| The UK recession already appears to be over, with official figures revealing that the economy grew by 0.2% in January. The downturn – defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth – is on track to be one of the shortest in the past century. Rishi Sunak has described remarks reportedly made by the Tory party's biggest donor about Diane Abbott as "racist and wrong". Downing Street had initially only labelled Frank Hester's alleged comments – that the Labour MP made him "want to hate all black women" – as "clearly unacceptable". Giant redwoods, the world's largest trees, are thriving in Britain. A new study has found that there are an estimated 500,000 Sequoiadendron giganteum in Britain, compared to fewer than 80,000 in their native California. | | | | Instagram/@princeandprincessofwales |
| The fuss over Kate makes me "queasy" | "Enough!" says Alice Thomson in The Times. I don't know if it was the grainy pictures of Catherine Middleton being driven through the rain, her daughter's cardigan sleeve leading the evening news, Kate's "grovelling apology" about a botched photoshop job, or the online conspiracy nuts speculating about wedding rings and recovery times after a Brazilian butt lift. "But at some stage I started to feel queasy." Here is a 42-year-old mother of three small children, recuperating from major surgery after two weeks in hospital, who said specifically that she wouldn't be out and about until April. Does it really matter if she tweaked a Mother's Day photo (above) while trying to convince conspiracy theorists that she wasn't in a coma? And doesn't all the fuss say rather more about us than it does about her? | Yes, it's all a lot of nonsense, says Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic, but it reveals something important about the modern age. For years, nervous techy types have warned that deepfakes and generative AI tools could "destroy any remaining shreds of shared reality". The technology would become so good, they argued, that it would become "difficult for anyone to believe anything they didn't witness themselves". These tools don't even have to be used – the fact people know they exist creates a "pervasive, low-grade disorientation, suspicion and distrust". The royal portrait debacle shows that in an age of synthetic media, when trust in governing institutions and "gatekeeping organisations" is at an all-time low, this nightmare isn't forthcoming – "we're living in it". | | | | Dezeen has compiled a list of avant-garde yacht designs aiming to "disrupt the high-end boat industry". They include the angular Tetra, which would lift itself above the waterline at high speeds using hydrofoil technology; the Migaloo M5 luxury submarine, which would cost $2bn and be capable of descending 250 metres below the ocean's surface for four weeks at a time; the solar-powered Arkup 75, with retractable stilts allowing it to be raised out of the water to become an off-grid home; the ultra-quiet Oneiric catamaran; and Project Neptune, a three-person luxury submarine dreamt up by submersible-maker Triton, with a little help from Aston Martin. See the rest here. |
| |
| | | Recent "eye-popping" graphs showed a gaping political divide among the young, with men veering right and women veering left, says The Atlantic. But things aren't quite as dramatic at the ballot box. In the 2020 presidential election, nearly 68% of 18-to-29-year-old men voted for Joe Biden, compared to 70% of women – the same two-point gap recorded in 2008. In the 2022 midterm elections, the youngest voters had the smallest gender divide of any age group. | | | | Getty |
| Briefcases have long been seen as a "dying relic", says the FT, but they're having a renaissance. Catwalks are dotted with modern cases in vintage styles, and TikTok videos tagged with #briefcase have racked up 77 million views, with users comparing locks, materials and "sentimental value". Even modern briefcases are in vogue: the luxury brand Smythson has reported a 10% year-on-year growth in sales. | | | | Enjoying The Knowledge? Click below to share | | |
| |
| |
| | | | Food rations in Sanaa, Yemen. Mohammed Hamoud/Getty |
| I thought famines were history. I was wrong | Nearly eight years ago, says Alex de Waal in The New York Times, I wrote an essay arguing that large-scale famines might cease to be a problem. "I was wrong. Famines are back." In 2016, an estimated 130 million people needed emergency aid; by last year, it was 363 million. The growing list of places at risk of famine includes Gaza, Afghanistan, Syria, Mali and North Korea. But the "global hot spot of food crisis", where about 90 million people are facing severe hunger, is a cluster of countries near the Red Sea: Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. These nations each have their own histories of devastating food shortages. But never before have they all been "descending toward mass starvation at the same time". | Food crises tend to have many drivers – crop failures, high food prices, unemployment – but the big factor today is war. About two-thirds of those facing hunger live in war zones or are trying to flee them. Another big problem is that aid budgets aren't keeping up. Until five years ago, the UN received around 60% of what it sought in emergency aid; in 2023, largely thanks to rising food and shipping costs, the proportion dropped to about 35%. Then there's corruption: US officials in Ethiopia recently uncovered what they have called "the world's biggest aid theft scheme". Whatever the causes, mass starvation isn't just a "stain on our conscience" – it's also a global security threat. Famines can cause societal collapse and push millions to migrate. Throw war into the mix, and "that vortex of instability spins faster". | | | | | Instagram has spiced up its direct messaging feature by adding a mini-game, says Lifehacker. To play, just open up one of your chats, send an emoji and click on it. Once it starts ricocheting around the screen, the aim is to keep it from reaching the bottom by moving around a horizontal paddle. |
|
| | | Manual cars are becoming a dying breed, says The Daily Telegraph. A record 324,000 automatic-only learner tests were taken in 2023, up 33% from the previous year and accounting for more than a third of all tests. The shift makes sense: electric cars typically don't have gearboxes, and the government ban on new petrol and diesel car sales is due to come into force in 2035. But drivers hoping for an easy ride may be disappointed. Last year just 43% of automatic-only learners passed their tests, compared to 48% of candidates driving manuals. | | | | | | It's a blue dragon, a toxic sea slug that has been washing up on Texas beaches, says USA Today. Health officials have warned students on spring break and other beachgoers not to touch the one-inch creatures, as they pack a vicious sting that can result in symptoms including nausea, vomiting and "searing pain". Julian Obayd, a marine biology student, describes blue dragon stings as "the most painful thing you can imagine". | | | | "Most of American life is driving somewhere and then driving back wondering why the hell you went." John Updike |
| |
| |
| | |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment