********** TRAVEL **********
return to top
What NASA Is Learning from the Biggest Geomagnetic Storm in 20 Years
Fri, 09 May 2025 19:09:44 +0000
One year on, NASA scientists are still making huge discoveries about the largest geomagnetic storm to hit Earth in two decades, the Gannon storm. The findings are helping us better understand and prepare for the ways in which the Sun’s activity can affect us. One year ago today, representatives from NASA and about 30 other […]
Match ID: 0 Score: 35.00 source: science.nasa.gov age: 0 days
qualifiers: 35.00 travel(|ing)
Meet Four NASA Inventors Improving Life on Earth and Beyond
Fri, 09 May 2025 17:27:54 +0000
When most people think of NASA, they picture rockets, astronauts, and the Moon. But behind the scenes, a group of inventors is quietly rewriting the rules of what’s possible — on Earth, in orbit, and beyond. Their groundbreaking inventions eventually become technology available for industry, helping to shape new products and services that improve life […]
Match ID: 1 Score: 35.00 source: www.nasa.gov age: 0 days
qualifiers: 35.00 travel(|ing)
Trains, planes, two-day ferries? Spurs and United fans weigh up Bilbao travel options
Fri, 09 May 2025 16:17:21 GMT
Supporters hoping to travel to the all-English Europa League final in Bilbao could end up paying thousands of pounds for the privilege. There are ways to drive that cost down, however, especially for those willing to spend two days on a ferry.
After Tottenham and Manchester United confirmed their places at the San Mamés on 21 May via their respective semi-final second leg victories over Bodø/Glimt and Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, eyes immediately turned to the prospect of attending a game both Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim described as “massive”. Uefa has allocated 15,000 tickets to each club, with a further 11,000 tickets on general sale, out of a total capacity of 49,000. Tickets reserved for official allocations start at €40 (£34), the same price as last year, but general admission has risen in price, with the most expensive Category 1 ticket costing €240 (£203), up from €150 last year.
Continue reading...Airline assesses options but there is no automatic form of recovery from insurers or the airport
The power outage that closed Heathrow airport for a day in March cost British Airways £40m, the national carrier has revealed.
The airline said it was “assessing options” but said it had no recourse to compensation from Heathrow.
Continue reading...Our tipsters bask in the sunshine at town beaches and ‘secret’ bays from Sweden to the Greek islands
• Send us a tip on a UK garden – the best wins a £200 holiday voucher
While staying on the northern Pelion peninsula in Greece we made our way by foot along the coast path to Paralia Fakistra beach, which is only accessible via a walk in from local villages along the coast. The white pebble beach is backed by a freezing cold waterfall, which cools you down after the dusty, challenging coast path route. The crystal-blue water is home to lots of sea life and snorkelling was joyous. One of the attractions that keeps visitor numbers down is that there are no cafes or bars or even shade, so I recommend taking a light parasol and some cool drinks, but keep your load light as the walk can get hot, especially along the coast path from nearby Damouchari, another great beach spot on the Pelion.
Layla Astley
The actor’s new travelogue with Charley Boorman is far from action-packed – and could do with fewer episodes. But watching them ride eventually becomes entrancing
They’ve gone Round, Down and Up, and now, for their fourth season, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are attempting to ride the Long Way Home. In 2020, the long-running blokes-on-bikes travel series was revived by Apple after a 15-year gap, and it set its stars the task of travelling from the southernmost tip of South America to Los Angeles on electric motorbikes. Not all fans of the previous seasons were enamoured with it, not least because it lacked the everyman appeal of their earlier runs. Having a big team at Harley-Davidson design and custom-build vehicles for the job, and getting a company to install charging points along the route for them, wasn’t quite the same as two old mates jumping on their bikes and camping wherever the mood dictated.
It makes sense, then, for Long Way Home to take it back to basics. It certainly seems as if a concerted effort has been made for McGregor and Boorman to be more relatable. We see more of them with their families and children, and it appears to be a more intimate operation. Instead of the fancy central London office and massive logistics team, there’s a big map pinned to the wall of McGregor’s garage, a small gathering of the original crew, and that should do it. Or at least, it’s made to look that way.
Continue reading...After a relationship breakup, rambling 700 miles from the Highlands to Dorset with Martin helped restore my faith in people
I’ve always had a keen sense of adventure. During the summer holidays, my parents would push me and my sister out of the front door and tell us only to come home to eat. I went from roaming the streets of Hackney in east London as a child, to trekking, wild camping and hitchhiking the length of the Americas in my late 20s.
After returning to my home in Liverpool, I worked as a photographer and got into a relationship. When we broke up years later, I was distraught – but it led me back to the life of exploration that I’d put on the back‑burner. In the summer of 2016, I embarked on a solo 1,000-mile (1,600km) route through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Not wanting to feel sealed off from the wondrous environments around me, I did the majority of it on foot.
Continue reading...This week, the Channel Islands celebrate 80 years since liberation from Nazi occupation, but the fascinating bunkers, tunnels and towers that remain have found a new lease of life
I’m woken by a tractor uprooting jersey royals in the potato field next door. In my simple hexagonal room, dawn illuminates five high slit windows marked with military coordinates and a compass etched into the ceiling. But heading downstairs, I timeslip into a 19th-century lounge where gothic-style windows frame sea views in three directions.
During the second world war, Jersey’s occupying forces requisitioned Nicolle Tower, a whimsical two-storey folly, and added an extra level. In what is now the bedroom, German soldiers kept lookout for an allied invasion that never came.
Continue reading...Saved from tourist development by a ‘favourite daughter of Andalucía’, Cabo de Gata is a spectacular national park perfect for an adventure on foot
If you study a map of Spain, in the south-east corner you’ll see a strip of empty space along the edge of the Mediterranean. It contains no major towns and barely any roads. Its coastline is equally barren – no ports or resorts; just a few tiny villages tucked away in intriguingly named coves – “raven”, “coal”, “bitter water”. This patch of emptiness is the Cabo de Gata-Níjar national park, a protected haven of desert wilderness on the edge of Europe.
Having been forced to cancel an expedition to the Algerian Sahara earlier in the year, this park appears to be the answer to my yearning for the arid warmth and stark beauty of desert travel. Zooming in on the satellite view, a network of paths appears, suggesting a walking route of around 40 miles (64km) – from the Cabo itself, up the coast, along the cliffs, to the beach town of Agua Amarga. My husband, a keen Iberophile and relentless explorer of España vacia (literally, empty Spain) is always up for a wilderness adventure, so we get in the van and head south.
Continue reading...Ten years ago, the late land artist Charles Jencks created Crawick Multiverse out of an ugly open-cast mine in southern Scotland. Today, it is an inspiring exploration of the universe
The sun warms my face as I pause between the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies to gaze at the rolling hills of Dumfries and Galloway beyond. I am not, surprisingly enough, in outer space. I’m at the Crawick Multiverse, a cosmos-themed land art installation in the south of Scotland that was built on the site of an old open-cast coal mine and is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.
The galaxies here are huge, spiralling mounds of earth, their perimeters reaching out towards one another but never quite touching.
Continue reading...France does many foods exceptionally well, but certain areas offer unique and exceptional culinary experiences. We select 10 delicacies and the best regions in which to try them
Of course you can enjoy exquisitely crafted patisseries all over France, but Paris is home to many of the country’s best pâtissiers, and many of the individual gateaux have a connection to the city. As you delve into the layers of almond sponge, ganache and buttercream that form the opera cake, you may see how it was inspired by the ornate balconies of the Palais Garnier opera house; while the Paris-Brest, a wheel-shaped choux, was first made in 1910 to commemorate the famously brutal cycle race. Seek out a rum baba – a brioche-like treat soaked in rum‑infused syrup – and you might be told the story of how it was created by Nicolas Stohrer, the chef of the exiled Polish king Stanislas. The patisserie that bears his name has been at 51 rue Montorgueil since 1730 and is officially classed as a historic monument.
Continue reading...Fans protested against the leveraged takeover but were offered little support and the toxicity has had a lasting impact
The first time the Glazer family visited Old Trafford, in June 2005, they paid a visit to the megastore. Outside, hundreds of furious Manchester United fans turned up with banners and placards, shouted slogans such as “Die Glazer die”, and a few clashed with police. Inside, the Glazers were doing a spot of – and here we must stretch the word to its broadest possible definition – shopping.
For Joel, Avram and Bryan had no intention of doing anything quite as undignified as parting with their own cash. Instead they swarmed the aisles, scooped up armfuls of replica shirts and merchandise, which shop staff dutifully ran through the tills and bagged up. When the time came to leave, the Glazers simply took the bags and left. This was, after all, all their own property, theirs to take and use as they pleased. And as a metaphor for how they intended to run Manchester United over the next 20 years, it is about as good as any.
Continue reading...Private prison firms CoreCivic and GEO Group are thrilled about ICE’s spending spree, but they’re already facing local opposition.
The post Private Prison CEO on ICE Contracts: We’re a Better Deal Than El Salvador’s CECOT appeared first on The Intercept.
US agency will no longer update major weather database in latest showing of Trump’s influence on climate resources
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) will no longer track the cost of climate crisis-fueled weather disasters, including floods, heatwaves, wildfires and more. It is the latest example of changes to the agency and the Trump administration limiting federal government resources on climate change.
Noaa falls under the US Department of Commerce and is tasked with daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring. It is also parent to the National Weather Service.
Continue reading...Do you work in the UK in any sector where there have been efforts to increase representation and have they been sustained?
Reform UK has said it will roll back diversity and inclusion initiatives in councils it controls. Nigel Farage said during a speech on Friday that he would advise staff working on diversity or climate change initiatives to seek “alternative careers very, very quickly” after the party took control of Durham county council.
What has your experience of these policies been in the workplace? Do you work in any sector where there have been efforts to increase representation and have they been sustained?
Continue reading...My father’s death from cancer showed me you need to look after your lungs. But apart from not smoking, what should you be doing? I headed to a laboratory, strapped on a mask and heart monitor and started pedalling …
Lungs are amazing. There they sit, inflating and deflating from dawn to dusk, dusk to dawn, sucking in air, stripping out oxygen and exchanging it for carbon dioxide. They do this 20,000 times a day, 7.5m times a year, 600m times in the average lifetime, keeping our trillions of cells ticking over and saving them from choking on their own exhaust fumes. And we ignore them until something goes wrong and we’re gasping, wheezing, panicking – or worse.
When I think about lungs, it’s often in the same breath as cancer, which killed my dad 39 years ago. He only realised his lungs were knackered after a heart attack, which was probably also down to smoking. Sixty Senior Service a day, cigarette number two often lit as soon as number one was stubbed out. He stopped overnight, but it was too late.
Continue reading...The small pyjama squid (Sepioloidea lineolata) produces toxic slime, “a rare example of a poisonous predatory mollusc.”
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.
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.
Private prison firms CoreCivic and GEO Group are thrilled about ICE’s spending spree, but they’re already facing local opposition.
The post Private Prison CEO on ICE Contracts: We’re a Better Deal Than El Salvador’s CECOT appeared first on The Intercept.
Judge says detainment of Rümeysa Öztürk, who was arrested for political speech, ‘raises very significant due process concerns’
A federal judge in Vermont on Friday morning ordered the release on bail of a Tufts University student arrested in March for her political speech and now held in Louisiana in what she and her lawyers argue is a breach of her constitutional rights.
The judge had ordered Rümeysa Öztürk’s return to Vermont, where she was briefly held after being grabbed on the street by masked immigration agents near Boston, for hearings. But the judge decided not to wait for her physical transportation and she appeared remotely from Louisiana at the hearing in Burlington on Friday.
Continue reading...The court let a military trans ban go into effect — potentially setting a precedent to accept the anti-trans myth behind Trump’s executive order.
The post The Supreme Court Just Imperiled the Rights — and Lives — of All Trans People appeared first on The Intercept.
“The Bukele model is built upon Kilmar Abregos — there are thousands of them.”
The post CECOT Is What the Bukele Regime Wants You to See appeared first on The Intercept.
Brothers granted hearing that could lead to freedom but attorneys withdraw bid to remove prosecutors from case
After months of legal battles, Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989, will finally get a resentencing hearing in Los Angeles court next week, giving the brothers a new chance at freedom.
LA county superior court judge Michael Jesic ruled on Friday that the resentencing hearing can take place, starting next Tuesday.
Continue reading...Lawyers say they’re ‘still in dark’ about government’s efforts to free the man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador
The Trump administration is invoking the “state secrets privilege ” in an apparent attempt to avoid answering a judge’s questions about its erroneous deportation of Kilmar Ábrego García to El Salvador.
US district judge Paula Xinis disclosed the government’s position in a two-page order on Wednesday. She set a Monday deadline for attorneys to file briefs on the issue and how it could affect Ábrego García’s case. Xinis also scheduled a 16 May hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, to address the matter.
Continue reading...Martha says Dad doesn’t need to know her every move. Neil says following her on an app helps him feel connected. Who’s lost the plot? You decide
Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror
I like to keep Dad updated, but only for important things – and on my terms. I am 27!
Martha isn’t great at keeping in touch, so it’s nice to know she’s alive. It’s not stalking, it’s love
Continue reading...Lawyers say the Turkish national, who has been held in a Louisiana Ice center for six weeks, was illegally detained
A federal appeals court on Wednesday granted a judge’s order to bring a Turkish Tufts University student from a Louisiana immigration detention center back to New England for hearings to determine whether her rights were violated.
A judicial panel of the New York-based US second circuit court of appeals ruled in the case of Rümeysa Öztürk after lawyers representing her and the US justice department presented arguments at a hearing on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
Continue reading...Judge confirms move would breach order as Libya’s rival governments say both would refuse any US deportees
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to deport a group of immigrants to Libya, despite a judge’s efforts on Wednesday to block any such flights and the state department’s previous condemnation of the “life-threatening” prison conditions in the country.
Reuters cited three unnamed US officials as saying the deportations could happen this week. Two of the officials said the immigrants, whose nationalities are not known, could be flown to the north African country as soon as Wednesday, but they added the plans could still change. The New York Times also cited a US official confirming the deportation plans.
Continue reading...A day after being attacked by a pro-Israel mob, protesters were shot by rubber bullets — whose use is restricted by California law.
The post Police Shot Them in the Head With Rubber Bullets. Now UCLA Gaza Protesters Are Suing. appeared first on The Intercept.
“We are concerned at the appearance of targeting publicly pro-union worker leaders,” said a union official about a raid in western New York.
The post “They Actually Had a List”: ICE Arrests Workers Involved in Landmark Labor Rights Case appeared first on The Intercept.
Ras Baraka, who has spoken out against Trump’s immigration policies, was at the center with Democratic members of Congress
The mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, was arrested for trespass at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center in New Jersey on Friday as Democratic members of Congress also attempted to conduct what they say was a visit to the controversial facility to conduct “federal oversight”.
News of Baraka’s arrest at Delaney Hall was reported on X by Alina Habba, the acting US attorney for the district of New Jersey, and a former personal attorney and adviser to Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Pope Francis spoke for the most vulnerable, from Palestinians in Gaza to immigrants in the US. Let’s hope that Leo will follow in his footsteps
America is back, baby. Not only has the Gulf of Mexico been successfully Americanized, the Vatican is now officially US territory. OK, fine, not officially, but, on Thursday, the Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost was announced as pope. The 69-year-old, who has taken the papal name Leo XIV, is the first clergyman from the United States to lead the Roman Catholic church.
While Prevost was a frontrunner for the papacy, his victory seems to have taken many experts by surprise. There has long been resistance to an American pope for a number of reasons, including the fact that it might make it appear as if the Vatican is aligned with the world’s strongest economic and military power.
Continue reading...“Many of the potential issues we see with the Trump family’s crypto practices are a feature — not a bug — of the crypto industry.”
The post Democrats Woke Up to Trump’s Crypto Grift. Will They Stop Other Scammers? appeared first on The Intercept.
Israeli extremist officials deny the existence of famine in Gaza as they push for harsher measures to block food.
The post Famine Haunts the People of Gaza. Israel Is Trying to Convince You It’s Fake. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s proposal cuts SpaceX competitors out of the NASA budget and could add billions to the company’s defense contracts.
The post Elon Musk Set to Win Big With Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Pentagon Budget appeared first on The Intercept.
“I’m not someone who says, ‘History will judge them’ — they will have to be judged before then,” Francesca Albanese said in an exclusive interview.
The post EU President Should Be Investigated for Complicity in Israel’s War Crimes, Says Top U.N. Expert on Palestine appeared first on The Intercept.
With his new executive order on policing, Trump just wants to make sure he’s the one holding the lead.
The post Cops Are Already Unleashed. Trump Is Telling Them to Run Wild. appeared first on The Intercept.
The U.S. government is keeping American casualty numbers for the undeclared war on Yemen secret. This is not normal.
The post The Trump Administration Is Hiding American Casualties of War appeared first on The Intercept.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal talks to Akela Lacy about pushing Dems from the opposition to proposition party.
The post Rep. Jayapal: Democrats Need a Bold Agenda, Starting With Medicare for All appeared first on The Intercept.
Meta is suing NSO Group, basically claiming that the latter hacks WhatsApp and not just WhatsApp users. We have a procedural ruling:
Under the order, NSO Group is prohibited from presenting evidence about its customers’ identities, implying the targeted WhatsApp users are suspected or actual criminals, or alleging that WhatsApp had insufficient security protections.
[…]
In making her ruling, Northern District of California Judge Phyllis Hamilton said NSO Group undercut its arguments to use evidence about its customers with contradictory statements...
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!
