[Regnum] Due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, nearly 50 million people worldwide could face widespread hunger and acute food shortages by the end of 2027. This was reported on August 5 by Andrea Taschetto, an Australian climate scientist and researcher at the ARC Center of Excellence for 21st Century Weather.
Even if the predicted El Niño event turns out to be less severe than some models predict, it will still push many countries to the breaking point, increasing the number of people already experiencing severe food insecurity by more than a fifth, to 225 million people in 45 countries.
"According to the analysis, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Southern Africa will be most severely affected. South and Southeast Asia will likely experience less rainfall than usual, creating serious problems for agriculture and farmers," the climatologist noted.
El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon that causes abnormally warm surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It alters global weather patterns, causing droughts in some regions and floods in others, and also leads to a significant increase in global temperatures.
Earlier, Alvaro Silva, a scientist with the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), warned of increased heat due to El Niño. He also noted that rising temperatures could lead to droughts in various parts of the world, particularly in the Caribbean and Latin America. In some regions, there is virtually no time left to prepare for necessary measures, including ensuring sufficient water for agriculture, energy production, and other vital sectors.
On July 1, the European monitoring service Copernicus Marine reported that the average global ocean surface temperature in June reached a record 20.98 degrees Celsius. The previous record for June was 20.89 degrees Celsius, set in 2024. This year's increase is due to the combined effects of global warming and the El Niño climate phenomenon. Experts expect new temperature records to be set in the coming months.
#11
More likely the seedlings of a long term PR campaign to divert attention from the diminishing farmland and water resources data center are occupying and poisoning. Similar stories like the loss of Fertilizer producing facilities will cause famine.
If we look at electric consumption and all the completely absurd behavior around pushing electrical when everyone can see there is not enough juice, it was and is, clearly a long term play to unnecessarily manufacture a problem to solve for. The solution is nuclear. The Bond villains behind it had to create the environment to get people to accept nuclear. That is the story behind the push for electrical, wind and solar over the last 15 or so years. That is why petroleum is evil and lng’s gotta go. Nuclear is where the money and control is.
Same with food, centralization of power over resource. Collectivization I believe is what the pinkos called it. Or maybe not
[ShabelleMedia] Heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy... erupted on Wednesday on the eastern outskirts of Galkayo in central Somalia, with Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... security forces battling fighters from the Puntland Security Force (PSF), who Puntland authorities allege are backed by Somalia’s federal government.
Residents said both sides exchanged heavy weapons fire, including mortar rounds, forcing civilians to flee neighborhoods near the frontline as explosions and sustained gunfire echoed across the area.
The fighting triggered a wave of displacement, with many families abandoning their homes for safer locations amid fears that the violence could spread to other parts of the divided city.
The festivities came a day after separate fighting broke out in southern Galkayo, which falls under the neighboring Galmudug ...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth... state, where government forces and armed militias exchanged fire. Local reports said that confrontation was linked to a dispute over weapons allegedly being transported toward the northern part of the city.
Late Tuesday, Puntland accused Somalia’s federal government of interfering in its internal affairs and fueling the conflict in the Mudug region. In a statement, Puntland warned against what it described as attempts to undermine the region’s security and stability.
The federal government had not issued an official response to the latest fighting by Wednesday morning.
There were no independently verified casualty figures, and the full extent of the damage remained unclear.
The violence comes amid deepening political and security tensions between Somalia’s federal government and Puntland, raising concerns that renewed fighting in Galkayo could further destabilize the strategically important city and worsen the humanitarian situation for civilians.
[Breitbart] The House Select Committee on China published a report on Tuesday that warned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has "infiltrated and weaponized" America’s communications networks, despite federal action intended to hold Beijing’s influence at bay.
"Chinese state-owned carriers remained deeply embedded in the U.S. internet ecosystem long after federal regulators had already found them vulnerable to CCP exploitation, influence, and control," the committee said.
Posted by: chris ||
08/06/2026 8:52 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Pick a spot and China is there. That is what you get for using an enemy for cheap crap to build out everything with and inviting them into every organization.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Leading artificial intelligence models from Anthropic and OpenAI created fake accounts and posed as humans to conduct a cyberattack. This was reported on August 4 by the UK-based AI Safety Institute (AISI).
Experts discovered malicious activity on July 28. Researchers found that the robots were performing unauthorized actions online against real people and organizations. Such behavior was recorded in 10 of the 122 tests conducted. Experts linked most of the dangerous incidents to the Mythos 5 model from Anthropic.
The institute added that this model created several fake accounts on the GitHub platform. The AI attempted to inject dangerous code into other people's software and trick programmers into approving it. After failing, the algorithm changed its tactics to cover its tracks and attempted to create a new profile. The model also sent messages containing malicious software to real people and publicly solicited cooperation from other digital agents. AISI emphasized that for the tests, the AI was deliberately disabled security filters and given open access to the internet.
Anthropic previously acknowledged that Claude models gained unauthorized access to systems at three real organizations during cybersecurity tests. The agency explained that the incidents occurred due to a configuration error that allowed the algorithms to access the external network. The most serious incident involved Claude Opus 4.7, which penetrated a closed database and obtained company credentials. Another neural network, Claude Mythos 5, posted a dangerous software package to the open PyPI directory. It was downloaded to 15 real computers, including a cybersecurity company's device, allowing the AI to penetrate the company's internal infrastructure.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk has repeatedly warned about the risks of uncontrolled development of artificial intelligence. In April, he compared a possible future scenario to the plot of the film "Terminator" and warned of the threat of human extinction.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Ilya Maximov
More on this story from yesterday, as it moves from Short Attention Span to full fledged Science & Technology.
[REGNUM] The scandal that erupted at the women's Tour de France Femmes has once again exposed the world to the dark side of elite sport. It has emerged that some riders are altering their breast size to improve aerodynamics.
Behind the facade of hard work, skill, perseverance, and nobility we've come to associate with competition, there are increasingly attempts to cheat, exploit loopholes, or circumvent the rules. This time, the spotlight has been on female cyclists, but similar stories have happened before—and there are plenty of them.
At times, as now, this has provoked sharp criticism and led to new restrictions. And sometimes it becomes the new norm.
The current scandal erupted on the eve of the fourth stage of the Tour de France. According to the Dutch publication WielerFlits, several women's teams complained that some riders were artificially enhancing their breasts during individual starts by using padding in their sports bras.
Numerous photographs taken during the last season clearly show that some female cyclists have noticeably larger busts during time trial races than during regular stages.
At first glance, this may seem like an innocent trick, unrelated to racing, but it's scientifically proven. Professor Bert Blocken of Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, who conducted research on this phenomenon, explained that increasing the volume in the chest area alters the airflow around the body, creating a "fairing" that reduces pressure on the hips and reduces drag.
Using such devices can reduce aerodynamic drag by up to 3.6 percent, which translates into a minimum 0.78-second gain per kilometer. In a 20-kilometer race, the advantage could be more than 15 seconds, and this difference has every chance of being decisive.
The rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) explicitly prohibit such manipulation. The regulations state that clothing must not artificially alter the rider's morphology; the use of foam, padding, tape, or plastic forms on or under the chest to create a more streamlined shape is prohibited. However, in practice, this prohibition was rarely enforced.
As Road.cc reports, Koen de Kort, head of technical affairs for the American team Lidl-Trek, acknowledged that they tested various bra models and found aerodynamic advantages in some of them, but emphasized that these were not used in races. The main question, he said, is how to regulate this: "You can say it's prohibited, but how do you determine what a woman actually needs? It's a gray area."
However, following the controversy surrounding the publication in WielerFlits, the UCI jury took an unusual step. On the eve of the fourth stage, a special warning was added to the official race bulletin: "Particular attention will be paid to compliance with Article 1.3.032 of the UCI regulations, including optional elements and clothing or other items/accessories that could alter the rider's morphology."
Teams have proposed conducting post-finish checks in closed tents by female jury members, but even this approach raises ethical questions, and the UCI itself admits that the rules in this area remain unclear.
The cycling scandal is just the latest in a long line of attempts to circumvent the rules in professional sports. Perhaps the most striking and shocking example was the so-called "Penisgate" that erupted at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Some ski jumpers have reportedly artificially enlarged their genitals with hyaluronic acid injections, a popular filler used in cosmetic surgery. The purpose of this risky procedure is to influence the measurements taken when tailoring their racing suits.
The connection between groin size and jump distance is explained by physics. Before the start of the season, jumpers undergo a 3D body scan in the presence of a doctor to ensure their suit is tailored to their exact measurements.
By artificially increasing the groin circumference, the scanner will detect larger dimensions, allowing for a suit with a larger surface area. This provides additional lift in the air, similar to how a flying squirrel uses its gliding membrane.
As Sandro Pertile, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation's ski jumping race director, explained in an interview with The Guardian," Every extra centimeter on a suit matters. If your suit's area is 5% larger, you fly further."
The scientific journal Frontiers reported that an extra two centimeters in a suit's circumference can reduce drag by 4 percent and increase lift by 5 percent, equivalent to an increase in jump distance of up to 5.8 meters. In a sport where centimeters often separate winners, this is a colossal advantage.
However, such hyaluronic acid injections, whose temporary effects last from six to twelve months, are associated with serious health risks. World Anti-Doping Agency Director General Olivier Niggli stated at the time that if such actions were deemed doping, the committee would consider adding the relevant substances to the Prohibited List. However, hyaluronic acid has not yet been recognized as doping.
Another front in the battle for seconds and millimeters unfolded earlier in track and field, where the introduction of "super spikes" sparked a wave of criticism. Companies began equipping track running shoes with thick soles made of highly elastic foam with a rigid carbon plate, which reduced athletes' fatigue. As a result, records began to be broken at an unprecedented rate.
World Athletics was forced to intervene and establish clear restrictions: the maximum sole thickness for distances up to 800 meters cannot exceed 20 millimeters, for longer track distances – 25 millimeters, and for road races – 40 millimeters. Furthermore, any spike model must be available for sale for at least four months before athletes can wear it in official competitions.
A special case in this regard is the story of laser vision correction (LASIK), which provides athletes with "supervision." Unlike bra pads or hyaluronic acid injections, LASIK is not considered a scam—it is a medical procedure aimed at improving vision.
However, it raises the same fundamental question: where do natural human abilities end and technological intervention begin?
Ophthalmologist Amanda Hoelscher of the Key-Whitman Eye Center in the US explained that more than 81% of Major League Baseball (MLB) players in the US have visual acuity of 20/15 or better, with the average being 20/13, which is about 30 percent above normal.
Many athletes turn to LASIK to eliminate glasses and contact lenses, which can dry out, shift, or limit vision. Furthermore, the surgery is believed to improve vision so sharp that athletes can discern the seams on a baseball flying at over 150 km/h, allowing them to accurately predict its trajectory.
A systematic analysis of LASIK's effectiveness, based on a study of 44 MLB players who underwent the procedure, found that their performance significantly declined in the season preceding the procedure and returned to normal afterward.
However, all this begins to seem like a mere trifle compared to the participation of transgender athletes in various competitions. Until recently, former male participants are beating up real female athletes in the ring, outscoring them in the pool or on the cycling track, and so on, thereby completely destroying the concept of fair play and devaluing the efforts of normal athletes.
The main biological advantage of transgender "women" is their prior experience of male puberty, which gives them greater height, a defined skeletal structure, and larger lung and heart capacity. And no "transition" can negate these advantages.
Fortunately, a turning point occurred on this issue in 2026: the International Olympic Committee, according to several sources, banned transgender people from participating in women's competitions under its auspices. This decision was widely hailed as a victory for common sense.
All these stories have one thing in common: sport is increasingly becoming a battleground not so much for athletes as for engineers, doctors, lawyers, and politicians. We are witnessing the evolution of "technical doping"—from crude manipulation of equipment to high-tech interventions in the body itself.
This blurs the line between fair play and a technological race, because the winner is often determined not on the track, course, or pool, but in the lab, workshop, or doctor's office. Every new restriction imposed by international federations leaves loopholes that inventive minds find. And then the inevitable question arises: who is really competing, and where is the line beyond which sport ceases to be a competition of people and becomes a competition of technology?
Victory becomes an end in itself, and everything else, including the sportsmanship spirit, loses its significance.
However, in such conditions, the achievements of true athletes—those who rely solely on their hard work, character, and talent—become even more valuable. They serve as an example of how humans are capable of overcoming many challenges, including defeating superhumans clad in super-equipment, with vision capable of spotting a fly a few hundred meters away and exceptional curves that can control airflow. All it takes is the inner core.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The spent upper stage of the American SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched in 2025, fell to the Moon. This was reported by the BBC on August 5.
According to NASA, the impact of the four-ton object on the Moon will leave a crater 18 meters in diameter and 3.6 meters deep. The object was traveling at a speed of 8,700 kilometers per hour. The estimated time of impact was around 8:35 Moscow time on August 5. The space agency emphasized that the event poses no threat to Earth, and its scientific value lies in the opportunity to study the composition of the lunar soil. Experts noted that meteorite collisions with similar energy occur on the moon every six days.
There is no official confirmation of the incident yet, as no satellite recorded the moment of contact, according to American journalists. They say scientists expect to confirm the impact later, after comparing images of the lunar surface. According to the BBC, there are currently approximately 3,000 man-made objects on the Moon, totaling 190 tons, the first of which was the Soviet Luna 2 station in 1959.
The BBC clarified that the object that fell to the Moon belonged to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched on January 15, 2025. The launch vehicle successfully launched the commercial lunar probes Blue Ghost and Resilience into space. According to NASA, after the probes separated, the empty four-ton upper stage remained in deep space. Due to its high trajectory and lack of fuel, the upper stage lacked the resources to perform a return maneuver to Earth. As a result, the object drifted in a chaotic orbit for 19 months until the Moon's gravity finally pulled it toward the surface.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Archaeologists have discovered a bronze mirror with an image of Confucius in the tomb of the Chinese ruler Liu He, according to Arkeonews.
The artifact was discovered in November 2015 in the main hall of the Marquis's mausoleum. Since then, years of restoration and deciphering of its images have been undertaken.
"This panel, known as the 'Portrait of Confucius,' was originally thought to be a lacquered screen. It once hung in the chambers of the Marquis of Haihun and was intended to provide moral guidance to the titled aristocrat, demonstrating the wisdom of the Chinese philosopher and politician reflecting on his life," the article states.
A rectangular bronze mirror, measuring 76 cm by 47 cm and bearing a portrait of an ancient philosopher, was found broken into several fragments. Various images are engraved on the back of the frame and the mirror's doors.
The owner was Liu He, the first Marquis of Haihun, with a fief comprising approximately 2,000 houses in what is now Jiangxi Province in eastern China. The emperor of the late Western Han Dynasty (92 BCE – 59 BCE), deposed 27 days after ascending the throne, was known for his love of luxury and patronage of the arts and literature.
Excavations of the tomb of Marquis Haihun began in 2011. In addition to the bronze portrait, more than 10,000 artifacts were found, including gold ingots, ceramics, jade jewelry, and approximately two million copper coins.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
