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Shein ‘steps up plan for London IPO’ amid US listing hurdles
Fri, 10 May 2024 16:45:35 GMT
Sources say Singapore-based online fashion retailer founded in China prefers a float in New York but faces tougher scrutiny than expected
The fast-fashion company Shein is stepping up preparations for a London listing after its attempt to float in New York faced regulatory hurdles and pushback from US lawmakers, sources have told Reuters.
The online clothing retailer plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of the initial public offering (IPO) venue and file with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as soon as this month, said one source.
Continue reading...On campus, inside the Capitol, and in court, there’s an all-out assault on American democracy in the name of Israel.
The post They Used to Say Arabs Can’t Have Democracy Because It’d Be Bad for Israel. Now the U.S. Can’t Have It Either. appeared first on The Intercept.
PM says Labour have ‘almost nothing to say’ about problems like immigration, energy security or the economy
Sunak starts with global security threats.
The dangers that threaten our country are real.
There’s an increasing number of authoritarian states like Russia, Iran, North Korea and China working together to undermine us and our values.
People are abusing our liberal democratic values of freedom of speech, the right to protest, to intimidate, threaten and assault others, to sing antisemitic chants on our streets and our university campuses, and to weaponize the evils of antisemitism or anti-Muslim hatred, in a divisive ideological attempt to set Britain against Britain.
And from gender activists hijacking children’s sex education, to cancel culture, vocal and aggressive fringe groups are trying to impose their views on the rest of us.
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Far-right party’s poll numbers have fallen but analysts say negative headlines unlikely to sway its supporters
Scandals buffeting Germany’s far-right AfD are unlikely to do enough damage to blow the party off course before pivotal elections this year, analysts say, but the votes will offer crucial insights into whether the centre can hold against an anti-democratic onslaught.
Embarrassing allegations of spying for China and collusion with Russia, after the bombshell revelation in January of a mass “remigration masterplan” for foreigners and German nationals alike backed by several party members, have sent the AfD’s poll numbers plunging to as low as 15% nationwide. That is its worst score since April 2023.
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No longer just drunk for courage at karaoke clubs, the ‘food-friendly’ rice spirit is becoming a first choice of connoisseurs
When sommelier Erika Haigh opened the UK’s first independent sake bar, in London’s West End in 2019, passersby would wander in and try to order milkshakes, bewildered by the unfamiliar drink advertised in the window.
“Today, that confusion has largely disappeared,” said Haigh, who has since opened Mai Sake, a shop offering tasting events and meals. “You can now go on a sake bar crawl across London, and you’ll find it featured on the beverage lists of many restaurants – including non-Japanese establishments.”
Continue reading...Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan’s search for the truth during the early days of the pandemic was seen as a threat by the authorities
A Chinese citizen journalist who has been in prison for four years after reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 epidemic in Wuhan is due to be released on Monday.
Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to document the Chinese government’s response to what became the start of a global pandemic. She shared her reports on X (then known as Twitter), YouTube and WeChat. She was one of the few independent Chinese reporters on the ground as Wuhan and the rest of China went into lockdown.
Continue reading...President likely to add sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells to range of levies set up under Donald Trump
Joe Biden is expected as early as next week to announce fresh tariffs on Chinese trade, with levies focused on strategic sectors including electric vehicles, in a review of measures first put into place under Donald Trump.
An announcement planned for Tuesday will keep the blanket tax rises introduced by the president’s predecessor but supplement them with targeted levies on industries connected to EVs, including batteries and solar cells, according to reports.
Continue reading...Years in the making, this documentary shows preparations for the arrival of mains power in a village in Nagaland as part of a deal with the Indian government
With great patience over a period of years, Indian film-makers Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan recorded an interesting cultural footnote to history, happening ever so slowly in the tiny, remote village of Tora in Nagaland in north-eastern India near the border with Myanmar. The Naga Peace Accord, signed in 2015 between Narendra Modi’s government and the separatist-insurgent National Socialist Council of Nagaland, theoretically resolved tension which had existed since the Naga people proclaimed independence in 1947. As a result of this peace process, the little village of Tora and surrounding communities were going to get something very new: electricity.
We see a shopkeeper look forward to getting a refrigerator and her children excitedly talking about the Bollywood movies they can watch on TV. Other women are unconvinced by this brave new world of watching TV every night: “I would rather weave shawls!”
Continue reading...Supreme court judges order Arvind Kejriwal’s release until 1 June and question timing of his arrest on corruption charges
One of India’s best-known opposition leaders, Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has been granted bail by the country’s supreme court to allow him to take part in general election campaigningafter being kept behind bars for almost two months.
Kejriwal, who heads the Aam Aadmi party (AAP), has been held in jail since March when he was arrested on money-laundering charges. He has maintained that his arrest and detention was politically motivated to prevent him taking part in the election, which began in April and will continue until June.
Continue reading...Nearly 20 missing after monsoon rains trigger flash floods, sending torrents of volcanic material and mud down slopes of Mount Marapi volcano
Heavy rains triggered flash floods and caused torrents of cold lava and mud to flow down a volcano’s slopes on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 41 people and leaving more than a dozen others missing, officials have said.
Monsoon rains and a major mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Marapi caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday. The floods swept away people and submerged more than 100 houses and buildings, national disaster management agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said on Sunday.
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Hunters reportedly find five Rwandan men in mangroves on Saibai Island, a known crocodile habitat
As the UK government continues its push to forcibly remove asylum seekers to Rwanda, a group of Rwandan nationals has claimed asylum in Australia after arriving by boat on a remote island.
The five men arrived in Australia by an unconventional route, reportedly flying into the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to be granted visas on arrival, before travelling thousands of kilometres east to Indonesia’s Papua province, where they crossed the land border it shares with Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Continue reading...Campus protests in solidarity with the people of Gaza have braved abuse and police raids but history will be kinder
The student left is the most reliably correct constituency in America. Over the past 60 years, it has passed every great moral test American foreign policy has forced upon the public, including the Vietnam war, the question of relations with apartheid South Africa, and the Iraq war. Student activists were at the heart of the black civil rights movement from the very beginning. To much derision and abuse, they pushed for more rights, protections and respect for women and queer people on their campuses than the wider world was long willing to provide. And over the past 20 years in particular, policymakers have arrived belatedly to stances on economic inequality, climate change, drug policy and criminal justice that putative radicals on campus took up long before them.
They have not always been right; even when right, their prescriptions for the problems they’ve identified and their means of directing attention to them have not always been prudent. But time and time and time again, the student left in America has squarely faced and expressed truths our politicians and all the eminent and eloquent voices of moderation in the press, in all of their supposed wisdom and good sense, have been unable or unwilling to see. Straining against an ancient and immortal prejudice against youth, it has made a habit of telling the American people, in tones that discomfit, what they need to hear before they are ready to hear it.
Osita Nwanevu is a Guardian US columnist
Continue reading...On her @brutalistplants Instagram page, Olivia Broome collects photographs that combine the angular shapes of raw concrete with the greenery of the natural world. “I really enjoy the aesthetic of eco-brutalism and tropical modernism,” she says. “I love mezzanines and ziggurats, and when you pair them with plants it softens them up. Brutalism can be this quite harsh, austere architecture style, but with nature involved, it balances it all out.” Now collected in a book, the images bring together buildings from across the globe, from Hong Kong to Sri Lanka, London to Mexico. “It’s a pleasant movement that people can get behind, especially in smaller spaces and modern cities – it’s nice to fill them with plants and nature.”
• Brutalist Plants (Hoxton Mini Press, £20) will be published on Thursday
The bipartisan duo also praised schools that brought in police to violently quell protests and connected the demonstrations to the TikTok ban.
The post In No Labels Call, Josh Gottheimer, Mike Lawler, and University Trustees Agree: FBI Should Investigate Campus Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
Congress party’s Arun Reddy held over fake video of interior minister Amit Shah
Indian police have said they have arrested the social media chief of the country’s main opposition party over a doctored video widely shared during the ongoing national election.
Arun Reddy of the Congress party was detained late on Friday in connection with the edited footage, which falsely shows India’s powerful interior minister, Amit Shah, vowing in a campaign speech to end affirmative action policies for millions of poor and low-caste Indians.
Continue reading...Inadvertent poisoning of scavengers across Indian subcontinent is forcing some communities to give up ancient custom
Traditional Zoroastrian burial rites are becoming increasingly impossible to perform because of the precipitous decline of vultures in India, Iran and Pakistan.
For millennia, Parsi communities have traditionally disposed of their dead in structures called dakhma, or “towers of silence”. These circular, elevated edifices are designed to prevent the soil, and the sacred elements of earth, fire and water, from being contaminated by corpses.
Continue reading...Prime minister said there were ‘credible allegations’ that India was behind killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Canadian police have charged three members of an alleged hit team for their role in the assassination of the Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the first arrests in a high-profile killing that officials believe was masterminded by India.
The arrests come nearly a year after the prominent activist was killed in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh gurdwara on the evening of 18 June in the city of Surrey, British Columbia. In what investigators previously described as a carefully orchestrated operation, two assailants fired about 50 bullets at Nijjar and escaped the area in a grey car.
Continue reading...Tinned chickpeas are flying off the shelves at Tesco. Vegan influencer Christina Soteriou and child nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed explain why – and share their tips for recipes and moreish snacks
“Chickpeas are flying off the shelves, so our priority is making sure they’re always available when customers want them,” says Ashley Wainaina, Tesco’s canned pulses buyer. “We’ve even changed our stocking system to make it more efficient, so we can keep up with demand.”
As the UK’s largest food retailer, Tesco is helping customers make better choices when they shop by highlighting better foods, such as snacks containing under 100 calories or foods that are high in fibre or low in sugar, through its Better Baskets campaign. Chickpeas are loaded with protein and fibre, they’re filling, a third of a tin counts as one of your five a day, and they can be cooked in a plethora of different ways. They’ve been eaten for millennia across the Middle East, India and the Mediterranean, and their popularity has soared here recently, too.
Continue reading...Cologne cathedral, Europe’s biggest collection of pop art and vintage shops are all less than four and a half hours from London by train
It’s on about our fifth Kölsch that we begin to get the idea of Cologne’s constitution. We are sitting in Päffgen, one of the traditional brewhouses that produce the pale yellow beer unique to the German city. It comes in small straight glasses (it loses its fizz quickly apparently) and each time one is emptied, another one is delivered by a waiter swinging a kranz, or circular tray, which appears to defy gravity. The process of replacement goes on until you place a beer mat on top of your glass to signal that you’ve had enough.
I imagine my limit of four is only the beginning for many of the drinkers packing the room, but we soak up the alcohol with traditional dishes of pork schnitzel, meatloaf and – for the vegetarian – three fried eggs with fried potatoes, all of which are declared delicious, if not the healthiest food.
Continue reading...The Labour leader confirmed he would scrap the Rwanda scheme in his Dover speech, then confusingly blurred his own argument
Could Keir Starmer “Make Asylum Boring Again”? That would be the ultimate test of success for his claim that he can grip the issue that has caused Rishi Sunak more trouble than any other. Starmer’s message is that he is no less committed to securing the borders and stopping the small boats crossing the Channel, but that achieving this requires a serious plan to tackle smuggling gangs and fix the asylum system in Britain too. So how different is Labour’s plan – and would it work?
Labour’s analysis should be that making asylum work depends on blending control and compassion. The Dover speech was a political exercise in asymmetric triangulation. Robust messages about control were loudly proclaimed. More liberal ideas about a rules-based system could be found, but mostly by reading between the lines.
Starmer did confirm that Labour would scrap the Rwanda scheme. Labour had seemed to wobble in the face of premature Conservative confidence that Rwanda is already working to deter. Ironically, the biggest risk for Sunak’s deterrent argument would come if he finally gets to test it practically. Send the first flights to Rwanda this summer and further arrivals across the Channel will surely outpace any removals 10 times over.
There is a clash of principle over asylum. Labour would process the asylum claims of those who arrived without permission. The Conservatives have now passed several laws vowing they will not. Yet ministers are in denial. Whether or not up to 500 people go to Rwanda does not give the government any plan for the next 50,000 people it still claims it intends to remove. So flagship new duties on the home secretary to refuse these claims for ever have not been given legal force – as the courts would strike that out in all those cases where the government has no realistic alternative. Yet the government has ceased to process asylum cases, reversing last year’s success in clearing the historic backlog.
Starmer is right to deny the charge that Labour’s policy is an “amnesty”, since processing the backlog would see some asylum claims granted and others refused. But he confusingly blurs his own argument with a tit-for-tat labelling of government policy as a “Travelodge amnesty”.
Continue reading...Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan’s search for the truth during the early days of the pandemic was seen as a threat by the authorities
A Chinese citizen journalist who has been in prison for four years after reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 epidemic in Wuhan is due to be released on Monday.
Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to document the Chinese government’s response to what became the start of a global pandemic. She shared her reports on X (then known as Twitter), YouTube and WeChat. She was one of the few independent Chinese reporters on the ground as Wuhan and the rest of China went into lockdown.
Continue reading...A new anti-terrorism bill would allow the government to take away vital tax exemptions from nonprofit news outlets.
The post Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process appeared first on The Intercept.
Hunters reportedly find five Rwandan men in mangroves on Saibai Island, a known crocodile habitat
As the UK government continues its push to forcibly remove asylum seekers to Rwanda, a group of Rwandan nationals has claimed asylum in Australia after arriving by boat on a remote island.
The five men arrived in Australia by an unconventional route, reportedly flying into the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to be granted visas on arrival, before travelling thousands of kilometres east to Indonesia’s Papua province, where they crossed the land border it shares with Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Continue reading...Nahla Al-Arian lost more than 200 relatives in Israel's attacks on Gaza. Then Eric Adams said she was the reason police raided Columbia.
The post NYC Mayor Smeared a Grandmother as an “Outside Agitator” to Justify NYPD Assault on Columbia appeared first on The Intercept.
We’d like to hear from people who have been purchasing luxury goods and experiences in recent years, and how they feel about their spending habits
We’re interested to hear about people’s spending habits in the area of upmarket or luxury goods, services and experiences, and whether they are generally happy with their spending on non-essentials.
We’d like to know whether you have spent money on expensive non-essential items such as designer clothing, high end housewares, luxury holidays, expensive beauty or wellness treatments, or exclusive dining, for instance, in the past year, and if so, whether you have struggled to afford this.
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...
PM says Labour have ‘almost nothing to say’ about problems like immigration, energy security or the economy
Sunak starts with global security threats.
The dangers that threaten our country are real.
There’s an increasing number of authoritarian states like Russia, Iran, North Korea and China working together to undermine us and our values.
People are abusing our liberal democratic values of freedom of speech, the right to protest, to intimidate, threaten and assault others, to sing antisemitic chants on our streets and our university campuses, and to weaponize the evils of antisemitism or anti-Muslim hatred, in a divisive ideological attempt to set Britain against Britain.
And from gender activists hijacking children’s sex education, to cancel culture, vocal and aggressive fringe groups are trying to impose their views on the rest of us.
Continue reading...President likely to add sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells to range of levies set up under Donald Trump
Joe Biden is expected as early as next week to announce fresh tariffs on Chinese trade, with levies focused on strategic sectors including electric vehicles, in a review of measures first put into place under Donald Trump.
An announcement planned for Tuesday will keep the blanket tax rises introduced by the president’s predecessor but supplement them with targeted levies on industries connected to EVs, including batteries and solar cells, according to reports.
Continue reading...With Trump family members as state delegates, as well as national party co-chair, GOP lawmakers fall in line to support ex-president
In practical terms, Barron Trump’s truncated stint on the political stage as a Florida delegate to the Republican party’s national convention was little more than symbolic. His father Donald Trump’s third successive presidential campaign as the Republican nominee was all but certain anyway, and the names of those who will confirm it are essentially inconsequential.
It did affirm to many analysts, however, how the former president has maneuvered to seize almost total control of the party’s state apparatus nationwide. Nowhere is that more apparent than Florida, where the capitulation was completed by the choice of delegates for July’s convention in Milwaukee.
Continue reading...Key prosecution witness set to take the stand after tough week for Trump in which court heard vivid testimony from Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial enters its 16th day on Monday in New York with the potential for bombshell testimony as his former fixer turned prosecution witness, Michael Cohen, is expected to take the stand.
Cohen is core to the case against Trump, as he is accused of shuttling $130,000 to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election – in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump 10 years prior.
Continue reading...The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
Four lawsuits alleging Hamas ties against Students for Justice in Palestine, the AP, UNRWA, and a cryptocurrency exchange share many of the same plaintiffs.
The post October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students Are “Hamas’s Propaganda Division” appeared first on The Intercept.
As El Fasher stands on the ‘precipice of a massacre’, rights groups call for sanctions after new testimony describes atrocities carried out by RSF paramilitaries in Sudan
Gruesome new testimony details one of the worst atrocities of the year-long Sudanese civil war – the large-scale massacre of civilians as they desperately tried to flee an ethnic rampage in Darfur last summer.
Witnesses describe children, still alive, being “piled up and shot” by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as they attempted to escape the regional capital of El Geneina in June last year during a bout of ethnic violence in which thousands of civilians were killed.
Continue reading...A new anti-terrorism bill would allow the government to take away vital tax exemptions from nonprofit news outlets.
The post Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process appeared first on The Intercept.
Kharkiv region’s governor says Russia is attempting to stretch front line; Ukrainian commander responsible for north-eastern frontline replaced
Russia’s new defence minister Andrei Belousov has said that soldiers need better access to housing, hospitals and welfare benefits.
Reuters reports:
We rejected that at the time and I think the same applies to the different requests that are now being made.
Continue reading...Odds are still against them but if struggling Effzeh stay up the wild win against Union Berlin will be talked about for decades
Borussia Dortmund may have done the Bundesliga proud this week. They didn’t do FC Köln any favours on Saturday night. After the Champions League finalists’ meek 3-0 defeat at Mainz, Edin Terzic and Marco Reus were sheepish and apologetic, with the coach bemoaning the display as “the face we’ve shown far too often this season”.
No matter. It takes a lot to dampen the spirits of the people of Cologne at any time, but on this Saturday? Nothing was going to smother the fire in their hearts. Their Effzeh had snatched victory from the jaws of certain defeat in a manner that stunned a stadium and city in which people want to believe anything, everything, is possible. They couldn’t quite believe this. “We were already relegated,” defender Timo Hübers told Sky afterwards. “We were mentally and physically exhausted.”
Continue reading...The wobbly, creamy fridge favourite paired with freezer fruit – easy!
In her book of English puddings, and in the delightful chapter about jellies, blancmanges and flummeries, Mary Norwak notes that the art of thickening began in medieval times. Fruit pectin had long been used as a way of preserving and thickening, but it was the practice of extracting collagen from fish or meat bones that, in the 1300s, allowed for new ways of setting jellies – first savoury, then sweet – in (privileged) kitchens. Then, in the 16th century, isinglass, made from the dried swim bladders of sturgeon, made its way from Russia to England via Dutch traders. Primarily used for the calcification of beer, isinglass provided another means of setting, until the process was revolutionised again in the early 1700s by the invention of the pressure cooker. Denis Papin’s “digester”, as it was called, meant that bones could be boiled down efficiently, paving the way for powders, capsules, blocks and, eventually, leaves and latticed sheets of gelatine, which opened to everyone a world of puddings that wobble.
In his Gran Dizionario Della Gastronomia Del Piemonte, Sandro Doglio makes reference to the story that a Hungarian woman introduced panna cotta to Piedmont in the early 19th century; Anna Del Conte, meanwhile, suggests it has been served there for centuries. Either way, it is a lovely pudding; tender and slightly amusing. I do think Panna-leggermente-riscaldata (gently warmed cream) or panna-leggermente-impostata (gently set cream) are more accurate descriptions than panna-cotta (cooked cream), but somehow I don’t think either of my suggestions will catch on.
Discover this recipe and many more from your favourite cooks on the new Guardian Feast app, with smart features to make everyday cooking easier and more fun
Continue reading...Unrest came as demonstrator who was attacked near his home says government is trying to intimidate critics
Riot police armed with water cannon and teargas have been accused of beating protesters who picketed outside Georgia’s parliament to try to stop a final vote on a controversial “foreign influence” law.
The fresh scenes of violence on Monday morning came as hundreds of masked officers charged down demonstrators who had been attempting to block off access to the parliament in the capital, Tbilisi.
Continue reading...Far-right party’s poll numbers have fallen but analysts say negative headlines unlikely to sway its supporters
Scandals buffeting Germany’s far-right AfD are unlikely to do enough damage to blow the party off course before pivotal elections this year, analysts say, but the votes will offer crucial insights into whether the centre can hold against an anti-democratic onslaught.
Embarrassing allegations of spying for China and collusion with Russia, after the bombshell revelation in January of a mass “remigration masterplan” for foreigners and German nationals alike backed by several party members, have sent the AfD’s poll numbers plunging to as low as 15% nationwide. That is its worst score since April 2023.
Continue reading...Petition by 49 employees could lead to Holy See being taken to court for ‘undermining dignity and health’
Forty-nine employees at the Vatican Museums have started an unprecedented legal dispute over job conditions and workplace safety, which could lead to the Holy See being taken to court.
The staff, mostly custodians who have worked at the museums for years, claim they are treated as “commodities” by Pope Francis’s administration, according to a report in Corriere della Sera.
Continue reading...As Putin’s forces press towards ruined Chasiv Yar, Ukrainians try to survive under bombardment in the shadow of the frontline
For months, Serhiy Gorbunov has been trying to persuade residents of Chasiv Yar, Russia’s current target in eastern Ukraine, to leave. “There’s intense shelling. The place is being bombarded. It’s a difficult situation,” he said. “People are living underground in basements. We tell them: ‘Please go.’ They answer with excuses. Most say they don’t want to abandon their homes. We try to help but they refuse.”
Gorbunov is the head of the city military administration in Kostiantynivka, the nearest functioning city to the frontline. That is 7 miles (11km) from his office, reached via a dusty and potholed back road that climbs up to the heights of Chasiv Yar. The Russians, who have been besieging the town for well over a year, have now reached its eastern outskirts and are trying to surround it.
Continue reading...Russian president says successor to Shoigu, who has been defence minister for years, will be Andrei Belousov, an economist
Vladimir Putin has removed his longtime ally Sergei Shoigu as defence minister in the most significant reshuffle to the military command since Russian troops invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.
In a surprise announcement, the Kremlin said Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister who specialises in economics, will replace Shoigu.
Continue reading...A strike by journalists at the state broadcaster sends a disturbing signal in one of the European Union’s most important member states
According to the latest audit of press freedom by Reporters Without Borders, Italy has tumbled down its international rankings. A crucial factor in its report was the desire of Giorgia Meloni’s radical right government to sell off a state-controlled news agency to a press baron – one who just happens to be an MP in her ruling coalition. But in one of the European Union’s most important member states, as Ms Meloni’s radical right coalition consolidates its grip on power, there are plenty of other reasons to fear for the future of free expression and media impartiality.
This week, a philosopher from Rome’s Sapienza University will become the latest public intellectual to appear in court, after being accused of defamation by a government figure. In a talk show, Donatella Di Cesare described the language used by the agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida (Ms Meloni’s brother-in-law), as neo-Nazi in tone. Under Italy’s draconian defamation laws, she risks a substantial prison sentence if eventually found guilty in a criminal court.
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A former facility psychologist is suing the Bureau of Prisons over an Instagram account that joked about suicide at FCC Lompoc.
The post Who Ran This Derogatory Prison Meme Page? A Prison Guard. appeared first on The Intercept.
Among world’s top 60 banks those in US are biggest fossil fuel financiers, while Barclays leads way in Europe
The world’s big banks have handed nearly $7tn (£5.6tn) in funding to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris agreement to limit carbon emissions, according to research.
In 2016, after talks in Paris, 196 countries signed an agreement to limit global heating as a result of carbon emissions to at most 2C above preindustrial levels, with an ideal limit of 1.5C to prevent the worst impacts of a drastically changed climate.
Continue reading...The first in a series exploring the myths and realities surrounding heat pumps
Every year about 130 million households across Europe burn almost 40% of the continent’s total gas consumption to heat their homes. Those boilers contribute more than a fifth of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions in the process.
Many have warned that the dominance of the humble gas boiler threatens to derail global climate targets, while keeping Europe reliant on gas imports and shackled to higher energy costs.
Continue reading...On campus, inside the Capitol, and in court, there’s an all-out assault on American democracy in the name of Israel.
The post They Used to Say Arabs Can’t Have Democracy Because It’d Be Bad for Israel. Now the U.S. Can’t Have It Either. appeared first on The Intercept.
The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
A donor to Dexter in the Portland congressional race tells The Intercept: “I give all my contributions through AIPAC.”
The post AIPAC and Republican Donors Raising Big Money for Maxine Dexter Against Susheela Jayapal in Oregon appeared first on The Intercept.
Republicans are using a narrative of chaos and ‘philosophical divisions on Israel’ among Democrats to sink Biden’s campaign
Republicans have identified recent college protests against Israel’s war in Gaza as the core of an election campaign narrative of chaos that they hope can be used to sink Joe Biden’s presidency.
The approach was bluntly crystallised by Tom Cotton, the Republican senator Arkansas, in a recent television interview when he mocked the encampments that have sprung up in recent weeks as “little Gazas” and lambasted the president for a perceived failure to unequivocally denounce instances of antisemitism.
Continue reading...With Trump family members as state delegates, as well as national party co-chair, GOP lawmakers fall in line to support ex-president
In practical terms, Barron Trump’s truncated stint on the political stage as a Florida delegate to the Republican party’s national convention was little more than symbolic. His father Donald Trump’s third successive presidential campaign as the Republican nominee was all but certain anyway, and the names of those who will confirm it are essentially inconsequential.
It did affirm to many analysts, however, how the former president has maneuvered to seize almost total control of the party’s state apparatus nationwide. Nowhere is that more apparent than Florida, where the capitulation was completed by the choice of delegates for July’s convention in Milwaukee.
Continue reading...On campus, inside the Capitol, and in court, there’s an all-out assault on American democracy in the name of Israel.
The post They Used to Say Arabs Can’t Have Democracy Because It’d Be Bad for Israel. Now the U.S. Can’t Have It Either. appeared first on The Intercept.
PM says Labour have ‘almost nothing to say’ about problems like immigration, energy security or the economy
Sunak starts with global security threats.
The dangers that threaten our country are real.
There’s an increasing number of authoritarian states like Russia, Iran, North Korea and China working together to undermine us and our values.
People are abusing our liberal democratic values of freedom of speech, the right to protest, to intimidate, threaten and assault others, to sing antisemitic chants on our streets and our university campuses, and to weaponize the evils of antisemitism or anti-Muslim hatred, in a divisive ideological attempt to set Britain against Britain.
And from gender activists hijacking children’s sex education, to cancel culture, vocal and aggressive fringe groups are trying to impose their views on the rest of us.
Continue reading...The prime minister is another MP down after Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor to join Labour. With the Conservatives trailing by 30 points after heavy local election losses, what options does Rishi Sunak now have? Guardian political correspondent Kiran Stacey tells Helen Pidd what these losses mean for the PM, and looks at what calculation Keir Starmer made in taking in a rightwing Tory
“None of us sitting in the press gallery were expecting it,” Kiran Stacey, the Guardian’s political correspondent, tells Helen Pidd.
On Wednesday, as Rishi Sunak went into the Commons for PMQs, he realised that his party was another MP down. Natalie Elphicke had crossed the floor to join the Labour party, the second MP to do so in 10 days.
Continue reading...Former chancellor plans to join online retailer owned by the billionaire Barclay family in June
The former UK chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is to become the chair of Very Group, the online retailer owned by the billionaire Barclay family, days after announcing that he would step down as a Conservative MP at the next general election.
Zahawi’s appointment at Very comes after he said on Thursday that he would not seek re-election as MP for Stratford-on-Avon, adding to a succession of prominent Conservatives who are stepping aside.
Continue reading...Far-right party’s poll numbers have fallen but analysts say negative headlines unlikely to sway its supporters
Scandals buffeting Germany’s far-right AfD are unlikely to do enough damage to blow the party off course before pivotal elections this year, analysts say, but the votes will offer crucial insights into whether the centre can hold against an anti-democratic onslaught.
Embarrassing allegations of spying for China and collusion with Russia, after the bombshell revelation in January of a mass “remigration masterplan” for foreigners and German nationals alike backed by several party members, have sent the AfD’s poll numbers plunging to as low as 15% nationwide. That is its worst score since April 2023.
Continue reading...After 30 years in parliament, the former minister will stand down at the next election. She talks about her battles with Jeremy Corbyn, her fury at Priti Patel and Suella Braverman, and the awfulness of austerity
“Britain has always been hostile to migrants,” says Margaret Hodge. “Always.” Our interview was meant to start with an exploration of why, after 30 years in the House of Commons, her time as the MP for Barking in east London is now coming to an end. Instead, before my voice recorder has even been switched on, she starts to animatedly recall the start of her life in the UK – as a newly arrived six-year-old, born in Egypt – and the resonances it has with the government’s current crackdown on people trying to come here from abroad.
“I came here stateless,” she says. “I didn’t have a passport.”
Continue reading...Readers say the party has alienated many people beyond Muslim and leftwing voters, and may struggle to get them back
Miqdaad Versi’s article about Labour and the Muslim community was interesting (There is a way for Starmer’s Labour to fix the big rift with Muslim voters – if it has the will, 6 May). However, while older Muslims tended to support the Labour party in the past and were loyal, younger generations have become extremely savvy and knowledgeable about local and world politics. They will not blindly follow politicians.
The hegemony enjoyed by the two main parties is slowly disintegrating, and many are now considering smaller parties. Therefore I am not sure the Labour party will gain the trust and support of the community in the future, and I would be extremely surprised if it does. In my area, five independent candidates defeated Labour’s candidates in the local elections.
Baser Akoodie
Batley, West Yorkshire
Antony Blinken’s report identifies “incidents that raise concerns,” but says Israel is not blocking humanitarian aid.
The post Israel “Likely” Used U.S.-Supplied Weapons in Violation of International Law. That’s OK, Though, State Department Says. appeared first on The Intercept.
Four lawsuits alleging Hamas ties against Students for Justice in Palestine, the AP, UNRWA, and a cryptocurrency exchange share many of the same plaintiffs.
The post October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students Are “Hamas’s Propaganda Division” appeared first on The Intercept.
James Toon, who helped develop the act in the 1990s, responds to an article by Shami Chakrabarti on the pressing need for equal treatment
I read with interest Shami Chakrabarti’s article (The big idea: why we need human rights now more than ever, 6 May). The context for her article is the Conservative right’s repeated calls to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998. This was one of the landmark statutes of the first Blair administration, and its legal and constitutional significance is immense.
Although now retired, I was a member of the Home Office bill team that developed the policy broadly set out in the 1996 Labour document Bringing Rights Home, supported ministers during its passage through parliament, and started work on its implementation. I had several discussions with Jack Straw, the then home secretary.
Continue reading...An open letter from government attorneys questions the legal cover for arms transfers to Israel.
The post Even Biden’s Lawyers Are Urging the White House to Change Course on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
A new anti-terrorism bill would allow the government to take away vital tax exemptions from nonprofit news outlets.
The post Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process appeared first on The Intercept.
Tice has loaned party £1.4m since taking over and has said party’s lack of resources is making campaigning difficult
Reform UK’s election efforts are being hampered by a lack of money and resources and the party has so far largely relied on £1.4m of loans from its leader, Richard Tice.
The party is ultimately owned by Nigel Farage, but electoral and corporate filings show it has been mainly bankrolled by Tice, who has contributed about 80% of its declared funding in loans and donations since he took over in 2021.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Matt Wrack describes ex-Tory’s views as ‘disgraceful’ after she blamed deaths on striking firefighters
Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure over the former Tory MP Natalie Elphicke’s defection to Labour after the president of the Trades Union Congress said her vocal support for anti-strike laws should be “incompatible” with the party whip.
Matt Wrack, who is also the general secretary of the Labour-affiliated Fire Brigades Union, has described the MP for Dover and Deal’s views as “disgraceful” after she used a parliamentary intervention in March to blame firefighters for the deaths of three people who perished during a national strike.
Continue reading...In talking points reviewed by The Intercept, the pro-Israel lobby argues that Israel has “no other option” but to invade Rafah.
The post As Biden Warns Against Rafah Invasion, AIPAC Pushes Congress to Support Israel’s Operation appeared first on The Intercept.
At least seven schools have reached an agreement with students around investment transparency and exploring divestment from Israel.
The post Some Universities Chose Violence. Others Responded to Protests by Considering Student Demands. appeared first on The Intercept.
UK health minister ‘spreading baseless claims’ by saying local council planned to restrict freedom to drive, say Lib Dems
The UK health minister Maria Caulfield is facing calls to refer herself to the ministerial ethics adviser for pushing false claims linked to a recognised conspiracy theory.
The Lewes MP defended leaflets in which she said her local council was planning to restrict people’s freedom to drive as part of the establishment of a “15-minute city”. That came days before the leader of the Commons warned that spreading such conspiracy theories threatened the health of British democracy.
Continue reading...MP criticises policies on interest rates and bond-selling as Tory rightwingers call for review of Bank’s independence
Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused the Bank of England of “miserable incompetence” over its failure to reduce inflation more quickly and its bond-selling strategy, as rightwing Tories prepare to renew their attacks on the Bank’s independence.
The former business secretary accused the Bank of damaging the economy with its interest rate decisions and costing the taxpayer tens of billions of pounds by selling off government debt too quickly in an attempt to reduce its balance sheet – a policy known as quantitative tightening (QT).
Continue reading...It was Thatcher’s most dire piece of social engineering. Labour’s leadership can’t keep ignoring the voices now raised against it
More than a decade after her death and 34 years since she left Downing Street, Margaret Thatcher continues to haunt us. After Liz Truss’s cosplay as the Iron Lady, Rishi Sunak has drawn comparisons between “the grocer’s daughter and the pharmacist’s son”. In December last year, Keir Starmer admiringly said that Thatcher “set loose our natural entrepreneurialism”. All this suggests a very British mixture of muddle and masochism: her spirit, it seems, must be summoned so we can be magicked out of our current mess, even if so many of the UK’s crises began with what she did.
One of her most painful legacies is the policy that defined her political essence: right to buy, that totemic scheme whereby the tenants of council houses and flats can purchase such properties at a discount, and become members of what Conservatives call the property-owning democracy. Since it was introduced in 1980, more than 2m dwellings have moved from the public realm into private hands. Stringent restrictions preventing councils spending the receipts on new homes have had predictable effects: since 1991, there has been an average net loss of 24,000 social homes a year. All this feeds our ever-worsening housing crisis – and, as a result, the fragile condition of millions of ordinary lives.
John Harris is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...The Labour leader confirmed he would scrap the Rwanda scheme in his Dover speech, then confusingly blurred his own argument
Could Keir Starmer “Make Asylum Boring Again”? That would be the ultimate test of success for his claim that he can grip the issue that has caused Rishi Sunak more trouble than any other. Starmer’s message is that he is no less committed to securing the borders and stopping the small boats crossing the Channel, but that achieving this requires a serious plan to tackle smuggling gangs and fix the asylum system in Britain too. So how different is Labour’s plan – and would it work?
Labour’s analysis should be that making asylum work depends on blending control and compassion. The Dover speech was a political exercise in asymmetric triangulation. Robust messages about control were loudly proclaimed. More liberal ideas about a rules-based system could be found, but mostly by reading between the lines.
Starmer did confirm that Labour would scrap the Rwanda scheme. Labour had seemed to wobble in the face of premature Conservative confidence that Rwanda is already working to deter. Ironically, the biggest risk for Sunak’s deterrent argument would come if he finally gets to test it practically. Send the first flights to Rwanda this summer and further arrivals across the Channel will surely outpace any removals 10 times over.
There is a clash of principle over asylum. Labour would process the asylum claims of those who arrived without permission. The Conservatives have now passed several laws vowing they will not. Yet ministers are in denial. Whether or not up to 500 people go to Rwanda does not give the government any plan for the next 50,000 people it still claims it intends to remove. So flagship new duties on the home secretary to refuse these claims for ever have not been given legal force – as the courts would strike that out in all those cases where the government has no realistic alternative. Yet the government has ceased to process asylum cases, reversing last year’s success in clearing the historic backlog.
Starmer is right to deny the charge that Labour’s policy is an “amnesty”, since processing the backlog would see some asylum claims granted and others refused. But he confusingly blurs his own argument with a tit-for-tat labelling of government policy as a “Travelodge amnesty”.
Continue reading...The last big protests cost $150 million in NYPD overtime — with tens of millions more in lawsuit settlements.
The post How Much Money Did the NYPD Waste Quashing Student Protests? We Tallied It Up. appeared first on The Intercept.
Former Deliveroo rider Caio Benicio will champion public safety and rights for gig economy workers
On the afternoon of 23 November, Caio Benicio, a Brazilian Deliveroo rider, was cruising through Dublin city centre when he saw a melee on Parnell Street.
At first he thought it was a drunken brawl; then he realised a man with a knife was stabbing a child. Benicio leaped off his motorbike, removed his helmet and used it to hit the attacker, who fell to the pavement, stunned.
Continue reading...Demonstrators call for deal to bring hostages home as well as elections and PM’s resignation as Israeli troops advance on Rafah
Thousands of Israelis joined protests over the weekend calling for a deal to bring home hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas, early elections and the immediate resignation of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister.
The large protests came amid renewed fighting in Gaza, where Israeli troops have advanced for the first time towards the centre of Rafah, the territory’s southernmost city, and launched operations in several northern areas where fierce clashes have previously taken place.
Continue reading...Supreme court judges order Arvind Kejriwal’s release until 1 June and question timing of his arrest on corruption charges
One of India’s best-known opposition leaders, Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has been granted bail by the country’s supreme court to allow him to take part in general election campaigningafter being kept behind bars for almost two months.
Kejriwal, who heads the Aam Aadmi party (AAP), has been held in jail since March when he was arrested on money-laundering charges. He has maintained that his arrest and detention was politically motivated to prevent him taking part in the election, which began in April and will continue until June.
Continue reading...The president is under pressure from Republicans and progressives as humanitarian crisis builds and immigration remains a key voter issue
The Biden administration has said its proposed changes to asylum standards, unveiled on Thursday, that would fast-track some deportations will enhance security and speed up a backlog of cases amid record numbers of arrivals at the US-Mexico border.
The changes will also, by Biden’s own admission, be limited in scope and only affect a “small” number of people who have been convicted of serious crimes or may pose a national security risk.
Continue reading...Putting endless growth above our wellbeing and the environment is no longer viable
In the 20th century, the definition of progress seemed clear. It was growth, measured in terms of national income, or gross domestic product (GDP). And that growth was to be endless, an ever-rising curve. No matter how rich a nation already was, its politicians and economists would consistently claim that the solutions to its problems – from poverty to pollution – depended on yet more growth.
But this promise has not been delivered on. It is clearly time to reimagine the shape of progress and, with it, the policies that could bring about prosperity for a fractured humanity on a destabilised planet.
Continue reading...Minister, who had treatment for condition five years ago, says melanoma was found during routine scan in January
The Labour MP Chris Bryant is having immunotherapy after skin cancer was detected in his lung, he has said. The shadow creative industries minister said he had “every hope” of being successfully treated.
He received treatment for a melanoma found on the back of his head five years ago and the cancer in his lung was found during one of the regular scans he has had to have since then. The Labour frontbencher urged people to take skin cancer seriously and take precautions by covering up and using high-factor sun cream.
Continue reading...Processing delays and baffling rejections are causing real hardship for car owners trying to be Ulez-compliant
When London’s ultra low emissions zone (Ulez) spread to the suburbs, Colin Farrow* was keen to do the right thing. His 11-year-old Volkswagen does not meet the required emissions standards, but it is exempt from the daily charge for non-compliance because it is adapted to accommodate his wife’s electric wheelchair.
However, concern about air pollution prompted him to apply to Transport for London (TfL)’s scrappage scheme, which gives grants to replace older, more polluting vehicles with low emissions models.
Continue reading...Small plane circled NSW airport for four hours burning fuel as authorities braced for emergency after landing gear failed
A small plane has performed a successful emergency landing without its landing gear lowered at Newcastle airport in New South Wales.
The authorities who guided the aircraft down burst into applause as it safely landed on its belly on Monday afternoon.
Continue reading...Alleged murderer Justin Stein claims nine-year-old schoolgirl was shot dead by her mother, Kallista Mutten, not by him, jury told
A man on trial for murdering Charlise Mutten claims it was the nine-year-old’s mother who shot the schoolgirl rather than him, a court has been told.
Justin Laurens Stein, 33, is accused of murdering Charlise on or around 12 January 2022, at Mount Wilson, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
Continue reading...Creative UK and Universities UK urge government to reject plans to abolish or restrict graduate visa route
Universities are reporting a steep drop in international students applying to come to the UK, amid warnings that further restrictions on student visas would torpedo a vital flow of talent for Britain’s creative industries.
University and industry leaders fear that the graduate visa entitlement, which allows international graduates to work in the UK for up to three years, could be axed or curtailed, depending on the findings of a report by the migration advisory committee (MAC) due to be delivered to the government on Tuesday.
Continue reading...The party leader has often operated in Farage’s shadow, but is building a profile looking to outflank Sunak on the right
Four months ago, a prominent Conservative MP described Richard Tice as a “pound-shop Nigel Farage”.
That MP, Lee Anderson, would four months later defect to Tice’s party, Reform UK, after being suspended from the Tories for suggesting the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, was controlled by Islamists.
Continue reading...Antony Blinken highlighted the ‘horrible loss of life of innocent civilians’, in some of the strongest criticism of Israel from the US to date
The US may block more weapons systems to Israel if it goes ahead with a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said.
The US has already suspended the shipment of 3,500 2,000lb (907kg) and 500lb (227kg) high-payload bombs following concerns over the scale of civilian casualties in Israel’s war in the territory.
Continue reading...A strike by journalists at the state broadcaster sends a disturbing signal in one of the European Union’s most important member states
According to the latest audit of press freedom by Reporters Without Borders, Italy has tumbled down its international rankings. A crucial factor in its report was the desire of Giorgia Meloni’s radical right government to sell off a state-controlled news agency to a press baron – one who just happens to be an MP in her ruling coalition. But in one of the European Union’s most important member states, as Ms Meloni’s radical right coalition consolidates its grip on power, there are plenty of other reasons to fear for the future of free expression and media impartiality.
This week, a philosopher from Rome’s Sapienza University will become the latest public intellectual to appear in court, after being accused of defamation by a government figure. In a talk show, Donatella Di Cesare described the language used by the agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida (Ms Meloni’s brother-in-law), as neo-Nazi in tone. Under Italy’s draconian defamation laws, she risks a substantial prison sentence if eventually found guilty in a criminal court.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer appeared in Dover and Deal alongside the Labour party’s newest MP, the former Tory Natalie Elphicke, to announce the scrapping of the Rwanda deportation scheme if Labour is elected. The Guardian spoke to people in Dover to get their reaction
Continue reading...Hunters reportedly find five Rwandan men in mangroves on Saibai Island, a known crocodile habitat
As the UK government continues its push to forcibly remove asylum seekers to Rwanda, a group of Rwandan nationals has claimed asylum in Australia after arriving by boat on a remote island.
The five men arrived in Australia by an unconventional route, reportedly flying into the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to be granted visas on arrival, before travelling thousands of kilometres east to Indonesia’s Papua province, where they crossed the land border it shares with Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Continue reading...Tal Mitnick and Sofia Orr, who are in prison for refusing to serve in Israel’s military, are pleading with Biden to help stop the war on Gaza.
The post Israeli Military Refusers Appeal to Biden: “Stop Arming Israel’s War” appeared first on The Intercept.
Court says irregularities in Colombian singer’s 2018 tax return did not indicate intent to defraud
A Spanish court has shelved an investigation into an alleged tax fraud by the Colombian pop star Shakira, putting an end to her legal woes in the country where she once lived.
Prosecutors had opened the case in July, alleging she had used a network of companies, some in tax havens, to cheat the tax office out of €6.6m (£5.7m) in 2018.
Continue reading...Josep Borrell reiterates concern about situation in Georgia, where pro-western protesters have continued to face a violent crackdown
Amid all the noise over the Socialist (PSC) victory and the mooted end of “el procés”, it’s worth looking at the performance of the Citizens party, which was once the great hope of the centre-right.
Although it finished first in the snap election that followed the independence crisis in December 2017, Citizens lost all its six seats last night and the party is now on the verge of extinction.
Continue reading...United Auto Workers union sees two of German-owned carmaker’s plants as key in effort to unionize industry in southern US
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is setting its sights on its next big union victory in the south, at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama.
Coming off the historic union election win at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 5,200 workers are to begin voting in their union election from 13 May to 17 May. The UAW’s recent win at Volkswagen to represent about 4,300 workers was one of the biggest union election wins in manufacturing in the past 16 years.
Continue reading...Key prosecution witness set to take the stand after tough week for Trump in which court heard vivid testimony from Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial enters its 16th day on Monday in New York with the potential for bombshell testimony as his former fixer turned prosecution witness, Michael Cohen, is expected to take the stand.
Cohen is core to the case against Trump, as he is accused of shuttling $130,000 to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election – in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump 10 years prior.
Continue reading...Socialist party PSC looks like the clear winner in Sunday’s vote, although it will fall some way short of achieving a majority
Separatist parties are in danger of losing their decade-long hold of power in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region, with the pro-union Socialist party poised to win the most votes in Sunday’s election, according to a near-complete count of the ballots.
The four pro-independence parties, led by the Together party of former regional president Carles Puigdemont, were set to get a total of 61 seats, short of the key figure of 68 seats needed for a majority in the chamber.
Continue reading...The bipartisan duo also praised schools that brought in police to violently quell protests and connected the demonstrations to the TikTok ban.
The post In No Labels Call, Josh Gottheimer, Mike Lawler, and University Trustees Agree: FBI Should Investigate Campus Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
Prime minister, Masra, accuses officials of manipulating results that show he won 18.5% of vote to Itno’s 61%
Chad’s military leader, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, has been declared the winner of this week’s presidential election, according to provisional results that have been contested by his main rival, the prime minister, Succès Masra.
The national agency that manages Chad’s election released results of Monday’s vote weeks earlier than planned. The figures showed Itno won with 61% of the vote, and Masra fell far behind in second, on 18.5%. Gunfire erupted in the capital, N’Djamena, after the announcement, though it was unclear if it was celebratory.
Continue reading...The pro-Israel group is funneling money through a “pro-science” PAC, according to two members of Congress.
The post AIPAC Is Secretly Intervening in Portland’s Congressional Race to Take Down Susheela Jayapal, Sources Say appeared first on The Intercept.
The movement to divest from Israel and the defense industry is gaining momentum on college campuses.
The post “A New Sense of World-Building”: Inside the Student Movement for Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Dan Bardell and Will Unwin to review the penultimate weekend in the Premier League, discuss Manchester United’s FA Cup triumph, Celtic’s win over Rangers, and more
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today: Arsenal get a conservative but vital 1-0 win at Old Trafford, while the Manchester City machine bulldozes through yet another Premier League opponent in Fulham. However they got it done, both sides won … which means the winner will be decided on the final day.
Continue reading...Atmosphere against Arsenal showed that whether supporters want manager to stay or go, backing for team remains strong
At the picnic benches behind the Stretford End where fans enjoy a pre-game bite the atmosphere is as serene as Erik ten Hag’s perma-calm media persona before Manchester United’s kick-off against Arsenal.
The manager has remained unruffled despite the 24/7 speculation about his job, yet in the next few weeks his future will be decided by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos chairman’s key lieutenant, Sir Dave Brailsford, and the acting chief executive, Jean Claude-Blanc.
Continue reading...Cologne cathedral, Europe’s biggest collection of pop art and vintage shops are all less than four and a half hours from London by train
It’s on about our fifth Kölsch that we begin to get the idea of Cologne’s constitution. We are sitting in Päffgen, one of the traditional brewhouses that produce the pale yellow beer unique to the German city. It comes in small straight glasses (it loses its fizz quickly apparently) and each time one is emptied, another one is delivered by a waiter swinging a kranz, or circular tray, which appears to defy gravity. The process of replacement goes on until you place a beer mat on top of your glass to signal that you’ve had enough.
I imagine my limit of four is only the beginning for many of the drinkers packing the room, but we soak up the alcohol with traditional dishes of pork schnitzel, meatloaf and – for the vegetarian – three fried eggs with fried potatoes, all of which are declared delicious, if not the healthiest food.
Continue reading...While much has changed since 7 October, the horrific events of the past six months are not unique, and do not stand outside history. By Rashid Khalidi
Continue reading...Almost all children have them by the time they are 11 years old – and some get them at four. But are they ruining childhoods? Blake Montgomery reports
Conversations around if and when children should be given mobile phones have being going on for years. But recently the question has been catapulted to the forefront of national debate.
From campaigning parents to bestselling books, a movement has emerged that believes smartphones are ruining childhoods and that young people should be banned from having them. It’s not hard to come up with reasons why: they are addictive, keep children glued to screens instead of playing, can be used for online bullying and are one reason why so many children have seen pornography.
Continue reading...Frock horror! The ludicrous spectacle of the Met Gala; reluctant star Josh O’Connor takes the lead in a new film, Challengers; Catherine Carr talks to boys about sex, pornography and feeling isolated and vulnerable; and Philippa Perry responds to a reader who is child-free.
Continue reading...Seven years ago, El Salvador banned all mining for metals to protect its water supply. But now the government seems to be making moves to reverse the ban – and environmental activists are in the firing line. By Danielle Mackey
Continue reading...Ahead of the byelection in Blackpool South, the Guardian takes the temperature in the once prosperous northern coastal town, with many voters expressing complete apathy and disdain for the state of politics.
The area is going to the polls because the former Tory MP Scott Benton resigned after being found guilty of breaching standards rules in a lobbying scandal. Labour is hopeful of taking back the seat, which Benton won with a majority of 3,690 in 2019
Polls open in England’s local elections with Tories braced for heavy losse
Analysis: Will Tories dump Rishi Sunak if election results worse than expected?
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Sid Lowe as Real Madrid again find a way to win when it matters in the Champions League, denying Harry Kane … again
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today: Real Madrid can’t keep getting away with this, can they? Two late, late goals from former Stoke City man Joselu see them through to yet another Champions League final. They probably deserved this one, but what a gut punch it is for Harry Kane.
Continue reading...Congress party’s Arun Reddy held over fake video of interior minister Amit Shah
Indian police have said they have arrested the social media chief of the country’s main opposition party over a doctored video widely shared during the ongoing national election.
Arun Reddy of the Congress party was detained late on Friday in connection with the edited footage, which falsely shows India’s powerful interior minister, Amit Shah, vowing in a campaign speech to end affirmative action policies for millions of poor and low-caste Indians.
Continue reading...Nahla Al-Arian lost more than 200 relatives in Israel's attacks on Gaza. Then Eric Adams said she was the reason police raided Columbia.
The post NYC Mayor Smeared a Grandmother as an “Outside Agitator” to Justify NYPD Assault on Columbia appeared first on The Intercept.
The Israel lobby failed to take down Rep. Summer Lee. They’ve now set their sights on Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.
The post Let’s Check In on AIPAC’s Assault on the Squad appeared first on The Intercept.
Hundreds of protesters prevented an attempt to collect asylum seekers from a south London hotel and transfer them to the Bibby Stockholm barge. The Guardian witnessed crowds blocking the bus and the road outside the Best Western hotel in Peckham before police were able to move in and break up the protest. The bus eventually left the area after seven hours, with no asylum seekers onboard
London protesters block transfer of asylum seekers to Bibby Stockholm
Continue reading...
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
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Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
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In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
Are you looking for a new graphic design tool? Would you like to read a detailed review of Canva? As it's one of the tools I love using. I am also writing my first ebook using canva and publish it soon on my site you can download it is free. Let's start the review.
Canva has a web version and also a mobile app
Canva is a free graphic design web application that allows you to create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, banners, and more using professionally designed templates. You can upload your own photos from your computer or from Google Drive, and add them to Canva's templates using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It's like having a basic version of Photoshop that doesn't require Graphic designing knowledge to use. It’s best for nongraphic designers.
Canva is a great tool for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers who don’t have the time and want to edit quickly.
To create sophisticated graphics, a tool such as Photoshop can is ideal. To use it, you’ll need to learn its hundreds of features, get familiar with the software, and it’s best to have a good background in design, too.
Also running the latest version of Photoshop you need a high-end computer.
So here Canva takes place, with Canva you can do all that with drag-and-drop feature. It’s also easier to use and free. Also an even-more-affordable paid version is available for $12.95 per month.
The product is available in three plans: Free, Pro ($12.99/month per user or $119.99/year for up to 5 people), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, minimum 25 people).
To get started on Canva, you will need to create an account by providing your email address, Google, Facebook or Apple credentials. You will then choose your account type between student, teacher, small business, large company, non-profit, or personal. Based on your choice of account type, templates will be recommended to you.
You can sign up for a free trial of Canva Pro, or you can start with the free version to get a sense of whether it’s the right graphic design tool for your needs.
When you sign up for an account, Canva will suggest different post types to choose from. Based on the type of account you set up you'll be able to see templates categorized by the following categories: social media posts, documents, presentations, marketing, events, ads, launch your business, build your online brand, etc.
Start by choosing a template for your post or searching for something more specific. Search by social network name to see a list of post types on each network.
Next, you can choose a template. Choose from hundreds of templates that are ready to go, with customizable photos, text, and other elements.
You can start your design by choosing from a variety of ready-made templates, searching for a template matching your needs, or working with a blank template.
Inside the Canva designer, the Elements tab gives you access to lines and shapes, graphics, photos, videos, audio, charts, photo frames, and photo grids.The search box on the Elements tab lets you search everything on Canva.
To begin with, Canva has a large library of elements to choose from. To find them, be specific in your search query. You may also want to search in the following tabs to see various elements separately:
The Photos tab lets you search for and choose from millions of professional stock photos for your templates.
You can replace the photos in our templates to create a new look. This can also make the template more suited to your industry.
You can find photos on other stock photography sites like pexel, pixabay and many more or simply upload your own photos.
When you choose an image, Canva’s photo editing features let you adjust the photo’s settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), crop, or animate it.
When you subscribe to Canva Pro, you get access to a number of premium features, including the Background Remover. This feature allows you to remove the background from any stock photo in library or any image you upload.
The Text tab lets you add headings, normal text, and graphical text to your design.
When you click on text, you'll see options to adjust the font, font size, color, format, spacing, and text effects (like shadows).
Canva Pro subscribers can choose from a large library of fonts on the Brand Kit or the Styles tab. Enterprise-level controls ensure that visual content remains on-brand, no matter how many people are working on it.
Create an animated image or video by adding audio to capture user’s attention in social news feeds.
If you want to use audio from another stock site or your own audio tracks, you can upload them in the Uploads tab or from the more option.
Want to create your own videos? Choose from thousands of stock video clips. You’ll find videos that range upto 2 minutes
You can upload your own videos as well as videos from other stock sites in the Uploads tab.
Once you have chosen a video, you can use the editing features in Canva to trim the video, flip it, and adjust its transparency.
On the Background tab, you’ll find free stock photos to serve as backgrounds on your designs. Change out the background on a template to give it a more personal touch.
The Styles tab lets you quickly change the look and feel of your template with just a click. And if you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload your brand’s custom colors and fonts to ensure designs stay on brand.
If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you’ll have a Logos tab. Here, you can upload variations of your brand logo to use throughout your designs.
With Canva, you can also create your own logos. Note that you cannot trademark a logo with stock content in it.
With Canva, free users can download and share designs to multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack and Tumblr.
Canva Pro subscribers can create multiple post formats from one design. For example, you can start by designing an Instagram post, and Canva's Magic Resizer can resize it for other networks, Stories, Reels, and other formats.
Canva Pro subscribers can also use Canva’s Content Planner to post content on eight different accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, and Tumblr.
Canva Pro allows you to work with your team on visual content. Designs can be created inside Canva, and then sent to your team members for approval. Everyone can make comments, edits, revisions, and keep track via the version history.
When it comes to printing your designs, Canva has you covered. With an extensive selection of printing options, they can turn your designs into anything from banners and wall art to mugs and t-shirts.
Canva Print is perfect for any business seeking to make a lasting impression. Create inspiring designs people will want to wear, keep, and share. Hand out custom business cards that leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
The Canva app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Canva app has earned a 4.9 out of five star rating from over 946.3K Apple users and a 4.5 out of five star rating from over 6,996,708 Google users.
In addition to mobile apps, you can use Canva’s integration with other Internet services to add images and text from sources like Google Maps, Emojis, photos from Google Drive and Dropbox, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Bitmojis, and other popular visual content elements.
In general, Canva is an excellent tool for those who need simple images for projects. If you are a graphic designer with experience, you will find Canva’s platform lacking in customization and advanced features – particularly vectors. But if you have little design experience, you will find Canva easier to use than advanced graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for most projects. If you have any queries let me know in the comments section.
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