Call for men to step up and help end family and domestic violence
Men and boys are being urged to play a part in changing the culture of violence against women and children, as the annual 16 Days in WA campaign began with a rally in the Perth CBD. ⌘ Read more

Fremantle’s cappuccino strip is hiding an illegal trade in plain sight
Convenience stores along the popular strip are scarcely stocked with chocolate bars and chewing gum but it’s the merchandise under the counter that’s really paying the rent. ⌘ Read more

‘AI Can’t Think’
In an essay published in The Verge, Benjamin Riley argues that today’s AI boom is built on a fundamental misunderstanding: language modeling is not the same as intelligence. “The problem is that according to current neuroscience, human thinking is largely independent of human language – and we have little reason to believe ever more sophisticated modeling of language will create a form of intelligence that meets or surpasses our own,” writes Riley … ⌘ Read more

Breaking: Optus investigating ‘significant’ outage south of Melbourne
Calls to emergency services have been impacted by the outage, the telco confirmed, with more than 14,000 customers affected. ⌘ Read more

Rabbit population boom blamed on lack of funding for biological control
Landholders across Australia say rabbit numbers in some areas are at levels never seen before. ⌘ Read more

US Banks Scramble To Assess Data Theft After Hackers Breach Financial Tech Firm
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Several U.S. banking giants and mortgage lenders are reportedly scrambling to assess how much of their customers’ data was stolen during a cyberattack on a New York financial technology company earlier this month. SitusAMC, which provides technology for over a thou … ⌘ Read more

NT Integrity and Ethics Commissioner established amid opposition
The Northern Territory parliament has passed a bill creating an Integrity and Ethics Commissioner. It will take responsibility for four integrity bodies in the territory, including the anti-corruption watchdog. ⌘ Read more

Breaking: Mother sentenced to life in prison for New Zealand’s ‘suitcase murders’
A mother who murdered her two children and stuffed them into suitcases stashed inside a storage locker is sentenced to life imprisonment in New Zealand. ⌘ Read more

Newly formed Queensland company secures 1,000 coal mining jobs
A newly formed Queensland company has taken over a majority shareholding in a Bowen Basin coal mine, securing 1,000 jobs. ⌘ Read more

Client Registration and Enterprise Management in the November 2025 MCP Authorization Spec
The New MCP Authorization Spec is Here! Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Model Context Protocol, and with it, the launch of the new 2025-11-25 specification. ⌘ 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

Family rescued after suspicious Melbourne house fire
Police are investigating a suspicious fire that started in two cars parked at the front of a house in Yarraville, in Melbourne’s inner west. ⌘ Read more

First catastrophic fire warning in two years triggers NSW school closures
Dozens of schools across NSW have been forced to close as a combination of severe weather conditions creates dangerous fire conditions not seen in years. ⌘ Read more

Strikers pip winless Heat in final-ball WBBL thriller
With scores ties before the last delivery of the match, the Adelaide Strikers pull off a tense victory over the struggling Brisbane Heat. ⌘ Read more

American Influencers Can’t Stop Praising Chinese EVs They Can’t Buy
Chinese automakers may not be able to sell their electric vehicles in the United States due to steep tariffs and software restrictions, but they have found an alternative path to American eyeballs through a coordinated campaign targeting car influencers on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. The effort, the Verge reports, is largely organized by … ⌘ Read more

Ceramic ‘seeding’ devices and floating pools used in battle to save reef
From growing baby coral in floating pools to using Indigenous cultural knowledge, this trial hopes to regrow the Great Barrier Reef. ⌘ Read more

Future of water allocations in the NT could hinge on Supreme Court case
Dozens of Aboriginal Territorians from remote communities travelled to Darwin where they stand alongside Environment Centre NT in a bid to axe a controversial water allocation plan. ⌘ Read more

Live: Labor grilled on plan to find savings in public service
The government is being questioned about its request for departments and agencies to save as much as 5 per cent of their costs. Follow live. ⌘ Read more

RealPage Agrees To Settle Federal Rent-Collusion Case
The Justice Department has reached an agreement to settle an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, a real estate software company that the government accused of enabling landlords to collude to raise rents. From a report: Using RealPage software, landlords shared information about their rents and occupancy rates with the company, after which an algorithm suggested what … ⌘ Read more

Storms to continue across Qld in ‘hot, humid, unsettled’ weather
The south-east corner is once again bracing for severe storms for the third day in a row, while much of Queensland is sweltering under humid heatwave conditions. ⌘ Read more

Palestinians left without shelter after Gaza tent cities flood again
Heavy rain has caused significant flooding in Gaza, with thousands of Palestinians living in tents bearing the brunt of the sudden burst of winter weather. ⌘ Read more

Crews working to restore power and phone service after severe storm ‘catastrophe’
Severe thunderstorms have rolled across south-east Queensland this week, causing widespread power outages, school closures, and restricting phone service. ⌘ Read more

Mine search for Gus expected to resume as locals speak of shock and upset
A renewed police search for missing four-year-old Gus is expected to enter its second day, with no indication of any clues revealed so far. ⌘ Read more

Tens of thousands of new homes in limbo due to lack of sewerage and roads
Four years after buying a housing plot the Websters’ land is still vacant, without a water or sewer connection, and they have now been told to expect those services by 2028. ⌘ Read more

Lee’s resurgence recognised with fourth Greg Norman Medal
After winning her third major at the Women’s PGA Championship, Minjee Lee caps off the year by claiming Australian golf’s highest individual honour. ⌘ Read more

Beekeepers struggle amid fears varroa mite infestations are worsening in NSW
The cost of treating varroa mite in the beekeeping industry is flowing onto other food growers reliant on pollination. ⌘ 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

‘Being famous isn’t cool anymore’: Lurker explores fandom and obsession
In a world where celebrities are accessible on social media in a way they never were before, has fame lost its shine? A new film explores the parasitic relationship between stars and their fans. ⌘ Read more

Extreme heat, winds and catastrophic fire danger for Australia’s east
Eastern Australia is facing a barrage of extreme weather conditions this week, and for many areas the most intense conditions will arrive on Wednesday. ⌘ Read more

Second 15yo charged with murder after fatal Sydney stabbing
A boy is arrested and charged with murder after Riot Squad police raid a home in Rouse Hill. ⌘ Read more

APY Lands governance hearing delayed indefinitely
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands community members have been left disappointed by a last-minute decision to halt a hearing that was set to probe governance issues in the region. ⌘ Read more

B6 toxicity victims ‘vindicated’ as TGA confirms it is coming off shelves
After a rising number of Australians reported suffering from B6 toxicity, the TGA has been forced to act and remove some supplements from shelves. ⌘ Read more

Pope Francis’s Popemobile transformed into mobile clinic for Gaza children
A former “Popemobile” used by Pope Francis during his 2014 tour of the Holy Land has been transformed into a mobile health clinic for Gaza’s children, but Israeli authorities are yet to give permission for it to enter the war-ravaged strip. ⌘ Read more

After a 13-year search, researchers discover a ‘magical’ rare flower bloom
A team of researchers have described the “magical” experience of finding a rare species of flower in bloom deep in the Sumatran rainforest after a 23-hour trek. ⌘ Read more

Coalition makes tax cut pitch in bid to restore credibility among young
Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien will address the National Press Club on Wednesday. ⌘ Read more

CISA Warns Spyware Crews Are Breaking Into Signal and WhatsApp Accounts
An anonymous reader shares a report: CISA has warned that state-backed snoops and cyber-mercenaries are actively abusing commercial spyware to break into Signal and WhatsApp accounts, hijack devices, and quietly rummage through the phones of what the agency calls “high-value” users.

In an alert published Monday, the US government’s … ⌘ Read more

Contact visits reduced at Tasmania’s prisons due to staff shortages
The ABC has heard of a five-year-old’s distress at being unable to speak with her father in a Tasmanian prison. Workers say that lockdowns due to staff shortages are to blame. ⌘ Read more

The online war for Australian visas and how much it costs to win
Thousands of young Indonesians want the chance to come to Australia to work, but first they have to win a visa application “war” that puts them in the sights of scammers and dodgy operators promising them what they want — for a price. ⌘ Read more

Fingerprints, fibres and DNA: Do you know forensic facts from fiction?
Forensics has provided the biggest breakthrough in criminal justice in the last century. It’s also become the perfect subject matter for TV crime shows. But do you know forensic facts from fiction? Take our quiz to find out. ⌘ Read more

How a daughter’s ‘puzzle’ inspired one of the world’s most popular cameras
On November 26, 1948, the first Polaroid camera was released commercially, changing photography forever. ⌘ Read more

Drowned boy was able to slip through ‘ineffective’ fence, lawsuit claims
The grieving parents of a four-year-old boy who drowned in a suburban lagoon are suing Melbourne Water and a council over the tragedy. ⌘ Read more

Mumbai Families Suffer As Data Centers Keep the City Hooked on Coal
Two coal plants in Mumbai (in India) that were scheduled to close last year continue operating after the state government of Maharashtra reversed shutdown decisions in late 2023 and extended the life of at least one facility by five years. The largest single factor the Indian conglomerate Tata cited in its petition for an extension was i … ⌘ Read more

Nvidia Claims ‘Generation Ahead’ Advantage After $200 Billion Sell-off on Google Fears
Nvidia pushed back against investor concerns about Google’s competitive positioning in AI on Tuesday after the chipmaker’s shares tumbled 4.4% and erased nearly $200 billion in market cap on fears that Alphabet’s tensor processing units were gaining ground against its dominance in AI computing. The company said … ⌘ Read more

Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Rural Peru
The abstract of a paper on NBER: This paper examines a large-scale randomized evaluation of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program in 531 Peruvian rural primary schools. We use administrative data on academic performance and grade progression over 10 years to estimate the long-run effects of increased computer access on (i) school performance over time … ⌘ Read more

FBI set to interview Democrats who urged US military to ignore illegal orders
It comes after the six US politicians appeared in a social media video which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described as “seditious”. ⌘ Read more

Adolescence Lasts Into 30s - New Study Shows Four Pivotal Ages For Your Brain
The brain goes through five distinct phases in life, with key turning points at ages nine, 32, 66 and 83, scientists have revealed. From a report: Around 4,000 people up to the age of 90 had scans to reveal the connections between their brain cells. Researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that the brain stays … ⌘ Read more

Recurring Events for Meetable
In October, I launched an instance of Meetable for the MCP Community. They’ve been using it to post working group meetings as well as in-person community events. In just 2 months it already has 41 events listed! ⌘ Read more

Unpowered SSDs in Your Drawer Are Slowly Losing Data
An anonymous reader shares a report: Solid-state drives sitting unpowered in drawers or storage can lose data over time because voltage gradually leaks from their NAND flash cells, and consumer-grade drives using QLC NAND retain data for about a year while TLC NAND lasts up to three years without power. More expensive MLC and SLC NAND can hold data for five and ten … ⌘ Read more

ProcessOne: Stop Telling Us XMPP Should Use JSON

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We hear this too often: “XMPP uses XML. It should use JSON—it’s more modern.”

The logic seems straightforward: JSON came later, so it must be better. But better for what, exactly?

JSON became successful because it’s the standard serialization format for JavaScript. That made it convenient for browser-based applications.

Does that m … ⌘ Read more

Singapore Orders Apple, Google To Prevent Government Spoofing on Messaging Platforms
An anonymous reader shares a report: Singapore’s police have ordered Apple and Google to prevent the spoofing of government agencies on their messaging platforms, the home affairs ministry said on Tuesday. The order under the nation’s Online Criminal Harms Act came after the police observed scams on Apple’s … ⌘ Read more