Games · Friday, October 9, 2026 · 2 sources

A new GTA 6 leak shows gameplay as Take-Two pursues the source

An anonymous account called Cyberleek has published an unauthorised GTA 6 video; reports describe it as 24 minutes long, while HotCars says 25. IGN and Metro report scenes featuring protagonists Jason and Lucia, including first-person sequences, but Rockstar has not confirmed that the footage shows features planned for release. Take-Two is seeking account and device records from Microsoft, Discord and X, with no public result announced.

Bottom line — Cyberleek remains unidentified, and Take-Two’s subpoenas have produced no publicly announced outcome.

Go deeper 8

HotCars describes a dirt-bike race at the Thrillbilly Mud Club, featuring Jason and Lucia.
HotCars says the footage shows Manchez and Sanchez rentals priced at $200 (about €184) each.
The rental screen appears to list separate off-road and asphalt ratings, according to HotCars.
HotCars reports Jason finishes third in the race, citing Sportskeeda.
A developer-style menu reportedly appears in the video; the Yahoo News report cautions that its functions may be testing tools, not retail features.
Yahoo News says Take-Two’s subpoenas seek account, connection and device records from Microsoft, Discord and X.
Rockstar has not confirmed first-person mode at launch, HotCars notes.
Yahoo News reports blockchain observers tracked about $270,000 (€248,000) in cryptocurrency activity linked to the campaign; it is not an official financial investigation.

Read the reporting 2

Yahoo News yahoo.com GTA 6 Leaker Returns With 24 Minutes of New Gameplay HotCars hotcars.com Massive GTA 6 Leak Allegedly Exposes 25 Minutes Of Gameplay

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Global Economy · Fri, Oct 9

Eurozone bond markets test whether inflation fears are turning into recession bets

According to AOL, which republished a Euronews Business analysis, eurozone bond markets are pricing in tighter ECB policy rather than a recession, with Germany's 10-year yield at 3.49% and the two-year yield at 3.07% against a 2.50% deposit rate. France's 10-year yield, at 4.88%, now sits about 1.39 percentage points above Germany's, and Ken Egan of KBRA argued the move is a mix of energy-driven inflation and a France-specific fiscal premium. The ECB Data Portal source describes the Economic Bulletin and risk dashboards but does not address the yield moves themselves.

Bottom line — Egan of KBRA says the recession signals that would normally appear are not yet visible, with Bloomberg's one-year recession probability at 20%.

Sources AOL.com data.ecb.europa.eu

World · Fri, Oct 9

Anti-migrant protests in Soweto and Durban leave at least 24 vehicles torched and shops looted

Anti-migrant protests turned violent in Soweto, outside Johannesburg, and Durban on Thursday, with at least 24 vehicles set alight and foreign-owned shops looted, according to police. The unrest followed a July Constitutional Court ruling that allows asylum seekers who entered the country irregularly to apply, which the government says overwhelmed refugee offices. Home Affairs said it would change how it complies with the ruling, and later withdrew the directive, though it said the court judgment itself still stands.

Bottom line — Home Affairs must now build a workable asylum process that complies with the court while easing pressure on reception centres.

Sources www.bbc.com BBC News Briefly +6 more

AI · Fri, Oct 9

DeepSeek and Xiaomi’s open models use sparse experts to cut AI compute costs

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Xiaomi MiMo-V2.6 Pro, released 12 days apart in September, use Mixture-of-Experts architecture: each token activates only a fraction of the model’s parameters. The DEV Community article says V4.1 Flash has 552 billion parameters, with about 16 billion active per output token, while MiMo-V2.6 Pro has 1.02 trillion parameters and 42 billion active; both are described as MIT-licensed.

Bottom line — V4.1 Flash activates about 16 billion of its 552 billion parameters per output token, but sparse computation does not reduce the memory needed to hold the full model.

Sources DEV Community codango.com PubMed Central (PMC) +7 more

AI · Fri, Oct 9

Samsung forecasts €69.2bn quarterly operating profit as AI memory demand lifts earnings

Samsung Electronics forecast third-quarter operating profit of 107.4 trillion won (€69.2bn; $80.17bn), nearly nine times the year-earlier figure and its fourth consecutive quarterly record. The company attributed the rise to demand for memory chips used in AI infrastructure; its full results and business breakdown are due on 29 October.

Bottom line — Samsung’s 107.4 trillion won forecast is preliminary; the company’s 29 October report will show how much came from semiconductors.

Sources Khaleej times THISDAYLIVE UPI +7 more

Space · Fri, Oct 9

Chinese astronomers find evolving triple-star system with pulsar that challenges spin-up theory

Chinese astronomers, using the FAST radio telescope, identified a triple-star system, J0435+3233, containing a pulsar spinning once every 3.2 milliseconds, a white dwarf and a Sun-like star, according to a paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. A separate team led by Prof. WANG Na of the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory reported in Nature Astronomy that the pulsar's spin-down rate is two orders of magnitude higher than any other known millisecond pulsar in the Galaxy, which the team said challenges the classical accretion-driven formation theory.

Bottom line — The system's outer star orbits every 73.5 years, and the pulsar's spin period is increasing about one nanosecond a year.

Sources CGTNOfficial arXiv.org iopscience.iop.org +4 more

Space · Fri, Oct 9

Webb telescope detects changing water clouds on coldest known brown dwarf 7.5 light-years away

A team led by Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona Steward Observatory used the James Webb Space Telescope to watch WISE 0855, the coldest known brown dwarf, over 11 hours. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, reports the first direct confirmation that water clouds on another body thicken and thin over time, alongside deep gases churned upward by convection. The researchers say the two signals could now be separated, which older telescopes could not do.

Bottom line — Miles argues the Jupiter-like physics seen on WISE 0855 may apply to gas giant exoplanets now being studied with Webb.

Sources EurekAlert University of Arizon… Mirage News +6 more

Europe · Fri, Oct 9

Labour holds Keir Starmer's former seat as Greens' Zack Polanski comes second with 32.8% of the vote

Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali, leader of Camden Council, won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election in north London with 12,292 votes (45.2%), according to the Camden Council count reported by PollCheck and the BBC. Green leader Zack Polanski came second on 8,928 votes (32.8%), cutting Labour's majority from 11,572 at the 2024 general election to 3,364. Turnout was 38.8%, far below the 54.1% recorded in 2024.

Bottom line — Polanski says he will stay on, but Green Party sources told the BBC the status quo is untenable, and bookmakers reportedly moved to favour his replacement.

Sources BBC News en.wikipedia.org www.britishpolitical… +10 more

Europe · Fri, Oct 9

Dutch defence minister labels Russia as an enemy, not aggressor

Dutch Defence Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz told parliament during the defence budget debate that Russia is now the Netherlands' enemy rather than its aggressor, while saying this does not mean the country is at war. The Russian embassy in The Hague, speaking through a Telegram statement reported by TASS, asked whether her remarks reflected official government policy and warned of an "immediate, swift and crushing response" to any threat to Russian sovereignty. DutchNews.nl reports the government's policy itself is unchanged.

Bottom line — The Dutch government has not yet said whether Yeşilgöz's words are official policy, leaving Moscow's demand for clarification unanswered.

Sources NL Times DutchNews.nl saharareporters.com +4 more

World · Fri, Oct 9

Navi Pillay, former UN rights chief and ICJ judge, wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, 85, a South African-born former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who now sits on the International Court of Justice. The committee, chaired by Jørgen Watne Frydnes, said the award was a message to those undermining international law institutions. Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the choice, citing Pillay's UN commission finding that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. The prize carries 12 million Swedish kronor (around €1 million).

Bottom line — The committee framed Pillay's prize as a defence of international courts, which Frydnes said were "under attack" from power politics.

Sources Yahoo News CBS News NobelPrize.org +8 more

TV/Movies · Fri, Oct 9

Apple TV acquires Anna Torv crime drama Dustfall for 2027

Apple TV has acquired streaming rights to Dustfall, a six-episode Australian crime drama starring Anna Torv, with a global premiere planned for 2027. Torv plays detective Antigone “Tig” Pollard, whose sexual assault investigation takes a darker turn when a key suspect is found dead; the BBC and ZDF hold premiere rights in the UK and Germany, while Australia is excluded from Apple’s deal.

Bottom line — Apple’s 2027 release will follow Dustfall’s Australian premiere on ABC and ABC iview on 11 October.

Sources Movieweb The A.V. Club C21Media +3 more

Technology · Fri, Oct 9

Xiaomi's HyperOS 4 brings two-way iPhone sync for photos, files and messages

Xiaomi announced on 7 October that HyperOS 4 will let Xiaomi phone owners share photos, files, contacts and web pages with iPhones, view cloud albums on either device, and receive and reply to notifications across both ecosystems, according to TechNode. Mac and iPad users can control a Xiaomi phone through the Mi Connect Desktop app, which requires a shared Xiaomi account and the company's connectivity app. HyperOS 4 debuted on the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, with a wider rollout scheduled for 15 October.

Bottom line — Xiaomi's features require a shared Xiaomi account and companion app, and Opoinstall notes availability varies by feature and device.

Sources GSMArena.com Hitechreports TechNode +2 more

Space · Fri, Oct 9

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot returns after record-setting 237-day ISS mission

The four Crew-12 astronauts, including ESA’s Sophie Adenot, splashed down in the Pacific off Los Angeles after 237 days aboard the International Space Station. NASA said the crew completed more than 3,792 orbits and research on stem cells, on-demand IV fluids and other topics; Adenot became the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk.

Bottom line — Adenot completed three spacewalks; NASA says Jessica Meir carried out four, bringing her career total to seven.

Sources The Bakersfield Cali… unb.com.bd Space Coast Daily +5 more

Science · Fri, Oct 9

Weizmann’s Brain-IT rebuilds viewed images from fMRI scans with one hour of calibration

Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science developed Brain-IT, an AI system that reconstructs images people view using activity recorded by fMRI scans. According to MIT Technology Review, the system separates predictions of an image’s structure from its content, and needs about one hour of data from a new person, compared with roughly 40 hours for earlier approaches.

Bottom line — Brain-IT cuts calibration to one hour, but its researchers have not yet shown it can reconstruct imagined images.

Sources NDTV MIT Technology Revie… www.science.org +5 more

Europe · Fri, Oct 9

Germany withdraws from Franco-German MGCS tank project, French chief of staff confirms

France's chief of defence staff, General Fabien Mandon, told the National Assembly that Germany has decided to leave the MGCS future tank programme, which was launched in 2017 to replace the Leclerc and Leopard 2. Reuters and POLITICO both report the announcement, with POLITICO noting Mandon's admission that the project had failed, though he rejected the word 'complete failure'. The programme had been delayed by industrial and funding disputes, and Hamer Intelligence Services notes it follows the collapse of the FCAS fighter project four months earlier.

Bottom line — With MGCS now lost, France and Germany must choose between upgrading existing tanks, pursuing national successors, or finding new partners by 2045.

Sources BFM BUSINESS The Epoch Times Zonebourse +3 more

World · Fri, Oct 9

Ethiopian forces retake Mekelle as TPLF withdraws from Tigray capital

Ethiopian federal forces and allied militias have retaken Mekelle after the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) withdrew, saying its regional administration would operate elsewhere. Reuters and AFP reported that government forces entered the city on Saturday; the TPLF has indicated it will continue fighting. The renewed conflict, which began on 23 September, is the worst escalation since Ethiopia’s 2020–2022 civil war.

Bottom line — The TPLF says its administration will operate outside Mekelle, while the African Union has urged restraint as regional tensions rise.

Sources US News & World Repo… dw.com en.wikipedia.org +2 more

Football · Fri, Oct 9

Everton owners The Friedkin Group open to full sale of club under two years after takeover

The Friedkin Group, the US-based owners of Premier League club Everton, said it is exploring new investment options, including the potential sale of a controlling interest. The group bought the club in December 2024 in a deal reported at over £400m (around €470m), and the club said it will only entertain buyers who would be the right stewards. Everton's owners have faced fan criticism over the summer transfer window.

Bottom line — Everton's owners say they will only sell to a buyer they judge the right steward, with the club seventh in the table.

Sources www.dailymail.com BBC Sport BBC Sport +6 more

World · Fri, Oct 9

UN extends Darfur arms embargo as US push for nationwide ban stalls

The Security Council unanimously extended the arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region until 11 December, while failing to agree on a US proposal to cover the whole country. Al Jazeera reports that Russia and China opposed broadening the restrictions; Washington says a nationwide ban would target networks supplying weapons to both sides of the civil war.

Bottom line — The Darfur embargo now runs until 11 December, while negotiations over Washington’s nationwide proposal continue.

Sources The National Al Jazeera sudantribune.com +1 more

World · Fri, Oct 9

US and Ukraine open Miami talks on peace proposals, with European officials invited

US and Ukrainian delegations are meeting in Miami for two days to discuss proposals for ending Russia’s war, including security guarantees and a post-war recovery plan. Axios reports that a partial ceasefire covering attacks on energy infrastructure and grain shipments is under consideration; Ukraine has signalled readiness, while Russia has shown little interest. National security advisers from the UK, France and Germany, plus NATO and EU officials, were invited.

Bottom line — Axios reports that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may take the proposals to Moscow later this month.

Sources The Independent KyivPost Українська правда +7 more

Health · Fri, Oct 9

Gene activity patterns linked to severe COVID-19 in children shared with other serious lung infections

Researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Cape Town, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, analysed blood samples from 333 children in South Africa. They found more than 5,000 genes expressed differently in children with severe infections, and 82 genes that distinguish mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 from severe cases. The study team said larger cohorts are needed before the signatures could become diagnostic tools or treatments.

Bottom line — Lead researcher Negusse Kitaba says the 82-gene signature could serve as a biomarker, but only larger pediatric studies can test that.

Sources Respiratory Therapy PubMed Central (PMC) link.springer.com +4 more

World · Fri, Oct 9

European officials fear Russia-linked sabotage could cause mass casualties

EU ambassadors have stepped up restricted talks since an explosives-laden drone was found at Leipzig airport in August, with discussions focused on the risk of attacks causing large-scale casualties, Politico reported. European governments are preparing for the possibility of a deadly attack below the threshold of open war, while analysts say the range of potential targets—from airports and factories to critical infrastructure—is difficult to protect.

Bottom line — Annabelle Walker of Sibylline calls a high-impact attack plausible within six months, while saying its likelihood remains fairly low in the coming year.

Sources Українська правда inews.co.uk

Science · Fri, Oct 9

Kilauea logs 54th lava fountaining episode, then goes quiet as summit magma shifts underground

The US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says Kilauea, on Hawaii's Big Island, has produced 54 short lava-fountaining episodes since December 2024, with some fountains reaching 457 metres (Science News). Since a September 30 summit intrusion, HVO reports no sustained Episode 55 fountaining, and it says the irregular inflation and deflation now prevent forecasting the next episode. The alert level remains WATCH/ORANGE.

Bottom line — Kilauea's record 54 episodes now carry no forecast window, and HVO says a new fountain, further intrusion or a stop are all possible.

Sources Science News USGS volcanoes.usgs.gov +4 more

Gaming Hardware · Fri, Oct 9

AMD’s RX 9060 XT prices rise as memory costs squeeze the graphics-card market

AMD has reportedly raised suggested prices for most Radeon RX 9000 cards in China, with increases said to have taken effect on 1 October; the company has not announced matching global prices, according to Guru3D. XDA-Developers says the RX 9060 XT 16GB now costs about €480 ($520) at US retailers, while PC Gamer found the 8GB version at about €369 ($400), its lowest price in a month.

Bottom line — Guru3D reports the RX 9060 XT 16GB’s China suggested price rose by RMB600, to about €676 (RMB4,899).

Sources XDA-Developers Guru3D.com pcgamer

TV/Movies · Fri, Oct 9

Netflix plans to cut about 5% of its workforce, roughly 800 jobs, report says

According to Puck News, citing anonymous sources, Netflix is preparing a restructuring that would affect about 5% of staff, with an announcement possibly as early as next week. Netflix declined to comment, and the reporting does not say which departments would be hit. Variety and TheWrap put the figure at roughly 800 jobs against about 16,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025, while AV Club estimates 17,000 employees worldwide and about 850 jobs.

Bottom line — If confirmed, the cuts would be Netflix's largest since 2022, as the stock sits about 40% lower than a year ago.

Sources Deadline Variety theTIKR +3 more

Apple · Fri, Oct 9

Apple reportedly plans touchscreen MacBook Pro launch for 27 October

Apple is expected to unveil its first touchscreen MacBook Pro and a refreshed iPad mini at an event on or around 27 October, according to Bloomberg reporting cited by The Verge and other outlets. The reported line-up also includes M6 updates to the 14-inch MacBook Pro and iMac; Apple has not confirmed the event or products.

Bottom line — The reported 27 October launch would put Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro alongside an OLED iPad mini.

Sources Gadgets 360 Engadget Macworld +4 more

Games · Fri, Oct 9

Xbox creates XP to expand game franchises into film, TV and live experiences

Microsoft says the new XP division will bring Xbox franchises into film and television, consumer products, partnerships and live experiences. Led by former Mojang president Kayleen Walters, XP will coordinate work across existing Xbox teams and external creative partners; it is not a production company. Maria Angelidou-Smith, formerly of Reddit and Meta, will take over as Mojang chief executive.

Bottom line — XP brings four existing areas of Xbox activity under Kayleen Walters, without announcing a new adaptation.

Sources Morningstar cnbctv18.com The Straits Times +8 more

AI · Fri, Oct 9

AI Companies Quietly War-Game Catastrophic Incidents and Who Takes the Blame

Executives at major AI companies are privately running scenarios for a large-scale event, most likely a cyberattack, that could cut off financial services, internet access, or power and water. OpenAI said such exercises are routine and that no scenario is treated as inevitable, while Anthropic declined to comment. The companies reportedly plan to red-team worst-case scenarios and brief members of Congress to shape any future legislation.

Bottom line — Insiders quoted by Axios expect a major AI-related incident within six to twelve months, while the White House accord carries no legal enforcement.

Sources Gizmodo Yahoo News AOL.com +3 more

TV/Movies · Fri, Oct 9

Paramount develops a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 film with CD Projekt Red

Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action film set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, the outlets report. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and game developer and rights holder CD Projekt Red are attached to produce; no cast, director or plot details have been announced.

Bottom line — The film is in early development, with no cast or director announced.

Sources Deadline Variety IGN +5 more

Cyber Security · Fri, Oct 9

FBI seizes seven domains tied to China-linked Flax Typhoon hacking tools

The FBI and US Justice Department seized seven domains linked to Microscan, a vulnerability-scanning tool, and FishHub, a spear-phishing tool allegedly operated by China-based Integrity Technology Group. US court documents say the tools were used to scan networks and, in some cases, access systems including a South Carolina power company, airports in Japan and Poland, and Taiwanese universities and infrastructure.

Bottom line — The seizure is the second publicly announced US disruption of Integrity Tech’s infrastructure since 2024.

Sources TheRegister.com The Cyber Express IT Security News - c… +6 more

Space · Fri, Oct 9

JWST traces record fast radio burst to a small, star-forming galaxy

Astronomers used South Africa’s MeerKAT array and the James Webb Space Telescope to trace FRB 20240304B to a galaxy seen as it was about 3 billion years after the Big Bang. The burst travelled for more than 10 billion years to reach Earth, more than doubling the previous distance record for a fast radio burst with an identified host galaxy.

Bottom line — The team has JWST time over the next three years to follow up other distant bursts and study matter between galaxies.

Sources livescience.com Yahoo!7 News Scientific American +2 more

Space · Fri, Oct 9

Daily Martian cloud over Arsia Mons may form without dust, researchers say

Researchers led by Jorge Hernández-Bernal of Sorbonne Université, reporting in Nature Geoscience, say the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud forms when water vapour freezes directly into ice without a dust particle to seed it. Simulations matched observations only after this process, called homogeneous nucleation, was included, according to the study. The cloud, up to 1,800 km long, forms each morning during the Martian dusty season and vanishes by afternoon.

Bottom line — If confirmed, the finding would be the first observation of homogeneous nucleation in a planetary atmosphere, with the team suggesting it may also occur on Venus and Earth.

Sources www.youtube.com www.dailymail.com www.universal-sci.co… +4 more

Cyber Security · Fri, Oct 9

Anthropic opens three-tier cyber access programme to verified security teams

Anthropic has merged Project Glasswing and its Cyber Verification Program into three access tiers for approved cybersecurity professionals, covering defensive work, authorised red-teaming and testing safety-critical systems. The company says partners identified at least 129,000 verified software vulnerabilities from April to July, including more than 33,000 rated critical or high severity; it calls the figures an undercount.

Bottom line — Anthropic’s three tiers set different limits on access to Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Mythos 5.1.

Sources Axios NaturalNews.com Startup Fortune +7 more

Games · Fri, Oct 9

Forza Horizon 6 Lands on PS5 on 26 January 2027, Alongside First Expansion

Xbox and developer Playground Games have confirmed Forza Horizon 6 will launch on PlayStation 5 on 26 January 2027, later than the 2026 window previously stated, and the first paid expansion arrives the same month on all platforms. Premium Edition pre-orders get five days of early access from 21 January. Standard and Deluxe editions are priced at 69.99 euro (USD 69.99), 99.99 euro (USD 99.99) and 119.99 euro (USD 119.99) for the Premium Edition, matching the Xbox pricing according to TheGamer.

Bottom line — The PS5 port of Forza Horizon 6 arrives 26 January 2027, the same month as its first expansion and a free update.

Sources GTPlanet Gaming.net www.gematsu.com +9 more

Technology · Fri, Oct 9

Microsoft cuts Family and Premium OneDrive storage from 6 TB to 2 TB

Microsoft is replacing individual 1 TB OneDrive allowances on Microsoft 365 Family and Premium with a 2 TB shared pool, reducing the maximum storage for six users from 6 TB. New and upgraded subscriptions switch on 8 October 2026; existing customers move at their first renewal on or after 2 May 2027, with advance notice. Microsoft says files remain private and customers over the limit can access them for up to a year while they manage their storage.

Bottom line — The 2 TB pool can be expanded to as much as 10 TB, according to Microsoft.

Sources Office Watch support.microsoft.co… www.microsoft.com +2 more

Games · Fri, Oct 9

A new GTA 6 leak shows gameplay as Take-Two pursues the source

Bottom line — Cyberleek remains unidentified, and Take-Two’s subpoenas have produced no publicly announced outcome.

Sources Yahoo News HotCars

Global Economy · Fri, Oct 9

Hormuz tanker traffic hits two-month low as attacks disrupt shipping

Seven commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the lowest number since July 23, as attacks on tankers reached their highest weekly level since the Iran war began, according to Reuters and shipping data from Kpler. Kpler said crude flows through the strait fell 27% to at least 10.1 million barrels a day, while exports from the Gulf of Oman coast and the Red Sea rose to 6.7 million barrels a day, helping keep overall Middle Eastern crude exports at pre-war levels.

Bottom line — Kpler puts Hormuz crude flows at 74% of their pre-war level, despite Middle Eastern exports recovering overall.

Sources OilPrice.com OilPrice.com FXStreet +5 more

Health · Fri, Oct 9

Edinburgh transplants frozen testicular tissue in UK fertility first

NHS Lothian doctors have transplanted frozen testicular tissue into a 19-year-old whose chemotherapy left him with no sperm in his semen. The procedure, carried out in August, is the first reported in the UK and the second worldwide; doctors will examine some of the tissue after eight months to see whether it has produced sperm.

Bottom line — More than 1,200 people in the UK have stored testicular tissue, but the Edinburgh patient’s results are still pending.

Sources ITVX the Guardian bioengineer.org +7 more

Football · Fri, Oct 9

Infantino wins backing from all 54 African football associations

All 54 African member associations have pledged unconditional support for Gianni Infantino’s Fifa re-election bid, Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe said. Infantino cited €920 million ($1 billion) invested in African football over 10 years through Fifa’s Forward programme and promised further funding; the vote is scheduled for 18 March in Rabat, according to The Guardian.

Bottom line — Infantino has 54 African associations behind him, while a potential challenger, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, plans to seek re-election.

Sources The Independent The Guardian

Cyber Security · Fri, Oct 9

New DarkSword iPhone spyware variant P7 steals keychain and crypto-wallet data in near real time

Security firm iVerify, according to its report, found a new variant of the DarkSword iPhone exploit chain, named P7 DarkSword after a code prefix, during an August 2026 investigation of an infection on an employee's iPhone at a financial institution. The variant can extract Keychain data and crypto-wallet data on the device and maintain two-way communication with attacker servers, checking in every 15 seconds by default. iVerify said P7 is distributed through malicious ads in watering-hole attacks rather than individually targeted delivery.

Bottom line — iVerify says P7 is harder to detect than earlier variants, so previous indicators of compromise no longer apply and iOS 18.7.7 or later is the relevant patch baseline.

Sources www.digitaltrends.co… darksword.org www.darksword.org +5 more

TV/Movies · Fri, Oct 9

Netflix casts Han So-hee and Rain in its live-action Solo Leveling series

Netflix has added Han So-hee, Jung Ji-hoon, Kang You-seok, Sung Joon and Lee Sung-min to its live-action adaptation of Solo Leveling, led by Byeon Woo-seok. Han plays Cha Hae-in, Korea’s only female S-rank Hunter, while Jung, known as Rain, makes a special appearance as Baek Yoonho, an S-rank Hunter and guild leader. Netflix has not announced a release date.

Bottom line — Byeon Woo-seok leads a six-actor cast for Netflix’s Solo Leveling; the series has no confirmed release date.

Sources Inquirer IndiaTimes FandomWire +2 more

Global Economy · Fri, Oct 9

EU finance ministers agree scaled-back plan to move market supervision to ESMA, exempting Deutsche Börse

EU finance ministers agreed a watered-down compromise to centralise supervision of most stock exchanges, central counterparties and securities depositories under the European Securities and Markets Authority in Paris, as the European Commission had proposed. Germany secured exemptions for Deutsche Börse, and Reuters reports that the criteria also exclude SIX Group, Tradition and Tradegate. Belgium and the Commission criticised the carve-outs, which Reuters notes apply to a Spanish exchange as well, and Euroclear's supervision was among the points Belgium raised. Negotiations with the European Parliament now follow.

Bottom line — Only 10 to 15 of around 360 EU crypto-asset service providers will fall under ESMA oversight, according to officials cited by Reuters.

Sources live.euronext.com POLITICO www.globalbankingand… +5 more

Games · Fri, Oct 9

Live-service games retreat as publishers cancel titles and players lose trust

IGN's Sab Astley writes that major publishers are cancelling live-service games while newcomers close within months, and that 15 of 19 major new live-service launches of 2025 lost over 80% of their initial players by January. Sega cancelled its 'Super Game' after weak free-to-play performance, and a Bloomberg report, cited by IGN, says PlayStation halted or cancelled over a dozen such games in a decade. Industry voices disagree on whether the model is ending, with IGN noting some dismiss the downturn altogether.

Bottom line — Veteran developers are founding double-A studios as the live-service model loses favour, with the indie market reported at 4.5 billion dollars last year.

Sources IGNSEA IGN gamerlog.app +4 more

Science · Fri, Oct 9

Researchers publish chromosome-level genome of invasive Australian eastern mosquitofish

Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and James Cook University have published a fully phased, chromosome-level genome of the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), sampled from Townsville, Queensland, in the journal Scientific Data. The authors say the 24-chromosome assembly of two haplotypes, each about 676 Mb, is intended as a reference for studying invasion biology and local adaptation in a species they describe as one of the world's most invasive freshwater fish. A separate assembly of a European population from Padua, Italy, was published as a data note by the ERGA-BGE project, which reports 674.6 Mb and 21,050 protein-coding genes.

Bottom line — Two independent chromosome-level mosquitofish genomes, from Australia and Italy, now give invasion biologists comparable references for a species introduced in the 1920s.

Sources scientificdata www.nature.com assets-eu.researchsq… +4 more

Technology · Fri, Oct 9

Xiaomi's 18 Pro Max confirmed for global launch with 12GB RAM and 8,500 mAh battery in benchmark leak

A global variant of the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, model number 2611FPNFAG, has appeared in the Geekbench AI database, according to GSMArena, running the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset with 12GB of RAM in the tested prototype. GSMArena notes that the Chinese model offers 16GB, and that the Chinese 18 Pro Max's 8,500 mAh battery and the 7,000 mAh of the 18 Pro may not carry over to European versions. Xiaomi has confirmed both models will launch internationally, which GSMArena says makes the 18 Pro Max the company's flagship going into 2027.

Bottom line — Xiaomi's 18 Pro Max is expected to launch globally with Android 17 and HyperOS 4, with a European launch price still unconfirmed.

Sources GSMArena.com www.gsmarena.com nanoreview.net +6 more

AI · Fri, Oct 9

Google commits €3.7bn ($4.3bn) to add 890 MW of nuclear power

Google and Constellation Energy signed a 20-year agreement to add 890 MW across 11 existing reactors in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with the first upgraded capacity expected in 2028. Constellation says the work will require more than €3.7bn ($4.3bn) in investment; the companies also agreed a separate 15-year deal covering 2,700 MW from Constellation’s existing PJM fleet.

Bottom line — The 890 MW deal gives Constellation long-term revenue certainty while adding capacity to a grid serving 67 million people.

Sources Forbes The Center Square Stockhead +7 more

Global Economy · Fri, Oct 9

ECB policymakers see inflation risks but leave timing of further rate rises open

ECB policymakers say energy-driven inflation could rise further, but they have so far seen little spillover into other prices or wages. A Reuters poll found 64 of 73 economists expect the ECB to hold its 2.50% deposit rate on 29 October and raise it by 25 basis points in December; officials say future moves will depend on incoming data.

Bottom line — The Reuters poll puts a December hike at 64 of 73 economists, while ECB policymakers have not committed to a timetable.

Sources Reuters FXStreet Reuters +2 more

Europe · Fri, Oct 9

Warsaw region posts EU's highest employment rate at 86.9% in 2025

The Warsaw region, including Poland's capital and suburbs, had the highest employment rate in the EU last year, according to new Eurostat data. Its rate for people aged 20-64 was 86.9%, more than 10 percentage points above the EU average of 76.1%, and the highest recorded for Warsaw since 2013. Notes from Poland reports that Poland's ageing, shrinking population is creating labour shortages and pushing companies toward automation.

Bottom line — Poland's national rate of 78.8% ranks only 13th in the EU, so Warsaw's lead is a regional outlier, not a national trend.

Sources Notes From Poland Bytes Europe

Apple · Fri, Oct 9

Apple Orders iPhone 18 Pro Component Cuts of at Least 15% After Soft Launch Demand

Apple has told some suppliers to cut production of components for the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, according to Nikkei Asia, which cited multiple people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not verify the report, and Apple has not publicly commented. Nikkei links the cuts to higher memory chip costs and price rises, which Apple passed on after AI-driven chip demand tightened supply. The US$1,199 (€1,100) starting price of the Pro is US$100 (€92) above the iPhone 17 Pro.

Bottom line — Component orders for October were cut by at least 15%, and suppliers are unsure whether further cuts will follow in November.

Sources CNA The Mac Observer News18 +5 more

Europe · Fri, Oct 9

EU Commission reports fifth year of Recovery Fund, with €123 billion (€123 billion) still to disburse by year-end

The European Commission published its fifth annual report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the post-pandemic instrument launched in 2021 under NextGenerationEU. Commissioner Raffaele Fitto said it had delivered reforms and investments, while Valdis Dombrovskis said the Commission was now assessing the final payment requests. The remaining €123 billion, about 21% of the total, is set to be disbursed by the end of the year.

Bottom line — Member States fulfilled 4,082 of almost 6,000 milestones and targets, with 1,899 still under Commission assessment.

Sources European Interest European Commission www.europarl.europa.… +3 more

Cyber Security · Fri, Oct 9

Atlassian flaw under active attack exposes files across eight Data Center products

Atlassian’s CVE-2026-21589 is a critical, unauthenticated file-read flaw affecting eight self-managed Data Center products, including Jira, Confluence and Bitbucket. Security researchers reported active exploitation; Previdian telemetry recorded 15 attempts from three IP addresses in Japan and the US, while Atlassian advised customers to patch or apply temporary mitigations.

Bottom line — The flaw carries a CVSS score of 9.3, and Atlassian says customers should check affected installations for signs of compromise.

Sources Infosecurity Magazin… IT Security News - c… Security Affairs

World · Fri, Oct 9

Kenya says 84 nationals are dead or missing in Russia-Ukraine war

Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi told Kenyan lawmakers that 354 nationals had been documented as involved in the conflict, with 84 killed or missing and 62 repatriated. He said Russia had placed Kenya on a recruitment stop list after his March 2026 visit, while Nairobi is working with Moscow and Kyiv on citizens’ cases.

Bottom line — Kenya has documented 354 nationals in the conflict; five are held as prisoners of war in Ukraine.

Sources Українська правда News.az TRT World +1 more

Space · Fri, Oct 9

Japan’s MMX mission will sample Phobos and return material to Earth in 2031

JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration mission is scheduled to launch on 20 October 2026 and collect samples from Phobos, Mars’s larger moon. The spacecraft will study both moons, with a small French-German rover due to survey Phobos before the lander attempts one or two sample collections; the material is expected back on Earth in 2031.

Bottom line — MMX aims to return more than 10 grams from Phobos, where samples could help distinguish between competing theories of the moon’s origin.

Sources newsfromscience en.wikipedia.org MMX - Martian Moons … +2 more

Health · Fri, Oct 9

WHO and partners have launched a roadmap for 2026–2035 and beyond to address hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia. WHO estimates these conditions complicate 10–15% of pregnancies and account for around 16% of maternal deaths worldwide, as well as more than 500,000 stillbirths and newborn deaths.

Bottom line — WHO is calling for coordinated investment in research, medicines, diagnostics and care to prevent deaths from pregnancy-related hypertension.

Sources who.int

Gaming Hardware · Fri, Oct 9

Unofficial RPCS3 port runs PS3 games natively on jailbroken PS5 without Linux

A modder known as LavaVex has released RPCS3-PS5, an unofficial native port of the open-source PlayStation 3 emulator that runs on jailbroken PS5 hardware without a separate Linux installation, according to Wccftech and PlayStationInfo.de. Testing so far has been limited to a PS5 Pro, where Need for Speed Carbon is reported as fully playable while the first inFAMOUS has performance problems. Sony still offers PS3 titles on PS5 only through PlayStation Plus Premium cloud streaming.

Bottom line — Sony has announced no official PS3 emulation plan, and the port remains experimental with only a handful of tested games.

Sources Wccftech en.shiftdelete.net www.pcsofter.com +1 more

Global Economy · Fri, Oct 9

India's central bank moves to drain surplus liquidity as banks park record sums overnight

The Reserve Bank of India's internal working group recommended keeping the overnight call rate as its operating target and scrapping 14-day main liquidity auctions, published 6 August 2025. Separately, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said surplus liquidity should drain within the financial year through currency leakage, swaps and open market operations, with a cash reserve ratio hike held as a last resort. Liquidity is estimated at around Rs 4.98 trillion (about €48 billion) according to RBI data cited by Rediff.

Bottom line — Malhotra expects surplus liquidity to drain within FY27, with the CRR hike kept as a least-preferred tool.

Sources The Economic Times www.rbi.org.in Rediff +2 more