03.16.23

GNU/Linux

• Applications

  • Linux Links ☛ Drop-in replacements for Core Utilities

    The GNU Core Utilities or coreutils is a package of GNU software containing implementations for many of the basic tools, such as cat, ls, and rm, which are used on Unix-like operating systems.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Install Audacious 4.3 On Ubuntu / Linux Mint

    In this article, we’ll show you how to install Audacious 4.3 on Ubuntu or Linux Mint system, step by step.

    Audacious is a free and open-source audio player for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.

    It is known for its lightweight, customizable, and user-friendly interface, making it a favorite among Linux users who prefer a simple and straightforward music player.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Bmon on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

    BMON is a lightweight and powerful network monitoring tool that provides real-time network usage information. It is designed for Linux and Unix systems and is available in the default repositories of many Linux distributions.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install PHPUnit on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

    PHP Unit is a widely-used testing framework for PHP developers that helps them ensure the reliability and functionality of their code. It allows developers to write automated tests that check for errors and issues in their code, ensuring that their applications work as intended.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Mixxx on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

    Mixxx is an open-source DJ software that allows users to mix tracks, create playlists, and control their music in real time. It is a free and powerful tool for DJs, hobbyists, and professionals. Mixxx is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, making it accessible to anyone who wants to start DJing.

  • LinuxTuto ☛ How to Install Magento 2.4.6 on Ubuntu 22.04

    Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform that allows businesses to create and manage their online stores.

  • Scan your Local Area Network with Ning

  • FOSSLinux ☛ Sharing files between Linux Mint and Windows

    Sharing files between two operating systems can be pretty tricky at times. While Linux Mint and Windows use different file systems, several methods are still available to share files between them. In this article, we will provide step-by-step instructions on transferring files using Samba, a widely-used file-sharing protocol that allows Windows and Linux systems to communicate with each other.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Use Find Command in Linux

    Linux is a powerful and versatile operating system, providing users with a wide range of commands to perform tasks efficiently. One of the essential tools in the Linux toolbox is the find command, which allows users to search for files and directories based on various criteria such as name, extension, size, modification date, and more.

  • Linux Capable ☛ Python Input Functions: Concepts and Examples

    Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world, and it is widely used for developing software applications, games, and web applications. One of the fundamental concepts in Python programming is the Input function, which is used for accepting input from users.

  • How to install Apache on Rocky Linux 9

    The Apache HTTP server is one of the most popular Web servers in the world. It is an open-source application that runs on any Linux server and is completely free to install. It is, used to handle requests and deliver static/dynamic content.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install MakeMKV on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

    MakeMKV is a powerful and popular software application that enables users to easily convert physical media, such as DVDs and Blu-ray discs, into digital video files.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install TeXworks on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

    TeXworks is a free, open-source, cross-platform LaTeX editor designed to streamline the creation of professional documents using the LaTeX typesetting system. Inspired by the simplicity of TeXShop, a popular editor for Mac users, TeXworks aims to provide an intuitive and user-friendly interface for beginners while offering advanced features for experienced users.

  • Linux Capable ☛ Tar Command in Linux: Create a Folder Archive

    Creating folders and archiving files are essential when managing data in Linux environments. One popular method for achieving this is the TAR command, which stands for Tape Archive.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Upgrade to Fedora 38 from Fedora 37

    Fedora 38 is the latest release of the popular Linux distribution, bringing significant updates to enhance its robustness, security, and ease of use. Notable changes in this release include initial Unified Kernel support, live media modernization with a shorter shutdown timer, and Ruby and PHP version updates.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install FreeTube on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

    FreeTube is a free and open-source desktop application that allows users to watch, browse, and download videos from various video hosting websites without being tracked or monitored.

• Games

  • Boiling Steam ☛ New Steam Games with Native Linux Clients with Barotrauma and Terraformers – 2023-03-15 Edition

    Between 2023-03-08 and 2023-03-15 there were 36 New Steam games released with Native Linux clients.

  • Boiling Steam ☛ Call of the Sea, Free Right Now on the Epic Games Store, and Working Fine on Linux with Heroic

    Another week, another game that’s free to grab on the Epic Games Store.

  • Tom’s Hardware ☛ Tested: Default Windows VBS Setting Slows Games Up to 10%, Even on RTX 4090 [Ed: So move to GNU/Linux]

    With Windows 11 (and possibly 10) now enabling VBS by default, we ran some tests to see how much it’s impacting performance with the RTX 4090 on a Core i9-13900K. Here are the results of our testing.

Distributions and Operating Systems

• Barry Kauler ☛ AppImage Installer for EasyOS

  I have created an installer for AppImages. Still needs more work, but basically working. The first window is a tabbed-list of AppImages:

  …the tick in the second column means the AppImage is already installed.

  Bottom-left of the window is a help button; here it is:

• Fedora Family / IBM

  • Enterprisers Project ☛ 4 data challenges for CIOs

  • Enterprisers Project ☛ Our top 8 favorite Raspberry Pi articles

  • Enterprisers Project ☛ 3 creative ways to retain IT talent

  • Enterprisers Project ☛ How the democratization of AI impacts enterprise IT

• Devices/Embedded

  • Tinker V [Ed: ASUS has embraced RISC-V]

    The first RISC-V single-board computer (SBC) from ASUS IoT embraces open-source architecture to expand options for industrial IoT developer community

  • Ubuntu ☛ Canonical announces Ubuntu Core compatible with SystemReady IR Systems, highlights OS security with PSA Certified Level 1 achievement

    Ubuntu Core, Arm SystemReady and PSA Certified are transforming how the industry think about connected edge devices, security and device compatibility.

  • Ubuntu ☛ Ubuntu Blog: Canonical teams up with MediaTek to optimise Ubuntu for IoT innovations

    14 March 2023, Embedded World, Nuremberg: Canonical today announced the first Ubuntu images optimised for MediaTek’s Genio 1200 System on Chip (SoC). The solution spurs AI innovation for enterprises, startups, emerging brands and leading ODMs in diverse markets.

    By partnering to enable Ubuntu on the Genio platform, MediaTek and Canonical will make it easier for developers, innovators and the embedded community to take advantage of this power-efficient, high-performance IoT SoC. The collaboration ensures developers and enterprises can create reliable and secure devices, benefiting from up to 10 years of enterprise-grade Ubuntu support, security updates, and anywhere, anytime connectivity. Devices built on the MediaTek Genio platform and Ubuntu enjoy reliable and efficient over-the-air updates, enabling the next generation of secure, open and extensible IoT devices.

    The industrial-grade images are available for Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS and Ubuntu Core 22. New images will be announced soon for Ubuntu desktop. MediaTek and Canonical will jointly provide enterprise-class hardware and software support, and offer long-term security maintenance for 10 years, enabling partners and customers to focus on their core applications and accelerate time-to-market. 

    Empower vision-based AI workloads for edge devices
    

    MediaTek Genio is a complete platform stack with powerful chipsets, open platform software development kits (SDKs) and comprehensive developer resources and tools for consumer, enterprise and industrial applications with vision and voice edge processing. 

Leftovers

• Arrests related to Turkey earthquakes rise to 279

  Nearly 100 of the arrested people are contractors while 50 suspects have been found to be dead.

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ This Dress Survived for More Than Three Centuries at the Bottom of the Sea

    Divers found an almost perfectly preserved dress in the remains of a ship that sank off the Netherlands in the 1600s. Researchers are trying to figure out who owned the garment.

  • The Scientist ☛ Gut Bacteria Help T Cells Heal Muscle: Study

    Regulatory T cells in the colon travel to muscles to promote wound healing in mice, raising questions about how antibiotics may impact injury recovery.

  • Hillel Wayne ☛ That Time Indiana Almost Made π 3.2

    I originally ran this on my newsletter last year but I like it way too much to let it rot in the archives. Enjoy!

    Happy Pi Day!1 To celebrate I want to get away from software for a bit and talk about something special. You may have heard the story that the Indiana legislature tried to change the value of π, to something like 3 or 4 or 3.15 or something like that.

• Hardware

  • Helsinki Times ☛ Nearly 2200 dangerous products removed from European market in 2022, according to Safety Gate system

    Last year, nearly 2,200 dangerous products were reported to the Safety Gate system from European markets, according to the European Commission. Safety Gate aims to transmit information about dangerous products found on EU markets so that they can be effectively removed. In Finland, 79 notifications were made, which included toys, clothing, personal protective equipment, and electrical appliances. The most common risks found in the notifications were chemical risk, the risk of choking on small parts, electric shock, and external injuries.

  • Tom’s Hardware ☛ Dell’s US Product Line Rumored to Cut All Chinese Ties by 2027

    Dell will start to remove Chinese ICs from products starting in 2025, says a new report, moving steadily to cut all Chinese manufacturing from US-sold products by 2027.

  • Tom’s Hardware ☛ New US Sanctions Against China’s Chip Sector May Set it Back by a Decade

    SMIC will have problems making chips using sub-40nm nodes if the U.S. imposes new sanctions against China.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Axios ☛ “Entirely avoidable”: Ohio AG sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine train derailment

    Ohio is suing Norfolk Southern over last month’s East Palestine train derailment, calling it “entirely avoidable,” state Attorney General Dave Yost announced Tuesday.

  • UN: Black Sea Grain Initiative should continue

    United Nations underlined that the continuation of the agreement signed in İstanbul in July 2022, between Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, and the UN was very important for global food security.

  • Vice Media Group ☛ EPA to Finally Limit Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Widespread in Drinking Water

    Almost everybody tested by the CDC has toxic PFAS in their blood. Now, the EPA has proposed the first limits for drinking water.

  • JURIST ☛ 60,000 Australians sign up for Victoria sick pay guarantee program

    The Australian state of Victoria Monday revealed that over 60,000 individuals signed up for its pilot Sick Pay Guarantee scheme since its launch on March 14, 2022. To date, the state has paid out over one million hours of sick and carer’s pay.

  • New York Times ☛ EPA to Restrict Toxic PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

    The government will strictly limit in drinking water two chemicals that are ubiquitous in modern society but are linked to a range of health effects.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese hoarding flu pills with online sales surging 100-fold

    The rush for medicine underscores the high levels of anxiety in China.

  • Vice Media Group ☛ Dogs Living in Chernobyl Have Adapted with DNA Mutations, Study Suggests

    The population of dogs thriving in the Exclusion Zone have mutated genes pertaining to DNA repair and immune response.

  • ADF ☛ Six West African Countries Account for 20% of World’s Illegally Caught Fish

    ADF STAFF About 20% of illegally caught fish worldwide comes from waters near The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone, according to a new report by news organization Investigative Journalism Reportika (Ij-Reportika). Most of the fish are caught by vessels from China…

• Privatisation/Privateering

  • Michael West Media ☛ NSW treasurer rules out any sale of Sydney Water

    NSW Treasurer Matt Kean insists Sydney Water won’t be sold off despite leaked documents revealing the government had sought advice on the sale of the utility as it looked to fund infrastructure projects.

• Security

  • OpenSSL ☛ OpenSSL 3.1 Final Release

    We are pleased to announce that the forthcoming OpenSSL 3.1 release is to be made available on 14th March 2023.

• Defence/Aggression

  • CS Monitor ☛ What’s next in gun control? Biden to sign executive order.

    President Biden is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday aiming to increase the number of background checks to buy guns. The order also includes promoting safer storage and ensuring U.S. law enforcement gains from last summer’s bipartisan law.

  • France24 ☛ Are US military drills in Asia-Pacific a veiled attempt to curb Chinese power?

    Recent US military activity in the Asia-Pacific is on the rise, including drills in the Philippines and South Korea as well as a submarine deal struck between the US and Australia. China has, meanwhile, accused the US of encircling the country. FRANCE 24 speaks with an expert to shed light on the mounting tensions.

  • Axios ☛ “Mexico is safer” than the U.S., Mexican President López Obrador says

    Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denounced Monday U.S. travel warnings and American news reports of violence in his country as a smear against his administration, per AP.

  • Vice Media Group ☛ China Has Better Hypersonic Missiles Than Russia and Can Strike U.S. Bases, Official Says

    In testimony before Congress, a Pentagon scientist laid out the threat of Beijing’s hypersonic weapons.

  • The Local SE ☛ ‘Increased chance that Finland joins NATO before Sweden’: PM

    Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday the likelihood that Finland would join NATO before Sweden had “increased” as Stockholm’s bid continues to face stiff opposition from Ankara.

  • RFERL ☛ Hungary To Delay Vote On NATO Membership For Sweden, Finland

    A long-delayed vote in Hungary’s parliament on ratifying the NATO accession bids of Sweden and Finland will likely be postponed again following a proposal from a senior government official.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Congo cease-fire: Displaced residents long for normalcy

    Twenty years of fighting in eastern Congo has forced more than 5 million people from their homes. Local residents are cautious about a cease-fire signed last week.

  • CNN ☛ Analysis: The two biggest 2024 Republican names would mean bad news for Ukraine

    Russia might be bogged down in its vicious onslaught on Ukraine, but President Vladimir Putin is winning big elsewhere — in the Republican presidential primary.

  • New Yorker ☛ What the Saudi-Iran Deal Means for the Middle East

    Brokered by China, the agreement between the two regional rivals reflects shifting economic—and ideological—alignments.

  • France24 ☛ Ex-Saudi intelligence chief ‘hopes’ deal with Iran will be game-changer for region

    FRANCE 24 spoke to the former head of Saudi intelligence, Turki al-Faisal, following the announcement that Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations. The prince expressed hope that last week’s China-brokered deal will be a game-changer for the region, mentioning Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and especially Yemen, where a deadly conflict has resulted in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The former ambassador to the US and UK also explained why China was “the logical partner” in making the deal happen.

  • LRT ☛ Ukraine thanks Lithuania for naming Wagner terrorist organisation

    Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, has thanked the Lithuanian parliament for recognising Russia’s Wagner mercenary group as a terrorist organisation.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania designates Russia’s Wagner as terrorist organisation

    Lithuania’s Seimas on Tuesday unanimously recognised Wagner, a private Russian military company, as a terrorist organisation.

  • LRT ☛ If Berlin is serious about defence, it needs to deploy brigade to Lithuania – interview

    German brigade needs to be permanently deployed in Lithuania if Germany wants to be the pillar of NATO’s Eastern flank defence, Nico Lange, senior fellow at the Munich Security Conference, said in an interview with LRT.lt.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuania extends state of emergency in border areas

    Lithuanian Seimas on Tuesday extended the state of emergency on the country’s borders with Russia and Belarus until May 2.

  • LRT ☛ Romanian minister in Vilnius proposes sanctions for attempts to destabilise Moldova

    Bucharest has proposed sanctions to combat Russia’s attempts to destabilise the country, Romania Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said in Vilnius on Monday after meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart, Gabrielius Landsbergis.

  • CS Monitor ☛ As U.S. steps back from Middle East, China steps in

    China has brokered a diplomatic rapprochement between rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, illustrating Beijing’s growing clout in the Middle East.

  • Axios ☛ With Iran-Saudi deal, Beijing aims to bring its friends closer together

    By brokering a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, China is trying to ensure two of its most important partners in the Middle East get along so Beijing can achieve its economic and political goals, experts say.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Says Russian Fighter Jet Hit American Drone Over Black Sea

    The incident was the first known physical contact between the two militaries since the war in Ukraine began last year.

  • Axios ☛ Russian jet collides with U.S. drone over Black Sea

    A Russian jet crashed into a U.S. drone above the Black Sea on Tuesday, forcing the U.S. to bring the drone down.

  • ADF ☛ Escalating Tensions Risk Return to Civil War in Mali

    ADF STAFF Tension is escalating in northern Mali, where a fragile peace plan is teetering on the verge of collapse.

  • CNN ☛ Ukrainian sniper on killing Russians: ‘Can’t think…you just act’

    CNN’s Erin Burnett speaks with Ukrainian soldier Roman Trokhymets about his experience fighting against Russians near Bakhmut.

  • The Age AU ☛ US Air Force drone and Russia jet collide

    The Pentagon has declined to say whether it will attempt to recover a US Air Force drone after it collided with a Russian fighter jet.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Latest missile launches help train for fire assault to be carried out ‘any time’, says North Korea

    The firing of the missiles come as 11-day joint drills between South Korean and US forces are under way

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ US says Russian warplane hits American drone over Black Sea

    The U.S. military says a Russian warplane struck the propeller of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, causing American forces to bring the unmanned aircraft down in international waters. The U.S. European Command says two Russian Su-27 fighter jets “conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept” of the MQ-9 drone in international airspace over the Black Sea. The State Department calls it a “brazen violation of international law.” Moscow says the U.S. drone maneuvered sharply and crashed into water following an encounter with Russian fighter jets scrambled to intercept it near Crimea, but insists its warplanes didn’t fire their weapons or hit the drone.

  • The Age AU ☛ China responds to Australia’s nuclear powered submarines deal with stark warning

    China declares Australia on ‘dangerous path’ after AUKUS submarines deal sealed.

  • The Age AU ☛ Islands in the scheme: Fiji signals support for AUKUS subs

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made sure to stop over in Fiji on his return from the AUKUS launch for some ceremonial kava.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia PM visits Fiji to discuss nuclear submarines, regional security

    Anthony Albanese met with Fijian PM Sitiveni Rabuka on Wednesday.

  • New York Times ☛ True Liberation Eludes Kherson as Russian Shelling Intensifies in Ukraine

    Months after Ukrainian forces pushed out Russian occupiers, the city of Kherson remains very much a war zone.

  • New York Times ☛ Ron DeSantis’s Ukraine Stance Angers G.O.P. Hawks

    The Florida governor, who joined Donald Trump in declaring that defending Ukraine from Russia was not a vital interest, drew swift condemnations from establishment Republicans.

  • Axios ☛ U.S. dominates global arms sales, with Russia falling far behind

    Data: SIPRI; Map: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals

    U.S. dominance in the global weapons trade increased dramatically over the past five years, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

  • New York Times ☛ Biden Issues Executive Order to Strengthen Background Checks for Guns

    President Biden announced a handful of steps designed to improve enforcement of existing gun laws during a trip to Monterey Park, Calif., the site of a mass shooting in January.

  • Axios ☛ Biden takes executive action on background checks for guns

    President Biden is signing a gun control executive order on Tuesday that the administration says will get the country “as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation.”

    Why it matters: It builds on the bipartisan legislation Biden signed into law last June, but requires the attorney general to get involved through a wonky process of redefining which firearms dealers are required to run background checks.

• Environment

  • CS Monitor ☛ Brazil’s Lula vows to legalize Indigenous lands amid rising conflicts

    Brazil’s President Lula expressed support for creating new territories for Indigenous communities on his first trip to Indigenous land in the Amazon rainforest. Former President Bolsonaro did not demarcate any Indigenous land during his administration.

  • Axios ☛ “Potent” atmospheric river hits California with heavy rain and flooding as thousands evacuate

    The latest atmospheric river to lash California has unleashed more historic rainfall, heavy snow and flash flooding across the state — as forecasters warn the worst was yet to come on Wednesday.

  • France24 ☛ Death toll from Cyclone Freddy tops 200 in Malawi and Mozambique

    The death toll from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi and Mozambique passed 200 on Tuesday after the record-breaking storm triggered floods and landslips in its second strike on Africa in less than three weeks.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Destructive record-breaking cyclone batters Malawi, Mozambique twice

    Cyclone Freddy, the longest-lasting most powerful cyclone on record, is responsible for the deaths of more than 190 people in southern Africa. The powerful seaborne storm made landfall twice over the weekend in Malawi and Mozambique.

  • uni Michigan ☛ Wege lecturer Mary Robinson ties climate crisis to injustice

    Addressing the world’s climate crisis requires a people-centered approach that elevates positive climate work and connects climate change with injustice, Mary Robinson said during the Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Age AU ☛ Electricity prices to soar by 20 per cent in some states

      Power company customers in three states face a major hike in their bills.

    • Helsinki Times ☛ Harakka: Finland not prepared to revisit EU ban on combustion-engine vehicles

      MINISTER of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka (SDP) says Finland appreciates Germany’s concerns about the ban on new combustion-engine vehicles that was approved by the European Parliament in February.

      It is not, however, in the common interest of the 27-country bloc to make a last-minute U-turn, according to Harakka.

    • H2 View ☛ Water supply secured for green hydrogen project in Western Australia

      Frontier Energy has signed a binding agreement securing water supply for a planned green hydrogen project in Western Australia.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Dolphin Park in Marmaris closed permanently

      Five dolphins died earlier in the center and it is now revealed that two surviving dolphins were secretly transferred to another dolphin park in Antalya.

• Finance

  • CS Monitor ☛ Gender equality as a source of economic renewal

    Sri Lanka’s many upheavals last year have led to new financial discipline and measures to uplift women, delighting foreign creditors and perhaps setting a model for the global debt crisis.

  • Michael West Media ☛ Minns baulks on nurses’ pay in NSW leaders debate

    NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has dodged guaranteeing larger pay rises for teachers, police and nurses while sparring with Premier Dominic Perrottet over NIMBYs, children’s futures and groceries.

  • France24 ☛ France faces fresh round of strikes over highly contested pension reforms

    France faces another day of strikes on Wednesday over highly contested pension reforms which President Emmanuel Macron appears on the verge of pushing through despite months of protests.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Are banks – and your money – safe? Five questions.

    The failure of two U.S. banks in recent days poses a test of confidence – and of regulatory reassurance – at a time when the economy is already challenged by inflation and rising interest rates.

  • The Age AU ☛ Residents outraged after council pushes through controversial ‘bin tax’

    Residents living in Melbourne’s inner suburbs are outraged after the City of Yarra voted in favour of a controversial bin tax.

  • The Local SE ☛ Sweden’s central bank ‘still planning to raise interest rates in April’

    The governor of Sweden’s Riksbank central bank has told MPs he still intends to raise rates by at least 0.25 percentage points in April, despite the failure of several banks in the US.

  • Michael West Media ☛ Independents call out old age homeless crisis

    They’re a group often left out of the housing crisis conversation, but many older Australians are finding themselves homeless at a time in their lives when stability is most important.

  • Michael West Media ☛ ‘No reward’: Push to end older-age homeless crisis

    They’re a group often left out of the housing crisis conversation, but many older Australians are finding themselves homeless at a time in their lives when stability is most important.

  • Michael West Media ☛ Recession fears in New Zealand as GDP figures loom

    Worsening forecasts have prompted New Zealand economists to revise down their expectations for the Kiwi economy, ahead of GDP figures being released. Market sentiment is for Stats NZ to reveal a mild contraction in Q4 2022 when the government body releases data on Thursday.

  • Michael West Media ☛ Inflation, slowing demand increase risks for business

    Business-to-business trade payment defaults have surged as firms struggle with cash flow under challenging conditions. CreditorWatch’s monthly business risk report shows payment defaults lifted 30 per cent in the 12 months to February and credit enquiries soared by 102 per cent.

  • New York Times ☛ After Days of Panic, Midsize Banks See Stocks Rise

    Regional bank leaders offered jittery customers everything from a personal cellphone number to a video chat with Mitt Romney.

  • Axios ☛ Inflation is proving sticky, CPI report confirms

    Inflation is proving stickier than it appeared not long ago. That was further confirmed in Tuesday morning’s consumer price index report.

    Driving the news: Inflation is no longer trending down, as in the second half of 2022. Rather, it’s holding at an uncomfortably high level, with underlying details showing persistent pressures.

  • New York Times ☛ The Political Finger-Pointing Behind Bank Collapses and Train Derailments

    As two news events — banking turmoil and a train derailment — became flash points in America’s culture wars, conservative presidential hopefuls and media voices pounced.

  • New York Times ☛ Garbage Piles Up in Protest Against France’s Pension Change

    A bill raising the retirement age for most workers by two years, to 64, is expected to become law this week, despite widespread protest, including a strike by garbage workers in Paris and elsewhere.

  • Helsinki Times ☛ Inflation on the rise in Finland: a long battle to tame prices ahead, warns chief economist

    Inflation rates in Finland have risen again in February, following a brief slowdown in January, according to the latest consumer price index from Statistics Finland. The country’s inflation rate was 8.8%, with prices increasing worryingly across both goods and services. The chief economist of the Central Chamber of Commerce, Jukka Appelqvist, warns that a stable and low inflation rate is unlikely to happen in the near future. The prolonged tight monetary policy and rising interest rates could lead to a deeper recession than anticipated.

  • New York Times ☛ Macron Faces Pivotal Week in His Attempt to Change France at Its Core

    Huge crowds are again expected to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age before a decisive vote that could redefine his nation and his legacy.

  • Axios ☛ “Standby” apartments offer cheap rent with sudden departures

    A fully furnished apartment in a great city for $1,295 per month — 33% below the national median — with no lease, no security deposit and all utilities included. Sound too good to be true?

  • Axios ☛ Lawmakers target child labor laws to ease worker shortage

    Legislators in multiple states are invoking a widespread labor shortage to push bills that would weaken long-standing child labor laws.

    Why it matters: Some bills go beyond expanding eligibility or working hours for run-of-the-mill teen jobs. They’d make it easier for kids to fill physically demanding roles at potentially hazardous work sites.

  • CNN ☛ Argentina’s inflation tops 100% for the first time since 1991

    Argentina’s yearly inflation rate rose past 100% for the first time in three decades, according to new figures released by the country’s statistical body INDEC, as the government struggles to control rising prices.

  • CNN ☛ Billionaire behind rise of 7-Eleven dies

    Masatoshi Ito, the Japanese billionaire who turned 7-Eleven convenience stores into a global empire, has died aged 98, closing the chapter on one of Asia’s most storied retail entrepreneurs.

  • New Yorker ☛ Scaled-Back Benefits for a Silicon Valley Recession

    The annual conference is moving from Maui to the Metaverse—an equally exotic locale! And we’re discontinuing fertility assistance, but that went without saying, right?

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ Meta, Facebook’s Parent, to Lay Off Another 10,000 Workers

    It would be the tech company’s second round of cuts since November. Mark Zuckerberg, its chief executive, has declared 2023 the “year of efficiency.”

  • France24 ☛ Meta to cut 10,000 staff as CEO Zuckerberg cites ‘humbling’ 2022

    Facebook owner Meta announced a fresh wave of job cuts on Tuesday, part of what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the company’s “year of efficiency” as the US tech sector continues to downsize.

  • CNN ☛ Meta plans to lay off another 10,000 employees

    Facebook-parent Meta plans to lay off another 10,000 workers, marking the second round of significant job cuts for the tech giant in four months.

  • LRT ☛ Once important diaspora centre, Lithuanian community in Chicago is shrinking

    For more than a century, Chicago has remained one of the most important centres of the Lithuanian diaspora. However, the Lithuanian community there is slowly shrinking.

  • LRT ☛ ‘Needed but overdue’: MPs want Communist Party of Lithuania labelled criminal organisation

    The ruling conservatives want the Communist Party of Lithuania to be recognised as a criminal organisation. The proposal is needed but overdue, according to historians.

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian president pledges support for Georgia to join EU

    Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and his Georgian counterpart Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday discussed the implementation of reforms in Georgia and Lithuania’s support for the country’s bid to join the EU.

  • New York Times ☛ Qatargate Is a Warning to Europe

    The bloc’s vulnerability to corruption has been dramatically exposed.

  • The Local SE ☛ LISTEN: How the Sweden Democrats are flirting with the extreme right, Part 2

    In this bonus edition of the podcast we hear more from guest Jonathan Leman on how the far-right Sweden Democrats have grown more radical over the past four years.

  • The Local SE ☛ Democracies like Sweden and Taiwan ‘should support each other’

    In the latest of our interviews with international envoys, we catch up with Klement Gu, Taiwan’s representative to Sweden, about his impressions of Sweden, healthy trade ties, and how Sweden can support Taiwan amid tensions with China.

  • RFERL ☛ Belarusian KGB Adds Russian National Sofia Sapega To Terrorist Registry

    Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen who is serving a six-year prison term in Belarus on charges related to the civil disturbances that followed a disputed 2020 presidential election, has been added to the Belarusian KGB’s registry of terrorists.

  • RFERL ☛ Navalny Punishment Cell Set Up On Paris Square To Illustrate Treatment Of Kremlin Critic

    A replica of the concrete punishment cell that Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny is periodically placed in has been unveiled on a square in Paris.

  • RFERL ☛ Putin Dismisses Reports That Ukrainians Carried Out Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as “complete nonsense” allegations that pro-Ukrainian activists with no ties to the state could be behind the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

  • RFA ☛ Nearly 10,000 Bago region residents forced to flee ahead of junta raids

    Villagers say there have been casualties after troops shelled their homes.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFERL ☛ Russian Duma OKs Bill On Punishment For ‘Discrediting’ Russian Forces

    The Russian parliament’s lower chamber has approved a bill expanding Russia’s wartime censorship measures to include punishment for anyone considered to have discredited “volunteer” forces such as so-called private military groups involved in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

  • RFERL ☛ Journalists Protest Possible Criminalization Of Defamation In Republika Srpska

    Bosnian Serb journalists have staged a spontaneous demonstration outside the parliament of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka against amendments being debated by lawmakers that would criminalize defamation in the media of the Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  • RFERL ☛ Radical Groups In Georgia Burn EU Flag, Demand Referendum On ‘Foreign Agents’ Law

    Activists from two radical political groups in Georgia, Alt-Info and Conservative Movement, burned a European Union flag near the Georgian parliament and removed an EU flag from a flag pole next to the building on March 14.

  • Academic under investigation over ‘earthquake’ remarks during class

    The academic criticized the government’s response to the earthquakes during an online class.

  • Helsinki Times ☛ Roger Waters fights back against cancel culture and defends freedom of speech

    Former Pink Floyd bassist and singer, Roger Waters, has taken legal action against proposed concert cancellations in Frankfurt and Munich. The Hessian State Government and the Magistrate of the City of Frankfurt had announced their intention to cancel Waters’ concert, which was scheduled to take place on 28 May at Festhalle in Frankfurt. Meanwhile, a motion was introduced in the Munich City Council to cancel the concert scheduled for 21 May 2023, at the Munich Olympiahalle.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ No cross-dressing, blackout dates among stricter rules mooted for concerts in Malaysia

    PUTRAJAYA – Male foreign artistes are not allowed to “cross-dress” or dress up like women when performing in Malaysia, according to new government guidelines on concerts and live shows.

  • New Yorker ☛ The Photographer Who Saw the Brutality and the Fragility of Authoritarianism

    Fifty years ago, Augusto Pinochet staged a violent coup in Chile. Evandro Teixeira went to the capital and captured startling images of soldiers, protesters, and the funeral procession of Pablo Neruda.

  • France24 ☛ Polish court convicts activist for providing abortion pills to pregnant women

    Polish activist Justyna Wydrzynska was on Tuesday found guilty of supplying a pregnant woman with abortion pills in the Catholic country, her NGO said, in Poland’s first such case.

  • ACLU ☛ No One Should Face the Death Penalty for Accessing Health Care

    It was one of the first things anti-abortion politicians bellowed in the immediate backlash to Roe v. Wade being overturned: Women won’t face prosecution for seeking an abortion. They said it because they know that punishing people for making the best decisions for themselves is deeply unpopular. And yet, less than a year later, they are introducing bills that would do exactly that — bills that would allow prosecutors to send women to jail for ending their pregnancies. We know this is a strategy they’re using to push the envelope and experiment with how big the backlash will be.

    If we’ve learned anything over the last several decades in the fight for reproductive freedom, it’s that we should watch what politicians do, not what they say. Unfortunately, their actions reveal the cruel reality they want to force on all of us. It’s clear as day that these politicians want to create a world where making decisions about your own body is a crime.

  • New Yorker ☛ DeSantis to Replace Disney World with “Dilbert” Theme Park

    The new theme park will attract “millions of Americans deprived of their favorite comic strip by the left-wing media Reich,” the Florida governor said.

  • Helsinki Times ☛ Childless employees face discrimination in vacation planning, finds study

    A recent study conducted by Finnish associations, Simpukka ry and Vapaaehtoisesti Lapsettomat ry, has found that childless employees face discrimination in vacation planning, work shift scheduling, and career advancement. According to the study, vacation plans and work shift schedules tend to prioritize the preferences of employees with children. Childless employees are expected to be more flexible and are subjected to career advancement discrimination.

  • Vice Media Group ☛ eBay Finally Has Its First Worker Union in 27 Years

    Workers at TCGPlayer, the trading card marketplace bought by eBay in 2022, voted to unionize on Friday.

  • RFERL ☛ Several Injured After Clashes Between Pakistan Police, Supporters Of Former Prime Minister

    Followers of Pakistan’s main political party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI), clashed with police on March 14 outside the residence of party chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in eastern Lahore after police arrived to arrest Khan.

  • JURIST ☛ Israel special committee approves bill restricting ability to declare prime minister incompetent

    The Israeli Special Committee on Amendments to Basic Law Monday approved a first reading of a bill that would only allow the Prime Minister to be declared incompetent on the grounds of physical or mental incapacity.

  • JURIST ☛ FBI reports 11.6 percent increase in hate crimes across US

    The FBI Monday released new hate crime statistics which showed an 11.6 percent rise in hate crimes from 2020 to 2021. A transition to a new reporting system meant that there was an initial decrease in data recorded in the FBI’s annual report.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Submission to the UNESCO Consultation on Draft 2.0 of the Guidelines for Regulating Digital Platforms

    Access Now’s submission to the third UNESCO consultation on draft 2.0 of the Guidelines for Regulating Digital Platforms.

• Monopolies

  • Patents

    • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Stipulated Judgment must be Unambiguous; and the Canon of Common Sense Claim Construction

      AlterWAN sued Amazon for patent infringement back in 2019, asserting two patents claiming claiming wide-area-network improvements. US8595478 and US9015471.  As the case moved forward, the district court issued a claim construction that favored Amazon.

    • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ The other “saisie” : the saisie conservatoire in France to recover evidence for foreign proceedings

      Many readers of this blog are familiar with the French saisie-contrefaçon, which consists of the seizure of allegedly infringing products and all related documents, but requires a writ of summons within one month of the saisie (e.g., here).