********** TRAVEL **********
return to top
US judicial body rejects request to refer Clarence Thomas to justice department
Fri, 03 Jan 2025 01:11:07 GMT
Request was made after Thomas failed to disclose luxury trips by Texas businessman and GOP donor Harlan Crow
A judicial policymaking body on Thursday rejected a request by Democratic lawmakers to refer the conservative US supreme court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Department of Justice to examine claims that he failed to disclose gifts and travel provided by a wealthy benefactor.
The secretary to the US judicial conference, the federal judiciary’s top policymaking body, pointed at amendments Thomas had made to his annual financial disclosure reports for the decision.
Continue reading...UK public health agency issues amber alert for social care in England, as country braces itself for heavy snow
Public health bosses in the UK are expecting a rise in deaths from cold weather, amid severe weather warnings for snow and ice over the next five days.
The UK’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued an amber alert for social care in England, saying vulnerable people were at risk as the country braced for heavy snow and ice going into the weekend.
Continue reading...Pragmatism will win over purism, unless the government favours early closure for car manufacturers
The main timetable is set: no new petrol and diesel cars will be allowed to be sold in the UK after 2030, and sales of all new hybrids will be forbidden from 2035. But that phasing still leaves open the critical matter – for the automotive industry, and for a couple of manufacturers in particular – of which new hybrids will be allowed to be sold until the last day of 2034.
Just the variety that comes with a socket – plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)? Or should old-style hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, which have smaller batteries charged by a main internal combustion engine, also be permitted?
Continue reading...About 807,800 Australians visited Japan between January and November last year, nearly 200,000 more than the previous record in 2019
Japan’s tourism board has urged holidaymakers to swap Tokyo and Kyoto for towns in Tohoku and Kanazawa as Australian tourists flood Japan’s cities in record numbers.
About 807,800 Australians visited Japan between January and November last year, nearly 200,000 more than the previous record in 2019, according to provisional estimates from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO).
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Experts say lack of competition in Australia’s airline market is a likely factor behind prevalence of delays
More than one in four flights operated by major Australian airlines in 2024 arrived at their destinations late, with local punctuality rates lagging significantly behind average carriers in comparable countries.
Experts say a lack of competition in Australia’s airline market is a likely factor behind the prevalence of delays, and that the Albanese government missed a golden opportunity to nudge local carriers into performing better when it decided to omit a cash compensation scheme for delayed and cancelled flights from its landmark aviation reforms.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Electric Vehicles UK says hybrids without a plug should be banned or else confidence in electric cars will be damaged
Britain needs to press ahead with a ban on the sale of new hybrid cars with no plug from 2030 or risk taking “a catastrophic misstep” on the road to net zero, ministers have been warned.
Cars such as the Toyota Prius, which charge a battery from an internal combustion engine, need to be excluded from the list of vehicles sold in the UK from 2030 or there will be a “profound” fall in confidence in the government’s commitment to electric motoring, according to the representative body Electric Vehicles UK (EVUK).
Continue reading...As a new series of The Great Pottery Throwdown hits the screens, an honorary Stokie explores Josiah Wedgwood’s legacy and the six towns – and gets some clay on her hands
As a lump of damp clay spins frantically on the potter’s wheel, I tentatively ease my fingers around it, hoping it will soon resemble a pot. Thankfully, there are two instructors leading the six of us on this hour-long taster session, to offer guidance and, in my case, rescue a collapsing pile of clay. I glance at the others’ creations – elegant vases and bowls – and then at mine, which looks more like a volcano. Still, I’m impressed with myself for creating something resembling pottery, and it’s been fun to get stuck in.
I’ve wanted to try throwing a pot since moving to Stoke-on-Trent 14 years ago, and here at World of Wedgwood, I’ve finally given it a go (taster session £32.50). Channel Four’s The Great Pottery Throw Down is filmed at Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton, one of the six towns that make up Stoke-on-Trent. World famous for its ceramics, Stoke was awarded World Craft City status last July, and 2025 brings a year of events to celebrate 100 years since it became a city. As an honorary Stokie, it seems like the perfect time to discover more of my adopted hometown.
Continue reading...Experts’ group employs new technologies and techniques to help relatives of those missing in the migration crisis
Four years ago, the remains of a toddler encased in a lifejacket and a navy snowsuit washed up on a beach in southern Norway, having spent the previous two months being carried on North Sea currents. Though his face was barely recognisable, publicity about the sinking of the migrant boat he had been travelling on, and suspicions about his identity, enabled Norwegian police to locate a relative to whom his DNA could be matched, providing this lonely corpse with a name: Artin Iran Nezhad.
Others remain nameless. Of the tens of thousands who die trying to reach Europe, fewer than a quarter are ever formally identified. For their relatives, this lack of closure is a continuing trauma. However, a recently established network of forensic scientists is trying to change this, through the development of new technologies and processes to aid identification efforts.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s John Harris gives his top book, music and TV recommendations from 2024.
The Lie of the Land: Who Really Cares for the Countryside? – Guy Shrubsole
The Lost Paths: A History of How We Walk From Here to There – Jack Cornish
Continue reading...Released from prison in 2020 after being jailed for ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’, he became increasingly desperate to leave – before seizing his opportunity
As he trekked up the lush mountain range on China’s border with Laos, Lu Yuyu felt exhausted. He had been travelling for days, dodging his official minders to slip out of China. His travelling companions were smugglers who he’d paid 15,000 yuan (£1,622) to help him escape, and forced him to keep going until he could be delivered to two men and a scooter for the final few hours of his journey to freedom.
But leaving China was only the first step. Lu had thousands more miles before he would truly feel safe.
Continue reading...Electric toothbrushes promise healthier teeth and gums and can transform your oral hygiene. We put more than 20 models to the test to reveal the best for every budget
If you grew up using a conventional toothbrush – essentially a stick with bristles on the end – you may be surprised to learn just how long the electric toothbrush has been around. The first was designed in the late 1930s, but that model was a long way from the sleek, feature-packed and Bluetooth-enabled beasts you can buy today.
There are now dozens of ultra-advanced versions on the market, but which ones are worth your cash? For the past two months, my teeth have become figurative guinea pigs to help you find the answer to that question. I put a bunch of electric toothbrushes from Oral-B, Philips, Suri, Ordo, Silk’n, Foreo and more through their paces to separate the best from the rest. Here are my conclusions.
Best electric toothbrush overall:
Spotlight Sonic Pro
£150 at Look Fantastic
Best value electric toothbrush:
Icy Bear Next-Generation sonic toothbrush
£64.99 at Icy Bear Dental
Best premium electric toothbrush:
Philips Sonicare Smart 9400
£160.99 at Amazon
Best oscillating toothbrush:
Oral-B iO3
£60 at Boots
Best electric toothbrush for sustainability:
Suri sonic toothbrush
£80.75 at Boots
A new Syria is emerging from the shadow of the brutal Assad regime. The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan and Ayman Abu Ramouz meet people celebrating their hard-won freedom, but also those grappling with a traumatic past. The pair travel to the notorious Sednaya prison, where they meet a former prisoner who was liberated by his family just days before
Resistance was not a choice’: how Syria’s unlikely rebel alliance took Aleppo
'The Syrian regime hit us with chemical weapons: only now can we speak out' – video
Syria’s disappeared: one woman’s search for her missing father
Share a tip on a peerless architectural or sculptural creation, ancient or modern – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break
The Seven Wonders of the World was a list of peerless architectural and sculptural creations from the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East drawn up in the 2nd century BC by Greek travellers following Alexander the Great’s conquests. Only one is still standing – the Great Pyramid of Giza. In 2001, the Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation came up with an updated list, which included Machu Picchu, Petra and the Taj Mahal. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we would like you to tell us about your personal wonder of the world. It could be an ancient stone circle, a statue, a stately home, a temple or even a modern-day skyscraper.
If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition.
Continue reading...The Arizona senator’s prodigious campaign spending in global wine hot spots 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.
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...Intense workouts like Solidcore and SLT are booming, one $43 class at a time. Are they making women stronger or feeding Ozempic-era expectations for thin bodies?
It’s lunchtime on a Wednesday and I am in a dark room, shaking intensely. My forearms are propped up on a big black machine called a “Sweatlana”. Like five other quaking women beside me, I am furiously plank-crunching, attempting to move the machine’s carriage forwards and backwards using only the force of my abs.
“Come on team!” bellows a high-energy instructor over the booming music, urging us all to get “comfortable with discomfort”. Our trembles, she says, are a sign of reaching “second-stage muscle failure” which is not, as it sounds, fatal, but, apparently, a state to aspire to if we want to get stronger.
Continue reading...Whether you’re a beginner runner, a 5k faithful or a track star, our expert-picked running trainers, from Adidas and Asics to Hoka, will help you beat your PBs
‘How does anyone do this?” I thought as I hobbled home from my first run, a pair of threadbare Converse biting into my heels. It took me a while to connect the dots. Maybe I was just prone to shin splints? Perhaps your calves were supposed to burn with every stride? Or – lightbulb moment – could it be that these post-jog aches and pains were a symptom of my wildly inappropriate footwear?
As with millions of rookie runners before me, my problems melted away when I bought myself a pair of proper running shoes. Fifteen years and countless pairs later, I know just how much difference they can make. However, this isn’t a simple case of one size fits all.
Continue reading...How do you reset your wardrobe for the new year? Our fashion guru reveals her hardworking heroes for January
The bar for shopping recommendations is high at this point of the year. No one has the appetite – or the funds – for shopping for the sake of it in January. Don’t know about you but, frankly, I never want to see another nick-nack. And having overindulged throughout the festive season, I have the sparkle equivalent of a hangover. Just thinking about sequins makes me feel nauseous.
So, if I’m going to buy something, or suggest you do, at the dawn of the new year then it is with good reason. Investments in keeping your new year fitness resolutions are worth making because those are promises to yourself. Small treats are sometimes necessary to get you through the darkest days of winter. And, it’s never too early to look for the pieces that will shift your wardrobe into a 2025 vibe: the sooner you start wearing them, the more wear you get out of them. Here are my very best sober, no-sparkle January finds.
Continue reading...You might have noticed that everyone has recently become a bit obsessed with blood sugar, or glucose. Wellness firms such as Zoe in the UK – as well as Nutrisense, Levels and Signos – claim to offer insights into how our bodies process food based on monitoring our blood glucose, among other things. But many researchers have begun to question the science behind this. In this episode from July, Ian Sample talks to the philosopher Julian Baggini, the University of Oxford academic dietician Dr Nicola Guess, and Zoe’s chief scientist the King’s College London nutrition expert Prof Sarah Berry to find out what we know about blood glucose levels and our health, and whether the science is nailed down on personalised nutrition
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Continue reading...The 47-year-old multimillionaire spends $2m a year on staying youthful and, in a new documentary, he explains why we should be following his lead
Bryan Johnson, the biohacking centimillionaire who made a fortune selling payment apps, knows what his biggest online skeptics have been saying about him ever since he went viral in January 2023. Critics seized on the way he spends his days eating sludge and a jumble of vitamins and minerals (more than 50 a day) while wired up to devices monitoring his heart rate, brainwaves and erections (because they signal good health), and experimenting with far-out treatments like blood transfusions from his teenage son, all in an effort to slow the ageing process, live longer and, as his motto turned branded campaign says, Don’t Die.
“When I started, people were looking at me like this ‘eccentric, vampire billionaire tech bro drinking his son’s blood’,” says Johnson, on a video call with the Guardian. “I was like, ‘Sure, yes. Also, I’m a professional rejuvenation athlete. I’m creating a new sport and a new way to understand reality. Death is always inevitable, but I’m asking this question: are we the first generation that won’t die?”
Continue reading...The Arizona senator’s prodigious campaign spending in global wine hot spots 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.
PM will have to respond to Climate Change Committee’s recommendations on future emissions cuts with drastic changes in many sectors of economy
Keir Starmer will face a key test of his claims to leadership on the climate early next year, when the UK’s statutory advisers issue their latest advice on future cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
The independent Climate Change Committee will set out recommendations on the UK’s seventh carbon budget on 26 February. At the core of the budget will be an overall cap on emissions for the years 2038 to 2042, needed to meet the legal obligation of reaching net zero emissions in 2050.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Data from 524 firefighters who risked their lives showed 136 reported life-changing conditions
More than a quarter of firefighters exposed to toxic smoke during the Grenfell Tower fire have had long-term health disorders, a study shows.
Ministers are facing demands for an urgent review after data from 524 firefighters who risked their lives at the 2017 disaster showed that over the first three years, 136 reported life-changing conditions. These included 11 cases of cancer, 64 respiratory diseases, 22 neurological disorders and 66 digestive illnesses.
Continue reading...Audio from Shamsud-Din Jabbar contains diatribes against music, drugs, sex and other sensuous pleasures
Nearly a year before he allegedly killed 14 people and injured dozens more by driving a pickup truck flying an Islamic State (IS) flag through a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, Shamsud-Din Jabbar expressed his beliefs that music, intoxicants, sex and other pleasures were evils deserving of destruction.
An account on the SoundCloud platform under the name of Jabbar posted three recordings totaling about 20 minutes each containing those and other expressions of extremist religious views.
Continue reading...Pragmatism will win over purism, unless the government favours early closure for car manufacturers
The main timetable is set: no new petrol and diesel cars will be allowed to be sold in the UK after 2030, and sales of all new hybrids will be forbidden from 2035. But that phasing still leaves open the critical matter – for the automotive industry, and for a couple of manufacturers in particular – of which new hybrids will be allowed to be sold until the last day of 2034.
Just the variety that comes with a socket – plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)? Or should old-style hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, which have smaller batteries charged by a main internal combustion engine, also be permitted?
Continue reading...Indian government accused of PR stunt after moving 337 tonnes of toxic waste that had been held in containers
Forty years after one of world’s deadliest industrial disasters struck the Indian city of Bhopal, a cleanup operation has finally begun to remove hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste from the site.
However, local campaigners have accused the Indian government of greenwashing, arguing that the 337 tonnes of waste removed this week represents less than 1% of the more than 1m tonnes of hazardous materials left after the disaster and that the cleanup has done nothing to tackle chemical contamination of the area.
Continue reading...Electric Vehicles UK says hybrids without a plug should be banned or else confidence in electric cars will be damaged
Britain needs to press ahead with a ban on the sale of new hybrid cars with no plug from 2030 or risk taking “a catastrophic misstep” on the road to net zero, ministers have been warned.
Cars such as the Toyota Prius, which charge a battery from an internal combustion engine, need to be excluded from the list of vehicles sold in the UK from 2030 or there will be a “profound” fall in confidence in the government’s commitment to electric motoring, according to the representative body Electric Vehicles UK (EVUK).
Continue reading...In this week’s newsletter: this year’s bestsellers; tried-and-tested waterproof jackets; and heated throws for a cosy January
• Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here
Will 2024 really be remembered for brat, brain rot and AI-generated slop? Judging by the Filter recommendations you loved the most, it’s actually been the year of heated blankets, book lights and big coats. An altogether more cuddly vibe.
It makes perfect sense. When times are toxic, you reach for comfort. You’ve already had your fill of Trump, Musk and Baby Reindeer – not to mention rain, rising bills and the relentless horror of global news – so you’re craving a psychological detox. Finding joy in autumn’s best beauty buys and money-saving products that make life easier is a way of giving your mood a hug.
Continue reading...A newly obtained document sheds light on how the disavowed “excited delirium” diagnosis infiltrated the Rochester Police Department before Prude’s death.
The post What Killed Daniel Prude? The Cops and New York AG Said a Diagnosis That’s Since Been Debunked. appeared first on The Intercept.
“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.
SEMrush and Ahrefs are among
the most popular tools in the SEO industry. Both companies have been in
business for years and have thousands of customers per month.
If you're a professional SEO or trying to do digital
marketing on your own, at some point you'll likely consider using a tool to
help with your efforts. Ahrefs and SEMrush are two names that will likely
appear on your shortlist.
In this guide, I'm going to help you learn more about these SEO tools and how to choose the one that's best for your purposes.
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a popular SEO tool with a wide range of
features—it's the leading competitor research service for online marketers.
SEMrush's SEO Keyword Magic tool offers over 20 billion Google-approved
keywords, which are constantly updated and it's the largest keyword database.
The program was developed in 2007 as SeoQuake is a
small Firefox extension
Features
Ahrefs is a leading SEO platform that offers a set of
tools to grow your search traffic, research your competitors, and monitor your
niche. The company was founded in 2010, and it has become a popular choice
among SEO tools. Ahrefs has a keyword index of over 10.3 billion keywords and
offers accurate and extensive backlink data updated every 15-30 minutes and it
is the world's most extensive backlink index database.
Features
Direct Comparisons: Ahrefs vs SEMrush
Now that you know a little more about each tool, let's
take a look at how they compare. I'll analyze each tool to see how they differ
in interfaces, keyword research resources, rank tracking, and competitor
analysis.
User Interface
Ahrefs and SEMrush both offer comprehensive information
and quick metrics regarding your website's SEO performance. However, Ahrefs
takes a bit more of a hands-on approach to getting your account fully set up,
whereas SEMrush's simpler dashboard can give you access to the data you need
quickly.
In this section, we provide a brief overview of the elements
found on each dashboard and highlight the ease with which you can complete
tasks.
AHREFS
The Ahrefs dashboard is less cluttered than that of
SEMrush, and its primary menu is at the very top of the page, with a search bar
designed only for entering URLs.
Additional features of the Ahrefs platform include:
SEMRUSH
When you log into the SEMrush Tool, you will find four
main modules. These include information about your domains, organic keyword
analysis, ad keyword, and site traffic.
You'll also find some other options like
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have user-friendly dashboards,
but Ahrefs is less cluttered and easier to navigate. On the other hand, SEMrush
offers dozens of extra tools, including access to customer support resources.
When deciding on which dashboard to use, consider what
you value in the user interface, and test out both.
If you're looking to track your website's search engine
ranking, rank tracking features can help. You can also use them to monitor your
competitors.
Let's take a look at Ahrefs vs. SEMrush to see which
tool does a better job.
The Ahrefs Rank Tracker is simpler to use. Just type in
the domain name and keywords you want to analyze, and it spits out a report
showing you the search engine results page (SERP) ranking for each keyword you
enter.
Rank Tracker looks at the ranking performance of
keywords and compares them with the top rankings for those keywords. Ahrefs
also offers:
You'll see metrics that help you understand your
visibility, traffic, average position, and keyword difficulty.
It gives you an idea of whether a keyword would be
profitable to target or not.
SEMRush offers a tool called Position Tracking. This
tool is a project tool—you must set it up as a new project. Below are a few of
the most popular features of the SEMrush Position Tracking tool:
All subscribers are given regular data updates and
mobile search rankings upon subscribing
The platform provides opportunities to track several
SERP features, including Local tracking.
Intuitive reports allow you to track statistics for the
pages on your website, as well as the keywords used in those pages.
Identify pages that may be competing with each other
using the Cannibalization report.
Ahrefs is a more user-friendly option. It takes seconds
to enter a domain name and keywords. From there, you can quickly decide whether
to proceed with that keyword or figure out how to rank better for other
keywords.
SEMrush allows you to check your mobile rankings and
ranking updates daily, which is something Ahrefs does not offer. SEMrush also
offers social media rankings, a tool you won't find within the Ahrefs platform.
Both are good which one do you like let me know in the comment.
Keyword research is closely related to rank tracking,
but it's used for deciding which keywords you plan on using for future content
rather than those you use now.
When it comes to SEO, keyword research is the most
important thing to consider when comparing the two platforms.
The Ahrefs Keyword Explorer provides you with thousands
of keyword ideas and filters search results based on the chosen search engine.
Ahrefs supports several features, including:
SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool has over 20 billion
keywords for Google. You can type in any keyword you want, and a list of
suggested keywords will appear.
The Keyword Magic Tool also lets you to:
Both of these tools offer keyword research features and
allow users to break down complicated tasks into something that can be
understood by beginners and advanced users alike.
If you're interested in keyword suggestions, SEMrush
appears to have more keyword suggestions than Ahrefs does. It also continues to
add new features, like the Keyword Gap tool and SERP Questions recommendations.
Both platforms offer competitor analysis tools,
eliminating the need to come up with keywords off the top of your head. Each
tool is useful for finding keywords that will be useful for your competition so
you know they will be valuable to you.
Ahrefs' domain comparison tool lets you compare up to five websites (your website and four competitors) side-by-side.it also shows you how your site is ranked against others with metrics such as backlinks, domain ratings, and more.
Use the Competing Domains section to see a list of your
most direct competitors, and explore how many keywords matches your competitors
have.
To find more information about your competitor, you can
look at the Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools and type in their URL
instead of yours.
SEMrush provides a variety of insights into your
competitors' marketing tactics. The platform enables you to research your
competitors effectively. It also offers several resources for competitor
analysis including:
Traffic Analytics helps you identify where your
audience comes from, how they engage with your site, what devices visitors use
to view your site, and how your audiences overlap with other websites.
SEMrush's Organic Research examines your website's
major competitors and shows their organic search rankings, keywords they are
ranking for, and even if they are ranking for any (SERP) features and more.
The Market Explorer search field allows you to type in
a domain and lists websites or articles similar to what you entered. Market
Explorer also allows users to perform in-depth data analytics on These
companies and markets.
SEMrush wins here because it has more tools dedicated to
competitor analysis than Ahrefs. However, Ahrefs offers a lot of functionality
in this area, too. It takes a combination of both tools to gain an advantage
over your competition.
When it comes to keyword data research, you will become
confused about which one to choose.
Consider choosing Ahrefs if you
Consider SEMrush if you:
Both tools are great. Choose the one which meets your
requirements and if you have any experience using either Ahrefs or SEMrush let
me know in the comment section which works well for you.
Ukrainian leader has sought to build bridges with Trump amid fears the president-elect could slow vital military aid once in office. What we know on day 1,045
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed hope that US president-elect Donald Trump’s “unpredictability” can help end the war with Russia. Trump, who takes office on 20 January, has said he will end the nearly three-year conflict in “24 hours” once in power, a claim that has drawn scepticism from Kyiv, which fears it will be forced to give up land for peace. “He’s very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump’s unpredictability apply to Russia. I believe he really wants to end the war,” Zelensky said in an interview aired on Thursday with Ukrainian TV.
The Ukrainian leader has sought to build bridges with Trump and his team since November’s election amid fears the Republican could slow vital US military aid or halt it entirely. Zelenskyy said that Trump could be “decisive” in the war. “He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin,” he said, “He is able to do this.” Zelenskyy has said that achieving a just peace for Ukraine would mean receiving solid security guarantees from its allies, joining the EU and receiving an invitation to join the Nato alliance, a notion rejected by Moscow.
The Ukrainian military said that it had carried out a high-precision strike on Thursday on a Russian command post in Maryino, in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold chunks of territory after a major incursion. Ukrainian forces remain in the Kursk region five months after sending troops across the border, though the Russian military says much of the lost territory has been recaptured. “These strikes disrupt the ability of the Russian Federation to conduct terrorism against innocent Ukrainian civilians,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement via the Telegram messaging app. The Russian military said air defence units had downed four Ukrainian missiles in the region, and the regional governor said the strikes had damaged a high-rise apartment building and other buildings in an adjacent village.
Ukraine has opened a criminal probe into desertion and “abuse of power” after hundreds of soldiers were reported to have fled an army unit partly trained by France, investigators said Thursday. The 155th Mechanised Brigade, dubbed “Anne of Kyiv”, was one of several military groupings formed last year as Ukraine sought to boost preparations for possible new Russian offensives. The unit was to be made up of 4,500 soldiers, with France training roughly half of them and providing equipment. But its development has been beset with problems including what one lawmaker described as poor management.
Gas supplies in Europe were stable with the exception of Moldova, the EU said on Thursday, a day after Russian gas transit via Ukraine stopped. Deliveries of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine pipelines stopped on Wednesday, after Kyiv refused to renew a decades-long arrangement that earned billions of dollars for both countries. Although Russian gas accounted for less than 10 percent of the European Union’s gas imports in 2023 – down from more than 40 percent before Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 – some of the bloc’s eastern members are still heavily reliant on Russian imports. “The situation is stable with all member States using a mix of regular winter storage and imports from third countries, which provide stable supplies to their consumers”, said Poland, which has just assumed the EU’s rotating presidency.
The cut-off of Russian gas supplies to Moldova’s breakaway Transniestria region, however, has forced the closure of all industrial companies except food producers. The mainly Russian-speaking territory of about 450,000 people, which split from Moldova in the 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed, has suffered a painful and immediate hit from Wednesday’s cut-off of Russian gas supplies to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine. “All industrial enterprises are idle, with the exception of those engaged in food production – that is, directly ensuring food security for Transdniestria,” Sergei Obolonik, first deputy prime minister of the region, told a local news channel. “The problem is so extensive that if it is not resolved for a long time, we will already have irreversible changes – that is, enterprises will lose their ability to start up.”
Continue reading...A network of locals ready to provide a bed, a lift, or a box of chocolates to tired walkers along the Te Araroa trail has become a lifeline
American hiker Donna Barkley was weeks into walking New Zealand’s longest hiking trail when her strength started to falter. Starting at the northern tip of the country in mid-October, she had trudged south along vast empty coastlines, over farmland and through dense forests thick with mud.
“I have a new definition of muddy – at home we have boot scrapers but after these trails, you need a fire hose,” Barkley tells the Guardian, while taking a rest day in the central North Island.
Continue reading...Pro-Russia Moldovan region suffers major hit after Ukraine ends transit agreement, with only food producers functioning
The shutdown of Russian gas supplies to Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region has forced the closure of all industrial companies except food producers.
The mainly Russian-speaking territory of about 450,000 people, which split from Moldova in the 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed, has suffered a painful and immediate hit from Wednesday’s cut-off of Russian gas supplies to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine.
Continue reading...The month-long challenge doesn’t have to be a battle between meat and plant eaters. It’s a great way for people of all persuasions to experiment with new foods and flavours
This article is an extract from the Guardian’s Feast newsletter, featuring exclusive writing from Nigel Slater, Rachel Roddy, Felicity Cloake and more – sign up here to get the full newsletter straight to your inbox every Thursday
I learned something new about Laxmidas Sodha, my grandfather, while spending time with my parents over Christmas. He didn’t have an easy life, but he didn’t make life easy for himself, either. After surviving poverty, the death of his wife during childbirth and being kicked out of Uganda by Idi Amin, he chose not to go to the wedding of his beloved son (my dad) on principle, because my mum’s family ate meat.
Continue reading...You might have noticed that everyone has recently become a bit obsessed with blood sugar, or glucose. Wellness firms such as Zoe in the UK – as well as Nutrisense, Levels and Signos – claim to offer insights into how our bodies process food based on monitoring our blood glucose, among other things. But many researchers have begun to question the science behind this. In this episode from July, Ian Sample talks to the philosopher Julian Baggini, the University of Oxford academic dietician Dr Nicola Guess, and Zoe’s chief scientist the King’s College London nutrition expert Prof Sarah Berry to find out what we know about blood glucose levels and our health, and whether the science is nailed down on personalised nutrition
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Continue reading...Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is one of six medical workers with the Chicago-based organization MedGlobal who remain in Israeli custody.
The post The Scramble to Find the Gaza Doctor in the White Coat 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...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.
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...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
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
RSS Rabbit links users to publicly available RSS entries.
Vet every link before clicking! The creators accept no responsibility for the contents of these entries.
Relevant
Fresh
Convenient
Agile
We're not prepared to take user feedback yet. Check back soon!
