SBS News: The ‘harmful’ online rabbit hole finding teens within minutes
Australian activist Chanel Contos is telling the National Press Club that major social platforms’ algorithmic feeds expose young people to misogynistic content. Teen boys are shown content that blames women and glorifies male dominance within 25 minutes of signing up, and Contos is calling on the government to let users opt out of algorithmic feeds in favor of seeing only posts from accounts they follow.
LSM: Do you know where to look for hidden treasure in Riga?
Riga City Council’s 18th-century minutes preserve several stories of hidden treasure. In 1751, demolishing the old town hall uncovered cash and silver objects that the council put toward building the new one. In 1722 the council seriously investigated rumors of money buried in the suburbs, and in 1745 the council received a letter from Tallinn, where a carpenter had arrived claiming he could find and dig up hidden treasure, citing 13 pounds of silver he’d previously dug up in Riga as proof; Tallinn’s authorities were asking Riga to vouch for him.
The New York Times: To Save My Home, I Fly the American Flag
Palestinian American businessman Loui Ridi describes how his family’s home in the West Bank village of Qusra has been under siege by Israeli settlers since early August, who throw objects at the house, destroyed the fence and cut off water and electricity. He has raised an American flag over the house, hoping his US citizenship affords protection his Palestinian identity does not, and writes that this reveals a deep dehumanization: his life has become more valuable not because his cause is just, but because he holds an American passport.
Le Monde: France’s summer 2026 wildfires caused unprecedented carbon emissions
France’s summer 2026 wildfires produced the highest carbon emissions since records began in 2003: more than 1.5 million tonnes of carbon, nearly four times the average of the past two decades. Over 96,000 hectares burned, and researchers warn even these figures likely underestimate emissions, since they don’t account for carbon stored in soil and leaf litter.
Wired: These Russian Mathematicians Taught AI Models How to Talk to Each Other Without Using Words
Russian mathematicians at startup Mostik have built a method letting AI models exchange information directly through the mathematical values in their weights, without using text, letting a smaller model absorb a larger one’s capabilities far more cheaply. In a demo bridging two Chinese open-weight models, the resulting hybrid cost twenty times less than the large model while performing exactly halfway between the two. The founder believes AI’s future lies not in scaling one giant model but in combining many specialized ones.
Al Jazeera: In Yemen, dates provide lifeline for farmers with few economic options
For farmers in Yemen’s Hadramout region, dates have become one of the few remaining sources of income in a country worn down by war and poverty. In the Hajr district, without electricity and with roads in disrepair, families spend harvest season drying and sorting dates in the open from dawn to dusk, often sleeping out to guard the crop from thieves. Many farmers buy food on credit to repay after selling their harvest, and are asking for a flood-damaged dam that irrigates the palm groves to be rebuilt.
404 Media: A16z Says You Actually Love Social Media, Enshittification Isn’t Real
In a piece published by VC firm a16z, NYU lecturer Ruby Thelot argues that “enshittification” is a myth, pointing to surveys showing rising user satisfaction with social media. A 404 Media writer counters that Thelot’s survey measures only technical quality, like app speed, not whether people feel good using these platforms — other polls show most Americans view social media negatively and distrust its content moderation, and notes that a16z itself has invested in companies the piece defends.
Meduza: Malé airport becomes a new hub for Russian sanctions evasion
A WSJ investigation finds that Western-made dual-use goods, including electronics and aircraft parts, are formally re-registered as transit cargo at Malé airport in the Maldives and flown to Moscow on Aeroflot. In 2022 Russia officially imported more than $630 million worth of goods from the Maldives, even though the Maldives’ own trade statistics show almost no exports to Russia. The US and EU are pressing Maldivian authorities to shut the scheme down, but cargo volumes keep growing.
NPR: Understanding the tech giants’ oversized influence in American schools
NYT reporter Natasha Singer’s new book “Coding Kids” describes how big tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and Apple, have shaped nearly every stage of US education through devices, free curricula and teacher training. The companies are now pushing schools to adopt AI chatbots too, but studies suggest that can hurt students’ critical thinking, and even the head of the American Federation of Teachers has admitted she was wrong to initially trust the tools’ benefits for learning.
Buenos Aires Times: Congress puts Peter Thiel’s Argentina interest under the microscope
At a hearing in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies, journalists and researchers examined billionaire Peter Thiel’s presence in the country and his ties to President Javier Milei’s government; Thiel himself did not attend. Journalist Giselle Leclercq said her investigation found that Thiel’s data firm Palantir came close to taking over digitization of the AMIA Jewish community center’s archives, while other speakers stressed Thiel’s ideological affinity with Milei and asked whether he might seek Argentine citizenship.