Skechers is making a line of kid’s shoes with a hidden compartment for an AirTag.

In April, we published a piece outlining some of the work underway to help strengthen the F-Droid project against unjust intrusion, interception and monitoring. We shared how contributors, maintainers, and developers in the free software world are increasingly navigating takedown demands, vague or impractical regulations, and aggressive enforcement actions and how we, as a community, need better tools and strategies to face these challenges.

Strengthening F-Droid's Legal Resilience - Introducing the Research Series | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository

InApril,we published a piece outlining some of the work underway to help strengthenthe F-Droid project against unjust intrusion, interception andmonitoring. ...

^f-droid.org

Our Secrets of the Atlas themed Fan Art Competition concluded last week. More than 150 Exiles submitted their art inspired by our latest Path of Exile expansion and its content. With the help of our art team, we've selected the winners and are now ready to announce them!

Thank you to everyone for your submissions and congratulations to all the winners! We'll be contacting you soon to arrange your prizes. We'll also award runners-up in a follow-up post later this week.

Top Three Winners

::: spoiler Prize pool
- Forum avatar based on the winning submission
- Path of Exile 1 Art Book
- Your choice of one signed Path of Exile poster
- Your choice of two Path of Exile T-shirts
- Chaos Orb Socks
- A random Path of Exile Pin
- Your choice of an Armour Set (an Armour Set from the list below)
- Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)
- Your choice of Footprints Effect (any Footprints Effect from the store)
:::

The Incarnation of Dread by Patrik_h88#6497

You Are Not Alone by kira_shik#4992

The Incarnation of Dread Figurine by Noxzile#0147

4-5th Place

::: spoiler Prize pool

• Path of Exile 1 Art Book
• Your choice of one Path of Exile T-shirt
• Chaos Orb Socks
• A random Path of Exile Pin
• Your choice of an Armour Set (an Armour Set from the list below)
• Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)
• Your choice of Footprints Effect (any Footprints Effect from the store)
  :::

Zana Card by Catake#7434

The Incarnation of Neglect Amigurumi by mageekl2p#3585

#6-10th Place

::: spoiler Prize pool

• Your choice of one Path of Exile T-shirt
• Chaos Orb Socks
• A random Path of Exile Pin
• Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)
• Your choice of Footprints Effect (any Footprints Effect from the store)
  :::

Illustration by ares1986#1209

Illustration by Talldarin#4404

The Incarnation of Dread by Galactuss#1051

Zana by Jaydaydraws#4558

Zana by BestBrick#6221

Honorable Mention - Zana's Secret by NuclearPlatypus#1404

While the submission isn't entirely themed around the Secrets of the Atlas, our team spent so much time looking at this art and sharing details from it that we couldn't just dismiss it. Great job, Exile, we had so much fun!

11-20th Place

::: spoiler Prize pool

• Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)
  :::

Illustration by Charly0#0952

The Incarnation of Neglect by Foridesign#0099

We Are The Mercenaries of Trarthus by Jarranna#7229

Brother and Sister by lolozori#1147

Zana by RxMediEvil#4307

Illustration by Tyberioaeus#3196

Zana by amSinPro#6107

The Torment of Zana by vagabondblade#6731

Incarnation of Neglect by ZyklonB999#3415

Illustration by ExileFetus#1070

Microtransaction Prize Pool

::: spoiler List of Armour Sets
- Arcane Armour Pack
- Alabaster Seraph Pack
- Arctic Crystal Armour Pack
- Automaton Armour Pack
- Black Armour Pack
- Bleached Demon King Armour Pack
- Blood Guard Armour Set
- Carnage Armour Pack
- Coldsnap Armour Pack
- Coliseum Armour Pack
- Corsair Armour Set
- Darkprism Armour Pack
- Deicide Armour Pack
- Demon Parasite Armour Set
- Deepwater Armour Pack
- Desert Armour Pack
- Dragon Armour Pack
- Elven Knight Armour Pack
- Elite Armour Pack
- Executioner Armour Pack
- Extinction Armour Set
- Faith Guard Armour Set
- Fallen Angel Armour Pack
- Fire Armour Pack
- Gargoyle Armour Set
- Ghostflame Armour Pack
- Gloom Armour Pack
- Gore Armour Pack
- Gorgon Armour Pack
- Gothic Armour Pack
- Gryffon Armour Pack
- Harpyon Armour Pack
- Heartseeker Armour Pack
- Huntsman Armour Set
- Ice Armour Pack
- Innocence Armour Pack
- Ivory Chaos Armour Pack
- Lightning Armour Pack
- Lunaris Armour Pack
- Mageguard Armour Set
- Malachai Armour Pack
- Merchant Armour Pack
- Miracle Armour Set
- Mystic Armour Set
- Necrotic Armour Pack
- Obsidian Seraph Pack
- Project Armour Pack
- Pure Light Armour Pack
- Purple Crystal Armour Pack
- Purple Pyre Knight Armour Pack
- Pyre Knight Armour Pack
- Radiant Armour Pack
- Raven Armour Pack
- Ringmaster Armour Set
- Scientist Armour Pack
- Seawitch Armour Pack
- Sin Armour Pack
- Sphinx Armour Pack
- Steam-powered Armour Pack
- Stormcaller Armour Pack
- Ultimate Chaos Armour Pack
- Vampiric Armour Pack
- Verdant Armour Pack
- Viper Armour Set
- Warlock Armour Pack
- Wasteland Armour Set
- Wasteland Warrior Armour Pack
- White Armour Pack
- Wrangler Armour Set
:::

::: spoiler List of Portal Effects
- Arcane Portal
- Arcane Voidgate Portal Effect
- Arctic Crystal Portal Effect
- Arctic Portal Effect
- Automaton Portal
- Balefire Portal Effect
- Black Portal Effect
- Corsair Portal
- Daresso Portal Effect
- Darkprism Portal Effect
- Demon King Portal Effect
- Divine Arcane Portal
- Divine Demon King Portal
- Divine Stygian Portal Effect
- Dreadspire Portal Effect
- Fire Portal Effect
- Frost Viking Portal Effect
- Ghostflame Stygian Portal Effect
- Golden Angel Portal
- Gore Portal Effect
- Havenwood Portal
- Huntsman Portal
- Infernal Demon King Portal
- Infernal Stygian Portal Effect
- Innocence Portal
- Kaom Portal Effect
- Kraken Portal Effect
- Legion Portal Effect
- Madcap Portal
- Malachai Portal Effect
- Maraketh Portal
- Miracle Portal
- Mist Portal Effect
- Myrmidon Portal Effect
- Mystic Portal
- Necrotic Demon King Portal
- Project Portal Effect
- Pure Light Portal Effect
- Ringmaster Portal Effect
- Scientist Portal Effect
- Seraph Portal Effect
- Spectre Portal Effect
- Steam-powered Portal Effect
- Stormcaller Stygian Portal Effect
- Sulphite Portal
- Temple Portal Effect
- Vampiric Portal
- Wasteland Portal
- Wild Portal
:::

::: spoiler List of Helmets and Helmet Effects
- Abyss Eyes
- Antlers
- Apocalypse Helmet Attachment
- Aquila Crest Helmet Attachment
- Arcane Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
- Arcane Halo
- Arcane Mark of the Phoenix
- Arcane Visage
- Arctic Crown
- Arctic Skull
- Assassin Halo Helmet Attachment
- Assassin Seer Helmet Attachment
- Aureate Halo
- Automaton Halo
- Bent Horns
- Black Headband
- Black Pirate Bandana
- Bleached Skull Helmet
- Blood Guard Helmet Attachment
- Brilliant Crown
- Brilliant Feathers
- Cephalopod Tricorne
- Chaos Orb Helmet
- Coliseum Helmet Attachment
- Corrupted Skull
- Cow Skull
- Curved Horns
- Darkprism Helmet Attachment
- Demon King Horns
- Despair Helmet Attachment
- Divine Ice Crown
- Divine Sign
- Divine Skull
- Dragon Mask
- Druidic Helmet
- Eye Patch
- Faith Guard Helmet Attachment
- Fiery Eyes
- Fiery Visage
- Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
- Flambeau Helmet
- Frost Viking Alternate Helmet
- Frost Viking Helmet Attachment
- Ghostflame Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
- Ghostflame Skull
- Glowing Red Eyes
- Glorious Helmet
- Gore Skull
- Gorgon Snakes Helmet Attachment
- Guardian Mask
- Harmonious Helmet Attachment
- Harmonious Hood
- Holy Eyes
- Ice Crown
- Ice Horns
- Incursion Hood
- Infernal Skull
- Innocence Laurel Helmet Attachment
- Iron Brand
- Iron Maiden
- Lightning Eyes
- Lightning Skull
- Mark of the Phoenix
- Medusa Snakes
- Misery Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
- Misery Helmet Attachment
- Nightfall Helmet Attachment
- Oriath Helmet Attachment
- Oshabi's Headdress
- Phoenix Helmet
- Plague Doctor Helmet
- Purple Divine Sign
- Purple Eyes
- Purple Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
- Purple Skull Helmet
- Purple Smoking Hood
- Rapture Helmet Attachment
- Red Headband
- Red Pirate Bandana
- Rose Skull
- Serrated Mohawk
- Shardcrown
- Sin and Innocence Helmet Attachment
- Sin Talon Helmet Attachment
- Skull Hood
- Smoking Hood
- Spirit Charm
- Steam-powered Skull
- Suffering Helmet Attachment
- Sunrise Helmet Attachment
- Swan Crest Helmet Attachment
- Thorned Skull
- Twilight Helmet Attachment
- Twisted Bone Horns
- Twisted Horns
- Undead Outcast Helmet
- Vaal Orb Helmet
- Wasteland Horns
:::

Our Secrets of the Atlas themed Fan Art Competition concluded last week. More than 150 Exiles submitted their art inspired by our latest Path of Exile expansion and its content. With the help of our art team, we've selected the winners and are now ready to announce them!

Thank you to everyone for your submissions and congratulations to all the winners! We'll be contacting you soon to arrange your prizes. We'll also award runners-up in a follow-up post later this week.

Top Three Winners

::: spoiler Prize pool
- Forum avatar based on the winning submission
- Path of Exile 1 Art Book
- Your choice of one signed Path of Exile poster
- Your choice of two Path of Exile T-shirts
- Chaos Orb Socks
- A random Path of Exile Pin
- Your choice of an Armour Set (an Armour Set from the list below)
- Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)
- Your choice of Footprints Effect (any Footprints Effect from the store)
:::

The Incarnation of Dread by Patrik_h88#6497

Spoiler

You Are Not Alone by kira_shik#4992

Spoiler

The Incarnation of Dread Figurine by Noxzile#0147

Spoiler

4-5th Place

Prize pool

• Path of Exile 1 Art Book
• Your choice of one Path of Exile T-shirt
• Chaos Orb Socks
• A random Path of Exile Pin
• Your choice of an Armour Set (an Armour Set from the list below)
• Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)
• Your choice of Footprints Effect (any Footprints Effect from the store)

Zana Card by Catake#7434

Spoiler

The Incarnation of Neglect Amigurumi by mageekl2p#3585

Spoiler

6-10th Place

Prize pool

• Your choice of one Path of Exile T-shirt
• Chaos Orb Socks
• A random Path of Exile Pin
• Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)
• Your choice of Footprints Effect (any Footprints Effect from the store)

Illustration by ares1986#1209

Spoiler

Illustration by Talldarin#4404

Spoiler

The Incarnation of Dread by Galactuss#1051

Spoiler

Zana by Jaydaydraws#4558

Spoiler

Zana by BestBrick#6221

Spoiler

Honorable Mention - Zana's Secret by NuclearPlatypus#1404

Spoiler

While the submission isn't entirely themed around the Secrets of the Atlas, our team spent so much time looking at this art and sharing details from it that we couldn't just dismiss it. Great job, Exile, we had so much fun!

11-20th Place

Prize pool

• Your choice of a Portal Effect (a Portal Effect from the list below)

Illustration by Charly0#0952

Spoiler

The Incarnation of Neglect by Foridesign#0099

Spoiler

We Are The Mercenaries of Trarthus by Jarranna#7229

Spoiler

Brother and Sister by lolozori#1147

Spoiler

Zana by RxMediEvil#4307

Spoiler

Illustration by Tyberioaeus#3196

Spoiler

Zana by amSinPro#6107

Spoiler

The Torment of Zana by vagabondblade#6731

Spoiler

Incarnation of Neglect by ZyklonB999#3415

Spoiler

Illustration by ExileFetus#1070

Spoiler

Microtransaction Prize Pool

List of Armour Sets

• Arcane Armour Pack
• Alabaster Seraph Pack
• Arctic Crystal Armour Pack
• Automaton Armour Pack
• Black Armour Pack
• Bleached Demon King Armour Pack
• Blood Guard Armour Set
• Carnage Armour Pack
• Coldsnap Armour Pack
• Coliseum Armour Pack
• Corsair Armour Set
• Darkprism Armour Pack
• Deicide Armour Pack
• Demon Parasite Armour Set
• Deepwater Armour Pack
• Desert Armour Pack
• Dragon Armour Pack
• Elven Knight Armour Pack
• Elite Armour Pack
• Executioner Armour Pack
• Extinction Armour Set
• Faith Guard Armour Set
• Fallen Angel Armour Pack
• Fire Armour Pack
• Gargoyle Armour Set
• Ghostflame Armour Pack
• Gloom Armour Pack
• Gore Armour Pack
• Gorgon Armour Pack
• Gothic Armour Pack
• Gryffon Armour Pack
• Harpyon Armour Pack
• Heartseeker Armour Pack
• Huntsman Armour Set
• Ice Armour Pack
• Innocence Armour Pack
• Ivory Chaos Armour Pack
• Lightning Armour Pack
• Lunaris Armour Pack
• Mageguard Armour Set
• Malachai Armour Pack
• Merchant Armour Pack
• Miracle Armour Set
• Mystic Armour Set
• Necrotic Armour Pack
• Obsidian Seraph Pack
• Project Armour Pack
• Pure Light Armour Pack
• Purple Crystal Armour Pack
• Purple Pyre Knight Armour Pack
• Pyre Knight Armour Pack
• Radiant Armour Pack
• Raven Armour Pack
• Ringmaster Armour Set
• Scientist Armour Pack
• Seawitch Armour Pack
• Sin Armour Pack
• Sphinx Armour Pack
• Steam-powered Armour Pack
• Stormcaller Armour Pack
• Ultimate Chaos Armour Pack
• Vampiric Armour Pack
• Verdant Armour Pack
• Viper Armour Set
• Warlock Armour Pack
• Wasteland Armour Set
• Wasteland Warrior Armour Pack
• White Armour Pack
• Wrangler Armour Set

List of Portal Effects

• Arcane Portal
• Arcane Voidgate Portal Effect
• Arctic Crystal Portal Effect
• Arctic Portal Effect
• Automaton Portal
• Balefire Portal Effect
• Black Portal Effect
• Corsair Portal
• Daresso Portal Effect
• Darkprism Portal Effect
• Demon King Portal Effect
• Divine Arcane Portal
• Divine Demon King Portal
• Divine Stygian Portal Effect
• Dreadspire Portal Effect
• Fire Portal Effect
• Frost Viking Portal Effect
• Ghostflame Stygian Portal Effect
• Golden Angel Portal
• Gore Portal Effect
• Havenwood Portal
• Huntsman Portal
• Infernal Demon King Portal
• Infernal Stygian Portal Effect
• Innocence Portal
• Kaom Portal Effect
• Kraken Portal Effect
• Legion Portal Effect
• Madcap Portal
• Malachai Portal Effect
• Maraketh Portal
• Miracle Portal
• Mist Portal Effect
• Myrmidon Portal Effect
• Mystic Portal
• Necrotic Demon King Portal
• Project Portal Effect
• Pure Light Portal Effect
• Ringmaster Portal Effect
• Scientist Portal Effect
• Seraph Portal Effect
• Spectre Portal Effect
• Steam-powered Portal Effect
• Stormcaller Stygian Portal Effect
• Sulphite Portal
• Temple Portal Effect
• Vampiric Portal
• Wasteland Portal
• Wild Portal

List of Helmets and Helmet Effects

• Abyss Eyes
• Antlers
• Apocalypse Helmet Attachment
• Aquila Crest Helmet Attachment
• Arcane Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
• Arcane Halo
• Arcane Mark of the Phoenix
• Arcane Visage
• Arctic Crown
• Arctic Skull
• Assassin Halo Helmet Attachment
• Assassin Seer Helmet Attachment
• Aureate Halo
• Automaton Halo
• Bent Horns
• Black Headband
• Black Pirate Bandana
• Bleached Skull Helmet
• Blood Guard Helmet Attachment
• Brilliant Crown
• Brilliant Feathers
• Cephalopod Tricorne
• Chaos Orb Helmet
• Coliseum Helmet Attachment
• Corrupted Skull
• Cow Skull
• Curved Horns
• Darkprism Helmet Attachment
• Demon King Horns
• Despair Helmet Attachment
• Divine Ice Crown
• Divine Sign
• Divine Skull
• Dragon Mask
• Druidic Helmet
• Eye Patch
• Faith Guard Helmet Attachment
• Fiery Eyes
• Fiery Visage
• Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
• Flambeau Helmet
• Frost Viking Alternate Helmet
• Frost Viking Helmet Attachment
• Ghostflame Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
• Ghostflame Skull
• Glowing Red Eyes
• Glorious Helmet
• Gore Skull
• Gorgon Snakes Helmet Attachment
• Guardian Mask
• Harmonious Helmet Attachment
• Harmonious Hood
• Holy Eyes
• Ice Crown
• Ice Horns
• Incursion Hood
• Infernal Skull
• Innocence Laurel Helmet Attachment
• Iron Brand
• Iron Maiden
• Lightning Eyes
• Lightning Skull
• Mark of the Phoenix
• Medusa Snakes
• Misery Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
• Misery Helmet Attachment
• Nightfall Helmet Attachment
• Oriath Helmet Attachment
• Oshabi's Headdress
• Phoenix Helmet
• Plague Doctor Helmet
• Purple Divine Sign
• Purple Eyes
• Purple Flaming Head Helmet Attachment
• Purple Skull Helmet
• Purple Smoking Hood
• Rapture Helmet Attachment
• Red Headband
• Red Pirate Bandana
• Rose Skull
• Serrated Mohawk
• Shardcrown
• Sin and Innocence Helmet Attachment
• Sin Talon Helmet Attachment
• Skull Hood
• Smoking Hood
• Spirit Charm
• Steam-powered Skull
• Suffering Helmet Attachment
• Sunrise Helmet Attachment
• Swan Crest Helmet Attachment
• Thorned Skull
• Twilight Helmet Attachment
• Twisted Bone Horns
• Twisted Horns
• Undead Outcast Helmet
• Vaal Orb Helmet
• Wasteland Horns

The Merciless Gauntlet started last week, and the top competitors are displaying unbelievable levels of skill. Zizaran and his team have put together a highlight reel of the event so far, which you can check out below.

Video: The MOST UNIQUE Gauntlet Ever!! ft. Jousis

There are still 6 days left in this event so you have plenty of time to try it out and grab yourself the exclusive Mercenary Gauntlet microtransaction. Good luck!

Share

The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]

This newsletter is brought to you by Medical Bridges.

Medical Supplies for Ukraine’s Hospitals. Partnering for global health equity.

Russia’s war against Ukraine

People shelter in an underground walkway during an air raid alarm in the center of Kyiv on Aug. 4, 202. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP via Getty Images)

5 Russian fighter jets hit by Ukraine’s SBU in drone operation in occupied Crimea, one destroyed. Drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) targeted an airfield in the city of Saky.

‘Massive’ Ukrainian drone strike targets Russian railway station in Volgograd Oblast, local official claims. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that a total of 61 Ukrainian drones were shot down over various regions of the country overnight.

Ukraine confirms drone strike on fuel depot at Russia’s Sochi airport. Videos posted to social media purported to show the view from a plane landing at the airport with the burning depot clearly visible.

Ukrainian strike destroys Russian S-300 in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, General Staff says. Russian forces use the system to attack Ukrainian-controlled territory and target frontline military positions of the Ukrainian army.

Zelensky says mercenaries from Asia and Africa fighting for Russia in northeastern Ukraine. “The soldiers on this front are recording the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries in the war. We will respond,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Ukrainian forces repel Russian assault on border checkpoint in Kharkiv Oblast, kill ‘more than ten’ soldiers, military says. The village of Hoptivka lies on the Ukrainian-Russian border, adjacent to Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.

Russia restores runway at occupied Donetsk Airport for kamikaze drone launches, ISW says. Satellite imagery captured in July 2025 shows visible changes at the airport.

Russian forces regrouping near Dnipro River as they prepare for more active ‘island war,’ Ukrainian military officials say. A decrease in assault operations is “related to the regrouping of the relevant Russian units in order to eventually resume more active assaults on the island zone of the right bank of Kherson Oblast,” military spokesperson Serhii Bratchuk told the Kyiv Independent.

Ukrainian soldier working as Russian ‘mole,’ sending GRU military positions, SBU claims. The SBU has detained several people this year accused of working for Russian forces in Ukraine.

Trump says Witkoff may visit Russia this week, calls Putin and team ‘wily characters.’ U.S. President Donald Trump said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, may travel to Russia on Aug. 6 or 7 — just days before a deadline for Moscow to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or face secondary tariffs targeting its oil exports.

Read our exclusives

Zelensky restores anti-corruption agencies’ independence — but leaves one key change intact

The changes that eliminated the independence of prosecutors other than those from SAPO were not reversed. Experts say that these amendments are at odds with the European Union’s requirements for countries attempting to join the union.

Photo: Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP via Getty Images

Learn more

‘Better now than never’ — Ukraine announces competition for anti-smuggling director 7 months late

After a seven-month delay, Kyiv has finally launched a competition for a State Customs Service director to tackle illegal smuggling that costs the country billions of dollars every year. The news comes as Ukraine faces pressure to push ahead with delayed reforms.

Photo: Michael Sorrow/Anadolu via Getty Images

Learn more

New study warns Kyiv must break up old business order to thrive post-war

To reverse course and capitalize on its emerging tech ecosystem and future reconstruction efforts, Ukraine must dismantle the influence of sluggish state-owned enterprises and politically favored large firms.

Photo: Diego Fedele/Getty Images

Learn more

Operation Vistula – Expulsion of Ukrainians from post-war Poland

Following World War II and the subsequent redrawing of borders in Europe, Polish authorities forced out roughly 700,000 Ukrainians from their homes in what became Poland’s new southeastern frontier.

Photo: IPN Archive / Wikimedia

Learn more

We choose to stay in Ukraine — to bring the world the truth about Russia’s brutal war.

If you think the truth matters — here’s your chance to stand for it.

BECOME A MEMBER

Human cost of Russia’s war

Russian drone strikes kill 3 in Kharkiv Oblast. The attacks struck a residential building and a moped, killing three civilians in the Chuhuiv district. Local prosecutors are investigating the attack as a war crime.

Russian attacks kill 7, injure 13, including 4-month-old girl, over past day. Zaporizhzhia Oblast suffered the heaviest toll in the latest wave of Russian attacks, with three fatalities confirmed.

General Staff: Russia has lost 1,057,140 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 1,010 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Opinions and insights

Pokrovsk is the city of my childhood. Now I watch it die

“The last time we came back to Pokrovsk was in June 2025. The city was mostly destroyed. People who stayed lived in basements or destroyed apartments, or were buried right in the courtyards of their houses,” writes Olena Zashko, videographer at the Kyiv Independent.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images

Learn more

International response

Netherlands to deliver $579 million in US weapon systems to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles. “I am sincerely grateful to the Netherlands for their substantial contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s air shield,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote, saying this is “the first such step” among NATO countries.

China rejects US demands to halt Russian, Iranian oil imports. Beijing insists it will continue to secure its energy supplies based on national interests despite pressure from Washington and the threat of punitive tariffs.

Latvia blocks 10 websites spreading Russian propaganda. Baltic states have been raising alarms about a growing Russian threat to the region and NATO.

In other news

Ukrainian lawmaker, ex-governor jailed in drone procurement corruption case. According to investigators, officials involved in the scheme allegedly received up to 30% of contract funds as kickbacks. Among those detained are lawmaker Oleksii Kuznetsov and former Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhii Haidai.

Russia abandons moratorium on deployment of short, intermediate-range missiles. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Aug. 4 that it no longer considered itself bound by the moratorium due to recent actions by the United States.

Russian gasoline prices hit record high amid Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, Russian media reports. A market source told the Russian state outlet Kommersant that Ukrainian attacks on oil facilities on Aug. 2 contributed to the price hike.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Chris York, Kateryna Hodunova, Anna Fratsyvir, Oleksiy Sorokin, Volodymyr Ivanyshyn, and Abbey Fenbert.

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After focusing on IPTV services offering pirated live football matches from Italy's Serie A, legal amendments adopted by telecoms regulator AGCOM last week will widen the scope of the Piracy Shield blocking platform. The now-infamous claim, that pirate streams will be blocked inside 30 minutes, now applies to movie and TV premieres, and other events broadcast live. The more serious issues concern VPNs, DNS providers and whoever AGCOM decides to pursue next.

Piracy Shield Widens Scope to Protect Movie & TV Premieres & Live Music * TorrentFreak

Italy's Piracy Shield will widen its scope to protect movie and TV show premieres and live music after amendments were adopted last week.

^{Andy Maxwell (TF Publishing)}

Microsoft offrirà premi fino a 5 milioni di dollari in premi per il concorso di hacking Zero Day Quest di quest'anno, che l'azienda descrive come "il più grande evento di hacking della storia".

Anche la Zero Day Quest dello scorso anno ha generato una partecipazione significativa da parte della comunità della sicurezza , in seguito all'offerta di Microsoft di 4 milioni di dollari in premi per vulnerabilità nei prodotti e nelle piattaforme cloud e di intelligenza artificiale. Dopo la conclusione della gara di hacking di novembre, Microsoft ha annunciato di aver pagato 1,6 milioni di dollari , avendo ricevuto oltre 600 segnalazioni di vulnerabilità.

Per la competizione di quest'anno, Redmond ha aumentato il montepremi a 5 milioni di dollari, concentrandosi sulla risoluzione dei problemi di sicurezza nel cloud computing e nell'intelligenza artificiale.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-announces-5-million-prize-pool-for-zero-day-quest-hacking-contest/

Hey fellow devs and researchers 👋

I'm currently beta testing an Android app I built called DNA Companion — designed for students, scientists, and researchers working with DNA sequences, PCR, or bioinformatics.

The app is simple, offline, and meant to support basic sequence work without cloud dependencies or ads.

🔬 Key Features:
Convert DNA sequences and generate complementary strands

Highlight invalid or non-DNA characters (e.g., typos, mixed content)

Support for degenerate bases (like R, Y, M, K — useful in primer design)

100% offline – no data collection, no ads

Save, copy, and export sequences with ease

🧪 Why I’m Posting:
Google requires 12+ testers to use the app for 14 days before I can go live on the Play Store. If you're interested in supporting indie dev + science tools, I'd really appreciate your help!

💡 How to Join the Beta Test:
1️⃣ Join the tester group
👉 groups.google.com/g/companiond…

2️⃣ Opt in to the beta
👉 play.google.com/apps/testing/o…

3️⃣ Install the app
After opting in, you’ll be able to download from the Play Store.

💰 The app is currently set at $3.59 AUD (~$2.39 USD) during the test — this helps me avoid bots and keep it sustainable.

🙌 No need to leave reviews. Just keeping the app installed for 14 days helps a lot!

Let me know if you’re testing your app too — I’ll gladly return the favor and test yours in return.

Thanks for supporting independent tools in science! 🔬📱

cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/3207959

I was going to make this exact tutorial but when making it I found out someone beat me to it about a year ago so I figured I'd repost that one instead since it's a bit more in depth. Also while in many countries people use VPNs to torrent, making measures like this less helpful, occupiers of Palestine don't really tend to use a VPN due to minimal prosecution so catching them with this method is a lot easier than it would be against a country like the US for example.

We first need to obtain a blocklist of all possible Israeli ip addresses. This can be obtained from two sources.

1. ip2location.com/free/visitor-b… (choose peer guardian format)
2. iblocklist.com/

Due to the nature of how IP addresses are distributed, these blocklists have to be updated, but that isn't a huge concern for us right now.

When you downloaded the file for Israel from either site, it should look something like this:

Israel:2.16.36.0-2.16.36.255
Israel:2.22.233.0-2.22.233.255
Israel:2.52.0.0-2.55.255.255
Israel:2.57.228.0-2.57.231.255
Israel:2.58.33.0-2.58.33.255
Israel:3.2.42.0-3.2.42.63
Israel:3.5.56.0-3.5.59.255
Israel:5.22.128.0-5.22.135.255
Israel:5.28.128.0-5.28.191.255
Israel:5.29.0.0-5.29.255.255
Israel:5.100.248.0-5.100.255.255

If you wish to add more nations to the list such as TERF island or the 4th Reich, then you can append the files on top of each other into one file.

Once you have the file, rename it with the .p2p extension so that qbittorrent will use it. Then, in your qbittorrent client, go to Preferences -> Connection. At the very bottom you should see a section labeled IP Filtering. In the Filter Path checkbox, select your .p2p file. You may also check the box to block trackers as well.

In other bittorrent software (hopefully you're using one that's libre) there should be a similar option for ip filtering.

There you go! You have effectively banned Israel from being your peer while you're doing p2p transfers. This won't stop Zionists from peering with you using a VPN or other undetected server, but this has done wonders for my mood.

Always remember to port forward and seed when torrenting (A non-Zionist VPN like AirVPN or ProtonVPN can allow you to do that). Only a Zionist does a download and run.

Resources
1. github.com/qbittorrent/qBittor…

From the discussion post:

I was talking on my part, don't know about others. I'm a constant seeder (7+ years) and monitor peers from time to time or when downloading something.
During these years I've never seen a single Israeli seed on a rare torrent, or high download traffic from them. I'm being completely honest, the only time I see them is when they are downloading something from me.

Block Visitors by Country | IP2Location

Free web application to download IP address list by countries for use by firewalls or web servers.

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