A huge show of 115 works by Mark Rothko opens in Paris this week. His son says he combined a "European soul" with "the freedom of America" to...

The opening ceremony of Chile’s first Pan American Games was not only a celebration of athletes, Indigenous peoples and poetry, but laid bare the politically divided country’s scars from the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet from 1973 until 1990

Bitcoin is trading at its highest level in more than 18 months, with its price up more than 100 per cent since the start of 2023. The rally has pushed bitcoin’s market cap above $700 billion and the overall crypto market close to $1.5 trillion. The figure is still a long way from its all-time high of around $3 trillion, which was reached at the end of 2021, however some crypto analysts believe the recent gains are the beginning of another record-breaking run. Bitcoin’s hash rate – which denotes how much computing power is required to verify transactions and generate new units of the cryptocurrency through a process called mining – hit a record high this week, according to data from Blockchain.com. This signals a resilient network, with hopes of future price gains attracting an increasing number of miners. Recent reports have revealed significant investment in cryptocurrency mining from both state-backed and commercial ventures. Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT is planning to invest $500 million in mining, while satellite imagery analysed by Forbes suggests Bhutan’s government is establishing a massive bitcoin mining operation in the foothills of the Himalayas. Separate data reveals that miners have been profiting from cheap energy sources to reduce their average BTC production cost by 35 per cent from $21,100 to $13,800. “This data underscores a considerably stronger profitability in the mining sector compared to the challenges experienced throughout 2022 and part of 2023,” said research analyst Matteo Greco from the fintech investment firm Fineqia International. In roughly six months, bitcoin will undergo an event known as a “halving”, which will see the amount of new bitcoins awarded to miners cut by half. The event was hardcoded into bitcoin’s underlying blockchain by its pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto, who introduced it as an anti-inflationary measure when the cryptocurrency first launched in 2009. Taking place approximately every four years, the build up to the halvings have traditionally been the most profitable time for crypto investors. “Buy bitcoin six months before a halving and sell 18 months after a halving has historically beaten ‘buy and hold’ trading strategy,” Dutch crypto trader PlanB wrote earlier this year. “The next halving is April 2024... Will this strategy work again?” Read More Google issues one-week deadline to Gmail account holders UK and South Korea issue warning over North Korea-linked cyber attacks Researchers warned of dangerous AI discovery just before OpenAI chaos Crypto experts predict which bitcoin rivals to look out for

John Lewis Partnership Plc has pushed back its plan to be profitable by two years as stubbornly high

HONG KONG Shares of embattled developer China Evergrande Group plunged 25% on Monday after police detained some staff

By Shrivathsa Sridhar PARIS Aryna Sabalenka said she understood Marta Kostyuk's decision to skip customary post-match handshakes with

A new study of medical records shows that at least 128 women and girls were sexually assaulted in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region even after a peace agreement ended a two-year conflict there

Leonardo DiCaprio was considered to play the main villain in 'The Dark Knight Rises'.

A Georgia indictment of former President Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election lists at least 27 lies Trump told about the election -- and that's counting conservatively.

During last week's Republican presidential debate, Florida Gov_ Ron DeSantis dodged a question about a federal abortion ban by telling a story about a woman he knew who he claimed survived despite “multiple abortion attempts.”

Manchester United vice-captain Bruno Fernandes has opened up on his relationship with manager Erik ten Hag, who has stood by the midfielder throughout the 2022/23 season.

Mary Earps has questioned Nike’s statement that defended the company’s decision not to sell replica England goalkeeper jerseys. The Manchester United keeper won the golden glove at the World Cup, where she saved a penalty in the Lionesses’ 1-0 defeat to Spain in Sunday’s final. Earps has become a firm fan favourite as interest in the women’s game has boomed – including the Euros success last summer. Nike came in for criticism before the tournament when it became apparent replica Earps shirts would not be available. In a statement released after the final, the kit manufacturer said: “Nike is committed to women’s football and we’re excited by the passion around this year’s tournament and the incredible win by the Lionesses to make it into the final. “We are proudly offering the best of Nike innovation and services to our federation partners and hundreds of athletes. We hear and understand the desire for a retail version of a goalkeeper jersey and we are working towards solutions for future tournaments, in partnership with Fifa and the federations. “The fact that there’s a conversation on this topic is testament to the continued passion and energy around the women’s game and we believe that’s encouraging.” On Tuesday afternoon, Earps posted a screenshot of the statement on her Instagram stories, adding the comment: “@Nike is this your version of an apology/taking accountability/a powerful statement of intent?” In a following post, Earps provided a link to a change.org petition that started in July, calling on Nike to release the goalkeeper shirt and it currently has more than 97,000 signatories.