Exploitation fears over SA government aged care changes
The South Australian government is trying to speed up the transfer of hospital patients into aged care, but advocates say they are “trampling on the rights of older people” in the process. ⌘ Read more

Russia ramps up recruitment of foreign fighters despite ceasefire talks
Through a targeted social media campaign, Russia is offering citizenship and money to foreigners who join its fight in Ukraine, but experts say this is a desperate measure from Moscow. ⌘ Read more

First-home owner’s highest offer declined as seller ‘put off’ by government scheme
When Regan buys his first home, the government will own around 30 per cent of it. But he is fast realising that for that to even happen, a lot of things have to fall into place. ⌘ Read more

How Europe is gearing up to follow Australia’s teen social media ban
The European Union says it will learn from Australia’s new laws to bar under-16s from social media, with steps to implement the world-first ban already underway and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praising Australia’s “brave move”. ⌘ Read more

Sarra and Craig were bushfire prepared, but their home is now ash
Residents on the NSW coast are coming to terms with property loss after bushfires swept through the region on Saturday. ⌘ Read more

Why Gen Z is Using Retro Tech
“People in their teens and early 20s are increasingly turning to old school tech,” reports the BBC, “in a bid to unplug from the online world.”

Amazon UK told BBC Scotland News that retro-themed products surged in popularity during its Black Friday event, with portable vinyl turntables, Tamagotchis and disposable cameras among their best sellers. Retailers Currys and John Lewis also said they had seen retro gadge … ⌘ Read more

Have you been involved in an MLM business? Tell us your story
Multi-level marketing networks have been around for decades. But their business models are changing, with consumer advocates warning that the industry is rife with predatory tactics. We want to hear about your experiences with MLMs. ⌘ Read more

One of Australia’s biggest MLMs is cashing in on the manosphere
A global multi-level-marketing business that sells expensive water ionisers is shifting its target audience to Aussie tradies, but critics say some of their predatory sales tactics are tantamount to a pyramid scheme. ⌘ Read more

England has poked the bear. Australia is out for Ashes domination
The snarl on Steve Smith’s face proved conclusively that Australia doesn’t just want to beat the English in this Ashes series. It wants to break them. ⌘ Read more

Quiz: How well do you remember your December history?
From the world’s first traffic lights to a Sesame Street legend — how well will you do on our history quiz? ⌘ Read more

s it ever OK to leave a party or social event without saying goodbye?
We asked two experts for their advice on the etiquette of leaving a social gathering without notice and the best approaches to take if you do need to depart suddenly. ⌘ Read more

Families ‘devastated’ amid fears of Victorian group home closures
Parents of some of Victoria’s most vulnerable people fear what will happen to their loved ones if hundreds of group homes are forced to close. ⌘ Read more

Is Netflix Trying to Buy Warner Bros. or Kill It?
Why does Netflix want to buy Warner Bros, asks the chief film critic at the long-running motion-picture magazine Variety. “It is hard, at this moment, to resist the suspicion that the ultimate reason… is to eliminate the competition.”

[Warner Bros. is] one of the only companies that’s keeping movies as we’ve known them alive… Some people think movies are going t … ⌘ Read more

New FreeBSD 15 Retires 32-Bit Ports and Modernizes Builds
FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE arrived this week, notes this report from The Register, which calls it the latest release “of the Unix world’s leading alternative to Linux.”

As well as numerous bug fixes and upgrades to many of its components, the major changes in this version are reductions in the number of platforms the OS supports, and in how it’s built and how its … ⌘ Read more

Homebrew Can Now Help You Install Flatpaks Too
“Homebrew, the package manager for macOS and Linux, just got a handy new feature in the latest v5.0.4 update,” reports How-To Geek.

Brewfile install scripts “are now more like a one-stop shop for installing software, as Flatpaks are now supported alongside Brew packages, Mac App Store Apps, and other packages.”

For those times when you need to install many software packages at on … ⌘ Read more

Many Privileged Students at US Universities are Getting Extra Time on Tests After ‘Disability’ Diagnoses
Today America’s college professors “struggle to accommodate the many students with an official disability designation,” reports the Atlantic, “which may entitle them to extra time, a distraction-free environment, or the use of otherwise-prohibited technology.”

Their st … ⌘ Read more

As Stokes questions England’s toughness, McCullum warns of ‘glass jaw’
England’s famed captain-coach duo aren’t going to let their relationship fray in the face of the biggest test of their polarising tenure. ⌘ Read more

Live: Three-way title battle set to igniite Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are all in the hunt for the Formula 1 drivers world championship title in the season finale at Adb Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit. Follow live. ⌘ Read more

Five quick hits: Smith fires up, takes miracle catch as Bazball leaves the building
Smith “champs” Archer, Bazball leaves the building and the Australian captain breaks the game open with a miraculous grab. Here are the quick hits from the fourth and final day of the Gabba Ashes Test. ⌘ Read more

Japan and Australia urge calm after Chinese radar locks onto Japanese jets
Japan formally protests the incident, calling it “an extremely regrettable” and dangerous act that “exceeded the scope necessary for safe aircraft operations”. ⌘ Read more

@shinyoukai@neko.laidback.moe @prologic@twtxt.net Maybe that is helpful to you: https://git.mills.io/yarnsocial/twtxt2html/issues/12#issuecomment-20792

Nightclub fire kills at least 25 in India’s Goa state
At least 100 people were on the club’s dance floor when the fire broke out. ⌘ Read more

Is Ruby Still a ‘Serious’ Programming Language?
Wired published an article by California-based writer/programmer Sheon Han arguing that Ruby “is not a serious programming language.”

Han believes that the world of programming has “moved on”, and “everything Ruby does, another language now does better, leaving it without a distinct niche.

Ruby is easy on the eyes. Its syntax is simple, free of semicolons or brackets. More s … ⌘ Read more

Naked man smashes ambulance windscreen in Kalgoorlie-Boulder
A video circulated on social media shows a naked male using his head to smash the windscreen of a moving ambulance. ⌘ Read more

Man arrested, police searching for second person after fatal stabbing
Police are seeking out witnesses and searching for a second person believed to be involved in the fatal stabbing of a man in Melbourne’s north. ⌘ Read more

Prisoner ‘barely recognisable’ after alleged assault at SA jail, union says
A 20-year-old prisoner was so badly bashed at an Adelaide jail on Sunday morning that he was left “barely recognisable” and had to be rushed to hospital for treatment, a union says. ⌘ Read more

Teenager charged after passenger killed in early morning crash
A 16-year-old boy is alleged to have been the driver of a car which crashed into a pole early Sunday, killing a 17-year-old passenger. ⌘ Read more

Smith denied first Australian Open title as Neergaard-Petersen claims win
Cameron Smith falls agonisingly short of winning his first Australian Open, as Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen scores a thrilling one-stroke victory at Royal Melbourne. ⌘ Read more

Locals to be consulted on plan for new Alice Springs library
The location for the new Alice Springs Public Library was announced late last month, with residents soon able to have their say on what they want included in the $20 million facility. ⌘ Read more

New Jolla Phone Now Available for Pre-Order as an Independent Linux Phone
Jolla is “trying again with a new crowd-funded smartphone,” reports Phoronix:

Finnish company Jolla started out 14 years ago where Nokia left off with MeeGo and developed Sailfish OS as a new Linux smartphone platform. Jolla released their first smartphone in 2013 after crowdfunding but ultimately the Sailfish OS focus the pa … ⌘ Read more

Sixers down Strikers in final-ball thriller to secure WBBL finals berth
Ellyse Perry produced one of the best knocks of her career but the Sydney Sixers took until the final ball to see off the Adelaide Strikers and land a WBBL finals spot. ⌘ Read more

Despite another fire crisis, residents at ‘heaven on earth’ won’t live anywhere else
It is beautiful and remote, with one road in and out. And that is part of the deadly bushfire risk of living in this seaside community. ⌘ Read more

The sweet spirit ‘steeped in tradition’ that’s becoming trendy
South Australian distillers are tapping into a growing global thirst for Limoncello and finding a new market for lemons and grape spirit. ⌘ Read more

Fragile, inconvenient and low quality: Why are cassettes back in vogue?
For a supposedly obsolete music format, audio cassette sales seem to be set on fast forward at the moment. ⌘ Read more

Pangallo eyed deputy’s job as Liberal MPs back Ashton Hurn
High-profile SA Liberal recruit Frank Pangallo admits he sought advice about becoming deputy leader of the party, despite the incumbent in that role saying the position is not vacant. ⌘ Read more

Why Hollywood has called the Netflix-Warner Bros merger a disaster
A major deal between Netflix and Warner Bros has sent shock waves through Hollywood and sparked backlash. ⌘ Read more

Live: Ashes day of reckoning arrives as England great forecasts 5-0 whitewash
England captain Michael Vaughan says Australia could beat England 5-0 yet again if Ben Stokes’s team does not rapidly change course, starting on day four at the Gabba. Follow live. ⌘ Read more

‘Essential for water safety’: Fears Canberra won’t have enough pools
As temperatures soar, advocates of public pools in Canberra say they want to see greater support and investment for facilities in the national capital. ⌘ Read more

The Anxieties of Full-Body MRI Scans (Not Covered by Insurance)
Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank calls himself “a highly creative hypochondriac” — who just paid for an expensive MRI scan to locate abnormal spots as tiny as 2 millimeters.

He discusses the pros and cons of its “diffusion-weighted imaging” technology combined with the pattern recognition of AI, which theoretically “has the potential to save … ⌘ Read more

Four arrested in London after apple crumble thrown at Crown Jewels display
An organisation called Take Back Power, which describes itself as a civil resistance group, posted footage of the incident on social media and said two of its members had smothered the Imperial State Crown display case with apple crumble and custard. ⌘ Read more

‘I’m somebody now’: After 88 years Maisie finally has a birth certificate
Maisie Harkin was born on country in Western Australia’s Great Victoria Desert. It has taken 88 years for her birth to be officially recognised. ⌘ Read more

Train derailment closes Townsville-Mount Isa rail line
A train locomotive is on its side and two others are off the track after a derailment on the Townsville to Mount Isa rail line. ⌘ Read more

At least 11 killed in South Africa hostel shooting
Gunmen stormed a hostel in the early hours of the morning, shooting 25 people at the scene and killing at least 11 people, including three children. ⌘ Read more

@itsericwoodward@itsericwoodward.com Aren’t yhere onlu 12 puzzles this year? 🧐

Scorchers book finals spot with Renegades WBBL defence over
Beth Mooney’s flawless 94 not out leads Perth to victory in its must-win game against Brisbane, ensuring the Scorchers will play finals again in the WBBL. ⌘ Read more

Could America’s Paper Checks Be On the Way Out, Like the Penny?
“First the penny. Next, paper checks?” asks CNN:

When the U.S. Mint stopped making pennies last month for the first time in 238 years, it drew a lot of attention. But there have been quiet moves to stop using paper checks as well. The government stopped sending out most paper checks to recipients as of the end of September, part of an effort to fully … ⌘ Read more

Findings set to reveal dysfunction that led to WA’s first youth detention death
The coroner investigating WA’s first recorded death in youth detention is expected to hand down wide-ranging findings and recommendations following the death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd in 2022. Here’s everything you need to know. ⌘ Read more

All-abilities nippers surf lifesaving program extended to regional WA
Catering to children with autism spectrum disorders, it is the first of its kind in regional Western Australia. ⌘ Read more

Illegal seafood and ALP fundraisers etched into iconic restaurant’s fame
For four decades Lagoon Restaurant has been one of Wollongong’s most iconic and controversial establishments, enjoying a prime seaside location and a close relationship with the city’s political class. ⌘ Read more

Prime minister’s office approved Wells’s almost-$100,000 flights
The furore over Communications Minister Anika Wells’s expenses continues, with just three days until the government’s much-anticipated social media ban for under 16s comes into force. ⌘ Read more