France Tax Agency Reportedly Hacked, Details Scarce

Reports have emerged that France's national tax agency was targeted in a cyberattack, according to a French-language cybersecurity publication. The incident was flagged on Hacker News, though the original article is published in French. Insufficient detail is available from the provided source to confirm the scope, timing, or perpetrators of the alleged breach. Further reporting is needed to verify the full extent of the incident.

How auto-provisioning hundreds of softphones actually works behind the scenes

Auto-provisioning allows hundreds of softphones to be configured across devices within minutes, eliminating the manual setup process that can take a full week for 500 users. The system works by delivering a config bundle to each device containing SIP credentials, transport settings, codec preferences, push notification tokens, and feature flags derived from a central user record. Devices retrieve their configuration via a provisioning URL, QR activation code, or auto-discovery mechanism, removing the need for manual data entry. At scale, bulk provisioning introduces additional engineering challenges such as validating large CSV or API-fed user lists, handling partial failures gracefully, and ensuring re-runs remain idempotent to avoid duplicate or corrupted accounts. The key architectural principle is that a single templating logic reads all user records to generate configurations, rather than hand-assembling individual setups.

Why Gurugram Floods Every Monsoon: Geography, Urbanisation and Poor Planning

Gurugram experiences severe flooding year after year, a pattern rooted in its natural geography and its complicated relationship with water. The city's terrain has historically required careful water management, but rapid urbanisation has steadily undermined this need. Development over the decades has obscured natural drainage pathways and water bodies that once helped manage monsoon flows. As a result, the city remains structurally vulnerable to heavy rainfall despite repeated flooding events. Experts point to the erasure of this geographic reality as the core reason Gurugram continues to be battered each monsoon season.

Record heatwaves kill more than 35,000 across Europe, toll expected to rise: Report

Ovechkin Allegedly Accumulated 33 Traffic Fines in Russia Worth 82,000 Rubles

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin reportedly racked up 33 traffic violations during the summer in Russia. The fines, totalling an estimated 82,000 rubles, stemmed from speeding, illegal parking, and unpaid toll-road charges. The incidents occurred during the NHL offseason while Ovechkin was in his home country. The hockey star is now preparing for his 22nd NHL season after signing a new contract with Washington.

Bruised shoulder keeps Pant from keeping wickets, Jurel steps in for India

Rishabh Pant is sidelined from wicketkeeping duties due to a severely bruised shoulder, with Dhruv Jurel taking over the gloves in his place. The development was revealed by team management during the ongoing Test match against Sri Lanka. India's bowlers faced a difficult time breaking through the Sri Lankan batting lineup on day three. Prasidh Krishna stood out with energetic spells, while Mohammed Siraj also bowled tirelessly on a challenging pitch. India were pushing for quick wickets in order to enforce the follow-on against Sri Lanka.

Air India seeks $1.5 billion lifeline from Tata, SIA

Fiat Ventures rebrands, merges divisions, and closes $35M second fund

Fiat Ventures has rebranded as FGV, combining its venture capital and advisory divisions under a single unified entity. The firm simultaneously announced the close of its $35 million Fund II, marking a significant capital milestone. The move reflects FGV's strategy to differentiate itself in a competitive fundraising landscape where emerging managers face growing challenges attracting limited partners. By integrating its advisory capabilities with its investment arm, FGV aims to offer a distinct value proposition to both LPs and portfolio companies.

Israeli Defense Ministry and Arms Firms Funded Research at Top US Universities

Israeli government and defense industry money has quietly flowed into several prominent American universities, including Harvard and Columbia. The Israeli Ministry of Defense directly sponsored certain academic projects at these institutions. Major Israeli weapons manufacturers, including Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries, were also involved in funding. The extent and nature of these financial ties have drawn scrutiny amid ongoing debates over foreign influence in US higher education.

UK Gains Access to Ukraine's AI Combat Database to Boost Security Systems

The United Kingdom has been granted access to Ukraine's AI database, known as 'Avengers,' which was developed and tested during the ongoing war with Russia. The system contains combat-derived data and intelligence gathered from real battlefield conditions. Britain intends to study Ukraine's wartime experience to inform the development of its own AI-based security and defence systems. The move reflects growing cooperation between the two countries in the field of military technology.

US Plans Mass Revocation of Up to 200,000 B1/B2 Visas Held by Asylum Seekers

The US government is preparing to cancel as many as 200,000 B1 and B2 visitor visas issued between 2016 and 2026. The action targets individuals who entered the country on temporary visitor visas and subsequently filed for asylum. Both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security are involved in implementing the policy. Affected individuals will lose their visitor visa status even while their asylum applications remain pending. The move is part of the current administration's broader push to tighten immigration enforcement.

Modi Cabinet Reshuffle Likely With 12 New Berths, Eye on 2029 Elections

The Modi 3.0 government is reportedly planning a cabinet reshuffle involving around 12 ministerial positions, according to sources who spoke to NDTV. The rejig follows the BJP's recent internal party reorganisation and is being shaped by multiple considerations. Key factors include the age of current ministers, the need to accommodate new alliance partners, and upcoming state elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Sources indicate that long-term strategy for the 2029 Lok Sabha general elections is also influencing the reshuffle planning.

Kansas cowboy turns 50 wind turbines into his most reliable cash crop

OpenAI reinstates 5-hour Codex and Work usage limits for ChatGPT Plus users

OpenAI has restored the five-hour usage limits for its Codex and Work features available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. The move reverses a previous change to how these tools were made accessible to paying users. The update was reported on August 24, 2026, suggesting the company is recalibrating access to its more advanced capabilities. The reinstatement likely reflects efforts to manage server load or ensure fair usage across its subscriber base.

Sri Lanka tail-enders deny India as Dinusha, Pasindu stage Day 3 fightback

Sri Lanka closed Day 3 of the 2nd Test at 265 for 8, mounting a stubborn lower-order resistance against India's bowlers. Sonal Dinusha remained unbeaten on 85, while Pasindu Sooriyabandara contributed 80 to keep the hosts in the game. India had appeared close to wrapping up the innings after reducing Sri Lanka to 216 for 7, but could not take the final wickets. Dinusha's successive partnerships with Keshara Nuwantha and Lahiru Kumara proved particularly frustrating for the Indian side. Sri Lanka ended the day still 38 runs short of the total needed to avoid the follow-on.

Guide Shows How to Build a Free Local RAG Chatbot for Trading Research on Android

A developer tutorial published on DEV Community outlines how to build a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) chatbot that runs entirely on an Android phone using Termux and Ollama, with no paid APIs or cloud services involved. The system is designed for retail traders and quant researchers who want to query their own documents — such as PDFs, markdown notes, and option-chain exports — without sending data to third-party servers. The pipeline consists of four steps: ingesting documents, generating local embeddings, storing vectors in a file-based index, and retrieving relevant chunks to answer queries using a local language model. The entire implementation requires roughly 200 lines of Python and about 2 GB of free storage, with models like Llama 3.2 and nomic-embed-text running locally via Ollama. On a mid-range phone, the setup delivers around 3–8 tokens per second, which the author describes as slow but functional for document question-and-answer tasks.

Asus Xbox Ally X20 OLED handheld available standalone for $1,300 at Best Buy

Asus has officially launched standalone pre-orders for the Xbox Ally X20, an OLED handheld gaming PC priced at $1,300. The device is available for pre-order at Best Buy and Asus's online store, with shipping set for October 15th. Previously, Asus had only offered the handheld bundled with expensive AR glasses, but the company confirmed a standalone option in July. The unit features a translucent design with gold trim as part of Asus's ROG 20th Anniversary edition. Asus spokesperson Don Nguyen confirmed the retail version matches the prototype that was previewed at the company's US offices.

How to Fix phpMyAdmin 500 Error When Importing Large SQL Files on Laragon

A developer using Laragon on Windows encountered an HTTP 500 error while trying to import a 97 MB SQL file through phpMyAdmin, with no meaningful error message displayed. After inspecting Apache and PHP error logs, the root cause was identified as a FastCGI request size limit set in fcgid.conf, which was capped at around 77.5 MB — well below the file size. The fix involved increasing the FcgidMaxRequestLen value in the Laragon Apache configuration to 512 MB to match PHP's own upload limit. A secondary issue — a 300-second execution timeout — was resolved by setting ExecTimeLimit to 0 in phpMyAdmin's config.inc.php file. Restarting Laragon after each configuration change is required for the settings to take effect.

CJP launches free legal aid site for supporters

How to Fix the 1+N Query Problem in Database-Driven Applications

The 1+N query problem is a common performance issue in database-driven applications where fetching a list of records triggers a separate query for each item. This anti-pattern can significantly slow down applications as the number of records grows. A post published on Acadia Engineering's blog outlines practical approaches to diagnosing and resolving this issue. The discussion, shared on Hacker News, attracted developer interest around query optimization strategies. Addressing this problem typically involves techniques such as eager loading or query batching to reduce redundant database calls.