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BBC Future has brought you in-depth and rigorous stories to help you navigate the current pandemic, but we know that’s not all you want to read. So now we’re dedicating a series to help you escape. We’ll be revisiting our most po[CENSORED]r features from the last three years in our Lockdown Longreads. You’ll find everything from the story about the world’s greatest space mission to the truth about whether our cats really love us, the epic hunt to bring illegal fishermen to justice and the small team which brings long-buried World War Two tanks back to life. What you won’t find is any reference to, well, you-know-what. Enjoy. It’s the conspiracy theory to dwarf all conspiracy theories. A smorgasbord of every other intrigue under the sun, the Illuminati are the supposed overlords controlling the world’s affairs, operating secretly as they seek to establish a New World Order. But this far-fetched paranoia all started with a playful work of fiction in the 1960s. What does this tell us about our readiness to believe what we read and hear – and what can the Illuminati myth reveal about the fake news and stories we continue to be influenced by today? When most people try to look into the secret society’s history, they find themselves in Germany with the Enlightenment-era Order of the Illuminati. It was a Bavarian secret society, founded in 1776, for intellectuals to privately group together and oppose the religious and elitist influence over daily life. It included several well-known progressives at the time but, along with the Freemasons, they found themselves gradually outlawed by conservative and Christian critics and the group faded out of existence. That is, until the 1960s. The Illuminati that we’ve come to hear about today is hardly influenced by the Bavarians at all, as I learned from author and broadcaster David Bramwell, a man who has dedicated himself to documenting the origins of the myth. Instead, an era of counter-culture mania, LSD and interest in Eastern philosophy is largely responsible for the group’s (totally unsubstantiated) modern incarnation. It all began somewhere amid the Summer of Love and the hippie phenomenon, when a small, printed text emerged: Principia Discordia. The book was, in a nutshell, a parody text for a parody faith – Discordianism – conjured up by enthusiastic anarchists and thinkers to bid its readers to worship Eris, goddess of chaos. The Discordian movement was ultimately a collective that wished to cause civil disobedience, practical jokes and hoaxes. The text itself never amounted to anything more than a counter-culture curiosity, but one of the tenets of the faith – that such miscreant activities could bring about social change and force individuals to question the parameters of reality – was immortalised by one writer, Robert Anton Wilson. According to Bramwell, Wilson and one of the authors of the Principia Discordia, Kerry Thornley, “decided that the world was becoming too authoritarian, too tight, too closed, too controlled”. They wanted to bring chaos back into society to shake things up, and “the way to do that was to spread disinformation. To disseminate misinformation through all portals – through counter culture, through the mainstream media, through whatever means. And they decided they would do that initially by telling stories about the Illuminati.” At the time, Wilson worked for the men’s magazine Playboy. He and Thornley started sending in fake letters from readers talking about this secret, elite organisation called the Illuminati. Then they would send in more letters – to contradict the letters they had just written. “So, the concept behind this was that if you give enough contrary points of view on a story, in theory – idealistically – the po[CENSORED]tion at large start looking at these things and think, ‘hang on a minute’,” says Bramwell. “They ask themselves, ‘Can I trust how the information is presented to me?’ It’s an idealistic means of getting people to wake up to the suggested realities that they inhabit – which of course didn’t happen quite in the way they were hoping.” The chaos of the Illuminati myth did indeed travel far and wide – Wilson and another Playboy writer wrote The Illuminatus! Trilogy which attributed the ‘cover-ups’ of our times – such as who shot John F Kennedy – to the Illuminati. The books became such a surprise cult success that they were made into a stage play in Liverpool, launching the careers of British actors Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent. British electronic band The KLF also called themselves The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, named after the band of Discordians that infiltrate the Illuminati in Wilson’s trilogy as they were inspired by the religion’s anarchic ideology. Then, an Illuminati role-playing card game appeared in 1975 which imprinted its mystical world of secret societies onto a whole generation. Today, it’s one of the world’s most widely punted conspiracy theories; even celebrities like Jay-Z and Beyoncé have taken on the symbolism of the group themselves, raising their hands into the Illuminati triangle at concerts. It’s hardly instigated the mind-blowing epiphany – the realisation that it’s all fake – which the proponents of Discordianism had originally intended. The 60s culture of mini-publishers and zines seems terrifically distant now from today’s globalised, hyper-connected internet, and it has undeniably been the internet’s propensity to share and propagate Illuminati rumours on websites like 4chan and Reddit that has brought the idea the fame it has today. But we live in a world that is full of conspiracy theories and, more importantly, conspiracy theory believers; in 2015, political scientists discovered that about half of the general public in the USA endorse at least one conspiracy theory. These include anything from the Illuminati to the Obama ‘birther’ conspiracy, or the widely held belief that 9/11 was an inside job carried out by US intelligence services. “There’s no one profile of a conspiracy theorist,” says Viren Swami, professor of social psychology at Anglia Ruskin University. “There are different perspectives of why people believe in these theories, and they’re not necessarily mutually exclusive – so the simplest form of explanation is that people who believe in conspiracy theories are suffering from some sort of psychopathology.” Another conclusion researchers have drawn to is that these theories could provide rational ways of understanding events that are confusing or threatening to self esteem. “They give you a very simple explanation,” adds Swami, who published research in 2016 that found believers in conspiracy theories are more likely to be suffering from stressful experiences than non-believers. Other psychologists also discovered last year that people with higher levels of education are less likely to believe in conspiracy theories. The picture that this paints of modern America is a dark one, especially for Swami who has seen a change in who normally promotes conspiracy material. “Particularly in South Asia, conspiracy theories have been a mechanism for the government to control the people. In the West, it’s typically been the opposite; they’ve been the subject of people who lack agency, who lack power, and it’s their lacking of power that gives rise to conspiracy theories to challenge the government. Like with 9/11. If people lack power, conspiracy theories can sow the seeds of social protest and allow people to ask questions. “The big change now is that politicians, particularly Donald Trump, are starting to use conspiracies to mobilise support.” The 45th President of the United States was a notorious “birther”, regularly speaking to the media about how President Obama wasn’t really born in Hawaii. He also accused various US states of voter fraud after the 2016 election and his campaign team were responsible for propagating now debunked fabricated stories such as Pizzagate and the Bowling Green Massacre. I asked Swami if he thought that this shift in conspiracy theory usage could affect politics long term. “People could become disengaged with mainstream politics if they believe in conspiracy theories,” said Swami. “They’re much more likely to engage with fringe politics. They’re also much more likely to engage with racist, xenophobic and extremist views.” The idea of an untouchable, secretive elite must resonate with people that feel left behind and powerless; Trump said he wanted to represent these people, especially the once-powerful industrial landscape of America’s Rust Belt. Yet instead of feeling better represented in the halls of power by a non-politician like themselves – and theoretically being less likely to feel powerless and vulnerable to conspiracies – it seems like some in America are more likely to believe in stories like the Illuminati more than ever before. “If Wilson was alive today, he’d be part delighted, part shocked”, says David Bramwell. “As far as they thought in the 60s, culture was a little too tight. At present, it feels like things are loose. They’re unravelling. “Perhaps more stability will come as people fight against ‘fake news’ and propaganda. We’re starting to understand how social media is feeding us ideas we want to believe. Echo chambers.” Between internet forums, nods in po[CENSORED]r culture and humankind’s generally uninhibited capacity for imagination, today’s truth-finders and fact checkers might debunk the Illuminati myth for good. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170809-the-accidental-invention-of-the-illuminati-conspiracy

During a trip to India many years back, a leading US-based specialist on South Asia had a conversation with a local analyst which he says still resonates with him. "If Pakistan fails, we need to make sure it doesn't take us down with it," the expert told Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Centre think tank in Washington. In recent weeks, Pakistan has been convulsed by political and economic crises. The arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of corruption sparked violent clashes across the country, which is also reeling from high inflation and dismal growth, and in danger of defaulting. Mr Khan's escalating confrontation with the army - a prominent player in Pakistani politics - which the ousted leader has even charged with trying to murder him. "When your rival neighbour, a nation that's volatile even as the best of times, is experiencing severe political stress, bouts of large-scale unrest, and especially concerns about the cohesiveness with the army leadership, then you should be worried," Mr Kugelman says. "It's not that Pakistan's churn could spill over into India, but more so that the churn could distract Pakistan from keeping control over things that could pose grave risks to India - like India-focussed militants." The countries have fought three wars since they became independent nations in 1947. All but one were over Kashmir. In 2019, India launched strikes in Pakistani territory following a militant attack on Indian troops in Kashmir. After the attacks, the two countries had come "close" to a nuclear war, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed in his recent memoir. But a new border truce concluded in 2021 has kept things under control. So should India be worried about the turbulence next door? The past offers some clues. The turmoil in Pakistan in 1971 led to a bloody subcontinental war and the creation of Bangladesh. In 2008, the movement against Pervez Musharraf's military rule came to an end and the leader suffered defeat at the polls. Months later militants linked to Pakistan attacked India's western city of Mumbai. But even going by recent history, the ongoing crisis is more worrying for India, says Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador and a scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC, and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi. "The political chaos is happening at a time when Pakistan is facing its worst possible economic crisis and the establishment appears to be weaker and divided from within," he says. Experts like Mr Kugelman rule out two extreme scenarios: the first is Pakistan reaching out to India to explore reconciliation, though "it is another matter that India wouldn't be interested". And the second is Pakistan encouraging India-focussed militants to stage an attack across the border. "The last thing Pakistan can afford at this point is another conflict, or even a fresh crisis with India," Mr Kugelman says. But what should worry New Delhi is a situation that falls between the two extremes, say experts. That is one in "which Pakistan, distracted and overwhelmed by internal issues, lacks the bandwidth to keep a lid on any type of cross-border risk", says Mr Kugelman. Avinash Paliwal, who teaches politics and international studies at SOAS University of London, echoes a similar sentiment. He says the twin crises in Pakistan can hurt the ceasefire on the border. "Either as a distraction, or to reassert control in the army by signalling strength on Kashmir, the Pakistani army chief has few reasons to encourage cross-border activism. This risk stands despite resource limitations, because the guarantor of the ceasefire in Pakistan is severely embattled," says Mr Paliwal. "In itself, a ceasefire breakdown is not a strategic threat to India, but in combination with the ongoing military standoff with China, it becomes more dangerous." (Relations between India and China have been worsening. The neighbours have long running territorial disputes along their disputed land border.) Many believe India needs to shake off its "obsession" with Pakistan, and not be overly worried by the crisis overwhelming the struggling neighbour. There also appears to be a sense among many Indians of the crisis "serving Pakistan right", bordering on schadenfreude or the pleasure one feels from the someone's else's misfortune. After all, they say, India's economy is 10 times bigger than Pakistan - and the troubled neighbour's economy is smaller than Maharashtra, India's richest state. Such a reaction is "perfectly predictable", says Mr Kugelman. "Nations want to see rivals squirm, and especially when those rivals have sponsored cross-border attacks and provoked wars against them. There is also a special satisfaction in India derived from watching the struggles of the Pakistani military, after many years of watching that military sponsoring terrorists that target India." "But if India is taking pleasure in all this while also being complacent about the dangers emanating from Pakistan, then that's dangerous as well," says Mr Kugelman. It is true, as Mr Haqqani says, that it is not "in Indian interests to have a nuclear-armed neighbour in the throes of economic instability and political chaos". However, commentators like Sharat Sabharwal, a former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, do not believe that "Pakistan's collapse is imminent; and instead it is likely to continue its messy journey as before." Also, as Mr Paliwal says, Pakistan's case "makes a good case against ideological and religious extremes" and the need to reign in religious nationalism. With Pakistan closer to the edge, what should India do? "Perhaps the best case scenario in the circumstances would be for the status quo in the currently minimal bilateral relationship to continue and the ceasefire on the Line of Control [the de facto border] holds," notes TCA Raghavan, a former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan. Others like Mr Haqqani believe India is adopting a "wait and watch approach", keeping a close eye on the border. The key is not to be caught unprepared. "India still needs to be careful not to let its guard down," says Mr Kugelman. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65606770

The government has banned the issuing of licences for animal testing of chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics products. The government had allowed animal testing for makeup ingredients to resume despite a 25-year ban. A recent court ruling said the government changed a policy on animal testing to align with EU chemical rules. But Home Secretary Suella Braverman said no new licences will be granted. A ban on animal testing for makeup ingredients was introduced in 1998 and is still in place, but the government said it changed policy to match rules in the European Union (EU). In 2020, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), an EU agency which oversees chemical regulation, ruled that companies needed to test some ingredients used in cosmetics on animals to ensure they were safe for workers manufacturing the ingredients. Earlier this month, it emerged that since 2019, the government had been issuing licences for animal testing of cosmetic ingredients in line with EU chemical rules, which it retained despite leaving the EU in 2020. The news of continued testing on animals outraged some cosmetic brands and animal rights groups, which said the government had effectively lifted the ban. In a written statement to Parliament, Ms Braverman said: "The government recognises the public concern around the testing on animals of chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics, and the new opportunities available to us to depart from the EU testing regime. "I can confirm, therefore, that from today no new licences will be granted for animal testing of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products. "The government is also engaging with the relevant companies to urgently determine a way forward on these legacy licences." Ms Braverman said the EU chemical rules explained "why it has been possible that a chemical used in cosmetics production may be required to be tested on animals". "This has been reflected in the issuing of a small number of time-limited licences between 2019 and 2022." Ms Braverman said the government was reviewing how the ban on animal testing would work in practice over the longer term. Animal rights and cosmetics groups welcomed the home secretary's statement. Dr Penny Hawkins, head of the RSPCA's animals in science department, said the public were strongly against the use of animals to test cosmetics. She cited RSPCA research, which shows that 76% of UK adults are very concerned about the use of animals in scientific research and testing. "The outrage following the UK government's decision to quietly follow European Union chemical testing rules really reinforces just how important this issue is to the public and we are pleased that outcry has been listened to," Dr Hawkins said. The Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) said the makeup industry "do not want any animal testing". Dr Emma Meredith, director general of CTPA, said key industry stakeholders had met with the home secretary to discuss the government's action, adding "we support the clarity and reassurance that this new ban will provide to the public". https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65623580

Germany's powerful auto industry association is urging the European Union and Britain to postpone post-Brexit rules it says would hamper the transition to electric vehicles, potentially boosting the hand of U.K.-based automakers calling for the same. Under the trade deal agreed when Britain left the EU, 45 percent of the value of an electric vehicle sold in the EU must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. The problem is that a battery pack can account for up to half a new EV's cost and Europe has not yet developed a big enough battery industry of its own - and is unlikely to do so by the end of 2023, the VDA association said. Tariffs both on exports to Britain and imports from it would be "a significant competitive disadvantage for the European car industry in relation to its Asian competitors in the so important U.K. market," it said. They would also represent a "danger for the development of e-mobility" as they would hurt the whole EU supply chain including battery makers, causing Europe to fall further behind as a production site. "This would put the brakes on the transformation," the lobby group said. Earlier this week, Stellantis warned British car plants would close with the loss of thousands of jobs if the issue was not addressed. Ford too has called for post-Brexit EU trade requirements on rules of origin for EVs to be delayed, saying tariffs will add pointless costs for consumers and slow the transition to electric. Britain said on Wednesday it was in talks with Brussels. "We hope to be able to come to a resolution with the EU on this," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday. https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/german-automakers-urge-postponing-post-brexit-rules-evs

India's Supreme Court has upheld a law allowing Jallikattu, a controversial bull-taming festival po[CENSORED]r in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The practice - first banned by a court in 2006 - was legalised again by the state through an amendment in 2017. Animal rights groups, led by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), had challenged this in the top court. The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the law did not violate the Indian Constitution. The verdict was delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court which upheld the Tamil Nadu law's protection of Jallikattu. "When legislature has declared that Jallikattu is part of cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu state, the judiciary cannot take a different view," the court said. Besides Tamil Nadu, the court also dismissed petitions challenging constitutionality of the laws in Karnataka and Maharashtra which permitted bull-taming and bull-racing festivals in these states. More than 2,000 years old, Jallikattu is considered one of the oldest sports still practised in the modern era and is held during the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal In the sport, a bull is released from the pen and bullfighters attempt to hold on to the animal's hump for about 15-20 metres or three jumps of the bull to win a prize. If no one succeeds, the bull wins. Over the years, scores of people have been gored or trampled to death in the contests. Hundreds, including spectators, have been injured. Animal rights activists have also said the sport is cruel to animals but supporters have called it an important part of their cultural heritage. They also say the animals were well looked after and the sport ensured the preservation of native breeds of bulls. The practice was first banned by the Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu in 2006 after a young spectator attacked by a bull died. It was then banned by the Supreme Court in 2014 on grounds of animal cruelty. The Tamil Nadu government temporarily lifted the ban in 2017 after the state was rocked by protests in support of the sport. The state government then amended its law to allow the sport to continue being practiced. The amendment was however challenged in court by groups like PETA, which called it unconstitutional and illegal. During the hearings in the Supreme Court, the Tamil Nadu government called Jallikattu "not merely an act of entertainment or amusement but an event with great historic, cultural and religious value". https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65630617

When Celeste Scott sees “things that are unscathed by the bad things in the world,” she says she can’t help but blurt out: “That’s so wholesome.” Examples: Two people on opposite sides of a foggy window playing tic-tac-toe with their fingers. A monkey riding on a piglet’s back. And Pedro Pascal. It’s a Gen Z compliment, used to describe anything that is sincere, nice or cute, and, according to Scott, 26, it evokes a specific reaction. “People are like, ‘Aww,’” she said. What’s not wholesome? “Love is Blind.” “When I watch that, my heart rate is up. I’m annoyed at the contestants because they’re being dumb,” Scott said. Wholesome Memes has 3 million followers on Twitter. Wholesome Games has 328,000 followers on TikTok. Data from Google Trends shows that “wholesome” started getting po[CENSORED]r in 2018 and peaked in September 2020. Enzo Luna, a 22-year-old communications consultant, recalls first using “wholesome” in everyday language around 2019. “I think it caught on a lot because it’s just a word that sounds cool,” he said. “It’s such a strong and simple word.” Scott was working for a lifestyle blog called The Good Trade in 2019 when she called its content “wholesome” during a meeting. But her co-workers thought she meant it in a negative way — that their work was lame or uncool. Once they learned that it was a compliment, they started using the word themselves. One co-worker even wrote a think piece about the word. “Maybe before, ‘wholesome’ was used to describe something a little more conservative,” theorized Scott, who was the blog’s youngest employee. The Gen Z compliment is free of connotations of traditional family values and virtues, according to Michèle Lamont, a sociology professor at Harvard and the author of a forthcoming book titled “Seeing Others: How Recognition Works and How It Can Heal a Divided World.” “They’re not necessarily defining ‘wholesome’ the way the Midwesterners traditionally do, but more in the sense of having a positive outlook on life,” Lamont said. Luna thinks of wholesomeness as kindness, like giving up a seat for an elder or complimenting a stranger. So does Sufian Miah, 16. “I saw a video of a person talking to a homeless man, and they became good friends after a while. It was wholesome,” he said. “It means a good feeling in the heart for everyone who witnessed it and was a part of it.” Wholesome Games, a TikTok and Twitter account that posts video snippets of cozy games, has a mostly Gen Z audience: 67% of its audience on TikTok is between 18 and 24. (TikTok does not show the founder of the page, Matthew Taylor, data for users younger than 18.) There are also oodles of wholesome meme accounts, which Gen Z prefers over the satirical millennial memes of the early 2010s that were coated with dark humor and doused in irony. “Sometimes those ironic and satirical memes are too heavy-handed, and they go into things that, at a certain point, it’s not really a joke anymore,” Luna said. He said he appreciated wholesome content instead. Watching cat videos is one of his favorite pastimes. “I really enjoy seeing that type of content as opposed to people making fun of others,” he said. And it’s not just wholesome content that Gen Z-ers prefer. Many of them prefer wholesome people, including Harry Styles; wholesome pastimes, such as playing board games; and wholesome lifestyle consisting of “healing eras” and “protecting your peace.” Wholesomeness is not just a compliment, then. It’s a generational value. In a 2022 study, Lamont worked with two students, Shira Zilberstein and Mari Sanchez, who interviewed 80 college undergraduates and found that there was an overall sentiment among Gen Z of valuing optimism and contributing to social change. “This is the cohort that came of age under COVID, the first people born with a phone in their hands,” Lamont said. She said the focus on positivity was a way to move forward from the hardships. Luna recently entered the workforce and started his role at Harbor Freight Tools for Schools in June 2022. He said he had noticed that his co-workers “expect the world to be hard on them.” But he preferred to be “the person who tries to be a place of comfort for everybody, regardless of all the other difficulties that the world presses on you.” Emily Torres, 33, has noticed that her Gen Z co-workers tend to bring a positive attitude into meetings. She is an editorial director at The Good Trade, and Scott was once her co-worker. “I’m having some fun memories of my colleague,” she said of Scott. “Because she was wholesome.” https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/gen-z-wholesome-compliment-8613838/

More than 20 rivers have burst their banks in Italy, leaving 13 people dead and forcing thousands from their homes after six months' rainfall fell in a day and a half. More bodies were found on Thursday after almost every river flooded between Bologna and the north-east coast 115km (70 miles) away. Some 280 landslides have taken place. "It was a very bad 48 hours. Water and mud took over our whole village," said Roberta Lazzarini, 71. Her home of Botteghino di Zocca, south of Bologna, was hit by a torrent on Wednesday. Streets, houses and gardens were inundated and Roberta said she was still scared. "I've never seen anything like that here. We were stuck and didn't know what to do. I just hope it doesn't happen again." Firefighters helped residents flee their houses, including a 97-year-old woman who had to leave her bedroom in a rubber dinghy. "Our community is broken," said Roberta's daughter, Ines, who runs the local cafe in the central square. "We felt completely cut out, isolated, some of us were truly terrified." "We've had floods before, but it has never been this bad as far as I can remember," said Lamieri, 74, as he removed mud from his basement, where his son stores products to sell at the souvenir shop he runs in central Bologna. "The street turned into river. We lost all of our stuff which was stored down here. We estimate thousands of euros in damage." This is one of many villages and towns flooded in the province of Emilia-Romagna, not just from rivers, but overflowing canals too. More evacuations took place west of Ravenna on Thursday and more bodies were found, including a couple in a flat in the village of Russi, which was flooded hours before. Many are warning that Italy needs a national plan to respond to the effects of climate change. Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said tropical conditions had already reached Italy, with 20cm of rain falling in 36 hours, and in some areas up to 50cm. "Soils that remain dry for a long time end up becoming cemented, drastically limiting their capacity to absorb water," he said. No regional dams had been built for 40 years, he said, and a new approach to hydraulic engineering engineering was needed. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government has called a crisis meeting next Tuesday. Many factors contribute to flooding, but a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall more likely. Already, the world has warmed about 1.1C since the industrial era began, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions. Antonio Francesco Rizzuto, a 55-year-old lawyer who lives by the river with his wife, was forced to leave on Tuesday night and is now living at his daughter's in a nearby village. "It was something no-one was expecting in these proportions," he said. "Before we left our house, the water level was getting higher by the minute. When we got back yesterday... our living room was completely submerged. We will have to throw away most of our furniture." Stefano Bonaccini, regional president of the Emilia-Romagna region, said the damage costs ran into billions of euros. Overnight, evacuations were ordered in towns to the west of Ravenna. Residents in Villanova were ordered to seek shelter on upper floors, a day after floodwater cascaded through the historic centre of Lugo. Lugo was flooded again on Thursday, as was Cervi, on the coast. This weekend's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola was called off because of the risk of the nearby Santerno river flooding. Many of the areas around the track used for parking and watching the race were deluged on Tuesday. Further north at Ferrara, a Bruce Springsteen rock concert was due to go ahead on Thursday despite the regional disaster. Some 50,000 fans had booked tickets for the sell-out concert. There was some criticism of the decision to go ahead, with one local councillor Anna Ferraresi accusing local officials of proceeding regardless of the despair of thousands of people in the region. As well as the 23 rivers that burst their banks, the Zena stream turned into a raging torrent in Botteghino di Zocca. Lino Lenzi, 80, was standing in what used to be his daughter's garden, which was now overflowing with mud, his grandchildren's toys submerged. "I've lived here for 70 years and I've never seen anything like this," he said, "the water is everywhere." The house has belonged to the family for generations and his daughter had just finished renovating it. Inside his kitchen, the water is is up to our ankles. The day before, it was more than 2m (6.5ft) high. "We've had to get rid of the water with everything we've got: buckets, pots and pans." Lino complained the local rivers had not been dredged for years. "No-one has showed up to help. We've received zero help from the government or local authority," Rescue operations have proved difficult because so many roads have been flooded and many towns have gone without electricity. The only help Lino had was from a teenage boy who lives near by. "He walked past and saw that we needed help. He helped us move our furniture." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65632655

Lizard squad was a notorious hacking group that claimed responsibility for some of the biggest hacks and DDoS attacks in gaming history, including attacks on the Xbox and PlayStation networks. They used to disrupt streamers, game events, and studios and many of its members have been arrested over the years. Lizard Squad proclaimed themselves to be the “kings” of DDoS attacks. First Attack on PlayStation Network, League of Legends. The attacks started in August 2014. Lizard Squad hackers launched their DDoS attacks first on the League of Legends servers taking them offline. Then, they proceeded to launched DDoS attacks on the PlayStation Network, as well as on servers run by Blizzard. The attacks took the networks down for nearly a whole day, causing problems to gamers worldwide. The news for the attacks was on the front page of all media around the world due to the magnitude of the people affected. The FBI launched an investigation into the group when the attackers twitted a bomb threat against Sony’s executive, John Smedley, which forced the flight to be diverted, causing a nationwide hunt for the group. A month later, in September 2014, the group launched DDoS attacks on Activision’s Destiny and call of Duty: Ghosts, as well as on EA’s FIFA, Sims 4. Given the particular po[CENSORED]rity of Destiny and their complete reliance on live servers, the problems caused were enormous, a lot of players were unable to login for hours. Our first test: Parts of Destiny #offline — Lizard Squad (@LizardSquad) September 20, 2014 Parts of Call Of Duty Ghosts #offline — Lizard Squad (@LizardSquad) September 20, 2014 December Attacks The majority of Lizard Squad’s online activity, outside hacking, comes via their Twitter account. Following the attacks, the hacking group constantly provided information for their operations or threats while also claiming responsibility for the attacks through their twitter account. Lizard Squad botnet is estimated that contained somewhere between 120K and 150K bots. From pcs and routers to fridges and other smart home devices. Lizard Squad attacks went quite over October and November, preparing themselves for their largest attack yet. On December 1st and 8th 2014, the hackers resurfaced, taking Xbox and PlayStation networks respectively offline again. Xbox users reported that attempting to connect and use the service would give them an ‘80151909’ error code. On December 2nd, the group hacked the machinima.com website and replaced their front page with the ASCII art of their logo. After the attacks in December, the Twitter account of the Lizard Squad’s members warned that they would continue the attacks on Christmas. “That’s a small dose of what’s to come on Christmas,” reads their account, which later added: “Sony had it worse.” Xbox Live #offline — Lizard Squad (@LizardPatrol) December 2, 2014 On the 22nd of December, North’s Korea Internet access went dark. The mystery behind the motive of the 9,5-hour outage was still unknown until the members of the Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for the attack and linked an IP address located in North Korea. Further attacks, Christmas attacks On December 25, 2014, the Lizard Squad hackers who had previously threatened to take down gaming services on Christmas, followed through on their promise and launched DDoS attacks on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. The attacks caused widespread anger among gamers around the world. The attacks stopped only when the Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom offer 3000 vouchers for his Mega cloud storage service, worth $99 each. Attacks on Tor, Sybil attack, Malaysia Airlines The group twitted that they were no longer attacking the gaming giants but on the Tor network. To clarify, we are no longer attacking PSN or Xbox. We are testing our new Tor 0day. — Lizard Squad (@LizardMafia) December 26, 2014 On December 26, the hacker group launched a Sybil attack, (A Sybil attack is a kind of security threat on an online system where one person tried to take over the network by creating multiple pseudonymous nodes, accounts, etc.) which involved more than 3000 relays against the Tor network. ‘LizardNSA’ nodes began appearing on the network. In the first month of 2015, on January 26, the website of Malaysia Airlines was attacked by Lizard Squad, calling itself a ‘cyber caliphate’. Users were getting redirected to another page with an image of a tuxedo-wearing lizard, and reading ‘Hacked by Cyber Caliphate’. The page also had the headline ‘404 – Plane Not Found’, an apparent reference to the airline’s loss of flight MH370 the previous year. A new squad of hackers emerges, Finest Squad A group known as the Finest Squad emerged in December of 2014 with the intention of bringing Lizard Squad’s actions to an end. The Finest Squad members managed to break into the public Twitter accounts and websites of the Lizard Squad members and released their public information, such as names and photographs of them online. The members of Lizard Squad went silent, and it is not yet clear how the Finest Squad members uncover their personal information. Known members arrests and names. Julius Kivimäki, ‘zeekill’ Julius was a 17 years old Finish teenager at the time of conviction. He was convicted of 50700 charges related to computer crimes. The charges against Julius included data breaches, felony payment fraud, telecommunication harassment, and other counts related to fraud and violations of company secrets. He received a two-year suspended sentence, undergoing monitoring of his online activities, but he didn’t serve any time in prison. Vinnie Omari Vinnie was 22 at the time, and he was from Twickenham, south-west London. He claimed responsibility for the Christmas attacks, and he was arrested by the police in the UK. Zachary Buchta – ‘fbiarelosers’ Zachary was 19 years old at the time of his arrest. He was from Maryland, and he was one of the members behind the DDoS attacks against multiple gaming networks. He was charged with computer crimes associated with a series of DDoS attacks, stolen credit cards, and selling DDoS-for-hire services. Bradley Jan Willem van Rooy – ‘UchihaLS’ Bradley was also 19 years old at the time of his arrest. He was from the Netherlands and he was charged with the same charges as Zachary. He also was one of the managers behind the Twitter account of Lizard Squad. Conclusion While the video game industry is no longer stranger to anonymous online attacks, be they outright hacking, DDoS attacks, etc., the case of the Lizard Squad escalated dramatically with the bomb threat. Even if the video game industry suffers from its shared of toxic players and fans at times, rarely do things escalated to this level of harassment. Playstation and Xbox’s networks seem to be more stabilized these days, with more robust and improved defenses for these kinds of attacks. Maybe one of the reasons behind the improved robustness of their network could be the Lizard Squad attacks and the scare it caused to the gaming community worldwide. https://www.blackhatethicalhacking.com/articles/hacking-stories/lizard-squad-the-infamous-hacking-group-that-brought-xbox-and-playstation-networks-to-their-knees/#:~:text=Lizard squad was a notorious,been arrested over the years.

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? The first Bitcoin (BTC) was mined on January 3, 2009, by someone known as “Satoshi Nakamoto.” Now, Satoshi Nakamoto is recognized as the pseudonym of the person or group of people who created Bitcoin — the invisible figure or figures whose technological creation has influenced the world. Satoshi Nakamoto was already a familiar name among cryptography enthusiasts like computer scientists and hackers long before the Bitcoin boom. Someone had posted on online message boards and corresponded with fellow developers via email under the same name years prior. Although unconfirmed, it is widely suspected that the person (or persons) behind the pseudonym was also behind those communications. Months before mining the first Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto had published a white paper on a cryptography mailing list entitled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.’ The paper, published on October 31, 2008, outlined a decentralized peer-to-peer protocol that was cryptographically secure. In the white paper, Nakamoto described it as a “purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash” that “would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution or any intermediary.” This article will explore what is known about the founder of Bitcoin, those who have claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, whether Nick Szabo is Satoshi Nakamoto and the mysteries and truth behind the creator of Bitcoin. Why was Bitcoin created? Although Nakamoto remains a mysterious figure, his goal for creating cryptocurrency, in itself, was never a mystery. Simply put, he created it to take financial control back from financial elites, giving ordinary people a chance to take part in a decentralized financial system. Bitcoin remains open-source, meaning that no one has the power to own or control it in its entirety. Its design is public and it is open for anyone to participate. Bitcoin was a response to the Great Financial Crisis, which showed that even the world’s biggest banks can fail. It highlighted the fragility of the modern financial system and called for the decentralization of financial transactions. As such, cryptocurrency was born, and Bitcoin was one of the first options outside the traditional financial system for the public to participate in intermediate-free financial transactions. The blockchain is how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin develop trust among users and ensure security, as it is a network-based ledger that all participants can access. The “genesis block” of Bitcoin was mined on January 3, 2009, by Satoshi Nakamoto, officially launching the blockchain. A genesis block is the first block of a cryptocurrency to be mined and acts as the foundation of the blockchain. For the first few months of its existence, Bitcoin had no monetary equivalent worth. Miners, people who used their computers to solve complex math problems to discover or “mine” new Bitcoin, were doing so only for the novelty. Miners also helped to verify the validity and accuracy of Bitcoin transactions. The actual Bitcoin payout received by miners is essentially a reward for auditing and processing the highly-encrypted data that is part of each transaction. This ensures that each Bitcoin is properly accounted for and cannot be spent more than once. The first real-world transaction happened on May 22, 2010, when a man from Florida agreed to exchange two $25 pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin, thereby making May 22 “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” It marked the first economic transaction for cryptocurrency. Back then, Bitcoin was valued at four Bitcoin per penny. Since then, its value has multiplied exponentially. The origins of Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin was born after the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008, where liquidity in global financial markets was significantly affected by the housing market collapse. The crisis inspired the creation of Bitcoin, a fully functional form of digital currency based on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) called the blockchain. Nakamoto’s white paper laid the groundwork for future forms of cryptographically secure systems that are designed to be tamper-proof, transparent and censorship-resistant. The system’s goal was to allow individuals to reclaim financial power through a decentralized financial system. The idea of decentralization eliminated the need for middlemen, such as companies, financial systems or governments, to be involved in digital currency exchange. The transactions would be secure and tracked through a blockchain. The difference with blockchain was that it was visible to all participants and securely distributed across an entire network. Possible identities of Satoshi Nakamoto Three years after publishing his white paper on Bitcoin and mining the genesis block, Nakamoto bowed out of the cryptocurrency scene. He sent an email to another Bitcoin developer on April 23, 2011, saying that he had “moved on to other things,” and that the cryptocurrency’s future was “in good hands.” Since then, there has been no communication from Nakamoto’s previously known email addresses. Throughout Bitcoin’s long history, nothing has been more controversial than the identity of its founder. Numerous speculations have surrounded Nakamoto’s identity. Some people claimed that Nakamoto was the pseudonym of a group of cryptographers, not just one person. Yet others surmised that he might be British, a member of the Yakuza, a money launderer, or a woman disguised as a man. Over the years, a few individuals have been suspected of being the man behind the elusive pseudonym: Who is Dorian Nakamoto? In 2014, Newsweek journalist Leah Mcgrath Goodman published an article entitled “The Face Behind Bitcoin.” In one of the highest-profile attempts to reveal Nakamoto’s identity, Goodman identified Dorian Nakamoto as the elusive Bitcoin creator. Goodman cited similarities between the two Nakamotos, including mathematical skill, temperament, Japanese descent and political leanings. Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto, then 64 years old, was living in Temple, California when Goodman reached out to him. Dorian had previously worked on computer engineering and classified defense projects, according to Goodman. However, Dorian Nakamoto later denied any involvement with Bitcoin. He dismissed any published quotes as a mere misinterpretation on the reporter’s part. Nakamoto claimed that his quote was taken out of context and that he had been talking about engineering rather than Bitcoin at the time of the interview. Later, Satoshi Nakamoto confirmed on an online Bitcoin forum that they are not Dorian Nakamoto — putting an end to the rumors. The Newsweek article sparked a debate regarding Dorian Nakamoto’s privacy, which the crypto community felt had been violated when Newsweek published a photo of his Los Angeles home. As a result, the crypto community raised over 100 Bitcoin on behalf of Dorian Nakamoto to express their gratitude and support concerning his ordeal. Dorian later appeared in a YouTube video in 2014 thanking the community, saying that he was going to keep his Bitcoin account “for many, many years.” Although the video has since been taken down from the original account, copies of it still exist online. Who is Craig Wright? Whereas Dorian Nakamoto denied being Satoshi Nakamoto, Australian computer scientist Craig Wright claimed that he was the man behind the pseudonym. Wright claimed the identity in 2016 after Wired Magazine released a profile on him in December 2015. The article was entitled “Is Bitcoin's Creator this Unknown Australian Genius?” and was based on documents leaked to Wired. The evidence consisted of a paper on cryptocurrency supposedly published on Wright’s blog a few months before the infamous Bitcoin white paper’s release. Leaked emails and correspondence regarding a “P2P distributed ledger” also surfaced as well as transcripts of tax officials and lawyers containing statements from Wright regarding his involvement in creating Bitcoin. But evidence came to light proving the contrary. The blog entries had been backdated, as were the supposed public encryption keys linked to Nakamoto. A major identifier on the blockchain is the “public encryption key” — one-half of the two-key system that crypto holders need to carry out encrypted transactions. In Wright’s case, it appeared that both Nakamoto’s public keys and the blog entries were backdated — making his claims much more suspicious. Wired later recanted its claim and edited its article under the title, “Is Bitcoin's Creator this Unknown Australian Genius? Probably Not.” The publication cited the supposedly fraudulent evidence that Wright released to back his claim as the reason behind their conviction. Following suspicions from the crypto community, Wright eventually backed away from the claim. Who is Nick Szabo? Crypto expert Nick Szabo was also one of the media’s “suspected Satoshis.” In 2015, The New York Times published an article entitled “Decoding the Enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto and the Birth of Bitcoin.” Comparisons were made between him and the mysterious Nakamoto owing to similarities in writing and preoccupations, as well as Szabo’s significant contribution to the development of Bitcoin. Nick Szabo is a computer engineer by profession. He is also a cryptographer and a legal scholar and has published works that were tangentially related to Satoshi Nakamoto’s intellectual preoccupations at certain times. For example: Szabo pioneered the concept of Smart Contracts in a 1996 paper entitled “Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets.” Szabo conceptualized “Bit Gold” in 2008, which was also a decentralized form of currency and a precursor to Bitcoin. Szabo also previously worked for DigiCash, a digital payment system that used cryptography. Both Nakamoto and Szabo reference economist Carl Menger in their communications. In his book, “Bitcoin: The Future of Money?” author Dominic Frisby was convinced that Satoshi Nakamoto and Nick Szabo were the same person and presented arguments to support his hypothesis. Szabo, however, denied the allegations concerning his supposed secret identity. Who is Hal Finney? Hall Finney was a computer scientist, coder, and cryptography enthusiast even before the Bitcoin boom. He died in 2014 at the age of 58 after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, for five years. Other than Nakamoto himself, Finney was reportedly the first person to have worked on debugging and improving Bitcoin’s open-source code. He also received the first Bitcoin transaction in 2009 from Satoshi Nakamoto, himself. He was also neighbors with Los Angeles-based engineer Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, a fact that Forbes journalist Andy Greenberg found interesting, if not suspicious. Greenberg took writing samples from Hal Finney and Satoshi Nakamoto to a writing analysis consultancy service. Because of the similarities in their writing style, Greenberg initially surmised that Finney may have been Nakamoto’s ghostwriter, at the very least. He also floated the idea that Finney might have used Dorian Nakamoto as a “front” to hide his identity. However, Finney denied such claims and presented evidence to prove that he was not Satoshi Nakamoto. Upon meeting Greenberg, Finney presented the emails that he and Nakamoto had exchanged over the years, as well as his Bitcoin wallet’s history. The writing consultancy likewise concluded that Nakamoto’s alleged emails to Finney were a match with Nakamoto’s other published writings, cementing Finney’s claim that he was not Nakamoto. Why does Satoshi Nakamoto matter? The figure “Satoshi Nakamoto” matters, whether he is a person or a group — not because of his identity (or lack thereof) — but because of his contribution to the greatest technological invention of all time. Nakamoto paved the way for cryptocurrency to evolve and develop to respond to the 2008 crisis, creating an alternative currency system. Of course, despite attempts to secure crypto, compromising cryptocurrencies remain a genuine possibility. However, this risk is something that even more traditional models of finance face regularly. The difference that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin represent is the concept of decentralization and equality. A distributed public ledger via blockchain effectively records, verifies, and validates Bitcoin transactions while making them secure via cryptography. Since its inception in 2009, no hacker has managed to infiltrate it. Bitcoin also remains relevant years after it was introduced by Nakamoto. Large corporations and investors are becoming increasingly aware of its value and potential. Likewise, even businesses are beginning to accept Bitcoin as payment. The crypto market has also grown exponentially as more people become interested in mining and trading Bitcoin. Furthermore, Nakamoto’s creation represents innovation and disruption. It was (and still is) a powerful reminder that all things must continue to improve to survive. In an industry notorious for its resistance to technology, cryptocurrency delivered a jolt to the financial world and shook things up for the better. Crypto paved the way for various forms of digital currencies and peer-to-peer payment systems to evolve and be integrated into modern society. Innovations such as digital currencies work for the consumers’ good by offering them alternative modes of payment and investment. Financial institutions are likewise responding to the challenge by adopting more customer-focused and innovative approaches to finance. Satoshi Nakamoto: Truths and Mysteries Despite the media’s efforts to investigate and reveal Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity, he remains a mysterious figure whose real-world persona is unknown. However, it might be interesting to look at the bits of information that we do know about Nakamoto, either from public records or skillful sleuthing. Let’s dive in. Satoshi Nakamoto is a coding genius The New Yorker cites Nakamoto as a “preternaturally talented computer coder” who created Bitcoin with “thirty-one thousand lines of code.” To the uninitiated, the reason why the platform remains safe, secure and trustworthy is thanks to Nakamoto’s virtually perfect code. It has no mistakes. This, in part, is why it has not been hacked since its creation. In a 2011 article entitled “The Crypto-Currency: Bitcoin and Its Mysterious Inventor,” the New Yorker reported how renowned and highly-experienced internet security researcher Dan Kaminsky tried to break Bitcoin’s code — and failed. For everyone’s appreciation, Kaminsky wasn’t an average coder. He is famous among hackers because he discovered a major flaw in the internet in 2008. He alerted the Department of Homeland Security and Microsoft and Cisco executives to address the problem immediately. Without his discovery, any skilled coder could have been able to shut down the internet or take over any website. That being said, Kaminsky was excited to potentially find similar fatal flaws in Bitcoin. He saw it as an “easy target,” something that might be easily compromised. However, what he encountered was Satoshi’s near-perfect code, which he later found to be impenetrable. Satoshi Nakamoto is fluent in British English Nakamoto’s code and white paper on Bitcoin reveal that the infamous coder is fluent in English, particularly British English. This, in part, is why some people believe that Nakamoto might be British, despite his claims of being Japanese. He also employs British usage in emails to fellow coders like Finney, as evidenced in some of their email correspondences. Programmer John McAfee claims to know who Satoshi is, on account of a linguistic analysis of Nakamoto’s white paper. Satoshi Nakamoto may be more than one person There are also claims that Nakamoto may not be just one person. Instead, they may be a group of people who worked on perfecting and creating the code behind Bitcoin. Owing to its outstanding code, Bitcoin continues to thrive alongside other cryptocurrencies. Some people, like Bitcoin developer Laszlo Hanyecz, believe that the level of coding at which Bitcoin was created would have necessitated more than just one person. According to him, it is highly likely that it was created by a team of coders. No one is sure if Satoshi is male or female For all we know, the whole “Satoshi” thing could be a smokescreen to hide the identity of a female genius. Satoshi Nakamoto claims to have been born in April of 1975. In the same way that no one is sure if Satoshi is Japanese, people are theorizing that he could also be a female. Also, many are curious about Satoshi Nakamoto’s net worth. No doubt, whether Satoshi is a male or female, the person is a billionaire. In a male-dominated industry like tech, it’s not far-fetched for a woman to use a male name to gain an equal footing among her peers. Historically, female writers have used male pseudonyms in an attempt to penetrate the literary scene and gain the respect traditionally accorded to male authors. What if Satoshi employed a similar trick? No one can say for sure, but this idea has been an empowering thought for a lot of women in development. New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney po[CENSORED]rized the tagline “Satoshi is female” at an event for women in blockchain. The future of Bitcoin Since its creation, Bitcoin has had a storied past, and not without scandals. Originally designed to be a decentralized and borderless alternative to fiat currency, Bitcoin has been slowly centralized to some degree. Large banks and financial institutions, for example, have begun opening crypto trading desks and custody services for crypto. Some would call this a “compromise,” a departure from Nakamoto’s original vision of a revolutionary platform that eschewed financial institutions. However, with the rise of “Bitcoin whales” who own most Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency is said to have fallen under the control of the elite few yet again. These large investors control Bitcoin’s price in the markets and have the funds to put up Bitcoin mining farms. Consequently, the more miners, the more difficult the mining is (since the mathematical problems become more complicated). The good news is that Nakamoto’s creation doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. It has paved the way for the creation of over 11,000 different forms of cryptocurrency and continues to grow in value. Should the right technological advancements be in place, it is a genuine possibility that people are going to embrace Bitcoin in more everyday transactions. Many organizations believe that Bitcoin may soon become the “currency of choice” in the global trading scene. However, Bitcoin’s blockchain also needs to evolve and be able to handle more transactions in a short time. Until then, we shall wait and see. https://cointelegraph.com/learn/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto-the-creator-of-bitcoin#:~:text=Months before mining the first,protocol that was cryptographically secure.

The output of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) witnessed a decline of 24.99% year-on-year in March 2023, the largest drop since May 2020 (during the pandemic), data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Monday. According to the provisional Quantum Index numbers (QIM), the LSMI output declined by 9.09% in March 2023 when compared with February 2023. During the first nine months (July-March) of 2022-23, the LSMI output decreased by 8.11% when compared with the same period of last year, says PBS. The LSMI Quantum Index Number (QIM) was estimated for July-March, 2022-23 at 116.57, while it was estimated for March 2023 at 115.31. The provisional quantum indices of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) for March 2023 with base year 2015-16 have been developed on the basis of latest data supplied by the source agencies, i.e., OCAC, Ministry of Industries and Production, Ministry of Commerce and Provincial Bureau of Statistics (BoS). The LSM data released by the PBS with base year 2015-16 showed that the main contributors towards overall decline of -8.11% are, food (-1.62), tobacco (-0.57), textile (-3.16) garments (2.94), petroleum products (-0.68), cement (-0.85), pharmaceuticals (-1.30), and automobiles (-1.85). Meanwhile, production in July-March 2022-23 as compared to July-March 2021-22 has increased in wearing apparel, furniture and other manufacturing (football) while it decreased in food, tobacco, textile, coke & petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, non-metallic mineral products, machinery and equipment, automobiles and other transport equipment. The poor performance in the industrial sector reflects the overall economic slowdown across various sectors in the ongoing fiscal year. The inability of the industries to secure Letters of Credit in the wake of government’s recent measures due to dollar shortage has dented production. The government remains engaged in trying to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the stalled Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, which if approved by its board would release a funding tranche of over $1 billion. However, the programme has been stalled at the ninth review since November last year. The IMF has already revised downward the GDP growth rate projection for Pakistan from 2% to 0.5% for the current fiscal year, ie, 2023. Provisional figures for this fiscal year’s performance are scheduled to be released on June 8, a day before the federal budget announcement. https://www.brecorder.com/news/40242197/economic-distress-pakistans-large-scale-manufacturing-down-25-yoy-in-march

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Senator and Interfaith Harmony Talha Mahmood on Sunday announced that the federal government will bear the expenditures of the sacrificial animals by itself during Hajj this year. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the federal minister said that the government was taking all-out steps to provide maximum facilities to intending pilgrims for Hajj this year. Talha Mehmood said 185,000 intending pilgrims from Pakistan will perform the religious ritual this year. He noted that the expenditures related to sacrificing of animals were included in the hajj expenditures and the intending pilgrims will not have to incur additional costs in this regard. The Senator said that the rise in hajj expenditures this year is due to devaluation of Pakistani rupee and a comparison of full hajj costs will be shared with the nation soon. Referring to Road to Makkah project, he said currently only Islamabad airport was authorised for this facility and the intending pilgrims leaving from the federal capital will be facilitated through it. He said Immigration of 26,000 intending pilgrims would be made from Islamabad airport. Earlier, Minister for Religious Affairs Muhammad Talha Mahmood said Hajj training was mandatory for all intending pilgrims and all the participants would be awarded certificates. He warned that if anyone did not attend the training session as per schedule, it would create issues for the intending pilgrims at the airport while proceeding to Saudi Arabia to perform the sacred obligation. Shedding light on the significance of these training sessions designed for the intending pilgrims, the minister said it would help them in performing the Hajj rites in a more appropriate manner. https://arynews.tv/govt-to-bear-expenditures-of-hajj-sacrificial-animals-this-year/

An Australian businessman has taken his 'rich flex' to a whole different level after getting a crane to lift his ultra-rare McLaren Senna GTR hypercar to his luxury Melbourne penthouse that was recently purchased for about $39 million (AUD) or about Rs 215 crore in Indian currency. The McLaren Senna GTR itself reportedly cost him around $3 million, which converts to a little over INR 16.51 crore. "When I went to bed last night I just giggled. Young Portelli would be proud. The one nobody knew 10 years ago. If I can motivate and inspire people to want to succeed, my job is done because I understand how hard and lonely it is on the pursuit of success", posted the Melbourne-based businessman on his Instagram handle, with a picture of the McLaren Senna GTR being craned and then later, parked in his penthouse on the 57th floor. The McLaren Senna was named after the late Brazilian Formula One race driver Ayrton Senna in honour of his success with the McLaren F1 team between 1988 and 1993. While the Senna is claimed to be the 'fastest track-focused road hypercar' McLaren has ever built, the GTR version is its track-focused version, and only 75 examples of the vehicle were made available worldwide. Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance India Review: Rs 3.3 crore Hybrid with F1 tech | TOI Auto Powering the Senna GTR is the McLaren M840TR 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine that generates a massive 825 PS of maximum power and 800 Nm of peak torque. With a majority of carbon fibre construction, the power to weight ratio comes in at 694 PS per tonne, which the manufacturer says is the highest of any track focused McLaren. Moreover, the hypercar is said to deliver up to 1000 kg of downforce! The internet was divided over opinions, with some congratulating Portelli, and others bashing him for 'wasting' his money. Some also said that the hypercar deserves to be driven on the road/track, not kept static in a penthouse. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/auto/news/watch-australian-businessman-cranes-a-mclaren-senna-gtr-to-his-penthouse-on-57th-floor/articleshow/100245823.cms?from=mdr

The Australia men’s cricket team’s home Tests in the coming summer will be crammed into an unusually narrow window in December and January.Australia will meet Pakistan in three Tests and the West Indies in two in the traditional school holiday period.The Pakistan series will begin with a Test in Perth from December 14 to 18 followed by the traditional Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30.The New Year Test is set for the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, though Adelaide has also expressed interest in hosting the match.Cricket Australia is expected to discuss hosting arrangement with the New South Wales state government.Australia also will play the West Indies in three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals in February.Australia’s world champion women’s team will open the summer program on October 1 with a T20 international against the West Indies, the same day as the high profile National Rugby League grand final.The women will also play a test against South Africa at Perth from February 15 to 18. https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/pakistan-tests-feature-in-australian-domestic-cricket-summer-8608865/

Over the last few years, there has been a huge rise in the number of cafes that have come up across India. From new coffee chains to chai-cafes, there is a café to accommodate all tastes and price points. Even existing industry biggies like Starbucks, Café Coffee Day and Costa have expanded their presence in the country by opening new stores in main metros as well as tier 2 and tier 3 cities. But a lot of this owes itself to a shift in the way Indians view the café. It is no longer just a place to chill at with friends or enjoy a solo treat. Thanks to many companies offering remote-working roles post-pandemic, a lot of professionals are spending their full working day in a café over coffee and food. Even though they have the option of working from home, many prefer to be elsewhere due to space issues at home, noisy children and simply put- a change of scene. All they need is a good WiFi connection and a pleasant ambience, which cafés are happy to provide. “We noticed a huge rise in the number of people that were using our cafes as workspaces and also having their professional work meetings there. This led us to actually open a conference room in some of our cafes across the country that customers can rent by the hour for team meetings. The response has been great,” says Shabri Prabhakar, President- Marketing, Café Coffee Day Global. One could also argue that co-working spaces also make a great remote-working option, but many professionals find the casual atmosphere of a café, along with great f&b options, more appealing. “I work as an independent fashion designer and I can actually bring my samples to a café in a central location and have meetings with different clients over a good cup of coffee and a snack. It also helps break the ice better,” mentions Ashna Bhatia, a designer based in Bengaluru. For café chains, this means tight competition as customers are now spoilt for choice. Good coffee, tea and a range of cakes, bakes and snacks are available across the café-scape. The real challenge lies in retaining customers who want a place by the window with their laptop and no pressure to vacate whether they order a single latte (or six) in one session. Do watch the video for our report. https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-work-from-café-the-new-remote-working-norm-592671

Turkey's powerful president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will go head to head with his opposition rival in a run-off vote, the supreme election council has confirmed. Mr Erdogan led the first round with 49.51% of the vote, its chairman said. Although he had a clear lead over his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who polled 44.88%, he needed more than half the vote to win the race outright. A second round will go ahead on 28 May, with Mr Erdogan the clear favourite. Shortly before the announcement by election council leader Ahmet Yener, the president's rival appealed to supporters not to "fall into despair" and to stand and take on the election together. But it was not immediately obvious how the opposition Nation Alliance could narrow a margin of almost five points in just two weeks. Although the third candidate, ultranationalist Sinan Ogan, polled 5.17% it seemed unlikely that all his voters would switch to the centre-left-led opposition. Mr Erdogan has been in power in Turkey for more than 20 years, first as prime minister and then as president, extending his powers still further after a failed coup in 2016. Many opinion polls had suggested his rival was on course to win the first round, and Erdogan supporters celebrated outside party headquarters in Ankara long into the night. Addressing them from the balcony, he told them he had won 2.6 million more votes than his chief rival. With Mr Kilicdaroglu as candidate, the opposition was seen as having its best chance so far at removing him from power. It drew together a broad-based alliance of parties and offered an end to soaring inflation and Mr Erdogan's system of an all-powerful presidency. But initial confidence in victory turned to disappointment and the opposition leader did his best to rally supporters by declaring "we will absolutely win in the second round". Mr Yener said all of the ballot boxes from Sunday's vote had been opened and turnout in Turkey was 88.92%. However, it was clear that a number of votes cast abroad had not yet been counted. The international monitoring group OSCE highlighted several flaws in the election, pointing out that Mr Erdogan and the ruling parties had enjoyed "an unjustified advantage". Although the monitors praised the high turnout and political choice, they said the vote had been limited by an unlevel playing field. They singled out "biased media coverage", as well as intimidation of the pro-Kurdish party and the jailing of its former joint leader and that of philanthropist Osman Kavala. Another issue they highlighted was the limited help given to survivors of February's earthquakes to take part in the election. Mr Erdogan was widely criticised for the state's slow response to the disaster, which left more than 50,000 people dead. But it had little effect on election results in the eight cities seen as strongholds of his AK Party in the earthquake zone. In seven of the cities the president's support remained above 60%. Only in Gaziantep did it slip to 59%. Sunday's vote was not only for the presidency but for the 600 seats in parliament too. And here too the Erdogan party had a good night, heading for a majority of about 317 seats. Attention has now switched to the 2.79 million ballots cast for Sinan Ogan, who told BBC Turkish that without him the presidential race would have been over in one round, implying that Mtr Erdogan would have won outright. He was remorseless in his criticism of the opposition for failing to win when the ruling party was struggling with so many setbacks, from the economy to the earthquakes and the two decades of Erdogan rule. Even if he were to act as a kingmaker by endorsing one candidate or the other, it is far from certain that his first-round voters would follow his suggestion. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65600585

Curiosity is a fundamental human trait. Everyone is curious, but the object and degree of that curiosity is different depending on the person and the situation. Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio was so curious about curiosity that he wrote a book about it. He recently appeared on the Knowledge at Wharton show on SiriusXM channel 111 to talk about what he learned in the course of writing his book, Why? What Makes Us Curious. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Knowledge at Wharton: What is it that really drives our curiosity? Mario Livio: Curiosity has several kinds or flavors, and they are not driven by the same things. There is something that has been dubbed perceptual curiosity. That’s the curiosity we feel when something surprises us or when something doesn’t quite agree with what we know or think we know. That is felt as an unpleasant state, as an adversity state. It’s a bit like an itch that we need to scratch. That’s why we try to find out the information in order to relieve that type of curiosity. On the other hand, there is something that has been dubbed epistemic curiosity, which is a pleasurable state associated with an anticipation of reward. That’s our level of knowledge. That’s what drives all scientific research. It drives many artworks. It drives education and things like that. Knowledge at Wharton: There’s a basic difference between being unpleasant or unhappy and being happy. I would think many people feel both of those things pretty much every day of their lives, correct? Livio: You’re absolutely right. You see something that you completely did not expect or is very ambiguous, and you feel somewhat unpleasant about this. On the other hand, you try to learn something new every day, and that is a very pleasurable state that gives you a reward. So yes, everybody feels both of these things almost every day. Knowledge at Wharton: Is there an element of curiosity that is enhanced by living in the digital age? Livio: There are some people who have the feeling that because we have information literally at our fingertips, maybe we’re becoming less curious. But that’s not true. There are two things to remember. One is that when we do scientific research, we try to find answers to questions where we don’t know the answers yet. Therefore, you cannot find those answers on the internet or Wikipedia. The other thing is that what the internet allows us to do is to satisfy what has been dubbed specific curiosity, namely you want to know a very particular detail. Who wrote this or that book? What was the name of the actor in that film? The digital age allows you to find the answer very quickly. That’s actually good because you don’t want to spend all your time trying to answer a question like that. I don’t know how you feel, but I sometimes can be really obsessed by not knowing the answer to something very, very simple like that. Knowledge at Wharton: That’s almost a natural component of who we are. There are times when we become obsessed with wanting to know what that information is. Livio: That’s right. In that sense, the digital age helps us because we can find that information, and that may drive us to look for something else about this. And that would drive perhaps epistemic curiosity, which is this love of knowledge and wanting to learn new things. Knowledge at Wharton: Do you think love of knowledge is truly the driving force behind curiosity and the other pieces are part of the spider web off the core? Livio: Not necessarily. There have been all kinds of experiments in neuroscience with functional MRI, where they make people curious then put them in these MRI machines and see which parts of their brains are activated. It was found that this perceptual curiosity, the one when you’re surprised or find something unexpected, is associated with activations of the parts in our brain that usually work in conflict or when you’re hungry or thirsty. On the other hand, the parts that are associated with learning new things really activate the parts that are associated with anticipation of reward, like when somebody’s offering you a piece of chocolate or when you sit in a theater and you’re waiting for the curtain to go up. Knowledge at Wharton: When you think historically, there have been world leaders who have wanted to snuff out curiosity. I’m thinking particularly of Fidel Castro. Some people would say President Trump is trying to do that. Have you seen that as a component in the world? Livio: Of course. We all know about the Middle Ages, the medieval times when curiosity was almost taken out of existence. It was mostly the church that wanted to convey to the masses the feeling that everything worth knowing is already known. They built walls around all types of knowledge and really oppressed curiosity in this way. You mentioned a few leaders, but it’s not just leaders. The Taliban destroyed works of art. ISIS is destroying works of art in Palmyra, in Syria. There have been book burnings over the years. The Nazis made a degenerate art exhibit where they tried to deface all the modern painters. There definitely have been oppressive regimes and ideologies that try to stifle curiosity. Knowledge at Wharton: What I found interesting in the book is that you note there really isn’t one definition of curiosity. Livio: Yes. I mentioned already two of those types of curiosity: perceptual and epistemic. There is also something that has been dubbed diversive curiosity. That’s the thing when you see young people constantly on their smartphone, looking for text messages to ward off boredom, I think. Knowledge at Wharton: Curiosity has always been seen as a very good thing because you’re trying to gain knowledge. There is a negative to diversive curiosity because your attention is turned away. But there is the element of searching or looking for information. It’s kind of walking a fine line there. Livio: You’re absolutely right. They’re also looking for information, and also it serves as a social element. They connect with friends. They connect with people, sometimes across countries. It isn’t all negative. Knowledge at Wharton: Do you think it affects curiosity in general because it has become such an attractive piece to our society? It’s changed the communication skill. Instead of face to face, it’s fingertip to fingertip. Livio: That may have eventually some negative consequences if people just stay at home and connect through all kinds of digital devices. I can see all kinds of shortcomings for that type of a society. But at the same time, the really important questions like advances in science and so on cannot be found through digital devices. Knowledge at Wharton: You take time in the book to really delve into the science of this. Tell us what you found and why science has been so intrigued by this. Livio: If you’re a curious person, then you ought to also be curious about curiosity itself. This has been research by psychologists, cognitive scientists and neuroscientists. There are two parts to this. One is to understand our state of mind when we are curious. I alluded to that in that one type of curiosity creates an unpleasant sensation and another creates an anticipation of reward. It was found that especially the epistemic curiosity, when we try to learn new things, it really follows the paths of reward of dopamine, which is this neural transmitter that is associated with reward in our brains. Knowledge at Wharton: I think there are people who are naturally curious. It almost is ingrained in their personality as they come into the world. Is that the case? Livio: Of course. Most psychological traits, and curiosity is no exception, have a genetic component to them. The fact that some people are much more curious than others largely has to do with their genetics. But, as in all cases, genetics is never the whole story. In the same way as nature versus nurture question, the two of them play a role. You can enhance curiosity by doing certain things, by asking questions, by encouraging people to be curious about things. Or you can suppress curiosity as we just noted, sometimes by regime, sometimes by ideologies, and so on. People have something in them which they are born with, but the environment can help or be against enhancing this curiosity. Just to give an example, if you are the children of refugees that have to cross countries and look for food all the time, you may be curious about where do you find your next meal and not about contemplating the meaning of life. Knowledge at Wharton: With all of the innovation that goes on right now, it feels like we’re constantly looking to improve so many aspects of our lives. Is it fair to say that curiosity is one of the things that might be hard to improve? Livio: No. I don’t think it is hard to improve. You cannot change your genetic makeup, but through the education system you can actually improve on curiosity. I’ll give you a very simple example. If you teach science to young children, don’t start by trying to teach them things that they may not be interested in. Start with something they’re already curious about, like dinosaurs. Start with dinosaurs and then find interesting ways to connect from that to other concepts you would like them to learn, rather than starting from the beginning with something they may not be interested in. Most people know that very young children are extremely curious. They constantly ask questions. That’s largely because they especially want to understand cause and effect. They want to understand how the world around them is functioning so that they make fewer errors. Some people think that as we grow up we lose our curiosity, and that’s not entirely true. We do lose some elements of diversive curiosity or the ability to be surprised. But actually epistemic curiosity, that love of knowledge, appears to be roughly constant across all ages. Knowledge at Wharton: When you are older, you do not take the risks that you did when you were, say, 20 or 30. But I would think that your curiosity doesn’t wane that much when you’re older, correct? Livio: Correct. Your love of knowledge remains and your willingness to learn new things appears to be constant across all ages. People at very old ages are still willing to learn things, to discover new things, to read. The topics in which you are curious about may change with age or with time or with whatever occupation you are in. Different people are curious about different things, and the level of intensity of their curiosity may be different. Livio: Kids are more curious in terms of diversity than perceptual curiosity. But I think in terms of epistemic curiosity, adults are as curious. This probably all started for survival. We needed to understand very well our environment in order to be able to survive, so there was an evolutionary pressure to this. But somehow humans are always more curious than just for mere survival. I’m an astrophysicist. What we study in science will probably become applicable at one point, but it is not applicable at the moment. We’re still very curious about this because we want to understand everything around us. Knowledge at Wharton: What is it that makes you curious? Livio: I’m really curious about the universe, things that relate to the beginning of the universe, to the fate of the universe, the nature of the dark energy that is pushing the cosmic expansion to accelerate. But I’m also interested in things like how did life emerge in the universe, the nature of consciousness, many things. Knowledge at Wharton: We talked about the potential for curiosity to be enhanced further. Is that an expectation of yours? Livio: The nature of scientific research, but sometimes even artistic contemplation, is that the answer to every question just brings about a new question. Sometimes the new question is even more intriguing than the original question, so you may become more curious about it. https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast/knowledge-at-wharton-podcast/makes-us-curious/

What Is the Dark Web? The term dark web refers to encrypted online content that is not indexed by conventional search engines. Accessing the dark web can only be done using specific browsers, such as TOR Browser. There is a great deal of privacy and anonymity that comes with using the dark web compared to traditional websites. As such, most of the attention is placed on online marketplaces for drugs, exchanges for stolen data, and other illegal activities when people think of the dark web. Despite this, there are often very legitimate reasons why people choose to use the dark web, including political dissidents and people who want to keep certain information private.1 Understanding the Dark Web As its name implies, the dark web is a secret network that exists underground. It's made up of a series of websites that are hidden from the general public. This means they aren't accessible through traditional search engines, such as Google.41 Traditional search engines return results because they contain indexes of links to websites. These are ranked based on keywords and relevancy. The dark web, on the other hand, uses information that isn't available on these other search engines, such as content from individual accounts, such as email, social media, banking, along with personal and professional databases, and documents (legal and medical).3 Also called the darknet, the dark web is much like the broader web was in its early days during the late 20th century. There is a lot of material about getting it working, and not very much to do once one gets there. A lot of the content on the dark web is very amateurish. On the other hand, it is much easier for individuals to start sites and get attention. Tech giants and large media organizations have very little influence on the dark web.4 As with the early internet, the dark web has a reputation as a haven for illegal activities and is frequently implicated in illicit and criminal activity. While the dark web has played a hand in illegal and unethical transactions, it also provides a social outlet for people who may otherwise be persecuted for their identities or political beliefs. It also gives legal authorities the additional tools they need to apprehend the perpetrators of unethical activities.4 Special Considerations People often confuse the dark web with cryptocurrencies, which are often used to make purchases there. But there is a distinct difference. The dark web makes it easier to set up and access websites that offer a high degree of anonymity for everyone involved. Many dark web websites contain only information rather than the ability to buy or sell something. It is true, though, that cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Monero, are often used for transactions on the dark web. But one does not have to use the dark web to use cryptocurrencies.4 History of the Dark Web The dark web first officially appeared in the early 2000s along with the creation of Freenet, which was developed by Ian Clarke to secure users against government intervention and cyber attacks. The system, which is still available today, allows users to express themselves freely without being tracked online.5 The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory funded a project called The Onion Router (TOR). TOR offered intelligence sources a way to communicate easily and safely, especially in hostile areas where personal safety is key. It is now one of the most common browsers used to access the dark web, using databases to help people make their way around and find the information they need.2 The rise of cryptocurrencies increased the po[CENSORED]rity of the dark web, especially for cybercriminals. That's because digital currencies often provide a great deal of anonymity for people who buy and sell on the dark web.4 Because of its association with certain illicit activities, there have been calls for regulation of the dark web. For instance, the G20 and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have both called for cryptocurrency companies to provide information on buyers and sellers in transactions conducted online. This is especially true, they say, to help law enforcement track criminal organizations and illicit activities.4 Dark Web vs. Deep Web The dark web and the deep web are also often erroneously used interchangeably. The dark web is, in fact, just one part of the deep web. The deep web is what lies underground and isn't just the content that is considered dark. That's why it's also called the invisible web or the hidden web. The information found on the deep web is normally encrypted and isn't found on indexes the way it is on the traditional web. It includes all of the pages that don’t pop up when you run a web search. It also contains everything that requires a login, such as content from: Online banking Pay websites, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime File hosting services, such as Dropbox and its competitors Private databases The information listed on the dark web can also include anything on subscriber-only databases rather than anything illegal.13 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Dark Web Advantages The dark web helps people to maintain privacy and freely express their views. Privacy is essential for many innocent people terrorized by stalkers and other criminals. The increasing tendency of potential employers to track posts on social media can also make it difficult to engage in honest discussions publicly. Finally, the po[CENSORED]rity of the dark web with criminals makes it a perfect way for undercover police officers to communicate.1 Disadvantages Some people will inevitably abuse the power associated with using the dark web by making it easier to engage in criminal activity. For example, the combination of the dark web and cryptocurrencies theoretically makes it much easier to hire someone to commit certain crimes. While the dark web promises privacy to its users, it can also be used to violate the privacy of others. Private photos, medical records, and financial information have all been stolen and shared on the dark web.1 Pros Ensures privacy and freedom of expression Allows law enforcement to identify criminal organizations Cons Makes it easier to engage in criminal activity Can be used to violate the privacy of others LAWS & REGULATIONS CYBERSECURITY What Is the Dark Web and Should You Access It? By ANDREW BLOOMENTHAL Updated June 06, 2022 Reviewed by MARGUERITA CHENG Fact checked by MELODY KAZEL Investopedia / Joules Garcia What Is the Dark Web? The term dark web refers to encrypted online content that is not indexed by conventional search engines. Accessing the dark web can only be done using specific browsers, such as TOR Browser. There is a great deal of privacy and anonymity that comes with using the dark web compared to traditional websites. As such, most of the attention is placed on online marketplaces for drugs, exchanges for stolen data, and other illegal activities when people think of the dark web. Despite this, there are often very legitimate reasons why people choose to use the dark web, including political dissidents and people who want to keep certain information private.1 KEY TAKEAWAYS The dark web refers to encrypted online content that is not indexed by conventional search engines. Specific browsers, such as Tor Browser, are required to reach the dark web.2 The dark web pulls up sites using information that isn't indexed online, such as bank accounts, email accounts, and databases.3 People who use the dark web can maintain their privacy and freely express their views.1 It also has a reputation for being associated with illicit and unethical activities.1 Understanding the Dark Web As its name implies, the dark web is a secret network that exists underground. It's made up of a series of websites that are hidden from the general public. This means they aren't accessible through traditional search engines, such as Google.41 Traditional search engines return results because they contain indexes of links to websites. These are ranked based on keywords and relevancy. The dark web, on the other hand, uses information that isn't available on these other search engines, such as content from individual accounts, such as email, social media, banking, along with personal and professional databases, and documents (legal and medical).3 Also called the darknet, the dark web is much like the broader web was in its early days during the late 20th century. There is a lot of material about getting it working, and not very much to do once one gets there. A lot of the content on the dark web is very amateurish. On the other hand, it is much easier for individuals to start sites and get attention. Tech giants and large media organizations have very little influence on the dark web.4 As with the early internet, the dark web has a reputation as a haven for illegal activities and is frequently implicated in illicit and criminal activity. While the dark web has played a hand in illegal and unethical transactions, it also provides a social outlet for people who may otherwise be persecuted for their identities or political beliefs. It also gives legal authorities the additional tools they need to apprehend the perpetrators of unethical activities.4 The dark web is still very much a work in progress, and its full costs and benefits are not yet known. Special Considerations People often confuse the dark web with cryptocurrencies, which are often used to make purchases there. But there is a distinct difference. The dark web makes it easier to set up and access websites that offer a high degree of anonymity for everyone involved. Many dark web websites contain only information rather than the ability to buy or sell something. It is true, though, that cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Monero, are often used for transactions on the dark web. But one does not have to use the dark web to use cryptocurrencies.4 History of the Dark Web The dark web first officially appeared in the early 2000s along with the creation of Freenet, which was developed by Ian Clarke to secure users against government intervention and cyber attacks. The system, which is still available today, allows users to express themselves freely without being tracked online.5 The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory funded a project called The Onion Router (TOR). TOR offered intelligence sources a way to communicate easily and safely, especially in hostile areas where personal safety is key. It is now one of the most common browsers used to access the dark web, using databases to help people make their way around and find the information they need.2 The rise of cryptocurrencies increased the po[CENSORED]rity of the dark web, especially for cybercriminals. That's because digital currencies often provide a great deal of anonymity for people who buy and sell on the dark web.4 Because of its association with certain illicit activities, there have been calls for regulation of the dark web. For instance, the G20 and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have both called for cryptocurrency companies to provide information on buyers and sellers in transactions conducted online. This is especially true, they say, to help law enforcement track criminal organizations and illicit activities.4 Ross Ulbricht was investigated and arrested in 2013 for creating and running the dark web site The Silk Road, a darknet website authorities said was used to buy and sell narcotics.6 Dark Web vs. Deep Web The dark web and the deep web are also often erroneously used interchangeably. The dark web is, in fact, just one part of the deep web. The deep web is what lies underground and isn't just the content that is considered dark. That's why it's also called the invisible web or the hidden web. The information found on the deep web is normally encrypted and isn't found on indexes the way it is on the traditional web. It includes all of the pages that don’t pop up when you run a web search. It also contains everything that requires a login, such as content from: Online banking Pay websites, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime File hosting services, such as Dropbox and its competitors Private databases The information listed on the dark web can also include anything on subscriber-only databases rather than anything illegal.13 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Dark Web Advantages The dark web helps people to maintain privacy and freely express their views. Privacy is essential for many innocent people terrorized by stalkers and other criminals. The increasing tendency of potential employers to track posts on social media can also make it difficult to engage in honest discussions publicly. Finally, the po[CENSORED]rity of the dark web with criminals makes it a perfect way for undercover police officers to communicate.1 Disadvantages Some people will inevitably abuse the power associated with using the dark web by making it easier to engage in criminal activity. For example, the combination of the dark web and cryptocurrencies theoretically makes it much easier to hire someone to commit certain crimes. While the dark web promises privacy to its users, it can also be used to violate the privacy of others. Private photos, medical records, and financial information have all been stolen and shared on the dark web.1 Pros Ensures privacy and freedom of expression Allows law enforcement to identify criminal organizations Cons Makes it easier to engage in criminal activity Can be used to violate the privacy of others Example of the Dark Web Let's say you want to go on the dark web to see what information of yours, if any, is floating around. You can install the TOR browser on your system by using a virtual private network. A VPN allows people to use a public network as if they were transmitting information on a private one. It basically gives you privacy on a public network. As you surf, you'll probably notice that dark website addresses end with the .onion extension rather than the traditional .com, .org, .edu, etc. One word of warning, though. Make sure you have some security software installed because there's a good chance that you may come in contact with malware and phishing scams. Is It Illegal to Access the Dark Web? Despite what the name implies, it isn't illegal to access the dark web. It actually provides individuals with privacy and anonymity that traditional websites don't offer to individuals. For instance, people can go on the dark web and post their thoughts about political activity without any fear of being reprimanded by government officials and other groups.1 How Do You Get on the Dark Web? You can access the dark web by installing specific, anonymous browsers, such as TOR. Once installed, the browser works the same way traditional ones do. But it can be a little difficult to access information because it doesn't use an index to locate the desired information. Make sure that you install security software to make sure your computer and personal information are ketp safe.2 How Do You Find Out If Your Information Is on the Dark Web? Your personal information, such as banking, social media, and email accounts, along with your Social Security number, may be up for sale on the dark web. If you want to see if any of your information is floating around the dark web, try running a scan of the dark web. Alternatively, you can sign up for a dark web monitoring service. These tools warn you whenever they find any of your information.3 What Do You Do If Your Information Is on the Dark Web? You can take a number of steps to help protect your information. Make sure you change all your passwords, check your credit reports for any discrepancies, and inform your bank(s). You can also put a freeze on your credit to prevent it from being compromised any further. The Bottom Line The dark web is a relatively new concept, at least when you consider the history of the internet as a whole. You can use it to remain anonymous without fear of repercussion if you want to express yourself freely. But this amount of privacy has helped it gain a bad reputation as a forum for those who want to use it for illicit activities. If you're looking to use the dark web, it's as simple as installing a private browser, using a VPN, and making sure your computer remains safe and secure. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dark-web.asp#:~:text=The term dark web refers,web compared to traditional websites.

This weekend, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the man who has dominated Turkish politics for two decades, is seeking to extend his rule for another five years. Erdogan is vying to secure a third term as president, adding to his three previous spells as prime minister from 2003 to 2014, in presidential and parliamentary elections that are widely billed as the toughest he has yet to face. The 69-year-old comes from a conservative political tradition and has developed a reputation as a divisive figure in a country that was founded along secularist lines in the 1920s by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Erdogan surpassed Ataturk’s 15 years in Turkey’s top post five years ago, becoming the longest serving leader the country has known. In 2014, he became the first president elected by po[CENSORED]r vote, going on to win a referendum that concentrated power in the president’s hands. Worsening cost-of-living crisis Sunday’s elections will be held as Turkey is experiencing a series of economic crises that have led to rampant inflation and a deepening cost-of-living crunch. February’s earthquakes in southeastern Turkey heaped further pressure on Erdogan with many people criticising his government’s response and failure to enforce building regulations, claiming these factors contributed to the loss of more than 50,000 lives. “He has to go. It is his one-man regime that helped create this disaster,” said Furkan Ozbilgin, a 29-year-old resident of Antakya, the city worst hit by the quakes and a stronghold for the opposition. “It is through his rule that contractors were allowed to get away with building such poor buildings that collapsed, killing thousands of people,” Ozbilgin charged. The president, however, has many supporters who point to his successes over the years and see him as the man to tackle Turkey’s current troubles. “Of course, over 20 years, there are going to be bad periods as well as good,” said Ahmet Gokkaya, a shopkeeper in Istanbul’s conservative Fatih district. “Our president cannot be held responsible for the earthquake disaster. Does he control every building site in Turkey? “We have seen what he’s done for this country, and we should not abandon him now.” Rising through the political ranks Erdogan’s political career can be traced back to the 1970s in Beyoglu, the Istanbul district that includes his childhood home in Kasimpasa, a working class neighbourhood on the slopes leading from the glitzy shops of Istiklal Avenue to the waters of the Golden Horn. His first political role came in 1976 as the head of the Beyoglu youth branch of the National Salvation Party, led by Necmettin Erbakan, a future prime minister widely viewed as Erdogan’s mentor. He rose through the ranks, in 1994 becoming mayor of Istanbul, where he addressed many of the problems facing the city’s rapidly growing po[CENSORED]tion, such as air pollution, rubbish collection and a lack of clean water. But four years later he attracted the attention of the courts for reciting a controversial poem. This led to a four-month jail term for inciting religious discrimination. Emerging from prison in July 1999 with a ban from politics still in place, Erdogan went on to form the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) two years later. Fifteen months after the party’s founding, it won the 2002 elections against the background of a financial crisis. Due to his ban from politics, Erdogan was unable to take office as prime minister until the following March. So began two decades of power that many observers said have seen a dramatic change in Erdogan’s politics. Changes over 20 years Most commentators see the first decade of AK Party rule as one in which the government embraced democratic reforms as Turkey sought to join the European Union. Erdogan was heralded by liberals at home and abroad for loosening the military’s grip on the country and addressing the rights of women and minorities. In the past 10 years, however, Erdogan has been criticised for adopting a more authoritarian outlook that many said has further polarised Turkey, particularly in the wake of nationwide anti-government protests 10 years ago and a 2016 coup attempt, during which he narrowly escaped with his life. Purges after the failed coup saw tens of thousands of people jailed or dismissed from their jobs as the government went after the supporters of US-based Muslim leader Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blamed for orchestrating the putsch attempt with his followers. Critics said the clampdown was used as a cover to target wider political dissent and the term “Gulenist” had become a brush to tar any opponent. Erdogan’s success in national elections hit a bump in 2015 when the AK Party lost its parliamentary majority, leading the president to ally with ultra-nationalists and abandon the Kurdish peace process. Four years later, Erdogan suffered his first electoral defeat when local elections saw major cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, elect the opposition. A rerun of the vote in Istanbul, held after the AK Party protested the outcome, led to the opposition candidate for mayor winning by an even wider margin. Erdogan now promises future economic prosperity and has sought in the run-up to the election to relieve rising living costs by introducing subsidised energy bills and hikes to pensions, public workers’ salaries and the minimum wage. Focusing on the AK Party’s record of building bridges, roads and hospitals, Erdogan has also highlighted the improvements made to Turks’ everyday lives while also heralding prestigious projects, many in the military sphere, such as the development of drones. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/5/13/erdogan-the-man-who-has-dominated-turkish-politics-for-20-years

Imagine a world where "interspecies communication" isn't the stuff of sci-fi fantasies - instead, a reality where humans can chit-chat with their furry, feathery, and scaly friends. This is where AI swoops in like a superhero, with researchers using algorithms to decipher animal vocalizations, movements, and even facial expressions. Picture a universal translator for the animal kingdom – now that's a party trick. Earth Species Project: pioneers in animal communication The Earth Species Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to decoding animal communication, is at the forefront of this groundbreaking research. By leveraging machine learning, advanced signal processing, and artificial intelligence, they aim to develop a comprehensive understanding of non-human communication and foster empathy between humans and other species. Their ambitious goal is to create open-source AI tools to translate animal languages, paving the way for meaningful interspecies dialogue. Decoding nature's secrets: from prairie dogs to dolphins In one corner, we have prairie dogs, those pint-sized rodents with a penchant for gossip. Researchers working with the Earth Species Project have unlocked the secrets of their alarm calls, proving that these tiny creatures have much more to say than meets the eye. In another corner, the ocean's brainiacs, dolphins, show off their complex vocalizations, thanks to the power of machine learning harnessed by the Earth Species Project. It won't be long before people are swapping fish tales with Flipper. Challenges in achieving full-blown animal conversations While these discoveries are impressive, aren't quite on the menu yet. There are still a few hurdles to overcome before we can all embrace our inner Dr. Dolittle. For one, the complexity of animal communication goes beyond just vocalizations, involving a combination of body language, scent, and context. This makes decoding their messages far more challenging than simply translating words. Additionally, we're only beginning to scratch the surface of understanding the cognitive abilities of different species. Just as human languages are nuanced and diverse, so too are animal communication systems, each with its own intricacies that need to be unraveled. Ethics, empathy, and the future of interspecies communication Lastly, it's important to consider the ethical implications of such advanced communication. As we delve deeper into the minds of animals through the work of the Earth Species Project and similar initiatives, we must also be prepared to address questions regarding their rights, autonomy, and welfare. Creating a world where humans and animals coexist harmoniously will require not just technological innovation but also empathy and respect. U.S. MILITARY JET FLOWN BY AI FOR 17 HOURS - SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED? FOR MORE OF MY TIPS, SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE CYBERGUY REPORT NEWSLETTER BY HEADING TO CYBERGUY.COM/NEWSLETTER Final thoughts: Imagine the possibilities Keep an ear to the ground for more updates on this enthralling frontier, and maybe start practicing those meows and woofs. After all, talking to animals could be closer than anyone ever imagined! With the fascinating world of interspecies communication on the horizon, the real question is: if you could converse with any animal, who would you choose to chat with, and what would you ask? Let your imagination run wild, and share your thoughts by writing us at CyberGuy.com/Contact https://www.foxnews.com/tech/talking-animals-see-what-ai-making-possible

A nighttime view of vehicle traffic along the Interstate 405 (I-405) highway in Carson, California, U.S., March 11, 2022. Picture taken March 11, 2022. Picture taken with a drone and long exposure. REUTERS/Bing Guan WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) demanded the recall of 67 million air bag inflators because it believes there is a safety defect, but auto supplier ARC Automotive Inc rejected the U.S. regulator's request, documents released on Friday show. The auto safety agency said the inflators pose an unreasonable risk of death or injury. Even as ruptures mount, "ARC has not made a defect determination that would require a recall of this po[CENSORED]tion," NHTSA said in its demand letter to the Tennessee-based company. "Air bag inflators that project metal fragments into vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached air bag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury." ARC air bag inflators are in General Motors (GM.N), Chrysler-parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI), BMW (BMWG.DE), Hyundai Motor (005380.KS), Kia Corp (000270.KS) and other vehicles. GM on Friday agreed to recall nearly 1 million vehicles with ARC air bag inflators after a rupture in March resulted in facial injuries to a driver. ARC rejected NHTSA's tentative conclusion that a defect exists saying it is based upon seven field ruptures in the United States. NHTSA "then asks ARC to prove a negative – that the 67 million inflators in this po[CENSORED]tion are not defective" that were produced over 18 years. The company said it will continue to work with NHTSA and automakers to evaluate ruptures. NHTSA in 2016 upgraded a probe of more than 8 million air bag inflators made by ARC after a driver was killed in Canada in a Hyundai vehicle and has been investigating more than seven years. NHTSA initially opened an investigation in July 2015 following two reported injuries. NHTSA said through January 2018, 67 million of the subject driver and passenger frontal air bag inflators. Delphi, acquired by Autoliv (ALV.N), manufactured approximately 11 million of the inflators under a licensing agreement with ARC, which manufactured the remainder of the inflators. ARC noted there have been several testing programs of inflators collected from scrapped or other vehicles but not a single rupture occurred during these tests. The 67 million inflators were produced for the U.S. market on multiple production lines across different plants and used by 12 vehicle manufacturers in dozens of models. "None of these manufacturers has concluded that a systemic defect exists across this broad po[CENSORED]tion," ARC said. NHTSA said that ARC in January 2018 completed installation of devices on inflator manufacturing lines used to detect excessive weld slag or other debris. NHTSA said it is unaware of issues in ARC inflators produced since then. ARC said weld slag has not been confirmed as the root cause in the ruptures. NHTSA has been scrutinizing air bag inflator ruptures for more than 15 years. Over the last decade, more than 67 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled in the United States and more than 100 million worldwide, the biggest auto safety callback in history. More than 30 deaths worldwide -- including 24 U.S. deaths -- and hundreds of injuries in various automakers' vehicles since 2009 are linked to Takata air bag inflators that can explode, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. The latest death was in July 2022 in a 2010 Chrysler 300, one of three Stellantis deaths in a seven-month period. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-demands-recall-67-million-air-bag-inflators-2023-05-12/

One team is charging toward the title while the other is looking to avoid relegation Manchester City will have one eye on the Champions League against Real Madrid but they still need to win games to keep up their title charge. But Everton won't be an easy out as the Toffees are trying to stay out of the relegation zone. Fresh off of defeating Brighton, Everton are safe at the moment but only by one point so Sean Dyche will do what he can to stave off Manchester City running rampant. Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more: How to watch and odds Date: Sunday, May 14 | Time: 9 a.m. ET Location: Goodison Park -- Liverpool, England TV: USA | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free) Odds: Everton +750; Draw +250; Manchester City -280 (via Caesars Sportsbook) Storylines Everton: There are no new injuries facing the squad but they'll be missing Seamus Coleman, Andros Townsend, Ruben Vingare and Ben Godfrey. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dwight McNeil in top form, Everton will be able to make things happen on the counter with City likely rotating. Manchester City: Nathan Ake is still out injured but how many minutes will Erling Haaland play with Real Madrid on the horizon? Pep Guardiola will rotate some with players like Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez starting in the match but this is when the team's impressive depth comes into play because they can defeat most teams in the league even without their top guys for the match. Prediction Everton has been strong at home but Manchester City are unstoppable when they're on their game. An Alvarez brace will lead the way as City rolls. Pick: Manchester City 2, Everton 1 https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/nwsl-power-rankings-washington-spirit-and-njny-gotham-fc-move-up-san-diego-wave-keep-sliding-in-week-6/

Cinnamon known for its unique flavour and taste can actually aid in improving insulin sensitivity, said registered dietitian Garima Goyal Who does not love to finish off meals with something sweet? While having sweets in moderation may not be harmful but when it becomes a habit then it can lead to several issues including diabetes. If you are among those who crave for desserts after a meal then try the Ceylon cinnamon tea recipe shared by dietitian Manpreet on her Instagram. “A pinch of cinnamon can help reduce sugar cravings by improving sugar cravings by improving insulin sensitivity,” claims Manpreet in her Instagram post. Here’s how you can prepare Ceylon cinnamon tea to reduce your post meals sweet cravings! Recipe Ingredients *150 ml water *1/2 lemon *A pinch of Ceylon Cinnamon Directions *Boil water and add Ceylon cinnamon to it *Pour it in a cup and add half lemon *Enjoy with a smile Does it actually help? Cinnamon known for its unique flavour and taste can actually aid in improving insulin sensitivity, said registered dietitian Garima Goyal. “Many studies based on the supplementation of cinnamon for glucose intolerance have shown positive results in achieving reduced blood glucose levels. This reduction in blood glucose is achieved by improving insulin sensitivity and increasing the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream,” said Goyal. According to Goyal, in diabetes, achieving glycemic control is not the only goal. “It is also necessary to reduce complications. The anti-inflammatory effect of cinnamon helps in reducing oxidative stress and help in mitigating the complications associated with it,” said Goyal. The difference between Ceylon and regular cinnamon lies in its subtle difference in taste. Therefore, adding a cup of cinnamon tea regularly to a nourishing diet can help the diabetic po[CENSORED]tion maintain their blood glucose level, Goyal mentioned. “The sweetness of cinnamon makes it a better choice for sweeteners and helps manage sugar cravings,” said Goyal. https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/tea-post-meal-sweet-craving-8003096/

Sweden's Loreen has won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time, with her soaring pop anthem Tattoo. The star, who last won the competition in 2012, saw off competition from Finland's Käärijä in a nail-biting vote. The UK's Mae Muller failed to replicate Sam Ryder's success last year, coming in 25th place - one above bottom. And the Princess of Wales made a surprise cameo, playing the piano with last year's winners Kalush Orchestra. Loreen is the only the second person - and the first woman - to win Eurovision twice, following Ireland's Johnny Logan. "This is so overwhelming," she said as she collected the trophy. "I'm so grateful. I'm so thankful." "In my wildest dreams, I didn't think this would happen." Sweden's victory means it will host next year's competition - on what will be the 50th anniversary of Abba's historic victory with Waterloo in 1974. But Ireland crashed out of this year's contest at the semi-final stage for the fifth year in a row - a result their head of delegation described as "devastating". This year's top three acts were: Sweden: Loreen - Tattoo (583 points) Finland: Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha (526 points) Israel: Noa Kirel - Unicorn (362 points) Mae Muller only picked up 24 points, leaving the UK near the bottom of the leaderboard. It was "not the result we hoped for," she tweeted after the show. "I know I joke a lot but we really put our all into the last few months," she said. "Congrats to all the countries, I'll never forget this journey and I love you all." Liverpool hosted this year's contest on behalf of war-torn Ukraine, which won in 2022. Appropriately, the show began with last year's winners, Kalush Orchestra, playing an extended version of their song Stefania in a pre-taped segment from Kyiv. Stars including Joss Stone, Sam Ryder and Andrew Lloyd Webber added a British flavour to the song, as the band boarded a train from Kyiv's iconic Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station and arrived on the stage of the Liverpool Arena. The Princess of Wales accompanied on piano, in a brief segment recorded in the crimson drawing room of Windsor Castle earlier this month. Back in the arena, Kalush performed their new single Changes, delivering a message of defiance to Russia: "Give my all down to the wire / Set me free." It was the first of many references to the war, in a show that took a more political tone than most editions of Eurovision. Croatia's Let 3! performed a song that referred to Russia's Vladimir Putin as a "crocodile psychopath", while the Czech band Vesna sang in Ukrainian, "We're with you in our hearts". Ukraine's own entry, Tvorchi, played a powerful song inspired by the siege of Mariupol. The duo's hometown of Ternopil was hit by Russian missiles moments before the band took to the stage in Liverpool, officials said. They eventually took sixth place, with a total of 243 points. Russia has been suspended from the contest due to the invasion, but organisers refused to allow a speech from Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky during the show. Elsewhere, Eurovision was Eurovision. There were 80s-inspired tributes to Miami Vice, a ghost story about Edgar Allen Poe and, naturally, a tear-away dress. But the musical component of the contest continues to improve. Spain's Blanca Paloma combined traditional flamenco rhythms with a throbbing electro pulse on the vibrant, urgent EAEA; and France's La Zarra tied together decades of Gallic music history in the Piaf-meets-Daft-Punk Évidemment. Acts from Armenia, Poland and Israel - especially Israel - threw slick dance breaks into their performances; while Italy's Marco Mengoni was accompanied by two gymnasts on trampolines. There was also the usual surfeit of tortured ballads, both good (Lithuania) and drab (Albania); and a never-ending parade of lyrics about coming together and being nice to your neighbours (Belgium, Switzerland, Australia). Finnish rapper Käärijä was the runaway public favourite: He received more than double Loreen's tally in the phone vote. But his chaotic mix of thrash metal, hardcore techno and K-pop melodies failed to impress the juries, who are comprised of music experts. In a post-modern twist, the competition was bookended by two songs about the process of songwriting. Austrian duo Teya & Salena kicked off the show with the quirky pop anthem Who The Hell Is Edgar, in which they are possessed by the spirit of US poet Edgar Allen Poe, who compels them to write a song. An hour-and-a-half later, Mae Muller closed the competition with I Wrote A Song - in which she gets revenge on her ex-boyfriend by writing a song that catalogues his misdemeanours. It meant the contest opened with the lyric, "Oh my God, you're such a good writer", and ended with Muller singing, "Instead, I wrote a song". And if that's not synchronicity, I don't know what is. The contest was presented by Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, with Graham Norton joining them during the voting stage. The interval showcased the "Liverpool songbook" with tracks by John Lennon, Melanie C and Gerry and the Pacemakers performed by former Eurovision contestants. And Sam Ryder, who came second for the UK last year, performed an emotional version of his new single, Mountains, with Queen's Roger Taylor on drums. Ryder, whose song is about overcoming adversity, was accompanied on stage by dancers who had lost limbs. Loreen easily won the jury vote, picking up the maximum 12 points from Ireland, Estonia, Spain, Albania, Cyprus and Ukraine, among others. She ended the jury sequence with a score of 340, giving her a comfortable 163-point lead over Italy's Marco Mengoni. The public preferred Finnish rapper Käärijä, giving him 526 points, temporarily putting him in the lead. After a tense pause, Loreen reclaimed the crown at the last minute, receiving a public score of 243 that put her back on top. The UK languished at the bottom of the table, picking up just nine points from the public and 15 from the juries. Only Germany fared worse. Their glam-rock song Blood And Glitter gained a mere 18 points. Commiserations came from the BBC, who organised the contest in partnership with the European Broadcasting Union. The broadcaster's official Twitter account posted: "Mae, we're so proud of you and everything you've achieved at this year's Eurovision Song Contest." https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65585413

In August 2019, after inspecting the cockpit of Russia’s then-new fifth-generation Su-57 fighter warplane, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, if it was for sale.“Yes, you can buy it,” Putin responded with a smile, as he enticed Erdogan with Russia’s latest foreign jets at the MAKS-2019 international air show outside Moscow.The duo, donned in dark suits and dark shades, toured other warplanes and then took a break to eat ice cream cones.“Will you pay for me?” Erdogan asked Putin, nodding towards the cones, to which Putin responded, “Of course, you’re my guest”.The exchange exemplified the renewed closeness of Turkish-Russian security relations after a difficult period, during which Turkey downed a Russian fighter plane that it said had strayed across the border from Syria. But it also showcased Erdogan’s personality-driven approach to foreign policy during his two-decade rule.As Turkey has sought to position itself as a regional heavyweight, the Justice and Development Party or AK Party leader’s confident, if confrontational, style has shaped the country’s international relations.Turkey has certainly grown more influential – not just across the Middle East, but also Africa and Europe, with its prominent role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine a particular example.But a possible new successor is on the rise, with emboldened opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP currently holding an edge in opinion polls.Kilicdaroglu, a social democratic politician also backed by five smaller parties in an alliance against Erdogan, has promised to overturn the president’s legacy.Sinan Ogan from the ATA alliance is also vying for the top spot. A former candidate, Muharrem Ince from the Homeland Party dropped out of the race just three days before the election.So, Turkey may enter a post-Erdogan era after Sunday’s presidential and parliamentary elections, and that could mean foreign policy changes.Personality-driven to predictability? If Erdogan’s reign was about pomp and personality, the opposition’s – especially under Kilicdaroglu – may be more muted and predictable.“The style of foreign policymaking will change and that’s more important than issue-based changes because currently foreign policy is conducted entirely [in] a personalised manner,” Salim Cevik, a researcher at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik’s Center for Applied Turkey Studies in Berlin, Germany, told Al Jazeera.Under Erdogan, foreign ministers and diplomats have largely been excluded from decision-making, with personal relations between the president and foreign leaders waging a far greater role, Cevik added.“Turkey will be much more predictable because it will be more institutionalised,” the researcher said.Sami Hamdi, the managing director at International Interest, a political risk firm focusing on the Middle East, said that Erdogan’s policies are also aimed at increasing Turkey’s soft power, particularly in the Muslim world, a continuation of the legacy of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled vast swaths of the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans for centuries.“Erdogan’s assertive nature has irked the major powers who are more accustomed to Turkey’s historical role as a supporting actor,” Hamdi told Al Jazeera.“At the same time, Turkey’s rapidly expanding influence is rooted in Erdogan’s ability to capitalise on Islamic soft power via his ‘Muslim’ rhetoric, enabling him to advance rapidly both politically and econmically into [multiple regions],” he added.iddle East ties from military interventions to normalisationErdogan’s foreign policy has seen the leader flex his military prowess across the Middle East through interventions in Iraq, Libya, Syria and even beyond, in Azerbaijan.n Iraq and Syria, Turkey’s military actions have focused on stamping out threats it saw as linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a deadly fight against the Turkish state that has killed tens of thousands since the 1980s. As such, Ankara has spent decades fighting predominantly Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, and controls several areas along its borders with Syria, in order to crush the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the US-backed forces Ankara considers an offshoot of the PKK. In Libya, Turkey intervened to support the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli against eastern-based forces and in 2020, backed Azerbaijan in a war with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. On paper at least, the CHP has said it will reverse course and take on a non-interventionist role, according to the party’s platform. “We will respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries in the Middle East, will not interfere in their internal affairs, and will not ‘take sides’ in the problems between them but ‘facilitate solutions,’” the platform read. Sinan Ulgen, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, Belgium, said Turkey’s non-interference in other countries’ domestic affairs had been a pre-Erdogan principle, but the opposition pulling out of Syria and Libya would still be conditional on Ankara’s interests being protected there. “That would be conditional on an overall agreement with [Damascus and Tripoli] that would protect its interests,” Ulgen told Al Jazeera. Cevik was less inclined to agree that a pull-out from the two places would take place under an opposition government so quickly, but Turkey will head towards a less militarily-aggressive era regardless, due to economic restraints. “[The] Turkish economy is bad and became even worse after the earthquake so the resources are limited,” said Cevik. He pointed to Turkey’s recent more diplomatic and muted responses to issues that in the past would have provoked Erdogan to a greater extent, such as Israeli attacks on Gaza, or the crackdown on the opposition in Tunisia. Erdogan has already begun a new course by normalising ties with Arab states, a process that would likely continue under the opposition. Turkey’s ties with Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates soured after Ankara supported the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere during the 2011 Arab uprisings. Meanwhile, Ankara’s closer ties with Riyadh’s rival, Tehran, and the Saudi killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul exacerbated those rifts. “The motivation is to normalise the ties that have been tarnished over the past decade as a result of Turkey’s … confrontational, or interventionist, policies in the region,” said Cevik. But Turkey may see a dip in po[CENSORED]rity in the region as it takes a step back from Middle Eastern affairs, the researcher said. That will especially be true under Kilicdaroglu, said Hamdi, as he was seen as the candidate committed to “divorcing” Turkey from the Muslim world, while Erdogan has been seen as one committed to restoring Turkey to the Muslim world and re-defining Turkish identity with an “Islamic stroke”. “The image of Turkey in the region will change dramatically if Kilicdaroglu wins,” said Hamdi. Ties with the West – from frosty to friendly? Perhaps where change in foreign policy is most likely to occur with a change of government is in Turkey’s relations with the West. “According to the policy platform of the opposition, the new Turkish foreign policy will seek to reassert Turkey’s Western vocation,” said Ulgen. An opposition-led government would seek to improve Turkey’s relations with its traditional partners in the West, namely the European Union and the United States, but the “outcome of this will also depend on how Washington and Brussels react to the prospect of political change in Turkey,” he added. The West may welcome Kilicdarolgu not due to its own interests, but rather because he is perceived as someone less assertive in imposing Turkish interests, said Hamdi. “Much of Erdogan’s use of force has been the result of genuine fears in Ankara that something bad is about to happen to Turkish interests, and that his allies have not taken those fears seriously,” he explained. According to Cevik, a general pro-Western outlook in foreign policy has been the default for Turkey in even the AK Party’s first decade in power, after 2002. Tensions have always existed, but even when Turkey was under a heavy American arms embargo in the 1970s, “these tensions didn’t amount to questioning Turkey’s membership in the wider Western geopolitical system,” he said. “Today, this is questioned,” Cevik emphasised. Others have argued that it is the West that has pushed Turkey away. While most parties in Turkey prefer closer ties and integration with Europe, Europe does not consider Turkey part of its fold, and France, in particular, has been vocal about this, said Hamdi. “As a result, Erdogan has shifted his priorities and placed greater importance on the Islamic world, where Turkey has been able develop new alliances, new ties, and rapidly expand its influence and soft power to become a major – and more independent – player in the region,” said Hamdi. Erdogan was relatively friendly with former US President Donald Trump, but relations with current US President Joe Biden have been more frosty. Washington removed Ankara from its F-35 joint strike fighter programme in 2019 after Turkey bought S-400 air defence systems from Russia, systems incompatible with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ones. The CHP’s platform promised to return Turkey to the F-35 programme, but does not state whether Turkey would return the Russian systems. Turkey has also been wary of the US’s support for the YPG in Syria, officially through the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which it is the leading part. Still, Turkey’s support for Ukraine and its reversal on its opposition to Finland joining NATO – while remaining uncertain over Sweden – have spurred Washington to sell Ankara F-16 jets and other military equipment in the interest of NATO unity. Under a potential new government, many of these issues may still stand but “there will be a willingness by the new Turkish government to address these issues more constructively”, said Ulgen. Equally, it will also “depend on how much flexibility the US side will be willing to demonstrate to resolve these issues”, he added. Some thorny issues with the EU may also persist in a post-Erdogan era, namely the Cyprus dispute and Turkey’s feud over maritime rights with Greece, the analysts said. However, a notable difference in the CHP’s platform was that it would concede to the EU accession process demand that Turkey release some Turkish political prisoners. Despite soured relations over these matters during Erdogan’s rule, the EU has remained Turkey’s principal trading partner and source of foreign investment. While the Turkish opposition has remained committed to the EU accession track, its ties with the regional bloc are not limited to that, said Ulgen. A new government will pursue everything from visa liberalisation, to deeper cooperation in the areas of trade, climate, digital and beyond, he added. Ties with non-Western powers, China and Russia Although Turkey may warm up to the West under the opposition, its ties to Russia and China would remain intact. But the opposition, Ulgen said, will seek to balance its allies more strategically than Erdogan did. Beyond Su-57 warplanes and ice cream cones, Erdogan and Putin have no doubt held close ties, with Turkey heavily reliant on Russian energy imports. Even still, the two have backed opposing sides in Libya, Syria, and the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Turkey also condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, supplying the latter with drones. It still, however, opposed Western sanctions on Russia, a balancing act that the opposition will likely continue. Similarly, Turkey has allied with China for years, in 2015 joining its infrastructure-financing Belt and Road Initiative. However, the persecution of the Uighur people – who are Turkic and speak a language similar to Turkish – in China has been an under-the-rug issue between the two allies, with Erdogan accusing China of “genocide” in 2009, but not publicly pressing the issue since. “China’s policies on [the Uighur] front constitute an impediment to a vast improvement of the relationship,” said Ulgen. The key difference, then, between a third Erdogan term and a post-Erdogan era, would likely be that the incumbent candidate would continue to foment these relations in a continued push away from the West, he said. “Under Erdogan, Turkish foreign policy will be more influenced by a drive to obtain a strategic autonomy from the West, which opens up more space to countries like Russia and China,” the analyst said. Ties with Africa Turkey’s Africa policy has largely been dictated by trade and investment, said Cevik, and will continue irrespective of who wins the election, as it is considered a success. “Most recently, drones sales and arms cooperation became an important dimension of Turkish presence in Africa,” he said. “I am expecting that to continue but the new government may be more selective and less eager in selling drones”. On the cultural front, however, Turkish NGOs carrying out religious activities on the continent may not have as much support from an incoming CHP-led government. As a result, Turkey’s cultural influence in Africa will continue to some extent but may slow down under the opposition, the researcher said. Hamdi agreed that a government under Kilicdaroglu would not be able to be as influential in Africa as during Erdogan’s reign. “Kilicdaroglu does not evoke anything of the resonance that Erdogan does, and Turkey’s economic and cultural influence is likely to be greatly hampered if he becomes president,” he said. Ulgen, on the other hand, believed that a new government may collaborate with its Western partners to contain the influence of China on the continent, in order to advance Turkish interests there. A new international position? Two decades of rule fashioned by Erdogan have changed Turkey in multiple ways, and its place in the world, both positively and negatively, depending on who you ask. A third presidential win for Erdogan would be a vindication of his policies since, said Ulgen, despite his dipping po[CENSORED]rity. But the opposition – while still continuing elements of Erdogan’s foreign policies – would seek to reposition Turkey internationally by balancing its relations on the world stage, the analysts said. “[Turkey will] continue to have solid relations with its neighbours and the non-West powers, Russia, China,” said Ulgen. “However, this would not come to the detriment of Turkey’s geo-strategic alignment as a partner of the Western community of nations,” he added. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/12/turkeys-foreign-policy-from-past-to-potential-post-erdogan-era

Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister, Justin Tkatchenko, has apologised for calling people “primitive animals” after his daughter faced criticism for TikTok videos she made while accompanying him to London for King Charles’s coronation. “I would like to personally apologise about my comments that were taken the completely wrong way and make known that these comments were solely directed to the individuals that made these disgusting and vile comments about my daughter,” Tkatchenko said in a statement. “Ultimately, my daughter is a person of her generation, the online generation, where they like to post everything about their lives online. She realises now how the video was perceived, which was not appropriate.” In one video Savannah Tkatchenko, 25, had shown herself travelling first class on Qantas and said she had done some shopping in Hermes and Louis Vuitton at Singapore airport. “For those of you that don’t know, Singapore airport shopping is so elite,” she said. Another video showed her unboxing cosmetics and a handbag after a shopping trip in London. The videos went viral on social media in PNG, with people questioning why taxpayer money had been spent on her attendance at the coronation. Responding to the criticism of her on Wednesday, Tkatchenko told Australia’s ABC her critics were “primitive animals” who had “nothing to do”. He later reiterated the comments to the Guardian, saying they were “living in the dark ages”. “I was officially invited by Buckingham Palace for myself and my spouse to go to the coronation representing the prime minister and the government of Papua New Guinea and for me that was an absolute honour and unfortunately my spouse could not attend, so I invited the next best person, who was my daughter,” Tkatchenko told the Guardian on Wednesday. “So where they get all this trumped-up thing that we are misusing public funds and going overseas, what a load of bullshit.” Prior to Friday’s apology, Tkatchenko had said that his daughter received K25,000 (£5,600/$7,100) in government funds as an allowance for the trip which she had used to pay for accommodation and meals. The flight was also paid for by the government. “Is that misuse of funds when you’re going there on an invitation, representing the government and prime minister of this country?” Tkatchenko said his daughter had not actually bought anything in Singapore. When asked about the London unboxing video, he said: “I have no idea of this.” Savannah Tkatchenko was not available for comment and has since shut down her TikTok account. The prime minister, James Marape, asked Papua New Guineans to accept the apology, saying in a statement that he too had been offended by Tkatchenko’s comments. “I advised him that as ministers of state, and leaders of our country, we carry a huge responsibility in how we respond to public scrutiny of our conduct as well as that of family members,” he said. “I appeal to our people that we should rise above these issues and stand united as one people, one nation, one country, regardless of colour or creed.” Critics of the coronation trip also noted media reports that 30 people were part of the delegation accompanying PNG’s governor general, Bob Dadae, and his wife. Other Pacific Island countries sent fewer than three people each to represent their country. A local newspaper, citing a reliable source in the country’s finance and treasury department, reported that the trip cost taxpayers K3 million (£672,000/$851,000) and another K3 million was spent on celebrations in PNG. About 85% of people in Papua New Guinea lived in poverty in 2020, according to the World Bank, while the national budget continues to be supplemented by loans and grants from donor partners. As Apec minister in 2018, Tkatchenko was responsible for the controversial acquisition of a fleet of Maseratis and Bentleys that was supposed to ferry world leaders to meetings. Tkatchenko was criticised for wasting money on expensive luxury vehicles, which the government then struggled to sell. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/12/png-minister-apologises-for-calling-daughters-coronation-critics-primitive-animals