All posts tagged: wrath

For She Is Wrath by Emily Varga

For She Is Wrath by Emily Varga

Published by skeptic

For She Is Wrath marks Emily Varga’s debut into the YA fantasy landscape with a remarkable Pakistani-inspired retelling of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. This imaginative adaptation weaves together elements of djinn magic, political intrigue, and a burning romance that refuses to be extinguished by betrayal. Varga crafts a tale that explores the consuming nature of revenge while questioning whether the price of vengeance is worth the cost of one’s humanity. Setting & World-Building The story unfolds in a richly detailed world inspired by South Asian culture, centered in the empire of Basral. Varga’s world-building shines particularly bright in her integration of djinn magic through zoraat – magical seeds that grant their users extraordinary powers. The political landscape is carefully constructed, with Emperor Vahid’s iron grip maintained through his monopoly on zoraat, creating a compelling power dynamic that drives much of the narrative’s conflict. The author’s attention to cultural details – from the intricate descriptions of shalwar kameez to the mouth-watering mentions of traditional dishes like mutton karahi and kulfi – adds authenticity …

Photos: Florida Braces for Milton’s Wrath

Photos: Florida Braces for Milton’s Wrath

Published by José

Residents of Florida are preparing themselves for Hurricane Milton, currently a Category 4 storm, which is expected to make landfall later tonight or early tomorrow morning. Milton arrives less than two weeks after many Florida cities and towns were hit by Hurricane Helene—piles of storm debris still line the streets. Mandatory-evacuation orders are in place in cities along Florida’s central west coast, and residents have spent recent days boarding up windows, piling sandbags, and looking out for loved ones as they ready themselves for this enormous storm. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Source link

Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan

Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan

Published by skeptic

Ah, Halloween. That magical time of year when the veil between worlds grows thin, spirits walk among us, and apparently Greek gods decide it’s the perfect occasion to saddle teenage demigods with supernatural pet-sitting duties. At least, that’s the premise of Rick Riordan’s latest Percy Jackson adventure, Wrath of the Triple Goddess. And let me tell you, this book is a treat sweeter than any candy haul. As the seventh installment in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Wrath of the Triple Goddess proves that Riordan still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve when it comes to blending modern teen life with classical mythology. The story picks up where The Chalice of the Gods left off, with our hero Percy desperately trying to secure divine recommendation letters for his college application. Because apparently saving the world multiple times isn’t enough to get you into New Rome University these days. Kids, take note – extracurriculars matter! The Plot: When Pet-Sitting Goes Terribly, Hilariously Wrong The setup is deceptively simple: the goddess Hecate asks Percy …

Spain leads European push to recognise Palestine, risking Israel’s wrath | Israel War on Gaza News

Spain leads European push to recognise Palestine, risking Israel’s wrath | Israel War on Gaza News

Published by Sam

Spain is on a mission. As Israel’s war on Gaza rages on for a seventh month, with almost 34,000 Palestinians killed, Madrid wants to recognise Palestine as a state by July and is encouraging its neighbours to follow in its footsteps. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, sees recognition as a way of reaching a two-state solution and a possible key to ending the devastating conflict that began in October. “The time has come for the international community to once and for all recognise the State of Palestine,” he said in November. “It is something that many EU countries believe we have to do jointly, but if this is not the case, Spain will adopt its own decision.” In all, 139 out of 193 United Nations member states consider Palestine as a state. Those which do include European nations such as Iceland, Poland and Romania, as well as countries like Russia, China and Nigeria. The European Union as a whole does not recognise Palestine, nor do states including the United States, …

Meta lowers WhatsApp’s age limit in Europe, drawing critics’ wrath

Meta lowers WhatsApp’s age limit in Europe, drawing critics’ wrath

Published by skeptic

Meta’s decision to lower the minimum age to use its WhatsApp messaging service is drawing fire from children’s advocates in the UK and EU. The move lowers ages from 16 to 13 in both territories; it went into effect as of April 11. Leading the charge on pushback against Meta, which is also the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is UK-based Smartphone Free Childhood. “WhatsApp are putting shareholder profits first and children’s safety second,” Daisy Greenwell, the group’s co-founder, said in a statement. Government officials also weighed in. Vicky Ford, a Conservative member of Parliament, told Sky News the age-limit reduction was “highly irresponsible.” Mark Bunting, the director of online safety strategy for Ofcom, the UK’s media regulator, told BBC Radio the agency was already writing up codes of practice for social media companies to follow, with fines at the ready once it had the power to levy them. “If they’re not taking those steps at that point, and they can’t demonstrate to us that they’re taking alternative steps which are effective at keeping children …

Hundreds risk arrest, and Kremlin’s wrath, to lay flowers for Alexei Navalny

Hundreds risk arrest, and Kremlin’s wrath, to lay flowers for Alexei Navalny

Published by Sam

MOSCOW — Ahead of the third day of mourning for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died suddenly in an Arctic prison, activists sent out safety tips for Russians wishing to lay flowers at memorials that have sprung up across the country, from St. Petersburg in the northwest to Magadan in the Far East; in the capital, Moscow, that was Navalny’s beloved home — and even in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. “Bring your passport. Keep a copy of the hotline for detainees. Bring water, a fully charged phone, and a powerbank,” one post stated. Navalny’s team, now operating in exile, also offered to pay any fines meted out to protesters. Navalny, who was the most prominent challenger of President Vladimir Putin, often urged his supporters not to be afraid. And in the days after his death Friday at age 47 — his team says it was state-sponsored murder — hundreds have heeded Navalny’s call, risking arrest in the repressive climate of wartime Russia and braving bitter winter temperatures, to contribute to …

Asgard’s Wrath 2 mini-review: My favorite VR game of 2023 | Kaser Focus

Asgard’s Wrath 2 mini-review: My favorite VR game of 2023 | Kaser Focus

Published by skeptic

Do you want to get the latest gaming industry news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our daily and weekly newsletters here. I’ll be honest, when I play VR games, it’s not for the breadth of the experience. I put on my Meta Quest headset for the likes of Beat Saber or some other short-but-fun game. But Asgard’s Wrath 2 came along — right near the end of 2023, no less — and blew all of my preconceived notions away. The game is a meaty, replayable RPG with beautiful graphics, fun puzzles and an actual story that sucked me in and kept me interested enough to play more. It’s easily my favorite VR game that I played last year. In Asgard’s Wrath 2, you’re pursuing Norse god Loki, your betrayer in the previous game, all the way to Egypt. With a little help from the local deities, the player character controls several mortals who each have their own distinctive stories. Perhaps this speaks to my own biases about VR games, but I was again …

Russia-Ukraine war live: Volodymyr Zelenskiy vows to unleash ‘wrath’ on Russian forces in 2024 | World news

Russia-Ukraine war live: Volodymyr Zelenskiy vows to unleash ‘wrath’ on Russian forces in 2024 | World news

Published by skeptic

Volodymyr Zelenskiy vows to unleash ‘wrath’ on Russian forces in 2024 Good morning. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has vowed to unleash “wrath” against Russian forces in 2024, saying Ukraine has become stronger as the war moves toward its third year. But Zelenskiy’s slick 20-minute new year’s address, delivered from his Kyiv office, made almost no direct reference to the situation on the 600 mile (1,000km) frontline or the limited success of a counteroffensive launched in June. President Zelenskiy addresses Ukrainian people in a televised address on New Year’s Eve, in Kyiv. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters Nor did he refer to the political and diplomatic difficulties in securing continued military and other aid from both the US Congress and the European Union. Zelenskiy said the war had taught Ukrainians to withstand Russian attacks and adapt to hardships, including blackouts, the operation of industry and threats to shipping its exports. You can read the full report here: Updated at 08.50 GMT Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Spectators …

Turkish lawmaker dies after collapsing at the end of his speech where he said Israel would suffer the wrath of Allah

Turkish lawmaker dies after collapsing at the end of his speech where he said Israel would suffer the wrath of Allah

Published by Sam

Inside the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ” data-image-caption=”Inside the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Credit: Voice of America, Wikipedia, Public Domain ” data-medium-file=”https://i1.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/grand-national-assembly-of-turkey-credit-voice-of-america-wikipedia-public-domain.jpg?w=500&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i1.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/grand-national-assembly-of-turkey-credit-voice-of-america-wikipedia-public-domain.jpg?w=500&ssl=1″ width=”500″ height=”375″ fifu-data-src=”https://i1.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/grand-national-assembly-of-turkey-credit-voice-of-america-wikipedia-public-domain.jpg?w=500&ssl=1″ alt=”Inside the Grand National Assembly of Turkey” class=”wp-image-89710″ srcset=”https://i1.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/grand-national-assembly-of-turkey-credit-voice-of-america-wikipedia-public-domain.jpg?w=500&ssl=1 500w, https://openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/grand-national-assembly-of-turkey-credit-voice-of-america-wikipedia-public-domain.jpg?w=768 768w, https://openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/grand-national-assembly-of-turkey-credit-voice-of-america-wikipedia-public-domain.jpg 800w” sizes=”(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px”/>Inside the Grand National Assembly of TurkeyCredit: Voice of America, Wikipedia, Public Domain A Turkish lawmaker, Hasan Bitmez, has died after collapsing from a heart attack in the country’s parliament, literally seconds after he made a speech stating that Israel would experience Allah’s wrath for invading Gaza, the Daily Mail reports. Video shows Hasan Bitmez, 54, falling to the ground behind the podium from a heart attack after condemning Israel’s response to the brutal invasion of its country by the Hamas terrorist group. ‘We can perhaps hide from our conscience but not from history,’ stating that ‘Israel will suffer the wrath of Allah’, Bitmez reportedly said just before he collapsed. Bitmez, who is a member of the Felicity (Saadet) Party, a fundamentalist Islamic party in that country, was rushed to …

OpenAI’s board is no match for investors’ wrath

OpenAI’s board is no match for investors’ wrath

Published by skeptic

On Friday, the board of OpenAI, the AI startup behind ChatGPT and other viral AI-powered hits, did something unexpected but seemingly well within its right: removed the company’s CEO, Sam Altman. But judging by how the situation’s unfolded, it seems that OpenAI’s investors and partners — and many of its employees — were more comfortable with the idea of the board’s power than it exercising that power. And they didn’t count on the cult of personality surrounding Altman, the former president of Y Combinator and a longtime fixture of the Silicon Valley startup scene. On Saturday evening, just over 24 hours after the OpenAI board unceremoniously announced that Altman would be replaced by Mira Murati, OpenAI’s CTO, on a temporary basis, multiple publications published reports suggesting that the OpenAI board was in talks to have Altman return at the helm. What changed their mind? The ire and panic, of investors, no doubt — and rankled ranks. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, a major OpenAI partner, was reportedly “furious” to learn of Altman’s departure “minutes” after …