ASML is reportedly willing to spy on its customers to make it right with the U.S.

512 GB, 1TB, and 2TB models affected.

What if you could draw energy from the night sky without effort? That's the question that researchers at the University of California, Davis are trying to answer with a new engine that generates power simply by sitting under the clear starry heavens.

ederal prosecutors have filed a new indictment in response to a July 4 noise demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, during which a police officer was shot.

There are numerous problems with the indictment, but perhaps the most glaring is its inclusion of charges against a Dallas artist who wasn’t even at the protest. Daniel “Des” Sanchez is accused of transporting a box that contained “Antifa materials” after the incident, supposedly to conceal evidence against his wife, Maricela Rueda, who was there.

But the boxed materials aren’t Molotov cocktails, pipe bombs, or whatever MAGA officials claim “Antifa” uses to wage its imaginary war on America. As prosecutors laid out in the July criminal complaint that led to the indictment, they were zines and pamphlets. Some contain controversial ideas — one was titled “Insurrectionary Anarchy” — but they’re fully constitutionally protected free speech. The case demonstrates the administration’s intensifying efforts to criminalize left-wing activists after Donald Trump announced in September that he was designating “Antifa” as a “major terrorist organization” — a legal designation that doesn’t exist for domestic groups — following the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Japan’s defense minister, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing over the East Asian island.

“The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.”

The plan to station medium-range surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni, about 110 kilometers east of Taiwan, comes as part of a broader military build-up on its southern island chain. The moves reflect Tokyo’s concerns about China’s growing military power and the potential for a clash over Taiwan.

Non-paywall link

Unpaywalled (archived)

The EU and a handful of other countries have been left unusually isolated as they push for action to tackle global warming, after geopolitical schisms spilled into climate policies at the UN COP30 summit in Brazil.

The meeting of 194 countries for more than two weeks in the tropical temperatures of the city of Belém nearly ended in collapse on Saturday when the EU warned of the possibility of a “no deal”. Countries such as the UK considered walking out.

Their efforts to directly reference fossil fuels or ambitious climate action language in a final agreement were blocked again and again by China, India, and some petro-states.

...

“At a time when extreme heat, catastrophic floods and wildfires are setting new records every year, negotiators still could not summon the basic courage to stand up to fossil fuel interests,” [Martina Egedusevic, an expert in nature-based solutions and risk management at the University of Exeter] said.

Benoît Faraco, the ambassador in charge of climate change negotiations for France, said the EU and France had fought for a road map away from fossil fuels and deforestation all the way into the early hours of Saturday morning, in “bloc against bloc” negotiations, but to no avail.

“It is profoundly worrying to realise that climate multilateralism is still something that needs to be protected, that there is everything to play for,” he said.

...

More than 80 countries had initially backed a proposal for a so-called road map aimed at setting out how countries could shift away from fossil fuels during the two-week talks. By the final night of talks, the EU, UK, Colombia and a handful of other nations remained the driving forces.

...

China joined India, Saudi Arabia and other exporters in using COP as an opportunity to spar with the EU over its soon-to-be-introduced carbon border tax. The final agreement set out plans for further trade talks next year.

Other than on this issue, China remained quieter than expected at talks where the petrostates took centre stage. This is despite China’s renewable energy boom and President Xi Jinping’s affirmation that green energy is the “trend of our time”.

...

X’s About This Account reveals the scale of its foreign troll problem, confirming that many MAGA accounts aren’t actually American.

Or maybe even sooner, warns Octave Klaba, as AI sends storage costs soaring

Campaigners including Good Law Project describe ICO ‘collapse in enforcement activity’ after Afghan data breach

Senior UK police officer says AI is accelerating violence against women and girls and that technology companies are complicit

Microsoft has announced that WINS (Windows Internet Name Service) will be removed from future versions of Windows Server. The feature will remain available in Windows Server 2025 until 2034, after which organizations will have to switch to DNS permanently.

Microsoft is working on a de-activation phrase for Microsoft 365 Copilot, making the UX a hands-free experience.

After the whole Syncthing-Fork debacle, I've been considering what to do, and I discovered that Syncthing Tray has experimental Android builds. I've noticed the UI is kind of buggy (not really a surprise since they're experimental builds), so I was wondering if anyone has actually used it and could provide a comparison with Syncthing-Fork. I'm especially interested regarding battery life and so on given that that was the main benefit of Syncthing-Fork over the original app anyway before the original app got discontinued, and obviously I'd like to know if it syncs well or if there are any weird issues.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5768311

...

15 local residents sought medical assistance after the night attack. All were provided with necessary aid.

“Three people remain hospitalized,” the report stated. “These are women aged 52 and 64, and a 48-year-old man. One of the patients has smoke inhalation poisoning. The others have head injuries and lacerations. They are in moderate condition. The rest of the injured, including an 11-year-old girl, will recover at home”.

...

The attack caused fires on the balconies of a nine-story apartment building and an addition to a private house. Six cars were also damaged.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5768311

...

15 local residents sought medical assistance after the night attack. All were provided with necessary aid.

“Three people remain hospitalized,” the report stated. “These are women aged 52 and 64, and a 48-year-old man. One of the patients has smoke inhalation poisoning. The others have head injuries and lacerations. They are in moderate condition. The rest of the injured, including an 11-year-old girl, will recover at home”.

...

The attack caused fires on the balconies of a nine-story apartment building and an addition to a private house. Six cars were also damaged.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5768140

...

This comes against the backdrop of this year’s supply chain issues, where China, as a dominant producer, has used export restrictions as leverage in its trade conflict with the USA. Against this backdrop, EU Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič outlined how Europe intends to invest more heavily in Australian critical raw material projects in the future – ranging from equity participations and long-term off-take agreements to joint infrastructure initiatives.

Šefčovič made it clear that the EU’s focus is no longer solely on trade in the classical sense. Instead, targeted capital commitments and binding supply agreements are intended to secure the supply of critical raw materials in the long term. For Brussels, Australia is a key partner, possessing large reserves and stable political frameworks, and aiming to expand its role as a supplier of strategically important raw materials.

...

Australia is moving into the spotlight as a reliable supplier of critical raw materials. The country possesses significant deposits, for example of lithium, rare earths, graphite, and other raw materials required for batteries, high technology, and the energy transition. At the same time, Australia is considered a politically stable and legally secure investment location that seeks to expand its cooperation with like-minded partners.

...

For Šefčovič, Japan serves as a reference model for what such a raw materials strategy could look like. For years, Tokyo has been strategically investing in mines and refineries in partner countries to ensure its own industry can be supplied with critical raw materials even in times of crisis. The EU is now pursuing a similar approach: moving away from a purely market-based procurement policy towards strategic participations along the value chain.

...

Against this backdrop, the planned free trade agreement between the EU and Australia is also gaining new significance. An initial attempt failed in 2023, primarily due to differences in agricultural policy, as Canberra demanded greater access for agricultural products to the European market. However, Šefčovič now sees renewed “momentum” for new talks. He expects negotiations to resume early next year.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5768140

...

This comes against the backdrop of this year’s supply chain issues, where China, as a dominant producer, has used export restrictions as leverage in its trade conflict with the USA. Against this backdrop, EU Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič outlined how Europe intends to invest more heavily in Australian critical raw material projects in the future – ranging from equity participations and long-term off-take agreements to joint infrastructure initiatives.

Šefčovič made it clear that the EU’s focus is no longer solely on trade in the classical sense. Instead, targeted capital commitments and binding supply agreements are intended to secure the supply of critical raw materials in the long term. For Brussels, Australia is a key partner, possessing large reserves and stable political frameworks, and aiming to expand its role as a supplier of strategically important raw materials.

...

Australia is moving into the spotlight as a reliable supplier of critical raw materials. The country possesses significant deposits, for example of lithium, rare earths, graphite, and other raw materials required for batteries, high technology, and the energy transition. At the same time, Australia is considered a politically stable and legally secure investment location that seeks to expand its cooperation with like-minded partners.

...

For Šefčovič, Japan serves as a reference model for what such a raw materials strategy could look like. For years, Tokyo has been strategically investing in mines and refineries in partner countries to ensure its own industry can be supplied with critical raw materials even in times of crisis. The EU is now pursuing a similar approach: moving away from a purely market-based procurement policy towards strategic participations along the value chain.

...

Against this backdrop, the planned free trade agreement between the EU and Australia is also gaining new significance. An initial attempt failed in 2023, primarily due to differences in agricultural policy, as Canberra demanded greater access for agricultural products to the European market. However, Šefčovič now sees renewed “momentum” for new talks. He expects negotiations to resume early next year.

...

wired.com/story/europe-bends-u…

Time flies…