Gold Coast urged to curb car dependence after light rail loss
With the population heading toward 1 million, the Gold Coast is being urged to overhaul its transport system or risk becoming defined by traffic. ⌘ Read more

Info to Decipher Secret Message in Kryptos Sculpture at CIA HQ Auctioned for Nearly $1M
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Associated Press:

The information needed to decipher the last remaining unsolved secret message embedded within a sculpture at CIA headquarters in Virginia sold at auction for nearly $1 million, the auction house announced Friday. The winner will get a pri … ⌘ Read more

WA government pledges $14.8m for domestic violence refuges across state
The WA government commits $14.8 million towards family and domestic violence refuges across the state, with one provider saying it will help support women facing “life and death” situations. ⌘ Read more

What Happens When You Kick Millions of Teens Off Social Media? Australia’s About to Find Out
27 million people live in Australia. But there’s a big change coming if you’re under 16, reports CNN:

From December 10, sites that meet the Australian government’s definition of an “age-restricted social media platform” will need to show that they’re doing enough to eject or block children u … ⌘ Read more

‘Dirty, disgusting money’: The heiress giving away her entire fortune
When Marlene Engelhorn inherited tens of millions of dollars from her grandma, she felt she had two choices: do something about it, or confirm she was “full of sh*t”. ⌘ Read more

The Battle Over Africa’s Great Untapped Resource: IP Addresses
In his mid-20s, Lu Heng “got an idea that has made him a lot richer,” writes the Wall Street Journal.

He scooped up 10 million unused IP addresses, mostly form Africa, and then leases them to companies, mostly outside Africa, “that need them badly.”

[A]round half of internet traffic continues to use IPv4, because changing to IPv6 can be expensive a … ⌘ Read more

Sterile flies take to the sky in Kangaroo Island eradication push
Researchers on Kangaroo Island have been breeding and releasing millions of sterile Australian sheep blowflies in an attempt to eradicate the pest. ⌘ Read more

Viral Song Created with Suno’s genAI Removed From Streaming Platforms, Re-Released With Human Vocals
An EDM song by the British group Haven ran into trouble in October after it shared clips of upcoming song “I Run” on TikTok.

The song “was an overnight viral sensation online,” writes Digital Music News — racking up millions of plays “even before it hit streaming serv … ⌘ Read more

Framework Computer Now Sponsoring LVFS / Fwupd Development
With the Linux Vendor Firmware Service serving more than 135 million downloads for Linux users updating their system and device firmware, LVFS has been working to get more hardware vendors to contribute either engineering resources or directly contributing annual dues as sponsors. Framework Computer is now the first one to have executed an agreement under these new sponsorship efforts… ⌘ Read more

Terminated Bedford staff in limbo, with millions owed in entitlements
Former Bedford staff have said they are owed millions of dollars in entitlements after they were made redundant when the disability employment provider entered voluntary administration earlier this year. ⌘ Read more

Police seize $8.4m in assets after alleged illicit tobacco raids in the NT
Police have seized about $8.4 million in assets, including two cars and a jet ski, and almost 1 million cigarettes, following an operation targeting the NT’s illicit tobacco trade. ⌘ Read more

Australia’s Streaming Quotas Become Law
Australia’s streaming quotas have become law. Legislation requiring the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max to spend a portion of their local earnings on original Australian content has been passed in parliament, and now comes into effect. From a report: The quotas were announced earlier this month. This will see global streamers with more than one million Australian subscribers made t … ⌘ Read more

Robots and AI Are Already Remaking the Chinese Economy
China installed 295,000 industrial robots last year – nearly nine times as many as the United States and more than the rest of the world combined – as the country races to automate its manufacturing base amid rising labor costs at home and tariff threats from abroad.

The nation’s stock of operational robots surpassed 2 million in 2024, according to the Intern … ⌘ Read more

Dispute over Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre’s estate lands in Supreme Court
A legal battle over the reported multi-million-dollar estate of Virginia Giuffre, who was abused by US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is underway in Western Australia. ⌘ Read more

A crystal Fabergé egg is expected to sell for more than $40 million
The egg is covered in a snowflake motif. It was designed to open up to reveal a surprise — an intricately made bouquet of flowers. ⌘ Read more

Travel company embroiled in overcharging scandal worth more than $100m
Corporate Travel Management helps arrange travel bookings for clients ranging from Wesfarmers to the Australian government. ⌘ Read more

Man allegedly travelled with $2.75m drug haul on bus from Melbourne to Adelaide
Police say a man has been charged for allegedly carrying $2.75 million worth of illicit drugs while travelling on a bus from Melbourne to Adelaide overnight. ⌘ Read more

Australia Spent $62 Million To Update Its Weather Web Site and Made It Worse
quonset writes: Australia last updated their weather site a decade ago. In October, during one of the hottest days of the year, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) revealed its new web site and was immediately castigated for doing so. Complaints ranged from a confusing layout to not being able to find information. Farmers were parti … ⌘ Read more

AI Can Technically Perform 12% of US Labor Market’s Wage Value, MIT Simulation Finds
Researchers at MIT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have built a simulation that models all 151 million American workers and their skills, then maps those skills against the capabilities of over 13,000 AI tools currently in production to see where the two overlap. The answer, according to their analysis: 11.7 … ⌘ Read more

Vatican records first surplus in years, driven by $421m in donations
Donations to the Holy See in 2024 helped it turn around a 51 million euro deficit to record its first surplus in years, according to the Vatican’s economic secretariat. ⌘ Read more

Labor and Greens agree on extra ABC funding for kids’ programs
A deal between the federal government and the minor party will see an extra $50 million go to the public broadcaster to facilitate passage of a bill to impose local content requirements on streaming platforms. ⌘ Read more

Anglican Diocese of Ballarat under financial strain from abuse payouts
An Anglican bishop says regional dioceses around Australia are facing financial pressure and potential closure due to having to pay millions of dollars to abuse victim-survivors. ⌘ Read more

SA woman suffered permanent brain injury after hospital failed to diagnose stroke, court hears
An Adelaide woman is suing a southern suburbs hospital for $1.5 million in damages alleging she suffered a “permanent neurological injury” when doctors failed to diagnose her with a stroke, court documents reveal. ⌘ Read more

Black Friday sales ‘pressure’ pushing some Australians into debt binge
With millions of Australians tipped to spend record amounts this Black Friday, the value of personal credit and charge-card balances accruing interest has hit its highest level since 2021. ⌘ Read more

Malaysia’s Johor Bans Low-Tier Data Centers Over Water Strain
Malaysia’s Johor, one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing data center hubs, has announced it will no longer approve applications for Tier 1 and Tier 2 data centers because of their enormous water consumption – up to 50 million liters daily, or roughly 200 times what higher-tier facilities require.

The Malaysian state has approved 51 data center projec … ⌘ Read more

Texas Buys $5 Million In BTC ETF As States Edge Toward First Government Crypto Reserves
Texas has purchased $5 million worth of BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF as an initial step toward creating the first state-level bitcoin reserve in the U.S.
“[O]ther states having previously invested in such funds with public-employee retirement money,” notes CoinDesk. “Michigan has been building such an inve … ⌘ Read more

Patients evacuated by helicopter from Thai hospital as flooding continues
Floods across nine Thai provinces have killed 33 people and affected more than 2.7 million, with more rain forecast. ⌘ Read more

‘Premium prices for a downgrade’: $96.5 million BoM website savaged
Pressure is mounting on the agency and its newly minted chief executive Stuart Minchin after a major cost blowout. ⌘ Read more

Heather Croall reflects on 11 years leading Australia’s biggest arts festival
After returning from the UK to direct the Adelaide Fringe in 2015, Heather Croall has seen the festival’s ticket sales pass the 3-million mark and box office sales reach nearly $30 million. ⌘ Read more

UNAIDS says Trump’s cuts have killed people and left millions without medicine
The United Nations body charged with fighting the spread of HIV says the Trump administration’s cuts to the US foreign aid budget have sent the global aid response into “crisis mode”. ⌘ Read more

AI Could Replace 3 Million Low-Skilled Jobs in the UK By 2035, Research Warns
Up to 3 million low-skilled jobs could disappear in the UK by 2035 because of automation and AI, according to a report by a leading educational research charity. The Guardian: The jobs most at risk are those in occupations such as trades, machine operations and administrative roles, the National Foundation for Educational … ⌘ Read more

Jakarta Moves Ahead of Tokyo As World’s Most Populated City
schwit1 writes: Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, tops a ranking that is increasingly dominated by Asia: the world’s most populated city. It edged out Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, and Japan’s Tokyo to earn the title in a new United Nations report. [PDF]

With an estimated population of nearly 42 million residents, Jakarta soared from 33rd place in the previou … ⌘ Read more

Ozone Hole Ranked As 5th Smallest In More Than 30 Years
Scientists report that the Antarctic ozone hole in 2025 is the fifth-smallest since 1992, thanks largely to decades of global restrictions on ozone-depleting chemicals under the Montreal Protocol. ABC News reports: The ozone hole reached its greatest one-day extent for 2025 in early September, measuring 8.83 million square miles, about 30% smaller than the largest … ⌘ Read more

Science-Centric Streaming Service Curiosity Stream is an AI-licensing Firm Now
Curiosity Stream, the decade-old science documentary streaming service founded by Discovery Channel’s John Hendricks, expects its AI licensing business to generate more revenue than its 23 million subscribers by 2027 – possibly earlier. The company’s Q3 2025 earnings revealed a 41% year-over-year revenue increase, dri … ⌘ Read more

‘The Strange and Totally Real Plan to Blot Out the Sun and Reverse Global Warming’
In a 2023 pitch to investors, a “well-financed, highly credentialed” startup named Stardust aimed for a “gradual temperature reduction demonstration” in 2027, according to a massive new 9,600-word article from Politico. (“Annually dispersing ~1 million tons of sun-reflecting particles,” says one slide. “Equivalen … ⌘ Read more

Britain Sets New Record, Generating Enough Wind Power for 22 Million Homes
An anonymous reader shared this report from Sky News:

A new wind record has been set for Britain, with enough electricity generated from turbines to power 22 million homes, the system operator has said.

The mark of 22,711 megawatts (MW) was set at 7.30pm on 11 November… enough to keep around three-quarters of British homes … ⌘ Read more

My webserver is getting millions of hits per month at the moment.

All bots.

Tokyo Court Finds Cloudflare Liable For Manga Piracy in Long-Running Lawsuit
A Tokyo court ruled that Cloudflare is liable for aiding manga piracy after failing to act on infringement notices and continuing to cache and serve content for major piracy sites, awarding about $3.2 million in damages. TorrentFreak says the decision sets a significant precedent in Japan, suggesting CDN providers can face … ⌘ Read more

New Antibiotic Could Be a Breakthrough in Treatment for Killer TB, Trial Suggests
A new treatment for tuberculosis could boost cure rates and shorten the time needed to treat the disease by months, trial results suggest. The Guardian: Globally, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB last year and 1.23 million died from it. In its annual report on tuberculosis, launched last week, … ⌘ Read more

Kissing may have evolved in an ape ancestor 21 million years ago
Rather than being a recent cultural development, kissing may have been practised by other early humans like Neanderthals and our ape ancestors ⌘ Read more

IRS Accessed Massive Database of Americans Flights Without a Warrant
An anonymous reader shares a report: The IRS accessed a database of hundreds of millions of travel records, which show when and where a specific person flew and the credit card they used, without obtaining a warrant, according to a letter signed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and shared with 404 Media. The country’s major airlines, inc … ⌘ Read more

A Simple WhatsApp Security Flaw Exposed 3.5 Billion Phone Numbers
Researchers at the University of Vienna extracted phone numbers for 3.5 billion WhatsApp users by systematically checking every possible number through the messaging service’s contact discovery feature. The technique yielded profile photos for 57% of those accounts and profile text for 29 percent. The researchers checked roughly 100 million numbe … ⌘ Read more

Valar Atomics Says It’s the First Nuclear Startup To Achieve Criticality
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Startup Valar Atomics said on Monday that it achieved criticality – an essential nuclear milestone – with the help of one of the country’s top nuclear laboratories. The El Segundo, California-based startup, which last week announced it had secured a $130 million funding round wi … ⌘ Read more

Harvard Has Almost Half a Billion Dollars in Crypto
An anonymous reader shares a report: Harvard is ramping up its holdings in cryptocurrency. The nation’s oldest university reported a $443 million investment in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust in the third quarter. The school now holds 6.8 million shares of the exchange-traded fund, up from 1.9 million in the second quarter.

The digital currency amounts to a little less than … ⌘ Read more

Why Solarpunk Is Already Happening In Africa
Long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a Substack post by economist/entrepreneur Skander Garroum:

You know that feeling when you’re waiting for the cable guy, and they said ‘between 8am and 6pm, and you waste your entire day, and they never show up? Now imagine that, except the cable guy is ‘electricity,’ the day is ‘50 years,’ and you’re one of 600 million people. At some point, yo … ⌘ Read more

This theatre was meant to cost $188 million. The real price is almost double
The redevelopment of Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres could be revolutionary for Sydney – but it has hit another cash problem. ⌘ Read more

Krafton Launches Voluntary Resignation Program Weeks After Declaring ‘AI-First Company’ Future
An anonymous reader shares a report: In October, PUBG and Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton announced that it would be undergoing a “complete reorganization” to become an “AI-first” company, planning to invest over 130 billion won ($88 million) in agentic AI infrastructure and deployment beginning … ⌘ Read more

Hyundai Data Breach May Have Leaked Drivers’ Personal Information
According to Car and Driver, Hyundai has suffered a data breach that leaked the personal data of up to 2.7 million customers. The leak reportedly took place in February from Hyundai AutoEver, the company’s IT affiliate. It includes customer names, driver’s license numbers, and social security numbers. Longtime Slashdot reader sinij writes: Thanks … ⌘ Read more

Lucky ticket holder takes out the entire Powerball jackpot
One lucky Powerball ticket holder has won the entire $50 million jackpot overnight. ⌘ Read more

Reddit Cofounder Had a Bad Feeling About Giving Data To Sam Altman
Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian said he had serious doubts a decade ago about sharing the platform’s data with Sam Altman. Ohanian recounted on the “Brew Markets” podcast that between 2015 and 2016, Altman asked Reddit to let him “aggressively scrape” the site’s content. Altman had recently helped Reddit raise $50 million in a Series B round … ⌘ Read more