GitHub Copilot is generally available to all developers
We’re making GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer that suggests code in your editor, generally available to all developers for $10 USD/month or $100 USD/year. It will also be free to use for verified students and maintainers of popular open source projects. ⌘ Read more

China, US urged to ‘start small’ as Biden ponders Trump-era trade tariff rollback amid record inflation
Former acting deputy US trade representative Wendy Cutler believes Washington will soon unveil its plan for how to handle the US$350 billion of Trump-era trade tariffs that have been imposed on Chinese goods for almost four years. ⌘ Read more

Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act takes effect in US, banning imports from Xinjiang
Cotton products, tomatoes and polysilicon, a material used in the solar panel industry, are among the ‘high priority’ sectors that will face scrutiny by US customs agents. ⌘ Read more

Ukraine war: Russia says captured US fighters may face death penalty
The Kremlin said Andy Huynh and Alexander Drueke were mercenaries not covered by the Geneva Conventions and could face the death penalty for their actions. ⌘ Read more

Singapore unveils US$1 billion package as cost of living rises amid inflation, Ukraine war
Adult Singaporeans earning below S$34,000 (US$24,500) a year will receive S$300 in cash in August, and every household will get S$100 to offset utilities. ⌘ Read more

Tencent trims stake in Koolearn, New Oriental’s live-streaming unit, as new venture fuels a six-fold jump in stock
Tencent collected US$92 million by selling down its stake in Koolearn Technology in two transactions this month after the education group switched its focus to live-streaming business. ⌘ Read more

Russia’s Putin alert for signs of eroding Western unity on Ukraine
Vladimir Putin, who has likened himself to Peter the Great, has used recent public appearances to articulate his raw imperial ambitions. ⌘ Read more

Quirky China: Chinese factory uses mannequin as ‘fire warden’, pupils use train bench as homework desk, school lets kids wear hanfu clothes
Quirky China: A factory is caught using a mannequin to police fire warnings, three students have turned a train bench into a homework desk and a school is allowing pupils to attend classes dressed in traditional hanfu costumes. ⌘ Read more

Teen girl in China steals US$18,000 meant for sick mother’s operation to go on a shopping spree
Police in China helping a distraught woman recover some of the money she’d saved for an operation after her daughter stole it and blew it on online games, mobile phones and clothing. ⌘ Read more

China’s political party school in Africa takes first students from 6 countries
120 cadres from ruling parties attend workshop at the US$40 million facility in Tanzania funded by the Chinese Communist Party. ⌘ Read more

Ukraine war: US and allies mulling Russian oil price cap, Treasury chief Janet Yellen says
Such a move would further restrict Moscow’s energy revenue, in addition to existing or planned Western restrictions over the Ukraine invasion. ⌘ Read more

China’s Mars mission on track to lead the world in retrieving Martian rocks by 2031, says programme veteran
China’s timeline is two years ahead of a US-European planned Mars mission to return samples to Earth for laboratory testing, according to Sun Zezhou. ⌘ Read more

Fear grips cryptocurrency traders and magnifies the global rout in US$247 billion DeFi market, Binance’s founder CZ says
The crash in cryptocurrencies shows how the fundamental principle of DeFi – the pursuit of higher yields in the era of cheap money to disrupt and replace traditional banks – has been upended by rising interest rates. ⌘ Read more

Australian PM Albanese should demand US drops prosecution of Julian Assange, ex-minister urges
A former Australian foreign minister has called for newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to demand that the United States drop its prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. ⌘ Read more

**What the…

“It’s not compulsory to get the app.

But EU countries will be required to offer a digital ID system to its residents. Likewise, public and private services will be required to accept the new ID, but they can’t make it compulsory for users either.”**
What the…

“It’s not compulsory to get the app.

But EU countries will be required to offer a digital ID system to its residents. Likewise, public and private services will be required to accept the new ID, but they can’t make it compulsory for use … ⌘ Read more

Rights and wrongs of US-China dispute over the Taiwan Strait
China is correct that the Taiwan Strait is not ‘international waters’. And the US is right that warships and warplanes have the right to pass through. But for the US, exercising that right is a political decision and complicates the issue of the status of Taiwan and the one-China policy. ⌘ Read more

Next US election may prove most dangerous time for Taiwan, warns veteran US diplomat Chas Freeman
Richard Nixon’s former interpreter says Beijing may view the election of a supporter of Taiwan’s independence as something it must respond to ⌘ Read more

How the US’ Xinjiang labour law has crippled China’s cotton industry before even entering effect
Even though the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act does not take effect until Tuesday, traders in China’s Xinjiang region say losses have been mounting for months, as buyers shun what was once prized as the world’s most expensive cotton. ⌘ Read more

US: China ‘engages in unfair trade practices’ but tariffs serve ‘no strategic purpose’
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China ‘engages in range of unfair trade practices’ but ‘the tariffs we inherited, some serve no strategic purpose’. ⌘ Read more

‘True Independence Day’: US parades, speeches, commemorate ‘end of slavery’
Citizens across the country are marking ‘Juneteenth’, the June 19, 1865 end of the legal enslavement of black Americans. ⌘ Read more

Incoming Hong Kong leader John Lee vows US sanctions will not interfere with safeguarding national security
John Lee says sanctions imposed by ‘some bullying countries’ will not deter him and his government from their ‘must-fulfil’ responsibility. ⌘ Read more

Apple workers vote to form tech giant’s first-ever US union
It wasn’t the first time employees at an Apple store had tried to unionise, but it was the first attempt that resulted in a vote. ⌘ Read more

China urges IMF to approve US$1.4 billion Zambia bailout, but told it must reach deal with other lenders
China is the African country’s biggest lender and is a key player in efforts to resolve its debt problems. ⌘ Read more

Australia to get US-made nuclear submarines by 2030, opposition leader claims
Peter Dutton said on Sunday that the United States ‘would pull out every stop’ to support Australia acquiring nuclear submarines ‘as quickly as possible’. ⌘ Read more

Is abortion legal in China, how common is it and why is it controversial?
The procedure is legal and widely available across the country but it is also used as a means of population and social control. ⌘ Read more

US, China talks in Luxembourg may set stage for Biden-Xi face-to-face summit
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi met in Europe’s Luxembourg on Monday, the 4th in-person meeting of US-China officials in 15 months. ⌘ Read more

Bitcoin’s cascading losses accelerate in record-breaking rout
Largest cryptocurrency tumbles as much as 13 per cent on Saturday, breaching US$18,000, as sell-off quickens. ⌘ Read more

Ukraine plans to resume peace talks with Russia by August, officials say
The country will be in a better position to negotiate at that time, Kyiv’s chief negotiator, David Arakhamia, said in an interview with US broadcaster Voice of America. ⌘ Read more

Coronavirus: vaccine roll-out for American children under 5 close after CDC panel vote
US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to roll out the vaccines to the under-5 age groups as early as next week. ⌘ Read more

‘Bloodsicles’ and ice baths: How US zookeepers coax animals through heatwaves
Siberian tigers Yuri and Nikita at the Denver Zoo, who are supposed to mate, suffer most during Denver’s intensifying heatwaves. ⌘ Read more

Biden, China’s Xi ‘will talk’ says US president, weighing action on tariffs
Biden said he would be talking to Xi and was ‘in the process’ of making a decision about the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese imports. ⌘ Read more

US billionaire Warren Buffett’s last charity private lunch sees record US$19 million bid
A wealthy person has bid a whopping US$19 million to eat at a New York steakhouse with Warren Buffett, 91, in his last such auction for San Francisco charity Glide. ⌘ Read more

Russia frees Ukraine medic who filmed Mariupol horror, saved both sides’ people
Yuliia Paievska, known as Taira, used a body camera to record her team’s efforts to save the wounded and was held captive for three months. President Zelensky said ‘we will keep working to free everyone’. ⌘ Read more

Chinese President Xi Jinping warns against international decoupling in Russia speech
Xi address to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum also included warnings against decoupling and the use of sanctions. ⌘ Read more

Total recall: Chinese wife nurses stroke-stricken husband back from the brink using the power of love
Chinese social media falls in love with an elderly couple who battled together to overcome a terrible medical condition ⌘ Read more

Biden urges China, other major economies to step up climate action, as US and EU join global methane cuts pledge
China a notable absentee from 13 inaugural members of Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway agreed upon at the forum. ⌘ Read more

China’s latest hot export is a US$50 toy Russian fighter jet that ‘will never break’, helped by social media such as TikTok
The fighter jet toy, with a price tag of less than US$50 on e-commerce sites such as eBay and Amazon, has gained popularity for its affordability and durability. ⌘ Read more

SpaceX fires workers behind letter criticising Elon Musk’s behaviour
The open letter called the rocket-launch firm CEO’s behaviour and tweets ‘a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us’. ⌘ Read more

BTS: US$3.5 million Proof album purchase shows V’s fans in China are undeterred by Beijing’s K-Culture crackdown
The group purchase of more than 170,000 copies was made on the first day of the release of BTS’ new album ‘Proof’ last week despite Beijing tightening its grip over the consumption of South Korean content and fandom culture. ⌘ Read more

TikTok moves US user data to Oracle servers amid concerns over China
The move comes as US media reports that such data was repeatedly accessed by China-based ByteDance staff, according to leaked audio from internal meetings. ⌘ Read more

New US Senate bill proposes expansion of Taiwan military aid
The legislation sends ‘a clear message to Beijing not to make the same mistakes with Taiwan that Vladimir Putin has made in Ukraine’, says one of its authors. ⌘ Read more

Creating a more comprehensive dependency graph with build time detection
Expand the completeness of your dependency graph by using the dependency submission API, which will create more comprehensive alerts on supply chain vulnerabilities ⌘ Read more

US musician reunited with stolen 262-year-old violin
MingHuan Xu’s 1760 Gagliano was recovered undamaged, along with another violin made by Oliver Radke in 1994 and her son’s half-size cello. ⌘ Read more

Boris Johnson makes surprise Ukraine visit, says Russia taking heavy losses
The British PM pledged to train Ukrainian soldiers to use new military equipment with a programme that could ‘change the equation of this war’. ⌘ Read more

Fukushima disaster not state’s fault, Japan top court decides
Ruling leaves Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, solely responsible for slightly over US$10.5 million in damages in four lawsuits. ⌘ Read more

G20 to raise US$1.5 billion for global pandemic fund, host Indonesia says
The money will finance efforts such as surveillance, research, and better access to vaccination for lower-to-middle income countries, health officials said. About US$1.1 billion has been pledged so far. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong Town Planning Board rejects proposal to switch 2 prime sites at former Kai Tak airport from commercial to housing use
Keeping the commercial plots would be good for the city’s long-term economic development, some board members said. ⌘ Read more

China, US gas trade increase could help lift relations from ‘worst in history’, ex-official says
Growing energy trade between China and the US could form a ‘community of shared interests’, according to Zou Ji, amid strained ties between Beijing and Washington. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong Palace Museum previews opening shows featuring national treasures loaned by Beijing
Ahead of its opening to the public on July 2, the US$450 million museum gives a preview of three of its nine inaugural exhibitions, including national treasures loaned by the Palace Museum in Beijing. ⌘ Read more

UK approves US extradition of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange
British interior minister Priti Patel’s decision does not mean the end of Australian-born journalist’s legal battle, which has been going on for more than a decade. Assange is wanted by the US on 18 counts. ⌘ Read more

Japan’s new tougher cyberbullying laws prompted after Hana Kimura’s suicide sparks free speech debate
Anyone convicted of using abusive language to insult a person in a public setting, including online, now face up to one year behind bars or a fine of up to US$2,236. Previously, a conviction could have led to a maximum prison term of 30 days or a fine of US$75. ⌘ Read more

White House adviser calls relationship with India ‘most important for the United States’
Kurt Campbell, US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific adviser, discusses plans to offer more security guarantees to New Delhi and also hints at developments in the Aukus pact. ⌘ Read more

Why is China’s inflation rate low compared to the US, Europe and Britain?
Global inflation is soaring, reaching a 40-year high in the US, thanks to sky-high food and energy prices that have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Why is it a different story in China? ⌘ Read more

Nicholas Burns, US ambassador to China, stresses need to find common ground amid tense relations
Nicholas Burns also counters the claim that US policy is designed to keep China down and prevent it from developing. ‘The evidence doesn’t bear that out,’ he says ⌘ Read more

US pressures Iran by targeting Hong Kong and UAE firms
Penalties over petrochemical exports were also imposed on Chinese citizen Jinfeng Gao and Indian national Mohammed Shaheed Ruknooddin Bhore. ⌘ Read more

US security adviser says hard line on Russia is needed to dissuade China from similar moves
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says an unchallenged invasion of Ukraine would embolden ‘other would-be aggressors, like China’. ⌘ Read more

More than 90 per cent of oil slicks threatening global marine life caused by humans, US and Chinese scientists find
Study published in Science reveals major shift from 1990s estimate showing roughly 50-50 split in human and natural sources. ⌘ Read more

I am a Bunny.net fan as they offer a CDN at a good price, are based in Europe and really care about privacy. The latest tool they offer: Bunny Fonts as a replacement for Google Fonts, because its use is illegal in Germany. 👍 ⌘ Read more

The Android kernel mitigations obstacle race
In this post I’ll exploit CVE-2022-22057, a use-after-free in the Qualcomm gpu kernel driver, to gain root and disable SELinux from the untrusted app sandbox on a Samsung Z flip 3. I’ll look at various mitigations that are implemented on modern Android devices and how they affect the exploit. ⌘ Read more

Western-style democracy behind wars, chaos and human misery, Chinese president tells top officials
Some Western nations use democracy and human rights as a pretext to meddle overseas, Xi Jinping told Politburo study session in February. ⌘ Read more

US, China economic policies like night and day as Fed pushes interest rate skyward and PBOC eyes stabilisation
As the US Federal Reserve announces the largest hike to its benchmark interest rate in 28 years, China is pushing for stabilisation and shying away from headline rate reductions to stimulate the economy. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong courts propose remote hearings for certain criminal trials, punishments for recording or broadcasting sessions
Consultation paper by city’s judiciary suggests expanding use of remote hearings beyond civil cases, with proposed bill open to public input until September 22. ⌘ Read more

Taiwan admits paying American lobbyists to help establish closer US ties amid rising pressure from Beijing
Island’s foreign ministry says it hired PR firms to help US government and others ‘have a better understanding of Taiwan’, saying lobbying transparency is key. ⌘ Read more

How would a US recession impact Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand amid surging inflation?
If the US were to enter a recession, export-reliant Singapore and Malaysia would be among the worst hit, while remittances to the Philippines may decline, analysts say. ⌘ Read more

Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden’s top Covid-19 adviser, tests positive
The US top scientist, 81, is experiencing mild symptoms, and will work from home while he recovers. ⌘ Read more

you know that you’ve made it when you’re using fermi estimates to debug your rl agent.

Top US human rights official decries ‘transnational repression’ campaign by China
Uzra Zeya, undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, says federal government lacks funding to meet all requests for protection; China denies targeting dissidents overseas. ⌘ Read more

US Federal Reserve makes historic interest hike to combat inflation, may repeat in July
The increase of 75 basis points is the biggest since 1994, with the central bank’s chief saying a 50 or 75 point raise could come next month to cool prices. ⌘ Read more

Joe Biden unveils US$1 billion in new weapons for Ukraine
The package includes anti-ship and artillery launchers, as well as additional ammunition for rocket systems. ⌘ Read more

US military looks to allies to tackle ‘significant logistics challenge’ in Indo-Pacific
Deputy defence secretary Kathleen Hicks says US has to develop ‘combat-credible capability that can deter aggression’. ⌘ Read more

Sanctioned hardline former Xinjiang chief Chen Quanguo moves to rural affairs role for ‘last job before retirement’
Chen Quanguo, the most senior official sanctioned by the US over alleged human rights abuses, is expected to spearhead a crackdown on rural gangs in his new post. ⌘ Read more

US and allies must stay focused on Ukraine during ‘pivotal’ moment, Pentagon chief says
‘We cannot afford to let up and we cannot lose steam. The stakes are too high,’ US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said. Western countries promised Nato-standard weapons but Ukraine will need support to transition. ⌘ Read more

Yahoo joins Facebook owner Meta in testing metaverse tech in Hong Kong
The US internet company says it will hold virtual concerts and exhibitions on a metaverse platform, after Facebook owner Meta announced similar plans. ⌘ Read more

China’s digital currency: e-CNY trials move beyond retail to cover corporate loans for small businesses and tax payments
Since China started trials of its digital currency in 2019, more than 20 cities have conducted consumer-targeted promotions and now the country is exploring corporate use cases. ⌘ Read more

Can Joe Biden’s proposed Middle East trip unite fractured region by aligning militaries against Iran?
The US President will visit Saudi Arabia in mid-July for a scheduled summit, where he is expected to table a “national security programme” for Israel and eight Arab states, to integrate their militaries into an alliance against Iran. ⌘ Read more

Sweltering heat stifles a third of US population, severe storms leave thousands in the dark
Excessive heat warnings, watches and advisories were issued for more than 100 million people as temperatures surged 10 to 20 degrees above normal. Another heatwave is expected next week with temperatures above 100 degrees in places. ⌘ Read more

Ant Group’s payment services platform Alipay is most trusted brand in China, new survey by US firm finds
More than half, or 53 per cent, of consumers surveyed in China said they use Alipay daily, with the proportion higher among millennials and GenZ consumers, according to the Morning Consult study. ⌘ Read more

Joe Biden gambles there’s more to gain by visiting ‘pariah’ Saudi Arabia
US President Joe Biden confirmed that he will visit Saudi Arabia next month for talks with its leaders, a dramatic change in his stance on the kingdom. ⌘ Read more

Taiwan-US security and military talks will discuss weapons and strategies to defend island against Beijing
Working-level talks between security and military officials this week precede high-level talks next week in Washington and Annapolis, Maryland. ⌘ Read more

Asia’s energy crunch turns from bad to worse after fire at US plant
Freeport plant in Texas that shut down last week made up nearly a fifth of US LNG output in May, and supplies to Europe, South Korea, Japan. A prolonged disruption will global affect supplies. ⌘ Read more

Australia-China relations: Canberra’s foreign minister Penny Wong to travel to Solomon Islands amid China security pact concerns
Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US have voiced concerns Beijing could establish a military presence in the Pacific following the signing of a security pact with the Solomon Islands. ⌘ Read more

How China’s belt and road diplomacy could end the Ukraine conflict for good
Ukraine’s integration into the ambitious rail network linking China with Europe, by providing alternative routes bypassing Russia, would be acceptable to the EU and US. And Russia, too, could be open to China taking a lead on brokering a sustainable ceasefire, especially if it means lifting some sanctions. ⌘ Read more

Netflix plans Squid Game reality show with US$4.5 million prize, no fatal consequences
Unlike in the fictional series, the worst fate for losers is not death, but missing out on what Netflix claims is the largest lump sum prize in reality TV history. ⌘ Read more

Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg urges US businesses to stay engaged in China market
Evan Greenberg says a full-scale decoupling is ‘an economic impossibility’ that would undermine US global competitiveness. ⌘ Read more

Backlash against Russians living abroad is all too familiar for anxious Chinese expats
The war in Ukraine has prompted a rejection of all things Russian in the US and Europe, with expats now primary targets. Such sentiment is sure to ring alarm bells among Chinese living overseas, for whom the racism endured during the pandemic remains a constant threat. ⌘ Read more

Climate Change: China’s firms lag behind Asia, North America, Europe in net-zero targets with only 4 per cent adherence, study finds
Net zero target disclosure rules have gained significance as global fund managers have started to vote with their US$68 trillion of assets to persuade companies to embrace the climate change agenda. ⌘ Read more

US drug supply chain alternative to China might run through Canada, Latin America
Centre for Strategic and International Studies panellists from Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia discuss speeding pharmaceutical production and trade with US. ⌘ Read more

Accelerating GitHub theme creation with color tooling
Learn why the GitHub Design Infrastructure team built a dedicated color tool and how they use it to create new color palettes for GitHub. ⌘ Read more

“if enough of us listen to prophets of doom, it becomes self-fulfilling” — Leo Szilard

at least i’m up to a level where i’m reading a comment on an acx post and someone uses “consciousness” and i’m hella out there real quick

Reminder to myself: Don’t delete the Telegram bot you’re using to auto-post new blog posts to Telegram. 🤦‍♂️ ⌘ Read more

How we think about browsers
Discover how GitHub thinks about browser support, look at usage patterns, and learn about the tools we use to make sure our customers are getting the best experience. ⌘ Read more

……………Tetlock data uses AMERICAN DATE FORMAT IN A DATASET

the words “brier score” are used inconsistently: sometimes they just refer to the MSE of the probability assigned to the correct outcome, sometimes they refer to the MSE of the sum of the probability assigned to the correct and the incorrect outcome.

Prosodical Thoughts: Prosody 0.12.1 released
We are pleased to announce a new minor release from our stable branch.

While the 0.12.0 release has been a huge success, inevitably people found some
aspects that didn’t work quite as intended, or weren’t as polished as they
ought to be. With the appreciation for the help from everyone reporting issues
to us, we’re happy to now release our best version yet - 0.12.1 is here!

Notably, we made a couple of changes that improve compatibility with Jitsi
Meet, we fixed some bugs … ⌘ Read more

Erlang Solutions: MongooseIM 5.1 Configuration Rework
MongooseIM is a modern messaging server that is designed for scalability and high performance. The use of XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) extensions (XEPs) means it is also highly customisable. Since version 4.0 it has been using the TOML configuration file format, which is much more user-friendly than the previously used Erlang terms. The latest release, MongooseIM 5.1, makes it more developer-friendly as well by … ⌘ Read more

Erlang Solutions: Modern Software Engineering Principles for Fintechs by Daniel Pilon at SumUp
Daniel Pilon is a Software Engineering Manager at SumUp. Since 2007 he has worked across several industries before arriving in the fintech space. He has experience in many programming languages, such as C#, Java and JavaScript but since discovering Elixir and the power of functional programming a few years ago, he hasn’t looked back.

Right now he is building SumUp Bank, a complete digital banking solution … ⌘ Read more

it’s funny, conditional on AGI (and perhaps also WBE?) not doing us in, i’m pretty bullish on this century. bio seems much less of a problem, and everything else is basically a-okay, especially with people becoming richer and needing to fight less. most other collapse narratives sound pretty unlikely (though prepping is sitll a good idea! you should have three months of food & water at home)

All this time spent being grumpy about how adding my Now updates directly into the html page is uncomfortable, and it just occurred to me I can chug it into a text file and use cat.

Re-AOL: A reverse-engineered AOL 3.0 server written in Python
Because… who doesn’t want to use AOL 3.0 for Windows 3.1 in 2022? ⌘ Read more