Leftovers

• New York Times ☛ Using Dance to Provoke, Delight and Tell South Africa’s Stories

  Growing up in a Black township, Vusi Mdoyi found a sprinkle of joy under apartheid in a street-dancing style known as pantsula. As a choreographer, he has elevated it into high art, injected with ideas.

• The Straits Times ☛ Sinkhole in Malaysia causes two house porches to cave in, no injuries reported

  Another two houses sustained minor damages.

• The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s warning for motorists entering JB without VEP continues to drive S’poreans’ quest for tags

  Many drivers remain unsure over the risk of driving to Johor without a VEP on Oct 1.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Sprained Ankle Can Also Be a Brain Injury. Here's How.

    Wait, what?

  • Science Alert ☛ Position of Defibrillator Pads Makes a Huge Difference to Restarting Hearts

    More than double the improvement.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Detected Signs of a Hidden Structure Inside Earth's Core

    A lost chapter in our planet's history.

  • Science Alert ☛ Will Water Save You From a Hangover? Science Says Probably Not.

    Drinking less alcohol might help.

  • Science Alert ☛ Strange Discovery Finds Earth's Crust 'Dripping' Into The Planet's Belly

    Just quietly melting, nbd.

  • Science Alert ☛ Unexpected Twist Saved Iberian Lynx From Extinction, Ancient DNA Reveals

    A fortunate encounter.

• Education

  • The Straits Times ☛ Affordable fees and quality of education fuelling Malaysia’s international school boom

    Both enrolments and the number of international schools in Malaysia have increased by 11 per cent in the last five years.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ VR Headset With Custom Face Fitting Gets Even More Custom

    The Bigscreen Beyond is a small and lightweight VR headset that in part achieves its small size and weight by requiring custom fitting based on a facial scan. [Val’s Virtuals] managed to improve fitment even more by redesigning a facial interface and using a 3D scan of one’s own head to fine-tune the result even further. The new designs distribute weight more evenly while also providing an optional flip-up connection.

  • Hackaday ☛ The Last Sun Sparc Workstation

    The truth is, our desktop computers today would have been classed as supercomputers only a few decades ago. There was a time when people who needed real desktop power looked down their noses at anyone with a Mac or a PC with any operating system on it. The workstation crowd used Sun computers. Sun used the Sparc processor, and the machine had specs that are laughable now but were enviable in their day. [RetroBytes] shows off Sun’s final entry in the category, the Ultra 45 from 2007.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Rabies Death in Minnesota Linked to Exposure to Bat, Officials Say

    The death, which was reported on Friday, is only the fifth fatal human rabies case in Minnesota since 1975, health officials said.

  • New York Times ☛ Trump’s Answer to Harris’s Border Trip: Calling Her ‘Mentally Disabled’

    Former President Donald J. Trump assailed Vice President Kamala Harris in harshly personal terms in what he conceded was “a dark speech.”

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Hackaday ☛ What’s The Deal With AI Art?

    A couple weeks ago, we had a kerfuffle here on Hackaday: A writer put out a piece with AI-generated headline art. It was, honestly, pretty good, but it was also subject to all of the usual horrors that get generated along the way. If you have played around with any of the image generators you know the AI-art uncanny style, where it looks good enough at first glance, but then you notice limbs in the wrong place if you look hard enough. We replaced it shortly after an editor noticed.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • New York Times ☛ Newsom Vetoes Bill Requiring Cars to Warn Speeding Drivers

      The legislation would have made California the first state in the nation to require intelligent speed assistance technology in vehicles.

    • Science Alert ☛ Your Smartphone Could Soon Measure Your Blood Pressure With Just a Touch

      Quick and easy, and potentially life-saving.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Wang touts China's role as peacemaker, calls for Middle East ceasefire

    China helped broker a March 2023 deal to end a diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, robbing Iran of top ally

    The Israeli military said on Saturday it had "eliminated" Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on the group’s headquarters in Beirut. Nasrallah's death is a major blow to both Hezbollah and Iran, depriving Tehran of an influential ally who helped build Hezbollah into the key ally in Iran's network of groups in the Arab world.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Experts react: Hassan Nasrallah is dead. What’s next for Hezbollah, Israel, and Iran?

    On Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed that its leader had been killed in an Israeli air strike. Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what might come next for the already war-torn region.

  • NYPost ☛ Biden-Harris admin’s lack of support left Israel with no other choice — it had to strike Hezbollah

    It was no coincidence that Israel pulled the trigger on targeting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s blistering speech at the United Nations.

  • France24 ☛ Nasrallah's death was necessary to achieve Israel's war aims, says Netanyahu

    The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had “eliminated” Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike on Friday in Beirut. Hezbollah confirmed his death, vowing to continue its fight against Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Nasrallah’s killing "was a necessary step toward achieving the goals we have set”, returning displaced residents of northern Israel “safely to their homes” and changing “the balance of power in the region for years to come”. Read our blog to see how the day's developments in the Middle East unfolded.

  • France24 ☛ Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, dead at 64, led a clandestine life on the run

    Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air strike targeting the group's headquarters in Beirut late on Friday. Nasrallah led Hezbollah through decades of conflict with Israel, overseeing its transformation from an armed group into a political force that – backed by Iran – dominated Lebanese politics.

  • RFERL ☛ Hezbollah Confirms Nasrallah's Death As Biden Sees A 'Measure Of Justice'

    Hours after the Iran-allied militant group Hezbollah confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in a massive Israeli air strike, violence flared again, with sirens blaring in Tel Aviv and Israeli forces continuing to hit targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Strikes Lebanon Again After Killing Hezbollah Leader

    The bombings late Saturday were the latest in a week of stepped up attacks. A bombing on Friday assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, a stunning escalation in Israel’s campaign against the Iranian-backed group.

  • New York Times ☛ Hezbollah Leader, Hassan Nasrallah, Killed by Israeli Strike at 64

    In 32 years in charge of Hezbollah, Mr. Nasrallah built the Iranian-backed militia into an influential regional force and a potent adversary of Israel.

  • New York Times ☛ Can Hezbollah Recover From the Death of Hassan Nasrallah?

    Hassan Nasrallah’s killing raises questions about whether the group can strike back at Israel. But U.S. officials say it’s too soon to count the group out.

  • New York Times ☛ A Decimated Hezbollah Is a Serious Blow for Iran

    How Iran responds to the death of the Lebanese militia’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an Israeli airstrike will affect the region, and beyond.

  • New York Times ☛ Strike on Hezbollah Leader Suggests Major Strategic Miscalculation

    The militia group seemed content to trade blows with Israel while avoiding a major conflict. A strike that killed its leader proves it miscalculated.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Tracked Nasrallah for Months Before Assassination, Officials Say

    The Israeli military decided to strike at the Hezbollah leader because it believed there was only a short window before he disappeared to a different location, three senior Israeli officials said.

  • New York Times ☛ Hezbollah’s Victims Voice Relief at Its Disarray

    Amid widespread condemnation of Israel’s massive strikes, Syrian communities persecuted by Hezbollah forces voiced cautious, and sometimes exuberant, celebration.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel’s Latest Strikes Present Stark Reality: Even Beirut Isn’t Safe

    “Nobody has any idea what to do,” said one of the many residents who fled the Dahiya, an area near the Lebanese capital where Hezbollah holds sway, amid overnight Israeli airstrikes.

  • New York Times ☛ ‘We’re Still Living in Fear’: Escaping the Attacks in Lebanon

    Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Lebanon. Khaled Hussein, 20, fled Syria as a child. He describes the bombardment that forced his family to flee again.

  • RFERL ☛ Iran's Supreme Leader Reportedly Moved To Secure Location Under Heightened Security

    Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside Iran with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters.

  • RFERL ☛ Biden Cites Hezbollah 'Reign Of Terror,' While UN Chief Expresses 'Grave Concern' At Nasrallah's Death

    U.S. President Joe Biden, in his first comments since the Israeli killing of the Hezbollah leader, said the death of Hassan Nasrallah helped bring a "measure of justice" to the group's victims over a four-year "reign of terror," while Tehran and many of its allies condemned the Israeli attacks.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ States Bordering Belarus, Russia Seek EU Funds For Massive Defense Line

      NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland will seek European Union funding to build a network of bunkers, barriers, distribution lines, and military warehouses along their borders with Russia and Belarus, Estonian officials said.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Mathematician, Recognized As Political Prisoner, Destined For High-Security Prison

      Azat Miftakhov, recognized as a political prisoner by the human rights organization Memorial, will soon be transferred to a high-security prison, his support group said on September 28.

    • RFERL ☛ Moldova Accuses Moscow In Wave Of Vandalism In Capital Ahead Of Vote

      Several buildings of state and public institutions have been vandalized over the past two days in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, with police voicing suspicion that Russia is behind the incidents.

    • RFERL ☛ Explosion At Gas Station In Russia's Daghestan Kills 13, Including Children

      An explosion and en ensuing fire at a gas station in Russia's Daghestan region has killed 13 people, including two children, and injured 11, Russia's Emergencies Ministry reported on September 28.

    • JURIST ☛ Belarus transgender rights organization says authorities detained over 15 LGBTQ+ individuals

      Belarus transgender rights organization TG House Belarus said on Friday that more than 15 LGBTQ+ individuals, including eight transgender individuals, were detained by the Belarusian authorities in the past month. According to TG House Belarus, the individuals were arrested in several Belarusian cities for allegedly subscribing to extremist resources.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ The US confronts two global threats: China-Russia and itself

      NEW YORK—Two dark clouds hung over the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York. The first was the growing peril of Chinese-Russian common cause. The second was uncertainty about whether US leadership will rise to the challenge after the November elections.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Drone Strike Kills Top Ukrainian Judge After 9 Die In Hospital Attack

      A Russian air strike on a private vehicle in the Kharkiv region killed a 61-year-old judge of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, local officials said on September 28, while two strikes on a hospital in the border region of Sumy killed at least nine people and injured 12.

    • New York Times ☛ What Would Kamala Harris Do About Ukraine?

      What would a President Harris do about the war in Ukraine?

    • France24 ☛ Blinken questions China peace push in Ukraine, says Beijing's exports fuel Russia's 'war machine'

      US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed doubts Friday about China's efforts to pursue a peace deal in Ukraine, saying that Beijing's exports to Russia were fuelling Moscow's "war machine". China and Brazil have been trying to rally the world's emerging powers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to support a "comprehensive and lasting settlement" through negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ The storm clouds may be parting after Zelenskyy’s tumultuous US visit

      The Ukrainian president’s meetings with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump seesawed between low and high drama.

• Environment

  • MIT Technology Review ☛ Sorry, Hey Hi (AI) won’t “fix” climate change

    In an essay last week, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, argued that the accelerating capabilities of Hey Hi (AI) will usher in an idyllic “Intelligence Age,” unleashing “unimaginable” prosperity and “astounding triumphs” like “fixing the climate.”

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Hackaday ☛ Dog Poop Drone Cleans Up The Yard So You Don’t Have To

      Sometimes you instantly know who’s behind a project from the subject matter alone. So when we saw this “aerial dog poop removal system” show up in the tips line, we knew it had to be the work of [Caleb Olson].

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ No Turkish Delight for New York’s Mayor

    The latest worm in the Big Apple.

  • New Yorker ☛ The Election Is Dividing Husbands and Wives Across America

    “We always have a gender gap,” the independent Democratic pollster Celinda Lake says. “It looks like it’s going to be on steroids this year.”

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ X must pay fines to resume activities in Brazil

    The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) ruled Friday that in order for X (formerly Twitter) to resume activities in Brazil, it must prove payment of the fines imposed for non-compliance with the court’s order to appoint a legal representative in Brazil.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia child abuse case: GISB probed over forced labour accusations

    Investigations are also being carried out on several GISB businesses that failed to adhere to provisions under the Income Tax Act.

Monopolies/Monopsonies