********** LAW **********
return to top
Federal judge orders return of Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador prison
Fri, 04 Apr 2025 19:07:15 GMT
White House has said US courts can’t order return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wife has been protesting outside court
A federal judge on Friday afternoon ordered the US to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison after a Trump administration attorney was at a loss to explain what happened.
The wife of the man, who was flown to a notorious Salvadoran prison had earlier joined dozens of supporters at a rally before a court hearing on Friday, where his lawyers had asked the judge – Paula Xinis – to order the Trump administration to return him to the US.
Continue reading...In what may be an American first, President Donald Trump pardoned a company sentenced to $100 million in fines for breaking money laundering laws.
The post Trump Just Pardoned … a Corporation? appeared first on The Intercept.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts he’s nixing contracts and grants amid DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. But those trims won’t hit SpaceX.
The post DOGE’s Pentagon Budget Cuts Don’t Touch Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared first on The Intercept.
Dogs in court, alpacas on trains … the debate shows how much we lean on animals, and how little we regard their wellbeing
It’s not the first time that the justice system has been accused of going to the dogs – but it may be the first time it’s been meant literally.
According to recent reports, defendants and witnesses in England and Wales have taken to bringing pets to court with them for emotional support, “causing chaos”. Judiciary officials have advised judges on how to deal with the issue after anecdotal reports of dogs barking, urinating and defecating, jumping up and otherwise disrupting proceedings. Assistance animals, such as guide dogs and medical alert dogs, are highly trained and covered under equality legislation to enter courts. “Emotional support animals” (ESAs), however, are not regulated in the UK; they may not necessarily even be trained at all.
Elle Hunt is a freelance journalist
Continue reading...Elaborate deception was only recently discovered when judge visited government office to renew his ID card
Police in the Brazilian state of São Paulo have uncovered that a judge spent 23 years working under a false identity – and a distinctly British one.
Born José Eduardo Franco dos Reis – a name fairly typical in a country once colonised by Portugal – he entered law school and served for over two decades as a judge using the false name Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield.
Continue reading...Erez Reuveni no longer on Kilmar Abrego Garcia case after not ‘vigorously’ defending Trump administration
A federal justice department attorney has been placed on leave by the Trump administration for purportedly failing to defend the administration vigorously enough after it says it erroneously deported a Maryland man to El Salvador, which a US judge called a “wholly lawless” detention.
The action against justice department lawyer Erez Reuveni came after US district judge Paula Xinis had ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who lived in the US legally with a work permit, be returned to Maryland despite the Trump administration’s position that it cannot return him from a sovereign nation.
Continue reading...South Carolina resumed executions with the firing squad killing of Brad Sigmon last month. Mikal Madhi’s execution date is days away.
The post Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, or Firing Squad? An Inhumane Decision for Death Row Prisoners appeared first on The Intercept.
She lost her job at Emerson College after screening a film critical of Israel. Her lawsuit seeks to leverage an unusual Massachusetts free speech law.
The post This College Staffer Lost Her Job After Showing a Film Critical of Israel. Now She’s Suing Over Free Speech. appeared first on The Intercept.
At a Congressional hearing earlier this week, Matt Blaze made the point that CALEA, the 1994 law that forces telecoms to make phone calls wiretappable, is outdated in today’s threat environment and should be rethought:
In other words, while the legally-mandated CALEA capability requirements have changed little over the last three decades, the infrastructure that must implement and protect it has changed radically. This has greatly expanded the “attack surface” that must be defended to prevent unauthorized wiretaps, especially at scale. The job of the illegal eavesdropper has gotten significantly easier, with many more options and opportunities for them to exploit. Compromising our telecommunications infrastructure is now little different from performing any other kind of computer intrusion or data breach, a well-known and endemic cybersecurity problem. To put it bluntly, something like Salt Typhoon was inevitable, and will likely happen again unless significant changes are made...
Kat Abughazaleh has been critical of what she describes as Democrats’ lack of vision and says the party has lost touch with many of its voters, especially young people
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old progressive TikTok star, wants to do campaigns differently. So the very online candidate for a solid blue congressional seat in Illinois is channeling her energy into in-person events.
The entry fee for her campaign’s kickoff event was a box of tampons or pads to be donated to The Period Collective, a Chicago-based nonprofit that distributes free menstrual products to low-income communities in the area. The debut was such a success, she said, they filled her campaign manager’s SUV with donations. (“I want him to get pulled over so bad,” Abughazaleh quipped in a video for her YouTube series How to Run for Congress.) It’s part of her pledge to disrupt politics as usual and run a campaign centered on mutual aid and community organizing instead of a candidate-centered “vanity project” that relies on expensive TV ads and “grifty” fundraising texts.
Continue reading...In a special episode, Jonathan Freedland and Annie Karni of the New York Times look at what seems to be a long-term question for US politics. With Republicans fighting each other in the House and Senate, and Democrats struggling to command the room, is Congress broken?
Annie’s new book with Luke Broadwater is called Mad House: How Donald Trump, Maga Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man With Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
Archive: PBS Newshour, NBC News, WISH-TV, KPRC 2 Click2Houston, Face the Nation, CNN, CBS News, ABC7, ABC News
Continue reading...In “Secrets and Lies” (2000), I wrote:
It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.
It’s something a bunch of us were saying at the time, in reference to the vast NSA’s surveillance capabilities.
I have been thinking of that quote a lot as I read news stories of President Trump firing the Director of the National Security Agency. General Timothy Haugh.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote:
We don’t know what pressure the Trump administration is using to make intelligence services fall into line, but it isn’t crazy to ...
Democrats in the state view themselves as on the frontlines responding to Donald Trump’s harmful policies
Democrats have begun plotting the next phase of their electoral revival with a seven-figure spend in Virginia ahead of a vote they hope will turn into a referendum on Elon Musk.
The party, which had been despondent since Donald Trump’s victory last year, got off the canvas last week with a convincing win in a Wisconsin supreme court race and two strong congressional performances in Florida.
Continue reading...Republicans need to worry about getting bullied by Elon Musk, and Democrats need to worry about AIPAC, Sanders said.
The post Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending appeared first on The Intercept.
John Kelsey and I wrote a short paper for the Rossfest Festschrift: “Rational Astrologies and Security“:
There is another non-security way that designers can spend their security budget: on making their own lives easier. Many of these fall into the category of what has been called rational astrology. First identified by Randy Steve Waldman [Wal12], the term refers to something people treat as though it works, generally for social or institutional reasons, even when there’s little evidence that it works—and sometimes despite substantial evidence that it does not...
The Trump administration’s detention of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk rests on an opinion article she wrote in 2024, her lawyers said in a filing.
The post In Trump’s America, You Can Be Disappeared for Writing an Op-Ed appeared first on The Intercept.
Florida prosecutors say Michelle Taylor used gasoline to set a fire that killed her son. Top forensic chemists say they’re wrong.
The post The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway. appeared first on The Intercept.
I accompanied one of the students who fled Trump’s crackdown. It gave me clarity on what’s at stake.
The post This Is Not About Antisemitism, Palestine, or Columbia. It’s Trump Dismantling the American Dream. appeared first on The Intercept.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who started the now-infamous group chat coordinating a US attack against the Yemen-based Houthis on March 15, is seemingly now suggesting that the secure messaging service Signal has security vulnerabilities.
"I didn’t see this loser in the group," Waltz told Fox News about Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Waltz invited to the chat. "Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean, is something we’re trying to figure out."
Waltz’s implication that Goldberg may have hacked his way in was followed by a ...
“Do your job!” the crowd chanted, urging Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the most outspoken DOGE supporters, to rein in Elon Musk.
The post GOP Leaders Said Don’t Do Town Halls. This Indiana Republican Did — and Got an Earful. appeared first on The Intercept.
![[later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/tariffs.png "[later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!")
In Ulaanbaatar, coal fires heat almost every home. But as extreme weather drives families off the Mongolian steppes into the city the air is becoming more deadly
The eldest child was away training for the army when his family died in their sleep. All six of them, two adults and four children, were poisoned by carbon monoxide gas seeping out from their coal-fired stove into their home in Ulaanbaatar in January, the coldest month in the world’s coldest capital city.
Mongolians were touched by the tragedy but there was anger a month later when, during a two-day parliamentary hearing forced by a public petition against pollution levels, the government released figures showing there had been 779 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in the country in the past seven years. By 19 February, when a couple in their 40s were found lifeless in their bed, that number had risen to 811.
Continue reading...A three-yearly environmental update issues stark warning over biodiversity – and reports air pollution has improved in some areas
A major new report on New Zealand’s environment has revealed a worrying outlook for its unique species and highlighted declining water health, while also noting some improvements in air quality.
The ministry of the environment’s three-yearly update, Our Environment 2025, collates statistics, data and research across five domains – air, atmosphere and climate, freshwater, land, and marine – to paint a picture of the state of New Zealand’s environment.
Continue reading...Jon Di Stefano on the environmental credentials of smaller developers. Plus Mike Leonard on how the future homes standard should ensure low-carbon construction
Craig Bennett of the Wildlife Trusts highlighted some issues with the way UK housebuilders are delivering (or not delivering) housing (UK housebuilders ‘very bad’ at building houses, says wildlife charity CEO, 1 April). But should we be lumping every housebuilder together?
In December, the Federation of Master Builders reported that small housebuilders deliver only 10% of new homes today, compared with 40% in the 1980s. This diminished contribution has been called out by the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, as a top priority for Homes England to address. Competition and innovation beget sustainability, affordability and quality in housing delivery. As someone who has made the jump from a larger housebuilder to a smaller one, I have seen this firsthand.
Continue reading...We do not have the luxury of rejecting solutions before we have thoroughly investigated their risks, trade-offs and feasibility
As a lifelong scientist, I have always believed that if something is possible, we can find a way to achieve it. And yet, one of the starkest realities we now face is that the world is failing to meet its climate goals. Last year marked a historic and deeply troubling threshold: for the first time, global temperatures exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Without drastic and immediate climate action, this breach will not be temporary. The consequences – rising sea levels, extreme weather and devastating loss of biodiversity – are no longer projections for the distant future. They are happening now, affecting millions of lives, and likely to cause trillions in damages in decades to come.
But we must think beyond our immediate horizons. When I read The Iliad, I am reminded that it was written 2,800 years ago. I often wonder: in another 2,800 years, what will people – if humanity as we know it still exists – read about our time? Will they see us as the generation that failed to act or one that made the choices necessary to safeguard the planet for the future?
Continue reading...Intelligence reports warn law enforcement about “acts of violence against electric vehicles” and the danger of battery fires.
The post Police Across the Country Are on High Alert Over Tesla Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasts he’s nixing contracts and grants amid DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. But those trims won’t hit SpaceX.
The post DOGE’s Pentagon Budget Cuts Don’t Touch Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared first on The Intercept.
Florida prosecutors say Michelle Taylor used gasoline to set a fire that killed her son. Top forensic chemists say they’re wrong.
The post The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway. appeared first on The Intercept.
Net zero is a target that countries should be striving for to stop the climate crisis. But beyond the buzzword, it is a complex scientific concept – and if we get it wrong, the planet will keep heating.
Biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield explains how a loophole in the 2015 Paris climate agreement allows countries to cheat their net zero targets through creative accounting, and how scientists want us to fix it
Continue reading...
SEMrush and Ahrefs are among
the most popular tools in the SEO industry. Both companies have been in
business for years and have thousands of customers per month.
If you're a professional SEO or trying to do digital
marketing on your own, at some point you'll likely consider using a tool to
help with your efforts. Ahrefs and SEMrush are two names that will likely
appear on your shortlist.
In this guide, I'm going to help you learn more about these SEO tools and how to choose the one that's best for your purposes.
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a popular SEO tool with a wide range of
features—it's the leading competitor research service for online marketers.
SEMrush's SEO Keyword Magic tool offers over 20 billion Google-approved
keywords, which are constantly updated and it's the largest keyword database.
The program was developed in 2007 as SeoQuake is a
small Firefox extension
Features
Ahrefs is a leading SEO platform that offers a set of
tools to grow your search traffic, research your competitors, and monitor your
niche. The company was founded in 2010, and it has become a popular choice
among SEO tools. Ahrefs has a keyword index of over 10.3 billion keywords and
offers accurate and extensive backlink data updated every 15-30 minutes and it
is the world's most extensive backlink index database.
Features
Direct Comparisons: Ahrefs vs SEMrush
Now that you know a little more about each tool, let's
take a look at how they compare. I'll analyze each tool to see how they differ
in interfaces, keyword research resources, rank tracking, and competitor
analysis.
User Interface
Ahrefs and SEMrush both offer comprehensive information
and quick metrics regarding your website's SEO performance. However, Ahrefs
takes a bit more of a hands-on approach to getting your account fully set up,
whereas SEMrush's simpler dashboard can give you access to the data you need
quickly.
In this section, we provide a brief overview of the elements
found on each dashboard and highlight the ease with which you can complete
tasks.
AHREFS
The Ahrefs dashboard is less cluttered than that of
SEMrush, and its primary menu is at the very top of the page, with a search bar
designed only for entering URLs.
Additional features of the Ahrefs platform include:
SEMRUSH
When you log into the SEMrush Tool, you will find four
main modules. These include information about your domains, organic keyword
analysis, ad keyword, and site traffic.
You'll also find some other options like
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have user-friendly dashboards,
but Ahrefs is less cluttered and easier to navigate. On the other hand, SEMrush
offers dozens of extra tools, including access to customer support resources.
When deciding on which dashboard to use, consider what
you value in the user interface, and test out both.
If you're looking to track your website's search engine
ranking, rank tracking features can help. You can also use them to monitor your
competitors.
Let's take a look at Ahrefs vs. SEMrush to see which
tool does a better job.
The Ahrefs Rank Tracker is simpler to use. Just type in
the domain name and keywords you want to analyze, and it spits out a report
showing you the search engine results page (SERP) ranking for each keyword you
enter.
Rank Tracker looks at the ranking performance of
keywords and compares them with the top rankings for those keywords. Ahrefs
also offers:
You'll see metrics that help you understand your
visibility, traffic, average position, and keyword difficulty.
It gives you an idea of whether a keyword would be
profitable to target or not.
SEMRush offers a tool called Position Tracking. This
tool is a project tool—you must set it up as a new project. Below are a few of
the most popular features of the SEMrush Position Tracking tool:
All subscribers are given regular data updates and
mobile search rankings upon subscribing
The platform provides opportunities to track several
SERP features, including Local tracking.
Intuitive reports allow you to track statistics for the
pages on your website, as well as the keywords used in those pages.
Identify pages that may be competing with each other
using the Cannibalization report.
Ahrefs is a more user-friendly option. It takes seconds
to enter a domain name and keywords. From there, you can quickly decide whether
to proceed with that keyword or figure out how to rank better for other
keywords.
SEMrush allows you to check your mobile rankings and
ranking updates daily, which is something Ahrefs does not offer. SEMrush also
offers social media rankings, a tool you won't find within the Ahrefs platform.
Both are good which one do you like let me know in the comment.
Keyword research is closely related to rank tracking,
but it's used for deciding which keywords you plan on using for future content
rather than those you use now.
When it comes to SEO, keyword research is the most
important thing to consider when comparing the two platforms.
The Ahrefs Keyword Explorer provides you with thousands
of keyword ideas and filters search results based on the chosen search engine.
Ahrefs supports several features, including:
SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool has over 20 billion
keywords for Google. You can type in any keyword you want, and a list of
suggested keywords will appear.
The Keyword Magic Tool also lets you to:
Both of these tools offer keyword research features and
allow users to break down complicated tasks into something that can be
understood by beginners and advanced users alike.
If you're interested in keyword suggestions, SEMrush
appears to have more keyword suggestions than Ahrefs does. It also continues to
add new features, like the Keyword Gap tool and SERP Questions recommendations.
Both platforms offer competitor analysis tools,
eliminating the need to come up with keywords off the top of your head. Each
tool is useful for finding keywords that will be useful for your competition so
you know they will be valuable to you.
Ahrefs' domain comparison tool lets you compare up to five websites (your website and four competitors) side-by-side.it also shows you how your site is ranked against others with metrics such as backlinks, domain ratings, and more.
Use the Competing Domains section to see a list of your
most direct competitors, and explore how many keywords matches your competitors
have.
To find more information about your competitor, you can
look at the Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools and type in their URL
instead of yours.
SEMrush provides a variety of insights into your
competitors' marketing tactics. The platform enables you to research your
competitors effectively. It also offers several resources for competitor
analysis including:
Traffic Analytics helps you identify where your
audience comes from, how they engage with your site, what devices visitors use
to view your site, and how your audiences overlap with other websites.
SEMrush's Organic Research examines your website's
major competitors and shows their organic search rankings, keywords they are
ranking for, and even if they are ranking for any (SERP) features and more.
The Market Explorer search field allows you to type in
a domain and lists websites or articles similar to what you entered. Market
Explorer also allows users to perform in-depth data analytics on These
companies and markets.
SEMrush wins here because it has more tools dedicated to
competitor analysis than Ahrefs. However, Ahrefs offers a lot of functionality
in this area, too. It takes a combination of both tools to gain an advantage
over your competition.
When it comes to keyword data research, you will become
confused about which one to choose.
Consider choosing Ahrefs if you
Consider SEMrush if you:
Both tools are great. Choose the one which meets your
requirements and if you have any experience using either Ahrefs or SEMrush let
me know in the comment section which works well for you.
The comedy, about a curmudgeon played by Steve Coogan and his waddling new friend, joins a subgenre of movies from King Kong to John Wick – in which men are emotionally and socially rescued by animals
The penguin at the centre of The Penguin Lessons, a new movie by Peter Cattaneo, is nothing if not hard-working. The film, adapted from the 2015 memoir by Tom Michell, uses the political turmoil of Argentina in 1976 as a backdrop for the personal transformation of an English teacher at a boys’ school. Michell (Steve Coogan) is an idle curmudgeon when he rescues an oil-drenched Magellan penguin from a beach in Uruguay in an attempt to impress an attractive woman. She leaves, but he is stuck with the bird, whom he duly names Juan Salvador, and who thaws him out sufficiently to bond with students and colleagues, process past trauma and rekindle a political idealism.
Naturally, there are hurdles for Juan Salvador to clear before the interspecies friendship spreads its wings. Michell tries a range of methods to ditch his new buddy, only for him to waddle back so determinedly that Michell reluctantly transports the penguin across the Argentine border and installs him on the terrace at the college. A perception shift on the charms of his new roommate is aided by an influx of visitors of all ages. Staff and students alike delight in feeding him sprats and – more significantly – in quieter moments are drawn to unburden themselves.
Continue reading...Republicans need to worry about getting bullied by Elon Musk, and Democrats need to worry about AIPAC, Sanders said.
The post Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending appeared first on The Intercept.
After years-long Bob Dylan training helped push his awards cred, the actor has done months of heavy table tennis drill for Marty Supreme. He may be missing the point
Not winning an Oscar can do funny things to people. Look at Leonardo DiCaprio. He tried harder and harder with every successive loss until he eventually made The Revenant, the movie equivalent of getting punched in the face for likes on TikTok. Same with Lady Gaga, who reacted to losing for A Star Is Born by going so method for House of Gucci that she essentially lived as a Dolmio puppet for nine months.
And so we come to Timothée Chalamet. Now, on paper Chalamet doesn’t need to worry about winning an Oscar, because he played the lead in two films that were nominated for best picture. That’s a huge achievement, especially when you consider that those films – Dune: Part Two and A Complete Unknown – each appealed to wildly different audiences. Before that he made Wonka, which proved his chops in another field. Chalamet appeals to kids, sci-fi fans and people’s dads. He just needs to be announced as lead in a Bridget Jones reboot and he’ll have all four quadrants locked up forever. My point is that Chalamet doesn’t need an Oscar. He has already transcended awards.
Continue reading...As Trump’s divisive second term threatens the liberties of many Americans, movies from Z to Spartacus to V for Vendetta have become more and more relevant
From its opening frame, Costa-Gavras’s political thriller Z promises to be an unflinching denunciation of authoritarianism. The kinetic camera work matches its forthright narrative of state-sponsored violence and the erosion of democracy. The Greek expatriate director’s film is loosely based on the 1963 assassination of the democratic leader Grigoris Lambrakis and although it was released in 1969, when Costa-Gavras reigned as a political storyteller, the film still has something to say today in this “golden age” for the United States.
In the flurry of Donald Trump’s executive orders, I found myself watching Z again as I contemplated how we arrived at this political moment – the polarization, disinformation, corruption and complicity by individuals and institutions that precede and abet the collapse of democracy – and what cinema can reveal at a time of censorship, deportations and protesters vilified as domestic terrorists.
Continue reading...Tasmanian artist Meg Murray won the top prize with Screech of the Sea, a creation with ‘undeniable villainy’
They say life’s a beach, but whoever coined that phrase probably wasn’t looking at today’s economic and political landscape – or they had an incredible sense of humour. Much like the artists at this year’s Australian Sand Sculpting Championships, which returned to Frankston foreshore, just south of Melbourne, for the first time since 2019.
This year’s event had a playful take on our polarising times; its theme is “The Villains of Storytime”, and sculptors responded with giant sand-made depictions of familiar witches and wolves from fairytales and Disney movies. Looking around, visitors can see a big bad wolf, Ursula from The Little Mermaid and a mythical siren calling to unsuspecting sailors.
Continue reading...Intelligence reports warn law enforcement about “acts of violence against electric vehicles” and the danger of battery fires.
The post Police Across the Country Are on High Alert Over Tesla Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
With the brand to disappear from town and city streets, readers share their memories of how it touched their lives
After 233 years, the household name of WH Smith will soon disappear from high streets and the stores will be rebranded under the fictitious “family” brand name TGJones.
The high street business, which employs 5,000 staff, will sell its 480 high street stores to the Hobbycraft owner, Modella Capital, but will retain its brand for travel shops in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
Continue reading...The Hands Off event proved Americans with a slew of different priorities can still form a broad left-liberal coalition
What is the point of street protest? This is the question I asked myself as I rode the bus downtown to San Francisco city hall, where activists were hosting a rally and march for Hands Off, a national day of action meant to collect a broad range of resistance to the Trump regime under one banner.
During the first Trump administration, I’d gone to these a lot. I’d attended the Women’s March in Washington in January of 2017, and felt myself crushed between the bodies of the hundreds of thousands of attenders; I’d held a sign at JFK airport, chanting “Immigrants are welcome here”, a few weeks later, when Trump instituted his travel ban. In 2020, I’d marched in Black Lives Matter protests, trying to avenge the horror I had felt when I’d seen videos of police officers killing Black men, often as they begged for their lives, played over and over again on the tiny screen of my phone. I’d inherited a brutal and ugly world, I felt, and it seemed urgent to say that I rejected it, that I felt the rage and grief of its injustice, and to be among other people who felt the same way.
Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist
Continue reading...Many dash across this Welsh island en route to Ireland, but it’s worth lingering to explore its historic houses, pristine beaches and thriving restaurant scene
In 1826, the opening of Thomas Telford’s Menai Suspension Bridge connected mainland Wales to the island of Ynys Môn (Anglesey) for the very first time. The bridge was critical to creating a fast road link to the port of Holyhead and so improving communication links between London and Dublin.
Today, motoring tourists take advantage of Telford’s vision every day (albeit linking up with the A55 North Wales Expressway) as they head to Holyhead to board ferries to Ireland. But in doing so, they bypass the many meandering, slow lane charms that dot the coastline of Ynys Môn.
Continue reading...Monica Feria-Tinta is one of a growing number of lawyers using the courts to make governments around the world take action
In November 2024, Monica Feria-Tinta, a veteran of UN tribunals and the international criminal court, strode through a heavy black door into a Georgian building in London’s august legal district for a meeting about a tree in Southend. Affectionately known as Chester, the 150-year-old plane tree towers over a bus shelter in the centre of the Essex seaside town. The council wanted to cut it down and residents were fighting back – but they were running out of options. Katy Treverton, a local campaigner, had travelled from Southend to ask Feria-Tinta’s legal advice. “Chester is one of the last trees left in this part of Southend,” said Treverton, sitting at a large table in an airy meeting room. “Losing him would be losing part of the city’s identity.”
Feria-Tinta nodded, deep-red fingernails clattering on her laptop as she typed. She paused and looked up. “Are we entitled to nature? Is that a human right? I would say yes. It’s not an easy argument, but it’s a valid one.” She recommended going to the council with hard data about the impact of trees on health, and how removing the tree could violate the rights of an economically deprived community. Recent rulings in the European court of human rights, she added, reinforced the notion that the state has obligations on the climate crisis. This set a legal precedent that could help residents defend their single tree in Southend. “It isn’t just a tree,” said Feria-Tinta. “More than that is at stake: a principle.”
Continue reading...Adam Gabbatt reports on the visa and green card-holders being held in US detention centres
“Border Patrol always had the right to grill people trying to enter the US, right,” Guardian US reporter Adam Gabbatt tells Michael Safi. “But from what we can tell now, Border Patrol agents are now much more likely to basically get into people’s business, so to search people’s devices, particularly mobile phones, and there seems to have been a real spike in the number of people being questioned and now detained. We’ve seen that with tourists, but also people on green cards and working visas.”
One of those people was Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian entrepreneur who had travelled to the US on a work visa many times.
Continue reading...Just weeks away from graduation, some international students at Arizona State University have been blocked from completing degrees.
The post At Least 50 Arizona State Students Have Now Had Visas Revoked, Lawyer Says appeared first on The Intercept.
Ministers and more than 70 MPs attended photo call with Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed whose travel ban was called unacceptable
Cabinet ministers and more than 70 parliamentarians staged a show of solidarity with two MPs who were detained and barred from entry to Israel in what was the first time British MPs had been banned from the country.
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, joined the photocall in Westminster Hall on Monday with the MPs, along with Hamish Falconer and housing minister Rushanara Ali. It was organised by the Rochdale MP Paul Waugh.
Continue reading...Clark Winter’s car photographs, taken during his travels around the globe, revel in nostalgia and reveal our strangely intimate relationships with our vehicles
Continue reading...The value of one Australian dollar dropped to a low of 59.64 US cents, its lowest point since April 2020
Consumers and travellers will face higher prices after the Australian dollar fell to Covid-era lows, as markets reel from Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff plan.
Fears of a global recession dragged the Australian dollar sharply lower on Monday against the country’s major trade partners and to its lowest point against the Euro, pound and US dollar since 2020.
Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter
Continue reading...Legislation was repealed in 2018 but Caribbean country’s supreme court last week recriminalised the act after appeal
The privy council in London will soon be called upon to make the final decision on a court case to remove homophobic laws in Trinidad and Tobago.
The laws were repealed in 2018 in a high court judgment that struck from the statute book the “buggery law” that had criminalised consensual anal sex since an act passed in 1925 under British rule. However, last week Trinidad’s supreme court upheld a government appeal against the ruling and recriminalised the act, dealing a hammer blow to LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean country and prompting the UK Foreign Office to update its advice for LGBTQ+ travellers.
Continue reading...The University of Pennsylvania has been a target of Canary Mission, a pro-Israel “blacklist” group. Turns out the call was coming from inside the house.
The post Pro-Israel Group That Attacked UPenn Was Funded by Family of UPenn Trustee appeared first on The Intercept.
Florida prosecutors say Michelle Taylor used gasoline to set a fire that killed her son. Top forensic chemists say they’re wrong.
The post The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway. appeared first on The Intercept.
Searches of phones and other electronics are on the rise for those entering the U.S. Take these steps to help secure your devices.
The post Crossing the U.S. Border? Here’s How to Protect Yourself appeared first on The Intercept.
We would like to hear from parents about their children’s experiences of getting NHS dental treatment
According to a government report, nearly 50,000 tooth extractions took place last year in NHS hospitals in England for 0 to 19-year-olds, with 62% of those having a primary diagnosis of tooth decay.
We would like to hear from parents in England about their experiences of accessing NHS dental services for their children. Were you able to find somewhere locally or do you have to travel further afield? How easy have you found it to access care? We’re also interested in hearing from those whose children have had hospital tooth extractions recently.
Continue reading...From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...US president had said he would impose extra levies unless China withdrew its 34% retaliatory tariffs by today
The European Union still wants to avoid a trade war with the United States despite Donald Trump’s administration’s rejection of the “zero for zero” offer on all industrial goods put forward by Brussels, an EU spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that the European Union needed to lower its non-tariff barriers, including those created by value-added taxes and food safety regulations, if it wanted to reach a deal.
Continue reading...A soothing treat to start the day – or finish supper with. Just be sure to use perfectly ripe mangoes
Blueberries actually have a pinch of acidity that helps lift this rather mild and soothing puréed mango.
I like to use a thick, strained Greek-style yoghurt here, and only partially mix it into the purée to leave some attractive swirls of it marbled through the fool.
Continue reading...The creamy pistachio bar is all over TikTok, but good luck trying to find it in shops. Connoisseurs, market-watchers and the woman who invented it discuss its sudden rush to fame
I stand in my local Lidl, staring gloomily at the chocolate bars. The man beside me seems similarly disappointed. “Are you looking for the Dubai chocolate?” he asks. It might be kept behind the till, I say, given how precious and popular it is. He stops the security guard and she looks at us sympathetically. No chance, she says. They sold out in hours.
If you don’t spend your life on TikTok, the latest viral food trend may have passed you by. But you won’t escape it for long. “Dubai chocolate” has gone mainstream.
Continue reading...Fried fish, served with greens or a salad, makes for a delicious light meal in minutes
Frying a piece of fish has a bit of a bad rep, and I’m not really sure why; you can have a deeply delicious and light meal in less than 10 minutes (though that, of course, also depends on its accompaniments). If I don’t want anything too hearty, I’ll often serve it with greens or a salad, so it really is a quick turnaround. I love this simple brown butter caper dressing, because it doesn’t overpower the fish. However, if you want something a little punchier, add a spoonful of harissa to the mix.
Continue reading...From planning ahead and avoiding freezer burn to creating flavour bombs in ice trays, here are some expert tips
Preparing meals in advance and portioning out meat, fruit and vegetables to be frozen can save money, avoid waste and cut the time you spend cooking.
Continue reading...Ukraine president makes first explicit mention of ‘active operations’ on ground in Russian border region close to Kursk. What we know on day 1,140
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said for the first time Monday that Ukrainian forces were operating in Russia’s Belgorod region, where Moscow reported attacks in March. Belgorod is regularly the target of Ukrainian air attacks and is close to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have been desperately trying to hang on to territory since launching a surprise incursion last year. Zelenskyy said in his daily address that General Oleksandr Syrsky had reported on “our presence in Kursk region and our presence in Belgorod region”. He added: “We continue to conduct active operations in the border areas on the enemy’s territory, and this is absolutely right – the war must return to where it came from.” It is the first time since the full-scale invasion began that Zelenskyy has explicitly mentioned a Ukrainian presence in Belgorod, a border region with a population of about 1.5 million people. The Russian military acknowledged facing Ukrainian land attacks in the region in March. According to the DeepState military blog, which is considered close to Ukraine’s army, Ukrainian troops have occupied a 13 sq km (five square mile) area in the Russian region, near the border village of Demidovka. Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have said the incursion into Kursk and other Russian territory is to divert Russian forces attacking the Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Kharkiv.
Anger and outrage gripped Zelenskyy’s home town on Monday as it held funerals for some of the 20 people, including nine children, killed by a Russian missile that struck apartment buildings and a playground. More than 70 were wounded in the attack on Kryvyi Rih last Friday evening. The children were playing on swings and in a sandbox in a tree-lined park at the time. Bodies were strewn across the grass. “We are not asking for pity,” Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city administration, wrote on Telegram as Kryvyi Rih mourned. “We demand the world’s outrage.” The UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine said it was the deadliest single verified strike harming children since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. It was also one of the deadliest attacks so far this year.
Teacher Iryna Kholod remembered Arina and Radyslav, both 7 years old and killed in Friday’s strike, as being “like little suns in the classroom”. Radyslav, she said, was proud to be part of a school campaign collecting pet food for stray animals. “He held the bag like it was treasure. He wanted to help,” she told the Associated Press. After Friday evening, “two desks in my classroom were empty forever,” Kholod said, adding that she still has unopened birthday gifts for them.
“How do I tell parents to return their textbooks? How do I teach without them?” she asked.
Donald Trump has accused Russia of “bombing like crazy right now” even as the US president claimed the parties were “sort of close” on a deal. On Monday he reiterated his opposition to Russia’s bombing of Ukraine as his administration participates in talks seeking an end to the fighting. “I’m not happy about what’s going on”, he told reporters in the White House. “So we’re meeting with Russia, we’re meeting with Ukraine, and we’re getting sort of close, but I’m not happy with all the bombing that’s going in the last week or so,” he said. “It’s a horrible thing.”
Trump’s Monday remarks came hours after the Kremlin said it supported the idea of a truce in Ukraine but had many “questions” about how such a deal would work, pushing back at US and European suggestions that it was playing for time. Russia has kept up its strikes on Ukraine unabated despite the US president’s promise to bring peace within “24 hours” of returning to the White House in January.
Continue reading...We asked experts on what are the benefits and risks of taking the highly touted supplement. This is what they said
Fish oil is a perennial wellness topic, partly because there’s so much conflicting information.
“People perceive fish oil to be a wonder supplement,” says Amelia Sherry, clinical nutrition coordinator at the Mount Sinai hospital.
Continue reading...This week: what happens to products after we review them; spring gardening gear; and anti-ageing essentials (including sunscreen)
At the Filter, we test a LOT of products. We’ve put everything from mattresses to treadmills through their paces to try to help you make better-informed shopping decisions. However, that means our expert testers can accumulate a lot of products. After all, you can’t find the best air fryer without taking a few for a spin. So, with sustainability – as well as journalistic independence, unswayed by promises of freebies – in mind, we’ve always promised to return samples to the manufacturer after testing or, where that’s not possible, donate them to good causes.
That’s where I come in. As the Filter’s researcher, it’s my job to not only help find and source products but also rehome them when they’re finished with. I’ve been tasked with getting everything, from blenders to electric toothbrushes and even food, from writers’ homes across the country to charities that can benefit from them the most.
Anti-ageing products that actually work: Sali Hughes on the 30 best serums, creams and treatments
‘Cute, but doesn’t taste too good’: the best (and worst) Easter chocolate treats, tested
Continue reading...From bunnies to, er, squirrels and croissants, these Easter chocs are a cute alternative to traditional eggs. But are they any good? Our in-house chocolate fiend finds out …
• The best stand mixers to make baking easier
I’m a big chocolate lover, and Easter is as good a time as any to branch out, try something new and spend a few extra pounds on something special. While the wheel doesn’t need reinventing, it’s been particularly fun to see a lot more unconventional shapes popping up this year.
For my ideal Easter egg, I look for something made with good-quality chocolate that isn’t sickly sweet. For milk chocolate, I like at least 40% cocoa solids, and for dark 60%. Anything much higher than that can be a bit intense for an Easter egg, and almost too grownup – after all, it still needs to be fun! Personally, I lean towards chocolate with a bit of texture and added crunch to keep things interesting, and good thickness is always a winner.
Continue reading...What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.
From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk.
Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems?
Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all
Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
Continue reading... |
Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
RSS Rabbit links users to publicly available RSS entries.
Vet every link before clicking! The creators accept no responsibility for the contents of these entries.
Relevant
Fresh
Convenient
Agile
We're not prepared to take user feedback yet. Check back soon!
