arXiv:2512.10165v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: We present BookReconciler, an open-source tool for enhancing and clustering book data. BookReconciler allows users to take spreadsheets with minimal metadata, such as book title and author, and automatically 1) add authoritative, persistent identi…

We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food...
The post Cropped 17 December 2025: ‘Deadly’ Asia floods; Boosting London’s water birds; UN headwinds appeared first on Carbon Brief.

Mihai Andrei, ZME Sci The floor of the Cueva de Mono, a cave in the Dominican Republic, is a gruesome graveyard. For thousands of years, it served as the dining room for a massive family of...

arXiv:2512.15066v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Medical ultrasound videos are widely used for medical inspections, disease diagnosis and surgical planning. High-fidelity lesion area and target organ segmentation constitutes a key component of the computer-assisted surgery workflow. The low contrast…

arXiv:2512.14860v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Agentic AI introduces security vulnerabilities that traditional LLM safeguards fail to address. Although recent work by Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks demonstrated that ChatGPT-4o successfully executes attacks as an agent that it refuses in chat mode, …

This resurrected Danish novel about a man who is ‘frozen down’, awaking in an Orwellian dystopia two decades later, is inventive, funny and all too timelyIn the Danish author’s uncannily prescient novel, first published in 1969, the year is 1973 and Bruno works as a fiction editor for a popular week…

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arXiv:2512.15020v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Vision-based imitation learning has enabled impressive robotic manipulation skills, but its reliance on object appearance while ignoring the underlying 3D scene structure leads to low training efficiency and poor generalization. To address these chall…

As 2025 draws to a close, all year long one question has dogged the most plugged-in of football fanatics: what's up with Gianni Infantino? Why all the cameos by the head of an international sports body at the US president's inauguration, a Middle East peace signing and another for DR Congo and Rwand…

arXiv:2512.14977v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Human-centered artificial intelligence (HCAI) is an approach to AI design, development, and deployment that prioritizes human needs, values, and experiences, ensuring that technology enhances human capabilities, well-being, and workforce empowerment. …

arXiv:2411.10029v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: Adversarial camouflage is a widely used physical attack against vehicle detectors for its superiority in multi-view attack performance. One promising approach involves using differentiable neural renderers to facilitate adversarial camouflage opti…

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Despite Trump claim of ceasefire, no end on horizon to latest round of conflict recently reignited by border skirmish.

The unconventional departure of Guinea-Bissau’s president has focused renewed attention on his country’s role in the booming global cocaine trade.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has formally removed the country’s impeached police chief

arXiv:2512.05300v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: We give almost-linear-time algorithms for approximating rooted minimum cut and maximum arborescence packing in directed graphs, two problems that are dual to each other [Edm73]. More specifically, for an $n$-vertex, $m$-edge directed graph $G$ who…

The proposed sale includes rocket systems, self-propelled howitzers and drones. China condemned the move, saying it undermined its sovereignty.

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In the 50 years since equal rights for women were enshrined in UK law, the campaigners have been reduced to caricatures, or forgotten. But their struggle is worth rememberingCelia Brayfield was at her desk in the Femail section of the Daily Mail’s Fleet Street office when an editor called her over. …

arXiv:2512.11724v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: While voice-based AI systems have achieved remarkable generative capabilities, their interactions often feel conversationally broken. This paper examines the interactional friction that emerges in modular Speech-to-Speech Retrieval-Augmented Gener…

Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins summit in Brussels pressuring Belgium to drop its opposition to using Russia’s frozen assets

arXiv:2512.15062v1 Announce Type: cross
Abstract: This letter presents a novel deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach for joint time allocation and power control in a cognitive Internet of Things (CIoT) system with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT). The CIoT transmitt…

Zulekha Samiullah and Hugh Barrett talk about the highlights from this year’s Quantum Carousel, a variety show for quantum physicists 
The post Learning through laughter at Quantum Carousel  appeared first on Physics World.

As his 1981 film is rereleased, the director talks about his Oscar-winning fable about an actor’s Faustian pact with the Nazi party – and its new relevanceAt the 54th Academy Awards, in 1982, Chariots of Fire was imperial, and Katharine Hepburn broke records. Less remembered today is a darkly brilli…

This isn't funny.

Mr. Musk has ambitions to remake education, but his latest effort to open an elementary school in Texas appears to have faltered.

Hospitals owned by real estate investors more likely to close or go bankrupt, new study finds.

Test your wits on the Slate Quiz for Dec. 18, 2025.

The deadly attack in Syria that left three Americans dead has complicated the nascent relationship between the United States and Damascus and sparked speculation over how the Trump administration might respond. President Trump has vowed that the Saturday attack — carried out by a lone Islamic State …

arXiv:2512.15049v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: In this paper, we aim to explore the stochastic performance limit of large-field-size Random Linear Streaming Codes (RLSCs) in multi-hop relay networks. In our model, a source transmits a sequence of streaming messages to a destination through multipl…

arXiv:2512.04770v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: Brain-body co-evolution enables animals to develop complex behaviors in their environments. Inspired by this biological synergy, embodied co-design (ECD) has emerged as a transformative paradigm for creating intelligent agents-from virtual creatur…

Yes the darkest day of the year is here, but that means brighter days are ahead. Sunday is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter. It's the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the longest day of the year and summer wi…

Quote from: JulesVerneATV on 12/15/2025 02:23 pmStranger Things a scifi fantasy horror series set in the 80s timeline, it got many awards, Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominationsThey...

While the crypto market saw a brief rally during the U.S. morning, the gains were short-lived and the largest cryptocurrencies ended the day lower.

Social Mobility Commission report highlights ‘extreme regional differences’ in terms of childhood, jobs, innovation and growthFormer industrial communities across Britain are facing “entrenched disadvantages” stretching back decades, the latest social mobility research has warned.It raises specific …

As the world looks to incorporate more renewables into energy grids, centuries-old systems that can balance supply and demand are being reappraised and innovated upon.

Zain Omantel International and Zain Kuwait deliver ultra-low latency network enabling live telesurgery between Kuwait and Brazil, highlighting the role of advanced connectivity in digital healthcare transformation

This Christmas, as we gather with loved ones and reflect on the year, the ocean continues its quiet work, sustaining life on Earth, regulating our climate, and supporting the planet we call home. Yet our seas are under increasing pressure and protecting them has never been more important.   The Mari…

Alice Gibbs, Newsweek The fatal shooting of professor Nuno Loureiro of the

arXiv:2512.15330v1 Announce Type: cross
Abstract: Quantum computers pose a fundamental threat to widely deployed public-key cryptosystems, such as RSA and ECC, by enabling efficient integer factorization using Shor's algorithm. Theoretical resource estimates suggest that 2048-bit RSA keys could be …

After testing and reviewing countless star projectors over the years, we're putting the very best head-to-head to determine which is the best for under $50 this Christmas.

The usual suspects are still trying to give a lander contract to Lockheed Martin:The U.S. race to the moon: Why Plan B cannot wait[url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevi...

arXiv:2512.15374v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Large Language Model (LLM) agents are increasingly deployed in environments that generate massive, dynamic contexts. However, a critical bottleneck remains: while agents have access to this context, their static prompts lack the mechanisms to manage i…

arXiv:2512.15635v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: We propose \textbf{IC-Effect}, an instruction-guided, DiT-based framework for few-shot video VFX editing that synthesizes complex effects (\eg flames, particles and cartoon characters) while strictly preserving spatial and temporal consistency. Video …

arXiv:2512.15551v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The concept of inflection classes is an abstraction used by linguists, and provides a means to describe patterns in languages that give an analogical base for deducing previously unencountered forms. This ability is an important part of morphological …

Interest rates in Europe are going to stay right where they are at a meeting of European Central Bank officials

Theo Rose was "misled" by police into accepting a sanction for violence he didn't admit, review finds.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced 'the largest gas deal in Israel's history' with Egypt.

A fiery President Trump — addressing Americans from a holiday-decked White House — insisted the economy is stronger than people think it is and any problems are all Democrats' fault.It's a message that poll after poll says most voters don't believe.The big picture: Trump's speech was closer to a Fes…

The White House says encampment sweeps have enhanced the capital, but city leaders estimate nearly 700 homeless people roam by day and bed down outdoors by night.

Phys.org Careful reanalysis of data from more than a decade ago indicates that Saturn's biggest moon, Titan, does not have a vast ocean beneath its icy surface,

Eman Abu al-Khair mourns as cold weather kills her newborn, exposing harsh realities faced by displaced families.

arXiv:2512.15030v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The web3 applications have recently been growing, especially on the Ethereum platform, starting to become the target of scammers. The web3 scams, imitating the services provided by legitimate platforms, mimic regular activity to deceive users. However…

arXiv:2512.14869v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: We present an oscillatory neuromorphic primitive implemented with networks of coupled Wien bridge oscillators and tunable resistive couplings. Phase relationships between oscillators encode patterns, and a local Hebbian learning rule continuously adap…

arXiv:2512.14778v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: This study investigates the key skills and competencies needed by new cybersecurity graduates in the Philippines for entry-level positions. Using a descriptive cross-sectional research design, it combines analysis of job listings from Philippine onlin…

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUK inflation falls sharply to 3.2% amid slowdown in food price risesOver in Beijing, China’s commerce minister has criticised the European Union’s investigations into whether Chinese companies are unfairly subsidised by the state.The ministry…

During a pv magazine Week Europe 2025 webinar, storage specialists gave their thoughts on what to consider when purchasing battery energy storage systems in Europe, with pricing, supplier options and product reliability all on the agenda.

What do you get for the person who has everything? I'm a gadget reviewer, and there's a good chance that something on this list will appeal to them - and arrive before Christmas.

arXiv:2508.09320v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: Graph neural networks (GNNs) are increasingly employed in high-stakes applications, such as fraud detection or healthcare, but are susceptible to adversarial attacks. A number of techniques have been proposed to provide adversarial robustness guar…

Reducing atom loss and re-using already-measured atoms enables more complex quantum computations
The post Qubit ‘recycling’ gives neutral-atom quantum computing a boost appeared first on Physics World.

Kylian Mbappe scored two goals to help Real Madrid overcome a stubborn challenge from third-division side Talavera.

Letter from 39 backbenchers threatens rebellion over proposal to expedite court backlog in England and WalesKeir Starmer is facing the threat of a backbench rebellion over plans to reduce the number of jury trials in England and Wales, as dozens of Labour MPs signed a letter describing the move as “…

The rover has been acing a long-term series of durability tests, making the most of its enhanced navigation capabilities, and ferreting out new findings about Mars’ geologic past. After nearly five years on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has traveled almost 25 miles (40 kilometers), and the mission…

The 200 square meter facility is targeting an annual manufacturing capacity of 2 GW of solar cells and 2 GW of solar modules. The solar cell production will be 100% for export.

The Oscars will be shown only on YouTube from 2029, the Academy said Wednesday, in a radical gambit for a movie industry that remains wary of streaming platforms even as viewing habits shift online.

Nova Power & Gas’s 400 MWh project in Cluj County is the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) to date to have been connected to Romania’s grid.

arXiv:2512.15089v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated impressive performance across various language tasks. However, existing LLM reasoning strategies mainly rely on the LLM itself with fast or slow mode (like o1 thinking) and thus struggle to balance reason…

arXiv:2412.06196v3 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: 5G networks provide secure and reliable information transmission services for the Internet of Everything, thus paving the way for 6G networks, which is anticipated to be an AI-based network, supporting unprecedented intelligence across application…

Ares Management is providing a $100 million facility to Dubai-based multifamily office Patrimium, as global finance firms step up their pursuit of private credit opportunities in the Gulf region.

With ancient standing stones and modern midwinter festivals, the West Penwith peninsula is a land of magic and mysteryThe light is fading fast as I stand inside Tregeseal stone circle near St Just. The granite stones of the circle are luminous in this sombre landscape, like pale, inquisitive ghosts …

Parveen doesn’t know if she’s getting a sponge cake or a burger bap, but Joe thinks she needs to embrace his northern-isms. You decide who is sweet and who is sour• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a jurorJoe says ‘buns’ covers all sweet things in the north, but I worry he’ll bri…

There’s a good chance you own a couple of gadgets that support wireless charging now, be it your iPhone or Android phone, wireless earbuds or smartwatch. Multi-device wireless chargers can help power them all up in one place, without the need for a bunch of cords messing up your space. There are doz…

"We live in a bleak time, especially for young people, so this film is an attempted antidote to that," the actor explained on The Tonight Show

The first major original musical created and produced in the Middle East begins its run December 19. 'Once Upon a Time in Dubai' will be an attempt to explain expat life in the UAE. The show's Producer Stéphane Boukris spoke to Bloomberg’s Jennifer Zabasajja on Horizons Middle East and Africa about …

Bulgaria’s second standalone energy storage procurement exercise of 2025, worth close to BGN 229 million ($137.2 million), received a lot of interest and there are 30 project proposals included in a reserve list, the government said.

arXiv:2503.01459v2 Announce Type: replace-cross
Abstract: Motivation: PCR is more economical and quicker than Next Generation Sequencing for detecting target organisms, with primer design being a critical step. In epidemiology with rapidly mutating viruses, designing effective primers is challengin…

The cuts have closed schools in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation.

Police intercepted two vehicles in a Sydney suburb based on "information received that a violent act was possibly being planned."

Nick Reiner, charged with murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Singer Reiner, spent much of his life battling drug addiction, an affliction that millions of Americans face.

No matter which megacorp emerges as the studio's new owner, the Warner Bros. Discovery boss will likely rake in hundreds of millions.

Restoration Ecology, EarlyView.

Former top medic described as ‘Dr Death’ by prosecutors poisoned 30 people ranging in age from four to 89A French anaesthetist described by prosecutors as “Dr Death” has been found guilty of intentionally poisoning 30 patients and killing 12 over almost a decade as a top medic.Frédéric Péchier, 53, …

The president’s appearance and schedule have sparked speculation – perhaps fueled in part by his political fortunesIs Donald Trump OK?Recently, he’s looked tired. His famous fake tan is a bit more sallow than usual and seems painted on more thickly and clumsily than it was before. He appears to nod …

arXiv:2512.15435v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: In multi-player card games such as Skat or Bridge, the early stages of the game, such as bidding, game selection, and initial card selection, are often more critical to the success of the play than refined middle- and end-game play. At the current lim…

arXiv:2512.15505v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The LUMIR challenge represents an important benchmark for evaluating deformable image registration methods on large-scale neuroimaging data. While the challenge demonstrates that modern deep learning methods achieve competitive accuracy on T1-weighted…

Wildfires can benefit forests by clearing old debris, leaving behind fertilizer, and more. For over a century, the United States has poured billions of dollars into fire suppression tactics to keep people, homes and critical environments safe, but suppression can deprive landscapes of necessary burn…

Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence linked to drug trafficking and several soccer players in Ecuador have been targeted in recent months.

Fidelity's FBTC recorded a top five inflow day as the ETFs took in a combined $457 million amid sharp BTC price swings.

The aunt of the youngest victim of the Bondi shooting says those who are angry should "plant a seed of happiness" in their heart in memory of her niece Matilda..

Archaeologists find evidence of some kind of "horrible event" in the hills of southern Scotland.

Early warnings could be vital.

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The rise in judicial threats is being fueled by the political rhetoric of the Trump administration, a judge argues.

Carmakers have known for decades that battery recycling was poisoning people abroad. Nigeria’s crackdown is an effort to catalog the damage.

The Reiners’ bodies were discovered on Sunday at their home in Los Angeles. Their son Nick was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and has since appeared in courtThe Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has released reports stating the cause of death of the film director…

Woodside Energy boss who clashed with climate campaigners in Australia is taking one of the industry’s toughest jobs

arXiv:2512.15033v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The evaluation of Large Language Models (LLMs) in complex reasoning domains typically relies on performance alignment with ground-truth oracles. In the domain of chess, this standard manifests as accuracy benchmarks against strong engines like Stockfi…

Data: American Edge Project and Technology Councils of North America; Map: Axios VisualsNearly 3,000 new data centers are under construction or planned across the U.S., per a new analysis shared first with Axios — adding to the more than 4,000 already in operation.Why it matters: Big tech and many l…

After Guardian writers picked their favourite lesser-known festive movies, readers shoutout Klaus, The Ref and moreI thought a real modern hidden gem is All Is Bright starring Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti as two down-on-their-luck Christmas tree sellers. It’s perfectly played by both, with Rudd putti…

Majid Fotuhi, Psychology Today Many people feel overwhelmed by wellness trends and high-priced tools promising better brain function. Most people I meet want to protect their brain and be...