoid cutting money to pensioners, including a 1% tax on the 1% wealthiest – the kind of measure not so long ago supported by Sir Keir and his chancellor, Rachel Reeves. They’ve chosen otherwise; they have their reasons, and they should be willing to state them before Labour’s grassroots.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...A new study is right to highlight growing threats to the EU’s core values from within. Leaders must stand up and be counted
From its earliest beginnings in the aftermath of war, the ambition to create a common supranational identity was at the heart of the project that was to become the European Union. One of the EU’s founding fathers, Jean Monnet, spoke of the need to make people “work together, show them that beyond their differences and geographical boundaries there lies a common interest”.
The historic expansion of the union to encompass 27 member states has been a vindication of that vision, notwithstanding the recent shadow cast by Britain’s self-harming Brexit. Polling for a major report released on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) finds that most citizens, in most member states, remain emotionally committed to the EU. A common response to the challenge of Covid, and the emergence of Vladimir Putin’s Russia as a threat to peace and stability, appear to have strengthened a sense that cooperation and solidarity hold the key to prosperity and security.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...For the first time in more than 30 years, the Council of UC Faculty Associations filed a formal complaint against the UC system.
The post California Professors Fight Back Against Violent Repression of Palestine Protest appeared first on The Intercept.
The United States voted against a U.N. resolution that sets a 12-month timeframe to end Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
The post Most of the World Agrees Israel’s Occupation of Palestine Must End. The U.S. Is Fine With It. appeared first on The Intercept.
Benefits to rise for poorest and local authorities to be given powers to intervene in real estate markets
Chinese leaders have vowed to arrest a slump in the housing market and boost growth after conceding that measures by the central bank to stimulate investment this week were likely to prove inadequate.
Promising to deploy “necessary spending” by the state to meet this year’s economic growth target of 5%, China’s politburo said it would increase benefits for the poorest and give local authorities the cash and power to intervene to prevent further falls in house price values.
Continue reading...Lobbyists and lawmakers have coordinated to enact new laws that increase criminal penalties for peaceful protests
Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion, a new Guardian investigation reveals.
Records obtained by the Guardian show that lobbyists working for major North American oil and gas companies were key architects of anti-protest laws that increase penalties and could lead to non-violent environmental and climate activists being imprisoned up to 10 years.
Continue reading...Letter says technologies to produce blue hydrogen and capture CO2 are unproven and could hinder net zero efforts
Leading climate scientists are urging the government to pause plans for a billion pound investment in “green technologies” they say are unproven and would make it harder for the UK to reach its net zero targets.
Labour has promised to invest £1bn in carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) to produce blue hydrogen and to capture carbon dioxide from new gas-fired power stations – with a decision on the first tranche of the funding expected imminently.
Lock the UK into fossil fuel production for generations to come.
Result in huge upstream emissions from methane leaks, transport and processing of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US.
Rely on carbon capture and storage (CCS) during the production of hydrogen – technology they say has been abandoned in the vast majority of similar projects around the world.
Pose a danger to the public if there are any leaks from pipes carrying the captured carbon. At least 45 people had to be taken to hospital after a leak in the US.
Continue reading...Requiring key sectors to switch to clean energy by specific times could trigger benevolent cascades, report claims
In the terminology of the climate and ecological crises the phrase “tipping point” is loaded with dreadful implications.
It evokes a climate breakdown supercharged by the mass escape of methane locked in Siberian permafrost, or the great currents of the oceans smothered by freshwater melting from the Greenland ice sheet, or the Amazon turning from great rainforest to parched savannah after the felling of one too many trees.
Continue reading...The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched into ‘high seas’ of the Pacific Ocean
China has announced the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the “high seas” of the Pacific Ocean, flying over the northern point of the Philippines in what is believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s.
The launch of the missile, which the defence ministry said was carrying a dummy warhead, comes at a time of growing international scrutiny of the country’s nuclear arsenal, and prompted statements of concern from several nations.
Continue reading...Israel’s brazen attacks on Hezbollah last week, in which hundreds of pagers and two-way radios exploded and killed at least 37 people, graphically illustrated a threat that cybersecurity experts have been warning about for years: Our international supply chains for computerized equipment leave us vulnerable. And we have no good means to defend ourselves.
Though the deadly operations were stunning, none of the elements used to carry them out were particularly new. The tactics employed by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied any role, to hijack an international supply chain and embed plastic explosives in Hezbollah devices have been used for years. What’s new is that Israel put them together in such a devastating and extravagantly public fashion, bringing into stark relief what the future of great power competition will look like—in peacetime, wartime and the ever expanding ...
The movement counts among its ranks many disillusioned Arab and Muslim voters in the key swing state of Michigan.
The post Kamala Harris Refused to Meet With Uncommitted About Gaza — and Uncommitted Refused to Endorse Her appeared first on The Intercept.
Experts on international law pointed to the indiscriminate nature of the blasts in Lebanon and the prohibition on booby traps.
The post Paging The Hague: Israel’s Exploding Electronics Might Be War Crimes appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump always wants to cast himself as a victim. Delaying his sentencing until after the election makes that harder.
The post It’s Good Trump Won’t Be Sentenced Until After the Election appeared first on The Intercept.
Personally, I would not accept an endorsement from a world-historic war criminal.
The post Do Kamala Harris’s Neocon Supporters Just Hate Trump, or Is There Something More to Her Appeal? appeared first on The Intercept.
After weeks of arguments over the format and rules, the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a key swing state. Both candidates went into the event virtually tied in the polls, in search of a campaign-altering moment
‘They’re eating the cats’: Trump rambles falsely about immigrants in debate
Harris’s powerful abortion stance and Trump’s fact-checks: key takeaways from the debate
Harris slams Trump for falsehoods on abortion and immigration in fiery debate
Interesting social engineering attack: luring potential job applicants with fake recruiting pitches, trying to convince them to download malware. From a news article
These particular attacks from North Korean state-funded hacking team Lazarus Group are new, but the overall malware campaign against the Python development community has been running since at least August of 2023, when a number of popular open source Python tools were maliciously duplicated with added malware. Now, though, there are also attacks involving “coding tests” that only exist to get the end user to install hidden malware on their system (cleverly hidden with Base64 encoding) that allows remote execution once present. The capacity for exploitation at that point is pretty much unlimited, due to the flexibility of Python and how it interacts with the underlying OS...
In the rolling hills of central Italy sits Honeydew, an eco-community created as a direct response to the isolation of the Covid pandemic, enabled by modern technology and aiming to address the profound changes the climate crisis looks set to bring. With stated aims to spread the project globally, the Guardian visited Honeydew to see how founder Benjamin Ramm's vision for the future is playing out, and to learn how sustainable such eco living projects really are.
You can read more about life at Honeydew here
Continue reading...In addition to billions in weapons, the U.S. military is renovating an air base in the south of Israel, according to a new contract.
The post U.S. Army Is Upgrading an Israeli Base to Make Room for New Boeing Jets appeared first on The Intercept.
The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched into ‘high seas’ of the Pacific Ocean
China has announced the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the “high seas” of the Pacific Ocean, flying over the northern point of the Philippines in what is believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s.
The launch of the missile, which the defence ministry said was carrying a dummy warhead, comes at a time of growing international scrutiny of the country’s nuclear arsenal, and prompted statements of concern from several nations.
Continue reading...Israel’s brazen attacks on Hezbollah last week, in which hundreds of pagers and two-way radios exploded and killed at least 37 people, graphically illustrated a threat that cybersecurity experts have been warning about for years: Our international supply chains for computerized equipment leave us vulnerable. And we have no good means to defend ourselves.
Though the deadly operations were stunning, none of the elements used to carry them out were particularly new. The tactics employed by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied any role, to hijack an international supply chain and embed plastic explosives in Hezbollah devices have been used for years. What’s new is that Israel put them together in such a devastating and extravagantly public fashion, bringing into stark relief what the future of great power competition will look like—in peacetime, wartime and the ever expanding ...
Chung Pui-kuen sentenced to 21 months while Patrick Lam gets 11-month term but is released on medical grounds
The former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong’s Stand News has been sentenced to jail on sedition charges for the publication of news reports and other articles that prosecutors said tried to promote “illegal ideologies”.
Chung Pui-kuen, 55, the former editor-in-chief and the former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam, 36, were found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials in late August after almost a year of delays. The parent company of the now-defunct Stand News, Best Pencil Ltd, was also convicted.
Continue reading...Benefits to rise for poorest and local authorities to be given powers to intervene in real estate markets
Chinese leaders have vowed to arrest a slump in the housing market and boost growth after conceding that measures by the central bank to stimulate investment this week were likely to prove inadequate.
Promising to deploy “necessary spending” by the state to meet this year’s economic growth target of 5%, China’s politburo said it would increase benefits for the poorest and give local authorities the cash and power to intervene to prevent further falls in house price values.
Continue reading...Iwao Hakamada found not guilty of 1966 murder of his boss and his family after a retrial was ordered a decade ago
A Japanese man who spent almost half a century on death row has been found not guilty of multiple murders, in a closely watched trial that has raised questions about Japan’s use of the death penalty.
Iwao Hakamada, 88, was sentenced to hang in 1968 after being found guilty of murdering his boss, his wife and their two teenage children, and setting fire to their home two years earlier.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/tommos [link] [comments] |
Zhu Hengpeng, who worked for an influential government thinktank, has reportedly not been seen in public since making disparaging remarks on WeChat
A leading Chinese economist at a government thinktank has reportedly disappeared after being disciplined for criticising Xi Jinping in a private chat group.
Zhu Hengpeng, 55, is believed to have made disparaging remarks about China’s economy, and potentially about the Chinese leader specifically, in a private WeChat group. Zhu was subsequently detained in April and put under investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal which cited anonymous sources.
Continue reading...Former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was taken into custody in December 2018, says he spent months in solitary confinement and was interrogated daily
A former Canadian diplomat detained by China for more than 1,000 days said he was placed in solitary confinement for months and interrogated for up to nine hours every day, treatment he said amounted to psychological torture.
Michael Kovrig, speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp in his first major interview since his release, also said he had missed the birth of his daughter and met her for the first time when she was two-and-a half years old.
Continue reading...Maura Finkelstein was terminated by Muhlenberg College for an Instagram repost.
The post Meet the First Tenured Professor to Be Fired for Pro-Palestine Speech appeared first on The Intercept.
We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
This week, from 2021: In 2018, Indian police claimed to have uncovered a shocking plan to bring down the government. But there is mounting evidence that the initial conspiracy was a fiction – and the accused are victims of an elaborate plot. By Siddhartha Deb
Continue reading...A subtle bipartisan shift in the language of immigration has opened the door to vilification and dehumanization.
The post You Should Stop Calling Immigrants “Migrants” appeared first on The Intercept.
The FBI has shut down a botnet run by Chinese hackers:
The botnet malware infected a number of different types of internet-connected devices around the world, including home routers, cameras, digital video recorders, and NAS drives. Those devices were used to help infiltrate sensitive networks related to universities, government agencies, telecommunications providers, and media organizations…. The botnet was launched in mid-2021, according to the FBI, and infected roughly 260,000 devices as of June 2024.
The operation to dismantle the botnet was coordinated by the FBI, the NSA, and the Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), according to a press release dated ...
Researchers develop grain with lower glycaemic index and more protein that ‘could have big impact in Asia and Africa’
Scientists in the Philippines have created a new variety of rice that could help reduce the growing burden of diabetes.
More than 537 million adults worldwide are living with the chronic disease – a number that is expected to grow to 783 million by 2045. Being overweight, genetics and a lack of exercise contribute to type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form. Type 2 occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough of the insulin hormone, leaving too much glucose in the blood, and cells develop a resistance to insulin.
Continue reading...JVP leader has positioned himself as opposite to political elites but not all have greeted his win with optimism
As he was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president on Monday morning, Anura Kumara Dissanayake heralded a “new era of renaissance” for the country. Many believe Dissanayake’s election marks a significant political pivot for Sri Lanka, which has been ruled by a rotation of the same few parties and families for decades, leading to a continuing economic recession and deep-rooted mistrust of traditional political leaders.
Swathes of the population said it was the promise of change that brought them to vote for the leftist leader for the first time last weekend.
Continue reading...Second-round victory viewed as widespread rejection of the old political elite amid economic crisis
The Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election, in what was viewed as a widespread rejection of the old political elite who are blamed for the country’s ongoing economic woes.
For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the election went into a runoff on Sunday after no candidate managed to get more than 50% of the votes. However, after second-choice votes were counted, Dissanayake was declared the winner in the evening. “This victory belongs to all of us,” he said, writing on X.
Continue reading...Jagtar Singh Johal is being arbitrarily detained and targeted for his human rights activism, say campaigners
Delhi’s high court has denied bail to the British activist Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been imprisoned in India for nearly seven years, in seven cases brought against him by the country’s National Investigations Agency.
The ruling has shocked family and supporters who claim it should jolt the British government into recognising that Johal is not receiving justice at the hands of the Indian legal system.
Continue reading...Personally, I would not accept an endorsement from a world-historic war criminal.
The post Do Kamala Harris’s Neocon Supporters Just Hate Trump, or Is There Something More to Her Appeal? appeared first on The Intercept.
Peter Brown’s much-loved novel gets turned into a dazzling big screen film for all-ages that’s one of the year’s most entertaining animated offerings
At first glance, The Wild Robot, a new movie from Dreamworks Animation (and one of the studio’s last in-house productions), seems to target the voguish cultural anxiety over sentient, talking computers – technology designed, to borrow the dubious promises of companies like Open AI, to seem more and more like a human. The titular robot here is Rozzum Unit 7134, assumedly a Silicon Valley invention, if Silicon Valley tried to update the Jetsons’ household assistant, whose delivery is foiled by a typhoon. Instead, she washes ashore a remote Pacific north-west-esque isle. The robot, convincingly voiced by Lupita Nyong’o, has the flat affect of Amazon’s Alexa and the purely task-oriented mindset of programming, plus enough of a hint of confused yearning to immediately root for her.
For The Wild Robot, written and directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) performs a sly, absorbing and extremely effective sleight of hand: the more time we spend with the robot – the more its programming trains on new input, to use the parlance of generative AI – the more it underscores the deep, inarticulable and sacred wells of human feelings, the exact things that cannot be programmed or manufactured. That this film, based on the book series by Peter Brown, does so while also being a highly enjoyable and lusciously detailed story about a misfit, amid a community of charismatic woodland creatures, makes it one of the best animated films of the year, rightfully considered the frontrunner for an Oscar.
Continue reading...With his new film Jackpot! streaming now, the Bridesmaids director answers your questions on why he loves Jason Statham, how to break into the industry and why ‘political correctness’ hasn’t killed comedy
You have done more than almost any man alive to promote female‑led comedy. What has made this so close to your heart? Oroklini
I love funny women. I was an only child. I was close to my mom, who was very funny. I lived next door to a family of eight kids, six of whom were girls. Most of my friends were either girls or super-nerdy guys. When I got to Hollywood, I started hanging out with these funny women that I knew from when I was a standup comedian. When I went to see their movies, they just played the mean girlfriend. I thought: I don’t like this balance. I relate more to stories of funny women because they tend to be less aggressive and toxic. I was bullied so much as a kid that I would run to the girls for solace.
Do you believe comedy can still be laugh-out-loud funny with so many restrictions on what is and is not allowed, or do you believe that the muzzling of many topics restricts the scene? Sudikko
I’m not in the school of thought that political correctness has killed comedy. My only goal is to make people laugh and hopefully not offend anybody in the process. What offends people is making fun of things people can’t change, like their physical appearance, their race, their gender. But if you are just making jokes about extreme characters and the human condition, you can get away with a lot of stuff.
An Intercept investigation reveals that the Army National Guard has known about poisonous lead dust at armories open to the public for years, but is doing little to respond.
The post The National Guard Knows Its Armories Have Dangerous Lead Contamination, Putting Kids and Soldiers At Risk appeared first on The Intercept.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
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