Sunday, 9 February 2025

UN investigator: Trump's Gaza Plan amounts to illegal 'ethnic cleansing'. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

— "Forcible displacement of an occupied group is an international crime," said Navi Pillay, chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Israeli forces withdraw from a key Gaza corridor under deal: the 6-km Netzarim corridor, a strip of land that bisects northern Gaza from the south that Israel used as a military zone during the war. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

Court grants request to block detained Venezuelan immigrants from being sent to Guantanamo. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

Musk demands judge who blocked DOGE at Treasury be impeached. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

'Disgraceful Manipulation': Fox accused of covering up loud boos for Donald Trump at the Super Bowl with fake crowd cheers. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

Musk calls for shutting down US-funded outlets Radio Free Europe, Voice of America. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

AFU crush Russian elite tank division in Kharkiv region, repels breakthrough attempt. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

Fact-check: President Donald Trump's Super Bowl LIX interview with Fox's Bret Baier. — 9 February 2025 (LINK)

Saturday, 8 February 2025

War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in over 2 years to end deadlock. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

Baltic nations finalize decoupling from Russian electricity grid to join EU. — 8 February 2025 (LINK) — ground.news: media reports (LINK)

Massive brute force attack uses 2.8 million IPs to target VPN devices. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

African summit urges immediate DR Congo ceasefire. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

— The latest UN figures suggest 2,900 people have been killed since early January, as a result of the hostilities between M23 and armed forces of the DR Congo. Around 700,000 are estimated to have been displaced and thousands more injured.

Trump administration orders consumer protection agency to stop work, closes building. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

Singer-Activist Buffy Sainte-Marie stripped of Order of Canada, the country's most prestigious civilian honour. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

— Variety: No specific reason for the termination was stated, but an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "Fifth Estate" show, published on Oct. 27, 2023 and now viewed on YouTube 1.5 million times, alleges that Sainte-Marie fabricated her Indigeneity, and presented a birth certificate shown on camera listing Boston, Mass. as her place of birth, "color of race" as "white," and birth name as Beverly Jean Santamaria.

When a man's AI girlfriend encouraged him to kill himself, its creator says it was working as intended. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

Elon Musk rehires racist DOGE staffer after Vance, Trump call for reinstatement. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

CNN and The Washington Post are getting booted from the Pentagon, too. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

An Italian study says researchers have found the way to cook a perfect egg — you'll just need 32 minutes to make it happen. The The albumen (or white) and the yolk require two different cooking temperatures. It involves transferring the egg back and forth between 212 degree Fahrenheit (100C) water and 86 degree water (30C) every two minutes for a total of 32 minutes. This way, both parts of the egg are cooked at their optimal temperatures without needing to crack the shell open. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

— Periodically cooked eggs were also found to have a higher nutritional content. Compared to other methods, the cooking technique better preserved the levels of polyphenols, a naturally occurring compound inside the yolk that is proven to help fight inflammation.

The reason you're not allowed to smile for your passport photo: so the computer programs can recognize you. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

AI and the brain perceive only what they predict, not what's actually there. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

Caribbean 7.6 earthquake leads to tsunami alerts but no casualties. — 8 February 2025 (LINK)

— Officials say the earthquake's epicentre was about 32km north of Honduras and 210kms south-west of the Cayman Islands when it struck on Saturday evening local time. The US Tsunami Warning System had initially issued warnings to more than a dozen of countries — including waves of up to three metres. But, it later said the threat had passed.

Friday, 7 February 2025

The US pause in foreign assistance funding has created "a lot of confusion" in community HIV prevention work, despite the waiver issued for HIV/AIDS programmes, the UN agency to combat AIDS (UNAIDS) said. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Judge blocks Trump from placing thousands of USAID workers on leave and giving them 30-day deadline. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

— U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, also agreed to block an order that would have given the thousands of overseas USAID workers the administration wanted to place on abrupt administrative leave just 30 days to move families and households back to the U.S. on government expense. Both moves would have exposed the U.S. workers and their spouses and children to unwarranted risk and expense, the judge said.

ICC prosecutor who oversaw arrest order for Putin over Ukrainian children deportation included in Trump's nonpublic sanction list, Reuters reports. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump says he'll pursue 'reciprocal' tariffs in latest bid to decrease US trade deficit. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

The public won't get to see Elon Musk's financial disclosures. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump says he won't deport Prince Harry: 'He's got enough problems with his wife'. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Female tourist's hands are bitten off by shark yards from Caribbean beach after she 'tried to engage the 6ft (2m) predator to take a picture'. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

— The woman, believed to be a Canadian national, had been enjoying a holiday to the Turks and Caicos islands. She was just a few yards from the shore when the predator struck, according to local media. The 55-year-old had been wading in the shallows as she 'attempted to engage' with the animal and take a picture of it, local authorities said.

U.S. facing most intense flu season in at least 15 years. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Security firm discovers DeepSeek has 'direct links' to Chinese government servers. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

By 226-188 U.S. House of Representatives passes bill blocking future presidents from banning oil drilling without Congress' approval. — 7 February 2025 (LINK) — ground.news: 10 media reports (LINK)

Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel,'s financial ties to Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein, a company accused of using forced labour, raise alarms. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Virtually everybody who's ever bought Trump's meme coin has lost money on it: "I don't know much about it other than I launched it." — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

— Soon after Trump launched his memecoin days before his second inauguration, its value plummeted from its all-time high of $78 as hyped-up crypto bros raced to cash out. It currently sits at a pathetic $17 per token — a shell of a grift that once saw nearly $72 billion worth of market cap at its peak.

Trump says he is revoking Biden's security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings, after his predecessor did the same to him four years ago. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Donald Trump says he's firing Kennedy Center board members, naming himself chairman. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Astronomers discover 'Quipu', the single largest structure in the known universe: a superstructure in which galaxies group together in clusters and clusters of clusters: roughly 1.3 billion light-years across and contains a mind-boggling 200 quadrillion solar masses. — 7 February 2025 (LINK)

Switzerland unfreezes $15m in seized assets of three Russians implicated in corruption case uncovered by the late tax advisor Sergei Magnitsky. A Jan. 21 Swiss Supreme Court ruling withdrew Hermitage Capital's private claimant status in the money laundering case — 6 February 2025 (LINK)

— Dmitry Klyuev, Vladlen Stepanov and Olga Stepanova were all sanctioned by the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia over their roles in the $230 million tax refund fraud scheme uncovered by Magnitsky in 2008.

— Magnitsky was arrested and imprisoned in Moscow shortly after he testified in the 2008 case on accusations seen as retaliation for his work. He died in pre-trial detention in November 2009 after being denied medical treatment and subjected to harsh conditions.

— In a Feb. 4 letter to Swiss bank UBS shared with The Moscow Times, Hermitage Capital warned that releasing the previously frozen assets would violate U.S., British, Canadian and Australian sanctions. "Despite the Swiss prosecutor's decision to unfreeze certain funds, banks remain bound by international sanctions laws and must not release any funds to sanctioned individuals," it wrote.

Thursday, 6 February 2025

White House: Imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court. — 6 February 2025 (LINK)

— The "International Criminal Court (ICC), as established by the Rome Statute, has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."

— "The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC. Neither country has ever recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war."

More Russian soldiers died near Pokrovsk in January than in entire Second Chechen War, military says. — 6 February 2025 (LINK)

U.S. disbands task forces on Russia sanctions. — 6 February 2025 (LINK)

Fury in India over U.S. allegedly flying 100 deportees halfway around the world in handcuffs and leg chains. — 6 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump orders key government agency to cancel all media contracts:"Pull all contracts for Politico, BBC, E&E (Politico sub) and Bloomberg. Pull all media contracts for just GSA — cancel every single media contract today for GSA only." . — 6 February 2025 (LINK)

Staffer at Musk's DOGE resigns after racist social media posts exposed. — 6 February 2025 (LINK)

Wednesday, 5 February 2025

Trump restates plan for US takeover of Gaza, with Palestinians 'resettled in the region': Writing on social media, Trump says Gaza "would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting". — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

Mexico deploys the first of 10,000 National Guard troops to US border after Trump’s tariff threat. — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

At WTO China challenges Trump tariffs as 'discriminatory'. — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

— China has accused the US of making "unfounded and false allegations" about its role in the fentanyl trade to justify tariffs on Chinese products. Trump raised border taxes on Chinese goods by 10%, a measure he said was intended to address an influx of illegal drugs.

— Sheertex, a Canadian tights-maker, on Wednesday announced that it was putting 40% of its nearly 350 workers on temporary layoff, citing the tariff questions.

— The value of goods brought into the US jumped 4% from November to $293.1bn, the highest since records began in 1992, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. The rise also contributed to the widest trade deficit, or gap, between exports and imports in nearly two years.

CIA sends 'buyout' offers to entire workforce. — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

— Some specific occupations and areas of expertise appear likely to be restricted, one of the sources familiar with the offer said, suggesting that the effort is far less sweeping than in civil service agencies that are not considered to be doing national security work. There's also a caveat for Ratcliffe to retain flexibility to work through the timing of officer departures in critical areas, according to another source familiar with the matter.

Trump's press secretary won't rule out US troops in Gaza after president saying the U.S. would "take over" Gaza and "own" the territory. — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump said the U.S. would "level the site" and create "an economic development.". — (LINK)

Elon Musk's team accesses Medicare, Medicaid records. — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

— "Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening," Musk wrote on X Wednesday, referring to DOGE going into Medicare systems.

Bird flu is taking a massive toll on wild animals: wild birds and sea mammals, researchers find. — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

Blackrock Plans to Launch a Bitcoin ETP in Europe: Bloomberg. The fund would be based in Switzerland and BlackRock could start marketing it as soon as this month, according to the story. — 5 February 2025 (LINK)

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

Trump signs order withdrawing US from several UN bodies, including its Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and setting up a broader review of US funding for the multilateral organization. — 4 February 2025 (LINK)

— The executive order said it withdrew Washington from UNHRC and the main UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), and would review involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The moves were made in protest against what White House staff secretary Will Scharf described as "anti-American bias" at the UN agencies. Each of the withdrawals has been a repeat of the Republican billionaire's first term in office, which ended in 2021.

China imposes up to 15% tariffs on select U.S. imports in response to Trump's tariffs. — 4 February 2025 (LINK) — ground.news: 452 media reports (LINK)

— China imposed tariffs on a range of products, including liquefied natural gas, coal, farm machinery and other imports from the United States. Peking slapped an additional 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural equipment, larger cars and pickup trucks, as well as an additional 15 percent tariff on coal and natural gas. China slapped an additional 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural equipment, larger cars and pickup trucks, as well as an additional 15 percent tariff on coal and natural gas. It also announced new restrictions on exports of tungsten, tellurium, molybdenum, and other metals used in cutting-edge technology products, citing "national security and interests." The government also put PVH — the American retailer that owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands — on its "unreliable entities" list — (LINK)

— China has revived antitrust investigations into Google and Nvidia, while considering a new probe against Intel.

EPA spending freeze continues despite court orders: Two judges have ordered the administration to lift the freeze. But nonprofits and states still can’t get money for contracts backed by the Inflation Reduction Act. — 4 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump sends first migrant detainees to Guantanamo Bay. — 4 February 2025 (LINK)

— A brief statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the detainees were part of the Tren de Aragua — a gang that originated in Venezuela's prisons. Ten detainees were flown from the Fort Bliss Army base near the Texas border to the US Navy base in Cuba on Tuesday afternoon, the BBC's US partner CBS News reported, citing multiple US officials. Last week, Trump ordered that an existing migrant detention facility at the base be expanded to hold some 30,000 people. He said that would double the US capacity to hold undocumented migrants.

Shipowners have made £4.8bn selling tankers to Russian 'shadow fleet'. Vessels used to evade sanctions on oil exports and help fund war against Ukraine, investigation reveals. — 4 February 2025 (LINK)

Uganda begins Ebola vaccine trial. — 4 February 2025 (LINK) — ground.news: 104 media reports (LINK)

EU Commission mulls migrant 'return hubs' in legislation. — 4 February 2025 (LINK)

What to expect from Ukraine's defence innovation in 2025: Ukraine's rapid advancements in defense technology are set to reshape the battlefield in 2025, with a focus on AI, drones, and electronic warfare. — 4 February 2025 (LINK)

Chicago O'Hare, one of the world's busiest airports, has gone 100% carbon-free. — 4 February 2025 (LINK)

Monday, 3 February 2025

The Arctic's 'Last Ice Area' may vanish even faster than predicted. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

— Based on the calculations, the central Arctic Ocean could become seasonally ice-free every year as early as 2035, with the last remaining permanent ice disappearing about 6-24 years after the seasonal pattern is established.

— The new model is more comprehensive in accounting for sea currents and ice flow, which in turn accelerates how quickly the last ice area becomes seasonally ice-free after the central Arctic Ocean does.

UN documents 'alarming rise' in Russian executions of captured Ukrainians. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

— During his first term as president, Trump also cut ties with the UNHRC, an organization that U.S. leaders from both parties have long said has a bias against Israel.

Key State Department programmes 'wiped out' after dozens of contractors fired: The deep cuts to the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor — which focuses on advancing democracy — is the latest way Trump is trying to slash foreign aid. — 3 February 2025 (LINK limited)

2.2 billion gallons of water flowed out of central California reservoirs because of Trump’s order to open dams, but it was the wrong place and time. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

— Water experts said the newly released water will not flow to Los Angeles, and it is being wasted by being released during the wet winter season. "They were holding extra water in those reservoirs because of the risk that it would be a dry summer," said Heather Cooley, director of research for California water policy organization the Pacific Institute. "This puts agriculture at risk of insufficient water during the summer months."

Trump has extreme new demand for Ukraine if it wants to see any aid: after halting all federal aid, Donald Trump wants access to Ukraine's land. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

— "I want to have security of rare earth," Trump said. "We're putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they're willing to do it." Rare earths are minerals that go into making various technologies like phones and computers.

Elon Musk just got an official title in the U.S. Government. Does it come with a paycheck? Musk has an office at the White House and a new title of "Special Government Employee". CNN reports that Musk is not being paid. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Senate confirms fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

WHO chief asks countries to push Washington to reconsider its withdrawal: For 2024-2025, the U.S. is WHO's biggest donor by far, putting in an estimated $988 million, roughly 14% of WHO's $6.9 billion budget. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Here's every product Trump just made more expensive. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Where USAID funds are disbursed around the world. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

— Ukraine was the top recipient of foreign assistance funds in FY 2023, with over $16 billion issued. Israel received more than $2.2 billion in disbursements, while Ethiopia and Jordan each received over $1 billion. Other top recipients also included Somalia, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Elon Musk finally makes admission about Tesla that backtracks on decade long 'promise': despite having sold it as both a package and a subscription service, it has largely been unavailable to most owners: but FSD (full selfdriving) won't be coming to anyone with current HW3 self-driving tech inside their car. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Ontario cancels, then restores, $68 million Starlink contract after protesting US tariffs. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Amazon's exit from Quebec is a wake-up call for workers' rights in the US. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Cholesterol-lowering statins may reduce dementia risk by 63%, study says. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

California's monarch butterfly population plummets to fewer than 10,000: the second-lowest population recorded since tracking began in 1997. An all-time low of fewer than 2,000 monarchs was recorded in 2020. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

I tested DeepSeek vs Qwen 2.5 with 7 prompts — Qwen 2.5 won on all counts. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

— Qwen 2.5 emerges as the overall winner due to its superior clarity, depth, reasoning, creativity, and transparency. With well-structured and more detailed responses, Qwen 2.5 consistently provides deeper analysis with well-organized sections, clear explanations, and logical flow. Whether discussing historical events, AI personhood, or self-awareness, its responses are thorough and easy to follow.

— While DeepSeek is still a solid AI for quick responses, it lacks depth, originality, and nuanced discussion. If you're looking for an AI that excels in critical thinking, storytelling, and insightful analysis, Qwen 2.5 is the clear winner.

DeepSeek's AI costs far exceed $5.5 million claim, may have reached $1.6 billion with 50,000 Nvidia GPUs: $5.5 million was the pre-training cost. — 3 February 2025 (LINK)

Sunday, 2 February 2025

Confusion over federal funding freeze prompts public health concerns. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump's trade war among allies triggers retaliation from Canada and Mexico. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

— Canada initially ordered tariffs of 25% on American imports starting Feb. 4, including beverages, cosmetics and paper products worth $20 billion. A second list of goods was to be released soon, including passenger vehicles, trucks, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, beef, pork, dairy products and more. Those goods were estimated to be worth $85 billion. Mexico has so far said only that it will impose retaliatory tariffs, without mentioning any rate or products.

Trump warns 'We're Gonna Take' Panama Canal back or 'Something Very Powerful is Going to Happen'. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump tariffs: calls on Canada to become '51st state', threatens South Africa funding. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump's Gitmo Detention Center would be bigger than history's worst concentration camps. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

The Hill: Trump exacts revenge on former allies who criticized him. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

The young, inexperienced engineers aiding Elon Musk's Government takeover. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

— Most have connections to Musk, and at least two have connections to Musk's longtime associate Peter Thiel, a cofounder and chair of the analytics firm and government contractor Palantir who has long expressed opposition to democracy. WIRED has identified six young men —all apparently between the ages of 19 and 24, according to public databases, their online presences, and other records —who have little to no government experience and are now playing critical roles in Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project.

LGBTQ Nation: In the Trump administration, cruelty is the point: blind loyalty is the only path to mercy. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Robert Reich: Don't just focus on the Trump acts we find most outrageous: keep your eye on the big picture: the aim is to concentrate ever more power in Trump's hands, so he can concentrate ever more wealth in the oligarchy's control. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Female pilot in crash Trump blamed on DEI was top 20% Army cadet. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Trump hits out at Murdoch's mouthpiece WSJ for calling tariffs 'dumbest trade war'. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Elon Musk seizes computer system, locks out senior government officials: the latest in Musk's DOGE takeover sees the Tesla CEO in charge of the computer system managing government personnel. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed experiment. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

— Congress, dominated by the ruling party, approved on 29 January a confusing reform to the Bitcoin Law at the request of Bukele's government, which had no other option to receive the $1.4 billion credit agreed in December with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The reform eliminated the word "currency" when referring to bitcoin.

— It will be at the discretion of the private sector to accept cryptocurrency payments for goods and services. Businesses are no longer required to convert dollar prices into this cryptocurrency. “Bitcoin no longer has that force of legal tender. That’s how it should have always remained, but the government wanted to force it and it didn’t work,” economist Rafael Lemus said.

Grammys 2025: Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar win top prizes. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Lady Gaga declares ‘trans people are not invisible’ in Grammy speech. — (LINK)

Trevor Noah slams Donald Trump’s tariffs during Grammys monologue: "Maple syrup is about to be $50". — (LINK)

Man arrested for raising $60 million for AI startup, instead spending it on luxurious lifestyle: "To our shock and horror, we discovered that, in reality, the account balance in that bank was only 37 cents." — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

New theory unites Einstein’s theory of relativity with quantum mechanics. — 2 February 2025 (LINK)

Saturday, 1 February 2025

President Donald Trump announced in a social media post that he has ordered "precision military air strikes," on members of the ISIS terrorist organization. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)

Meta confirms WhatsApp cyberattack. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)

— Meta has confirmed that a zero-click, no-interaction required hacking attack has impacted users of the WhatsApp secure messaging platform. The hack "targeted a number of users including journalists and members of civil society," and is currently notifying those thought to have been victims of the as yet unnamed attackers.

Pardoned by Trump, founder of Silk Road now appears to be squandering donations on stupid meme coins. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)

Swiss bank UBS tests blockchain for digital gold investments on ZKsync, aiming to enhance security, scalability and accessibility for retail investors. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)

Thinking of living abroad? 15 best countries free visa 1 year for Americans. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)

What life on Earth will look like in 2100 according to AI: entire cities plunged underwater and millions of people perishing in the heat. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)

Microsoft is killing its "free" VPN with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, just days after increasing prices. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)

Google is about to cut employees again, and it just did the 1 thing every company should do: offer severance to employees who voluntarily choose to leave. — 1 February 2025 (LINK)