Author: kumbhorg

The US ISM Manufacturing PMI is expected to improve to 49 in August, still indicating contraction in the sector.Investors will pay attention to the ISM Prices index and the Employment index. EUR/USD keeps grinding north, with caution ahead of first-tier releases. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is scheduled to release the August Manufacturing Purchasing Index this Tuesday. The index is a trusted measure of the health of the United States (US) manufacturing sector, closely followed by market players. The index, based on a survey of companies around the US, revolves around the 50 threshold. A reading above the level…

No artist became a Renais­sance mas­ter through a sin­gle piece of work, though now, half a mil­len­ni­um lat­er, that may be how most of us iden­ti­fy them. Leonar­do? Painter of the Mona Lisa. Michelan­ge­lo? Painter of the Sis­tine Chapel ceil­ing (or, per­haps, the sculp­tor of the most famous David, depend­ing on your medi­um of choice). Raphael? Painter of The School of Athens, as recent­ly fea­tured here on Open Cul­ture. Raphael paint­ed that mas­ter­work in Vat­i­can City’s Apos­tolic Palace between the years 1509 and 1511, when he was in his mid-twen­ties. Under­stand­ing how he could have attained that lev­el of skill by…

The 2025 US Open is here, and so are the celebrities!The iconic tennis tournament has returned to Flushing Meadows in New York once again, bringing with it a galaxy of stars soaking up the action from the stands.Here’s everyone we’ve spotted so far, from Olivia Munn and John Mulaney to Jeff Goldblum, Fran Drescher and Christie Brinkley.

Since 2015, with 2020 skipped on account of COVID, I’ve been honored to participate in the Biennale College panel. Every year, after going through over a thousand proposals, the College awards 250,000 Euros to, in this year’s case, four filmmakers. Or eight, rather—directors and their producing partners. After workshopping in Venice for a spell, they are sent out to deliver finished films to the festival ten months hence. The program has always presented films with strong perspectives, individual voices that aren’t always well-presented by the mainstream, etcetera. I remember one of the first College films I saw, Anna Rose Holmer’s…

British satirist and cultural commentator Konstantin Kisin — author of An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West (2022) — recently shared a debate clip from Doha, Qatar, in which he made a simple observation: Slavery has existed in every human society and across the whole of human history.  It’s a statement so uncontroversial it should have, at most, drawn some polite nods. Instead, it provoked gasps, giggles, boos, and tut-tuts from the hostile audience (see below). https://twitter.com/KonstantinKisin/status/1951244705884148170 This reaction reflects a troubling trend in modern discourse. Rather than seriously engaging with arguments that challenge their preconceived ideas, many people have…

Source: FY2025 Annual Report of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd

Legendary Indian batter Rahul Dravid decided to step down as the head coach of Rajasthan Royals (RR), which came as a surprise to many. Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara is likely to take charge of the role, while wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson is set to continue as captain despite trade rumors. Rahul Dravid and Rajasthan Royals endured a disappointing IPL 2025 campaign, managing only four wins in 14 matches to finish ninth in the table. The former India coach had joined the franchise after guiding the national team to the 2024 T20 World Cup title, but ended his contract after…

Filip Gustavsson has a year left on his contract. Will the Minnesota Wild look to extend him? What about Jesper Wallstedt? Worst Seats in the House Podcast: Michael Russo and Anthony LaPanta talk about the Minnesota Wild and their goaltending. Filip Gustavsson has a year left on his contract. Do they sign him to an extension? What about Jesper Wallstedt, and where would that leave him? ** NHLRumors.com transcription Russo: “You know, I haven’t talked to you since I sat down with Filip Gustafsson in, in, in Milan the other day. But, you know, I talked to him a lot…

US President Donald Trump says India has offered to cut its tariffs “to nothing” even as he called the current trade stalemate with the country “a totally one sided disaster”. US tariffs of 50% on goods from India – which includes 25% penalty for Delhi’s refusal to stop buying oil from Russia – took effect last week.India has not responded to Trump’s latest comment but such war of words over Russian oil has caused Delhi-Washington ties to hit an all-time low. Trump’s comment coincides with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin where…

Bitcoin-Safe, an open-source Bitcoin savings wallet, is now available, designed for families, individuals, and companies seeking secure, long-term Bitcoin storage. Focused on multisig security and requiring hardware wallets for mainnet operations, it distinguishes itself from other desktop wallets like Electrum and Sparrow. Supported by a one-year OpenSats grant awarded in March 2025, Bitcoin-Safe combines robust security with a redesigned user interface in its latest version, 1.5.0, released on September 1, 2025. Development and OpenSats Support Developed for over two and a half years by Andreas Griffin, Bitcoin-Safe aims to simplify multisig setups and reduce reliance on Electrum servers. “I started…