Category Archives: Sealand

DUBLIN Gov. Phil Murphy launched the first leg of his economic development-focused trip to Ireland today with two cultural visits, one to the library of Trinity College Dublin and another to the Guinness Storehouse.

The governors day will conclude at a private dinner with a delegation from the economic development organization Choose NJ; the main announcements and meetings of Murphys three-day visit will follow in the coming two days.

Upon landing in Dublin after spending three days in France, Murphy met with Trinity College Provost and President Linda Doyle, who last year became the universitys first female leader in its 430-year history. Murphy, Doyle, and an assemblage of Murphy staff members and Choose NJ representatives viewed the colleges library and the Book of Kells, a famed 8th century illuminated manuscript.

From there, the delegation traveled to the Guinness Gravity Bar, where Murphy drank a pint of beer emblazoned with the New Jersey state seal and poured a pint of his own with First Lady Tammy Murphy. (Along with St. Patricks Cathedral, the Guinness Storehouse and Trinity College are considered two of Dublins main visitor attractions.)

Murphy made no announcements or remarks during the brief itinerary. Tomorrow, the governor a former U.S. Ambassador to Germany will meet with a number of diplomatic and business leaders, and on Tuesday he will travel to Cork, where his own Irish ancestry lies.

Murphys visit is the latest in a long line of gubernatorial envoys to countries that have strong economic and ethnic ties to New Jersey. In his first term, Murphy took a trip to India; his predecessor, former Gov. Chris Christie, did the same in Israel in 2012.

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Murphy kicks off Ireland trip with cultural visits to Trinity College, Guinness Storehouse - New Jersey Globe | New Jersey Politics

On April 4, WBEZ, Chicagos NPR-affiliate, published an in-depth investigation into allegations that a company led by a politically connected lobbyist bilked Illinois taxpayers out of millions of dollars through a controversial state program that allows private companies to buy state debt.

The news outlets story, reported by Dan Mihalopoulos and Dave McKinney, explores accusations against the company, Vendor Assistance Program, in a newly unsealed whistleblower lawsuit that claims the state has been victimized by fraud.

But the investigation also draws heavily from court records Reporters Committee attorneys, along with attorneys at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP, helped WBEZ unseal two years ago stemming from an earlier lawsuit filed by VAP investors. Those records revealed new information concerning the companys finances and depositions of the CEO about the companys campaign contributions to Chicago politicians.

WBEZ used all of the unsealed court records to shine a spotlight on the Illinois debt program as state officials consider bringing it to a close. To learn more about WBEZs investigation, we recently spoke to Mihalopoulos about the origins of the story, how RCFP attorneys helped and the significance of the records WBEZ ultimately obtained through litigation.

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

Theres been a lot of controversy about this program in Illinois, a state that has a lot of financial problems. [The state] had billions and billions of dollars in unpaid bills to state vendors, and others that were owed money by the state. And so [state officials] came up with a program about 10 years ago where private companies would be approved to pay the bills and then those companies would later collect the late fee.

And this became an issue originally in a significant way during the 2019 race for mayor of Chicago. There was one candidate, who was the city clerk at the time, who had gotten a lot of campaign contributions from the people involved in this program. Also, one of the co-founders of VAP, the biggest player in the in the state program, was very close to a member of the Chicago City Council, who has since become ensnared in a corruption scandal.

So we were looking at this program, both because its part of the states financial problems and also because of the connections between people involved in the company and the mayoral candidate. In the course of doing reporting on this company in this program, we learned about a lawsuit involving investors in the program in Philadelphia.

So I was looking into this lawsuit in Philadelphia, between the investors in this company that has been paid hundreds of millions of dollars by the state for its involvement in the program. In the course of looking at these documents on the federal electronic court record system called PACER, we realized that a number of documents were under seal, and that some of them could be unsealed if we had somebody go into court on our behalf in Philadelphia.

I contacted our Freedom of Information Act lawyer, Matt Topic, and I explained the situation to him, and he referred me to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. [RCFP attorneys] basically asked me to explain this situation and why were interested in this. It was a very happy day when they told me that they would be taking our case, and that they would be entering an appearance on our behalf and filing a motion to intervene.

There was opposition. The parties involved argued that we misrepresented the nature of the program. The parties in the case, who didnt want the records unsealed, said it was confidential, proprietary business information.

Our lawyers at RCFP, and those who worked with them in Philadelphia, argued very effectively about the public interest in the matter. They also emphasized that were a news organization, and were trying to look out for the interests of the public in Illinois, particularly as were public media. It was a really, really good job that was done by the lawyers that represented us in this case. Very quickly, within a matter of a few months, we prevailed in court the judge in the case sided with us and ordered the release of those documents.

Well, we got a lot of things that we detailed in the story that we just published. As you can see from the story, this company, and this program continues to be very controversial in Illinois.

It was very interesting to get basically two different kinds of documents unsealed. One were internal audits of the company thats involved in the state program. Those records showed not only what theyre getting paid by the state, which is a matter of public record, but it showed their expenses, and ultimately what their net income was. In 2017, it was something on the order of $23 million.

The second thing that we got out of this was a number of excerpts from depositions of the CEO of the company and other people who were involved in the company. We learned from these depositions the questioning that they faced about those campaign contributions from 2019 to the mayoral candidate, which she had to return to the donors after our stories in 2019. We also learned about a number of other people, Republicans as well as Democrats, who were working for the company.

Essentially, we would say that we found out a lot more about the financial aspects of this company thats involved in a big state program, and we found out a lot about the political connections of that company. And all of that was thanks to the efforts of RCFP, and their successful intervention on our behalf in that lawsuit to get those federal court documents unsealed.

I really, really appreciate what RCFP did. And I think [Reporters Committee attorneys] Josh [Moore] and Katie [Townsend], and everyone involved, did an excellent job of digesting and simplifying what could be a very complicated matter. It was a lot of work, obviously, by a lot of people. And were deeply, deeply appreciative of what RCFP did here and what they do, in general, on behalf of journalists and the democratic societies that we serve.

The story needed some sort of news peg. That presented itself with a whistleblower lawsuit, which was filed quite a while ago, but was only unsealed itself recently. We always had in the back of our minds that we were looking for the opportunity to do a story with the details that were unearthed by the efforts of RCFP.

But honestly, we were looking for that news peg, which came when this whistleblower lawsuit was unsealed. Then we decided to do that all in one big story, rather than some smaller stories that we might have, you know, published sooner.

The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our monthly newsletter and following us on Twitter or Instagram.

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RCFP Q&A highlights findings of WBEZ investigation - Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Councillor Suzie Morley of the Mid Suffolk District Council breaks ground for the new freeport zone (Mid Suffolk District Council)

PublishedApr 25, 2022 3:02 PM by The Maritime Executive

The port of Felixstowe is set to get a new 150-acre freeport industrial zone, which will provide millions of square feet of floorspace for warehousing, distribution and manufacturing within easy reach of the port. It will be the largest business park in East Anglia, according to its developer, the government-owned corporation Gateway 14.

The groundbreaking for Gateway 14 was held on Monday. Some of the space is reserved for build-to-suit applications, and some will be pre-built by the development partners on a speculative basis. As it is classified as a freeport zone, it comes with a range of tax and customs duty advantages for commerce.

The new site is adjacent to the community of Stowmarket on the A14 highway, just 26 road miles fromt Felixstowe, the largest container port in the UK. The developer plans to construct it with sustainability in mind, and will incorporate EV charging, LED lighting, solar panels, smart energy systems and rainwater harvesting. Its buildings will be certified to high environmental standards, and extra attention will be paid to landscaping in order to support the local ecology and make the site more enjoyable for employees. The initial investment in basic site infrastructure comes to about $8 million.

Gateway 14 is one component of the larger Harwich/Felixstowe Freeport East expansion project. The initiative includes two more designated tax sites at Felixstowe and Harwich, plus another four special customs sites.

Freeport East is a transformational initiative providing a total of 275 hectares of development opportunities in an area around the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich. Freeport status will attract new and additional investment in world-leading infrastructure and innovation, driving the Green Industrial Revolution and providing extensive re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities," said George Kieffer, the acting chairman of the Freeport East project.

Felixstowe is the largest container port in the UK, and it has handled more than 100 million TEU since it transferred its first Sealand container over the quay in 1966. Today, it handles over four million TEU and 2,000 boxships per year.

The rest is here:

Port of Felixstowe Expands its Potential With New Freeport Zone - The Maritime Executive

The planets are set to align with the moon on Sunday morning providing an unusual sight for amateur astronomers. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus will align with the Moon before sunrise on Sunday morning.

The alignment some at the same time as the peak of the Lyrid this Sunday, April 24. Those hoping to view the phenomenon will have to rise in the early hours, as the window for the alignment starts around 5am.

At this point, the planets will have risen just above the horizon and loom there bright in the predawn sky. While visible to the naked eye, the planets will take on the appearance of stars in a rapidly brightening early morning sky.

Observers must look towards the southeast and use the Moon as a starting point. The Earth's natural satellite should have four bright dots lined up to its left.

The planets won't perfectly line up, as Saturn will loom slightly above the Moon, while Mars, Venus and Jupiter will appear lower.

Stargazers will have roughly an hour to watch before the planets are dimmed by sunrise around 6am. Not everyone will have a chance to watch, as weather forecasts suggest much of the country will see a cloudy Sunday morning.

The last time planets aligned in this fashion was two years ago, in 2020. And before then, astronomers spotted alignments in 2016 and 2005, with the former event seeing a parade of five with Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury appearing together.

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Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus to align with Moon on Sunday - Derbyshire Live

The US Army is poised to release the results of a trial into a universal vaccine that could beat all current and future strains of Covid-19. The vaccine has gone through animal testing and is now in human trials, with the results due to be published, according to the Independent.

Luke ONeill, professor of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, told Newstalk on Thursday: Theres a massive effort happening in the US at the moment, trying to make whats called a universal vaccine. Its a great goal to have.

He said the vaccine uses fragments of the virus attached to a protein molecule, adding: [It] went into monkeys and amazingly it protects against Sars, the original virus, SARS-CoV-2, Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omicron. It protected against all of those [viruses] in monkeys. Theyre in the middle of a phase one trial in humans any day now actually, were going to get the data from that phase one trial soon.

Thats very, very hopeful that [the] US Army-derived vaccine could be the first universal vaccine against Covid-19.

New variants of Covid have been responsible for recent peaks in infection, hospitalisation and death - with Omicron BA.2 now the dominant strain in the UK. This week the UK Health Security Agency said it had detected 1,300 cases of a new variant combining strains of Omicron - called XE.

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Universal vaccine to beat all Covid variants to be unveiled by US military - Derbyshire Live

The cost of parking at hospitals in England for NHS staff has increased by 90 a year, according to reports. The Mirror says doctors, nurses and other staff will now pay around 1,000 a year to park at work.

Paid parking for NHS staff in England was suspended during the pandemic but has now been reinstated. Staff do not pay to park in Wales or Scotland. Rachel Harrison, GMB National Officer, said: We think its an appalling decision. The timing of it is even more insulting, especially during the cost of living crisis.

The Government has no understanding of what the NHS is facing. Were two years through a pandemic which is not over. Staff are absolutely exhausted and this is just another thing to discourage them from staying in the NHS. Were seeing an exodus.

Nurse Iain Wilson, who pays 8 a day to park at a London hospital, said: We are still working flat-out for patients day and night. It feels spiteful to be made to pay money to the car park landlords again and if we dont pay correctly, get repeated fines and court threats.

In England, 72 trusts charge for parking down from 159 in 2019/20. NHS data shows the average hourly rates for parking rose from 19p an hour to 23p an extra 90.34 for nurses on four 12-hour shifts.

Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust raised 904,000 from staff parking in one year the most of any NHS Trust. Staff there pay up to 840 a year, but it can cost 1,300 at other trusts.

Dr John Puntis, co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public, said: This is an example of how the slow march of privatisation and the drive for hospitals to be more like businesses has made them less sensitive to needs of patients, visitors and staff.

The Department of Health and Social Care has said it cost 130m to cover the cost of parking over two years.

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Cost of hospital parking for NHS staff goes up 90 a year - Derbyshire Live

With so much traditional and societal pressure to consummate a marriage at the end of the wedding day, wedding planning experts at Hitched.co.uk recently spoke to couples to understand why they chose not to have sex on their wedding night.

This comes as new data shows 65% of newlyweds are bucking the trend , an increase in abstinence for newlyweds from 52% in 2016, where just over half of the women surveyed admitted the wedding night sex was not particularly exciting.

The reasons the couples gave for choosing to abstain vary from being too tired (or too drunk), to sharing a wall (or a room).

By the time Id taken out my hair, hed passed out

We didnt have sex on our wedding night. We stayed in The Grand, Brighton. Had an amazing bath together, shared a bottle of Champagne and then I went to put on my wedding lingerie... then decided that I needed to unpin my hair... by the time Id finished, hed passed out on the bed!

He was drunk

My ex (LOL) husband got so drunk on our wedding night that he was in bed by 8pm. I spent my night in my parents room. FML!

Honestly couldnt think of anything worse!

We absolutely did not have sex. By the time we went to bed (at 6am) Id been up for over 24 hours and the majority of that time was spent drinking. Honestly, I dont think either of us could think of anything worse. For some reason, the next day, a lot of people asked if we had sex and I had absolutely no shame in admitting we didnt and still have no regrets. Id have much rather had the amazing day and night we had, rather than feeling like we had to reign it in so we could have sex!

"We rolled around in money, eating pizza"

We stayed in a hotel and ordered pizza, but as it was 1am, I had to collect it from reception myself...in my wedding dress. I trotted back up to the room and sat on the floor in my tulle fishtail dress with the straps of my corset hanging around my chips and garlic sauce. My husband opened our cards; as people were so generous, we wanted to see all of the love (i.e. money!). So we threw it up in the air thinking of the amazing honeymoon we would have and rolled around in it eating pizza, not making love.

"Thank God for the sex toys"

My bridesmaids put rose petals, sexy lingerie and sex toys in the room we were staying at after the wedding. My husband was so drunk he passed out on the camp bed that was stored in the room, fully clothed including shoes, amongst said rose petals. I had to get another male family member to undress me on my own wedding night as I couldn't reach my buttons! Thank god for the sex toys.

"We shared a room with my parents"

We ended up sharing a room with my parents and sleeping on the floor as they jumped in the bed! Nobody checked us into our room and by the time we got back at 1am, there was only one room left in the pub we were staying in. We also had no bags with our stuff as these were in the best man's car. So I slept in a robe from the room and my husband in his whole wedding outfit! People still laugh about it now.

"The wedding lingerie didn't make it out of my bag"

I had got some wedding lingerie especially for it. My dress didn't need a bra but I made sure I got a fab bridal one. In the end I was so drunk/tired that I couldn't find it in my bag or be bothered to look. I slept in my 'Here Comes The Bride' pink heart shorts and t-shirt PJs and passed out on the gorgeous four-poster bed before my husband was out of the bathroom. No morning after sex either as we were absolutely starving and wanted to get down to breakfast without our guests.

Had too much fun to stay awake

We passed out around 3am after dancing/drinking all night - had far too much fun to stay up any longer! Wanted to stay out and enjoy the time with friends instead of retiring to bed at a sensible time.

Zoe Burke, editor of Hitched.co.uk said: "Theres just a lot of pressure to do the deed on the wedding night, but, after literal years of wedding planning, Im not surprised to hear that most couples cant be bothered to!

"Our latest National Wedding Survey showed that almost a quarter of newly married couples spent two whole years planning their big days, and unfortunately, a lot of the time the stress does not simply end with the final dance. A wedding should be filled with love, family, dancing, and good times - if after a whole day of that, you still have the energy to get it on, then fair play to you.

"Its super common for alcohol to affect how this part of the night goes.

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Reasons 65% of couples don't have sex on their wedding night - Derbyshire Live

Another direct container shipping service between Chattogram and two European ports is going to be introduced next month while initiatives are underway for launching direct services connecting a few more destinations in the European Union (EU).

Earlier in February, an Italian shipping company launched direct services between Chattogram and Italy, opening the door for transport of the country's export cargo directly to any destination in the EU avoiding transhipment ports.

Switzerland-based maritime logistics service provider Commodity Supplies AG has taken the initiative to launch the service.

Three of its chartered vessels will operate from Barcelona in Spain to Chattogram to the largest European Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Reliance Shipping and Logistics, the firm's Bangladeshi agent, applied to the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) chairman on Sunday to grant permission for running the direct liner shipping using ships MV Spica, MV Andromeda J and MV Music.

Reliance Shipping Chairman Mohammed Rashed hoped they would get the CPA's permission soon.

Once the permission is granted, they have a plan to launch the service in the third week of May, when one of the three ships will start from Barcelona for Chattogram, he said.

The country has long been suffering from a lack of direct shipping services to Europe, its biggest export destination, mainly due to limited access of large ships at Chattogram port.

Currently, exports-laden containers are first transported on small feeder vessels to transhipment ports, including the Port of Colombo, Port of Singapore, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang of Malaysia and some others in China.

The containers are then loaded onto bigger mother vessels to reach destinations in Europe, the US and Africa.

At present, the transhipment ports, particularly the Port of Colombo, are facing prolonged vessel congestion. It takes around 40 days to reach the country's export cargoes to destinations in the EU.

Rashed said once the new service is available, it would be possible to send export cargoes to Barcelona in 20 days to 22 days.

CPA Chairman M Shahjahan told The Daily Star that direct shipping services to destinations in the EU would always be welcomed and prioritised.

He said the permission would now be provided through official procedures.

Shahjahan also informed that within the next few months there would be more ships sailing directly from Chattogram to Europe and other destinations as more countries have already expressed keen interest in this regard.

Sources said the Port of Leixes of Portugal was in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with the CPA to enable direct shipping services while Slovakia had conveyed their interest.

Confirming it, the CPA chairman said the United Arab Emirates had also shown interest in this regard.

He hoped that these engagements would reduce export lead time and increase the country's export orders.

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New direct shipping service in the offing - The Daily Star

HAULED out of the ocean and thrown into the clutches of captivity at just two years old, orca Tilikum went on to become a notorious serial killer.

Over the course of 30 years in captivity, Tilikum killed three people, including two trainers, and a man who climbed into his tank naked after the park had closed.

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Experts believe the whale's endless years imprisoned in water parks rendered him "psychotic" from psychological and physical trauma - leading him to take three lives.

Former SeaWorld trainers have even claimed the whales were routinely drugged and deprived of food - driving them to self-harm.

Tilikum was torn away from his family in waters off the coast of Iceland in 1983 and put into a concrete holding tank at Hafnarfjrdur Marine Zoo near Reykjavk.

After months spent swimming in circles, the infamous 22.5ft orca was shipped off to Sealand of the Pacific in 1984 where he was housed with two older female killer whales - Haida II and Nootka IV.

Totally incompatible, the trio endured 14 hours a day crammed in a tiny 26ft-wide enclosed pool - with the females raking Tilikum with their teeth to assert dominance as a result of their matriarchal social structure.

Relentlessly abused by the orcas and suffering stomach ulcers, Tilikum was then isolated alone in a smaller medical pool in what was just the start of his traumatic life.

Within a decade of his capture, Tilikum's killing streak began.

In 1991, Tilikum - who weighed a colossal 5,700kg - was still cooped up at Sealand when a young part-time worker slipped and plunged into the pool.

Onlookers watched on in sheer terror as Tilikum and his two tankmates submerged marine biology student Keltie Byrne - ferociously dragging her around the pool and stopping her from surfacing.

In a brief moment of hope, the 21-year-old managed to reach the side and attempted to climb out as she gasped for air - but was quickly hauled back beneath the water by the orcas.

Staff frantically tried to throw her a life ring but she was unable to reach it as the whales treated her like a "plaything".

In a terrifying 10-minute ordeal, Keltie managed to reach the surface twice as her haunting screams echoed around the pool.

When she came up for the third time, she had tragically drowned.

Several hours passed before her body could even be recovered from the bloodied pool.

Steve Huxter, head of animal training at Sealand at the time, said: "They never had a plaything in the pool that was so interactive.

"They just got incredibly excited and stimulated."

Just 18 months later, Sealand closed its doors for good - flogging Tilikum and the two other orcas to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.

Eight years later, Tilikum struck again.

On the morning of July 6, 1999, horrified trainers found the body of a 27-year-old man over Tilikum's back.

Daniel Dukes had visited SeaWorld the day before and stayed after the park closed - somehow escaping the watching eyes of security.

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He entered Tilikum's tank unclothed and by the next morning had been mauled to death.

An autopsy revealed a catalogue of stomach-churning injuries, contusions and abrasions across his body.

Despite a number of cameras operating around and even inside the pool, SeaWorld maintained the chilling incident was not captured.

No drugs or alcohol were found in Dukes' system, and the autopsy concluded his cause of death as drowning.

In February 2010, Tilikum killed for the third and final time.

After enjoying the Dine with Shamu show at the attraction, panicked tourists then witnessed a nightmarish spectacle they could never have even dreamed of.

As part of the post-show routine, star trainer Dawn Brancheau lent over the tank's edge to rub Tilikum when his behaviour suddenly changed and he pulled her into the water by her ponytail.

Harrowing scenes saw Dawn shaken and thrown about as terrified guests were frantically ushered out by staff.

According to reports, the 40-year-old was scalped and had her arm bitten off during the attack.

Even when trapped and netted by SeaWorld workers, Tilikum still would not let go of Dawn's body - with her autopsy indicating death by drowning and blunt force trauma.

Dawn's shocking death made headlines around the world, calling into question just how ethical keeping whales in captivity is -with much speculation focused on Tilikum's treatment and life.

Many experts and former trainers believe Tilikum turned serial killer purely as a result of his traumatic time in captivity - with the landmark 2013 documentary Blackfish shining a light on longstanding concerns.

Ex-SeaWorld trainer Sam Berg told the documentary: There has not been a single incident of killer whales harming humans in the wild. In captivity, its happened more than 70 times.

Someone said if you put a human in a bathtub for 25 years theyd be psychotic too, and it began to fall into place. I wasnt training killer whales I was messing with their minds.

The reported cruel treatment of intelligent, sensitive whales even compelled trainers to turn into whistleblowers - including Jeffrey Ventre, who worked at the attraction from 1987 until 1995.

He claimed attacks on trainers were common because stress made the orcas hyper-aggressive - but many of the incidents weren't reported.

The orcas, he said, would grind their teeth or chew concrete out of boredom, causing dental damage, and "raking" - scratching each other with their teeth - was usual.

Speaking to The Sun Online in 2018, he said: There was a lot of self-mutilation. Jaw popping was regularly seen - it's a threat display between two orcas."

Jeffrey claims the whales were medicated daily for medical conditions - but also to control their behaviour.

The whales and dolphins were stressed and this caused stomach ulcers," he explained.

Someone said if you put a human in a bathtub for 25 years theyd be psychotic too, and it began to fall into place. I wasnt training killer whales I was messing with their minds.

"So they got meds for that. They also got chronic infections, so they got antibiotics. They were also sometimes aggressive or hard to control so they could be given Valium to calm their aggression.

All whales were getting vitamins packed in their fish. Several got daily antibiotics, including Tilikum, for chronic teeth infections.

Jeffrey - who now works as a medical doctor and specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation in Washington - claims trainers were forced to lie to the public about the whales, passing off injuries they sustained from captivity as normal.

One of those is dorsal fin collapse, where the dorsal fin leans to one side.

The reason this happens isn't totally known, but scientists have suggested it's due to stress and reduced activity.

Jeffrey explained: We were also given scripts for educational shows that were filled with errors that were actually public relations talking points.

"For example, when we spoke to kids we were told to tell them that killer whales live 25 to 30 years on average. This is not true.

"We also told the public that dorsal fin collapse was genetic or a fairly regular occurrence in the wild, which it isn't.

In the wild, killer whales live between 50 and 80 years. But in captivity, their life expectancy is around just 17 years.

Tilikum met his end in 2017 after facing serious health issues including a persistent and complicated bacterial lung infection.

His death came just a year after SeaWorld announced they were ending their breeding programme following years of campaigners railing against them.

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How psychotic SeaWorld orca Tilikum turned serial killer and mauled three people to death including his o... - The US Sun

Ive made no secret of my disdain for most store-bought hummus. Compared to even mediocre homemade versions, the supermarket stuff is usually too pasty and thick, and preservatives sometimes contribute sharp, off flavors.

There are exceptions, of course: The hummus that Washington, D.C.-based chain Little Sesame started selling at Whole Foods Markets is stellar. Full disclosure: The companys chefs contributed a recipe for it to my most recent cookbook. But for the most part, nothing compares to the hummus you can make quickly at home, even with canned chickpeas.

Another problem with store-bought hummus is the temperature: As chef Michael Solomonov writes in his cookbook Zahav, referring to the hummusiyas in Israel, Great hummus is never refrigerated. The best places make a big batch each morning and close the doors when it runs out, usually by mid-afternoon.

Refrigeration mutes the balanced flavors of perfect hummus and, perhaps worse, turns it stiff. But the commercial stuff requires refrigeration (as do leftovers of your homemade version). So the simplest way to improve any cold hummus is by taking the chill off: microwave it and/or whisk in little hot water (or aquafaba if youve got it) to loosen it up and return some of that silkiness to its texture.

Even better, you can bake it, as in this recipe from the U.K.-based Leon chain of fast-food restaurants. As novel as the idea might seem, its not new; chef Anna Sortun of Oleana and other restaurants outside Boston has been serving incredible warm buttered hummus her take on the traditional Turkish approach for many years.

She serves it with a cured meat called basturma, but this version cooks it under a blanket of harissa-coated cherry tomatoes and whole chickpeas, with pine nuts sprinkled on top for even more texture.

If youve never had warm hummus, this is a revelation. The tomatoes burst and add their juices to the mix while the hummus puffs up and gets a little crispy around the edges. Its absolutely stellar if youre using great homemade hummus, and its pretty darn good with the store-bought stuff, too. Its the best recipe I can think of if youre interested in dip for dinner, and it also makes great leftovers if you warm them up first.

Adapted from Leon Happy One-Pot Vegetarian by Rebecca Seal and Chantal Symons (Conran, 2022).

3 cups store-bought or homemade hummus

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas or 1 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoons store-bought or homemade harissa

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

teaspoon fine salt

teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons (1 ounce) pine nuts, toasted (may substitute slivered almonds)

Flatbreads, for serving

Position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Spoon the hummus into a 2-quart baking dish. Mix in half the chickpeas and smooth out the top.

In a bowl, toss the remaining chickpeas with the cherry tomatoes, harissa, oil, salt and pepper until everything is evenly coated. Pour the mixture on top of the hummus.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have burst and become soft and slightly burnished on top. Sprinkle over the pine nuts and serve warm with flatbreads.

Yield: 4 servings as a main, with pita or any other flatbread, or 8 as an appetizer dip

Make ahead: Homemade hummus can be prepared and refrigerated for up to 1 week before you add the other ingredients and bake it.

Storage notes: Refrigerate for up to 1 week. Rewarm before serving.

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The best thing to do with store-bought hummus: Bake it - The Spokesman Review