Mubeen Blogs

Unexpected arrival is a boon for birdlife in New Zealand, where there are only 500 takahē left A pair of rare native New Zealand takahē birds who were believed infertile have stunned staff at the world’s largest urban eco-sanctuary, after hatching a “miracle” chick. The roughly seven-week old chick was discovered inside Zealandia, a fully fenced eco-sanctuary 10 minutes from Wellington’s city centre, in November, but its arrival has been a closely guarded secret to ensure its safety. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/qdSWTaF

There is simply no stopping this Aston Villa machine, cylinders pumping, exclusively handcrafted by Unai Emery, the manager who reacted to Morgan Rogers’ winning goal against Manchester United by launching his jacket into the night sky. “Birmingham, are you listening?” came the chorus from the home support but this was another victory with wider implications. For now Villa, third and three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, are firmly in the title race, two more brilliant Rogers goals earning a 10th straight win in all competitions and rendering Matheus Cunha’s well-taken equaliser nothing more than a consolation. A frustrating defeat for Ruben Amorim was compounded by his captain, Bruno Fernandes, being forced off through injury at half-time. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/rxjd84o

Lawyers also attempting to throw out two federal charges, saying US attorney general has ties to UnitedHealth Group Lawyers for Luigi Mangione are attempting to avoid the death penalty and throw out two federal charges in the justice department’s case against him, arguing that attorney general Pam Bondi is biased because she used to work at a lobbying firm that represents UnitedHealth Group. In court documents filed on Friday, Mangione’s lawyers said that Bondi has a “profound conflict of interest” because her former employer, Ballard Partners, a DC-based lobbying firm founded by the Trump donor Brian Ballard, counts UnitedHealth Group as one of its clients. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/glpBfxa

Christopher Day was fired barely a month into the job after granting asylum to migrants at a high rate A US army reserve lawyer detailed as a federal immigration judge has been fired barely a month into the job after granting asylum at a high rate out of step with the Trump administration’s mass deportation goals, the Associated Press has learned. Christopher Day began hearing cases in late October as a temporary judge at the immigration court in Annandale, Virginia. He was fired around 2 December, the National Association of Immigration Judges confirmed. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/m3eqLY6

Change will loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stop short of making marijuana legal Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to move cannabis out of the most restrictive drug category, a change that would loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stop short of making marijuana legal nationwide. “I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an Executive Order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” the president said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/y3IVFLm

Population fell by 0.2% in third quarter – and the only other quarterly decline on record was attributed to Covid limits Canada experienced one of its largest drops in population in the most recent quarter, the result of a crackdown on international students. The drop marks dramatic turnaround for a country that has long pegged its economic growth to immigration. New estimates released on Wednesday by Statistics Canada showed that Canada’s population fell by 0.2% in the third quarter to stand at 41.6 million, down from 41.65 million on 1 July. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/PLusftK

Marco Rubio calls drug-trafficking militia, present in at least 20 of Colombia’s departments, ‘violent and powerful’ The US has designated the Gulf Clan, Colombia ’s largest and most powerful illegal armed criminal group, as a foreign terrorist organisation. The notorious drug-trafficking militia with its roots in far-right paramilitary forces, is present in at least 20 of Colombia’s departments, and dominates people- and drug-smuggling routes through the Darién Gap. It has also battled unsuccessfully against leftwing rebels for control of criminal networks along the Venezuelan border. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YmWB2fl

Guan Heng, who filmed at sites in China of alleged rights violations against Muslim group, detained by ICE in August A Chinese man who left his country after filming at sites of alleged human rights violations against Uyghurs now faces the risk of removal from the United States, according to his lawyer and mother. Guan Heng, 38, underwent an immigration hearing in New York on Monday after being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) in August, his mother said in an interview. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/dXqEhcV

Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/93L62sD

Kevin Rodriguez Zavala died from blunt-impact trauma on ride at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park A Florida sheriff’s office has concluded that the death of a 32-year-old man while riding a high-speed roller coaster at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park was accidental. According to a report released Friday by the local medical examiner, Kevin Rodriguez Zavala suffered a deep cut on the left side of his forehead, a fracture to the bone ridge above his eye and bleeding above his skull. Additional injuries included bruises on his arms and abdomen, a broken nose and a fractured right thigh bone. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/V5cnvod

Liverpool manager: ‘There’s nothing for me to talk about’ Slot refuses to divulge details of talks with Salah Arne Slot claimed he had no outstanding issues with Mohamed Salah and would see the Egypt international after the Africa Cup of Nations following the forward’s positive return for Liverpool against Brighton . Salah was reintroduced to the Liverpool side as a 26th-minute substitute having been omitted from the Champions League win at Inter over the incendiary interview he gave at Elland Road last Saturday. Slot refused to divulge details of the conversation that led to Salah being restored to the squad on Friday but insisted that, as far as he was concerned, the matter was resolved. Talks are expected, however, between the Liverpool hierarchy and Salah’s representative while the forward is away on Afcon duty. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/bhuY2Cj

Russian airstrikes on Kyiv, floods in Indonesia, the IDF in Gaza and the Nutcracker in Nairobi: the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5nYE9Pa

Plans are response to surge in demand for AI capability and come after government signalled it would curb subsidies Drax has revealed plans to convert part of its power plant in North Yorkshire into a datacentre as soon as 2027 in response to the increase in demand for AI capability. The FTSE 250 company behind Britain’s biggest power plant told investors on Thursday that it had applied for planning permission to build a 100-megawatt datacentre at its site near Selby. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/9PG5A07

Divisive vote to lower rates highlights uncertainty in the Fed as economy absorbs major shakeups, including tariffs The US Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it was cutting interest rates by a quarter point for the third time this year, as the embattled central bank appeared split over how best to manage the US economy. The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, has emphasized unity within the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the board of Fed leaders that sets interest rates. But the nine-to-three vote to lower rates to a range of 3.5% to 3.75% was divisive among the committee that tends to vote in unanimity. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/VxDEdUo

Lawsuit argues that proposed deal threatens to reduce competition in US subscription video-on-demand market Netflix has been hit with a consumer lawsuit seeking to block the online video giant’s planned $72bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses. The proposed class action was filed on Monday by a subscriber to Warner Bros-owned HBO Max who said the proposed deal threatened to reduce competition in the US subscription video-on-demand market. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/8vgwha6

The Bridge theatre in London presents Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s classic this Christmas. Take a closer look – and revisit past revivals Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/D8IWba9

Trump team faces mounting pressure as members of Congress allege that the deadly attack was unlawful US Democrats on Sunday pushed the Trump administration to release video of a second strike on an alleged drug boat incapacitated in the Caribbean, continuing to escalate pressure on the Pentagon amid accusations the attack was unlawful. Eleven people died in the 2 September attack , including two men killed in a follow-up strike as they reportedly clung to wreckage for an hour. That killing has been met with intense scrutiny and accusations of war crimes after the Washington Post reported defense secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill them all” . Adm Frank Bradley of the US navy, who oversaw the attack, told lawmakers on Thursday there was no such order – and the Pentagon has defended the legality of the attack. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ip2YA4v

Musicals Week began with the all-new Dance Relay and ended on Paddington’s ballroom debut. Amber Davies finished top, with Karen Carney at the bottom. But who will battle it out in this year’s penultimate dance-off? We’re 10 couples down and just five remain. It’ll be a slimline four by tomorrow. Who’s about to bow out, I beseech thee? Roll pre-titles VT to ratchet up the drama. Has anyone mentioned that it’s Musicals Week yet? Oh. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YmO41ju

Inter Miami host Vancouver for MLS championship Drop Beau at line on Bluesky or email The broadcast is underway , and the intro says the Whitecaps are chasing the biggest prize in American soccer. Um … maybe check the map? Kickoff will be sometime this afternoon Eastern time. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/k9UiEd6

Dundee Rep This hazily dramatised show is full of pizzazz and features the voice of Brian Cox but in making Jack as cynical as his mum it loses the story’s heart Do not be misled by the title. This is a takeover. Not only has this Jack and the Beanstalk gone from fairy story to panto to musical, but Jack has been relegated to second billing. To be accurate, this “new moooosical” by Jonathan O’Neill and Isaac Savage should be called Caroline and the Beanstalk, Caroline being the name of the highland cow who is adopted by Jack’s family and becomes sole supplier of milk for their Glen and Sherry’s brand of ice-cream. Played by an excellent Suzie McAdam, all ginger hair and stoicism, she is treated as an equal until the business fails. Then, it only takes a few magic beans for her to wind up in the Happy Smiles Petting Zoo, being prodded by unseen children while trying to hatch an escape plan with a hen, a llama and a pig. After some sub-Wallace and Gromit shenanigans, she is back home a...

Russian airstrikes in Kyiv, floods in Colombo, the cold moon in Gaza and Trump at the World Cup draw: the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/iUWMzFq

‘Information-dense’ AI responses are most persuasive but these tend to be less accurate, says security report Chatbots can sway people’s political opinions but the most persuasive artificial intelligence models deliver “substantial” amounts of inaccurate information in the process, according to the UK government’s AI security body. Researchers said the study was the largest and most systematic investigation of AI persuasiveness to date, involving nearly 80,000 British participants holding conversations with 19 different AI models. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/sBrcyX1

Vincent Chan, 45, admits 26 offences from 2022 to 2024 at Bright Horizons, Finchley Road, with two children he attacked yet to be identified Warning: this article contains descriptions of offences readers may find distressing The families of toddlers at a nursery where a paedophile attacked sleeping children have demanded to know how he was able to abuse “innocent victims who could not fight back”. They said they were sickened by the discovery that the early-years worker Vincent Chan had apparently passed vetting procedures, and demanded answers about why safeguarding systems had failed so comprehensively. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/N3ihRV7

Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedy thriller named best film by Gotham awards and New York Film Critics Circle Paul Thomas Anderson ’s acclaimed comedy thriller One Battle After Another has emerged as an early best picture frontrunner as the awards season kicks off. The Thomas Pynchon adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary searching for his daughter, was named best feature at Monday’s Gotham awards. “I didn’t expect this, actually,” Anderson said on stage. “I started to think I didn’t know what was going on.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/DuHanKP

Critics voice concern as government says its Sanchar Saathi app combats cybersecurity threats for 1.2bn telecom users India’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates. In tackling a recent surge of cybercrime and hacking, India is joining authorities worldwide, most recently in Russia, to frame rules blocking the use of stolen phones for fraud or promoting state-backed government service apps. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/QN7tCpK