Dec 10, 2025

As the men approached, I asked one of them who he was. They looked like soldiers, but the vehicles in which they arrived had yellow civilian license plates. These masked assailants were members of the hagmar— settler reservist militias formally attached to the Israeli army and tasked with “security” in West Bank settlements.

The men dragged me behind a fence where four of them beat me until I required hospitalization. They stole the phone of an International Solidarity Mission activist who tried to record the attack.

My host, Abu Safi, who was 84, had little choice but to leave his home after that raid by the hagmar. The family packed up their belongings accumulated over decades in the house and moved to a nearby location in Area B. Abu Safi died of a heart attack soon afterwards.

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Revealing what Israel used the AI-powered software for, Michael Steinberger notes, “Its software was used by the Israeli military in several raids in Gaza” and goes on to write that, “The company’s technology was deployed by the Israelis during military operations in Lebanon in 2024 that decimated Hezbollah’s top leadership” adding that, “It was also used in Operation Grim Beeper, in which hundreds of Hezbollah fighters were injured and maimed when their pagers and walkie-talkies exploded (the Israelis had booby trapped the devices)”.

Canada will invest up to $1.7 billion over 12 years to attract and support more than 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers, including Francophone researchers. Recruitment will target individuals who are advancing world-leading research in critical fields that will deliver direct economic, societal and health benefits for Canadians.

This initiative has four streams:

• The Canada Impact+ Research Chairs program offers $1 billion over 12 years to support institutions in attracting world-leading researchers. New chairs and their teams will advance transformational research projects that can be applied and/or commercialized by connecting with receptors in industry, government and society, while also developing the next generation of highly qualified personnel. Importantly, the program funds both researcher salaries and supporting infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive support for recruited researchers.
• $120 million over 12 years is being provided for institutions to attract international early career researchers (ECRs) through the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program. This program will add more global talent to the Canadian research ecosystem, bringing in fresh ideas, diverse perspectives and significant potential.
• Another $400 million will be used to create the Canada Impact+ Research Infrastructure Fund over six years to establish a complementary stream of research infrastructure support to ensure the recruited research chairs and ECRs have the world-class facilities they need to achieve their research goals.
• The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards will invest $133.6 million over three years to enable top international doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers to relocate to Canada.

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Sara Seager, a Canadian astrophysicist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is among those leaving - she will join the University of Toronto in September, as reported by Reuters.

“There (are) many reasons why I’m returning to Canada, and one of them is the budget cuts and also the huge uncertainty in science funding in the U.S.,” Seager told Reuters.

Four of Canada’s leading universities told Reuters they are stepping up efforts to recruit top academic talent from abroad in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney's budget plan to attract over a thousand highly qualified international researchers over the next decade or so to make the country more competitive.

Avec l’annulation du festival international de la bande dessinée, le manque à gagner, pour les librairies, restaurants et hôtels, va se chiffrer en centaines de milliers d’euros… Les habitants d'Angoulême tentent, eux, de sauver leur festival en s'appuyant sur le "Off".

Race anywhere, play with anyone, build your dream rides, and defeat a cast of wild racing rivals for the coveted Sky Trophy!

In LEGO 2K Drive, your awesome transforming vehicle gives you the freedom to speed seamlessly across riveting racetracks, off-road terrain, and open waters. Explore the vast world of Bricklandia, show off your driving skills, and build vehicles brick-by-brick!

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Why do we care about the Arctic? That’s the next major battleground as Russia, Denmark (through Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the U.S. all claim territory. Canada claims approximately 1.2 million square kilometres of the region. As a result of the climate crisis, the Arctic glaciers are melting at an increasingly rapid rate. This provides an incentive for countries that have maritime borders in the North to open up to potential resource extraction, new trade routes, and military capabilities. The federal government explains: “With the Arctic warming at an unprecedented rate, new maritime routes are becoming accessible. The Canadian Armed Forces … must recognize and fulfil its collaborative role in ensuring Canadian Arctic sovereignty.” Sovereignty is primarily established through occupation of the disputed lands, hence military expansion. With increased access to strategic trade and resources, Carney’s government is ostensibly investing in the future of Canada’s economy. Basically, Carney is turning Canada into Canada, Inc.—a global energy superpower for which the Arctic is imperative to the future of resource extraction.

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Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is the national representative organization for Inuit in Canada. Its June 2025 document regarding Arctic sovereignty within a security and defence framework states: “As Canada turns toward the Arctic, governments must prioritize Inuit prosperity and perspectives as the foundation of Arctic security, sovereignty and defence.” In other words, Canada’s success in claiming Arctic waters cannot be established until Inuit communities are properly resourced: “Securing the Arctic requires Canada to invest in the people that live here and the services and supports needed to develop the economy.”

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The federal government should implement Article 3 from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states: “Indigenous Peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” The implication is that Indigenous sovereignty is key to Canadian authority in the Arctic, and the vision for this country’s economic future.

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Old cameras but they have been sitting.

What can I use to record and ensure the data is saved locally. Nothing serious, just chickens being accused of hurting plants when they are monitored. I just want to catch whatever it is (deer? Etc?) eating it so I can have evidence it isn't them

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Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – EU countries and lawmakers will wrangle Thursday over whether to give plant-based "sausages" and veggie "burgers" the chop, amid a push to restrict such labels to meat products.

Many of Europe's livestock farmers see plant-based foods that mimic meat products as potentially misleading for consumers, and a threat to their already troubled sector.

Lawmakers at the European Parliament in October backed a proposal to reserve a list of labels including burger and sausage for foods containing meat.

The EU's 27 member states will now look to hash out the initiative with negotiators from the parliament as part of a broad-ranging package of new measures to protect farmers.

Some countries seem reticent -- and officials say it may need more rounds of negotiations to reach an agreement.

Food retailers in Germany, Europe's largest market for plant-based alternative products, have spoken out against the move, along with environmentalists and consumer advocates.

Among the high-profile opponents is also former Beatle and famed vegetarian Paul McCartney, who co-signed a letter to the EU's executive arguing against the measure.

"We urge you not to adopt these restrictions, as we are deeply concerned about the significant global impact they could have," the letter said.

"The evidence is clear: existing legislation already protects consumers; consumers themselves overwhelmingly understand and support current naming conventions."

But livestock farmers argue the opposite, with French industry group Interbev saying it "confuses consumers and undermines recognition" in meat products.

EU consumption of plant-based alternatives to meat products has grown five-fold since 2011, according to data from BEUC, a consumer group.

Concerns over animal welfare and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farms as well as health arguments have fuelled the boom.

This is not the first time there has been a push to beef up rules on the labelling of such products in the EU.

The debate has stirred emotions in France, which passed a similar label ban in 2024 to appease angry farmers -- only for it to be overturned the following January in line with a ruling by the EU's top court.

And a similar proposal was rejected by European lawmakers in 2020.

The balance of power has since shifted, as the 2024 European elections saw big gains by right-wing parties that cultivate close ties to the farm sector.

But even among those groups there is no clear consensus, with centre-right leader Manfred Weber insisting the proposal was "not a priority at all".

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