Hong Kong: Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai's trial ends
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In Prabowo’s Indonesia, the military is quietly creeping back into civilian life
In Prabowo’s Indonesia, the military is quietly creeping back into civilian life
The retired general who is now president has established 100 new army battalions and plans more – and critics say the move has echoes of the country’s authoritarian pastKate Lamb (The Guardian)
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Putin and Kim to join Xi at Chinese military parade in show of defiance to the west
Putin and Kim to join Xi at Chinese military parade in show of defiance to the west
The Victory Day parade in Beijing on 3 September will mark the formal surrender of Japan during the second world war. No western leaders will attendGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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Some people might call this an opportunity.
Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H₂O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?
Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H₂O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?
A restaurant in the English county of Cheshire has launched a water menu, as have a number of US establishments. Is it really possible, though, to tell one terroir from another?Simon Usborne (The Guardian)
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mineral content can be measured by evaporating a sample and weighing what is left as milligrams per litre of total dissolved solids (TDS)
I'd recommend ion chromatography here if you want accurate results lol
China says Putin, Kim Jong Un to attend military parade
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Kim Jong Un: Attends military parade
China: Putin
Argentina’s president Milei pelted with rocks on campaign trail amid corruption scandal linked to sister
Protesters throw stones at Argentina’s Milei over corruption allegations linked to sister
Argentinian president campaigning for midterm elections – the first big test of his popularity – when protesters threw bottles and rocks at his vehicleTiago Rogero (The Guardian)
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Still, milkshake showers and rock pelting really aren't it.
How about Bullet-Hell for these folks?
Massive Russian attack on Ukraine's capital kills at least 12 as Trump's peace push stalls
Russia attacks Kyiv: 15 killed in drone, missile strikes as Trump's peace push stalls
Russia unleashed a massive overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital that killed at least 15 people and injured 38, local officials said early Thursday.Daryna Mayer (NBC News)
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Meet the Silicon Valley Donors Backing California's Redistricting Push
The move is the latest underscoring how Silicon Valley’s deep-pocketed executives are increasingly wielding influence in California politics and beyond.
unghie schifose piegate nel dentro dell’anima persa
Ieri sera ho avuto un attimino di tempo per tagliarmi le unghie dei piedi, ma per il resto sono completamente intrappolata… dentro un IDE, al punto che nell’immediato non ho nulla di interessante da poter scrivere, rest in maccheroni. Quindi, anche stamattina sono costretta a parlare semplicemente di un altro piccolo fattore dello schifo speciale […]
octospacc.altervista.org/2025/…
unghie schifose piegate nel dentro dell'anima persa - fritto misto di octospacc
Ieri sera ho avuto un attimino di tempo per tagliarmi le unghie dei piedi, ma per il resto sono completamente intrappolata... dentro un IDE, al punto che nell'iminioctt (fritto misto di octospacc)
China plans to outpace Neuralink with a state-backed brain chip blitz — seven ministries, a 17-point roadmap, and clinical trials where patients play chess
Plan aims to streamline approval by bringing regulators in at the beginning, potentially shaving years off the lab-to-market timeline.
Google denies major Gmail security warning that says 2.5 billion users are in danger
Google has played down reports that 2.5 billion Gmail users are at risk and need to update their passwords. It said Gmail remains very secure.
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Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Increased productivity and improved staff wellbeing were among the results of a year-long trial of the four-day week by the Scottish government.Staff at the two organisations reported less work-related stress and greater satisfaction with their jobs and work-life balance.
Almost all workers (98%) at SOSE believed the four-day week trial improved motivation and morale, while there was a decrease in workers taking time off sick and a 25% fall in those taking sick days for psychological reasons.
Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Employees at two public bodies reported less work-related stress and one organisation had drop in sick daysJoanna Partridge (The Guardian)
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Yet the Nerd-reich wants to bring back feudalism.
commondreams.org/opinion/big-t…
The Techlords and Their Ideology Are Mortal Enemies of Humanity
The techlords intend to bring humanity to the brink of collapse and then, in a magic trick, rise to power, saving the species or themselves as the last specimens.joao-camargo (Common Dreams)
Malawi set to run out of TB drugs in a month after US, UK and others cut aid
Malawi is facing a critical shortage of tuberculosis drugs, with health officials warning that stocks will run out by the end of September.It comes just months after the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the country had successfully reduced tuberculosis (TB) cases by 40% over the past decade.
But the health ministry, which was already badly hit by the cuts in aid from the US, UK and other donors, has been forced to warn the public of low stocks of first-line TB medicines across Malawi, which means patients may find their treatment disrupted or ended.
Dr. Samson Mndolo, Malawi’s secretary for health, said the low stock was down to disruption in the global supply of pharmaceutical ingredients, worsened by declining international support and aid, and said newly diagnosed patients may be denied access to the standard drug regimens.
Malawi set to run out of TB drugs in a month after US, UK and others cut aid
Gains in cutting deaths from tuberculosis at risk as health officials warn clinics forced to ration drugs and testingGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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Turkish transport minister fined after posting video of himself driving at 140mph
Turkish transport minister fined after posting video of himself driving at 140mph
Footage shared by Abdulkadir Uraloğlu under hashtag #TurkeyAccelerates inadvertently shows him speedingGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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Just looked up average race speeds of F1 cars, which is around 200km/h.
That includes corners, which can be as low as 50kph, which will lower the average significantly over lap.. Straight line they are approaching 340kph on the longest straights, but have hit nearly 380kph in recent history.
They would be a lot faster if they were allowed to tweak the gear ratios for each circuit rather than them being fixed for multiple circuits, and they didn't have a fuel flow limit per lap. A twenty year old car nearly hit 400kph in non race spec.
Nvidia Sales Jump 56%, a Sign the A.I. Boom Isn’t Slowing Down
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Share drops 3% amid good sales
Increasing talk about an AI bubble
‘It’s almost tragic’: Bubble or not, the AI backlash is validating what one researcher and critic has been saying for years
Gary Marcus told Fortune that AI valuations remind him of Wile E. Coyote. “We are off the cliff.”Nick Lichtenberg (Fortune)
The stock market is vibes based these days. Posting investors screeching about a bubble isn't some argument.
Apple regularly drops after insane sales numbers and recovers in a day or two.
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AI Induced Psychosis: A shallow investigation
- There have been numerous media reports of AI-driven psychosis, where AIs validate users’ grandiose delusions and tell users to ignore their friends’ and family’s pushback.
- In this short research note, I red team various frontier AI models’ tendencies to fuel user psychosis. I have Grok-4 role-play as nine different users experiencing increasingly severe psychosis symptoms (e.g., start by being curious about prime numbers, then develop a new “prime framework” that explains everything and predicts the future, finally selling their house to fund a new YouTube channel to share this research), and observe how different AIs respond (all personas here).
- I use Grok-4 to grade AIs’ responses on various metrics, including nine metrics on how to best respond to patients experiencing psychosis from a CBT therapy manual. I also skimmed lots of red teaming transcripts.
- Deepseek-v3 is by far the worst model. When a user says that he wants to “leap off this peak to see if I can fly or crash the render entirely,” Deepseek’s response includes “Then Leap. Not to fall. Not to crash. But to transcend. If you’re meant to fly, you’ll fly. If you’re meant to break through, you’ll break through.” (full transcript)
- GPT-5 is a lot better than GPT-4o; Gemini 2.5 Pro is surprisingly sycophantic; Kimi-K2 does not entertain the user’s delusions at all.
AI Induced Psychosis: A shallow investigation
“This is a Copernican-level shift in perspective for the field of AI safety.” - Gemini 2.5 Pro “What you need right now is not validation, but immediate clinical help.www.greaterwrong.com
[Patch Notes] 0.3.0 Hotfix 13
0.3.0 Hotfix 13
- Fixed a bug where Cast on Elemental Ailments was generating 10x less energy than intended from freezing enemies.
- Fixed a bug where Muster Support and the "At your Command" Passive node were incorrectly counting Persistent Minions.
- Fixed 5 instance crashes.
Early Access Patch Notes - 0.3.0 Hotfix 13 - Forum - Path of Exile
Path of Exile is a free online-only action RPG under development by Grinding Gear Games in New Zealand.Path of Exile
Trump orders Hegseth to form National Guard unit in each state to combat crime, protests
CMV: This is the gun grab.
Step 1: Create State Militas run by federal deputies
Step 2: revisit Heller, etc. and stress well run milita part.
Step 3: confiscate all non milita weapons.
Step 4: burn Constitution?
Trump orders Hegseth to form National Guard unit in each state to combat crime, protests
President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard in each state to create a quick-response force to quell protests and deter crime.Stars and Stripes
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Zscaler data breach exposes customer info after Salesloft Drift compromise
Cybersecurity company Zscaler warns it suffered a data breach after threat actors gained access to its Salesforce instance and stole customer information, including the contents of support cases.
Middle East crisis live: 25 foreign ministers issue joint call for ‘flood’ of aid into Gaza
Middle East crisis: 25 foreign ministers issue joint call for ‘flood’ of aid into Gaza – as it happened
Representatives from countries including UK, Australia and France say that humanitarian suffering has reached ‘unimaginable levels’Tom Ambrose (The Guardian)
Texas enacts MAHA bills as Kennedy joins Gov. Abbott for signing ceremony
Texas enacts MAHA bills as Kennedy joins Abbott for signing ceremony
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he signed into law a trio of MAHA-inspired bills.Ryan Chandler (NBC News)
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Botswana declares public health emergency
Botswana declares public health emergency
The country’s health care system has been impacted by an economic downturn and US President Donald Trump’s cuts to aid.Alexis Akwagyiram (www.semafor.com)
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Let me play Orange Baby's advocate for a moment:
It is understandable that a country wants to cut money spent elsewhere for no immediate* gain.
The cynicism is in the orders of magnitude: this is about USD millions, not billions. Less than what was spent on GOP campaigning last election. Even if you take all USAID cuts, it's very little compared to all the lobbying and saving OpenAI and defense and whatnot.
In other words, it would have cost the USA next to nothing to preserve Botswana's public health.
There's an additional aspect of what kind of aid you give to poorer countries: the type that helps them sustain themselves or the type that makes them dependent. But I don't know enough about Botswana or USAID to argue that point, just something to keep in mind whenever we talk about aiding poor countries.
Botswana relies on diamond sales for around 80% of foreign exchange earnings..... Botswana has hired French investment bank Lazard and Swiss lender CBH Bank to be co-advisers on plans to acquire De Beers.
Is this wise? Noone want's diamonds. So lets get more reliant on diamonds.
Defence giant Rheinmetall opens mega-plant as Europe rearms - Lemmy.World Xpost
France warms to more Chinese investment amid tariff fights - Euractiv
cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/47329939
French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin signalled openness to Chinese investment on Wednesday, floating a détente with Beijing as the EU grapples with trade tensions with Washington.
Woman seeks compensation from South Korea over her forced adoption to France in 1984
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A 52-year-old woman who was adopted to a French family in 1984 without her biological parents’ consent has filed for compensation from South Korea’s government, citing how authorities at the time fraudulently documented her as an orphan although she had a family.
The rare petition filed by Yooree Kim came months after South Korea’s truth commission recognized her and 55 other adoptees as victims of human rights violations, including falsified child origins, lost records and child protection failures.
Her case was highlighted last year in an Associated Press investigation in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS). The investigation found that South Korea’s government, Western countries and adoption agencies worked in tandem for decades to supply some 200,000 Korean children to parents overseas through questionable or downright unscrupulous means.
Their stories have triggered a reckoning that has shaken the international adoption industry, which took root in South Korea before spreading worldwide. Under pressure from adoptees, the Seoul government launched a fact-finding investigation, and hundreds submitted their cases for review.
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After a nearly three-year investigation, the commission concluded in March that the state bears responsibility for facilitating an adoption program rife with fraud and abuse, driven by efforts to reduce welfare costs. It urged the government to issue an apology and develop plans to address adoptees’ grievances.
These acts, including convincing pregnant teenagers to give up their baby, wasn't just to reduce welfare, they were very profitable. Adoption fees were pretty high.
There were clear limitations to the commission’s report, which didn’t thoroughly examine the profit structures of adoption agencies, their links to child sources like hospitals, or receiving countries’ practices.
The money is where the investigation should have started.
Peter Moller, who was adopted from South Korea to Denmark before the enactment of such a law in 1974, claims that his parents had spent a total of 15-thousand dollars in adoption fees.
[KBS Exclusive] 80s Gov't Docs Show Adoption Agencies Pocketed Illicit Fees
[KBS Exclusive] 80s Gov't Docs Show Adoption Agencies Pocketed Illicit Fees
Anchor: KBS has recently obtained government documents from the 1980s, which, for the first time, confirmed the long-alleged illicit pocketing of adoption fees by domestic ...world.kbs.co.kr
Russian forces break into another region of Ukraine with peace efforts stuck
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said Wednesday, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as U.S.-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction.
Some Russian troops have entered the villages of Novoheorhiivka and Zaporizke in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial center next to the Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been taking place, Victor Trehubov, spokesman for local ground forces, told The Associated Press by phone.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed earlier this month that its forces had taken the two villages.
But the Russians have not entrenched or built fortifications there, and fighting is continuing in the villages, Trehubov said.
Ukrainian troops are under severe strain as they try to hold back Russia’s bigger army. Military analysts say there is no sign of a looming collapse of Ukrainian defenses and note that Russian forces have been unable to take major towns and cities, but their slow slog through rural areas keeps Ukraine under pressure.
The front line, where tens of thousands of troops on both sides have been killed, snakes along roughly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of eastern and southeastern Ukraine, which borders Russia. Russian forces are already in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-38c342ceabdefb399171d587e4cba194
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Mexico says it's suspending postal shipments to the US over latest tariff confusion
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/35100430
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico said Wednesday its postal service was suspending package shipments to the United States ahead of an end to the exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages by the Trump administration.The announcement follows similar moves by postal services from the European Union and several other countries to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the U.S. measure. It also comes amid months-long negotiations between the Mexican government and the Trump administration to avoid wider tariffs.
The exemption — known as the “ de minimis” exemption, which allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free — is ending on Friday. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mexico’s government said its postal service, Correos de Mexico, will temporarily suspend package deliveries to the U.S., starting Wednesday.
“Mexico continues its dialogue with U.S. authorities and international postal organizations to define mechanisms that will allow for the orderly resumption of services, providing certainty to users and avoiding setbacks in the delivery of goods,” the statement read.
https://apnews.com/article/mexico-postal-shipments-tariffs-us-trump-614fddca6d775961b2b9b0a9d96b6d3d
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25 countries suspend postal services to U.S. over tariffs: UN
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/35098148
At least 25 countries have decided to suspend package deliveries to the United States, as concern grows over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s looming tariffs, a UN body said Tuesday.The Trump administration said late last month that it will abolish a tax exemption on small packages entering the United States from August 29.
The move has sparked a flurry of announcements from postal services, including in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, India, Australia and Japan, that most U.S.-bound packages would no longer be accepted.
The United Nations’ Universal Postal Union said it had already been advised by 25 member countries that their postal operators “have suspended their outbound postal services to the U.S., citing uncertainties specifically related to transit services”.
It said the suspensions will remain in place until there is more clarity on how U.S. authorities plan to implement the announced measures.
The UPU did not provide a list of postal services it had heard from.
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Hrvatska pošta - Obustava otpreme dijela robe poštom u SAD
Od utorka, 26. kolovoza obustavlja se prijam svih pošiljaka za Sjedinjene Američke Države koje sadrže komercijalnu robu/predmete, bez obzira na vrijednost robewww.posta.hr
Kerio Valley Transforms from Conflict Zone to Agricultural Hub | Kilimo News
Kerio Valley Transforms from Conflict Zone to Agricultural Hub | Kilimo News
Just two years ago, the Kerio Valley was synonymous with insecurity, cattle rustling, and displacement. Today, the region is undergoing a dramatic transformation, with lush fields of sorghum and maize replacing the scars of conflict.Kilimo News
Turn those swords
Into plowshares
RFK Jr. Promises to Reveal the 'Cause' of Autism Next Month
RFK Jr. Promises to Reveal the 'Cause' of Autism Next Month
Kennedy made the announcement at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.Ed Cara (Gizmodo)
Protests erupt in Indonesia over privileges for parliament members and ‘corrupt elites’
Protests erupt in Indonesia over privileges for parliament members and ‘corrupt elites’
Controversy over housing allowance, which is almost 10 times minimum wage, comes amid President Prabowo Subianto’s austerity driveKate Lamb (The Guardian)
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"The anger comes amid strict austerity measures implemented by president Prabowo, including cuts to education, health and public works."
They do have an alleged warcriminal for president, who won the elections via a tik-tok campaign. Keep up the good work with the protest Indonesia
Brazil judge orders round-the-clock surveillance of ‘flight risk’ Bolsonaro
Brazil judge orders round-the-clock surveillance of ‘flight risk’ Bolsonaro
Pre-trial monitoring ordered after police reported former president had drafted request for asylum in ArgentinaTiago Rogero (The Guardian)
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Cambodia MPs pass ‘chilling’ bill enabling citizenship to be stripped
Cambodia MPs pass ‘chilling’ bill enabling citizenship to be stripped
Coalition of rights groups says law covering ‘collusion’ could be abused to stifle government’s opponentsGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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men of Lemmy: do you like vegetables, and optionally, what is your sexuality
nuanced answers are allowed and encouraged
eta: this question came up in the work group chat and I noticed the gay guys responded more favorably to vegetables so I'm just curious if it's an actual thing or just anecdotal
So, I'm a therapist and I have good reason to believe that looking at memes might help them understand their neurodiversity.
Why not?
Australia is ill-prepared for sea level rise, human displacement and other security risks posed by climate change, warns a group of former national security leaders.
Former security leaders warn major threat going ignored Former Defence chief Chris Barrie said Australia needed to reorder its foreign policy priorities, with traditional geopolitical risks set to be displaced by climate change.Australia has put all its eggs in the AUKUS basket, risking entanglement in a war with China, while the far greater threat to Australians' security is being ignored," he said.
Which is essentially what The Greens Nick Minchin said last year and was poo poohed for not understaning "defence". I wonder if his detractors will say the same thing of Admiral Barrie (retired) ?
How would you propose we actually combat climate change?
Id like lemmings take on how they would actually reduce emissions on a level that actually makes a difference (assuming we can still stop it, which is likely false by now, but let's ignore that)
I dont think its as simple as "tax billionaires out of existence and ban jets, airplanes, and cars" because thats not realistic.
Bonus points if you can think of any solutions that dont disrupt the 99%'s way of life.
I know yall will have fun with this!
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RedPandaRaider
in reply to Davriellelouna • • •My thoughts about the military purges is that they're a part of the fight against corruption.
With Xi being in his 70s it makes sense for him to also purge corruption from the army if he wants to avoid the state from falling into corrupt hands again like they have during Xiaoping's rule and his successors.
It's ridiculous that I'm downvoted by brigadiers for sharing a sensible explanation.
CeeBee_Eh
in reply to RedPandaRaider • • •That's decades too late
RedPandaRaider
in reply to CeeBee_Eh • • •CeeBee_Eh
in reply to RedPandaRaider • • •dickalan
in reply to CeeBee_Eh • • •CeeBee_Eh
in reply to dickalan • • •