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Suspension Bridge
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Metals Crucial to Clean Energy Are Getting Caught Up in the US–China Trade War
Sat, 15 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000
After a Chinese export ban, can the US get gallium and germanium from Canada—or will tariffs get in the way?
Match ID: 0 Score: 90.00 source: www.wired.com age: 2 days
qualifiers: 50.00 china trade, 40.00 china
Summary of the 10th DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 19:10:31 +0000
Introduction The 10th Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Camera (EPIC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Radiometer [NISTAR] Science Team Meeting (STM) was held October 16–18, 2024. Over 50 scientists attended, most of whom were from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), with several participating from other NASA centers, U.S. universities, and U.S. Department of […]
Match ID: 1 Score: 90.00 source: science.nasa.gov age: 2 days
qualifiers: 40.00 japan, 30.00 indonesia, 20.00 thailand
Weatherwatch: Cyclone Zelia brings 130mph winds to north-west Australia
Mon, 17 Feb 2025 10:37:42 GMT
Tropical cyclone first to make landfall this year, while a winter storm causes extreme cold across north-eastern US
Cyclone Zelia became the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in 2025, hitting north-west Australia on Valentine’s Day as a category 4 system. It brought damaging winds of 130mph and heavy rainfall, with 440mm of rain falling in two days. Prior to landfall, Zelia affected southern Indonesia, including Bali, with winds of more than 45mph. The storm weakened into a tropical low by Saturday, but continued to cause widespread flooding, particularly near the Pilbara rivers and the Great Sandy Desert.
Zelia intensified rapidly because of the record-warm Indian Ocean temperatures, which were 1-2C above the seasonal average, providing increased energy and moisture to fuel the storm. While Port Hedland in Western Australia had minimal damage, nearby areas like Pilbara and Marble Bar faced flooding and fallen trees. The Great Northern Highway remains closed, disrupting food supplies and leaving supermarket shelves empty. The tropical low is now tracking southwards, with rainfall becoming patchier and lighter.
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...Pakistan have a potentially destructive pace attack, Australia have been weakened and Afghanistan will debut
Continue reading...Zelenskyy has rebuffed US’s initial attempt to take control of minerals as downpayment for its aid in war with Russia
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has rebuffed an initial attempt by the US to corner his country’s critical minerals as a downpayment for continued military and economic aid for its war with Russia.
Three sources told the Reuters news agency that the US had proposed taking ownership of 50% of Ukraine’s critical minerals. Zelenskyy did not dismiss the offer out of hand, but said it did not yet contain the security provisions Kyiv needed.
Continue reading...Shares in BAE Systems, Rheinmetall and Saab soar, as Keir Starmer offers to put British ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine
Here’s Bloomberg on the jump in Rheinmetall’s share price this morning:
Rheinmetall AG’s shares surged the most in more than two years as European officials contemplate a major new package to increase defense spending and support for Ukraine.
The German manufacturer’s stock rose as much as 11% in Frankfurt. The shares have more than doubled over the past year as military orders increased, especially from Germany. If Europe moves to increase spending further, it could push Rheinmetall to accelerate plans to increase its production capacity.
Continue reading...A stunt double who plays roof-bouncing ninjas before the lead steps in for the closeup is stuck in a family/mob triangle in Vivian Qu’s occasionally silly thriller
Vivian Qu is the Chinese film-maker who has directed three features and also produced the noir drama Black Coal, Thin Ice which in 2014 won Berlin’s Golden Bear. Now she brings this crime melodrama to Berlin, an engaging if tonally uncertain high-wire adventure that satirises China’s hopeless addiction to gangster capitalism. It is also acidly unsentimental about the bread-and-circuses escapism of the country’s booming film and TV industry with all its period-costume wuxia nostalgia. It’s an appealing film, though it contains some strangely broad comedy and is also, in a couple of violent moments, a bit naive about exactly how easy it is for a young woman physically to fight off a big strong guy.
Above all, Qu gives us a rather amazing set-piece scene on the set of a wire-fu action movie, a scene that feels real in a way that the rest of the film really doesn’t, for all that it is watchable. Fang Di (Wen Qi) is a tough woman employed as a stunt double on a movie set, playing the black clad, sword-wielding ninja bouncing over terracotta rooftops and whizzing through the air in long shot. For the closeup, the preening star in the same outfit steps in while Fang Di staggers over to get a coffee at the craft table. The work is exhausting and dangerous and Fang Di is doing it to pay off her family debts to mob matriarch Madame Wang.
Continue reading...Analysts say symposium may be end of president’s crackdown on sector as he tries to tackle economic stagnation
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has met some of the country’s top business leaders, including the Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, as he attempts to halt an economic slump in the world’s second-largest economy.
Xi met Ma, who was at the centre of a crackdown on the tech industry in recent years, as well as the bosses of the electric carmaker BYD, the battery manufacturer CATL, Tencent, Xiaomi, and the founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei
Continue reading...Richard Walker laments record so far but welcomes more upbeat tone, planning reforms and move to better EU trading ties
The chair of the food retailer Iceland, Richard Walker, has given the Labour government only “six out of 10” for its record so far, after switching support to the party a year ago.
He told the Financial Times that Labour needed to do more to help firms investing now, rather than investing in projects that may take decades to be completed.
Continue reading...End of ‘de minimis’ policy for Chinese goods also expected to hit bigger fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo
Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.
The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.
Continue reading...Development of a joint defence shield would be politically explosive for Keir Starmer. But it’s an idea whose time has come
The startling contempt for Europe’s intensifying security concerns displayed by Donald Trump and his henchmen has brought an old, controversial question back to the fore: should Britain and France pool their nuclear weapons capabilities and create a Europe-wide defensive nuclear shield to deter Vladimir Putin’s Russia, if the US reduces or withdraws its support?
Trump has not so far explicitly threatened to cut US nuclear forces based in Europe. But speaking last week, the president said he wanted to halve the US’s defence spending, especially on nuclear weapons. Trump often denigrates Nato, keystone of European security. Last year, he encouraged Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to member states that, in his view, spend too little on defence.
Continue reading...Those supporting the deal hope it will raise billions to help poor countries deal with climate breakdown
Brazil has asked the UN to throw out plans for a new levy on global shipping that would raise funds to fight the climate crisis, despite playing host to the next UN climate summit.
The proposed levy on carbon dioxide emissions from shipping will be discussed at a crunch meeting of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that begins on Monday. Those supporting the deal, including the UK, the EU and Japan, are hoping the levy will raise billions of dollars a year, which could be used to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate breakdown.
Continue reading...Rupert Murdoch’s second son reveals bitter details that set the scene for court battle for News Corp empire
More of the Murdoch family’s betrayals, leaks, “mind games”, manipulations, machinations and humiliations have been laid bare, in the wake of a messy court trial that offered tantalising glimpses inside the dynasty.
The American journalist McKay Coppins this weekend published a rare and wide-ranging interview with James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s second-oldest son, who is often portrayed as a bitter rival to his older brother, Lachlan.
Continue reading...Mark Brown says Beijing deal that covers trade, investment, oceans, infrastructure and transport complements ties with New Zealand
The Cook Islands says it has signed a deal to expand relations with China, stressing that the accord does not impinge on ties with former colonial power New Zealand.
Prime minister Mark Brown said he signed an “action plan for the comprehensive strategic partnership” with Chinese premier Li Qiang in the northern city of Harbin during a five-day state visit to China last week.
Continue reading...Readers respond to Adrian Chiles’s experience of the institution’s treasures
I would guess that Adrian Chiles is no fan of The Great Pottery Throw Down, currently on Channel 4 (At 57, I went to the British Museum for the first time – and it left me rather cold, 12 February). Not only is he missing out on a lovely creative piece of television, but he is failing to recognise that pots, jugs, vessels, dishes and containers of all shapes and sizes have played a vital part in the development of civilisation over the ages.
Pots for carrying, storing and dispensing water, wine, oil, foodstuff and human waste are important historical markers of human ingenuity and skill that we should not dismiss. While the use of terracotta, ceramics, bone china etc for functional items in our lives has been usurped by plastic and metal, the artistic merits of pots and their intricate illustrations is something to be celebrated. Maybe Mr Chiles needs to sign up for a pottery class.
Jan Ross
Silverton, Devon
Former UK prime minister says US may regret ceding world stage to China and condemns ‘hypocritical’ JD Vance speech
Democracy around the globe is under threat from the retreat of Donald Trump’s US into isolationism and its likely replacement by China on the world stage, John Major has said.
The former UK prime minister, who rarely offers direct opinion on contemporary politics, used an interview with BBC Radio 4 to say Trump’s administration was unlike anything he had seen before – and to warn that Washington may live to regret ceding global leadership to a more autocratic power.
Continue reading...On his first day, the president paused billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects initiated by Biden
Mike Mullett strains to see through sheets of misty rain while driving through working-class neighborhoods of Columbus, a quaint town in southern Indiana.
He’s trying to find the senior center, multi-family homes and rent-assisted properties – more than 530 in total – that he and many other locals hope will receive $4.42m in federal funding for solar electricity projects.
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...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...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...
Britain used to solicit money that the US would not touch – but with oligarchs and fraudsters on the rise, it must now uphold the law
Five decades ago, the United States was in turmoil. A long and unpopular war was ending in defeat; inflation was high; and American politicians were accused of high-handed and illegal behaviour.
If all this sounds remarkably similar to the last few years, that’s because it is. But the mid-1970s was different in one crucial respect: how the US responded to it, and particularly how it responded to corruption. Major corporations had been giving bribes to win contracts in South Korea, Italy and Saudi Arabia; US politicians were appalled – and they acted to uphold values other than money.
Oliver Bullough is the author of Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals, and Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take It Back
Continue reading...Family of Danielle McLaughlin say justice has finally been achieved after Vikat Bhagat convicted in India
The family of a young Irish woman raped and murdered in India eight years ago have said justice has finally been achieved after a man was convicted in Goa.
Danielle McLaughlin, from Buncrana in County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Canacona, an area of Goa popular with holidaymakers, in March 2017.
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 ...
Pritam Singh’s conviction is a blow to the city state’s struggling political opposition, which is seeking to challenge the entrenched ruling party in upcoming elections
Singapore’s opposition leader has been convicted of lying to parliament while helping a fellow party member to cover up a false witness account, in a case that could disqualify him from running in upcoming national elections.
Pritam Singh, 48, secretary-general of the Workers’ Party, was found guilty on Monday on two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee that was investigating a fellow MP.
Continue reading...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...Recordings of fighters’ wiretapped phone calls are juxtaposed with images of wartime destruction in Oksana Karpovych’s compelling war documentary
Vietnam saw the advent of the visible war, documented by TV cameras; but the Russia-Ukraine war perhaps represents the moment we also get a fully audible one. With two relatively affluent belligerents involved, mobile phone coverage is ubiquitous on both the civilian and soldier sides. Juxtaposing intercepted calls back home from frontline Russian troops with shots of the devastation they have wreaked in Ukraine, this film is a bleak and searing wiretap into Putin’s warping effect on his people and the psychology of power.
“A Russian is not a Russian if they don’t steal something,” jokes one woman when she hears her brave boy has looted some makeup for her. Set against the shots of ransacked living rooms, wrecked petrol stations and dimly lit bomb shelters, such casual banter hammers home a chilling normalisation of imperialism and aggression – which comes with varying justifications. There is the standard dehumanisation: that the “khokhols” (a derogatory Russian term for Ukrainians) deserve it. Many parrot Putin’s line that the special military operation is fighting fascists. Or, in some troops’ amazement at Ukrainian ice-cream and abundant livestock, we glimpse an economic envy that lets such lies slip down more easily.
Continue reading...Local channels show police officer walking up to star as he sings Shape of You and unplugging microphone
Ed Sheeran has been stopped by police from busking in India after he was told he lacked permissions.
The songwriter was seen singing the hit single Shape of You on a pavement in the southern city of Bengaluru before his concert on Sunday night.
Continue reading...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.
Its origins may be a mystery, but what is certain is that this luxuriant alternative to meat ragu is totally delicious
“Antica e desueta [archaic and forgotten] is a beguiling introduction to a recipe,” I said to my friend, the cook and writer Stefano Arturi, when we talked on the phone the other week. He laughed, noting that those words in relation to recipes made him both curious and, because of their foggy closeness to mythologising, suspicious.
It was his recipe for hazelnut ragu that started it all, sending us down more or less the same paths in books and online, where we met more of the same thing: fabulously contradictory stories in which ragu made from hazelnuts was an ancient Piedmontese dish of great beauty born out of economy and hardship, and also “forgotten”, which justifies the lack of any evidence as to where it actually came from. Yet also, a breezy, contemporary dish that, like so many modern dishes, was scorned by those faithful to more traditional (ancient, authentic) versions. There were other claims, too, such as “This is the authentic recipe” and “This is an improvisational dish: do as you wish”. In short, a big tangle, which makes for entertaining reading. Although maybe not for those of the opinion that recipe writers should stop the self-indulgent introductions and get straight to the recipe – which is what we did.
Continue reading...Two meals in one: a bright, enticing salad and a substantial fish dinner
An easy dinner packed with colourful plants and leaves. You could make a batch of the salad by itself for lunchboxes, but the trout elevates it to a filling dinner for two. You can, of course, use your preferred fish: any thick fillets, such as cod, pollack or haddock, would work well here. And if you don’t have pumpkin seeds, substitute breadcrumbs or any type of nut.
Continue reading...Tropical cyclone first to make landfall this year, while a winter storm causes extreme cold across north-eastern US
Cyclone Zelia became the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in 2025, hitting north-west Australia on Valentine’s Day as a category 4 system. It brought damaging winds of 130mph and heavy rainfall, with 440mm of rain falling in two days. Prior to landfall, Zelia affected southern Indonesia, including Bali, with winds of more than 45mph. The storm weakened into a tropical low by Saturday, but continued to cause widespread flooding, particularly near the Pilbara rivers and the Great Sandy Desert.
Zelia intensified rapidly because of the record-warm Indian Ocean temperatures, which were 1-2C above the seasonal average, providing increased energy and moisture to fuel the storm. While Port Hedland in Western Australia had minimal damage, nearby areas like Pilbara and Marble Bar faced flooding and fallen trees. The Great Northern Highway remains closed, disrupting food supplies and leaving supermarket shelves empty. The tropical low is now tracking southwards, with rainfall becoming patchier and lighter.
Continue reading...Yes, I’ve made balsamic vinegar pearls and sous-vide swede – but trial and error still produces the most delicious food
To make pearls of balsamic vinegar, first chill a good amount of olive oil in a tall glass. While it waits in the fridge, in a small saucepan over a medium heat, bring the vinegar and agar-agar to the beginning of a boil – just until the agar-agar has dissolved. Let this mixture cool, remove the oil from the fridge, and use a pipette to drop balls of the agar-stiffened vinegar into the oil to form the pearls. Drain into another container using a small sieve to catch the pearls. Reserve the oil for another use.
I remember making these, my first and only foray into what is known as “molecular gastronomy”, in 2013. It was already a bit passe at that time, but the science experiment aspect of creating a simple acidic garnish for a chocolate and strawberry cupcake that Valentine’s Day was undoubtedly fun. The lesson influenced how I’d go on to use agar-agar, a seaweed-derived vegan gelatin, in dishes like panna cotta or flan, but I never made the pearls again. They were a novelty, and now I have a fond memory of cosplaying as Ferran Adrià, a Spanish chef who popularised these sorts of processes through the restaurant El Bulli.
Alicia Kennedy is a food and culture writer and author of No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating, and a forthcoming memoir On Eating: The Making and Unmaking of My Appetites
Continue reading...Richard Walker laments record so far but welcomes more upbeat tone, planning reforms and move to better EU trading ties
The chair of the food retailer Iceland, Richard Walker, has given the Labour government only “six out of 10” for its record so far, after switching support to the party a year ago.
He told the Financial Times that Labour needed to do more to help firms investing now, rather than investing in projects that may take decades to be completed.
Continue reading...Despite government efforts, armed groups control many remote areas. Now researchers are caught in the crosshairs
Raul*, a biologist from Quito, has been leading conservation projects in the Chocó rainforest in north-east Ecuador for more than 20 years. It has not been easy, he says, recalling the threats he has received over the years for reporting illegal hunters and loggers in reserves, but he never considered giving up.
Last year, however, tensions in the area escalated after violence soared on the country’s coast. Accounts of almost daily killings in the cities of Esmeraldas and Guayaquil emerged as gangs appeared to fight over territory, while forced recruitment in rural areas increased, as did extortions, known locally as vacunas, or vaccines.
Continue reading...The former fishing village on the Ligurian coast was once a favourite with the wealthy British set. Now instead of tennis and tea parties, it offers scenic treks and seafood feasts in glorious spring sunshine
‘Why don’t the inglesi come here any more?” The question was asked by a customer at Caffè Roma in the seaside town of Alassio, whose pre-second world war British population could reach 5,000.
There are several reasons, I think. From the late 19th century, wealthy Britons would arrive in October to escape the winter cold, stay until May, and then head home before the torrid Italian summer. These days, British people with that kind of wealth probably winter between Zermatt and the Caribbean. But neither has Alassio great appeal to more ordinary Britons wanting a summer holiday: August temperatures can hit the high 30s, crowds and prices surge and, as in so many Italian resorts, the sands are taken over by beach concessions from Easter to September.
Continue reading...Makeshift hospitals and informal settlements deal with daily influx of those escaping the war in neighbouring Sudan
At the Joda border crossing between Sudan and South Sudan, movement is constant. Just 100 metres separate the two border checkpoints – on the Sudanese side, three raised flags welcome newcomers; on the South Sudanese side, a sign in Arabic and English marks the entrance to the country.
Women arrive carrying their children, with their belongings balanced on their heads. Some families bring bed frames, nightstands, food, chairs and suitcases, loading them on to carts pulled by donkeys and crossing into South Sudan to escape war in Sudan.
The entry point for refugees from Sudan to South Sudan; in the background is the border. In December, more than 5,000 people crossed this point each day
Continue reading...Readers respond to Adrian Chiles’s experience of the institution’s treasures
I would guess that Adrian Chiles is no fan of The Great Pottery Throw Down, currently on Channel 4 (At 57, I went to the British Museum for the first time – and it left me rather cold, 12 February). Not only is he missing out on a lovely creative piece of television, but he is failing to recognise that pots, jugs, vessels, dishes and containers of all shapes and sizes have played a vital part in the development of civilisation over the ages.
Pots for carrying, storing and dispensing water, wine, oil, foodstuff and human waste are important historical markers of human ingenuity and skill that we should not dismiss. While the use of terracotta, ceramics, bone china etc for functional items in our lives has been usurped by plastic and metal, the artistic merits of pots and their intricate illustrations is something to be celebrated. Maybe Mr Chiles needs to sign up for a pottery class.
Jan Ross
Silverton, Devon
The UK imports more than £1bn worth of the Italian staple a year, but now sales are taking off for makers in Yorkshire, Cumbria and beyond
Nutty, chewy and with a chestnut-brown hue, it’s a far cry from the pasta you may be used to serving with your bolognese. But the Northern Pasta Co’s products, from rigatoni to fusilli, are part of a growing wave of the Italian staple being made in the UK.
The Cumbria-based company’s sales increased 357% in the year to February 2024, and from the spring its products will be sold on Ocado. Similarly, the Yorkshire Pasta Company, founded in 2019, is now stocked at more than 600 shops. Cornwall Pasta Co makes flavoured pastas, while Riverford sells pasta made by the Fresh Flour Company in Devon.
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...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...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
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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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