180985724
submission
alternative_right writes:
Traditional shelters and trenches no longer offer protection in this war, he said: "The entire infantry — both Ukrainian and enemy soldiers — are digging into underground tunnels to remain out of reach of attack of the drones."
To spot traces of the enemy, he said, the brigade members carefully "read signs on the ground from the sky." They hunt for subtle clues: trash left on the streets of abandoned villages, freshly churned earth in gardens, a small pile of wood in the middle of a yard.
As soon as his brigade discovers a Russian hideout, combat drones are sent there. "Russia does the same thing," Thunder said. "Whoever has the best hideouts and the upper hand with drones dominates."
180853472
submission
Arrogant-Bastard writes:
Blogger "rogi" decided to verify themself on LinkedIn — and then dug into the privacy policy not just of LinkedIn, but of the company they use for this purpose...and then of the companies and governments the data is shared with. It's an extensive, alarming, and well-written trip down the rabbit hole of the user verification.
180563968
submission
schwit1 writes:
We have not seen this before. Iran’s digital blackout has now deployed military jammers to shut down access to Starlink. This is a game-changer for Plan-B connectivity for protesters and anti-regime activists when domestic internet plugs are pulled.
Simon Migliano, who has just compiled a comprehensive report into recent internet shutdowns, told me “Iran’s current nationwide blackout is a blunt instrument intended to crush dissent," and this comes at a stark cost to the country, underpinning the regime’s desperation. “This 'kill switch’ approach comes at a staggering price, draining $1.56 million from Iran’s economy every single hour the internet is down.”
Overnight, NetBlocks reported that “Iran’s internet blackout is now past the 60 hour mark as national connectivity levels continue to flatline around 1% of ordinary levels."
180536057
submission
alternative_right writes:
Neuromorphic computers, inspired by the architecture of the human brain, are proving surprisingly adept at solving complex mathematical problems that underpin scientific and engineering challenges.
180511927
submission
techtsp writes:
An evaluation method called the Drill-Down and Fabricate Test (DDFT) has been developed to assess how large language models (LLMs) handle factual accuracy when subjected to degraded information and adversarial challenges. The protocol reveals that many advanced AI systems falter in maintaining reliable knowledge under realistic pressures, regardless of their size or design. Evaluations involved nine frontier models across eight knowledge domains at five compression levels, yielding 1,800 turn-level assessments.
180392375
submission
hackingbear writes:
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, a democratic nation, tried to provoke North Korea, an authoritarian state, into mounting an armed aggression to justify his December 2024 martial law declaration and eliminate political opponents, a special prosecutor said on Monday. The prosecutor has confirmed an elaborate scheme allegedly masterminded by Yoon and his defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, going back to October 2023 to suspend the powers of parliament and replace it with an emergency legislative body. "To create justification for declaring martial law, they tried to lure North Korea into mounting an armed aggression, but failed as North Korea did not respond militarily," special prosecutor, Cho Eun-seok said. The South Korean military flew drones over Pyongyang in October at the order of then Defense Minister Kim. North Korea responded the provocation by blowing up a symbolic road to the South to avoid starting a war. Yoon may have been compelled to act in part because of the unrelenting political pressure he was under stemming from allegations of bribery against his wife, but there was no evidence to suspect Kim was involved in the conspiracy, Park Ji-young, a spokesperson for the special prosecutor's team, said. North Korea has for long time been labeled North Korea as a great threat to world peace.
180361865
submission
schwit1 writes:
With the Taigei class and its lithium-ion batteries, Tokyo already set a new benchmark: up to three weeks submerged without ever raising a snorkel. That, however, was merely the opening act.
Today, Toyota and Panasonic are leading the global race in solid-state batteries, with prototypes arriving in 2027–2028, mass production after 2030, and Japan’s next submarine class will be the first to use them, either in pure battery form or as a hybrid with a small reactor for onboard recharging. This hybrid would be similar to what the Chinese are developing.
The leap is staggering. A 4,000 ton conventional submarine will patrol for 40 to 60 days without surfacing, sprint well above 20 knots for hours on end, and do it all more quietly than many nuclear subs, thanks to being significantly lighter and running solely on battery power.
Solid-state cells weigh roughly one-third as much, generate 40% less heat, and eliminate half the cooling systems. The result is a faster, stealthier hull that can travel thousands of kilometers without ever breaking the surface.
Those hundreds of saved tons translate directly into more powerful electric motors, extra torpedoes and missiles, cutting-edge sensors, or greater crew comfort. The same hull now carries twice the energy or twice the weapons.
It appears there are also plans to equip the system with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ micro nuclear reactor. Its design has no moving parts, which gives it excellent quietness. It’s essentially like a battery that can run for 20 years.
180314673
submission
alternative_right writes:
A molecular clock is a method that allows scientists to estimate when organisms diverged and when traits first emerged. Basically, all lifeforms on the planet have a few things in common, such as the universal genetic code, an almost-universal set of amino acids, and a universal reliance on ATP for energy.
Scientists can estimate the rate at which mutations occur in a specific DNA sequence, compare the same sequence in multiple species, and work backwards to estimate when those species last shared an ancestor. They can also use a molecular clock to figure out when traits or gene functions first appeared.
180196635
submission
ZipNada writes:
A new generation of stratospheric balloons and high-altitude uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) could soon connect the world's unconnected with high-speed internet at a fraction of the prices commanded by operators of satellite megaconstellations such as SpaceX's Starlink.
High-altitude platform stations, or HAPS, have been around for a while, but the technology hasn't fully taken off yet. Google spent 10 years trying to develop balloons that would hover in the stratosphere above remote rural areas and beam internet to residents but abandoned that project, called Loon, in 2021, concluding that it couldn't be made sustainable.
Four years later, companies such as World Mobile Stratospheric and Sceye say they are on the verge of making internet-beaming from the stratosphere, the layer of Earth's atmosphere roughly 6 miles to 31 miles (10 to 50 kilometers) above the planet, a reality. Moreover, they claim that their offerings will be better and cheaper than that of satellite megaconstellations in low Earth orbit (LEO), which too have been developed with the promise of connecting the world's unconnected.
180195833
submission
Nicholas Grayhame writes:
The Daily Beast reports: Elon Musk’s social media site X has rolled out a new feature in an effort to increase transparency—and unwittingly revealed that many of the site’s top MAGA influencers are actually foreign actors. The new “About This Account” feature, which became available to X users on Friday, allows others to see where an account is based, when they joined the platform, how often they have changed their username, and how they downloaded the X app. Upon rollout, rival factions began to inspect just where their online adversaries were really based on the combative social platform—with dozens of major MAGA and right-wing influencer accounts revealed to be based overseas....
Dozens of major accounts masquerading as “America First” or “MAGA” proponents have been identified as originating in places such as Russia, India, and Nigeria. In one example, the account MAGANationX—with nearly 400,000 followers and a bio reading “Patriot Voice for We The People”—is actually based in Eastern Europe. An Ivanka Trump fan account, IvankaNews, has 1 million followers and frequently posts about the dangers of Islam, the threat of illegal immigration and support for Trump. That account is based in Nigeria. ...
Donald Trump and several close associates were investigated for conspiracy or coordination with Russia during the 2016 election. Two of Trump’s campaign members were indicted. Certain content creators are paid for tweets that drive engagement on the site formerly known as Twitter, which gives them a financial incentive to cash in on the divisive nature of U.S. politics. For those in countries like Nigeria or Bangladesh, the American dollars paid by X for their work can make a big difference to their lives. X payouts are calculated on the basis of engagement from verified premium accounts with content on X.
180179015
submission
schwit1 writes:
According to the brief, Meta was aware that millions of adult strangers were contacting minors on its sites; that its products exacerbated mental health issues in teens; and that content related to eating disorders, suicide, and child sexual abuse was frequently detected, yet rarely removed.
180173073
submission
fjo3 writes:
If what Stardust was claiming on the Zoom with Pasztor was true, then a key threshold had already been crossed. Humanity had gained the power to turn down the sun, and barely anyone on the planet even knew. What’s more, that untested power was now effectively for sale. In a world of rising chaos, sci-fi-pilled billionaires and nationalist leaders, a private company offering the means to control the world’s temperature — with almost no international laws regarding the deployment of such technology — was a disturbing prospect, thought Pasztor.
180058052
submission
magzteel writes:
The International Energy Agency has dropped its predictions that oil demand growth will peak in a matter of a few years. In the latest edition of its World Energy Outlook, the IEA said oil and gas demand could continue growing until 2050.
The IEA said that the coming years and decades will see a consistent increase in demand for energy across industry, households and, notably, information technology. Investments in data centers this year could reach $580 billion this year, the IEA’s secretary-general said, which exceeds the expected $540 billion in oil and gas industry investment.
As demand for energy grows, so will demand for the traditional sources of that energy. In a departure from its predictions of peak oil demand and peak natural gas demand before 2030, the IEA now expects oil demand to reach 113 million barrels by 2050, under the stated policies scenario that the outlet reintroduced this year after dropping it for five years to focus on aspirational scenarios focused on net zero.
180025718
submission
alternative_right writes:
Penchukov and the gangs he either led or was a part of stole tens of millions of pounds from them.
In the late 2000s, he and the infamous Jabber Zeus crew used revolutionary cyber-crime tech to steal directly from the bank accounts of small businesses, local authorities and even charities. Victims saw their savings wiped out and balance sheets upended. In the UK alone, there were more than 600 victims, who lost more than £4m ($5.2m) in just three months.
Between 2018 and 2022, Penchukov set his sights higher, joining the thriving ransomware ecosystem with gangs that targeted international corporations and even a hospital.
179948230
submission
Bruce66423 writes:
'Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities
'The decision to halt Murphy’s research appeared to come from a number of factors. Officially, the university gave two reasons: concern about the safety of staff in China, and the fact that, after being sued by a Chinese company named in one of the HKC’s reports, the university’s insurance provider said it would no longer cover work produced by the HKC for defamation risk. That lawsuit is ongoing.
'For years, the university has faced a backlash in China, and falling student numbers. In the summer of 2022, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian called the HKC – whose namesake, Lady Kennedy, has herself been hit with sanctions by Beijing because of her criticisms of China’s human rights record – a “vanguard for anti-China forces”. Around the same time, Sheffield Hallam’s websites were blocked in China. “This undoubtedly had a negative impact on recruitment in 23/24,” a university employee wrote in July 2024.'
Note the use of the GDPR law to extract the information from the university that revealed the scandal.
