Mood in Russia turns bleak as war in Ukraine drags on and economy suffers
With the war in its fifth year, talks stalled and sanctions biting deeper, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ratings are falling and citizens are voicing despair. Source link
All posts tagged: bleak
Democrats fume at White House budget request: ‘Bleak and unacceptable’
Democrats on Friday blasted the White House’s fiscal 2027 budget request, warning that it fails to address the needs of Americans and undermines critical domestic programs and priorities. The request, prepared by White House budget chief Russell Vought and unveiled Friday morning, calls for $1.5 trillion in defense spending, a roughly 42 percent increase from… Source link
'It Will Not Be Easy': Keir Starmer Issues Bleak Warning About UK's Future Amid Iran War
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at Downing Street in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Keir Starmer had admitted the months ahead will “not be easy” as the impact of the Iran war hits the UK. Iran continues to effectively block the major shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil supply, a month on from the US-Israel strikes. The move has rocked the global economy and put a strain on fuel as the cost of oil skyrockets. Amid worries about how the cost of living will increase in the coming months, the prime minister sought to reassure the public that the government is taking action. After pointing to pre-announced measures such as the increase to the National Living Wage and the reduction in the energy price cap until July, Starmer told a press conference on Wednesday the times ahead will “not be easy”. But, he added that “while we’re working at pace for de-escalation and peace, it is now clear that the impact …
Starmer’s Bleak Warning About Impact Of Iran And Ukraine Wars
Keir Starmer has warned about the long-lasting impacts of the Iran and Ukraine wars, saying how the conflicts end could “define us for a generation”. The prime minister was speaking as confusion remains over Donald Trump’s attempts to secure a ceasefire with Iran. The White House is also still trying to force Ukraine to compromise with its aggressor Russia and end its four-year war. The prime minister said the conflicts would have “huge implications” for the future and alter the global order. Speaking to Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction, he said both wars are “very serious, both of them with huge implications”. “How they end and on what terms, could well define us for a generation,” Starmer said. “Both of them have those sorts of consequences. “And that’s why it’s really important that we approach this with our values and principles. “That’s what we’ve applied in Ukraine, and that’s what we’ve applied in Iran.” The prime minister said the UK was helping put together a coalition of countries willing to help keep the Strait of Hormuz …
I Tried DoorDash’s Tasks App and Saw the Bleak Future of AI Gig Work
The flash from my iPhone camera illuminates my dirty socks and underwear as I hold each item up for the video recording to capture clearly. As I load my smelly clothes into the washer, I tremble a bit each time the phone loudly beeps, detecting that my hands may be out of frame. Gotta see those fingers! No, I haven’t pivoted to filming some kind of fetish content to make ends meet—I’m trying the latest gig work app from DoorDash, called Tasks. The new Tasks app from food delivery app DoorDash has nothing to do with delivering food—it’s all about gathering training data from humans, that’s you, for improving generative AI models and humanoid robots. “This data helps AI and robotic systems understand the physical world,” reads DoorDash’s press release. “Pay is shown upfront and determined based on effort and complexity of the activity.” Most of the gigs involve strapping a smartphone to your chest and recording your hands performing specific tasks. This kind of video data can be used by developers of AI models …
Bleak House’s Tom Georgeson dies aged 88 as family pays tribute
Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Bleak House actor Tom Georgeson has died at the age of 88, his family has said. The Liverpool-born star appeared in multiple films and TV shows in a decades-spanning career, making his first appearances on screen in the 1960s in ITV’s Armchair Theatre, an anthology of plays which ran for nearly two decades. He then landed a role in Coronation Street, starring as Eddie Royle in the mid-1970s, before going on to appear in the likes of Bleak House – playing lawyer’s clerk Clamb in the BBC drama – and Holby City. Georgeson’s nephew Danny Conway told the Liverpool Echo that the actor died in the early hours of Wednesday (18 March) morning. “[I’m] gutted because we weren’t expecting it,” he said. “Last time I spoke to him he was in good health. I woke up to that news today and …
Iran Sends UK Bleak Warning Over Helping Trump Keep Hormuz Open
An Iranian spokesperson has warned the UK against helping Donald Trump in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. The US president has called on Britain and other allies to send warships to deter Iran’s efforts to effectively close the major oil shipping lane. UK energy secretary Ed Miliband has said the UK is looking at “any options” to return the shipping route “back to normal”. But Iran has discouraged Britain from getting involved. “That would be complicity in the crime of aggression, crime against peace, and that would for sure be responded by Iran,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei told Times Radio. He added that right now “we are not at war with the UK”. Iran already hit the UK’s RAF base in Cyprus just hours after Keir Starmer confirmed he had allowed the US to use British military sites for “limited” and “defensive” strikes on Iran. In the weeks since Trump and Israel first launched strikes against Iran, Tehran has retaliated by targeting US military bases in the Middle East. That means the …
Bleak economic data shows UK plc in trouble well before Middle East crisis | Economic growth (GDP)
Even before Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury on Iran unleashed higher oil prices, threatening the outlook for growth and inflation, the UK economy was flatlining. That’s the bleak message in the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed zero GDP growth in January. On the less volatile three-monthly measure, growth was 0.2% – a slight improvement on 0.1% in the three months to December. But the data will not help Rachel Reeves’s argument that her policies have put the economy in a stronger position to withstand whatever is headed the UK’s way. The sectoral breakdown gives little cause for optimism either. The important services sector grew by 0.2% in the three months to January, helped by strong expansion in wholesale and retail; but within that, in a sign of the rapidly weakening labour market, “employment activities”, such as recruitment consultancy were down by 5.7%. The healthier-looking 1.2% growth in production – which included manufacturing – was flattered by the recovery of Jaguar Land Rover from its shutdown after a cyber-attack. And …
Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams was a shining light in bleak times – the BBC has shelved its most life-affirming show
Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter The BBC has sadly confirmed there are no plans for a fourth season of Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, one of the best, most uplifting documentary series to hit our screens in recent years. In an age where reality commissioning either leans towards perma-tanned castmates having rows fuelled by producers, or PR-managed, glossy docuseries (David and Victoria Beckham, I’m looking at you), Field of Dreams was a shining light. Its premise was simple: all-rounder Flintoff – one of the few England cricketers to reach household name status – would return to his home city of Preston, and inspire teenagers in the former mill town to give the notoriously posh sport a go. But, as the Ashes winner soon found out, convincing a lively crew of working-class kids to don their cricket whites would not be easy. The first season, which arrived …
The Rip: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck confirm bleak, bizarre rumour about Netflix original movies
Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Ever notice that characters in Netflix original movies seem to reiterate the film’s plot over and over again? Or that they always seem to say out loud what they are doing or planning on doing? It turns out it’s intentional – and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have just confirmed it. For years it has been speculated that Netflix asks its hired screenwriters to cater to “casual viewers”, meaning those who are scrolling on their phones or performing other activities while watching. This, as suggested by journalist Will Tavlin in n+1 in 2025, is exemplified by characters who “announce what they’re doing so that viewers who have this programme on in the background can follow along”. While Netflix has never officially commented on these rumours, the truth may have just been outed by Damon and Affleck, the stars of the new …