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My voyage of good cheer around Finland – the world’s happiest country
Sun, 22 Dec 2024 07:00:40 GMT
With clean air, vast green spaces and more saunas than cars, Finns have plenty of reasons to be cheerful
According to the World Happiness Report, the cheeriest country in the world is one nature-loving Nordic nation – Finland. On paper, it’s not hard to see why. It’s one of the world’s least corrupt countries, built on a democracy and quick to give women the vote. Education, from daycare to university, is free. Crime is low, the water is clean, the air fresh and there are more saunas than cars. But is it noticeably a nice place to be? And can the Finns teach me (and the rest of the UK, which ranks 20th in the Happiness Report) anything about wellbeing in the land of forests and freedom?
I start in Helsinki. With a population of just 630,000, this is a pocket-sized, but delightful capital city, buzzing with a Nordic foodie scene, a clutch of tech startups and its own design aesthetic, all bathed in up to 19 hours a day of sunlight in the summer. Over coffee at Nolita, his zero-waste restaurant and bakery, Serbian-born chef Luca Basic tells me that he came to Helsinki aged 19 and immediately decided to stay. So, what’s happiness in the city? He doesn’t hesitate. “It’s trust in the state. It goes beyond things like buses being on time, or my staff being able to afford to live in the middle of their city.”
Continue reading...The Arizona senator's prodigious campaign spending in global wine hotspots can’t possibly be related to the campaign she’s not running, says an ethics complaint.
The post In Waning Senate Days, Kyrsten Sinema Screwed Workers and Spent Campaign Cash on Stay at French Castle appeared first on The Intercept.
Female athlete power on social media became ever more strident in 2024 – but the backlash also damaged careers and wellbeing
Lina Nielsen remembers the moment she had the idea. She was sitting around the Olympic Village in Paris with her sprinting teammates – and she was bored. “I said to Yemi Mary John: ‘I’m gonna make this TikTok’,” Nielsen recalls. She took herself to her bedroom, got out the flip phone each athlete had been given and typed into an Excel spreadsheet: “Where you at? Holla at me.”
Her five-second spoof of Kelly Rowland’s music-video texting fail took hardly longer than that to make. It also got 8m views. “It’s funny that the videos that do that best are the ones you don’t put any effort in,” says Nielsen with a laugh. She is still trying to make sense of the fact that her TikTok channel was the most popular of any British athlete at the Games, beating even the knit-tastic Tom Daley in second place. At the end of the Olympic fortnight her channels had been viewed by more than the Australian and German teams combined.
Continue reading...Her debut at two catapulted the actress to child stardom, while taking the lead in The Great turned her into a household name. Ahead of the much-anticipated Bob Dylan biopic, she discusses subverting expectations, escaping her princess vibe – and why she could have been a tennis pro
‘Technically, I did my first film when I was two,” says Elle Fanning, which, at 26, makes her a youthful old-timer, already more than two decades into a hugely successful acting career. The cliché of the child star is that they will, inevitably, go off the rails at some point, unable to cope with a demanding adult-oriented entertainment business that places its leading lights on a distant and unreachable pedestal, leaving them with no concept of real life and no solid framework to prop them up. But there are other, less headline-worthy outcomes for performers who have been at it for their whole lives. Some child stars, particularly those who seem to be thriving, may be more like professional athletes, singular in their ambitions, trained and focused, more than content to remain within the industry that has raised them.
I suspect that Fanning leans towards the latter. She was born in Georgia in 1998 and was brought up in California, where her family moved when she was two, to pursue her older sister Dakota’s acting career. “My family is very southern, so it’s southern hospitality and southern manners,” she explains. “My grandmother would go with me on all my film sets, or my mom, to keep us in line. Thank God they were there with us.”
Continue reading...Deo Kato says journey from Cape Town gave him hope in humanity, despite facing racism from police and passersby on a daily basis
A Ugandan athlete who arrives in London this weekend after running 7,730 miles (12,440km) from South Africa to raise awareness about racism has revealed he suffered repeated abuse on reaching Europe.
Deo Kato set off from Cape Town in July 2023, running steadily north on a 516-day odyssey that has seen him jailed for weeks, laid low with serious illness and having to pass through war zones.
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Indiana wanted to kill Joseph Corcoran under the cover of darkness, but one journalist slipped in to witness.
The post Indiana’s Midnight Executions Are a Relic Of Another Age appeared first on The Intercept.
Tyson Fury described Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over him as a “Christmas gift” from the three judges who all scored the fight 116-112 in favour of the champion. The verdict was justifiably much more clearcut than the split-decision ruling that gave Usyk victory in May.
But Fury offered his contrasting belief at the post-fight press conference: “I thought I won that fight. I thought I won both fights but I’m going home with two losses on my record. There’s not much I can do about it. I can just fight my heart out.
Continue reading...The 72-year-old is relieved but takes ‘no satisfaction’ in seeing other families broken up, lawyer says
It took just over four years, and 67 days in court, but Gisèle Pelicot is said to feel “relieved and appeased” about the judges’ decision to convict all the men accused of raping or sexually assaulting her while she was drugged and unconscious.
After a final declaration that she “respected” the sentences handed down in Avignon, her lawyers said she was now “absolutely exhausted” and glad the marathon trial was over.
Continue reading...The U.S. political system is owned by corporations despised by the American people. Luigi Mangione is the result.
The post Health Insurance Execs Should Live in Fear of Prison, Not Murder appeared first on The Intercept.
The big news outlets used to say settlements would encourage more lawsuits. Trump is already targeting smaller newspapers.
The post The Real Danger of ABC News Settling Its Lawsuit With Donald Trump appeared first on The Intercept.
Kerry Washington is the saving grace in Tyler Perry’s plodding drama about the US army corps tasked with clearing piles of undelivered second world war mail
The contribution to history of Black women has often been overlooked, so it’s always heartening when a film-maker attempts to redress the balance. Theodore Melfi did it with Hidden Figures (2016), which dramatised the role played by three Black female mathematicians in Nasa’s 1960s space programme. Now writer-director Tyler Perry (best known for Diary of a Mad Black Woman and the Madea series) takes a similarly stirring, if slightly less glamorous true story: the clearing of an immense backlog of second world war mail to and from US troops fighting in Europe by a battalion of dedicated Black women from the Women’s Army Corps, who faced widespread institutional racism and sexism.
Unfortunately, Perry drenches the tale with his trademark syrupy ineptitude, creating a gloopy, turgid plodder. It doesn’t help that the performances are wildly uneven: Kerry Washington brings a steely magnetism to the role of Major Charity Adams, no-nonsense commander of the 6888th battalion. Elsewhere, though, crucial scenes are sunk by the am-dram-level manglings of some of the supporting cast.
In select UK cinemas/on Netflix
Continue reading...Musk’s role in government shutdown drama could be a preview of role he plays for incoming president next year
Donald Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk is showing no signs of fraying, even after at times he appeared to eclipse the president-elect’s influence as he bullied House Republicans into paring down their bipartisan spending deal to avert a government shutdown with just hours to spare.
The move by Musk to detonate the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb – by demanding that Republicans sink the deal or face a primary challenge – was viewed as a test run of the kind of role Musk might play to pressure Congress once Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said.
Continue reading...The Arizona senator's prodigious campaign spending in global wine hotspots can’t possibly be related to the campaign she’s not running, says an ethics complaint.
The post In Waning Senate Days, Kyrsten Sinema Screwed Workers and Spent Campaign Cash on Stay at French Castle appeared first on The Intercept.
As Donald Trump’s nominees woo Senate Republicans to secure their confirmation, Joan E Greve and Hugo Lowell look at who could be in charge of the major government departments and what they’ll have to do to keep the president happy for the next four years
Archive: CNN, Face the Nation, MSNBC, BBC, CBS News, ABC, Fox 11 Los Angeles, Fox News
Continue reading...“The funds to CJA are critical for building community resilience against climate change threats.”
The post EPA Staffers Demand Biden Release Climate Funds Withheld Over Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
Biden appears ready to sign the NDAA, despite objections from advocates and some Democrats about an insidious anti-trans rider.
The post Senate Approves Defense Bill Blocking Health Care for Thousands of Trans Youth appeared first on The Intercept.
Everyone from janitors to the Geek Squad could be forced to help the NSA spy — and Democrats barely put up a fight.
The post Top Senator Warns Sweeping New Surveillance Powers Will “Inevitably Be Misused” by Trump appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump wants a bloodbath for the federal employees, but government workers aren’t the only ones who will suffer.
The post Federal Labor Unions Steel Themselves for Trump and DOGE’s Mass Firings appeared first on The Intercept.
“When you imagine what the FTC is willing and able to do in the service of an authoritarian Trump administration, that takes you to some really terrifying places.”
The post Republicans Said the FTC Was Too Politicized. Now Trump’s FTC Pick Says It Should be Politicized — by Trump. appeared first on The Intercept.
For more than two decades, the U.S. has flown drones over the heads of millions of people — watching, recording, and even killing some of them.
The post America Gets a Taste of Its Own Medicine: Drone Terror appeared first on The Intercept.
The jurors that sent Hall to death row never heard critical evidence that could have convinced them to spare his life. Some of them now support his bid for clemency.
The post Charles Hall Insisted He Wanted the Death Penalty. Now He’s Asking Biden for Mercy. appeared first on The Intercept.
Hours before Assad fell, Congress moved to extend sanctions. Despite presidential waivers, Syria won’t open up until they’re off the books.
The post Keeping Sanctions in Force Would “Pull the Rug Out From Under Syria” appeared first on The Intercept.
A little-noticed provision in the annual defense bill would bar the Pentagon from citing the Gaza Health Ministry as an authoritative source.
The post Congress Keeps Trying to Hide the True Gaza Death Toll appeared first on The Intercept.
The FBI is still touting the debunked idea that its agents could access communications without opening a door to foreign hackers.
The post How to Protect Yourself From the Salt Typhoon Hack, No Matter What the FBI Says appeared first on The Intercept.
It’s time for a last-minute festive fry-up, followed by a biscuity ginger sundae
The house is bathed in the glow from the Christmas tree. There are scented parcels tied with ribbon, a majestic panettone on a cake stand in the larder and the rough puff pastry is rolled, folded and wrapped in baking parchment in the fridge. I’ve been playing carols for a fortnight or more.
We are so close now to the principal meals of Christmas, most of which are probably sorted and partially shopped for. It is those last-minute dishes I feel are most useful. The quick toss-up of greens and smoked fish; a dessert that can be made in minutes and, perhaps, the odd homemade edible gift. Christmas is, of course, about more than one meal.
Continue reading...It can be a real winner at this time of year
It’s very hard to recommend chocolate for this time of year. If you haven’t bought any for presents, then you really are down to local shops. But that’s no bad thing. Once, a friend bought me a bag of all my childhood favourites from the newsagent’s. I don’t know if it was planned or last minute, but it was a real winner.
This year the number one last-minute question I’ve been asked is: ‘Can you recommend where I can buy a large box of good, assorted chocolates?’ This is where your chocolatier nearby comes in and you’d be surprised how many there are, from Mocha in Yorkshire to Chococo in Dorset and lots in between. It’s fun pointing and saying, ‘that one’ and filling your own box. I’m sure they’d love to see you before Christmas and you can often try before you buy.
Continue reading...The Kiwi comedian on Junior Taskmaster, her love of games, and her bizarre childhood Christmases featuring… the lollyman
Some of Rose Matafeo’s Christmas traditions might sound slightly odd to non-Antipodean ears. The 32-year-old comedian grew up in Auckland: her father is Samoan, her mother Scottish-Croatian. “Because my parents are Rastafarian, and I was brought up Rastafarian, it was seen as a bit of a pagan ritual, as my dad would say,” she recalls. “So we never had a Christmas tree. And on the day, as kids, we would go to the $2 shop, which is quite a famous shop in New Zealand, and we’d all buy each other a $2 gift. And mum would get each of us kids a big packet of crisps, a 2.25-litre bottle of fizzy drink and some sweets. That was kind of Christmas.”
That sounds… sort of brilliant? “When you’re a kid that’s the jackpot,” she nods. “You’re like, ‘My own personal crappy food! That I don’t have to share with my brothers at all!’ It’s crazy.”
Continue reading...With clean air, vast green spaces and more saunas than cars, Finns have plenty of reasons to be cheerful
According to the World Happiness Report, the cheeriest country in the world is one nature-loving Nordic nation – Finland. On paper, it’s not hard to see why. It’s one of the world’s least corrupt countries, built on a democracy and quick to give women the vote. Education, from daycare to university, is free. Crime is low, the water is clean, the air fresh and there are more saunas than cars. But is it noticeably a nice place to be? And can the Finns teach me (and the rest of the UK, which ranks 20th in the Happiness Report) anything about wellbeing in the land of forests and freedom?
I start in Helsinki. With a population of just 630,000, this is a pocket-sized, but delightful capital city, buzzing with a Nordic foodie scene, a clutch of tech startups and its own design aesthetic, all bathed in up to 19 hours a day of sunlight in the summer. Over coffee at Nolita, his zero-waste restaurant and bakery, Serbian-born chef Luca Basic tells me that he came to Helsinki aged 19 and immediately decided to stay. So, what’s happiness in the city? He doesn’t hesitate. “It’s trust in the state. It goes beyond things like buses being on time, or my staff being able to afford to live in the middle of their city.”
Continue reading...The menu here was overseen by Rowley Leigh, but his generous touch in the kitchen is missing
The Don, 20 St Swithin’s Lane, London EC4N 8AD. Starters £14.50–£19.50, mains £22.50–£47.50, desserts £11.50–£12.50, wines from £35
The Don in London’s Square Mile is a chilly restaurant. It’s not simply that on this grey November lunchtime, the vent to our left is pumping frigid air into the room, as if they failed to notice the clocks went back weeks ago. It’s also the hard-lined space with the slab-like picture windows looking out on to St Swithin’s Lane. It’s the parquet and the bright lights, the hefty chairs upholstered in a frosty shade of cadet blue, and the desperate attempt to soften everything with a large fern imprint on a taupe wall. The tables are set just far enough apart so diners can plot against their rivals and mutter “your shout or mine” at each other without being overheard. It feels like an overworked TV production designer’s idea of a City restaurant, from which at any moment every stick of furniture could be removed, along with the bar. Then it could become another much-needed commercial property sales office, as if nature were healing.
Continue reading...Average price of eggs rose nearly 30 cents since October, with egg production down 4% from prior year
The accelerating spread of bird flu through US poultry flocks is pushing the price of eggs to highs rivaling or exceeding the cost in December 2022 at the height of the post-pandemic inflation scare.
The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3.65 in November, up from $3.37 in October, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week, up from $2.50 at the start of the year, as farmers battle with a fatal strain of H5N1 that continues to disrupt the US egg supply.
Continue reading...Avoiding animal products – and alcohol – at the start of the year makes lasting changes more likely, say researchers
Meat-eaters who abstain to take part in Veganuary are more likely to think that meat is disgusting after giving it up for the month, researchers have found.
Studies by psychologists at the University of Exeter also found that some people identify less as meat-eaters after trying to avoid animal products during January.
Continue reading...The big day is almost here, but it’s not too late to grab an 11th-hour pressie. They’ll never know …
You’ve forgotten, haven’t you? It happens. But don’t panic: from a baking course to a year’s supply of cinema tickets, here are 14 genuinely thoughtful last-minute Christmas gifts that you can buy online, sign up for or book right now – and they’ll never know you forgot.
Our list of experiences, vouchers and subscriptions is also perfect for those people who don’t need more stuff, are impossible to buy for or enjoy supporting the arts or small food producers. An email may not be as exciting as unwrapping a gift, but an experience or subscription can last months, and they’ll think of you every time they make their subscription morning coffee.
Continue reading...Trump wants a bloodbath for the federal employees, but government workers aren’t the only ones who will suffer.
The post Federal Labor Unions Steel Themselves for Trump and DOGE’s Mass Firings appeared first on The Intercept.
Not sure which whisky to sip by a roaring fire? No problem, we’ve tasted them straight up for you
Whether you’re stocking the bar trolley or hunting for a gift for a hard-to-buy-for relative, you’ll likely be one of the many picking up a bottle or two of whisky this Christmas.
After carefully testing every whisky on this list – and many more – we are full of festive spirit and ready to step in to Christmas. Some whiskies were stirred into manhattans, others were enjoyed as a highball, and all were tasted straight up; all in the name of fairness, you understand.
Continue reading...As the diplomatic row over the embargo escalates, the U.S. sent Israel millions of pounds of ammunition through Spanish territory.
The post U.S. Defied Spanish Embargo on Arms Bound for Israel by Making Enforcement More Difficult appeared first on The Intercept.
Is there anything you’d like to know about UPFs? The Guardian’s new video podcast, It’s complicated
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become an everyday part of many people’s diets. From ready meals to breakfast cereals, these foods are engineered for convenience and taste – but at what cost? With growing attention on how ultra-processed foods (UPFs) influence our health, the environment, and even the way we view eating, it’s no wonder there’s so much confusion and curiosity surrounding them.
In our new video podcast on the Guardian’s It’s Complicated YouTube channel, we want to explore what really goes into UPFs and what that means for our wellbeing. What makes a food ‘ultra-processed’ compared to regular processed foods? Are all UPFs inherently unhealthy? How did they become such a dominant part of the food landscape, and what would it mean to cut them out? These are just some of the questions we’re looking to answer — but we really want to hear from you.
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Hours before Assad fell, Congress moved to extend sanctions. Despite presidential waivers, Syria won’t open up until they’re off the books.
The post Keeping Sanctions in Force Would “Pull the Rug Out From Under Syria” appeared first on The Intercept.
In the UK and US, more than half the average diet consists of ultra-processed foods. For some people, especially those who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPFs is typical, and this has been linked to a myriad of harmful effects to health.
Neelam Tailor traces the surprising journey of ultra-processed foods from their origins in industrial waste to today's complex ingredient lists and the regulatory loopholes that paved the way
Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
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Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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More than 100 Heathrow flights expected to be called off, along with ferries between Northern Ireland and Scotland
Thousands of people in the UK are facing a Christmas travel nightmare as strong winds led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and ferries.
A Met Office yellow weather warning was in place until 9pm on Sunday from John o’Groats to Land’s End, with gusts of up to 60mph widespread and some as strong as 70mph on hills and around exposed coasts.
Continue reading...With clean air, vast green spaces and more saunas than cars, Finns have plenty of reasons to be cheerful
According to the World Happiness Report, the cheeriest country in the world is one nature-loving Nordic nation – Finland. On paper, it’s not hard to see why. It’s one of the world’s least corrupt countries, built on a democracy and quick to give women the vote. Education, from daycare to university, is free. Crime is low, the water is clean, the air fresh and there are more saunas than cars. But is it noticeably a nice place to be? And can the Finns teach me (and the rest of the UK, which ranks 20th in the Happiness Report) anything about wellbeing in the land of forests and freedom?
I start in Helsinki. With a population of just 630,000, this is a pocket-sized, but delightful capital city, buzzing with a Nordic foodie scene, a clutch of tech startups and its own design aesthetic, all bathed in up to 19 hours a day of sunlight in the summer. Over coffee at Nolita, his zero-waste restaurant and bakery, Serbian-born chef Luca Basic tells me that he came to Helsinki aged 19 and immediately decided to stay. So, what’s happiness in the city? He doesn’t hesitate. “It’s trust in the state. It goes beyond things like buses being on time, or my staff being able to afford to live in the middle of their city.”
Continue reading...The menu here was overseen by Rowley Leigh, but his generous touch in the kitchen is missing
The Don, 20 St Swithin’s Lane, London EC4N 8AD. Starters £14.50–£19.50, mains £22.50–£47.50, desserts £11.50–£12.50, wines from £35
The Don in London’s Square Mile is a chilly restaurant. It’s not simply that on this grey November lunchtime, the vent to our left is pumping frigid air into the room, as if they failed to notice the clocks went back weeks ago. It’s also the hard-lined space with the slab-like picture windows looking out on to St Swithin’s Lane. It’s the parquet and the bright lights, the hefty chairs upholstered in a frosty shade of cadet blue, and the desperate attempt to soften everything with a large fern imprint on a taupe wall. The tables are set just far enough apart so diners can plot against their rivals and mutter “your shout or mine” at each other without being overheard. It feels like an overworked TV production designer’s idea of a City restaurant, from which at any moment every stick of furniture could be removed, along with the bar. Then it could become another much-needed commercial property sales office, as if nature were healing.
Continue reading...Albanese government bows to pressure from Qantas and other airlines and omits compensation scheme from aviation customer rights charter
The Albanese government has bowed to pressure from Qantas and other airlines advocating against laws that would force them to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled.
The omission of a compensation scheme in the government’s draft aviation customer rights charter follows claims from airlines such as Qantas that compensation rules – which exist in the European Union – would force them to preempt costs and increase air fares. The charter was released on Sunday.
Continue reading...Plan for pregnant royal go overseas for festive period scrapped after doctors advise against travel
Princess Beatrice will be joining the royal family at Sandringham this Christmas after changing her travel plans due to medical advice, it is understood.
Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, are expecting their second child in early spring and were planning on spending the festive period overseas with his parents.
Continue reading...NSW minister renews calls for action to end as people are urged to avoid non-essential travel days out from Christmas
The New South Wales transport minister is calling on rail unions to end industrial action amid hundreds of cancellations across the train network on Saturday, saying “no level of disturbance or disruption” over the new year period is “tolerable”.
But the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) said it had given “ample” notice periods of their actions to allow the trains operators to “make alternative arrangements”.
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Continue reading...The Arizona senator's prodigious campaign spending in global wine hotspots can’t possibly be related to the campaign she’s not running, says an ethics complaint.
The post In Waning Senate Days, Kyrsten Sinema Screwed Workers and Spent Campaign Cash on Stay at French Castle appeared first on The Intercept.
Helen Pidd speaks to her former lodger, Yasser, a Syrian refugee contemplating moving back home
In 2015, Syrian refugee Yasser moved into Today in Focus presenter Helen Pidd’s home. He had travelled for 37 days across land and sea to escape the horrors of the war in Syria. Since then, Yasser has lived in Manchester, but has always longed to return to Syria.
“Sunday morning, 8 December 2024. That was the best morning of my life,” Yasser tells Helen.
Continue reading...For more than two decades, the U.S. has flown drones over the heads of millions of people — watching, recording, and even killing some of them.
The post America Gets a Taste of Its Own Medicine: Drone Terror appeared first on The Intercept.
As the diplomatic row over the embargo escalates, the U.S. sent Israel millions of pounds of ammunition through Spanish territory.
The post U.S. Defied Spanish Embargo on Arms Bound for Israel by Making Enforcement More Difficult appeared first on The Intercept.
Syrian airforce helicopters dropped two cylinders of chlorine gas onto the town of Douma on 7 April 2018. At least 43 people choked to death. For six years, afraid of reprisals, the town has grieved in silence for loved ones lost to chemical attacks and countless others killed by conventional weapons.
But after an astonishing and rapid offensive by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), more than 50 years of Assad family rule collapsed last week, and the residents of Douma are finally free to tell their stories. The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan travelled to the town to listen to them
Continue reading...The jurors that sent Hall to death row never heard critical evidence that could have convinced them to spare his life. Some of them now support his bid for clemency.
The post Charles Hall Insisted He Wanted the Death Penalty. Now He’s Asking Biden for Mercy. 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...
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