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Unsolved Chemistry Problems
Match ID: 0 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
qualifiers: 1000.00 xkcd
Magnet Fishing
Match ID: 1 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
qualifiers: 1000.00 xkcd
Broken Model
Match ID: 2 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
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1.2 Kilofives
Match ID: 3 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
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Filter efficiency 99.464 (4 matches/746 results)
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Summary of the Ninth DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting
Fri, 14 Jun 2024 17:50:16 +0000
Introduction The ninth 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 virtually October 16–17, 2023. Over 35 scientists attended, most of whom were from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), with several participating from other NASA field […]
Match ID: 0 Score: 70.00 source: science.nasa.gov age: 2 days
qualifiers: 40.00 air pollution, 15.00 climate change, 15.00 carbon
NASA-Led Mission to Map Air Pollution Over Both U.S. Coasts
Fri, 14 Jun 2024 18:30:00 +0000
This summer between June 17 and July 2, NASA will fly aircraft over Baltimore, Philadelphia, parts of Virginia, and California to collect data on air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. The campaign supports the NASA Student Airborne Research Program for undergraduate interns. The East Coast flights will take place from June 17-26. Researchers and […]
Match ID: 1 Score: 55.00 source: www.nasa.gov age: 2 days
qualifiers: 40.00 air pollution, 15.00 carbon
NASA Announces Winners of 2024 Student Launch Competition
Fri, 14 Jun 2024 20:20:35 +0000
Over 1,000 students from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico launched high-powered, amateur rockets on April 13, just north of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the agency’s annual Student Launch competition. Teams of middle school, high school, college, and university students were tasked to design, build, and launch a […]
Match ID: 2 Score: 30.00 source: www.nasa.gov age: 2 days
qualifiers: 15.00 climate change, 15.00 carbon
Virgin Australia plane makes emergency landing – as it happened
Mon, 17 Jun 2024 08:21:49 GMT
This blog is now closed
Ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court
Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court for a committal hearing into allegations he raped a woman in 2021.
Continue reading...A-listers queued up to add showbiz pizzaz before elections. Today, it’s seen as more effective for a member of the public speak out
David Tennant, Colin Firth, Jim Davidson and the late Kenny Everett all signed up to officially support a political party during past British general election campaigns, giving a touch of showbiz pizazz to the daily round of rainy hustings and churlish TV debates. After Tony Blair’s victory in 1997, the pavement in Downing Street was infamously lined with VIPs, from a Gallagher brother to a Mitchell brother (EastEnders’ Ross Kemp), all calling at his celebratory Cool Britannia event.
But the era of the high-profile celebrity political endorsement appears to be behind us as individual social media declarations, together with the complexities that surround divisive issues such as gender politics, climate change and the Middle East conflict, make these relationships more difficult to cement.
Continue reading...I believe the civil disobedience of ordinary people can secure great change. I do what I can – and accept the consequences
• Amy Pritchard is the first person to be jailed for a campaign that targeted banks across London
Every day I struggle to hold the insanity of our collective behaviour within me – in my psyche, my heart and my body. The harm we are causing to ourselves, to our fellow humans and all other beings, and our incredible, beautiful home, is horrific. Yet I know that what I think and feel is a healthy response to what’s going on.
In April 2021, Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the EU commission, said: “Today’s children will face a future of fighting wars for water and food.” We are already facing significant impacts on our harvests here. The prospect of wars over resources and conflict caused by and exacerbated by climatic conditions is an almost unbearable intergenerational injustice. The loss of biodiversity, meanwhile, will erode the foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, law and order, health and quality of life worldwide.
Amy Pritchard, an agricultural and woodland worker from Liverpool, was jailed for 10 months on 12 June 2024 after being found guilty of criminal damage. This is an edited extract of her mitigation statement. Last year, she was also jailed for using the words “climate change” and “fuel poverty” in court, contrary to the judge’s order.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Stephen Kwikiriza is one of 11 campaigners against EACOP targeted by authorities in past two weeks, rights group says
A man campaigning against the controversial $5bn (£4bn) east African crude oil pipeline (EACOP) is recovering in hospital after an alleged beating by the Ugandan armed forces in the latest incident in what has been called an “alarming crackdown” on the country’s environmentalists.
Stephen Kwikiriza, who works for Uganda’s Environment Governance Institute (EGI), a non-profit organisation, was abducted in Kampala on 4 June, according to his employer. He was beaten, questioned and then abandoned hundreds of miles from the capital on Sunday evening.
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.
Most people visit on a day trip, but stay longer to fully immerse yourself in the wild solitude of this rugged isle off the Devon coast
The last time we came to Lundy was by ferry from Ilfracombe. The journey took two hours and once we rounded Hartland Point the Atlantic waves rolled in and about 50% of the passengers started vomiting.
This time the MS Oldenburg is in for annual maintenance, so me and a group of six friends are whisked to the island in a small helicopter from the north-western tip of Devon in seven minutes. I don’t miss the vomiting, but I regret not having the sense of temporal acclimatisation to what has been, for much of its history, a slightly different world.
Continue reading...Film-maker Tomáš Kratochvíl follows the story of Czech-Mancunian trucker turned activist Štefan Pongo
Centring on an ordinary man with extraordinary determination, Tomáš Kratochvíl’s documentary shows how one simple video can ignite a revolutionary movement. After emigrating to the UK nearly 15 years ago, Czech Roma lorry driver Štefan Pongo built a new life for himself and his family in Manchester. At the same time, the persecution faced by his community never strayed far from Pongo’s mind. After hearing a speech in which Miloš Zeman, then the president of the Czech Republic, claimed that 90% of the Roma people were “socially unadaptable” and resistant to work, Pongo started a viral appeal online where he and countless other Roma compatriots posted selfies of themselves at their workplaces.
The appeal was straightforward, yet hugely impactful. Its aim was to battle harmful stereotypes thrust upon Roma people, which Pongo himself had experienced first-hand from a young age. In one particularly painful anecdote, he mentioned his primary school teacher rubbing his arms in front of the whole class to demonstrate how “dirty” the Roma are. As Pongo took a leadership role in the fight for Romani rights, his activism also translated into real-world actions, organising protest rallies in Brussels, and travelling to rural Slovenia to deliver aid to the most vulnerable in the community.
Continue reading...It changed the accommodation for our booked trip to Crete, tailor-made for our foster son, just six weeks before departure
In February, I booked a £1,868 package holiday in Crete for myself and my 16-year-old foster son through Jet2holidays. The confirmation said it was two bedrooms in a four-star beach hotel for a week in June. It was to be a validating vacation for him when he had finished his GCSEs. For any child, getting through exams is an achievement and foster children face a whole set of additional obstacles. Six weeks before our departure, and just as the GCSEs started, Jet2 told me that our accommodation was, in fact, one bedroom and one living room with a sofabed. We require two private bedrooms for obvious safeguarding reasons, but Jet2 has refused to find us alternatives. Initially, it stated that we would lose the whole cost of the holiday if we cancelled. Now it says it will refund us, or we can find different accommodation and pay the difference. Essentially, it has sold us something that never existed and tells us it’s our problem to fix.
CM, Devon
It gets worse. After you wrote to me, Jet2, which took three months to inform you of the issue, gave you a 24-hour deadline to decide whether to cancel so, in a panic, you found a villa for a similar cost 75 miles from where you wanted to be and swapped your booking. You contacted travel trade body Abta, which offers a mediation scheme, but Jet2 wrongly told it you had cancelled, so Abta closed your complaint.
Continue reading...Dozens of New Zealand business leaders were stuck in Papua New Guinea, after another one of the country’s defence planes broke down
Air New Zealand has swooped in to save prime minister Christopher Luxon’s trade mission to Japan, after another one of the country’s beleaguered defence force planes was grounded in Papua New Guinea over maintenance issues.
Luxon’s high-powered business delegation was travelling to Tokyo on Sunday via Papua New Guinea, as part of the government’s mission to grow trade. However, the group – including trade minister Todd McClay, as well as dozens of business leaders and journalists – was left stranded after the discovery of blown fuses on the NZDF Boeing 757.
Continue reading...The idea any international team would deliberately lose a match is something easily said, and almost impossible to do
For a couple of hours, as the night wore late on the island of Saint Lucia, you could feel it bubbling. In the bars of the Caribbean, spreading through the travelling tourists watching muted televisions. Across the reaches of the internet, slowly because most of the likely candidates were in England asleep, but it was there among the late-night listeners and the expats scattered across time zones. Reflected in the kind of profiles with St George’s Cross emojis in their display names, bristling at the one concern.
Scotland beating Australia would knock England out of the T20 World Cup. Scotland were not supposed to be good enough to beat Australia. But Australia had dropped six catches while Scotland marauded to 92 inside the first nine overs.
Continue reading...Body of missing man found on Mathraki beach in string of recent cases of Greek island visitors dead or gone missing
A missing US tourist has been found dead on a beach on a small Greek island west of Corfu, local media reported.
The body of the man was found Sunday on a rocky, fairly remote beach on the island of Mathraki by another tourist. He had been reported missing Thursday by his host, a Greek American friend. The tourist had last been seen Tuesday at a cafe in the company of two female tourists who have since left the island.
Continue reading...Starmer’s closest aide is credited with putting the party in a position to win but his popularity is not universal
For a man at the heart of the Labour party, Morgan McSweeney lives a long way from Westminster. He spends much of his time doing a six-hour commute from home in Lanark, the town south of Glasgow where he lives with his family, to Labour’s HQ in Southwark. Despite the distance he travels, he is in many ways the ultimate Labour insider – one who has made it his mission to transform the way the party appeals to the country.
As Labour’s elections guru and Keir Starmer’s closest aide, McSweeney has near-unrivalled influence. He is credited by many for steering Labour to all-but-certain victory in the election next month. Adored by many staffers and key shadow cabinet ministers alike, some party figures retain more affection for him than they do the leader. The highest form of praise in Labour HQ is: “Morgan loves it.”
Continue reading...Across the EU and US, strong anti-incumbency sentiment shows voters in west are unhappy with direction of travel
As the weeks roll by, Rishi Sunak’s decision to call the election before he needed to appears ever more curious. Unemployment is up and growth has stalled. NHS waiting lists have increased. There will be better news from this week’s annual inflation figures but it won’t make a difference to voting intentions.
The case for holding on until the autumn was that it would give time for the Bank of England to start cutting interest rates and for recovery to become more firmly embedded. That case now looks all the stronger. Threadneedle Street is not going to deliver a pre-election cut in interest rates this week and by the time it does start to reduce the cost of borrowing, the Conservatives will be long gone.
Continue reading...“I felt helpless watching my family dying and not able to help them. It is a nightmare that I will never wake up from.”
The post These “Tent Massacre” Survivors Couldn’t Afford to Leave Rafah. The Next Israeli Attack Nearly Wiped Their Family Out. appeared first on The Intercept.
“One side or the other is going to win,” Alito told a person he thought was a right-wing activist.
The post Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Caught on Secret Audio appeared first on The Intercept.
Ahead of the election in India, the Guardian’s video team travelled through the country to explore how fake news and censorship might shape the outcome.
Almost one billion people are registered to vote. The country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been in power for more than 10 years, and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) is seeking a third term.
But critics of Modi and the BJP say his government has become increasingly authoritarian, fracturing the country along religious lines and threatening India’s secular democracy. At the same time, the space for freedom of speech has been shrinking while disinformation and hate speech has exploded on social media.
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...From the jump, the lawsuit challenging the legality of mifepristone was a cynical, propagandistic endeavor. In a 9-0 opinion, the Supreme Court threw it out.
The post GOP States Double Down on Fighting Medication Abortion After Supreme Court Keeps It Legal appeared first on The Intercept.
Stuart Potts is an unlikely do-gooder – a former crack addict who has hit rock bottom more than once. But since 2020, he has offered hundreds of homeless people a bed in his small flat – and for many of them, it has been life-changing. By Samira Shackle
Continue reading...I believe the civil disobedience of ordinary people can secure great change. I do what I can – and accept the consequences
• Amy Pritchard is the first person to be jailed for a campaign that targeted banks across London
Every day I struggle to hold the insanity of our collective behaviour within me – in my psyche, my heart and my body. The harm we are causing to ourselves, to our fellow humans and all other beings, and our incredible, beautiful home, is horrific. Yet I know that what I think and feel is a healthy response to what’s going on.
In April 2021, Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the EU commission, said: “Today’s children will face a future of fighting wars for water and food.” We are already facing significant impacts on our harvests here. The prospect of wars over resources and conflict caused by and exacerbated by climatic conditions is an almost unbearable intergenerational injustice. The loss of biodiversity, meanwhile, will erode the foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, law and order, health and quality of life worldwide.
Amy Pritchard, an agricultural and woodland worker from Liverpool, was jailed for 10 months on 12 June 2024 after being found guilty of criminal damage. This is an edited extract of her mitigation statement. Last year, she was also jailed for using the words “climate change” and “fuel poverty” in court, contrary to the judge’s order.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...“One side or the other is going to win,” Alito told a person he thought was a right-wing activist.
The post Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Caught on Secret Audio appeared first on The Intercept.
Some feel limiting US-Mexico border crossings will protect the country, while others say ‘it violates American values’
Democratic mayors, governors and members of Congress from the south-west to the north-east stood beside Joe Biden at the White House, when he unveiled an executive order temporarily sealing the US-Mexico border to most asylum seekers – the most restrictive immigration policy of his presidency.
“We must face a simple truth,” the US president said. “To protect America as a land that welcomes immigrants, we must first secure the border and secure it now.”
Continue reading...Leader gets second term after winning vote just hours after ANC and Democratic Alliance agreed coalition deal
South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has been reelected by lawmakers for a second term, hours after his African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance (DA) agreed to form a coalition, setting aside their rivalry in a historic governance pact.
Ramaphosa won the late Friday vote against Julius Malema, leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, winning 283 votes to Malema’s 44.
Continue reading...Country’s second-largest party agrees to support re-election of Cyril Ramaphosa as president
South Africa’s African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance have agreed to form a coalition in which the former liberation movement and the pro-business party will set aside their rivalry in an historic governance pact.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s centrist preferences ultimately won out over more leftwing factions of the ANC that wanted to strike a deal with breakaway parties that back nationalisation and seizing land from white farmers. The deal was struck amid criticisms that the DA favours the interests of South Africa’s white minority, something it denies.
Continue reading...As India concluded the world’s largest election on June 5, 2024, with over 640 million votes counted, observers could assess how the various parties and factions used artificial intelligence technologies—and what lessons that holds for the rest of the world.
The campaigns made extensive use of AI, including deepfake impersonations of candidates, celebrities and dead politicians. By some estimates, millions of Indian voters viewed deepfakes.
But, despite fears of widespread disinformation, for the most part the campaigns, candidates and activists used AI constructively in the election. They used AI for typical political activities, including mudslinging, but primarily to better connect with voters...
The Republican amendment to the annual defense budget is just one of several proposals to restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The post House Votes to Block U.S. Funding to Rebuild Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The federal judge hearing a human rights case disputed allegations he might not be impartial but recused himself out of an “abundance of caution.”
The post Judge Who Went on Israel Junket Recuses Himself From Gaza Case appeared first on The Intercept.
Activists suing the Biden administration over Gaza policy are demanding the judge recuse himself over the sponsored trip.
The post A Federal Judge Visited Israel on a Junket Designed to Sway Public Opinion. Now He’s Hearing a Gaza Case. appeared first on The Intercept.
Dan Osborn, running as an independent, has racked up endorsements in a race that could help determine Senate control in 2024.
The post UAW Endorses Nebraska Underdog Threatening to Unseat a Republican Senator appeared first on The Intercept.
Andrew Bailey’s office has a losing record of fighting against exonerations recommended by local prosecutors — but it’s not giving up.
The post Missouri’s Attorney General Is Waging War to Keep the Wrongly Convicted Locked Up appeared first on The Intercept.
Government employees are using their official badges to demonstrate against U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
The post “Not the Career in Public Service I Signed Up For”: Federal Workers Protest War appeared first on The Intercept.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, revealed the tactics and traits that help him face the daily frustrations of leading a country at war for more than two years.
Within a ceremonial room inside Kyiv’s presidential compound, Zelenskiy spoke for nearly an hour with a Guardian team, including the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner. The interview took place during perhaps the toughest time for Ukraine since the early days of the war. Russia is on the offensive in Kharkiv, an advance that follows months of delay in the US Congress over the passing of a major support package, limiting Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities
Continue reading...From ancient Greece to modern Russia, sanctions are now the go-to option for policy-makers – so why do they so rarely achieve their aims?
In the year 432BCE, the Athenian empire sought to teach its smaller neighbour, Megara, a punitive lesson after various acts of defiance. Instead of going to war, which would break the peace with Sparta, Athens took the novel path of blocking the Megarians from using all the ports in the region.
It was known as the Megarian decree, and it was arguably the first recorded case of economic sanctions. It was also a failure, at least when it came to fending off a conflict. The Peloponnesian war, pitting Athens against Sparta, erupted a year later, and some ancient historians believe it was triggered by the Megarian sanctions.
Continue reading...Secretary general says move would ‘communicate the direct message’ to Russia that Nato is a nuclear alliance
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had destroyed 1,006 Russian tanks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
It said most were destroyed in fierce fighting in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, adding that Russian soldiers often tried to break through the defending positions of Ukrainian troops using heavy armoured vehicles.
The maximum arsenal of armour-piercing weapons and unmanned systems (drones) was used against enemy tanks.
A large number of Russian armoured vehicles were hit at the initial stages of the offensive – before they went out to storm Ukrainian positions. Some of the tanks were destroyed along with their crews.
Continue reading...States are on course to spend $100bn a year, driven by a sharp increase in US defence budgets
Global spending on nuclear weapons is estimated to have increased by 13% to a record $91.4bn during 2023, according to calculations from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) pressure group.
The new total, which is up $10.7bn from the previous year, is driven largely by sharply increased defence budgets in the US, at a time of wider geopolitical uncertainty caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.
Continue reading...Farage to launch party manifesto on Monday in traditional Labour stronghold of Merthyr Tydfil
The idea of Nigel Farage become prime minister before the end of the decade (see 9.28am) may seem ridiculous, but it is less ridiculous than the prospect of Donald Trump becoming next US president would have sounded at the time of the 2012 presidential election.
In his Today interview Farage was asked about his support for Trump, and he only half defended him over his actions after he lost the 2020 presidential elections, when Trump refused to accept the result of the election and incited a mob that attacked the US Capitol in an attempt to the election result being confirmed.
What happened on January 6 should not have happened. Of that, there’s no doubt whatsoever. Did [Trump] actually urge people to storm the Capitol Building? No, he didn’t … He said ‘Go in peace’ to the protesters, but they didn’t.
No, I don’t approve of objecting to elections, even though I object to much of what’s happening in our system with postal vote corruption and many other things.
I think he lost it because the law did nothing to prevent ballot harvesting etc.
This is our first big election as a party. Our plan is to establish that bridgehead in parliament and to use that voice to build a big, national campaigning movement around the country over the course of the next five years for genuine change.
Yes, absolutely.
I think the disconnect between the Labour and conservative Westminster-based parties and the country, the thoughts, hopes and aspirations of ordinary people, are so far apart from where our politics is. And the funny thing is they show no signs of changing.
Continue reading...Unease and anger are rising over proposals to build country’s first facility on Kilifi coast, home to white sand beaches, coral reefs and mangrove swamps
Kilifi County’s white sandy beaches have made it one of Kenya’s most popular tourist destinations. Hotels and beach bars line the 165 mile-long (265km) coast; fishers supply the district’s restaurants with fresh seafood; and visitors spend their days boating, snorkelling around coral reefs or bird watching in dense mangrove forests.
Soon, this idyllic coastline will host Kenya’s first nuclear plant, as the country, like its east African neighbour Uganda, pushes forward with atomic energy plans.
Continue reading...Britain may be chilly, but from Greece to India, people are dying due to record temperatures. The death toll will grow without urgent action
While Britons don jumpers and complain about the unseasonable cold, much of the world has been reeling due to excessive temperatures. India has been in the grip of its longest heatwave in recorded history, with thermometers hitting 50C in some places. Greece closed the Acropolis in the afternoon last week as temperatures hit 43C; never has it seen a heatwave so early in the year. Soaring temperatures in the Sahel and western Africa saw mortuaries in Mali reportedly running short of space this spring, while swathes of Asia suffered in May.
Mexico and the south-west of the US have also endured blistering conditions; it was particularly shocking to hear Donald Trump pledge again to “drill, baby, drill” at a rally that saw supporters taken to hospital with heat exhaustion. These bouts of extreme weather are increasing as the climate crisis worsens. Although the El Niño weather pattern contributed to heatwaves over the last 12 months, they are becoming more frequent, extreme and prolonged thanks to global heating. By 2040, almost half the world’s inhabitants are likely to experience major heatwaves, 12 times more than the historic average.
Continue reading...President speaks with ex-president Barack Obama during campaign event at Peacock Theater on Saturday night
Some of Hollywood’s brightest stars headlined a glitzy fundraiser for President Joe Biden, helping raise what his re-election campaign said was a record $30m-plus and hoping to energize would-be supporters for a November election that they argued was among the most important in the nation’s history.
George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand were among those who took the stage at the 7,100-seat Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Biden and former president Barack Obama, who both stressed the need to defeat former president Donald Trump in a race that’s expected to be exceedingly close.
Continue reading...Grassroots Democrats seek to make ‘judicial activism’ a driving voting issue, but swing voters have other priorities
“Look at me, look at me,” said Martha-Ann Alito. “I’m German, from Germany. My heritage is German. You come after me, I’m gonna give it back to you.”
It was a bizarre outburst from the wife of a justice on America’s highest court. Secretly recorded by a liberal activist, Martha-Ann Alito complained about a neighbour’s gay pride flag and expressed a desire to fly a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag in protest.
Continue reading...First hearing of journalist, who denies charges of spying for the US, scheduled for 26 June in Yekaterinburg
Russia will hold the espionage trial of the detained American reporter Evan Gershkovich, who denies charges of collecting secrets for the CIA, behind closed doors later in June, a court in the city of Yekaterinburg has said.
Gershkovich, 32, was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on 29 March 2023 in a steak house in Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that carry up to 20 years in prison.
Continue reading...Make UK survey foresees growth in sector, but warns next government must tackle skills shortage
Britain’s largest manufacturers are expecting orders and output to increase dramatically in the second half of the year, even as a chronic shortage of skilled workers is threatening the ability of some companies to do business.
Manufacturing is returning to normal business conditions after wild swings in demand during the pandemic, disruptions in prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the effect on supply chains of blockages and conflict around the Suez canal, according to a survey of 320 companies by the trade body Make UK.
Continue reading...The house’s menswear show drew on youthful spirit, while Fendi got ready to mark 100 years with a new crest
They have been been ridiculed as snowflakes and “too woke” by some, but Prada’s co-creative designers think gen Z are a generation to be celebrated.
Speaking backstage after their latest menswear show, which took place on Sunday afternoon at the Prada Foundation in Milan, Miuccia Prada said: “Youth is the future. It is hope. We wanted to do something that would express youthful optimism because the times are so bad.”
Continue reading...After a relentless battle likely to be remembered for the ages even amid the storied history of this race, Ferrari’s victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours must count as one of the team’s hardest fought wins at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Ultimately it was the No 50 Ferrari 499P of Italy’s Antonio Fuoco, Spain’s Miguel Molina and Denmark’s Nicklas Nielsen who took the flag in the 92nd Grand Prix d’Endurance, a first victory at the 24 for all three drivers, who will remember this day long into their dotage.
Continue reading...The place names are now familiar for the worst reasons. Back then, when I learned to cook, it was a world of dumplings, borsch and compulsory third helpings
Thirty years ago, I spent the year I turned 21 in the former Soviet Union, starting in St Petersburg and ending up in Ukraine. I was studying Russian but most of my friends were Ukrainian. This was the time when the former USSR had recently started to call itself the Commonwealth of Independent States. Although Ukraine had been independent for three years, overt declarations of national identity were mostly buried beneath the surface. Until it came to food and drink.
Among my friends it was a matter of great importance as to whether you privileged borsch over shchi (beetroot soup v cabbage soup) or horilka over vodka (Ukrainian wheat-based vodka versus Russian potato-based vodka). The main thing that kept me going through one of the coldest Russian winters on record, however, was not the drink but the thought of a lazy hot summer in the south of Ukraine. It was the year I learned my way around a kitchen. And, by the time I got to Odesa (then Odessa) – with its famous meze dishes, such as aubergine caviar, its post-Soviet kebab kiosks and an endless supply of Eskimo ice-cream – it was the summer I really learned to eat.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/lurker_bee [link] [comments] |
As many countries celebrate Father’s Day, four men share their love, fears and dreams for their children in Gaza, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sudan
Danylo Khomutovsky is a driver and frontline medic with Hospitallers, a volunteer group in Ukraine. His wife, Lera*, and nine-year-old son, Sasha*, fled after the Russian invasion and are now in the Netherlands. They have been separated from Danylo ever since
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Dan Bardell and Nick Ames as day two of Euro 2024 provides goals, goals, goals
On the podcast today: Albania provide an early scare against Italy, with Nedim Bajrami scoring after just 23 seconds and setting a record for the quickest ever goal at the Euros. But the defending champions rallied straight away to secure a deserved victory.
Elsewhere in Group B, can we finally say it … are Croatia tired? Spain beat them 3-0 and already look a team to be taken seriously at this tournament.
Continue reading...Concerns set out over supply of materials with military applications, and impact of subsidies on global market
China’s role in providing assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and its “harmful overcapacity” in the production of cheap goods, have been targeted by G7 leaders despite misgivings from Germany.
On the second day of the annual summit, being held in Puglia under the Italian chair, the US drove home a 36-page communique that condemned Chinese subsidies for products such as solar panels and electric cars which it said were leading to “global spillovers, market distortions and harmful overcapacity … undermining our workers, industries, and economic resilience and security”.
Continue reading...Lambeth council, which raised bills for more than 3,000 tenants on communal heat networks, has delayed crediting them for over a year
A local authority that threatened tenants with eviction if they could not afford a 350% hike in energy bills has delayed crediting them with a £1m government subsidy for more than 12 months, it has emerged.
Lambeth council is facing demands to pay compensation to residents who campaigners say have been forced into poverty by its conduct.
Continue reading...David Littleproud claims Australia doesn’t need ‘large-scale industrial windfarms’ like the planned offshore zone south of Sydney
David Littleproud has claimed Australia doesn’t need “large-scale industrial windfarms” like the planned offshore zone south of Sydney, adding the Coalition will “cap” federal government investment into renewable energy if elected.
The Nationals leader visited Wollongong on Monday, where he promised the opposition would instead offer a “calm” and “methodical” energy pathway to net zero by 2050.
Continue reading...“One side or the other is going to win,” Alito told a person he thought was a right-wing activist.
The post Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Caught on Secret Audio appeared first on The Intercept.
Mozilla, the maker of the popular web browser Firefox, said it received government demands to block add-ons that circumvent censorship.
The post Firefox Browser Blocks Anti-Censorship Add-Ons at Russia’s Request appeared first on The Intercept.
Public polling is a critical function of modern political campaigns and movements, but it isn’t what it once was. Recent US election cycles have produced copious postmortems explaining both the successes and the flaws of public polling. There are two main reasons polling fails.
First, nonresponse has skyrocketed. It’s radically harder to reach people than it used to be. Few people fill out surveys that come in the mail anymore. Few people answer their phone when a stranger calls. Pew Research reported that 36% of the people they called in 1997 would talk to them, but only 6% by 2018. Pollsters worldwide have faced similar challenges...
Dan Osborn, running as an independent, has racked up endorsements in a race that could help determine Senate control in 2024.
The post UAW Endorses Nebraska Underdog Threatening to Unseat a Republican Senator appeared first on The Intercept.
Stephen Kwikiriza is one of 11 campaigners against EACOP targeted by authorities in past two weeks, rights group says
A man campaigning against the controversial $5bn (£4bn) east African crude oil pipeline (EACOP) is recovering in hospital after an alleged beating by the Ugandan armed forces in the latest incident in what has been called an “alarming crackdown” on the country’s environmentalists.
Stephen Kwikiriza, who works for Uganda’s Environment Governance Institute (EGI), a non-profit organisation, was abducted in Kampala on 4 June, according to his employer. He was beaten, questioned and then abandoned hundreds of miles from the capital on Sunday evening.
Continue reading...Born with disabilities in the shadow of Chornobyl, she spent her early life in an orphanage that was also a brothel. Then Masters was adopted, and thrived, becoming a phenomenal rower, skier and cyclist
You wouldn’t necessarily expect an injury to a finger to derail an entire competition season and threaten to end a sporting career, but this is the situation Oksana Masters, the US Paralympic skier and cyclist, found herself in last year. “I’ve had injuries and I’m used to missing time, but not a whole year like that,” she says. “I underestimated the mental side.” But in a life as traumatic and triumphant as Masters’, a broken finger is just one more obstacle to be overcome.
She was born in Ukraine in 1989, with a range of disabilities caused by radiation from the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster, and spent the first part of her childhood in an orphanage, enduring unimaginable emotional, physical and sexual abuse. When, as an eight-year-old, she was adopted by an American woman, it was finally the start of a happy family life – but it was also challenging to adapt to a new country. Masters underwent multiple operations, including having both her legs amputated.
Continue reading...The draconian restrictions on asylum-seekers owe a lot to Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, but the path was paved by Democrats.
The post Joe Biden’s Cruel Border Shutdown Follows in Clinton and Obama’s Footsteps Too appeared first on The Intercept.
Activists suing the Biden administration over Gaza policy are demanding the judge recuse himself over the sponsored trip.
The post A Federal Judge Visited Israel on a Junket Designed to Sway Public Opinion. Now He’s Hearing a Gaza Case. appeared first on The Intercept.
Twelve jurors in New York have presented their fellow Americans with a simple question: are you willing to elect a convicted criminal to the White House?
On Thursday, Donald Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. The verdict makes him the first president, current or former, to be found guilty of felony crimes in the US's near 250-year history. Regardless, the conviction does not disqualify Trump as a presidential candidate or bar him from again sitting in the Oval Office.
Trump, who opted not to take the stand during the trial, has denied wrongdoing, railed against the proceedings and ahead of the verdict compared himself to a saint: “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. The charges are rigged,” he said on Wednesday. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to appeal the verdict.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine has been in court over the last several weeks covering all the developments – here are three testimonies he found most memorable.
Could Trump go to prison? Here’s what happens next after the guilty verdict
The U.S. has trained 15 coup leaders in recent decades — and U.S. counterterrorism policies in the region have failed.
The post After Training African Coup Leaders, Pentagon Blames Russia for African Coups appeared first on The Intercept.
H. A. Hellyer and Murtaza Hussain discuss the current discord and complex history between the Israeli government and Egyptian military.
The post Rafah Clash Exposes Roots of Egypt and Israel Tension appeared first on The Intercept.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, revealed the tactics and traits that help him face the daily frustrations of leading a country at war for more than two years.
Within a ceremonial room inside Kyiv’s presidential compound, Zelenskiy spoke for nearly an hour with a Guardian team, including the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner. The interview took place during perhaps the toughest time for Ukraine since the early days of the war. Russia is on the offensive in Kharkiv, an advance that follows months of delay in the US Congress over the passing of a major support package, limiting Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities
Continue reading...Andrew Bailey’s office has a losing record of fighting against exonerations recommended by local prosecutors — but it’s not giving up.
The post Missouri’s Attorney General Is Waging War to Keep the Wrongly Convicted Locked Up appeared first on The Intercept.
Unease and anger are rising over proposals to build country’s first facility on Kilifi coast, home to white sand beaches, coral reefs and mangrove swamps
Kilifi County’s white sandy beaches have made it one of Kenya’s most popular tourist destinations. Hotels and beach bars line the 165 mile-long (265km) coast; fishers supply the district’s restaurants with fresh seafood; and visitors spend their days boating, snorkelling around coral reefs or bird watching in dense mangrove forests.
Soon, this idyllic coastline will host Kenya’s first nuclear plant, as the country, like its east African neighbour Uganda, pushes forward with atomic energy plans.
Continue reading...Millions face disaster as Sudanese army and RSF accused of using food access as a weapon in on-going war
Sudan is facing a famine that could become worse than any the world has seen since Ethiopia 40 years ago, US officials have warned, as aid deliveries continue to be blocked by the warring armies but arms supplies to both sides continue to flow in.
With much of the world’s attention focused on Gaza, the scene of another human-made famine, Sudan is already the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and is slipping towards a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions, with far less media coverage and global concern. A UN humanitarian appeal for the country has received only 16% of the funds it needs.
Continue reading...Schools and health services forced to offer crisis help in the form of food, clothing, money and advice
Britain’s schools and primary health services are “staggering” under the pressure of demand caused by an epidemic of extreme poverty, as desperate families unable to afford food, clothing or heating increasingly turn to them for crisis help.
Teachers and GPs in England, Scotland and Wales are informally acting as emergency food providers, welfare advisers, housing officers and social workers alongside their day jobs, as they devote more and more time and resources to support struggling parents and children, new research has found.
Primary school staff estimated 48% of their pupils, and primary care staff 57% of their patients, had experienced hardship at some point since the start of the school year or over the past 12 months.
A third of schools, and nearly half of GP surgeries, had set up food banks to provide emergency food supplies to hungry pupils and families. Staff in schools in deprived areas estimated 44% of pupils had come to school hungry over the past year.
Nearly a quarter of NHS primary care staff and 40% of teachers said they had dipped into their own pockets to help pupils and patients. In one case, a nurse gave new underpants, still in their packet and intended for her husband, to a desperate patient.
Continue reading...Plant-based food company This has not detected E coli in the wrap but is concerned about possible contamination
A third sandwich and wrap manufacturer has recalled one of its products after an E coli outbreak that has left 67 people in hospital and more than 200 in total seriously ill.
On Sunday evening the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said This had “taken the precautionary step of recalling its This Isn’t Chicken and Bacon wrap because of possible contamination with E coli”.
Continue reading...Britain may be chilly, but from Greece to India, people are dying due to record temperatures. The death toll will grow without urgent action
While Britons don jumpers and complain about the unseasonable cold, much of the world has been reeling due to excessive temperatures. India has been in the grip of its longest heatwave in recorded history, with thermometers hitting 50C in some places. Greece closed the Acropolis in the afternoon last week as temperatures hit 43C; never has it seen a heatwave so early in the year. Soaring temperatures in the Sahel and western Africa saw mortuaries in Mali reportedly running short of space this spring, while swathes of Asia suffered in May.
Mexico and the south-west of the US have also endured blistering conditions; it was particularly shocking to hear Donald Trump pledge again to “drill, baby, drill” at a rally that saw supporters taken to hospital with heat exhaustion. These bouts of extreme weather are increasing as the climate crisis worsens. Although the El Niño weather pattern contributed to heatwaves over the last 12 months, they are becoming more frequent, extreme and prolonged thanks to global heating. By 2040, almost half the world’s inhabitants are likely to experience major heatwaves, 12 times more than the historic average.
Continue reading...The place names are now familiar for the worst reasons. Back then, when I learned to cook, it was a world of dumplings, borsch and compulsory third helpings
Thirty years ago, I spent the year I turned 21 in the former Soviet Union, starting in St Petersburg and ending up in Ukraine. I was studying Russian but most of my friends were Ukrainian. This was the time when the former USSR had recently started to call itself the Commonwealth of Independent States. Although Ukraine had been independent for three years, overt declarations of national identity were mostly buried beneath the surface. Until it came to food and drink.
Among my friends it was a matter of great importance as to whether you privileged borsch over shchi (beetroot soup v cabbage soup) or horilka over vodka (Ukrainian wheat-based vodka versus Russian potato-based vodka). The main thing that kept me going through one of the coldest Russian winters on record, however, was not the drink but the thought of a lazy hot summer in the south of Ukraine. It was the year I learned my way around a kitchen. And, by the time I got to Odesa (then Odessa) – with its famous meze dishes, such as aubergine caviar, its post-Soviet kebab kiosks and an endless supply of Eskimo ice-cream – it was the summer I really learned to eat.
Continue reading...I believe the civil disobedience of ordinary people can secure great change. I do what I can – and accept the consequences
• Amy Pritchard is the first person to be jailed for a campaign that targeted banks across London
Every day I struggle to hold the insanity of our collective behaviour within me – in my psyche, my heart and my body. The harm we are causing to ourselves, to our fellow humans and all other beings, and our incredible, beautiful home, is horrific. Yet I know that what I think and feel is a healthy response to what’s going on.
In April 2021, Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the EU commission, said: “Today’s children will face a future of fighting wars for water and food.” We are already facing significant impacts on our harvests here. The prospect of wars over resources and conflict caused by and exacerbated by climatic conditions is an almost unbearable intergenerational injustice. The loss of biodiversity, meanwhile, will erode the foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, law and order, health and quality of life worldwide.
Amy Pritchard, an agricultural and woodland worker from Liverpool, was jailed for 10 months on 12 June 2024 after being found guilty of criminal damage. This is an edited extract of her mitigation statement. Last year, she was also jailed for using the words “climate change” and “fuel poverty” in court, contrary to the judge’s order.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...“I felt helpless watching my family dying and not able to help them. It is a nightmare that I will never wake up from.”
The post These “Tent Massacre” Survivors Couldn’t Afford to Leave Rafah. The Next Israeli Attack Nearly Wiped Their Family Out. appeared first on The Intercept.
From the jump, the lawsuit challenging the legality of mifepristone was a cynical, propagandistic endeavor. In a 9-0 opinion, the Supreme Court threw it out.
The post GOP States Double Down on Fighting Medication Abortion After Supreme Court Keeps It Legal appeared first on The Intercept.
Dan Osborn, running as an independent, has racked up endorsements in a race that could help determine Senate control in 2024.
The post UAW Endorses Nebraska Underdog Threatening to Unseat a Republican Senator appeared first on The Intercept.
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...Andrew Bailey’s office has a losing record of fighting against exonerations recommended by local prosecutors — but it’s not giving up.
The post Missouri’s Attorney General Is Waging War to Keep the Wrongly Convicted Locked Up appeared first on The Intercept.
You might be able to stand the heat, but does your spice knowledge live up to your tolerance level? Answer these questions to find out …
Find out more about Encona’s hot sauces at enconasauces.co.uk
Continue reading...Michelle Roach bought a used ice-cream van in order to bring cheap, affordable food to Liverpool's struggling communities. She wanted a vehicle with freezers built in for frozen food, and also something cheerful that was able to break down stigmas around food poverty. Using a '10 items for £5' model, Michelle sources discount food from supermarket surplus and donations.
The Guardian's Christopher Cherry follows Michelle and the van on its rounds, with the service struggling to meet overwhelming demand as the cost of living crisis deepens, and the UK's general election fast approaches.
Continue reading...South Africa's case against Israel over allegations of genocide before the international court of justice has raised a central question of international law: what is genocide and how do you prove it? It is one of three genocide cases being considered by the UN's world court, but since the genocide convention was approved in 1948, only three instances have been legally recognised as genocide. Josh Toussaint-Strauss looks back on these historical cases to find out why the crime is so much harder to prove than other atrocities, and what bearing this has on South Africa's case against Israel and future cases
What is the genocide convention and how might it apply to the UK and Israel?
‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid
Video:
00:07:30
On the last day of his Huginn mission, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen takes us on a tour of the place he called home for 6 months: the International Space Station. From the beautiful views of Cupola to the kitchen in Node 1 filled with food and friends and all the way to the science of Columbus, the Space Station is the work and living place for astronauts as they help push science forward.
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
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Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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