All posts tagged: began

‘It feels unfair’: the Britons struggling to get a mortgage since Iran war began | Mortgage rates

‘It feels unfair’: the Britons struggling to get a mortgage since Iran war began | Mortgage rates

Published by Sam Flores

Prospects of cuts in UK interest rates in 2026, which were widely expected at the start of the year, were rapidly extinguished when the Iran war started at the end of February. The renewed threat of inflation means the Bank of England is now expected to raise rates at least once this year, with mortgage costs staying higher for longer. The boss of Britain’s largest housebuilder said on Thursday it was the most challenging time to be a first-time buyer since the 2008 financial crisis. We asked people about their experience of housing and mortgage rates after the start of the conflict in the Middle East. ‘We had to pull out of buying a home’ Panos, 36, an executive sous chef, and his wife had put in an offer to buy their first house – a three-bedroom, in Hanwell, west London – but the interest rate on the mortgage they going to take out jumped after the start of the war. When he spoke to his mortgage broker on 13 April, he was told the …

India’s ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ began as a joke. Then millions joined in.

India’s ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ began as a joke. Then millions joined in.

Published by Sam Flores

What began as an internet punchline is turning into something more serious. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Indians online are rallying around the Cockroach Janata Party, or CJP — a parody political movement that started as online satire but has rapidly become a vehicle for venting anger over unemployment, corruption and the state of India’s democracy. The movement, a cheeky riff on the name of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has flooded social media with memes, mock campaign messaging and jokes carrying an edge of public frustration. “We have to understand that five years ago nobody was ready to speak up against Modi or the government,” said CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. “The times are changing.” Founded last month, the movement’s rise traces back to comments made by Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant, who compared some young people and critics of institutions to “cockroaches” and “parasites.” “There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment or have any …

Japan To Welcome First Crude Cargo Via Hormuz Since War Began

Japan To Welcome First Crude Cargo Via Hormuz Since War Began

Published by Jenni Sidey

By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com A supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude is set to arrive in Japan early next week after clearing the Strait of Hormuz in late April, in the first shipment of Middle East crude to Japan via the chokepoint since the Iran war began on February 28. The Idemitsu Maru very large crude tanker; Photo: MarineTraffic The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Idemitsu Maru, which had departed from Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura port in the Persian Gulf in mid-March, is expected to arrive in Nagoya on May 25, data on MarineTraffic showed. As of early Friday, the supertanker was close to the coasts of Japan. The cargo is destined for the Aichi refinery of local refiner Idemitsu Kosan, according to a briefing document of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry cited by Bloomberg. The imminent shipment will mark the first cargo from the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz to have made it to Japan since the conflict erupted at the end of February and halted most energy …

Space wasn’t infinitely small when the hot Big Bang began

Space wasn’t infinitely small when the hot Big Bang began

Published by Jenni Sidey

Today, when we look out in any direction as far as the laws of physics allow us to see, the limits of what’s observable extend to truly astronomical distances. At the farthest reaches of our observable limits, the most ancient light we can see was emitted a whopping 13.8 billion years ago: corresponding to the hot Big Bang itself. Today, after traveling through our expanding Universe, that light finally arrives here on Earth, carrying information about objects that are presently located some 46.1 billion light-years away. It’s only due to the expanding fabric of space that the most ancient light we can see corresponds to distances that exceed 13.8 billion light-years. As time continues to march forward, we’ll be able to see even farther away, as light that’s still on its way eventually reaches us: ultimately revealing objects that are presently up to 61 billion light-years distant. Nonetheless, at any given time, there’s always a limit to how far away we can see: a limit to the observable Universe. This also means that if we went …

A new start after 60: I dedicated myself 100% to saving soil – and a life of wild adventure began | Life and style

A new start after 60: I dedicated myself 100% to saving soil – and a life of wild adventure began | Life and style

Published by Sam Flores

Sousan Samadani was watching videos on YouTube one day when she came across a post about how the world’s soil was degrading so rapidly that it was in danger of extinction. The video – posted by the Save Soil movement – “was like a shock for me”, Samadani says. “I thought: ‘How is it possible that the soil that gives us food is dying?’” Samadani made a decision in that moment: she was “going to be with this movement, fully, 100%”. According to Unesco, 90% of global soil could be degraded by 2050. Save Soil was launched by the spiritual leader “Sadhguru” Jaggi Vasudev, who announced a trip in 2022 to raise awareness: a 19,000-mile motorbike ride through Europe, the Middle East and India. A team of volunteers had already been booked to accompany Vasudev – so Samadani, 65, who lives in Utrecht in the Netherlands, decided to make her own shadow journey. While Sadhguru travelled to 27 countries, Samadani made it to all those and more, continuing on to Nepal, Suriname, Guyana and French …

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

Published by skeptic

Early writing is a tale of two scripts. Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform both emerged independently about 5300 years ago. The political powers of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia flourished in the centuries to come, partly because writing helped states control the flow of goods and consolidate power. The pen (or ancient stylus) was mightier than the sword. Or so the conventional story goes. But there is a glaring omission here because, at the dawn of writing, there weren’t two scripts. There were three. That third, mysterious script, called proto-Elamite, appeared in ancient Iran while cuneiform and hieroglyphs were both in their infancy – and has been shockingly overlooked by all but a handful of scholars since its discovery 125 years ago. That is beginning to change, with far-reaching consequences. Although proto-Elamite remains largely undeciphered, there is tantalising evidence that it became by far the most advanced of the three scripts in operation about 5000 years ago. What we now know about the script’s story is so surprising and counterintuitive that we might need to rewrite …

Hegseth defends Iran war’s mission, costs in first testimony since it began

Hegseth defends Iran war’s mission, costs in first testimony since it began

Published by Sam Flores

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in his first appearance before Congress since the Iran war started, downplayed the length of the war and said the biggest “adversary” the U.S. faces at this point in the war is the “reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.” “Two months in, on an existential fight for the safety of the American people, Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, we are proud of this undertaking,” Hegseth said in his opening remarks before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. President Donald Trump, at the outset of the war, said the conflict would be over within a matter of weeks. Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine testified about the Pentagon’s budget for the 2027 fiscal year as the war dragged beyond its second month. It’s caused global economic turmoil as Iran has choked vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict. Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith, D-Wash., questioned Pentagon comptroller Jules Hurst about the cost …

an American Staple That Actually Began Life on … a Ranch

an American Staple That Actually Began Life on … a Ranch

Published by Sam Flores

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Ranch is the best-selling salad dressing in America, and it has been since it took the crown from Italian near the close of the 20th century. It’s still jazzing up iceberg and romaine. But ranch now competes with the likes of ketchup and other condiments, a creamy dip for everything from hot wings and fried pickles to — perhaps most controversially — pizza. It’s ubiquitous, a versatile staple of American foodways easily found in grocery stores, recipes and on menus. There are entire cookbooks and a restaurant dedicated to the flavor. Beloved and maligned, ranch also turns up in the country’s cultural intangibles. Writers have labeled it the “Great American Condiment,” and less flatteringly, “extravagant and trashy.” It carries a nostalgia, said Nick Higgins, an executive for Hidden Valley Ranch’s parent company, which taps into that sentimentalism and fosters the ranch fandom. The viral food fights their product inspires? They embrace those, too. “We love it,” he said. “It’s one of the things we can debate as people and it’s OK.” …

Every single headline act and lineup poster since the California festival began

Every single headline act and lineup poster since the California festival began

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Ahead of Coachella’s highly-anticipated return, we’ve backtracked through the event’s musical evolution. From its early 2000s rock years to more recent pop and rap marquee names, we’ve also included every single one of the festival’s iconic lineup posters. 1999 – Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Tool Coachella 1999 poster (Coachella.com) Coachella’s inception into the world of festivals perfectly aligned with the post-grunge era, hence, its inaugural headliners of influential rock bands, Rage Against the Machine and Tool. Also on the bill were the experimental sounds of Beck, who rose in popularity in the 1990s with his eclectic combination of hip-hop, folk, and rock. 2001 – Jane’s Addiction Coachella 2001 poster (Coachella.com) Due to its Southern California locale, a drought brought the festival to a pause in 2000. It made its comeback in 2001, however, with a scaled-down lineup. For its one day event, …

New study challenges where life first began on Earth

New study challenges where life first began on Earth

Published by Jenni Sidey

A major impact can eradicate entire ecosystems. It can melt rocks, send debris around the planet, and create a dent in the crust. Additionally, the heat released from the object may provide an environment suitable for the beginning of the process of life. In their study, they examined the similarities and differences between impact craters and the associated hydrothermal systems that would have resulted from the impact. They compared these systems to deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These vents have been a focus of many scientists when trying to understand the origins of life on Earth. “We do not know, from a scientific point of view, how life could have been created out of a lifeless early Earth,” said Cinquemani. “From where did something come from nothing?” Diagram of the thermobaric phase of an impact crater and its forming hydrothermal vent system. This phase corresponds with high temperatures, high pressure, melted impact sheet, and shock effects, both local and distant. (CREDIT: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering) Hydrothermal Vents and The Origins of Life Heat, water, and …