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Doctor Who: Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord – season one opening recap
Sat, 11 May 2024 19:00:33 GMT
With snot monsters, a spaceship powered by nappies and the bad Beatles, the opening double bill of Ncuti Gatwa’s time as the Doctor is full of fun and frolics … if a little forgettable plotwise
At last we get to see the big bold reimagining we’ve been promised since May 2022 when Ncuti Gatwa was unveiled as the new Doctor. There were a lot of knowing echoes of the last time Russell T Davies reset Doctor Who – and not just in the self-conscious recap of the show’s whole premise that took up a large chunk of Space Babies. We also had a time-travelling phonecall back to mum, a monster made of snot and a spaceship powered by the collective methane of a bunch of space nappies, which called to mind the burping bin and farting Slitheen of the 2005 revival.
Space Babies wore its politics on its sleeve as well, cramming in references to the US abortion debate, immigration and asylum seekers, and with the destruction of the Time Lords and Gallifrey now firmly labelled a genocide.
Continue reading...The novelist and memoirist on stamina and solitude, the influence of surrealist art on her work, and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s revelatory travel writing
Deborah Levy’s books include three memoirs and eight novels, half of them published between 1989 and 1999, the other half since 2011, when her Booker-shortlisted Swimming Home came out with a small startup press after rejection by traditional publishers. For the Times Literary Supplement, her novels “teem with oddness, with dreamlike, vertiginous scenes … [and characters] in search of a haunting from their past”. When she was again shortlisted for the Booker in 2016 with Hot Milk, a judge said the novel’s “symbolic richness and mythic complexity ... is also underpinned by a wicked humour: it’s like Virginia Woolf with good jokes”. Levy, 64, spoke from her home in London about her most recent novel, August Blue, in which a classical pianist meets her doppelganger while having a breakdown amid the pandemic.
How does a novel start life for you?
An idea or feeling won’t go away. Sometimes, you can’t believe what’s preoccupying you, then it becomes clear that this is what you’re going to write about: you’re going to dig in and find out what’s going on.
Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan’s search for the truth during the early days of the pandemic was seen as a threat by the authorities
A Chinese citizen journalist who has been in prison for four years after reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 epidemic in Wuhan is due to be released on Monday.
Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to document the Chinese government’s response to what became the start of a global pandemic. She shared her reports on X (then known as Twitter), YouTube and WeChat. She was one of the few independent Chinese reporters on the ground as Wuhan and the rest of China went into lockdown.
Continue reading...Charlotte Jones, John Hunter, Geoff Smith and Sally Bates all agree that it teaches financial responsibility and treats them as grownups
Covid brought three of our adult children back home, and we had to invent a major home renovation project to persuade them to step out into the wide world. Like some of Sue Elliott-Nicholls’s interviewees (My two adult kids have had to move back home. Should I be charging them rent – and if so, how much?, 4 May), I love them dearly, and feel grateful for the extra time we had as a family, but didn’t think twice about asking them to contribute to the household –financially and for chores.
Between four adults (three in Bristol and one in London), our children pay more than £4,400 a month in housing costs. There is likely to be no house-buying for them unless we sell up and downsize, and hand on our baby-boomer equity – or they land incredibly high salaries. Some more research on the likelihood of the latter would be gratefully received, as we have a lot of travel in mind for our retirement and could do with the cash.
Charlotte Jones
Compton Dundon, Somerset
A new anti-terrorism bill would allow the government to take away vital tax exemptions from nonprofit news outlets.
The post Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process appeared first on The Intercept.
Hunters reportedly find five Rwandan men in mangroves on Saibai Island, a known crocodile habitat
As the UK government continues its push to forcibly remove asylum seekers to Rwanda, a group of Rwandan nationals has claimed asylum in Australia after arriving by boat on a remote island.
The five men arrived in Australia by an unconventional route, reportedly flying into the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to be granted visas on arrival, before travelling thousands of kilometres east to Indonesia’s Papua province, where they crossed the land border it shares with Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Continue reading...Nahla Al-Arian lost more than 200 relatives in Israel's attacks on Gaza. Then Eric Adams said she was the reason police raided Columbia.
The post NYC Mayor Smeared a Grandmother as an “Outside Agitator” to Justify NYPD Assault on Columbia appeared first on The Intercept.
We’d like to hear from people who have been purchasing luxury goods and experiences in recent years, and how they feel about their spending habits
We’re interested to hear about people’s spending habits in the area of upmarket or luxury goods, services and experiences, and whether they are generally happy with their spending on non-essentials.
We’d like to know whether you have spent money on expensive non-essential items such as designer clothing, high end housewares, luxury holidays, expensive beauty or wellness treatments, or exclusive dining, for instance, in the past year, and if so, whether you have struggled to afford this.
Continue reading...From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...Wes Ball brings fresh blood, new ideas and superb motion capture to this top-quality summer blockbuster
With this muscular instalment of the consistently impressive rebooted Apes franchise, director Wes Ball, previously best known for the propulsive but somewhat generic YA dystopian Maze Runner series, graduates, with honours, to the big league of Hollywood helmers. This is a top-quality summer blockbuster, bringing fresh blood and new ideas into the series while staying recognisably within the worlds so meticulously created in the previous three movies.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set many generations in the future, long after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes and the conclusion of the story of Caesar, who is now regarded as a Moses-like legendary figure. But the thing about legends is that they get appropriated and twisted to fit the current narrative. Wise old orangutan scholar Raka (Peter Macon) follows the word of Caesar to the letter; Proximus (Kevin Durand) cherrypicks the primate unity theme but disregards the bit about ape not killing ape. And youngster Noa (Owen Teague), son of the leader of a chimp clan that trains and hunts with eagles, hasn’t even heard of Caesar.
In UK and Irish cinemas now
Continue reading...Nahla Al-Arian lost more than 200 relatives in Israel's attacks on Gaza. Then Eric Adams said she was the reason police raided Columbia.
The post NYC Mayor Smeared a Grandmother as an “Outside Agitator” to Justify NYPD Assault on Columbia appeared first on The Intercept.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
Four lawsuits alleging Hamas ties against Students for Justice in Palestine, the AP, UNRWA, and a cryptocurrency exchange share many of the same plaintiffs.
The post October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students Are “Hamas’s Propaganda Division” appeared first on The Intercept.
At least seven schools have reached an agreement with students around investment transparency and exploring divestment from Israel.
The post Some Universities Chose Violence. Others Responded to Protests by Considering Student Demands. appeared first on The Intercept.
First lady shares with Mesa Community College how her high school guidance counselor told her she wasn’t college material
Jill Biden on Saturday told Arizona community college graduates to tune out the people who like to tell them what they can’t do.
The first lady shared with graduates of Mesa Community College how her high school guidance counselor told her she wasn’t college material and shouldn’t waste her time going. She didn’t listen and got her college degree.
Continue reading...On campus, inside the Capitol, and in court, there’s an all-out assault on American democracy in the name of Israel.
The post They Used to Say Arabs Can’t Have Democracy Because It’d Be Bad for Israel. Now the U.S. Can’t Have It Either. appeared first on The Intercept.
The movement to divest from Israel and the defense industry is gaining momentum on college campuses.
The post “A New Sense of World-Building”: Inside the Student Movement for Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The last big protests cost $150 million in NYPD overtime — with tens of millions more in lawsuit settlements.
The post How Much Money Did the NYPD Waste Quashing Student Protests? We Tallied It Up. appeared first on The Intercept.
Two college protesters were placed in solitary confinement, according to Columbia professors who worked in real time to support jailed students.
The post After Raids, NYPD Denied Student Protesters Water and Food in Jail appeared first on The Intercept.
The bipartisan duo also praised schools that brought in police to violently quell protests and connected the demonstrations to the TikTok ban.
The post In No Labels Call, Josh Gottheimer, Mike Lawler, and University Trustees Agree: FBI Should Investigate Campus Protests appeared first on The Intercept.
Nahla Al-Arian lost more than 200 relatives in Israel's attacks on Gaza. Then Eric Adams said she was the reason police raided Columbia.
The post NYC Mayor Smeared a Grandmother as an “Outside Agitator” to Justify NYPD Assault on Columbia appeared first on The Intercept.
President likely to add sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells to range of levies set up under Donald Trump
Joe Biden is expected as early as next week to announce fresh tariffs on Chinese trade, with levies focused on strategic sectors including electric vehicles, in a review of measures first put into place under Donald Trump.
An announcement planned for Tuesday will keep the blanket tax rises introduced by the president’s predecessor but supplement them with targeted levies on industries connected to EVs, including batteries and solar cells, according to reports.
Continue reading...Ukrainians claim shootdown of Russian SU-25; Putin grants two deputy PMs extra powers over energy and defence. What we know on day 809
Ukraine’s security service (SBU) prevented a terrorist attack that Russia had planned to carry out in Kyiv on 9 May, according to Ukrainian media reports. “The Security Service of Ukraine was proactive, the perpetrators of the terrorist attack were caught red-handed and arrested,” said Artem Dekhtiarenko, SBU spokesman, who was quoted by Ukrainska Pravda and the Kyiv Post, as well as the BBC Russian service. “We have also collected evidence that unequivocally confirms Russian involvement.” The SBU said it would provide further details later.
The Ukrainian defence force said its 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade shot down a Russian SU-25 warplane near Avdiivka. It is a jet that provides close air support to ground troops, similar to the American A10.
Fierce fighting has continued on the fringes of the Kharkiv region in north-east Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken the villages of Pletenivka, Ohirtseve, Borysivka, Pylna and Strilecha. Kharkiv’s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, however, said on Saturday that active fighting continued in all five of the frontier villages located within 3km to 5km of the border.
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has visited the border with Belarus and stressed that Poland will do more to strengthen security along its entire eastern frontier. It is also the EU external border with the autocratic state. Tusk accused Belarus, Russia’s ally, of intensifying a “hybrid war” against the west by encouraging migrants to try to cross into the EU. “I know that there are more and more illegal crossings every day,” Tusk said, also citing “the growing threat resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian war, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the uncertain geopolitical situation”.
Five people were killed and nine wounded in three separate Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes on the Russian border provinces of Belgorod and Kursk, and the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, which Russia claims to have annexed, local officials said on Saturday. Denis Pushilin, the convicted Ukrainian traitor installed by Russia as head of east Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that three civilians had been killed and eight more injured when a Ukrainian missile struck a restaurant in Donetsk city.
The governor in Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said one man was killed and another injured after a Ukrainian drone hit a parked truck in the border village of Novostroyevka-Pervaya. His counterpart in neighbouring Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said a civilian died in hospital after being wounded in a drone strike on the frontier town of Sudzha.
A Moscow-installed official in Ukraine’s Luhansk region said the death toll in a Ukrainian missile strike that caused a large fire with major damage at a fuel depot in the town of Rovenky had risen to four, with 11 injured.
In Ukraine’s Sumy oblast bordering Russia, officials said the Russians carried out 21 attacks with mortars, artillery, drones and missiles on communities including Sumy, Khotyn, Yunakiv, Myropil, Bilopol, Krasnopil, Velikopysariv, Esman, Shalygin and Seredino-Bud. In Sumy a woman was killed by a rocket attack. At least 93 explosions were recorded.
Vladimir Putin on Saturday gave extra duties to two key government officials who oversee defence and energy. The Russian president proposed extra powers for Denis Manturov, 55, the only first deputy prime minister in the new government of prime minister Mikhail Mishustin. Putin’s energy tsar, Alexander Novak, 52, will remain as a deputy prime minister overseeing energy but will get additional duties for running the economy, according to the government.
Continue reading...Smarter sanctions must end the state sponsorship that allows settlements to grow and the political influence of religious zealots to flourish
Which country today brushes aside credible accusations of war crimes in a military campaign where its actions are under investigation for genocide? Which nation’s political leadership endorses the illegal, violent expropriation of land and reduces its most steadfast friend – whose protection is vital to its survival – to threaten to withdraw support? Unfortunately, the answer is Israel, which has turned its unchecked anger on the Palestinians after Hamas massacred 1,200 of its citizens and took 253 others hostage. Revenge has led to an intensifying conflict with devastating consequences.
While the recent violence is unprecedented in its ferocity, Israel has had a history of rogue conduct. But a deeper crisis for the country lies beneath the defiance with which far-right Israeli cabinet members respond to Joe Biden’s warning that the US would withhold arms should Israel invade Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah. There appear to be no limits to how far extremists in Israel will go in disregarding world opinion.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...As El Fasher stands on the ‘precipice of a massacre’, rights groups call for sanctions after new testimony describes atrocities carried out by RSF paramilitaries in Sudan
Gruesome new testimony details one of the worst atrocities of the year-long Sudanese civil war – the large-scale massacre of civilians as they desperately tried to flee an ethnic rampage in Darfur last summer.
Witnesses describe children, still alive, being “piled up and shot” by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as they attempted to escape the regional capital of El Geneina in June last year during a bout of ethnic violence in which thousands of civilians were killed.
Continue reading...New York trial heard salacious details about actor’s encounter with ex-president, but it ‘doesn’t move the needle’ with his supporters
Stormy Daniels may have regarded sex with Donald Trump as brief, unimaginative and regrettable but the porn star gripped the nation with a salacious and lengthy retelling of the encounter to a New York court this week.
Daniels’s humiliating testimony in Trump’s fraud trial infuriated the former president who glowered from a few feet away. But her account only confirmed what most Americans already knew about a man widely regarded as a sexual predator and appeared unlikely to change many votes in November’s presidential election.
Continue reading...His mother’s office said the 18-year-old high school senior had to decline the honor due to prior commitments
Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, won’t be serving as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention after all, his mother’s office said on Friday.
“While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments,” Melania Trump’s office said.
Continue reading...The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
Tough-guy talk about ‘radical-left lunatics’ is an extreme spin on an old playbook but plays well with his Republican base
Donald Trump delights in railing against his enemies, and when protesters set up encampments at college campuses nationwide to decry Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the former US president gained another useful antagonist.
For some observers, Trump’s language is both dangerous in the current political environment as he seeks to rile up his base and a dark hint at how he might treat dissent and demonstrations should he defeat Joe Biden and achieve his ambition of returning to the White House in 2025.
Continue reading...Speeches by Cameron, Lammy and Miliband all depicted a darkening world but differed on where to find allies
In a TikTok world it’s rare that three big foreign policy speeches come along all at once, all trying to chart a new course for the UK in a more perilous world, and all written by someone christened David.
But it says something for how foreign affairs dominates so much political thinking currently that speeches this week by David Cameron, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, his shadow, and David Miliband, Labour’s non-resident foreign policy guru, all required attention.
Continue reading...Four lawsuits alleging Hamas ties against Students for Justice in Palestine, the AP, UNRWA, and a cryptocurrency exchange share many of the same plaintiffs.
The post October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students Are “Hamas’s Propaganda Division” appeared first on The Intercept.
A new anti-terrorism bill would allow the government to take away vital tax exemptions from nonprofit news outlets.
The post Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process appeared first on The Intercept.
A former facility psychologist is suing the Bureau of Prisons over an Instagram account that joked about suicide at FCC Lompoc.
The post Who Ran This Derogatory Prison Meme Page? A Prison Guard. appeared first on The Intercept.
Demonstrators converge on Tbilisi to denounce government-backed law likened to Russia’s silencing of dissent
Thousands of protesters marched through central Tbilisi on Saturday at a rally against a controversial “foreign influence” bill backed by the Georgian government and likened to Russian laws silencing dissent.
Massive rallies have gripped the Black Sea Caucasus country for almost a month after the ruling Georgian Dream party revived the bill that was dropped last year because of a huge backlash.
Continue reading...At this month’s elections, the party of Mandela should be judged on its dismal record over the past 30 years
Who will save South Africa from itself? Not the ruling African National Congress (ANC), whose 30 unbroken years of under-achievement have brought the country to its present sorry pass. Not “reformist” president Cyril Ramaphosa, widely considered a disappointment. And not Russia or China, either, to which Pretoria’s flailing regime, increasingly at odds with the west, looks for succour.
Three decades after Nelson Mandela’s historic poll victory formally vanquished apartheid, and less than three weeks before another watershed election, it’s all going wrong for the Rainbow Nation. Africa’s most developed country is now its most unequal, the World Bank says. Crime is rampant, corruption endemic, growth is tanking. More than 60% live in poverty. Unemployment among black people is 40%.
Continue reading...Ukraine says it is pushing back against assaults and battling for control of territory
Fierce fighting has continued for a second day on the fringes ofthe Kharkiv region in north-east Ukraine. Moscow said it had captured five villages, while Kyiv said it was pushing back against the attacks and battling for control of the territory.
Russia launched the armoured incursion early on Friday, in an attack that may presage a broader push into the Kharkiv region, or aim to draw away overstretched Ukrainian forces in the east where Moscow’s offensive is focused.
Continue reading...Polls indicate a surge for the right across the continent in next month’s ballots but the centrists are still likely to hold sway in parliament
Far-right gains in next month’s European elections will be hard, if not impossible, to parlay into more power in parliament, experts say, but they could boost nationalist parties in EU capitals – with potentially greater consequences.
Polling suggests far-right and hardline conservative parties could finish first in nine EU states, including Austria, France and the Netherlands, in the polls between 6 and 9 June, and second or third in another nine, including Germany, Spain, Portugal and Sweden.
Continue reading...Ahead of the publication of his raw account of the Russian invasion, the reporter talks about capturing the conflict in real time – and when the war will come to an end
Illia Ponomarenko was mulling over the idea of writing a book about the war in his home country, Ukraine. He decided to ask his X (formerly Twitter) followers – 1.2 million of them – whether this was a good idea. “There were a lot of positive responses,” the 32-year-old says, with a self-effacing grin. In early 2023 he began work at his new flat in Bucha, the Kyiv satellite town now synonymous with Russian war crimes. He finished the manuscript in two and a half months. “It was brutally intense and emotionally exhausting,” he says.
This month, Bloomsbury publishes I Will Show You How It Was, Ponomarenko’s gripping account of the battle for Kyiv. It is a wonderful work of reportage, immediate and raw, as well as vivid and personal. As the former defence correspondent for the Kyiv Independent newspaper, Ponomarenko is uniquely placed to tell the story of how Russia’s swaggering imperial plan – to conquer Ukraine and to topple its pro-western government – failed. “It was a pivotal moment in European history,” he notes.
Continue reading...Ann Pizzorusso says she has tracked down the background landscape of the world’s most famous painting
The landscape behind Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has sparked endless debate, with some art historians suggesting the view was imaginary and idealised, and others claiming various links to specific Italian locations.
Now a geologist and Renaissance art historian believes she has finally solved the mystery in one of the world’s most famous paintings. Ann Pizzorusso has combined her two fields of expertise to suggest that Leonardo painted several recognisable features of Lecco, on the shores of Lake Como in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
Continue reading...Panel heard from expert witnesses how Russia had ‘means, motive and opportunity’ for covert targeting of intelligence officers
Russia has “targeted and neutralized” dozens of US intelligence agents in recent years in a covert worldwide operation using sonic weapons, a House committee heard on Wednesday as it looked into the mystery phenomenon known as Havana syndrome.
The panel heard from expert witnesses that Russia had “the motive, the means and the opportunity” to enact the attacks on US diplomats and other government employees at embassies and other government outposts that left many with debilitating or career-ending brain injuries and hearing loss.
Continue reading...On campus, inside the Capitol, and in court, there’s an all-out assault on American democracy in the name of Israel.
The post They Used to Say Arabs Can’t Have Democracy Because It’d Be Bad for Israel. Now the U.S. Can’t Have It Either. appeared first on The Intercept.
submitted by /u/Doppelkupplungs [link] [comments] |
‘Climate change is a global problem. It needs that global level of collaboration,’ says Larry Marshall
The world needs a “climate armistice” between the US and China if net zero emissions are to be reached while Australia should hone its efforts on a few key areas where it has an unusual competitive edge, Larry Marshall, the former CSIRO chief executive, said.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s budget in which the Albanese government’s Future Made In Australia (FMIA) plans will probably be prominent, Marshall said the nation ought to focus any industrial support on sectors such as processing of lithium or vanadium or products that realistically scale up.
Continue reading...You could get spicy with the ginger, garlic and onion, try flavourful but less hot varieties of chilli, or get busy with a lemon …
So many recipes rely on chilli for flavour, but unfortunately it numbs my mouth and I then can’t taste anything, so it’s just an unpleasant experience. What’s a good substitute so dishes still pack a punch, but not in a painful way?
Yvonne, Netherlands
Just fresh chilli or all chilli? Lots of dried chillies are much more about their smoky depth, and chocolatey, sweet notes than their kick – ancho and pasilla, for example, are wonderful. Also, if a recipe calls for chilli flakes, try red bell pepper flakes instead, or smoked paprika rather than smoky chilli: both bring the colour and depth you don’t want to miss out on, without the heat you do want to avoid.
If, on the other hand, you want to replicate the punch of chilli, a combination of garlic, ginger and spring onion will get you a long way. Add them at the start of cooking and sweat gently in oil, or use as a finishing touch, much as you would a tarka: soften in a little oil, then drizzle on top. Smoked garlic is another ingredient to play around with to introduce big flavour to all sorts (while we’re on the subject of smoked ingredients, smoked salt is another great option).
Continue reading...Company, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, declined to disclose number of stores where merchandise will not be available
Target confirmed Friday that it won’t carry Pride Month merchandise at all stores in June after the discount retailer experienced a backlash and lower sales over its collection honoring LGBTQ+ communities.
Target, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, said decisions about where to stock Pride-themed products, including adult apparel, home goods, foods and beverages, would be based on “guest insights and consumer research”.
Continue reading...It’s crucial to look after your gut microbiome. So avoid ultra-processed foods, eat healthily, and try blueberries and beetroot for help with hot flushes too
When life feels chaotic, food can be a comfort, a pleasure, an uplifting ritual. Fitting in time to cook, however, can often seem like another impossible thing on the list, especially when there are differing tastes to cater for, and the demands of work to contend with. But as women enter their fourth and fifth decades, considering what we eat is crucial, and making just a few tweaks may improve our health and wellbeing.
“The focus needs to be on eating well, eating a variety of foods, and foods that support bone and heart health,” says Dr Claire Phipps, GP and advanced menopause specialist. Think about a Mediterranean style of eating, with lots of oily fish, wholegrain, pulses, fruit and veg, good fats (avocado, olive oil, for example), nuts and seeds, protein and dairy (calcium is vital for supporting bone density). Good health at this stage of life really is best achieved through diet rather than supplements – “our body uses it much better”. That said, Phipps would recommend taking a vitamin D supplement, maybe magnesium, as “it can be helpful for insomnia”.
Continue reading...Observing fleeting seasonal changes goes hand in hand with gardening – and bring about a profound sense of calm
In Japan, people eat, sleep and wear the seasons, from elegant kimono motifs to petal-shaped sweets and festivals dedicated to nature’s spectacular displays. Unlike its western equivalent, Japan’s ancient agricultural calendar is governed not solely by the waxing and waning of the moon and the sun’s position in the sky, but also by the blooming of seasonal flowers and other small changes in nature against the wider backdrop of the seasons.
According to the traditional Japanese almanac, the year is divided into four major seasons, 24 sekki (solar terms), and 72 kō, or micro-seasons. Each kō lasts only five days and is associated with specific seasonal rituals, foods, flowers and festivals.
Continue reading...South Africa's case against Israel over allegations of genocide before the international court of justice has raised a central question of international law: what is genocide and how do you prove it? It is one of three genocide cases being considered by the UN's world court, but since the genocide convention was approved in 1948, only three instances have been legally recognised as genocide. Josh Toussaint-Strauss looks back on these historical cases to find out why the crime is so much harder to prove than other atrocities, and what bearing this has on South Africa's case against Israel and future cases
What is the genocide convention and how might it apply to the UK and Israel?
‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid
Sales of cottage cheese are booming thanks to a boost from protein-hungry social media influencers. But do we really need all this extra protein? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Joanne Slavin, a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota, to find out what exactly protein is doing in our bodies, and what happens to it when we consume it in excess
Read more from the Guardian about protein
Read more about the cottage cheese trend
Continue reading...At least seven schools have reached an agreement with students around investment transparency and exploring divestment from Israel.
The post Some Universities Chose Violence. Others Responded to Protests by Considering Student Demands. appeared first on The Intercept.
“The reality for kids living there is shocking, honestly,” said an official who recently returned from Gaza. “People are living in really squalid conditions.”
The post 600,000 Palestinian Kids in Rafah Can’t “Evacuate” Safely, UNICEF Official Says appeared first on The Intercept.
Two college protesters were placed in solitary confinement, according to Columbia professors who worked in real time to support jailed students.
The post After Raids, NYPD Denied Student Protesters Water and Food in Jail appeared first on The Intercept.
Tesco is on a mission to get the nation to eat more legumes. Seasonal foodie Gem Morson and clinical nutritionist Nishtha Patel explain why they’re on board
Go back in time as far as the iron age, and you’d find our ancestors eating broad beans. For centuries, the legumes were a crucial part of the British diet, until they fell out of fashion. Recently, however, they’ve been cropping up in an increasing number of recipes from some of the country’s most exciting chefs and food influencers.
Gem Morson, AKA the Mother Cooker, is on a mission to help us eat more seasonally. “Broad beans are a fantastic ingredient,” she says. “They’re packed with protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, plus they’re grown in Britain. And because they’re available when they’re in season, they taste so much better, too.”
Continue reading...Tinned chickpeas are flying off the shelves at Tesco. Vegan influencer Christina Soteriou and child nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed explain why – and share their tips for recipes and moreish snacks
“Chickpeas are flying off the shelves, so our priority is making sure they’re always available when customers want them,” says Ashley Wainaina, Tesco’s canned pulses buyer. “We’ve even changed our stocking system to make it more efficient, so we can keep up with demand.”
As the UK’s largest food retailer, Tesco is helping customers make better choices when they shop by highlighting better foods, such as snacks containing under 100 calories or foods that are high in fibre or low in sugar, through its Better Baskets campaign. Chickpeas are loaded with protein and fibre, they’re filling, a third of a tin counts as one of your five a day, and they can be cooked in a plethora of different ways. They’ve been eaten for millennia across the Middle East, India and the Mediterranean, and their popularity has soared here recently, too.
Continue reading...Whether it’s campaigns that promote hassle-free recipes, or initiatives that encourage shoppers to eat more veg, Tesco is taking action to make healthier diets accessible and affordable to all
Our health is so often measured in figures; whether it’s a number on the scales, a score on our blood pressure monitor or our body mass index. With such a focus on personal responsibility, these metrics often only succeed in making people feel bad about themselves.
Thankfully, the tide is turning, and more people are realising that an environment which encourages the over-consumption of unhealthy convenience foods is a major contributing factor to poor health. Overcoming this requires more support than the individualistic approach would have us believe.
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...On the last day of his Huginn mission, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen takes us on a tour of the place he called home for 6 months: the International Space Station. From the beautiful views of Cupola to the kitchen in Node 1 filled with food and friends and all the way to the science of Columbus, the Space Station is the work and living place for astronauts as they help push science forward.
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
Continue reading...Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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