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This spiced Moroccan red tea is a warming, tingling elixir
Thu, 23 Jan 2025 18:00:00 +0000
Khunjul, an infusion of chiles and spices, is sweet, tart and pungent.
Match ID: 0 Score: 30.00 source: www.washingtonpost.com age: 0 days
qualifiers: 30.00 food
The best whisky: 10 tried and tested scotch tipples, from single malt to blended
Thu, 23 Jan 2025 17:52:41 GMT
Not sure which whisky to sip this Burns Night? No problem, we’ve tasted them straight up for you
Nothing exorcises the miserable spirit of January – dry or otherwise – like a Burns Night celebration. A whisky-fuelled supper to mark Robert Burns’s birthday is the perfect remedy to dreich midwinter days. It’s a bandwagon on to which I gladly jump each year, despite having no connection to Scotland whatsoever. And so should you.
Along with a well-thumbed paperback of the Bard’s greatest hits, you’ll also want to ensure you have a bottle or two of the best scotch on standby for the address to the haggis. Whether you enjoy the in-your-face smoke of Islay whisky, prefer a refined Highland single malt, or are up for trying something a little more surprising, I’ve handpicked a selection of delicious drams to raise a fitting toast to Rabbie Burns.
Continue reading...Business leaders may thunder about job cuts, but their threats could backfire: union membership is only growing
What a perverse act of defiance – two fingers up to government policy by a major company. Bidfood is one of the largest food distributors in the UK, with 26 depots supplying about 40,000 institutions and food service companies, including Manchester United, Subway and Five Guys. What’s more, it supplies NHS trusts, the army, prisons and schools and the royal household. Yet it chooses this moment to derecognise trade unions, abandoning a longstanding recognition of the GMB and Unite. This reflects the rumbling resistance to the government’s flagship working rights legislation that is now going through parliament.
The unions say that tearing up the recognition agreement came out of the blue: there had been no dispute at the company. Now the unions fear the company is doing it because it plans a P&O-style fire-and-rehire of its food delivery workers, reducing the terms of their contracts to pre-empt something that will be effectively banned when the new employment rights laws come into force.
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Family complained food was ‘uneatable’ and room was dirty and smelly at four-star Club Med hotel in Provence
A British family who claimed they “went home miserable” from a luxury French hotel after they were given stale croissants and a smelly room have won thousands of pounds in damages.
Damen Bennion, 52, told his children “Daddy would get things sorted” when they arrived at their holiday in Provence and found the four-star hotel did not meet their expectations.
Continue reading...Bird snapped by Newhaven wildlife sanctuary ecologist is likely a juvenile on risky 1,500km journey away from parents, expert says
Recent wet weather in the arid plains of central Australia prompted the wildlife ecologist and bird enthusiast Dr Tim Henderson to stop last week at a small lake to see if any waterbirds had shown up.
While there, above his head came a sight many birdwatchers wait a lifetime for: the red goshawk, Australia’s rarest bird of prey. It had a throat full of food, and was in a location it had never been photographed and had not been recorded at for about 30 years.
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Continue reading...A new bit of kit gave me a chance for a kitchen declutter, and revealed my most used spices
Above my cooker, tucked in around the extractor housing, is my spice cupboard. It’s obviously not the optimum storage facility, but it’s perfectly located for access while cooking. It’s also complete chaos. Heavy-bottomed jars are stacked up one atop the other in misshapen walls, invariably hiding the one you’re looking for. There are bags of dried, friable leaves and tubs of sticky-rimmed pastes. Some I use a lot. Others were bought for just one recipe, possibly written by a lovely chap called Yotam, and haven’t been touched since. Here is asafoetida, and fennel pollen. There’s sumac and sansho peppercorns, and tamarind paste looking like a biodegradable stunt double for crude oil.
My relationship with this cupboard has long been sharply divided. On the one hand, I despair that I can’t be an organised cook; one of those fragrant, well-groomed types who has an alphabetised spice carousel, and can find exactly what they need with a fingertip’s casual spin. On the other hand, it has given me comfort. I must be a proper cook, for look at this cluttered spice cupboard of mine, which smells thickly of culinary ambition. No, I may not use sansho peppercorns and tamarind paste on a daily basis. But I could, you know. If I wanted to.
Continue reading...Dozens of children fall ill during rollout of program that was a centrepiece of President Prabowo Subianto’s election campaign
Dozens of Indonesian schoolchildren have suffered food poisoning after consuming free meals offered through a new flagship program of President Prabowo Subianto, his office has confirmed.
Rolled out this month, Prabowo’s multi-billion dollar policy was a centrepiece of the former general’s election campaign, with a pledge to reach 82.9 million children and pregnant women out of the country’s population of 280 million by 2029.
Continue reading...This week: feel-good January fixes, interior designer-approved bed linen and Grace Dent on the best extra-chocolatey biscuits
What do the words “self-care” mean to you? A long scented soak in the bath? A winter run with a podcast as the sun sets? Box-fresh bed linen? It could even be all of the above, in one evening.
Whatever your poison, there’s no denying a little self-care is needed at this time of year. We try to avoid jumping on bandwagons here at the Filter (particularly “Blue Monday”), but there’s little doubt that the short days, cold weather, empty bank accounts and current world events can drag you down.
The beauty products and gadgets Sali Hughes tried, tested and loved last year
The best heated clothes airers to save time and money when drying your laundry, tested
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.
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...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...Hi Reddit! We’re a team of tech journalists from MIT Technology Review, excited to answer all of your questions about emerging tech in 2025 and beyond.
We are:
We just published our annual list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. Every year, our reporters and editors look for promising technologies poised to have a real impact on the world. We consider dozens of advances across the fields of AI, biotech, computing, and climate. We can’t see the future, but we expect these ten breakthroughs to affect our world in a big way, for decades to come.
Here are the ten items on this year’s list:
Ask us anything! (We’ll be here responding to your questions this Friday, January 10 at 12 p.m. EST, but feel free to get 'em in early.) Proof pics here.
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
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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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Just when you’re braced for emotional resolution, you get the dreaded words: ‘To be continued …’ Hollywood needs to stop this now
I’ll never forget my experience of taking my seven-year-old to see. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in the cinema, and I don’t mean that in a good way. The little fellow enjoyed it enormously – we devoured a half bucket of pick’n’mix and cheered at the spidey-dino – and then, right at the climax, decided he needed to go to the loo. We rushed out, did the thing as fast as a seven-year-old can, rushed back – and everyone was leaving. “It finished just after you left,” said a sympathetic fellow parent, as the cinema staff vacuumed up popcorn. “I think there’s going to be a sequel.”
Maybe I’m an idiot – I definitely still don’t understand how a multiverse works – but I sort of think this ought to be illegal, or at least a matter for trading standards. As far as I can remember, it was heavily implied that this was going to be a self-contained story. To make matters worse, this trend seems to be gathering steam – Dune got away with it because nobody expected Denis Villeneuve to cram all that delicious spice into one film, but when even Fast X is leaving you without any emotional resolution, you know something’s rotten in Hollywood. And now there’s Wicked – famously based on a show that’s already split into two parts but still lasts less than three hours. I’m not sure who’s to blame for this – Kevin Feige? George Lucas? – but at least I know going in that Star Wars and Marvel are never, ever going to end.
Joel Snape is a writer and fitness expert
Continue reading...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
Keep your two-wheeler secure with our expert-recommended bike locks, from coveted Kryptonite locks to lightweight and combination designs
• From heated gloves to commuter jackets: 11 winter cycling essentials to keep you safe and cosy
Few among us do not have a tale of a stolen bike: you leave work with your helmet fastened or come out of a shop after picking up some milk, and your bike has disappeared.
Tens of thousands of people reported a bike theft to police in England and Wales in 2024, so having the right lock is crucial to protect your two-wheeler. But just as everyone has their own preferred bike, choosing the right lock, from ultra-secure bolts to lightweight devices, is highly personal. Riders need to consider where they live, how attractive their bike is to thieves (they often look for more elaborate city and racing bikes), and how long they leave it unaccompanied. Only then is it possible to start pinning down what is needed.
Best affordable lock:
Halfords 23cm D Lock
£30 at Halfords
Best super-secure lock:
Hiplok DX1000
£299 at Hiplok
Best for city cyclists:
Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7
£39.43 at Amazon
Best combination lock:
Kryptonite KryptoLok Combo
£47.25 at Decathlon
Best chain lock:
Kryptonite KryptoLok Series 2
£89.99 at Cyclelane
Best lightweight lock:
Foldylock Mini
£76.98 at Amazon
This week: feel-good January fixes, interior designer-approved bed linen and Grace Dent on the best extra-chocolatey biscuits
What do the words “self-care” mean to you? A long scented soak in the bath? A winter run with a podcast as the sun sets? Box-fresh bed linen? It could even be all of the above, in one evening.
Whatever your poison, there’s no denying a little self-care is needed at this time of year. We try to avoid jumping on bandwagons here at the Filter (particularly “Blue Monday”), but there’s little doubt that the short days, cold weather, empty bank accounts and current world events can drag you down.
The beauty products and gadgets Sali Hughes tried, tested and loved last year
The best heated clothes airers to save time and money when drying your laundry, tested
Continue reading...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.
In today’s newsletter: As Israeli security forces launch an operation in the city of Jenin and violence by settlers escalates, Emma Graham-Harrison explains what happens next
Good morning.
A few days after a ceasefire brought at least temporary relief to Gaza, violence erupted in the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday, the Israeli military launched what was described as an extensive raid in the city of Jenin, a day after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, setting vehicles and property ablaze in a violent rampage. Two Israeli were arrested even though dozens of armed settlers were involved in the rioting. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the attacks, but it is evident that extremist settlers feel emboldened by government policies and ministers who back their agenda.
Media | The Duke of Sussex has settled his high court legal action against the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers. NGN offered “a full and unequivocal apology” to Prince Harry “for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them” at the News of the World. It will also pay “substantial damages”.
US politics | Donald Trump has threatened Russia with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not struck soon, as the new US president tries to increase pressure on Moscow to start negotiations with Kyiv.
Social media | TikTok’s power to deliver “exhilaration” and the UK’s relationship with China are shaping the UK government’s acceptance of the short video app despite “genuine concerns” about how the data of millions of Britons may be used, the technology secretary has said.
Politics | Campaigners will be blocked from “excessive” legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects including airports, railways and nuclear power stations as part of the government’s drive for economic growth.
UK news | A former soldier has pleaded guilty to murdering three women with a crossbow at their home in Hertfordshire last year. Kyle Clifford admitted killing Carol Hunt and her daughters Hannah and Louise in Bushey on 9 July.
Continue reading...Poland waived its legal obligations as an ICC signatory to arrest Netanyahu. Former and current EU officials are speaking out.
The post Poland Is Warned: Welcoming Netanyahu to Auschwitz Memorial Would Be a “Grave Mistake” appeared first on The Intercept.
President also threatens tariffs on imports to US and repeats call for Nato countries to increase defence spending to 5%
Donald Trump has made a combative return to the world stage, accusing oil producers of prolonging the Ukraine war by failing to cut prices, and threatening tariffs on all US imports.
In a typically blustering online address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the new president called on Saudi Arabia and the oil-producers’ cartel Opec to cut the cost of oil, in order to choke off revenues to Russia and halt the conflict in Ukraine.
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 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.
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 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.
Timing may show two leaders want to coordinate approach in engaging with new US administration over Ukraine
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, held a video call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in a symbolic display of unity just hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US.
Speaking from his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Putin highlighted the close ties between the two countries, stating that their relations were based on “shared interests, equality, and mutual benefit“, calling Xi his “dear friend”.
Continue reading...Investments ‘likely to pay dividends’, analysis says, as Trump unleashes dozens of pro-fossil fuel executive actions
Big oil spent a stunning $445m throughout the last election cycle to influence Donald Trump and Congress, a new analysis has found.
That figure includes funding from January 2023 and November 2024 for political donations, lobbying and advertising to support elected officials and specific policies. Because it does not include money funneled through dark-money groups – which do not have to reveal their donors – it is almost certainly a vast understatement, says the report from green advocacy group Climate Power, which is based on campaign finance disclosures and advertising industry data.
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.
Mohammad Javad Zarif says he hopes new Trump administration will be more serious, focused and realistic
A senior Iranian politician has appealed to Donald Trump to begin new negotiations with Tehran over its civil nuclear programme, saying: “I hope that this time around, [Trump 2.0] will be more serious, more focused, more realistic.”
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice-president for strategic affairs, pointed out that the returning US president had not reappointed figures from his first term such as the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, who persuaded him in 2018 to quit the nuclear deal on the basis that withdrawal would lead to the regime’s collapse.
Continue reading...From LNG to drilling in Alaska, here’s everything you need to know about Trump’s energy and climate executive orders
Through a flurry of executive orders, a newly inaugurated Donald Trump has made clear his support for the ascendancy of fossil fuels, the dismantling of support for cleaner energy and the United States’ exit from the fight to contain the escalating climate crisis.
“We will drill, baby, drill,” the president said in his inaugural address on Monday. “We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have – the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it. We’re going to use it.”
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 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 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 scale of Australia’s trade with blacklisted companies, revealed in Guardian investigation, prompts anger across the Uyghur community
Australia’s new anti-slavery commissioner has called on the government to urgently address the “inadequacy” of its forced labour laws after revelations that it had allowed thousands of imports from Chinese companies blacklisted for their alleged links to Uyghur workers.
Guardian Australia revealed on Monday that Australia had received thousands of imports from Chinese companies blacklisted by the United States over alleged links to Uyghur forced labour.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...American Oversight has raised concerns over ‘department of government efficiency’ using encrypted apps
A leading ethics watchdog has issued warnings to Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk and the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), an agency Trump has stated he will create, claiming its use of encrypted messaging apps potentially violates the Federal Records Act (FRA).
American Oversight, which uses litigation to obtain public records and expose government misconduct, argues that Musk’s leadership of Doge raises “significant ethical concerns about potential conflicts of interest”, given his business empire and the substantial impact that Doge could have on federal agencies.
Continue reading...Pamela Hemphill insists on taking responsibility for role she played in trying to overturn the 2020 election results
While some have praised Donald Trump for issuing “full, complete and unconditional” pardons for the 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Pamela Hemphill has pushed back.
Hemphill, who was also arrested on January 6, has refused to accept Trump’s pardon, instead deciding to take responsibility for the role she played in trying to overturn the 2020 election results which made Joe Biden victorious over Trump.
Continue reading...Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have come out in opposition to the former Fox host running the Pentagon
Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, defended on Thursday what he described as an “innocent” hand salute made by US billionaire Elon Musk this week, as he criticised “woke ideology” in a fiery speech to the World Economic Forum.
Musk ignited controversy with two fascist-style salutes during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, with critics accusing him of giving the Nazi salute.
Continue reading...Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins say they cannot support nominee, raising fresh doubts about confirmation chances
Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced that they would oppose the nomination of Pete Hegseth to become the next US secretary of defense, making them the first two Republican lawmakers to publicly reject one of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks and raising fresh doubts about the controversial nominee’s chances of confirmation.
Murkowski indicated her opposition to Hegseth in a statement shared on social media on Thursday, in which she criticized the Fox News host and army veteran as lacking the experience and character needed to lead the Pentagon.
Continue reading...Rob Bonta is suing alongside other states to block birthright citizenship order he calls ‘flagrant violation’ of constitution
Donald Trump “overreached by a mile” with his attempt to dismantle the longstanding constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, said.
California along with a coalition of states and the city of San Francisco are suing the administration over an executive order issued just hours after Trump was sworn into office on Monday that would deny automatic citizenship to some children born in the United States – a move they argue is in “flagrant violation” of the US constitution.
Continue reading...Executive order signed by Trump, which was to take effect on 19 February, is already the subject of five lawsuits
A federal judge in Seattle blocked Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from implementing an executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the US, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional”.
US district judge John Coughenour at the urging of four Democratic-led states issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from enforcing the order, which the Republican president signed on Monday during his first day on office.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/chrisdh79 [link] [comments] |
Pro-growth charm offensive aimed at getting Labour back on the front foot has drawn concerns and questions
Roughing up industry regulators, jetting to Davos to court the global elite, and preparing to greenlight airport expansion: after a difficult start to the year, Rachel Reeves is working overtime to regain business confidence.
Financial market turbulence at the start of the year has been followed by a pro-growth charm offensive aimed at getting Labour back on the front foot, before the chancellor goes further in a speech she is expected to give next week.
Continue reading...Dublin’s latest coalition has finally got parliamentary approval. But there are meteorological and political tempests coming across the Atlantic
The whole of Ireland was put on red alert on Thursday as Storm Éowyn barrelled in from the north Atlantic. Schools in the Irish republic are closed on Friday, all public transport has been stood down and pet owners have been told to keep animals stabled or indoors, with 80mph winds expected to leave trails of destruction before the storm moves on towards central Scotland.
The danger to life and property will be more than enough for most people in Ireland. But it is hard not to see this week’s tempestuous visitation as something of a metaphor for Irish politics, which have had an unusually storm-tossed week of their own as the republic buckles up for a tax-and-tariff battle with Donald Trump’s new administration in Washington.
Continue reading...Health and Human Services is expected to be overhauled as Robert F Kennedy Jr waits to take department’s reins
Trump administration appointees are asserting control over the enormous US federal health department after the president’s inauguration this week – pausing public communications and abruptly canceling scientific meetings.
While temporary communications pauses are not entirely abnormal as new administrations find their feet, the orders come at a time of high anxiety for US scientists and public health workers.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/MetaKnowing [link] [comments] |
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.
This unprecedented slaughter could not have happened without powerful cheerleaders. Hold them to account
Unless those complicit in the Gaza genocide are held to account, the brutal consequences will be felt far beyond that shattered land. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas offered a respite for traumatised survivors. But Donald Trump’s declaration that he is not confident it will last has prompted renewed terror. From the new president’s decision to lift the pause on shipments of 2,000lb bombs to Israel, which were dropped repeatedly on civilians in so-called safe zones, to his pick for the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who once said there was “really no such thing as a Palestinian”, those hoping for lasting peace are right to worry that the carnage will soon begin again.
The assault on Gaza is normalising an almost limitless violence against civilians, all facilitated and justified by multiple western governments and media outlets. It is worth recalling the destruction of Guernica by Nazi and Italian forces during the Spanish civil war nearly nine decades ago. Guernica was one of the first aerial mass bombardments of a civilian community, and it scandalised the world. The then US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, deplored how “civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly murdered from the air”. The Times journalist George Steer wrote that, “In the form of its execution and the scale of destruction it wrought, the raid on Guernica is unparalleled in military history.” Alas, Guernica turned out to be a trial run for the aerial obliteration of European cities a few years later: the Nazi military leader Hermann Göring told the Nuremberg trials that Guernica allowed the Nazis to test out their Luftwaffe.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Fianna Fáil leader officially elected as taoiseach a day after chaotic scenes in Dáil, as thoughts turn to future and Trump
Ireland’s newly appointed leader, Micheál Martin, has vowed to protect the country “at a moment of real threat” just days after Donald Trump threatened to wipe out its tax advantage and repatriate American jobs.
He was speaking moments after he was officially appointed as taoiseach, but 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Dáil caused the cancellation of his formal appointment.
Continue reading...TDs gathered in parliament for ceremony which had been due to take place yesterday
Donald Trump should be wary of giving Vladimir Putin too much prominence by agreeing to an early summit on Ukraine, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski argued in Davos.
Here is his argument in full:
President Trump has started well by recognising that it is Putin who needs to shift his position, not Ukraine.
If I can make one suggestion to the new administration, coming from the depths of experience of a country that warned the rest of the world about Putin and was not always listened to, it is this: this is not the Putin that Trump knew in his first term.
I think the main thing is to engage with him. When there are concerns or issues raised about what the new administration will do I think the best thing is to go to Washington and discuss.
Back in 2017, some allies thought we should just freeze our relations with the US, do almost nothing, and hope things would improve after the next elections.
Continue reading...Red state legislators have also introduced a slew of bills targeting abortion pills and minors’ access to the procedure
Legislators in at least four states have introduced bills this year that would change the legal definition of “homicide” to include abortion – proposals that pave the way for states to charge abortion patients with murder.
Pregnancy Justice, a group that tracks these kinds of efforts, says it has recorded more “homicide” bills this year than ever before. Abortion bans have typically penalized providers, rather than patients.
Continue reading...Sam Kuffel’s departure comes after far-right radio host slams her condemnation of X owner’s apparent Nazi salute
A Milwaukee meteorologist has been fired from her TV station after she criticized Elon Musk’s apparent fascist salutes during Donald Trump’s inaugural celebrations.
On Wednesday, staff members at the CBS affiliate Channel 58 were notified of the meteorologist Sam Kuffel’s departure from the news station, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
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One of two federal judges says pardons ‘cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake’
US federal judges have criticized Donald Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 people involved in the January 6 insurrection, arguing that the clemency “cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake” and that the president’s reasoning for the pardons was based on a “revisionist myth”.
The fierce condemnation came as the GOP scrambled to deal with Trump’s move, which was broader in scope than some Republicans had expected and included pardons for people convicted of assaulting police officers.
Continue reading...Ultra-rich individuals are associating with Donald Trump as he ascends to the presidency for his second time
Joe Biden delivered an ominous message to Americans in his 15 January farewell address, warning that a privileged few could soon be poised to wield enormous power in the US.
Biden described a “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked”.
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Mariann Edgar Budde defends sermon asking president to show compassion to immigrants and LGBTQ+ people
The bishop at the National Cathedral prayer service in Washington on Tuesday who urged Donald Trump to “have mercy upon” immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, has defended her remarks and said that she will not apologize.
The Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon on Tuesday garnered national attention when she made a direct plea to Trump to show mercy and compassion toward scared individuals, including “gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families”, as well as immigrants, and those fleeing war and persecution.
Continue reading...It’s Trump’s proclivity for deal-making and no mess I’m holding on to for progress toward a Palestinian state
The only thing we know for certain regarding a Trump Middle East doctrine is that the president-elect has no clear policy regarding that part of the world. Contradictions abound in his appointments and statements. Donald Trump’s first term perhaps offers clues – the signing and promoting of the Abraham accords with the Gulf states and Israel while also moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and shuttering the US consulate in Israel that catered to the Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza, while also tossing the PLO representative out of Washington and shutting down that ambassadorial-rank office.
He allowed his US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, to encourage increased West Bank settlement, himself a patron of the hardcore ideological Jewish settlers. None of these actions made an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians easier or more near, and now, after October 7, the terrain is more fraught and confused.
Jo-Ann Mort is co-author of Our Hearts Invented a Place: Can Kibbutzim Survive in Today’s Israel? She writes frequently about Israel for US, UK and Israeli publications
Continue reading...Rachel Reeves told the elites gathered in Switzerland she was relaxed about ‘wealth creation’. She’s in the minority on that
Rachel Reeves might give the impression of being someone who’s never late for social engagements, but she is increasingly late to the party. At a breakfast event on the second day of Davos, after she’d spelled out her faith in artificial intelligence and a high-skilled workforce, someone asked Britain’s chancellor how she felt about “wealth creation” – was she relaxed, in a Blairite sense? “Absolutely,” Reeves replied. “Absolutely relaxed.”
Wealth creation isn’t quite the same as just wealth, but “wealth creators” is famously the moniker the super-rich use for themselves. And so Reeves’s exceedingly relaxed tone here puts her in a minority – possibly a minority of one. As Elon Musk salutes his way into political power, not even rich people are relaxed about wealth any more. On the first day of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, the pro-tax campaign group Patriotic Millionaires released survey results from 2,000 high net-worth individuals across the G20: more than half of them thought extreme wealth was a threat to democracy, and over two-thirds agreed that the visible influence of the wealthy was leading to a decline in trust of the media, the justice system and democracy.
Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Tweak to finance bill is part of Labour push to show UK is attractive place to invest
Rachel Reeves will amend the finance bill to soften planned changes to the non-dom tax regime as Labour woos the wealthy in pursuit of growth.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she has been meeting business leaders and entrepreneurs, Reeves said: “We have been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community.”
Continue reading...House and Senate Republicans float ideas to pay for Trump’s immigration crackdown and to fund tax cuts
Republicans are reportedly prepared to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration and to fund tax cuts that would mostly benefit the wealthy.
The GOP in the House and Senate have floated a series of ideas – many of which would target lower-income Americans – to cover the cost of extending tax cuts passed by Trump in 2017, the New York Times reported.
Continue reading...Experts say order could cause issues for people applying for long-term stays in the US and have a severe impact on mental health
Gender-diverse Australians applying to stay in the US long term could face visa delays and be forced to use their gender designation at birth on forms following Donald Trump’s executive order on gender.
The order, which Trump signed after his inauguration on Tuesday, directs the secretaries of state and homeland security to ensure that passports, visas and other official government documents reflect male and female as the only two sexes.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...They had different views on ways of making payments and also the European convention on human rights, but did they agree on the return of Donald Trump?
Martin R, 28, Bristol
Occupation Studying for a PhD in political theory
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The simple truth is that Trump ignored almost every major issue facing this country’s working families in his first speech
I was at the Trump inauguration on Monday, and needless to say, I disagree with almost everything he had to say.
What really struck me, however, is not what he said, which was not surprising given his general rhetoric – but what he didn’t say. The simple truth is that Donald Trump gave a major speech, the first speech of his second presidency, and ignored almost every significant issue facing the working families of this country.
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The government has announced a public inquiry into why authorities failed to stop Axel Rudakubana before he killed three girls in Southport. But is it enough to stop another such attack? John Harris asks the counter-terrorism practitioner Rashad Ali. Plus, the Guardian political correspondent Kiran Stacey explores how Keir Starmer will deal with Donald Trump’s return
Continue reading...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.
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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.
Representatives of Heartland Institute linking up with MEPs to campaign against environmental policies
Climate science deniers from a US-based thinktank have been working with rightwing politicians in Europe to campaign against environmental policies, the Guardian can reveal.
MEPs have been accused of “rolling out the red carpet for climate deniers” to give them a platform in the European parliament, amid warnings of a “revival of grotesque climate denialism”.
Continue reading...US president reinstates Cuba on terror list despite Biden deal to release prisoners jailed over demonstrations
The families of Cuban protesters jailed in anti-government demonstrations are waiting anxiously to see if the government will continue with a planned prisoner release after Donald Trump reneged on a deal made last week by Joe Biden.
Activists from the human rights group Justicia 11J believe about 150 prisoners have been released so far of the 553 agreed with the Catholic church.
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...Trump’s agenda is clear: keep people out or make them pay. The US’s fabric as a nation of immigrants is tearing apart
Immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers hoping for a safe haven to build a life in the United States awoke to a blistering reality on Tuesday, after Donald Trump’s barrage of policy changes shortly after taking office effectively slammed the door shut on many would-be newcomers – and cast a spectre over many already living stateside.
First came the news that, as Trump was being sworn in as the 47th president, the federal government had disabled its CBP One phone app’s appointment system, where prospective migrants and asylum seekers could schedule an appointment with the US authorities and legally enter the country.
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.
Napoli are pushing to reach an agreement with Manchester United over Alejandro Garnacho but their hopes of signing the winger could be derailed by Chelsea.
Garnacho’s agents attended Chelsea’s win over Wolves this week and the Argentinian’s future remains up in the air. Napoli have identified the 20-year-old as a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has joined Paris Saint-Germain, but are yet to agree a fee. The Italian club have looked at Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi as an alternative.
Continue reading...Nine Real Sociedad football fans were injured, one seriously, in central Rome late on Wednesday, allegedly after being violently attacked by hardcore “ultra” Lazio supporters.
According to reports in Italian media, the Spanish fans were among a group of about 70 allegedly set upon by what appeared to be about 80 Lazio ultras, who were armed with clubs, chains and knives and hammers, outside a pub on Via Leonina in the Monti district of the Italian capital. Security in the city has been upped before the Europa League match at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Thursday night.
Continue reading...Longtime president and Putin ally has silenced media and criminalised dissent as he eyes seventh term
On Sunday, five names will feature on the ballot in Belarus’s presidential election, but the outcome is a foregone conclusion: Alexander Lukashenko’s 31-year reign is poised to continue in the carefully managed vote, granting the dictator his seventh term in power.
The elections, described by the opposition as a “farce”, come four and a half years after Belarus’s previous presidential vote, which sparked nationwide protests over allegations of vote rigging and was met with brutal repression.
Continue reading...Case of Osama Najim puts spotlight on controversial migration pact between Italy and Libya
Giorgia Meloni’s government is under pressure to clarify why a Rome court refused to approve the arrest of a Libyan general accused of war crimes, allowing him to return home to a hero’s welcome on an Italian secret services flight in what critics believe was a tactic to shield alleged abuses committed in the north African country as a result of a migrant pact with Italy.
Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained in Turin on Sunday on a warrant issued by the international criminal court (ICC) before being freed on Tuesday owing to a procedural technicality.
Continue reading...New report says more than 30m hectares burned, 79% more than in 2023, after country saw worst drought on record
After enduring its worst drought on record in 2024, Brazil closed the year with another alarming milestone: between January and December, 30.86m hectares of wilderness burned – an area larger than Italy.
The figure published in a new report is 79% higher than in 2023 and the largest recorded by Fire Monitor since its launch in 2019 by MapBiomas, an initiative by NGOs, universities and technology companies that monitors Brazil’s biomes.
Continue reading...Osama Najim was arrested amid claims he used detained migrants in ‘a form of slavery’, but then freed after a mistake by prosecutors
A Libyan general wanted for alleged war crimes and violence against inmates at a prison near Tripoli has been arrested in the northern Italian city of Turin – and then released after an apparent mistake by prosecutors.
Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained on Sunday on an international arrest warrant after a tipoff from Interpol, a source at the prosecutors office for the Piedmont region confirmed.
Continue reading...Impeached president appears in constitutional court following last month’s short-lived martial law order
South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has denied ordering troops to “drag out” lawmakers from the country’s parliament to prevent them from overturning his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.
In his first appearance at the constitutional court, which will decide whether to uphold his impeachment, Yoon replied “no” when asked by a judge whether he had ordered the military to remove lawmakers from the national assembly building.
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.
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.
Labor senator pushes to establish Senate inquiry into university governance. Follow today’s news live
The anti-fracking group Lock the Gate Alliance has launched a legal challenge to a Northern Territory government decision to approve another gas exploration project in the Beetaloo basin.
The case in the territory’s civil and administrative tribunal is challenging the merits of the government’s approval of the environment management plan for Empire Energy’s “Larrimah” exploration project.
Our robust regulation of the onshore petroleum industry is informed by the best available science. As the project is before the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it would be premature to make any further comment on the matter.
For too long, vice-chancellors and senior executives have escaped any real accountability for some of the terrible decisions that have damaged our public universities. An inquiry would be a golden opportunity to get to the bottom of what’s allowing the wage theft epidemic, rampant casualisation and a raft of other serious problems to flourish in our sector.
This is the path to lasting reform that will ensure staff can deliver the world-class teaching and research our students and community deserve.
Continue reading...Schemes backed by previous government to improve energy efficiency have left homeowners unable to sell
Almost 40 building companies have been blocked by the government from installing insulation amid a growing outcry over the profusion of botched jobs across the UK.
Ministers also announced that any homes found to have received botched insulation would have the issues put right by the installer responsible at no extra cost to the homeowner.
Continue reading...Report reveals solar power generated 11% of bloc’s electricity, surpassing coal at 10%
More electricity was made from sunshine than coal in the EU last year, a report has found, in what analysts called a “milestone” for the clean energy transition.
Solar panels generated 11% of the EU’s electricity in 2024, while coal-burning power plants generated 10%, according to data from climate thinktank Ember. The role of fossil gas fell for the fifth year in a row to cover 16% of the electricity mix.
Continue reading...As three men challenge their commutations, others brace for imminent prison transfers and the finality of a life sentence with no chance of release.
The post Biden Commuted Their Death Sentences. Now What? appeared first on The Intercept.
“MUST FIND THE LEAKER!” Trump posted, decrying the damage to Israel when its Iran attack plans were made public.
The post CIA Leaker of Israel Intel Pleads Guilty Days Before Trump Takes Office appeared first on The Intercept.
Ahead of Trump’s second term, Democratic and Republican lawmakers are advancing sweeping measures to make life harder for immigrants.
The post Building the Deportation Machine for Trump 2.0 appeared first on The Intercept.
The secretaries of defense and state will play key roles in U.S. policy on Israel, but they faced little scrutiny on Palestinian suffering.
The post Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio Get a Pass on Suffering in Gaza 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.
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.
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.
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.
Executive order signed by Trump, which was to take effect on 19 February, is already the subject of five lawsuits
A federal judge in Seattle blocked Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from implementing an executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the US, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional”.
US district judge John Coughenour at the urging of four Democratic-led states issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from enforcing the order, which the Republican president signed on Monday during his first day on office.
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.
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 ...
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...Pamela Hemphill insists on taking responsibility for role she played in trying to overturn the 2020 election results
While some have praised Donald Trump for issuing “full, complete and unconditional” pardons for the 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Pamela Hemphill has pushed back.
Hemphill, who was also arrested on January 6, has refused to accept Trump’s pardon, instead deciding to take responsibility for the role she played in trying to overturn the 2020 election results which made Joe Biden victorious over Trump.
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 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.
From LNG to drilling in Alaska, here’s everything you need to know about Trump’s energy and climate executive orders
Through a flurry of executive orders, a newly inaugurated Donald Trump has made clear his support for the ascendancy of fossil fuels, the dismantling of support for cleaner energy and the United States’ exit from the fight to contain the escalating climate crisis.
“We will drill, baby, drill,” the president said in his inaugural address on Monday. “We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have – the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it. We’re going to use it.”
Continue reading...Investments ‘likely to pay dividends’, analysis says, as Trump unleashes dozens of pro-fossil fuel executive actions
Big oil spent a stunning $445m throughout the last election cycle to influence Donald Trump and Congress, a new analysis has found.
That figure includes funding from January 2023 and November 2024 for political donations, lobbying and advertising to support elected officials and specific policies. Because it does not include money funneled through dark-money groups – which do not have to reveal their donors – it is almost certainly a vast understatement, says the report from green advocacy group Climate Power, which is based on campaign finance disclosures and advertising industry data.
Continue reading...One of two federal judges says pardons ‘cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake’
US federal judges have criticized Donald Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 people involved in the January 6 insurrection, arguing that the clemency “cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake” and that the president’s reasoning for the pardons was based on a “revisionist myth”.
The fierce condemnation came as the GOP scrambled to deal with Trump’s move, which was broader in scope than some Republicans had expected and included pardons for people convicted of assaulting police officers.
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...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.
Labor senator pushes to establish Senate inquiry into university governance. Follow today’s news live
The anti-fracking group Lock the Gate Alliance has launched a legal challenge to a Northern Territory government decision to approve another gas exploration project in the Beetaloo basin.
The case in the territory’s civil and administrative tribunal is challenging the merits of the government’s approval of the environment management plan for Empire Energy’s “Larrimah” exploration project.
Our robust regulation of the onshore petroleum industry is informed by the best available science. As the project is before the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it would be premature to make any further comment on the matter.
For too long, vice-chancellors and senior executives have escaped any real accountability for some of the terrible decisions that have damaged our public universities. An inquiry would be a golden opportunity to get to the bottom of what’s allowing the wage theft epidemic, rampant casualisation and a raft of other serious problems to flourish in our sector.
This is the path to lasting reform that will ensure staff can deliver the world-class teaching and research our students and community deserve.
Continue reading...Experts say order could cause issues for people applying for long-term stays in the US and have a severe impact on mental health
Gender-diverse Australians applying to stay in the US long term could face visa delays and be forced to use their gender designation at birth on forms following Donald Trump’s executive order on gender.
The order, which Trump signed after his inauguration on Tuesday, directs the secretaries of state and homeland security to ensure that passports, visas and other official government documents reflect male and female as the only two sexes.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
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.
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.
Trump’s agenda is clear: keep people out or make them pay. The US’s fabric as a nation of immigrants is tearing apart
Immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers hoping for a safe haven to build a life in the United States awoke to a blistering reality on Tuesday, after Donald Trump’s barrage of policy changes shortly after taking office effectively slammed the door shut on many would-be newcomers – and cast a spectre over many already living stateside.
First came the news that, as Trump was being sworn in as the 47th president, the federal government had disabled its CBP One phone app’s appointment system, where prospective migrants and asylum seekers could schedule an appointment with the US authorities and legally enter the country.
Continue reading...Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have come out in opposition to the former Fox host running the Pentagon
Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, defended on Thursday what he described as an “innocent” hand salute made by US billionaire Elon Musk this week, as he criticised “woke ideology” in a fiery speech to the World Economic Forum.
Musk ignited controversy with two fascist-style salutes during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, with critics accusing him of giving the Nazi salute.
Continue reading...Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins say they cannot support nominee, raising fresh doubts about confirmation chances
Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced that they would oppose the nomination of Pete Hegseth to become the next US secretary of defense, making them the first two Republican lawmakers to publicly reject one of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks and raising fresh doubts about the controversial nominee’s chances of confirmation.
Murkowski indicated her opposition to Hegseth in a statement shared on social media on Thursday, in which she criticized the Fox News host and army veteran as lacking the experience and character needed to lead the Pentagon.
Continue reading...Rob Bonta is suing alongside other states to block birthright citizenship order he calls ‘flagrant violation’ of constitution
Donald Trump “overreached by a mile” with his attempt to dismantle the longstanding constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, said.
California along with a coalition of states and the city of San Francisco are suing the administration over an executive order issued just hours after Trump was sworn into office on Monday that would deny automatic citizenship to some children born in the United States – a move they argue is in “flagrant violation” of the US constitution.
Continue reading...Health and Human Services is expected to be overhauled as Robert F Kennedy Jr waits to take department’s reins
Trump administration appointees are asserting control over the enormous US federal health department after the president’s inauguration this week – pausing public communications and abruptly canceling scientific meetings.
While temporary communications pauses are not entirely abnormal as new administrations find their feet, the orders come at a time of high anxiety for US scientists and public health workers.
Continue reading...President also threatens tariffs on imports to US and repeats call for Nato countries to increase defence spending to 5%
Donald Trump has made a combative return to the world stage, accusing oil producers of prolonging the Ukraine war by failing to cut prices, and threatening tariffs on all US imports.
In a typically blustering online address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the new president called on Saudi Arabia and the oil-producers’ cartel Opec to cut the cost of oil, in order to choke off revenues to Russia and halt the conflict in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Supporters of bill say Labour has already insisted on removal of clauses requiring UK to meet targets agreed at Cop and other summits
A landmark bill that would make the UK’s climate and environment targets legally binding seems doomed after government whips ordered Labour MPs to oppose it following a breakdown in negotiations.
Supporters of the climate and nature bill, introduced by the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage, say Labour insisted on the removal of clauses that would require the UK to meet the targets it agreed to at Cop and other international summits.
Continue reading...Red state legislators have also introduced a slew of bills targeting abortion pills and minors’ access to the procedure
Legislators in at least four states have introduced bills this year that would change the legal definition of “homicide” to include abortion – proposals that pave the way for states to charge abortion patients with murder.
Pregnancy Justice, a group that tracks these kinds of efforts, says it has recorded more “homicide” bills this year than ever before. Abortion bans have typically penalized providers, rather than patients.
Continue reading...Mariann Edgar Budde defends sermon asking president to show compassion to immigrants and LGBTQ+ people
The bishop at the National Cathedral prayer service in Washington on Tuesday who urged Donald Trump to “have mercy upon” immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, has defended her remarks and said that she will not apologize.
The Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon on Tuesday garnered national attention when she made a direct plea to Trump to show mercy and compassion toward scared individuals, including “gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families”, as well as immigrants, and those fleeing war and persecution.
Continue reading...House and Senate Republicans float ideas to pay for Trump’s immigration crackdown and to fund tax cuts
Republicans are reportedly prepared to cut Medicaid funding to pay for Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration and to fund tax cuts that would mostly benefit the wealthy.
The GOP in the House and Senate have floated a series of ideas – many of which would target lower-income Americans – to cover the cost of extending tax cuts passed by Trump in 2017, the New York Times reported.
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...Bird snapped by Newhaven wildlife sanctuary ecologist is likely a juvenile on risky 1,500km journey away from parents, expert says
Recent wet weather in the arid plains of central Australia prompted the wildlife ecologist and bird enthusiast Dr Tim Henderson to stop last week at a small lake to see if any waterbirds had shown up.
While there, above his head came a sight many birdwatchers wait a lifetime for: the red goshawk, Australia’s rarest bird of prey. It had a throat full of food, and was in a location it had never been photographed and had not been recorded at for about 30 years.
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Continue reading...Consumer advocates call for more transparency around ‘shrinkflation’ as supermarkets continue to defend against price-gouging allegations
Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths, is selling a significantly smaller stick of Brut deodorant for more than double the unit price of the old product, in an extreme example of “shrinkflation” that leaves shoppers paying more for common household products.
While not unlawful, the pricing decision rubs against heightened public criticism of strategies employed by supermarkets, which have consistently defended themselves against price gouging allegations during a cost-of-living crisis.
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Continue reading...One psychiatrist raises concerns about proposed back-up arrangements as health officials rush to fill staffing gaps
More than 60 mental health beds in public hospitals are temporarily closing in New South Wales as some hospitals are being given directives to limit psychiatric assessments because of mass resignations.
A senior psychiatrist told Guardian Australia that the emergency plans to manage psychiatric patients will mean decisions on discharge or the need for further care will be delayed, causing bed blockages across the health system. The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Continue reading...PM to promise $10,000 payments to keep young people in construction as cost of living blamed for a shortfall in builders
Apprentice tradies stand to get an extra $10,000 from a re-elected Labor government as Anthony Albanese tries to encourage more young people into construction to help build the 1.2m homes he promised by 2030.
The prime minister will make the $626m promise at the National Press Club on Friday, in his first major speech for the year which will set out Labor’s re-election bid.
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Continue reading...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.
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.
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.
Ahead of Trump’s second term, Democratic and Republican lawmakers are advancing sweeping measures to make life harder for immigrants.
The post Building the Deportation Machine for Trump 2.0 appeared first on The Intercept.
The secretaries of defense and state will play key roles in U.S. policy on Israel, but they faced little scrutiny on Palestinian suffering.
The post Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio Get a Pass on Suffering in Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The scale of Australia’s trade with blacklisted companies, revealed in Guardian investigation, prompts anger across the Uyghur community
Australia’s new anti-slavery commissioner has called on the government to urgently address the “inadequacy” of its forced labour laws after revelations that it had allowed thousands of imports from Chinese companies blacklisted for their alleged links to Uyghur workers.
Guardian Australia revealed on Monday that Australia had received thousands of imports from Chinese companies blacklisted by the United States over alleged links to Uyghur forced labour.
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Continue reading...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.
Infrastructure spending means investment in people, writes Netti Pearson, while Ann Eastman suggests corporate opportunities for the NHS and Brandi Leach calls on UK billionaires to be philanthropists
It was with dismay and anger – though not surprise, given Wes Streeting’s lack of support for a publicly provided NHS – to see that the new hospital programme initiated under the Tories will not go ahead (Half of new hospitals promised by Boris Johnson will not be built for years, 17 January). My local district hospital, the most remote in mainland England, serves a population of about 170,000 (which can more than double in the summer) scattered across a wide rural area and there are plans to bring it up to modern standards. Some of the work has started, but now it seems its future is uncertain.
And all because Streeting and his fellow ministers are still in thrall to the economic orthodoxy of the last 40 years – an orthodoxy which has seen the impoverishment of our society, a massive increase in inequality, a massive increase in poverty and homelessness, and a massive sell-off of public assets and services. In 1942 John Maynard Keynes said: “Anything we can actually do, we can afford.” Margaret Thatcher turned that on its head, and we have Rachel Reeves channelling her handbag economics with: “We can only do what we can afford.” Why can our politicians not learn from history? It is an absolute truth that the government is only constrained in its spending by the actual resources available, and as sovereign issuer of currency, it is not limited in its spending by taxes or issuing bonds.
Continue reading...She longs to distance herself from Boris, Liz and Rishi – but it’s as if she has given up already
You can only step back and applaud. The audacity. The vision. Never before has political nihilism been so wholeheartedly embraced. This was mainlined futility. Well, through any normal looking-glass. A new genre of postmodernism that would have left Derrida and Deleuze breathless and baffled. Four minutes and 40 seconds of YouTube video that will have had Conservative supporters reaching for the fentanyl.
The received wisdom of party political broadcasts is that they must have a purpose. A message that is easily understood. Generally a simple story of why opponents have got it wrong and why – and how – you will put things right. It’s not complicated. It’s not sophisticated. Just PR 101. Political Ronseal. Only for Kemi Badenoch’s first broadcast as Conservative leader, which was released overnight, she chose to break with all convention. What followed was more a career suicide note than a message of hope. Even her fans were in despair.
Continue reading...Mayday Saxonvale scheme is given the go-ahead after an extraordinary meeting of Somerset council executive
Residents of a “renegade” Somerset market town have won their battle to create an innovative 5-hectare (12-acre) community-led development that includes homes, workspaces and a lido, after councillors agreed to sell a large brownfield site to the not-for-profit social enterprise behind the project.
The Mayday Saxonvale scheme in Frome, which hundreds of residents have spent five years fighting for, also features two public squares, and a community-owned boutique hotel and cafe.
Continue reading...The government has announced a public inquiry into why authorities failed to stop Axel Rudakubana before he killed three girls in Southport. But is it enough to stop another such attack? John Harris asks the counter-terrorism practitioner Rashad Ali. Plus, the Guardian political correspondent Kiran Stacey explores how Keir Starmer will deal with Donald Trump’s return
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.
Timing may show two leaders want to coordinate approach in engaging with new US administration over Ukraine
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, held a video call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in a symbolic display of unity just hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US.
Speaking from his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Putin highlighted the close ties between the two countries, stating that their relations were based on “shared interests, equality, and mutual benefit“, calling Xi his “dear friend”.
Continue reading...TDs gathered in parliament for ceremony which had been due to take place yesterday
Donald Trump should be wary of giving Vladimir Putin too much prominence by agreeing to an early summit on Ukraine, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski argued in Davos.
Here is his argument in full:
President Trump has started well by recognising that it is Putin who needs to shift his position, not Ukraine.
If I can make one suggestion to the new administration, coming from the depths of experience of a country that warned the rest of the world about Putin and was not always listened to, it is this: this is not the Putin that Trump knew in his first term.
I think the main thing is to engage with him. When there are concerns or issues raised about what the new administration will do I think the best thing is to go to Washington and discuss.
Back in 2017, some allies thought we should just freeze our relations with the US, do almost nothing, and hope things would improve after the next elections.
Continue reading...Friedrich Merz says he will boost border controls if he wins power in next month’s elections
Germany’s opposition leader has pledged to strengthen border controls and step up deportations if he becomes chancellor after elections next month, a day after an Afghan man was arrested over a knife attack in which two people died.
Friedrich Merz, whose conservative CDU/CSU alliance is leading in polls, said he would not allow attacks like the one in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg on Wednesday to become a “normal affair”.
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...
Longtime president and Putin ally has silenced media and criminalised dissent as he eyes seventh term
On Sunday, five names will feature on the ballot in Belarus’s presidential election, but the outcome is a foregone conclusion: Alexander Lukashenko’s 31-year reign is poised to continue in the carefully managed vote, granting the dictator his seventh term in power.
The elections, described by the opposition as a “farce”, come four and a half years after Belarus’s previous presidential vote, which sparked nationwide protests over allegations of vote rigging and was met with brutal repression.
Continue reading...As three men challenge their commutations, others brace for imminent prison transfers and the finality of a life sentence with no chance of release.
The post Biden Commuted Their Death Sentences. Now What? appeared first on The Intercept.
American Oversight has raised concerns over ‘department of government efficiency’ using encrypted apps
A leading ethics watchdog has issued warnings to Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk and the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), an agency Trump has stated he will create, claiming its use of encrypted messaging apps potentially violates the Federal Records Act (FRA).
American Oversight, which uses litigation to obtain public records and expose government misconduct, argues that Musk’s leadership of Doge raises “significant ethical concerns about potential conflicts of interest”, given his business empire and the substantial impact that Doge could have on federal agencies.
Continue reading...Poland waived its legal obligations as an ICC signatory to arrest Netanyahu. Former and current EU officials are speaking out.
The post Poland Is Warned: Welcoming Netanyahu to Auschwitz Memorial Would Be a “Grave Mistake” appeared first on The Intercept.
Chancellor says scheme aims to bridge gap between Whitehall and local leaders to avoid previous top-down approach
Rachel Reeves will instruct bosses of the national wealth fund (NWF) and the new Office for Investment to work with regional mayors for the first time, as part of a package of initiatives to boost growth.
After a meeting of combined authority mayors and civil servants in Rotherham on Thursday, the chancellor said a deeper relationship between Whitehall and regional leaders would enhance her push to enhance growth nationally.
Continue reading...Pro-growth charm offensive aimed at getting Labour back on the front foot has drawn concerns and questions
Roughing up industry regulators, jetting to Davos to court the global elite, and preparing to greenlight airport expansion: after a difficult start to the year, Rachel Reeves is working overtime to regain business confidence.
Financial market turbulence at the start of the year has been followed by a pro-growth charm offensive aimed at getting Labour back on the front foot, before the chancellor goes further in a speech she is expected to give next week.
Continue reading...Now the killer is in jail, the process of unpicking where the authorities went wrong can begin
For the families of Axel Rudakubana’s victims, the life sentence with a minimum of 52 years handed to him on Thursday for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, and 13 other crimes, cannot end their suffering but brings a close to a painful chapter. Until he pleaded guilty on Monday, the expectation had been for a weeks-long trial. The continuing struggle of survivors was painfully clear from statements read in court. Several girls have life-changing injuries. Alice’s family described their bereavement as a “scar to the soul”. There are few precedents in Britain for the eruption of such extreme violence into a gathering of young children.
Thankfully there has been no repeat of last summer’s riots, when asylum seekers were targeted after false claims that the killer – who was born in Cardiff – was himself a migrant. By announcing three new probes this week, Sir Keir Starmer showed that he grasps the political risks stirred up by this case, as well as its grievous losses.
Continue reading...Dublin’s latest coalition has finally got parliamentary approval. But there are meteorological and political tempests coming across the Atlantic
The whole of Ireland was put on red alert on Thursday as Storm Éowyn barrelled in from the north Atlantic. Schools in the Irish republic are closed on Friday, all public transport has been stood down and pet owners have been told to keep animals stabled or indoors, with 80mph winds expected to leave trails of destruction before the storm moves on towards central Scotland.
The danger to life and property will be more than enough for most people in Ireland. But it is hard not to see this week’s tempestuous visitation as something of a metaphor for Irish politics, which have had an unusually storm-tossed week of their own as the republic buckles up for a tax-and-tariff battle with Donald Trump’s new administration in Washington.
Continue reading...Emergency use of Cruiser SB, a neonicotinoid pesticide highly toxic to bees, to be outlawed in UK in line with EU
Bee-killing pesticides have been banned for emergency use in the UK for the first time in five years after the government rejected an application from the National Farmers’ Union and British Sugar.
The neonicotinoid pesticide Cruiser SB, which is used on sugar beet, is highly toxic to bees and has the potential to kill off populations of the insect. It is banned in the EU but the UK has provisionally agreed to its emergency use every year since leaving the bloc. It combats a plant disease known as virus yellows by killing the aphid that spreads it.
Continue reading...This unprecedented slaughter could not have happened without powerful cheerleaders. Hold them to account
Unless those complicit in the Gaza genocide are held to account, the brutal consequences will be felt far beyond that shattered land. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas offered a respite for traumatised survivors. But Donald Trump’s declaration that he is not confident it will last has prompted renewed terror. From the new president’s decision to lift the pause on shipments of 2,000lb bombs to Israel, which were dropped repeatedly on civilians in so-called safe zones, to his pick for the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who once said there was “really no such thing as a Palestinian”, those hoping for lasting peace are right to worry that the carnage will soon begin again.
The assault on Gaza is normalising an almost limitless violence against civilians, all facilitated and justified by multiple western governments and media outlets. It is worth recalling the destruction of Guernica by Nazi and Italian forces during the Spanish civil war nearly nine decades ago. Guernica was one of the first aerial mass bombardments of a civilian community, and it scandalised the world. The then US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, deplored how “civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly murdered from the air”. The Times journalist George Steer wrote that, “In the form of its execution and the scale of destruction it wrought, the raid on Guernica is unparalleled in military history.” Alas, Guernica turned out to be a trial run for the aerial obliteration of European cities a few years later: the Nazi military leader Hermann Göring told the Nuremberg trials that Guernica allowed the Nazis to test out their Luftwaffe.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Scott McDonald writes that the British Council will help support and rebuild Ukraine’s cultural and education systems
The announcement of the 100-year partnership between Ukraine and the UK is hugely welcome (UK to back Ukraine ‘beyond this terrible war’ with 100-year pact, says Starmer, 16 January). A critical aspect of this war, we must not forget, is its daily and long-term impact on the Ukrainian people, their cultural sector, education and way of life.
The British Council will be a committed contributor to the partnership. We play a key role in the UK’s support for recovery and reconstruction by investing in the preservation of Ukraine’s culture and educational assets, expanding the use of English, and supporting thousands of Ukrainian English language teachers’ professional development. Our education programme, UK-Ukraine School Partnerships, is part of the partnership, with 50 UK schools paired with 50 Ukrainian schools, giving students aged between seven and 14 and their teachers the chance to connect with their peers and bring an international perspective into the classroom.
Continue reading...Fianna Fáil leader officially elected as taoiseach a day after chaotic scenes in Dáil, as thoughts turn to future and Trump
Ireland’s newly appointed leader, Micheál Martin, has vowed to protect the country “at a moment of real threat” just days after Donald Trump threatened to wipe out its tax advantage and repatriate American jobs.
He was speaking moments after he was officially appointed as taoiseach, but 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Dáil caused the cancellation of his formal appointment.
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Sam Kuffel’s departure comes after far-right radio host slams her condemnation of X owner’s apparent Nazi salute
A Milwaukee meteorologist has been fired from her TV station after she criticized Elon Musk’s apparent fascist salutes during Donald Trump’s inaugural celebrations.
On Wednesday, staff members at the CBS affiliate Channel 58 were notified of the meteorologist Sam Kuffel’s departure from the news station, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Continue reading...Business leaders may thunder about job cuts, but their threats could backfire: union membership is only growing
What a perverse act of defiance – two fingers up to government policy by a major company. Bidfood is one of the largest food distributors in the UK, with 26 depots supplying about 40,000 institutions and food service companies, including Manchester United, Subway and Five Guys. What’s more, it supplies NHS trusts, the army, prisons and schools and the royal household. Yet it chooses this moment to derecognise trade unions, abandoning a longstanding recognition of the GMB and Unite. This reflects the rumbling resistance to the government’s flagship working rights legislation that is now going through parliament.
The unions say that tearing up the recognition agreement came out of the blue: there had been no dispute at the company. Now the unions fear the company is doing it because it plans a P&O-style fire-and-rehire of its food delivery workers, reducing the terms of their contracts to pre-empt something that will be effectively banned when the new employment rights laws come into force.
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Ultra-rich individuals are associating with Donald Trump as he ascends to the presidency for his second time
Joe Biden delivered an ominous message to Americans in his 15 January farewell address, warning that a privileged few could soon be poised to wield enormous power in the US.
Biden described a “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked”.
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It’s Trump’s proclivity for deal-making and no mess I’m holding on to for progress toward a Palestinian state
The only thing we know for certain regarding a Trump Middle East doctrine is that the president-elect has no clear policy regarding that part of the world. Contradictions abound in his appointments and statements. Donald Trump’s first term perhaps offers clues – the signing and promoting of the Abraham accords with the Gulf states and Israel while also moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and shuttering the US consulate in Israel that catered to the Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza, while also tossing the PLO representative out of Washington and shutting down that ambassadorial-rank office.
He allowed his US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, to encourage increased West Bank settlement, himself a patron of the hardcore ideological Jewish settlers. None of these actions made an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians easier or more near, and now, after October 7, the terrain is more fraught and confused.
Jo-Ann Mort is co-author of Our Hearts Invented a Place: Can Kibbutzim Survive in Today’s Israel? She writes frequently about Israel for US, UK and Israeli publications
Continue reading...Rachel Reeves told the elites gathered in Switzerland she was relaxed about ‘wealth creation’. She’s in the minority on that
Rachel Reeves might give the impression of being someone who’s never late for social engagements, but she is increasingly late to the party. At a breakfast event on the second day of Davos, after she’d spelled out her faith in artificial intelligence and a high-skilled workforce, someone asked Britain’s chancellor how she felt about “wealth creation” – was she relaxed, in a Blairite sense? “Absolutely,” Reeves replied. “Absolutely relaxed.”
Wealth creation isn’t quite the same as just wealth, but “wealth creators” is famously the moniker the super-rich use for themselves. And so Reeves’s exceedingly relaxed tone here puts her in a minority – possibly a minority of one. As Elon Musk salutes his way into political power, not even rich people are relaxed about wealth any more. On the first day of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, the pro-tax campaign group Patriotic Millionaires released survey results from 2,000 high net-worth individuals across the G20: more than half of them thought extreme wealth was a threat to democracy, and over two-thirds agreed that the visible influence of the wealthy was leading to a decline in trust of the media, the justice system and democracy.
Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Tweak to finance bill is part of Labour push to show UK is attractive place to invest
Rachel Reeves will amend the finance bill to soften planned changes to the non-dom tax regime as Labour woos the wealthy in pursuit of growth.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she has been meeting business leaders and entrepreneurs, Reeves said: “We have been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community.”
Continue reading...‘Moment of truth’ for UK foreign secretary over Alaa Abd El Fattah, who is still being held in a Cairo prison
The family of the jailed British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd El Fattah have urged the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, to prioritise the dissident’s release above trade deals during his visit to Egypt.
Fattah remains in a Cairo jail even though his sentence for dissent has been served. His mother is on a hunger strike in London with her health now deteriorating.
Continue reading...They had different views on ways of making payments and also the European convention on human rights, but did they agree on the return of Donald Trump?
Martin R, 28, Bristol
Occupation Studying for a PhD in political theory
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The simple truth is that Trump ignored almost every major issue facing this country’s working families in his first speech
I was at the Trump inauguration on Monday, and needless to say, I disagree with almost everything he had to say.
What really struck me, however, is not what he said, which was not surprising given his general rhetoric – but what he didn’t say. The simple truth is that Donald Trump gave a major speech, the first speech of his second presidency, and ignored almost every significant issue facing the working families of this country.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: As Israeli security forces launch an operation in the city of Jenin and violence by settlers escalates, Emma Graham-Harrison explains what happens next
Good morning.
A few days after a ceasefire brought at least temporary relief to Gaza, violence erupted in the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday, the Israeli military launched what was described as an extensive raid in the city of Jenin, a day after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, setting vehicles and property ablaze in a violent rampage. Two Israeli were arrested even though dozens of armed settlers were involved in the rioting. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the attacks, but it is evident that extremist settlers feel emboldened by government policies and ministers who back their agenda.
Media | The Duke of Sussex has settled his high court legal action against the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers. NGN offered “a full and unequivocal apology” to Prince Harry “for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them” at the News of the World. It will also pay “substantial damages”.
US politics | Donald Trump has threatened Russia with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not struck soon, as the new US president tries to increase pressure on Moscow to start negotiations with Kyiv.
Social media | TikTok’s power to deliver “exhilaration” and the UK’s relationship with China are shaping the UK government’s acceptance of the short video app despite “genuine concerns” about how the data of millions of Britons may be used, the technology secretary has said.
Politics | Campaigners will be blocked from “excessive” legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects including airports, railways and nuclear power stations as part of the government’s drive for economic growth.
UK news | A former soldier has pleaded guilty to murdering three women with a crossbow at their home in Hertfordshire last year. Kyle Clifford admitted killing Carol Hunt and her daughters Hannah and Louise in Bushey on 9 July.
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Representatives of Heartland Institute linking up with MEPs to campaign against environmental policies
Climate science deniers from a US-based thinktank have been working with rightwing politicians in Europe to campaign against environmental policies, the Guardian can reveal.
MEPs have been accused of “rolling out the red carpet for climate deniers” to give them a platform in the European parliament, amid warnings of a “revival of grotesque climate denialism”.
Continue reading...US president reinstates Cuba on terror list despite Biden deal to release prisoners jailed over demonstrations
The families of Cuban protesters jailed in anti-government demonstrations are waiting anxiously to see if the government will continue with a planned prisoner release after Donald Trump reneged on a deal made last week by Joe Biden.
Activists from the human rights group Justicia 11J believe about 150 prisoners have been released so far of the 553 agreed with the Catholic church.
Continue reading...Not sure which whisky to sip this Burns Night? No problem, we’ve tasted them straight up for you
Nothing exorcises the miserable spirit of January – dry or otherwise – like a Burns Night celebration. A whisky-fuelled supper to mark Robert Burns’s birthday is the perfect remedy to dreich midwinter days. It’s a bandwagon on to which I gladly jump each year, despite having no connection to Scotland whatsoever. And so should you.
Along with a well-thumbed paperback of the Bard’s greatest hits, you’ll also want to ensure you have a bottle or two of the best scotch on standby for the address to the haggis. Whether you enjoy the in-your-face smoke of Islay whisky, prefer a refined Highland single malt, or are up for trying something a little more surprising, I’ve handpicked a selection of delicious drams to raise a fitting toast to Rabbie Burns.
Continue reading...Conservative parties and far-right AfD lead in polls, with CDU’s Friedrich Merz likely to become chancellor
Germany goes to the polls on 23 February for a snap federal election that, barring mishaps, will set the course of the EU’s largest and most influential member state, and the eurozone’s biggest – if faltering – economy, for the next four years.
Here is a guide to what is at stake, how the system works, who the main players are and what may be the eventual outcome.
Continue reading...Dozens of children fall ill during rollout of program that was a centrepiece of President Prabowo Subianto’s election campaign
Dozens of Indonesian schoolchildren have suffered food poisoning after consuming free meals offered through a new flagship program of President Prabowo Subianto, his office has confirmed.
Rolled out this month, Prabowo’s multi-billion dollar policy was a centrepiece of the former general’s election campaign, with a pledge to reach 82.9 million children and pregnant women out of the country’s population of 280 million by 2029.
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.
Exclusive: Complaints said report was 'inaccurate’ and biased in favour of ousted Sheikh Hasina’s government
A group of MPs has withdrawn a controversial report into Bangladesh after complaints that it was biased in favour of the ousted government of Sheikh Hasina.
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on the Commonwealth issued a report on Bangladesh last November that criticised the current regime in Dhaka but was accused of significant inaccuracies.
Continue reading...Federal government appeals against law critics say disproportionately affects hijab-wearing Muslim women
Canada’s top court has agreed to hear a challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law, paving the way for a fierce debate over provincial powers and the fundamental rights of ethnic and religious minorities.
The supreme court signaled on Thursday that it would grant leave to appeal against the 2019 law which prohibits certain public workers in positions of authority – including judges, police officers, prison guards and teachers – from wearing religious symbols while at work. Other public workers such as bus drivers, doctors and social workers must only keep their faces uncovered.
Continue reading...New deal being considered by board cuts fixed pay but allows for much higher bonuses
The Barclays chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, could have his maximum pay package rise by 45% to more than £14m, as part of a deal being considered by the bank’s board.
The high street lender is understood to have written to the bank’s largest shareholders regarding potential plans to overhaul its pay structures for Venkatakrishnan and its finance chief, Anna Cross.
Continue reading...Bill Sweeney has revealed he is determined to stay on as the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive until 2027 – even if he loses a forthcoming vote of no confidence – and refused to apologise for accepting a £358,000 bonus amid record losses and redundancies.
Sweeney also distanced himself from the appointment of Steve Borthwick as England head coach two years ago – the most significant decision of his tenure – on the eve of a make-or-break Six Nations campaign that could pile more pressure on the embattled chief executive.
Continue reading...High court case demands inquiry into 1985 Cradock Four killings and ‘constitutional damages’ worth £7.3m
Lukhanyo Calata’s first memory of his father was the funeral. His mother sobbing, the earth beneath his feet shaking from the number of people gathered at the graveside, and the fear he felt aged three as the red box holding his father, Fort, was lowered into the ground.
Fort Calata was one of four men stopped at a roadblock in June 1985 by security officers. The Cradock Four were beaten, strangled with telephone wire, stabbed and shot to death in one of the most notorious killings of South Africa’s apartheid era.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Jonathan Fadugba and Barney Ronay to discuss the Champions League action
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: PSG do the very thing PSG aren’t supposed to do and un-implode against Manchester City, coming back from 2-0 down to win 4-2 and leave Pep’s side with a chance of not making the Champions League playoffs.
Continue reading...Ian Sample speaks to Keon West, a professor of social psychology at the University of London, whose new book, The Science of Racism, explores what science can reveal about racism, the inventive methods scientists have used to study it and the scientifically proven ways of tackling racism and discrimination
Order The Science of Racism by Keon West from the Guardian bookshop
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Continue reading...Keir Starmer plans to rapidly increase the amount of artificial intelligence used in the public sector. But what is the environmental cost? Helena Horton reports
Last week, Keir Starmer announced his plans to use artificial intelligence to drive “incredible change in our country”. Part of the strategy is to create “AI growth zones”, including one in Culham, Oxfordshire.
The decision caught the attention of the Guardian’s environment reporter Helena Horton.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Sid Lowe as Benfica and Barcelona play out possibly the greatest Champions League game ever
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; a completely ridiculous game in Lisbon sees Barcelona come from 4-2 behind to win 5-4 against Benfica in a game that had it all; red cards, goalkeeper howlers and a late, late controversial winner.
Continue reading...Impeached president appears in constitutional court following last month’s short-lived martial law order
South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has denied ordering troops to “drag out” lawmakers from the country’s parliament to prevent them from overturning his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.
In his first appearance at the constitutional court, which will decide whether to uphold his impeachment, Yoon replied “no” when asked by a judge whether he had ordered the military to remove lawmakers from the national assembly building.
Continue reading...Andrew Cheung defends city’s legal processes as ‘transparent, fair and independent’ despite mounting concerns from departing legal officers
Hong Kong’s top judge has claimed the exodus of foreign judges from the judiciary’s benches since the introduction of the national security law is due to escalating geopolitical tensions and “orchestrated harassment”.
The city’s chief justice, Andrew Cheung, made the remarks at the ceremonial opening of the city’s legal year on Monday evening in a speech which acknowledged the changing political environment but otherwise stridently defended the judiciary. Hong Kong has a common law system separate from the Chinese mainland’s, but observers say it is under growing political pressure.
Continue reading...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 ...
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...We want to hear from parents with experience in temporary accommodation about the impact on their lives, family and schooling
More than 150,000 children are living in temporary accommodation, according to official figures.
In November, the House of Commons committee on Housing, Communities and Local Government launched an inquiry into the conditions of children in temporary accommodation.
Continue reading...
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
Are you looking for a new graphic design tool? Would you like to read a detailed review of Canva? As it's one of the tools I love using. I am also writing my first ebook using canva and publish it soon on my site you can download it is free. Let's start the review.
Canva has a web version and also a mobile app
Canva is a free graphic design web application that allows you to create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, banners, and more using professionally designed templates. You can upload your own photos from your computer or from Google Drive, and add them to Canva's templates using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It's like having a basic version of Photoshop that doesn't require Graphic designing knowledge to use. It’s best for nongraphic designers.
Canva is a great tool for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers who don’t have the time and want to edit quickly.
To create sophisticated graphics, a tool such as Photoshop can is ideal. To use it, you’ll need to learn its hundreds of features, get familiar with the software, and it’s best to have a good background in design, too.
Also running the latest version of Photoshop you need a high-end computer.
So here Canva takes place, with Canva you can do all that with drag-and-drop feature. It’s also easier to use and free. Also an even-more-affordable paid version is available for $12.95 per month.
The product is available in three plans: Free, Pro ($12.99/month per user or $119.99/year for up to 5 people), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, minimum 25 people).
To get started on Canva, you will need to create an account by providing your email address, Google, Facebook or Apple credentials. You will then choose your account type between student, teacher, small business, large company, non-profit, or personal. Based on your choice of account type, templates will be recommended to you.
You can sign up for a free trial of Canva Pro, or you can start with the free version to get a sense of whether it’s the right graphic design tool for your needs.
When you sign up for an account, Canva will suggest different post types to choose from. Based on the type of account you set up you'll be able to see templates categorized by the following categories: social media posts, documents, presentations, marketing, events, ads, launch your business, build your online brand, etc.
Start by choosing a template for your post or searching for something more specific. Search by social network name to see a list of post types on each network.
Next, you can choose a template. Choose from hundreds of templates that are ready to go, with customizable photos, text, and other elements.
You can start your design by choosing from a variety of ready-made templates, searching for a template matching your needs, or working with a blank template.
Inside the Canva designer, the Elements tab gives you access to lines and shapes, graphics, photos, videos, audio, charts, photo frames, and photo grids.The search box on the Elements tab lets you search everything on Canva.
To begin with, Canva has a large library of elements to choose from. To find them, be specific in your search query. You may also want to search in the following tabs to see various elements separately:
The Photos tab lets you search for and choose from millions of professional stock photos for your templates.
You can replace the photos in our templates to create a new look. This can also make the template more suited to your industry.
You can find photos on other stock photography sites like pexel, pixabay and many more or simply upload your own photos.
When you choose an image, Canva’s photo editing features let you adjust the photo’s settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), crop, or animate it.
When you subscribe to Canva Pro, you get access to a number of premium features, including the Background Remover. This feature allows you to remove the background from any stock photo in library or any image you upload.
The Text tab lets you add headings, normal text, and graphical text to your design.
When you click on text, you'll see options to adjust the font, font size, color, format, spacing, and text effects (like shadows).
Canva Pro subscribers can choose from a large library of fonts on the Brand Kit or the Styles tab. Enterprise-level controls ensure that visual content remains on-brand, no matter how many people are working on it.
Create an animated image or video by adding audio to capture user’s attention in social news feeds.
If you want to use audio from another stock site or your own audio tracks, you can upload them in the Uploads tab or from the more option.
Want to create your own videos? Choose from thousands of stock video clips. You’ll find videos that range upto 2 minutes
You can upload your own videos as well as videos from other stock sites in the Uploads tab.
Once you have chosen a video, you can use the editing features in Canva to trim the video, flip it, and adjust its transparency.
On the Background tab, you’ll find free stock photos to serve as backgrounds on your designs. Change out the background on a template to give it a more personal touch.
The Styles tab lets you quickly change the look and feel of your template with just a click. And if you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload your brand’s custom colors and fonts to ensure designs stay on brand.
If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you’ll have a Logos tab. Here, you can upload variations of your brand logo to use throughout your designs.
With Canva, you can also create your own logos. Note that you cannot trademark a logo with stock content in it.
With Canva, free users can download and share designs to multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack and Tumblr.
Canva Pro subscribers can create multiple post formats from one design. For example, you can start by designing an Instagram post, and Canva's Magic Resizer can resize it for other networks, Stories, Reels, and other formats.
Canva Pro subscribers can also use Canva’s Content Planner to post content on eight different accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, and Tumblr.
Canva Pro allows you to work with your team on visual content. Designs can be created inside Canva, and then sent to your team members for approval. Everyone can make comments, edits, revisions, and keep track via the version history.
When it comes to printing your designs, Canva has you covered. With an extensive selection of printing options, they can turn your designs into anything from banners and wall art to mugs and t-shirts.
Canva Print is perfect for any business seeking to make a lasting impression. Create inspiring designs people will want to wear, keep, and share. Hand out custom business cards that leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
The Canva app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Canva app has earned a 4.9 out of five star rating from over 946.3K Apple users and a 4.5 out of five star rating from over 6,996,708 Google users.
In addition to mobile apps, you can use Canva’s integration with other Internet services to add images and text from sources like Google Maps, Emojis, photos from Google Drive and Dropbox, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Bitmojis, and other popular visual content elements.
In general, Canva is an excellent tool for those who need simple images for projects. If you are a graphic designer with experience, you will find Canva’s platform lacking in customization and advanced features – particularly vectors. But if you have little design experience, you will find Canva easier to use than advanced graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for most projects. If you have any queries let me know in the comments section.
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Continue reading...Executive order signed by Trump, which was to take effect on 19 February, is already the subject of five lawsuits
A federal judge in Seattle blocked Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from implementing an executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the US, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional”.
US district judge John Coughenour at the urging of four Democratic-led states issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from enforcing the order, which the Republican president signed on Monday during his first day on office.
Continue reading...One of two federal judges says pardons ‘cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake’
US federal judges have criticized Donald Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 people involved in the January 6 insurrection, arguing that the clemency “cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake” and that the president’s reasoning for the pardons was based on a “revisionist myth”.
The fierce condemnation came as the GOP scrambled to deal with Trump’s move, which was broader in scope than some Republicans had expected and included pardons for people convicted of assaulting police officers.
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 ...
As three men challenge their commutations, others brace for imminent prison transfers and the finality of a life sentence with no chance of release.
The post Biden Commuted Their Death Sentences. Now What? appeared first on The Intercept.
The Iraqi parliament has passed a ‘terrifying’ law permitting children as young as nine to marry
Iraqi MPs and women’s rights groups have reacted with horror to the Iraqi parliament passing a law permitting children as young as nine years old to marry, with activists saying it will “legalise child rape”.
Under the new law, which was agreed yesterday, religious authorities have been given the power to decide on family affairs, including marriage, divorce and the care of children. It abolishes a previous ban on the marriage of children under the age of 18 in place since the 1950s.
Continue reading...Federal government appeals against law critics say disproportionately affects hijab-wearing Muslim women
Canada’s top court has agreed to hear a challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law, paving the way for a fierce debate over provincial powers and the fundamental rights of ethnic and religious minorities.
The supreme court signaled on Thursday that it would grant leave to appeal against the 2019 law which prohibits certain public workers in positions of authority – including judges, police officers, prison guards and teachers – from wearing religious symbols while at work. Other public workers such as bus drivers, doctors and social workers must only keep their faces uncovered.
Continue reading...Eighteen-year-old had pleaded guilty to murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe and 10 charges of attempted murder
The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the “ferocious” and “sadistic” knife rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
The 18-year-old refused to appear in the dock as the judge said he would probably “never be released and he will be in custody for all his life” for the “savage” murder of three young girls and attempted murder of eight others, as well as two adults who tried to save them.
Continue reading...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.
Impeached president appears in constitutional court following last month’s short-lived martial law order
South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has denied ordering troops to “drag out” lawmakers from the country’s parliament to prevent them from overturning his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.
In his first appearance at the constitutional court, which will decide whether to uphold his impeachment, Yoon replied “no” when asked by a judge whether he had ordered the military to remove lawmakers from the national assembly building.
Continue reading...Andrew Cheung defends city’s legal processes as ‘transparent, fair and independent’ despite mounting concerns from departing legal officers
Hong Kong’s top judge has claimed the exodus of foreign judges from the judiciary’s benches since the introduction of the national security law is due to escalating geopolitical tensions and “orchestrated harassment”.
The city’s chief justice, Andrew Cheung, made the remarks at the ceremonial opening of the city’s legal year on Monday evening in a speech which acknowledged the changing political environment but otherwise stridently defended the judiciary. Hong Kong has a common law system separate from the Chinese mainland’s, but observers say it is under growing political pressure.
Continue reading...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...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.
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.
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.
Investments ‘likely to pay dividends’, analysis says, as Trump unleashes dozens of pro-fossil fuel executive actions
Big oil spent a stunning $445m throughout the last election cycle to influence Donald Trump and Congress, a new analysis has found.
That figure includes funding from January 2023 and November 2024 for political donations, lobbying and advertising to support elected officials and specific policies. Because it does not include money funneled through dark-money groups – which do not have to reveal their donors – it is almost certainly a vast understatement, says the report from green advocacy group Climate Power, which is based on campaign finance disclosures and advertising industry data.
Continue reading...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.
From LNG to drilling in Alaska, here’s everything you need to know about Trump’s energy and climate executive orders
Through a flurry of executive orders, a newly inaugurated Donald Trump has made clear his support for the ascendancy of fossil fuels, the dismantling of support for cleaner energy and the United States’ exit from the fight to contain the escalating climate crisis.
“We will drill, baby, drill,” the president said in his inaugural address on Monday. “We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have – the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it. We’re going to use it.”
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.
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.
“MUST FIND THE LEAKER!” Trump posted, decrying the damage to Israel when its Iran attack plans were made public.
The post CIA Leaker of Israel Intel Pleads Guilty Days Before Trump Takes Office 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.
Ahead of Trump’s second term, Democratic and Republican lawmakers are advancing sweeping measures to make life harder for immigrants.
The post Building the Deportation Machine for Trump 2.0 appeared first on The Intercept.
The secretaries of defense and state will play key roles in U.S. policy on Israel, but they faced little scrutiny on Palestinian suffering.
The post Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio Get a Pass on Suffering in Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The Brutalist is the next most favoured choice, with its mesmeric drama, currently neck-and-neck with the sugary charm of Wicked
• News: Emilia Pérez breaks record with 13 as The Brutalist and Wicked both trail with 10
• Oscars nominations 2025: the full list
So the strange process of Oscar-night groupthink consensus begins, and a certain film becomes mysteriously garlanded as the obvious choice to be preferred over the others as the big winner. Jacques Audiard’s baffling, amusing, preposterous and (to some) artlessly offensive Mexican trans crime musical Emilia Pérez leads the field with 13 nominations. But for me, Emilia Pérez is pretty much the weakest movie on the best picture list, certainly not as good as, say, Nickel Boys, which doesn’t get much of the conversation.
But Emilia Pérez could be heading for the same kind of tulip-fever acclamation that greeted the phantasmagoric Everything Everywhere All at Once from 2022 which cleaned up on Oscar night. Awards season connoisseurs know how, in the world of bland streaming content, films that are different, which get Oscar voters excitedly alerting each other to their unusualness – without being too unusual – can generate their own momentum. It’s certainly a remarkable success story for Audiard, a French director in the classic mould, entirely and magnificently unaware of liberal Anglo-Hollywood squeamishness over whether or not certain stories are “his to tell”. A French auteur’s prerogative covers everything.
Continue reading...From a Jennifer Lopez musical to an Ayo Edebiri horror to a provocative prison documentary, this year’s Utah-based festival has plenty to be excited about
Sundance remains one of the toughest festivals to truly predict – a smattering of unknown first-timers unfurling distributor-less films that are often shrouded in mystery – and so trying to guess what to see and what to miss of the 90-odd premieres can be something of a fool’s errand.
But a year on from a festival that gave us I Saw the TV Glow, Dìdi, My Old Ass, The Outrun and A Real Pain, there are enough reasons to suggest that this edition will be just as impressive. Here are the 10 I have my eye on right now:
Continue reading...We want to see people’s most loved brutalist buildings around the world and why people treasure them
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s film about a fictional modernist architect in postwar America, has become a hotly anticipated film release.
Architecture experts hope the movie will renew interest in brutalist heritage.
Continue reading...Mystery, magic and mayhem reigned behind the scenes as well as on screen. Mädchen Amick, Joan Chen, Dana Ashbrook and others recall the making of the beloved TV series – and the genius of David Lynch
David Lynch’s cult TV series Twin Peaks arrived in a world largely unprepared for its mix of glossy Americana, surrealism and horror. Since it was first broadcast in 1990, it has become part of television’s DNA, and stands as one of the greatest achievements of the lauded film-maker, who died last week.
Mark Frost (co-creator): I first met David Lynch in 1985. I had seen Eraserhead in 1979 at a midnight showing in Minneapolis, and I walked out with the oddest feeling and said: “Someday I’m going to work with that guy.” Six years later, a mutual agent of ours thought the two of us would be good to collaborate on a project they were representing, and fostered an introduction. We hit it off from the very first moment. We were laughing within minutes. We loved all the same movies, we knew all the same directors. That project went away, but then another agent approached us and said: “What do you guys think about doing a television project together?” We had nothing to lose.
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
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
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