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Columbia Bent Over Backward to Appease Right-Wing, Pro-Israel Attacks — And Trump Still Cut Federal Funding
Sat, 08 Mar 2025 20:42:36 +0000
Instead of outrage, the school’s interim president responded to the cuts by vowing to continue its misguided crackdown.
The post Columbia Bent Over Backward to Appease Right-Wing, Pro-Israel Attacks — And Trump Still Cut Federal Funding appeared first on The Intercept.
A judge said Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate whose arrest by ICE sparked outrage, couldn’t be deported without a court order.
The post Court Temporarily Halts Columbia Activist’s Deportation appeared first on The Intercept.
It’s illegal to deport people for political speech, but that’s exactly what ICE is trying to do to this Palestinian Columbia student.
The post If Trump Can Deport Mahmoud Khalil, Freedom of Speech Is Dead appeared first on The Intercept.
World cuisines that use curd cheeses frequently sub in cottage cheese, even in sweet dishes – read on for inspiration
Why is everyone talking about cottage cheese, and can you make anything that’s actually good with it?
“I’ve never understood why cottage cheese has such a bad rep,” says Tommy Banks, chef/director of The Black Swan at Oldstead, Roots York and The Abbey Inn in North Yorkshire, who is a big fan of the white stuff. “It’s deliciously creamy and so versatile; I use it in both sweet and savoury dishes at home, where it’s a staple.” And he’s not kidding: Banks has it for lunch just about every weekday, either with scrambled eggs or tinned fish. “It’s a great, affordable, high-protein quick-fix.”
There’s no denying that the diet food from the 1980s is experiencing something of a revival, thanks to videos of ice-cream, flatbread and pancakes made from the curds and whey receiving millions of views on TikTok over the past year or so. However, it is also a good alternative to urda, a Balkan cheese made from leftover whey that, when Irina Janakievska moved to the UK 20 years ago, was impossible to find here. “I started using cottage cheese instead,” says the author of The Balkan Kitchen. “And while it isn’t a direct substitute, it is versatile.” For a riff on a Balkan-style filo or hand-stretched savoury pastry (“such as gibanica, banitsa or burek”), Janakievska combines cottage cheese, fried leeks and blanched and roughly chopped greens (spinach, chard, sorrel, nettles, say), then binds them with an egg before swaddling in filo and baking.
Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
Continue reading...Eating with my family was a source of joy and pleasure until illness ravaged my digestive system. After my stoma was fitted, everything tasted amazing again
Growing up, I always loved food. On Sundays, I’d ask for seconds of my roast dinner. My gran would bake cakes every weekend, which I would drown in custard. I can still remember how the chocolate digestive biscuits I’d eat when I got in from school tasted, how satisfying it was to dip them in my tea as I chatted with my dad about my day. Food brought us together as a family and it was something I always relished.
Then I got sick. I was 12 when I first displayed symptoms of Crohn’s disease. I started getting unbearable pain in my stomach and going to the toilet a bit more. Then a lot more. And I stopped feeling hungry. My weight dropped three stone (19kg), my periods stopped and I had no energy, but it was my sudden lack of appetite that I missed the most. Food had always been a source of joy; I’d watch cookery shows and cry, remembering how much pleasure I used to take from eating. Now, my body rejected everything except supplement drinks that pretended to have flavours like lime and orange but always just tasted like bile. I was fading away and it was terrifying.
Continue reading...Applications to the sustainable farming initiative no longer accepted but no clarity on what will replace it and when
Farming and countryside groups in England are furious that the government has paused a key post-Brexit farming payments scheme with little information about what will replace it and when.
In a statement on Tuesday evening the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the sustainable farming incentive would no longer accept new applications.
Continue reading...Tiny bits of plastic can end up in water and soil at alarming levels, said lead author of University of Missouri paper
Fertilizers that shed microplastics are increasingly spreading on America’s cropland, research shows, raising new worry about the soil contamination and safety of the US food supply.
A peer-reviewed University of Missouri paper found common types of controlled-release fertilizers are often encapsulated with plastic and can be so small that they could be considered microplastics. Those are designed to break down into even smaller pieces of plastic once spread in fields.
Continue reading...Other countries are moving fast to inform and prepare their citizens about emergency resilience. The times demand no less
“Keep calm and carry on.” We all know that famous second world war poster, don’t we? But it’s illusory: the poster was never publicly displayed during the war and only discovered by chance decades later.
Illusions bedevil our readiness to cope with the crises we might face. Reviewing the state of UK civil food resilience for a National Preparedness Commission report, I found that there is, in fact, scant preparedness going on, and little attention given to involving the public.
Tim Lang is professor emeritus of food policy at the Centre for Food Policy, City St George’s, University of London
British comedian Dave Gorman joins Grace for another scrumptious helping of Comfort Eating. Across the noughties, Dave took the British comedy scene by storm, and is known for taking the mundane, adding some sparkle and creating an Edinburgh festival fringe show, a UK tour and a book. Now he is back with a reboot of Dave Gorman: Modern Life is Goodish. Dave recounts how his hero comedian Frank Skinner gave him his big break; how fish and chips equals celebration; and what he munches on to fuel his frequent all-night writing sessions
New episodes of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will be released every Tuesday
Continue reading...There’s no shortage of non-dairy milks on the market, but which comes out on top for taste, texture and sustainability? Our expert reveals all
• The best coffee machines for your home: your morning brew made easy
Plant milk is everywhere. Once a niche alternative, it now lines supermarket shelves in endless varieties – oat, almond, soya, hazelnut, coconut, rice, pea – and is often the product of choice in coffee shops. Whether for ethical, environmental or dietary reasons, more and more people are ditching dairy. But not all plant milks are created equal. Some taste fantastic on their own but split in hot coffee or tea, some are ultra-processed, and others still have questionable sustainability credentials. Even so, according to the environmental charity Hubbub, oat, almond and soy milk generate at least 68% fewer planet-warming emissions than conventional dairy milk, require less land and fresh water, and have a lower impact on waterways through chemical run-off and eutrophication.
I tested 10 plant-based milks, judging them on taste, texture, ingredients, sustainability and how they perform in coffee, and I enlisted my local cafe, Oru, in south-east London, to help me assess them for taste, texture and stability once heat is applied. Here’s how they measure up.
Continue reading...Decision made after attempts to raise more funds had been unsuccessful, agency tells authorities
Food rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have been slashed in half by the World Food Programme, days after refugees in Kenya protested against a reduction to their rations.
The WFP, which is funded entirely by voluntary contributions and provides assistance to more than 150 million people, said it did not have enough funds to continue to provide the full ration so would be reducing the food voucher to 726 Bangladeshi taka (£4.60) per person, from 1,515 taka.
Continue reading...Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk.
Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems?
Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all
Continue reading...By sending weapons to Israel while halting arms sales to Ukraine, Trump backs nations that are “occupying a less powerful people.”
The post Support the Occupying Force: The Logic Behind Trump’s Foreign Policy 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...The last right-wing American president before Trump galvanized a resurgent Latin American left. Where will the region go now?
The post Latin America’s New Right Ushers in Pan-American Trumpism appeared first on The Intercept.
Each spring since 2003, Jon Aars, senior scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute, and his team have conducted an annual polar bear monitoring program on Svalbard - collaring, capturing and taking samples from as many bears as they can across several weeks.
By studying polar bears they get a better understanding of what is happening in this part of the Arctic environment. The bears roam over large distances and, being apex predators, provide lots of information about what is happening lower in the food chain and across different Arctic species.
The Guardian accompanied Aars on an expedition to the southern end of Spitsbergen island, the largest in the Svalbard archipelago.
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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European Commission says it will impose counter-tariffs on US goods from April while UK takes ‘pragmatic’ approach; US tariffs cover household goods like tin foil
Community Union, Britain’s steelworkers’ union says the tariffs are “hugely damaging” and threaten jobs – and “self-defeating” for the United States.
Alasdair McDiarmid, Community’s assistant general secretary, said:
These US tariffs on UK steel exports are hugely damaging and they threaten jobs. For the US it’s also self-defeating, as the UK is a leading supplier of specialist steel products required by their defence and aerospace sectors.
The UK’s response must include delivering a robust Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the strongest possible trade defence measures to shield our sector from diverted imports.
Our government must act decisively to protect the steel industry and its workers following the announcement of US tariffs.
This is a matter of national security. Steel should be immediately designated as critical national infrastructure to properly protect it.
Continue reading...Committee warns of serious injustice to disabled motorists and those reliant on public chargers
The rollout of electric vehicle chargers across Britain is “patchy”, behind deadline and ignores the needs of disabled drivers, the parliamentary spending watchdog has found.
A report published by the public accounts committee (PAC) warned that the charging points needed to give drivers confidence for the switch to EVs were still lacking, particularly on Britain’s biggest roads.
Continue reading...Highly toxic jet fuel leaking from oil tanker threatens local ecosystems as investigations begin into collision’s cause
Leaking fuel from the collision between a cargo ship and oil tanker in the North Sea would have a “devastating” impact on marine life, experts have said, as investigations began into the cause of the incident.
Fires continued to burn onboard both vessels 24 hours after the Stena Immaculate tanker and cargo ship Solong collided off the coast of Yorkshire on Monday morning. A search for a missing crew member was called off overnight.
Continue reading...
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.
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