Leftovers

• Science / Mathematics / Computer Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Australia's Indigenous Population Was 7 Times Larger Than Estimated, Study Finds

    A population of 2.2 million.

  • Science Alert ☛ First Evidence in Humans That BPA Can Alter Insulin Sensitivity

    What else don't we know?

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Successfully Test Underwater Solar Cells 32 Feet Below The South China Sea

    A power source beneath the waves.

  • Science Alert ☛ Metal Particles From Joint Replacements Can Reach Your Brain, Study Finds

    But there is actually some good news.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover Strange 4-Stranded Genetic Structures in Human Blood

    "The first direct biochemical evidence."

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Living Medication' May Have Restored Bone Strength in 10 Patients With Advanced Osteoporosis

    An important first step.

  • Science Alert ☛ Nasal Spray Derived From Human Placenta Protects Against Alzheimer's Decline, Study in Mice Shows

    A radical new approach.

  • Science Alert ☛ Eerily Quiet: Hurricane Activity in The Atlantic Ocean Has Just Passed an Ominous Milestone

    A warning sign.

• Career/Education

  • Michael Geist ☛ A Century After Keeping Jewish Students Out, Universities Are Letting Them Be Pushed Out

    In 1926, McGill University’s dean of arts, Ira MacKay, urged the university to establish a quota on the admission of Jewish students, writing that “the Jewish people are of no use to us in this country” and that “as a race of men their traditions and practices do not fit in with a high civilization in a very new country.” McGill proceeded to increase admission requirements for Jewish applicants and informally establish quotas for students applying to medicine and law, restrictions that would last for years and be mirrored in other institutions such as the University of Manitoba.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Five-Year Plan: First of 3 planned university towns to see institutions move in by 2027/28

    Hong Kong will support higher education institutions moving into the first of three planned university towns in its sprawling Northern Metropolis by 2027/28, leader John Lee has said in the city’s first Five-Year Plan speech.

• Hardware

  • International Business Times ☛ China's Humanoid Race Moves From Demos to Factory Floors as Robots Build Robots at 10-Minute Pace

    Chinese firms shipped more than 22,000 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, with AgiBot and Unitree leading the market

  • CNX Software ☛ Alif Semi Balletto B1 and Ensemble E1C StartKits feature Cortex-M55 + Ethos-U55 MCU for IoT and Edge AI

    Alif Semiconductor’s Ensemble E1C (SK-E1C) and Balletto B1 (SK-B1) StartKits are low-cost development boards built around the company’s Cortex-M55 + Ethos-U55 microcontrollers. The Balletto B1 adds BLE 5.3 and 802.15.4 wireless connectivity, while the Ensemble E1C does not have built-in wireless connectivity. Both StartKits feature a microcontroller with a 160MHz Cortex-M55 CPU, an Ethos-U55 NPU, 2MB SRAM, and 1.8/1.9MB NVM. They also include an Arducam camera header, a mikroBUS Click Board expansion socket, and two PDM microphones for camera, audio, and sensor-based projects. The Balletto B1 additionally provides the complete RF path to a chip antenna for its wireless subsystem, while both boards feature an on-board Segger J-Link debugger for development and testing.

  • CNX Software ☛ CVITEK CV1842H-P-based edge Hey Hi (AI) camera module offers night vision and AI-ISP support (Crowdfunding)

    The AIMORELOGY Ovis is an open-source Hey Hi (AI) vision camera module built around the CVITEK CV1842H-P SoC, with full-color 1080p night vision and 1.5 TOPS edge Hey Hi (AI) inference in a compact modular design. It is designed for drones, robotics, security systems, smart cameras, and custom embedded vision products. The camera features a compact stacked design, with a 20 × 20 mm Core board that includes the CVITEK CV1842H-P SoC, 2 Gbit NAND flash, USB, and UART debug pads.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • JURIST ☛ Presence of forever chemicals in the environment threatens human rights, UN expert says

    Newly appointed UN expert Bethanie Carney Almroth on Monday warned that pollution in the form of “forever chemicals,” or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), poses severe risks to the basic human right of a healthy and safe environment.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Vaccination rates drop to 10-year low for Michigan’s school–age children

    Michigan students receiving exemption waivers for vaccines jumped to 7.1% in 2025, marking a five-year streak of worsening vaccine participation in the state.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ How many kindergarteners in your Michigan school are vaccinated? Find out here

    Statewide, nearly 8% of Michigan kindergarten students received vaccine waivers in 2025, up from less than 7% a year earlier.

  • Futurism ☛ Spectators Horrified as Hyrox Athlete Recreates “Two Girls One Cup” at Live Competition

    "Oh my god."

  • The Straits Times ☛ Haze worsens in Malaysia, with 40 areas recording unhealthy air quality, including 7 in Johor

    Johan Setia in Selangor recorded the highest Air Pollutant Index reading of 189.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to explore development of ‘teen-only smartphones’ to combat digital addiction

    The phones should limit functions that could cause addiction or over-dependence, says one politician.

• Proprietary / Vendor Lock-in / Malware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Microsoft rolls out emergency update for backdoored Windows 11's latest patch — recent update causes crashes on AMD graphics, Explorer hang-ups, and broken third-party integrations

    Windows September 2026 update brings many long-requested features, but also surfaces fresh bugs — new code crashing AMD, HP, and Lenovo systems and surfaces audio, Explorer, and Remote Desktop problems

  • So-Called 'Artificial Intelligence' ('AI') / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Trail of Bits ☛ 1Password's Hey Hi (AI) patching benchmark is misleading

      1Password’s FLAWED report, published on August 6, 2026, gives defenders a misleading picture of Hey Hi (AI) patching. Its headline says models produced clean fixes only 26% of the time. That figure includes experiments that deliberately instructed agents to apply the wrong fix, along with experiments in which agents could not compile or test their patches.

    • Collabora ☛ Enabling responsive Hey Hi (AI) at SIDO 2026

      Visit us at the STMicroelectronics booth at SIDO to see how the STM32MP2 platform enables responsive edge-AI applications for industrial use cases.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ ChatGPT transcripts are reportedly read by humans to improve responses, including those with personal information — 'Project Lilly' has seen Proprietary Chaffbot Company hire hundreds of contractors to manually review logs [Ed: Chatbots are not chatbots, they're surveillance]

      404 Media reports that Proprietary Chaffbot Company has hired hundreds of contractors to evaluate Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot responses manually.

    • Cloudbooklet ☛ Project Lily: Proprietary Chaffbot Company Lets Humans Read Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot Chats

      Humans are quietly reading your private prompts right now. Proprietary Chaffbot Company Project Lily pays outside contractors to check Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot chats and improve model replies.

    • Futurism ☛ ChatGPT Straight Up Tries to Gaslight User After Being Confronted About Its Obviously Wrong Answer

      The Hey Hi (AI) is hellbent on being right.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

      • Bitdefender ☛ Former AT&T store worker jailed after moonlighting as a SIM-swap gang's inside man

        That should be plenty of time for him to rue the day he agreed to increase his monthly income by helping a SIM swap gang in their attempt to steal over half a million dollars.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • The Straits Times ☛ Indian police to query Surveillance Giant Google over 500,000 fake Gmail IDs linked to bomb hoax

      It was not immediately clear what legal charges or penalties, if any, Surveillance Giant Google could face.

    • Futurism ☛ Meta Is Using Instagram Users’ Photos to Build a Universal Facial Recognition System for Its Hated Smart Glasses, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

      The company has already had to settle several facial recognition-related lawsuits.

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ On the NSA’s Supercomputer from the 1960s

      Really interesting story about Harvest, a specialized code breaking computer built in the 1960s by I.C.B.M. for the NSA.

    • BIA Net ☛ Lawyer says private messages cited as 'obscenity' evidence against detained LGBTI+s

      Police allegedly obtained the detained individuals' phone passwords without a court order and then added messages and photos in the phones to the investigation file as evidence.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Rights group, relatives accuse China of using torture in prison

    China persists in using torture on prisoners to force confessions, including beatings and withholding medical care, a human rights group said Wednesday, with the daughter of one detainee telling AFP her mother fears she will die in jail.

  • France24 ☛ Middle East live: Saudi Arabia accuses Houthi rebels of launching a drone strike on Mecca

    Saudi Arabia's air defences claim to have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday, which the Iran-aligned rebels denied. Meanwhile, several explosions were heard on the island of Qeshm, near the Strait of Hormuz. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

  • New York Times ☛ Houthis Report Deadly Saudi Airstrikes as Kingdom Issues Mass Alerts

    The two sides traded accusations of attacks as fighting inside Yemen remains fierce. The escalating conflict threatens to further destabilize the Middle East.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill Teenager and Civil Defense Worker, Official Says

    Two Israeli drone strikes hit a residential neighborhood, an official said. Israel is under international pressure to curtail its attacks.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Court orders North Korea to pay Seoul $41 million for blowing up office

    The lawsuit over the destruction of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office marks the first time Seoul has sought damages directly from Pyongyang.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says US-driven nuclear submarine push justifies its own weapons build-up

    The country has been advancing its own push for a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed submarine.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China defence minister urges nations to curb regressive historical trends

    Dong Jun called for a fresher, more equal approach to resolving international tension.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China warns US space weapons could fuel arms race

    China urged the United States to halt its military build-up in outer space after Washington acknowledged it has weapons deployed in orbit, while Chinese state media warned the move could fuel a global arms race.

  • International Business Times ☛ Satellite Images Suggest China Is Building World's First Submarine Drone Mothership

    Satellite imagery suggests a vessel under construction at a Shanghai shipyard could serve as China's first dedicated mothership for launching and recovering giant uncrewed submarines.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Police arrest man after multiple people wounded in China knife attack

    Police in southern China said they have arrested a man who wounded multiple people in a knife attack outside a hot pot restaurant. Authorities received reports that the suspect, a 35-year-old surnamed Li, had carried out the attack in Guangzhou’s Panyu district at 5:20 pm on Monday, a police statement said later that evening. Several […]

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia and China talk by telephone

    On Monday, September 14th Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi , to discuss the current situation and future cooperation in connection with the search for Latvian nationals missing after the devastating floods in Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, according to a release from the Foreign Ministry.

  • JURIST ☛ Two lawsuits challenge Convicted Felon administration’s revised public charge rule for immigrants

    Two new legal challenges seeking to block the Convicted Felon administration’s revised public charge rule arose on Monday, one filed by a coalition of 22 states and the other by a group of cities and counties that includes Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.

  • ACLU ☛ The Forrest Dump Administration Is Disappearing Immigrants and Asylum Seekers in Growing Third Country Removal Campaign

    Through shadowy deportation agreements, the Convicted Felon administration is sending detained individuals to countries where they have no ties — and may face persecution.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australian far-right leader Pauline Hanson sorry over ‘primitive’ indigenous comments

    The Queensland senator is long known for making racist and inflammatory statements about minorities.

  • New York Times ☛ Yemen’s Houthis Show Growing Sophistication and Self-Reliance in Weaponry

    The Houthis are increasingly using artificial intelligence and other tools to produce advanced weaponry on their own, making them less reliant on Iran.

  • France24 ☛ China projecting image of 'stabilising force in world politics', expert says

    Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Rex Li, Professor of International Relations at King's College London, says that China "is trying to promote an alternative international security order and project itself as a stabilising force in world politics", adding that while Beijing "is increasingly willing to play a more significant part in ending the conflict in the Middle East, so far we haven't seen any concrete proposals coming from China".

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cambodia and Thailand kick off maritime conciliation in Singapore with a fiery start

    Despite Thai Foreign Minister's strongly worded speech, analysts are optimistic the two countries can resolve differences.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Cuban salsa teacher linked to alleged Russian terror network across Europe – investigation

      Two years ago, a Cuban man living in Russia allegedly helped organise a terrorist attack in Lithuania on the orders of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, an international investigation has uncovered.

    • CS Monitor ☛ One nation reaches for Europe. The other, for Russia. Both use the same tactics.

      Armenia and Georgia are each rewriting their foreign relations – and squelching domestic opposition. But their trajectories couldn’t be further apart.

    • France24 ☛ US diesel prices hit new record high as Convicted Felon seeks to blame Kyiv

      Average diesel prices in the United States struck a record high of just under $6.27 a gallon Tuesday, pressuring President The Insurrectionist ahead of midterm congressional elections. Diesel prices have soared as Washington's war with Iran disrupts the world's flow of fuel, though Convicted Felon has repeatedly downplayed the effects of the war, pinning the blame on Kyiv instead for its attacks on Russian oil refineries.

    • France24 ☛ US acknowledges for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space

      The United States has confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space, a remarkable revelation after previous warnings about countries such as Russia possibly weaponizing a global frontier long agreed in treaties to be used for only peaceful purposes. FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell reports.

    • France24 ☛ NATO jets down drone over Lithuania as Russian ship fires flares at Danish helicopter

      NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace and Denmark accused a Russian frigate of firing flares at a Danish military helicopter on Tuesday, in incidents that heightened tensions along the alliance’s eastern flank.

    • France24 ☛ France stalls EU Russia sanctions renewal over oligarch de-listing

      European Union envoys have pushed back the expiry of EU Russia sanctions listings by ​seven days until September 22, a spokesperson for the EU's Irish presidency said on Monday, after failing to agree on a six-month renewal. At issue is whether to de-list Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov. France has joined ​Slovakia in ‌a call to remove him, citing national security concerns, EU diplomats ⁠said. FRANCE 24's August Hakansson reports.

    • New York Times ☛ Denmark Says Russian Warship Fired Flares at Military Helicopter

      The incident was the latest in string of episodes involving airspace incursions and other provocations that European leaders have blamed on Russia.

    • Latvia ☛ Latvian politicians tested in TV wargame-style show

      The Latvian Television programme "Aizliegtais panēmiens" ("Forbidden Method"/AP) has staged a wargame-style test of politicians' decision-making as part of pre-election coverage of upcoming Saeima elections.

    • New York Times ☛ Kyrgyzstan Is Russia’s Trading Loophole

      Kyrgyzstan has turned into a crucial middleman for Russia to import goods from China since the start of the Ukraine war. Paul Sonne, our Moscow bureau chief, traveled to Kyrgyzstan to see its skyrocketing economic growth.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine and Russia Say There Is No Energy Truce, Despite Convicted Felon’s Claims

      The Kremlin said that an agreement would be “a very good idea” but that any deal would not have much effect on fuel markets, as Hell Toupée had suggested.

    • New York Times ☛ It’s Boom Time in Kyrgyzstan, Courtesy in Part of the War in Ukraine

      The economy of the Central Asian nation grew by 11 percent last year, partly by becoming a key conduit for goods flowing into Russia.

    • International Business Times ☛ Ed Sheeran Championed Ukraine but Macklemore Says He 'Doesn't Take Sides' on Palestine, Ms Rachel Says He 'Caved'

      Macklemore says Ed Sheeran dropped him over 'Free Palestine' because he 'doesn't take sides,' but Sheeran's 2022 Ukraine benefit fuels a fresh double-standard debate.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Lawmakers Approve Removal Of Prosecutor-General Amid New Scandal

      Ukraine's parliament is expected to vote on the resignation of the prosecutor general on September 15 after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his quick removal amid rising tensions over a series of high-profile anti-corruption investigations.

    • RFERL ☛ Explosive-Laden Drone Shot Down Over Lithuania As Russia, Ukraine Trade Strikes

      A NATO fighter jet shot down a drone carrying an explosive device after it entered Lithuanian airspace early on September 15, Lithuanian authorities said, as a series of incidents involving Russia and NATO members raised fresh concerns about the spillover of the war in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Olympian Urges US To Bar Russian Athletes From 2028 Games

      Ukrainian skeleton racer and Olympian Vladyslav Heraskevych is urging US lawmakers and the State Department to deny visas to Russian athletes who seek to compete under the Russian flag at the 2028 Olympic Games in LA, arguing that Moscow has turned sport into an instrument of war propaganda.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man's claim of energy truce in doubt as Russia hits Kyiv petrol station

      A drone hit a petrol station in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv early on Tuesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko ‌said, just a day after US President The Insurrectionist said Ukraine ⁠and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy assets. The attack “underlines the fact that it is not at all clearly defined what falls into the category of energy targets,” says France 24’s correspondent in Kyiv, Gulliver Cragg.

    • France24 ☛ Analysts call for step-up in response to Russia after Denmark, Lithuania incidents

      The European Union accused Russia on Tuesday of the "reckless" firing of flares at a Danish frigate which, with the shooting down of a drone over Lithuania, heightened the continent's anxiety over the Ukraine-Russia war. Danish analysts are calling for NATO and the EU to step up their response to Russia, according to FRANCE 24's Copenhagen correspondent Trine Villemann.

    • France24 ☛ Russian war, African recruits

      In tonight's programme, thousands of Africans end up amidst the war in Ukraine fighting or working on behalf of the Kremlin. We speak to a journalist who just got back from Ukraine. Also, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the C64 opposition coalition held a demonstration in the capital Kinshasa. And finally, Kenya's celebrating a stellar athletics victory as the country beats London in the race to host the 2029 World Championships.

    • NYPost ☛ Ukrainians are now stocking up on semiautomatic shotguns to take out Russian drones

      In pre-war Ukraine, such weapons were popular as sporting guns, used for hunting duck, hares and the odd fox, today they are in demand against a new deadly predator in the sky — which, unlike the local buzzards and eagles, preys on humans rather than animals.

    • Latvia ☛ LSM's campaign for Ukrainian rehabilitation raises 139 thousand euros

      Latvian Public Media (LSM), in collaboration with “Ziedot.lv”, organised a fundraising campaign entitled “In thoughts and deeds together with Ukraine” from 17 August to 13 September to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day.

    • RFERL ☛ 'Putin Is Watching': US House Panel Advances Russia-Iran Sanctions Bill

      The US House Rules Committee has advanced legislation imposing tougher sanctions on Russia and Iran, clearing a key procedural hurdle for a possible House vote later this week but exposing deep Democratic concerns over the measure’s expansion of presidential tariff authority.

    • France24 ☛ ‘Putin looking to see how far he can push NATO’

      NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight, officials said Tuesday. Separately, Denmark said that one of its air force helicopters was fired on with flares as it was carrying out surveillance of a Russian frigate in the Baltic Sea. France 24’s Philip Turle takes a look at what Moscow’s motives might be for this seeming increase in incidents inside NATO and EU territory.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Latvia ☛ Big public transport strike expected Wednesday in Latvia

      Due to the protest action ‘A Day Without Regional Public Transport’, organised by the Latvian Passenger Transport Association (LPPA), on Wednesday, 16 September, 1,271 regional bus services will not run, according to information compiled by the Road Transport Directorate (ATD), as reported by Latvian Radio.

    • France24 ☛ First Hormuz, now the Red Sea? Oil spikes as Saudis sucked into Yemen spiral

      First, there was The Insurrectionist’s surprise decision to strike Iran. Then, came the quagmire of a war without an exit strategy. Now, six months later, with access to the Gulf all but shut… global shipping holding its breath over the other end of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia drawn back into Yemen as Iran-backed Houthis threaten access to the Red Sea.

    • France24 ☛ Media helicopter crashes in LA while covering bus collision, killing three

      A news helicopter covering a deadly bus crash in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Chatsworth came down on Tuesday, killing three people, including a pedestrian.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea, Kazakhstan sign MoU on atomic energy, explore mineral trade

      SEOUL, Sept 15 - South Korea and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy as their leaders met on Tuesday and pledged to work together on trade, energy and critical minerals and AI, Seoul said.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s KLIA ride-hailing pickup surcharge slashed to flat 63 cent fee

      The fee, inclusive of tax, is standardised across Terminals 1 and 2.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Defended Hey Hi (AI) Data Centers on Truth Social, and Commenters Clapped Back

      The president’s posts about artificial intelligence on the social control media platform he founded were met with an unusual volume of criticism.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Cash-strapped Japanese monks turn to investing as inflation worsens

    Costs for the upkeep of the temples’ wooden buildings are soaring while the country’s Buddhist population has dropped.

  • Defence Web ☛ Dubai-built RHIBs now in service with Nigeria Customs Service

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has boosted operational efficiency with a pair of high-powered rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs).

  • The Straits Times ☛ China got cool for foreigners. But can they find a job there?

    More foreigners are looking for jobs in China and with Chinese firms but China-based ones are few.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s SK Hynix union approves tentative wage deal with management, source says

    The revised agreement won the backing of 57.1 per cent of voting union members.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Hong Kong unveils first five-year plan to boost jobs, homes and mainland China ties

    The plan aims to speed up development of a metropolis near the China border as a new growth engine.

  • CS Monitor ☛ China restricts overseas travel to stop high tech from leaving

    As competition with the U.S. intensifies, China has introduced travel restrictions on its citizens to stop its advanced technology from leaving.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s factories rev up, but slower consumption fuels concerns

    Industrial output grew 5.2 per cent in August from 2025.

  • New York Times ☛ Two Chinese Firms Used Binance to Launder Iranian Oil Money, US Says

    Federal prosecutors said proceeds from the sale of Iranian oil flowed through Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, to finance terrorism.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Former head of Chinese food and drug watchdog jailed for bribery

    A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced Bi Jingquan, former head of the now-defunct China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), to 14 years in prison over bribery.

  • France24 ☛ 'Revolutionary change in American foreign policy': Canada pivoting towards EU, India and China

    François Picard is pleased to welcome Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of Autocracy, Inc. According to Applebaum, the upheaval in American diplomacy and foreign policy transcends any one administration. She describes a full-fledged transformation in the way the United States exerts power, pivoting away from leadership of a democratic alliance and toward a transactional, mafia-style politics that fuses ideology, private economic interests, personal relationships and geopolitical leverage.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ Viral Putin, Modimir and Pooh-tin selfie at BRICS summit is AI-generated

      A viral selfie allegedly showing Vladimir Putin, Pooh-tin Jinping, Narendra Modimir and other leaders together at the BRICS summit in New Delhi is AI-generated. A SynthID watermark shows it was created using Proprietary Chaffbot Company tools, while several leaders pictured, including Brazil’s Lula and Turkey’s Erdogan, did not attend. Another Hey Hi (AI) selfie features former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in 2024. Both images were widely shared online, including by official embassy accounts. Vedika Bahl fact-checks.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Metro editor exits as ‘radical change’ needed to curb losses

    Editorial bosses Deborah Arthurs and Richard Hartley-Parkinson depart, Ted Young returns for interim role.

    >

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ NGO concerned about South China Morning Post reporter Minnie Chan, 3 years after apparent disappearance

    Free expression NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed concern over the apparent disappearance of South China Morning Post (SCMP) reporter Minnie Chan close to three years ago. Chan reported on defence issues, but was last heard from in October 2023 while she was covering the Xiangshan Forum, a three-day security conference, in Beijing.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • JURIST ☛ UN expert raises concern after female inmates report sexual harassment, threats and violence in California facility

    The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, on Monday voiced concern over the conditions in which female inmates were experiencing at the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), saying that after reporting alleged sexual harassment, privacy violations, threats, and violence, they were now facing retaliation.

• Monopolies/Monopsonies

  • Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ NovaCloud Licensing DASH patent monopoly challenged

      On September 11, 2026, Unified filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 8,949,206 owned and asserted by NovaCloud Licensing LLC, an NPE. The ‘206 patent monopoly is directed to streaming video services based on DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP). It has been asserted against Akamai Technologies and others. NovaCloud has been litigating a portfolio of former Ericsson patents since May of 2025.

      View district court litigations by NovaCloud.

    • Unified Patents ☛ Portsmouth networking patents being investigated

      The team at Unified is using Pearl to identify and chart prior art against patents owned by Portsmouth Network Corporation. Portsmouth has litigated their patents on switches and routers with certain network and traffic management functionality.

    • Unified Patents ☛ Magnetar/Atlantic IP entity, Croga Innovations, firewall patent monopoly confirmed invalid by PTAB

      On September 10, 2026, PTAB affirmed-in-part and issued new grounds of rejection in Unified’s ex parte reexamination of U.S. Patent 10,601,780, owned by Croga Innovations, Ltd., an entity of Atlantic IP Services Limited. The '780 patent monopoly relates to a networked computer system that employs a combination of internal and external firewall mechanisms, along with virtualization techniques, to isolate secure LANs from untrusted internet sources.

    • JUVE ☛ Pinsent Masons hires Simmons & Simmons patent monopoly attorney for London IP team [Ed: How is the hiring of one person newsworthy? It's not. This is marketing spam for a sponsor of this crooked publisher.]

      Fred Nicolle began his career in 2006 as a technical assistant at London-based patent monopoly attorney firm Ablett & Stebbing, where he was promoted to associate in 2010. He qualified as a UK patent monopoly attorney and as a European patent monopoly attorney.

    • Software Patents

      • Unified Patents ☛ Velos H.265 video codec patent monopoly challenge granted

        On September 10, 2026, two months after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on challenged claims 1-2, 6-10, 13-14, and 18-20 of U.S. Patent 12,088,843, owned by Velos Media, an NPE. The '843 patent monopoly is generally directed to selecting the best motion vector to encode or decode a current block of a video frame.

  • Trademarks

    • CS Monitor ☛ Buc-ee’s gas stops are beloved. But has its beaver become a ‘trademark bully’?

      The roadside oasis Buc-ee’s is known for brisket tacos and immaculate bathrooms. But its aggressive lawsuits alleging infringement of its beaver logo are sparking controversy.

  • Copyrights

    • Public Domain Review ☛ It’s “A Cat-astrophe”! (1919)

      “A Cat-astrophe” came on the tail end of an odd 1918 boom in cat-themed music.

    • Digital Music News ☛ Universal Music Sues DistroKid for Copyright Infringement and Deceptive Trade Practices, Says the Distributor ‘Is Flooding Platforms With AI-Generated Slop’

      Today in high-profile industry litigation: A firmly worded complaint filed by Universal Music Group (UMG) against DistroKid, which the major label says “is engaged in both deceptive trade practices and blatant copyright monopoly infringement.”