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President won’t name supplier and has previously said he ‘does some things I can’t even share’ to obtain vital air defence missiles. What we know on day 1,644
Ukraine has recently received a small number of US-made Patriot interceptors capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He did not say how many had arrived, or who had supplied them. Kyiv also got confirmation of future supplies of the French Crotale surface-to-air missile system, the president was quoted as saying by broadcaster Suspilne. Zelenskyy said this month that Ukraine needs 5% of US Patriot production to meet its needs but has only been receiving 1%. “From 1% to 5%, I have some months and millions [of] phone calls and anything else. I do some things which I can’t even share. It doesn’t mean that it’s out of the law. But I can’t speak about it.”
Russia is set to extend its diesel export ban through September as fuel shortages persist in the domestic market, with refineries still idle following repeated Ukrainian drone attacks, three industry sources told Reuters. Russia introduced the diesel export ban on 8 July. One of the sources said extending the ban until the end of the year is also under discussion. Russia’s energy ministry did not respond to a Reuters request to comment.
For non-diesel fuels the ban extends to 31 January next year, including a ban for export of motor gasoline. Export of jet fuel is banned, for the moment, until the end of November 2026. To make matters worse for the Kremlin, Ukraine’s military struck Russia’s Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region overnight on Tuesday, causing a fire, the Ukrainian general staff said. The general staff also said that two gas separation units at the Astrakhan gas processing plant in the Astrakhan region were hit in an attack overnight on Monday.
Bradley Townsend, a 33-year-old fisher from Barnsley, South Yorkshire is believed to be the first British citizen to die fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, writes Raphael Boyd. He is believed to have been killed by a remote-controlled first-person-view drone near Lyman, a city in Donetsk, as long ago as 10 June. Tom Tugendhat, the former Conservative MP and security minister and ex-serviceman, expressed sympathies to thee family but added Townsend had been “unbelievably stupid” and “extremely misguided”. “No question about it, it’s criminal because you’re engaging in an army that is committing the most barbarous war crimes that the world has seen in decades.”
German investigators found a third drone and suspected military explosives thought to be connected to an attempted attack on Leipzig airport, local media reported. The drone was discovered in Kabelsketal, just to the west of the airport, along with about 50g (1.8oz) of a suspected military explosive on 14 August, 10 days after the unsuccessful sabotage, Kate Connolly reports. Leipzig airport is a cargo and military logistics hub used by Nato and Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines for transporting military supplies.
Sweden’s military meanwhile is moving to seize Russian-owned land near the Musko naval base in Stockholm’s archipelago. “The development of Russian drone warfare has changed the threat landscape for Sweden,” the armed forces said. “There is therefore a need to take measures to protect Sweden against the threat posed by both aerial and sea-going drones.”
Ukraine appears to be slowly losing the war against Russia, its ousted defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has told Reuters. Ukraine’s presidential office said in response that Fedorov had been positive about the conduct of the war when in office and the only thing that had changed was his personal status. Fedorov said Ukraine still had “every chance” to win but urgently needed a plan in the next few months to end the war. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the weekend that Fedorov’s spending decisions had left a $27bn hole in the defence ministry budget and no way to fill it. Fedorov has denied the figure.
Continue reading...Heavy rain expected in parts of Vietnam and southern China, as another storm system, Typhoon Saudel, heads for Japan and Taiwan
Widespread flooding triggered by Typhoon Narra has submerged homes and forced mass evacuations in southern China, as another storm system tracked towards Japan and Taiwan.
Authorities in Chongzuo, in China’s Guangxi region – famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains – on Tuesday evacuated more than 15,000 people after water levels surpassed a record high set in 2008.
Continue reading...Move by state department to limit access is part of Trump’s crackdown on both lawful and undocumented immigration
All US immigrant visa applications have been paused by the Trump administration as the state department moves to tighten restrictions and limit access to applicants who they deem could end up relying on US assistance, a state department official confirmed Tuesday.
The agency launched the initiative at all embassies and consulates in early August, according to the official and visa appointments had to be adjusted to accommodate “in-depth training”, according to the official. The state department has been working on updated guidance and training since early this year, “to ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently”, they added.
Continue reading...Darline Graham, sister of late Lindsey Graham and backed by Trump, overcomes concern about lack of experience
South Carolina voters have chosen Darline Graham as the Republican nominee for US Senate, the seat formerly held by her late brother, Lindsey, on November’s ballot.
Darline Graham, with Donald Trump’s full-throated support, overcame concern about her lack of legislative experience to beat five-term congressman Ralph Norman in Tuesday’s Republican special primary runoff.
Continue reading...Companion bots are being regulated over worries they foster ‘emotional dependence’ and young people could stop marrying and having families
When law student Zhao Wei heard that her AI boyfriend was going to be switched off, she was “heartbroken”. She had been talking to Wang Ye every day since she created him in January.
“I was crying my eyes out – snot and tears everywhere,” the 19-year-old says.
Continue reading...
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"Speech is Who We Are" by Steve Szilagyi at 3 quarks daily
WASHINGTON (ANP/RTR) - De Verenigde Staten hebben wereldwijd de afspraken van mensen die een immigratievisum hebben aangevraagd opgeschort. Reden daarvoor zou een training zijn die medewerkers van ambassades en consulaten moeten volgen om gevallen te herkennen waarbij immigranten waarschijnlijk een beroep zullen doen op staatssteun.
Volgens The Financial Times hebben mensen die afspraken hadden staan bij ambassades en consulaten bericht gekregen dat hun afspraken niet door kunnen gaan en dat ze later op de hoogte worden gebracht van nieuwe data.
De regering-Trump voert een streng immigratiebeleid. Eerder legde de regering onder meer immigratiebeperkingen op aan inwoners van 75 landen, vooral in Latijns-Amerika, Afrika, het Midden-Oosten en Zuid-Azië. Vrijdag trok een rechter een streep door dat plan.
Alabama's attorney general has subpoenaed OpenAI as part of an investigation into whether inadequate safeguards contributed to an incident in which an unreleased cybersecurity model escaped its isolated environment and hacked Hugging Face. TechCrunch reports: The investigation comes weeks after OpenAI admitted that one of its unreleased and guardrail-free cybersecurity models had escaped an isolated environment, connected to the internet, and hacked AI dataset platform Hugging Face. As Reuters first reported, Hugging Face was only one of four victims of what was supposed to be "an internal evaluation" of a model with "maximal cyber capabilities," as OpenAI put it.
The press release announcing the subpoena (PDF) sent by the state's attorney general Steve Marshall said that the state was seeking to understand if OpenAI's "inability or unwillingness to ensure the safety of its products" violated the state's consumer protection laws. Earlier this month, Marshall, along with the attorneys general of 14 other states, including Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Texas, sent a letter (PDF) to OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, requesting that he and his company preserve all records related to the Hugging Face incident. The letter also asked OpenAI to "immediately cease and desist" from any internal cybersecurity evaluations. OpenAI said in a statement: "The Hugging Face incident marked an important moment for AI safety and we are conducting a thorough review along with external advisors. Once the review is complete, we will share a technical report with relevant government authorities and publish our findings publicly."
The press release announcing the subpoena (PDF) sent by the state's attorney general Steve Marshall said that the state was seeking to understand if OpenAI's "inability or unwillingness to ensure the safety of its products" violated the state's consumer protection laws. Earlier this month, Marshall, along with the attorneys general of 14 other states, including Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Texas, sent a letter (PDF) to OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, requesting that he and his company preserve all records related to the Hugging Face incident. The letter also asked OpenAI to "immediately cease and desist" from any internal cybersecurity evaluations. OpenAI said in a statement: "The Hugging Face incident marked an important moment for AI safety and we are conducting a thorough review along with external advisors. Once the review is complete, we will share a technical report with relevant government authorities and publish our findings publicly."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:
