Trump faces key legal test in effort to exert control over Federal Reserve

Trump faces key legal test in effort to exert control over Federal Reserve

Fed governor Lisa Cook is seeking a temporary restraining order against the president’s attempt to fire her Donald Trump ’s battle to exert control over the Federal Reserve faces a key legal test today, with a governor of the central bank seeking a temporary block on his extraordinary attempt to fire her. Lisa Cook sued the US president on Thursday , with her lawyers describing his attempt to dismiss her as “unprecedented and illegal”, and based on “pretextual” allegations. Continue reading...

Trump’s Venezuela gunboat diplomacy: sabre-rattling or prelude to invasion?

Trump’s Venezuela gunboat diplomacy: sabre-rattling or prelude to invasion?

Hawks on both sides have warned the US dispatch of three warships to patrol off the South American coast may be part of a regime-change operation – but is it? As US warships carrying cruise missiles and marines powered towards Venezuela ’s coastline this week, supporters of the South American country’s president, Nicolás Maduro , warned a dastardly imperialist plot for an Iraq-style invasion was afoot. “No one will lay their hands on this land!” Maduro thundered, calling on patriots to help repel the supposed regime change operation by joining his “Bolivarian militia”. Continue reading...

The Séance of Blake Manor – a gothic horror that explores the creepier side of Irish mythology

The Séance of Blake Manor – a gothic horror that explores the creepier side of Irish mythology

Developer Spooky Doorway is building a detective mystery full of Victorian spiritualism and pagan traditions, creating a lingering sense of dread that is hard to shake There are two types of horror – one that shocks you into more inventive ways to hide behind a pillow; and the other that creeps under your skin, quietly prickling the back of your neck and haunting you for weeks. The Séance Of Blake Manor falls into that second camp: an atmospheric take on an 1890s Irish murder mystery. You play Detective Ward, who has been sent to the titular Blake Manor to investigate the disappearance of Evelyn Deane two nights before a seance is due take place. Mystics from across the globe have gathered at the crumbling mansion to converse with the dead on All Hallows’ Eve, but are they really capable of doing what they say they can? And what was that shadowy figure? There’s more than one secret to unravel. Continue reading...

Down and dirty: how regenerative farming is digging into microscopic soil life

Down and dirty: how regenerative farming is digging into microscopic soil life

Nurturing everything from bacteria and fungi to worms is seen as essential to helping minimise use of chemicals and machinery Nick Padwick hunches over a microscope, examining a sample of compost he has made on his Norfolk farm. “Look at that bad boy! That’s a bacteria-feeding nematode!” he exclaims. “Stunning fungal hyphae.” Padwick, the farm manager at Wild Ken Hill since 2018, is part of a growing movement of farmers taking a deep interest in the microscopic life forms that their livelihoods depend upon. Under this approach to regenerative farming, nurturing diverse soil communities – from bacteria and fungi, to microscopic animals and worms – is seen as an essential prerequisite for growing healthy foods with minimal or no use of agrochemicals or soil-damaging machinery. Use microscopy to identify missing or imbalanced soil organisms. Create nutrient-rich compost from farm waste, such as straw and wood chips. Put this compost in mesh bags and steep them in water, like giant tea bags, to make extracts that can reintroduce beneficial microbes to depleted soils. Continue reading...