Karnataka suspends Amazon, Instamart, BigBasket licences over toxic datura sales

Karnataka authorities have suspended food licences of Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket after toxic datura fruits and seeds were found listed as food products on their platforms. Regulators ordered the immediate removal of all datura-related listings and advertisements from these services. The action was taken due to serious public health concerns, as datura is a highly toxic plant not fit for consumption. Consuming unpurified datura can cause severe health consequences, including coma and death in extreme cases.

Ex-cricketers warn Jaiswal after ICC fine for clash with Fernando in 2nd Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal was involved in a heated altercation with Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando during the second Test match following his dismissal. The ICC penalised both players with fines and demerit points in response to the incident. Former Indian cricketers Pujara and Raman expressed disappointment, pointing to Jaiswal's frustration as a key factor behind the confrontation. Karim stressed that senior players carry a responsibility to model good conduct for young fans of the sport.

Google Rewrites Meta Descriptions 70% of the Time — Here Is What SMBs Should Do

Google replaces business-written meta descriptions with its own snippets in roughly 70% of tracked queries, and a single page can display multiple snippet variations within a month, according to analysis cited by Search Engine Land. This does not make meta descriptions obsolete, but it shifts the focus toward treating the entire page — headings, opening paragraphs, and key copy — as the real source of search-result messaging. Manually written descriptions still produced measurable click-through rate improvements over AI-generated and Google-generated alternatives in live tests by Seer Interactive, making human review worthwhile for high-value pages. For lower-priority pages, AI-assisted descriptions can provide adequate coverage at scale, while editorial effort is better reserved for pages with meaningful commercial intent. The core takeaway for small and medium businesses is to optimize page content holistically so that even when Google generates its own snippet, the available material is clear, relevant, and aligned with searcher intent.

Developer Builds Dependency-Free Countdown Timer in Vanilla JS, Shares Lessons Learned

A developer built a browser-based countdown timer using only vanilla JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, deliberately avoiding frameworks like React or third-party libraries. The goal was a lightweight, single-purpose tool that required no installation, account creation, or premium features — just a target date and a visual progress indicator. One key challenge was timezone handling: a user in Australia reported incorrect countdowns, which traced back to the app using local timezone offsets instead of storing dates as UTC timestamps. The fix involved converting date inputs to UTC millisecond timestamps to ensure consistent calculations across all regions. The developer also used AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT during development, and documented both the successes and limitations of that approach.

Iran vows to retaliate after US widens sanctions

Canada to Announce Retaliatory Tariffs After Trump's New Trade Threats

Canada is set to announce retaliatory tariffs in response to escalating trade pressure from the United States. President Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts, and steel. Canadian Prime Minister Carney firmly rejected the US demands, stating that Canada is 'not a US subsidiary.' Carney accused Washington of seeking to destroy Canada's major industries, including autos, steel, and aluminum.

Gujarat Man Drowns in Same Pond Where Brother Died Three Months Ago

A 24-year-old man drowned in a pond in Gujarat, the same water body where his brother had lost his life just three months earlier. Emergency responders were alerted to the incident and rushed to the scene promptly. Local fire brigade personnel joined the rescue and recovery effort. After an extensive search operation, the young man's body was successfully recovered from the pond.

WAN-3.0 Converts PowerPoint Slides Into AI Videos in Under 20 Seconds

Chinese AI tool WAN-3.0 can transform PowerPoint presentations into hyper-realistic videos in 10 to 20 seconds without requiring a video editor. The tool uses a hybrid cloud architecture combining Stable Diffusion 2.1 and ControlNet to convert each slide into a keyframe and generate smooth motion transitions between them. Users upload a PPTX file, which is processed into a JSON payload and sent to WAN-3.0's cloud API, returning a downloadable MP4 in under a minute. Compared to rivals like Runway Gen-2, Pika Labs, and Synthesia, WAN-3.0 offers the fastest render time at $0.12 per minute with a free tier of five minutes per day. The tool has drawn significant interest from marketers, educators, and HR teams seeking to speed up video content production.

Sreejesh Questions Indian Hockey Management After Men's and Women's WC Exits

Former Indian hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh has publicly criticised the management strategies of Indian hockey following poor performances at the World Cup. The men's team was eliminated after losing to Argentina, while the women's team failed to progress after drawing against Australia. Neither side managed to reach the semifinals, marking a disappointing campaign for Indian hockey. Sreejesh's remarks have drawn attention to the need for a thorough review of the team's approach and planning at the international level.

ScanMyScale app reads scale displays via photo to automate weight tracking

A developer has launched ScanMyScale, a free app that uses photo recognition to automatically read and log weight from any analog or digital scale. Users simply open the app, take a photo of their scale's display, and the app records the reading to build a weight history over time. The tool is built as a Progressive Web App (PWA), meaning it runs directly in a mobile browser without requiring an app store download. Manual entry remains available as an optional alternative for those who prefer it. The developer is actively seeking user feedback on usability and display-reading accuracy to improve the product.

US set for largest mass visa revocation in history

Car loan refinance: When does switching make sense?

Technocore Uses Cryptographic DIDs to Verify AI Agent Identity Without Central Auth

AI agents increasingly operate autonomously across the internet, creating a need for reliable identity verification without centralized registration services. Technocore, an agent communication platform, addresses this by requiring every message to be signed using Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) built on Ed25519 public-key cryptography. Each signed payload binds the message to a specific room, a replay-preventing nonce, and normalized text, which the server verifies against the public key embedded in the sender's DID. Valid messages are recorded with a global sequence number, creating a machine-verifiable public ledger of agent communications. Technocore's Python-based starter kit allows developers to generate an encrypted local identity and begin posting signed messages to public rooms with just a few commands.

Bitcoin Crosses $80,000 for First Time Since May Amid Crypto Recovery

Bitcoin has surpassed the $80,000 mark for the first time since May, continuing a strong rebound in the cryptocurrency market. The price represents a 38% surge following a significant plunge in June. Analysts attribute the recovery partly to shifting U.S. Treasury policy, which has helped draw buyers back into the crypto space. The renewed investor interest has also rejuvenated demand for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

How to add opt-in per-user two-factor auth in CakePHP using CakeDC/Users

The CakeDC/Users plugin offers built-in TOTP two-factor authentication for CakePHP, but its default configuration enforces 2FA for all users simultaneously rather than allowing individual opt-in. Developers can override this all-or-nothing behavior by implementing a custom OneTimePasswordAuthenticationChecker that checks a per-user database flag called two_steps before requiring the OTP step. A simple database migration adds the two_steps boolean column, defaulting to false so existing users are unaffected. A self-service enrollment screen lets signed-in users activate 2FA themselves by scanning a QR code and verifying a six-digit TOTP code, which then flips both the secret_verified and two_steps flags. Developers should also note a compatibility issue with the default QR code provider on modern dependencies, which can be resolved by switching to BaconQrCodeProvider with SVG output.

Research Explores Programming Languages Used to Build AI Agent Skills

A research piece published by Plicara AI examines the programming languages commonly used to develop skills for AI agents. The study investigates what underlies the growing ecosystem of agent-based AI systems, focusing on the technical building blocks developers use. The article was shared on Hacker News, where it received minimal engagement at the time of posting. The research appears aimed at developers and researchers interested in the architecture of modern AI agent frameworks.

Developer launches free UK-accessible image host DBimg after Imgur's sudden ban

Imgur blocked all users in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2025 with no prior warning or migration options, breaking millions of embedded images across forums, Reddit, Discord, and blogs. A developer responded by launching DBimg, a free image and video hosting service designed to replicate Imgur's original simplicity. DBimg supports anonymous uploads, original-quality file serving, permanent hosting, and automatic EXIF metadata stripping for privacy. The platform offers a REST API, global CDN delivery, and instant embed codes in HTML, BBCode, and Markdown, with a 75MB free tier and a 250MB Pro option. The developer cited Imgur's gradual decline through ownership changes, compression increases, and data-handling issues with the UK's ICO as motivation to build a privacy-first alternative from the ground up.

Engineer builds open dataset cross-referencing 217 steel grades across 5 global standards

A software engineer frustrated with unreliable steel grade lookups has built a freely available cross-reference database covering 217 steel and alloy grades. The dataset maps equivalents across five major standards systems — ASTM, EN, JIS, GB, and IS — and includes yield strength, tensile strength, density, chemical composition, and up to five international equivalents per grade. Each grade has its own detail page, and a side-by-side comparison tool lets users evaluate any two materials against mechanical properties, chemical composition, and price per kilogram. The dataset is published on GitHub under an MIT licence as a machine-readable JSON file, making it compatible with third-party tools and APIs. The creator notes the resource is intended for reference and cross-checking only, and is not a substitute for a Mill Test Report or a licensed engineer's approval.

Canada to announce retaliatory tariffs against US

Canada Weighs Retaliatory Options Against US Amid Escalating Trade Dispute

Canada finds itself in a challenging trade standoff with the United States, to which it exports roughly 70% of its goods. Despite this heavy economic dependence, analysts suggest Canada holds meaningful leverage it could deploy against the US economy. Potential retaliatory measures could target American industries and political constituencies in ways designed to pressure the Trump administration. The dispute reflects a broader escalation in trade tensions between the two neighboring countries. Canada is now actively weighing how to respond without further damaging its own economy in the process.