Australia Poised for Desalination Boom as Water Shortages Loom
Australia is on track for a significant expansion of desalination capacity – converting seawater to freshwater – to meet the needs of a swelling population at a time of declining average rainfall. From a report: The world’s driest inhabited continent is projected to build or expand 11 desalination plants worth more than A$23 billion ($15 billion) over t … ⌘ Read more

‘Investors in Limbo’. Will the TikTok Deal’s Deadline Be Extended Again?
An anonymous reader shared this report from the BBC:

A billionaire investor keen on buying TikTok’s US operations has told the BBC he has been left in limbo as the latest deadline for the app’s sale looms.
The US has repeatedly delayed the date by which the platform’s Chinese owner, Bytedance, must sell or be blocked for American use … ⌘ Read more

Labuschagne praises Aussies’ makeshift opening pair as Khawaja call looms
Marnus Labuschagne says Australia’s opening partnership is making the rest of the batting order improve, as selectors deliberate over Usman Khawaja’s Test future. ⌘ Read more

Strictly stars gear up for Musicals week as final looms
There are just two weeks left in the contest, and things are heating up on the ballroom floor. ⌘ Read more

RoboCop Statue Rises In Detroit
alternative_right quotes a report from the Guardian: The statue looms and glints at more than 11 feet tall and weighing 3,500 pounds, looking out at the city with, how to put it … a characteristically stern expression? Despite its daunting appearance and history as a crimefighter of last resort, the giant new bronze figure of the movie character RoboCop is being seen as a symbol of hope, drawing fan … ⌘ Read more

**Previously unseen images of Epstein’s island released **
The new images come as a deadline for the broader release of documents held by the US government looms. ⌘ Read more

Tasmanian politicians under ‘intense pressure’ as answer on stadium looms
State politicians face a looming debate in parliament’s upper house, which will finally decide whether a stadium is built at Hobart’s Macquarie Point and whether Tasmania gets an AFL side. ⌘ Read more

‘Hopefully it’s not like the Spirits’: Opinions mixed as Hobart stadium vote looms
By the end of this week, Tasmania will know whether or not Hobart will have a new AFL stadium. Many Tasmanians are still making up their own minds about whether they support it or not. ⌘ Read more

Chinese Pharma is On the Cusp of Going Global
China’s pharmaceutical industry has quietly evolved from a hub for generics and clinical trials into something more ambitious – a genuine competitor in drug discovery that Western giants are now courting to fill gaps left by looming patent expirations worth over $300 billion by 2030. In the first half of 2025, nearly a third of global licensing agreements signed by big pharma inv … ⌘ Read more

Labor is celebrating the year but tough economic choices loom
The level of the prime minister’s reform appetite has been discussed and debated since roughly 9pm on election night in May, when Labor’s massive win became clear. ⌘ Read more

‘No one is bigger than the union’: CFMEU chief swings axe in cleanout
The CFMEU has flagged the moves as part of reforms to the union’s scandal-tainted Victorian branch. ⌘ Read more

Mass redundancies and sackings loom in CFMEU clean-out
CFMEU administrator Mark Irving flagged the moves as part of reforms to the union’s scandal-tainted Victorian branch. ⌘ Read more

Liberal MPs to decide on dumping net zero target
The Liberal party’s net zero carbon emissions decision is looming as the party prepares to come together in Canberra today. ⌘ Read more

Cubans flee the coast as Hurricane Melissa looms
Under sheets of rain and laden with possessions, residents of southeast Cuba fled inland Tuesday—escaping the peril of the coast before Hurricane Melissa’s arrival. ⌘ Read more

Questions loom over Albania’s forests after devastating fires
As Albania recovers from a summer of devastating wildfires, locals and experts are eyeing a long road back to save its shrinking forests from intensifying disasters. ⌘ Read more

More Mozilla Services Shutting Down as Loss of Funding Looms
Both Mozilla Pocket and Orbit are shutting down with the potential loss of more than 80% of the Firefox makers funding coming in August. ⌘ Read more

Mozilla Chaos: Layoffs, Founder Out, New Democrat Operative Leadership
Yet another round of layoffs for troubled Firefox maker, with more looming. Insiders describe the mood as “ominous”, the “writing is on the wall”. ⌘ Read more

SA vintage kicks off early but shows promise of excellent wine
Drought, heat and frost have cut yields and pushed SA’s wine industry into an early vintage, but a silver lining looms in the promise of high quality wines as a result. ⌘ Read more

Small-scale farmers feel forgotten as food regulation changes loom
Australia is implementing stricter regulations on leafy greens, melons and berries, which small-scale growers say will cause unbearable production cost increases. ⌘ Read more

Mozilla Executive Pay Doubles as Loss of 80% of Revenue Looms
“Mozilla has shifted much of its work toward Al” as funds directed towards African “Digital Justice”, “Queer Youth Inclusion”, & “Digital Activism for Young Feminists”. ⌘ Read more

Farmers race to get chickpeas from Australian paddocks to India as tariff deadline looms
Pressure is mounting to get Australia’s chickpea harvest into India before taxes that could cost exporters more than half their profit kick back in. ⌘ Read more

@prologic@twtxt.net I saw those, yes. I tried using yarnc, and it would work for a simple twtxt. Now, for a more convoluted one it truly becomes a nightmare using that tool for the job. I know there are talks about changing this hash, so this might be a moot point right now, but it would be nice to have a tool that:

1. Would calculate the hash of a twtxt in a file.
   
2. Would calculate all hashes on a twtxt.txt (local and remote).
   

Again, something lovely to have after any looming changes occur.

Internet Archive Takes Another Step Towards Death
Archive.org loses appeal in book copyright case with the Sony / Universal Music lawsuit still looming on the horizon. ⌘ Read more

Mystery disease killing thousands of Darwin mango trees and looms as NT election issue
An agronomist says the dieback is the single biggest problem threatening the sustainability of the Darwin mango industry, especially those growing Kensington Pride mangoes. ⌘ Read more

‘We just take the good with the bad’: Farmers and rural communities optimistic as dry El Niño weather looms
Queensland farmer “Sno” Harm has seen many El Niño weather patterns in his 50 years of growing cotton. He says he “can’t really prepare” for the next drought and remains hopeful for rain. ⌘ Read more

Erlang Solutions: Here’s why you should consider investing in RabbitMQ during a recession
Europe and the US are leading the way in the forecasted recession for 2023, due to persistently high inflation and increasing interest rates. With minimal projected GDP growth, modern technologies can play a crucial role in reducing the impact of economic downturns.

As caution looms, it can be tempting to reign in on your investment. Your initial thought is to balance t … ⌘ Read more

Japan eyes restart of nuclear plants offline since 2011 Fukushima disaster as temperatures soar
Soaring temperatures and a looming power crunch have prompted Japan to speed up reviews of the dozens of nuclear reactors that were shut down in the wake of Fukushima disaster. Nuclear power used to account for about 30 per cent of Japan’s energy mix before 2011. ⌘ Read more

As BTS ‘takes a break’, what does it mean for the K-pop supergroup’s future?
Looming military enlistment for the older members of BTS is creating a headache for the company behind the band. Last week’s shock announcement also leaves the group’s social justice efforts in doubt. ⌘ Read more

WWII sex slave issue looms large over South Korea’s ties with Japan ⌘ Read more

decided to publish the initial words I wrote up for this granular delay I created, available at the !loom: @!(loomref “bugz”)!@.

the !loom now has better page navigation. thanks !worgmap :)

okay, now !worgle and friends are uploaded to the !loom: [[/loom/worgle]]. #updates

created an initial wiki page about my !loom. #updates

added weewiki and orgparse to the #loom today [[/loom/weewiki]] [[/loom/orgparse]]. #updates

introducing the #loom, a collection a small literate programs woven to HTML: [[/loom]] #links #updates #literateprogramming

I need a loom for all my random woven literate programs. #halfbakedideas #literateprogramming