Perl Weekly Challenge 386: Base Conversion and Repeating Decimal Comparison

The 386th Perl Weekly Challenge presents two mathematical programming tasks for participants to solve. The first task requires writing a function that converts a string representation of a number in any given base back into a standard integer, essentially reversing the previous week's challenge. The second task asks programmers to determine whether two non-negative rational numbers expressed as repeating decimals are equal. The recommended approach for the second task involves converting each repeating decimal into a standard fraction using algebraic manipulation, then comparing the two fractions. Perl's built-in bigrat module is suggested as a convenient tool for handling rational number arithmetic with automatic fraction reduction.

India Prepares to Mark 80th Independence Day on 15 August 2026

India is approaching its 80th Independence Day, a milestone that invites citizens to reflect on the nation's history and democratic journey. The occasion is widely observed as a time to honour the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the country's liberty. Across the country, people traditionally share wishes, messages, and quotes with family and friends through social media platforms. The day serves as an opportunity for Indians to reaffirm their collective commitment to national progress and unity.

Google lets users disable visible AI watermarks on Gemini-generated content

Google has introduced a new 'Media watermark' toggle in Gemini and its AI video tool Flow, allowing users to turn off the visible 'sparkle' watermark on AI-generated images, videos, and music. The visible watermark previously appeared in the bottom-right corner of content produced by Google's Nano Banana and Omni models. Even with the visible watermark disabled, all AI-generated content will still carry invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata embedded in the background. This was confirmed by Josh Woodward, Vice President of Google Labs, Gemini, and AI Studio. The change makes visible watermarking optional while preserving behind-the-scenes traceability of AI-created media.

Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing

Luigi Mangione has entered a guilty plea to federal stalking charges related to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Mangione admitted to carrying out the killing, which drew widespread national attention. The federal plea resolves one of two criminal cases he faces, with a separate state murder trial still scheduled for September. During the investigation, authorities recovered a 3D-printed firearm and a notebook linked to Mangione.

Developer Revives Abandoned Weave Scope with Multi-Platform Docker Support

Weave Scope, a once-popular open-source tool for real-time container cluster monitoring and visualization, was archived and left unmaintained after its original developers at Weaveworks stepped away. The tool's dependency tree had frozen, locking it exclusively to x86_64 architectures and making it incompatible with modern ARM-based systems such as AWS Graviton, Apple Silicon, and Raspberry Pi. Developer Mario Ezquerro used an AI coding assistant called Antigravity to audit dependencies, refactor Dockerfiles, and modernize the build pipeline to support both linux/amd64 and linux/arm64 targets. The revived project has been published to a new GitHub repository and multi-architecture Docker images are now available on Docker Hub. Ezquerro says the entire modernization effort was completed in a single afternoon, highlighting the potential for developers to rescue other abandoned open-source projects with relatively little effort.

Google Launches Gemini 3.7 Flash at Half the Price, Targeting AI Agent Workflows

Google released Gemini 3.7 Flash on August 13, 2024, just three weeks after its predecessor, 3.6 Flash, with a focus on coding and multi-step agent workflows. The model is priced at $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens through end of 2026 — half the original 3.6 Flash price — before doubling on January 1, 2027. On benchmarks, 3.7 Flash outperforms 3.6 Flash on FrontierCode 1.1 Main (43.6% vs 34.4%) and DeepSWE v1.1 (65.3% vs 49.0%), among others. Google highlights improvements in multi-step planning, tool-call accuracy, intent clarification, and instruction-following — capabilities that directly reduce costly retries and human interventions in agent loops. Analysts note that for agentic use cases, the true cost of a model extends beyond token pricing to include retries, failed edits, and human resets, making reliability as important as raw price.

OpenCrawling Launches Qdrant Output Connector for Vector Search Integration

OpenCrawling has introduced a new Qdrant Output Connector, expanding its data pipeline capabilities. The connector enables users to stream crawled web data directly into Qdrant, a vector database designed for similarity search and AI applications. This integration simplifies the process of building search and machine learning workflows by eliminating manual data transfer steps. The announcement was shared on the OpenCrawling blog, targeting developers working with vector search and AI-driven data pipelines.

France's top court strikes down social media ban for under-15s

France's Constitutional Council has blocked a proposed law that would have banned children under 15 from using social media platforms. The court ruled that the measure infringed upon freedom of expression, deeming it unconstitutional. The decision overturns an initiative that had been championed as a child protection effort. Despite the ruling, President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to prepare a new draft law to address the issue.

Naomi Osaka on balancing motherhood, mental health and tennis comeback

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has spoken about how becoming a mother reshaped her perspective on self-care and personal well-being. She emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries and safeguarding her mental health, primarily for the benefit of her daughter. Osaka views these practices as essential to navigating her new role as a parent. Following her return to motherhood, she made a comeback to professional tennis, aiming to balance her identity as both an athlete and a mother.

PM Modi-Tarique Rahman Meeting to Address Security and Ganga Water Issues

India and Bangladesh are preparing for a proposed meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh's political leader Tarique Rahman. Key agenda items are expected to include bilateral security concerns and the sharing of Ganga river waters. Indo-Bangladesh cooperation on several fronts has come to a standstill, and the talks aim to revive stalled initiatives. India had previously planned significant investments in Bangladesh's railway and road infrastructure, which are among the areas expected to be discussed. The meeting represents an effort to reset and strengthen ties between the two neighboring countries.

Arizona State University Launches Bachelor's Degree in Content Creation

Arizona State University has introduced a new undergraduate degree program focused on content creation. The program is being offered through the university's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The degree is designed for students looking to build careers in the growing digital content and influencer space. This makes ASU one of the first major universities to offer a formal academic qualification in this field.

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow White House Ballroom Construction

The Trump administration has filed a petition with the US Supreme Court seeking to pause a recent appellate ruling that blocked White House ballroom construction. The request was made by Trump's solicitor general, the government's top lawyer before the Supreme Court. The petition targets a decision handed down last week by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The administration is pushing to keep the construction project moving forward while the legal dispute continues.

Toxic Gas Leak at Bangladesh Shipbreaking Yard Kills 8, Five Still Missing

A toxic gas leak at a shipbreaking yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh's southeastern port city, has killed at least eight people. Five more workers remain unaccounted for following the incident. Witnesses at the scene reported hearing screams from inside the yard before colleagues rushed the affected workers to a nearby hospital. Shipbreaking yards in Chittagong are known for hazardous working conditions, making such incidents a recurring concern in the industry.

Policy experts: Europe stuck between "rock and a hard place" on launch

It turns out that the economics of rocket reuse are pretty, pretty good.

French Court Strikes Down Social Media Ban for Under-15s on Free Speech Grounds

France's top constitutional court has struck down a proposed law that would have banned children under 15 from creating social media accounts. The legislation had been set to take effect from September 1. The court ruled against the ban, citing concerns over freedom of speech. The decision marks a significant setback for efforts to regulate minors' access to social media platforms in France.

Second train derails in Southeast England within 24 hours; no injuries reported

Marco Arment Launches Unforgetful, a Reminders App Built to Fight Snooze Habits

Veteran indie developer Marco Arment has released a new app called Unforgetful, aimed at users who frequently dismiss or snooze their reminders. The app is designed to make notifications harder to accidentally ignore or swipe away. Arment, known for his long track record in independent app development, built the tool to address a common productivity pain point. Unforgetful targets people who struggle to act on reminders before dismissing them.

Engineering student builds AI-assisted typing trainer with 31 sub-levels and bigram tracking

A first-year engineering physics student has launched WorkThoseKeys, a free typing trainer built using Lovable, a prompt-based AI app builder, without writing code by hand. The tool features 31 sub-levels across eight stages, introducing one finger at a time before combining them, with each level structured around warmup, weak points, integration, and a progress check. Unlike most typing trainers, it tracks per-bigram error rates — identifying which letter pairs a user struggles with — and separates keyboard layout settings from content language. The app also includes an AI coach that translates typing data into plain-language advice, and a book mode that lets users type real public-domain literature, from short poems to the full text of Moby-Dick. All features are available for free with no sign-up required, though users can log in with Google to save stats and streaks.

How Marcus Aurelius Used Stoicism to Master Perception and Inner Reactions

Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor of ancient Rome, embraced Stoic philosophy as a framework for navigating life's hardships. He emphasized personal agency over one's reactions while advocating acceptance of uncontrollable circumstances. Aurelius prioritized virtue above transient pursuits such as fame, wealth, and power. His private writings, known as Meditations, continue to serve as a timeless guide for people confronting uncertainty and adversity.

Bezos-backed consortium takes stake in Liverpool