INF109: Digital Media and Society Blogs 2024/25

Category: Uncategorized

  • Link the source article from The Guardian

    Only official sources should be trusted amid peace efforts on the Ukraine conflict, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

    The Western media is rife with rumors and falsehoods regarding Russia’s stance on a potential peace settlement with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He urged journalists and the wider population to rely on official sources of information.

    Peskov’s remarks come as the US continues to push for a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev. AFP reported on Monday that Ukrainian officials plan to propose an air and naval truce during talks with US representatives in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Bloomberg earlier cited unnamed sources in Moscow as claiming that Russia was open to discussing a temporary truce if progress was made toward a final settlement.

    The Kremlin spokesman, however, dismissed the claim on Tuesday, saying Western media was filled with “incorrect information” and “rumors that do not correspond to reality.”

    Source from https://www.rt.com/news/614024-western-media-false-information-kremlin/

    The Kremlin spokesperson warned journalists against using unnamed sources, urging them to rely solely on “official sources of information and on specific statements by specific people.”

    Multiple media outlets, including Reuters and Bloomberg, have also reported that US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will visit Moscow this week to meet President Vladimir Putin. Bloomberg said the trip is timed to coincide with the US-Ukraine talks in Riyadh.

    Peskov declined to confirm Witkoff’s visit, saying the public would be “informed in due course.”

  • Kyiv ‘ready to do everything to achieve peace’ as crunch US-Ukraine talks begin

    Source article from:The Guardian

    The stakes could not be higher for Ukraine, with the prospect of US military aid and intelligence-sharing being restarted if the talks go well. Trump cut off that critical support after the heated Oval Office argument in which he and his vice-president, JD Vance, rowed with Zelenskyy in front of the world’s media. Members of the US administration have suggested repeatedly that Zelenskyy should hold elections or step down.

    Domestically, Zelenskyy’s flagging ratings were boosted by his dressing down in the White House, and most Ukrainians say they would not want elections while the war continues. However, while there is anger at Trump and Elon Musk’s demands, there is a strong feeling that given the difficult situation at the front and exhaustion after three years of war, the Ukrainian president should make every effort to mend relations with the White House.

    Since the debacle in Washington, Ukraine has sought to flatter Trump to prevent a peace from being forced upon it. Writing in the Guardian before the talks started, Yermak complimented a

    “strong American leadership” but said “a peace must be found that is both just and sustainable”.

    picture source

  • Link to Kyiv launches largest ever drone attack on Moscow as Ukraine and U.S. give diplomacy another try

    JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — As American and Ukrainian officials met Tuesday in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending Russia’s invasion, Kyiv and Moscow were counting the costs from a night of firing hundreds of missiles and drones at each other.

    Russia resumed its almost nightly strikes on Ukraine, whose defenses shot down 114 drones, Ukrainian officials said. But less familiar was the massive wave of drones Kyiv launched on Moscow, which Russian authorities said was the largest such attack on the capital and surrounding area.

    The Russian Defense Ministry said it downed 337 Ukrainian drones, 91 of which came down in the Moscow region. Two people were killed and 18 were injured, while air and rail travel faced huge disruptions. Ukraine said among its targets were oil production and pipeline control facilities.

    Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office.

    “We have to understand the Ukrainian position and just have a general idea of what concessions they would be willing to make,” Rubio told reporters on the plane to Saudi Arabia on Monday. “You’re not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions.”

    Trump last week threatened Moscow with “large scale sanctions” to force it into negotiations. But his administration has received widespread criticism from leaders across Europe for demanding concessions from Ukraine while asking little from Russia in return.

    Trump cut off military aid and intelligence following the Oval Office shouting match, which Rubio said Monday “broadly is something I hope we can resolve” in Tuesday’s talks.

    Ukraine has attempted to push Russia back militarily, both on the frontlines and in the air.

    Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the drone strike on his city as the “largest” such attack on the Russian capital.

    The Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Telegram post that their drones successfully struck the Moscow Oil Refinery, on the southeastern edge of the capital, which it said provides up to half of the city’s gas and diesel needs.

    It blamed Russian air defense for damage to civilian infrastructure facilities.”

    American podcaster Lex Fridman posted to X on Tuesday that he was in Moscow and that the “mass drone attack hit very close to where I am located.” He added that “when I traveled to Ukraine there were a few close calls. And same in Moscow now. These are not actions of two sides that are pushing for peace.”

  • News

    Link to the source article from BBC Music ‘hot spots’ planned through new £20m academy (2025)

    A major entertainment centre is fundraising to invest £20m into a new academy to develop the next generation of musicians.

    The Glasshouse in Gateshead is aiming to support young musicians throughout their education and help them build a career in music.

    Over the next two years, the academy will open four “music learning hot spots” in Middlesbrough, Carlisle, Sunderland and Kendal.

    The organisation said the scheme had been designed to ensure young musicians could take their next step in developing their talent, whether that be picking up an instrument for the first time or pursuing a career.

    Glasshouse CEO Abigail Pogson said the centre, previously called The Sage, had worked for the last 20 years to be a place people of all ages could make and experience music.

    She said: “The Glasshouse Academy builds on this foundation by opening up even more opportunities for young people and ensuring the North East remains a thriving centre for music learning and professional development.”

    The Glasshouse International Centre for Music

    Later this year, the music centre will launch a £20m fundraising campaign, with the aim of raising £1m each year to fund the academy.

    It has already received £2m from grant distributor The Foyle Foundation which will be invested over the next two decades.

    Over the next two years, as well as creating the four learning hot spots, The Glasshouse intends to double the number of places available to young people wishing to learn music and expand its financial support to help people buy instruments.

  • Digital media & Society Blog 1

    : Reflect on whether social media is good or bad for users’ well-being. Use examples that reference the design of platforms, their business models, and the type of practices and content they host

    out

  • Easy Jet sues band Easy Life

    03/08/2023

    A band say they are being forced to change their name by the brand owners of airline easyJet, who have started legal action against them.

    https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/13075/production/_131314977_easylife.jpg.webp

    Easy life said the easyGroup was suing them because their name was too similar.

    EasyGroup said it would be “unfair” to let the band use the “easy” brand name without royalty payments.

    “We’ve worked hard to establish our brand. I’m certain in no way have we ever affected their business,” the band said.

    “Although we find this whole situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation.”

    Documents filed with the High Court featured a poster for the band’s tour

    In its claim lodged with the High Court, easyGroup said the band had promoted their Life’s a beach tour, in 2021 and 2022, with a poster showing a plane in the style of easyJet’s orange livery but substituting the airline’s name with its own.

    The company also said the band had produced T-shirts bearing their name in the firm’s branded style and their website infringed its trademark with its similarity to easyJet branding.

    The document stated:

    “By wrongly creating a link with the claimant, the defendant benefits from an association with that positive view and vast brand recognition, regardless of whether the link was intended to be provocative or humorous.”

    It said the band was : “riding on the coat tails of the valuable reputation” of the company’s brand, adding it was “not presently able to estimate the financial value of this claim, but considers that it will be substantial”.

    The easyGroup has previously taken legal action against a number of companies over the use of the “easy” brand.

    In 2008, a Northampton-based restaurant changed their name from easyCurry, external under the threat of legal action.

    In 2018, The Guardian reported, external the company took legal action against Netflix over its comedy series Easy, claiming its use of the name breaches its European trademarks.

  • The Birth of Woolly Mouse, Can It Help Reviving Mammoths?

    this news is from BBC science and environment by Pallab Ghosh

    4 March 2025

    Genetically engineered woolly mice could one day help populate the Arctic with hairy, genetically modified elephants and help stop the planet warming.

    image from BBC ‘Woolly mice designed to engineer mammoth-like elephants’ (202

    Those are the startling claims being made by a US company that said on Tuesday it had created mice with “mammoth-like traits”. Colossal Biosciences’ eventual goal is to engineer mammoth-like creatures that could help stop arctic permafrost from melting.

    Criticism has flooded in, including that engineering mammoth-like creatures is a big stretch from making mice hairier, as well as being unethical, and that the whole project is a publicity stunt.

    Colossal Biosciences says that the experiments with hairy mice was a step towards genetically modifying elephants to be hairy and better able to withstand the cold.

    Quine Wikimedia, ‘Woolly mammoth model Royal BC Museum in Victoria’ (2018)

    Its stated goal is to create herds of what it calls mammoth-like creatures to live in the arctic tundra. The company says the creatures’ grazing habits would encourage grasslands to flourish and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being released from melting permafrost. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which is one of the main drivers of global warming. But critics say there are significant scientific challenges to overcome before these changes in mice can be tried out on elephants.

    “We are on track to have the first cold adapted elephant by 2028 and that would mean having the first embryos by the end of 2026,” – Colossal’s co-founder and CEO, Ben Lam

  • Global warming Effect

    What is Climate Change?

    Climate change is shifts in the earth’s climate driven by human activities, mainly greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning fossil fuels. Global temperatures are slated to rise by at least 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, but we already live the devastating impacts of global warming.

    As the planet warms, extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts become more frequent and intense. Unfortunately, those who have contributed the least to climate change are affected the most. Without immediate action, the climate crisis could lead to widespread poverty, hunger and migration.

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