How technocracy has become our reality
As tech billionaires infiltrate the White House, the question looms, “Who really rules us, the government or Silicon Valley?” This film examines the influence and ideology of technocrats over the last century, and asks whether they pose a threat to democracy. Contributors: Gil Duran – Tech journalistSiva Vaidhyanathan – Professor of Media Studies, University of VirginiaPayal Arora – Digital anthropologistCori Crider – Senior Fellow, Open Markets and the Future of Tech Institute Adblock test (Why?)
Have scientists discovered a new colour called ‘olo’?
A team of scientists claims to have discovered a new colour that humans cannot see without the help of technology. The researchers based in the United States said they were able to “experience” the colour, which they named “olo”, by firing laser pulses into their eyes using a device named after the Wizard of Oz. Olo cannot be seen with the naked eye, but the five people who have seen it describe it as being similar to teal. What has the study found? Professors from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Washington School of Medicine published an article in the journal, Science Advances, on April 18 in which they put forth their discovery of a hue beyond the gamut of human vision. They explained that they had devised a technique called Oz, which can “trick” the human eye into seeing olo. The technique is named after the Wizard of Oz. In the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, Frank Baum wrote about a man who uses tricks to fool the residents of the fictional land of Oz into thinking he’s a wizard. For instance, it is believed that the Emerald City, the capital of Oz, is so bright and vibrant that visitors have to wear special glasses to protect their eyes. The glasses are one of the wizard’s tricks, since they make the city appear greener and grander. Advertisement How do humans perceive colour? The human eye perceives colour via three types of photoreceptor or “cone cells” in the retina. S cones pick up shorter, blue wavelengths of light; M cones detect medium, green wavelengths; and L cones detect longer, red wavelengths. “The signals from these cones are then sent through a complex series of cells in the retina that act to clean up and integrate the signal before passing it down the optic nerve through parts of the brain,” Francis Windram, a research associate at the department of life sciences at Imperial College London, told Al Jazeera. The part of the brain that the visual information is passed to is the visual cortex. A doctor demonstrates a model of the human eye [Shutterstock] How did scientists find the ‘new’ colour? In normal vision, the function of M cones overlaps with the neighbouring S and L cones, so any light that stimulates M cones also activates the other two cones. The M cones don’t function alone. “There’s no wavelength in the world that can stimulate only the M cone,” Ren Ng, a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley, explained in an article published on its website. “I began wondering what it would look like if you could just stimulate all the M cone cells. Would it be like the greenest green you’ve ever seen?” So Ng teamed up with Austin Roorda, one of the creators of the Oz technology and a professor of optometry and vision science at UC Berkeley. Oz, which Roorda described as “a microscope for looking at the retina”, uses tiny microdoses of laser light to target individual photoreceptors in the eye. The equipment, which must be highly stabilised during use, is already being used to study eye disease. Advertisement The work using Oz began in 2018 by James Carl Fong, a doctoral student in electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. Hannah Doyle, another doctoral student at Berkeley, ran the experiments through which human subjects were able to see the new colour, olo. Is olo really a new colour? The shade of olo has always existed, it just falls beyond the spectrum of shades visible to the human eye. There are other such shades that we cannot see. Hence, olo is not a new colour that has come into existence, from a physical or scientific perspective. However, “from a sociolinguistic perspective, if people give new names to colours which previously were indistinguishable thanks to this technology, then maybe! It all depends on how you say it,” Windram said. A palette shows some of the colours humans can normally see [Shutterstock] How many people have seen olo? Five people have seen the “new” colour – four men and one woman. All had normal colour vision. Three of the subjects, including Roorda and Ng, are the co-authors of the research paper while the other two are members of the participating lab at the University of Washington and were unaware of the purpose of the study before they took part. What does olo look like? Those who have seen olo describe it as a teal or green-blue colour – but one they had never seen before. In the article by UC Berkeley, it is described as a “blue-green colour of unparalleled saturation”. “It was like a profoundly saturated teal … the most saturated natural colour was just pale by comparison,” Roorda said. Advertisement “I wasn’t a subject for this paper, but I’ve seen olo since, and it’s very striking. You know you’re looking at something very blue-green,” Doyle said. The researchers said an image of a teal square is the closest colour match to olo. However, this square is not an olo-coloured square. The naked human eye simply cannot see the shade. “We’re not going to see olo on any smartphone displays or any TVs any time soon. And this is very, very far beyond VR headset technology,” Ng said, according to a report in the UK’s Guardian newspaper. What if some colors are invisible not because they’re rare, but because we physically can’t see them? UC Berkeley scientists discovered Olo – a hue that can’t be rendered, only experienced. Olo may never join the Pantone Color System… or will it?https://t.co/sBRGVhw85g pic.twitter.com/rxmbutd7y2 — PANTONE (@pantone) April 23, 2025 Could this technology help people with colour blindness? Berkeley researchers are exploring whether the Oz technology could help people with colour blindness. Windram said success would depend on the cause of colourblindness in individuals. Deuteranomaly, which causes decreased sensitivity to green light, is the most common form of colour blindness. “In
Iran, US resume talks in Oman to hammer out deal on nuclear programme
Negotiations expected to centre on uranium enrichment begin in Oman as Trump expresses cautious optimism. Iran and the United States have opened a third round of talks in Oman aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear activities, with discussions expected to centre on uranium enrichment. Iranian state television confirmed the negotiations were under way in Muscat on Saturday, though neither Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi nor US envoy Steve Witkoff disclosed any details on the talks they will lead. The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on the Islamic republic for decades. Iran, for its part, has signalled it is eager to get sanctions relief as its economy continues to suffer. US President Donald Trump was confident of clinching a new agreement that would block Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb. Speaking on board Air Force One, en route to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, Trump expressed cautious optimism. “The Iran situation is coming out very well,” he said. “We have had a lot of talks with them and I think we are going to have a deal. I would much rather have a deal than the other alternative. That would be good for humanity.” Advertisement But Trump repeated threats stressing that military options remained on the table if diplomacy failed, saying: “There are some people that want to make a different kind of a deal – a much nastier deal – and I don’t want that to happen to Iran if we can avoid it.” Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told state TV that the country’s defence and missile programmes were not being discussed during the negotiations in Oman. “The question of defence capacities and the country’s missiles is not [on the agenda] and has not been raised in the indirect talks with the United States,” Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday. The talks come a week after a second round of negotiations in Rome were described by both sides as constructive. Tensions have remained high since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018, prompting a series of escalations. Iran has since abandoned all limits on its nuclear programme, and enriches uranium to up to 60 percent purity – near weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its programme is for peaceful civilian purposes. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr. But Tehran says ending its enrichment programme or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Attempt to grope breasts is ‘aggravated sex assault’ but ‘not rape,’ says Calcutta High Court
The trial court had found the accused guilty of both “aggravated sexual assault” and “attempt to rape,” handing him 12 years of rigorous imprisonment.
2028 auditions for Democratic presidential nomination kick off as blue-state governor visits key early state
It’s 2025, but it’s starting to feel a little bit like 2028 in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential primary in the race for the White House. That’s because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the billionaire two-term Democrat from the solidly blue Midwestern state, is coming to New Hampshire this weekend to headline the state party’s largest annual fundraising gala. Pritzker, who has become one of his party’s most vocal critics of the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump during the first three months of his second tour in the White House, is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination. And trips to New Hampshire — which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election. HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 “We’ve got to be ready for the fight,” Pritzker said when asked by Fox News Digital what his message will be when he delivers the keynote address at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club dinner. The governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, argued that the nation is “in a constitutional crisis” and that “we have too many people who are ill affected by the policies of the Trump administration.” “This is the moment for people to stand up and fight,” he added. Pritzker, 60, is the first potential Democratic presidential hopeful to visit New Hampshire, or any other early primary state, since Democrats lost the White House and their Senate majority and failed to retake the House in November. And Trump and Republicans down-ballot made gains with key parts of the Democrats’ base, including with Black, Hispanic and younger voters. HEATING UP: PRESEASON MOVES IN 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE GETTING UNDERWAY In the wake of those setbacks, Democrats have experienced increased intra-party tensions with an angry and energized base itching to fight back against Trump. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats, with many in the party’s base upset that leaders haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. It’s also led to reflection about what the Democratic Party stands for and its direction moving forward amid flagging favorable ratings in national polling. Two-term California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another high-profile Democrat who likely also has national ambitions in 2028, said earlier this week in an interview with “The Hill” that he wasn’t sure what the party truly represents. “I don’t know what the party is,” Newsom said. “I’m still struggling with that.” Asked if he’s also struggling, Pritzker responded, “I’ve been clear my whole life. The Democratic Party stands up for working people. Stands up for working families. We’re the party of civil rights. We’re the party of human rights. No doubt about that, in my mind.” Pritzker, who is not prevented by term limits from running for re-election in 2026, has yet to say if he’ll make a bid for a third term steering Illinois. But the clock is ticking, with the filing period opening up later this year and the state’s primary just 11 months away. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING AND OPINION ON JB PRITZKER “Given the circumstances of getting on the ballot for people, I would need to make a decision and announce it by, you know, by latest July,” Pritzker said when asked about his timetable for making a decision. But it’s a possible presidential run by Pritzker that is grabbing headlines. Chicagoan Bill Daley, who served as former President Bill Clinton’s commerce secretary and former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, told The Wall Street Journal last week that “there is no doubt that he [Pritzker] is going to run.” Pritzker, asked about Daley’s prediction, said, “I’d guess I’d remind you that he didn’t support me when I ran for governor the first time… I don’t know where he gets his information.” And on the possibility of launching a national campaign in the 2028 election cycle, Pritzker said, “All I can tell you is, I’m focused on the question of whether I will run for re-election as governor, and on defeating the policies of Donald Trump.” DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR GETS ULTIMATUM: STAY NEUTRAL IN PRIMARIES OR STEP DOWN The governor is no stranger to New Hampshire. He headlined the 2022 New Hampshire Democratic Party convention, and he returned last September to campaign on behalf of then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee in July. Pritzker made multiple stops, including addressing union members at the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast. Pritzker was among those vetted by the Harris presidential campaign as a possible running mate. The governor, who led a successful effort to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was also among the potential 2028 White House contenders to speak during the convention week at the New Hampshire Democratic Party delegation’s daily breakfasts. Veteran New Hampshire-based Democratic consultant Jim Demers noted that “for many New Hampshire Democrats, his [Pritzker’s] visit is an early audition for 2028.” “It comes at a time when voters are really looking for leadership, someone who will challenge what Donald Trump is doing. So, what he says will be weighed very heavily,” he added. Demers, pointing to Pritzker’s handful of trips to the Granite State over the past couple of years, said that “every time he has visited with New Hampshire voters, he has delivered a message that has resonated very well.” Neil Levesque, the longtime director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, said that “Pritzker is coming into a highly political state at an opportune time because of how fired up
Mumbai: One woman dead, six suffer from suffocation after fire breaks out in Andheri apartment
A civic official said one of the residents, Abhina Sanjanwala, died due to suffocation, and doctors declared her dead at Kokilaben Hospital. He said other affected persons, including a 10-day-old infant and a three-year-old child, were rushed to the hospital.
J-K: Anantnag Police intensifies anti-terror operations following Pahalgam attack
As part of these operations, numerous raids were conducted at various locations throughout the district. Day and night search operations are underway with heightened vigilance.
Houses of 5 terrorists across Jammu and Kashmir demolished days after Pahalgam terror attack
The demolitions were carried out in Shopian, Kulgam, and Pulwama districts. A day before, houses belonging to two terrorists involved in the Pahalgam massacre were destroyed in separate blasts.
India shares evidence of Pakistan link in Pahalgam terror attack with foreign govts: Report
Officials said the information came from a mix of technical intelligence, credible eyewitness accounts, and inputs from intelligence agencies.
Kennedy Center cancels LGBTQ+ Pride events to align with new priorities after Trump fired center’s leadership
The Kennedy Center has canceled a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ people for the World Pride festival in Washington, D.C., amid a change in focus and the Trump administration firing the center’s leadership. Multiple artists and producers involved in the center’s Tapestry of Pride schedule said their events had been quietly canceled or transferred to other venues. The Tapestry of Pride was planned for June 5 to 8 before the cancellation. Washington’s Capital Pride Alliance disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center in response to the canceled events. “We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate,” the alliance’s deputy director June Crenshaw told The Associated Press. “We are finding another path to the celebration … but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing.” TRUMP FIRES KENNEDY CENTER BOARD MEMBERS CITING DRAG SHOWS, APPOINTS HIMSELF CHAIRMAN The Kennedy Center’s website still has a section for Tapestry of Pride with a general description and a link to the World Pride site. No other information is provided on the website. The cancellations come in the wake of massive changes at the Kennedy Center, including President Donald Trump firing both the president and chairman in early February. Trump replaced most of the board with loyalists, who subsequently elected him the new chairman of the institution. The World Pride event is held every two years and this year’s event runs from May 17 through June 8 with performances and celebrations planned across the nation’s capital. But concerns arose about what kind of reception attendees will receive due to Trump administration policies targeting transgender people and comments about Kennedy Center drag performances. “I know that D.C. as a community will be very excited to be hosting World Pride, but I know the community is a little bit different than the government,” said Michael Roest, founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra, which had its June 5 performance at the Kennedy Center canceled just days after Trump’s took control of the institution. Roest told The Associated Press he was in the final stages of planning the performance at the center. He was waiting on a final contract when Trump revealed on Feb. 7 the leadership changes and his plans to amend the institution’s programming. The center then became unresponsive, he said. On Feb. 12, Roest said he received a one-sentence email from a Kennedy Center staffer saying that they “are no longer able to advance your contract at this time.” “They went from very eager to host to nothing,” he told The Associated Press. “We have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center, but that’s not going to stop us.” After the cancellation, Roest said he was able to move the International Pride Orchestra performance to the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. Roest said he was never given an explanation for why the performance was canceled so late in the planning stages. He said his orchestra would no longer consider performing at the Kennedy Center and that most queer artists would likely make the same choice. “There would need to be a very, very public statement of inclusivity from the administration, from that board, for us to consider that,” he said. “Otherwise it is a hostile performance space.” Crenshaw said some other events, including a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, would be transferred to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown. SEATTLE PRIDE FACES BUDGET SHORTFALL AS CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS DWINDLE AMID ANTI-DEI SHIFT Monica Alford, a veteran arts and culture journalist and event planner, was set to organize an event on June 8 as part of Tapestry of Pride, but said she also experienced an abrupt end to communication within days of Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center. Alford has a long history with the Kennedy Center and organized the first-ever drag brunch on its rooftop last year. She said she viewed the institution as her “home base” and “a safe space for the queer community.” She also said she was disappointed to lose the partnership she had with the Kennedy Center. “We’re doing our community a disservice — not just the queer community but the entire community,” she told The Associated Press. She said she was still finalizing the details of her event, which she said was “meant to be family-friendly, just like the drag brunch was family-friendly and classy and sophisticated.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.