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Been meaning to learn more about Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham? Watch here

You can stream for free the Martha Graham Dance Company program "CunningGraham" and join a live chat with the creative team.




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It's a Zoom cooking lesson with the Food team: Beer-braised chicken

Cooking editor Genevieve Ko teaches deputy Food editor Andrea Chang and columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson her beer-braised chicken recipes on a Zoom call.




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Apocalypse, you say? Writer Mark O'Connell has been there, done that

Author Mark O'Connell visited preppers, paranoiacs and prophets worldwide for "Notes From an Apocalypse." Now he says "the world will go on."




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Dystopian fiction has always been real for Ray Bradbury prize winner Marlon James

Marlon James, whose novel "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" pioneered queer fantasy, thanks Mary Shelley and "Moby Dick" for predicting our current crisis.




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Why are entertainers so depressed? Comedian John Moe has been asking for years

He's interviewed Neko Case, Jeff Tweedy and Maria Bamford about depression. With his new memoir, "The Hilarious World of Depression," John Moe looks inward.




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Oscars 2020 red carpet has been rejiggered. Photographers tell how

Longtime Los Angeles Times photographers Al Seib and Jay Clendenin assess the 2020 setup.




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'We've been abandoned by our own embassy': Britons denied repatriation from Peru to London amid coronavirus chaos

The 11 UK citizens left in Peru say they are 'terrified' they won't be put on a flight before the country officially shuts its borders on 22 April




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'It has been so hard to be alone': Crew stuck on quarantine cruise ship forced to stay in cabins for nearly a month

'It's really hard for your mental health,' says crew member




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Beers, nostalgia and worry in Michigan as historic GM plant closes

A GM factory in Warren, Mich., is closing as Democrats come to Detroit to debate. Some workers, in a county and a state key to the 2020 presidential race, wonder whether elected officials can or will help.




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Meet the Mexico City family keeping Beetlemania alive

Throughout Mexico legions of fans remain devoted to the Volkswagen Beetle, or as it's known, the "vocho."




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Review: Amazon premiere 'Selah and the Spades' gives high school movies a new queen bee

Filmmaker Tayarisha Poe makes her debut with teen noir "Selah and the Spades," a tale of teen angst and control set in a Pennsylvania boarding school.




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Man Utd and Newcastle given Donny van de Beek transfer boost as ‘verbal agreement’ emerges



Manchester United and Newcastle have both been linked with summer transfer raids for Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.




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Car tax changes mean there's ‘never been a better time’ to switch as EV models top sales



CAR TAX changes and grants for those purchasing brand new fully electric vehicles means there's "never been a better time" to switch, according to an EV expert.




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Why Jude Bellingham has been put off Liverpool transfer in boost for Man Utd



Jude Bellingham is set to make a big decision at the end of the season when he will most likely leave Birmingham on a permanent transfer.




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What Man Utd have been briefing on transfers amid Sancho, Grealish and Bellingham pursuits



Manchester United want to sign Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Jude Bellingham when the transfer window reopens this summer.




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Man Utd and Newcastle given Donny van de Beek transfer boost as ‘verbal agreement’ emerges



Manchester United and Newcastle have both been linked with summer transfer raids for Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.




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Man Utd and Newcastle given Donny van de Beek transfer boost as ‘verbal agreement’ emerges



Manchester United and Newcastle have both been linked with summer transfer raids for Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.




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Snake Pit gallery: Flesh, mud and lots of beer

      




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For IndyCar's recent champions, iRacing adjustment has been emotional roller coaster

They've piled up more on-track success than any other drivers over the past three years. But adjusting to sim-racing has been another task entirely.

       




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Purdue basketball's George Faerber (of Bee Window) and his statistically perfect game

George Faerber still holds 17 records from his high school career, including a game with 52 points and 32 rebounds.

       




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Liter House restaurant brings German beer, food south of Broad Ripple

A barbecue pavilion and a rooftop wine and whiskey bar are in the works out back.

       




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LAPD officer in violent beating video has been involved in three prior shootings

Officer Frank Hernandez has been involved in at least three on-duty shootings, including one where the city's Police Commission found fault with his actions.




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Skip the steak, buy the brisket: Consumers need to be flexible amid beef bottlenecks

Where's the beef? In California, it is still available, but meat eaters might need to settle for cuts other than prime steaks. The industry is dealing with production backups caused by coronavirus pandemic.




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Erica Ogwumike has been drafted into the WNBA - but is also a medical student in the US.

Erica Ogwumike has been drafted into the WNBA - but is also a medical student in the US. She talks about combining the two - and why she would like to represent Nigeria.




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Police fury as 'hundreds' of people have pizzas, beers and wine in park

Britons have been accused of "ignoring" restrictions during the sunny bank holiday weekend, as the police and coastguard criticised those failing to observe guidelines.




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It’s never been easier to avoid walking. A cargo-carrying robot might change that.

A new robot from a Boston start-up is designed to make walking easier by carrying your belongings for you.




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At this Chinese hotel, the bellhops have been replaced by talking robots

Robots are showing up in more and more hotels all over the world. A Washington Post reporter's video captures what it's like to interact with one.




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Boston Dynamics’ ‘terrifying’ robotic dogs have been put to work by at least one police agency

Boston Dynamics began began leasing their robotic dogs to the public this year. One of their first customers: The Massachusetts State Police.




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I've been using Apple's new iPhone SE for 2 weeks — here are the best and worst things about it so far (AAPL)

  • The $400 iPhone SE stands out for its fast performance, compact design, and effective camera.
  • Still, the iPhone SE is lacking some of the camera features found on similarly priced Android rivals.
  • Overall, the phone is best suited for Apple loyalists upgrading from an older device like the iPhone 6S that want something affordable and familiar.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple's iPhone SE is unlike any iPhone Apple has released in the past two years. In fact, it looks a lot more like the the iPhone you probably remember from 2017 and earlier, back when iPhones still had home buttons and smaller-sized screens.

I switched from the $1,000 iPhone 11 Pro to Apple's new iPhone SE recently, and overall I've found it to be a solid option for Apple fans looking for a cheap, portable device. The smaller and lighter size is easy to manage and operate with one hand, and Touch ID brings some convenience that Face ID can lack. 

But of course, since it's significantly cheaper than the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, it's lacking in some areas. It doesn't have an ultra-wide-angle camera or low-light photography capabilities, for example, even though similarly priced Android devices offer some of those features.

After spending a couple of weeks with Apple's cheapest iPhone, here are my favorite (and least favorite) things about it.  

SEE ALSO: Apple is expected to release a new Apple Watch this fall — here are the features we want to see

The iPhone SE runs on Apple's latest iPhone processor, which makes it feel snappy and fast.

The iPhone SE runs on Apple's A3 Bionic processor, the same chip that powers the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. As a result, the iPhone SE feels snappy and fast in daily use.

I found this to be especially true when switching from my old iPhone 8 to the SE. In most cases, it was able to launch apps, render 4K video clips, and find surfaces more quickly in augmented reality than Apple's more-than-two-year-old iPhone 8.

That being said, the iPhone SE is pretty similar to the iPhone 8 in just about every other way, save for a few exceptions. It's best suited for those upgrading from an iPhone 7 or older. 

The A13 Bionic is the major advantage the iPhone SE has over similarly-priced Android phones, many of which may offer more sophisticated cameras but run on less powerful processors. 



It's small and compact, which means it's easier to use with one hand and fit into pockets.

The iPhone SE is the most compact iPhone Apple has released in years. It has a 4.7-inch screen just like the iPhone 8, and weighs noticeably less than the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.

The iPhone SE weighs 5.22 ounces, while the iPhone 11 weighs 6.84 ounces and the iPhone 11 Pro weighs 6.63 ounces. 



It's also the only iPhone Apple sells that comes with a Touch ID home button.

Although I've grown accustomed to swiping up from the home screen to return home and unlocking my phone just by looking at it, I've really appreciated having Touch ID again.

Apple's fingerprint sensor sometimes works a bit faster than Face ID in my experience when unlocking my phone. And since Face ID works best when held directly in front of your face, I often have to physically pick up my phone to unlock it when using the iPhone 11 Pro. 

With the iPhone SE, by comparison, I can unlock my phone just by resting a finger on the home button without having to move the device. It's a small convenience, but one that I've come to appreciate.



The camera quality is good for the price.

The iPhone SE has a single 12-megapixel camera that supports Portrait Mode and all six lighting effects that go with it. Overall, the camera system is very similar to the one found on Apple's iPhone XR from 2018.

You won't get the more advanced photography features found on Apple's newer iPhone models, but you won't be disappointed by the SE's camera either. During my time with the phone, I've found that it takes sharp, crisp images that may not be as vibrant as the ones taken on the iPhone 11 Pro, but are in some cases an improvement over the iPhone 8.



But the camera is lacking compared to some similarly priced Android phones.

Given its cheap price, it's reasonable to think that the iPhone SE wouldn't come with all of the capabilities of the iPhone 11 or 11 Pro.

But that hasn't stopped some Android phone makers from bringing features like low-light photography, multi-lens camera systems, and ultra-wide-angle lenses to their devices. Google, Samsung, and TCL all offer compelling smartphones with more feature-rich photography capabilities at similar price points as the iPhone SE.  



The iPhone SE's design also feels a bit antiquated compared to modern smartphones.

While I appreciate the portability of the iPhone SE's design, its appearance does feel a bit outdated compared to other modern smartphones. Other affordable Android phones, like the $400 Samsung Galaxy A51 and $400 Google Pixel 3a, still offer screens with much smaller bezels for around the same price.  

 



And the battery life leaves me wanting more.

I usually get roughly one full work day out of the iPhone SE, which is acceptable given its low price. But when switching from a more expensive phone like the iPhone 11 Pro, I often found myself scrambling to plug in my phone after work hours.

Battery life will always vary depending on how you use your phone. During the workday, I tend to take a lot of phone calls, leave my screen on for long periods of time to avoid missing work notifications, and record audio frequently. All of these tasks will drain your battery faster than usual, which is why I tend to get more battery life out of the SE on the weekends.

The bottom line is: If you're a power user that's frequently recording video or audio, or running graphics-heavy games, you may want to make sure you have a charger handy or opt for a phone with longer battery life.



So is it right for you?

The iPhone SE is a reliable, affordable choice for Apple fans that want something that feels familiar and won't break the bank. 

You shouldn't expect to get all of the benefits you'd find on a much more expensive phone like the iPhone 11 Pro. But the SE's A13 Bionic chip offers fast performance for the price, and should provide some reassurance that you're phone won't quickly feel outdated in terms of speed. 






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Monica Lewinsky jokes about the worst career advice she’s ever been given

The former scandal figure is mining what was a traumatic experience for some dark humor.




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Dune HD And Beenius Partner To Deliver Best Of Breed IPTV Solution To Operators

Operators looking to deploy IPTV and Video on Demand will benefit from faster, lower-risk implementations that enable them to offer more services to users through a major partnership between Dune HD and Beenius announced today at TelcoTV2012. This will be demonstrated on the Beenius booth (number 105) at TelcoTV.

As part of the partnership, Dune HD’s advanced set-top boxes have been certified by Beenius and are now integrated with Beenius’ Beesmart open, flexible, and feature-rich interactive TV middleware platform. Together this provides an adaptable, integrated and best of breed solution to operators and system integrators, backed by the engineering expertise of both partners.



  • IPTV Events;IPTV Middleware;IPTV Set-Top Boxes

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The White House touts Trump’s deregulation. It’s actually been a bust.

Many of the changes are simply worse for the economy.




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Two years later, every promise made about the GOP tax cuts has been broken

The tax plan has benefited the wealthy while ballooning the deficit.




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As Parliamentary Elections Loom, the Legitimacy of Iran’s Regime Has Been Shaken

5 December 2019

Dr Sanam Vakil

Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme
The latest wave of protests highlights a fracturing social contract in the Islamic Republic.

2019-12-05-Iran.jpg

Iranian protesters block a road during a demonstration against an increase in gasoline prices in Isfahan on 16 November. Photo: Getty Images.

For four decades, the rule of Iran’s Islamic Republic has rested on the pillars of redistributive social justice, foreign policy independence, Islam and a managed form of electoral legitimacy.  These pillars, each of equal importance, have served as guiding principles bolstering Iran’s domestic and foreign policy decisions.  Amid the latest round of protests to have gripped Iran, it is clear that these pillars are fracturing. 

On 15 November at midnight, the Iranian government, in a move supported by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani and Head of the Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi, announced a 200 per cent increase in fuel prices – a redistributive measure designed to provide cash transfers to the population.

In immediate reaction, Iranian citizens took to the streets to express their discontent with this policy move alongside mounting economic and political grievances.

What ensued over the subsequent days was an outbreak of protests through 100 Iranian cities, including at universities and bazaars, that was followed by a weeklong internet blackout and a brutal crackdown that has left at least 200 people dead and 7,000 arrested. Initially, public anger focused on the price increases but quickly targeted the political leadership, lack of government accountability, effective governance and corruption.

This wave of protests is the fourth in a two-decade period – 1999, 2009, 2017 and 2019 – for the Islamic Republic and comes at time when the Iranian government is under severe economic strain from Washington’s maximum pressure campaign. It is equally burdened by endemic factional politicking.

These protests are one of many reminders of the shattered social contract between state and society in Iran, which without repair will continue to resurface.

With internet connectivity resumed and news of the regime’s brutality spreading, conservatives and reformists are both trying to distance themselves from this internal crisis and reposition themselves in advance of the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Parliamentary elections for Iran’s 290-person legislature are expected to be held on 21 February. Amid concerns over public apathy and lower political participation, both reformists and conservatives are trying to develop strategies to maximize gains at their ballot box.

Even before these protests, voter turnout was anticipated to be lower than normal. Participation in the July 2019 Tehran municipality election was at a nadir of 9 per cent.  To prepare for this challenge, Iran’s parliament has lowered the vote threshold for a valid result from 25 to 20 per cent.

Elections in Iran, while by no means completely free and fair due to the vetting of candidates by the Guardian Council, have repeatedly been an important barometer of public support and participation. Electoral participation, which is traditionally higher than in most Western democracies, and compared to the lack of electoral opportunities in the Middle East, is heralded as a sign of public legitimacy. 

Voter participation is generally higher in presidential elections than in legislative ones.

For example, 73% voted in the 2017 presidential elections, 72% in 2013, 80% in the contested 2009 elections, and 59% in 2005 elections that brought Mahmood Ahmadinejad to office. Comparatively, in the 2016 parliamentary elections 62% voted, in 2012, 66%, in 2008, 47%, and in 2004, 51% participated.

Voter turnout in the 2008 parliamentary elections, reflective of public apathy, mounting international tensions over the nuclear programme, and Guardian Council vetting of reformist candidates, could be emblematic of what to expect next year. 

In the run up to the election, conservative groups are trying to capitalize on popular economic frustrations, disappointment with reformists, wider regional security concerns and tensions with the United States to rally voters. 

Reformists associated with the Rouhani government, who also supported the Iran nuclear agreement, have been severely weakened by the US maximum pressure campaign and the return of US sanctions.  They are also blamed for the current economic downturn and remain frustrated by their ability to affect change in a political system that affords more power to unelected figures.

Amidst this stalemate, Rouhani has continued to call for a national referendum to no avail, while reformist groups are debating how to position themselves – some even calling for greater accountability – so as not be tainted by the government crackdown. Leading reformist politicians such as Mohammad Khatami have called on reformists to stay united and avoid boycotting the elections. It remains to be seen how their strategy will develop after the protests.

Should the Guardian Council bar too many reformists from running, calls for a boycott could snowball and even incite new protests. Together with low turnout at the ballot box, the outcome of this election could further damage the regime’s already fragile electoral pillar and weaken its claims to legitimacy.




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The resource curse has not been lifted

5 August 2015

20150804ResourceCurse2.jpg

Hoping to make a little money from Sudan's ocean of black gold, a woman sells tea to roughnecks at an oil rig near Bentiu, Sudan. Photo by Getty Images.

During a decade-long commodities boom, new or emerging producers of oil, gas or mineral resources registered some of the fastest rates of economic growth in the world. Development banks, governments giving foreign aid, extractives companies and major consultancies broadly agreed that ‘extractives-led growth’ is a viable path to socio-economic development for poor countries. 
               
Following over a year of decline in global commodities prices and as efforts to tackle climate change mount, a new paper re-examines the 'curse of natural resources'. It finds that a policy of extractives-led growth entails serious risks. As governments of countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Mauritania, Somalia, Liberia and Cuba prepare to follow an extractives-led growth path, both the advice being handed to them and the growth model itself require a fundamental rethink.

The Resource Curse Revisited argues that:

  • The steep decline in the oil price in the second half of 2014 demolished the main assumption of the extractives-led growth agenda. The assumption that prices of raw materials would continue to increase as global demand grew and well-established sources were exhausted has actually led several low- to middle-income producers such as Ghana into unmanageable debt. At the very least, the current price context  puts new producers at a serious disadvantage, as the focus on cost-cutting has made investors reluctant to accept the risks of developing projects in countries with little infrastructure or capacity to support them.

  • Good governance initiatives are not the antidote to the resource curse. There has often been a mismatch in terms of policy advice given (for example on transparency and revenue management) and the capacity of a country to implement it. Furthermore, basing economic growth on the extraction of below-ground resources will create strong pressures towards poor governance. In the absence of strong institutions, this path leads to the enrichment of minority elite groups, whose interest in capturing rents is likely to become a barrier to improving governance.

  • Both governments with extractives potential and those advising them give too little consideration to the size and nature of the resource base. If extractives-led growth is to be sustained, resource extraction must persist long enough for new economic sectors to emerge and generate revenues that can support government spending and import needs as income from extractives declines.
  • The extractives-led growth model, in its current form, is at odds with green growth strategies. The advice from international agencies and initiatives to countries with extractive resources offers no suggestions on how governments should manage the risk of stranded assets or how they can reconcile extractives-led growth with national sustainable-development goals.

The report concludes that the extractives-led growth agenda has tended to reinforce domestic, government and investor pressures to ‘develop fast’. However, this can threaten long-term opportunities for robust economic diversification. In many cases, there is a strong case for slowing development of extractives projects to allow time to develop the capacity of the government and the private sector to maximize the linkages with the rest of the economy.

Avoiding the resource curse needs not only good governance but also an economic policy that provides for the transition of an economy over time in accordance with its competitive advantages. This report recommends that countries considering extractives development, and their would-be advisors, take into account a wider set of issues at the outset including the likely value of the asset to the economy over time, the options for slow or indeed no development of extractives, and how the rest of the economy would lessen reliance on support from the extractives sector over time.

Editor's notes

Read the report The Resource Curse Revisited from the Energy, Environment and Resources Department, Chatham House.

For all enquiries, please contact the press office

Contacts

Press Office

+44 (0)20 7957 5739




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Citizen science project aims to reveal secret life of bees

In these unprecedented times, we are all spending much more time at home and in our gardens. And, now that spring has well and truly arrived, it's the perfect time to get reacquainted with one of our country's busiest workers - the bee.




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Insects populations have been declining for nearly 100 years, study reveals

When did you last see a glow worm? Most likely, quite some time ago. Depending on how young you are, you may have never seen one at all. Those light-emitting insects, Wordsworth's "earthborn stars", have been declining in the UK for decades. That means that scientists now see them in fewer places, and even in those pockets where conditions are right for them, there are fewer of them to be found.




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'Sweet City': the Costa Rica suburb that gave citizenship to bees, plants and trees

"Pollinators were the key," says Edgar Mora, reflecting on the decision to recognise every bee, bat, hummingbird and butterfly as a citizen of Curridabat during his 12-year spell as mayor.




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CBD Press Release: Tokyo/Montreal 20 September 2012 - The winners of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity have been announced today in Tokyo.




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CBD News: It is my pleasure to welcome you to the nineteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and to welcome you all back to Montreal. It has been a year since we gathered in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea,




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