Leftovers

• Standards/Consortia

  • MacRumors ☛ iOS 26.4 Beta Adds End-to-End Encryption for iPhone-to-Android RCS Texts

    Apple started testing E2EE for RCS in the first beta, but the feature was limited to iPhone-to-iPhone communications with iMessage turned off. In this beta, iPhone users can send encrypted messages to Android users.

• Science

  • Futurism ☛ China’s Moon Landing Is Starting to Look Very Real

    The race is on.

  • Science Alert ☛ Most Energetic Ghost Particle Ever Seen May Have Come From Black Hole Jets

    The signal stopped physicists in their tracks.

  • Rlang ☛ Special k: The Science (or Art) of Finding the Optimal k in Clustering

    Cluster analysis is a statistical procedure for grouping observations using an observation-centered approach as compared to variable-centered approaches (e.g. PCA, factor analysis).

  • Science Alert ☛ Largest-Ever Radio Map of The Sky Reveals 13.7 Million Hidden Objects

    The Universe looks wildly different.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ MediaTek unveils 50 TOPS Genio Pro 5100 Cortex-X925/X4/A720 SoC, 7.2 TOPS Genio 420 Cortex-A78/A55 SoC for AIoT applications

    After launching the Genio 360/360P hexa/octa-core SoCs last month, MediaTek has now expanded the lineup with the Genio Pro 5100 and Genio 420 AIoT SoCs at Embedded World 2026. The Genio Pro 5100 is a 3nm SoC with an “all big-core” architecture and a 50+ TOPS NPU for Edge Hey Hi (AI) applications.

  • CNX Software ☛ ST ST64UWB Cortex-M85 ultra-wideband SoC supports IEEE 802.15.4z and 802.15.4ab UWB standards, radar sensing

    STMicroelectronics ST64UWB Arm Cortex-M85 ultra-wideband (UWB) SoC family supports both the current IEEE 802.15.4z and the upcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab UWB standards for longer-range, more reliable positioning and secure proximity-based interactions. It mainly targets digital car keys, hands-free access, and smart-device detection.

  • CNX Software ☛ Qualcomm X105 6G-ready 5G modem to deliver 14.8 Gbps download and 4.2 Gbps upload peak data speeds

    Qualcomm X105 is the world’s first 3GPP Release 19-ready modem-RF system supporting 5G connectivity up to 14.8 Gbps download and 4.2 Gbps upload peak data speeds, and enabling 6G development and testing.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ One-fifth of Australian teens still use TikTok, SnapChat after social control media ban

    More than 20 per cent of 13-to-15-year-olds are still using Fentanylware (CheeTok) and SnapChat.

  • Science Alert ☛ Repurposed Drug Improves Sleep Apnea by Up to 50% in Clinical Trial

    "It feels like a breakthrough."

  • Science Alert ☛ One Illicit Drug May Nearly Triple Stroke Risk in Under-55s

    "Compelling evidence."

  • Science Alert ☛ Women in Space Could Face a Hidden Blood-Clot Risk, Study Suggests

    "Space is not a place where you want these things to happen."

  • Science Alert ☛ 48 Hazardous Chemicals Found in Widely Used Hair Extensions

    Change is 'urgently needed'.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Measles cases surge in Indonesia as anti-vaccine attitudes persist after Covid-19 pandemic

    Doctors call for more government intervention to counter misinformation and other issues.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Qantas to pay $95 million to customers for cancelled Covid flights

    It was accused in a lawsuit of providing flight credits instead of cash refunds for those cancelled.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ People Really, Really Despise Hey Hi (AI) — Even More Than ICE, Poll Finds

      Yikes.

    • Futurism ☛ Disturbing Hey Hi (AI) Food Slop Is Strangling the Internet

      "Bro all I wanted was dinner ideas."

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Security Week ☛ Meta Launches New Protection Tools as It Helps Disrupt Scam Centers

      The social control media giant has disabled more than 150,000 accounts powering scam centers in Asia.

  • Confidentiality

    • New York Times ☛ [Slop] Chatbots Want Your Health Records. Tread Carefully.

      Following rivals like Amazon and OpenAI, Abusive Monopolist Microsoft is upgrading its artificially intelligent assistant to track your health. There are benefits and risks to consider.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Iran hacking group claims attack on med-tech company Stryker — says over 200,000 devices have been wiped clean and over 50TB of data extracted

      Stryker, a Fortune 500 medical technology company, has been hit with a massive cyberattack that allegedly saw over 200,000 devices wiped clean, affecting employees and operations across the globe.

    • New York Times ☛ Stryker Cyberattack Adds to Fears of New Front in Iran War

      A hacking group seemed to claim responsibility for the attack on a U.S. manufacturer, calling it retaliation for a strike on an Iranian school.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ New US weapons for Taiwan could be approved after Convicted Felon's China trip, sources say

    A major U.S. arms package for Taiwan that includes advanced interceptor missiles is ready for President The Insurrectionist's approval and could be signed after his trip to China this month, sources briefed on the discussions said.

  • France24 ☛ US tech giants on Iran's list of potential targets in Gulf countries

    Iran's Tasnim news agency has published a list of potential targets for Iran on Telegram, including the offices of tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Abusive Monopolist Microsoft and Nvidia in Gulf countries and Israel. Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from Doha for FRANCE 24.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China's mediation eases fighting between Pakistan, Afghanistan, sources say

    Chinese mediation efforts, including a message from President Pooh-tin Jinping, have helped ease the worst fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, three Pakistani government officials said.

  • The Strategist ☛ Iran war puts Pakistan in a strategic squeeze

    The widening Iran war is not just another Middle Eastern crisis. For Pakistan, it represents a strategic shock with immediate economic, security and political consequences.

  • France24 ☛ Pakistan air strikes hit Kabul and Afghan border provinces, killing four

    Afghan authorities said Friday that Pakistani air strikes hit Kabul and border provinces overnight, killing four people in the capital. A Pakistani security official confirmed the operation, saying it targeted the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Islamabad has stepped up strikes in Afghanistan amid rising militant attacks, a claim Kabul’s Taliban government denies.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia, Australia to broaden security cooperation to include Japan, Papua New Guinea

    The possibility of developing a training defence facility in eastern Indonesia was also discussed.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says Japan’s missile expansion is raising regional security risks

    Pyongyang dismissed Japan’s claim that the build-up was for self-defence.

  • France24 ☛ Man fatally shot after ramming pickup truck into Michigan synagogue

    Police shot and killed a man on Thursday after he drove a vehicle into a synagogue in West Bloomfield, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, where a large-scale law enforcement operation is now under way. The city's county sheriff confirmed the fatality and reported that a security guard had also been injured.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan synagogue attack: FBI investigating as ‘targeted act of violence’

    The suspect is dead and no congregants were injured after an attacker drove a vehicle into a metro Detroit synagogue and was confronted by security officers on Thursday afternoon, according to authorities.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thailand condemns Hormuz ship strike, demands Iran apology

    Three missing sailors are believed to be trapped in the engine room at the stern.

  • New York Times ☛ Drone Strike in Congo Kills 3, Including U.N. Worker

    The attack struck a residential area of Goma, killing an employee of the U.N.’s children’s agency and two others amid a sharp rise in drone warfare.

  • France24 ☛ The race for Paris: Will more armed police and more cameras make the city safer?

    With France preparing to vote in the first round of municipal elections on Sunday, Paris has become a battleground between left- and right-wing forces fighting to shape the capital’s future. And as Parisians increasingly place public safety at the top of their concerns, candidates from across the spectrum have pledged to pour more funds into the city’s municipal police force and surveillance system – measures that have shown little evidence of actually tackling crime.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • LRT ☛ ICC opens probe into Minsk crimes against Belarusian opposition in Lithuania

      Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court said Thursday they had opened an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity by Belarusian authorities targeting opposition figures in Lithuania.

    • New York Times ☛ Oil Prices Barely Budge After Convicted Felon Lifts Russia Sanctions

      After surging about 10 percent on Thursday, oil prices had little reaction to the decision by Hell Toupée to waive sanctions on the sale of some Russian crude.

    • New York Times ☛ 15 Are Sentenced to Life for Moscow Concert Hall Massacre

      At least 149 people died in the 2024 terror attack outside the Russian capital, for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

    • France24 ☛ Moscow court sentences 15 men to life in prison for jihadist attack on concert hall

      A Russian court sentenced four perpetrators and eleven accomplices to life imprisonment on Thursday for the March 2024 attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, which killed 150 people, making it the country’s worst jihadist attack in more than 20 years.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Sentences 15 To Life In Prison Over Deadly 2024 Moscow Terror Attack

      A Russian military court has sentenced four men, all Tajik nationals, and their 11 accomplices to life imprisonment for carrying out the terror attack on the Crocus City Hall entertainment center near Moscow.

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Removes Sanctions on Russia to Help Oil Flow Amid Iran Conflict

      Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was “unfortunate” that the move could benefit Russia, but maintained that it was only for the short term.

    • RFERL ☛ US To Allow Sale Of Some Russian Oil To Ease Shortages Amid Iran War

      As the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL deliver ongoing updates and analysis.

    • RFERL ☛ Turkey, Central Asia Look To Slovakia To Get Russian Oligarch Usmanov Off EU Sanctions List

      Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azerbaijan, and three Central Asian republics are, via Slovakia, pushing to get Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov removed from the European Union’s sanctions list ahead of a15 March roll-over of the bloc’s extensive blacklist.

    • France24 ☛ US allows sale of Russian oil at sea as Middle East war sends energy prices soaring

      The United States will temporarily allow the sale of Russian oil already at sea, the Treasury Department said on Thursday, as energy prices surged after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered war in the Middle East. The license permits cargoes loaded by March 12 to be delivered and sold until April 11.

    • NYPost ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil ‘stranded at sea’

      The Forrest Dump administration temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil “stranded at sea” Thursday in an effort to contain skyrocketing energy prices due to Iranian threats against tanker ships.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine to Make Drone Videos Available for Training Hey Hi (AI) Models

      Despite ethical concerns about using battlefield videos to train artificial intelligence, Ukraine’s defense ministry said it needs to improve Hey Hi (AI) targeting to compete with Russia.

    • New York Times ☛ How Russia’s Scorched-Earth Attacks Put Ukraine’s Power Grid Near Collapse

      Strikes on Ukrainian energy systems have tripled this winter. Continuous repairs and Western aid staved off a total breakdown.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuania to ban Russians who fought in Ukraine from entering country

      Lithuania is preparing to bar Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine from entering the country, working alongside Estonia which has already begun implementing such a ban.

    • The Strategist ☛ After the war, Putin could disperse his army of thugs into the West—Estonian minister

      In a startling warning during his trip to Canberra this week, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said global security would be threatened if a peace deal in Ukraine was viewed as mission accomplished.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea to discipline officials over delays in recovering remains of Jeju Air crash victims

      Only nine body parts belonging to seven victims had been discovered more than a year after the accident.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Australia to change fuel quality standards to boost supply

      The move will release 100 million litres of fuel into the domestic supply.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian highway operator to activate smart lanes at 34 locations over Hari Raya period

      A total of 2.3 million vehicles are expected to use the PLUS highways during this period.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Australia minister warns against ‘dangerous’ price gouging of fuel

      He said people selling fuel at inflated prices were engaging in actions that were 'un-Australian'.

    • New York Times ☛ Judge Dismisses Bulk of Lawsuit Over Convicted Felon’s Funding Freeze for Tunnel

      The case is mostly moot, a federal judge said, because the administration has resumed the flow of more than $200 million in funding that it had temporarily stopped.

    • The Strategist ☛ Darwin Port: stop picking over the past and move forward

      Security concerns drove the Australian government’s 2025 decision to bring Darwin Port, currently leased to Chinese company Landbridge, back into the control of Australian or trusted partners.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China-North Korea train arrives in Pyongyang after 6-year pause

      A passenger train from China arrived in the North Korean capital on Thursday, state media said, after a six-year hiatus since the service was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic. China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the isolated nuclear state.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ Her Lab Worked to Future-Proof Fruits and Vegetables

      Erin McGuire ran a research network that studied how to get healthy food to marginalized populations around the world.

    • Science Alert ☛ Giant Tyrannosaur Discovered in North America Is The Largest of Its Era

      A formidable 'older brother' to T. rex?

    • Science Alert ☛ Ravens Don't Just Follow Wolves – They Memorize Kill Sites Across Vast Distances

      "We've underestimated them."

• Finance

  • Futurism ☛ Iran Says It’s Ready to Destroy the Global Economy

    "Get ready for the oil barrel to be at $200."

  • New York Times ☛ At China’s Big Political Meeting, a Rare Debate About Inequality

    China’s plan to raise pensions for farmers by less than $3 a month prompted rare criticism from lawmakers about the country’s threadbare social safety net.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Slowing economy, tricky external ties: China has plate full as annual Two Sessions close

    Over 2,700 lawmakers approved the 15th Five-Year Plan, which sets the nation's development trajectory till 2030.

  • Stanford University ☛ ‘Out of left field’: Students with accommodations say housing rules disadvantage them

    Some students said they were concerned about feelings of isolation.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ I Went to Florida to See the 31-Year-Old Candidate Thrilling Gen Z. We’re in Trouble.

    James Fishback has managed to bring the paranoid, transgressive, meme-drunk spirit of the right-wing internet into the real world.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • The Straits Times ☛ Woman uses AI-generated image to fake injury from nail treatment in S. Korea

      The suspect also fabricated medical records in the process.

    • Defence Web ☛ The information battlefield: Social media, artificial intelligence and modern wartime propaganda

      One of the most revealing aspects of modern conflict is not always what happens on the battlefield, but what unfolds [...]

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • JURIST ☛ Russia escalates online censorship with Telegram restrictions, rights group warns

    On the World Day Against Cyber Censorship on Thursday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) alerted to Russian authorities’ escalating internet censorship efforts following a government block on the nation’s most popular social control media platform. 

  • Mint Press News ☛ Iran Strikes US Fifth Fleet Base – Bahrain Erupts in Uprising & Saudi Forces Move to Crush Dissent

    In a desperate bid to censor further documentation of the damage inflicted by Iranian missiles and drones, the Bahraini authorities are pursuing a legal campaign targeting what they call “high betrayal” for filming the ongoing retaliatory strikes. Bahrain’s Public Prosecution seeks to implement the “death penalty” and are operating on the basis that they will pursue violators “without the slightest mercy”.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Journalism still obtainable career for young as 88% with NCTJ qualification get jobs

    News organisations, educators and industry bodies all have a part to play reaching young would-be journalists.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Records show reporter Selina Cheng was let go from WSJ due to redundancy, HR exec. says in unlawful dismissal suit

    Records show that journalist Selina Cheng was terminated by the Wall Street Journal due to redundancy, a top human resources executive for the newspaper’s parent company has told a Hong Kong court.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • The Straits Times ☛ Video of Japanese woman pushing South Korean child sparks outrage

    The child's mother decided to share the video from their 2024 trip following a recent similar incident in Shibuya.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China approves ‘ethnic unity’ law denounced by rights groups

    China approved what it called an “ethnic unity” law on Thursday, which rights advocates warn could further marginalise minority groups such as the Uyghurs. The law, passed by the National People’s Congress, formalises policies to promote Mandarin as the “national common language” in education, official business and public places.

  • New York Times ☛ China Wants Its Ethnic Minorities to Blend In. Now It’s the Law.

    Under a new “ethnic unity” law, Mandarin Chinese must now be the language of teaching. Parents must guide their children to love the Communist Party. Neighborhoods should be mixed.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Will China’s new ethnic unity law hasten the erosion of minority cultures?

    The law gives legal basis to President Xi's agenda to assimilate minorities into a national identity.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s new ethnic unity law could target Taiwanese, warn Taipei officials

    The new law aims to create a “shared” national identity among the country’s 55 ethnic minority groups.

  • Citizen Lab ☛ The Market for Spyware is Growing: It’s Used Differently Against Women

    Senior researcher and co-author of the report, Noura Aljizawi, speaks to the Fuller Project about the concerning ways gender is still being weaponized to silence women. 

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ US launches trade probes into China, other economies over failures to act on forced labor

    The United States launched trade investigations Thursday into 60 economies including China, the EU and Japan, fueling the possibility of further tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down President The Insurrectionist’s global duties.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• EDRI ☛ Fewer rules, more innovation? The miscalculation of the new Brussels

  Is European regulation really holding back innovation, or is it a strategic asset that we are about to sell off? This piece debunks the official narrative of a European Commission that claims to be “learning to regulate better”. Through incisive analysis, it warns that the fear of falling behind in the artificial intelligence race is pushing Brussels to sacrifice fundamental rights in the name of a misunderstood competitiveness.

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Made in America: Director Squires Ties IPR Institution to Domestic Manufacturing

    Director Squires adds U.S. manufacturing and small business status as new discretionary factors for IPR institution, importing industrial policy into patent monopoly validity review.

  • JUVE ☛ Generics suspect GSK of playing “divisional game” after EPO revocation

    At the centre of the current dispute is GlaxoSmithKline’s dosing patent monopoly EP 2 400 950. It protects the active ingredient vilanterol in a dosage of 25µg and 50µg daily for the treatment of respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD.

  • JUVE ☛ Amgen and Sanofi end epic battle over Praluent and Repatha

    The dispute between Amgen on the one side and Sanofi and Regeneron on the other is probably one of the longest and most intense patent monopoly disputes in recent history. Both sides offer cholesterol-lowering drugs. Amgen sells its PCSK9 inhibitor Repatha with the active ingredient evolocumab.

  • H2 View ☛ NewHydrogen files patent monopoly for thermochemical water-splitting process

    NewHydrogen and the University of California have filed a new patent monopoly for a thermally-powered, electricity-free technology to produce hydrogen from water.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Untethered: USPTO Loosens the Article of Manufacture Requirement for Digital Designs [Ed: All design patents are a disgrace; designs must not be covered by patents]

    USPTO issues guidance extending design patent eligibility to projected and holographic interfaces, dropping the broken-line display panel drawing requirement for GUI and icon applications.

• Trademarks

  • Right of Publicity

    • Futurism ☛ Grammarly Forgot to Mention Something in Its Giant Apology That Changes the Whole Story

      It's a glaring omission.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ We Haven’t Heard Much About the Dionne Warwick Catalog—Now, a Contentious Lawsuit Offers an Explanation

    Dionne Warwick files eight counterclaims against the royalty collection agency that sued her last year, accusing them of “pilfering” millions. It’s been quiet on the Dionne Warwick front since the company that negotiated her deal for the sample used in Doja Cat’s “Walk On By” sued the legendary singer last year, alleging breach of contract.

  • Digital Music News ☛ As a 14-Year Prison Term Awaits, Embattled Pras Michel Abruptly Dismisses Lawsuit Against Lauryn Hill

    Fugees rapper Pras Michel drops his 2024 lawsuit against his former bandmate Lauryn Hill that accused her of fraud and “gross mismanagement.” Pras Michel of the Fugees has dropped his lawsuit against his former bandmate Lauryn Hill, which accused her of a “scheme of fraud” involving Fugees reunion shows and “gross mismanagement.”