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Broccoli and cashews, aubergine with chickpeas, celeriac and sausage – Nigel Slater’s winter salad recipes
Mon, 27 Jan 2025 14:00:52 GMT
Hot and cold, raw and cooked, soft and crisp: these are winter salads with bite
Potatoes, dressed warm from the pan, tossed with smoked fish and capers. Rainbow-stemmed chard with a sauce of coconut and spices. Crisp winter roots and hot sausages in a dressing of mustard and cream. Cabbage and fennel with apples and blue cheese, or fried aubergines tossed with rose harissa and feta. These are a few of the salads that are best suited to putting on the table when the weather is cold.
I am not pedantic about whether a salad’s ingredients or its dressing are warm or cold. To me, the best are a thoughtful mixture of raw and cooked, warm and cold, and soft and crisp. What I do like is for a winter salad to have a certain crunch – that texture can come from fennel, frisee or apple, raw white or red cabbage, toasted nuts and croutons, or from potatoes that have been fried till crisp.
Continue reading...The star of Netflix’s Chef’s Table reveals the secrets to two of her stellar noodle sauces: egg and tomato, and hearty pork mince
My restaurants are all about the noodles – fresh hand-pulled biang biang noodles in particular. They’re not the easiest things to make, though, and are certainly not something a novice would want to tackle for a midweek meal at home, which is where shop-bought alternatives come in so handy. If possible, buy fresh “knife-cut” noodles from a Chinese or Asian food store – ideally wider, flat ones, though very young children will probably find dragon whisker noodles easier to handle. Today’s two recipes are both quick and easy home-style sauces that will bring comforting flavours to your table in no time. At my restaurants, we even serve a dish that combines the two, and it’s incredibly popular, so once you’ve got the hang of these, you might want to try recreating that at home, too.
Continue reading...One tin and half an hour is all you need for this clever week-night curry
This one-tin curry – what you’d call a “dry” curry in Indian homes, to differentiate from one with an integral sauce – is such a hit in my kitchen that leftovers frequently appear as a hot breakfast, along with an egg and flatbreads.
Continue reading...This week the EU will argue the UK’s ban on catching the tiny fish, celebrated by conservationists, amounts to discrimination against Danish fishers
“We did it!” These were the words uttered by the RSPB last year when, after 25 years of campaigning, the UK government banned fishing for sandeels in the North Sea and Scotland. The small eel-like fish might not seem a likely species to inspire a decades-long fight – but they are the treasured food of one of Britain’s rarest and most threatened seabirds, the puffin, as well as many other UK seabirds and marine species.
The celebrations, however, were short-lived. The EU threw its weight behind Denmark – the country with by far the biggest sandeel fishing fleet – and challenged the ban, meaning that this week, the humble sandeel will become the focus of the first courtroom trade battle between the UK and the EU since Brexit.
Continue reading...If they capitulate to Maga, the government folds, and we all go down with it
Less than a week in office, Donald Trump gagged all public communications from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration. Pending review by his administration, the agencies are prohibited from issuing health data updates and public safety alerts, including those concerning the H5N1 avian flu, which is spreading in poultry flocks, dairy herds, pet cats and people. Bird flu can be fatal to humans, according to the World Health Organization, from which Trump has withdrawn the US.
As precursor to his mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, the president halted asylum applications and canceled appointments already on the books. The Department of Homeland Security announced that it will raid hospitals, churches and schools, sites long off limits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But don’t blame the feds if law-abiding immigrants are swept up too, said Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan. “There’s going to be more collateral arrests in sanctuary cities because they forced us to go into the community and find the guy we’re looking for.” The Department of Justice is threatening to bring criminal charges against local officials or employees who don’t cooperate.
Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books
A thrifty and delicious store-cupboard meal
I have known for months, maybe even a year, that a tin of tuna had fallen down the back of the cupboard. It was only when a tin of sardines followed it, and got stuck on the way, that I finally pulled everything out to save them. In return, they saved dinner.
Putting fish in a tin is a sustainable act (in principle, anyway), because it gives almost everlasting life to a product with an extremely short shelf life and an extremely high risk of waste. Another thing about tinned fish is the deep umami flavour that can develop during the curing and canning process (especially when the fish is preserved in a good-tasting brine or oil), which is not only deeply delicious, but thrifty, meaning that a small amount goes a long way. However, both these things depend on countless tangled factors. It is at moments such as this when I imagine I am Hattie Ellis at the beginning of her book What to Eat (which I am on a mission to see updated and reissued), standing in a shop and staring at the shelf, overwhelmed by “Sticky questions about food” and thinking, “Which tin should I choose?”
Continue reading...Our Mexican food specialist gives us her take on hot sauces from UK supermarkets
• ‘An absolute belter’: Grace Dent tests the best extra-chocolatey biscuits
What a fun job, tasting hot sauces! I had a great time with my 13-year-old and her Ethiopian pal, who assured me of her skill in this department thanks to the traditionally spicy food her family eats at home.
We tasted the sauces on their own and with food. Both are essential: with the first drop, you’re looking for the flavour profile and overall taste; with the second mouthful on food – in our case a margherita pizza – you’re looking for how the heat and flavour of the sauce cut through. The moment the heat from the chillies comes into contact with food, especially carbohydrates and fats, the potency is reduced and the heat is sucked up. If you want a sauce to season food and enhance its flavours, then you need more heat than is obvious, and definitely more heat than when tasting the sauces on their own.
Continue reading...Researchers say study may help global efforts in controlling disease that still destroys crops today
It was a disaster that killed about 1 million people, devastating 19th century Ireland, but while the potato disease linked to the Irish famine is well known, a battle has raged over where it originated.
Scientists have long been divided over whether the fungus-like pathogen Phtytophthora infestans cropped up in the Andes or originated in Mexico.
Continue reading...Under a settlement with Ohio’s attorney general, GOP operative Pat Lee can never fundraise for charity in the state again.
The post Trump Inauguration Official’s “Phony Charity” Allegedly Pocketed East Palestine Train Disaster Funds appeared first on The Intercept.
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...I was separated from my mom at age 10. Donald Trump's reelection has reignited my family's fears.
The post Why My Memories of Being Taken From My Mom at the Border Came Flooding Back appeared first on The Intercept.
Why are your favourite products getting smaller but costing the same? From toilet paper rolls to snacks, shrinkflation is the sneaky tactic is affecting many things we buy.
In this video, Neelam Tailor looks into how companies hide shrinkflation and what you can do about it.
After a holiday season where festive treats like Cadbury’s Christmas selection boxes shrank while prices stayed the same, shrinkflation continues to impact shoppers in 2025. Start the year informed and learn how to spot these subtle changes to protect your budget.
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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Rain may help firefighters reining in fires after weeks of dry weather but also boosts risk of toxic ash runoff
More rain fell on Monday in parts of southern California after causing mudflows over the weekend, helping firefighters but boosting the risk of toxic ash runoff in areas scorched by Los Angeles-area wildfires.
Flood watches were in effect for burn areas from recent fires that broke out around the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, as well as Castaic Lake, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Continue reading...Project providing subsidies to install solar batteries and electric appliances part of Labor deal with crossbenchers
Suburb-wide electrification trials are set to be rolled out across the country under an intervention designed to help spark the household transition from gas.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has formally directed the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) to consider funding more pilots like Electrify 2515, a community-led initiative to electrify 500 homes in one postcode in Wollongong, NSW.
Continue reading...Green-led authority consulting on changes it says could save £2m and encourage recycling – critics fear it will increase fly-tipping
Bristol city council could become the first local authority in England to collect black rubbish bins only once every four weeks.
The Green-led council says that switching from a two- to four-weekly collection would save it more than £2m a year and help reverse a dip in recycling rates.
Continue reading...The carbon footprint of a skiing holiday can be as deep as a crevasse, but one Austrian resort with sustainability at its heart is mitigating its impact
The view takes me aback. Not the panorama of 80 snow-capped, jagged peaks that top 3,000 metres, nor the lone skier carving perfect turns down a forest-fringed piste. They are lovely, of course, but the important view, the one that few winter sports enthusiasts will ever get to see, is behind a nondescript door next to the bakery that’s tucked beside the ski lift station in the bottom of this valley. In here may lie the answer to the question that brought me to Austria’s SkiWelt region: is it possible to ski green?
I’ve always been a sceptic on that front. Skiing feels like the greatest possible waste of earthly resources for the benefit of a privileged few. From its consumer-porn stores filled with the latest in space-age clothing to its ugly clanking lifts, overheated hotels and casual use of helicopters, the entire industry is one giant middle finger to a burning planet, isn’t it?
Continue reading...By denying funding to the Climate Justice Alliance over Palestine, Biden went after Trump’s political opponents for him.
The post Biden Attack on Nonprofit Over Palestine Stance Made Trump’s Job Easier appeared first on The Intercept.
SEMrush and Ahrefs are among
the most popular tools in the SEO industry. Both companies have been in
business for years and have thousands of customers per month.
If you're a professional SEO or trying to do digital
marketing on your own, at some point you'll likely consider using a tool to
help with your efforts. Ahrefs and SEMrush are two names that will likely
appear on your shortlist.
In this guide, I'm going to help you learn more about these SEO tools and how to choose the one that's best for your purposes.
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a popular SEO tool with a wide range of
features—it's the leading competitor research service for online marketers.
SEMrush's SEO Keyword Magic tool offers over 20 billion Google-approved
keywords, which are constantly updated and it's the largest keyword database.
The program was developed in 2007 as SeoQuake is a
small Firefox extension
Features
Ahrefs is a leading SEO platform that offers a set of
tools to grow your search traffic, research your competitors, and monitor your
niche. The company was founded in 2010, and it has become a popular choice
among SEO tools. Ahrefs has a keyword index of over 10.3 billion keywords and
offers accurate and extensive backlink data updated every 15-30 minutes and it
is the world's most extensive backlink index database.
Features
Direct Comparisons: Ahrefs vs SEMrush
Now that you know a little more about each tool, let's
take a look at how they compare. I'll analyze each tool to see how they differ
in interfaces, keyword research resources, rank tracking, and competitor
analysis.
User Interface
Ahrefs and SEMrush both offer comprehensive information
and quick metrics regarding your website's SEO performance. However, Ahrefs
takes a bit more of a hands-on approach to getting your account fully set up,
whereas SEMrush's simpler dashboard can give you access to the data you need
quickly.
In this section, we provide a brief overview of the elements
found on each dashboard and highlight the ease with which you can complete
tasks.
AHREFS
The Ahrefs dashboard is less cluttered than that of
SEMrush, and its primary menu is at the very top of the page, with a search bar
designed only for entering URLs.
Additional features of the Ahrefs platform include:
SEMRUSH
When you log into the SEMrush Tool, you will find four
main modules. These include information about your domains, organic keyword
analysis, ad keyword, and site traffic.
You'll also find some other options like
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have user-friendly dashboards,
but Ahrefs is less cluttered and easier to navigate. On the other hand, SEMrush
offers dozens of extra tools, including access to customer support resources.
When deciding on which dashboard to use, consider what
you value in the user interface, and test out both.
If you're looking to track your website's search engine
ranking, rank tracking features can help. You can also use them to monitor your
competitors.
Let's take a look at Ahrefs vs. SEMrush to see which
tool does a better job.
The Ahrefs Rank Tracker is simpler to use. Just type in
the domain name and keywords you want to analyze, and it spits out a report
showing you the search engine results page (SERP) ranking for each keyword you
enter.
Rank Tracker looks at the ranking performance of
keywords and compares them with the top rankings for those keywords. Ahrefs
also offers:
You'll see metrics that help you understand your
visibility, traffic, average position, and keyword difficulty.
It gives you an idea of whether a keyword would be
profitable to target or not.
SEMRush offers a tool called Position Tracking. This
tool is a project tool—you must set it up as a new project. Below are a few of
the most popular features of the SEMrush Position Tracking tool:
All subscribers are given regular data updates and
mobile search rankings upon subscribing
The platform provides opportunities to track several
SERP features, including Local tracking.
Intuitive reports allow you to track statistics for the
pages on your website, as well as the keywords used in those pages.
Identify pages that may be competing with each other
using the Cannibalization report.
Ahrefs is a more user-friendly option. It takes seconds
to enter a domain name and keywords. From there, you can quickly decide whether
to proceed with that keyword or figure out how to rank better for other
keywords.
SEMrush allows you to check your mobile rankings and
ranking updates daily, which is something Ahrefs does not offer. SEMrush also
offers social media rankings, a tool you won't find within the Ahrefs platform.
Both are good which one do you like let me know in the comment.
Keyword research is closely related to rank tracking,
but it's used for deciding which keywords you plan on using for future content
rather than those you use now.
When it comes to SEO, keyword research is the most
important thing to consider when comparing the two platforms.
The Ahrefs Keyword Explorer provides you with thousands
of keyword ideas and filters search results based on the chosen search engine.
Ahrefs supports several features, including:
SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool has over 20 billion
keywords for Google. You can type in any keyword you want, and a list of
suggested keywords will appear.
The Keyword Magic Tool also lets you to:
Both of these tools offer keyword research features and
allow users to break down complicated tasks into something that can be
understood by beginners and advanced users alike.
If you're interested in keyword suggestions, SEMrush
appears to have more keyword suggestions than Ahrefs does. It also continues to
add new features, like the Keyword Gap tool and SERP Questions recommendations.
Both platforms offer competitor analysis tools,
eliminating the need to come up with keywords off the top of your head. Each
tool is useful for finding keywords that will be useful for your competition so
you know they will be valuable to you.
Ahrefs' domain comparison tool lets you compare up to five websites (your website and four competitors) side-by-side.it also shows you how your site is ranked against others with metrics such as backlinks, domain ratings, and more.
Use the Competing Domains section to see a list of your
most direct competitors, and explore how many keywords matches your competitors
have.
To find more information about your competitor, you can
look at the Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools and type in their URL
instead of yours.
SEMrush provides a variety of insights into your
competitors' marketing tactics. The platform enables you to research your
competitors effectively. It also offers several resources for competitor
analysis including:
Traffic Analytics helps you identify where your
audience comes from, how they engage with your site, what devices visitors use
to view your site, and how your audiences overlap with other websites.
SEMrush's Organic Research examines your website's
major competitors and shows their organic search rankings, keywords they are
ranking for, and even if they are ranking for any (SERP) features and more.
The Market Explorer search field allows you to type in
a domain and lists websites or articles similar to what you entered. Market
Explorer also allows users to perform in-depth data analytics on These
companies and markets.
SEMrush wins here because it has more tools dedicated to
competitor analysis than Ahrefs. However, Ahrefs offers a lot of functionality
in this area, too. It takes a combination of both tools to gain an advantage
over your competition.
When it comes to keyword data research, you will become
confused about which one to choose.
Consider choosing Ahrefs if you
Consider SEMrush if you:
Both tools are great. Choose the one which meets your
requirements and if you have any experience using either Ahrefs or SEMrush let
me know in the comment section which works well for you.
China’s tech leap challenges US dominance through innovation. But unregulated competition increases the risk of catastrophe
Eight years ago, Vladimir Putin proclaimed that mastering artificial intelligence (AI) would make a nation the “ruler of the world”. Western tech sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should have dashed his ambitions to lead in AI by 2030. But that might be too hasty a judgment. Last week, the Chinese lab DeepSeek unveiled R1, an AI that analysts say rivals OpenAI’s top reasoning model, o1. Astonishingly, it matches o1’s capabilities while using a fraction of the computing power – and at a tenth of the cost. Predictably, one of Mr Putin’s first moves in 2025 was to align with China on AI development. R1’s launch seems no coincidence, coming just as Donald Trump backed OpenAI’s $500bn Stargate plan to outpace its peers. OpenAI has singled out DeepSeek’s parent, High Flyer Capital, as a potential threat. But at least three Chinese labs claim to rival or surpass OpenAI’s achievements.
Anticipating tighter US chip sanctions, Chinese companies stockpiled critical processors to ensure their AI models could advance despite restricted access to hardware. DeepSeek’s success underscores the ingenuity born of necessity: lacking massive datacentres or powerful specialised chips, it achieved breakthroughs through better data curation and optimisation of its model. Unlike proprietary systems, R1’s source code is public, allowing anyone competent to modify it. Yet its openness has limits: overseen by China’s internet regulator, R1 conforms to “core socialist values”. Type in Tiananmen Square or Taiwan, and the model reportedly shuts down the conversation.
Continue reading...Poland has promised Netanyahu safe passage to an Auschwitz memorial service. Former and current EU officials are speaking out.
The post Netanyahu Has an ICC Arrest Warrant. Poland’s Promise to Ignore It Would Be a “Grave Mistake.” appeared first on The Intercept.
With Trump promising the US will be ‘crypto capital of the planet’, experts say the industry’s poised for laxer oversight
With Donald Trump tapping top regulators with cryptocurrency ties and promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet”, the controversial and scandal-plagued industry is poised for laxer oversight and faster growth, which ethics watchdogs and ex-prosecutors fear could pose dangers for investors and spur potential criminal abuses.
The president’s pro-crypto stances have come as he wooed crypto companies to ratchet up their campaign contributions to help him win the White House. Although in 2021 Trump called Bitcoin a “scam”, he also announced last fall that he and his sons were helping launch a new crypto business, dubbed World Liberty Financial, they can profit from.
Continue reading...Asylum-seekers are being detained because they come from Russia and Central Asia, immigrants and attorneys told The Intercept.
The post They Flee Russia as Dissidents Seeking Asylum. The U.S. Locks Them Up. appeared first on The Intercept.
The CIA director nominee’s tour through the revolving door included work on AI — an industry now angling to pick up major government contracts.
The post Democrats Are Worried About John Ratcliffe’s Role in the 2020 Election. They Should Also Take a Look At His AI Gigs. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump lifted sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Within hours, Netanyahu launched a new invasion.
The post Trump Halts Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Threatens to Seize Assets of War Crimes Investigators appeared first on The Intercept.
ECB president Lagarde warns of ‘vicious circle’ if central bank independence is undermined
Here is the full story on Good Energy
Morgan Stanley has cut its forecast for UK growth this year to 0.9% from 1.3%, mirroring estimates from Wall Street rivals Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.
After a grim lead-up to Christmas, the new year hasn’t brought any sense of renewal, with businesses still expecting a significant fall in activity.
Continue reading...US president expected to sign three executive orders to reshape the military, including ban on transgender service members and gutting DEI programs
The Senate is expected on Monday to vote on the confirmation of the billionaire hedge fund manager, Scott Bessent, as treasury secretary.
On Saturday, the Senate voted 67-23 to advance Bessent’s nomination. A final vote is scheduled to take place this evening at 5.30pm ET.
Continue reading...Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk through what Keir Starmer’s first phone call with Donald Trump since the inauguration means for the ‘special relationship’. Also, as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, prepares for a big speech on growth, does she have any new plans to boost the economy? And will they work?
Click here to buy tickets to Pippa Crerar’s Guardian Live event with the health secretary, Wes Streeting
Continue reading...Videos about Tuskegee Airmen and civilian female pilots were not shown in basic training in Texas pending a review
The US air force on Sunday said it would resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the nation’s military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with the ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that Donald Trump imposed early in his second presidency.
Trump, who retook office on 20 January, has prohibited DEI throughout the US government and military. Pete Hegseth, the new defense secretary, who was sworn in on Friday, has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority.
Continue reading...Conversation on Sunday was the two leaders’ first call since the inauguration of the new US president
President Donald Trump and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, have spoken over the phone and agreed to “meet soon”.
The two leaders spoke for 45 minutes on Sunday in their first call since Trump’s inauguration. According to Downing Street’s readout of the call, they discussed trade and the economy and security in the Middle East.
Continue reading...‘It was striking that the White House memo included toilets and shower heads as a presidential priority,’ said one expert
From crusading against showers he feels don’t sufficiently wash his hair to reversing protections for a small fish he calls “worthless”, Donald Trump’s personal fixations have helped shape his first environmental priorities as US president.
While withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accords and declaring an “energy emergency” were among Trump’s most noteworthy executive orders on his first day in office, both were further down a list of priorities put out by the White House than measures to improve “consumer choice in vehicles, shower heads, toilets, washing machines, lightbulbs and dishwashers”.
Continue reading...Progressive Conservative leader of Canada’s most populous province seeks ‘strong mandate’ to counter 25% tariff plan
The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, has said an early election is needed in the Canadian province in order to fend off an income “attack” from Donald Trump as a trade war looms between the close allies.
But opposition parties criticized the move, calling it a “distraction” from an ongoing criminal investigation into the government’s handling of a controversial multibillion-dollar land swap.
Continue reading...Tech CEOs cozying up to Trump want to reshape reality to their politics.
The post The Broligarchy: The Who’s Who of the Silicon Gilded Age appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump hopes to gut birthright citizenship via executive order. In lawsuits filed across the country, immigrants seek to stop him.
The post The Pregnant Immigrants Fighting Trump’s Bid to End Birthright Citizenship appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s vengeance machine isn’t only about retribution. It’s also intended to intimidate Trump critics
Trump’s vengeance machine is even more dangerous than it was before.
The Biden administration had given security protection to Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, his former top aide, Brian Hook, and former national security advisor, John Bolton. That was because of credible intelligence showing all three in danger of being killed by agents of Iran. During the first Trump administration, they had authorized the drone strike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in early 2020, and Iran is out to get them.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com
Continue reading...Former secretary of state has faced threats from Iran since since he took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic
The Ohio Republican Mike Turner said on Sunday’s Face the Nation he is “very concerned” for former secretary of state Mike Pompeo after Donald Trump revoked his security detail earlier in the week.
Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first administration, were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday evening.
Continue reading...By denying funding to the Climate Justice Alliance over Palestine, Biden went after Trump’s political opponents for him.
The post Biden Attack on Nonprofit Over Palestine Stance Made Trump’s Job Easier appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump boasted he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine as soon as he took office. That didn’t happen.
The post Trump Promised a Russia–Ukraine Peace Deal. Where Is It? appeared first on The Intercept.
Downing Street says PM’s call with Trump was ‘warm’ and did not include tariffs, Greenland, defence-spending or Ukraine
The hearing has stopped for a short break. Heather Hallett, the chair, tells Badenoch that her evidence will be finished by lunchtime.
Keith is now asking Badenoch about the fourth report produced by the Race Disparity Unit. It was produced in December 2021.
Relevant health departments and agencies should review and action existing requests for health data, and undertake an independent strategic review of the dissemination of healthcare data and the publication of statistics and analysis.
Government is not necessarily great at delivering these systems. They tend to be big boondoggles for the private sector, but there are private sector companies that can deliver this. There need to be caveats around that.
Continue reading...Follow major developments of the second Trump administration’s first 100 days, brought up to date weekly
Donald Trump has completed an extraordinary return to power as the 47th president, vowing to impose his vision and re-altering the political and cultural landscape of the nation.
To keep up with the dizzying array of executive orders, directives, firings and policy changes, the Guardian will be tracking the major developments of the second Trump administration’s first 100 days, just like we did during the first 100 days of Trump’s first presidency in 2017.
Continue reading...Holocaust survivors return for memorial ceremony on 80th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp
US president Donald Trump repeated his intention to take control over Greenland over the weekend, saying he thought the US “are going to have it,” and sparking further fears about the prospect of a territorial dispute between the US and Denmark, a Nato ally.
“I do believe Greenland, we’ll get because it really has to do with freedom of the world,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the United States, other than we’re the one that can provide the freedom.”
Continue reading...Holocaust survivors return for memorial ceremony on 80th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp
US president Donald Trump repeated his intention to take control over Greenland over the weekend, saying he thought the US “are going to have it,” and sparking further fears about the prospect of a territorial dispute between the US and Denmark, a Nato ally.
“I do believe Greenland, we’ll get because it really has to do with freedom of the world,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the United States, other than we’re the one that can provide the freedom.”
Continue reading...Chinese startup’s $6m product raises doubts about sustainability of western artificial intelligence boom
Global technology shares have taken a hit as the emergence of a Chinese chatbot competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, DeepSeek, raised doubts about the sustainability of the US artificial intelligence boom.
Shares in companies listed in Asia and Europe fell on Monday and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index in New York was poised to open lower after investors digested the implications of AI models developed by the startup DeepSeek.
Continue reading...Apple and Google cautious about Trump order amid rumours Oracle founder Larry Ellison could buy site
TikTok is back in the US – but Apple and Google are not sure if it should be.
The short video app has yet to appear on the tech companies’ app stores, reflecting an unease about the White House executive order that has given TikTok the confidence to resume operations after temporarily shuttering the service on 18 January. Apple and Google do not appear to agree.
Continue reading...If they capitulate to Maga, the government folds, and we all go down with it
Less than a week in office, Donald Trump gagged all public communications from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration. Pending review by his administration, the agencies are prohibited from issuing health data updates and public safety alerts, including those concerning the H5N1 avian flu, which is spreading in poultry flocks, dairy herds, pet cats and people. Bird flu can be fatal to humans, according to the World Health Organization, from which Trump has withdrawn the US.
As precursor to his mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, the president halted asylum applications and canceled appointments already on the books. The Department of Homeland Security announced that it will raid hospitals, churches and schools, sites long off limits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But don’t blame the feds if law-abiding immigrants are swept up too, said Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan. “There’s going to be more collateral arrests in sanctuary cities because they forced us to go into the community and find the guy we’re looking for.” The Department of Justice is threatening to bring criminal charges against local officials or employees who don’t cooperate.
Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books
Experts say any incursion could come with serious repercussions, include violence against US tourists
Evan Hafer, a popular veteran and founder of Black Rifle Coffee, was on Joe Rogan’s podcast after the November election. As with any Maga acolyte, the US-Mexico border figured prominently in his mind.
“If we declare war on the cartel, these dudes are not going to understand what the fuck is going on. They are in for a world of ultra-violence,” said Hafer, who served in the Green Berets and the CIA.
Continue reading...Israel delays removal of troops, accusing Hamas of breaking terms of deal by failing to release civilian hostage
Conditions are “not yet in place” for the safe return of Lebanese citizens to southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement by the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and Unifil’s head of mission and force commander Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro.
In a post on X, the joint statement read:
Much has changed in Lebanon since the Cessation of Hostilities Understanding came into force in the early hours of 27 November 2024.
Violence has dramatically decreased. In many areas of southern Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people have been able to return to their towns and villages. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have shown resolve in deploying to positions from which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are withdrawing. Supported by Unifil, the LAF is helping restore services and facilitating access to communities most affected by conflict…
Continue reading...An increase in economic activity should be directed towards rebuilding public services and turbocharging a green transition, writes Colin Hines. And Mike Lake thinks all could be solved by Rachel Reeves launching a meme coin
It would appear that Rachel Reeves would rather put growth ahead of protecting our children’s future with net zero policies (Rachel Reeves’s bid to expand Heathrow could add £40 to airline ticket, 23 January). Yet in the acres of coverage about this government’s growth mantra, three crucial questions are never asked, let alone answered.
First, what exactly is the end goal of growth? The response should be an increase in economic activity directed predominantly towards rebuilding public services and turbocharging a green transition.
Continue reading...The movement is on the upswing thanks to Trump but a question lingers: what is their role in his administration?
Minutes into the National Pro-Life Summit, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, had convinced its more than 1,000 attendees to leap to their feet. She was recording a video, and she had a message she wanted them to send to Donald Trump.
“THANK YOU MISTER PRESIDENT!” the crowd in the ballroom thundered, before bursting into raucous applause – complete with wolf whistles.
Continue reading...Welcome to our annual selection of the year’s finest debut novels. We have a proven track record in picking authors that go on to be loved by readers and win awards … from Douglas Stuart and Sally Rooney to Caleb Azumah Nelson and Bonnie Garmus. Here are 2025’s gems
For the 12th year running, writers and editors on the Observer New Review spent the busy weeks before Christmas immersed in dozens of forthcoming debut novels, seeking out the titles we reckon deserve to be in everyone’s hands over the months ahead. Whatever your taste in fiction, this list gives you a heads-up on the future prize winners, mega-sellers and word-of-mouth hits that change the literary conversation. From Shuggie Bain to Conversations with Friends and The Miniaturist, and from Caleb Azumah Nelson to Bonnie Garmus and Sheena Patel – all found early champions here. Colin Barrett, one of last year’s picks, just won this year’s Nero debut fiction prize, awarded last year to Michael Magee, one of our 2023 picks.
Our search for the year’s best debut novels only ever has one rule: the writers we choose must live in the UK or Ireland. After that, anything goes. The class of 2025 includes authors whose manuscripts were snapped up before they’d left university, and some who didn’t put pen to paper until a later-life left turn. Some are published by independent presses, others by cash-splashing corporates trumpeting the spoils of multiway bidding wars, television rights already in the bag. There are novels on this list that were written at dawn, through lunch breaks, whenever the nine-to-five allowed, and at least one that was written on the cushion of a six-figure advance – a pressure of its own. Several authors here are already well known for their short story collections. Nothing mattered to us but the novels themselves.
The strong showing from writers in Ireland and Northern Ireland makes sense when you hear them talk about the subsidised literary magazines and development agencies that helped them grow. Surprise, surprise: arts funding is transformative. Those kinds of fortifying networks exist in Britain too, yet the mood feels more atomised, less collegiate, not least since the White Review – a magazine that broke many new names – ceased to publish after Arts Council cuts in 2023.
If there’s a theme among this year’s books, it might be care – parent-child relationships recur in a variety of guises – but their style and subject differ as widely as their paths to publication. There’s a dizzyingly transcontinental ecological epic about Hindu nationalism, set everywhere from the Chagos Islands to the Arctic Circle. There’s a spare, slender tale of embattled gay love in 1980s south Wales. There’s a pacy page-turner about escaping coercive control, and a filthy comic romp about an “Islamic State bride” in Iraq (really). And that’s just for starters; we loved every one of these outstanding novels, and we think you will too. Here’s to yet more excellent reading.
Anthony Cummins
A lot of eco fiction is very worthy. My book has car chases!
As a teenager, sex is all-consuming … grotty but still erotic, even romantic – shenanigans in cinemas, shenanigans behind cinemas
Continue reading...Diplomatic frenzy and rattled nerves in republic as officials and former president reject US president’s comments
From a modern control room high above the canal expansion – overlooking the Cocolí locks, then lakes, rainforest canopy and, eventually, the Atlantic ocean – it barely registers that the era of gunboat diplomacy is returning to the Panama canal.
But four days into Donald Trump’s second administration, here we are. Trump has declared that he is “taking back” the Panama canal, sending TV crews from Washington to Beijing scrambling here to cover a crisis that has led to frenzied diplomatic efforts and elicited fears of a repeat of the 1989 US military invasion.
Continue reading...Confusing and capricious, Trump started as he means to go on: chaos, dysfunction and a coalition of creeps; Ruby Franke was a social media star who made viral videos about her six children – until she was jailed for child abuse. Now her eldest daughter Shari is telling her side of the story; and No Dylan but loads of Coldplay! What the songs with a billion streams on Spotify tell us about music taste today.
Continue reading...Advocates say the bill will put domestic violence survivors who face false allegations from their abusers at greater risk of deportation.
The post Republicans Say This Anti-Immigrant Bill Will Protect Victims of Abuse. It Will Do the Opposite. appeared first on The Intercept.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is writing law today. This has required no changes in legislative procedure or the rules of legislative bodies—all it takes is one legislator, or legislative assistant, to use generative AI in the process of drafting a bill.
In fact, the use of AI by legislators is only likely to become more prevalent. There are currently projects in the US House, US Senate, and legislatures around the world to trial the use of AI in various ways: searching databases, drafting text, summarizing meetings, performing policy research and analysis, and more. A Brazilian municipality ...
The orders require drafting strategies to enforce the gender binary (within 30 days) and meetings on fighting DEI and environmental justice (monthly).
The post Trump’s Executive Orders Are Full of Deadlines. We’re Tracking Them. appeared first on The Intercept.
GoFundMe campaigns tend to favor the white and wealthy. After the Eaton fire, Altadena’s Black community is fighting back.
The post Which LA Fire Victims Get Money on GoFundMe — and Who Gets Left Out? appeared first on The Intercept.
Trans, intersex, and nonbinary people applying for passports will no longer be able to select an “X” marker for gender.
The post Rubio Orders State Department to Stop Issuing Accurate Passports to Trans People appeared first on The Intercept.
David Yambio says Rome ‘has blood on its hands’ after freeing police chief he alleges beat him in Tripoli prison
A man who says he experienced abuses at a notorious prison in Tripoli at the hands of the head of Libya’s judicial police, Osama Najim, has said Italy has “crushed” his hopes for justice by releasing the war crimes suspect despite an international criminal court arrest warrant.
David Yambio was held at Mitiga prison in Tripoli after several attempts to cross the Mediterranean in search of refuge in Europe were thwarted by Libya’s coastguard as part of a controversial pact with Italy.
Continue reading...Plane appears to have hit ducks before it crashed in Muan, South Korea, last month killing 179 people onboard
An investigation into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil has found duck remains in both engines, according to a preliminary report, suggesting the passenger jet hit birds before slamming down on the runway.
While officials have not yet determined the cause of last month’s Jeju Air crash that killed all but two of the 181 people onboard, the report released on Monday said feathers and bird bloodstains were found inside the Boeing 737-800’s engines.
Continue reading...Promoted team with expensive signings and celebrity fans are driven by the intensity of their manager and stakeholder
The faces surrounding Cesc Fàbregas were glum, yet he spoke like a conquering general: bellowing praise at his troops as he strode among them, pointing at his eyes then pounding a fist into his open palm. “We devoured them! We devoured them! Keep going because this is only the start!”
It was another cinematic moment at a venue that has become a favourite for Hollywood stars. Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Michael Fassbender, Kate Beckinsale and Benedict Cumberbatch are but a few of the A-listers who have come to watch Como play this season at their Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. All to see a team struggling in the bottom half of the Serie A table. You might not have guessed it from Fàbregas’s tone, but his team lost 2-1 to Atalanta on Saturday.
Continue reading...Rome’s Samifo Centre helps asylum seekers and refugees who have experienced torture, persecution or violence
Tucked away in a tangle of streets around Rome’s Termini station is a clinic that sharply contrasts with the hardline, anti-migrant stance of Italian politicians.
The Samifo Centre is described by the people behind it as Europe’s – and perhaps the world’s – only publicly funded service aimed at treating post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma among asylum seekers and refugees.
Continue reading...German foreign minister calls election ‘bitter day’, while Vladimir Putin congratulates autocrat on ‘confident victory’
Western leaders and the Belarusian opposition have denounced Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in Sunday’s stage-managed election, which will extend his ruthless three-decade grip on the country for another six years.
The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, called the vote a “bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy”.
Continue reading...Autocrat conducts rambling press conference as his 31 years of rule are extended by an election dismissed outside the country as a sham
Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko said he had “no regrets” about allowing Russia to use his country to invade Ukraine, amid condemnation of the “sham” presidential vote that extended his 31 years of authoritarian rule.
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said on Sunday that the vote was a “bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy”.
Continue reading...Eighty years after the Nazi death camp was freed, the testimony of survivors is as crucial as ever
Memory is fragile. A decade ago, 300 survivors gathered at Auschwitz to commemorate the Nazi death camp’s liberation. On Monday, 50 will assemble for the 80th anniversary. The median age of Holocaust survivors was estimated at 86 in a study published last year. At 97, Esther Senot is still keeping the promise she made to her dying sister Fanny, whose last wish was that she “tell what happened to us ... so that we are not forgotten by history.” Almost 1 million of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust were killed at the complex in German-occupied Poland, along with smaller numbers of Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, gay men, political prisoners and others. Its name has become synonymous with evil.
The Auschwitz museum’s decision to ban speeches by politicians this year may be in part pragmatic. Holocaust memory has too often been a battleground in Poland. The museum’s mission stands above politics, yet cannot be wholly insulated from global affairs. Vladimir Putin has attended in the past, but there will be no Russian presence this time. Earlier this month, Poland’s deputy foreign minister appeared to suggest that authorities would be obliged to arrest the Israeli prime minister if he travelled to the ceremony, because the international criminal court has issued a warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza. The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, insisted Mr Netanyahu would be able to attend safely, though Israel’s delegation is not expected to include him.
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...Impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeoul could face years in prison after six-hour imposition which set off political upheaval
South Korea’s prosecutors indicted the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection with his short-lived imposition of martial law on 3 December, the main opposition party said.
The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president, and if convicted, Yoon could face years in prison for his shock martial law decree, which sought to ban political and parliamentary activity and control the media.
Continue reading...The ultra-rich have long held immense influence in U.S. politics. But Trump’s inauguration shows oligarchy is stronger than ever.
The post Nearly $1 Trillion: The Staggering Combined Net Worth Cheering at Trump’s Inauguration appeared first on The Intercept.
The Trump administration is taking a brute-force approach to push trans people out of public life.
The post Trump’s Anti-Trans Executive Order Is Unscientific Nonsense appeared first on The Intercept.
An executive order from Trump helps ensure that inequities of the federal aid distribution system will keep favoring the white and wealthy.
The post Disasters Like the LA Fires Always Hit the Poor the Hardest. Trump Wants to Make It Worse. appeared first on The Intercept.
Project providing subsidies to install solar batteries and electric appliances part of Labor deal with crossbenchers
Suburb-wide electrification trials are set to be rolled out across the country under an intervention designed to help spark the household transition from gas.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has formally directed the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) to consider funding more pilots like Electrify 2515, a community-led initiative to electrify 500 homes in one postcode in Wollongong, NSW.
Continue reading...President Donald Trump began his first full day in office attending a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. The Episcopal bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, pleaded with Trump during the service, asking the newly elected president to protect immigrants and respect gay rights. ‘There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives,’ she said as Trump and his family watched on. After the inauguration, Trump launched a sweeping immigration crackdown and promised mass deportations
Continue reading...Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th US president, beginning what could be a vengeful second term. His swearing-in ceremony, which was initially scheduled to take place outside on the Capitol’s west front, was moved inside. Trump vowed to sign a series of executive orders, with many focusing on immigration. The president was sworn in among global conservative politicians and tech billionaires
Continue reading...Donald Trump repeatedly made false and misleading claims during his inaugural address. Here are the facts on some of the false claims offered during his speech
Continue reading...Donald Trump vowed to 'plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars' and 'take back' the Panama Canal as he was sworn into office for the second time. He announced a number of measures he planned to take such as ending the Green New Deal and declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border
Continue reading...The so-called Department of Government Efficiency flouts federal law, the lawsuits allege.
The post DOGE Got Sued Three Times While Elon Musk Watched the Trump Inauguration appeared first on The Intercept.
There is little point in going to Washington today to oppose Trump’s return — Trumpism never left. There are more urgent tasks now.
The post I Protested Trump’s First Inauguration. But I’m Not Marching Against Him Today. appeared first on The Intercept.
Under a settlement with Ohio’s attorney general, GOP operative Pat Lee can never fundraise for charity in the state again.
The post Trump Inauguration Official’s “Phony Charity” Allegedly Pocketed East Palestine Train Disaster Funds appeared first on The Intercept.
I was separated from my mom at age 10. Donald Trump's reelection has reignited my family's fears.
The post Why My Memories of Being Taken From My Mom at the Border Came Flooding Back appeared first on The Intercept.
For the first group of ESA’s Astronaut Reserve, two intensive months of Astronaut Reserve Training (ART) have come to a close. During this initial training phase, members of the ESA Astronaut Reserve Sara García Alonso from Spain, Andrea Patassa from Italy, Arnaud Prost from France, Amelie Schoenenwald from Germany, and Aleš Svoboda from Czechia were introduced to essential skills required for future space exploration and scientific research.
From waterproof versions to leather designs, we put women’s walking boots to the test to find the best for every adventure
• The best women’s waterproof jackets, reviewed and rated
A great pair of walking boots will get you outdoors in any weather. While you can get away with wearing trainers for a stroll in the park, more exciting, hilly terrain (or just walking through mud or in rain) calls for a proper pair of walking boots.
They’ll keep you warm and dry, support your ankles and give you a decent grip underfoot. It’s worth investing in a quality pair that fit well, and they’ll last years if you look after them. Here are the best hiking boots, tested and rated.
Best overall:
Lowa Renegade EVO GTX
£220 at Lowa
Best leather boots:
Vasque St Elias
From £152.17 at Amazon
Best fabric boots:
Aku Ultra Light Original GTX
From 140 at Aku
Best summer boots:
Keen Terradora II Waterproof
From £62.50 at Keen
Best for technical terrain:
Scarpa Mescalito TRK Pro GTX
£228 at Trekitt
The Trump administration is taking a brute-force approach to push trans people out of public life.
The post Trump’s Anti-Trans Executive Order Is Unscientific Nonsense appeared first on The Intercept.
I was separated from my mom at age 10. Donald Trump's reelection has reignited my family's fears.
The post Why My Memories of Being Taken From My Mom at the Border Came Flooding Back appeared first on The Intercept.
With Trump promising the US will be ‘crypto capital of the planet’, experts say the industry’s poised for laxer oversight
With Donald Trump tapping top regulators with cryptocurrency ties and promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet”, the controversial and scandal-plagued industry is poised for laxer oversight and faster growth, which ethics watchdogs and ex-prosecutors fear could pose dangers for investors and spur potential criminal abuses.
The president’s pro-crypto stances have come as he wooed crypto companies to ratchet up their campaign contributions to help him win the White House. Although in 2021 Trump called Bitcoin a “scam”, he also announced last fall that he and his sons were helping launch a new crypto business, dubbed World Liberty Financial, they can profit from.
Continue reading...An increase in economic activity should be directed towards rebuilding public services and turbocharging a green transition, writes Colin Hines. And Mike Lake thinks all could be solved by Rachel Reeves launching a meme coin
It would appear that Rachel Reeves would rather put growth ahead of protecting our children’s future with net zero policies (Rachel Reeves’s bid to expand Heathrow could add £40 to airline ticket, 23 January). Yet in the acres of coverage about this government’s growth mantra, three crucial questions are never asked, let alone answered.
First, what exactly is the end goal of growth? The response should be an increase in economic activity directed predominantly towards rebuilding public services and turbocharging a green transition.
Continue reading...The ultra-rich have long held immense influence in U.S. politics. But Trump’s inauguration shows oligarchy is stronger than ever.
The post Nearly $1 Trillion: The Staggering Combined Net Worth Cheering at Trump’s Inauguration appeared first on The Intercept.
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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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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
The latest in our series of writers highlighting their favourite feelgood watches is a tribute to Albert Brooks’ 1991 fantasy
In a world where we venerate the actor-writer-director (Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen etc), the great Albert Brooks still feels widely underappreciated. His voice work in Finding Nemo and his Oscar-nominated turn in Broadcast News gave him a respectable level of recognition and acclaim. However, he remains immensely underrated, especially compared with his comedic contemporaries like Steve Martin or Bill Murray. As a writer-director-leading man, he produced some of the funniest, most insightful comedies of the 80s and 90s, often with biting social commentary. But when I need the January blues lifted, I turn to his wonderfully sentimental and uplifting 1991 film Defending Your Life.
Brooks plays Daniel Miller, a divorced, lonely adman with little in his life besides a new BMW. When he is killed in a bus collision, he is transported to Judgment City, a Disneyland-like depiction of purgatory. It’s here where the recently deceased, good and bad, are put on trial to “defend your life”. Miller is cross-examined by his lawyer Bob Diamond (a surprisingly smiley Rip Torn) and prosecutor Lena Foster (Lee Grant). They look over nine days of Miller’s life to decide his future. If you win your trial, you “move forward”. You lose your trial: you head back to Earth to “try again”.
Continue reading...She is one of the world’s most acclaimed performers – going stratospheric as Elphaba in the hit film adaptation of Wicked. Now she’s up for a best actress Oscar. What next for Britain’s brightest star?
I thought I knew everything about Wicked when Cynthia Erivo walked into a meeting room in the Guardian’s London offices. She felt wildly incongruous, way too perfect and vivid for the neutral surrounds, like seeing a princess on an escalator, but I suspect she comes off like that in a lot of rooms.
Last week, Erivo received an Oscar nomination for best actress for Wicked, one of 10 nominations for the film. Released last November, within one month it had become the highest-grossing movie adaptation of a stage musical in history. Critics had been tipping it to do a double with Gladiator II, in the style of Barbenheimer the year before, with audiences seeing both in a double bill. In the event, it blew Ridley Scott’s film out of the water. Importantly, it is also astronomically magnetic to teenage girls (I have those at home), and do they ever talk.
Continue reading...
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
Asylum-seekers are being detained because they come from Russia and Central Asia, immigrants and attorneys told The Intercept.
The post They Flee Russia as Dissidents Seeking Asylum. The U.S. Locks Them Up. appeared first on The Intercept.
Advocates say the bill will put domestic violence survivors who face false allegations from their abusers at greater risk of deportation.
The post Republicans Say This Anti-Immigrant Bill Will Protect Victims of Abuse. It Will Do the Opposite. appeared first on The Intercept.
An executive order from Trump helps ensure that inequities of the federal aid distribution system will keep favoring the white and wealthy.
The post Disasters Like the LA Fires Always Hit the Poor the Hardest. Trump Wants to Make It Worse. appeared first on The Intercept.
The Trump administration is taking a brute-force approach to push trans people out of public life.
The post Trump’s Anti-Trans Executive Order Is Unscientific Nonsense appeared first on The Intercept.
With Trump promising the US will be ‘crypto capital of the planet’, experts say the industry’s poised for laxer oversight
With Donald Trump tapping top regulators with cryptocurrency ties and promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet”, the controversial and scandal-plagued industry is poised for laxer oversight and faster growth, which ethics watchdogs and ex-prosecutors fear could pose dangers for investors and spur potential criminal abuses.
The president’s pro-crypto stances have come as he wooed crypto companies to ratchet up their campaign contributions to help him win the White House. Although in 2021 Trump called Bitcoin a “scam”, he also announced last fall that he and his sons were helping launch a new crypto business, dubbed World Liberty Financial, they can profit from.
Continue reading...US president expected to sign three executive orders to reshape the military, including ban on transgender service members and gutting DEI programs
The Senate is expected on Monday to vote on the confirmation of the billionaire hedge fund manager, Scott Bessent, as treasury secretary.
On Saturday, the Senate voted 67-23 to advance Bessent’s nomination. A final vote is scheduled to take place this evening at 5.30pm ET.
Continue reading...The CIA director nominee’s tour through the revolving door included work on AI — an industry now angling to pick up major government contracts.
The post Democrats Are Worried About John Ratcliffe’s Role in the 2020 Election. They Should Also Take a Look At His AI Gigs. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump hopes to gut birthright citizenship via executive order. In lawsuits filed across the country, immigrants seek to stop him.
The post The Pregnant Immigrants Fighting Trump’s Bid to End Birthright Citizenship appeared first on The Intercept.
Former secretary of state has faced threats from Iran since since he took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic
The Ohio Republican Mike Turner said on Sunday’s Face the Nation he is “very concerned” for former secretary of state Mike Pompeo after Donald Trump revoked his security detail earlier in the week.
Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first administration, were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday evening.
Continue reading...President Donald Trump began his first full day in office attending a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. The Episcopal bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, pleaded with Trump during the service, asking the newly elected president to protect immigrants and respect gay rights. ‘There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives,’ she said as Trump and his family watched on. After the inauguration, Trump launched a sweeping immigration crackdown and promised mass deportations
Continue reading...Artificial intelligence (AI) is writing law today. This has required no changes in legislative procedure or the rules of legislative bodies—all it takes is one legislator, or legislative assistant, to use generative AI in the process of drafting a bill.
In fact, the use of AI by legislators is only likely to become more prevalent. There are currently projects in the US House, US Senate, and legislatures around the world to trial the use of AI in various ways: searching databases, drafting text, summarizing meetings, performing policy research and analysis, and more. A Brazilian municipality ...
The shots of sharing cuppas with constituents and laughing with his kids skates over the details of his ‘small family business’
Election season officially begins when the prime minister drives in the back of C1 to visit the governor general – but its unofficial commencement is when leaders start releasing soft-focus profile videos with their log cabin story, surrounded by family and backed by twinkling music.
For an opposition leader especially, whose contributions can often be overshadowed by the prime minister whose job they covet, the productions – often short yet packed with meaning – are a vital chance to re-introduce or repackage themselves to a public who might not know much about them.
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Continue reading...Experts say any incursion could come with serious repercussions, include violence against US tourists
Evan Hafer, a popular veteran and founder of Black Rifle Coffee, was on Joe Rogan’s podcast after the November election. As with any Maga acolyte, the US-Mexico border figured prominently in his mind.
“If we declare war on the cartel, these dudes are not going to understand what the fuck is going on. They are in for a world of ultra-violence,” said Hafer, who served in the Green Berets and the CIA.
Continue reading...Progressive Conservative leader of Canada’s most populous province seeks ‘strong mandate’ to counter 25% tariff plan
The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, has said an early election is needed in the Canadian province in order to fend off an income “attack” from Donald Trump as a trade war looms between the close allies.
But opposition parties criticized the move, calling it a “distraction” from an ongoing criminal investigation into the government’s handling of a controversial multibillion-dollar land swap.
Continue reading...Half of all government spending on dental care goes to private insurance rebates – meaning those without often skip treatment until things get worse
Patients bear the brunt of dentist fees. But of the $1.3bn the federal government spends on the nation’s teeth, more than half goes to subsidising the uptake of private health insurance.
The inequality of Australia’s dental care system can be seen in the numbers, says Peter Breadon, the health program director at the Grattan Institute.
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Continue reading...There is little point in going to Washington today to oppose Trump’s return — Trumpism never left. There are more urgent tasks now.
The post I Protested Trump’s First Inauguration. But I’m Not Marching Against Him Today. appeared first on The Intercept.
Downing Street says PM’s call with Trump was ‘warm’ and did not include tariffs, Greenland, defence-spending or Ukraine
The hearing has stopped for a short break. Heather Hallett, the chair, tells Badenoch that her evidence will be finished by lunchtime.
Keith is now asking Badenoch about the fourth report produced by the Race Disparity Unit. It was produced in December 2021.
Relevant health departments and agencies should review and action existing requests for health data, and undertake an independent strategic review of the dissemination of healthcare data and the publication of statistics and analysis.
Government is not necessarily great at delivering these systems. They tend to be big boondoggles for the private sector, but there are private sector companies that can deliver this. There need to be caveats around that.
Continue reading...Follow major developments of the second Trump administration’s first 100 days, brought up to date weekly
Donald Trump has completed an extraordinary return to power as the 47th president, vowing to impose his vision and re-altering the political and cultural landscape of the nation.
To keep up with the dizzying array of executive orders, directives, firings and policy changes, the Guardian will be tracking the major developments of the second Trump administration’s first 100 days, just like we did during the first 100 days of Trump’s first presidency in 2017.
Continue reading...Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk through what Keir Starmer’s first phone call with Donald Trump since the inauguration means for the ‘special relationship’. Also, as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, prepares for a big speech on growth, does she have any new plans to boost the economy? And will they work?
Click here to buy tickets to Pippa Crerar’s Guardian Live event with the health secretary, Wes Streeting
Continue reading...‘It was striking that the White House memo included toilets and shower heads as a presidential priority,’ said one expert
From crusading against showers he feels don’t sufficiently wash his hair to reversing protections for a small fish he calls “worthless”, Donald Trump’s personal fixations have helped shape his first environmental priorities as US president.
While withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accords and declaring an “energy emergency” were among Trump’s most noteworthy executive orders on his first day in office, both were further down a list of priorities put out by the White House than measures to improve “consumer choice in vehicles, shower heads, toilets, washing machines, lightbulbs and dishwashers”.
Continue reading...Confusing and capricious, Trump started as he means to go on: chaos, dysfunction and a coalition of creeps; Ruby Franke was a social media star who made viral videos about her six children – until she was jailed for child abuse. Now her eldest daughter Shari is telling her side of the story; and No Dylan but loads of Coldplay! What the songs with a billion streams on Spotify tell us about music taste today.
Continue reading...Donald Trump vowed to 'plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars' and 'take back' the Panama Canal as he was sworn into office for the second time. He announced a number of measures he planned to take such as ending the Green New Deal and declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border
Continue reading...Trump boasted he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine as soon as he took office. That didn’t happen.
The post Trump Promised a Russia–Ukraine Peace Deal. Where Is It? appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump lifted sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Within hours, Netanyahu launched a new invasion.
The post Trump Halts Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Threatens to Seize Assets of War Crimes Investigators appeared first on The Intercept.
Trans, intersex, and nonbinary people applying for passports will no longer be able to select an “X” marker for gender.
The post Rubio Orders State Department to Stop Issuing Accurate Passports to Trans People appeared first on The Intercept.
The orders require drafting strategies to enforce the gender binary (within 30 days) and meetings on fighting DEI and environmental justice (monthly).
The post Trump’s Executive Orders Are Full of Deadlines. We’re Tracking Them. appeared first on The Intercept.
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency flouts federal law, the lawsuits allege.
The post DOGE Got Sued Three Times While Elon Musk Watched the Trump Inauguration appeared first on The Intercept.
By denying funding to the Climate Justice Alliance over Palestine, Biden went after Trump’s political opponents for him.
The post Biden Attack on Nonprofit Over Palestine Stance Made Trump’s Job Easier appeared first on The Intercept.
Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th US president, beginning what could be a vengeful second term. His swearing-in ceremony, which was initially scheduled to take place outside on the Capitol’s west front, was moved inside. Trump vowed to sign a series of executive orders, with many focusing on immigration. The president was sworn in among global conservative politicians and tech billionaires
Continue reading...We’d like to hear from people or anyone in their family who has been ‘evicted’ from a care home providing specialist care for vulnerable adults due to funding cuts
Residential homes providing specialist care to thousands of vulnerable adults with learning disabilities and severe autism have warned they are having to “evict” residents to avoid insolvency because of tax and wage rises and local authority funding cuts.
The annual Sector Pulse Check survey of more than 200 social care providers, both private and charitable, says many are on the brink as they struggle to remain viable in the face of cash-strapped councils’ refusal or inability to meet the rising cost of services.
Continue reading...Rwanda-backed rebels have captured largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as United Nations reports ‘mass panic’
UN staff and their families were evacuating to Rwanda on Monday morning, where 10 buses were waiting to pick them up.
Unverified videos shared on social media showed local residents looting merchandise outside the airport customs warehouse and columns of heavily armed men, believed to be M23 fighters, walking through the northern suburbs of the city.
Continue reading...Fifa has rejected calls for an independent monitor to assess migrant workers’ conditions in Saudi Arabia in the buildup to the 2034 World Cup.
Football’s world governing body has been urged by the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), a trade union organisation that represents 18 million African workers, to increase protections afforded to migrant workers as the Gulf state embarks on the massive construction programme required to deliver the tournament. In response, however, Fifa has argued measures currently in place are sufficient, claiming it mandates hosts to “uphold their respective duties and responsibilities under international human rights standards in all activities associated with the tournament”.
Continue reading...Project providing subsidies to install solar batteries and electric appliances part of Labor deal with crossbenchers
Suburb-wide electrification trials are set to be rolled out across the country under an intervention designed to help spark the household transition from gas.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has formally directed the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) to consider funding more pilots like Electrify 2515, a community-led initiative to electrify 500 homes in one postcode in Wollongong, NSW.
Continue reading...Australia ranks well when it comes to total dental care expenditure. But a closer look at the numbers reveals that trips to the dentist are a luxury many people can’t afford
Australia spent $11.1bn on dental care in 2021–2022, ranking it sixth out of 31 OECD countries for per capita expenditure.
At first glance, that statistic seems pretty good. Dig deeper? Not so much.
Continue reading...Videos about Tuskegee Airmen and civilian female pilots were not shown in basic training in Texas pending a review
The US air force on Sunday said it would resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the nation’s military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with the ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that Donald Trump imposed early in his second presidency.
Trump, who retook office on 20 January, has prohibited DEI throughout the US government and military. Pete Hegseth, the new defense secretary, who was sworn in on Friday, has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority.
Continue reading...The current leadership is seen as either absent or illegitimate. A postwar plan must not simply repackage it
Since the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza, much of the world has focused on the immediate impacts of destruction in the strip. The discussion has been focused on which bodies will administer aid, how reconstruction might start, the role of international actors and the terms of the fragile ceasefire.
These are all important issues. But something is missing from this discussion, and from the ceasefire agreement: the Palestinians themselves and their political agency. The following questions also need to be asked. What will happen to the Palestinian national movement in the aftermath of this war? Who will speak for the Palestinians, and negotiate the terms of possible agreements with Israel moving forward? Are the previous frameworks for negotiation even relevant any more?
Dana El Kurd is a researcher of Palestinian and Arab politics and a senior nonresident fellow at the Arab Center Washington. She is the author of Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine
Continue reading...The rock star called copyright ‘the absolute bedrock of artistic prosperity’, ahead of a vote on a bill granting AI companies easier access to musicians’ work
Elton John has backed Paul McCartney in criticising a proposed overhaul of the UK copyright system, and has called for new rules to prevent tech companies from riding “roughshod over the traditional copyright laws that protect artists’ livelihoods”.
John has backed proposed amendments to the data (use and access) bill that would extend existing copyright protections, when it goes before a vote in the House of Lords on Tuesday.
Continue reading...With his new book, the author – once a prominent defender of Israel – hopes to change minds among his peers as he imagines a future of ‘collective liberation’
Peter Beinart has spent a lifetime talking about Palestine and Israel. In the early 2000s he was regarded as among Israel’s most prominent American defenders. He has since broken with just about every tenet commonly associated with Zionism – from rejecting the argument that Israel can be simultaneously democratic and Jewish to arguing that Palestinian refugees must be allowed to return to historic Palestine. Few people have moved as far in so short a time.
A professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York, Beinart once edited the New Republic and is now an editor-at-large at Jewish Currents and a contributing opinion columnist for the New York Times. He has built a reputation for being an incisive writer and public intellectual, with a knack for admitting when he’s wrong – on Israel, his early support for the Iraq war and what he has described as his previous complicity in tolerating workplace sexual harassment.
Continue reading...This week the EU will argue the UK’s ban on catching the tiny fish, celebrated by conservationists, amounts to discrimination against Danish fishers
“We did it!” These were the words uttered by the RSPB last year when, after 25 years of campaigning, the UK government banned fishing for sandeels in the North Sea and Scotland. The small eel-like fish might not seem a likely species to inspire a decades-long fight – but they are the treasured food of one of Britain’s rarest and most threatened seabirds, the puffin, as well as many other UK seabirds and marine species.
The celebrations, however, were short-lived. The EU threw its weight behind Denmark – the country with by far the biggest sandeel fishing fleet – and challenged the ban, meaning that this week, the humble sandeel will become the focus of the first courtroom trade battle between the UK and the EU since Brexit.
Continue reading...Green-led authority consulting on changes it says could save £2m and encourage recycling – critics fear it will increase fly-tipping
Bristol city council could become the first local authority in England to collect black rubbish bins only once every four weeks.
The Green-led council says that switching from a two- to four-weekly collection would save it more than £2m a year and help reverse a dip in recycling rates.
Continue reading...Fighters enter city on border with Rwanda after lightning advance, raising risk of broader regional war
Fighters from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group claim to have taken the eastern city of Goma after a lightning advance in recent weeks that has forced thousands from their homes and risked reigniting a broader regional war.
“We urge all residents of Goma to remain calm. The liberation of the city has been successfully carried out, and the situation is under control,” the M23 spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, said on X.
Continue reading...If they capitulate to Maga, the government folds, and we all go down with it
Less than a week in office, Donald Trump gagged all public communications from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration. Pending review by his administration, the agencies are prohibited from issuing health data updates and public safety alerts, including those concerning the H5N1 avian flu, which is spreading in poultry flocks, dairy herds, pet cats and people. Bird flu can be fatal to humans, according to the World Health Organization, from which Trump has withdrawn the US.
As precursor to his mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, the president halted asylum applications and canceled appointments already on the books. The Department of Homeland Security announced that it will raid hospitals, churches and schools, sites long off limits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But don’t blame the feds if law-abiding immigrants are swept up too, said Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan. “There’s going to be more collateral arrests in sanctuary cities because they forced us to go into the community and find the guy we’re looking for.” The Department of Justice is threatening to bring criminal charges against local officials or employees who don’t cooperate.
Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books
Trump’s vengeance machine isn’t only about retribution. It’s also intended to intimidate Trump critics
Trump’s vengeance machine is even more dangerous than it was before.
The Biden administration had given security protection to Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, his former top aide, Brian Hook, and former national security advisor, John Bolton. That was because of credible intelligence showing all three in danger of being killed by agents of Iran. During the first Trump administration, they had authorized the drone strike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in early 2020, and Iran is out to get them.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com
Continue reading...While Rachel Reeves may be facing financial headaches, the turmoil is bringing serious good news for savers
The economic headwinds that have been buffeting the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, might be a headache for her, but they have brought positive news for some of those looking for a better deal on their savings.
We have heard a lot recently about turmoil in the bond markets and higher UK government borrowing costs – but they are also pushing up the interest you can earn on some fixed-rate savings accounts.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Pilots for staff training, jobcentres and speeding up disability benefit payments not being taken up
Ministers have shut down or dropped at least half a dozen artificial intelligence prototypes intended for the welfare system, the Guardian has learned, in a sign of the headwinds facing Keir Starmer’s effort to increase government efficiency.
Pilots of AI technology to enhance staff training, improve the service in jobcentres, speed up disability benefit payments and modernise communication systems are not being taken forward, freedom of information (FoI) requests reveal.
Continue reading...Conversation on Sunday was the two leaders’ first call since the inauguration of the new US president
President Donald Trump and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, have spoken over the phone and agreed to “meet soon”.
The two leaders spoke for 45 minutes on Sunday in their first call since Trump’s inauguration. According to Downing Street’s readout of the call, they discussed trade and the economy and security in the Middle East.
Continue reading...Eighty years after the Nazi death camp was freed, the testimony of survivors is as crucial as ever
Memory is fragile. A decade ago, 300 survivors gathered at Auschwitz to commemorate the Nazi death camp’s liberation. On Monday, 50 will assemble for the 80th anniversary. The median age of Holocaust survivors was estimated at 86 in a study published last year. At 97, Esther Senot is still keeping the promise she made to her dying sister Fanny, whose last wish was that she “tell what happened to us ... so that we are not forgotten by history.” Almost 1 million of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust were killed at the complex in German-occupied Poland, along with smaller numbers of Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, gay men, political prisoners and others. Its name has become synonymous with evil.
The Auschwitz museum’s decision to ban speeches by politicians this year may be in part pragmatic. Holocaust memory has too often been a battleground in Poland. The museum’s mission stands above politics, yet cannot be wholly insulated from global affairs. Vladimir Putin has attended in the past, but there will be no Russian presence this time. Earlier this month, Poland’s deputy foreign minister appeared to suggest that authorities would be obliged to arrest the Israeli prime minister if he travelled to the ceremony, because the international criminal court has issued a warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza. The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, insisted Mr Netanyahu would be able to attend safely, though Israel’s delegation is not expected to include him.
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Continue reading...China’s tech leap challenges US dominance through innovation. But unregulated competition increases the risk of catastrophe
Eight years ago, Vladimir Putin proclaimed that mastering artificial intelligence (AI) would make a nation the “ruler of the world”. Western tech sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should have dashed his ambitions to lead in AI by 2030. But that might be too hasty a judgment. Last week, the Chinese lab DeepSeek unveiled R1, an AI that analysts say rivals OpenAI’s top reasoning model, o1. Astonishingly, it matches o1’s capabilities while using a fraction of the computing power – and at a tenth of the cost. Predictably, one of Mr Putin’s first moves in 2025 was to align with China on AI development. R1’s launch seems no coincidence, coming just as Donald Trump backed OpenAI’s $500bn Stargate plan to outpace its peers. OpenAI has singled out DeepSeek’s parent, High Flyer Capital, as a potential threat. But at least three Chinese labs claim to rival or surpass OpenAI’s achievements.
Anticipating tighter US chip sanctions, Chinese companies stockpiled critical processors to ensure their AI models could advance despite restricted access to hardware. DeepSeek’s success underscores the ingenuity born of necessity: lacking massive datacentres or powerful specialised chips, it achieved breakthroughs through better data curation and optimisation of its model. Unlike proprietary systems, R1’s source code is public, allowing anyone competent to modify it. Yet its openness has limits: overseen by China’s internet regulator, R1 conforms to “core socialist values”. Type in Tiananmen Square or Taiwan, and the model reportedly shuts down the conversation.
Continue reading...Charging people on benefits for care in their homes causes real financial hardship, writes Claire Bolderson, while Jill Souter worries for the future of the charity that cares for her daughter. Plus, letters from Ray Downing and John Beer
John Harris is right about the lack of attention given to working-age adults with disabilities in discussions about the reform of social care (Shut away and ignored: thousands of disabled adults are at the frontier of the human rights struggle, 19 January). However, to the list of failings I would add the impact of the local authority charges that must be paid by those disabled and chronically ill people who need care in their own homes.
These charges (referred to by some councils as a “contribution”) are determined by a means test. Earned income is exempt from the assessment. But welfare benefits, including most disability benefits, are taken into account. Even those with no savings at all and who are entirely dependent on benefits must pay. When benefits go up, so do the charges – a practice described by one interviewee in my recent master’s research as the state “giving it you with one hand and taking it with the other”.
Continue reading...Source says purpose of Wang Yi’s visit is to hold first UK-China strategic dialogue since 2018
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due to visit the UK next month for talks with the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.
The Foreign Office (FCDO) is drawing up plans to host the Chinese foreign minister in mid-February, according to three people briefed on the plans. The FCDO declined to comment.
Continue reading...An increase in economic activity should be directed towards rebuilding public services and turbocharging a green transition, writes Colin Hines. And Mike Lake thinks all could be solved by Rachel Reeves launching a meme coin
It would appear that Rachel Reeves would rather put growth ahead of protecting our children’s future with net zero policies (Rachel Reeves’s bid to expand Heathrow could add £40 to airline ticket, 23 January). Yet in the acres of coverage about this government’s growth mantra, three crucial questions are never asked, let alone answered.
First, what exactly is the end goal of growth? The response should be an increase in economic activity directed predominantly towards rebuilding public services and turbocharging a green transition.
Continue reading...From driving licence to local air quality, app offers myriad of features and has been rolled out to little opposition
• Concerns Gov.uk app could lead to ‘mandatory ID scheme’
Much is being said about Poland’s economy potentially overtaking Britain by 2030, but in some areas Poles are already ahead.
They can produce a digital identity card or driving licence and use an array of public services using a mobile app, mObywatel. When accessing it for the first time, users have to verify their identity by logging into electronic banking, using a digitally enabled physical ID card, or through a special “trusted profile” online.
Continue reading...The movement is on the upswing thanks to Trump but a question lingers: what is their role in his administration?
Minutes into the National Pro-Life Summit, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, had convinced its more than 1,000 attendees to leap to their feet. She was recording a video, and she had a message she wanted them to send to Donald Trump.
“THANK YOU MISTER PRESIDENT!” the crowd in the ballroom thundered, before bursting into raucous applause – complete with wolf whistles.
Continue reading...Last month, Henry Farrell and I convened the Third Interdisciplinary Workshop on Reimagining Democracy (IWORD 2024) at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center in Washington DC. This is a small, invitational workshop on the future of democracy. As with the previous two workshops, the goal was to bring together a diverse set of political scientists, law professors, philosophers, AI researchers and other industry practitioners, political activists, and creative types (including science fiction writers) to discuss how democracy might be reimagined in the current century...
Tech CEOs cozying up to Trump want to reshape reality to their politics.
The post The Broligarchy: The Who’s Who of the Silicon Gilded Age appeared first on The Intercept.
Poland has promised Netanyahu safe passage to an Auschwitz memorial service. Former and current EU officials are speaking out.
The post Netanyahu Has an ICC Arrest Warrant. Poland’s Promise to Ignore It Would Be a “Grave Mistake.” appeared first on The Intercept.
Donald Trump repeatedly made false and misleading claims during his inaugural address. Here are the facts on some of the false claims offered during his speech
Continue reading...The ultra-rich have long held immense influence in U.S. politics. But Trump’s inauguration shows oligarchy is stronger than ever.
The post Nearly $1 Trillion: The Staggering Combined Net Worth Cheering at Trump’s Inauguration appeared first on The Intercept.
The legendary nightlife group known for their groundbreaking nights at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London are back – and restarting the conversation about the controversial subject
‘It’s sort of a daytime TV chatshow, mixed with an avant garde variety show,” explains Simon Casson, co-founder and producer of the legendary queer nightlife collective Duckie. Casson is explaining the colourful concept of Rat Park, the group’s latest project. “There’s going to be a big bonfire in the garden and candles outdoors in jam jars, it’s all very beautiful,” he says. “Inside, there will be discussions and performance pieces, then interviews, then another performance and more conversations – all about the terribly embarrassing subject of queer people and our sex lives.”
Rat Park will run every Saturday afternoon in February, which is LGBTQ+ history month in the UK. The collaborative events, which will be held at a “secret location”, bring together community names such as artist and archivist Ajamu X, HIV activist Marc Thompson and author Matthew Todd, alongside a selection of performers including cabaret act Rhys’ Pieces and artist Zack Mennell. Each week is themed on a different body fluid. “Blood” points the way to discussions of HIV and family, whereas “tears” might prompt conversations about grief, rejection and masculinity. (Use your imagination for the other two weeks: piss and spunk.)
Continue reading...German foreign minister calls election ‘bitter day’, while Vladimir Putin congratulates autocrat on ‘confident victory’
Western leaders and the Belarusian opposition have denounced Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in Sunday’s stage-managed election, which will extend his ruthless three-decade grip on the country for another six years.
The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, called the vote a “bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy”.
Continue reading...Scientists unsure what prompted juvenile whale to leave icy southern waters for warmer shallows, but ‘it may be a case of mis-navigation’
A young Antarctic minke whale has treated ferry passengers to a rare spectacle after surfacing beside a wharf to the south of Sydney.
Christine Hack, the manager of Cronulla and National Park Ferry Cruises, which manages the Cronulla ferry, said the whale began following the vessel as it approached Bundeena wharf at about 10am on Monday.
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Continue reading...Autocrat conducts rambling press conference as his 31 years of rule are extended by an election dismissed outside the country as a sham
Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko said he had “no regrets” about allowing Russia to use his country to invade Ukraine, amid condemnation of the “sham” presidential vote that extended his 31 years of authoritarian rule.
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said on Sunday that the vote was a “bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy”.
Continue reading...Welcome to our annual selection of the year’s finest debut novels. We have a proven track record in picking authors that go on to be loved by readers and win awards … from Douglas Stuart and Sally Rooney to Caleb Azumah Nelson and Bonnie Garmus. Here are 2025’s gems
For the 12th year running, writers and editors on the Observer New Review spent the busy weeks before Christmas immersed in dozens of forthcoming debut novels, seeking out the titles we reckon deserve to be in everyone’s hands over the months ahead. Whatever your taste in fiction, this list gives you a heads-up on the future prize winners, mega-sellers and word-of-mouth hits that change the literary conversation. From Shuggie Bain to Conversations with Friends and The Miniaturist, and from Caleb Azumah Nelson to Bonnie Garmus and Sheena Patel – all found early champions here. Colin Barrett, one of last year’s picks, just won this year’s Nero debut fiction prize, awarded last year to Michael Magee, one of our 2023 picks.
Our search for the year’s best debut novels only ever has one rule: the writers we choose must live in the UK or Ireland. After that, anything goes. The class of 2025 includes authors whose manuscripts were snapped up before they’d left university, and some who didn’t put pen to paper until a later-life left turn. Some are published by independent presses, others by cash-splashing corporates trumpeting the spoils of multiway bidding wars, television rights already in the bag. There are novels on this list that were written at dawn, through lunch breaks, whenever the nine-to-five allowed, and at least one that was written on the cushion of a six-figure advance – a pressure of its own. Several authors here are already well known for their short story collections. Nothing mattered to us but the novels themselves.
The strong showing from writers in Ireland and Northern Ireland makes sense when you hear them talk about the subsidised literary magazines and development agencies that helped them grow. Surprise, surprise: arts funding is transformative. Those kinds of fortifying networks exist in Britain too, yet the mood feels more atomised, less collegiate, not least since the White Review – a magazine that broke many new names – ceased to publish after Arts Council cuts in 2023.
If there’s a theme among this year’s books, it might be care – parent-child relationships recur in a variety of guises – but their style and subject differ as widely as their paths to publication. There’s a dizzyingly transcontinental ecological epic about Hindu nationalism, set everywhere from the Chagos Islands to the Arctic Circle. There’s a spare, slender tale of embattled gay love in 1980s south Wales. There’s a pacy page-turner about escaping coercive control, and a filthy comic romp about an “Islamic State bride” in Iraq (really). And that’s just for starters; we loved every one of these outstanding novels, and we think you will too. Here’s to yet more excellent reading.
Anthony Cummins
A lot of eco fiction is very worthy. My book has car chases!
As a teenager, sex is all-consuming … grotty but still erotic, even romantic – shenanigans in cinemas, shenanigans behind cinemas
Continue reading...Government figures show 1,300 people died on the roads last year in a worsening trend not seen since the 1960s
Australia’s roads are getting deadlier, as a four-year period of surging fatalities marks a trend of increasing danger not recorded since the 1960s, before seatbelts were compulsory.
Annual road fatality data collated by the federal government’s Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) shows that 1,300 people died on Australian roads in 2024, up from 1,258 in 2023.
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Continue reading...Under a settlement with Ohio’s attorney general, GOP operative Pat Lee can never fundraise for charity in the state again.
The post Trump Inauguration Official’s “Phony Charity” Allegedly Pocketed East Palestine Train Disaster Funds appeared first on The Intercept.
Robyn Cowen is joined by Barry Glendenning, Will Unwin and John Brewin as Manchester City move back into the top four with a convincing route one display over Chelsea
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today; we start at the Etihad where Pep Guardiola gets it launched to the big Norwegian up top in a very effective Manchester City display against Chelsea that takes the champions into the top four.
Continue reading...Apple and Google cautious about Trump order amid rumours Oracle founder Larry Ellison could buy site
TikTok is back in the US – but Apple and Google are not sure if it should be.
The short video app has yet to appear on the tech companies’ app stores, reflecting an unease about the White House executive order that has given TikTok the confidence to resume operations after temporarily shuttering the service on 18 January. Apple and Google do not appear to agree.
Continue reading...Introduced to parliament by a minor coalition party, the treaty principles bill seeks to abandon a set of principles that guide the relationship between Māori and ruling authorities
A marathon public hearing into a bill that seeks to radically reinterpret New Zealand’s founding treaty between Māori tribes and the British Crown began on Monday amid widespread outcry the proposed changes are unconstitutional, socially divisive and an attack on Māori rights.
The treaty principles bill, which was introduced to parliament by the minor coalition Act party, seeks to abandon a set of well-established principles that guide the relationship between Māori and ruling authorities in favour of its own redefined principles.
Continue reading...Li Jianxiong was a highflying marketing executive in Beijing until a breakdown sent him to the west on a wellness voyage of discovery – just as his peers were losing faith in the Chinese Dream. By Chang Che. Read by Vincent Lai
Continue reading...Jenny Kleeman reports on a new therapy where patients who suffer from psychosis create a digital avatar of the voices they hear
Claire was 10 years old when she started hearing voices. They would torment her, call her names and tell her to self-harm.
She tells Helen Pidd about her experience of psychosis, where reality is disturbed by hallucinations and delusions. For decades, she struggled to get effective treatment until she joined a digital avatar therapy trial.
Continue reading...We’d like to hear from those looking for work in the UK as well as from UK employers about their recent experiences of the labour market
Britain’s unemployment rate has risen unexpectedly and the number of workers on payrolls has fallen by the most since the height of the pandemic, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It estimated that the number of payrolled employees had shrunk by 47,000 in December, the biggest drop since November 2020. The jobless rate meanwhile increased to 4.4 per cent in the three months to November, up from 4.3 per cent in the three months to October.
Continue reading...I was separated from my mom at age 10. Donald Trump's reelection has reignited my family's fears.
The post Why My Memories of Being Taken From My Mom at the Border Came Flooding Back appeared first on The Intercept.
With the Supreme Court approving the TikTok ban, the U.S. is embracing the type of internet authoritarianism it long opposed.
The post Washington’s TikTok Ban Hypocrisy: Internet Censorship Is Good, Now appeared first on The Intercept.
President Biden has signed a new cybersecurity order. It has a bunch of provisions, most notably using the US governments procurement power to improve cybersecurity practices industry-wide.
Some details:
The core of the executive order is an array of mandates for protecting government networks based on lessons learned from recent major incidents—namely, the security failures of federal contractors.
The order requires software vendors to submit proof that they follow secure development practices, building on a mandate that debuted in 2022 in response to ...
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
Why are your favourite products getting smaller but costing the same? From toilet paper rolls to snacks, shrinkflation is the sneaky tactic is affecting many things we buy.
In this video, Neelam Tailor looks into how companies hide shrinkflation and what you can do about it.
After a holiday season where festive treats like Cadbury’s Christmas selection boxes shrank while prices stayed the same, shrinkflation continues to impact shoppers in 2025. Start the year informed and learn how to spot these subtle changes to protect your budget.
Continue reading...
Are you looking for a new graphic design tool? Would you like to read a detailed review of Canva? As it's one of the tools I love using. I am also writing my first ebook using canva and publish it soon on my site you can download it is free. Let's start the review.
Canva has a web version and also a mobile app
Canva is a free graphic design web application that allows you to create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, banners, and more using professionally designed templates. You can upload your own photos from your computer or from Google Drive, and add them to Canva's templates using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It's like having a basic version of Photoshop that doesn't require Graphic designing knowledge to use. It’s best for nongraphic designers.
Canva is a great tool for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers who don’t have the time and want to edit quickly.
To create sophisticated graphics, a tool such as Photoshop can is ideal. To use it, you’ll need to learn its hundreds of features, get familiar with the software, and it’s best to have a good background in design, too.
Also running the latest version of Photoshop you need a high-end computer.
So here Canva takes place, with Canva you can do all that with drag-and-drop feature. It’s also easier to use and free. Also an even-more-affordable paid version is available for $12.95 per month.
The product is available in three plans: Free, Pro ($12.99/month per user or $119.99/year for up to 5 people), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, minimum 25 people).
To get started on Canva, you will need to create an account by providing your email address, Google, Facebook or Apple credentials. You will then choose your account type between student, teacher, small business, large company, non-profit, or personal. Based on your choice of account type, templates will be recommended to you.
You can sign up for a free trial of Canva Pro, or you can start with the free version to get a sense of whether it’s the right graphic design tool for your needs.
When you sign up for an account, Canva will suggest different post types to choose from. Based on the type of account you set up you'll be able to see templates categorized by the following categories: social media posts, documents, presentations, marketing, events, ads, launch your business, build your online brand, etc.
Start by choosing a template for your post or searching for something more specific. Search by social network name to see a list of post types on each network.
Next, you can choose a template. Choose from hundreds of templates that are ready to go, with customizable photos, text, and other elements.
You can start your design by choosing from a variety of ready-made templates, searching for a template matching your needs, or working with a blank template.
Inside the Canva designer, the Elements tab gives you access to lines and shapes, graphics, photos, videos, audio, charts, photo frames, and photo grids.The search box on the Elements tab lets you search everything on Canva.
To begin with, Canva has a large library of elements to choose from. To find them, be specific in your search query. You may also want to search in the following tabs to see various elements separately:
The Photos tab lets you search for and choose from millions of professional stock photos for your templates.
You can replace the photos in our templates to create a new look. This can also make the template more suited to your industry.
You can find photos on other stock photography sites like pexel, pixabay and many more or simply upload your own photos.
When you choose an image, Canva’s photo editing features let you adjust the photo’s settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), crop, or animate it.
When you subscribe to Canva Pro, you get access to a number of premium features, including the Background Remover. This feature allows you to remove the background from any stock photo in library or any image you upload.
The Text tab lets you add headings, normal text, and graphical text to your design.
When you click on text, you'll see options to adjust the font, font size, color, format, spacing, and text effects (like shadows).
Canva Pro subscribers can choose from a large library of fonts on the Brand Kit or the Styles tab. Enterprise-level controls ensure that visual content remains on-brand, no matter how many people are working on it.
Create an animated image or video by adding audio to capture user’s attention in social news feeds.
If you want to use audio from another stock site or your own audio tracks, you can upload them in the Uploads tab or from the more option.
Want to create your own videos? Choose from thousands of stock video clips. You’ll find videos that range upto 2 minutes
You can upload your own videos as well as videos from other stock sites in the Uploads tab.
Once you have chosen a video, you can use the editing features in Canva to trim the video, flip it, and adjust its transparency.
On the Background tab, you’ll find free stock photos to serve as backgrounds on your designs. Change out the background on a template to give it a more personal touch.
The Styles tab lets you quickly change the look and feel of your template with just a click. And if you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload your brand’s custom colors and fonts to ensure designs stay on brand.
If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you’ll have a Logos tab. Here, you can upload variations of your brand logo to use throughout your designs.
With Canva, you can also create your own logos. Note that you cannot trademark a logo with stock content in it.
With Canva, free users can download and share designs to multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack and Tumblr.
Canva Pro subscribers can create multiple post formats from one design. For example, you can start by designing an Instagram post, and Canva's Magic Resizer can resize it for other networks, Stories, Reels, and other formats.
Canva Pro subscribers can also use Canva’s Content Planner to post content on eight different accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, and Tumblr.
Canva Pro allows you to work with your team on visual content. Designs can be created inside Canva, and then sent to your team members for approval. Everyone can make comments, edits, revisions, and keep track via the version history.
When it comes to printing your designs, Canva has you covered. With an extensive selection of printing options, they can turn your designs into anything from banners and wall art to mugs and t-shirts.
Canva Print is perfect for any business seeking to make a lasting impression. Create inspiring designs people will want to wear, keep, and share. Hand out custom business cards that leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
The Canva app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Canva app has earned a 4.9 out of five star rating from over 946.3K Apple users and a 4.5 out of five star rating from over 6,996,708 Google users.
In addition to mobile apps, you can use Canva’s integration with other Internet services to add images and text from sources like Google Maps, Emojis, photos from Google Drive and Dropbox, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Bitmojis, and other popular visual content elements.
In general, Canva is an excellent tool for those who need simple images for projects. If you are a graphic designer with experience, you will find Canva’s platform lacking in customization and advanced features – particularly vectors. But if you have little design experience, you will find Canva easier to use than advanced graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for most projects. If you have any queries let me know in the comments section.
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Continue reading...China’s tech leap challenges US dominance through innovation. But unregulated competition increases the risk of catastrophe
Eight years ago, Vladimir Putin proclaimed that mastering artificial intelligence (AI) would make a nation the “ruler of the world”. Western tech sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should have dashed his ambitions to lead in AI by 2030. But that might be too hasty a judgment. Last week, the Chinese lab DeepSeek unveiled R1, an AI that analysts say rivals OpenAI’s top reasoning model, o1. Astonishingly, it matches o1’s capabilities while using a fraction of the computing power – and at a tenth of the cost. Predictably, one of Mr Putin’s first moves in 2025 was to align with China on AI development. R1’s launch seems no coincidence, coming just as Donald Trump backed OpenAI’s $500bn Stargate plan to outpace its peers. OpenAI has singled out DeepSeek’s parent, High Flyer Capital, as a potential threat. But at least three Chinese labs claim to rival or surpass OpenAI’s achievements.
Anticipating tighter US chip sanctions, Chinese companies stockpiled critical processors to ensure their AI models could advance despite restricted access to hardware. DeepSeek’s success underscores the ingenuity born of necessity: lacking massive datacentres or powerful specialised chips, it achieved breakthroughs through better data curation and optimisation of its model. Unlike proprietary systems, R1’s source code is public, allowing anyone competent to modify it. Yet its openness has limits: overseen by China’s internet regulator, R1 conforms to “core socialist values”. Type in Tiananmen Square or Taiwan, and the model reportedly shuts down the conversation.
Continue reading...ECB president Lagarde warns of ‘vicious circle’ if central bank independence is undermined
Here is the full story on Good Energy
Morgan Stanley has cut its forecast for UK growth this year to 0.9% from 1.3%, mirroring estimates from Wall Street rivals Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.
After a grim lead-up to Christmas, the new year hasn’t brought any sense of renewal, with businesses still expecting a significant fall in activity.
Continue reading...Australia ranks well when it comes to total dental care expenditure. But a closer look at the numbers reveals that trips to the dentist are a luxury many people can’t afford
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At first glance, that statistic seems pretty good. Dig deeper? Not so much.
Continue reading...Chinese startup’s $6m product raises doubts about sustainability of western artificial intelligence boom
Global technology shares have taken a hit as the emergence of a Chinese chatbot competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, DeepSeek, raised doubts about the sustainability of the US artificial intelligence boom.
Shares in companies listed in Asia and Europe fell on Monday and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index in New York was poised to open lower after investors digested the implications of AI models developed by the startup DeepSeek.
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China was hit by snowstorms and a significant cold wave over the weekend, and the extreme conditions are expected to persist as the country approaches the new year on Wednesday.
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Continue reading...Source says purpose of Wang Yi’s visit is to hold first UK-China strategic dialogue since 2018
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due to visit the UK next month for talks with the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.
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Continue reading...Diplomatic frenzy and rattled nerves in republic as officials and former president reject US president’s comments
From a modern control room high above the canal expansion – overlooking the Cocolí locks, then lakes, rainforest canopy and, eventually, the Atlantic ocean – it barely registers that the era of gunboat diplomacy is returning to the Panama canal.
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Continue reading...A gripping play in London’s West End tells how agreement of the first climate protocol in 1997 was a triumph, as scientists share new warnings about the scale of the crisis
As material for a West End show, the backroom machinations of an international climate conference sound unpromising.
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Continue reading...One tin and half an hour is all you need for this clever week-night curry
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Continue reading...Farmers in the northern Indian region used to rely on snow and glacier meltwater, but the climate crisis is disrupting the water cycle – which means new ways of storing water are needed
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This fragile region experiences an average annual rainfall of about 100mm.
Tsering Angchuk, a farmer from the village of Stase-Dho, helped build a 22-metre ice stupa for the village
Continue reading...Tech CEOs cozying up to Trump want to reshape reality to their politics.
The post The Broligarchy: The Who’s Who of the Silicon Gilded Age appeared first on The Intercept.
Plane appears to have hit ducks before it crashed in Muan, South Korea, last month killing 179 people onboard
An investigation into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil has found duck remains in both engines, according to a preliminary report, suggesting the passenger jet hit birds before slamming down on the runway.
While officials have not yet determined the cause of last month’s Jeju Air crash that killed all but two of the 181 people onboard, the report released on Monday said feathers and bird bloodstains were found inside the Boeing 737-800’s engines.
Continue reading...Impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeoul could face years in prison after six-hour imposition which set off political upheaval
South Korea’s prosecutors indicted the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection with his short-lived imposition of martial law on 3 December, the main opposition party said.
The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president, and if convicted, Yoon could face years in prison for his shock martial law decree, which sought to ban political and parliamentary activity and control the media.
Continue reading...Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community has fought for decades for the right to equal marriage, and on Thursday 878 district offices across the country opened their doors to same-sex couples who wished to register and get married. It has made Thailand the first country in south-east Asia to recognise equal marriage, and only the third in Asia, behind Taiwan and Nepal
Continue reading...Trump boasted he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine as soon as he took office. That didn’t happen.
The post Trump Promised a Russia–Ukraine Peace Deal. Where Is It? appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump lifted sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Within hours, Netanyahu launched a new invasion.
The post Trump Halts Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Threatens to Seize Assets of War Crimes Investigators appeared first on The Intercept.
Judge rejects death penalty for Sanjay Roy as victim’s parents suspect more were involved in killing, which sparked strikes
An Indian police volunteer has been sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital where she worked in Kolkata, a crime that sparked nationwide protests and widespread hospital strikes last year.
The court rejected demands for the death penalty, saying it was not a “rarest-of-rare” crime.
Continue reading...After 30 years of relentless growth and capitalism, a new trend has emerged in China. The search for a simpler, calmer life is leading some Chinese people to seek a life abroad. The trend is so popular that it’s gained its own internet buzzword: the 'run philosophy'.
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Continue reading...With the Supreme Court approving the TikTok ban, the U.S. is embracing the type of internet authoritarianism it long opposed.
The post Washington’s TikTok Ban Hypocrisy: Internet Censorship Is Good, Now appeared first on The Intercept.
According to a DOJ press release, the FBI was able to delete the Chinese-used PlugX malware from “approximately 4,258 U.S.-based computers and networks.”
To retrieve information from and send commands to the hacked machines, the malware connects to a command-and-control server that is operated by the hacking group. According to the FBI, at least 45,000 IP addresses in the US had back-and-forths with the command-and-control server since September 2023.
It was that very server that allowed the FBI to finally kill this pesky bit of malicious software. First, they tapped the know-how of French intelligence agencies, which had ...
With billions of people around the world still lacking access to safely managed sanitation facilities, a simple yet creative product – the Sato toilet pan – is providing a solution for the communities that need them the most
The human cost of the global sanitation crisis is devastating: more than 1,000 children under five die every day [pdf] from diseases linked to dirty water and poor sanitation, while the educational gender gap deepens as menstruating girls often miss classes due to a lack of products as well as toilets and privacy at schools. While many of us have the privilege of not having to give it too much thought, the reality is that hygiene is the foundation of how individuals, communities and whole societies function. Inadequate sanitation and hygiene is multifaceted, costing billions for local communities and economies, while crippling opportunities for growth and development across entire regions.
‘People must be at the core of the solution’
When a small team of engineers including Daigo Ishiyama arrived at a remote village in rural Bangladesh in 2012, these were among some of the challenges they were hoping to solve. How could Ishiyama and his colleagues use their expertise in water and housing products to address the sanitation needs of disadvantaged consumers in one of the most densely populated countries in the world?
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