Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Humans Are Evolving Right Before Our Eyes on The Tibetan Plateau

    "This is a case of ongoing natural selection."

  • Science Alert ☛ The Most Powerful Picosecond Laser Yet Was Just Unveiled by Scientists

    Another record tumbles.

  • Science Alert ☛ Trees Struggling to Absorb CO2, Leading Emissions to Skyrocket

    There's one bit of hope.

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Mission Beams a Cat Video Across Deep Space With Lasers

    Success!

  • Science Alert ☛ A Physicist Reveals Why You Should Run in The Rain

    Unless you like getting wet.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Qualcomm says its Snapdragon Elite benchmarks show defective chip maker Intel didn't tell the whole story in its Lunar Lake marketing

    Qualcomm claims its Snapdragon X Elite beats Intel's Lunar Lake chips in performance and efficiency, and that defective chip maker Intel was misleading in marketing.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • JURIST ☛ Europe rights court rules Italy did not violate convention by keeping man with AIDS in prison during COVID

    The European Court of Human rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday that Italy did not violate the rights of a man with HIV (which had possibly developed into AIDS) by keeping him in a general prison and exposing him to the risk of catching COVID-19.

  • France24 ☛ Cuba never recovered from Covid, Trump sanctions, expert says

    Electricity has been restored to almost 90% of Havana residents four days after a nationwide blackout hit Cuba. Several Cuban provinces were still without power, after the collapse of the nation's largest power plant caused lights to go out across the island on Friday. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to William LeoGrande, Professor of Government at the American University. He says Cuba never recovered from the impact of Covid and the sanctions imposed by Donald Trump.

  • New Yorker ☛ Letters from Our Readers

    Readers respond to Andrew Solomon’s piece about social control media and teen suicide.

  • New York Times ☛ The TikTokification of Social Media May Finally Be Its Undoing

    A case involving Fentanylware (TikTok) may have opened the door to holding platforms liable for the damage they cause.

  • Latvia ☛ What challenges do foreigners face in Latvian healthcare system?

    Every year, people with critical and acute health problems turn to charity asking for immediate help to get health services that are not covered by the state. These situations also arise for people from other countries living in Latvia. What challenges do they face in the healthcare system? Latvian Radio tried to find out on October 22.

  • Latvia ☛ Doctors alarmed about idea to punish drunk drivers without medical tests

    Changes are planned to the administrative liability law to allow police to take action against drunk drivers who refuse a substance test without taking them to a medical facility. Drug abuse experts are alarmed about this, Latvian Television reported on September 22.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China unveils first diagnosis guidelines to battle escalating obesity crisis

    Job stress, long work hours and poor diets are growing high-risk factors in the cities of China.

  • Science Alert ☛ Man Declared Brain Dead Wakes Up as Organs About to Be Removed

    A terrifying real-life case.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Origins of The Most Deadly Ovarian Cancer May Have Been Revealed

    This could greatly improve diagnosis.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Baidu CEO warns Hey Hi (AI) is just an inevitable bubble — 99% of Hey Hi (AI) companies are at risk of failing when the bubble bursts

    Baidu's CEO recently predicted that once the Hey Hi (AI) bubble bursts, 99% of companies involved will go under, though he believes this process will benefit the market.

  • Yahoo News ☛ Microsoft Word ‘censors’ the term maternity leave

    Microsoft Word has been accused of “censoring” the term “maternity leave” because it is not inclusive enough. Writers using the software are instead advised to type “birth-related leave”, “parental leave” or “childbirth leave” when referring to the time off work that a woman can take after childbirth.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Cloudbooklet ☛ Minahil Malik Video Leak Goes Viral: Secure Your Data Now

      The Minahil Malik Video Leak Goes Viral has raised alarms about data privacy. This incident highlights the urgent need for individuals to secure their data now.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Digital Music News ☛ Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sued by More Accusers, Legal Team Seeks Gag Order

    A second wave of lawsuits hits Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, filed on behalf of seven more accusers, some of whom claim abuse as recently as 2022. A new round of lawsuits has been filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, including an allegation that he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl with an unnamed male and female celebrity.

  • New York Times ☛ What Is Al-Qard al-Hasan, the Hezbollah-Linked Finance Group Targeted by Israel?

    The de facto bank is the largest microcredit organization in a country where the traditional banking sector is in shambles.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s cross-border broadcasts trigger North Korea’s launch of trash balloons: UN Command

    The anti-Pyongyang broadcasts by South Korea “failed to deter the North Korean trash balloons”.

  • JURIST ☛ North Korea condemns formation of US-led sanctions monitoring team as ‘unlawful and illegitimate’

    North Korea Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui condemned the recent formation of a US-led multilateral sanctions monitoring team on Sunday, calling it “utterly unlawful and illegitimate.”

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says reached ‘resolution’ with India on contested border issues

    The two nations ave regularly accused each other of trying to seize territory along their unofficial divide.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan says live fire China drills may be part of a 'deterrence' effect

    Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday that live fire Chinese drills in a province facing the island are part of routine annual drills but also possibly part of China's "deterrence effect" in the waters of the Taiwan Strait.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China launches live-fire exercise in Taiwan Strait

    It was not disclosed which Chinese force would carry out the live firing or what was its objective.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China launches live-fire exercise in Taiwan Strait amid ramped up military pressure

    China’s military began a live-fire exercise near Taiwan on Tuesday, maintaining pressure on the self-ruled island after staging large-scale drills and President Pooh-tin Jinping called for troops to prepare for war.

  • CS Monitor ☛ China’s latest drills highlight key strategy to annex Taiwan: Blockade

    China’s military is practicing putting a choke hold on Taiwan – a strategy that defense experts increasingly believe could be an effective alternative to a full-scale invasion.

  • RFA ☛ China holds live-fire drills at island closest to Taiwan

    Taiwan said it was closely monitoring the exercise and would ‘respond appropriately.’

  • New York Times ☛ China Turns Up the Heat on Taiwan With Live-Fire Drills

    The drills were the latest show of force by China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and has protested Western support for the island.

  • RFA ☛ China calls for action after attack on consulate in Myanmar

    No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, which damaged the building in Mandalay.

  • The Strategist ☛ Military challenges to Beijing’s South China Sea claims are increasing

    Deployments of ships and aircraft to challenge China’s illegal claims in the South China Sea are increasing.

  • France24 ☛ What we know about the ‘UNRWA ID’ allegedly found amidst Sinwar’s belongings

    Israeli media said last week that two men killed alongside Hamas head Yahya Sinwar were his bodyguards, and that one of them worked for UNRWA. It later posted photos of items allegedly found at the scene, including an “UNRWA ID” causing online furore that the UN agency is linked to Hamas or that Sinwar was falsifying his identity. However the document is an expired passport belonging to a man very much alive, and who has fled Gaza. Vedika Bahl shares what we know so far.

  • France24 ☛ After Sinwar's death: Why is Israel ramping up strikes in Lebanon and Gaza?

    Is the off ramp in sight or did Benjamin Netanyahu’s government deliberately blow past it?

  • New York Times ☛ Mideast Crisis Updates: Israel Carries Out Another Round of Strikes Near Lebanese Capital

    The attacks followed claims from the Israeli military that Hezbollah was operating a command center beneath a hospital in a densely populated neighborhood near Beirut.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Apologizes After Strike Kills 3 Lebanese Soldiers

    The deaths showed the complexity of Israel’s fight with Hezbollah: Lebanon’s army is not a party to the conflict, but it is taking place in its territory.

  • France24 ☛ Israel army says Hezbollah cash vault in Lebanon hit

    The Israeli army said Monday its forces were pummelling Hezbollah's financial arm, hitting more than two dozen targets including a bunker with tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold. The strikes since Sunday night mark an expansion of Israel's campaign against the Iran-backed group after a year of cross-border exchanges that escalated in late September into a full-blown war.

  • New York Times ☛ Dock Collapse in Georgia Strikes Sapelo Island Community Fighting for Its Culture

    The deaths of seven people on Sapelo Island have brought to the fore longstanding frustrations among its Gullah Geechee community.

  • France24 ☛ Live: Blinken arrives in Middle East to revive Gaza ceasefire talks after Sinwar death

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday on the first stop of a Middle East tour in a new push for a ceasefire in Gaza after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. It will be his 11th trip to the Middle East since the war broke out a year ago. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates on the Middle East crisis.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indian doctors call off protest hunger strike over medic's murder

    The victim's parents have expressed their worries about the fasting junior doctors' health.

  • New York Times ☛ What Is U.N. Resolution 1701?

    U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 was intended to create a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah. Here’s a look at why it didn’t and what lies ahead in efforts to end the conflict in Lebanon.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Legislation now calling for spacecraft manufacturers to create cybersecurity plan when working with NASA

    The Spacecraft Cybersecurity Act would require NASA to secure a cybersecurity protection.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ North Korea sending troops to Ukraine would be ‘dangerous’ development, US warns

      Washington warned that North Korea sending troops to support Russia in Ukraine would be a dangerous development, following reports from Seoul. US Ambassador Robert Wood told the UN Security Council this deepens the DPRK-Russia military ties, and consultations with allies are under way regarding the implications of this move.

    • RFA ☛ Seoul vows ‘phased measures’ against North Korea-Russia military cooperation

      Among possible steps could be sending weapons to Ukraine for defense and attack.

    • RFERL ☛ Britain Announces $2.4-Billion Weapons Loan For Ukraine

      Britain will provide Ukraine with a £2.26 billion ($2.4 billion) loan to acquire more weapons systems, Defense Minister John Healey said on October 22.

    • RFERL ☛ Lawmakers Question Why U.S. Oil Company Still Working In Russia

      More than 50 members of Congress have signed a letter calling on the U.S. government to toughen sanctions on Russian oil and questioning an exception granted to U.S.-based oil services company Schlumberger (SLB) that has allowed it to continue operating in the country.

    • New York Times ☛ Austin Condemns Kremlin ‘Apologists’ in Pledging Support for Ukraine

      The trip by the U.S. defense secretary comes as Russian forces steadily gain territory in eastern Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ South Korea says North Korea dispatched troops to help Russia fight Ukraine

      North Korea has not sent troops to Russia to help Moscow fight Ukraine, one of its United Nations representatives said Monday, dismissing Seoul's claims as "groundless rumour". South Korea's spy agency said Friday that Pyongyang sent a "large-scale" troop deployment to help its ally, claiming that 1,500 special forces were already training in Russia's Far East and ready to head soon for the front lines of the Ukraine war.

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea may consider supplying weapons to Ukraine over North Korea-Russia ties

      SEOUL - South Korea may consider directly supplying weapons to Ukraine as part of measures to counter military ties between North Korea and Russia, officials said on Tuesday, after accusing Pyongyang of sending troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Putin seeks unity at BRICS summit to challenge Western 'hegemony'

      Two dozen world leaders, including China's Pooh-tin Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are gathering in Kazan, Russia, for summit of the BRICS group between October 22-24. The event is Russia's largest diplomatic gathering since its invasion of Ukraine, showcasing Moscow's defiance of Western isolation.

    • France24 ☛ Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping arrives in Russia for BRICS summit

      Two dozen world leaders including Chinese leader Pooh-tin Jinping are gathering in Russia on Tuesday for the opening of a summit of the BRICS group, which will be hosted in the city of Kazan from October 22 to 24. "Beijing sees no problem with the fact that the rotating presidency of the summit has landed in Russia’s lap," says FRANCE 24 correspondent Yena Lee.

• Environment

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong firms reminded to comply with single-use plastic tableware ban as 6-month grace period ends

    Hong Kong’s environmental authorities have reminded businesses to comply with a ban on single-use plastics as a six-month grace period came to an end on Monday.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Medevel ☛ The Dark Side of Smart Cars: Why I Don't Trust Them (Yet)

      Cybersecurity Pentesting and Smart Cars: The Growing Need for Secure Autonomous Vehicles

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea team showcases drone that serves as ‘flying shopping cart’

      The drone can be used over uneven terrain such as stairs.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Over 4 million cars enter Johor from S’pore, generating $26 million in road revenue for Malaysia

      The amount was collected from January to September 2024, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke in Parliament.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s Sarawak state aims to be regional green energy powerhouse, boost talent pool

      The state government should consider easing the employment-pass rule for non-Sarawakians to attract talent, says expert.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • France24 ☛ Trial opens over mining giant BHP's liability in 2015 Mariana dam disaster

      A long-awaited civil trial related to one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters, the 2015 Mariana dam collapse, is getting underway in London. More than 620,000 people, including relatives of 19 people killed in toxic mud, are having their cases heard in one of the largest lawsuits in English history.

• Finance

  • New Yorker ☛ Sovereignty for Sale

    It goes way beyond tax havens and offshore banking. Enterprising countries have figured out how to put their legal systems at the disposal of corporate interests.

  • The Hindu ☛ Intel to lay off about 1,300 employees in the U.S.

    Intel has submitted in an official document that it plans to reduce staff, laying off 1,300 people spread across four offices in the U.S. state of Oregon.

    As per the document dated October 15, Intel said it had notified the affected employees weeks in advance and that the first round of cuts will take place over two weeks, starting on November 15.

  • Tech companies chop hundreds more Bay Area jobs as industry wobbles

    Tech companies chop hundreds more Bay Area jobs as industry wobbles

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean senior group head calls for the government to raise senior citizen age to 75

    The official standard defining people 65 or older as senior citizens was set in 1981.

  • New York Times ☛ In a Malaysian Pop-Up City, Echoes of China’s Housing Crash

    Forest City was an audacious $100 billion project by a top Chinese developer. Today, the project is a fraction of what had been planned and the developer is broke.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China's youth unemployment rate falls in September after climbing for 2 straight months

    The jobless rate for 16 to 24-year-olds in China, excluding students, fell to 17.6 per cent in September.

  • The Straits Times ☛ American buyers elusive at China’s largest trade fair, as tariffs cast a pall

    But some Chinese businesses at the fair say they continue to set their sights on the US market.

  • NCSoft Layoffs: Thrones and Liberty Game Developer To Lay Off Significant Numbers of Employees, Ask Them To Resign or Take Voluntary Retirement Amid Restructuring

    NCSoft, a South Korean game developer known for various games, will lay off employees amid its massive restructuring plan. The NCSoft layoffs will affect several employees, and the tech company is also said to ask for voluntary retirements and resignations from them. This news comes after NCSoft released its MMORPG Thrones and Liberty video game on October 1, 2024, across various gaming consoles, including Xbox, PlayStation 5, Mac and Windows PC.

    Founded in 1997, NCSoft has launched various games for players, including AION, Blade & Soul, Lineage series, and others. With its new release, Thrones and Liberty, the developer gained quite a lot of engagement and success in the gaming community. According to a report by Vice, the Thrones and Liberty boasted 3 million players within just the first week and reached a peak of 3,36,000. The game clocked 24 million play hours among the players, and viewers spent around 11 million hours watching the gameplay on the Twitch platform. Activision Blizzard Layoffs: Video Game Company To Lay Off Around 400 Employees in Irvine, Santa Monica Next Month After Microsoft Merger.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ With Election Day 2 Weeks Away, 15 Million Voters Have Already Cast a Ballot

    Since the pandemic, early voting has become a broadly accepted part of American elections. But it is difficult to glean partisan advantage.

  • Marcy Wheeler ☛ Kamala Harris against Despair

    When Maria Shriver asked Kamala Harris how she deals with the stress of this election, Harris responded by giving a powerful speech against despair.

  • JURIST ☛ Pennsylvania governor says Elon Musk move to give money to voters signing petition raises serious concerns

    Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Sunday that billionaire Elon Musk’s effort to give money to registered voters for signing his America PAC’s petition in support of “free speech and the right to bear arms” is deeply concerning and warrants investigation by law enforcement.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Free lunch programme, better healthcare among Prabowo’s priorities for Indonesia

    Food security and improving education rank high in his to-do list.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Citizen Lab ☛ “Misinformed about misinformation” Gabrielle Lim’s piece for the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review

      In an article for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Misinformation Review, Gabrielle Lim, doctoral fellow at The Citizen Lab, and co-authors Irene Pasquetto (University of Maryland) and Samantha Bradshaw (American University), discuss the complex challenges facing the field of misinformation.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Citizen Lab ☛ The Citizen Lab at Regardless of Frontiers: First Amendment & Exchange of Ideas Across Borders

    The Citizen Lab’s director Ron Deibert is presenting a paper, co-authored with senior legal researcher Siena Anstis, at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University’s event Regardless of Frontiers: First Amendment & Exchange of Ideas Across Borders.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Less moralising and more fun: What we can learn from the golden era of women’s mags

    Hosts of the Mag Hags podcast Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas answer Press Gazette's questions.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Michael Geist ☛ The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 216: Game Changer or More of the Same? Patrick Leblond on the New Global E-Commerce Agreement

    For over 25 years, the World Trade Organization, an intergovernmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade, has grappled with how to engage with e-commerce. What started as a moratorium on customs duties has expanded into the development of a new agreement that touches on a wide range of issues including privacy, data localization, and electronic contracting.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Seeds of Doubt: PTAB Rejects Plant Patent Challenge, Citing Genetic Uncertainty

    by Dennis Crouch

    In a recent post-grant review decision, the PTAB sided with the patentee and denied  institution of a PGR challenge to U.S. Patent No. 11,696,545 (“the ‘545 patent”), which claims an inbred maize variety designated PH4CYJ. Inari Agriculture, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., PGR2024-00023, Paper 15 (P.T.A.B. Oct. 15, 2024).  The case is interesting for several reasons — most notably because it upholds a utility patent monopoly covering a plant line developed through simple cross breeding. 

  • New Report Demonstrates Need for Robust Post-Grant Validity Review

    In September, the Sunwater Institute published a report analyzing patent monopoly quality in the United States.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Recommended Reading: Farmer and Bosnic: "2023-24 Trademarks Developments"

    John B. Farmer, the founder of Leading Edge Law Group, PLC, in Richmond, Virginia, has for more than 25 years written a monthly column for the Richmond Times on breaking legal issues in the e-commerce, intellectual property and high-tech fields. He also lectures annually for the Virginia bar on trademark law developments. His highly practical analysis and advice is always worth reading. John has kindly given me permission to provide a link to his latest effort, co-authored with his colleague, Dana Bosnic, entitled "2023-24 Trademark Developments." [pdf here].

  • Right of Publicity

    • Public Knowledge ☛ Digital Replicas, Part I: Defining the Harms

      In the first installation of this three-part series on AI-generated digital replicas, we take a look at the potential harms from unauthorized uses to democracy, to industry, and to the public at large.

    • Public Knowledge ☛ Digital Replicas, Part II: Guidelines for Addressing Harms

      In this second installation of a three-part series on digital replicas, we focus on solutions to effectively address the harms posed by unauthorized uses of this emerging technology.

• Copyrights

  • NYPost ☛ NY Post, Wall Street Journal sue Jeff Bezos-backed Perplexity Hey Hi (AI) for ripping off content

    NYP Holdings, Inc. and Dow Jones, subsidiaries of News Corp, jointly filed the lawsuit against Perplexity Hey Hi (AI) in Manhattan federal court on Monday.

  • Press Gazette ☛ News Corp seeks massive damages from Hey Hi (AI) firm perlexity for stealing content

    News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said the company must "challenge the content kleptocracy".

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Report: Hey Hi (AI) search startup Perplexity in talks with investors over $500M funding

    Perplexity Hey Hi (AI) Inc., creator of an artificial intelligence-powered search engine platform, is reportedly discussing yet another huge funding round with investors that could increase its valuation to more than $8 billion.