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Tariffs![[later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/tariffs.png "[later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!")
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From spicy noodles to a light pie: Ravinder Bhogal’s recipes for purple sprouting broccoli
Wed, 09 Apr 2025 07:00:35 GMT
Three ways to enjoy this prince of the brassicas: in a pie with ricotta and preserved lemon, with sausage and noodles in a spicy sesame sauce, and charred with cheesy polenta and anchovies
Before we start swooning over asparagus and jersey royals, let’s take a moment to appreciate the robust appeal of purple sprouting broccoli. Like its regular calabrese cousin, it’s packed full of nutrients, but the taste is nuttier and more complex, while the texture has a wonderful, satisfying bite. Steamed, boiled, stir-fried or roasted, PSB will stand up to all sorts of punchy flavours, from briny anchovies to bold Asian condiments.
Continue reading...Use them up in fishcakes, roll them into balls, use them to thicken soups … the possibilities are almost too numerous to mention, but our culinary experts have had a go anyway
How can I turn leftover cooked potatoes – mashed, roasted, boiled – into dinner?
This sounds like a job for queen of spuds Poppy O’Toole, whose latest book just so happens to be all about the tuber. We all know that mashed potatoes can cause heated debate, with smooth and buttery making some folk purr, while others prefer a bit of texture, and this also affects what you do with any spares. “It can be difficult to use leftover mash, because many recipes depend on how creamy you like it to begin with,” says the author of The Potato Book, although she says one “surefire way” begins by putting a good splash of olive oil in a frying pan on a medium-low heat. “Fry two chopped spring onions [green bits and all] until soft, add the leftover mash, and fry until hot and almost caramelising.” Season, and you’ve got a great base for all sorts.
Alternatively, O’Toole might mix her mash with a handful of crumbled feta, some cooked and squeezed spinach, a pinch of chilli flakes, a little grated nutmeg and lemon zest, plus salt and pepper. “Divide into pingpong ball-sized portions, then wrap in filo glued together with a touch of water. Shallow fry in oil until golden and crisp all over.” Perhaps the easiest solution of all, though, is to use excess mash to thicken soups: “Sweat some leeks, add the mash, season and cover with vegetable stock and 100ml whipping cream,” says O’Toole, who then cooks the lot for 30 minutes before tucking in with a good hunk of bread.
Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
Continue reading...Celebrity chef who took Chicago by storm in the 90s and noughties, but at a price, in solid if slightly unsatisfying documentary
A chef is yelling at an underling: “I will kill your whole family if you don’t get this right!” The chef is Charlie Trotter, but he is filmed not at work, but for a scene in My Best Friend’s Wedding; Trotter’s cameo in the 1997 movie played up to his reputation as a tyrannical perfectionist. He opened his eponymous restaurant in Chicago aged 27, swiftly becoming a rock-star celebrity chef. In 2012, Trotter dramatically closed the kitchen on its 25th anniversary and died a year later of a stroke aged 54. This documentary about him is a solid if slightly unsatisfying portrait, lacking real depth or flavour.
Trotter was born into a wealthy family (raised on hotdogs and meatloaf, jokes his mother). Mostly self-taught, he got an education in gastronomy by eating his way around Europe. In 1987 he opened Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, bankrolled by his father, Bob, another workaholic. Trotter desperately wanted to please his dad, who in retirement threw himself into helping make his son’s restaurant a success. Trotter Sr later had misgivings, which he put into a letter advising Charlie to stop bullying kitchen staff (Trotter’s tirades were legendary). The dynamics of their father-son relationship look intriguing but, like a lot about Trotter’s life, questions hover in the air, unasked or unanswered.
Continue reading...Northeast Atlantic mackerel populations depleted, and Good Fish Guide says shoppers should look for other options
Mackerel stocks are nearing a “breaking point”, experts have said as the fish is downgraded as a sustainable option.
People should be eating herring instead, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said, because mackerel continues to be overfished by countries including Norway and the UK.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed
The European Union still wants to avoid a trade war with the United States despite Donald Trump’s administration’s rejection of the “zero for zero” offer on all industrial goods put forward by Brussels, an EU spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that the European Union needed to lower its non-tariff barriers, including those created by value-added taxes and food safety regulations, if it wanted to reach a deal.
Continue reading...Robert F Kennedy Jr and social media influencers are proponents of the ingredient – but is it worth the hype?
In March, the health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr claimed that beef tallow, an animal fat, is healthier than its plant-based alternative, seed oils. Kennedy said the US wants food companies to “switch traditional ingredients for beef tallow”. Some, like Steak ’n Shake and Sweetgreen, have already done so.
Beef tallow, also known as “beef drippings”, is made by removing, simmering, then cooling the fatty tissue that surrounds cows’ organs. American fast-food restaurants used it to deep fry foods like potatoes until the 1990s, when they switched to seed oils. Today, it can be found in soaps, candles and skin care.
Continue reading...Pouring water slowly, steadily and from height is key to achieving ‘avalanche’ mixing effect
Forget expensive beans and pricey filters – if you want a stronger cup of pour-over coffee, just add water slowly, steadily and from a height, researchers say.
While there are myriad ways to make coffee – from moka pots to cafetieres and barista-style machines – pour-over coffee is an everyday staple for many. Now scientists say they have discovered how to make a stronger cup using the same quantity of ground coffee.
Continue reading...Drink removed from draft list after lobbying from whiskey-making Ireland and wine-producing Italy and France
Amid the economic maelstrom of Donald Trump’s trade war, drink makers might take a small drop of comfort: the EU has dropped plans to hit American bourbon with retaliatory tariffs.
Bourbon and other US whiskeys have escaped EU countermeasures after heavy lobbying from the EU’s drinks-producing countries – such as whiskey-making Ireland and the wine behemoths Italy and France – who feared their alcohol industries would become casualties of a global trade war.
Continue reading...The creamy pistachio bar is all over TikTok, but good luck trying to find it in shops. Connoisseurs, market-watchers and the woman who invented it discuss its sudden rush to fame
I stand in my local Lidl, staring gloomily at the chocolate bars. The man beside me seems similarly disappointed. “Are you looking for the Dubai chocolate?” he asks. It might be kept behind the till, I say, given how precious and popular it is. He stops the security guard and she looks at us sympathetically. No chance, she says. They sold out in hours.
If you don’t spend your life on TikTok, the latest viral food trend may have passed you by. But you won’t escape it for long. “Dubai chocolate” has gone mainstream.
Continue reading...From planning ahead and avoiding freezer burn to creating flavour bombs in ice trays, here are some expert tips
Preparing meals in advance and portioning out meat, fruit and vegetables to be frozen can save money, avoid waste and cut the time you spend cooking.
Continue reading...This week: what happens to products after we review them; spring gardening gear; and anti-ageing essentials (including sunscreen)
At the Filter, we test a LOT of products. We’ve put everything from mattresses to treadmills through their paces to try to help you make better-informed shopping decisions. However, that means our expert testers can accumulate a lot of products. After all, you can’t find the best air fryer without taking a few for a spin. So, with sustainability – as well as journalistic independence, unswayed by promises of freebies – in mind, we’ve always promised to return samples to the manufacturer after testing or, where that’s not possible, donate them to good causes.
That’s where I come in. As the Filter’s researcher, it’s my job to not only help find and source products but also rehome them when they’re finished with. I’ve been tasked with getting everything, from blenders to electric toothbrushes and even food, from writers’ homes across the country to charities that can benefit from them the most.
Anti-ageing products that actually work: Sali Hughes on the 30 best serums, creams and treatments
‘Cute, but doesn’t taste too good’: the best (and worst) Easter chocolate treats, tested
Continue reading...From bunnies to, er, squirrels and croissants, these Easter chocs are a cute alternative to traditional eggs. But are they any good? Our in-house chocolate fiend finds out …
• The best stand mixers to make baking easier
I’m a big chocolate lover, and Easter is as good a time as any to branch out, try something new and spend a few extra pounds on something special. While the wheel doesn’t need reinventing, it’s been particularly fun to see a lot more unconventional shapes popping up this year.
For my ideal Easter egg, I look for something made with good-quality chocolate that isn’t sickly sweet. For milk chocolate, I like at least 40% cocoa solids, and for dark 60%. Anything much higher than that can be a bit intense for an Easter egg, and almost too grownup – after all, it still needs to be fun! Personally, I lean towards chocolate with a bit of texture and added crunch to keep things interesting, and good thickness is always a winner.
Continue reading...What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.
From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk.
Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems?
Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all
Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
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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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Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post Trump Appears to Be Targeting Muslim and “Non-White” Students for Deportation appeared first on The Intercept.
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South Korea’s government has approved Tuesday 3 June as the date for a snap presidential election, following the removal from office of Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his declaration of martial law.
The move comes after Yoon’s removal after the country’s constitutional court voted unanimously on Friday to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach him over his ill-fated declaration of martial law in December.
Continue reading...Stock markets down from Australia to Japan and Taiwan as Trump presses ahead with huge retaliatory tariffs on China
Today’s tariffs follow Trump’s 10% tariff on all imports from many countries, including Australia, which came into effect at the weekend.
US customs agents began collecting the unilateral tariff at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses on Saturday. Today’s measures are higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: Four weeks into the dispute, with the council declaring a major incident, the streets are overflowing with rubbish and rats
Good morning. Whatever else is going on the world, there is very little that makes people as angry as the bins not being collected. This isn’t to say that it’s a trivial concern. As well as the natural disgust that comes with facing piles of stinking rubbish every time you go out, bin collection is a natural proxy for our sense of living in a functioning society; a basic feature of a developed economy. When it goes wrong, it feels as if something more profound is broken, too.
To an infamous list that includes Paris in 2023 and Madrid in 2013, you can now add Birmingham in 2025 – the second such crisis in the city in eight years. Talks yesterday were said to be “productive”, but again failed to resolve the situation; as the strike drags on, residents are asking why they face such inadequate local services when the rates they pay keep going up.
Economy | Rates on imports to the United States from dozens of economies rose further on Wednesday, with tariffs imposed on Chinese products since Donald Trump returned to the White House reaching a staggering 104%. The new tariffs include rates of 20% on the European Union, 26% on India and 49% on Cambodia.
British Steel | Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are actively considering nationalising British Steel in an escalation of plans first revealed in the Guardian last year. The prime minister said all options were on the table to secure the future of the Scunthorpe plant after talks about a financial support package to move to less polluting technology faltered.
Ukraine | A high-profile former Ukrainian commander has called for the head of the country’s military to step aside, accusing him of putting Ukrainian soldiers’ lives at risk. In an interview, Bohdan Krotevych, who recently resigned as chief of staff of the Azov brigade, said that Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi “must go” and Ukraine’s military leadership must be shaken up.
Crime | The UK government is developing a “murder prediction” programme to identify those most likely to become killers. Researchers are alleged to be using algorithms to analyse the information of thousands of people, including victims of crime, to identify those at greatest risk of committing serious violent offences.
Theme parks | A former brickworks in Bedford will be the site of a new multibillion-pound theme park from the entertainment behemoth Universal, it has been announced. The government says the project will bring a £50bn boost to Britain’s economy and create 20,000 jobs in construction, with a further 8,000 operational roles once it is up and running in 2031.
Continue reading...Just weeks away from graduation, some international students at Arizona State University have been blocked from completing degrees.
The post At Least 50 Arizona State Students Have Now Had Visas Revoked, Lawyer Says appeared first on The Intercept.
The move has sent shock waves through a region of US strategic importance that had respected Trump as tough on Beijing
Vietnam had tried to appease Donald Trump: tariffs on US goods were reduced; regulations were passed to allow Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its Starlink in the country. The prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, even joked in January that he would happily “play golf all day long” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida if it could “bring benefits to my country and my people”.
The strategies do not appear to have worked. Trump has inflicted an extraordinary 46% tariff on Vietnam that threatens to devastate its economic growth plans and undermine relations between the two countries. The tariff has sent shock waves through Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse where Trump has always been fairly popular, and across south-east Asia.
Continue reading...Leaders around the world have reacted with a mix of a mix of confusion and concern after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on some of its largest trading partners, upending decades of US trade policy and starting a possible global trade war. The tariffs range from 10% to 49% on all goods imported from abroad
‘Nowhere on earth is safe’: Trump imposes tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica
War-torn and struggling countries among those facing steepest Trump reciprocal tariffs
Australia well placed to deal with uncertainty of global economy but should be prepared as US doubles down on protectionist policies, economists warn
Australia’s economy will not escape unscathed from Donald Trump’s trade war, economists have warned, after the US hiked duties on Chinese imports to 104% and enacted world-wide tariffs that have reversed a century of American trade liberalisation.
As regional sharemarkets tumbled further on Wednesday and the Australian dollar slid below US60 cents, and to its lowest in more than two decades outside the pandemic, experts warned trade between China and the United States would grind to a halt as Trump followed through on his threat to slap even higher “reciprocal” import duties on about 60 trading partners.
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Continue reading...Leichhardt candidate Jeremy Neal says views – including on Covid measures – were shared on social media during ‘traumatic’ pandemic frontline work
A Liberal-National candidate in a must-win Queensland seat has apologised after social media posts airing controversial views about China, Covid-19 restrictions and “feminists” who helped “kick out” Donald Trump in 2020 resurfaced.
In the latest candidate controversy to hit Peter Dutton’s campaign, the online history of his Leichhardt candidate, Jeremy Neal, was brought to light on Wednesday.
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Continue reading...The Hebei nursing home’s other residents have been transferred to nearby hospitals as authorities investigate cause of the blaze
Twenty people have died in a fire at a nursing home in northern China’s Hebei province, Beijing’s state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.
The fire broke out on Tuesday night at the nursing home in Longhua County, roughly 180km northeast of the Chinese capital Beijing, Xinhua said.
Continue reading...Since Trump’s first trade war with China in 2018, Beijing has ramped up trade with other countries, making it less dependent on the US
The opening shots seem like a distant memory. Back in January, US president Donald Trump threatened to impose a tariff of 10% on Chinese imports. Less than three months later, the rate is now 104%.
China has condemned the tariffs. As well as applying its own reciprocal tariff of 34% on US imports, Beijing has been fighting a war of words.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed
The European Union still wants to avoid a trade war with the United States despite Donald Trump’s administration’s rejection of the “zero for zero” offer on all industrial goods put forward by Brussels, an EU spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday that the European Union needed to lower its non-tariff barriers, including those created by value-added taxes and food safety regulations, if it wanted to reach a deal.
Continue reading...The Ukrainian president says the Chinese nationals were just two of many fighting with Russian forces. What we know on day 1,141
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government is seeking clarification from Beijing after Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.
Zelenskyy said the captured fighters were two of many more Chinese members of the Russian armed forces, and he accused the Kremlin of trying to involve Beijing in the conflict “directly or indirectly”. A few hundred Chinese nationals are thought to have travelled to fight as mercenaries with the Russian army alongside others from Nepal and central Asian countries.
US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the development “disturbing”, adding: “China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine.”
Russian forces staged massive drone attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv late on Tuesday, triggering fires and injuring at least 17 people, regional officials said. In eastern Donetsk, the focal point of the 1,000-km (600-mile) frontline in the more than three-year-old war, a residential area came under attack in the city of Kramatorsk and local officials said residents were injured. In Dnipro, the attack sparked a fire, damaged houses and cars and injured 14 people, Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.
Russia says it is close to regaining full control of its western Kursk region after pushing Ukrainian forces from one of their last footholds there. Russia’s defence ministry released a video of what it said was the recapture of the settlement of Guyevo set to dramatic music, showing smoke rising into the air from various buildings, a soldier waving the Russian flag from the window of a heavily damaged Orthodox church, and Russian troops carrying out house-to-house checks in case any Ukrainian soldiers were hiding. Ukraine officials have not commented on Russia’s claims, but its general staff said in a statement its planes had struck a complex of hangars and military buildings in the region being used by Russian drone operators and maintenance workers.
The US senate has confirmed the appointment of Elbridge Colby as its top policy adviser at the Pentagon, despite concerns he had downplayed threats from Russia and Vladimir Putin. Colby previously questioned whether Russia actually invaded Ukraine, echoing a false Kremlin talking point. After side-stepping repeated questions on whether he believed Russia did invade the country, he was forced to agree it had.
US and Russian delegates will hold talks on Thursday in Istanbul on restoring some of their embassy operations that have been drastically scaled back following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the US state department confirmed.
Continue reading...Chinese government asks: ‘Who represents the real threat?’ after US defense secretary vows to keep canal secure
US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the Panama canal faces ongoing threats from China but that together the United States and Panama will keep it secure.
Hegseth’s remarks triggered a fiery response from the Chinese government, which said: “Who represents the real threat to the Canal? People will make their own judgement.”
Continue reading...At the world’s largest wholesale market, vendors have reduced their exposure to the US but fear the repercussions of a global economic shock
If you have ever bought a Christmas decoration, a button, an electric shaver or any other cheap manufactured product, there is a good chance it came from Yiwu, a city in east China’s Zhejiang province that is home to the world’s largest wholesale market.
Covering more than 4m square metres, tens of thousands of suppliers have booths in Yiwu International Trade City. As the US and China exchange increasingly hysterical rhetoric and threaten ever-higher tariffs, it is vendors at places like Yiwu who are at the frontline of the new trade war.
Continue reading...Beijing vows to ‘fight to the end’ as president claims ‘many’ countries are seeking a deal with US
Donald Trump is poised to unleash his trade war with the world on Wednesday, pressing ahead with a slew of tariffs on the US’s largest trading partners despite fears of widespread economic damage and calls to reconsider.
The US president claimed “many” countries were seeking a deal with Washington, as his administration prepared to impose steep tariffs on goods from dozens of markets from Wednesday.
Continue reading...US president had trailed ‘direct talks’ and said Iran would be in ‘great danger’ if they failed
Iran, wrongfooted by Donald Trump’s revelation that “direct talks” between the US and Iran on its nuclear programme are set to start in Oman on Saturday, insisted the talks would actually be in an indirect format, but added that the intentions of the negotiators were more important than the format.
Trump on Monday threw Tehran off guard by revealing the plan for the weekend talks and saying that if the talks failed Iran would be in “great danger”. There has been an unprecedented US military buildup across the Middle East in recent weeks, and Trump’s decision to make the talks public looks designed to press Iran to negotiate with urgency.
Continue reading...Just over 71,000 cars sold in first quarter as German manufacturer is silent on effect of US tariffs
Porsche sales slumped in the first three months of the year as an increase in deliveries to the US was overshadowed by falls in Europe and China, while Donald Trump’s trade war has triggered uncertainty in the global car industry.
The German car manufacturer reported a 37% rise in North American deliveries in the period from January to March, hitting 20,698, which Porsche said was partly because of low figures last year when car deliveries were delayed due to import restrictions on Chinese components.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president says men’s capture shows Moscow is trying to involve Beijing in the war ‘directly or indirectly’
Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese nationals fighting with the Russian army in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president said they were two of many more Chinese members of the Russian armed forces, and he accused the Kremlin of trying to involve Beijing in the conflict “directly or indirectly”.
Continue reading...Drink removed from draft list after lobbying from whiskey-making Ireland and wine-producing Italy and France
Amid the economic maelstrom of Donald Trump’s trade war, drink makers might take a small drop of comfort: the EU has dropped plans to hit American bourbon with retaliatory tariffs.
Bourbon and other US whiskeys have escaped EU countermeasures after heavy lobbying from the EU’s drinks-producing countries – such as whiskey-making Ireland and the wine behemoths Italy and France – who feared their alcohol industries would become casualties of a global trade war.
Continue reading...At a Congressional hearing earlier this week, Matt Blaze made the point that CALEA, the 1994 law that forces telecoms to make phone calls wiretappable, is outdated in today’s threat environment and should be rethought:
In other words, while the legally-mandated CALEA capability requirements have changed little over the last three decades, the infrastructure that must implement and protect it has changed radically. This has greatly expanded the “attack surface” that must be defended to prevent unauthorized wiretaps, especially at scale. The job of the illegal eavesdropper has gotten significantly easier, with many more options and opportunities for them to exploit. Compromising our telecommunications infrastructure is now little different from performing any other kind of computer intrusion or data breach, a well-known and endemic cybersecurity problem. To put it bluntly, something like Salt Typhoon was inevitable, and will likely happen again unless significant changes are made...
15 medics and rescuers killed last month in Gaza were shot in upper body ‘with intent to kill’, says president of Palestinian Red Crescent Society
Russia, China and Iran will hold consultations at expert level on the Iranian nuclear programme in Moscow on Tuesday, Russian’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has been cited as saying.
Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iran unless it comes to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme, and the Kremlin said earlier today that Russia was ready to do all it could to help resolve tensions between the Washington and Tehran.
Macron said he strongly opposed any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. “We are firmly opposed to the displacement of populations and to any annexation of both Gaza and the West Bank,” Macron told journalists. “This would be a violation of international law and a serious threat to the security of the entire region, including Israel,” he said.
Macron said Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007, should have no part in governing the strip after the war and reiterated his support for a reconstruction plan for the territory endorsed by the Arab League. “I salute here the crucial work of Egypt on this plan, which offers a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and should also pave the way for new Palestinian governance in the enclave led by the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “Hamas must have no role in this governance, and must no longer constitute a threat to Israel.”
Continue reading...Contracts show fictional country created by fugitive Indian guru would control vast swathes ‘with full sovereignty’
Followers of a fugitive Indian Hindu guru on a mission to establish his own state are popping up across Latin America, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy land in Ecuador, Paraguay and now Bolivia.
At the end of last year, a representative of the Baure Indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon signed a “perpetual” contract leasing 60,000 hectares (148,260 acres) of their vast rainforest for $108,000 (£81,910) a year.
Continue reading...We’d like to hear from people about the impact Trump’s tariffs might have on them and their businesses
Donald Trump has unveiled his global tariffs on US trading partners including 10% on UK exports to the US, 20% on the EU and 34% on China. However, the US’s closest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, have been exempt from the latest round of tariffs.
Wherever you are in the world, we’d like to hear how you might be affected by the tariffs. What preparations or changes are you making to your business? Do you have any concerns?
Continue reading...Paul Chambers detained under strict lese-majesty law, which can lead to 15 years in jail on a single charge
A prominent American academic has been detained in Thailand after being charged with insulting the monarchy, a rare case in which a foreign national has fallen foul of the country’s strict lese-majesty law.
Paul Chambers, who specialises in civil-military relations and democratisation in south-east Asia, was denied bail on Tuesday and is being held at Phitsanulok provincial prison in northern Thailand, his lawyers said.
Continue reading...Police say man landed on island in attempt to meet the Sentinelese people – a tribe untouched by the industrial world
Indian police said on Thursday they had arrested a US tourist who sneaked on to a highly restricted island carrying a coconut and a can of Diet Coke to a tribe untouched by the industrial world.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel – part of India’s Andaman Islands – in an attempt to meet the Sentinelese people, who are believed to number only about 150.
Continue reading...Three claimants allege Mumbai-based consultancy firm discriminated against them during restructuring
A UK division of the Indian conglomerate Tata “deliberately orchestrated” a redundancy programme in a way that unfairly targeted older, non-Indian nationals, an employment tribunal has heard.
Three claimants allege the Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is valued at almost £110bn on the BSE stock exchange in Mumbai, discriminated against them on grounds of age and nationality during a restructuring that began in mid-2023.
Continue reading...Brother of Jagtar Singh Johal claims he is being ‘mentally tortured’ through unwarranted detention
The British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal, detained for seven years in an Indian jail, has been placed into solitary confinement and under 24-hour surveillance despite being acquitted of all terrorism charges against him by a Punjab court on 4 March, his family have claimed.
Johal is still facing the exact same charges in a parallel case in a clear example of double jeopardy, his brother Gurpreet said when giving testimony at Westminster to an all party committee on arbitrary detention. He said the Indian courts have not granted his brother bail, despite the prosecutor’s failure to produce any credible evidence or witnesses in the Punjab court.
Gurpreet said UK consular staff met his brother in jail on Tuesday and were told he had been put into solitary confinement with a 24-hour guard, adding no explanation had been given.
Continue reading...In what may be an American first, President Donald Trump pardoned a company sentenced to $100 million in fines for breaking money laundering laws.
The post Trump Just Pardoned … a Corporation? appeared first on The Intercept.
China has dramatically increased military activities around Taiwan, with more than 3,000 incursions into Taiwan's airspace in 2024 alone. Amy Hawkins examines how Beijing is deploying 'salami-slicing' tactics, a strategy of gradual pressure that stays below the threshold of war while steadily wearing down Taiwan's defences. From daily air incursions to strategic military exercises, we explore the four phases of China's approach and what it means for Taiwan's future
Continue reading...US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who started the now-infamous group chat coordinating a US attack against the Yemen-based Houthis on March 15, is seemingly now suggesting that the secure messaging service Signal has security vulnerabilities.
"I didn’t see this loser in the group," Waltz told Fox News about Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, whom Waltz invited to the chat. "Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean, is something we’re trying to figure out."
Waltz’s implication that Goldberg may have hacked his way in was followed by a ...
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, Daniel Neuenschwander, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Vice President for Exploration and Human Spaceflight, Mayumi Matsuura, have signed a new statement of intent focused on Moon and Mars activities. This statement marks their intention towards a step forward in space exploration cooperation between ESA and JAXA, and lays the groundwork for expanded collaboration between the two agencies in advancing science, technology and international partnerships.
“Do your job!” the crowd chanted, urging Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the most outspoken DOGE supporters, to rein in Elon Musk.
The post GOP Leaders Said Don’t Do Town Halls. This Indiana Republican Did — and Got an Earful. appeared first on The Intercept.
Alessandro Coatti described by former colleagues at Royal Society of Biology as ‘passionate and dedicated’
Tributes have been made to a “passionate and dedicated” scientist after parts of his dismembered body were found in a suitcase in Colombia.
Alessandro Coatti, who worked at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) in London, was found on the outskirts of Santa Marta, a port city on the Caribbean coast. The 42-year-old molecular biologist was travelling and conducting research in South America after working in London for eight years.
Continue reading...The route follows in the Romantic poet’s footsteps, traces his life and celebrates the landscapes that inspired so much of his work
‘Come forth into the light of things,” implored William Wordsworth in his 1798 poem The Tables Turned, extolling the virtues of a good old-fashioned walk in nature. Treading through his homeland of the Lake District more than two centuries later, on a radiant early spring day, sunbeams casting through the bare branches to anoint the daffodils, it’s a compelling edict.
As a founding father of England’s Romantic poetry movement, Wordsworth’s legacy is synonymous with the rolling, rugged landscapes of the Lakes. He and his contemporaries Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey were collectively known as the “Lake Poets”, and to gaze on the region’s deep, still waters and scrabble across its fells is to understand the source of his artistic inspiration, centuries on.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: Four weeks into the dispute, with the council declaring a major incident, the streets are overflowing with rubbish and rats
Good morning. Whatever else is going on the world, there is very little that makes people as angry as the bins not being collected. This isn’t to say that it’s a trivial concern. As well as the natural disgust that comes with facing piles of stinking rubbish every time you go out, bin collection is a natural proxy for our sense of living in a functioning society; a basic feature of a developed economy. When it goes wrong, it feels as if something more profound is broken, too.
To an infamous list that includes Paris in 2023 and Madrid in 2013, you can now add Birmingham in 2025 – the second such crisis in the city in eight years. Talks yesterday were said to be “productive”, but again failed to resolve the situation; as the strike drags on, residents are asking why they face such inadequate local services when the rates they pay keep going up.
Economy | Rates on imports to the United States from dozens of economies rose further on Wednesday, with tariffs imposed on Chinese products since Donald Trump returned to the White House reaching a staggering 104%. The new tariffs include rates of 20% on the European Union, 26% on India and 49% on Cambodia.
British Steel | Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are actively considering nationalising British Steel in an escalation of plans first revealed in the Guardian last year. The prime minister said all options were on the table to secure the future of the Scunthorpe plant after talks about a financial support package to move to less polluting technology faltered.
Ukraine | A high-profile former Ukrainian commander has called for the head of the country’s military to step aside, accusing him of putting Ukrainian soldiers’ lives at risk. In an interview, Bohdan Krotevych, who recently resigned as chief of staff of the Azov brigade, said that Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi “must go” and Ukraine’s military leadership must be shaken up.
Crime | The UK government is developing a “murder prediction” programme to identify those most likely to become killers. Researchers are alleged to be using algorithms to analyse the information of thousands of people, including victims of crime, to identify those at greatest risk of committing serious violent offences.
Theme parks | A former brickworks in Bedford will be the site of a new multibillion-pound theme park from the entertainment behemoth Universal, it has been announced. The government says the project will bring a £50bn boost to Britain’s economy and create 20,000 jobs in construction, with a further 8,000 operational roles once it is up and running in 2031.
Continue reading...The Ukrainian president says the Chinese nationals were just two of many fighting with Russian forces. What we know on day 1,141
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government is seeking clarification from Beijing after Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.
Zelenskyy said the captured fighters were two of many more Chinese members of the Russian armed forces, and he accused the Kremlin of trying to involve Beijing in the conflict “directly or indirectly”. A few hundred Chinese nationals are thought to have travelled to fight as mercenaries with the Russian army alongside others from Nepal and central Asian countries.
US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the development “disturbing”, adding: “China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine.”
Russian forces staged massive drone attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv late on Tuesday, triggering fires and injuring at least 17 people, regional officials said. In eastern Donetsk, the focal point of the 1,000-km (600-mile) frontline in the more than three-year-old war, a residential area came under attack in the city of Kramatorsk and local officials said residents were injured. In Dnipro, the attack sparked a fire, damaged houses and cars and injured 14 people, Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.
Russia says it is close to regaining full control of its western Kursk region after pushing Ukrainian forces from one of their last footholds there. Russia’s defence ministry released a video of what it said was the recapture of the settlement of Guyevo set to dramatic music, showing smoke rising into the air from various buildings, a soldier waving the Russian flag from the window of a heavily damaged Orthodox church, and Russian troops carrying out house-to-house checks in case any Ukrainian soldiers were hiding. Ukraine officials have not commented on Russia’s claims, but its general staff said in a statement its planes had struck a complex of hangars and military buildings in the region being used by Russian drone operators and maintenance workers.
The US senate has confirmed the appointment of Elbridge Colby as its top policy adviser at the Pentagon, despite concerns he had downplayed threats from Russia and Vladimir Putin. Colby previously questioned whether Russia actually invaded Ukraine, echoing a false Kremlin talking point. After side-stepping repeated questions on whether he believed Russia did invade the country, he was forced to agree it had.
US and Russian delegates will hold talks on Thursday in Istanbul on restoring some of their embassy operations that have been drastically scaled back following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the US state department confirmed.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer hails visitor attraction – set to open in 2031 – as a way to bring jobs and growth to region
First Beijing, and now Bedford: a “transformative” new British tourist magnet is coming to the home counties – just off the A421.
A former brickworks will be the site of a new multibillion-pound theme park from the entertainment behemoth Universal, the government confirmed on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Royal Court, London
Posthumous courtroom drama from writer-director Robert Icke seems unsure of – or opaque in – its intentions
Raoul Moat set a grim record in 2010 by sparking the biggest manhunt in UK history. After almost seven days on the run, the chase ended when he took his own life. His last days are enacted as a posthumous courtroom drama in writer-director Robert Icke’s staging, looking back on the events leading up to Moat’s death but simultaneously travelling towards it.
Fresh out of prison and intent on hurting his ex-girlfriend because she had found a new partner, Moat murdered her boyfriend, left her in a critical condition and blinded a police officer, before hiding out in a corner of north-east England with a sawn-off shotgun.
Continue reading...Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post Trump Appears to Be Targeting Muslim and “Non-White” Students for Deportation appeared first on The Intercept.
The Hands Off event proved Americans with a slew of different priorities can still form a broad left-liberal coalition
What is the point of street protest? This is the question I asked myself as I rode the bus downtown to San Francisco city hall, where activists were hosting a rally and march for Hands Off, a national day of action meant to collect a broad range of resistance to the Trump regime under one banner.
During the first Trump administration, I’d gone to these a lot. I’d attended the Women’s March in Washington in January of 2017, and felt myself crushed between the bodies of the hundreds of thousands of attenders; I’d held a sign at JFK airport, chanting “Immigrants are welcome here”, a few weeks later, when Trump instituted his travel ban. In 2020, I’d marched in Black Lives Matter protests, trying to avenge the horror I had felt when I’d seen videos of police officers killing Black men, often as they begged for their lives, played over and over again on the tiny screen of my phone. I’d inherited a brutal and ugly world, I felt, and it seemed urgent to say that I rejected it, that I felt the rage and grief of its injustice, and to be among other people who felt the same way.
Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist
Continue reading...Monica Feria-Tinta is one of a growing number of lawyers using the courts to make governments around the world take action
In November 2024, Monica Feria-Tinta, a veteran of UN tribunals and the international criminal court, strode through a heavy black door into a Georgian building in London’s august legal district for a meeting about a tree in Southend. Affectionately known as Chester, the 150-year-old plane tree towers over a bus shelter in the centre of the Essex seaside town. The council wanted to cut it down and residents were fighting back – but they were running out of options. Katy Treverton, a local campaigner, had travelled from Southend to ask Feria-Tinta’s legal advice. “Chester is one of the last trees left in this part of Southend,” said Treverton, sitting at a large table in an airy meeting room. “Losing him would be losing part of the city’s identity.”
Feria-Tinta nodded, deep-red fingernails clattering on her laptop as she typed. She paused and looked up. “Are we entitled to nature? Is that a human right? I would say yes. It’s not an easy argument, but it’s a valid one.” She recommended going to the council with hard data about the impact of trees on health, and how removing the tree could violate the rights of an economically deprived community. Recent rulings in the European court of human rights, she added, reinforced the notion that the state has obligations on the climate crisis. This set a legal precedent that could help residents defend their single tree in Southend. “It isn’t just a tree,” said Feria-Tinta. “More than that is at stake: a principle.”
Continue reading...Adam Gabbatt reports on the visa and green card-holders being held in US detention centres
“Border Patrol always had the right to grill people trying to enter the US, right,” Guardian US reporter Adam Gabbatt tells Michael Safi. “But from what we can tell now, Border Patrol agents are now much more likely to basically get into people’s business, so to search people’s devices, particularly mobile phones, and there seems to have been a real spike in the number of people being questioned and now detained. We’ve seen that with tourists, but also people on green cards and working visas.”
One of those people was Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian entrepreneur who had travelled to the US on a work visa many times.
Continue reading...Just weeks away from graduation, some international students at Arizona State University have been blocked from completing degrees.
The post At Least 50 Arizona State Students Have Now Had Visas Revoked, Lawyer Says appeared first on The Intercept.
Ministers and more than 70 MPs attended photo call with Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed whose travel ban was called unacceptable
Cabinet ministers and more than 70 parliamentarians staged a show of solidarity with two MPs who were detained and barred from entry to Israel in what was the first time British MPs had been banned from the country.
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, joined the photocall in Westminster Hall on Monday with the MPs, along with Hamish Falconer and housing minister Rushanara Ali. It was organised by the Rochdale MP Paul Waugh.
Continue reading...Clark Winter’s car photographs, taken during his travels around the globe, revel in nostalgia and reveal our strangely intimate relationships with our vehicles
Continue reading...The University of Pennsylvania has been a target of Canary Mission, a pro-Israel “blacklist” group. Turns out the call was coming from inside the house.
The post Pro-Israel Group That Attacked UPenn Was Funded by Family of UPenn Trustee appeared first on The Intercept.
Florida prosecutors say Michelle Taylor used gasoline to set a fire that killed her son. Top forensic chemists say they’re wrong.
The post The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway. appeared first on The Intercept.
We would like to hear from parents about their children’s experiences of getting NHS dental treatment
According to a government report, nearly 50,000 tooth extractions took place last year in NHS hospitals in England for 0 to 19-year-olds, with 62% of those having a primary diagnosis of tooth decay.
We would like to hear from parents in England about their experiences of accessing NHS dental services for their children. Were you able to find somewhere locally or do you have to travel further afield? How easy have you found it to access care? We’re also interested in hearing from those whose children have had hospital tooth extractions recently.
Continue reading...From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...Students from Muslim-majority countries as well as Asia and Africa are having their visas revoked with little or no explanation.
The post Trump Appears to Be Targeting Muslim and “Non-White” Students for Deportation appeared first on The Intercept.
She lost her job at Emerson College after screening a film critical of Israel. Her lawsuit seeks to leverage an unusual Massachusetts free speech law.
The post This College Staffer Lost Her Job After Showing a Film Critical of Israel. Now She’s Suing Over Free Speech. appeared first on The Intercept.
The University of Pennsylvania has been a target of Canary Mission, a pro-Israel “blacklist” group. Turns out the call was coming from inside the house.
The post Pro-Israel Group That Attacked UPenn Was Funded by Family of UPenn Trustee appeared first on The Intercept.
I accompanied one of the students who fled Trump’s crackdown. It gave me clarity on what’s at stake.
The post This Is Not About Antisemitism, Palestine, or Columbia. It’s Trump Dismantling the American Dream. appeared first on The Intercept.
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