Analysts reckon 70 percent of projects will fail, and 75 percent of vendors in the field will go away

Most mainframe users who turn to AI for help migrating legacy code to alternative platforms are going to be very disappointed, according to analyst firm Gartner.…

Terwijl de problemen met cocaïnesmokkel in België steeds groter worden, bouwt Flor Bressers een netwerk dat reikt tot de top van de internationale drugswereld.

Er vallen zoveel Russische doden in de oorlog met Oekraïne dat Poetin soldaten tekort komt. Daarom wordt hij steeds creatiever in het ronselen van mensen voor de frontlinie.

WASHINGTON (ANP) - Amerikaanse marine-eenheden hebben sinds het begin van de blokkade van de Straat van Hormuz acht olietankers onderschept die Iraanse havens binnenvoeren of verlieten. Dat meldt The Wall Street Journal op basis van Amerikaanse functionarissen.

In alle gevallen namen de Amerikaanse strijdkrachten via radioverbinding contact op met de bemanning en gaven hun opdracht om van koers te wijzigen, aldus de bronnen. Alle tankers gaven gehoor aan deze opdracht en enteren was niet noodzakelijk, aldus de functionarissen.

Eerder in de nacht van dinsdag op woensdag meldde persbureau Reuters op basis van gegevens van de scheepvaartmonitor Kpler dat de door de Verenigde Staten gesanctioneerde tanker Rich Starry, eigendom van een Chinese rederij, niet voorbij de Amerikaanse blokkade was geraakt.

Het Amerikaanse leger verklaarde dinsdagavond (lokale tijd) dat Amerikaanse strijdkrachten de economische handel van en naar Iran over zee volledig hebben stilgelegd met de blokkade.

OTTAWA (ANP) - In een gezamenlijke verklaring hebben Canada, Groot-Brittannië, Japan en zeven andere landen opgeroepen tot een "onmiddellijk einde aan de vijandelijkheden in Libanon". De landen maken zich "ernstige zorgen over de verslechterende humanitaire situatie en de crisis rond ontheemding in Libanon", aldus de verklaring die door Canada werd verspreid.

Bovenal moeten burgers en civiele infrastructuur worden beschermd tegen de gevolgen van de vijandelijkheden.

De landen verwelkomden het staakt-het-vuren van twee weken dat onlangs werd overeengekomen tussen de Verenigde Staten, Israël en Iran. Zij benadrukten dat nu ook in Libanon een einde moet komen aan de gevechten.

De oproep volgt op een eerste ontmoeting tussen Israëlische en Libanese vertegenwoordigers in Washington, die moet leiden tot directe onderhandelingen tussen de strijdende partijen.

Israël zegt aanvallen in Libanon uit te voeren om Hezbollah te ontwapenen. De Libanese beweging is een bondgenoot van Iran en reageerde op Amerikaans-Israëlische aanvallen op Iran door begin maart Israël aan te vallen.

SINGAPORE (ANP) - De door de Verenigde Staten gesanctioneerde tanker Rich Starry is woensdag teruggekeerd naar de Straat van Hormuz. Het schip had een dag eerder de Golf verlaten. Uit scheepvaartgegevens van de scheepvaartmonitor Kpler bleek dat het schip er niet in was geslaagd door een Amerikaanse blokkade te breken, die gericht is op schepen die Iraanse havens aandoen.

De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump kondigde die blokkade zondag aan, nadat vredesbesprekingen in het weekend in Islamabad tussen de VS en Iran op niets waren uitgelopen.

De tanker, die in Chinees bezit is, behoorde tot een groep van ten minste acht schepen die dinsdag, de eerste dag van de Amerikaanse blokkade, de vaarroute doorkruisten. Een Amerikaanse torpedobootjager hield dinsdag twee olietankers tegen die probeerden de Iraanse haven Chabahar, gelegen aan de Golf van Oman, te verlaten, aldus een Amerikaanse functionaris.

De Rich Starry en de eigenaar ervan, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co, zijn onder Amerikaanse sancties geplaatst vanwege hun zakelijke betrekkingen met Iran. Het bedrijf heeft nog niet gereageerd.

Passengers can book a four-hour session in the bunk beds from May for Auckland-New York flights but airline cautions against smuggling in children

Economy passengers on Air New Zealand’s ultra-long-haul flight between Auckland and New York can book a spot in the airline’s bunk-bed style sleeping pods from May, which will take to skies in late 2026.

In what the airline says is a world first, six full-length, lie-flat sleeping pods, are squeezed into the aisle of the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The pods, known as “Skynest”, will include fresh bedding, a privacy curtain, ambient lighting and kit with eye-masks, skincare, earplugs and socks.

Continue reading...

Ousted Viktor Orbán had previously blocked releasing funds; Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Iran war means US ‘has no time for Ukraine’. What we know on day 1,512

The change in Hungary’s government could help unlock €90bn for Ukraine and give a “new push” for it to join the European Union, the bloc’s expansion chief said Tuesday. Marta Kos, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, described the Hungarian election on Sunday – which saw long-ruling nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán defeated – as a “big win for Europe.” “I expect, personally, that this will have a positive effect on the accession process,” Kos said. She also said it would help unlock a major loan needed to prop up Ukraine’s budget. Orban had an effective veto on the funds, angering other EU leaders. He had tied the veto to a dispute with Ukraine over a damaged pipeline carrying Russian oil.

Britain will announce extra support for Ukraine worth millions of pounds on Wednesday as senior ministers hold a series of meetings with their international counterparts. In Washington DC, chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to confirm a £752m payment to Kyiv ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The payment, part of a £3.36bn loan, is intended to help pay for weaponry including long-range missiles, air defence systems and drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told a German broadcaster that US peace negotiators “have no time for Ukraine” because of the war in Iran, and bemoaned disruption to deliveries of US arms. Zelenskyy told public broadcaster ZDF that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have helped broker talks with Moscow on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, were “constantly in talks with Iran” at the moment. Describing the pair as “pragmatic”, Zelenskyy said they were trying to “get more attention from Putin in order to end the war”. But “if the United States does not put pressure on Putin (...) and only engages in a gentle dialogue with the Russians, then they will no longer be afraid”, he said.

Norway and Ukraine will strengthen their bilateral defence cooperation, including by producing Ukrainian drones in the Nordic country, the Norwegian government said on Tuesday. Under the agreement, Norway will support the production of drones in Ukraine, while the latter will share data, information and knowledge with Norway, Oslo said in a statement. Ukrainian drones will also be produced on Norwegian territory, it said. “We can learn from the experiences that Ukraine is making in this hard-won fight against the Russian aggression,” prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a joint press conference with Zelenskyy. “It is crucial that we learn from these experiences,” he said.

US officials announced on Tuesday an extension of sanctions relief on Russian oil company Lukoil for fuel stations outside Russia as the Trump administration seeks to mitigate spikes in crude prices. The action by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) means Lukoil-branded stations in countries like the United States can continue to serve customers through 29 October. The measure allows the gasoline stations to conduct transactions “in the ordinary course of business” such as procuring motor supplies, making insurance payments and processing employee payroll, OFAC said.

Continue reading...

Strike marks third deadly attack on vessels in region in four days, and the killing of 174 people since September

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox

The US military said it killed four more people in a boat strike in the eastern Pacific ocean on Tuesday, marking the third deadly attack on vessels in the region in four days.

The US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced the killings in a social media post, claiming, without providing evidence, that the men killed were “narco-terrorists”.

Continue reading...

Filing seeks to overturn seditious conspiracy charges of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members who laid siege to US Capitol in 2021

The US Department of Justice has requested that a federal appeals judge overturn convictions for members of far-right groups Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, who were previously found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the violent siege of the US capitol in 2021.

Jeanine Pirro, the Donald Trump-appointed US attorney for the District of Columbia, signed separate motions on Tuesday to vacate convictions for a slew of individuals, including the Proud Boys’ leaders Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs as well as Stewart Rhodes, a former attorney who founded the Oath Keepers’ militia.

Continue reading...

How DNA forensics is transforming studies of ancient manuscripts. Scientists are exposing the biological information hidden in ancient parchments without leaving a mark.

We're getting more confirmation of the careless and criminal way DOGE operated... in no particular order, here's a collection: 1) Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did 'just abortions,' asked for 'Barney-style' slides before gutting agency, per new book. Enrich's new book "Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID" will be published on Tuesday, and The Handbasket is proud to share an exclusive excerpt.

2) DOGE's secret voter data deal was 'alarming,' court finds. A federal appeals court Friday raised serious concerns about a secret voter data agreement involving the Trump administration and ordered a lower court to take another look at a case challenging its access to Social Security data. The decision comes after new evidence emerged in January showing that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) personnel worked with an outside political group seeking to challenge election results — something that was not disclosed during earlier court proceedings. 3) Management of Agency Reforms and Workforce Planning Needed to Address Severe Risks to Future IRS Operations and DOGE cuts threaten the agency's "core operations," a recent Treasury watchdog report warns (via The Lever). Within the first seven months of the Trump administration, officials canceled more than 75 percent of taxpayer-facing contracts held by the IRS. That threatens the agency's "core operations," a recent Treasury watchdog report warns, including return processing, customer service, compliance enforcement, and telephone interpreter services. The IRS also lost 17 percent of its staff in 2025, creating work backlogs and skill gaps that could lead to headaches for filers this season. 4) I Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For Themselves and DOGE Bros Had More Fun Burning Down Government Than Testifying About It. Over the course of a six hour long or so deposition, Justin Fox, a former investment banker turned DOGE bro, refused to define what he believes counts as DEI; admitted he used ChatGPT to scan government contracts for terms such as "Black" and "homosexual" but not "white" or "caucasian;" and said that one of the grants he helped slash was "not for the benefit of humankind" before walking that claim back. 5) When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities and New disclosures reveal how DOGE actually worked. Depositions offer insight into what Elon Musk's group was up to. Members describe a club-like atmosphere in which they pushed for grant and contract cancellations across the government with little oversight. BONUS: 6) The broken database that could upend the 2026 election. President Trump and the election conspiracy theorists he surrounds himself with are determined to exclude people from voting in the 2026 election based on one database: the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE). Why? SAVE is an incomplete and flawed database that has been shown to produce a massive number of false positives, incorrectly identifying American citizens as aliens. Thus, using SAVE to exclude voters buttresses the lie that a significant number of undocumented immigrants vote in elections. *** DOGE on metafilter previously: https://www.metafilter.com/tags/doge

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

Greg Adams Photography posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

ajpscs posted a photo:

the SQUARE
TOKYO DAY WALK
© ajpscs