Compute it leases from Amazon, MIcrosoft, and Google... that's another story

Model-maker and SaaS-y AI outfit Anthropic has committed to covering any increases in energy prices paid by consumers caused by its power-hungry datacenters.…

Ukrainian president says security guarantees must first be in place as he pushes back at suggestions he plans to hold poll under US pressure. What we know on day 1,450

Ukraine will hold elections only once it has security guarantees in place and a ceasefire with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, pushing back at suggestions he is planning to stage fresh ballots under US pressure. “We will move to elections when all the necessary security guarantees are in place,” the Ukrainian president told reporters on Wednesday in a voice note. “I have said it’s very simple to do: establish a ceasefire, and there will be elections.” He also said that if Russia agreed, it might be possible to “end hostilities by summer”. Elections in Ukraine have been effectively suspended since Russia invaded in 2022 due to martial law.

Senior Ukrainian officials agreed on Wednesday to boost air defence capabilities around the capital to counter possible further Russian air attacks on energy infrastructure, the energy minister said. “We also identified and prioritised other critical infrastructure facilities that require protection,” Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram on Wednesday after a meeting of the military staff. The fresh preparations follow attacks on Kyiv that have left officials scrambling to repair damage that has left thousands in the cold and darkness.

Russian strikes killed four civilians on Wednesday in different localities in Ukraine’s south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, the regional governor said. The attacks occurred in three small localities near the town of Synelnykove, east of the regional centre of Dnipro, Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram. In one attack, a man was killed and his wife wounded. In a different locality, a couple and their 45-year-old son was killed and a man wounded. A woman was hurt in a third village.

Zelenskyy said the US needed to put more pressure on Russia if it wanted the war to end by summer, adding it is unclear whether Moscow would attend US-brokered peace talks next week. “It depends not only on Ukraine, but also on America, which must exert pressure – excuse me for saying so, but there is no other way: it must exert pressure on Russia,” he said on Wednesday, after previously saying Washington wants to end the war by June. Zelenskyy said Russia was still deliberating over whether to participate in the proposed next round of trilateral peace talks in Miami but that Ukraine was ready to attend.

The Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says he is ready to be disqualified on Thursday because he does not want to betray his country’s dead athletes, reports Sean Ingle. Heraskevych has vowed to wear his “helmet of memory” in the skeleton, even though the International Olympic Committee has told him it will kick him out if he does. “I will not betray these athletes,” he said after finishing first on the final day of practice.

British defence minister John Healey says the UK has committed £150m ($205m) to the so-called prioritised Ukraine requirements list (Purl) initiative to supply Ukraine with US weapons. Purl was set up last summer to keep US weapons flowing to Ukraine at a time when new US military assistance had stalled. “Together we must provide Ukraine with the critical air defence it needs in response to Putin’s brutal onslaught,” Healey said in a statement on Wednesday. Allies have already put forward more than $4.5bn through the programme, the US ambassador to Nato, Matthew Whitaker, said on Tuesday.

A Russian crackdown on the Telegram social media app risks damaging its own army, pro-war bloggers have warned, as the platform’s founder refused to bend to pressure from Moscow, reports Pjotr Sauer. Russia’s communications watchdog said on Wednesday that the app – used by more than 60 million Russians each day – would begin slowing nationwide, accusing it of failing to address earlier regulatory violations.

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant can be restarted safely only if it is returned to Ukrainian control, the head of Ukraine’s nuclear power operator said on Tuesday. The six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have been shut down since Russian forces captured the area, and Moscow announced last year it was aiming to restart at least one reactor. But Pavlo Kovtoniuk, boss of Ukrainian state nuclear firm Energoatom, said Russia lacked some equipment and spare parts to operate it, and risked a nuclear accident if it tries.

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Bill that requires proof of citizenship and would limit mail-in voting passes 218-213 but faces uphill battle in Senate

The House on Wednesday passed the Save America Act, which would dramatically change voting regulations by requiring proof of citizenship at voter registration and significantly curtail mail-in voting.

The legislation, which passed 218 to 213, faces an uphill battle in the Senate, close observers say.

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Writer made international breakthrough with 1980 novel Rituals and won acclaim for his travel writing

The Dutch writer Cees Nooteboom, whose novels, travel writing and translations made him a prominent literary figure in postwar Europe, has died aged 92.

Publishing house De Bezige Bij said in a statement on Wednesday evening that Nooteboom had “passed away very peacefully on his beloved island Menorca”. The statement was made on behalf of the author’s wife, the photographer Simone Sassen.

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Adam Mosseri defends app on witness stand and says critics must separate ‘clinical addiction’ from ‘problematic use’

Instagram’s CEO dismissed the idea that users can be addicted to social media at a landmark California trial on Wednesday.

“I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Adam Mosseri said on the witness stand. Psychologists do not classify social media addiction as an official diagnosis. Researchers have documented the harmful consequences of compulsive use among young people, and lawmakers around the world are worried about its addictive potential.

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Weer voor Rotterdam ☁️

Waarschuwingen:
• 🌧️ 04:00 · 88% · 0.1 mm

In één oogopslag:
• 8.4°C · Bewolkt ☁️ | Min 5.8°C / Max 8.6°C | Kans op neerslag 54%

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 5.8°C, Max 8.6°C (Zware motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 3.4 mm, Kans op neerslag 54%, 🧭 979.8 hPa ↗️ +3.9 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 25.6 km/u (7.1 m/s), richting: → 280°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

• 02:00: 8.4°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 62%, 🧭 975.9 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.2 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↖ 157°
• 03:00: 8.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 77%, 🧭 975.1 hPa ↘️ -0.8 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.7 km/u (2.7 m/s), richting: ← 100°
• 04:00: 7.8°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 88%, 🧭 974.2 hPa ↘️ -0.9 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.8 km/u (3.0 m/s), richting: ← 92°
• 05:00: 7.2°C (Matige motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.5 mm, Kans op neerslag 94%, 🧭 974.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.2 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ↙ 32°
• 06:00: 7.2°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.3 mm, Kans op neerslag 96%, 🧭 974.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.4 km/u (2.9 m/s), richting: ↓ 2°
• 07:00: 7.7°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 96%, 🧭 975.1 hPa ↗️ +0.7 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.4 km/u (2.9 m/s), richting: ↓ 346°
• 08:00: 7.8°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 94%, 🧭 975.7 hPa ↗️ +0.6 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.2 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↘ 324°
• 09:00: 7.8°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 89%, 🧭 977.0 hPa ↗️ +1.3 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.2 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ↘ 314°
• 10:00: 8.2°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 84%, 🧭 977.8 hPa ↗️ +0.8 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.7 km/u (2.7 m/s), richting: → 277°
• 11:00: 8.6°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 78%, 🧭 978.8 hPa ↗️ +1.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.7 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: → 283°
• 12:00: 7.5°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.3 mm, Kans op neerslag 70%, 🧭 979.7 hPa ↗️ +0.9 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.3 km/u (3.7 m/s), richting: → 283°
• 13:00: 7.9°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 63%, 🧭 980.3 hPa ↗️ +0.6 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.6 km/u (3.5 m/s), richting: → 268°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

• vrijdag 13 februari: Min 0.2°C, Max 5.4°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 10%, 🧭 992.6 hPa ↗️ +12.8 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 25.2 km/u (7.0 m/s), richting: ↓ 7°
• zaterdag 14 februari: Min -0.9°C, Max 3.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 5%, 🧭 1010.6 hPa ↗️ +18.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 15.4 km/u (4.3 m/s), richting: ↓ 6°
• zondag 15 februari: Min -1.0°C, Max 2.0°C (Matige sneeuw) ❄️, Neerslag 2.4 mm, Kans op neerslag 34%, 🧭 1008.8 hPa ↘️ -1.8 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 21.7 km/u (6.0 m/s), richting: ↑ 170°
• maandag 16 februari: Min 1.1°C, Max 5.4°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 2.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 52%, 🧭 996.9 hPa ↘️ -11.9 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.4 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↗ 213°
• dinsdag 17 februari: Min 0.9°C, Max 6.6°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 2.0 mm, Kans op neerslag 32%, 🧭 1009.2 hPa ↗️ +12.3 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 18.9 km/u (5.2 m/s), richting: → 291°
• woensdag 18 februari: Min 2.3°C, Max 10.1°C (Zware motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 7.8 mm, Kans op neerslag 51%, 🧭 998.1 hPa ↘️ -11.1 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 21.7 km/u (6.0 m/s), richting: ↗ 212°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 01:15): 8.4°C (Bewolkt)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 5.8°C (-2.6°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 13.7 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: ↖ 151°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 25.9 km/h (7.2 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 90%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 975.9 hPa ↘️ -1.7 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 8.9 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.0
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 08:02 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 17:50

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 36 🟢 (Goed)
• PM2.5: 11.4 μg/m³
• PM10: 15.7 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo

#Rotterdam #Meteo #MeteoBot #MeteoNetherlands #OpenMeteo #FediMeteo

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:

Ik word tegenwoordig terecht gewezen op het gebruik van mijn gsm achter het stuur. Gisteren op het nieuws stond een agent vanuit de bosjes foto’s te nemen en die vertelde wat er…

BrianFagioli writes: The Linux Mint developers say they are considering adopting a longer development cycle, arguing that the project's current six month cadence plus LMDE releases leaves too little room for deeper work. In a recent update, the team reflected on its incremental philosophy, independence from upstream decisions like Snap, and heavy investment in Cinnamon and XApp. While the release process "works very well" and delivers steady improvements, they admit it consumes significant time in testing, fixing, and shipping, potentially capping ambition.

Mint's next release will be based on a new Ubuntu LTS, and the team says it is seriously interested in stretching the development window. The stated goal is to free up resources for more substantial development rather than constant release management. Whether this signals bigger technical changes or simply acknowledges bandwidth limits for a small team remains unclear, but it marks a notable rethink of one of desktop Linux's most consistent release rhythms.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The world is closer than thought to a "point of no return" after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said. From a report: Continued global heating could trigger climate tipping points, leading to a cascade of further tipping points and feedback loops, they said. This would lock the world into a new and hellish "hothouse Earth" climate far worse than the 2-3C temperature rise the world is on track to reach.

The climate would also be very different to the benign conditions of the past 11,000 years, during which the whole of human civilisation developed. At just 1.3C of global heating in recent years, extreme weather is already taking lives and destroying livelihoods across the globe. At 3-4C, "the economy and society will cease to function as we know it," scientists said last week, but a hothouse Earth would be even more fiery. The public and politicians were largely unaware of the risk of passing the point of no return, the researchers said.

The group said they were issuing their warning because while rapid and immediate cuts to fossil fuel burning were challenging, reversing course was likely to be impossible once on the path to a hothouse Earth, even if emissions were eventually slashed. It was difficult to predict when climate tipping points would be triggered, making precaution vital, said Dr Christopher Wolf, a scientist at Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates in the US. Wolf is a member of a study team that includes Prof Johan Rockstrom at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and Prof Hans Joachim Schellnhuber at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Vanillasludge posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

date stamped on slide October 1965

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Any time I see my staff taping a paper flyer to one of our walls, what I hear is, "You are telling me there should be a flyer screen there." So we finally did that in the pizza alcove. I think they look pretty good! We just stuck the monitors into the same style of picture frames we use in the DNA Pizza dining room gallery.

My vendetta against tape on the walls is endless. I just think it looks really tacky. Plus, one of the things about paper that it is famous for is always showing the same thing. Whereas these screens have all kinds of complications. (In watchmaking, anything that a timepiece does beyond showing hours, minutes and seconds is called a "complication", and I love that term.)

For example, they are sensitive to the room they are in and the genres of the show that is currently happening, so if it's a metal night, they're going to show flyers for other metal shows much more often. They are likewise skewed toward showing shows happening sooner than later.

And another recent complication is the dancing QR codes. I put a bunch of work into making the underlying URLs as short as possible so that the QR codes have big chunky pixels that you can scan from across the room.

We also use them in Pizza checkout to hype our appetizers.

In summary, digital signage is a land of complications.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Om mensen die een woning zoeken te ondersteunen, zouden de voordelen voor woningbezitters afgebouwd moeten worden, staat in een rapport van het Centraal Planbureau (CPB). Dit is volgens de overheidsinstantie effectiever dan het extra subsidiëren van woningzoekenden.

De voordelen voor huiseigenaren kunnen worden beperkt door de hypotheekrenteaftrek te verlagen en het eigenwoningforfait te verhogen. Dit is het bedrag dat huiseigenaren bij hun inkomen moeten optellen voor de belasting, gebaseerd op de WOZ-waarde van hun woning. Deze manier van het belasten van woningen verbetert de doorstroom op de vastgelopen woningmarkt, meent het CPB.

Het planbureau adviseert ook om huishoudens met hogere inkomens in de sociale huursector meer huur te laten betalen. Huishoudens in de sociale huur ontvangen subsidie, doordat ze een lagere huur dan de markthuur betalen. "Voor huishoudens met een laag inkomen is dit het doel, voor huishoudens met een hoger inkomen niet", stelt de instantie.

Flexibiliteit

Het CPB benadrukt geen voorstander te zijn van nieuwe subsidies voor woningzoekenden. "Extra ondersteuning vergroot de vraag naar schaarse woonruimte en verhoogt de druk op de markt", concludeert de instantie. Koopstarters kunnen wel geholpen zijn met ruimere leennormen, maar het nadeel hiervan is dat dit leidt tot hogere woningprijzen.

Verder zou de overheid volgens het CPB meer plekken moeten aanwijzen waar gebouwd mag worden, met kortere bouwprocedures. "Om een verder oplopend woningtekort te voorkomen, is flexibiliteit in de bouwproductie belangrijk." De instantie vindt dat "we het ook zouden kunnen accepteren" dat mensen in grote steden langer woningen delen, zoals in veel grote steden in het buitenland gebruikelijk is. "Dan neemt de woningvraag effectief af, zodat er minder nieuw aanbod nodig is."

Een andere manier om de woningvraag in te dammen is volgens het CPB door migratie te beperken. "Migratie heeft het afgelopen decennium immers aanzienlijk bijgedragen aan de toename van het aantal huishoudens en een strenger of ruimer migratiebeleid heeft dus in de toekomst effect op het aantal benodigde woningen."

ROTTERDAM (ANP) - Tallon Griekspoor gaat naar de kwartfinales van het ABN AMRO Open. De 29-jarige tennisser won woensdagavond in twee sets van zijn Franse leeftijdgenoot Quentin Halys: 7-5 7-6 (11). Griekspoor speelt vrijdag tegen de winnaar van de partij tussen de Canadees Félix Auger-Aliassime en de Serviër Hamad Medjedovic.

Griekspoor begon als de nummer 27 van de wereld aan het ATP-toernooi van Rotterdam. In de eerste ronde won hij in twee sets van de Fransman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Dat was pas de tweede overwinning van Griekspoor dit jaar.

De nummer 1 van Nederland had tegen Halys, de nummer 77 van de wereld, twee sets nodig. Griekspoor had in de eerste set aan een break in de elfde game genoeg om die met 7-5 te winnen. In de tweede set kwam er een tiebreak aan te pas. Ook daarin was Griekspoor de betere van de twee.

Griekspoor stond de afgelopen week in de schijnwerpers nadat hij in de media kritiek had geuit op de tennisbond en had afgezegd voor het Davis Cup-team dat in India moest spelen.

LIESHOUT (ANP) - Bavaria heeft een carnavalscampagne tijdelijk offline gehaald na een sommatie van het Internationaal Olympisch Comité (IOC). Dat bevestigt een woordvoerder van Royal Swinkels, het familiebedrijf waar Bavaria deel van uitmaakt, na berichtgeving van Omroep Brabant. "Volgens het IOC vertoonde onder andere een beeld met vijf biertjes op een bar te veel gelijkenis met de Olympische ringen", aldus de woordvoerder.

Het bedrijf is "verrast" door de interpretatie van het IOC, "omdat de campagne bovenal bedoeld is als carnavalsknipoog". Volgens de woordvoerder vond het IOC dat meerdere elementen in de video te veel gelijkenissen vertoonden met de Olympische Spelen. Om welke elementen het naast de vijf biertjes nog meer ging, zegt de woordvoerder niet.

De woordvoerder geeft aan dat de sommatie een "duidelijk signaal" was en dat het bedrijf verdere juridische stappen wil voorkomen.

De video wordt aangepast. "We doen ons uiterste best om in ieder geval nog voor carnaval weer online te zijn", aldus de woordvoerder.