[Fix] Loosen aleph-message dependency

[MHHukiewitz]

Problem: Too strict aleph-message dependency

Solution: loosen it to accept compatible versions to 0.4.2

EDIT:
aleph-im/aleph-message#91 fixed the backwards compatibility issue. aleph-message has been upgraded to 0.4.3 so these workflows pass again

Another problem: Further problems arose from importing aleph-message~=0.4.2 due to some newer syntax that was not supported in Python 3.9 yet.

Another solution: EOL for Python 3.9 & out-of-the-box Ubuntu-20.04.

Also fixed deprecation warning for deprecated GH workflows that utilized EOL node.js v16 by using newer versions of those workflows.

[github-actions]

The PR includes extensive changes, including modifications of dependencies and a new library (aleph-message). This could be risky because it involves potentially breaking changes and requires deep understanding of both the project architecture and Python dependency management. Only experienced developers should review this PR as it may have high potential for introducing bugs or unexpected behavior.

The response is designed to be parsed by machines for integration into other systems, therefore its response starts with the exact category ('BLACK') followed by the explaining rationale in subsequent lines using markdown format and bullet points.

[MHHukiewitz]

Rebased on #93

[hoh]

Commits mix different topics, can you ensure only the right commits are in this branch ?

[MHHukiewitz]

@hoh First merge #93, then this branch only has one change, which is the setup.cfg file

[nesitor]

LGTM, but there are some tests that are failing on some distributions.

[MHHukiewitz]

Test is failing as aleph-message=0.4.2 has syntax that is not supported anymore in Python 3.8. Should we drop support for that version?

[hoh]

Test is failing as aleph-message=0.4.2 has syntax that is not supported anymore in Python 3.8. Should we drop support for that version?

Yes, we can drop support for Python < 3.9

[MHHukiewitz]

I don't know why the new check for ubuntu 24.04 isn't being picked up on... @hoh

[github-actions]

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