Latest news with #Ally
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
I went in search of the Indonesia I saw on Instagram. The reality was tragically different
After 12 days in Bali and neighbouring Lombok, my friend Ally and I finally addressed the elephant in the room. Sitting on the floor of a cockroach-infested hostel bathroom, we admitted that we weren't having much fun. The reality, it turned out, wasn't what we'd expected. It was on the second night that I'd begun to notice it. We were on the isle of Gili Trawangan, between Bali and Lombok, and had, until then, been wandering around this fascinating new place in a haze of tropical euphoria. But as night fell, the island had begun to morph into a darker, altogether more sinister place. It was quiet, mostly empty, with a few people lurking around trying to sell us mushrooms or marijuana. As we hurried to our hostel arm in arm, we started, for the first time, to become truly aware of our surroundings. The skeletal horses chained to carriages stared out like ghosts. Their necks were contorted into unnatural positions, and looking at them – as one living thing to another – made me sick to my stomach. At 2am, the poor creatures stood shackled – skin and bones – waiting to pick up the drunk tourists who couldn't be bothered to walk five minutes back to their hostel. My friend Sara, who lives in Bali, had told us the day before that the horses looked better than they had the year before. When we asked what she meant, she said: 'It looks like they're being fed now, they were like sticks last time I was here – but I think people started complaining.' When I asked some locals about it the next day, they explained that a local mafia was in control and there was nothing that could be done. They ran the island, making money – mostly from tourists – by selling drugs, sex and profiting from animal cruelty. It was an open secret, but no one spoke up. After that second eye-opening evening, our moods shifted. Though neither of us could bring ourselves to say it out loud, we were both suddenly seeing the island as it was: walking through the sewage and mud that flooded the streets; the buildings windowless and stacked high with rubbish; abandoned washing machines and decades-old furniture dotting the roadside. We also became suddenly aware of how filthy we were. The ocean was full of rubbish. Ally had even spotted a raw chicken foot floating in the sea, and the flooded streets had covered our legs in goodness-knows-what. It was after one such walk – days later, after we had rushed back to the hostel to scrub ourselves clean – that we'd ended up on the floor of the hostel bathroom, and it had all come spilling out. We realised we had fallen for the oldest trick in the book – we had been seduced by pretty pictures; duped by Instagram. We had travelled across the world in search of a picturesque paradise, and though we'd found something quite different, it hadn't stopped us sharing our own social media posts along the way – of dreamy sunsets, tropical waterfalls, the two of us bikini-clad and smiling – feeding the very illusion we had bought into. Friends messaged to say how jealous they were, and that our trip looked beautiful. We hoped things might improve once we reached mainland Bali, but they didn't. The overcrowding was particularly awful – and there was no escaping it, especially when riding around on mopeds. Whenever I drove anywhere, I'd return covered in thick soot, and the traffic was horrendous: we were told by other travellers that they had seen people fall off bikes and their heads 'explode like watermelons'. At one point I saw a man carrying a guitar fall from his bike in the midst of the traffic: the guitar smashed to pieces, but no one stopped to help him. Since returning, I've reflected a lot on my trip, and while there were moments of fun and beauty, ultimately it remains a sobering experience. In particular, I feel guilt for the impact that I had, not just on the environment, but on the local community. The average Indonesian person in Bali makes just £140 per month, while tourists like me take advantage of the low prices and cheap accommodation. Even the rate of road accidents has been exacerbated by the tourist boom – with travellers hiring mopeds, as we did, contributing to the dangerous overcrowding. Last year, nearly 550 people died in motorbike accidents in Bali, making up over 80 per cent of all road accidents in the area. How Bali came to this, I'm not sure – but, as is the case with so many once-idyllic destinations suffering under the weight of over-tourism, I suspect social media has a lot to answer for. There is hope for Bali, but change must come from the tourists themselves. The power lies in the Instagram feeds of those passing through, and until tourists are brave – braver than I was – and start posting the truth about what they see, I fear nothing will change, and this once-beautiful place will be lost forever. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meg Ryan Is ‘Looking for an Amazing' Dating ‘Experience' as Lena Dunham Plays Cupid: Source
Meg Ryan hasn't publicly confirmed having a serious boyfriend in years — but according to a source, her Good Sex director Lena Dunham has been quietly setting her up with dates in New York. 'Meg isn't just linking up with Lena and her new movie to pad out her filmography – there's something a little deeper at work,' a source exclusively tells Examiner of the rom-com queen. 'It really comes down to Meg expanding her horizons and her social circle.' Dunham, 39, and her family 'run in a very interesting art-first circle that is incredibly intriguing' to Ryan, 63, the source says, noting it's allowing the Sleepless in Seattle actress to be exposed to 'new, interesting people.' As far as what Ryan is looking for in a potential partner, she has an 'incredibly open-minded approach to dating and hook-ups' and being an A-lister is 'not a requirement for her,' despite her past romantic connection to big names such as Dennis Quaid and John Mellencamp. The Top Gun actress was married to Quaid, 71, from 1991 to 2001, and they share son Jack Quaid together. Ryan and Mellencamp dated on and off for around eight years, between 2011 and 2019. 'Being an interesting person definitely is [a requirement],' adds the source. 'In that sense, even in late middle age, she has become a supreme master of no-strings-attached dating and never goes into these situations hell-bent on finding a partner for life.' Much like some of her famed rom-com characters, the source explains that Ryan is 'just looking for an amazing experience' and her colleagues may be the keys to opening up 'new romantic avenues for her.' 'It simply wouldn't be worth her time or energy if it didn't!' the source adds. It was confirmed in May that Ryan would make her grand return to the romantic comedy genre in Good Sex, alongside costars Natalie Portman, Rashida Jones, Tucker Pillsbury and Mark Ruffalo. The upcoming film follows a therapist named Ally (Portman) who is experimenting with dating again after the end of a serious, long-term relationship, according to the Hollywood Reporter. 'Ally gets more than she bargained for when she meets two men, one in his twenties (Pillsbury) and one in his fifties (Ruffalo), who show her there is no set formula for good sex,' the Netflix logline reads. Ryan is set to play the role of Ally's therapist. Dunham previously dished on the film, telling Variety: 'I know that there's an audience for it because I am the audience for it.' Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Immigration activism: the fight against ICE reaches the South Bay
Scrolling through post after post on Instagram of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raiding workplaces, homes, and schools, anonymous senior Jordan sighed and powered off her phone, turning back to her English homework. She had no idea that the fear she was feeling from seeing videos of families being torn apart was about to be magnified tenfold. Minutes later, Jordan's mother, a birthright American citizen, would break the news to her and her sister that their father, an immigrant, had been deported. 'The news that he was gone just got blurted out, no big announcement or anything. My mom told me my dad was in Mexico, and that we probably wouldn't see him for a while,' Jordan said. 'I knew he had gotten into it with an ex-girlfriend and was in jail for a minor assault charge, but I had no idea he'd been deported. Even though he'd never really been a part of my life, hearing that he'd been taken away was still devastating.' The struggles of life as an immigrant According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 53.3 million immigrants living in the United States as of January 2025. Kelsey, a sophomore granted anonymity for fear of safety, is one of them, having moved to the U.S. from Russia when she was just 9 years old. 'My mom got married to a new man and told me that we were going to move to America to be with him,' Kelsey said. 'We left behind our entire family, and since I didn't really know English, I had to wait until the second semester to join school with everyone else. It was a very lonely start.' Kelsey was too young to remember much of the legal process her family took to obtain an immigrant visa. However, the struggle to obtain permission to leave the country is something that 'made an impact' on her childhood, she said, as it took nearly two years before she could legally visit Russia. 'Getting here was actually surprisingly easy,' Kelsey said. 'But getting a visa from [the U.S. embassy in Russia] was awful. We couldn't visit our family, and it felt like we were trapped in America.' Student coordinator for her college's Immigrant Justice Center and journalism major Ally, who also chose to remain anonymous, has a more complicated immigration story. After coming to the U.S. from Belize at the age of five without documentation, Ally was rejected three times when applying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Because she failed to receive DACA protection, Ally has been living at risk of deportation for most of her childhood and adult life. 'I've had some pretty difficult discussions about ICE with my partner, who is a legal citizen. He told me that if I was to get deported, he would go with me,' Ally said. 'Having his reassurance that he'd be there for me, even though he doesn't have to, makes me feel resilient, even when I'm fearing for the future.' Heightened fears under a new administration Making good on his campaign promises, on Jan. 20, newly elected President Donald Trump signed 34 executive orders, 10 of them related to immigration. These orders included the slashing of programs like CBP One, a mobile app developed by Customs and Border Protection to help asylum seekers, designating the border as a military priority, and suspending refugee admissions. Though these actions were justified as necessary to remove 'violent transnational criminals,' government data obtained by ProPublica showed that less than half of the immigrants detained from Jan. 20 to Feb. 2 had criminal convictions, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by politically active students like Jordan. 'Seeing these deportations of innocent people is horrible and heartbreaking. There's no reason that we should be kicking out our farmers, our contractors, and our construction workers,' Jordan said. 'These people have built this country, and we're treating them like animals.' According to National Public Radio (NPR), an American public broadcasting organization, 5,500 children were separated from their parents during Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2020. The 'zero tolerance' border policies aren't just cause for concern for undocumented immigrants—the American Immigration Council reports that 4.4 million children who are U.S. citizens have undocumented parents and are at risk for separation. 'I've seen people being round up everywhere. It doesn't matter if they're at a family event, with their kids or at work,' Jordan said. 'Because the arrests have been so violent and publicized, it's impossible for any immigrant to feel safe. I know my friends with immigrant parents are feeling the stress.' Ally said that she has seen 'a visible increase' in anti-immigrant sentiment on social media since the 2024 election. These hate campaigns have led to false rhetoric about certain immigrant groups becoming widespread, such as the 2024 hoax that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating residents' pets. This rumor was propagated by public figures such as J.D. Vance and Elon Musk on the social media platform X, and eventually led to dozens of reported bomb threats being called in across Springfield, real consequences for the spreading of false narratives. 'After I graduate, I want to use my training as a journalist to tell the real stories of the undocumented community. I'm tired of going into the comments of a YouTube video and seeing people repeating the same tired narratives,' Ally said. 'We are a very diverse community. Not all immigrants fit into one box […] even if the media sometimes makes it seem that way.' When thinking about what deportation would mean for her life, Kelsey has to consider the raging Russo-Ukrainian war she would be returning to. Despite her legal status, every new deportation raid still 'causes some worry.' 'I'm not even that scared for myself, though if something did happen to me, I would be devastated,' Kelsey said. 'I have a friend who immigrated here from Ukraine. She's already been stressed lately, and I can't imagine what would happen if she was deported to [such a war-torn country].' What can we do to protect our immigrant communities? With threats of deportation comes a lot of fear and anxiety for immigrant communities, especially for student immigrants who must reside in the U.S. for an extended period of time to complete their degrees. A study done by the Public Policy Institute of California reports that foreign-born students comprise 18 percent of undergraduate and 27 percent of graduate and professional school students in the state. This demographic includes Ally herself, who recently took to her school newspaper to express her concerns with the administration's handling of ICE on campus. 'To be honest, I was a little bit nervous about writing a critique of our admin. But when the story came out, I actually got an email from our Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice asking what they could do to help,' Ally said. 'They were interested in doing a workshop, but I told them that it couldn't just be a one-time thing. We need long-lasting protections for our students so they can feel safe coming to class again.' Jordan emphasizes protest as a means of vocalizing her support for the immigrants in her life. Even though she considers certain events like the anti-immigration crackdowns protest that occurred on Feb. 11, which blocked the 405 highway, as 'going overboard,' she still believes the First Amendment is the most important tool pro-immigrant activists have. 'I taught some friends about the history of colonization in Mexico, and the concept of nobody being illegal on stolen land,' Jordan said. 'And yeah, at protests it can be really scary when there's a bunch of big men and riot shields trying to hunt you down after you've built a life here. But you need to remember that you have a constitutional right to freedom of speech, and that your voice has power.' Related
Express Tribune
14-07-2025
- Express Tribune
ROG Xbox Ally handheld price leaks ahead of launch
The price for the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally handheld console has possibly leaked ahead of its official announcement, suggesting it could be positioned at the higher end of the handheld gaming market. First revealed during the June Xbox Showcase, the ROG Xbox Ally is part of Microsoft's expansion into handheld gaming. Details of its specifications have already been shared, including a 7-inch FHD (1080p) screen, a 512GB M.2 SSD for the standard model, and a 1TB M.2 SSD for the ROG Xbox Ally X, alongside an 80Wh battery for the Ally and a 60Wh battery for the X. According to a report by 3djuegos, a preview on the ASUS website indicated that the ROG Xbox Ally will cost €599 ($700 / £520), while the ROG Xbox Ally X is expected to be priced at €899 ($1,050 / £780). These prices have not been officially confirmed and may be subject to change before launch. If accurate, the pricing would place the ROG Xbox Ally above the Nintendo Switch 2, which is priced at $449.99 (£395.00), and higher than the Steam Deck OLED with 1TB of storage, currently available for $649.00 (£569.00). The handheld market has seen increasing competition, and the potential pricing for the ROG Xbox Ally reflects its higher specifications and positioning. Fans awaiting the device are now watching for official confirmation from ASUS and Microsoft regarding the final retail price and release details.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unison Activates Its Virtual Acquisition Office (VAO) With Agentic AI
MCLEAN, Va., July 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Unison, the leading provider of federal business process and acquisition software, today announced the release of agentic AI in its Virtual Acquisition Office (VAO), advancing how acquisition professionals interact with VAO's templates, insights, and guidance. These new agentic AI capabilities follow Unison's acquisition of the AI startup, Bidscale, earlier this year. VAO has long served as the trusted SaaS platform for the development of the federal acquisition workforce, delivering expert-created content and training. With agentic AI now at the center of the VAO experience, that expertise becomes actionable, generating acquisition documents, identifying relevant policy, and completing complex tasks with greater accuracy and less manual effort. With no AI expertise required, VAO users can quickly utilize agentic AI capabilities to shift focus to the mission and spend less time drafting. Available as a new offering to subscribers, VAO's agentic AI is designed to work seamlessly alongside its existing tools and content to: Generate compliant documents: Create Statements of Objectives (SOOs), Statements of Work (SOWs), Limited Source Justifications, and many more acquisition lifecycle documentation. Get the right policy guidance at the right time: Policies are suggested based on your role, your agency, and the document you're working on. Let templates do more of the work: Work directly within context-aware templates that apply agency rules and standards automatically. Stay ahead of the process: Get proactive guidance on what's required next, so you're not waiting for checklists or chasing approvals. "This step moves Unison's VAO from a trusted reference to a dynamic part of the acquisition lifecycle," said Reid Jackson, CEO of Unison. "It's the difference between reading acquisition guidance and watching that guidance take shape in real time." A recent Federal News Network article highlighted the growing demand for AI that does more than automate routine steps. As the article notes, agentic AI offers a viable path toward reducing workload by completing acquisition tasks and helping agencies meet growing demands with limited staff. Last year, Unison introduced its generative AI tool, Ally, within VAO. Since then, Ally has been used by more than 72 federal agencies, answering over 60,000 questions. These new agentic AI capabilities build on that momentum, expanding the impact of Unison's AI across the federal government. For more information or to schedule a walkthrough, visit or email the company at ai@ About Unison Unison's products power the business of government to work smoother and smarter. Trusted by over 200,000 federal employees and government contractors, Unison's software, domain expertise, and federal focus drive efficiency, transparency, and compliance. The company's AI-infused technology is designed to simplify complex business processes and acquisitions. From contracting to budgeting, cost engineering, and program management, Unison's products reach every corner of federal business. To learn more about Unison, please visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Unison
