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● 04.15.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 15/04/2023: IBM Buys Ahana, pgAdmin 4 v7.0 Released

Posted in News Roundup at 8:38 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Linux Driver Patch Reveals L4 Cache For Intel 14th-Gen Meteor Lake Processors | HotHardware

• Graphics processors need a lot of memory bandwidth for good performance. This is why discrete GPUs have hot-clocked GDDR or HBM on massively-wide memory interfaces, but integrated graphics don’t have that luxury. Instead, they have to share a relatively-pokey (in terms of bandwidth) main memory interface with the CPU cores.

Applications

=> ↺ Arianna is a New Qt-Based eBook Reader for Linux

• When you feel ready to tackle that mountain of eBooks you bought but never read, give Arianna a try.

=> ↺ Return of the classic screensaver Flying Toasters • The Register

• If you’re old enough to remember After Dark, you might appreciate this: a new screensaver. Yes, in 2023. It was never really about saving screens.

• Screensavers are a simple tech for a bygone era. Now, of course, most of us just let our flatscreens go to sleep after a period of inactivity. But back when CRT hummed to CRT like mastodons bellowing across primeval swamps, they didn’t have a sleep mode, and you needed something to prevent the unchanging parts of your screen display “burning in,” where a faint ghost of the image is permanently visible, rendering a display either unpleasant or impossible to use. Don’t knock it – burn-in can still affect flatscreens today.

• If you did like screensavers, you can still have one. The sage of Netscape himself, Jamie Zawinski, or jwz as he’s often known online, still maintains XScreensaver after 31 years.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to Install FreeIPA Server on RHEL 8 | Rocky Linux 8 | AlmaLinux 8

• Are you looking for an easy guide on how to install FreeIPA server on Linux ? The step-by-step guide on this page will show how to install FreeIPA server on RHEL 8 , Rocky Linux 8 and AlmaLinux 8.

=> ↺ How to setup a WireGuard server on Ubuntu for remote login

• In this article, we will show you how to set up a WireGuard server on Ubuntu in order to use it for remote login. Introduction to WireGuard First of all, let’s first understand, what is WireGuard? WireGuard is a very simple and fast VPN tool with state-of-the-art encryption.

=> ↺ Using Smartmontools in Linux to check the health of your HDDs or SSDs

• In this article, we’ll discuss how to use Smartmontools in Linux to check the health of your HDDs or SSDs. We’ll explore the different tools that Smartmontools offers, along with practical examples and troubleshooting tips. Additionally, we’ll cover how to automate the drive monitoring process with Smartd in Linux.

=> ↺ Monitor Docker Swarm and Container metrics using Metricbeat

• Is it possible to monitor Docker Swarm and container metrics using Metricbeat? Yes, of course! Metricbeat provides a flexible and powerful way to monitor Docker environment, be it individual containers or Swarm services.

=> ↺ Simon Josefsson: Sigstore protects Apt archives: apt-verify & apt-sigstore

• Do you want your apt-get update to only ever use files whose hash checksum have been recorded in the globally immutable tamper-resistance ledger rekor provided by the Sigstore project? Well I thought you’d never ask, but now you can, thanks to my new projects apt-verify and apt-sigstore. I have not done proper stable releases yet, so this is work in progress. To try it out, adapt to the modern era of running random stuff from the Internet as root, and run the following commands. Use a container or virtual machine if you have trust issues.

=> ↺ How to Report Bugs in Ubuntu

• Ubuntu is one of the most widely used open-source operating systems in existence. Both individuals and enterprises use Ubuntu and it powers a lot of production servers.

• One way you can contribute to making Ubuntu better is by registering bugs that you encounter while using the system. That’s the beauty of open-source software, you can actively contribute to the software that you love. Here’s how to report bugs on Ubuntu.

=> ↺ Mastering the journalctl Command: A Comprehensive Guide

• System logs are a vital resource for administrators and developers looking to monitor system performance, troubleshoot issues, and understand the events taking place within the system. On this article, we learn about how on Linux systems, the journalctl command provides an effective way to access and manage these logs.

• The journalctl command is a utility that allows users to view and interact with systemd journal logs. These logs include information from various sources, such as the kernel, initrd, system services, applications, and systemd itself. The logs are stored in a binary format and can be queried efficiently using journalctl.

• The basic syntax of the journalctl command is as follows:

• journalctl [options…] [matches…]

• The most straightforward way to use journalctl is without any options. This will display all logged entries in chronological order:

• $ journalctl

• However, the output can be overwhelming, especially on systems with a long runtime. To make navigation easier, the output is automatically paginated using the less command. Use the Enter key to scroll line by line, or the Space key to scroll page by page. To exit the log output, press q on your keyboard.

=> ↺ How to Install FossBilling with Nginx on Debian 11

• FOSSBilling is free and open-source billing designed to be easy for clients and sellers. FOSSBilling is a fork of BoxBilling; it provides a great experience for clients with an intuitive interface and also supports multiple payment gateways.

=> ↺ How to Install Plex Media Server on Debian 12/11/10

• Plex Media Server is a powerful and versatile software solution that transforms your personal computer, NAS, or other compatible devices into a full-fledged home media center. Say goodbye to juggling multiple streaming platforms and devices, as Plex streamlines your digital content management and playback experience like never before.

=> ↺ How to Install Node.js on Debian 12/11/10

• Welcome to the world of Node.js, a powerful, open-source, and cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment that executes JavaScript code outside the confines of a web browser. Developed by Ryan Dahl in 2009, Node.js is built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine, enabling developers to create server-side applications using JavaScript.

=> ↺ How to Install Zoom on Debian 12/11/10

• Zoom is a highly popular and versatile video conferencing platform that has gained significant attention in recent years. It offers a wide range of features that cater to individuals, businesses, and educational institutions, making it a go-to choice for remote communication and collaboration.

=> ↺ How to Install FreeOffice on Debian 12/11/10

• If you’re a Debian user looking for a powerful, feature-rich, and user-friendly office suite, look no further than FreeOffice. This remarkable office suite has become increasingly popular among Linux users and offers a compelling alternative to other well-known options.

=> ↺ How to Install AnyDesk on Debian 12/11/10

• AnyDesk is a powerful and versatile remote desktop software that allows you to access and control remote computers securely and efficiently. Debian users may find AnyDesk particularly useful for various purposes, such as remote support, collaboration, or managing personal devices from anywhere.

=> ↺ How To Install Bottles on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Bottles on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Do you want to run Windows applications on your Linux system without any interference? Then you need Bottles!

=> ↺ How to install Jetty on Ubuntu 22.04

• Hello, friends. In this post, you will learn how to install Jetty on Ubuntu 22.04 Introduction According to the project website Jetty provides a web server and servlet container, additionally providing support for HTTP/2, WebSocket, OSGi, JMX, JNDI, JAAS and many other integrations.

=> ↺ Simple way to Convert WebP Images to PNG and JPG/JPEG in Linux

• Looking for a way to convert a WebP image to PNG or JPG/JPEG, then the dwebp and ffmpeg commands are the best options. Almost every website now accepts WebP images due to their low size, which reduces image size by 25 to 34% compared to JPGs without much compromising the image quality.

=> ↺ How to Install Microsoft Office on Linux

• Microsoft Office on Linux is possible. Here are three methods for getting Microsoft Office installed in a Linux environment.

=> ↺ How to easily manage chroot environments in Linux with Atoms

• Jack Wallen shows you a GUI that takes the complication out of creating and using chroot environments on Linux.

=> ↺ How to easily manage chroot environments in Linux with Atoms

• Jack Wallen walks you through the steps to managing chroot environments in Linux with Atoms.

=> ↺ A Step-by-Step Guide to Using a Specific TLS Version in Nginx

• Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a widely used cryptographic protocol designed to secure communications over a computer network. Nginx, a popular web server and reverse proxy server, relies on TLS to encrypt and secure data transmitted between clients and servers. As TLS evolves, new versions are released to address security vulnerabilities and improve performance.

=> ↺ Create and Manage Users in MongoDB: A Comprehensive Guide

• MongoDB is a popular open-source, NoSQL database that offers both scalability and flexibility when it comes to handling data. With its document-oriented approach, MongoDB has become a go-to solution for many developers looking for an alternative to traditional relational databases.

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ Deploying UnifiedPush on Linux

• I have previously written about how push notifications can be integrated on KDE Plasma Mobile and Desktop using the UnifiedPush standard. There are a few details still to work out though when looking at this from the wider Linux ecosystem perspective.

• Applications on Linux interface with UnifiedPush via a relatively simple D-Bus interface. You can register and unregister for push notifications and get signaled the reception of such a message, that’s basically it.

Distributions and Operating Systems

BSD

=> ↺ Double BSD birthday bash beckons • The Register

• New point releases of both the general-purpose Linux rival FreeBSD and the security-focused, traditional and rather minimalist OpenBSD have landed.

• FreeBSD 13.2 has arrived after a slightly longer release process than planned, which included a couple of additional release candidates, RC5 and RC6. Before you get too excited, though, this is only a point release, and while we’ve been testing it for a while at the new Vulture Towers outpost in the middle of the Irish Sea, FreeBSD 13.2 isn’t dramatically different from the preceding version, which we looked at nearly a year ago.

SUSE/OpenSUSE

Dominique Leuenberger ☛ openSUSE Tumbleweed – Review of the week 2023/15Dear Tumbleweed users and hackers,This week we have seen quite a low number of submit requests coming to Tumbleweed, which resulted in the snapshots being built and tested rather quickly and us thus managing to release 8 snapshots in the day (usually the Thursday snapshot is only published later on Friday evening, this week it was all built and tested before lunch). So the 8 snapshots are not something really special. The versioning for snapshots limits us to one snapshot per day after all (and I doubt anybody would ask for more than that).The snapshots covered in this review are 0406…0413 and contain these changes:Apache 2.4.57mutter 44.0 git snapshot (44 commits after 44.0: avoid some crashes on gnome-shell)KDE Frameworks 5.105.0Pipewire 0.3.68389-ds 2.3.2Mozilla Firefox 112.0Linux kernel 6.2.10

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ IBM acquires Ahana, joins the Presto Foundation

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Ubuntu Livepatch for HWE Linux kernels coming soon

• Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has announced that Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernels will receive updates via the Livepatch service, just like Long-Term Release (LTS) kernels. The first kernel to gain support will be Linux 6.2 which will ship with Ubuntu 23.04 Lunar Lobster next week before being made available as an HWE kernel in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS in July.

• For those not familiar with Livepatch, it’s a service available to customers with an Ubuntu Pro subscription. If you don’t have a subscription it can be enabled on five of your personal machines. With this enabled, you are able to get the latest kernel updates installed on your computer without having to reboot. Linux kernel updates are one of the very few packages that typically require a restart in Ubuntu but with Livepatch there’s no need to restart.

=> ↺ Canonical Bringing Livepatch Support to HWE Kernels

• As spotted by our friends at Neowin, Canonical announced Livepatch support for Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernels starting this summer. The first HWE kernel being covered as part of this support extension is Linux 6.2, which will be backported from the Ubuntu 23.04 release and pushed out to users of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

• Livepatch is a feature only available on long-term support (LTS) versions of Ubuntu for users with an active Ubuntu Pro subscription. When enabled, Livepatch allows users to install kernel updates (on eligible machines) without needing to reboot after.

• Extending the number of kernels covered by the feature is an important move, albeit one aimed at enterprise, server, and business customers. While being asked to reboot to finish applying kernel updates is common, it’s not something Ubuntu desktop users typically mind.

=> ↺ Canonical Simplifies Deployment of Cloud-Native Infrastructure

• Canonical has made available a virtual appliance for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud based on its lightweight MicroK8s distribution of Kubernetes along with a Charmed Operator for open source Kubeflow software running on that cloud platform to manage machine learning operations (MLOps) on Kubernetes clusters.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Using Pico:ed V2 board as a replacement for BBC Micro:bit

• We’ve received a sample of the Pico:ed V2 board developed by ELECFREAKS and will show how to use it as a replacement for the BBC micro:bit in a project using CircuitPython.

=> ↺ Raspberry PI Pico and e-paper (e-ink) Display

• Raspberry PI Pico e-paper (e-ink) displays are output devices that make cool your project results and help to save a lot of power.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Android 14 could allow users to block full-screen notifications from apps – PhoneArena

=> ↺ The Best Wellness Apps On Android For Meditation

=> ↺ Poll: Which version of Android is your phone currently on? | Android Central

=> ↺ 5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week – Android Apps Weekly

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Web Browsers/Web Servers

Mozilla

=> ↺ Firefox Nightly: Jam-packed with Updates – These Weeks in Firefox: Issue 135

Firefox Nightly: Dropping the Banner Hammer and More – These Weeks in Firefox: Issue 134HighlightsCookie Banner Handling can now be enabled in Nightly via about:preferences#privacy. This will enable the feature for both normal and private browsing. For more granular control you can use the cookiebanners.service.mode and cookiebanners.service.mode.privateBrowsing prefs. Supported modes are: 0: Disabled1: Reject all (this is what the checkbox in the preferences enables)2: Reject all or fall back to accept all

SaaS/Back End/Databases

=> ↺ pgAdmin 4 v7.0 Released

• The pgAdmin Development Team is pleased to announce pgAdmin 4 version 7.0. This release of pgAdmin 4 includes 43 bug fixes and new features. For more details please see the release notes.

• pgAdmin is the leading Open Source graphical management tool for PostgreSQL. For more information, please see the website.

• To upgrade on RHEL 8, Rocky Linux 8, Fedora 36, and Fedora 37 users have to manually remove the “python3-mod_wsgi” package. While removing the “python3-mod_wsgi” package, it removes all the dependencies, and pgadmin 4 is one of the dependencies.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ 20 Open-source and Free React UI Components Libraries

• React is an open-source JavaScript framework that is popular for building comprehensive and fully functional web applications. It is easy to use, reliable, and flexible, and has a vast community of developers. React has a thriving ecosystem of libraries, frameworks, tutorials, and open-source projects. It is the preferred choice for

=> ↺ Mike Blumenkrantz: Adventures In Linking

• As I mentioned a week or three ago, I deleted comments on the blog because (apparently) the widget was injecting ads. My b. I wish I could say the ad revenue was worth it, but it wasn’t.

=> ↺ Direct3D 12: Adventures in Shaderland

• Godot is about to get a Direct3D 12 rendering driver. This is a discussion on the exotic approaches taken to face some of the challenges posed in the area of shaders.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Gaining an Advantage in Roulette

• You can beat the game without a computer: [...]

Science

=> ↺ The Lyrids: A Shower of Lights for International Dark Sky Week 2023

• Each year, the Lyrid Meteor Shower is active in mid-late April when the Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1).

=> ↺ Europe’s JUICE space mission launches for Jupiter’s icy moons

• The European Space Agency’s JUICE mission to explore Jupiter’s icy, ocean-bearing moons will blasted off on Friday, a day after the first launch attempt was called off due to the threat of lightning.

Hardware

=> ↺ Understanding the Basics of Computer Hardware

• Computer hardware refers to the physical components that make up a computer system. These components work together to process data, execute instructions, and ultimately allow users to interact with and manipulate digital information.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ U-M, MSU, WSU partner with state to aid opioid abatement

• Michigan’s three largest public research universities, including U-M, will work together to offer local governments help in developing abatement strategies to address the ongoing opioid epidemic.

=> ↺ Bird Flu Sample from Chilean Man Showed Some Signs of Adaptation to Mammals

• These changes were unlikely to be enough to allow the virus to spread easily among humans, and the health risk to the public remains low, experts said.

=> ↺ This is how Ukraine has survived the war on its power grid.

=> ↺ U.S., Mexico and China trade accusations over fentanyl crisis

• As alarm over the fentanyl epidemic grows in the U.S., Republicans including Donald Trump are proposing military strikes against Mexican cartels, the Biden administration is urging Mexico and China to clamp down, and the leaders of those countries are making clear they see this as an entirely American problem.

=> ↺ Kansas lawmakers OK bill on live deliveries during abortions

• Kansas lawmakers have given final passage to a bill that could subject doctors to lawsuits or criminal charges if they’re accused of not providing enough care to infants born during certain kinds of abortion procedures. The Kansas House passed the bill 86-36 on Tuesday. The Kansas Senate approved it last week and the bill goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The legislation faces an uncertain fate. It applies to certain abortions and in circumstances when doctors induce labor to deliver a fetus that is expected to die within minutes or even seconds outside the womb.

=> ↺ Baltic pensioners do not feel very well

• In 2021, at EU level, 43% of people aged 65 and over living in cities reported that they had a good or very good health status; this was 2 percentage points (pp) higher than the national average for all people of this age group (41%), according to Eurostat data published April 13.

=> ↺ Federal Courts Battle Over the Abortion Pill

• Millions of women find that their access to health care hinges on two conflicting rulings, and is seemingly headed, once more, to the Supreme Court.

Proprietary

=> ↺ Microsoft Loses Two Halo Veterans In One Week

Linux Foundation

=> ↺ The Linux Foundation Announces Schedule for Embedded Open Source Summit

Security

=> ↺ Cyberspace Solarium Commission says space systems should be considered critical infrastructure

• The influential Cyberspace Solarium Commission is calling for space systems to be the 17th critical infrastructure sector.

=> ↺ Hackers who hit Western Digital are now demanding ransom for data

=> ↺ Southeastern University silent amid claims of data leak linked to network breach

• Since then, and as DataBreaches first reported on March 4, they have been less than transparent about what happened and the scope of what we know was a ransomware incident involving the BianLian ransomware gang. Has Southeastern ever even admitted that this was a ransomware attack?

=> ↺ Patient Advances Data Breach Class Action Against Lamoille Health

• Lamoille Health Partners Inc. must face a proposed class action alleging it negligently failed to protect the personal information of 60,000 people that was exposed in a data breach.

• Lamoille Health wasn’t entitled to immunity from suit under the Public Health Service Act because the lawsuit’s data breach allegations weren’t interwoven with the provision of medical care, a requirement for immunity under the act, Judge William K. Sessions III of the US District Court for the District of Vermont said Thursday.

=> ↺ Kodi Confirms Data Breach: 400K User Records and Private Messages Stolen

• Open source media player software provider Kodi has confirmed a data breach after threat actors stole the company’s MyBB forum database containing user data and private messages.

• What’s more, the unknown threat actors attempted to sell the data dump comprising 400,635 Kodi users on the now-defunct BreachForums cybercrime marketplace.

• “MyBB admin logs show the account of a trusted but currently inactive member of the forum admin team was used to access the web-based MyBB admin console twice: on 16 February and again on 21 February,” Kodi said in an advisory.

=> ↺ Lawsuit Claims Mount Nittany Health Shared Private Patient Information with Facebook, Google

• A lawsuit filed in Centre County Court this week alleges that Mount Nittany Health violated medical privacy rights by disclosing patients’ private information to Facebook, Google and other third-party websites without their knowledge.

• The four-count lawsuit filed on behalf of two unnamed Centre County residents identified as John and Jane Doe claims information from communications through Mount Nittany Health’s website was captured by tracking technology and shared with the companies for marketing purposes.

• Mount Nittany joins a number of health systems nationwide accused of sharing patient information with tech companies in a similar manner.

=> ↺ Darktrace Denies Getting Hacked After Ransomware Group Names Company on Leak Site

• Cybersecurity firm Darktrace has issued a statement after it was listed on the leak website of the LockBit ransomware group.

=> ↺ Juniper Networks Patches Critical Third-Party Component Vulnerabilities

• Juniper Networks this week announced patches for tens of vulnerabilities across its product portfolio, including critical bugs in Junos OS and STRM.

=> ↺ Microsoft Warns Accounting, Tax Return Preparation Firms of Remcos RAT Attacks

• A new Remcos RAT campaign is targeting US accounting and tax return preparation firms as Tax Day approaches.

=> ↺ A short-lived BlackCat listing suggests NCR’s customers’ networks were accessed

• It’s been more than a decade since DataBreaches covered any significant data breach involving the Aloha POS system, and back then it was owned by Radiant Systems. In 2011, NCR Corporation bought Aloha POS. Things were fairly quiet since then, if you don’t count NCR’s response to a zero day RCE vulnerability that NCR somewhat punted to its clients.

• But now Aloha POS was back in RSS feeds this week as people tried to understand an outage that NCR really wasn’t explaining.

=> ↺ CISA Introduces Secure-by-design and Secure-by-default Development Principles

• CISA has described and published a set of principles for the development of security-by-design and security-by-default cybersecurity products.

=> ↺ Google, CISA Warn of Android Flaw After Reports of Chinese App Zero-Day Exploitation

• The Android vulnerability CVE-2023-20963, reportedly exploited as a zero-day by a Chinese app against millions of devices, was added to CISA’s KEV catalog.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ “De-Risking”: How Europe Can Best Stand Up To China

• Europe has a plan for dealing with China without betraying our interests. Unfortunately, the leaders of Germany, France and other countries have so far failed to adopt it.

=> ↺ Arrest in Bob Lee Case Has Upended Tech Narrative of San Francisco

• Some influential tech executives said Mr. Lee’s death reflected a city overrun by crime, but few have reversed course since the arrest of a man who knew the victim.

=> ↺ Bob Lee’s Murder and San Francisco’s So-Called Crime Epidemic

• The killing of a tech executive reveals the cycle of outrage that puts enormous pressure on progressive district attorneys.

=> ↺ U.S. San Francisco – Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness

• “…San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a strategic plan that encapsulates the foremost concerns and objectives…”

=> ↺ Rescuers Search Rubble in Eastern Ukraine as Death Toll From Russian Strike Climbs to Nine

• Russia sent a barrage of missiles into residential areas of the city of Sloviansk on Friday, according to Ukrainian officials.

=> ↺ 🔴 Live: On China trip, Brazil’s Lula says US is ‘encouraging’ Ukraine war

• On the third day of his state visit to China, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday said the US should stop “encouraging war” in Ukraine “and start talking about peace”. China is Brazil’s top trading partner and neither country has imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

=> ↺ Did Vladimir Putin really defy his arrest order to travel to South Africa? In short, nope

• Did Vladimir Putin recently go to South Africa, defying the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court? That’s the claim made by at least two videos that have been shared thousands of times on TikTok and Facebook since late March. This footage, however, is old and doesn’t in any way prove that Putin has recently travelled to South Africa.

=> ↺ Noam Chomsky says NATO “most violent, aggressive alliance in the world”

• Transcript: Noam Chomsky: It’s not Ukraine, it’s Ukraine as a part of NATO. NATO is the most violent, aggressive alliance in the world. Here we talk about it as a peacekeeping Alliance, really, Serbia, Iraq, Libya, was the peacekeeping Alliance. This is just recent years, matters of violent, aggressive alliances.

=> ↺ Ukraine Bars Its National Teams From Competing Against Russians, Belarusians

• Ukraine has barred its national sports teams from competing in Olympic, non-Olympic, and Paralympic events that include competitors from Russia and Belarus, the Sports Ministry said in a decree published on April 14.

=> ↺ Norway Says Expelled Russian Diplomats Sought To Recruit Sources, Buy Advanced Technology

• Fifteen Russian diplomats expelled by Norway this week had sought to recruit sources, intercept communications, and buy advanced technology, the Norwegian PST security police said on April 14.

=> ↺ China and Brazil deepen ties amid rising US-China tensions

• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is ostensibly turning to China for the economic support he did not find in the Biden administration.

=> ↺ US, Japan, South Korea to hold missile defence exercises to deter North Korea threat

• Representatives from the three countries urged North Korea to “stop all destabilising activities immediately”.

=> ↺ China stalls Blinken’s Beijing visit over spy balloon concerns: Financial Times

• China told the US it was not prepared to reschedule a trip that Mr Blinken had cancelled back in February.

=> ↺ Japan PM Kishida unhurt after smoke bomb thrown at him during outdoor event, suspect held

• An explosion-like sound was heard at the scene, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

=> ↺ China hopes Germany supports peaceful Taiwan ‘reunification’

• Mr Wang made the remarks at a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

=> ↺ China’s Korea envoy accuses US of ‘using’ tensions to reinforce anti-Beijing alliance

• Mr Liu said European leaders should “persuade Americans to address the security concerns” of North Korea.

=> ↺ The Privacy-Minded Social Network at the Center of the Classified-Document Leak

• A young National Guardsman posted hundreds of secret government files to a private Discord group. Then they sat there for months unnoticed.

=> ↺ Massachusetts National Guard member arrested in leaked documents case

• Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member, was arrested Thursday as the main person of interest surrounding the leaked highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war. It is believed he leaked the documents in an online chat group.

=> ↺ Why Yemen’s prisoner exchange could be a step toward regional peace

• A three-day prisoner exchange linked to Yemen’s yearslong war began Friday, with more than 800 prisoners to be transported to Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The exchange is the biggest of the war since 2020 and comes as more than 150,000 people have been killed.

=> ↺ The Investigation into Jack Teixeira

• The arrest affidavit unsealed in the Jack Teixeira case shows that the FBI had definitely IDed him before the NYT revealed his identity yesterday, but they interviewed a key player only after Bellingcat had already reported on how the document moved from server to server.

=> ↺ Finland starts building fence on Russian border

• On completion, the fence will cover some 200 kilometres along stretches of Finland’s 1,300-km border with Russia.

=> ↺ North Korea claims launch of new solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM

• Solid-fuel missiles can be launched faster, but North Korea needs more testing, experts say.

=> ↺ Ukraine Secures $5 Billion In More Funds After Meetings, Prime Minister Says

• Ukraine secured promises of $5 billion in additional funding to support its ongoing fight against Russia amid “fruitful meetings” in Washington this week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told reporters on April 13.

=> ↺ Poland’s prime minister: Western Europe needs to commit to Ukrainian victory and beware of China

• The prime minister explained that the US-Poland bond is key to strengthening the transatlantic community’s deterrent power.

=> ↺ What the Lula-Xi partnership means for the world

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Chinese leader Xi Jinping just met in Beijing, but it is who else came on the visit that reveals big changes ahead for the two countries and the world.

=> ↺ Russian War Report: Russian army presses on in Bakhmut despite losses

• Bakhmut remains a major conflict zone with dozens of attacks on Ukrainian forces there, despite Russian forces sustaining heavy losses.

=> ↺ Skaluba and Arick in U.S. News and World Report discussing NATO enlargement amid Russia’s war in Ukraine

• On April 10, the Transatlantic Security Initiative’s Christopher Skaluba and Ryan Arick authored an article for U.S. News and World Report that argues Russia’s war in Ukraine demonstrates the critical need to invest in our security institutions, and that NATO should consider enlargement with new members who are well-equipped to deter aggression against NATO territory.

=> ↺ ‘Doing nothing … is not working.’ Red states pressured on gun violence.

• Although Southern and Midwestern states have resisted changes to gun policies, they’re looking for ways forward that show they’re responding to the violence touching more and more Americans.

=> ↺ Will Pentagon leak sour US relationship with its allies?

• The Pentagon leak has put sharp focus on both the strength of U.S. alliances and the fragility of relationships that need constant tending – especially in an era of disinformation.

=> ↺ The worst of war violence versus the best of humanity

• Russia’s reaction to videos that seem to show its forces beheading Ukrainian soldiers hints at recognition of humanitarian law.

=> ↺ Democracies look to G-7 to address growing global authoritarianism

• Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven will discuss Russia’s nuclear threats, China’s military moves, and North Korea’s weapons development this weekend. Doubts persist over how to stop authoritarian nations from using violence to pursue their interests.

=> ↺ Why China’s Leader Hasn’t Called the President of Ukraine

• China had been Ukraine’s top trade partner, importing barley, corn and arms. Now, Russia’s war raises the question: Is there still a relationship?

=> ↺ Video: Police Shoot Man After Responding to Wrong Address

• Authorities in northwestern New Mexico have released body camera footage of officers opening fire and killing a homeowner after they showed up at the wrong address in response to domestic violence call

=> ↺ Baltics and Poland continue efforts to bar Russians, Belarusians from sports competitions

• Baltic and Polish ministers agreed on Thursday to continue their efforts to have Russian and Belarusian athletes barred from international sports competitions, says Lithuania’s Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.

=> ↺ Lithuanian ministry wants to replace Culture Day with World Art Day due to Russia links

• Lithuania’s Culture Ministry will seek to replace the World Day of Culture, to be marked on Saturday, with World Art Day due to the former’s links with Russia.

=> ↺ Equality watchdog calls for probe into Ukrainian refugees’ situation in Lithuania

• Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson Birutė Sabatauskaitė has called for an investigation into the situation of refugees from Ukraine in Lithuania.

=> ↺ Drone attack kills 8, injures 30 in Sagaing region

• Myanmar’s junta says a local People’s Defense Force bombed a water festival pavilion as Thingyan attacks continue.

=> ↺ Death toll climbs to at least 170 in Myanmar junta air strike on village

• The death toll from an air strike on a central Myanmar village rose to an estimated 171 victims on Friday, according to a team member involved in cremating bodies and media reports.

=> ↺ Russia Bombards Eastern Ukraine As Slovyansk Strike Death Toll Rises To Nine

• Russia’s military continued its intensive bombardment of areas of eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military said on April 15, including a strike in the city of Slovyansk on an apartment building, killing nine people, according to the latest death toll.

=> ↺ Hacking Suicide

• Here’s a religious hack:

• You want to commit suicide, but it’s a mortal sin: your soul goes straight to hell, forever. So what you do is murder someone. That will get you executed, but if you confess your sins to a priest beforehand you avoid hell. Problem solved.

=> ↺ Russian Attack in Sloviansk, Ukraine, Kills Toddler

• The 2-year-old boy and at least seven other people were killed after a Russian attack in Sloviansk, Ukrainian officials said. His father is believed to still be trapped in the carnage.

=> ↺ Italy Investigating How A Russian Man, Wanted By U.S., Fled House Arrest

• Italy is investigating how a Russian businessman escaped from house arrest to avoid extradition to the United States on sanctions-breaking charges.

=> ↺ European Union Cannot Blindly Follow Washington: EC President

• “Europe has allowed itself to be led by the U.S. but we’re now beginning to create our own voice and to distance ourselves from the U.S.,” an East Asian specialist commented.

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

=> ↺ How companies can respond to new salary transparency laws

• One of the largest trends for U.S. hiring in 2023 is the push for pay transparency. After a flurry of local and state legislation last year, 2023 begins with employers facing uncharted hiring territory. Already more than 1 in 4 Americans live in cities or states with laws requiring pay transparency in hiring…

=> ↺ Leaked audio confirms AMLO wants to hobble transparency agency

• Latinus published a recording of Interior Minister Adán López telling senators that AMLO sees no urgency to fill the INAI’s vacant positions.

Environment

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ Green energy competitiveness helps everyone

• In between plays during the 2021 Super Bowl, General Motors released an ad on electric vehicles (EVs) featuring an irate Will Ferrell who accused the U.S. of being “out-EV-ed” by Norway. At the time, European countries had an impressive lead over the U.S. in green energy investments.  Today, however, the reverse is true.

=> ↺ Ukrainian victory “could help ensure Europe’s future energy security”

• Ukraine has massive potential to increase domestic energy production and could eventually replace Russian energy exports to the European Union in the post-war era, says Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov.

=> ↺ Germany is following through on its plan to shut down nuclear plants, despite some opposition

• Germany is set to close its last three nuclear power stations—Isar II, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim II—on Saturday (Apr. 15), shutting down a controversial source of domestic energy production amid a European energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

=> ↺ Germany ends nuclear era as last reactors power down

• Germany will switch off its last three nuclear reactors on Saturday, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

=> ↺ Earthquake, environmental concerns surround Turkey’s first nuke plant ahead of inauguration

• Still under construction, the Akkuyu plant will be inaugurated with a fuel loading ceremony in what critics deemed an attempt by President Erdoğan to boost his party’s prospects ahead of the May 14 elections.

=> ↺ GeniePoint hikes electric car charging prices by 54%

• The company’s chargers are now twice as expensive than petrol and diesel, with the company blaming the end of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Elephant Noor Jehan critically ill at Karachi Zoo after fall

• Noor Jehan, a female elephant at Pakistan’s Karachi Zoo, is critically ill after falling into a pond on Thursday in a small enclosure.

Finance

=> ↺ High inflation puts damper on Lao New Year celebrations

• Local merchants try to push up prices to take advantage of the national holiday.

=> ↺ David’s Bridal to sell company, lay off more than 9,000 employees nationwide

• David’s Bridal is laying off thousands of employees across the country as it makes plans to sell the company — just weeks before wedding season kicks off.

=> ↺ Dear Abby: I work 2 jobs and still don’t earn enough — I can’t catch a break

• Dear Abby advises a woman who’s the breadwinner in her relationship, a man who doesn’t want to be friends with his neighbors, and a millennial who hates litter.

=> ↺ The End of Faking It in Silicon Valley

• Recent charges, convictions and sentences all indicate that the start-up world’s habit of playing fast and loose with the truth actually has consequences.

=> ↺ France Constitutional Council approves pension reform amidst renewed protests

• France’s Constitutional Council Friday approved President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform law amid protests and anger towards the reform. Earlier this week one of JURIST’s staff members from Paris, France warned of renewed protests if the council approved the pension reform.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ The platforms lining up to replace Twitter – and what they offer publishers

• Substack Notes, Post and Mastodon are among the platforms hoping to benefit from Twitter’s problems.

=> ↺ Trump reports meagre income from Truth Social media

• Former President Donald Trump says he’s not making much money from his social media network but estimates it is worth between $US5 million ($A7.5 million) and $US25 million ($A37 million), according to his personal financial disclosure form.

=> ↺ Macron’s pension law passes crunch constitutional test

• French President Emmanuel Macron’s flagship pension reform, which triggered weeks of country-wide protests, has received the Constitutional Council’s green light and can now be signed into law and enter into force swiftly.

=> ↺ France’s Macron signs flagship pension reform into law

• French President Emmanuel Macron has signed into law a controversial bill to raise the country’s retirement age by two years, the government’s official journal shows.

=> ↺ Bosnian Serb Leader Threatens Succession Move Over Property Law Dispute

• Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik — who has been sanctioned by the U.S. and Britain over alleged destabilization efforts and corruption — has threatened that he could push for the independence of the Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina over a dispute involving a controversial property law.

=> ↺ Russian Woman Detained In Sweden On Espionage Charge

• A Russian woman was detained in Sweden on espionage charges, police in the city of Gothenburg said on April 14.

=> ↺ Lithuania hands protest note to Belarus over border violations

• Lithuania on Friday handed Belarus a note of protest over repeated border violations.

=> ↺ AMLO meets with former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn

• The long-serving UK politician met the President at the National Palace, to discuss issues surrounding Mexico and Latin America.

=> ↺ Ginni Thomas Vows Not to Let Husband’s Problems Interfere with Her Work on Supreme Court

• Calling her post as Associate Justice “a job I’ve loved for the past three decades,” she said, “I’m hopping mad that Clarence would do anything to jeopardize that.”

=> ↺ Robert Maxwell Goes to Texas: The Story of Bluebonnet, Part 2

• After Robert Maxwell dropped his bid for Bluebonnet, the S&L was sold to insurance man James Fail under exceedingly strange financial circumstances. His backers ranged from figures tied to George H.W. Bush and Arkansas financier and covert “money shuffler” Jackson Stephens.

=> ↺ Social Media Platforms: An Overview for Beginners

• Social media platforms have revolutionized the way we communicate, connect, and share information with one another. These online platforms offer various features and tools that enable users to create, share, and engage with content, as well as interact with others in real-time.

=> ↺ Mother Goose Stepping

• Here in the northern hemisphere winter mourns its way to spring with tears that sometimes freeze on the ground and crystallize on the white snow still high In the fields and along the roads.

=> ↺ A Twitter Files Requiem

• And so the “Twitter Files” Limited Hangout has come to its inevitable, ignominious end. It is over. The Twitter-Files story is dead. It isn’t pining for the fjords. It is deceased, cadaverous, bereft of life. It has bought the farm and gone to meet its maker.

=> ↺ They Must Have a Good Reason

• There is a strange idea hovering about that if you don’t know something then it doesn’t exist. Kind of like the image of the proverbial ostrich with his head in the sand. But it goes beyond denial.

=> ↺ Harlan Crow, Clarence Thomas’s Benefactor, Is Not Just Another Billionaire

• He and his allies have a lot of explaining to do.

=> ↺ Another dual citizenship referendum met with hope and resignation by Lithuanian-Americans

• With the Lithuanian parliament considering a second referendum on legalising dual citizenship, Lithuanian-Americans are feeling both hopeful and resigned. Decades-long effort to solve the issue has so far led to little progress.

=> ↺ Lithuanian president vetoes law of national sanctions on Russian, Belarusian citizens

• Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Friday vetoed the so-called national sanctions law.

=> ↺ Montana Could Become First U.S. State to Completely Ban TikTok

• Montana has passed legislation that could make it the first U.S. state to completely ban TikTok. Lawmakers in Montana’s House voted 54-43 to give their final approval to the bill. If Governor Greg Gianforte signs the bill into law, it will take effect January 2024.

=> ↺ Montana Legislature Approves Outright Ban of TikTok

• The bill, which would make the state the first to ban the social media app, now goes to the desk of Gov. Greg Gianforte.

=> ↺ Twitter Is Broken. Thanks, Elon.

• The site’s new proprietor has ruined it for almost everyone.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ Free speech warrior Elon Musk’s Twitter is muting Indian voices worldwide

• Twitter is once again embroiled in a free-speech debate over repressing Indian voices on the global platform.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ News diary 17-23 April: Fox defamation trial begins, Evan Gershkovich appeals detention in Russia

• A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.

=> ↺ Amnesty International reports Bangladesh press freedom endangered after government calls largest newspaper an ‘enemy’

• Amnesty International reported Wednesday that the most widely circulated newspaper in Bangladesh, Prothom Alo, has been declared an “enemy” by the Bangladeshi government, a move that Amnesty termed an attack on press freedom.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Israel failing to stop attacks on Christians, Jerusalem churches say

• Peace and harmony among Jerusalem’s diverse communities requires sensitivity and balance. Church leaders say a culture of impunity has emboldened mostly outside agitators, and appeals to Israel’s government are being ignored.

=> ↺ Orthodox Christians Await Holy Light in Jerusalem Under Heavy Police Restrictions

=> ↺ We’re Challenging the Racist Practice That Excludes Black Jurors from Death Penalty Cases

• Leo Jones, a Black man, was convicted and sentenced to death by an all-white Florida jury in 1982 for the killing of a white police officer.

• The conviction rested on a key witness who later recanted his testimony, and a coerced confession from Mr. Jones, which was written by the police officers interrogating him. Both officers were later fired for a pattern of misconduct, including police brutality.

=> ↺ News Roundup: Supreme Court Ethics, Abortion Ban in Florida, and the Persistent Threat of Election Denialism

=> ↺ Not released from prison because ‘not regretful’

• Convicted by the State Security Court of the time, Yaşar Aslan completed his thirty years in prison, but his release was rejected the second time by the Good Conduct Committee. Releases of eight other prisoners in Erzurum and Van are again being prevented by reports of administrative committees in prisons.

Monopolies

Patents

=> ↺ Nokia continues SEP campaign with injunction win against Vivo

• The Regional Court Mannheim has again found in favour of Finnish company Nokia in its wide-ranging battle against various mobile phone manufactuers over smartphone technology. Last week, the court confirmed that Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo infringed three standard essential patents, two of which cover the 4G standard.

Software Patents

=> ↺ Google Will Go to Trial Over Sonos Patent Infringement Case

• A California judge has ruled that Google must face a trial in the patent lawsuit brought by Sonos. Inc. against the company. The case is set for trial on May 8 and is part of a long-standing dispute between Sonos and Google over its smart speaker technology.

Trademarks

=> ↺ Aaron Judge, Union Win Dispute Over ‘All Rise’ Trademark

• Aaron Judge has won a dispute over trademarks used to promote the New York Yankees slugger

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ 50 days

• Today is the 50th day that I’m alcohol-free. Funny, but unwittingly it coincided with Lent in church. It’s like my ascesis.

=> ↺ The Torment of Unplanted Seeds

• I’m terrified to start gardening. I want to, but I have this terrible neurosis about doing things wrong, or poorly. It leads into spirals of self loathing that can be difficult to break out of. There’s SO MUCH to know about growing things, so much conflicting advice, so many ways to fail. It’s the information overload problem, and the existence of the blasted internet is not helping one bit.

• And the deer, of course. They’re like a plague of giant rats around here, and I don’t have the money to make my rotting fence high enough to keep them out. They’ll destroy anything I grow if not kept at bay somehow.

=> ↺ Breadlander: a use for Waffle Starter Remains

• On occasion sourdough waffles are made; there may be leftover starter that can be put to subsequent use. The starter is made from all-purpose flour, and runs somewhere around 100% hydration, in this case 292.1g or maybe a bit less on the assumption that not all of it will get off the sides of the container.

=> ↺ Photo dump – Vernal, UT to Rock Springs, WY

• So close in fact, my wife came down to Vernal yesterday and spent the night. I have always thought the scenery near home is the most beautiful in the country. Have some photos…

Technical

=> ↺ bphflog: //

• Maybe the scheme would make more sense if there were a global filesystem, so there might be something like /afs/com/example/foo on every system, and thus only one place that a directory-or-subhostname would appear in that filesystem, but last I looked the Andrew File System (AFS), while neat in various ways, hasn’t really gone anywhere, and was requiring slightly insecure DES keys in Kerberos that I dearly wanted to get rid of, the last time I had to indirectly support AFS. Also, there are portability problems that probably stem from the lack of popularity thing.

=> ↺ Link Gardens in the Online Wilds

• You’ve noticed search getting less useful, but it’s hard to tell for how long. Google’s top results are full of garbagey sites; you’re adding +reddit to every query to get what seems like the last non-astroturfed source of opinions online, and who knows how long it’ll be before that’s gone as well. Your days in front of the screen seem repetitive, predictable, tightly circumscribed. Maybe these are all related. Maybe not. But surely you’ve wondered if things have always been quite this bad.

=> ↺ [Older] Find OpenBSD install date

• As suggested on twtxt, one may look at filesystem creation time to get a good approximation of system install date. Here how I did it. There may be better methods, so let me know

Internet/Gemini

=> ↺ How to browse Gophersphere

• I’ve realized that I’m listed on [Bongusta]. It’s always nice for an author that somebody made a request to put my Phlog there, despite it isn’t very active and it hasn’t many long entries in the Phlog section. Regardless if I’m on the list or not, Bongusta is my top Gopherhole and I’m visiting it every time I’m browsing Gophersphere. And I started to think about how I browse Gophersphere.

• Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It’s like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter. Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. Permalink  Send this to a friend

=> Techrights

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