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Technology

Cyber-attacks disrupt supermarket refrigeration systems across at least 10 European countries

BBC

Cyber-attacks disrupted supermarket refrigeration systems in at least 10 European countries, raising temperatures high enough to force retailers to discard food. Officials are investigating whether the incidents reflect a coordinated attempt to disrupt the food supply chain, though no actor has claimed responsibility. Reports point to vulnerable remotely managed systems and, in some cases, external service providers. The incidents follow a separate attack affecting hundreds of French grocery stores and have prompted warnings to improve security across food infrastructure.

Google and partners dismantle botnet linked to millions of backdoored Android devices

Krebs on Security

Google says it worked with industry partners to dismantle XCPE, a botnet that enrolled more than 1.3 million Android TV boxes and secretly resold users’ internet connections for proxy access and advertising fraud. The malware was also found in telehealth devices, karaoke machines, and digital signage. Google says legal action cut off the operator’s control infrastructure and addressed a device-boot weakness. Researchers estimate the operation may disconnect access to more than 10 million additional compromised systems, but say the 1.3 million figure is conservative.

AI

Nvidia releases an open-source ontology layer for more reliable data agents

github.com

Nvidia’s Auto Ontology is an Apache-licensed software project that builds enterprise ontologies from metadata, reconciles definitions across databases and supplies provenance to AI agents querying structured data. It exposes the context layer through MCP, a CLI and an API, with deployment options for Docker and Kubernetes. The project also documents material operational risks: UI-added database credentials are stored in plaintext unless Vault is fully configured, and the internal FastAPI boundary must not be exposed publicly.

How Nemotron combines Mamba, attention and sparse experts to lower inference costs

ByteByteGo

Nvidia’s Nemotron family combines Mamba state-space layers, selective attention and mixture-of-experts routing to reduce the computation and memory involved in repeated language-model generation. The analysis explains how Mamba keeps a bounded state, attention preserves precise access to earlier tokens, and sparse experts activate only part of the model for each token. It also covers multi-token prediction, low-precision weights and training methods, while noting tradeoffs such as weaker retrieval from compressed state and continued hosting costs.

World

US strikes Iranian island as mediators try to prevent renewed escalation before midterms

BBC

The United States carried out what officials described as limited, defensive strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island after Iranian forces allegedly fired on a US aircraft, while Iran said it had shot down American drones. The action came as Qatar and Pakistan mediated talks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas shipments. The competing accounts and lack of an immediate US military statement leave operational details uncertain. The report also describes pressure on Donald Trump to avoid widening the conflict after the midterms.

Policy

US midterm voters choose Congress amid high turnout, ballot problems and anxiety over Trump’s agenda

The Guardian

US voters are choosing all 435 House members, 35 senators, 39 governors and thousands of state and local officials in elections that will determine congressional control during Donald Trump’s second term. Early reporting describes strong turnout, federal observers at some polling places and scanner failures affecting as many as 250,000 ballots in New York’s Westchester County, though officials said voters could use emergency ballots. Interviews across states show affordability, abortion, immigration, democracy and the Iran war shaping decisions. Early Guam results favored Republicans for governor but Democrats for its congressional delegate.

THE BACK PAGE

Sports in brief

NFL

Jeffery Simmons powers Bears past Seahawks in 34-17 win

The Guardian

Chicago beat Seattle 34-17 as Caleb Williams threw for 247 yards and Jeffery Simmons made an immediate impact after arriving from Tennessee for two first-round picks. Simmons recorded two sacks, six tackles and a pass defended, helping the Bears hold Seattle to 252 yards. The 6-2 Bears strengthened their position while Seattle fell to 4-4.

Soccer

Tenerife footballer Jesús de Miguel dies after on-pitch collision

The Guardian

Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel died after an on-pitch collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono during a second-division match. De Miguel suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest and never regained consciousness. The match was abandoned, Spanish fixtures were postponed, and authorities are reviewing the incident, including possible disciplinary action and a reported judicial process.

Nigeria’s women miss World Cup for first time

Nigeria’s 2-1 playoff defeat by South Africa means the Super Falcons will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time. The setback ends the only African team’s record of appearing at every tournament and follows a Wafcon quarter-final exit. The report also details concerns over preparation, unpaid allowances, governance and lost development funding.

Middle East conflict disrupts major sporting events

The 2027 Asian Cup has been postponed by almost a year because of security concerns, while Formula 1, Dakar and cycling events have been cancelled or moved across the region. The PIF Saudi International golf event will not be held after organisers cited organisational and logistical challenges. The report says the WTA Finals will move to Indian Wells, and further F1 cancellations remain possible if conditions worsen.

NBA

Dumonts take controlling stake in Mavericks

ESPN

Sivan and Patrick Dumont have become the controlling owners of the Dallas Mavericks after purchasing Miriam Adelson’s shares, giving the family a 69% stake. Patrick Dumont says the family is committed to a new Dallas arena and long-term franchise investment. Mark Cuban retains a 27% share, while Masai Ujiri oversees a broader basketball and front-office overhaul.

Doncic scores 42 as Lakers extend hot streak

Luka Doncic scored 42 points and added 13 assists in the Lakers’ 138-117 win over Miami, his fourth 40-point game in five outings. His league-leading scoring average rose to 38.8 points per game, while Los Angeles improved to 6-2 and moved to fourth in the Western Conference.