Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ Is Mostafa Asal, Squash World Champion, Testing The Rules, or Cheating?

  Even Mostafa Asal’s coach admits his player sometimes goes too far. But an anonymous YouTuber is crying foul play, with videos to make the point.

• Tom's Hardware ☛ Fortnite cheater fined $175,000 for using cheats to win $6,850 in competitive tournaments — Epic bans player forever

  Epic has won a legal lawsuit against a Fortnite player who consistently cheated in competitive tournaments and now owes the company $175,000 after ignoring a lawsuit filed last year.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Monsters and memes: Labubu dolls ride Chinese soft-power wave

  Small, fuzzy and baring sharp teeth, Chinese toymaker Pop Mart’s Labubu monster dolls have taken over the world, drawing excited crowds at international stores and adorning the handbags of celebrities such as Rihanna and Cher.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Disordered Eating vs Eating Disorders: What's The Difference?

    Look for the signs.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover 'Goblin Prince' That Roamed With Dinosaurs

    Like a monster Gila monster.

  • Science Alert ☛ Parkinson's Disease Might Not Start in The Brain, Study Finds

    A new connection emerges.

  • Science Alert ☛ These Common Drugs Can Make Coping With Heat Even Harder

    Stay safe, stay cool.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Physicist Explains The Explosive Birth of The Universe's Building Blocks

    How do atoms form?

  • Science Alert ☛ Ancient Blueprint For Human Bodies Discovered in Sea Anemones

    Don't fix what ain't broke.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Building A Piezo Noise Box

    The humble piezo element is often used as little more than a buzzer in many projects. However, you can do more with them, as [Something Physical] demonstrates with their nifty piezo noise box. Check out the video (and audio) below.

  • Hackaday ☛ Making Optical Glass From Ceran Stovetops

    Ceran is a name brand for a type of glass ceramic that has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). This is useful for stovetops, but it is also a highly desirable property for optical glass. The natural question: Can an old ceramic stovetop be upcycled into something visually striking? This is the topic of the most recent video in [Huygens Optics]’s series on glass ceramics.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Ex-Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger gives Japan's new leading-edge chipmaker advice, says Rapidus needs unique tech to compete with TSMC

    Rapidus plans to produce 2nm chip production with integrated packaging by 2027, but ex-Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger cautions that it needs unique technology to compete with TSMC.

  • Hackaday ☛ Limitations, Creativity, And Challenges

    This week, we announced the winners for the previous Pet Hacks contest and rang in our new contest: The One Hertz Challenge. So that’s got me in a contesty mood, and I thought I’d share a little bit of soap-box philosophizing and inside baseball all at once.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court upholds HHS task force, preserving ACA preventive care provision

    The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management that the members of the US Preventive Services Task Force were properly appointed under Article II of the Constitution, preserving preventive care requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘Peace of mind’: Patient companions ease pain of China’s bustling, bamboozling hospitals

    By Mary Yang At a bustling Beijing hospital, Tian Yigui hands over some of his elderly wife’s paperwork to Meng Jia, a “patient companion” hired to help navigate China’s stretched and bureaucratic healthcare system. Yawning funding gaps and patchy medical coverage have long funnelled many Chinese people towards better-resourced city hospitals for much-needed care.

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] 'Very emotional': Brain-computer tech gives kids with disabilities new powers

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] Need for vigilance amid new 'Nimbus' COVID variant

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] Mars' acquisition of Pringles' maker triggers EU alarms

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-21 [Older] National vaccine registry needed amid measles resurgence, Canada's outgoing top doctor says

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-21 [Older] Big grocery wants Ontario to lift ban on 'private label' wine, beer

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] Thailand moves to make recreational cannabis illegal again

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-23 [Older] Can't get your fill of strawberries or broccoli? Blame the weather for farmers' slow growing season start

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] 'Miracle' HIV drug lenacapavir approved amid drastic US health budget cuts

• Proprietary

  • Windows TCO / Windows Bot Nets

    • Help Net Security ☛ High-risk WinRAR RCE vulnerability patched, update quickly! (CVE-2025-6218)

      A recently patched directory traversal vulnerability (CVE-2025-6218) in WinRAR could be leveraged by remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • LRT ☛ Deepfakes target Lithuania as part of wider European scam campaign

      A series of highly convincing fake news videos circulating online this month startled residents in Lithuania. Created using artificial intelligence technology known as deepfakes, the fraudulent videos are believed to be part of an international scam network targeting multiple European countries.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court allows Texas death row inmate to sue over state’s DNA testing procedure

      The US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision Thursday that a Texas death row inmate has the legal right to sue over the state’s laws governing DNA testing. The majority opinion was written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Ruben Gutierrez was convicted of capital murder in 1998.

    • Hackaday ☛ Reading The Chip In Your Passport

      For over a decade, most passports have contained an NFC chip that holds a set of electronically readable data about the document and its holder. This has resulted in a much quicker passage through some borders as automatic barriers can replace human officials, but at the same time, it adds an opaque layer to the process. Just what data is on your passport, and can you read it for yourself? [Terence Eden] wanted to find out.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Fake evidence, induced statements: Japan’s criminal system faces reckoning

    The damning indictments in two cases expose flaws in a system that prides itself on a 99.8 per cent conviction rate.

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] Canada promises to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 in pact with NATO leaders

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] NATO's 5% benchmark would cost Canada $150B a year, Carney says

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] Minister 'concerned' about Iranian terrorist cells in Canada after U.S. airstrikes

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] France: 145 festivalgoers jabbed with syringes

  • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man business for security deal 'effectively rewards Rwanda for invading, occupying, looting Congo'

    Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a peace agreement in Washington, pledging to end support for armed groups after a deadly conflict that has claimed thousands of lives. Hell Toupée, hosting the nations’ foreign ministers at the White House, hailed the deal as a turning point and celebrated access to mineral wealth. The accord, brokered through Qatar, follows M23's rapid advances in eastern DRC, though it stops short of addressing their territorial gains. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24' Gavin Lee welcomes Michela Wrong, renowned Journalist and Non-Fiction Author, specialising in contemporary Africa.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: How national security permeates Hong Kong bureaucracy, 5 years after law enacted

    Five years since the Beijing-imposed legislation came into effect in Hong Kong, national security terms have become increasingly common in official guidelines, permit applications, and licences issued by government departments and semi-official bodies.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan V-P says will not be intimidated after Czech says China planned physical intimidation

    Czech Military Intelligence spokesman said Chinese diplomats in Prague violated diplomatic rules.

  • The Straits Times ☛ British junior trade minister visits Taiwan

    The trip is aimed at boosting trade with Taipei but is likely to anger China.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Golden Arches in a War Zone: McDonald’s Thrives in Ukraine

      The American fast-food giant plans to open about 10 new restaurants in Ukraine this year, a testament to the country’s rebounding economy and its enduring love of Big Macs.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Russian culture minister in North Korea praises ‘unprecedented’ cooperation

      Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer together.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Drone Attack Kills Married Couple In Odesa As Ukraine Claims Successful Strike In Crimea

      A Russian drone strike killed a married couple overnight in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa, local authorities said, as the country’s security service claimed it destroyed Russian helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system in occupied Crimea.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Flood-hit China expands social security net as extreme rain takes toll

    The central government will now bear 70 per cent of all compensation funds related to flood diversions.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Heavy rain hits China’s flood-stricken Guizhou for second time in a week

    The authorities raised the city’s flood emergency response level to the highest level on June 28.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] Extreme heat wave hits eastern United States

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] Heat exhaustion or heat stroke: What to do in an emergency

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] Club World Cup: Football players and fans languish in extreme heat

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-23 [Older] Extreme heat has schools in Ontario, Quebec straining to keep kids cool as year winds down

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-23 [Older] Should I send my kid to school in a heat wave? Many parents don't have a choice

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] Heat officers help sweltering cities stay cool

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian injured while climbing Indonesia’s Mount Rinjani

      The victim sustained serious injuries, including a fractured hip and head wounds.

    • CBC ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] Alberta's oilsands to hit record production high in 2025

    • CBC ☛ 2025-06-22 [Older] B.C. Premier Eby says he's not opposed to privately backed oil pipeline to north coast

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • CBC ☛ 2025-06-23 [Older] Orcas use kelp tools to groom and bond off B.C.'s coast, study suggests

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] France: State responsible for jogger's toxic algae death

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-26 [Older] Are designer handbags linked to illegal deforestation?

• Finance

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Is ‘gaming the system’ in Mexico still a good economic solution for US citizens?

    U.S. citizens have been economic migrants to Mexico for generations. But are rising prices, remote work trends and Hey Hi (AI) putting an end to this solution to an unaffordable U.S.?

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s anti-graft agency targets ex-finance minister Daim Zainuddin’s $1.36 billion assets: NST

    It will work with the foreign authorities to obtain more information such as the source of funds.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Serious violations’: Former head of major Chinese airline under graft investigation

    He was credited with turning China Eastern Airlines around after it posted record losses before he was appointed.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-26 [Older] US economy fares worse than estimated in first quarter

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ How the Supreme Court’s Injunction Ruling Expands Convicted Felon’s Power

    The court tied the hands of judges at a time when Congress has been cowed and internal executive branch constraints have been steamrolled.

  • France24 ☛ Tens of thousands to attend Budapest Pride in defiance of Orban's ban in Hungary

    A record number of people are expected to attend Saturday's Pride march in the Hungarian capital Budapest, defying a ban that marks an unprecedented regression of LGBTQ rights in the European Union. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling coalition amended laws and the constitution earlier this year to prohibit the annual celebration, justifying his years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights on "child protection" grounds.

  • JURIST ☛ US environmental groups sue to block migrant detention center in Florida Everglades

    A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit Friday to prevent the federal government from opening a migrant detention center at an airstrip Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve. The detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” because the alligators, panthers, and pythons in the surrounding swamp would deter escapes, was set to open next week.

  • France24 ☛ 'Class action' or 'injunction': Legal paths to block Convicted Felon’s ban on birthright citizenship

    The legal battle over President The Insurrectionist's attempt to end birthright citizenship is far from over, despite a major victory for his administration on Friday that limited the use of nationwide injunctions. Immigrant advocates have vowed to continue fighting to ensure that birthright citizenship—protected by over a century of legal precedent—remains intact. Stephen Dreyfuss, a New York lawyer and former prosecutor, told FRANCE 24 that a “class action” lawsuit could be filed on behalf of women giving birth in the US, or that states could seek an “injunction against an illegal executive order” to block Convicted Felon’s proposed ban from taking effect.

  • JURIST ☛ Immigrant rights groups refile class action to block Convicted Felon birthright executive order

    Two national immigrants’ rights organizations filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Friday seeking to block US President Donald J. Convicted Felon’s controversial executive order ending birthright citizenship.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s ex-president Yoon probed over failed martial law bid

    He has protested against the special prosecutor's demands to appear for questioning under media attention.

  • CBC ☛ 2025-06-20 [Older] As the U.S. trade war drags, calls grow for Canada to cautiously improve ties with China

Censorship/Free Speech

• New York Times ☛ Chinese Police Detain Dozens of Writers Over Gay Erotic Online Novels

  The genre known as Boys’ Love, stories written mostly by and for straight women, has been in the authorities’ sights for years.

• Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-24 [Older] Freed Belarus dissident speaks out against Lukashenko

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• BIA Net ☛ Access to Kaos GL website blocked by court order

  “We have already begun working to continue our publishing. We’ll reconnect with our readers soon, in a renewed format. Long live life, in defiance of censorship!” the group said in response to the ban.

• Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] German court lifts ban on far-right Compact magazine

Civil Rights/Policing

• Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-06-25 [Older] Kenya: Several killed in rally on deadly protest anniversary

• CBC ☛ 2025-06-23 [Older] Nigerian judge convicts man of sextorting B.C. teen who died by suicide