Latest news with #Guardian
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
How to turn fruit and veg scraps into a delicious cake – recipe
To celebrate 10 years of writing for the Guardian and seven years of this column, I thought it would be fitting to bake a cake inspired by where Waste Not began: my food compost bin. I looked through the fridge and raw compost bin, and found some squash, carrots, apples, cucumber ends, a knob of ginger and a woody stick of lemongrass; I even considered a red cabbage leaf, but decided that brassicas are best kept out of the baking tin. The compost bin is more than a place for leftovers, it's a source of inspiration, as well as a way to reflect on what we waste; it can even guide us towards cooking more resourcefully and creatively. This is a fun riff on the classic carrot or courgette cake, designed to use up scraps of sweet fruit and veg. Be inventive but discerning with what you include, so think beetroot, squash, apple or citrus zest, and leave the garlic and red onion for another day. If you keep a raw-ingredient compost bin (we use a council-issued one), you can even pick through it for potential ingredients; if not, next time you cook, identify the scraps you could incorporate into this cake, so turning them into something delicious. I normally make this cake with extra-virgin olive oil or sunflower oil, but on this occasion I used leftover plant-based spreads from testing supermarket 'butters' for the food filter column. This recipe makes a large, moist cake that needs a good-sized pan and takes longer to cook than you might think. For the cake300g fruit and vegetable scraps (eg, beetroot peelings, apple cores, squash ends)300g oil, or plant-based spread3 eggs 300g wholemeal plain flour, fine milled ideally200g unrefined sugar 3 tsp baking powder For the coconut icing (optional)1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled for at least 10 hours1 tsp vanilla extract 65g icing sugar, sifted Finely grated zest of ½ orange, lemon or lime, plus a little extra to finish (optional)1–2 tbsp cornflour, or arrowroot powder (optional; this will make a firmer icing)Mixed seeds and chopped nuts, to top (optional)Rose petals, to top (optional) Start by making the icing. Open the can of chilled coconut milk and scoop just the solidified thick cream into a bowl, leaving the coconut water behind. Add the vanilla extract, icing sugar and, if using, the citrus zest and cornflour, whip until light and fluffy, then cover and put in the fridge. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put your chosen fruit and veg scraps in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the oil, eggs, flour, sugar and baking powder, and blend again until just combined. Scrape the batter into a greased and lined cake tin, then bake for 55–65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes, then turn out on to a rack. Once the cake is completely cool, spread the icing over the top, then scatter with seeds, chopped nuts, rose petals or/and extra grated citrus zest, if you like.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Would-be football agents complain Fifa's faulty online exam causes one-year delay
Technical problems with Fifa's online football agent exam have prevented candidates from completing the test, with many told they will have to wait 12 months for their next opportunity. New regulations on agents introduced at the start of this year mean candidates must complete 20 multiple‑choice questions online rather than attend a test in person, usually at their national federation's headquarters. It is understood the change was made by Fifa to provide consistency over the cost, with candidates now paying $100 (or the equivalent in pounds or Euros) to sit the annual exam, which took place for the first time on 18 June. The Guardian has been contacted by applicants from several countries, including the United Kingdom, who have complained that they were unable to complete the one-hour test owing to the technical difficulties. It is understood candidates were asked before their test to download software, which was then checked by an online invigilator. But issues with the software meant they were often left with insufficient time to answer the questions or found some answers had not been recorded. 'I attempted several times to fix the issue by disconnecting and reconnecting, but it took over 25 minutes before the connection was restored,' wrote one candidate from Niger in a letter to Fifa seen by the Guardian. 'Once I was allowed to resume, there were only about 10 minutes remaining on the exam. On July 3, 2025, I received my results and was surprised to see that I had failed with a score of 11 out of 20. However, among the nine questions marked as incorrect, seven were shown as blank, even though I clearly remember answering them before submission, one displayed a choice that I am certain I never selected, and it does not match the answer I intended to choose.' Another candidate from the UK said he had been told by his invigilator that 'the issue was not related to my device or internet connection, but rather to the platform itself. After several unsuccessful attempts, the invigilator advised me to disconnect and assured me that she would submit a detailed report to Fifa, explicitly stating that I had been unable to participate due to a force majeure situation, as defined in article 12 of the Fifa football agent exam rules (March 2025 edition). It is particularly frustrating to now see my application rejected without any clarification, despite having fulfilled all requirements, acted diligently, and paid the full registration fee.' It is understood that some candidates were allowed to resit the exam on 30 June but that many have been informed, in an email that stated they had no right to appeal, they will have to wait until next year. 'This disparity raises serious concerns regarding consistency and equal treatment,' the UK candidate said. The Guardian has forwarded all the complaints to Fifa. World football's governing body declined to comment but it is understood to be aware of some complaints that are being handled on a case-by-case basis and it is satisfied that the majority of the candidates were able to take the exam with no technical problems. Fifa is believed to be monitoring the situation but is understood to have been reassured by providers that there is no issue with the exam platform. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion A candidate from Turkmenistan, who says he had 27 minutes to complete their exam owing to technical difficulties and the failure of the system's translation tool, described the experience as 'extremely upsetting'. 'The examiner promised to submit an official report and inform Fifa of the situation,' he wrote. 'She also told me that Fifa would contact me shortly regarding this incident. However, two weeks have now passed, and I have not received any response.' It is understood that a further fortnight later the situation has not changed. A source told the Guardian: 'The system hasn't been working properly and there have been so many complaints but they aren't really doing anything about it. Lots of people have put loads of time and effort into revising and to not be able to take the exam is really unfair. It's a shambles.'
New Statesman
6 hours ago
- Politics
- New Statesman
Thought experiment 14: The box that can change the past
Illustration by Marie Montocchio / Ikon Images In front of you are two boxes. In the first, Box A, there is £1,000. The box is transparent. You can see the money. The second box, Box B, is opaque and may or may not contain £1,000,000. You have a choice. You can either take Box B (and Box B only), or you can take both boxes. Whatever money is in the boxes is yours. But here's the catch: you have been told that there is a very good predictor, let's call her Meg, who is almost always right. And if Meg predicted that you'd take both boxes, she'll have left Box B empty. If she predicted you'd only take Box B, she'll have stuffed it with that million quid. So, what would you do? Take one box or two? I've long been a two-boxer. But the puzzle divides people. Back in 2016, Brexit referendum year, I debated it in the pages of the Guardian with a one-boxer, the Cambridge philosopher Arif Ahmed. Since then, he's been appointed free speech tsar for the Office for Students (the higher education regulator), and has declared that university education should be 'the intellectual equivalent of stepping into a boxing ring'. But from boxing rings back to boxes. The Guardian ran a poll and 31,854 readers voted. I moaned at the time that, as with Brexit, a slight majority (in this case, 53.5 per cent) had got it badly wrong – ie they were one-boxers and sided with Arif. I'd failed to convince readers with the following argument: by the time you're faced with the choice, Meg has already made her prediction. You cannot influence a decision made in the past by making a decision in the present. Meg has either put £1m into Box B or she has not. So you have nothing to lose by taking both boxes. Think of it this way. Imagine that Box B has transparent glass on the far side – the side you can't see. Suppose a friend on this far side, looking into Box B, was permitted to communicate with you. What would their advice be? Surely to take both boxes. If the £1m is there, and you choose both boxes, it won't disappear in a puff of smoke. It is irrational to take only Box B, because, in comparison, taking both boxes will always enrich you by an extra £1,000. On the other hand, if Meg foresees that you'll take both boxes, it appears you'll miss out on a financial bonanza. If the choice is between being rational and being rich, Arif wrote, 'I'll take the money every time.' Newcomb's paradox, just described, is named after William Newcomb, an American theoretical physicist who devised the problem in 1960. But it only gathered prominence when the Harvard professor Robert Nozick resurrected it in an article in 1969. Nozick had heard about it at a party – 'the most consequential party I have attended'. Over the years, he posed the problem to many people. 'To almost everyone it is perfectly clear and obvious what should be done. The difficulty is that these people seem to divide almost equally on the problem, with large numbers thinking that the opposing half is just being silly.' Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe We don't face Newcomb's paradoxes in real life. But it has a similar structure to a more familiar problem in theology. The 16th-century pastor John Calvin thought that God has predetermined who would and who would not ascend to heaven. There's nothing any of us can do about this. But Calvin also maintained that the best predictor of whether you're to be saved is that you live an honourable, virtuous life. So, how to conduct yourself? On the one hand, if you don't live your life in a righteous manner, it is almost certain you won't be saved. On the other hand, since either you're saved or you're not, there isn't much incentive to behave. In the year Nozick was writing about Newcomb's paradox, the Northern Ireland footballer George Best trialled behavioural restraint. 'In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol', he said. 'It was the worst 20 minutes of my life.' For two-boxer Calvinists, George Best's approach to life might make sense. In fact, through conversations with the Australian philosopher Huw Price, I've had a rethink. My key assumption was that cause has to precede effect. You can cause things to happen in the future, but not the past. However (and mind-bending though this idea is), it turns out that our best understanding of quantum mechanics requires, or is at least compatible with, backwards causation, with things in the past being altered by things in the present or future. If that's right, the paradox dissolves. 'Everyone agrees that if we can affect what the predictor did, we should one-box,' says Price. As for the charge that causation can only work forwards: 'To an old pragmatist like me, causes are just means to ends. If you want B, and doing A gets you B, then A counts as a cause of B. I want the predictor to put the £1m in the opaque box, and one-boxing gets me that. So it counts as a cause!' I could never have predicted it, but I've changed my mind about Newcomb's Box. Haven't changed my mind about Brexit, though. [See also: Thought experiment 13: The comet that destroys the Earth after our death] Related
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
How to turn fruit and veg scraps into a delicious cake – recipe
To celebrate 10 years of writing for the Guardian and seven years of this column, I thought it would be fitting to bake a cake inspired by where Waste Not began: my food compost bin. I looked through the fridge and raw compost bin, and found some squash, carrots, apples, cucumber ends, a knob of ginger and a woody stick of lemongrass; I even considered a red cabbage leaf, but decided that brassicas are best kept out of the baking tin. The compost bin is more than a place for leftovers, it's a source of inspiration, as well as a way to reflect on what we waste; it can even guide us towards cooking more resourcefully and creatively. This is a fun riff on the classic carrot or courgette cake, designed to use up scraps of sweet fruit and veg. Be inventive but discerning with what you include, so think beetroot, squash, apple or citrus zest, and leave the garlic and red onion for another day. If you keep a raw-ingredient compost bin (we use a council-issued one), you can even pick through it for potential ingredients; if not, next time you cook, identify the scraps you could incorporate into this cake, so turning them into something delicious. I normally make this cake with extra-virgin olive oil or sunflower oil, but on this occasion I used leftover plant-based spreads from testing supermarket 'butters' for the food filter column. This recipe makes a large, moist cake that needs a good-sized pan and takes longer to cook than you might think. For the cake300g fruit and vegetable scraps (eg, beetroot peelings, apple cores, squash ends)300g oil, or plant-based spread3 eggs 300g wholemeal plain flour, fine milled ideally200g unrefined sugar 3 tsp baking powder For the coconut icing (optional)1 can full-fat coconut milk, chilled for at least 10 hours1 tsp vanilla extract 65g icing sugar, sifted Finely grated zest of ½ orange, lemon or lime, plus a little extra to finish (optional)1–2 tbsp cornflour, or arrowroot powder (optional; this will make a firmer icing)Mixed seeds and chopped nuts, to top (optional)Rose petals, to top (optional) Start by making the icing. Open the can of chilled coconut milk and scoop just the solidified thick cream into a bowl, leaving the coconut water behind. Add the vanilla extract, icing sugar and, if using, the citrus zest and cornflour, whip until light and fluffy, then cover and put in the fridge. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put your chosen fruit and veg scraps in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the oil, eggs, flour, sugar and baking powder, and blend again until just combined. Scrape the batter into a greased and lined cake tin, then bake for 55–65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes, then turn out on to a rack. Once the cake is completely cool, spread the icing over the top, then scatter with seeds, chopped nuts, rose petals or/and extra grated citrus zest, if you like.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Massive victory: Adelita Grijalva wins Arizona's 7th District race; set to face Republican Daniel Butierez in Sept elections
Adelita Grijalva (AP image) Adelita Grijalva has won the election in Arizona 's 7th Congressional District, defeating 25-year-old activist and social media influencer Deja Foxx. The seat became vacant after the death of longtime Congressman Raúl Grijalva earlier this year following cancer treatment. Adelita Grijalva, 54, is his daughter and has a long history in local politics. She served for two decades on the Tucson school board and has been a Pima County Supervisor since 2020. Grijalva describes herself as a progressive and has said her priorities include defending democracy, supporting immigrant rights and protecting access to Medicaid and Medicare. After her win, she said in a statement: 'This is a victory not for me, but for our community and the progressive movement my dad started in Southern Arizona more than 50 years ago.' Grijalva faced strong competition from Foxx, a 25-year-old social media influencer and activist. Foxx argued that political roles should not be inherited, targeting Grijalva for her 'legacy last name'. In response, Grijalva defended her record, saying: 'I'm not using my dad's last name. It's mine, too. I've worked in this community for a very long time – 26 years at a nonprofit, 20 years on the school board, four years and four months on the board of supervisors. I've earned my last name too,' as reported by the Guardian. Grijalva won by a large margin, leading Foxx by around 40 percentage points, as reported by AP. She secured strong leads in all seven counties in the district, including Pima County, which includes Tucson and its suburbs. She also received major endorsements from prominent progressives, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as local and state officials. Arizona's 7th District is heavily Democratic, making Grijalva a favourable candidate to win the general election on September 23. She will face Republican candidate Daniel Butierez.
