Russia is intensifying its information war against Ukraine, using propaganda, disinformation and cyber hacking to distort reality and exacerbate divisions in Western societies, while Moscow-linked outlets are involved in spreading fake stories to discredit the Ukrainian government. Source link
Think sun, sea, Skye – and seaweed. It’s early summer off the west coast of Scotland, and Alex Glasgow is landing a long string of orangey-black seaweed on to the barge of his water farm. It emerges on what looks like a washing line heavy with dirty rags, hoicked up from the depths. And yet, this slippery, shiny, salty substance might, just might, be going to save the planet. When it comes to sustainability, seaweed is about as shipshape as it gets. Minimal damage to the environment, check. No use of pesticides, check. Diversifies ocean life, check. Uses no land, check. And, in the case of Skye’s seaweed farm, spoils no one’s view, check. Indeed, a few minutes earlier, as we sped across the Inner Sound between Skye’s second-biggest settlement, Broadford, reputedly the birthplace of Drambuie, and the tiny island of Pabay, it was hard to work out the seaweed farm’s location. Eventually the boat slows as we near a few floats bobbing around on the water. They are the only visible sign that anything …
Labour wants to draw closer to Europe on key foreign and security issues by frequently attending meetings of the monthly EU foreign affairs council. The move, which is likely to trigger Conservative claims that Labour is prepared to abandon an independent foreign policy, builds on a pledge by Keir Starmer’s party to try to negotiate a new security pact with the EU after the 2024 UK election. Labour sources said the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, was not seeking ad hoc membership of the foreign affairs council or even voting rights, but needed to be involved in a more structured dialogue with Europe, given the importance of foreign affairs to UK national security and economy. The idea of the UK government still attending the EU foreign affairs meetings was raised by the former Conservative foreign secretary Lord Hague immediately after Brexit. It was jettisoned when the Conservative government under Boris Johnson rejected any foreign and security agreement with the EU, preferring to focus on a bare-bones trade agreement. Figures such as Antony Blinken, the US …
The United Kingdom Treasury plans to introduce a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins by July 2024. The goal is to foster local innovation in digital assets and blockchain technology while ensuring consumer protection and maintaining the U.K.’s position as a global leader in fintech. Bim Afolami, the U.K.’s economic secretary to the Treasury, emphasized the importance of crypto regulations during his speech at the Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) 2024: Speaking of true change, I know that the cornerstone of our position as a world leader in fintech is the delivery of our regulatory regime for crypto assets and stablecoins. The Treasury is currently working on final proposals that address stablecoins and crypto staking, with plans to deliver them by June or July. Afolami explained: Once it goes live, a whole host of crypto asset activities, including operating in exchange, taking custody of customer assets and other things, will come within the regulator perimeter for the first time. Afolami also announced the creation of an open finance task force during the conference, which will …
More and more gamers are getting disgruntled with the video game industry. From watching at the sidelines while the workforce is decimated for profit, to watching mega companies using AI to cheap out on salaries, there is another aspect of the gaming industry that it is tough to argue that it is good for gaming. There has been a creep towards companies (certain ones at least) insisting that even though you might actually hand over your $70 you don’t actually own the game, you merely lease the right to play it. Now this should be nonsense, but it has not, as yet, ever been tested in a court of law but now Ross Scott from the YouTube channel Accursed Farms has set up the Stop Killing Games campaign to call this out, and the fact that games companies can merely kill a game seemingly at a moment’s notice while keeping your money. The most recent case in question is from Ubisoft (remember they of “gamers are going to have to get used to the fact …
On a March morning on the shores of Lake Como, a piece of history was made. Mercury/13, a new ownership consortium that focuses purely on women’s football, acquired its first club – FC Como Women, from Serie A Femminile. Mercury/13, founded by Victoire Cogevina Reynal, has pledged $100m (£85.5m) to building up a portfolio of teams across the globe, a “pure play” investor that unlocks clubs’ commercial potential. Reynal and her co-CEO, Mario Malavé, have brought notable figures on board, including the former England international Eni Aluko and Women in Football’s Ebru Koksal. “The aim that we’ve had since day one was to rethink football ownership,” Cogevina Reynal tells Moving the Goalposts. “Women’s football gives this opportunity to build a business from the ground up, having had a predecessor in the men’s game that has been very successful but which has also done some things not in the right way. How can we learn and improve the model? Outside of being investors and operators, it is really about building a sustainable business model so they …
Bristol-headquartered law firm TLT has launched a new target to achieve 50% female representation at partner level by 2029, having achieved a level of 33% last year – two years ahead of its 2025 target. TLT said it will achieve this via initiatives, including offering colleagues a flexible approach to working, top-tier family support and later in life programmes, and a pioneering wellbeing programme with private health care and a cash back plan to support mental health and wellbeing. READ MORE: TLT advises Happy Days Nurseries on investment by Zetland Capital The firm introduced its gender strategy in 2019 in collaboration with its Women’s Equality Network (WEN), which has resulted in women accounting for 66% of partner promotions at TLT in the last three years. “Progressing female talent into top positions at TLT continues to be a priority,” said Helen Hodgkinson, chief people officer at TLT. “Progressing the female health agenda and acknowledging that women’s health differs from their male counterparts are essential in making sure all our women can have a long and successful …
On Sunday night in Los Angeles at the Dolby theatre one name from Hollywood’s recent past will ring out louder than any other: not Cillian or Emma but Ken. There will be 65 of them to be precise, joining Ryan Gosling on stage as he performs I’m Just Ken from Barbie whose cast has been all over the Oscars’ pastel pink promotional videos alongside fourth time host Jimmy Kimmel. Despite the fact Barbie isn’t expected to win beyond Billie Eilish for best original song and another for best costume design (Gosling is an outside bet for best supporting male), Greta Gerwig’s film has been placed at the centre of an award’s show that is desperately trying to reconnect with its audience. The Oscars’ executive producers Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan, and Molly McNearney have pledged they are “going big” this year and in truth, their event sorely needs some of Barbie’s star wattage. Ratings for the Oscars have been unimpressive since the turn of the decade. Last year 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch Jimmy …
AI server makers are hoping to obtain orders from Apple ahead of its highly anticipated unveiling of new AI features later this year, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce. Server manufacturer Supermicro is reportedly “aggressively expanding” its efforts to secure AI-related orders from Apple. The company has the potential to double its shipments of AI servers this year, supported by orders from existing clients including CoreWeave and Tesla. Late last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is expected to spend around $4.75 billion on servers to support its AI technology in 2024, up from $620 million in 2023. The company could purchase up to 20,000 servers this year. Apple is widely expected to announce a range of new AI features at WWDC later this year as part of the preview of iOS 18 and its other software updates. At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company will “break new ground” in generative AI in 2024. “We believe it will unlock transformative opportunities for our users,” he added. …
After seeing so much decline in his team’s recent play, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue is determined to find a solution. His potential fix? More practice. In the wake of the Clippers’ 123-107 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena, Lue will have plenty of justification for pushing his players in practice over the next two days. Lue said his practice sessions will have a simple theme: “Just get better.” “We’re going to practice the next two days just to make sure we understand what we need to do on offense and what we need to do on defense and continue to keep getting better,” Lue said before Sunday’s loss. “And so we’ve had some slippage on both sides of the ball as far as what we need to do. And so we have these two practice days to get better and hopefully get back on track to the way we’ve been playing before.” After the Kings shot 49.5% from the field, 40.5% from three-point range and had six players score in …
