Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Some (IT) things you might not know about me

  I wrote about some things you might not know about me last March. Here are ten more:

  I’ve been having way more fun learning Go than I did learning Rust. YMMV, but I’m finding it fits my brain better.

  I only switched to IMAP from POP3 recently, on account of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. POP let me download my email locally into Thunderbird, rather than having an archive of ID theft-rich material somewhere else.

• Don Marti ☛ Don Marti: QoTD: Mark Ritson

  I must get a question a month from marketers which is all about, you know, given that consumers have less attention span, and given AI, and that robots are going to take over the world, is anything relevant any more?

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Gene Therapy Can Restore Hearing in Adults, First-of-Its-Kind Trial Shows

    A sound breakthrough.

  • Science Alert ☛ Ancient Roman Bigfoot? 'Unusually Large' Shoes Puzzle Archaeologists

    "We're all now off trying to work out who might have been here."

  • Science Alert ☛ Largest Mars Rock on Earth Could Sell For US$4 Million

    Going once...

  • Science Alert ☛ Gut Bacteria Found to Soak Up Toxic Forever Chemicals

    An anti-PFAS pill?

  • Science Alert ☛ First Visual Evidence Confirms A Star Exploded Twice

    This could help us understand dark energy.

  • Science Alert ☛ Ozempic-Like Drugs Could Treat Chronic Migraines, Trial Finds

    Crossing our fingers.

  • Science Alert ☛ Curiosity Cracked Open a Rock on Mars And Discovered a Huge Surprise

    A first on the red planet!

  • Science Alert ☛ Massive Review Finds No 'Safe' Level of Processed Meat Consumption

    The health risks are stark.

  • Science Alert ☛ US Teen Drivers Admit to Looking at Their Phones For 21% of Every Trip

    This is dangerous for everyone.

  • Science Alert ☛ Mysterious Leprosy Pathogen Has Lurked in The Americas For 4,000 Years

    This could rewrite the disease timeline.

• Hardware

  • The Straits Times ☛ US plans Hey Hi (AI) chip curbs on Malaysia, Thailand over China concerns

    The US has effectively banned sales of Nvidia’s advanced Hey Hi (AI) processors to China.

  • Hackaday ☛ Smart Temp Sensors Helps You Nail Your Cooking

    Cooking is all about temperature control: too cold isn’t good enough, and too hot can ruin everything. To aid in this regard, [Printerforge] created a smart temperature alarm to keep them aware of exactly what’s going on in the pot.

  • Hackaday ☛ Video Cable Becomes Transmitter With TEMPEST-LoRa

    EFI from cables is something every ham loves to hate. What if you modulated, that, though, using an ordinary cable as an antenna? If you used something ubiquitous like a video cable, you might have a very interesting exploit– which is exactly what [Xieyang Sun] and their colleagues have done with TEMPEST-LoRa, a technique to encode LoRa packages into video files. 

  • Hackaday ☛ CIS-4 Is A Monkish Clock Inside A Ceiling Lamp

    It’s always clock time at Hackaday, and this time we have an interesting hack of a clock by [danjovic]– the CIS4, a Cistercian digital clock.

  • Hackaday ☛ 2025 One Hertz Challenge: Electromechanical CMOS Clock Keeps In Step With Mains Frequency

    Some people can’t be bothered to read the analog face of a traditional clock. Some people cannot stand the low frequency “hum” of mains current. If you are in either of those categories, you probably don’t want to make [Christian]’s handsome and well-documented electromechanical CMOS clock.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ TSMC reportedly accelerates investment in Arizona chip complex as Samsung delays Texas fab

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. are taking their U.S. fab operations in different directions, according to two new reports. The Wall Street Journal today cited sources as saying that TSMC is accelerating investments in its Arizona fab complex. Samsung, meanwhile, is reportedly delaying the completion of a chip factory in Texas.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea launches emergency response to battle lovebug outbreak

    The unprecedented explosion of the insects has prompted the government to dispatch 37 personnel.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian scientists discover bed bugs can help in forensic investigations

    Research showed that the bugs can retain human DNA in their guts for up to 45 days after feeding.

  • Science Alert ☛ FDA Issues Warning Over Dangerous 'Gas Station Heroin' Substance

    Often sold as a 'wellness' product.

  • The Straits Times ☛ In reversal, Japan now wants rice farmers to produce more. Will it work?

    Japan aims to secure the country’s food security without sending prices into freefall.

• Proprietary

  • Qt ☛ Testing Qt Quick for Android applications with Squish

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Publisher group files EU antitrust complaint against Surveillance Giant Google over Hey Hi (AI) Overviews

      An industry group that represents publishers has filed an antitrust complaint against Surveillance Giant Google LLC in the European Union. Reuters reported the development today.  The Independent Publishers Alliance, the group behind the antitrust push, submitted its complaint to the European Commission on June 30. The document also has two other signatories.

    • Press Gazette ☛ Urgent bid lodged with UK regulator to stop Surveillance Giant Google Hey Hi (AI) Overviews ‘stealing journalism’

      Google accused of causing "serious irreparable harm" to the UK news industry.

  • Social Control Media

    • International Business Times ☛ 2025-06-30 [Older] TikTok 'Safe for Now,' Cheeto Mussolini Claims, But Refuses to Reveal Mystery Buyer for Two Weeks

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-06-29 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini Tells Fox News He Has Group of Wealthy People to Buy TikTok

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-06-30 [Older] Meta, TikTok Can Be Sued by Mother of NYC Teen Killed While 'Subway Surfing'

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Pen Test Partners ☛ Pet microchip scams and data leaks in the UK

      TL;DR We were recently on BillBC Morning Live talking about issues with pet microchip data, helping some pet owners understand how they were being billed for services which they didn’t recall signing up for. There was so much more to this piece though, so we’ve written up our findings in more detail here.

  • Confidentiality

    • The Strategist ☛ Qantas data breach shows compliance doesn’t always mean protection and resilience

      Cybersecurity requires more than legal compliance; it demands constant vigilance and adaptation. A cyberattack on a third-party platform used by a Qantas customer contact centre in Manila, discovered on 30 June, made this clear.

• Defence/Aggression

  • New York Times ☛ Julio César Chávez Jr. Expected to be Deported, Sheinbaum Says

    The well-known Mexican boxer was detained by U.S. immigration agents in California on Wednesday, days after fighting a high-profile contest against the former YouTuber Jake Paul.

  • New York Times ☛ Nuclear Inspectors Leave Iran After Cooperation Halted With U.N. Watchdog

    The withdrawal of international inspectors comes amid heightened concerns that Iran, battered by Israeli and U.S. strikes, may be driven to try to build a nuclear bomb.

  • NYPost ☛ Iran regime cracks down on its own people with a ‘North Korea-style model’ of ‘terrifying’ repression

    In the wake of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the regime appears to be turning inward — escalating repression with chilling speed.

  • New York Times ☛ Court Rejects Effort to Keep Migrants From Being Sent to South Sudan

    After the Supreme Court ruled that the deportations could move forward, a last-ditch attempt to block them with a new lawsuit faltered.

  • France24 ☛ Jazzman Ludovic Louis draws inspiration from anti-colonial activist Frantz Fanon

    2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Frantz Fanon. The psychiatrist's work has had a significant impact on post-colonial movements around the world, especially in North Africa. When filmmaker Jean-Claude Barny explored his life in the biopic Fanon, he chose Ludovic Louis to create the soundtrack. The jazz composer and trumpeter employed a bold musical alliance, creating a dialogue between North African and Middle Eastern sounds. Ludovic Louis is our guest on Eye on Africa.

  • LRT ☛ Defence minister rejects parliament committee’s call to reinstate intelligence chief

    Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė has said she will not act on the Lithuanian Parliament’s National Security and Defence Committee (NSGK) recommendation to reinstate Colonel Elegijus Paulavičius as head of the country’s military intelligence service, following his previous dismissal.

  • Latvia ☛ Latvia to open large military optics factory

    Within the next two years, Baltic Photonics will open a military-grade night vision device factory in the Berģi industrial zone near Rīga. There are only a few such factories in the world, but it will be the only one of its kind in the Baltic States and is expected to be the largest in Europe, Latvian Television reported on 3 July.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korean detained after crossing land border: Seoul military

    Defections across the land border that divides the peninsula are rare.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia dismantles ISIS network involving workers from Bangladesh

    A total of between 100 and 150 people are suspected to be involved in the network.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Singaporean man among 9 nabbed in Johor drug raids

    The Malaysian police seized drugs with a total estimated value of over $500,000.

  • Dalai Lama succession: China warns India against interfering in Tibet-related matters

    Three-day religious conference wraps up; voices of support ahead of Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday Sunday

  • The Straits Times ☛ India backs Dalai Lama’s position on successor, contradicting China

    Beijing says it has the right to approve the Dalai Lama’s successor as a legacy from imperial times.

  • The Straits Times ☛ The two Panchen Lamas: China's role in Tibet and the clash with the Dalai Lama

    Weeks before the Dalai Lama ruled out China's role in choosing his successor, President Pooh-tin Jinping met a Tibetan Buddhist monk installed three decades ago by Beijing as the faith's No. 2 leader, the Panchen Lama.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Tibetan leader expects more back-channel talks with China, but not hopeful on results

    The Tibetan government-in-exile could hold more back-channel talks with China this year on greater autonomy for Tibet, although they are unlikely to yield results given Beijing's unyielding stance, the head of the government said on Friday.

  • France24 ☛ Dalai Lama set to face off with Beijing over succession

    The last remaining active pro-democracy party in Hong Kong has disbanded, citing pressure from Beijing. It's the latest casualty in a years-long crackdown that's already extinguished much of the city's opposition. Meanwhile, exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has confirmed he will have a successor after his death, ruffling some feathers in China ahead of his ninetieth birthday. Finally, the most successful series ever streamed on Netflix, "Squid Game", is coming to an end. The third and final season of the South Korean show has set a new record for the streaming platform in the first three days.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China helped Pakistan with ‘live inputs’ in conflict with India, Indian Army deputy chief says

    He called for urgent upgrades to the country's air defence systems.

  • The Strategist ☛ How Taiwan must prepare to face Chinese drone saturation

    Taiwan urgently needs to overhaul its air defence strategy to prevent the rising threat of low-cost drone saturation attacks from China.

  • New York Times ☛ U.K. F-35B Jet Takes Unplanned Vacation in India, Is Embraced by Locals

    A British F-35B has been stranded for weeks at an airport in southern India because of mechanical issues. The internet, and the region’s tourism agency, are having fun with it.

  • The Strategist ☛ British public backs defence and security partnership with Australia

    Australia was high on the list for Britain’s revamp of its alliances after Brexit, and the stormy geopolitical climate that followed has only reinforced the need for a more ambitious partnership.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania to boost cyber defences during zapad military exercise

      Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Centre (NKSC) will operate in a state of enhanced readiness during the upcoming Zapad military exercise in Belarus this autumn, with reinforced cyber forces and increased information-sharing among allies.

    • France24 ☛ Russia pounds Kyiv with largest drone attack, hours after Convicted Felon-Putin call

      Russia pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, killing one person, injuring at least 23 and damaging buildings across the capital hours after U.S. President The Insurrectionist spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin, officials said on Friday. Air raid sirens, the whine of kamikaze drones and booming detonations reverberated from early evening until dawn as Russia launched what Ukraine's Air Force said was a total of 539 drones and 11 missiles.

    • RFERL ☛ Zelenskyy Praises 'Important' Call With Convicted Felon, Says Air Defense Discussed

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised what he called a "very important and useful conversation" with his US counterpart The Insurrectionist in a phone call on July 4 that came hours after a massive Russian attack on Kyiv.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Hits Ukraine With Large Air Barrage Hours After Convicted Felon-Putin Call

      It was the latest in a series of almost weekly large-scale missile and drone attacks. Hell Toupée said he “didn’t make any progress” with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

    • Meduza ☛ Trump says he made ‘no progress’ with Putin on ending the war in latest call — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ In Poland, Ukrainian refugees help drive economic growth

      Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Poland has taken in around one million Ukrainian refugees. While the far right continues to push a stigmatising narrative, recent reports show that Ukrainians are, in fact, making a strong contribution to the country’s economic growth and integrating well into Polish society.

    • France24 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man agrees to work with Kyiv on strengthening air defences, Zelensky says

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday announced that he and US President The Insurrectionist had agreed to boost Ukraine’s air defences. The agreement comes amid rising concern in Kyiv after Washington said it was halting some shipments of critical weapons, raising fears about Ukraine’s ability to protect its skies amid ongoing Russian attacks.

    • CS Monitor ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man, Zelenskyy have ‘productive’ call after massive Russian barrage on Kyiv

      Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight in the largest aerial assault since the war began. Hours after the barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he talked with U.S. President The Insurrectionist about the attack.

    • New York Times ☛ From Cooking on TV to Feeding the Front Line in Ukraine

      This chef appeared on TV before joining the army when Russia invaded in 2022. Now he makes his borscht for troops instead of cooking show judges.

    • Meduza ☛ Ukrainian drone attacks hit multiple Russian regions, causing casualties and power outages — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ More than 20 injured in Kyiv as Russia launches 550 drones and missiles at Ukraine — Meduza

    • Security Week ☛ In Other News: Hacker Helps Kill Informants, Crylock Developer Sentenced, Ransomware Negotiator Probed

      Noteworthy stories that might have slipped under the radar: drug cartel hires hacker to identify FBI informants, prison time for Russian ransomware developer, ransomware negotiator investigated. 

    • France24 ☛ Telegram boss Durov speaks out before French hearing, hopes to get charges lifted

      Pavel Durov, the enigmatic Russian-born billionaire boss of messaging app Telegram, has his third audience with a French investigating magistrate in the coming days, following his dramatic arrest 10 months ago on wide-ranging charges including complicity in terrorist content, drug trafficking and child sex abuse material.

    • France24 ☛ Russia becomes first country to recognise Taliban govt in Afghanistan

      Afghanistan's government said on Thursday that Russia had become the first country to officially recognise its rule, calling it a "brave decision". The Taliban swept back to power in 2021 after ousting the foreign-backed government and have imposed an austere version of Islamic law.

    • JURIST ☛ Rights group calls for investigation into detainee conditions in Russia and Azerbaijan

      Amnesty International on Thursday called for an investigation into alleged abuses against detainees in Russia and Azerbaijan. In the statement, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers said: The authorities in both Russia and Azerbaijan have shown complete disregard for human dignity and open contempt for their human rights obligations.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia becomes first country to recognize Taliban government in Afghanistan — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russian authorities designate 14-year-old boy as ‘terrorist’ — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Vice president of Russian pipeline company Transneft dies after falling from window — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Trump and Zelensky discuss combat situation, Russian airstrikes, and joint production in 40-minute phone call — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia moves to ban ‘international Satanism movement’ as extremist group — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Baku’s latest ‘biggest enemy’ Journalist Orkhan Mammad explains how Azerbaijani propaganda weaponized the ongoing diplomatic crisis with Russia — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Schrödinger’s Kadyrov Why Chechnya’s leader keeps saying he’ll resign, but never does — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ The prime minister versus the church: Why Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan is arresting priests over an alleged coup plot — Meduza

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Eastern China swelters under early heatwave, threatening crops and industry

    The sub-tropical high causing the heat has arrived unusually early in 2025.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Surviving 40 deg C summer in Chongqing, one of China’s hottest cities

    It is known as one of the country’s “furnace cities”, where high temperatures can last for more than 70 days during summer.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Tropical cyclone closes in on Hong Kong as T1 warning to remain in force until noon Saturday, Observatory says

    A tropical cyclone is moving towards Hong Kong and is expected to be closest to the city between Saturday and Sunday, the Observatory has said, as the T1 warning is in force.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Japanese airlines to ban power banks in overhead compartments from July 8

      This comes after a series of in-flight cabin fires involving power banks.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ Wildfires Sweep Syria’s Coast as Drought Strains Fragile State

      Firefighting efforts have been hampered by the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance left over from the civil war, as the country grapples with the worst drought in decades.

    • New York Times ☛ As Fire Videos Compete With Beach Photos, Greeks Who Rely on Tourism Are Worried

      More than 1,500 people were evacuated when a fire broke out on the southeastern tip of Crete, most of them tourists.

  • Overpopulation

    • The Straits Times ☛ China plans nationwide subsidies to boost birth rate, growth

      The government is set to provide 3,600 yuan (S$640) a year for each child, born on or after Jan 1, 2025.

    • Ruben Schade ☛ Fifty percent of Australians live in the red areas

      I knew already, but wow a visualisation makes all the difference! With thanks to ZarlokX on Wikimedia Commons:

      You’ll read that Australia is one of most sparcely populated places in the world. That’s true if you average us out over the continent, but not if you see where most people live.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia puts anti-dumping duties on some China, South Korea, Vietnam iron, steel

    The provisional duties will be in effect from July 7.

  • New York Times ☛ Why China Isn’t Lecturing Convicted Felon About His Costly Bill

    Beijing has a history of warning Washington about the safety of its Treasury holdings. This time it may have reasons to stay silent, at least publicly.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China says US lifted some export curbs, warns against ‘blackmail’

    China said Friday that the United States has eased certain export restrictions in line with a “hard-won” framework reached at talks last month, warning against “blackmail and coercion” as the countries attempt to de-escalate a ruinous trade war.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China to require major EU brandy exporters to raise prices – or face tariffs

    China will require major European brandy exporters to raise prices or risk anti-dumping taxes of up to 34.9 percent from Saturday, the latest salvo in its long-running trade spat with the bloc. Almost all EU brandy is cognac produced in France, exports of which to China are worth 1.4 billion euros (US$1.6 billion) per year.

  • GNU Taler ☛ GNU Taler news: ApplePay vs. Alternative Payment Services

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ China poised to scale back summit with EU in latest sign of strain

    The originally scheduled two-day meeting in July will now just be one day in Beijing.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • France24 ☛ Chinese media sphere wages smear campaign against France's Rafale jet

      The clashes between India and Pakistan on May 6 gave rise to a wave of anti-Rafale smears from China, following the news of the alleged destruction of at least one French fighter jet. An entire Chinese media and digital ecosystem was mobilised to attack the aircraft's reputation, employing humourous sketches, fake videos from video games and distorted information.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • AccessNow ☛ Petition: help end the internet shutdown in Annobón

  • OpenRightsGroup ☛ Banning Palestine Action: How the UK Government is Silencing Dissent

    The proscription of Palestine Action will come into effect on Saturday unless the High Court issues a temporary block on the order today.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 60

    Hong Kong authorities had a busy month as June marked the fifth anniversary of the Beijing-imposed national security law.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Meduza ☛ (National) identity crisis: A Moldovan journalist grapples with her home country’s post-independence transformation — Meduza

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Citizen Lab ☛ The G7 condemned transnational repression, but will Canada meet its own commitments?

    “Transnational repression is a phenomenon that is only growing in scope, scale and sophistication worldwide,” writes Ron Deibert in his new op-ed for the Globe and Mail.

  • New Yorker ☛ Kalief Browder: A Decade Later

    Ten years after his suicide, lessons from what Browder shared with The New Yorker about his time in solitary confinement.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ How RFC 9691 improves key rollover in RPKI Trust Anchors

    New support for key transitions will give RIRs greater flexibility and improve long-term resilience of the RPKI.

  • APNIC ☛ Event Wrap: npNOG 11

    Dave Phelan presented and delivered training at npNOG 11, held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 15 to 20 June 2025.

  • Internet Society ☛ From Experience to Curiosity

    For Cheryl Langdon-Orr, learning is more than professional development; it’s a way to lead with credibility and care. 

  • Internet Society ☛ The Internet Society at WSIS HLE 2025 in Switzerland

    The WSIS High-Level Event (HLE) is a global meeting co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other UN agencies to review progress on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) action lines.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Werner Richter: “UPC brings brain drain, but attracts young judges to patent monopoly law” [Ed: UPC is illegal, but JUVE was paid not to say that but instead to play along with and legitimise this illegality]

      JUVE Patent: The UPC has recently expanded its capacity of judges again. What does this mean for the national courts? Werner Richter: The exodus of experienced judges has recently led to a certain brain drain.

• Copyrights

  • New Yorker ☛ U2’s Bono on the Power of Music

    The singer on his memoir, “Surrender,” which deals with the early loss of his mother, finding religion in music, and navigating the Troubles while in a rock band from Dublin.