Protesters storm US embassy in Baghdad
The US says it is sending 750 troops to the Middle East after its embassy in Baghdad was stormed by protesters.
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Sunday, January 5, 2020
India's tourism industry hit by citizenship protests
Tourist numbers have dropped significantly in India after a wave of protests against a new citizenship law.

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Top Iranian general killed in US attack
General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has been killed in a US attack in Baghdad.
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Mexico violence: Homicide rate reached record numbers in 2019
Mexico has set an unwanted new record: more than 31,000 murders in one year.
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Tens of thousands mourn as Soleimani's body returns to Iran
Mourners fill streets of Ahvaz as multi-city funeral of top military commander assassinated by US begins.
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In Kathmandu, the Nepalese chef making authentic Sichuan food
San-Dai has never visited China but speaks fluent Mandarin and is catering to Nepal's Chinese tourists.
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2020 look ahead: 'DREAMers' await decision on their futures
Why fate of so-called 'DREAMers' could be key issue in US election later this year.
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Calling for Online Accountability, Columnist Decries 'Anonymity Masquerading as Connectivity'
An anonymous reader quotes a long-time columnist for the Northwest Florida Daily News: In this age dominated by screens, we have become more prone to sitting in our cars, houses and workplaces and watching the world at a safe remove. From our couches, it's easy to have an opinion about everything. From that safe perspective, we know everything and we can comment, sometimes brutally, without fear of being called out. It's an age of anonymity masquerading as connectivity. We seem to be more global, more in contact with people who may live hundreds of miles away. We can date people we've never even met. But in reality, we are hiding behind the safety of our screens, posting only photos that frame us as we want to be seen, using screen names and judging people in the online arena that we would never criticize if they were standing on front of us. This has not brought out the best in many of us. The columnist ultimately argues the world would be improved by more accountability -- "being held responsible for our actions and our words." The article's headline? "Stop hiding behind the safety of our screens."
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Saturday, January 4, 2020
Soleimani funeral under way in Iran: All the latest updates
Funeral for Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's Quds Force who was killed in Baghdad by US air strike, begins in Iran.
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Al Shabab Says It Attacked Kenyan Base Used by U.S.
An official in Kenya said the strike, which the terrorist group characterized as a dawn raid, had been repulsed.
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Al-Shabab attacks military base in Kenya's Lamu county
Al-Qaeda-linked group attacks Camp Simba, a base used by United States and Kenyan military personnel, on Manda Bay.
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As Fires Rage, Australia Sees Its Leader as Missing in Action
The country is venting frustration with Prime Minister Scott Morrison over what many view as a nonchalant response to the disastrous blazes and his unwavering dismissal of climate change.
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Japan condemns 'unjustifiable' escape of Carlos Ghosn
Car tycoon broke bail and fled to Lebanon last week as he awaited trial on charges of financial misconduct.
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Indonesia flash floods: At least 60 people killed
Indonesia in grip of worst floods anyone can remember, and even more rain is coming.
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Slashdot Asks: What's the Worst Review You Ever Saw on Amazon?
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp shared his story about the worst tech book review he found on Amazon in 2019. Stephen Few is a respected author and speaker whose books on data visualization and analysis are well-received. But when it comes to Amazon reviews, you simply can't make everyone happy, a particularly good example of which is a one-star review he received for The Data Loom: Weaving Understanding by Thinking Critically and Scientifically with Data. So, what is it that the reviewer didn't like about Few's latest book? "THIS IS NOT A BOOK ON WEAVING TECHNIQUES," complains P. Dennis in her 1-star review, "Was not paying attention, I guess. Very disappointed." Amazon shows potential buyers that 5 people found Ms. Dennis's 1-star review helpful, while hiding 6 comments that complain about Amazon's allowance of the 'ridiculous' review [including two from the frustrated author, who asks, "Would you give J. D. Salinger's book 'The Catcher in the Rye' a 1-star review because it is not about baseball?"]. And that kids, can be the difference between a 4 and a 5 rating on Amazon if your book is lightly-reviewed! I still remember when Amazon shared their own favorite fake customer reviews, posting on the front page of Amazon in big orange letters, "You guys are really funny," and adding that "occasionally customer creativity goes off the charts in the best possible way." But sometimes their reviewers are just stupid. Leave your own favorite examples in the comments. What's the worst review you ever saw on Amazon?
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Death toll jumps in Cambodia building collapse
At least 24 people now known to have died after construction workers were trapped inside building when it collapsed.
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Cooler temperatures bring Australia some respite from bushfires
Military deployed as communities assess damage from Saturday's ferocious blazes and temperatures expected to rise again.
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'A shape in the ash': Bushfires destroy Australian wildlife
Rescuers race to save animals in distress amid reports that half a billion mammals, bird and reptiles have died.
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The World's Internet Registries Demand ICANN's Records on .org Registry Transfer
The world's five regional Internet registry have an unincorporated organization called the Number Resource Organization, and they also all have representatives on a supporting organization affiliated with ICANN called the Address Supporting Organization (ASO). This week the ASO "submitted correspondence" to ICANN about the proposed transfer for the .org registry to Ethos Capital, reports CircleID: This is a historic step as the NRO (Number Resource Organization) representing the 5 Regional Internet address Registries normally does not engage in policy matters related to the Domain Name System. NRO has made an exception, in this case, stating, "ICANN's handling of this proposal to be an important Internet governance decision, with bearing on the community's trust in ICANN, and the legitimacy of the ICANN model." NRO's formal request: "As a Decisional Participant in the Empowered Community and pursuant to ICANN Bylaws section 22.7, the ASO hereby submits this Inspection Request to inspect the records of ICANN, including minutes of the Board or any Board Committee, for the purpose of determining whether the ASO's may have need to use its empowered community powers in the near future relating to the potential assignment of the .org Registry Agreement. "For this purpose, the ASO seeks to inspect any ICANN records which pertain to or provide relevant insight to the process by which ICANN will consider (and potentially approve) the assignment of the .org Registry Agreement, including the process by which input from the affected community will be obtained prior to ICANN's consideration and potential approval of the assignment."
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Air Force Wing Prepares For First Satellite Launch as Part of the 'U.S. Space Force'
An anonymous reader quotes Space News: The SpaceX launch of Starlink satellites scheduled for January 6 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Florida Space Coast will be first launch of 2020 and also the 45th Space Wing's inaugural launch as part of the U.S. Space Force. The 45th Space Wing, headquartered at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, oversees the preparation and launching of U.S. government and commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral and operates the Eastern Range. It is one of five Air Force space wings that have been assigned to the U.S. Space Force effective December 20, when President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act that created the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. "I'm excited for the 45th Space Wing to be a part of the U.S. Space Force," wing commander Brig. Gen. Doug Schiess said in a statement Jan. 3. The 45th Space Wing will continue to do what it has been doing and the transition to the Space Force will not change that, Schiess said. The details of how the U.S. Space Force will be structured and staffed will take at least 18 months to sort out... Air Force Space Command personnel have been assigned to the Space Force but still remain airmen within the U.S. Air Force... "The effects the new Space Force will have on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base has not been announced yet, but continuing to successfully accomplish the mission without interruption is our top priority," Schiess said.
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Deadly Airstrike in Libya Wreaks Havoc at Military Academy
At least 16 were killed and 37 wounded in an attack in Tripoli, the capital.
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What to expect for the global economy in 2020
What could be hottest geopolitical and geoeconomic topics of 2020?
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Linux Kernel Developers and Commits Dropped in 2019
Phoronix reports that on New Year's Day, the Linux kernel's Git source tree showed 27,852,148 lines of code, divided among 66,492 files (including docs, Kconfig files, user-space utilities in-tree, etc). Over its lifetime there's been 887,925 commits, and around 21,074 different authors: During 2019, the Linux kernel saw 74,754 commits, which is actually the lowest point since 2013. The 74k commits is compares to 80k commits seen in both 2017 and 2018, 77k commits in 2016, and 75k commits in both 2014 and 2015. Besides the commit count being lower, the author count for the year is also lower. 2019 saw around 4,189 different authors to the Linux kernel, which is lower than the 4,362 in 2018 and 4,402 in 2017. While the commit count is lower for the year, on a line count it's about average with 3,386,347 lines of new code added and 1,696,620 lines removed... Intel and Red Hat have remained the top companies contributing to the upstream Linux kernel.
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The science and the art of open-source journalism
From Xinjiang, China to Douma, Syria - how challenging stories are being reported using tools of open-source journalism.
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Apple Reunites With iPhone Graphics Chip Partner To License Technology
Apple will once again license technology from Imagination Technologies, the chip designer that used to provide graphics processors for the iPhone and iPad, the UK-based company announced today. The Verge reports: In a short statement posted on its website, Imagination said that it had entered into a multiyear license agreement with Apple, under which the Cupertino, California-based firm will have access to "a wider range of Imagination's intellectual property in exchange for license fees." Apple announced its split from Imagination back in April 2017 when it said that it would start designing its own graphics chips, and it would stop licensing the company's technology within two years. After the split was announced, Imagination expressed skepticism that Apple could design its own chips "without violating Imagination's patents, intellectual property, and confidential information."
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US football team cancels Qatar trip as regional tensions rise
Citing the 'situation in the region', US Soccer moves winter camp to Florida after US killing of Iranian general.
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India: 'Cold/mess' singer Prateek Kuhad on a high after Obama nod
Former US president sets up a bright year for 'heartbreak' singer who figured in his annual list of favourite music.
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Thousands of mourners join Soleimani funeral in Baghdad
Funeral processions in Baghdad after US kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani and PMF deputy leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
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Troubles at an Aging Steel Mill Mirror Italy’s Own
The largest factory in the country’s economically depressed south teeters on closing, a victim of declining industry, haphazard regulation and volatile politics.
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Friday, January 3, 2020
Aftermath of Soleimani killing in US raid: All the latest updates
US-Iran tensions rise after Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force, killed in Baghdad by US air strike.
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More than a dozen killed in Sudan military plane crash
At least 18 killed after an army transport crashed shortly after take off in West Darfur region, the military said.
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India protesters facing police curbs borrow from Hong Kong, Paris
As police in many places deny permission to rally, Indians borrow strategies from other protests to skirt restrictions.
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Google Disables All Xiaomi Device Integrations Pending Security Review
New submitter jasonbuechler writes: Related to the Xiaomi post the other day, Google has entirely disabled Google Assistant/Home integration with Xiaomi devices pending further testing. Google issued the following statement: Hi everyone, Late night on January 1st, we were made aware of an issue where a Reddit user posted that their Nest Hub was able to access other people's Xiaomi camera feeds. We've been working with Xiaomi and we're comfortable that the issue was limited to their camera technology platform. While we worked on this issue with Xiaomi, we made the decision to disable all Xiaomi integrations on our devices. We understand this had a significant impact on users of Xiaomi devices but the security and privacy of our users is our priority and we felt this was the appropriate action. We're re-enabling Xiaomi device integrations for everything but camera streaming after necessary testing has been completed. We will not reinstate camera functionality for Xiaomi devices until we are confident that the issue has been fully resolved. We'll keep you updated with information as more becomes available to share. UPDATE: Speaking to Engadget, Xiaomi says that the issue occurred due to a cache update, which made the stills pop up if a user had that camera and that display under poor network conditions. According to the company, only 1,044 users had this setup with a "few" experiencing the poor network connection that would make it appear, and they have fixed the issue on their end. The full statement is available on Engadget's report.
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A Video Tweeted by Pompeo Was Authentic. His Description of It Was Wrong.
Mike Pompeo said it showed Iraqis celebrating the death of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani. Witnesses said Mr. Pompeo’s comments were inaccurate.
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Indonesian capital reels from floods that leave 47 dead
Flooding on New Year's Day was the worst flooding since 2007 and the weather agency warns of more downpour coming.
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To Replace Gas Taxes, Oregon and Utah Ask EVs To Pay For Road Use
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: [T]he U.S. has traditionally paid for the upkeep of its roads via direct taxation of gasoline and diesel fuel, which means that as our fleet becomes more fuel-efficient, that revenue will drop in relation to the total number of vehicle miles traveled each year. As a result, some states are starting to grapple with the problem of how to get drivers to pay for the roads they use in cars that use less or even no gas per mile. At the start of this year, Utah has begun a pilot Road Usage Charge program, coupled to an increase in registration fees for alternative fuel vehicles. Assuming a state gas tax of 30c/gallon and 15,542 miles/year driven, Utah says it collects $777 a year from a 6mpg heavy truck, $311 from a pickup getting 15mpg, $187 from a 25mpg sedan, $93 from a 50mpg hybrid, and nothing from anyone driving a battery EV. So in 2020, Utah is increasing vehicle registration fees. In 2019, registering a BEV in Utah would cost $60; in 2020 that will be $90, increasing to $120 in 2021. PHEV fees were $26 in 2019, increasing to $39 this year and $52 in 2021, and not-plug-in hybrid fees have gone from $10 to $15, increasing to $20 next year. An extra $30 a year -- or even $60 a year -- is pretty small in the grand scheme of things, particularly considering how much cheaper an EV is to run. But Utahns with EVs have an alternative. Instead of paying that flat fee, they can enroll in the pilot program that involves fitting a telematics device to the car. The device tracks the actual number of miles driven on Utah's roads. These are billed at a rate of 1.5c/mile, but only until the total equals whatever that year's registration fee for the vehicle would have been; participating in the pilot means you could pay less than you would otherwise, but Utah's Department of Transportation says that participants would not ever be charged more than that year's registration fee. The data will be collected by a contractor called Emovis, which operates toll roads around the U.S. As for Oregon -- another state working to solve this problem, the state is increasing its state gas tax by 2c/gallon, and like Utah, it's also increasing vehicle registration fees. "Now, fees for registering your car in Oregon will depend on how many miles per gallon your car gets; a two-year registration for something that gets below 19mpg will cost $122, rising to $132 for a vehicle between 20â"39mpg, then $152 for a vehicle that gets 40mpg or better, and $306 for a BEV," reports Ars Technica. Thankfully, if you own a 40+mpg vehicle or a BEV, you can cut that two-year fee to $86 by enrolling in OReGO. However, you will need to fit your qualifying car with a telematics device to track the actual miles traveled on the state's roads. "Those are billed at 1.8c/mile -- Oregon evidently decided its roads are worth a little more than those in Utah -- but you can then get credited for any fuel tax you pay in the state," the report adds.
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Australia Fire Updates: Spreading Fires, Rising Heat and Strong Winds
Officials across three states braced for what they feared could be the worst day yet of Australia’s disastrous fire season.
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Bolivia to hold May 3 vote for new president, Congress
The elections will choose a president, vice president and members of Congress and the Senate.
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Why Some Rope Knots Hold Better Than Others
Iwastheone shares a report from SciTechDaily: MIT mathematicians and engineers have developed a mathematical model that predicts how stable a knot is, based on several key properties, including the number of crossings involved and the direction in which the rope segments twist as the knot is pulled tight. "These subtle differences between knots critically determine whether a knot is strong or not," says Jorn Dunkel, associate professor of mathematics at MIT. "With this model, you should be able to look at two knots that are almost identical, and be able to say which is the better one." "Empirical knowledge refined over centuries has crystallized out what the best knots are," adds Mathias Kolle, the Rockwell International Career Development Associate Professor at MIT. "And now the model shows why." [...] In comparing the diagrams of knots of various strengths, the researchers were able to identify general "counting rules," or characteristics that determine a knot's stability. Basically, a knot is stronger if it has more strand crossings, as well as more "twist fluctuations" -- changes in the direction of rotation from one strand segment to another. For instance, if a fiber segment is rotated to the left at one crossing and rotated to the right at a neighboring crossing as a knot is pulled tight, this creates a twist fluctuation and thus opposing friction, which adds stability to a knot. If, however, the segment is rotated in the same direction at two neighboring crossing, there is no twist fluctuation, and the strand is more likely to rotate and slip, producing a weaker knot. They also found that a knot can be made stronger if it has more "circulations," which they define as a region in a knot where two parallel strands loop against each other in opposite directions, like a circular flow. By taking into account these simple counting rules, the team was able to explain why a reef knot, for instance, is stronger than a granny knot. While the two are almost identical, the reef knot has a higher number of twist fluctuations, making it a more stable configuration. Likewise, the zeppelin knot, because of its slightly higher circulations and twist fluctuations, is stronger, though possibly harder to untie, than the Alpine butterfly -- a knot that is commonly used in climbing. The findings have been published in the journal Science.
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GirlsDoPorn: Young Women Win Legal Battle Over Video Con
A U.S. judge has awarded $12.8 million to 22 unnamed women, ruling that they were tricked into appearing in widely distributed online porn videos. The BBC reports: Some of the models duped by the owners and operators of the GirlsDoPorn website had become suicidal, he said. They were told the videos were for a private collector or overseas DVDs, according to the 181-page judgement. The women -- aged 18-23 when they shot the videos -- were also assured the videos would never appear online. But they were uploaded to GirlsDoPorn's subscription-based amateur porn website, and clips were shared on some of the world's most popular free-to-view adult websites. San Diego Superior Court Judge Kevin Enright ordered GirlsDoPorn chief executive Michael Pratt, 36, videographer Matthew Wolfe, 37, and porn actor Ruben Garcia, 31, to take the videos down from GirlsDoPorn and take steps to get them removed from other sites too. GirlsDoPorn markets itself on the premise that the women in the videos are not professional porn stars.
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Alarms raised in China as pneumonia outbreak infects dozens
Eleven of those infected in Wuhan are critical and the rest are stable, while 121 cases are under observation.
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A Shocked Iraq Reconsiders Its Relationship With the U.S.
The killing of General Suleimani, intended as a shot against Iran, could accelerate an Iranian objective: pushing the United States military out of Iraq.
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Dr. Heather Ashton, 90, Dies; Helped People Quit Anxiety Drugs
Her “Ashton Manual,” published in 1999, has become a cornerstone for people all over the world dealing with benzodiazepine dependence.
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New US air raid on Hashd commander in Iraq kills medics: Report
Deadly attack took place along Taji Road that leads to a base of non-US coalition forces north of Baghdad.
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Tesla Tops Wall Street Estimates With 112,000 Vehicle Deliveries In Fourth Quarter
SpankiMonki shares a report from CNBC: Tesla said it delivered 92,550 Model 3 cars and 19,450 Model S and X vehicles during the fourth quarter. The company was expected to deliver 87,900 Model 3, 9,800 Model S and 9,300 Model X vehicles, according to an average of analysts surveyed by FactSet. Investors were also watching production numbers. In the second and third quarters of 2019, Tesla delivered more cars than it produced. The production versus deliveries gap widened in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, Tesla manufactured 96,155 vehicles and delivered 97,000 vehicles. In the fourth quarter, it manufactured 104,891 vehicles and delivered 112,000. The electric-car maker said it has produced just under 1,000 cars that are ready for sale at its new factory in Shanghai. Tesla started delivering vehicles to Chinese customers late last month.
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Apple Targets Jailbreaking In Lawsuit Against iOS Virtualization Company
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Apple has expanded a lawsuit against an iOS virtualization company, claiming that its actions facilitate jailbreaking and violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibition on circumvention of copyright-protection systems. Apple sued Corellium, a company that sells access to virtual machines that run copies of the operating system used in iPhones and iPads, in August 2019. Apple said that Corellium sells "perfect replicas" of iOS without a license from Apple and markets its software as "a research tool for those trying to discover security vulnerabilities and other flaws in Apple's software." But instead of aiding good-faith security research, Corellium "encourages its users to sell any discovered information on the open market to the highest bidder," Apple alleged. The first version of Apple's lawsuit accused Corellium of copyright infringement. A new version filed on December 27 alleges both copyright infringement and "unlawful trafficking of a product used to circumvent security measures in violation of 17 U.S.C. 1201," a statute that's part of the DMCA. Apple argued that Corellium gives users the ability to jailbreak iOS for either benign or malicious purposes. In response to the new allegations, Corellium CEO Amanda Gorton said "Apple's latest filing against Corellium should give all security researchers, app developers, and jailbreakers reason to be concerned." Corellium is "deeply disappointed by Apple's persistent demonization of jailbreaking," with Gorton writing that "developers and researchers rely on jailbreaks to test the security of both their own apps and third-party apps." Apple's filing, according to Corellium, essentially "assert[s] that anyone who provides a tool that allows other people to jailbreak, and anyone who assists in creating such a tool, is violating the DMCA." Apple, Gorton wrote, "is using this case as a trial balloon in a new angle to crack down on jailbreaking" and "is seeking to set a precedent to eliminate public jailbreaks."
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The Lesson of an Albanian Earthquake: The Balkans Aren’t Ready for the Big One
Successive governments have failed to address the risks posed by aging buildings and shoddy construction, leaving millions vulnerable.
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Hashd deputy Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: Iran's man in Baghdad
Muhandis was deputy leader of Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary group with close ties to Iran.
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India's LGBTQ community joins citizenship law protests
Members of LGBTQ community and others march in New Delhi as protests against 'anti-Muslim' law continue across India.
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A Computer Made From DNA Can Compute the Square Root of 900
A computer made from strands of DNA in a test tube can calculate the square root of numbers up to 900. New Scientist reports: Chunlei Guo at the University of Rochester in New York state and colleagues developed a computer that uses 32 strands of DNA to store and process information. It can calculate the square root of square numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 and so on up to 900. The DNA computer uses a process known as hybridization, which occurs when two strands of DNA attach together to form double-stranded DNA. To start, the team encodes a number onto the DNA using a combination of ten building blocks. Each combination represents a different number up to 900, and is attached to a fluorescence marker. The team then controls hybridization in such a way that it changes the overall fluorescent signal so that it corresponds to the square root of the original number. The number can then be deduced from the color. The DNA computer could help to develop more complex computing circuits, says Guo. Guo believes DNA computers may one day replace traditional computers for complex computations. The findings have been published in the journal Small.
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