This page permanently redirects to gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/05/17/another-illegal-upc-manoeuvre/.

● 05.17.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 17/05/2023: Team UPC Tries Another Illegal Manoeuvre

Posted in News Roundup at 7:59 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

=> ↺ Quantum firms team up for hybrid computing under Linux …

• QMware GmbH (Saint Gallen, Switzerland) and QuiX Quantum NV (Enschede, The Netherlands) have agreed to collaborate build a hybrid quantum-classical computing platform in Enschede.

• The hybrid architecture integrates high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure with native quantum computing technology and is expected to be fully operational for commercial applications in August 2023.

• QMware offers a hybrid approach to quantum computing through its software framework. This will be used to integrate different hardware types with shared memory access. This will be operated under a unified Linux operating system. The companies say this will be the first of a new kind of data center and aims at a ten-fold increase in processing power.

Desktop/Laptop

=> ↺ ZDNet ☛ This official Ubuntu Spin might just be the perfect intro to Linux

• There are so many Linux distributions that claim to be the best for those looking to try out the open source operating system. Many of them, such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Zorin OS, Deepin Linux, and Elementary OS, are very well designed for that very purpose. They all offer unique takes on Linux and each has some special to offer.

• But there’s a lesser-known, official Ubuntu spin that really hits all the marks for new users. That distribution is Ubuntu Budgie. Not only is this take on the Linux desktop very user-friendly, but it’s also quite beautiful as well.

• [...]

• The development team is certainly backing up that statement. I’m always on the lookout for Linux distributions that are ideal for new users and with the release of Ubuntu Budgie 23.04, I can wholeheartedly say that this distribution might be the perfect introduction to Linux. It has the simple underpinnings of Ubuntu (including Snap packages), and a UI that makes working with Linux as easy as using Windows or MacOS.

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Ubuntu Podcast from the UK LoCo: Soaking Up the Cider

• We discuss switching to Apple Music on desktop Linux, sideloading homebrew on the Steam Deck, and finding note-taking nirvana.

=> ↺ Tux Digital ☛ Destination Linux 323: Reviewing The Most Popular Linux Distro In The World

• This week’s episode of Destination Linux, we take a look at Ubuntu 23.04 Lunar Lobster.

=> ↺ 323: Reviewing The Most Popular Linux Distro In The World

=> ↺ mintCast Podcast ☛ mintCast 412 – Coldpause

• First up, in the news, Mint News for April, Mozilla Thunderbird is adding paid features and services, Raspberry Pi OS updates, sudo and su get Rusty, Flatseal gets GTK4, new Framework laptop gets Ryzen 7040 series, Kingston firmware contains lyrics, YouTube tests blocking adblock, Star5’s Vision 2 RISC-V gets Ubuntu, and Microsoft wants Firefox to switch to Bing

• In security and privacy, India bans open-source messaging apps “for security reasons”;

• Then in our Wanderings, Bill tells a story, Joe gets political, I conquered wifi, and Majid goes back in time.

• Download

=> ↺ Luis Villa: Announcing the Upstream podcast [Ed: They are connected to rogue companies including Microsoft]

=> ↺ Luis Villa: Announcing the Upstream podcast [Ed: They are connected to rogue companies including Microsoft]

Kernel Space

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 6.3.3

• I’m announcing the release of the 6.3.3 kernel.

• All users of the 6.3 kernel series must upgrade.

• The updated 6.3.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-6.3.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser:

• https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-s…

• thanks,

• greg k-h

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 6.2.16

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 6.1.29

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 5.15.112

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 5.10.180

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 5.4.243

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 4.19.283

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Linux 4.14.315

=> ↺ 9to5Linux ☛ Linux Kernel 6.2 Reaches End of Life, Users Urged to Upgrade to Linux Kernel 6.3

• TLinux kernel 6.2 arrived less than three months ago on February 19th, 2023, and it introduced new features like protective load balancing (PLB) for the IPv6 stack, a new FineIBT control-flow integrity mechanism for x86, support for the Intel “asynchronous exit notification” mechanism, and more Rust infrastructure.

• Being a short-lived kernel branch, Linux 6.2 has now reached end of life (EOL) with the Linux 6.2.16 release that was announced today by renowned kernel developer and maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, who urges users to upgrade to the latest Linux 6.3 kernel series as soon as possible.

Applications

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ Excellent Linux Console Audio Grabbers

• CD audio grabbers are designed to extract (“rip”) the raw digital audio (in a format commonly called CDDA) from a compact disc to a file or other output.

=> ↺ OMG! Linux ☛ Rhythmbox 3.4.7 Released – Party Mode Removed, Bugs Fixed

• A new version of Rhythmbox music player is out.

=> ↺ Net2 ☛ Best Project Management Software for Linux

• Linux users understand the power and flexibility of this open-source operating system, making it a go-to platform for professionals, including project managers. In this guide, we’ll explore top project management software options specifically designed for Linux, helping streamline workflows and enhance project management capabilities.

=> ↺ Medevel ☛ 17 Top Open-source Free DICOM Viewers For Medical Professionals

• What is DICOM?

• DICOM, which stands for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine, is a standardized format that enables medical professionals to access and share medical images regardless of their location or the devices they use. DICOM images require specific software known as DICOM viewers to read and display the

=> ↺ PostgreSQL ☛ credcheck v1.2.0 released

• The credcheck PostgreSQL extension provides few general credential checks, which will be evaluated during the user creation, during the password change and user renaming. By using this extension, we can define a set of rules: [...]

=> ↺ PostgreSQL ☛ pg_track_settings 4.1.2 is out!

• I’m pleased to announce the release of the version 2.1.2 of pg_track_settings, an extension that helps you keep track of postgresql settings configuration.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ TecAdmin ☛ Setting up an SFTP Server on Ubuntu

• Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is a secure protocol for transferring files between local and remote servers. Unlike standard FTP, it uses SSH (Secure Shell) to encrypt all data transfers, protecting against common threats like data interception and packet sniffing. In this guide, we will detail the steps to set up an SFTP server on [...]

=> ↺ RoseHosting ☛ VPS vs. VPN: Unraveling the Mystery Behind These Tech Buzzwords

• In today’s digital world, privacy, security, and performance are of utmost importance.

=> ↺ ZDNet ☛ Linux security: What is sudo and why is it so important?

• Sudo stands for “superuser do” and effectively gives a regular user access to administrator-like powers. Here’s how to use this powerful tool.

=> ↺ It’s FOSS ☛ Beginner’s Guide to System Updates in Linux Mint

• New to Linux Mint? It has an excellent system updater tool. Learn about this tool and the best practices you should follow.

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ Web Pro News ☛ Asahi Linux Chooses KDE Plasma, Citing ‘Configurability’

• Asahi Linux lead Hector Martin took to Mastodon to explain the decision to use KDE as the default desktop environment (DE), citing its “configurability.”

• Asahi Linux is a project aimed at bringing Linux to Apple’s custom silicon chips. The project has chosen KDE Plasma as its default DE due to the degree of customization it offers. As we pointed out in our review of KDE Plasma, the DE is hands-down the most customizeable and powerful available.

=> ↺ Plasma Sprint 2023 in Augsburg

• Finally a sprint again! The 2019 the Plasma Sprint in Valencia was my first in person KDE event and I was hooked instantly. However something mysterious happened in the next years that and in person meet ups stopped happening. While Akademy 2022 happened in person again, a sprint has different atmosphere and I was awesome to see people that couldn’t make Akademy or for whom it was their first sprint. Other attendees have blogged about the sprint as well, check them out too. Either on the planet or over on discuss Carl created a collection of a bunch of them.

• So what did I do? Aside from the usual talking, discussion, planing which the others already blogged about. (And of course the live bug investigations on fellow developers’ machines who always seem to attract the weirdest issues.) I am afraid I spent the rest of the time on boring backend stuff.

=> ↺ KDE Official ☛ KDE & Google Summer of Code 2023

=> ↺ OMG! Linux ☛ KDE’s GSoC 2023 Projects Include New Digikam, Kalendar & Krita Features

• A swathe of well-known free software projects are taking part in this year’s Google Summer of Code, and KDE is among them.

• /blockquote>

=> ↺ Qt ☛ Qt as a Career – Mapping your own path into coding [Ed: But Qt is proprietary and only one company controls it]

• In this series, we’ll be bringing you a variety of career stories from people working with Qt.

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ Sam Thursfield: Status update, 16/05/2023

• I am volunteering a lot of time to work on testing at the moment. When you start out as a developer this seems like the most boring kind of open source contribution that you can do. Once you become responsible for maintaining existing codebases though it becomes very interesting as a way to automate some of the work involved in reviewing merge requests and responding to issue reports.

Distributions and Operating Systems

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ Distrobox – use Linux distributions in your terminal

• Distrobox is software which creates and manages container-based development environments without root privileges. It lets you run a wide range of Linux distributions on a single host system.

• It’s not reinventing the wheel. Distrobox is merely a rather sophisticated wrapper around Podman or Docker. Podman is a daemonless tool designed to find, run, build, share and deploy applications using containers and container images. Docker is a set of platform as a service products that use OS-level virtualization to deliver software in packages called containers.

• What’s a container? A container is an operating-system-level virtualization method for running multiple isolated Linux systems on a control host using a single Linux kernel.

=> ↺ The Register UK ☛ Alpine Linux 3.18 fixes DNS over TCP issue, now ready for all the internet’s problems

• The latest update to the ultra-lightweight Alpine Linux distro, as widely used for hosting Docker containers, fixes an important issue.

• There are many relatively small new features in Alpine 3.18, but one of them, while niche, could prove significant. One of several unusual things about Alpine Linux is that it doesn’t use glibc, the standard C library that is the basis of almost all other Linux distros. Instead, Alpine is based on the smaller, lighter Musl libc.

• For many years, and by design, Musl did not support DNS over TCP, only over UDP.

SUSE/OpenSUSE

=> ↺ SUSE’s Corporate Blog ☛ Innovation in uncertain times. Join SUSE at SAP Sapphire Barcelona Spain, May 24-25, 2023 [Ed: Even after the SAP salesperson left as CEO the company SUSE is beholden to proprietary software]

• Organizations today are facing a myriad of challenges. An uncertain macroeconomic climate, rising capital costs, the continued increase in global cybersecurity threats, supply chain issues, and skill shortages all impact their ability to innovate.

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Rocky Linux ☛ Rocky Linux 9.2 Available Now

• We are pleased to announce the general availability of Rocky Linux 9.2. This release is currently available for the x86-64, aarch64, and s390x architectures. Please review the release notes in the Rocky Linux Documentation – These notes contain important information including known bugs and more comprehensive details about changes in this version.

• Important Notices 9.2 Release for PowerPC (ppc64le) architecture held back During testing, we discovered an architecture-specific issue on ppc64le systems with the bundled version of Python 3.9. This issue not only prevents installing, but may break existing installations.

=> ↺ Linux Capable ☛ AppArmor vs. SELinux: What’s The Difference?

• Mandatory Access Control (MAC) systems such as AppArmor and SELinux are essential tools for system administrators. They provide the ability to manage access to resources and control systems within the Linux kernel. While they share a common goal, how they operate and offer features vary significantly.

=> ↺ Cockpit Project: Cockpit 292

• Cockpit is the modern Linux admin interface. We release regularly.

• Here are the release notes from Cockpit 292 and cockpit-machines 290:

• The “Disks” usage metrics card now shows the active read and write bandwidth for the top 5 consumers by systemd unit. This is similar to the already existing per-service CPU and RAM usage.

=> ↺ Fedora Project ☛ Fedora Community Blog: Fedora at SCaLE 20x Community Linux Event

• Our team provided help, outreach, and swag items during the SCaLE 20x 2023 Linux community event.

=> ↺ Packit Team: Packit’s pre-commit hooks

• pre-commit # pre-commit is a wonderful tool that saves you a lot of time by automatically checking your changes before you commit and/or push them out.

• For example, in our packit repo we run various hooks upon each commit: Black (Python code formatter), Prettier (code formatter), Flake8 (Python source code checker), Mypy (static type checker for Python), and several other pre-commit hooks.

• Our pre-commit hooks # We also have a few hooks which we’ve created and which you might find useful as well.

=> ↺ Red Hat ☛ The benefits of Fedora 38 long double transition in ppc64le

• Fedora 38 will have a new feature for ppc64le. Clang has begun using the IEEE 128-bit long double by default instead of the IBM 128-bit long double format. This allows Clang to behave the same way as GCC, which switched to IEEE 128-bit long double on ppc64le on Fedora 36. This floating point format benefits from the hardware implementation available on IBM® Power9® processor-based servers and IBM® Power10™ processor-based servers.

• The IBM System/360 Model 85 was released in 1968 and supported a 128-bit extended precision floating point format. A few decades later this format became known in the open source communities as IBM 128-bit long double or IBM double-double.

=> ↺ Barry Kauler ☛ EasySetup and Flapi fixes

• There was a little bug in EasySetup, reported here:

• https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=88979#p88979

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ It’s FOSS ☛ Ubuntu 23.10 To Bring Security Enhanced PPAs

• Ubuntu upgrades constantly enhance functionalities and add security fixes.

• However, it is not often that you see some changes to some of the core mechanisms.

• With Ubuntu 23.10, the PPA functioning gets better. At least, you’ll see fewer warnings in the terminal.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Arduino ☛ Ensure DC motor performance with anomaly detection based on energy monitoring

• The challenge Optimizing manufacturing processes is a requirement in any industry today, with electricity consumption in particular representing a major concern due to increased costs and instability.

=> ↺ Arduino ☛ Stop snoring in its tracks with this helpful device

• For those who have to put up with a snoring partner or roommate, the scourge of listening to those droning sounds can be maddening and lead to a decrease in the quality of one’s sleep.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ HowTo Geek ☛ 10 Gboard Keyboard Features You Should Be Using on Android

=> ↺ Phone Arena ☛ One of the best Android phones — the Pixel 6 — is on sale with Amazon right now – PhoneArena

=> ↺ Android Authority ☛ What is Android System Intelligence? Is it safe to remove?

=> ↺ Express ☛ Samsung faces new Android competition from an iconic smartphone rival | Express.co.uk

=> ↺ Giz China ☛ Google ignored Android 14 for the first time in Google I/O

=> ↺ SamMobile ☛ Android 14′s Ultra HDR feature may be limited to select Samsung phones – SamMobile

=> ↺ Behind the Scenes: How Android Updates Reach Your Phone? | NextPit

=> ↺ Sportskeeda ☛ How free GTA 5 APK+OBB download links can jeopardize your Android mobile devices

=> ↺ Android Authority ☛ Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra renders leak: The best Android tablet of 2023?

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

SaaS/Back End/Databases

=> ↺ SQLite ☛ SQLite Release 3.42.0

• 1. Add the FTS5 secure-delete command. This option causes all forensic traces to be removed from the FTS5 inverted index when content is deleted. 2. Enhance the JSON SQL functions to support JSON5 extensions. 3. The SQLITE_CONFIG_LOG and SQLITE_CONFIG_PCACHE_HDRSZ calls to sqlite3_config() are now allowed to occur after sqlite3_initialize(). 4. New sqlite3_db_config() options: SQLITE_DBCONFIG_STMT_SCANSTATUS and SQLITE_DBCONFIG_REVERSE_SCANORDER.

Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

=> ↺ LibreOffice 7.6 Alpha1 is available for testing

• LibreOffice 7.6 will be released as final in mid August, 2023 ( Check the Release Plan ) being LibreOffice 7.6 Alpha1 the first pre-release since the development of version 7.6 started in mid December, 2022. Since then, 4670 commits have been submitted to the code repository and more than 754 bugs were set to FIXED in Bugzilla. Check the release notes to find the new features included in this version of LibreOffice.

=> ↺ Month of LibreOffice, May 2023 – Half-way point!

• So far, 202 sticker packs have been awarded in the Month of LibreOffice, May 2023.

FSF

=> ↺ FSF ☛ FSF News: The FSF board candidate discussions will start on May 29

GNU Projects

=> ↺ Mark J. Wielaard: Sourceware joins Software Freedom Conservancy

• For almost 25 years Sourceware has been the long-time home of various core toolchain project communities. Projects like Cygwin, a UNIX API for Win32 systems, the GNU Toolchain, including GCC, the GNU Compiler Colection, two C libraries, glibc and newlib, binary tools, binutils and elfutils, debuggers and profilers, GDB, systemtap and valgrind. Sourceware also hosts standard groups like gnu-gabi and the DWARF Debugging Standard. See the full list project hosted and services provided on the Sourceware projects page.

• As the fiscal host of Sourceware, Software Freedom Conservancy will provide a home for fundraising, legal protection and governance that will benefit all projects under Sourceware’s care.  We share one mission: developing, distributing and advocating for Software Freedom.  Together we will offer a worry-free, friendly home for core toolchain and developer tool projects.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Rlang ☛ “Climate spiral” – Plotting GISS Surface Temperature

• NASA has been collecting surface temperature for more than over 100 years, and the GISS Surface Temperature analysis from 1888 onward. It is an estimate of global surface temperature change.

=> ↺ The RedMonk Programming Language Rankings: January 2023 [Ed: Microsoft-sponsored fake "analyst" (RedMonk) uses Microsoft data to only assess projects that choose to be imprisoned by Microsoft and by proprietary trap (GitHub). What sort of research is this????]

• The data source used for the GitHub portion of the analysis is the GitHub Archive.

=> ↺ ArchLinux ☛ Git migration announcement

• This Friday morning (2023-05-19) the Git packaging migration will start until Sunday (2023-05-21). The Arch Linux packaging team will not be able to update packages in any of the repositories during this period.

• Notification when the migration starts, and when it is completed, will be published on the [arch-dev-public] mailing list.

C / C++

=> ↺ Linux Hint ☛ Using the Std::Cout

• Practical tutorial on how to implement and use the cout statement to see the output on the console in C++ and chain together multiple output statements.

=> ↺ Linux Hint ☛ Setw Field Width in C++

• Comprehensive tutorial on how to implement and set the setw() function in C++ to modify the output stream’s field width and manage the output of your program.

=> ↺ Linux Hint ☛ Sorted Linked List in C++

• Guide on how to sort the linked list in C++ programming language to organize the data in a network of nodes to organize it alphabetically by a given key value.

=> ↺ Linux Hint ☛ How to Make and Use Enum in C Language

• How to declare and use an enumerator in C and its constants and assign a value to each of them using the default enumeration or by defining them yourself.

Python

=> ↺ Peter ‘CzP’ Czanik ☛ Syslog-ng Python Packaging

• In version 4 of syslog-ng, the role of Python became even more important. Previously, all parts of syslog-ng could be extended using Python code, but no actual Python code was provided with syslog-ng. Version 4.0 added a Kubernetes module implemented in Python, while version 4.2 added support for Hypr. But how can we ensure that all Python dependencies are met?

=> ↺ Peter Czanik: Syslog-ng Python packaging

• Of course, Python modules add their own long list of dependencies. There are three ways how these dependencies can be installed:

• On the system using the package management of the OS. This is the preferred way of many organizations, but unfortunately not all dependencies are available for all operating systems as ready-to-install packages.

• On the system using Python tools. This is not recommended, unless you really know what you are doing, as mixing OS-maintained packages with manually installed components can easily lead to chaos.

=> ↺ Linux Hint ☛ Seaborn Grouped Bar Plot

• The “sns.barplot()” method can be used for grouped bar plots when users have multiple categorical variables and want to plot together at once.

=> ↺ Linux Hint ☛ Seaborn Heatmap Size

• To resize the Seaborn heatmap in Python, the “plt.set()” method, “plt.figure()” method, and “plt.gcf” method can be used.

=> ↺ Linux Hint ☛ Matplotlib Figure Title

• The “matplotlib.pyplot” library is used to add titles in graphs for identification and explanation. It is also used to change font, alignment, color, and location.

=> ↺ Medevel ☛ 10+ Python Scrapping Libraries and Frameworks For Data Engineers and Data Scientists

• Python is a popular general purpose programming language for building desktop apps, games, and mobile apps. It is also the primary choice for many data engineers and data scientists for its scripting capability and vast collection of open-source libraries, tools, and frameworks.

• In summary, it is an immensely powerful programming

Java

=> ↺ IT Jungle ☛ Java 17 Now GA for IBM i and WebSphere Gets Company

• Java 17 is now available on IBM i, IBM announced last month, bringing the first major Java enhancement since Java 11 to the platform. The Java-based Web application server environment is also evolving on IBM i, as Big Blue adds more options besides WebSphere.

Leftovers

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Julia Child, Jane Austen, and sleuths of a certain age

• In need of some armchair travel? Curl up with spring’s new mysteries where adventure abounds in San Francisco, Paris, and England.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ On an Austrian Train, Hitler’s Voice Played Over the Loudspeakers

• Two men have been questioned in the bizarre case, where Hitler could be heard over an express train’s P.A. system. The episode has led to outrage and head-scratching.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ German Court Convicts Five Men for Green Vault Jewel Heist

• The trial brought to light the extraordinary story of how members of a notorious crime family broke into one of the most secure museums in Germany.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Cherelle Parker Wins Democratic Mayoral Primary in Philadelphia

• She drew support from prominent Democratic politicians and trade unions. She is all but assured of becoming the city’s first woman mayor.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Chinese fishing vessel capsizes in Indian Ocean, 39 missing

• No missing persons have been found so far.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ A Few Thoughts on Quentin Tarantino’s Plan to Retire

• The director has said that his tenth film will be his last. What does this mean for his cinematic legacy?

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Indy, Scorsese and an African revival: What to expect from Cannes 2023

• The Cannes Film Festival is poised to launch a blockbuster 76th edition on Tuesday stacked with celebrated auteurs and Hollywood star power, confident that it has weathered the Covid pandemic and upheld its status as the guardian of the big screen. In a belated and welcome sign of change, this year’s line-up features more female directors and a sizeable contingent of African entries, while the return of Hollywood silverbacks Harrison Ford (in his final appearance as Indiana Jones) and Martin Scorsese will provide the festival’s marquee premieres.

Science

=> ↺ uni Michigan ☛ Researchers look at genetic maintenance of same-sex sexual behavior

• LSA professor Jianzhi Zhang and graduate student Siliang Song are exploring why the many genes associated with same-sex sexual behavior have not been purged from the human genome over time.

Education

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Literacy skills declining among Finnish kids, global study finds

• The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) examines the reading comprehension of fourth grade students around the world every 5 years.

Hardware

=> ↺ CNX Software ☛ Gigadevice GD25LE128EXH is a tiny 3x3mm 128Mbit SPI NOR flash

• GigaDevice Semiconductor has just launched the GD25LE128EXH 128Mbit SPI NOR Flash in a tiny ultra-compact 3x3x0.4mm FO-USON8 package designed for IoT, wearables, healthcare, and networking products. The GD25LE128EXH supports up to 133MHz frequency with four channels delivering up to 532Mbit/s data throughput. GigaDevice also highlights the low power consumption of just 6mA when reading, or a reduction of power consumption by 45% compared to previous devices.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Japan PM Kishida to Meet Executives From Top Chip Firms -Sources

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Oxford University Removes Sackler Name From Buildings

• The elite British university has become the latest in a long series of institutions to publicly distance themselves from the family because of some of its members’ ties to the opioid crisis.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ I’m a Couples Therapist. Something New Is Happening in Relationships.

• For more and more of Orna Guralnik’s patients, the ideas behind Black Lives Matter and #MeToo are leading to breakthroughs at home.

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ Warning: 6 products that could pose a serious safety risk to your baby or child

• We round up the potentially dangerous baby products featured in safety recalls or Which? investigations

=> ↺ Axios ☛ North Carolina Republicans pass 12-week abortion law

• Most abortions will no longer be legal in North Carolina after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

• Driving the news: The state’s GOP-controlled legislature Tuesday night carried out a razor-thin override of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a 46-page bill that tightens restrictions on abortion care here.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ A U.S. Experiment on Single-Payer Care Just Ended

• The system for one disease, Covid, had similarities to “Medicare for all.”

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Brazil’s Bolsonaro Denies Tampering of His Vaccination Records

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Bird Flu Vaccine Authorized for Emergency Use in California Condors

• More than 20 of the birds, which are critically endangered, have died in recent months.

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ High-Top Shoes Can Actually Increase Injury Risk, Experts Warn

• Here’s what the science says.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Japan’s Economy Rebounds on Healthy Consumption as COVID Restrictions Ease, Tourists Arrive

• Japan’s economy has grown at an annual pace of 1.6% in the quarter through March

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ US appeals court allows religious discrimination complaint over government-mandated COVID-19 vaccines

• The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that former government employees can sue the city of San Francisco, California for infringing on their religious freedom after they were denied exemptions from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Proprietary

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Ex-Audi Chief Pleads Guilty in Dieselgate Trial

• Over 10 million Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Mercedes vehicles were sold with manufacturing defects worldwide.

Windows TCO

=> ↺ Scoop News Group ☛ Keeping a competitive edge in the cybersecurity ‘game’ [Ed: "This article was produced by Microsoft Federal, for CyberScoop." So a site that claims to be for security prints crap from a back doors proponent.]

=> ↺ Scoop News Group ☛ White House plan to implement cyber strategy includes ambitious digital education effort [Ed: But not deleting Microsoft and Windows?]

Security

=> ↺ WordPress ☛ WordPress 6.2.1 Maintenance & Security Release

• WordPress 6.2.1 is now available! This minor release features 20 bug fixes in Core and 10 bug fixes for the block editor. You can review a summary of the maintenance updates in this release by reading the Release Candidate announcement. This release also features several security fixes.

=> ↺ Pen Test Partners ☛ It’s always DNS, here’s why…

=> ↺ XSAs released on 2023-05-16

• The Xen Project has released one or more Xen security advisories (XSAs).

• The security of Qubes OS is not affected.

• Therefore, no user action is required.

=> ↺ OSI Blog ☛ Another issue with the Cyber Resilience Act: European standards bodies are inaccessible to Open Source projects

• Europe’s standards bodies have no functional relationships with Open Source charities and do not consult them.

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ We need more breach transparency, but a lot of obstacles are in the way

=> ↺ Freexian Collaborators: Monthly report about Debian Long Term Support, April 2023 (by Roberto C. Sánchez)

=> ↺ Security Week ☛ Teltonika Vulnerabilities Could Expose Thousands of Industrial Organizations to Remote Attacks

• Critical vulnerabilities found in Teltonika products by industrial cybersecurity firms Otorio and Claroty expose thousands of internet-exposed devices to attacks.

=> ↺ Security Week ☛ New Babuk-Based Ransomware Targeting Organizations in US, Korea

• An emerging ransomware gang called RA Group is targeting organizations in the US and South Korea.

=> ↺ Security Week ☛ Lancefly APT Targeting Asian Government Organizations for Years

• A threat actor tracked as Lancefly has been targeting government organizations in South and Southeast Asia for at least three years.

=> ↺ Improvements to PPA management in 23.10

• We’re excited to announce the release of software-properties 0.99.37, just uploaded to mantic-proposed! This update brings a significant change to how PPAs are managed on Ubuntu systems, thanks to the hard work of @enr0n.

• In previous versions of Ubuntu, PPAs were managed through a traditional .list file located at /etc/apt/sources.list.d/, accompanied by a gpg keyring at /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ European Commission ☛ Commissioner Johansson’s speech at the High level meeting with the Western Balkan partners on Small Arms and Light Weapons control

• European Commission Speech Brussels, 16 May 2023 Guns kill people.

• We were reminded of this reality by two deadly attacks within 48 hours. In and near Belgrade.

=> ↺ The Strategist ☛ Reeling in illegal fishing is crucial to Australia’s maritime security

• Combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) is key to the integrity of the international legal framework and the rules-based international order.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Philippines: ‘Stronger security cooperation’ with Japan essential for regional peace

• Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo says both countries believe in rules-based resolution of disputes.

=> ↺ Marcy Wheeler ☛ Seven Things Not Mentioned in the Durham Report

• If John Durham closed just a handful of enormous gaps in his shoddy report, it would all fall apart.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ U.S. to make million-dollar investment in Latvian border security

• The United States Department of Energy has announced a $1.3 million investment in strengthening border security and radiation detection in Latvia, the U.S. embassy in Rīga said in a release May 16.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Republican Leaders and Right-Wing Media React to the Durham Report

• Conservative leaders and right-wing outlets say the special counsel report, which produced no startling revelations, lends credence to their conspiracy theories about the F.B.I.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Japan’s Kishida to push for a ‘world without nuclear weapons’ at G-7, but faces impossible task

• Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants to use the Group of Seven (G-7) Leaders’ Summit in his home constituency of Hiroshima this weekend to “promote a world without nuclear weapons”.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Rival Groups Firing in NW Pakistan: 16 Killed and 4 Injured

• “…The police said that the event occurred because of a long-standing dispute between the two tribal groups…”

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ At Least 16 Killed In Tribal Clashes Over Coal Mine In Northwestern Pakistan

• At least 16 people have been killed and three were wounded in armed clashes triggered by a dispute over the ownership of a coal mine in northwestern Pakistan, police said.

=> ↺ ADF ☛ Anglophone Separatists Step Up Attacks in Cameroon

• A recent attack less than 40 kilometers west of Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, has citizens feeling unnerved and insecure. On May 1, at least 15 heavily armed Anglophone separatists attacked a military post in the farming village of Matouke.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ At Hiroshima G7, Bomb Survivors Grapple With a Disarmament Dream Deferred

=> ↺ ADF ☛ ‘Wet With Blood’: Survivors Describe Burkina Faso Massacre

• ADF STAFF The brutal attack lasted about six hours. When it was over, at least 156 people were dead. Some of the victims were blindfolded, some were babies under a month old, killed on their mothers’ backs.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ War in Sudan Unleashes New Wave of Violence in Darfur

• The war in Sudan has unleashed a new wave of violence in the western region of Darfur, sending tens of thousands into neighboring Chad, where a new humanitarian crisis is looming.

=> ↺ ADF ☛ With Weapons and Gold Mining, Wagner Cashes In on Sudan Chaos

• While Sudan’s rival generals battle for control of the country, Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries continue to cash in despite the chaos. As other mining companies suspended operations in the country, Wagner’s affiliate Meroe Gold continued operation of its gold mines.

=> ↺ ADF ☛ Experts: Could Sudan’s Fate Resemble Divided Libya?

• Cease-fires have failed. Rival sides seem evenly matched. The men at the top are increasingly entrenched in their opposition to each other. Regional players are choosing sides. Observers say they’ve seen these factors before, and they wonder whether Sudan could be headed for the kind of division that has crippled Libya for years.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Arab states see a path to progress through Syria. It could be bumpy.

• Fresh diplomacy in the Middle East is reforging Syria’s ties to the Arab world. Each has something the other wants. But will Damascus play ball?

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ Syrian refugees fear normalization with Assad. Because it means they will have to return—and not by choice.

• Syrian refugees fear that “normalization” of ties will boost the narrative that “Syria is safe now,” giving further justification to rid Syrian refugee populations.

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ The Arab League thinks readmitting Syria will push out Iran. They’re wrong.

• The logic of drawing Bashar al-Assad back into the Arab League is unsound, founded on the faulty premise that there remains such a thing as an independent Syrian regime to woo back from Tehran.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ UN: Africa’s Sahel Desperately Needs Help to Fight Violent Extremism and Stop Its Spread

• Africa’s Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Several dead in Senegal clashes as opposition leader Sonko’s rape trial adjourned

• Three people died during clashes between Senegalese police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, the authorities said on Tuesday, amid flaring tensions triggered by a legal showdown.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Global executions surge, with China, Iran leading the way, Amnesty says

• Recorded executions worldwide reached 883 last year, the highest level since 2017, according to an Amnesty International report published on Tuesday that decried the Middle East and North Africa in particular.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ UN: Africa’s Sahel needs international support to fight extremism

• Africa’s Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads, and a senior UN official warned Tuesday that without greater international support and regional cooperation the instability will expand toward West African coastal countries.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Belarus State Media Release a Photo of Lukashenko Amid Ill Health Rumors

• Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, a Kremlin ally, had not been shown since he attended events last week celebrating the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in 1945.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ She Killed the Man Raping Her. Now Mexican Woman Faces 6 Years in Prison

• A Mexican woman who killed a man defending herself when he attacked and raped her in 2021 was sentenced to more than six years in prison, a decision her legal defense called “discriminatory” and vowed to appeal

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Biden Team to Counter Tech Espionage Unveils Cases Involving China and Russia

• A new division set up by the government to pursue sanctions evasion and technology espionage announced arrests of individuals with ties to foreign governments.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Putin Faces Military Setbacks and Disunity

• The problems that have hindered Russia’s 15-month war are still festering: stretched resources and disunity in the ranks. Still, Mr. Putin’s resolve augurs a willingness to prosecute a long war.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Durham report criticizes FBI role in Trump-Russia probe

• A four-year investigation into the possible misconduct of the FBI’s probe into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign has concluded. Prosecutor John Durham’s report has identified major flaws in the FBI’s investigation.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Russia’s top mercenary leader turns on Kremlin. What’s behind rift?

• Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has been engaged in very public criticism of Russia’s war effort. Experts say that it’s not a challenge to Vladimir Putin, but positioning for the post-war order.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Russian Embassy: Border guards cancelling Finns’ visas are ‘isolated cases’

• Last week, Russian border authorities began annulling some visas carried by Finnish citizens, refusing their entry and turning them back to Finland.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Durham Report Takeaways: A ‘Seriously Flawed’ Russia Investigation and Its Lasting Impact on the FBI

• A 306-page report by Justice Department special counsel John Durham is refocusing negative attention on one of the most politically significant investigations in FBI history: the probe into whether Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was colluding with Russia to tip the outcome of the election

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Gessen Resigns From PEN America Board Over Canceled Panel With Russian Dissidents

• The author and journalist Masha Gessen has resigned as vice president of the board of PEN America, citing their unhappiness with the literary and free expression organization’s cancellation of an event that would have included Russian panelists

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Moldovan Region Headed for Clash With Pro-European Government

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Georgian Airways To Resume Direct Flights To Russia From May 20

• Georgia’s flag carrier, Georgian Airways, will resume direct flights to Russia from May 20, the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency said on May 16, after Russia lifted a flight ban last week.

=> ↺ Scoop News Group ☛ Justice and Commerce Department ‘strike force’ target theft of quantum, autonomous technologies

• A series of criminal cases took aim at individuals seeking to help China, Russia and Iran gain access to sensitive U.S. tech.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Hidden terror: Clearing unexploded bombs from Laos hits snag

• Workers wait for funding to clear bombs dropped by US during Vietnam War.

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Officials Who Cast Doubt on Hunter Biden Laptop Face Questions

• Dozens of former intelligence officials signed a letter discounting the laptop’s contents. Republicans say the missive was part of a Biden campaign operation.

Environment

=> ↺ uni Stanford ☛ Q&A: Yi Cui discusses climate change, ‘Flagship Destinations’ and his new position as Director of the Sustainability Accelerator

• Shortly after the controversial announcement of greenhouse gas removal as the first “Flagship Destination” for the Doerr School and the Sustainability Accelerator within it, Director Yi Cui sat down for a Q&A with The Daily.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Manchin Clashes With Biden Administration Over Climate Law

• Senator Joe Manchin III, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who faces re-election next year and is flirting with a presidential run, has threatened to repeal the measure he helped write.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ In Photos: Africa holds huge potential in geothermal energy generation

• Africa’s geothermal potential is huge, particularly in the Rift Valley, which extends from the Horn of Africa to Malawi.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Five Killed After Cyclone Mocha Hits Myanmar

• Mocha damaged 864 houses, 11 religious buildings, 16 monasteries, 64 schools, 14 hospitals and clinics, 7 telecom towers, 71 lamp posts, and 38 departmental buildings

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Nearly 400 feared dead after Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar’s Rakhine state

• The majority of victims were staying in camps for the displaced described as ‘open-roof prisons.’

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ On solar energy, a top-down push meets bottom-up doubts

• Solar power is a growth industry and a national priority. But that doesn’t mean solar projects are easily built. One problem may be a lack of dialogue between investors and local communities.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ As EV Sales Pick up Pace, Electric Commercial Fleets Lag

• Passenger cars dominate the electric vehicle market, but light delivery trucks could benefit from the cost savings and range E.V.s offer.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Biden Vetoes Legislation That Would Reinstate Tariffs on Some Solar Panels

• President Biden announced a two-year pause on the tariffs last year after importers complained that the penalties would threaten broader adoption of solar energy in the United States.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Trudeau Says Canada Ready to Partner With South Korea on Critical Minerals, Security

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Musk Warns Tesla Shareholders to Expect “Challenging” Year

• Tesla will not escape the effects of a global economic downturn, Mr. Musk said at the carmaker’s annual meeting. But he insisted Tesla would emerge stronger.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Gas-rich NT ‘key player’ with new carbon capture hub

• A proposed emissions storage hub in the Northern Territory will take carbon waste from gas plants and provide a feedstock for making fertiliser and other products. Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the creation of a carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) industry will be an important part of the Middle Arm industrial precinct on Darwin Harbour.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Report: EV battery making riddled with rights violations, environmental threats

• Companies including Panasonic, Tesla, and Toyota should check their supply chain, rights group says.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ More than a dozen people, 3 dogs rescued from apartment fire in downtown Portland, Oregon

• Firefighters rescued more than a dozen people and three dogs Tuesday from an apartment building blaze in downtown Portland, Oregon. Portland Fire & Rescue tweeted about the fire at 10:45 a.m. and shortly after said rescues were underway. Fire officials later told The Oregonian/OregonLive the agency was confident that everyone got out of the building, which was built in 1910 and has about 50 units. Around 1 p.m., officials said the fire had “maxed out” but likely would burn until Wednesday. Photos and video posted online showed heavy, black smoke pouring out of the four-story building. The smoke also temporarily closed Interstate 405. The cause of the blaze wasn’t immediately known.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia to lose spot as 4th most populous country by 2045

• The fall in the birth rate can be attributed to the country’s family planning campaign.

=> ↺ Overpopulation ☛ Adversity for Biodiversity: A Reflection on My Experience at COP15

• The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework1 adopted in December 2022 by representatives of most of the world’s national governments is inadequate to halt and reverse the disturbing loss of biodiversity globally. Concerted efforts to increase the new Framework’s ambition were dismissed and ultimately ignored.

Finance

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Rural Australians told to look beyond big four banks

• Regional Australia “can’t put the genie back in the bottle” as banking services move online and local branches shut their doors. But community banks could be one option to keep rural economies alive and give locals the face-to-face services they need, a federal inquiry has been told.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Macron’s tax cuts attempt to woo the French middle class

• French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday evening tax cuts of up to €2 billion for the French people. The announcement targets France’s middle class, which has borne the brunt of high inflation and stagnating salaries over the past few months.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Argentina Hikes Benchmark Interest Rate to 97 Pct

• The decision seeks to reduce inflation, stabilize the exchange rate and guarantee consistent levels of economic activity.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ The investor of Big Short fame is making a huge bet on Chinese tech stocks

• Short seller Michael Burry is playing the long game in China’s tech sector.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ How Biden Blew It on the Debt Ceiling

• Doesn’t anyone here know how to play this game?

=> ↺ CoryDoctorow ☛ Pluralistic: Rent control works (16 May 2023)

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Democrats float scheme to protect McCarthy from debt ceiling revolt

• A group of dozens of House Democratic moderates is quietly telling Republicans they could provide House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) the votes he needs to survive a right-wing effort to oust him.

• Why it matters: The development could further complicate matters for McCarthy as he tries to hammer out a debt ceiling deal with the White House without alienating members on his side of the aisle.

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Biden agrees to direct debt ceiling talks with House GOP

• Congressional leaders on Tuesday said President Biden agreed to have the White House negotiate the debt ceiling directly with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office.

• Why it matters: Biden is acceding to a key demand by Republican lawmakers – for the White House to acknowledge the House GOP majority’s leverage in the process and act accordingly.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Banks leaving rural Oz despite billion-dollar future

• Rural Australians need banks to be “a rising tide that lifts all boats”, as the regions become the centre of billion-dollar green energy projects and an expanding agriculture sector. But the increasing closure of local branches in regional areas does nothing to boost confidence in country communities, a federal inquiry is set to hear.

=> ↺ MoneyControl ☛ Google, Meta, Amazon hiring low-paid H1B workers after US layoffs: report

=> ↺ ABP ☛ Google, Meta, Amazon, Other Tech Giants Hiring Low-Paid H1B Workers After Massive Layoffs: Report

=> ↺ NYPost ☛ Google, Meta, Amazon hire low-paid foreign workers after US layoffs: report

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Biden and McCarthy Show Optimism on Debt Ceiling but Remain Far Apart

• The negotiations at the White House came a day after the Treasury Department said the government could run out of money to pay its bills by June 1.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Asian shares tentative, US debt ceiling talks loom

• Asian shares were subdued on Wednesday and the US dollar hovered around a five-week peak as investors remained risk averse, with the US debt ceiling talks and a mixed set of economic data weighing on sentiment.

=> ↺ Helsinki Times ☛ YLE: Finns’ purchasing power to start improving in 2024

• THE PURCHASING POWER of Finns is projected to neither decrease nor increase this year, reports YLE.

• Meri Obstbaum, the head of forecasting at the Bank of Finland, stated to the Finnish public broadcaster yesterday that the purchasing power is expected to start improving next year, returning to the upward trajectory it had been on – barring a couple of exceptions – for the past couple of decades.

=> ↺ Helsinki Times ☛ Nearly half of Finns consider taxation too high – Tax revolt brewing in the Finns Party

• According to a recent values and attitudes survey by the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA, 49% of Finns believe that taxation in Finland is too high, while 32% disagree. The harshest critics of taxation levels are Finns Party voters, of whom 83% believe that taxation in Finland is too harsh. Additionally, a majority of National Coalition Party voters (71%) think that taxation in Finland is too harsh, as do a significant number of Liike Nyt (58%), Christian Democrats (41%), and Centre Party (47%) voters.

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ Which? urges Rishi Sunak to act as some food prices double

• The Prime Minister should use today’s Downing Street food summit to tackle soaring grocery costs

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Commodity prices have brought inflation to its lowest in months in India

• Easing global commodity prices have begun to reflect on inflation in India, at both the wholesale and consumer levels.

=> ↺ Breach Media ☛ Canada has the tools it needs to make a wealth tax work

• To fight 21st-century inequality, Canada needs 21st-century taxes that force billionaires and corporations to pay their fair share

=> ↺ Mexico News Daily ☛ Peso hits 7-year high against US dollar

• The Mexican peso continues its strong performance this year, hitting 17.42 against the U.S. dollar on Monday.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China economic data for April falls short as low demand, youth unemployment see patchy post-pandemic recovery

• China’s economic data for April missed expectations last month, official figures showed Tuesday, as low demand and high youth unemployment led to a patchy recovery after lifting strict Covid rules. Retail sales — a key indicator of domestic consumer activity — grew 18.4 percent on-year, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ A record one in five young people are unemployed in China

• Another troubling sign has emerged in China as the country seeks to regain its economic footing following three years of strict covid curbs.

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ ‘They were showing up at my mum’s house looking for me’

• Leeds man endures three-year fraud saga after his wallet is stolen and he falls victim to identity theft

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ Reddit Is Full of DoorDashers Begging Customers for Tips

• DoorDash only provides a base pay of $2 per order, so some Dashers have resorted to asking customers to give them bigger tips.

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ People Are Organizing to Fight the Private Equity Firms Who Own Their Homes

• How tenant unions are taking back power from their megalandlords.

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Twitter makes first acquisition of Elon Musk era

• Twitter appears to have made its first deal of the Elon Musk era: Buying a job-matching tech startup called Laskie, Axios has learned.

• Why it matters: This is the company’s first known acquisition under Musk’s leadership, as well as a transaction that helps fulfill the billionaire’s aspirations to turn Twitter into a “super-app” that offers users multiple functions — including payments.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Why are Lithuanian IT companies expanding to Africa?

• In recent years, more and more Lithuanian companies have been expanding to Africa. The continent offers not only a growing market but also a greater supply of workforce than Lithuania, businesses say.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ European Commission ☛ Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir

• European Commission Statement Reykjavik, 16 May 2023 Dear Katrín,

• Thank you for having me here, and I want to congratulate you and your country on the very successful Presidency of the Council of Europe. I am very…

=> ↺ European Commission ☛ Keynote speech by President von der Leyen at the opening session of the Council of Europe Summit ‘United around our Values’

• European Commission Speech Reykjavik, 16 May 2023 Prime Minister, dear Katrín,

• First of all, thank you so much for hosting us in this lively and vibrant city of Reykjavík.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong student jailed for 5 years under national security law to take appeal to city’s top court

• A Hong Kong student who was denied a jail term reduction under the national security law has been granted permission to appeal his five-year sentence at the city’s top court.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ State-backed media take aim at Hong Kong housing and urban planning NGOs

• State-backed newspapers have accused a research NGO and six advocacy groups of “smearing” government-led projects such as the Light Public Housing initiative, and large-scale infrastructure projects including the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, previously known as Lantau Tomorrow Vision.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Afghanistan dispatch: Taliban directives on aid leave humanitarian crisis largely unaddressed

• Law students and young lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the Taliban takeover. Here, a Staff Correspondent for JURIST in Kabul reflects on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and internal and international concerns about the Taliban government’s capacity or willingness to address the situation.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Daniel Cameron, Ally of Mitch McConnell, Wins GOP Primary for Kentucky Governor

• Daniel Cameron, the attorney general, will face Andy Beshear, a popular Democrat who is seeking re-election in a typically deep-red state.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Cambodia Disqualifies Main Opposition Party Ahead of Election

• Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose grip on power has lasted 38 years, has said he wants his son to succeed him, laying the groundwork for a new political dynasty.

=> ↺ Kılıçdaroğlu vows to fight till the end

• Despite trailing behind Erdoğan in the presidential election and failing to win the majority in parliament, the opposition leader remains steadfast in his assertion that he will emerge victorious in the upcoming runoff.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Kilicdaroglu faces ‘real uphill battle’ after Erdogan nearly clinched first-round win

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised many observers yet again by nearly winning the Turkish presidential election in Sunday’s first round, defying the polls putting opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu ahead. So the stage is set for the May 28 second round – but analysts say Kilicdaroglu’s route to victory is very narrow indeed.

=> ↺ Mexico News Daily ☛ Peru: AMLO’s statements about President Boluarte ‘irresponsible’

• Peru has reacted angrily to Mexico’s claims that Boluarte is a usurper, as the row over the presidency of the Pacific Alliance deepens.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Without Tucker Carlson, Far Right Loses a Foothold in the Mainstream

• For years, Mr. Carlson used his Fox News show to bring right-wing ideas into Americans’ living rooms. Playing the same role in his next chapter will be much harder.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Interested in Polyamory? Check Out These Cities.

• Laws granting rights to people in polyamorous relationships are being recognized in more cities.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Yemen Gov’t Reinstates +52,000 Dismissed Southern Employees

• “The decisions involve the approval of procedures for a previously formed committee…”

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Wife Of Bosnian Ex-President Loses Position After Academic Titles Annulled

• Sebija Izetbegovic, the wife of the former Muslim member of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, was fired from her position as a professor at Bosnia’s top medical school last month, Sarajevo University head Rifat Skrijel told RFE/RL.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Belarus Bans Travel Abroad For Persons Facing ‘Political Charges,’ Top Officials, Police

• Belarus has banned citizens facing “political charges,” top officials, and law enforcement officers from traveling abroad.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ DeSantis’s Candidate for Kentucky Governor Loses to Trump-Backed Rival

• The 2024 hopeful made a dramatic, election-eve show of support in the Kentucky governor’s race, only for his chosen candidate to get clobbered. Another favored candidate in Jacksonville, Fla., lost, too.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ US President’s visit to Australia officially cancelled

• US President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Australia next week has been cancelled. The leaders of Australia, the US, Japan and India were all scheduled to meet in Sydney on May 24 for a Quad meeting. Mr Biden was due to address the federal parliament in Canberra the day before.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Australia Cancels Quad Meeting in Sydney After Biden Postponement

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Biden shortening overseas trip ahead of debt ceiling deadline

• President Biden is shortening his overseas trip next week to focus on the debt ceiling negotiations.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ US officials ‘re-evaluating’ Biden Australia visit plan

• United States officials have indicated President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Australia for the Quad meeting may not go ahead. The leaders of Australia, the US, Japan and India are scheduled to meet in Sydney on May 24 and Mr Biden was expected to address the federal parliament in Canberra the day before.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Biden Cancels Trips Due To Debt Impasse

• Biden will travel to Japan tomorrow to attend the G7 summit, but will return to Washington ahead of schedule.

=> ↺ Voting period first shortened, then restored in countries where Kılıçdaroğlu is ahead

• The voting period was dropped from five days to two days in the US, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and Japan in the second round of the presidential elections. It was later announced that the voting period was restored to five days after the objection by CHP.

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ Press Gazette ☛ Mirror publisher pays ‘significant’ damages to Lady Colin Campbell over Epstein claim

• The Mirror misquoted a claim made by the royal commentator on Good Morning Britain.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ Press Gazette ☛ BBC and Evening Standard win right to identify man in ‘dirty money’ trial

• The “highly successful businessman” referred to the Bloomberg v ZXC case to try to prove his right to anonymity.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ RTE ☛ RTÉ Announces New Editor of RTÉ Investigations Unit

• RTÉ today announced the appointment of David Doran as the new Editor of the RTE Investigations Unit. David is a highly experienced producer / director and film journalist with over 15 years’ experience. He has delivered groundbreaking programmes for RTÉ Investigates on Ireland’s National Ambulance service, abuse of children in state care, whistleblowers, domestic abuse…

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Guatemala’s elPeriodico Closes After Government Jails Publisher

• On Monday, elPeriodico, an investigative daily in Guatemala, published its final edition after more than 26 years. Its executive editor is in jail and some of its reporters are in exile.

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ CNET Workers Unionize as ‘Automated Technology Threatens Our Jobs’

• Around 100 workers have organized in response to the company’s restructuring plans, massive layoffs, and plans for AI content.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Helsinki police detain 3 climate protesters at UPM headquarters

• A total of about 50 people took part in the Elokapina-organised demonstration.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Big border surge didn’t happen. But calls persist for an overhaul.

• Many were bracing for a ballooning of already record-high levels of illegal immigration last week, sparking renewed efforts to address border security and a broken immigration system.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Rights groups welcome early prison releases of Vietnamese environmental activist

• NGOs credit foreign pressure, but it may have been because her family paid tax in question.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Police suspect immigrant assistance association boss of financial offences

• Investigators believe that during an eight-month period before filing for bankruptcy in 2018, the association handed over about 18,000 euros to third parties without reasonable cause.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Social services unions issue new strike warning

• The proposed action is in addition to the walkout by about 70,000 social care workers scheduled for next week.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Global Executions Highest in 5 Years, Amnesty International Says

• Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia carried out 90 percent of the executions recorded last year, the rights group said. The numbers did not include estimates of “thousands” in China, it said, citing a lack of transparency.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ It’s Time for Biden to Out-Trump Trump on Immigration

• The only way to have a rational discussion about immigration is to do everything possible to secure the southern border like never before.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Leading Chinese advocacy group Beijing LGBT Center closes down, citing ‘unpreventable circumstances’

• The Beijing LGBT Center, one of China’s leading organisations offering support for the queer population, has announced the end of its operations. The group, founded in 2008, provided the local gay, lesbian and transgender community with mental health therapy, medical resources and social support.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Same-sex Couples Will Be Able To Adopt Children In Taiwan

• The self-ruled island legalized same-sex marriage in 2019.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ THL: Child welfare reports up 5% last year

• Increasing numbers of children are subject to intervention from social workers in Finland.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Life, not death, as the standard of justice

• A new report measures global progress toward a universal defense of dignity and compassion in the rule of law.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Black Jesus? How a church window is stirring discussions of race.

• One of the earliest public examples of Christ portrayed as a person of color was rediscovered recently in a renovated Rhode Island church. The stained glass window was commissioned in 1878 in memory of two women whose families had ties to the slave trade.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ North Carolina Legislature Reapproves Abortion Ban, Overriding Governor’s Veto

• Republicans used their supermajority to uphold a 12-week ban, overruling the Democratic governor’s attempt to stop the bill and preserve wider abortion access.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ How the Comstock Act Law Is Key to the Abortion Fight

• The Comstock Act, named for a public-morals crusader on a mission to “sanitize” the U.S. in the 1870s, makes a comeback in the abortion-pill battle.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Can Reparations Bring Black Residents Back to San Francisco?

• San Francisco has proposed the nation’s most ambitious reparations plan, including $5 million cash payments and housing aid that aims to bring people back.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ The Brutal Past and Uncertain Future of Native Adoptions

• The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 sought to keep Native children in tribal communities. The Supreme Court may change that this spring.

=> ↺ Mexico News Daily ☛ Mexico protests Texas’ resumption of truck border inspections

• The Economy Ministry urged Texas to halt its checkpoints at the Matamoros-Brownsville crossing, saying it’s costing both nations money.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Three Iranian Protesters Facing Execution Have Amnesty Denied, Families Say

• The families of three Iranian protesters facing the death sentence have reported that they have been told there is no chance for an amnesty and that the city prosecutor of the central Iranian city of Isfahan “is seeking their execution.”

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Baku Detains Seven Men Allegedly Recruited By Iran To Sow Discord

• Azerbaijani authorities said on May 16 that they apprehended a group of individuals allegedly recruited by Iran to disrupt Azerbaijan’s constitutional order and establish Shari’a law in the nation.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Iranian Protesters Who Received Amnesty Face New Cases, Activist Group Says

• Several Iranian protesters who had been detained and then released under an amnesty granted by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February have been summoned by Iran’s judiciary to face new charges.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ Zimbabwe ☛ US$4 for a NetOne sim, symptoms of a looming sim shortage

• NetOne sim cards gained quite some popularity thanks to Econet’s service outage that left their subscribers stranded. Even now there are some reports that Econet’s data service is not fully restored in some areas.

=> ↺ APNIC ☛ Open Resolvers: Understanding security risks and best practices

• Guest Post: Managing the security risks of open resolvers with best practices.

Monopolies

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ The DOJ charged a former Apple engineer for stealing autonomous car technology and fleeing to China

• The US Department of Justice has filed charges against a former Apple software engineer, for alleged theft of information about the company’s autonomous driving technology for a Chinese self-driving car company.

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ DOJ charges former Apple engineer with stealing self-driving car technology for China

=> ↺ IT Wire ☛ Australians urged not to depend on iPhone emergency SOS while out exploring [Ed: Apple became notorious for sending false alarms to emergency services, too]

• The company which claims to be Australia’s leading outdoor safety and communication brand has cautioned Australians that the new iPhone feature, which allows for communication outside cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, should is not failproof.

Patents

=> ↺ Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for Dialect communications patent prior art

• A new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, was added seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 8,140,327, owned by Dialect, LLC, an NPE. The ‘327 patent generally relates to a system and method for filtering and eliminating noise from natural language utterances to improve speech recognition and parsing.

=> ↺ Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Munich and Paris will divide competencies London seat Unified Patent Court, no Milan (yet?) [Ed: This is illegal. This is a stain on the EU. They violate conventions, break laws etc. Is this what Europe has become? Making up kangaroo courts in violation of nations' constitution because EPO granted loads of fake patents?]

• The Unified Patent Court has formally announced that, for the time being, competencies which were originally assigned to the London seat of the UPC central division, will be divided between Munich and Paris.

=> ↺ Provisional allocation of UPC central division cases to Paris and Munich [Ed: This is outright illegal. They now tacitly admit they do something illegal and try to find ways to justify it. EU is now openly controlled by the patent mafia, violating constitutions and conventions with impunity.]

=> ↺ Some problems filing UPC opt-outs [Ed: Distracting from the bigger problem. The UPC is illegal. They're doing something illegal. The EU has become an anarchy like EPO.]

=> ↺ UPC Code of Conduct for judges [Ed: This is more CoC nonsense, distracting from the fact those are patently illegal kangaroo courts and their very existence is a violation of any standard of ethics.]

Software Patents

=> ↺ Unified Patents ☛ Broadphone tracking patent challenged in reexam

• On May 12, 2023, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 8,594,698, owned and asserted by Broadphone LLC. The ‘698 patent generally relates to determining the location of a device based on the relative signal strength for each of a plurality of nearby, identified “antenna stations” and determining whether the device is within the proximity of a “device-specific target location”.

Trademarks

=> ↺ TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Denies Petition for Cancellation of LITTLE NOTES Registration: Petitioner Failed to Prove Rights in the Mark Via Acquired Distinctiveness

• The Board denied a petition for cancellation of a Supplemental Registration for the mark LITTLE NOTES for address books, greeting cards, calendars, note paper, and the like, rejecting Petitioner Comptime’s claim of likelihood of confusion with its alleged common law rights in the same mark for overlapping goods. Comptime failed to prove that the mark LITTLE NOTES had acquired distinctiveness, and consequently it had no prior rights in the mark.Comptime, Inc. DBA Comptime Digital Printing v. E. Francis Paper, Inc., Cancellation No. 92073884 (May 10, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Peter W. Cataldo).

Copyrights

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Ed Sheeran Beats Second Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Thinking Out Loud’

=> ↺ Public Domain Review ☛ Peking Opera Characters (ca. 1900)

• Painted by an unidentified artist, these opera characters are gathered from literature, military history, and myth.

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

➮ Sharing is caring. Content is available under CC-BY-SA.