● 05.04.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 04/05/2023: Amazon Lays Off 27,000, Musk Pulls an Andrew Lee (Hijacking Handles)

Posted in News Roundup at 4:42 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Server

=> ↺ Kubernetes 1.27: StatefulSet PVC Auto-Deletion (beta)

• Kubernetes v1.27 graduated to beta a new policy mechanism for StatefulSets that controls the lifetime of their PersistentVolumeClaims (PVCs). The new PVC retention policy lets users specify if the PVCs generated from the StatefulSet spec template should be automatically deleted or retrained when the StatefulSet is deleted or replicas in the StatefulSet are scaled down.

Applications

=> ↺ OBS Studio 29.1 is out now with AV1 / HEVC for YouTube

• One for content creators here, as the excellent OBS Studio just released version 29.1.0. This brings initial support for AV1 / HEVC on YouTube.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ PSA: gz isn’t a generic compressed file extension

• Take a look at this filename, and take a guess what it is:

• If you’re like me, you assumed gz meant gzip, and therefore I could extract it with gunzip(1): [...]

=> ↺ How to make a CSS-only hamburger menu

• Recently I was doing some small modifications to my site, when I rediscovered the hamburger menu I made for it. It is not very special, just a menu that, once you go into a small resolution, it will compress itself into a hidden vertical menu that you can show or hide by pushing a button. The interesting part of it is that it is made only using HTML and CSS.

• I remember when I was making it that I could not find a full example on the internet about how to accomplish this, and that it implied a lot of trial and error to achieve the desired result. So, I extracted the code of the menu and turned it into a simplified example.

=> ↺ Install Third Party Software Using Fedy In Fedora 38

• The Fedora project will not include any package that doesn’t comply with Fedora licensing policies in the official repositories. So, the Fedora users rely on third-party repositories like RPM Fusion to install propriety drivers, software and codecs that Fedora doesn’t want to ship due to legal and licensing reasons. In this guide, we will see what is Fedy and how to install third-party software and multimedia codecs with Fedy in Fedora 38 Linux operating systems.

=> ↺ 5 Best Mathematical Equation and Formula Writing Tools for Linux

• Are you looking for good software to write mathematical equations? If so, this article provides the top 5 equation editors that you can easily install on your favorite Linux distribution.

• In addition to being compatible with different types of mathematical equations and formulas, they are completely free and open-source. Take a look at all the options below to find the one that best suits your requirements.

=> ↺ 9 Best Command-Line/Terminal Email Clients for Linux

• Recently, I wrote an article covering the best email clients you can use on a Linux Desktop, all of the email clients in that list were graphical user interface (GUI) programs, but sometimes, users prefer to deal with email directly from the command-line.

• For this reason, there is also a need to highlight some of the best text-based email clients that you can use on your Linux system.

=> ↺ How to Install Docker on Fedora: A Step-by-Step Guide

• Are you looking to install Docker on Fedora? Our comprehensive guide provides clear and concise instructions to get you up and running.

=> ↺ How to install Codon on Ubuntu 22.04 – High-performance Python compiler

• Hello, friends. In this post, you will learn how to install Codon on Ubuntu 22.04. If you are a Python developer, you will find it very useful to know it.

=> ↺ How to install Firefox developer edition on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

• Firefox Developer Edition is for those who want to have tailored tools helpful in web development so that it becomes easy to create, test and debug web applications & websites.

=> ↺ How to Install Signal on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Signal Messenger is a free, open-source and privacy-focused messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption for secure communication. As a cross-platform application, Signal provides a seamless experience for users across various devices and operating systems, including Ubuntu. >

=> ↺ How to Install Strawberry on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Are you an Ubuntu user looking for a powerful, feature-packed, and customizable music player? Look no further! Strawberry Player is here to meet all your music listening needs.

=> ↺ How to Install Blender on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Blender is a powerful, open-source, and versatile 3D creation suite that has gained immense popularity among artists, designers, and enthusiasts worldwide. Its comprehensive set of features, coupled with its affordability, make it an attractive choice for Ubuntu users.

=> ↺ Bash see if an input number is an integer or not

• While working on the bash shell script wrapper, I needed to ensure that I only passed an integer in the Bash script under Linux and Unix-like systems. Here is how to check if a number is an integer in Bash Linux or Unix script or at the command-line interface (CLI)

=> ↺ How to Install GParted on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• GParted, short for GNOME Partition Editor, is an essential utility for Ubuntu users who want to manage their disk partitions with ease and precision.

=> ↺ How to Install FreeCAD on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• FreeCAD is an open-source, highly versatile, and feature-rich 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software. Designed with engineers, architects, and designers in mind, it offers a wide range of tools to create and manipulate 3D models.

=> ↺ How to Install KiCad on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Welcome to the world of KiCad, an open-source Electronic Design Automation (EDA) suite that is fast gaining popularity among electrical engineers, hobbyists, and Ubuntu users alike. KiCad offers a comprehensive environment for designing schematics, laying out printed circuit boards (PCBs), and even creating 3D models of your design.

=> ↺ How to Use Diff Files in Linux

• Diff is a command line tool for Unix systems that allows you to compare two files or directories and see the differences between them. It’s ideal for comparing old and new versions of files to see what’s changed. In this article, we show you how you can use diff to easily compare files in Linux.

=> ↺ Install MariaDB 11 on Ubuntu 22.04/Ubuntu 20.04

• Follow through this guide to learn how to install MariaDB 11 on Ubuntu 22.04/Ubuntu 20.04. “MariaDB 11 is the new major release series of MariaDB.

Games

=> ↺ Get a bunch of Rhythm games in this game bundle

• Do you have the moves? Are you quick on the finger? Check out the Feel the Rhythm bundle over on Humble Bundle. Here’s what compatibility to expect on desktop Linux and Steam Deck.

=> ↺ Heroic Games Launcher 2.7.1 hotfix 1 fixes up Epic Games login

• Having some troubles with Epic Games on the Heroic Games Launcher? You weren’t alone and a new hotfix is out to get it sorted.

=> ↺ OpenRazer v3.6 brings support for 11 more Razer devices

• Another fantastic update to OpenRazer with version 3.6.0 bringing support for more Razer devices on Linux along with various improvements.

=> ↺ Look after your pixel people in life sim Tiny Life

• A pixel-art version of The Sims? Sign me up. Tiny Life from Ellpeck Games and Top Hat Studios is now available in Early Access. It comes with full Native Linux support and it should work just fine on Steam Deck too.

=> ↺ Valve limits Steam store pages to 2 trailers before screenshots

• I don’t know about you, but I used to get a little annoyed by endless amounts of trailers on Steam pages that didn’t really show much. Valve have been paying attention again to what players want to see.

=> ↺ GE-Proton 8-1 released, mainly pulling in Proton 8 upgrades

• GE-Proton has a new release out with 8-1, which is mainly pulling in a whole bunch of improvements from Proton 8 and Proton Experimental.

Distributions and Operating Systems

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Introducing Fedora Onyx: Immutable Variant with Budgie Desktop (Proposed)

• Discover the latest addition to the Fedora Linux family with the introduction of Fedora Onyx, an immutable variant featuring the popular Budgie Desktop environment. Learn how this new variant expands the range of options available to Fedora users and offers added immutability and atomic capabilities with rpm-ostree.

Debian Family

=> ↺ New Raspberry Pi OS Update Arrives with Linux Kernel 6.1

• This is the first update to the official operating system for Raspberry Pi devices in 3 months and is notable for being the first version powered by the Linux 6.1 LTS kernel (previous versions use Linux 5.15 LTS).

• A substantial uplift, the newer kernel offers improved hardware support, new drivers, performance boosts, and better security. Gamers will appreciate the addition of new gamepad drivers, including the Hori Fighting Commander ONE and 8BitDo Pro 2 wired controller.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Ubuntu MATE 23.04 “Lunar Lobster”: Find out what’s new in this release

• Ubuntu MATE 23.04, code-named “Lunar Lobster”, has been released on April 20, 2023. The latest version of Ubuntu MATE 23.04 is the first short-term release of 2023, and it will receive support for nine months until January 2024. It is the official Ubuntu flavour featuring the super-lightweight MATE desktop, and it comes packed with several enhancements that make it worth considering for those who want a legacy desktop look of GNOME.

• Find out what’s new in this release.

=> ↺ Development Opens on Ubuntu 23.10 ‘Mantic Minotaur’

• At this formative stage in development there isn’t anything “new” for me to mention, much less screenshot for your ocular enjoyment. However, if you’re big into bug hunting then this is prime season so feel free to jump in and start squashing as soon as you’re able.

• The final stable version of Ubuntu 23.10 is due to be released on October 12, 2022 — a touch earlier than when most October release typically emerge (or maybe I’m just getting so old everything feels too soon).

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ 3.5” SBC features i.MX8M Mini and dual GbE ports

• ICOP launched last month a single board computer based on the i.MX8M mini multicore processor designed for machine vision, industrial systems, embedded systems and smart retail applications.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Aquaponics for beginners with the TynecastleTechs team

• Research led the team to select the Scissortail Rasbora, since this is a hardy and adaptable fish that can live in a smaller tank. They moved twelve scissortails into in a 40-litre plastic tub, along with aquatic plants to create a more natural environment and provide hiding places, reducing stress for the fish. They selected Java moss, Anubias, and Cryptocoryne as the most suitable plant species for smaller tanks, and added some mature specimens. The team kept the water heated to tropical fishes’ favourite temperature (about 24°C or 75°F), and also installed appropriate filters.

=> ↺ Acorn RiscPC #2: Restoration Part 1

• Another RiscPC recently hit my saved searches on eBay and given that it had a second slice to it I thought it would be good to maybe use parts of this machine to upgrade my own.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ The beginning of the end of the password

• Last year — alongside FIDO Alliance, Apple and Microsoft — we announced we would begin work to support passkeys on our platform as an easier and more secure alternative to passwords. And today, ahead of World Password Day, we’ve begun rolling out support for passkeys across Google Accounts on all major platforms. They’ll be an additional option that people can use to sign in, alongside passwords, 2-Step Verification (2SV), etc.

=> ↺ Google rolling out fix for Messages on Pixel phones with Android 14

=> ↺ How to See Blocked Numbers on Android and Manage Them – Make Tech Easier

=> ↺ Best MagSafe accessories for Google Pixel and other Android phones in 2023

=> ↺ Google Play Store 35.5.14 now rolling out to Android devices

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Programming/Development

=> ↺ New C features in GCC 13

• The latest major version of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), 13.1, was released in April 2023. Like every major GCC release, this version will bring many additions, improvements, bug fixes, and new features. GCC 13 is already the system compiler in Fedora 38. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) users will get GCC 13 in the Red Hat GCC Toolset (RHEL 8 and RHEL 9). It’s also possible to try GCC 13 on godbolt.org and similar pages.

=> ↺ Rules of Thumb for Software Development Estimations

• First, I planned on calling this article “Mastering the Art of Estimations: A Definitive Guide for Developers”, but then who am I to tell you how to estimate projects? I can only give you some pointers and describe some things that worked well for me over the years. So that’s exactly what I will do — give you some rules of thumb to make your life easier.

• Ah, software estimation – the bane of many developers’ existence and the scourge of project managers everywhere. A constant battle of “tell me how much it’s going to take you” and “give me a clear description of the task first.” I’m here to bring some much-needed reality of the complexities of real-world development. I’ve had my share of estimations on both sides of the fence. I’ve seen it all. And I’m here to give you the harsh truths about software estimation, so buckle up.

=> ↺ How to Download a File from the Internet using download.file()

• Introduction The download.file() function in R is used to download files from the internet and save them onto your computer. Here’s a simple explanation of how to use it:

Leftovers

=> ↺ Amid quarreling, the Ramsey County Fair is canceled for a fourth year, its future uncertain

• It will be the only one of Minnesota’s 87 counties without its own fair.

=> ↺ I Will Not Board a Plane to Visit Your Baby

• If I had a baby, I would not ask you to get on a plane. I wouldn’t publish a wounded essay online if you chose sleep over visiting my offspring.

=> ↺ A Minimalist Australian Dream Home With an 18th-Century Twist

• Why would a modernist house in a Melbourne suburb need an inverted ha-ha? (And what is a ha-ha, anyway?)

=> ↺ NBA MVP Joel Embiid Learned To Shoot by Watching YouTube

• Politicians attack social media for spreading conspiracies and so-called misinformation. But what about when social media helps someone become an NBA star?

Education

=> ↺ Guinea Contract Teachers in the Streets, Threaten More Strikes

• “…several educators have remained unpaid for a duration of seven months…”

=> ↺ GSC reaffirms support for Faculty Senate’s Honor Code revisions

• The GSC discussed the last Faculty Senate meeting and heard updates from R&DE on events and on-campus food options.

=> ↺ Undergraduate Senate doubles down on opposition to Honor Code revision proposal, citing breach of precedent and student trust

• At its Tuesday meeting, the Undergraduate Senate expressed opposition to the Faculty Senate’s decision to bypass its prior votes against proposed revisions to the Honor Code that would explicitly allow exam proctoring, ending a 102-year long precedent.

Hardware

=> ↺ AMD Posts First Loss in Years as Consumer Chip Sales Plummet by 65%

• Sales of AMD’s datacenter products remain strong, but client CPU shipments drop 65% year-over-year.

=> ↺ Intel Bids Gemini Lake Refresh CPUs Farewell

• Intel’s Gemini Lake Refresh processors, launched in 2019, have reached end-of-life (EOL) status.

=> ↺ TSMC to Charge up to 30% More for Chips Made in the U.S.

• TSMC’s quotes for U.S. and Japan-made chips will be higher than for chips produces in Taiwan.

=> ↺ US Defense Contractors Want Deeper Cooperation With Taiwan

• A delegation of United States defense contractors and a former senior leader of the U.S. Marine Corps are pledging the beginning of deeper cooperation with Taiwan

=> ↺ Ryzen Burnouts Force Asus to Add Overclock Warnings to EXPO Features

• Asus is one of the first motherboard vendors to add a notice stating that memory technologies like XMP / EXPO are considered overclocking, with clear warranty implications/

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ U.S. Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Flour

• “…Hospitalization has been necessitated for three individuals…”

=> ↺ Exercise increases cancer-fighting cells in cancer patients, study shows

• Exercise has been found to increase the number of defense cells in cancer patients, according to two studies conducted at the national PET center at the University of Turku. The studies aimed to investigate the effects of short-term exercise on the immune system of lymphoma and breast cancer patients who had recently been diagnosed and had not started treatment yet.

=> ↺ Mental health disorders have not increased significantly, although symptoms have

• Health specialists say it is important for public discussion to distinguish between clinical disorders and the symptoms of struggles with day-to-day living.

=> ↺ Free at-home COVID-19 antigen tests still available

• The U-M COVID-19 Community Sampling and Tracking Program has free rapid antigen test kits available  available for pickup through May 12 at the CSTP sites at Pierpont Commons and Blau Hall.

=> ↺ Won’t you be my neighbor? How porch culture fights loneliness.

• American front porches signified community and openness, but increasingly people are suspicious when strangers approach their door. Meet the people trying to keep neighborliness alive.

=> ↺ Australia Aims to ‘Stamp Out’ Vaping With Sweeping Regulations

• The proposal would ban all single-use, disposable vapes, halt the importation of nonprescription vapes and restrict certain flavors, colors and ingredients.

Proprietary

=> ↺ Elon Musk threatens to re-assign @NPR on Twitter to ‘another company’

• “If this is a sign of things to come on Twitter, we might soon see even more of a rapid retreat by media organizations and other brands that don’t think it’s worth the risk,” said Emily Bell, a professor at Columbia Journalism School who studies social media. “It’s really an extraordinary threat to make.”

=> ↺ 2023-04-28 [Older] More on GM Dropping CarPlay

=> ↺ Amazon cut 27,000 roles, including many in HR. Here’s where it’s investing those savings

• Amazon’s first quarter earnings call shed light on the company’s shifting investments following leadership’s decision to cut a whopping 27,000 jobs. The widespread cuts, which severely diminished the tech giant’s HR team, were said to be an effort to help streamline costs.

• Amazon began its latest layoffs last week, targeting HR and cloud computing employees. And an internal memo sent to Amazon Web Services (AWS) hiring managers on Tuesday revealed that the company would restrict the number of hires the cloud business can make, going so far as to employ a new headcount management system to better monitor hiring plans.

• The moves aren’t a surprise. Late last year, the company announced it would freeze corporate hiring, slow the expansion of its warehouses, and end some of its more experimental projects like Amazon Care and its Halo device division.

=> ↺ Give NotPetya-hit Merck that $1.4B, appeals court tells insurers

• A New Jersey appellate court this week upheld [PDF] an earlier decision that a group of insurers could not use the war exclusion in their insurance policies — despite the US and UK governments, among others others, attributing NotPetya to Kremlin-backed fiends — because the attack against Merck wasn’t specifically linked to Russian military action.

• The ruling means Merck may finally claim its $1.4 billion payout. And it’s likely going to make it more difficult for insurance companies to use war as an excuse to not pay losses related to cyberattacks, according to industry watchers.

=> ↺ Ransomware Attack Affects Dallas Police, Court Websites

• Dallas was hit with a computer ransomware attack Wednesday that brought down its Police Department and City Hall websites and caused some jury trials to be canceled, officials said.

=> ↺ City of Dallas impacted by ransomware attack

• The City of Dallas is dealing with a ransomware attack that has infected its servers, limiting the delivery of City service.

=> ↺ [Crackers] hijacked a university’s emergency system to threaten students and faculty

• Bluefield University, a small, private university on the border of Virginia and West Virginia, is among the long and growing list of U.S. institutions hit by ransomware [crackers], who break into computer systems to then encrypt or threaten to leak files if they are not paid. The school learned of the cyberattack on their systems on Sunday, a Bluefield University spokesperson told NBC News.

=> ↺ Colleges and schools across US dealing with ransomware incidents, cyberattacks

• Bluefield University — a private Baptist school in Bluefield, Virginia serving about 1,000 students – published a statement on Sunday announcing that their systems “have been shut down for an unknown period of time due to a recent cybersecurity attack.” Two hours away across the border in West Virginia, BridgeValley Community and Technical College said it continued to deal with a ransomware attack that is now believed to be the work of the Akira cybercrime gang.

=> ↺ US educational system hit with deluge of cyberattacks

• Ransomware attacks against K-12 districts across the U.S. have reached at least 22, while attacks against universities and colleges have totaled at least 27 so far this year, said Emsisoft ransomware expert Brett Callow.

Security

=> ↺ Security updates for Wednesday [LWN.net]

• Security updates have been issued by Debian (avahi, kernel, linux-5.10, nodejs, webkit2gtk, and wpewebkit), Gentoo (chromium, google-chrome, microsoft-edge, dbus, dbus-broker, dhcp, firefox, firejail-lts, libapreq2, libsdl, libsdl2, lua, proftpd, python, PyPy3, sudo, syslog-ng, systemd, tor, uptimed, vim, and xfce4-settings), Oracle (emacs and libwebp), Red Hat (libwebp), Scientific Linux (libwebp), and SUSE (ceph, ffmpeg-4, git, pdns-recursor, and shim).

=> ↺ City of Dallas impacted by ransomware attack, police computer dispatch system down

• The city of Dallas working to recover from a ransomware attack that has infected its servers, limiting the delivery of city services, including the police department.

• FOX 4 learned about the breach through a tip and the city is continuing to be very tight-lipped, not making anyone available for interviews regarding the scope an impact of the attack.

• The city released a statement on Wednesday afternoon confirming that a number of servers have been compromised with ransomware, impacting “several functional areas.”

=> ↺ Persistent attackers: Eurasia Group believes it has been dealing with the same attackers since 2020

• The total number of individuals affected was not disclosed in the letter. Nor was it clear whether those affected were all employees or if client data was involved.

=> ↺ Brightline continues notifying clients of GoAnywhere incident; count continues to rise (more than 1 million)

• DataBreaches has written to Brightline’s external counsel to ask whether Brightline has terminated its contract with Fortra or continues using it. No reply was immediately available.

=> ↺ Murfreesboro Medical Clinic remains closed due to cyberattack

• Murfreesboro Medical Clinic & SurgiCenter was the victim of a sophisticated criminal cyberattack, according to a press release.

• The cyberattack happened on April 22 and in response, MMC said it had to shut down all operations on May 1-3 to limit the spread of the attack. Since shutting down, they’ve been working with law enforcement and experts to identify the source and scope of the attack to restore normal operations.

• CEO Joey Peay said they were able to limit the impact of the attack thanks to the quick response of their technology experts. MMC’s data backup systems were not affected by the attack.

• “They would hit us, and we would try to hit them back,” Peay said about trying to fight the cyber criminals for more than a week. “We thought we were in a pretty good shape and then Sunday morning things changed again. That is what necessitated us closing. We weren’t going to be able to continue to fend off the serious nature of these attacks with our clinic open, our physicians and staff trying to work. It just wasn’t going to be doable.”

=> ↺ Lawrence Family Development Charter School allegedly attacked by Snatch Team

• Two attempts to contact LFCDS administrators through their website contact forms for messages to faculty and staff both failed with messages “{“statusText”:”*** Forbidden. You sent forms too often. Please wait a few minutes. ***”,”status”:403}”

• There is nothing on the charter school’s website at this time to indicate any disruption or incident and DataBreaches could find no confirmation by them of any attack. DataBreaches subsequently sent emails to administrators at the charter school, but no reply was immediately available. This post will be updated if a reply is received or more information becomes available.

Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

=> ↺ Liquid (Zol) faced a DDoS attack on email service, explains why your inbox was empty

• Liquid has communicated that they were the victim of a large-scale DDoS attack on their Hosted Email Service. They found out they were under attack on Workers’ Day, around 11PM. DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. Multiple computers are used to target a single computer or network.

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ 2023-04-29 [Older] Apple drops lawsuit against former exec who accused company of spying

=> ↺ ‘E-health’ system to up authentication requirements in 2024

• From the beginning of next year, access to e-health is planned to only be possible through qualified electronic means of personal identification: with an e-ID card, an e-signature (eParaksts) card, an e-signature card plus or e-signature mobile. The plan has met resistance from both the patient and doctor side, Latvian Radio reported on May 3.

=> ↺ Who Wants a Brain Machine Interface?

• VN Alexander I’ve never wanted to be able to control any of my devices with my thoughts.  I am perfectly happy to use a physical interface that I can turn off, let go of, or walk away from.  What about you?  Is your keyboard holding you back?

=> ↺ Our position on the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)

=> ↺ New Senate Bill Would Turn Online Services Into Narcs

• An expanded surveillance state can’t solve problems created by drug prohibition.

=> ↺ Go ahead, forget that password. Use a passkey instead, says Google

• Passkeys are the latest hope for allowing organizations and regular folk to move away from passwords. And when we say passkeys, think of things like biometric-reading phone apps that can be used to authenticate yourself and gain access to accounts, though these keys can take various forms.

=> ↺ White House wants to understand how employers use automated tools to track staff

• Responses to the RFI will be used by the administration to inform new policy responses as it works to formulate a comprehensive response to the wider use of technologies including artificial intelligence.

• It said: “Employers are increasingly investing in technologies that monitor and track workers, and making workplace decisions based on that information. According to an investigation by The New York Times last year, eight of the 10 largest private U.S. employers tracked individual workers to assess their productivity.”

=> ↺ Accessing Porn In Utah Is Now a Complicated Process That Requires a Picture of Your Face

• As of Tuesday, many Utahns navigating to Pornhub were met with a notice that they can’t enter the website, and a video of adult performer Cherie DeVille gently explaining that thanks to their elected officials—specifically Republican Senator Todd Weiler and governor Spencer Cox—they are now completely banned from using the site.

• All of the sites under the same ownership as Pornhub (formerly Mindgeek, now Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners), including Brazzers, Redtube, Youporn, and several others, have also pulled out of Utah, with a message: “Please contact your representatives before it is too late and demand device-based verification solutions that make the internet safer while also respecting your privacy.”

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ One Militant Killed, Seven Arrested In Pakistan, Military Says

• One militant was killed and seven others were arrested in raids on hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e Taliban (TTP), near the Afghan border on May 1, the military said in a statement.

=> ↺ Microsoft to Pay $3.3 million for Selling Software to ‘Blocked Users’ in Russia, Cuba, Iran

• Amounting to 94%—1,252 of all the sales made from Microsoft’s US and Ireland servers were to Russian entities—primarily based in the Crimea region. Additionally, 54 in Cuba, 30 in Iran, and three took place in Syria.

=> ↺ China updates military conscription rules with eye on space, cyberwarfare

• The revised regulations will also focus on recruiting individuals with cyber and space expertise, two emerging domains that Chinese President Xi Jinping is increasingly pushing for.

=> ↺ US Government To Send 1,500 Troops To Mexican Border

• The move comes before Title 42 is lifted on May 11.

=> ↺ How is Biden’s quick asylum screening plan different from Trump’s?

• The Biden administration is implementing a new system for fast-track asylum screenings at the border, with interviews conducted by immigration officials and access to legal counsel. Critics doubt its effectiveness after issues under Donald Trump’s system.

=> ↺ Vale Allan Gyngell, the finest mind in foreign policy

• In mid-April, Foreign Minister Penny Wong addressed the National Press Club on Australia’s interests in a regional balance of power.

=> ↺ Taking Defence beyond the barbed wire in northern Australia

• Nations must regularly ask themselves how they are to meet the challenges of their strategic context.

=> ↺ Teenage shooter kills 8 children, guard at school in Serbia

• Police say a teenager opened fire at his school in Serbia’s capital, killing eight children and a school guard before being arrested in the school yard. Six more children and a teacher were hospitalized. A father of a student at the school in central Belgrade said the shooter entered his daughter’s classroom Wednesday, firing at her teacher and then her classmates as they ducked under their desks. A local official said most students were able to flee through a back door. Police said the shooter was a student at the Vladislav Ribnikar school and was born in 2009. They said he used his father’s gun.

=> ↺ Army changes tack in how it trains recruiters

• As the Army looks to another year of recruiting shortages, it takes a new look at how it trains recruiters.

=> ↺ Israel, Palestinian armed groups agree to ceasefire after hunger striker’s death sparks fighting

• A Palestinian hunger striker died in Israeli custody on Tuesday, sparking an exchange of fire between Israel and armed groups in Gaza, before three Palestinian officials said the sides had agreed to a ceasefire.

=> ↺ HDP warns against provocations in Mersin

• The People’s Democratic Party invited all party members and supporters to be careful against any provocations, and to continue the election campaign in a calm and decisive manner.

=> ↺ Questions and Answers on the Act in Support of Ammunition Production

• European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 03 May 2023 Why there is a need for the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP)?

=> ↺ Defence: €500 million and new measures to urgently boost EU defence industry capacities in ammunition production

• European Commission Press release Brussels, 03 May 2023 Today, the Commission has adopted the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP).

=> ↺ Latvian government okays naval missile system purchase

• On Tuesday, May 2, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers approved the purchase of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) system from the United States.

=> ↺ YouTube Prankster Testifies About Video That Got Him Shot

• A YouTube prankster has testified about a video that went wrong and ended with him getting shot in the abdomen

=> ↺ May 4 military parade will take place in Alūksne

• This year’s May 4 military parade in honor of Latvia’s restoration of independence day is taking place in Alūksne in north-east Latvia.

=> ↺ New army barracks to be built soon at Ādaži base

• In the near future, the construction of new barracks for soldiers at the Ādaži military base is planned, the commander of the National Armed Forces (NBS), Leonīds Kalniņš, said on Latvian Television’s broadcast “Morning Panorama” on May 3.

=> ↺ Palestinian Jader Adnan Dies After 88-Day Hunger Strike

• The Palestinian National Authority denounced that his death was a “deliberate assassination” due to the negligence of the Israeli authorities who knew about the deterioration of his health.

=> ↺ What to Know About Hunger Strikes

• The actions are almost always political, and governments sometimes resort to force-feeding, a practice denounced as inhumane. Deaths like that of a Palestinian prisoner this week are uncommon.

=> ↺ Judge finds former Minneapolis police officer guilty for role in George Floyd’s death

• A former Minneapolis police officer who held back bystanders as Derek Chauvin restrained George Floyd has been convicted of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

=> ↺ Sudanese Warring Parties Agree to 7-Day Truce

• Nevertheless, Gen. Al Burhan’s envoy Dafa Allah al Haj Ali said that there will be no “direct” negotiations with the RSF, calling it a “terrorist” organization.

=> ↺ Does America Realize That Sudan Is Too Big to Fail?

• The people of Sudan have been all but abandoned in the crossfire of a fight to the death between the two men who want to rule them.

=> ↺ A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers

• It’s a long-buried part of South Korean history: women compelled by force, trickery or desperation into prostitution, with the complicity of their own leaders.

=> ↺ Marcos Makes Mark on Foreign Policy in Push for Closer U.S.-Philippines Ties

• In his first months in power, the Philippines leader has reforged a strong alliance with the U.S., winning praise even as questions remain about his path and intent at home.

=> ↺ US warns China against ‘intimidation’ of Philippines in South China Sea

• Warning comes after a near-collision between Philippine and Chinese vessels and as Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits U.S.

=> ↺ Lithuanian president calls for speeding up deal on NATO defence plans

• Lithuania and Poland must seek that NATO member countries agree on the alliance’s new defence plans before July’s summit in Vilnius, President Gitanas Nausėda said after meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Vilnius on Tuesday.

=> ↺ Denmark pledges battalion to defend Baltic states

• Denmark will deploy a battalion of between 700 and 1,200 troops to the Baltic states after withdrawing troops from Iraq, the country’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Tuesday.

=> ↺ A Drone Opera, Brought to You by General Dynamics? A Company Clarifies.

• “Grounded,” a new work about the psychological toll of drone warfare, drew scrutiny after its presenter, Washington National Opera, advertised the support of a major military contractor.

=> ↺ 2023 ELECTIONS: ‘AKP is no more a good partner for the US’

• Researcher Kumru Toktamış says that for the US, AKP is no longer a good partner for cooperation, since it is not predictable which steps the Erdoğan government will take here or there.

Environment

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ US firm plans to build small nuclear power plants in the Philippines

• In Manila, nuclear-free advocates questioned the plan, saying the tech has not been tested enough.

=> ↺ India, China propose ‘multiple pathways’ on cutting use of fossil fuels: Sources

• Multiple pathways would enable countries to choose resources, even coal, while working towards net-zero emissions.

=> ↺ Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seizes tanker in Strait of Hormuz

• Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by Tehran in recent days. That’s according to the U.S. Navy. The Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Niovi. It said Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized the ship. The Navy published pictures of small Guard vessels surrounding the tanker. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the Guard seized the vessel, but offered no motive. Last week, Iran seized an oil tanker carrying crude for Chevron amid wider tensions between Tehran and the U.S. over its nuclear program.

=> ↺ Ford’s EV unit lost $722 million last quarter, but it’s still cutting prices to compete with Tesla

• Ford announced it would slash the price of its all-electric Mustang Mach-E by between $1,000 and $4,000 this week, the latest move to keep up with Tesla’s recurring price changes.

=> ↺ Another Indian airline has followed Jet into bankruptcy

• Eighteen-year-old Indian airline, Go First, has gone bankrupt, following the same fate as Jet Airways, the country’s first private carrier.

=> ↺ Indian no-frills air carrier Go First files for bankruptcy

• Thousands of travelers have been stranded after no-frills Indian air carrier Go First filed for bankruptcy and suspended its flights for three days, starting Wednesday. A statement on the carrier’s website said the cancellations were due to “operational reasons.” The Press Trust of India news agency said airline chief Kaushik Khona told Go First employees it was facing a crisis due to Pratt & Whitney’s failure to supply aircraft engines, which forced it to ground half its fleet of about 60 aircraft. Pratt and Whitney, an American aerospace manufacturer with global operations, had no immediate comment.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Emory freshman saves the bees, one bottle of lemonade at a time

• Me & the Bees Lemonade donates to a number of different groups, including the U.S. Beekeepers Association, Heifer International and the Sustainable Food Center.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ Armenia’s Population Drops Under 3 Million For First Time Since Independence

• Armenia’s population is just below 3 million people, data from the census conducted in October shows.

Finance

=> ↺ 2023-04-28 [Older] Ex-Apple employee sentenced to three years in prison after $17 million fraud scheme

=> ↺ Growth in Finnish student loan borrowers slows down in 2022

• The growth in the number of student loan borrowers in Finland slowed down in 2022, according to a press release by Kela, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution. The mediaan amount of student loans borrowed was 14,389 euros, and Helsinki-based students took out significantly more loans than those in other regions. While the number of borrowers grew rapidly in the late 2010s, the growth has since slowed down.

=> ↺ Big-spending Chinese shoppers are splurging on luxury at home, not abroad any more

• In April, about 62% of luxury spending by Chinese consumers took place inside its borders.

=> ↺ Nokian Tyres begins restructuring talks affecting 160 workers

• The company says the proposed staff changes are aimed to address a changed market affected by a drop in demand.

=> ↺ Record number of prenups made in Finland, despite ever fewer marriages

• Prenuptial agreements in Finland have nearly doubled in number since the early 2000s.

=> ↺ Rent for Millions of New Yorkers Could Increase by 2 to 5 Percent

• The panel, known as the Rent Guidelines Board, took a preliminary vote on potential rent hikes on Tuesday evening.

=> ↺ How First Republic and Other Bank Failures Could Impact the U.S. Economy

• Are we on the brink of a financial crisis — or has the threat been contained?

=> ↺ Yellen breaks the debt ceiling ice

• The months-long silence between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is reaching an abrupt end thanks to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

• Why it matters: Yellen’s urgent deadline on the debt ceiling gives the White House and Congress as little as a month to avert a catastrophic default, spurring Biden to call an emergency meeting with congressional heads.

=> ↺ India’s unemployed are optimistic about finding jobs—except there aren’t enough jobs for them

• India’s unemployment rate hit a four-month high in April.

=> ↺ InvestEU: EIF and BBVA sign €200 million guarantee agreement to support startups with innovative and sustainable investment plans

• The EIF is granting a €200 million guarantee to BBVA to enable it to offer more financing opportunities to startups via its BBVA Spark unit.

=> ↺ ‘No time to waste’: Yellen, experts urge Congress to act on debt limit

• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress that the United States could default on its debt much sooner than expected if legislators don’t change course soon. Waiting “until the last minute … can cause serious harm,” she said.

=> ↺ After Pandemic Rebound, U.S. Manufacturing Drops

• Factories that roared out of the recession have stalled, hampering the economy, even as a new wave of production looms.

=> ↺ Is the Debt Limit Constitutional? Biden Aides Are Debating It.

• As the government heads toward a possible default on its debt as soon as next month, officials are entertaining a legal theory that previous administrations ruled out.

=> ↺ Why the 14th Amendment Is Being Cited in the Debt Ceiling Debate

• Some Biden administration officials believe a constitutional clause prevents the United States from failing to make payments even if it means breaching the debt limit.

=> ↺ Retail trade lifts modestly but spending starts to dip

• Spending on nice-to-haves has started to drop off as rapid interest rates and cost of living pressures continue to chew into household budgets. Official retail sales data recorded a slightly higher-than-expected lift of 0.4 per cent in March, which followed a modest 0.2 per cent uptick in February.

=> ↺ ‘Should be shocked’, workers could earn more at Maccas

• Tens of thousands of workers will soon be targeted for jobs in childcare centres across the country but could be earning more at McDonalds or Bunnings. Danielle Wood from the Grattan Institute said Australians should be shocked by salaries in early education.

=> ↺ How New Yorkers’ Lives Will Be Altered by the $229 Billion State Budget

• The budget contains a handful of contentious policy changes on issues like bail, minimum wage and a ban on gas stoves and furnaces in new construction.

=> ↺ In China, It’s Time to Splurge Again, and the Luxury Industry Is Relieved

• The end of pandemic-era restrictions has unleashed a luxury spending rebound in China. Which Western brands are coming out on top?

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Release of Justice Stevens’s Private Papers Opens Window Into Supreme Court

• Justice John Paul Stevens’s files on thousands of cases, including landmark decisions on abortion and the 2000 election, have been made public, opening a window on the Supreme Court.

=> ↺ Three years on from Brexit

• (This post was written back in January, but I forgot to post it).

• It’s the three-year anniversary of Brexit, when Britain acted upon a referendum to impose sanctions upon itself. It wasn’t unanimous; Northern Ireland, Greater London, Scotland, and Gibraltar conspicuously voted to remain, as did a disproportionate number of young people who had the most future to lose.

• Funny how that always happens!

• It was surreal seeing it play out from outside the UK. Here was a country voluntarily leaving one of the largest and most prosperous economic blocs in the world, and one in which it held significant sway and interest. British exporters would still be beholden to EU law, they just wouldn’t have a say in shaping its direction. UK wasn’t ever in the Shengen Area, but they still surrendered their preferential treatment… as Tory tourists discovered when visiting their Spanish holiday villas.

=> ↺ How to weaponize Republicans’ words

• As part of a nationwide plan, Republicans in states such as Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, and elsewhere are trying to get rid of child labor laws. Such outcomes will leave children vulnerable to financial and all manner of exploitation and danger.

=> ↺ NPR says Elon Musk is threatening to reassign its Twitter account

• The outlet reported Tuesday that Musk said in a series of emails he would give the account with the handle @NPR to another organization or person.

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ What happens when AI generates fake historical photos

• Social media users in recent weeks have been circulating an old-timey photo of men standing next to a giant horse. While the photo looks like it came from a bygone era, it was actually generated by artificial intelligence. It is just one of a number of AI-generated images that have been presented online as real historical photos. Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse, a historian who specialises in debunking fake historical photos, spoke to the FRANCE 24 Observers team.

=> ↺ Tucker Carlson’s Text That Alarmed Fox: ‘It’s Not How White Men Fight’

• The discovery of the text message contributed to a chain of events that ultimately led to Tucker Carlson’s firing.

=> ↺ How ‘Disinformation’ Became Public Enemy No. 1

• Join Reason on YouTube Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a discussion of Jacob Siegel’s broadside against the “counter-disinformation complex” in Tablet magazine.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Press Freedom Index: Finland now less safe for journalists

• Finland’s result is the same as last year, but RSF said the overall situation for journalists in the Nordic country has worsened. Finland now ranks 23rd in journalists’ safety, compared to 10th last year. The score was heavily impacted by the case of two Helsingin Sanomat journalists who were found guilty of disclosing state secrets in court earlier this year.

=> ↺ Judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times

• A New York judge dismissed Donald Trump’s 2021 lawsuit against The New York Times on Wednesday and ordered the former president to pay attorneys’ fees for the paper and three of its journalists who are listed as defendants.

• In his ruling Wednesday, Justice Robert R. Reed of the state Supreme Court in New York County said Trump’s claims against the Times and three of its journalists for their Pulitzer-winning series on his undisclosed finances in 2018 “fail as a matter of constitutional law.” (Supreme Court is the name of New York’s top trial court.)

=> ↺ Editorial: HKFP photo by Britt Clennett wins honourable mention at Human Rights Press Awards

• Hong Kong Free Press has won an honourable mention for photography at the 2023 Human Rights Press Awards. A shot by Britt Clennett, which shows a worker rolling up a “Hong Kong Asia’s World City” banner as police officers pass by, won a prize in the Single Image category.

=> ↺ Kazakh Journalist Sentenced To 25 Days After Online Call For Protest

• Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim has been sentenced to 25 days in jail on a charge of violating regulations on public gatherings.

=> ↺ The Limits of Joe Biden’s Calls for Press Freedom

• After decades of exposing corruption in Guatemala, the journalist José Rubén Zamora has been jailed. Why can’t the U.S. help him?

=> ↺ Pratasevich, Whose Plane Was Diverted To Minsk, Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison

• A court in Minsk has sentenced Raman Pratasevich, a journalist who was detained in Belarus in 2021 after the commercial flight he was on was forced to land in Minsk, to eight years in prison on charges linked to his reporting.

=> ↺ BuzzFeed, Gawker, and the Casualties of the Traffic Wars

• Ben Smith’s new book shows how the race for clicks spawned—then strangled—the new media.

=> ↺ Reporting carries high costs for RFA journalists in authoritarian Asian countries

• World Press Freedom Day is a reminder that the region contains some of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists.

=> ↺ Vilnius to host solidarity event for Belarusian journalists

• A solidarity event called “Journalism is not a crime!” will take place in Vilnius’ Sakura Park on Wednesday in support of independent Belarusian journalists.

=> ↺ Lithuania rises to 7th place in World Press Freedom Index

• Lithuania has moved up two positions from the ninth to seventh place in this year’s World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Wednesday.

=> ↺ UN denounces Taliban intimidation, attacks on Afghan media

• The United Nations says the Taliban’s intimidation, threats and attacks on Afghan journalists are unacceptable. Many journalists lost their jobs after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, with media outlets closing over a lack of funds or because their staff left the country. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said Wednesday the Taliban have used arbitrary arrests and detentions, ill-treatment and threats as a way to suppress freedom of expression. A media watchdog said the country ranks 152 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index. Deputy Broadcasting Minister Mahajar Farahi told The Associated Press that the government is “still trying to work on

=> ↺ Stop SLAPPs and scrap Section 40 call from UK news industry on Press Freedom Day

• News Media Association warns of urgent threats to presss freedom in the UK.

=> ↺ New York Times’s Publisher Warns of Risks to Press Freedom and Democracy

• The free press’s role in supporting human rights and democratic societies is “at great risk” amid increasing levels of violence against journalists worldwide, A.G. Sulzberger said.

=> ↺ Latvian PEN award goes to Punctum magazine

• The Latvian PEN Award 2022 goes to the literature and philosophy online magazine Punctum, representatives of the Latvian PEN said May 3.

=> ↺ Latvia climbs six places in World Press Freedom Index

• Against a deteriorating environment for press freedom worldwide, Latvia managed to climb six places in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) May 3.

=> ↺ Two-time editor of Press Gazette Tony Loynes dies aged 73

• The editor and publisher saved Press Gazette from closure and fought to chart a way forward for trade publishers in the Internet era.

=> ↺ Association of Editors: Defamation case filed against Yle in Monaco “worrying”

• Finnish news outlets are responsible for operating in accordance with the laws as set out in their own jurisdiction, the association says.

=> ↺ At a U.N. event on press freedom, the publisher of The New York Times warns of dangers to democracy.

=> ↺ Where press freedom is threatened around the world

• Media polarization is helping tear the world apart, according to Reporters Without Borders. The group says polarization is happening at both the local and international levels. As opinion media sows divisions within countries, despotic regimes with their own tight media controls are waging propaganda wars against…

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ It’ll take 300 years to wipe out child marriage at the current pace of progress

• When girls are home from school, and families are facing financial crises, parents are more likely to marry their girls off, she says.

• “It’s one less mouth to feed,” she says, “but also, fear of sexual violence and threats to family honor” lead families to seek out the perceived safety of a marriage.

• Armed conflicts and climate change have a similar impact – by increasing uncertainty and driving up the number of child marriages.

=> ↺ Op-Ed: GEO needs you to reject #BullshitGrades

• The Graduate Employees’ Organization has concluded the fifth week of their strike, withholding their labor as they continue to demand that the University of Michigan engage in good faith bargaining and respect the union’s call for a living wage.

=> ↺ Emma Watson reveals why she stepped away from acting: ‘I didn’t have a voice’

• The “Harry Potter” star hasn’t appeared onscreen since her last project in 2018.

=> ↺ Late Night Shows Go Dark in First Fallout From Writers’ Strike

• How long they stay off the air is an open question. During the last strike, they gradually returned after a couple of months.

=> ↺ Curfew ended in Nusaybin, Mardin

• A curfew has been ordered in nine rural neighborhoods and their villages in Nusaybin district this morning. The Governor’s Office announced later that the curfew had ended with the completion of the operations.

=> ↺ California District Attorney Pamela Price slammed as ‘disrespectful’ to Asians as another prosecutor resigns

• A California prosecutor called hyper-woke Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price “condescending and disrespectful” to the Asian community in a resignation letter this week.

=> ↺ CHP accuses the Interior Ministry of organizing a parallel structure to the Supreme Election Council

• The Vice President of CHP claimed that the Ministry of Interior has sent written instructions to governorships and is organizing a “parallel structure to YSK” while the country is heading toward the May 14 elections.

=> ↺ Several HDP, Green Left members detained in İstanbul raids

• The operation comes amid the ongoing crackdown on Kurdish politicians, journalists and lawyers.

=> ↺ Moving from empty buzzwords to real empowerment: a framework for enabling meaningful engagement of external stakeholders in AI

• The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating. So is the need to ensure that AI systems are not only effective, but also fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, rights-based, accountable, and sustainable – in short, responsible

=> ↺ Irish and French parliamentarians sound the alarm about EU’s CSA Regulation

• The Irish parliament’s justice committee and the French Senate have become the latest voices to sound the alarm about the risk of general monitoring of people’s messages in the proposed Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation.

=> ↺ 2023-04-23 [Older] Apple Store Workers Want to Unionize. Apple Is Union Busting.

=> ↺ Myanmar military announces amnesty for more than 2,000 political prisoners

• The move comes as China’s foreign minister continues his visit to the country.

=> ↺ Rohingya team to visit Myanmar over refugee return plan

• It will visit a site close to the Bangladesh border, where Myanmar’s junta plans to resettle over 1,000 Rohingya in a pilot project.

=> ↺ Blast At Revolutionary Guards Center Leaves Two Dead In Central Iran

• An explosion at a combat-readiness and support center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on the outskirts of the city of Damghan in the central Iranian province of Semnan has left two personnel dead and three injured, the IRGC said in a statement.

=> ↺ Five Kazakhs Killed During Anti-Government Unrest Last Year Convicted Posthumously

• A court in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, has posthumously convicted five men who were shot dead during unprecedented anti-government protests in January last year.

Monopolies

=> ↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] UK blocks Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of Activision

=> ↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] UK regulator blocks Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard merger over cloud concerns

=> ↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] Microsoft Acquisition of Activision Blizzard Blocked by UK Regulator

=> ↺ 2023-04-26 [Older] UK Competition & Markets Authority radicalizes itself by blocking Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard based on misconceptions and speculative concerns: parties will appeal

=> ↺ Florian is a paid Microsoft shill and basically a mouthpiece of Microsoft

Patents

=> ↺ UPC’s PPI to come into force for Denmark

=> ↺ UPC templates for decisions and orders

=> ↺ Anti-corruption: Stronger rules to fight corruption in the EU and worldwide

• European Commission Press release Brussels, 03 May 2023 Today, the Commission is taking decisive action to fight corruption in the EU and worldwide, delivering on the commitment made by President von der Leyen in her 2022 State of the Union address.

=> ↺ Questions and Answers: Stronger rules to fight corruption in the EU and worldwide

• European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 03 May 2023 What is included in the anti-corruption package?

=> ↺ Strengthening EU action to fight corruption

• European Commission Factsheet Brussels, 03 May 2023 Strengthening EU action to fight corruption Strengthening EU action to fight corruption Strengthening EU action to fight corruption

Copyrights

=> ↺ The Dream Journey: Meet the friends bringing Pakistani music back

• The cultural effects of an oppressive regime can linger for generations. But in Pakistan, a collective of music lovers is reviving the country’s musical heritage and spreading joy across borders.

=> ↺ The Legal Implications of AI-Generated Content in Copyright Law

• Legal action of collective nature was instituted against GitHub, Microsoft, and OpenAI. The motion claimed that the AI-powered coding aide GitHub Copilot infringed copyright laws by generating code derived from code licensed under open source, which is publicly accessible. Copilot provides programmers with suggestions for novel code based on their existing code in real-time. As per the legal action, Copilot’s code-generating software was trained on code that was subject to copyright, without obtaining the necessary authorization. Furthermore, the program creates new code that is akin or identical to the original work. This is the premier lawsuit to be brought involving generative AI. The case aims to attain class-action status, and if it prevails, it could potentially affect the whole AI industry and how it utilizes publicly available code for training models.

=> ↺ Potential Copyright Implications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

• These algorithms often rely on massive datasets of copyrighted images, which can easily be obtained from online platforms like Google Images or Flickr. However, these datasets are often created without the permission of the original creators.

• One potential solution is for artificial intelligence software developers to enact stronger protections for intellectual [sic] property [sic] rights [sic] and require users to seek permission from original copyright holders before uploading their work or content. This would help avoid any potential issues with copyright infringement and ensure that artificial intelligence systems are used in a responsible and ethical manner.

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