List of All Articles with Tag 'i'

Dow Inc beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Tuesday, as the chemicals maker benefited from higher

In a slew of court filings late Monday, attorneys for Donald Trump filed several motions asking the judge overseeing the election subversion case in Washington, DC, to dismiss the charges against the former president on grounds that, among other things, they violate his First Amendment rights and are the product of a "selective and vindictive prosecution."

Bad news for banana lovers – scientists have warned that the fruit could face extinction, after a fungal disease outbreak. Crops of the Cavendish banana have been hit by an infection called Panama disease, with those in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and central America particularly badly affected. The disease, which is also known as banana wilt, starts in the roots of the banana tree and then spreads through its vascular system. Ultimately, it stops the plant from absorbing water or carrying out photosynthesis, eventually killing the tree. For Cavendish banana growers, it could spell disaster. While there are more than 1,000 varieties of bananas, about 47 per cent that humans eat are Cavendish. Cavendish has historically dominated the global banana market since the 1950s, partly because of its resistance to the main banana-killing diseases. It also has a long shelf life, making it more attractive for international import and export, and the plant also produces more bananas than other varieties on the same amount of land. Part of the reason scientists think it could be endangered is because of what happened to another popular banana variety called the Gros Michel. Gros Michel was the main export banana in the early 20th century, but was practically wiped out by a predecessor disease to the one hitting Cavendishes now. The first infections of Gros Michel farms began in the late 19th century and took several decades to affect production to the point where growers were looking for a new variety to sell. Cavendish, meanwhile, was first hit by the current strain of Panama disease in 1997, and it has now spread across several continents. However, scientists are working on a genetically modified version of the banana to fight to infection. James Dale, a professor and leader of the banana biotechnology program at Queensland University of Technology, is working on the project. He told Insider: “The disease moves slowly, so we have at least a decade before the impact is drastic.” “I would say with certainty that there will be a solution before the export market for Cavendish is severely affected.” Let’s hope he’s right. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Palestinian artist Nida Sinnokrot, one of 18 artists receiving the 2023 Soros Arts Fellowships from the Open Society Foundations on Tuesday, says that art provides hope and resilience, even in the midst of war

A Twitch streamer found herself in a bizarre situation recently, after having her hair cut off by the son of Ice T apparently without her consent. A video has emerged which shows Tracy Marrow Jr taking part in an ill-advised prank and chipping a length of the Twitch user Malek_04’s hair. The pair were together as part of a gathering for TwitchCon Las Vegas, which took place over the weekend. Twitch streamer Malek_04 was hosting a house party and broadcasting it live on the streaming platform when the strange incident took place. Marrow Jr, who is the son of American rapper Ice-T, was one of the guests in attendance. A group gathered and appeared to be socialising as normal, before Malek began eating an orange in front of the camera. Then, when she was completely unaware, Marrow Jr cut a piece of her hair off – much to her surprise. Malek exclaimed: “Wait, what the f***?” She backed off from Marrow Jr. before saying: “What the f***, man?” “Yo, who wants it?” Marrow Jr then said, before presenting the hair straight towards the camera. All very strange, and while Malek seemed remarkably calm after the ‘prank’, it led fans to speculate about her reaction later on. The stream later showed Malek in tears – however, some viewers have stated that it could have been the result of a different situation. Meanwhile, Twitch has been in the headlines recently after one of the biggest streamers iShowSpeed was unbanned on the platform after nearly two years. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS The European Union's executive is set to present on Nov.8 an assessment of progress

Elon Musk thinks we might be on the precipice of another world war, following a discussion on X/Twitter on 23 October. The billionaire owner of the social media platform warned that the United States is “sleepwalking into World War III” and that “civilization itself may be at stake”. Musk said US foreign policy right now should be preventing a situation of “a regional conflict rapidly becoming a global conflict”. The Tesla owner’s comments come amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict. However, he was referring more specifically to the growing relationship between Russia and China. Should that continue to blossom, it could spell disaster for the US, and that Russia, with its “abundance in raw materials, and China, with its phenomenal industrial capacity” are a formidable duo. Musk added that US foreign policy has been about “forcing Russia to ally with Iran and China” for a number of years, and that it should “figure out” a road towards peace in Ukraine and “resume normal relations with Russia.” The discussion also featured Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has previously expressed isolationist, some argue pro-Russia, views on the Ukraine war. He argued last year that the US should force Ukraine to cede much of the territory taken by Russia in the eastern part of the country, in return for president Vladimir Putin cutting military ties with China. On 23 October, Musk appeared to echo that view, suggesting that the present lines of control should be established as a ceasefire line or permanent border. Musk came under fire in September, when excerpts of a new biography published in the Washington Post said he had denied Ukraine access to his starlink satellite service for an offensive against Russia in Crimea last year. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Starlink has provided internet to Ukrainian civilians and its military. Musk has since signed a contract with the Pentagon, which pays for Ukraine’s use of the service. He said of the cut in service: “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.” Musk added: “Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.” Days later, Putin praised Musk as a “talented businessman.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

As if orcas weren’t frightening enough, experts think they are getting even smarter as they have started to learn some terrifying new behaviours. The whale species, commonly known as killer whales, is an apex predator that has learned to adapt its hunting methods to a variety of different prey. In March 2019, researchers were stunned when they witnessed the first documented case of a pod of orcas working as a team to kill one of the largest animals on the planet, a blue whale. The gruesome incident took place on the coast of southwestern Australia as experts watched as a dozen orcas bit chunks out of the adult blue whale, slowly wearing it down until it finally died an hour later. While it may have been the first recorded case, it has not been the last. Additionally, a small population of orcas on the coast of Spain and Portugal have become fans of ramming and damaging boats, sometimes causing enough destruction to sink them. Elsewhere, orcas have been seen abducting baby pilot whales and tearing the livers out of sharks that later wash up on shore. Deborah Giles, an orca researcher at the University of Washington and the nonprofit Wild Orca explained to Live Science: “These are animals with an incredibly complex and highly evolved brain. They've got parts of their brain that are associated with memory and emotion that are significantly more developed than even in the human brain.” But, while the actual anatomy of the animals’ brains hasn’t changed, their ability to learn is what is making orcas smarter than ever before. They implement what is known as social learning, where younger members of the pods observe and learn hunting methods from the adults, particularly the dominant matriarch, who themselves, are always learning. Josh McInnes, a marine ecologist at the University of British Columbia, explained: “This behaviour may be being shared between individuals, and that's maybe why we're seeing an increase in some of these mortality events.” But, while experts think they are getting smarter, they also think it may be leading to the breakup of large pods of orcas. Michael Weiss, a behavioural ecologist and research director at the Center for Whale Research in Washington state, said: “Their social bonds get weaker because you can't be in a big partying killer whale group if you're all hungry and trying to search for food.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A Hong Kong court has upheld a ruling that favored the granting of equal inheritance rights to same-sex couples

Rihanna is said to be ready to make her return to the touring circuit and put out new music next year.

Scouting For Girls frontman Roy Stride says it would be his "dream" to keep playing shows and making music to the day he dies.

Internet star Trisha Paytas has stirred a debate online after dressing up as rapper Ice Spice for Halloween. The 35-year-old turned to Instagram on 17 October with a string of photos revealing her creative outfit choice. In the snap, she cosplays as the rapper with a curly red wig and an all-pink outfit almost identical to the one Ice Spice donned in 'Princess Diana' featuring Nicki Minaj. "I'm thick because I be eating oats," Paytas wrote as the caption, while crediting photographer Isaiah Mays, costume designer Eddy's Online, makeup artist Arianna Garcia and hairdresser Tony. Fans were quick to flood the post with praise, with some even having to take a second look. "I genuinely thought this WAS ice spice for a sec," one wrote. "It's Ice Spice putting your TikTok in her stories for meeeee. I'm her own words, YOU ATE," another added. Meanwhile, others accused the YouTuber of doing blackface, with one asking: "Is this blackface. If we compare the literal colour of their skin it is the same." A second penned: "White person to white person— Trisha you can’t be doing this…" The comments fuelled fans to hit back and defend the star. "Why are people trying to cancel this? she’s just wearing a ginger curly wig and the same outfit. there’s no way y’all are trying to cancel this. y’all need to touch some grass," one wrote on the post. "This isn’t racist lol she isn’t in blackface she is just dressed as Ice Spice smh. It’s more cosplay tbh," another said. A third added: "Y’all want this to be 'racist' and 'blackface' so bad…" Indy100 reached out to Trisha Paytas' representative for comment. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.