All posts tagged: elusive

Commentary: From Iran to Ukraine, lasting ceasefires remain elusive

Commentary: From Iran to Ukraine, lasting ceasefires remain elusive

Published by Sam Flores

THE PUBLIC STATEMENTS Full texts of the ceasefires in Ukraine and Iran have not been published. But public statements from people involved suggest that neither agreement included strong compliance or demobilisation mechanisms, and did not involve extensive consideration of longer-term security guarantees. When announcing the initial Apr 7 ceasefire, for example, Trump said the US had agreed to a limited two-week suspension of force in exchange for the Iranian reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. But he made no reference to how compliance would be monitored or enforced by a third party, or what military actions would be mutually considered a violation. Many analysts have noted Trump’s preference for reaching quick, transactional “deals” over sustainable agreements. Others have argued that his eagerness to announce conflicts as being solved is reducing ceasefires from being a tangible step on the exit route out of conflict to “performative diplomacy”. It is also hard to see how the international system can enforce compliance with ceasefires in the Iran and Ukraine wars. The US and Russia’s membership of the United …

NPR’s went to Polymarket’s elusive Panama HQ : NPR

NPR’s went to Polymarket’s elusive Panama HQ : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Polymarket claims its headquarters is on the 21st floor of the Oceania Business Plaza. So do more than a dozen other crypto companies. But the address leads to a law firm. Eliana Morales Gil hide caption toggle caption Eliana Morales Gil PANAMA CITY — On the 21st floor of a gleaming skyscraper in the heart of the upscale Punta Pacifica neighborhood here is the official corporate office of Polymarket, the wildly popular prediction market site that has flourished in President Trump’s second term. Polymarket, which is worth an estimated $15 billion, moved to its Panama base following scrutiny from American regulators. If Polymarket users have a legal dispute, the company’s terms of service states it will be resolved in a closed-door arbitration process in Panama. But when NPR recently visited the law office listed as its home base in Panamanian government documents, there was no sign of Polymarket, nor the entity it does business as in Panama, Adventure One QSS Inc. Instead, a nondescript corporate lobby opened into a large space with about a dozen …

How to Find Focus When It’s Most Elusive

How to Find Focus When It’s Most Elusive

Published by José Betancourt

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. When the writer David Epstein had to get stitches in his head and was told to move slowly for a few days, he expected to feel annoyed. But instead, after three days of following doctors’ orders, he found that he felt happy. “I started tracking what I was doing in a journal to see if I could figure out what was going on,” Epstein recalls in a recent essay. “My conclusion: It wasn’t so much what I was doing as what I wasn’t doing.” “Whether I was reading, working on my computer, or brushing my teeth, I was ‘monotasking,’ concentrating on one thing at a time,” Epstein writes. “Not being able to move quickly or turn my head had the effect of forcing me to focus … I think the discomfort even helped: If I started to multitask, …

The elusive spark the British comedy genre needs to thrive

The elusive spark the British comedy genre needs to thrive

Published by Daniella Wilson

Click here to vote in RT’s poll for the greatest modern British comedies. There are plenty of words that you could use to describe British sitcoms: silly, sarcastic, sympathetic, or even sad. But arguably the most consequential of modern times is ‘short’. The limited runs exemplified by Fawlty Towers and The Office, both of which bowed out after a dozen or so episodes, has seemingly become the favoured model by today’s writers and commissioners. Take a look at the shortlist in RT’s greatest modern British sitcom poll and you’ll find many more recent examples, including Big Boys, Derry Girls, Fleabag, Car Share, W1A and After Life. The average number of lifetime episodes per show in the entire line-up is… a rather modest 21. For context, that’s one shy of a single traditional season of US network telly (admittedly, those have shrunk lately due to the shift towards streaming). On the other hand, only five adult-oriented British sitcoms have ever topped 100 episodes: The Army Game (1957-61), Last of the Summer Wine (1973-2010), Birds of a …

Why peace remains elusive in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan | Conflict News

Why peace remains elusive in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan | Conflict News

Published by Sam Flores

Islamabad, Pakistan – Stretching across Pakistan’s southwestern border, the mineral-rich province of Balochistan is the country’s largest and poorest region, and the site of its longest-running sub-national conflict. Balochistan’s relationship with the Pakistani state has been uneasy almost since Pakistan came into being in August 1947, following the partition of the subcontinent after the end of colonial rule. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The province has witnessed violence since it formally became part of Pakistan a year later in 1948. While the conflict has ebbed and flowed over the decades, it has resurged sharply in recent years, in what analysts describe as an almost unprecedented phase. The latest escalation unfolded on January 31, when coordinated attacks were carried out in nearly a dozen cities across the province by secessionist groups seeking independence. Led by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the attackers killed more than 30 civilians and at least 18 law enforcement personnel. Following those attacks, during government operations lasting several hours, security forces said they killed more than 150 fighters. A day …

Verizon Outage Caused by Software Issue, but Details Are Still Elusive

Verizon Outage Caused by Software Issue, but Details Are Still Elusive

Published by skeptic

After Verizon suffered a widespread, all-day outage this week that affected potentially 2 million customers, the cause still remains elusive. The company is offering a $20 credit to impacted customers, which appears to be trickling out via text message and in the myVerizon app. Verizon hasn’t responded to a request for clarity about what happened. It did say that the problem was a “software issue” and that there was no indication of a “cybersecurity issue” in a statement to Mashable Thursday morning. The loss in service was unique for its longevity. Unlike previous cellular outages, this one wasn’t region-specific and affected users across the US. When natural disasters take down cellular towers or hardware failures happen, the effects are felt in specific cities or areas. We saw reports (and CNET staffers chimed in) of service being down in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Hawaii, California and other spots. Until Verizon shares more information, we can piece together some possibilities. Analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics, a telecommunications research firm, suspects that a feature update went awry, based on …

Veteran Star 3B Nolan Arenado Hopes Move to the Diamondbacks Leads to Elusive Postseason Success

Veteran Star 3B Nolan Arenado Hopes Move to the Diamondbacks Leads to Elusive Postseason Success

Published by Sam Flores

Nolan Arenado is an eight-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove winner and many in the baseball world believe the star third baseman is well on his way to having a plaque in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame. One thing he hasn’t accomplished is postseason success with just five postseason hits in 33 at-bats over 13 seasons. “I still want to play in the playoffs,” Arenado said. “I know my numbers aren’t great, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I was prepared for it and that I’ve always been prepared for it. I just haven’t played the way I expected.” “I want the opportunity to do it again and I don’t see why this group can’t do that,” he added. “That’s why I was really open to playing here. My expectations are still high.” It’s no surprise Arenado was traded on Tuesday from the rebuilding St. Louis Cardinals, considering they had shopped him extensively for more than a year. Still, the end came quickly. Now he joins a franchise trying to …

India’s gig workers win legal status, but access to social security remains elusive

India’s gig workers win legal status, but access to social security remains elusive

Published by skeptic

India has granted legal status to millions of gig and platform workers under its newly implemented labor laws, marking a milestone for the country’s delivery, ride-hailing and e-commerce workforce — yet with benefits still unclear and platforms beginning to assess their obligations, access to social security remains out of reach. The recognition stems from the Code on Social Security — one of four labor laws the Indian government brought into effect on Friday — more than five years after the parliament first passed them in 2020. It is the only part of the new framework that addresses gig and platform workers, as the remaining three codes — covering wages, industrial relations, and workplace safety — do not extend minimum earnings, employment protections or working-condition guarantees to this rapidly expanding workforce. India has one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing gig economies, with industry estimates suggesting that more than 12 million people deliver food, drive ride-hailing cabs, sort e-commerce packages, and perform other on-demand services for digital platforms. The sector has become a critical source of …