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Chicken rice, chickpea bake and wheat salad: Ella Mittas’ easy autumn recipes for a Mediterranean feast
Tue, 14 May 2024 15:00:25 GMT
The Melbourne-based chef has looked to her Greek heritage and travels to Turkey to spin a trio of comfort recipes
My father’s side of the family is Greek. They live next door to each other in Melbourne. There are holes cut in fences, so everyone can be together easily. It seems separate from the rest of Australia, but it’s a version of Greece abstracted from the real thing; its traditions are built on distant memories.
These recipes are a mix of things I saw, ate and was taught while working in a village in the mountains of Crete and the hot, loud streets of Istanbul, as well as my own Greek heritage. Years of cooking them have turned them into something more my own.
Continue reading...National Farmers’ Union president warns food production is likely to drop next year and says farmers need help right now
Rishi Sunak’s plan to improve the UK’s food security will not help build farmer’s confidence in the short-term, the head of the country’s biggest farming body has said.
Food production was likely to drop next year, said Tom Bradshaw, the president of the National Farmers’ Union, who warned that the prime minister’s plan, published during the UK’s second annual Farm to Fork summit, failed to give farmers the solutions they needed right now.
Continue reading...Package for Ken Murphy more than double the previous year, and more than half relates to long-term bonus
Tesco has been accused of giving struggling workers a “slap in the face” after the UK supermarket’s boss earned almost £10m last year as profits soared during the cost of living crisis.
Ken Murphy was given £9.9m in pay and perks, more than double the previous year and thought to be the most ever for a Tesco boss, beating £7m-plus paydays for the former chief executive Sir Terry Leahy.
Continue reading...Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, 28, faced seven court cases including two for criticising Thailand’s monarchy
A political activist charged with insulting the king of Thailand has died in pre-trial detention after spending 65 days on hunger strike calling for an end to the imprisonment of political dissidents.
Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, 28, had been detained since 26 January and maintained a hunger strike until the end of April, refusing food and water, according to her lawyers. The corrections department said she had experienced cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning and was unresponsive to treatment.
Continue reading...A slaw doesn’t have to be a cabbage and carrot number; it can be adapted to suit just about every cuisine
Adaptable slaws for summer tables
Slaws are things of beauty, and such an important category of the salad world. They’re super-flexible, whether you’re feeling something creamy or lighter and brighter, but all slaws require a “healthy combination of dressing and crunch”, says Melanie Brown, chef/restaurateur at the Laundry in Brixton, south London. One such dressing is, of course, a classic mayonnaise, but Brown mixes things up with the addition of brown butter (for which butter is heated until the water evaporates and the milk solids caramelise): “It introduces a richness, complexity and nuttiness that I love.”
For a welcome bit of texture, chef Ana Ortiz deploys pumpkin seeds in her slaw dressing. “Toast them, then blend with spring onion, garlic, oil, salt and a little lemon juice,” the co-founder of Fire Made in the West Country advises. Then toss with grated carrot or squash: “That goes really well on the side of lamb chops or barbecued vegetables.” Apple cider vinegar is another fine match for a cooling carrot slaw. Riaz Phillips, author of East Winds, combines a tablespoon each of vinegar and melted coconut oil with two teaspoons of caster sugar, then tosses that in a bowl with a grated large carrot, a third of a white cabbage (also grated) and a third of a sliced red bell pepper: “If you like a creamier slaw, add three tablespoons of mayo, too.”
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Group of university students awarded plot after city hall passes plan for 15 to 20 cooperative projects
De Torteltuin, or “Dove Garden”, was born from an existential, if depressingly common, question. A group of young Amsterdammers, most still at university, looked into their futures and asked how they would ever afford to live in their own city.
“It was 2020, we were 22 or 23 years old,” said Iris Luden. “It was a dream. We were fantasising. What if we built our own place? We imagined a kindergarten, growing our own food … We got together every month to talk about it. But slowly, it happened.”
Continue reading...“We’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel and with the government of Egypt to work on this issue,” the State Department said.
The post American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life appeared first on The Intercept.
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...Survivors pick through debris-littered streets and damaged buildings as rescue workers dispatched amid warning some areas cut off by flooding
More than 300 people were killed in flash floods that ripped through multiple provinces in Afghanistan, the UN’s World Food Programme said, as authorities declared a state of emergency and rushed to rescue the injured.
Many people remained missing after heavy rains on Friday sent roaring rivers of water and mud crashing through villages and across agricultural land in several provinces, causing what one aid group described as a “major humanitarian emergency”.
Continue reading...South Africa's case against Israel over allegations of genocide before the international court of justice has raised a central question of international law: what is genocide and how do you prove it? It is one of three genocide cases being considered by the UN's world court, but since the genocide convention was approved in 1948, only three instances have been legally recognised as genocide. Josh Toussaint-Strauss looks back on these historical cases to find out why the crime is so much harder to prove than other atrocities, and what bearing this has on South Africa's case against Israel and future cases
What is the genocide convention and how might it apply to the UK and Israel?
‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid
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.
“The reality for kids living there is shocking, honestly,” said an official who recently returned from Gaza. “People are living in really squalid conditions.”
The post 600,000 Palestinian Kids in Rafah Can’t “Evacuate” Safely, UNICEF Official Says appeared first on The Intercept.
Two college protesters were placed in solitary confinement, according to Columbia professors who worked in real time to support jailed students.
The post After Raids, NYPD Denied Student Protesters Water and Food in Jail appeared first on The Intercept.
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...On the last day of his Huginn mission, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen takes us on a tour of the place he called home for 6 months: the International Space Station. From the beautiful views of Cupola to the kitchen in Node 1 filled with food and friends and all the way to the science of Columbus, the Space Station is the work and living place for astronauts as they help push science forward.
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
Continue reading...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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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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Two college protesters were placed in solitary confinement, according to Columbia professors who worked in real time to support jailed students.
The post After Raids, NYPD Denied Student Protesters Water and Food in Jail appeared first on The Intercept.
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.
Defense attorney files appeal as Hannah Gutierrez-Reed serves 18-month sentence at New Mexico penitentiary for women
A movie weapons armorer is appealing her conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the western film Rust, according to court documents released Tuesday.
A defense attorney filed the shortly worded appeal notice as Hannah Gutierrez-Reed serves an 18-month sentence at a New Mexico penitentiary for women. Her attorneys have 30 days to submit detailed arguments.
Continue reading...While this year’s Cannes film festival jury president declared her role ‘a dream come true’, storms over sexual abuse and workers’ rights are expected
The reviews were gushing on the first day of the 77th Cannes film festival, as Barbie director Greta Gerwig took up her duties as this year’s jury president. Festival bosses variously hailed the American film-maker as a “cultural phenomenon”, a “heroine for modern times” and a woman who embodies “the future of cinema”. The fanfare was such that it almost drowned out the discord as the world’s premier movie showcase opened against a backdrop of threatened labour disputes and a rumoured report of alleged sexual abuse within the industry.
“This is beyond a dream come true,” said Gerwig, who presides over a nine-member jury that includes Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and actors Lily Gladstone and Eva Green. “One of the favourite things that I do is to watch cinema and discuss it – and now I’m getting to do it with the most wonderful minds for 10 whole days. I’m still in shock that I’m here.”
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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
Sections of 2022 UK legislation found to be ‘incompatible’ with the European convention on human rights
A high court judge has found parts of the UK government’s policing legislation to be in breach of human rights law, with its powers capable of causing a “significant intrusion” on the lives of Gypsies and Travellers.
In a judgment published on Tuesday, sections of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act were found to be “incompatible” with the European convention on human rights, specifically article 14 when read with article 8 – the right to respect for private and family life.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Soldiers spotted at Home Office facilities in England as results of PCS union’s national ballot expected
Members of the armed forces are being trained once again to cover for striking Border Force staff at ports and airports, the Guardian has learned.
Dozens of uniformed soldiers have been seen at Home Office facilities in south-east England amid concerns that the UK could be about to enter another summer of travel chaos.
Continue reading...The Melbourne-based chef has looked to her Greek heritage and travels to Turkey to spin a trio of comfort recipes
My father’s side of the family is Greek. They live next door to each other in Melbourne. There are holes cut in fences, so everyone can be together easily. It seems separate from the rest of Australia, but it’s a version of Greece abstracted from the real thing; its traditions are built on distant memories.
These recipes are a mix of things I saw, ate and was taught while working in a village in the mountains of Crete and the hot, loud streets of Istanbul, as well as my own Greek heritage. Years of cooking them have turned them into something more my own.
Continue reading...The 22-year-old woman and her child were civilian casualties of a U.S. drone strike, but the Pentagon won't return the family's messages.
The post Pentagon Compensated Zero Civilian Victims in 2022 — Despite Evidence That the U.S. Killed a Mom and Child in Somalia appeared first on The Intercept.
“We’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel and with the government of Egypt to work on this issue,” the State Department said.
The post American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life appeared first on The Intercept.
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.
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...Loyalist economist who ‘thinks years ahead’ inherits Kremlin’s biggest challenge as it prepares for the long haul in Ukraine
In 2014, Russia’s bloc of economic strategists was panicked by Vladimir Putin’s decision to annex Crimea and foment a war in east Ukraine, a move that led to western condemnation and sanctions against Russia that were seen as potentially ruinous.
But his adviser Andrei Belousov was a rare economist who publicly stood by his side, calling the damage manageable and western sanctions “insignificant” in terms of the Russian economy.
Continue reading...Cohen tells trial he would not have paid Daniels the money if Trump had not been running for president; Cohen says he regrets lying for Trump
Donald Trump is entering the courtroom. He was carrying papers, which he dropped on to the defense table before sitting.
Trump is joined by Florida congressman Cory Mills, North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Eric Trump and Lara Trump.
Continue reading...Republican House speaker is in New York to attend Donald Trump’s hush-money trial
The apparent dearth of evidence may not be the only reason House Republicans have held back on impeaching Joe Biden. As the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reported yesterday, the evidence continues to mount that Biden is struggling to rebuild the coalition that supported him in 2020, giving Donald Trump the edge in the November elections:
Donald Trump leads Joe Biden in five crucial battleground states less than six months out from election day, new polls showed.
Continue reading...International Atomic Energy Authority chief Rafael Grossi expresses concern over Tehran’s threats of shift to deterrence
Loose talk within Iran about abandoning the country’s prohibition on possessing nuclear weapons is very worrying and needs to stop, Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear inspectorate, has said.
He was speaking to the Guardian after talks in London with David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, about the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and Grossi’s delicate efforts to persuade Iran to re-establish an effective inspection programme capable of guaranteeing that the country is not seeking a nuclear weapon.
Continue reading...House speaker makes appearance outside court where former president is on trial over hush-money payments to adult film star
The US House was in session on Tuesday with vital business to complete but its speaker, Mike Johnson, was 200 miles north, attending another day in the criminal trial of Donald Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee charged over hush-money payments to an adult film star who claimed an affair.
“President Trump is innocent of these charges,” Johnson told reporters outside court in Manhattan, where Trump faces the first 34 of 88 criminal counts.
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This is likely the only Trump trial before the election – and the only hope for a shred of accountability for his endless misdeeds
When you set out to explore Donald Trump’s personal life and business practices, you don’t expect to meet any paragons of virtue.
Sleazy media figures who buy and “kill” damaging stories? Yes. An adult film actor ready to tell all to make a buck? Certainly. A parade of spokespeople and staffers who compromised their own integrity during his presidential administration? No doubt.
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.
Protesters in Tbilisi treated by medics after bill condemned as Kremlin-inspired act of repression was passed into law
Petre Tsiskarishvili, a secretary-general of the main opposition United National Movement and a former Georgian MP, said the election in October election is when the Georgian public should “basically go on a referendum” and make a final decision which way we want to go, the BBC reported.
“What is the aspiration of the Georgian people? Is it the European integration or these Russia style laws and this government that initiates and tables the legislation that copies the Russian style authoritarianism.”
Continue reading...Georgian protesters opposed to a 'foreign influence' bill picketed the Georgian parliament amid a major police presence during the third, and final reading of the bill. Police attempted to disperse demonstrators and people were seen being detained. The 84-30 vote has cleared the way for the bill to become law. The draft now goes to the president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has said she will veto it, but her decision can be overridden by another vote in parliament, which is controlled by the ruling party and its allies. Government critics and western countries have criticised the new bill as authoritarian and Russian-inspired
Continue reading...While this year’s Cannes film festival jury president declared her role ‘a dream come true’, storms over sexual abuse and workers’ rights are expected
The reviews were gushing on the first day of the 77th Cannes film festival, as Barbie director Greta Gerwig took up her duties as this year’s jury president. Festival bosses variously hailed the American film-maker as a “cultural phenomenon”, a “heroine for modern times” and a woman who embodies “the future of cinema”. The fanfare was such that it almost drowned out the discord as the world’s premier movie showcase opened against a backdrop of threatened labour disputes and a rumoured report of alleged sexual abuse within the industry.
“This is beyond a dream come true,” said Gerwig, who presides over a nine-member jury that includes Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and actors Lily Gladstone and Eva Green. “One of the favourite things that I do is to watch cinema and discuss it – and now I’m getting to do it with the most wonderful minds for 10 whole days. I’m still in shock that I’m here.”
Continue reading...Ukrainian told his entourage not to get involved after Tyson Fury’s father butted a team member before Saturday’s fight
Oleksandr Usyk, we were warned, was exhausted and angry. He was in no mood to talk for he had spent all Monday afternoon being shunted from one room to the next and made to suffer the tedium of countless television and YouTube interviews as he was asked the same old questions again and again about his world heavyweight unification title fight against Tyson Fury this Saturday night in Riyadh.
It was agreed that we would leave the IBF, WBA and WBO champion in peace for his only break from the monotony had been when Stanislav Stepchuk, one of the younger members of his entourage, was head-butted in the face by John Fury, the 59-year-old father of the WBC champion. It had been a bloody moment which looked so tawdry compared to the mighty challenge awaiting Usyk against Fury – and especially when set against the reality of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a war which is never far from the champion’s mind.
Continue reading...Anne Keast-Butler ‘increasingly concerned’ by growing links between Russia and proxy hacker groups that pose risk to UK
Russia is increasingly seeking to encourage and direct hackers to attack British and other western targets, the director of GCHQ has said in her first keynote speech as head of the British intelligence agency.
Anne Keast-Butler said her agency was “increasingly concerned about growing links” between the Russian intelligence services and proxy hacker groups who have long taken advantage of a permissive environment within the country.
Continue reading...Plea comes as US secretary of state makes first visit to Ukraine since new aid package was passed by Congress
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning on his first visit to Ukraine since a major US aid package was passed last month, as Ukrainian forces struggle to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks.
Blinken, who arrived by train from Poland in an unannounced visit, met Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, shortly after arriving.
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.
Jim Fleming notes that the European Space Agency can wake up a satellite but his power supplier cannot wake up his smart meters. Plus letters from Andrew Warren and David Redshaw
Re your article (British Gas boss says all UK households should be forced to fit smart meters, 8 May), after being harassed by email, text, telephone, letters and finally doorstepping, and being told that we had to get smart meters for safety reasons, we relented and spent a fun day at home with the fitter. The smart meters don’t work; they never worked. Apparently they don’t work in our type of house.
The European Space Agency might be able to wake up the satellite Rosetta 673m kilometres away, but our power supplier cannot wake up our smart meters. Sorry, I have to rush, they want another meter reading. You see, they are experiencing a high level of calls so no one can answer the phone.
Jim Fleming
Edinburgh
Great Britain regulator says rule ‘no longer necessary for market stability’ and could be reducing competition
Ofgem could allow energy suppliers to once more vie for new business by offering cheaper deals to people switching than to existing customers, under proposals to reignite competition in the market.
The energy regulator for Great Britain is considering reversing its ban on so-called “acquisition tariffs” which are offered exclusively to new applicants at a discounted rate in order to tempt them away from their current suppliers.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Nick McKim said he agrees with EY chief economist, Cherelle Murphy, who says that you can look after people without impacting inflation by taking the money you are spending on people who don’t need it, and redirecting it to people who do. (Therefore it is the same pool of money, but targeted differently.)
McKim:
For example, you could end the massive tax breaks for property investors who own multiple investment properties then put in place a rent freeze and a rent cap, for example.
You could tax billionaires and CEOs on the basis of their wealth and you could use that revenue to raise income support, which would lift a large number of Australians out of the grinding poverty that they experience every day.
No, certainly not. I mean, what the surplus shows is that they’re prioritising their own political benefit over investing in the kind of programs that would provide genuine help to people who are really doing it tough at the moment.
So what you’re going to see in the budget tonight is that having talked up an absolute storm on things like climate change and on things like cost of living, Labor is simply not prepared to take the action necessary to respond to those challenges that the urgency and the scale that is required.
Continue reading...IPS report says replacement fuels well off track to replace kerosene within timeframe needed to avert climate disaster
Hopes that replacement fuels for airplanes will slash carbon pollution are misguided and support for these alternatives could even worsen the climate crisis, a new report has warned.
There is currently “no realistic or scalable alternative” to standard kerosene-based jet fuels, and touted “sustainable aviation fuels” are well off track to replace them in a timeframe needed to avert dangerous climate change, despite public subsidies, the report by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive thinktank, found.
Continue reading...While everyone’s a winner with the energy rebate, which applies to every household, there are certainly some losers
In providing $300 in savings to everyone’s energy bill, the Albanese government is hoping everyone considers themselves a winner with its 2024 budget.
While the energy bill relief is being framed as a rebate, it applies to every household and will be automatically credited to electricity bills, essentially making it a cash handout for everyone that is part of a broader rebate program that will cost $3.5bn over three years.
Continue reading...Former Irish president and Ban Ki-moon say fossil lobbying is hampering climate progress
Fossil fuel companies are forcing governments to compensate them for lost earnings in the transition to a low-carbon global economy, and destroying the world’s ability to counter their harmful activities, former top UN officials have warned.
Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland who was twice a UN climate envoy, said she was “outraged” by the activities of fossil fuel companies, including forcing governments into “investment treaties” that reward them with billions in compensation when countries reduce their reliance on oil, gas and coal.
Continue reading...Government told Net Zero Teesside gas scheme will be massive polluter despite its carbon capture claims
A multibillion-pound “net zero” project backed by two of the world’s biggest fossil fuel firms will be responsible for more than 20m tonnes of planet-heating carbon over its lifetime, according to research submitted to the UK government.
The Net Zero Teesside scheme to build a new gas-fired power station in north-east England is backed by BP and Equinor and says it will use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to capture up to 95% of its emissions and bury them beneath the North Sea.
Continue reading...The first in a series exploring the myths and realities surrounding heat pumps
• The fascinating science of heat pumps – visualised
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...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.
The minister was doing the media rounds earlier, reassuring the public with his infinite levitas that we were safe from our foes
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. On Monday, Rishi Sunak had laid out his terrifying vision of the future. The collapse of western civilisation. A world of plague and pestilence. Where nuclear war had become a recreational hazard. The British government reduced to infants. Mewling and puking in their mothers’ arms.
Enter the Shappster. Man in tights. Rish!’s very own superhero. A nation can now sleep more easily. Death, where is thy dominion? In times of crisis, great men and women step forward to serve their country. Where would the UK have been in its darkest hour without Winston Churchill? And where would we all be now without Grant Shapps?
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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.
When it comes to heating our homes efficiently, the UK is lagging behind our European neighbours, however, there are ways in which we can better insulate and save money
Whether it’s squabbles over the office air conditioning or a family member telling you to put on another jumper, heating has always been a hot topic. However, with rising energy costs and the pressing climate crisis at the front of everyone’s mind, how we keep our homes warm is getting even more attention. While we might crave that satisfying feeling of nearly scalding our hand on a radiator when we crank up our central heating, we need to adopt a new mindset.
The UK is still very much reliant on fossil fuels for heating our homes. At the same time, reduction of fossil fuel usage is the number one priority when it comes to combating climate change, meaning the way we heat our homes is long overdue for an overhaul. In England, 90% of homes (pdf) have a boiler system with radiators as their main form of heating, while across the UK, 25m gas boilers are in use, which accounts to 16% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. To put it into perspective, for the UK to meet the government’s net zero target by 2050, about 8m buildings will need to switch from gas boilers to cleaner alternatives by 2035.
Continue reading...When you heat your home efficiently, you can stay cosy and warm without damaging your purse or the environment. However, knowing exactly how to heat your home is key, and here we bust some myths so you can reap the full benefits …
Myth 1: The ideal room temperature is 21C
We often keep our homes warmer than necessary. While a few degrees might not sound like much, it makes a big difference in terms of the overall energy output and cost. We might think we need our home to be set to around 21C, but in reality a little lower is more than sufficient. The World Health Organization suggests 18C is the ideal room temperature for healthy and appropriately dressed people, while The Sleep Charity recommends a bedtime temperature between 16C and 18C for optimum sleep.
Myth 2: Boilers are the most efficient way to heat your home
While in the UK many of us have relied on traditional gas boilers for generations, our European neighbours have been switching to heat pumps. These home heating devices are a modern, low-carbon and economical solution for creating a cosy home. Working much like a fridge or air conditioning unit, they use evaporation and condensation to create heat energy without the need for any fossil fuels.
They’re often described as fridges in reverse … but what exactly is a heat pump?
We all want to live in a cosy home but, during the cold winter months, keeping our houses warm can be a challenge. This proves even harder in the cost of living crisis, with many of us hit by higher-than-normal heating bills. Simultaneously, lots of us are thinking more about how our homes and lifestyle are affecting the ever-warming climate.
Heat pumps are a clever piece of innovation that can help with both problems – warming our homes while saving money and being better for the environment. An alternative to a traditional boiler, heat pumps keep houses at a comfortable temperature via a process that doesn’t require gas or oil, only electricity, which can be provided by renewable sources. In fact, recent research from the University of Oxford and the Regulatory Assistance Project, an independent, NGO advancing energy policy innovation, found that even at temperatures as cold as -30C, heat pumps outperformed oil and gas heating systems.
Continue reading...Do you keep the entire house at a permanent 30C, or are you a Bear Grylls wannabe with an ‘extreme survival’ approach to turning the heating on? There are many ways to heat our homes and lots of us are doing it totally wrong. Take our quiz and find out if you need to adopt a smarter approach to central heating
From heat pumps to insulation, solar panels and more, explore ways the government can support you at gov.uk/energy-efficient-home.
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