When modern-day Ukraine was formed in 1990, it was majority Ukrainian, but with a sizable Russian (and smaller Romanian and Polish) minority. Over the next twenty or so years, this minority voted for parties and politicians that favoured stronger ties with Russia. In contrast, ethnic Ukrainians supported joining (or at least aligning with) the EU. This conflict came to a head in 2014, when the pro-Russian government was overthrown by pro-EU protestors. Relations between the two groups have worsened since then, leading to pro-Russian militants seizing power in the (Russian majority) Donbass and Crimea, and joining Russia.
People can have whatever opinion on whether the shooter was right or not. But the person who modified a gun, shot his target thrice in the middle of a city, left a James Bond style message on the bullets, and rode off into the sunset without leaving a single clear photo on any nearby camera is obviously not the man who got arrested eating a meal in broad daylight with a gun and a written confession conveniently packed in his bag.
Not even by the definition. He's accused of murder. He hasn't been proven guilty.
isn't France still part of Europe?
It is, it's the UK that left (the EU, not the continent).
The Gelph-Ghibelline conflict was about secular monarchism vs religious authority. Im not sure I see the point you're making.
That the conflict between feudal lords (French aristocrats / Ghibellines) and urban merchants (Guelph burghers / French Girondists) is much older than the French Revolution. The pope and emperor were the figureheads, but the lords and merchants were the power blocs.
Isn't the new Syrian government an ex-IS offshoot?
The division of political ideologies into left and right derives from the French Parliament which had the monarchists on the right and the liberals on the left.
The names yes, but the basic conflict is much older, Europe itself had the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict.
The best photo smartphone of 2024 comes with Android
Yeah bro, this isn't the 90s. You don't need to insert stacks of DOS floppys.
Have they considered spending less on war and more on education / R&D?
I understand that politics in the US is very polarised, but surely most voters don't blindly support every single thing their party says? There have to be thousands of possible combinations of opinions in a country.
The friend fell off.
Different social animals have different social structures. Wolves generally live in family units, led by the parents. Wasps and gorillas have complicated group politics, with alliances, betrayals and backroom deals. Some primitive ants have a 'might is right' system, with the strongest becoming the queen and fighting off challengers. Most ants have a highly democratic system, with decisions made using chemical 'votes' (cast by the workers; drones and queens don't have a say).
Bangladesh is a very populous country that lies almost entirely at sea level, and the Ganga and Brahmaputra flood at least once a year. The problem isn't not being able to swim in calm water. The best swimmer in the world would still die if he got caught in one of those currents.
Two points:
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Top-level sports isn't fair. Most famous athletes are outliers in terms of height, weight, muscle mass, etc. Some, like Phelps, have genetic or developmental differences that give them a pretty significant advantage.
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I must admit that the legal definition of 'transwoman' varies from country to country. In India, where I live, a person can legally change their gender without any medical intervention, and such people might have a physical advantage over cis-women. But in the vast majority of countries, they have to take hormones and / or do surgical procedures that reshape their body to be more 'feminine'. Once they do that, they have no significant advantage over cis-women.
At the application level? Yes. At the OS / package level? It's still a work in progress. And you need the latter to use the former.
Fair, but it means devs will write software that can one day run on open hardware.
Ah yes, the French Revolution …
THERE were two “Reigns of Terror,” if we would but remember it and consider it; the one wrought murder in hot passion, the other in heartless cold blood; the one lasted mere months, the other had lasted a thousand years; the one inflicted death upon ten thousand persons, the other upon a hundred millions; but our shudders are all for the “horrors” of the minor Terror, the momentary Terror … A city cemetery could contain the coffins filled by that brief Terror which we have all been so diligently taught to shiver at and mourn over; but all France could hardly contain the coffins filled by that older and real Terror—that unspeakably bitter and awful Terror which none of us has been taught to see in its vastness or pity as it deserves.
- Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/989759-there-were-two-reigns-of-terror-if-we-would-but
The admins seem to not crack down on misogyny, transphobia and so on. If they're doing it on principle - refusing to censor and letting the bigots make fools of themselves in public - then I guess I can respect that. But on the other hand, sometimes silence can be seen as approval.
Sri Lanka parliamentary elections: National People's Power on track to two-thirds majority, also wins district in Tamil majority north
Sri Lanka election results: National People's Power led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake secures historic majority in parliament.
The National People's Power alliance of Sri Lanka's new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won a majority of seats in the Sri Lankan Parliament, and is on course to a two-thirds majority with about 62% of the vote (up from 4% in 2020). Led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front), they campaigned on a platform of punishing corruption, renegotiating austerity policies imposed by the IMF, and uniting the country's various ethnic groups. They have also become the first Sinhala-majority party to win a district (Jaffna) in the Tamil-majority north, also making gains in the Muslim-majority east and Malaiyaha-dominated centre. The traditional poles of Sri Lankan politics - the centre-left, Sinhala nationalist SLFP / SJB and the centre-right, socially liberal UNP / NDF, as well as Tamil nationalist parties that often supported the UNP, lost seats.
India: mixed results in state elections
Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls: National Conference wins 42 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP retains Jammu with 29 seats, shaping political landscape.
Elections to the territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the state of Haryana gave mixed results for political parties. A coalition led by the J&K National Conference won 49 (JKNC 42, Congress 6, Communist 1) of 90 elected seats in the territory. This puts JKNC leader Omar Abdullah in a comfortable position to form the next government, even with the addition of five members nominated by the federal government. The BJP, which leads India's federal government and controversially removed J&K's special status, won 29 seats.
In Haryana, the BJP overcame anti-incumbancy and farmer protests to win 48 out of a total 90 seats, thanks to a strong local campaign and a popular leader in Nayab Singh Saini. The opposition Congress improved its vote and seat-share, but failed to dislodge the BJP. Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat - who had accused Wrestling Federation President and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh of sexual assualt - was elected from Julana constituency representing the Congress Party.
While the JKNC and the BJP have cause to celebrate, these results weaken the Congress, challenging its demand for the leading position within the opposition. In the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand state elections, it may have to concede seats - or even coalition leadership - to its allies.
Your belief makes it real
Context: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Sri_Lankan_presidential_election
Leading smartphone vendor in each country
Across the world, the biggest smartphone manufacturers are Apple (28%), Samsung (24%), Xiaomi (12%), Oppo (6%) and Vivo (5%). However, there are geographic patterns in popularity, with Apple dominating North America and East Asia, while Samsung leads in South America, Europe, Africa and West Asia in addition to its home turf of South Korea. Xiaomi is the most popular phone brand across South Asia, Spain, Venezuela, Ukraine, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine, while Tecno is popular in West and Central Africa. Oppo, Vivo and Huawei lead in Indonesia, Bhutan and Togo respectively.
Leading smartphone vendor in each country
Across the world, the biggest smartphone manufacturers are Apple (28%), Samsung (24%), Xiaomi (12%), Oppo (6%) and Vivo (5%). However, there are geographic patterns in popularity, with Apple dominating North America and East Asia, while Samsung leads in South America, Europe, Africa and West Asia in addition to its home turf of South Korea. Xiaomi is the most popular phone brand across South Asia, Spain, Venezuela, Ukraine, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine, while Tecno is popular in West and Central Africa. Oppo, Vivo and Huawei lead in Indonesia, Bhutan and Togo respectively.
Leading smartphone vendor in each country
Across the world, the biggest smartphone manufacturers are Apple (28%), Samsung (24%), Xiaomi (12%), Oppo (6%) and Vivo (5%). However, there are geographic patterns in popularity, with Apple dominating North America and East Asia, while Samsung leads in South America, Europe, Africa and West Asia in addition to its home turf of South Korea. Xiaomi is the most popular phone brand across South Asia, Spain, Venezuela, Ukraine, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine, while Tecno is popular in West and Central Africa. Oppo, Vivo and Huawei lead in Indonesia, Bhutan and Togo respectively.
Pineapple Pizza insulta fly over Italian - Hong Kong fencing final
Cheung Ka-long's 15-14 victory in an Olympic fencing final against Filippo Macchi has resulted in a war of words between their fans. Italy supporters have attacked Cheung's social media accounts, arguing that the referees - from South Korea and Taiwan - may have been biased towards him. In response, Hongkongers have posted their love of 'pineapple on pizza' and 'pasta with soy sauce'. Pizza hut Hong Kong has announced free pineapple toppings on pizza orders.
South Korea Supreme Court recognises some rights for same-gender couples
South Korea's Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex couples, granting spousal insurance coverage, ending discrimination.
South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that the state health insurance agency should provide the same benefits to spouses in same-gender relationships as it does to those in heterosexual marriages. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
South Korea, like most of East Asia, neither prohibits nor recognises same-sex relationships. As of now, only three places in Asia - Nepal, Thailand and Taiwan - have full marriage equality.
Labour wins majority in UK General Elections as Tories lose two-thirds of seats
With more than half of the 650 seats declared, Keir Starmer will be the new prime minister as the Labour party secures a majority. Follow the final results and find out how your constituency voted.
The Labour party has won over 400 seats (out of 650) in the 2024 UK General Elections, and Keir Starmer is expected to replace Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister. The Conservatives, in power for the last fourteen years, have suffered a rout, losing over two-thirds of their seats. The SNP has collapsed in Scotland, mostly to Labour, and the Liberal Democrats have gained over sixty seats.
Splitters!
(Context: the 2024 Parliament elections in India, for the constituency of Kollam. The numbers in brackets are lead, not change from last election. Source: Election Commission of India)
Rainbow results rule
Results for the 2024 Indian Parliament elections for the state of Maharashtra - constituencies coloured according to winning party (Cyan - Congress (13 seats), Green - SSUBT (9), Orange - BJP (9), Pink - NCPSP (8), Yellow - SHS (7), Blue - NCP(AP) (1), Grey - Ind (1)).
2024 Indian Parliament election results - Maharashtra
Cyan - Congress (13 seats), Green - SSUBT (9), Orange - BJP (9), Pink - NCPSP (8), Yellow - SHS (7), Blue - NCP(AP) (1), Grey - Ind (1)
The shapefile is from the Election Commission of India website.
Ruling party loses absolute majority in elections to the Indian Parliament, but likely to form government with support of allies
Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 are being announced on June 4, 2024. The elections were held between April 19 and June 1 in seven phases. The election results 2024 will determine who will form India’s next government. All major exit polls have projected a resounding victory for the NDA, with the BJP...
Preliminary results for the 2024 Indian General election suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to lose its absolute majority in the lower house of Parliament. However, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) it leads is projected to cross the halfway mark. The opposition INDIA alliance is projected to more than double its seat count, from 92 to around 200 seats.
Best way to backup files
I have about 500GB of data (photos, documents, videos etc.) that I have accumulated over the years. Currently, I keep them on my computer and rsync all additions / changes once a month or so to an external hard drive. Do I need to be worried about data loss (sectors going bad, bit rot, bit flip, whatever it is called)?
To clarify,
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None of this is commercially important; I just don't want to get into a situation where I look up an old family photo or video twenty years down the line and it has got corrupted.
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Both my computer and the external HD are HDDs. They are fairly cheap here (and very cheap if second hand). Buying SSDs or dedicated hardware would be expensive.
Exit polls say ruling NDA expected to retain majority in Indian Parliamentary elections.
Exit polls predict BJP-led NDA to win big majority in Lok Sabha polls, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to retain power.
Following the last day of voting for the 2024 Indian Parliamentary elections, exit polls predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Democratic Alliance would retain its majority, winning 340 - 401 seats compared to 353 in 2019. The main opposition INDIA alliance was expected to win 109 - 169 seats, up from 91 in 2019. Three 'neutral' regional parties - the BRS, BJD and TMC, were expected to lose seats.
Compared to 2019, the NDA was expected to win West Bengal from the TMC, and to make inroads into south India, where it has historically been weak. In return, INDIA was expected to pick up seats in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar, and to wrest Telangana from the BRS.
Indian Ocean to warm by a further 1.7-3.8 degrees by end of century
Indian Ocean heating accelerates, leading to marine heatwaves, coral bleaching, and sea-level rise, impacting fisheries and monsoons.
The Indian ocean could warm by a further 1.7-3.8 degrees in the coming eighty years, according to a study published by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune. Each second, the ocean is absorbing heat comparable to that released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In addition to sea level rise, this warming could lead to stronger monsoons and coral bleaching.
Supreme Court of India rules that right against climate change is a fundamental and human right
Supreme Court recognizes fundamental right against climate change, linking it to Articles 21 and 14, emphasizing solar power transition in India.
The Supreme Court of India, in a case concerning the protection of the Great Indian Bustard, ruled that the right against climate change is a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are rights guaranteed by the constitution (such as the rights to equality and personal freedom) or 'interpreted' as such by the Supreme Court (so far, only the right to privacy). They apply to all Indian residents, rather than only citizens, and cannot be removed except by constitutional amendment. The court also set up an expert panel to monitor the protection of the bird, and urged governments to speed up expansion of solar power.