Now in it’s 25th year, the Polish city’s Fotofestiwal opens on 18 June with a series of exhibitions reflecting on the concept of a collective experience rather than a binary world of “us” and “them”
Continue reading...With its echoes of Miranda July’s All Fours, this tragicomic tale of an American woman’s illicit romance is also a gripping murder mystery
The plot of A Little Bit Bad sounds like the setup for a joke: “Like, this white lady lusting after her hot Chicano roofer?” Perdita Jungfrau, the narrator, is describing her own situation. “Yuck.”
It’s 2009 and Perdita is 39 when she meets 25-year-old Nando, who is working on next door’s roof. “Burned out” after a decade as a hospital social worker, she’s a stay-at-home mother to a toddler, and pregnant again (though she doesn’t know it yet). She isn’t happy. Her husband is critical of her for quitting her job, and won’t look after the children: “Babies scare me!” Perdita is out in her San Diego backyard on the day that Nando falls from a ladder propped up against the neighbour’s house. She sees it happen, calls an ambulance and sits beside him on the grass to wait.
Continue reading...This wetland south of Syracuse was saved from developers and preserved as an unspoilt haven for migratory birds
We rented Il Nido because we thought other people wouldn’t like it. Small and basic, without internet, the property was supposedly beside a beautiful national park famous for its coastline and migratory birds. The online picture suggested it was pressed up against one of those concrete pillars (common around Sicily) supporting a deserted and rotting motorway flyover. I was writing a thriller with mafia connections. My partner wanted to scrape off six months of fumes from her new job in London. Our daughter needed fun.
“This is a bomb,” said the hostess, opening a cupboard under the sink. “You turn it anticlockwise to go off.”
Continue reading...The Socceroos and United States both made a fast start to their campaign – here is what the Group D rivals must do to maintain momentum in Seattle
Back Nestory Irankunda: the 20-year-old was expected to be an impact player at this World Cup, coming on as a substitute to affect matches against tiring opposition. A player of the match performance when starting against Turkey showed how Irankunda has become one of the Socceroos’ most important players. While still learning his wing-craft, his speed and determination without the ball are vital in a Socceroos outfit seemingly happy to give their opponents’ possession, and his ability to make the most of transition and direct opportunities – as seen for his opening goal against Turkey – can be a superpower.
Continue reading...Penelope worries this will teach her children it’s OK to trespass; Spencer sees no harm in them hopping over. No sitting on the fence – you decide who’s in the wrong
• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror
It doesn’t matter that it only takes five seconds. It’s a flagrant disregard for property rights
No harm was done to their garden. It’s just a lawn with a few shrubs. I don’t see the problem
Continue reading...Chief Iranian negotiator says key waterway will ‘not return to prewar conditions’ after 60-day window; both sides sign memorandum of understanding extending truce
Reaction: Donald Trump’s Iran deal met with anger, relief and incredulity
Analysis: Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war
German defence minister Boris Pistorius is being quoted as saying just now that before it can participate in any mine-clearing operation in the strait of Hormuz, it will need a permissive environment – meaning approval by Iran and Oman – as well as a parliamentary mandate.
On Sunday evening Donald Trump said the opening of the vital energy-supply route was contingent on the signing of the deal with Iran – which had been scheduled for Friday – and that would be “for purposes of mine removal”.
Continue reading...Coroner tells inquiry new material ‘of such significance’ any findings must be postponed so information can be analysed
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The closing submissions in an inquest into the death of a woman who gave birth at home with no support from medically trained health workers has been delayed, after new evidence came to light after a forensic analysis of her mobile phone.
Stacey Warnecke, a 30 year-old nutritionist, died on 29 September in Frankston hospital in Melbourne.
Continue reading...Mayor of Russian capital claims about 180 drones heading to the city were shot down as flames and smoke billow over outskirts
Ukrainian drones hit Moscow’s oil refinery for the second time this week, sending out flames and plumes of smoke over the south-eastern district of Kapotnya on Thursday morning.
“Air defence forces are continuing to repel a large-scale attack. Several drones managed to reach the [Moscow oil refinery],” said Sergei Sobyanin, the city’s mayor, adding that a shopping centre was also damaged. He claimed about 180 drones heading for the capital had been downed.
Continue reading...COLUMN - Nederland heeft volgens een groot deel van de politiek een asielcrisis. Dat horen we inmiddels al jaren. De crisis is zo hardnekkig dat kabinetten vallen, verkiezingen worden gewonnen en verloren, en talkshows er bij herhaling hun zendtijd mee vullen. Een uitzicht op een einde aan deze crisis lijkt ver achter onze horizon te liggen. Louter omdat het verkeerd gelabeld wordt en daarmee de focus op de echte oorzaken en oplossingen achter valse retoriek verborgen blijft.
De situatie in Ter Apel is geen bewijs van een oncontroleerbare migratiestroom. Wie noodopvang na noodopvang zag verrijzen, zag geen onverwachte ramp. Wat zichtbaar werd, was het resultaat van jarenlang beleid waarin opvangcapaciteit systematisch werd afgebouwd terwijl iedereen wist dat vluchtelingenstromen niet zouden verdwijnen. Dat is ongeveer alsof een gemeente de helft van haar brandweerkazernes sluit en vervolgens concludeert dat er een brandweercrisis is zodra er ergens brand uitbreekt.
De Nederlandse overheid behandelt asielopvang nog steeds als een incidenteel probleem. Alsof oorlogen, vervolging, politieke instabiliteit en klimaatgerelateerde migratie uitzonderingen zijn die elk moment voorbij kunnen zijn. De werkelijkheid is natuurlijk anders. Vluchtelingen zullen blijven komen. Niet omdat Nederland zo aantrekkelijk is, maar omdat conflicten en menselijke ellende niet ophouden bij de buitengrenzen van Europa.
Juist daarom is het opmerkelijk hoe vaak politieke discussies zich richten op symbolische maatregelen. Er wordt eindeloos gesproken over strengere regels, afschrikking en uitzonderingswetten. Veel minder aandacht gaat uit naar de vraag waarom procedures jarenlang kunnen duren, waarom de Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst structureel kampt met achterstanden, of waarom gemeenten er telkens weer in slagen opvang naar elkaar door te schuiven.
Het meest onthullende moment kwam misschien wel met de komst van Oekraïense vluchtelingen. Ineens bleek er van alles mogelijk. Gemeenten organiseerden opvang. Gebouwen werden beschikbaar gesteld. Hotels werden ingezet. Procedures werden versneld. De bestuurlijke creativiteit die jarenlang afwezig leek, bleek gewoon te bestaan. Dat was goed nieuws voor de mensen die bescherming zochten. Maar het maakte ook iets anders zichtbaar: de logistieke problemen waren kennelijk niet zo onoverkomelijk als jarenlang werd beweerd.
De ongemakkelijke conclusie is dat Nederland niet zozeer worstelt met opvangcapaciteit als wel met politieke keuzes. Ondertussen worden asielzoekers in het publieke debat vaak gereduceerd tot aantallen. Ze verschijnen als statistiek, als dossier of als bedreiging. Veel minder vaak als mens. Terwijl achter iedere aanvraag een individueel verhaal schuilgaat van oorlog, vervolging, verlies of wanhoop.
Dat betekent niet dat iedere asielaanvraag automatisch moet worden ingewilligd. Natuurlijk heeft een staat het recht om grenzen te bewaken en procedures vast te stellen. Maar een rechtsstaat wordt niet getest wanneer alles goed gaat. Een rechtsstaat wordt getest wanneer mensen afhankelijk zijn van haar bescherming. Juist dan blijkt of humaniteit een principe is of slechts een verkiezingsslogan.
De voortdurende verwijzing naar een asielcrisis heeft nog een ander voordeel voor politici: zij leidt de aandacht af van bestuurlijke verantwoordelijkheid. Wanneer opvanglocaties overvol raken, kan men wijzen naar de instroom. Wanneer procedures vastlopen, naar internationale ontwikkelingen. Wanneer mensen buiten slapen, naar Europa. Bijna nooit naar de eigen keuzes.
Toch zijn veel van de huidige problemen terug te voeren op beleid dat bekend was, voorzienbaar was en waarvan de gevolgen jarenlang door deskundigen zijn aangekondigd. De overbelasting van het systeem wordt vervolgens gebruikt als bewijs dat het systeem niet werkt. Een merkwaardige redenering, zeker wanneer dezelfde overheid verantwoordelijk is voor de inrichting ervan.
De vraag is daarom niet hoeveel vluchtelingen Nederland aankan. De vraag is waarom een rijk, goed georganiseerd land er telkens opnieuw in slaagt van een beheersbaar vraagstuk een bestuurlijke chaos te maken. Dat is de echte crisis. Niet aan de grens. Maar in Den Haag.
Lees meer berichten op Sargasso
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Tesco, a retail conglomerate headquartered in the United Kingdom, is moving 40,000 server workloads off of VMware amid "abusive conduct" from Broadcom, recent legal filings claim. Tesco filed a lawsuit in the UK's High Court against Broadcom alleging breach of contract last year. According to a September report from The Register, the lawsuit claimed that in January 2021, Tesco bought perpetual licenses for VMware's vSphere Foundation and Cloud Foundation, a subscription to VMware Tanzu, plus support services until 2026, with the option to extend support for four additional years.
But when Broadcom took over VMware in November 2023, it would not honor the deal and instead tried to get Tesco to pay "excessive and inflated prices for virtualization software for which Tesco has already paid" and would not allow it to buy support services for its perpetually licensed software without buying "duplicative subscription-based licenses for those same Software products," the initial complaint read, The Register reported at the time. Tesco, which reported 73.7 billion pounds (about $98.7 billion) in revenue in its fiscal year 2026, has since started migrating away from VMware and Broadcom's mainframe products, according to late-May court filings reported on by The Register today.
In January, Broadcom stopped supporting Tesco's VMware products, Tesco said, and Tesco has been paying for third-party support since. In its initial filing, Tesco also said that Broadcom refused to upgrade software or provide all security updates to customers without subscriptions. One of Tesco's recent filings, per The Register, reads: "Faced with Broadcom's abusive conduct, and given the criticality of virtualization and mainframe software and services to its business, Tesco has been forced to incur material costs to procure alternative solutions with reduced functionality, and to migrate to that software in a manner, and on a timeframe, that creates very significant risks to its business."
If it works "at exceptional pace," Tesco will be completely off VMware by the end of 2027 at the earliest. However, "the timeframe in which that migration must be undertaken has created and continues to create operational and commercial risk, and at material ongoing cost and disruption to the business," Tesco reportedly noted. Tesco is also dealing with migration challenges related to data security because its new, unnamed virtualization software is incompatible with the Veeam and Zerto products it uses. Tesco initially requested at least 100 million pounds (about $133.6 million) in damages each from Broadcom, VMware, and reseller Computacenter, plus interest. In its recent filings, Tesco said it turned down at least four offers from Broadcom to continue using VMware and Broadcom's mainframe tech. [...] The case is expected to go to court between November 1, 2027, and February 25, 2028, The Register reported. Afterward, it could go to trial. Further reading: HPE Tempts VMware Users, Partners With Year of Free Virtualization Software
But when Broadcom took over VMware in November 2023, it would not honor the deal and instead tried to get Tesco to pay "excessive and inflated prices for virtualization software for which Tesco has already paid" and would not allow it to buy support services for its perpetually licensed software without buying "duplicative subscription-based licenses for those same Software products," the initial complaint read, The Register reported at the time. Tesco, which reported 73.7 billion pounds (about $98.7 billion) in revenue in its fiscal year 2026, has since started migrating away from VMware and Broadcom's mainframe products, according to late-May court filings reported on by The Register today.
In January, Broadcom stopped supporting Tesco's VMware products, Tesco said, and Tesco has been paying for third-party support since. In its initial filing, Tesco also said that Broadcom refused to upgrade software or provide all security updates to customers without subscriptions. One of Tesco's recent filings, per The Register, reads: "Faced with Broadcom's abusive conduct, and given the criticality of virtualization and mainframe software and services to its business, Tesco has been forced to incur material costs to procure alternative solutions with reduced functionality, and to migrate to that software in a manner, and on a timeframe, that creates very significant risks to its business."
If it works "at exceptional pace," Tesco will be completely off VMware by the end of 2027 at the earliest. However, "the timeframe in which that migration must be undertaken has created and continues to create operational and commercial risk, and at material ongoing cost and disruption to the business," Tesco reportedly noted. Tesco is also dealing with migration challenges related to data security because its new, unnamed virtualization software is incompatible with the Veeam and Zerto products it uses. Tesco initially requested at least 100 million pounds (about $133.6 million) in damages each from Broadcom, VMware, and reseller Computacenter, plus interest. In its recent filings, Tesco said it turned down at least four offers from Broadcom to continue using VMware and Broadcom's mainframe tech. [...] The case is expected to go to court between November 1, 2027, and February 25, 2028, The Register reported. Afterward, it could go to trial. Further reading: HPE Tempts VMware Users, Partners With Year of Free Virtualization Software
Read more of this story at Slashdot.