Backdoor access US recommends encrypted messaging as Chinese hackers linger in telecom networks US official: "Impossible for us to predict when we'll have full eviction." Jon Brodkin Dec 4, 2024 1:47 pm | 67 Credit: Getty Images | Bill Hinton Photography Credit: Getty Images | Bill Hinton Photography Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA US government security official urged Americans to use encrypted messaging as major telecom companies struggle to evict Chinese hackers from their networks. The attack has been attributed to a Chinese hacking group called Salt Typhoon.There have been reports since early October that Chinese government hackers penetrated the networks of telecoms and may have gained access to systems used for court-authorized wiretaps of communications networks. Impacted telcos reportedly include Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Lumen (also known as CenturyLink).T-Mobile has said its own network wasn't hacked but that it severed a connection it had to a different provider whose network was hacked. Lumen has said it has no evidence that customer data on its network was accessed.The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and international partners yesterday urged telecommunications providers to upgrade their security and published a guide with recommended practices. Officials also spoke to the media, saying that it isn't clear when telecom providers will be able to close their networks to the hackers."I think it would be impossible for us to predict a time frame on when we'll have full eviction," CISA Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Jeff Greene said, according to Bloomberg. "We're still figuring out just how deeply and where they've penetrated, so until we have a complete picture, it's hard to know the exact parameters of how to kick them off."US backs encryption but also wants backdoorsGreene's advice for Americans? Use encryption. "Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it's on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication. Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible," he said, according to NBC News.An unnamed FBI official was quoted in the same report as saying that phone users "would benefit from considering using a cellphone that automatically receives timely operating system updates, responsibly managed encryption, and phishing-resistant" multifactor authentication for email accounts, social media, and collaboration tools.The FBI official reportedly said the hackers obtained metadata showing the numbers that phones called and when, the live phone calls of some specific targets, and information from systems that telcos use for court-ordered surveillance.Despite recognizing the security benefits of encryption, US officials have for many years sought backdoors that would give the government access to encrypted communications. Supporters of end-to-end encryption have pointed out that backdoors can also be used by criminal hackers and other nation-states."For years, the security community has pushed back against these backdoors, pointing out that the technical capability cannot differentiate between good guys and bad guys," cryptographer Bruce Schneier wrote after the Chinese hacking of telecom networks was reported in October.Noting the apparent hacking of systems for court-ordered wiretap requests, Schneier called it "one more example of a backdoor access mechanism being targeted by the 'wrong' eavesdroppers."1994 surveillance law in focusCISA issued a statement on the Chinese hacking campaign in mid-November. It said:The US government's continued investigation into the People's Republic of China (PRC) targeting of commercial telecommunications infrastructure has revealed a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign.Specifically, we have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call records data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.The hacks raise concerns about surveillance capabilities required by a 1994 law, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which requires "telecommunications carriers and manufacturers of telecommunications equipment design their equipment, facilities, and services to ensure that they have the necessary surveillance capabilities to comply with legal requests for information.""These telecommunications companies are responsible for their lax cybersecurity and their failure to secure their own systems, but the government shares much of the blame," US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote in an October 11 letter to the FCC and Justice Department. "The surveillance systems reportedly hacked were mandated by federal law, through the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). CALEA, which was enacted in 1994 at the urging of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), forced phone companies to install wiretapping technology into then-emerging digital phone networks. In 2006, acting on a request from the FBI, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expanded this backdoor mandate to broadband Internet companies."A Lumen spokesperson told Ars today that "to date, there is no evidence that customer data was accessed on our network, and there was no impact to our CALEA (wiretap) systems." The spokesperson noted that Lumen, which is known for its CenturyLink broadband network, does not provide wireless phone service.T-Mobile severed link to compromised networkT-Mobile addressed the hacks in a November 27 blog post that did not mention CALEA or wiretapping. T-Mobile's post suggested that its own network wasn't compromised."Within the last few weeks, we detected attempts to infiltrate our systems by bad actors. This originated from a wireline provider's network that was connected to ours... We quickly severed connectivity to the provider's network as we believe it wasand may still becompromised. We do not see these or other attackers in our systems at this time," T-Mobile Chief Security Officer Jeff Simon wrote.Simon wrote that T-Mobile "cannot definitively identify the attacker's identity, whether Salt Typhoon or another similar group, but we have reported our findings to the government for assessment."The first reports of the hacks in October named AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen. The Wall Street Journal reported on November 15 that T-Mobile was also hacked by the same group.When contacted by Ars today, T-Mobile reiterated points it made in the blog post. "Once we detected attempts to access our systems from a wireline's network that was connected to ours, we quickly cut off access. We saw no attempts before this and do not see the bad actor in our system at this time. There was no access to or exfiltration of sensitive customer information, including voicemails, calls, call logs and texts," T-Mobile said. T-Mobile also said its "network segmentation, close monitoring, frequent and automatic rotating [of] account credentials, and a modern wireless network built on standalone 5G technology" are "points of differentiation" between itself and other carriers.T-Mobile's security came under fire the last few years because of several other incidents. The carrier recently agreed to pay a $15.75 million fine and improve its security in a settlement over a series of data breaches over three years that affected tens of millions of customers.We contacted AT&T and Verizon today and will update this article if they provide new information.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 67 Comments

Immune cells are vital for our survival, but can turn nasty and attack healthy cellsKATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYAs women age, they produce an increasing number of killer immune cells, which hunt down and destroy infected cells. This discovery, and the fact that the same isnt true of men, could help to explain why women are less likely to catch infections but have higher rates of autoimmune conditions.We already know that women tend to have stronger immune systems than men, but because studies tend to focus on men or male animals, we lack a detailed understanding of

Leader and LifeAlternative thinking on the evolution of species is a welcome way to highlight some neglected aspects of life on Earth, but it doesn't mean Darwin was wrong 4 December 2024 Jarod Carruthers/AlamyDarwinian thinking has been challenged many times, starting with co-discoverer of natural selection Alfred Russel Wallace, who disagreed with some aspects of Charles Darwins arguments, but was eventually proved wrong on most of them. The US botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey published a paper in 1894 pondering whether the formulation of neo-Darwinism, the mainstream version of evolutionary theory, needed extending (it didnt); in the 1980s the palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould pursued a similar line.Evolutionary biologist Kevin Lala also has doubts about what he calls traditional Darwinian thinking (see The extraordinary ways species control their own evolutionary fate). Some say this is a straw man argument, as it takes issue with old-fashioned ideas about evolutionary biology, whereas modern thinking is broad enough to encompass all the new aspects we are learning about, from developmental biology, cultural evolution and symbiosis, when two different species live together intimately.Over the years, the theory of evolution by natural selection has itself evolved, absorbing new findings about genes, DNA, population genetics and epigenetics, all of which werent available in Darwins time. As we report on page 11, identifying evolutionary drivers is essential if, for example, we are to get ahead of a bird flu pandemic, as well as understanding how species will adapt to climate change. Whether we need to add to the rule book evolutionary biologists already have at their disposal is debatable. There is a danger of allowing a god of the gaps argument to creep in, where apparent shortcomings in evolutionary theory are exploited by those who point to non-scientific explanations.AdvertisementApparent shortcomings create a danger of a god of the gaps argument creeping inAll theories need to be challenged, and assessing modern evolutionary biology brings to the fore many aspects of life that might not be well appreciated. Darwins explanation has survived for more than 160 years because it is broadly correct and robust enough to absorb new discoveries. The impact of Lalas approach is therefore not yet clear but its scrutiny of neglected aspects of life is to be welcomed.Topics:evolution

Google DeepMind has unveiled an AI model thats better at predicting the weather than the current best systems. The new model, dubbed GenCast, is published in Nature today. This is the second AI weather model that Google has launched in just the past few months. In July, it published details of NeuralGCM, a model that combined AI with physics-based methods like those used in existing forecasting tools. That model performed similarly to conventional methods but used less computing power. GenCast is different, as it relies on AI methods alone. It works sort of like ChatGPT, but instead of predicting the next most likely word in a sentence, it produces the next most likely weather condition. In training, it starts with random parameters, or weights, and compares that prediction with real weather data. Over the course of training, GenCasts parameters begin to align with the actual weather. The model was trained on 40 years of weather data (1979 to 2018) and then generated a forecast for 2019. In its predictions, it was more accurate than the current best forecast, the Ensemble Forecast, ENS, 97% of the time, and it was better at predicting wind conditions and extreme weather like the path of tropical cyclones. Better wind prediction capability increases the viability of wind power, because it helps operators calculate when they should turn their turbines on and off. And better estimates for extreme weather can help in planning for natural disasters. Google DeepMind isn't the only big tech firm that is applying AI to weather forecasting. Nvidia released FourCastNet in 2022. And in 2023 Huawei developed its Pangu-Weather model, which trained on 39 years of data. It produces deterministic forecaststhose providing a single number rather than a range, like a prediction that tomorrow will have a temperature of 30 F or 0.7 inches of rainfall. GenCast differs from Pangu-Weather in that it produces probabilistic forecastslikelihoods for various weather outcomes rather than precise predictions. For example, the forecast might be There is a 40% chance of the temperature hitting a low of 30 F or There is a 60% chance of 0.7 inches of rainfall tomorrow. This type of analysis helps officials understand the likelihood of different weather events and plan accordingly. These results dont mean the end of conventional meteorology as a field. The model is trained on past weather conditions, and applying them to the far future may lead to inaccurate predictions for a changing and increasingly erratic climate. GenCast is still reliant on a data set like ERA5, which is an hourly estimate of various atmospheric variables going back to 1940, says Aaron Hill, an assistant professor at the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, who was not involved in this research. The backbone of ERA5 is a physics-based model, he says. In addition, there are many variables in our atmosphere that we dont directly observe, so meteorologists use physics equations to figure out estimates. These estimates are combined with accessible observational data to feed into a model like GenCast, and new data will always be required. A model that was trained up to 2018 will do worse in 2024 than a model trained up to 2023 will do in 2024, says Ilan Price, researcher at DeepMind and one of the creators of GenCast. In the future, DeepMind plans to test models directly using data such as wind or humidity readings to see how feasible it is to make predictions on observation data alone. There are still many parts of forecasting that AI models still struggle with, like estimating conditions in the upper troposphere. And while the model may be good at predicting where a tropical cyclone may go, it underpredicts the intensity of cyclones, because theres not enough intensity data in the models training. The current hope is to have meteorologists working in tandem with GenCast. Theres actual meteorological experts that are looking at the forecast, making judgment calls, and looking at additional data if they dont trust a particular forecast, says Price. Hill agrees. Its the value of a human being able to put these pieces together that is significantly undervalued when we talk about AI prediction systems, he says. Human forecasters look at way more information, and they can distill that information to make really good forecasts.

Latvia's airBaltic has been heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine, its CEO Martin Gauss said.He told Business Insider it plans to be the first airline back into Ukraine when the conflict ends.Gauss led airBaltic out of bankruptcy and has spearheaded plans for an IPO next year.AirBaltic plans to be the first airline to restart flights to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement, CEO Martin Gauss told Business Insider.The Latvian flag carrier also has bases in Estonia and Lithuania. All three countries border Russia and are NATO and the European Union members."What I think is an upside now is a potential peace because that's not priced in for us," Gauss said in a Monday interview in London."That would be a huge upside as we were the last airline out of Ukraine and would be the first one in," he added.Gauss told BI that the start of the war impacted airBaltic "very heavily" due to missing passenger flows from Ukraine and Russia.However, he added that tourism to the Baltic countries was no longer suffering as fears had eased about them being invaded by Russia, too.AirBaltic has still been hampered by airspace restrictions."The overflying restrictions are still there and everything which goes southeast is, for us, a detour circumnavigating the airspace," Gauss said.The airline has more than 70 destinations including Cyprus, Turkey, and Dubai where the fastest route from Latvia would involve flying over Ukraine.Finding alternative routes isn't simple. Gauss explained how flying south from the Baltics, there's only a "small corridor" between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad."Once that is too busy, we need to fly over Sweden into the south," Gauss added. "So there's an impact on the cost side."AirBaltic's turnaroundGauss started his career as a pilot in 1992 with Deutsche BA, then a low-cost subsidiary of British Airways. He then entered management training with the airline and worked his way up.After developing a reputation for turning around airlines, he was headhunted for airBaltic in 2011. The airline had gone bankrupt, but the Latvian government agreed to invest more capital."I had to come up, in a couple of weeks, with suggestions of what you could do with a technically bankrupt airline," Gauss told BI."What makes it so special was that in 2012 [] we had to make a decision for the future aircraft fleet," he added. "And we took a decision to go for an aircraft type which didn't exist at the time an A220."In 2016, AirBaltic became the launch operator of the Airbus A220. It's a smaller jet with a capacity of 150, but it can still fly farther than the regional aircraft it competes with, such as the Embraer E195. AirBaltic is the largest operator of the Airbus A220. Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images Today, airBaltic is the largest operator of the type with 48 A220s with plans to double that by 2030. Based on order books, Gauss said, "We are the only airline which can double in size in Europe in the next five years."Gauss has also promoted new technologies in his time at the helm. AirBaltic accepted bitcoin as payment back in 2014 and has minted NFTs that generate airline loyalty points.It's also set to be the first airline in Europe to use Elon Musk's Starlink internet as soon as it's certified by the continent's aviation regulators.Gauss is pleased with the success of his business model, with preparations underway for an IPO."It was intended to do it earliest in the second half of this year, which we canceled because of the market situation, so we said, first opportunity is first half of 2025 for an IPO."

Ukrainian units desperate for drones to hold Russia back are crowdfunding many of their weapons.Civilians and veterans have been sponsoring deadly strikes for under $1,000.Researchers say it's opened a new era of civilians directly sponsoring war en masse.With $1 million, Oleksandr Chernyavskiy says he can change the war for him and his comrades.The enlisted soldier is assigned to a drone prototyping unit with Ukraine's 241st Territorial Defense Brigade a battle-hardened formation of reservists deployed along the eastern and northern fronts. His unit supplies 11 battalions with new drone designs, mostly cobbled together from commercial parts and Soviet arms.For $80,000, he says his team can completely build a 17-inch drone armed with a rifle essentially a flying AK-47 or M4. Another prototype, a modified Chernyavskiy's unit's antiaircraft prototype is still incomplete. Oleksandr Chernyavskiy Chernyavskiy estimates roughly $1 million in funding would allow his unit to develop home-grown AI-controlled drone swarm tech, primarily using the money to pay software engineers and buy parts.Much of this work, he said,"For drones, most funding is from volunteer help, by donors," Chernyavskiy told Business Insider. "When we have government or defense ministry funds, we try to buy regular things like mortars, shells, all connected to ammunition." Chernyavskiy's drone rifle project hopes to create a flying, remote heavy rifle. Oleksandr Chernyavskiy Crowdfunding has long been a pillar of Ukraine's war effort, with civilians pitching in for years to send aid supplies, clothing, and cash to the front lines. Low-cost drones, proven to be effective on the modern battlefield, have become one of the hottest commodities among units battling Russian assaults.A commonly crowdfunded drone, a seven-inch commercial unit that carries a small payload, costs less than $1,000 to build and arm. A typical 155mm artillery shell, meanwhile, costs between $2,500 and $4,000 for Western factories to produce.Chernyavskiy said that drones can't replace artillery, which can suppress enemy forces, serve as fire support, and hammer front-line positions at range. But drones have their place in this war, as the world has repeatedly seen. With these systems, for around an average of $15,000, his men can take out a Russian tank worth significantly more.Ukrainian fundraisers like him have formed a robust network that pulls in millions of dollars weekly for drones, working with a mix of local manufacturing lines to turn the cash into precision strike munitions. To keep donors abreast of their work, they report daily with first-person videos of exploding drones slamming into enemy positions and vehicles. Drones are often built in small workshops across Ukraine. Dmytro Smolienko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images Chernyavskiy said that Russian forces typically can't advance when harassed by drones. "If you can have 100 explosions in one day, it means no Ukrainian will be killed this day," he said. Swarming the air with recon drones also gives Moscow little chance to launch surprise attacks.Civilian war support at an 'astonishing' scaleBut due to availability, there are days when his unit can only deploy five, maybe 10 drones, reducing resistance and allowing Russian troops to get close to Ukrainian trenches and overwhelm them.Chernyavskiy said the flow of cash from civilian supporters is keeping his men alive."I think it's certainly unprecedented," Federico Borsari, a resident fellow who studies technology and drone warfare at the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank, said of the current crowdfunding movement.Borsari said that drones, easy to build and deadly, have changed how civilians can support a war effort en masse. With Ukraine, an individual civilian can now remotely yet directly pay for a hit on an enemy soldier or tank, he said."Really, the scale of the rapport is astonishing," Borsari said. "We're talking about hundreds of thousands of drones provided to the Ukrainian military."Oleksandr Skarlat, a volunteer who has been running a fundraising Telegram channel since the war began, said most of his donors paying for drones are regular civilians sending part of their salaries.Others are small businesses with cash to spare, he said. Skarlat, a professional swimmer, works as a member of a Telegram network of five fundraising volunteers led by Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko. Skarlat told BI he's helped raise $2.5 million for 100,000 drones."We started using drones because of the lack of ammunition. It was from a need of striking positions and priority targets in the most effective and cheapest way," he said. Throughout the war, Ukraine has repeatedly struggled with insufficient amounts of ammunition, such as much-need 155mm artillery shells.In Kyiv, restaurants, cafs, and barber shops often display QR codes for customers to throw in a few dollars for drone production, said Mark J. Lindquist, a former US Air Force analyst now living in Ukraine to crowdfund for local units."It has to be in the millions, if not tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, because it's the most effective way for an average citizen to put together a small amount of money and make a huge difference on the battlefield," Lindquist told BI.Lindquist, who worked as a motivational speaker before leaving for Ukraine in 2022, now flies back to the US regularly to raise money at public events for front-line units. Lindquist said he's personally helped raise funds for about 300 drones in Ukraine and organized other efforts for 1,000 drones in total. Mark Lindquist He estimates that he and his fundraising partners have brought in about $13 million in aid, and he now asks Americans to donate toward civilian vehicles and commercial drones that can be turned into weapons like loitering munitions.Yet Lindquist is frustrated with donors in the US, whom he says frequently balk at paying for something that can kill."Largely, Americans have shied away from things that would drop these bombs you see on Instagram," he said.Drones aren't always used for deadly ends, though. Chernyavskiy hopes to raise $50,000 to complete a land evacuation drone that can navigate deep forest terrain and retrieve lone Ukrainians guarding trenches. Chernyavskiy said his unit needs $50,000 to complete a land evacuation drone that can navigate rough terrain. Oleksandr Chernyavskiy With the 241st Territorial Brigade low on manpower and guns, Chernyavskiy said soldiers sometimes find themselves stationed alone on the front lines for abnormally long rotations. He said many fear it is a one-way ticket to the trenches."If you are injured, no one will help you; you have no chance," he said. "People usually spend one or two days in the trenches. Now they spend half a month. You can go crazy."A drone that fetches the wounded, or even corpses, raises morale among troops who know that their bodies can still be returned to be honored, Chernyavskiy said.US and European veterans fueling the crowdfunding effortChernyavskiy's unit also receives cash from Americans, often from military veterans willing to chip in anything from lunch money to $15,000 each. He said he's brought about two dozen veterans to the front lines to see his unit's work."After they see what is going on, they help much faster," he said with a laugh. Chernyavskiy, pictured on the left, said he brought Lindquist to observe his unit's drone innovation work and is now working with him. Oleksandr Chernyavskiy It's a broad effort. Daniel Viksund, a Norwegian veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan as a combat engineer and tank driver, has been coordinating donations to Ukraine, primarily from Scandinavia, since 2022.He told BI that many of his donors are current and former military members who, after seeing videos of drones in action, sought to send more of them to Ukraine."Our main focus is drones. Everybody was doing cars and medical stuff. Army veterans like us, we like to do things and make it happen," Viksund said.His 20-man nonprofit, Veteran Aid Ukraine, has sent some 500 drones to Kyiv's forces and paid for about 2,500 more. Viksund said videos sent to him from Ukrainian units show those drones have destroyed at least 60 main battle tanks and over 100 armored vehicles. Viksund has been supplying drones to Ukrainian units since 2022. Daniel Viksund He's proud of his organization's work in Chasiv Yar, where they sent 200 drones to units defending the embattled city in late spring as US congressional infighting locked up billions in vital aid.Viksund said Veteran Aid Ukraine alone can't provide nearly enough drones for Kyiv's remote operators. He estimates that they expend 4,000 drones on average a month."But when all the small rivers come together, you make a big river," he said.Russian organizations have also been donating drones for Moscow's units, but not on such a scale."You don't necessarily see the same level of grassroots efforts in Russia because they have the state capacity and state resources to marshal the economy toward the war in a different way," said Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at the think tank Defense Priorities.Kavanagh said the crowdfunding effort has been meaningful in filling gaps in Western aid, though it's dwarfed by the sheer might of the traditional arsenals sent to Kyiv.The US and Europe have collectively sent about $90 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including powerful F-16 fighter jets, long-range missile platforms, and millions of ammunition rounds.Return on investment in warSome Western donors and volunteers say that lower-tech drones can make a significant difference for just a fraction of that cost.One such donor is a wealthy software engineer in the US Mountain West who said that he had spent about $105,000 sending 142 drones to Ukraine, including eight Chinese-made Mavics that cost around $1,700 each and are popular for recon missions.With six kids at home, he told BI that he's cut back on purchases like upgrading their 2011 GMC Savannah and fixing his couch."I just think that if I spend a little less, someone will survive. Someone will have a husband and father," said the software engineer, who asked not to be named out of concern that Russian intelligence services would target him. BI knows his identity and has verified his donations to a Ukrainian platform.One of his favorite items is a 10-inch drone made from DJI parts that can be converted into a bomber with a six-pound payload.He said each of these $1,600 drones has a typical lifespan of 50 missions and that, with a minimum hit rate of 33%, delivers at least 16 strikes on Russian targets."If you give these guys $100 million, they can win the war for you," he said. A common hope among drone warfare enthusiasts is that with more drones and jammers, Ukraine can effectively slow the Russian advance while exhausting its manpower and equipment. Ukraine has officially said it's ramping up drone production capacity to 1 million drones a year. Andriy Andriyenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Chernyavskiy holds on to the dream that when those resources run dry, Ukraine will have an opening to strike back and reclaim territory. Yet he cautioned against thinking that only deploying low-cost drones will win the war."For example, if you have fog weather, you can't fly these drones because you can see nothing," Chernyavskiy said. "But artillery does not care about the fog. If they have coordinates, they will fire and destroy whatever is alive in this sector, no problem."Western donors wish they had more to giveQuestions loom for Ukraine's future in this fight. The country continues to face shortages of troops and matriel, persistent Russian advances, and the possibility that the incoming US administration will restrict or cut the critical aid it relies on. But private citizens retain the ability to make a difference, fundraisers say.Lindquist, the former US Air Force analyst turned fundraiser, said Americans haven't realized how far their money can go if they help fund drones in Ukraine."The Ukrainians have come up with a solution to be able to strap a bomb to a $500 drone and take out a $2 million tank," he said."If people were to understand that power of drones, we could do what our grandparents did in World War II," he added.The software engineer in the Mountain West said he's been trying to get his friends to donate, too, but to no avail."They'll say they don't want to kill people. Then I ask if they want to buy a tourniquet," he said. "They think it's cool that I'm doing it, but they want me to be the one doing it."In Ukraine, Chernyavskiy is frustrated, too. But as he says, "feelings change nothing.""Lack of money, lack of resources. This is the nature of war," Chernyavskiy said.Yet he stressed his brigade is stretched thin, and that if they run out of drones, the fighting turns to rifle combat. Outnumbered in the trenches, it's a battle the Ukrainians almost always lose, he said.Last week, he said, a commander who ran one of the drone development projects with him was killed by Russian fire."If we have a lack of donors' help, our friends are killed, and then we are killed," he said. "If we can't pay for drones, if we don't have ammunition, we pay for it with lives."Translation by Sofiia Meleshenko.

Frances government collapsed Wednesday following a vote of no confidence in the countrys prime minister, pushing the countrys political future into chaos and exacerbating its budgetary and looming economic crises. The successful vote means center-right Prime Minister Michel Barnier will be out of a job, and that French President Emmanuel Macron will need to find someone to replace him. Thats not expected to be an easy task: While the president nominates prime ministers in France, his picks can be ousted at any time by no confidence votes, like Barnier was. And the National Assembly, the lower house of Frances parliament, is almost evenly divided between the far right, a loosely united and contentious left wing, and centrists including Macrons allies. Few candidates will please all three factions.Disagreement about who should be prime minister following surprise elections this past summer led to Barniers rise. He was seen as a capable, if not popular, choice for the job, and won enough approval to win the prime ministers post. But he faced a significant challenge of trying to govern without a majority. His recent attempt to push through a 2025 national budget without a vote in the lower house of parliament infuriated lawmakers on both the right and left. As a result, Frances far-right party and its left-wing alliance each put forward no-confidence motions. Now, France is stuck. Without a prime minister, the governments ability to pass laws is hampered. In the long term, Barniers removal could deepen Frances ongoing budget crisis and is a reflection of an unprecedented polarization in French politics, for which a solution seems far out of reach.Who are the players involved?There are three key figures in the no confidence drama: Barnier, the prime minister; Macron, Frances president; and Marine Le Pen, the ideological architect and former leader of the far-right National Rally party, who was instrumental in toppling Barnier. Barnier, a fairly traditional French conservative, has a long career that includes stints in the French government and the European Commission, most notable as the chief Brexit negotiator on the European side. He lost Wednesdays no-confidence vote and must resign his post. Macron could reappoint him, but he has indicated that he would not accept the job. His tenure is the shortest in modern French history.Macron is a beleaguered, highly unpopular president. He will need to appoint another prime minister quickly to pass the governments budget and, hopefully, prevent an economic crisis from engulfing France. (More on that below.) However, his options are limited given the dysfunction in the National Assembly. Le Pen is Macrons chief rival. She has long coveted the French presidency but has failed to secure it three times thus far. She could try again during the next presidential election in 2027, but may be blocked from running, depending on the outcome of a corruption trial next spring. If Macron were to resign and an early election were to happen this year, there would be nothing to bar her from entering the race and that has led to some speculation that deposing Barnier was part of a larger plan to force Macron to quit. (Hes said hes not going anywhere, however.)Regardless of what Macron decides, Le Pen was able to maneuver her partys power in the National Assembly and exercise her own influence to bring down Barnier and cause chaos in the French government. She marshaled her party to vote with the left wing coalitions no confidence motion even after she pushed Barnier to align with her party on key issues in exchange for her partys approval for his budget.Shes annoyed with the political elites and wants to exercise her vengeance, Patrick Chamorel, senior resident scholar at the Stanford Center in Washington, told Vox. Why is the government in trouble now?Frances political turmoil didnt exactly start with Barnier; to understand whats happening now, we need to go back to July.That was when France held snap parliamentary elections, following the disastrous defeat of Macrons party in Junes European Parliament elections. Macrons decision to hold the election was a surprise, and he hoped voters would reject the far right at home. Instead, those elections saw Le Pens National Rally party (or RN) gain ground, as did far-right parties across Europe. Going into election day, it seemed all but certain that RN would trounce the various left-wing parties and Macrons centrists. But a last-ditch effort to keep the right wing out of power formed the New Popular Front, an uneasy alliance of four left-wing parties. Now, they have the largest bloc in the National Assembly, but not enough power and support to get their chosen prime minister candidate approved by the National Assembly. Those left-wing partiesa no-confidence vote against Barnier since he took office. The fractious parliament has a major problem it needs to deal with: An enormous budget deficit, which is tied into the political crisis.As of now, the countrys budget deficit is 6.1 percent of its output and rising, and debt is at 3.2 trillion Euro. Multiple serious crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and energy crisis caused by Russias war in Ukraine combined with slow economic growth and low tax revenues have put the country in this position. French companies have begun layoffs, and workers are growing increasingly agitated. Simply put, Frances economic outlook isnt good, and if the country wants to change that, it needs a real budget that will both start bringing money into government coffers, not to mention a government that can enact policies to strengthen the overall economy. Barnier was tasked with finding a way out; his proposed budget was supposed to save around 60 billion euros by levying large taxes on corporations and the wealthy, as well as cutting public spending including on pensions and healthcare reimbursements.Given the French tradition of a strong social welfare state, an austerity budget was sure to be unpopular. It was. Unable to garner the RNs support, he used his constitutional powers to pass the budget without the National Assemblys vote triggering no-confidence motions from the left- and the right-wing blocs.What happens now that the government has fallen apart?In the short term, Barnier will have to resign as prime minister, and his Cabinet will be dissolved. Hell likely stay on until Macron can name his replacement. In France, the prime minister governs much of domestic policy while the president tends to handle international affairs. The government will still continue its day-to-day functioning unlike a government shutdown in the US, government services will continue. But no new laws can be passed until Macron appoints a new prime minister.That will not be an easy task; because the National Assembly is so polarized, it will be difficult to find a candidate who will have majority support there. (The prime minister does not have to be approved by the parliament, but since blocs can trigger no confidence votes at any time, the president must appoint someone who could survive one.) France cannot hold another parliamentary election until next summer.Both RN and the far-left party France Unbowed (also known as LFI, part of the New Popular Front coalition) have called on Macron to resign, which he says he will not do. The next French presidential election is scheduled for 2027, but both RN and LFI hope to force Macron out and run their own polarizing candidates.In the longer term, Frances budget crisis isnt going anywhere until there is a government in place to pass a 2025 budget, and successfully passing a new budget likely means acquiescing to Le Pen and the RN. For now, Le Pen and her party have exercised their power in toppling the government, but Chamorel said there are downsides for her, too. She will keep her hardline voters, he told Vox. But she is going to be held responsible.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

This video is presented by Bluehost. Bluehost doesnt influence our editorial decisions, but they make videos like this possible.When choosing a restaurant, you probably look at a few things: What type of food do they serve? How close is it? Are they allergen- or kid-friendly? Youre very likely looking at the list of entrees available to see if anything strikes you before even making a reservation. Its a pretty typical way to choose a restaurant. After all, you want to enjoy your night out. But chef-instructor Kathryn Gordon from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York has one more suggestion: I think you should try to look at the dessert menu more.Desserts at most restaurants have gotten boring. You might find an incredible blend of cocktails or a wide-ranging wine list, followed by a well-curated list of sharable plates for appetizers, and of course the entrees will almost always offer some sort of wow factor. Oftentimes, dessert isnt even on the main menu. Even the menu itself can feel like an afterthought and when it hits the table, youre likely staring down the same options youve seen hundreds of times before. Theres a reason for this. Check out the video above to learn more.Further readingIf you want to learn more about how pastry chefs are going extinct, Bon Appetit wrote a great article in 2022.You can read more about the vanilla and cocoa crises we mention in the video as well as further information on where our cocoa comes from on Statistica.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

After Sony's latest 30th anniversary celebration video sparked hopes that Bloodborne could be back for its 'persistent' fanbase, we round up all we know about a potential return

The PlayStation 30th anniversary sale is here, and games starring icons from the brand's history are on sale on PS5 right now. From GTA to Uncharted, Call of Duty to Batman, here are our picks