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From Swipe to Sweat: How Athletic Clubs Replaced Dating Apps
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:00:00 +0000
Post-pandemic, fitness clubs have emerged as the best place to find romance IRL. No profile required.
Match ID: 0 Score: 35.00 source: www.wired.com age: 2 days
qualifiers: 35.00 fitness
‘I don’t know whether it’s sustainable’: climate crisis and TikTok change face of mountain rescue work in Lake District
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 06:00:07 GMT
There may be less snow but the number of callouts has surged, and often involve ill-prepared novice hikers
When Neil Barrow first volunteered with mountain rescue 40 years ago, for weeks on end the Lake District fells would be capped with snow.
Winters with the Patterdale mountain rescue team, of which he is now deputy leader, would involve big and complicated rescues, during which he would bring down the experienced hikers who had become injured or ill tackling the national park’s famous peaks in snow and ice.
Continue reading...
“What he’s done is testing the limits of his power in a way we have never seen in this country,” says retired federal Judge Nancy Gertner.
The post Constitutional Crisis Looms appeared first on The Intercept.
In the span of just weeks, the US government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history—not through a sophisticated cyberattack or an act of foreign espionage, but through official orders by a billionaire with a poorly defined government role. And the implications for national security are profound.
First, it was reported that people associated with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed the US Treasury computer system, giving them the ability to collect data on and potentially control the department’s roughly ...
CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger could barely contain his excitement about the Laken Riley Act and Trump’s anti-immigration executive orders.
The post Private Prison CEO on Trump Deportation Surge: “One of the Most Exciting Periods in My Career” appeared first on The Intercept.
And that’s how he wants to keep it, his executive orders and memos from Attorney General Pam Bondi show.
The post Trump Is Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud: Federal Prisons Are Purposely Inhumane appeared first on The Intercept.
Courts are currently backlogged with 3.7m cases as US president demands more deportations
The Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said on Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government.
On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers. Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances in the last week.
Continue reading...The government’s attempt to court Reform voters by penalising asylum seekers who arrive by the wrong route could backfire
Last Monday, the government quietly added a few short lines to Home Office guidance that amount to a huge change in refugee policy. By amending the “good character” guidance for immigration staff processing asylum applications, ministers have effectively removed the right of refugees to apply for British citizenship if they arrived in the UK illegally or via a dangerous route, such as in a small boat or stowed away in a lorry.
This cruel change means that refugees fleeing conflict, torture and human rights abuses, and who have long been granted protection and the right to live and work in the UK, will no longer be able to become British citizens. There is no justification for it. Although the government has said that the home secretary retains the discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis, that is likely to be highly unusual. While immigration caseworkers have the discretion to disregard illegal entry for refugees who arrived in the UK as children, there is far from any guarantee that this will happen, and, given the high citizenship application fee, this measure will ensure that even child refugees are penalised as adults for their method of arrival. The immigration lawyer Colin Yeo has said these changes amount to a contravention of the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which Britain was a founding signatory.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...Ruling enables providers to offer procedure, which voters enshrined in state constitution after fall of Roe in 2022
In a massive victory for abortion rights supporters, a Missouri judge on Friday blocked a licensing requirement for abortion clinics that providers said prevented them from offering the procedure.
Planned Parenthood announced shortly after the judge’s ruling that its clinics would once again perform abortions in Missouri.
Continue reading...For some members of the WhatsApp group, speaking out for Palestine and criticizing Israel are tantamount to supporting Hamas.
The post The Columbia Network Pushing Behind the Scenes to Deport and Arrest Student Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
At least some sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) may relate to non-human intelligence, says Prof Michael Bohlander. Plus, letters from Andrew Robinson and Aideen Carty
Much as in the US, with the recent congressional hearings on unidentified anomalous phenomena, the UK government is apparently less than transparent in its handling of UAP sightings (formerly called UFOs) – as your article about the Calvine photo shows (What really happened in Calvine? The mystery behind the best UFO picture ever seen, G2, 11 February). And, as in the US, any hope for imminent and trustworthy disclosure about what these objects may be is probably futile.
Those who do not a priori consider this topic ludicrous, or exploit it in a sensationalist manner, are increasingly taking a more nuanced and independent approach. If there are such phenomena, it stands to reason that they can and should be studied with the necessary rigour.
Continue reading...Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to reform is upending government operations. Critical functions have been halted, tens of thousands of federal staffers are being encouraged to resign, and congressional mandates are being disregarded. The next phase: The Department of Government Efficiency reportedly wants to use AI to cut costs. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s group has started to run sensitive data from government systems through AI programs to analyze spending and determine what could be pruned. This may lead to the elimination of human jobs in favor of automation. As one government official who has been tracking Musk’s DOGE team told the...
Musk has emerged as Trump’s far-right-hand man, creating some awkwardness for the president’s Democratic foes.
The post Democrats Swear They’ll Fight Elon Musk. But What About the Cash They Took From SpaceX? appeared first on The Intercept.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is trying to eliminate all Defense Department DEI efforts. It hasn’t been entirely successful.
The post Pentagon Official: Hegseth’s Campaign to Scrub DEI History Is a “Dumb” Distraction appeared first on The Intercept.
ICE wants to hire contractors to monitor social media for threats. Those who criticize the agency could be pulled into the dragnet.
The post ICE Wants to Know If You’re Posting Negative Things About It Online appeared first on The Intercept.
Even with Jordan and Egypt refusing to take in expelled Palestinians, Trump is charging on with his real estate development plan.
The post Trump Is Bullying Jordan and Egypt to Help in Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza. It Isn’t Working. appeared first on The Intercept.
The Washington Post is reporting that the UK government has served Apple with a “technical capability notice” as defined by the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act, requiring it to break the Advanced Data Protection encryption in iCloud for the benefit of law enforcement.
This is a big deal, and something we in the security community have worried was coming for a while now.
The law, known by critics as the Snoopers’ Charter, makes it a criminal offense to reveal that the government has even made such a demand. An Apple spokesman declined to comment...
In South Africa, a 36-year-old living with HIV since childhood fears she will lose access to treatment due to Trump’s policy.
The post Global HIV Care Thrown Into Chaos by Trump: “I Will Be Sick and Maybe Die” appeared first on The Intercept.
If the State Department takes over USAID, experts fear foreign assistance will stop unless it has a perceived benefit for Trump.
The post Trump’s Attacks on USAID Spark Fear That Lifesaving Care Will Become “Transactional” appeared first on The Intercept.
Betar U.S. said it has shared with the Trump administration a list of the “names of hundreds of terror supporters.”
The post The Far-Right Group Building a List of Pro-Palestine Activists to Deport appeared first on The Intercept.
The betrayal of Ukraine is a final warning to the UK and its continental allies to put a lot more energy and money into rebuilding their defences
It was, Sir Keir Starmer told members of his inner circle, one of his most meaningful visits abroad. In the middle of last month, he flew to Kyiv to double-down on the commitment to back Ukraine’s struggle for freedom, a pledge he first made a defining feature of his leadership when Labour was in opposition. Hands were warmly clasped with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wailing air raid sirens greeted a Russian drone attack, financial promises were made, and signatures were inscribed on a 100-year partnership treaty. The prime minister solemnly intoned the western mantra about backing the resistance to Russian tyranny “for as long as it takes” for Ukraine to become “free and thriving once again”.
All of which now sounds for the birds, thanks to Donald Trump. It was with his trademark contempt for his country’s traditional allies that the US president blindsided them by announcing that he had initiated peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin over the heads of Ukraine and the European members of Nato. The UK received no more warning of this bombshell than anyone else. So much for the vaunted “special relationship”. The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, then unleashed another punch to the solar plexus of European security by publicly declaring that Ukraine would have to accept the surrender of large chunks of its territory and should forget about becoming a member of Nato. The future defence of Ukraine, he went on to declare, would be down to Europe, because the US wouldn’t be sending any of its troops to sustain a security guarantee.
Continue reading...Trump officials planning talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia with European leaders set to gather in Paris for emergency Ukraine summit
Poland’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, has said the US has shared their plans for Ukraine with him. He said America’s negotiating tactics give him “hope” even though they are “unorthodox”.
“General Kellogg (the US envoy to Russia and Ukraine) has presented to me personally and to the circle of European allies, the United States’ negotiating tactics,” he told reporters.
Continue reading...By voting in favor of nominees they knew should never be approved, Republican senators became Trump’s subjects
First, before Elon Musk came for everyone, Donald Trump came for the US Senate. When he returned to office, the House of Representatives was already under his heel. Many of the House Republican leaders had been his sidekicks during January 6, and one, Mark Johnson, had since become the speaker. The Senate, however, still retained, for the most part, its club-like atmosphere where the members considered themselves powers unto themselves. Senators with a toga complex have always looked down on House members as rabble. Trump viewed the independent character of the upper body as a thorn in his side. The subservience of the House of Representatives was the model that Trump envisioned for the Senate. It could no longer pretend to be the greatest deliberative body of legislators in the world, but a vassal fiefdom subject to his whims.
Trump’s opportunity to crush the Senate appeared at once. As soon as he made his nominations for his cabinet, the Senate would hold confirmation hearings. His misfit nominees gave him his chance. In any previous time, just a tincture of the alcoholism, serial sexual abuse, playing footsie with a Russian-backed despot, hawking of snake oil, doodling enemies lists and bilking non-profit organizations, quite apart from plain incompetence, would have been enough to knock them out before they ever approached a seat in a hearing room.
Continue reading...Jonathan Reynolds says Britain has not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato
The UK hopes to act as a “bridge” between Europe and Donald Trump’s US, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has said before what could be a crucial week of diplomacy in deciding Ukraine’s future.
With Keir Starmer expected to travel to Paris on Monday for an emergency summit of European leaders, in advance of a possible trip to Washington the following week, Reynolds said the UK had still not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato.
Continue reading...As Donald Trump and his officials rip up three years of US rhetoric on supporting Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is walking an unenviable diplomatic tightrope
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had some tough weeks in the past three years, but this past one may be up there with the worst of them.
Back on Monday, in an hour-long interview with the Guardian at his Kyiv offices, the Ukrainian president was in a cautiously optimistic frame of mind. He said he had received “positive signals from the Americans” over upcoming negotiations. His team was working to fix a date for a meeting with Donald Trump, he said, and he was sure that the US president understood the importance of coordinating his position with Kyiv before talking to Russia.
Continue reading...Principled, charismatic and humorous, the murdered Russian opposition leader was everything Vladimir Putin is not
It is exactly one year since Alexei Navalny, Russia’s best-known opposition leader and anti-corruption activist, was murdered in an Arctic penal colony by Vladimir Putin’s regime. Countless other political opponents, critics and dissidents have been killed, jailed or exiled since Putin first became president 25 years ago.
All vestiges of an open society, democratic accountability, independent media and free speech in Russia have been eviscerated in that time. Accused of war crimes in Ukraine, which he invaded three years ago this month, Putin poses an undeniable threat to Europe and Britain – as well as to his own people. Yet this is the man with whom Donald Trump now wants to be friends.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov discuss removing ‘unilateral barriers’; Trump’s Ukraine envoy suggests Europe will be excluded from negotiations. What we know on day 1,089
Continue reading...This liveblog has now closed. Read the Observer’s report of today’s developments here
Agence France-Presse has some more on Olaf Scholz’s comments today at the Munich Security Conference.
On Ukraine, the German chancellor said:
We will also not accept any solution that leads to a decoupling of European and American security. Only one person would benefit from this: President Putin.
We Europeans will represent these interests confidently and unitedly in the upcoming negotiations.”
Continue reading...Thousands of Ukrainians who call Cleveland home are in limbo as fate of temporary protected status remains murky
Mykola Vashchuk may be thousands of miles from Kyiv, his home town, but life has never been busier.
He runs pierogi food businesses here in Cleveland and back in Ukraine, works part-time for a local charity, while studying for a law degree at Cleveland State University. His wife works at a daycare and the couple is raising two sons. He and his family have built a new life on the shores of Lake Erie, having fled Ukraine after a Russian bomb blew out two windows of their Kyiv apartment in December 2022.
Continue reading...In the span of just weeks, the US government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history—not through a sophisticated cyberattack or an act of foreign espionage, but through official orders by a billionaire with a poorly defined government role. And the implications for national security are profound.
First, it was reported that people associated with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed the US Treasury computer system, giving them the ability to collect data on and potentially control the department’s roughly ...
For some members of the WhatsApp group, speaking out for Palestine and criticizing Israel are tantamount to supporting Hamas.
The post The Columbia Network Pushing Behind the Scenes to Deport and Arrest Student Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
Claudia Scheinbaum warns of reciprocal action if Washington designates country’s cartels as terrorist groups
Mexico’s president has warned US gunmakers they could face fresh legal action as accomplices of organized crime if Washington designates the country’s cartels as terrorist groups.
The Latin American country, which is under mounting pressure from Donald Trump to curb illegal drug smuggling, wants its neighbor to crack down on firearms trafficking in the other direction.
Continue reading...In a tweet announcing his attack on the Climate Justice Alliance, EPA head Lee Zeldin linked it to the group’s protected speech about Palestine.
The post Trump’s EPA Kills Grant to Climate Nonprofit Over Its Support for Palestine appeared first on The Intercept.
Claudia Sheinbaum gives riposte to Trump’s accusation of ‘intolerable alliance’ between Mexican government and gangs
Mexico’s president has accused the US of harboring drug cartels and American citizens of working with organized crime groups in Mexico, in a riposte to Donald Trump’s allegation of an “intolerable alliance” between traffickers and her government.
“There is also organized crime in the United States and there are American people who come to Mexico with these illegal activities,” Claudia Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference on Thursday. “Otherwise who would distribute fentanyl in the cities of the United States?”
Continue reading...Cuts to nuclear security workforce were made on Thursday – but agency can’t find workers to offer them their jobs back
The US agency charged with overseeing nuclear weapons is looking to contact workers who were fired on Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s federal cost-cutting measures, but are now needed back.
Officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) attempted to notify some probationary employees who had been let go that they are due to be reinstated – but they struggled to find them because their contact information was missing.
Continue reading...Oversight laws about foreign influence were already limited. Now the Trump administration is shredding them.
The post How Many Trump Officials Have Taken Money From Qatar? appeared first on The Intercept.
CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger could barely contain his excitement about the Laken Riley Act and Trump’s anti-immigration executive orders.
The post Private Prison CEO on Trump Deportation Surge: “One of the Most Exciting Periods in My Career” appeared first on The Intercept.
And that’s how he wants to keep it, his executive orders and memos from Attorney General Pam Bondi show.
The post Trump Is Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud: Federal Prisons Are Purposely Inhumane appeared first on The Intercept.
The president’s full-court press to dominate media and control cultural institutions is straight out of the authoritarian playbook
Bigger than the Super Bowl, claimed Donald Trump, sitting in a big leather chair beside a big map. Then came an announcement over the public address system. “Air Force One is currently in international waters,” declared the flight crew of the US presidential jet, “for the first time in history flying over the recently renamed Gulf of America.”
As his aides clapped and whooped, Trump gloated: “Isn’t that nice? We’re about ‘Make America Great Again’, right? That’s what we care about.” He proceeded to sign a proclamation declaring 9 February “Gulf of America Day” as Air Force One flew over the body of water previously known as the Gulf of Mexico.
Continue reading...From Home Alone to Succession and A Real Pain, the actor has added a unique twist to his roles and is tipped for a best supporting role award this weekend
On Sunday evening, Kieran Culkin is up for the best supporting actor award at the Baftas. If he wins, he will probably give one of his startled, free-wheeling and characteristically funny speeches, though by now he may struggle to express surprise, given his extended run of triumphs at these events.
In 2024, he picked up a Golden Globe for best actor in a television drama series for his performance as Roman Roy in Jesse Armstrong’s Succession. Last month, he nabbed the Golden Globe for best supporting actor for his role as Benji Kaplan in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain (he seems to respond well to direction from men called Jesse), which also landed him the four major American film critics awards, made him an odds-on favourite for an Oscar next month, and accounts for his Bafta nomination.
Continue reading...The US president has scrapped paper straws because they allegedly ‘explode’ – a bit like the PM’s reputation if he keeps refusing to confront him on the big issues
It’s difficult to know whether to set any store by Donald Trump’s bleak and yet also often banal pronouncements, which read as if handfuls of offensive concepts have been tossed into the air by a monkey, read out in whatever order they landed and then made policy. Until it’s clear they can’t work. At which point, the monkey must toss again.
But this month, Trump, whose morning ablutions increasingly appear to consist of dousing himself in sachets of the kind of cheap hot chocolate powder I steal from three-star hotels, like a flightless bird stuck in the machine that glazes Magnum lollies, declared he wanted to build his hotels on the mass graves of Gaza. Hasn’t Trump seen The Shining? It won’t end well. Pity those whose children have the misfortune to die next to a monetisable stretch of shoreline. And hope humanity’s next wave of mass killings happens somewhere uneven and way inland that hopefully wouldn’t even make a decent golf course.
Stewart Lee tours Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf this year, with a Royal Festival Hall run in July
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...US secretary of state is making his first trip to region and is expected to advocate Trump’s plan to create ‘Riviera of the Middle East’
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will discuss the Gaza ceasefire with Israel’s prime minister in Jerusalem, launching a Middle East tour a day after the latest hostage-prisoner exchange.
On his first visit to the region as Washington’s top diplomat, Rubio is expected to push the US president Donald Trump’s widely condemned proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate its more than 2 million residents – which experts say would amount to ethnic cleansing.
Continue reading...America is in retreat from its underappreciated good works around the world. Europe needs to act – and Brexit only hinders this essential response
In July 1817, Lord Amherst, the leader of a British delegation to China, stopped on his return journey at Saint Helena and met the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon had seldom been out of the news, but Amherst himself was also in the news for having pointedly refused to kowtow when having an audience with the Chinese emperor.
Continue reading...Courts are currently backlogged with 3.7m cases as US president demands more deportations
The Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said on Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government.
On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers. Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances in the last week.
Continue reading...Agencies say Trump’s latest push to trim government could impede firefighting efforts and create crises at national parks
The US Forest Service is firing about 3,400 recent hires while the National Park Service is terminating about 1,000 workers under Donald Trump’s push to cut federal spending and bureaucracy, according to a report on Friday.
The terminations target employees who are in their probationary employment periods, which includes anyone hired less than a year ago, according to Reuters, and will affect sites such as the Appalachian trail, Yellowstone, the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr and the Sequoia national forest.
Continue reading...US president’s announcement prompts government to publish green paper weeks ahead of schedule
The government has rushed forward plans for a £2.5bn investment in the UK steel industry after Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminium into the US.
The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will publish a green paper entitled Plan for Steel on Sunday – several weeks before schedule – in a sign of how Trump’s tariffs are sending shock waves through a UK government desperate to kickstart economic growth.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed, you can read more of our Middle East coverage here:
Several media are quoting a statement released by Hamas this morning, in which it says Israel will only be able to repatriate the remaining hostages if it implements in full all terms of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
Hamas added that the release of hostages is being carried out after it received guarantees from mediating countries that Israel will uphold the agreements, Haaretz reported.
Continue reading...Hostages and prisoners reunited with loved ones as political concerns turn to second phase of truce
• Middle East crisis – live updates
Hamas has freed three Israeli hostages from Gaza and Israel has released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in its custody, the sixth exchange in a fragile month-old ceasefire that almost collapsed earlier this week.
On Saturday morning, Hamas and its ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad deployed about 200 fighters to take part in a choreographed handover ceremony in a square in the southern town of Khan Younis.
Continue reading...US vice-president’s comments, part of a wide-ranging tirade against Europe, called inaccurate and misogynistic
JD Vance has been labelled an “extremist” after he launched a broadside against the UK’s efforts to protect women seeking an abortion.
The US vice-president’s criticisms of UK and Scottish policies on safe access zones around abortion clinics – part of a wide-ranging tirade against Europe on Friday – were derided as inaccurate and misogynistic by a number of groups, politicians and governments.
Continue reading...Experts warn ‘this isn’t normal’, as administration defies rulings and Vance expresses contempt for legal constraints
Years before he became the US vice-president and openly advocated defiance of the courts over the Trump administration’s blitz through the federal bureaucracy and constitution, JD Vance revealed his contempt for legal constraints.
In 2021, Vance predicted that Donald Trump would again be elected president and advised him to “fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people”.
Continue reading...Marina Hyde on Keir Starmer’s palid imitation of Trumpism. The sole survivor of a landslide describes the pain, the fear and the long, winding path of recovery. After Kendrick Lamar lands another savage blow at the Super Bowl, a crisis expert advises on how Drake can return to relevance. And, ‘I feel happier and healthier when not around my mother’ – Philippa Perry advises one reader
Continue reading...How exactly the IRS will use the SuperPod AI hardware is unclear. But it comes amid a push for automation in government.
The post The IRS Is Buying an AI Supercomputer From Nvidia appeared first on The Intercept.
Israel warned Thursday that Hamas must release three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war in Gaza
The Israeli government has signalled it intends to stick to the hostage release schedule agreed in the ceasefire deal with Hamas, but warned that if the anticipated three surviving hostages were not released on Saturday, it would go back to war in Gaza.
The statement from the prime minister’s office ends nearly three days of confusion after Donald Trump’s declaration that Israel should demand Hamas release all the remaining hostages, more than 70 people, by Saturday or failing that, end the ceasefire.
Continue reading...Iair Horn, Sasha Troufanov and Sagui Dekel-Chen due to be exchanged for 369 Palestinian prisoners
Palestinian militant groups have named the three hostages they plan to free on Saturday in return for the release of 369 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, raising hopes that the January ceasefire agreement will survive its latest crisis.
However, the longer-term prospects of the truce remain in doubt and the uncertainty has been deepened by the US president, Donald Trump, who made surprise territorial claims over Gaza.
Continue reading...People from Afghanistan, Iran, China and other countries flown out as Trump’s deportation effort intensifies
The US has sent undocumented immigrants from several Asian countries whose governments have refused to accept them to Panama, in a move signalling an intensification of the Trump administration’s deportation effort.
A military plane carrying 119 immigrants from countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Pakistan flew from California to Panama City on Wednesday in what was expected to be the first of three migrants flights to the country.
Continue reading...Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to reform is upending government operations. Critical functions have been halted, tens of thousands of federal staffers are being encouraged to resign, and congressional mandates are being disregarded. The next phase: The Department of Government Efficiency reportedly wants to use AI to cut costs. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s group has started to run sensitive data from government systems through AI programs to analyze spending and determine what could be pruned. This may lead to the elimination of human jobs in favor of automation. As one government official who has been tracking Musk’s DOGE team told the...
Trump’s asylum offer to South Africa’s white minority follows years of AfriForum lobbying on Elon Musk’s behalf
Donald Trump’s offer of political asylum to South Africa’s white minority, just days after blocking genuine refugees from travelling to the US, followed years of campaigning by an Afrikaner group that has promoted “white genocide” conspiracy theories while also lobbying on behalf of Elon Musk’s business interests.
Last week, Trump issued an executive order that misrepresented a new South African law, the Expropriation Act, as a racist move to persecute white Afrikaners by seizing their farms without compensation.
Continue reading...“What he’s done is testing the limits of his power in a way we have never seen in this country,” says retired federal Judge Nancy Gertner.
The post Constitutional Crisis Looms appeared first on The Intercept.
Musk has emerged as Trump’s far-right-hand man, creating some awkwardness for the president’s Democratic foes.
The post Democrats Swear They’ll Fight Elon Musk. But What About the Cash They Took From SpaceX? appeared first on The Intercept.
On the first day of his second term in office, Donald Trump suggested he wanted the US to ‘expand’ its territory. Few thought he could actually mean taking Canada and making it the 51st state. But could he actually do that?
Jonathan Freedland speaks to the reporter Leyland Cecco in Toronto about the possibility of the two North American allies merging, what Canadians think about it, and why this existential threat has had an impact on Canadian national politics
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Continue reading...Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is trying to eliminate all Defense Department DEI efforts. It hasn’t been entirely successful.
The post Pentagon Official: Hegseth’s Campaign to Scrub DEI History Is a “Dumb” Distraction appeared first on The Intercept.
Walking and cycling tours, family holidays, great places to stay, blockbuster exhibitions and more launching this year
The Cilento coast in Campania has long attracted Italian holidaymakers, but overseas visitors tend to head further north to the better-known Amalfi coast. That is starting to change – the Natural Adventure Company reports that UK Google searches for the Cilento coast are up 110% over the past 12 months. The company has run a self-guided walking holiday there since 2022 (from £915 for eight nights’ B&B and three dinners).
Continue reading...Russia is relying on strength of numbers, and Putin may not honour a peace deal
After three years of Russia’s attempt to occupy and annex Ukraine, the country continues to put up a fierce resistance.
Russia is suffering more than 1,500 casualties a day and only slowly taking ground. But the Ukrainian army is also being put under immense pressure.
Continue reading...An investigation has exposed the tech firm’s cooperation with autocratic regimes to remove unfavourable content
Google has cooperated with autocratic regimes around the world, including the Kremlin in Russia and the Chinese Communist party, to facilitate censorship requests, an Observer investigation can reveal.
The technology company has engaged with the administrations of about 150 countries since 2011 that want information scrubbed from their public domains.
Continue reading...The radio and television presenter and her best friend, Clare Hamilton, on behaving badly on shoots, hanging out with the stars after The Girlie Show, and a major wardrobe malfunction
Born in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in 1974, Sara Cox began her career as a model before becoming a presenter on Channel 4’s The Girlie Show in 1996. In 2000, she took over BBC Radio 1’s breakfast show, hosting for three years. She now presents for BBC Radio 2, fronted TV shows including Between the Covers, and has published two novels. Cox lives in London with her husband, Ben Cyzer, and three children. This month, she and her best friend Clare Hamilton launch Teen Commandments, a podcast about parenting adolescents.
Continue reading...Two countries’ foreign ministers meet in Moscow and agree there are no obstacles to long-delayed plan
A plan for Russia to establish its first naval base in Africa will go ahead, Sudan’s foreign minister has confirmed, after years of delays over the Red Sea military port.
If the agreement is implemented, Russia would join the US and China in the region; they have bases to the south in Djibouti.
Continue reading...Even with Jordan and Egypt refusing to take in expelled Palestinians, Trump is charging on with his real estate development plan.
The post Trump Is Bullying Jordan and Egypt to Help in Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza. It Isn’t Working. appeared first on The Intercept.
The award-winning British dramatist had a huge hit with her Richard Hawley musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge. Her latest, Otherland, is a much more personal piece – and, she says, frightening
A few years back, Chris Bush, the 38-year-old playwright from Sheffield, was working on two projects pretty much simultaneously. One was called Faustus: That Damned Woman, a radical, gender-switching retelling of the Faust myth (the deal-with-the-devil guy), which she was producing with the groundbreaking Headlong theatre company. It was, she was sure, the best piece she had ever written. “In my mind, because it’s Faustus, it’s proper literature, so I was very excited,” Bush recalls. “I was already being a dickhead, going: ‘Oh yeah, this is the thing that’s going to transfer into the West End. And win me my first Olivier.’”
The other show was a jukebox musical drawing from the back catalogue of singer-songwriter Richard Hawley. The Crucible in Sheffield had already started selling tickets for the show, but the narrative of the play was a disaster and director Rob Hastie called in Bush a few months before opening to do a page-one, conceptual overhaul of the existing script. “Maybe this sounds grand,” she says, “but my energy coming into it was a bit: ‘Oh, I’m doing a favour for a theatre that I love dearly and respect, and a director who I respect and love dearly, to try to get this show on.’”
Continue reading...New data reveals a huge rise in complaints, especially at British Gas, putting stress on consumers
Britain’s big energy providers have paid more than £20m in compensation to customers for billing mistakes over the past five years, analysis by Guardian Money has found, with British Gas paying out more than a fifth of the total.
We analysed cases handled by the Energy Ombudsman, the service which steps in if a customer and energy company are unable to resolve a complaint within eight weeks of it being made.
Continue reading...Wildlife charity backs policy of exploitation of small number of some endangered species for economic purposes – such as trophy hunting
The wildlife charity WWF has been working to support the trade in polar bear fur at the same time as using images of the bears to raise money, it can be revealed.
Polar bears are severely affected by the loss of Arctic sea ice, which makes seeking prey harder and forces the bears to use more energy. In some regions, polar bears are showing signs of declining physical condition, having fewer cubs, and dying younger.
Continue reading...ICE wants to hire contractors to monitor social media for threats. Those who criticize the agency could be pulled into the dragnet.
The post ICE Wants to Know If You’re Posting Negative Things About It Online appeared first on The Intercept.
From Ukraine to Afghanistan, independent media organisations across the world are being forced to lay off staff or shut down after losing USAid funding
Donald Trump’s foreign aid freeze will lead to a decline in the number of independent media outlets across the world, causing a surge in misinformation and playing into the hands of state propagandists, media organisations have warned.
The US president has suspended billions of dollars in projects supported by USAid, including more than $268m (£216m) allocated to support “independent media and the free flow of information”.
Continue reading...“Are you going to be a coward?” Zül-Qarnain Nantambu asked himself before taking the field for Kendrick Lamar’s show. “Are you going to take a stand?”
The post Gaza Protester Who Interrupted Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl Halftime Show Speaks Out appeared first on The Intercept.
Exclusive: Military experts raise concerns over change to protocols on Pakistan border to allow project that was handed to billionaire Gautam Adani
The Indian government relaxed national security protocols along the Pakistan border to make way for a renewable energy park, a project ultimately handed to one of India’s richest men, Gautam Adani, official documents reveal.
The Adani Group is constructing the Khavda plant, the largest renewable project in the world, in the state of Gujarat. The conglomerate is controlled by Adani, whose close relationship with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has recently been under intense scrutiny.
Continue reading...Trump told reporters that he wants to expel “all” Palestinians from Gaza — not just during a period of reconstruction, but permanently.
The post Trump: “The U.S. Will Take Over the Gaza Strip” appeared first on The Intercept.
If the State Department takes over USAID, experts fear foreign assistance will stop unless it has a perceived benefit for Trump.
The post Trump’s Attacks on USAID Spark Fear That Lifesaving Care Will Become “Transactional” appeared first on The Intercept.
An FBI official urged the American Academy of Forensic Sciences to cancel a conference presentation titled “Taking on the FBI.”
The post Forensics Experts Challenged the FBI. So the FBI Tried to Censor Their Conference. appeared first on The Intercept.
Palestinians from Gaza responded with outrage to Trump’s proposal to expel them from their homes.
The post “You Don’t Own Gaza, Donald Trump”: Palestinians Vow to Remain and Rebuild appeared first on The Intercept.
In South Africa, a 36-year-old living with HIV since childhood fears she will lose access to treatment due to Trump’s policy.
The post Global HIV Care Thrown Into Chaos by Trump: “I Will Be Sick and Maybe Die” appeared first on The Intercept.
Democrats struggle to counter Trump’s renewed agenda.
The post Why Are Dems Surprised? appeared first on The Intercept.
After plunging USAID and its network of contractors into chaos, communications breakdowns and bureaucratic snafus leave projects stalled.
The post Marco Rubio’s USAID “Humanitarian Waiver” Isn’t Helping Restart Lifesaving Programs appeared first on The Intercept.
Betar U.S. said it has shared with the Trump administration a list of the “names of hundreds of terror supporters.”
The post The Far-Right Group Building a List of Pro-Palestine Activists to Deport appeared first on The Intercept.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. Guterres warned against 'any form of ethnic cleansing' in Gaza as he addressed the UN committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, a day after Donald Trump announced plans for the US to take control of the strip and for Palestinians to be 'resettled' in neighbouring countries. 'In the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse,' the UN chief said. He said that any durable peace will require 'tangible, irreversible and permanent' progress toward the two-state solution as well as the establishment of an 'independent Palestinian state with Gaza as an integral part'
Continue reading...An American Airlines passenger jet with 64 people onboard was coming in to land at Reagan National airport when it collided with a military helicopter. Here is a video timeline of the incident
Trump claims military helicopter in Washington collision ‘flying too high’
Victims of the Washington DC plane crash – the full list so far
Efforts at stopping population movement by force often fail to stop people migrating across borders. But for many politicians, that can be a good thing. Josh Toussaint-Strauss explores how immigration is being exploited for business, to boost political agendas, and as a weapon of war
Continue reading...As the second Trump presidency begins, John Harris and John Domokos go to a Staffordshire town whose economy went from coal to Amazon warehousing to find out if 21st century populism is cutting through. At a byelection down the road, meanwhile, there's a big question facing voters: Labour or Reform UK?
Continue reading...
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space in Italy to lead European aerospace companies in building the Argonaut Lunar Descent Element, ESA’s first lunar lander.
For some members of the WhatsApp group, speaking out for Palestine and criticizing Israel are tantamount to supporting Hamas.
The post The Columbia Network Pushing Behind the Scenes to Deport and Arrest Student Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
Betar U.S. said it has shared with the Trump administration a list of the “names of hundreds of terror supporters.”
The post The Far-Right Group Building a List of Pro-Palestine Activists to Deport appeared first on The Intercept.
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Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
The fresh flavours of rhubarb and zesty blood orange light up dark February days
As children, we would always play in each other’s gardens. At the bottom of which, somewhere between the compost heap and the wheelbarrow, would be a patch of rhubarb; scarlet stalks hidden under vast emerald leaves and, occasionally, when everyone had enough crumble, left to sprout plumes of creamy white flowers. In winter, the crowns would sleep under upturned buckets whose bottoms had rusted to a lacework of tiny holes and would no longer hold water.
My current garden refuses to give a home to rhubarb, just as it does to wild garlic, and I am resigned to buying my stalks at the greengrocers. I crave the cosy glow of rhubarb on a grey winter’s day, be it under a crust, stirred into a cake or sitting in a pool of its own jewel-bright juice for breakfast. Rhubarb also makes an entrancing granita, served in a pile of glistening pink crystals with a spoonful of vanilla-infused cream as a contrast.
Continue reading...The US president has scrapped paper straws because they allegedly ‘explode’ – a bit like the PM’s reputation if he keeps refusing to confront him on the big issues
It’s difficult to know whether to set any store by Donald Trump’s bleak and yet also often banal pronouncements, which read as if handfuls of offensive concepts have been tossed into the air by a monkey, read out in whatever order they landed and then made policy. Until it’s clear they can’t work. At which point, the monkey must toss again.
But this month, Trump, whose morning ablutions increasingly appear to consist of dousing himself in sachets of the kind of cheap hot chocolate powder I steal from three-star hotels, like a flightless bird stuck in the machine that glazes Magnum lollies, declared he wanted to build his hotels on the mass graves of Gaza. Hasn’t Trump seen The Shining? It won’t end well. Pity those whose children have the misfortune to die next to a monetisable stretch of shoreline. And hope humanity’s next wave of mass killings happens somewhere uneven and way inland that hopefully wouldn’t even make a decent golf course.
Stewart Lee tours Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf this year, with a Royal Festival Hall run in July
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...Even the ‘every day’ ones are highly acceptable, but there are some amazing high-end mini eggs out there
Mini eggs have such a special place in our hearts and mouths. I’ve heard of them getting people through exams, divorce, long train journeys, sickbeds. When I say mini eggs I mean a sugar-coated, egg-shaped confection containing chocolatey things.
Marks & Spencer does an acceptable ‘every day’ version for £2 a bag (Speckled Eggs). If you want to go posh, then you cannot better Chocolate Detective’s Blue Tit Eggs (go for the praline version), £14.50. Every single person I have introduced these to has gone on to order them again and again.
The team behind the much-loved restaurants explore the places that inspired their ‘Bombay comfort food’ dishes
When Shamil Thakrar talks about Bombay, he has a favourite word: palimpsest, “something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form”. In fact, Shamil has been (fondly) banned from using it by his cousin Kavi, with whom he co-founded Dishoom, the hugely successful group of Bombay-inspired restaurants, 15 years ago.
But palimpsest is an apt word to describe Bombay – or Mumbai, as it is known internationally – the port city on India’s west coast, where multicultural influences eternally trickle in without erasing the layers of what came before. Two eras of imperial rule, two waves of Persian migration, a Hindu majority and a large Muslim community, people from every Indian state, language and ethnicity rubbing shoulders with one another, Maharatis, Gujeratis, Punjabis, Goans; 19th-century gothic architecture alongside art deco, neoclassical opposite mid-century, and the onward march of new development along every major road. And it is absolutely its own place, of itself: “Everything has coalesced here and become ‘Bombayified’,” says Shamil, as we wander around Colaba, the southernmost tip of the old city.
Continue reading...Critics warn of ‘political headlines over practical solutions’ as schools battle to cover cost of government’s flagship plan
The government’s flagship plan to set up free breakfast clubs in all primary schools is running into trouble as headteachers say that initial funding is inadequate and charities with experience of providing food in schools demand more flexibility over how they can be run.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sees the provision of free breakfast clubs in all primary schools as vital to breaking what she calls the “unfair link between background and success” in education. Numerous academic studies show that a good breakfast improves attendance and pupil performance.
Continue reading...A bakery by day and a bistro by night, Don’t Tell Dad is sheer bliss for the lotus eaters of Queen’s Park
Don’t Tell Dad, 10-14 Lonsdale Road, London NW6 6RD. Snacks and small plates £5-£14, large plates £18-£29, desserts £9, wines from £36
Don’t Tell Dad in London’s Queen’s Park is a self-declared neighbourhood restaurant in a knowingly dishevelled neighbourhood. It sits on a part-cobbled, mews-style lane which was once home to stable blocks and very much looks like it. If you want to snoop at the red-rust frontage on Google Street View, however, you can’t. It’s a private street, through which Google’s cars may never pass. Lonsdale Road, once the property of the Church Commissioners, is now owned by a single landlord, Feldberg Capital, which is gently turning it into an ever-so-random-on-purpose leisure destination. Josh Katz’s Middle Eastern-influenced grill restaurant Carmel is here, as is the Australian-inspired Milk Beach and an outpost of Pizza Pilgrims, alongside a micro-brewery, a yoga studio, co-working spaces and a macrobiotic deli where they crochet their own fermented sea-vegetables. Perhaps I made the last one up.
Continue reading...As the supermarket vows to introduce electrical stunning for its farmed prawns, campaigners call on others to follow suit
They are a popular staple for office lunches, barbecues and takeaways, but prawns often suffer an unpleasant death before reaching our plates.
Animal rights campaigners say billions of prawns farmed each year deserve better welfare protection and are targeting what they describe as “atrocious” practices of “eyestalk ablation” and suffocation in ice slurry.
Continue reading...Thousands of Ukrainians who call Cleveland home are in limbo as fate of temporary protected status remains murky
Mykola Vashchuk may be thousands of miles from Kyiv, his home town, but life has never been busier.
He runs pierogi food businesses here in Cleveland and back in Ukraine, works part-time for a local charity, while studying for a law degree at Cleveland State University. His wife works at a daycare and the couple is raising two sons. He and his family have built a new life on the shores of Lake Erie, having fled Ukraine after a Russian bomb blew out two windows of their Kyiv apartment in December 2022.
Continue reading...Whose tortelloni are pillows of pasta perfection, and whose taste like postage stamps? Our quick-cook columnist has the answers …
• The best food processors and mixers – chosen by chefs
Shop-bought ravioli and tortelloni are staples in my kitchen – I’ve even been known (with some chutzpah) to serve bowls of the stuff to friends, including well-known food writers, albeit improved with brown butter, crisp sage and hazelnuts, or in my signature ravioli lasagne.
In an ideal packet, I’m looking for a well-seasoned filling, nice and light from the ricotta, and not too processed or stodgy in texture. Similarly, the pasta shouldn’t taste plasticky; the closer it is to homemade, the better.
Continue reading...Trend towards more extreme-weather events will continue to hit crop yields and create price spikes, Inverto says
Extreme weather events are expected to lead to volatile food prices throughout 2025, supply chain analysts have said, after cocoa and coffee prices more than doubled over the past year.
In an apparent confirmation of warnings that climate breakdown could lead to food shortages, research by the consultancy Inverto found steep rises in the prices of a number of food commodities in the year to January that correlated with unexpected weather.
Continue reading...It’s not just eggs, but coffee, orange juice and bacon, making life especially hard for diners, bakeries and brunch spots
Most menu items at the popular Philadelphia breakfast chain Green Eggs Cafe are – true to its name – made with eggs.
Its co-owner Stephen Slaughter said that about 90% of its dishes depend on eggs, ticking off a short list: “Our French toast, our pancake batters, our hollandaise sauce, obviously eggs and omelets.” So when his vendors started charging $8 for a dozen eggs, all six Green Egg Cafe locations felt the pinch.
Continue reading...Agriculture minister says rising prices have ‘had a significant impact on people’s lives’ amid record heat, surges in demand and distribution problems
Japan is to flood the market with almost a quarter of a million tonnes of stockpiled rice in an unprecedented attempt to arrest soaring prices caused by record summer heat, panic buying and distribution problems.
The government will release up to 210,000 tonnes of rice, the agriculture minister, Taku Eto, said on Friday, as consumers battled a surge in prices of more than 50% in recent months.
Continue reading...Women are traditionally expected to buy chocolates for male colleagues on Valentine’s Day but teenage boys are shunning the one-sided custom
It has been several years since Japanese women first signalled their contempt for the long tradition of showering male colleagues with chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Now the country’s young people are slaying another sacred cow associated with Friday’s orgy of commercialised romance: one-sided gift giving.
Traditionally, women are expected to buy gift-wrapped chocolates for the men in their working lives, usually senior colleagues and others to whom they feel indebted – a tradition called giri choco, literally “obligation chocolates”.
Continue reading...We’re inviting you to share your questions, insights, or what you’ve always wondered about PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have become such a pervasive part of modern life, from food packaging to clothing, cosmetics to cookware, these chemicals are all around us. But what do we really know about their long-term impact on our health and the environment?
We hope to shed some light on PFAS, known as “forever chemicals”, with our new video podcast on The Guardian’s new YouTube channel, It’s Complicated. We want to explore the uncertainties, misconceptions, and surprising truths about these pollutants, asking how these chemicals become so widespread? What are they doing to our health? Is there anything we can do to get rid of them? These are a few questions we have but we would like to hear from you.
We’re inviting you to share your questions, insights, or what you’ve always wondered about PFAS.
Your responses will help guide our research and may be answered by guest experts in our video podcast. Join the conversation by filling out the form below — your thoughts are invaluable as we navigate this complex topic together.
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
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Continue reading...Palestinians from Gaza responded with outrage to Trump’s proposal to expel them from their homes.
The post “You Don’t Own Gaza, Donald Trump”: Palestinians Vow to Remain and Rebuild appeared first on The Intercept.
In South Africa, a 36-year-old living with HIV since childhood fears she will lose access to treatment due to Trump’s policy.
The post Global HIV Care Thrown Into Chaos by Trump: “I Will Be Sick and Maybe Die” appeared first on The Intercept.
After plunging USAID and its network of contractors into chaos, communications breakdowns and bureaucratic snafus leave projects stalled.
The post Marco Rubio’s USAID “Humanitarian Waiver” Isn’t Helping Restart Lifesaving Programs appeared first on The Intercept.
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
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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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Walking and cycling tours, family holidays, great places to stay, blockbuster exhibitions and more launching this year
The Cilento coast in Campania has long attracted Italian holidaymakers, but overseas visitors tend to head further north to the better-known Amalfi coast. That is starting to change – the Natural Adventure Company reports that UK Google searches for the Cilento coast are up 110% over the past 12 months. The company has run a self-guided walking holiday there since 2022 (from £915 for eight nights’ B&B and three dinners).
Continue reading...Jonathan Reynolds says Britain has not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato
The UK hopes to act as a “bridge” between Europe and Donald Trump’s US, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has said before what could be a crucial week of diplomacy in deciding Ukraine’s future.
With Keir Starmer expected to travel to Paris on Monday for an emergency summit of European leaders, in advance of a possible trip to Washington the following week, Reynolds said the UK had still not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato.
Continue reading...Some 400 million devotees will attend this year’s Kumbh Mela festival. Pilgrims and politicians explain why it’s bigger than ever
They sat quietly together on the banks of the Ganges river, heads bowed in sombre meditation. Some men were naked, their bodies smeared grey with ash. Others had a simple saffron cloth tied around their waist. Nearby, barbers balanced on their haunches, shaving the head of each man clean with a flick of their knives, save for a small strand at the back.
This ceremony, in which millions of pilgrims seek to cleanse their sins to break the cycle of reincarnation has been taking place at the Kumbh Mela festival for centuries. It is mandatory for thousands of sadhus – Hindu holy men who live an austere life of strict spiritual discipline. Among the most sacred events in the Hindu calendar, the festival occurs every 12 years across four sacred locations in India where it is believed the Hindu god Vishnu once spilled drops of the nectar of immortality.
Continue reading...The team behind the much-loved restaurants explore the places that inspired their ‘Bombay comfort food’ dishes
When Shamil Thakrar talks about Bombay, he has a favourite word: palimpsest, “something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form”. In fact, Shamil has been (fondly) banned from using it by his cousin Kavi, with whom he co-founded Dishoom, the hugely successful group of Bombay-inspired restaurants, 15 years ago.
But palimpsest is an apt word to describe Bombay – or Mumbai, as it is known internationally – the port city on India’s west coast, where multicultural influences eternally trickle in without erasing the layers of what came before. Two eras of imperial rule, two waves of Persian migration, a Hindu majority and a large Muslim community, people from every Indian state, language and ethnicity rubbing shoulders with one another, Maharatis, Gujeratis, Punjabis, Goans; 19th-century gothic architecture alongside art deco, neoclassical opposite mid-century, and the onward march of new development along every major road. And it is absolutely its own place, of itself: “Everything has coalesced here and become ‘Bombayified’,” says Shamil, as we wander around Colaba, the southernmost tip of the old city.
Continue reading...A bakery by day and a bistro by night, Don’t Tell Dad is sheer bliss for the lotus eaters of Queen’s Park
Don’t Tell Dad, 10-14 Lonsdale Road, London NW6 6RD. Snacks and small plates £5-£14, large plates £18-£29, desserts £9, wines from £36
Don’t Tell Dad in London’s Queen’s Park is a self-declared neighbourhood restaurant in a knowingly dishevelled neighbourhood. It sits on a part-cobbled, mews-style lane which was once home to stable blocks and very much looks like it. If you want to snoop at the red-rust frontage on Google Street View, however, you can’t. It’s a private street, through which Google’s cars may never pass. Lonsdale Road, once the property of the Church Commissioners, is now owned by a single landlord, Feldberg Capital, which is gently turning it into an ever-so-random-on-purpose leisure destination. Josh Katz’s Middle Eastern-influenced grill restaurant Carmel is here, as is the Australian-inspired Milk Beach and an outpost of Pizza Pilgrims, alongside a micro-brewery, a yoga studio, co-working spaces and a macrobiotic deli where they crochet their own fermented sea-vegetables. Perhaps I made the last one up.
Continue reading...Rush broke out as travellers scrambled to board trains in India’s capital to go to world’s largest religious gathering
At least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to the world’s largest religious gathering, officials have said.
The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj, and has a history of crowd-related disasters – including one last month, when at least 30 people died in another crush at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
Continue reading...Train workers claim Fair Work Commission win as rail union warns of more potential delays and disruptions across network
Sydney commuters have been urged to work from home or check travel apps before leaving on Monday to avoid being caught up in potential public transport chaos amid rail unions’ ongoing standoff with the New South Wales government.
The warning comes as the Fair Work Commission on Sunday ruled high rates of sick leave by Sydney train drivers and guards on Friday did not constitute industrial action.
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Continue reading...Indian photographer Sayan Bose celebrates the cultural heritage of Bengal in this striking image of a young farmer
Sayan Bose had travelled two hours from his home in Kolkata, India, for a day of documentary photography in Sangrampur, West Bengal. “I was roaming around the village, capturing the local people’s lifestyle, asking about their daily lives and jobs and struggles,” Bose says. “I got talking to a 17-year-old called Ariful Alam. He was a farmer at a large sunflower garden. He was youthful and fun-loving, and agreed to pose in the field for me.”
Alam wears a Chou, or Chhau, mask. “They hold a significant place in Bengal’s rich cultural heritage,” Bose says. “They’re used in a traditional folk dance, the Purulia Chhau, which narrates mythologies and folklores, and also as decorative pieces. I chose to use the mask that depicts a character named Mahisha, from Mahishasura Mardini, a 21-verse stotra from Hindu mythology.”
Continue reading...When the contractor started a two-month job in the Persian Gulf, he said it was his final lengthy posting. Six weeks later, he was dead, and a co-worker charged with his murder. Now his partner is struggling to make sense of what happened
In October 2022, Robbie Robson, 38, a British offshore worker, travelled to Qatar for an eight-week contract in the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Robson was handsome, ambitious, and determined to do well by his family. The job was an attractive opportunity: after years working on vessels, and as a pipelayer, he was pursuing safer and more lucrative positions piloting the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that are used to monitor underwater structures. It was a long stint away, but at least he’d be back to enjoy Christmas in South Tyneside with his partner, Kristie Graham, 39, her daughter Willow, 10, and Sefa, their 17-month-old son, in the new house they’d just bought.
Until then, his home would be the Seafox Burj, a three-legged jack-up rig planted in the shallow waters of the Al-Shaheen oil field, 80km from land. Robson hated being away, but stayed connected to Graham and his friends over WhatsApp. From his vantage point in the middle of the Gulf, he’d take photos of dramatic sunsets and send them to Graham. It was a window into the strange world of offshore workers and a sign, for her, of the way he could always find the positive in any situation.
Continue reading...In a tweet announcing his attack on the Climate Justice Alliance, EPA head Lee Zeldin linked it to the group’s protected speech about Palestine.
The post Trump’s EPA Kills Grant to Climate Nonprofit Over Its Support for Palestine appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s asylum offer to South Africa’s white minority follows years of AfriForum lobbying on Elon Musk’s behalf
Donald Trump’s offer of political asylum to South Africa’s white minority, just days after blocking genuine refugees from travelling to the US, followed years of campaigning by an Afrikaner group that has promoted “white genocide” conspiracy theories while also lobbying on behalf of Elon Musk’s business interests.
Last week, Trump issued an executive order that misrepresented a new South African law, the Expropriation Act, as a racist move to persecute white Afrikaners by seizing their farms without compensation.
Continue reading...Palestinians from Gaza responded with outrage to Trump’s proposal to expel them from their homes.
The post “You Don’t Own Gaza, Donald Trump”: Palestinians Vow to Remain and Rebuild appeared first on The Intercept.
In South Africa, a 36-year-old living with HIV since childhood fears she will lose access to treatment due to Trump’s policy.
The post Global HIV Care Thrown Into Chaos by Trump: “I Will Be Sick and Maybe Die” appeared first on The Intercept.
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A group of volunteers is spending two months lying in bed—with their feet up and one shoulder always touching the mattress—even while eating, showering, and using the toilet. But why? This extreme bedrest study is helping scientists understand how space travel affects the human body and how to keep astronauts healthy on long missions.
Microgravity causes muscle and bone loss, fluid shifts, and other physiological changes similar to those experienced by bedridden patients on Earth. By studying volunteers here on Earth, researchers can develop better countermeasures for astronauts and even improve treatments for medical conditions like osteoporosis.
In this study, participants are divided into three groups: one stays in bed with no exercise, another cycles in bed to mimic astronaut workouts, and a third cycles while being spun in a centrifuge to simulate artificial gravity. Scientists hope artificial gravity could become a key tool in protecting astronauts during deep-space missions.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
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