Leftovers

• Kev Quirk ☛ Update on the eBay Scam

  Last week I wrote about how I thought I was being scammed by someone on eBay. In the post I said the following:

  I've asked eBay to step in and help resolve the situation, so we will see what happens. But there's a lot of buyer protection on eBay (and rightly so) but there's very little in the way of seller protection, even though I'm not a business. So I have a feeling they will find in favour of the buyer and I'll be out a few quid.

  Well, a few days after publishing that post, I received an automated email from eBay, saying:

  I then logged into eBay to check the conversation I'd had with this user via the eBay messenger. At the bottom of the message thread, there was a notice that said:

  So it seems that eBay, for whatever reason, deemed the user's account to be problematic enough to warrant a suspension/termination.

• Joerg Jaspert: Building a house - 1 year in

  Haven’t written here about it, but last March we finally started on our journey to get our own house build, so we can move out of the rented flat here.

  That will be a big step, both the actual building, but also the moving - I am living at this one single place for 36 years now.

  If you can read german there is a dedicated webpage where I sometimes write about the process. Will have much more details (and way more ramblings) than the following part.

• Science

  • Federal News Network ☛ The Rubin Observatory just turned the night sky into a live feed

    "It's like Rubin Observatory is DRM spreader Netflix streaming the movie out to the public, in this case our scientific community," said Dr. Bob Blum.

  • Futurism ☛ $60 Million Startup Says It’s Invented a New Particle to Dim the Sun

    "None of us knows what they are hoping to put into the stratosphere — for a profit."

  • Futurism ☛ The White House Is Still Desperately Trying to Slash NASA’s Budget

    "This proposal needlessly resurrects an existential threat to US leadership in space science and exploration."

  • Science Alert ☛ A New DNA Revelation Rewrites The History of The Neanderthals in Europe

    A disaster that may have sealed their fate.

  • Science Alert ☛ Microbiologist Reveals The Leftovers Most Likely to Cause Food Poisoning

    Here's how to stay safe.

  • Science Alert ☛ Eerie Cosmic-Ray 'Cavity' Found Lurking in Earth-Moon Space

    This could be a good thing.

  • Science Alert ☛ This New Sensor Could Sniff Out Pneumonia on a Person's Breath

    You are what you breathe out.

  • Science Alert ☛ That Dark Chocolate Easter Treat May Seem Healthier, But There's a Catch

    It comes down to one detail on the label.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Hey, I’m back! I want to go to Jersey

    I was knocked out hard by something this week. It wasn’t a flu or COVID thankfully, but it turned my head to mush and my sinuses into fire ants, which among other things made sleep all but impossible. I did in fact do a bunch of work on the blog yesterday, but it was all backend plumbing stuff.

  • Futurism ☛ Two Proprietary Chaffbot Company Execs, Including CEO of Hey Hi (AI) Going on Medical Leave

    "We're well-positioned to keep executing with continuity and momentum."

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan kids in mental health crisis sent out of state as facilities close

    Michigan has a shrinking capacity for children and teens in severe psychological crises. Families are finding care hundreds of miles away, and a growing number of kids are sent away by courts.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ State lowers vaccine age recommendation in SE Michigan amid measles outbreak

    Children as young as 6 months should get vaccinated against measles, state health experts advise, as measles cases spill into a second Michigan county.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Free cancer screening, health checks to benefit 10,000 people in Hanoi

    Participants will receive comprehensive health checks through a streamlined one-stop process.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China moves to regulate digital humans, bans addictive services for children

    The move reflects Beijing’s efforts to maintain control in the face of advances in AI.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China tightens border controls, culls cattle amid foot-and-mouth outbreak

    Industry analysts say it is the first time the SAT-1 serotype has been detected in China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Afraid of weighing scale’: Olympic diver’s tearful interview spotlights cyberbullying in China

    A 2022 study found that women are more likely to be targeted.

• Proprietary

  • Futurism ☛ Dozens of Robotaxis In China Stop Dead in the Middle of Roads and Highways, Causing Crashes

    Absolute mayhem.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Iran says it has struck Oracle data center in Dubai, Amazon data center in Bahrain — country has threatened to attack Nvidia, Intel, and others, too

    Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that it had hit a data center linked to Oracle in Dubai as part of its war against the U.S. and U.S. technology companies in the region.

  • Former Halo Art Director Alleges Harassment and Unethical Conduct at Studio

    Glenn Israel, a former art director at Halo Studios, has publicly outlined a series of allegations regarding his time at the company, citing harassment, retaliation, and what he describes as unethical and potentially unlawful conduct.

    In a detailed post shared on LinkedIn, Israel stated, “between January 2024 and June 2025, I witnessed firsthand or was personally subjected to numerous unethical and/or unlawful acts committed by senior Halo Studios representatives,” listing issues such as “blacklisting, fraud, rampant favoritism/cronyism … and multiple harassment campaigns designed to provoke the constructive discharge of ‘unwanted’ employees.”

    He further alleged that after filing complaints with Microsoft’s Human Resources department in June 2025, he was met with resistance. According to Israel, “a senior Global Employee Relations (GER) representative threatened retaliation on first contact and promised to quash any further investigation.”

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Scam Altman Opens Up About Telling CEO of Disney That It Had All Been Smoke and Mirrors

      Altman said he felt "super sad" about blowing up the $1 billion deal.

    • Futurism ☛ Say a Prayer for This Startup That’s Replacing Its Developers With OpenClaw

      "I can replace everyone with AI."

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Microsoft says Copilot is for entertainment purposes only, not serious use — firm pushing Hey Hi (AI) hard to consumers and businesses tells users not to rely on it for important advice

      Microsoft Copilot's terms of service explicitly say that it's "for entertainment purposes only," but its marketing says otherwise.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ The largest programming community on Reddit just banned all content related to Hey Hi (AI) LLMs — r/programming is prioritizing only high-quality discussions about AI

      The r/programming subreddit has banned all discussions related to LLMs to foster a more thoughtful community that focuses on high-quality discourse around AI. Posts on Hey Hi (AI) are still allowed, but only if they're technical and contribute meaningfully instead of promoting things like vibe coding. LLM-generated content is also strictly no-go.

• Security

• Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

  • JURIST ☛ Cambodia casinos operate with impunity despite human rights abuses, Amnesty International warns

    Casinos in Cambodia operate free from state intervention despite being linked to human rights abuses, warned Amnesty International on Thursday. The human rights organization said at least a dozen casinos are connected directly to scamming compounds, where torture, forced labor, child labor and human trafficking have occurred.

Defence/Aggression

• New York Times ☛ Is Iran Winning?

  The Iran expert Suzanne Maloney explains why Iran believes it has the upper hand.

• New Yorker ☛ How The Insurrectionist’s War on Iran Helps Vladimir Putin’s War on Ukraine

  Olga Rudenko, the editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent, explains how Russia is supporting Iran with drone technology, and how the worldwide shock to oil prices is aiding Russia.

• JURIST ☛ UN human rights chief warns of escalating repression across Middle East

  UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned on Wednesday that repression of freedom of expression across the Middle East has deepened significantly since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran commenced at the end of February.

• JURIST ☛ Rushed executions raise alarm in Iran protest crackdown, Amnesty International warns

  As seven protesters and dissidents in Iran face imminent execution after four men were reported to have been secretly and arbitrarily executed within 24 hours, Amnesty International on Tuesday called for global intervention and an immediate halt to all scheduled executions in the country.

• The Straits Times ☛ North Korea reportedly razes towns near main missile launch site

  Two villages, including hundreds of buildings, were demolished in March.

• The Straits Times ☛ South Korea suitcase murder reveals pattern of family abuse

  Investigators said the suspect prevented his wife from reporting the crime.

• The Straits Times ☛ China says peace talks advance between Afghanistan, Pakistan

  China has been mediating and promoting talks with both sides.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China urges respect for Palestinian rights after Israel passes death penalty law

  China called on Friday for Palestinians’ rights to be protected after Israel approved a bill to allow the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks.

• New York Times ☛ Kuwait Blames Iran for Attack on Power and Desalination Plants

  In Kuwait, an Iranian attack on Friday damaged a power and water desalination plant, officials said. Both sides in the Iran war have ramped up strikes on civilian targets.

• New York Times ☛ The F-15E Strike Eagle: What to Know

  The U.S. military aircraft with a two-person crew was shot down in Iran on Friday.

• New York Times ☛ What We Know About the F-15E Strike Eagle Shot Down by Iran

  An F-15E Strike Eagle was lost to enemy fire and an A-10 Warthog crashed in the Persian Gulf region on Friday, officials said. A rescue helicopter was also fired upon.

• RFERL ☛ What To Know About The F-15E Strike Eagle

  The F-15E Strike Eagle, which US officials say was shot down over Iran on April 3, is one of the US military’s most advanced dual-role fighter aircraft, designed to carry out both air-to-air combat and deep strike missions against ground targets.

• The Straits Times ☛ Japan’s order for Tomahawk missiles delayed by US use in Iran

  Tomahawk missiles are a centrepiece of Tokyo’s new strategy of equipping itself with long-range strike capabilities.

• RFERL ☛ Tehran Hits Gulf Energy Sites, Convicted Felon Warns US 'Hasn't Even Started' To Destroy Iran

  President The Insurrectionist said the US military "hasn't even started" to destroy what is left of Iran after a month of devastating attacks and he threatened to strike electrical power plants and more bridges in his latest warning to the regime in Tehran.

• France24 ☛ Border town of Tiné caught in the crossfire as Sudan war spills into Chad

  The war in Sudan is spilling into Chad with increasing intensity. In mid-March, a drone strike – the fourth and deadliest cross-border attack from Sudan – killed 20 people in the town of Tiné, which has become a frontline in the conflict’s spillover. Chadian authorities have not officially identified those responsible, and both the Sudanese army and RSF rebels deny involvement. Since the strike, tensions in Chadian areas near the Sudanese border have escalated. The Chadian army has been placed on “maximum alert,” some citizens are calling for armed resistance, and hundreds of civilians are fleeing the border region. Harold Girard and Brahim Abakar Oumar report.

• Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

  • RFERL ☛ Belarus Cancels Passport Of Nobel Laureate Byalyatski, Other Former Political Prisoners

    Belarus has cancelled the passport of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski and other recently deported political prisoners, in what rights groups say is a new form of pressure on exiled dissidents.

  • LRT ☛ LRT English Newsletter: Rethinking Belarus?

    LRT English Newsletter – April 3, 2026.

  • LRT ☛ Former NATO chief Stoltenberg considered talks with Russia without eastern allies – media

    Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg considered discussing European security arrangements with Russia without the backing of the alliance’s eastern members, according to a media report citing his memoirs.

  • JURIST ☛ HRW demands Russia restore full internet access

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday urged Russia to fulfill its obligations under international law and restore access to internet and communication networks in light of continuing censorship and protestor arrests.

  • France24 ☛ From 250 to 700 dollars per article: How Russia influenced West African media content

    A leak of confidential documents from a network of Russian agents operating on the African continent reveals how Russia managed to place hundreds of articles in 35 different West African French-language media outlets – sometimes without their knowledge. The FRANCE 24 Observers team worked with an international media consortium coordinated by Forbidden Stories to analyse these leaked documents, which show just how susceptible these media outlets are to foreign interference.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea to hold burial ceremony for troops killed in Ukraine war

    The isolated country is building a museum honouring the fallen troops.

  • France24 ☛ Baltic Sea strikes: How Ukraine aims to undermine Russia's oil profits from Iran war

    Ukraine has in recent days intensified drone attacks on ports and refineries in Russia’s Leningrad region on the Baltic Sea. Yet Kyiv’s strategy of trying to stop Moscow from reaping the benefits of oil disruption in the Middle East doesn’t come without significant risk.

Environment

• The Straits Times ☛ Thai Met Department warns of 42 deg C heat and thunderstorms across upper Thailand

  The public is advised to take care of their health by avoiding prolonged outdoor work or activities.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s ‘hero trees’ lose their glory as climate warms

  Hong Kong’s beloved kapok trees are not blooming the way they used to, drawing concern from conservationists who see it as a sign that nature is falling out of sync as the climate warms.

• Energy/Transportation

  • CS Monitor ☛ China, a leader in renewables, was prepared for a global fuel crisis

    The conflict could be a boon for China’s new energy sector, including renewable energy, electric vehicles, and batteries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Fuel shock bites in China, but no panic yet

    China’s top economic planner has stepped in to soften the blow of surging oil prices through an emergency provision.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japan PM Takaichi plans Australia visit to discuss rare earths, Nikkei reports

    Japan and Western governments want to diversify away from a supply chain largely dominated by China.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Plastic bag chaos’: Shortage fears highlight Taiwan’s energy security concerns

    The shortage comes amid a price hike for plastic goods, driven by surging oil prices due to the Middle East conflict.

Censorship/Free Speech

• Internet Society ☛ DNS Blocking: Mind the Unintended Consequences

  As DNS blocking mandates multiply, so do concerns about security, the openness of the Internet, and fragmentation.

• France24 ☛ Filmmaker Ilker Catak’s ‘Yellow Letters’ pits artists against the powerful

  Filmmaker Ilker Catak explains how his political thriller – exploring authoritarianism and the artistic process – grew out of a desire to examine the complexities of marriage. "Yellow Letters", which won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, serves as a cautionary tale. Catak says the story is not confined to Turkey – where his characters’ lives are upended by creeping censorship – but offers a broader warning about the fundamental freedoms that must be defended.

• France24 ☛ French prosecutors open hate speech probe into polarising news channel CNews

  The Paris prosecutor's office announced Friday it had launched an investigation into alleged racist comments following remarks made in late March on French news channel CNews targeting the newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis Bally Bagayoko.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• JURIST ☛ Hungary charges investigative journalist with espionage over alleged Ukraine connections

  The Committee to Protect Journalists urged Hungarian authorities on Wednesday to immediately drop all espionage charges against investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi. Panyi is an investigative journalist covering Hungarian national security, foreign policy, and Russian and Chinese influence.

• France24 ☛ How a Russian influence network is spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda in Ivory Coast

  The Company – a network of Russian agents specialised in disinformation operations – has been carrying out a vast propaganda campaign against the Ukrainian embassy in Ivory Coast. When the pan-African media outlet The Continent received a trove of leaked documents about this operation, the FRANCE 24 Observers team joined forces with a consortium of international journalists to investigate the inner workings of this network.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

• Tom's Hardware ☛ Denuvo has been cracked, company promises countermeasures against new DRM bypasses — zero-day game releases become norm as security concerns mount over hypervisor-based bypass

  Denuvo promises countermeasures against the recent hypervisor-based DRM bypasses