Author: aliakhan00901

No place in Syria was more feared than Sednaya prison during the Assad family’s decades-long, iron-fisted rule. Situated on a barren hilltop on the outskirts of Damascus, the capital, Sednaya was at the heart of the Assads’ extensive system of torture prisons and arbitrary arrests used to crush all dissent. By the end of the nearly 14-year civil war that culminated in December with the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, it had become a haunting symbol of the dictator’s ruthlessness. Over the years, the regime’s security apparatus swallowed up hundreds of thousands of activists, journalists, students and dissidents from all…

TOWCESTER, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM – 2025/07/05: Actor Keanu Reeves seen in the paddock during the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone. (Photo by Paul Bonser/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The American Association of Retired Persons has named the 25 hottest actors over 50. Which stars age 50-plus made the cut? The AARP’s Movies for Grownups section of AARP Magazine revealed the list on Thursday, which is the cover story of its latest print issue. Referring to Cary Grant as “one of the hottest leading men of all time,” the AARP noted, “We have actors like…

Fresh on the heels of August’s black moon is September’s full moon, which will be among the most interesting full moons of 2025. It’s coming with a total lunar eclipse, making it a blood moon. Viewers in the US won’t be able to see the upcoming lunar eclipse, but the moon should still appear redder than usual. The total lunar eclipse, which takes place on Sept. 7, will be visible primarily in Asia, Australia, Eastern Europe and Eastern Africa. Most of the rest of Europe and Africa will see a partial eclipse, while North and South America are left out this time…

Fatality? Warner Bros. has delayed the theatrical release of Mortal Kombat 2 by seven months, to an early summer release date: May 15, 2026. The video game adaptation, which has already been completed and has been screened for press, was originally slated to hit theaters less than two months from now, on Oct. 24. Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for WB for comment. “The tournament demands a new time and place, worthy of its spectacle,” an Instagram post announcing the adjustment said. With the departure of MK2 to 2026, WB now has just two theatrical films remaining…

Warrington: Dufty; Thewlis, Duffy, King, Thewlis; Williams, Hayes; Yates, Walker, Thomas, Smith, Holroyd, Matterson.Interchanges: Philbin, McKinney, Wood, Powell; Hartill.Salford: Walker; Tchamambe, Darbyshire, Gorman, Connell; Mellor, Milnes; Lewis, Davis, Sangare, Ruan, Russell, Wilson.Interchanges: Nikorima, Chan, Warren, Croft; Shaw.Referee: Scott Mikalauskas.

August 29, 20254 min readVoting Integrity Messages Fight Misinformation in the Lab. But What about the Real World?Telling people exactly how voting security works helps defeat election misinformation, experiments suggest. But outside experts question how well that works in the real worldBy Dan Vergano edited by Jeanna BrynerPeople cast their ballots on November 5, 2024 in New York City. Wang Fan/China News Service/VCG/Getty ImagesSafeguards keep fake ballots from being counted. Election officials regularly update voter lists. Voting machine software undergoes rigorous testing.Telling voters such simple facts helps combat election misinformation, suggests a Science Advances study released on Friday. In the…

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been blocked from attending the UN General Assembly session in New York next month after he and 80 other Palestinian officials had their visas revoked, the US State Department has confirmed.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed them for undermining peace efforts and for seeking “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state”. The decision, which has been welcomed by Israel, is unusual as the US is expected to facilitate travel for officials of all countries wishing to visit the UN headquarters. The ban comes as France leads international efforts to recognise a state of…

Rachel Clun & Connie BowkerBusiness reporters, BBC NewsBBCLucy Williams enjoys a iced strawberry matcha at Blank Street CoffeeLucy Williams is enjoying an iced strawberry matcha after going with her sister to her niece’s first-ever haircut.”I feel like a strawberry matcha is a coming out with your sister thing, rather than an everyday thing,” she says.But you can’t get an iced strawberry matcha – or any kind of matcha at Costa Coffee. Lucy is at Blank Street Coffee where a rainbow array of matcha drinks have gained the chain a cult following, including celebrity fans Mollie-Mae Hague and Sabrina Carpenter.Lucy drinks…

TechCrunch Disrupt isn’t just about showcasing the startups of tomorrow — it’s also about surfacing the boldest ideas shaping technology today. Thanks to the support of our partners JetBrains and Greenfield, the TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 program, happening October 27–29 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, brings two must-see sessions that put AI front and center. Monday, October 27 — Builders Stage 1:40 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. PTWho’s Defining AI’s Future in 2025? The AI Disruptors 60 UnveiledPresented by Greenfield Partners We’ve seen it with the internet, and again with mobile: moments when technology reshapes everything. Now it’s AI’s turn — and…