Important Takeaways:
- In a remarkable advancement for artificial intelligence (AI) technology, researchers from Beijing have introduced the world’s first fully optical AI chip, known as Taichi-II.
- This innovative chip has set new standards in energy efficiency, surpassing NVIDIA’s renowned H100 GPU by a significant margin.
- Fully Optical: Unlike traditional chips that rely on electronic signals, Taichi-II operates entirely on light, leading to significantly reduced energy consumption.
- Energy Efficiency: The chip boasts a remarkable six orders of magnitude improvement in energy efficiency compared to conventional methods in low-light imaging scenarios.
- Performance: In addition to energy efficiency, Taichi-II has shown a 40% accuracy boost in classification tasks compared to NVIDIA’s H100.
- FFM Learning: The chip utilizes a novel training method called Fully Forward Mode (FFM) learning, enabling parallel processing directly on the optical chip.
- The FFM learning method leverages high-speed optical modulators and detectors, offering performance that could potentially surpass GPUs in accelerated learning scenarios. This technology shifts optical computing from theoretical to practical, large-scale applications, opening new possibilities for AI.
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Important Takeaways:
- Twenty miles north of Jerusalem, five Texas Red Angus cows chew on grass, oblivious to the fact that their mere presence in Israel was cited by Hamas as a reason for its massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7. The terror organization’s spokesperson says the cows were a justification for the attack, stating that bringing them to Israel was “an aggression” based on a “detestable religious myth.”
- In Ancient Shiloh, located in Samaria, also referred to as the West Bank, Moriyah Shapira proudly showcases the red heifers, which were brought to Israel after a long, tedious search. The animals comply with a very specific set of characteristics outlined in verses in the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament.
- The Hebrew Bible states that red heifers are necessary for a purification ceremony to enter the Temple or its portable predecessor, the Tabernacle. Moses performed a ceremony with red heifer ashes that were used for the Tabernacle in the Sinai before the Jews entered Israel after his death.
- Hamas has called the importation of the red cows an act of “aggression” because it falsely believes that the presence of the cows may ignite the rebuilding of the Temple, which the group thinks would end Arab control of the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located.
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Important Takeaways:
- New wars, old wars, famine, panic everywhere. So much for a quiet August
- From Bangladesh to Venezuela, one calamity rapidly overtakes another, but common denominators include poverty, corruption and lack of hope
- [Bangladesh] Last week’s revolution in Bangladesh captured the tone. Recalling the 1986 “people power” overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, Sheikh Hasina, a pro-democracy prime minister turned late-life autocrat, did not merely lose her job. She nearly lost her head, legging it into last-minute exile. Bangladesh, in turmoil and beset by score-settling, must piece itself back together. It won’t be easy.
- [Venezuela] …the uproar following Venezuela’s election travesty. President Nicolás Maduro, no Chávez he, thought it was in the bag. Then the actual votes started coming in. Appalled, he belatedly realized he was losing. Publication of results was abruptly suspended, Maduro claimed a bogus victory, and the familiar lies, crackdowns and violence began.
- Except, this time, like Bangladesh, repression hasn’t worked. Vote tallies have not been released, so no one believes him. The US and Europe say that opposition candidate Edmundo González won. Even friendly leftwing governments in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are jibbing. Hundreds have been arrested, dozens have died. Yet Maduro won’t budge, and so the crisis deepens.
- [Africa] Poverty, lack of opportunity and official corruption roil the global street. In Kenya, young anti-government demonstrators sparked copycat generation Z protests in Nigeria and Uganda. About 70% of Africa’s fast-expanding population is under 30. Youthful insurrection is not confined to a single calendar month. It’s ongoing.
- In the Middle East, matters go from bad to seriously worse, fueling fears of region-wide war. Iran’s response to the assassination of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran is awaited with trepidation. It’s an old story. Western countries conduct emergency evacuations. Israel, backed by the US, prepares to strike back.
- [Ukraine] The conflict dramatically intensified this month after a large Ukrainian force invaded Russia right back.
- Sudan’s civil war is a catastrophe with dire implications for the whole Sahel region, terrorism and migration – yet few seem to notice, let alone care.
- At the opposite end of the spectrum, the wealthy wolves of Wall Street and other financial centers were busy making their own contribution to international insecurity with an irresponsible, rollercoaster display of record stock market instability. Yet jobbers’ jitters surely reflect the fears and uncertainties of a world running clean out of control.
- Speaking of control, the “indispensable” country that much of the world looks to in times of trouble spent August hopelessly distracted by domestic political tumult. Don’t expect the US to sort things out, unless Joe Biden produces a parting rabbit. Harris v Trump is shaping up to be the knock-down, scratch-your-eyes-out, photo-finish fight of the century.
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Important Takeaways:
- Thick grey smoke engulfed Mount Pentelicus that dominates Athens on Monday as the Greek capital battled the infernal fallout from what promises to be its hottest summer on record.
- A 30-kilometre (20-mile) long line of fires was moving towards Athens, reports said, and one has already engulfed the mountain, also known as Mount Pentelikon, famed for the marble used in the Acropolis and other ancient buildings in Athens.
- The nearby historic town of Marathon has also been ordered evacuated.
- Brick homes on roads leading out of Marathon had huge black stains up the sides of their walls left by the flames. Their roofs had been turned to cinders.
- “It’s a catastrophe,” said Marathon social worker Maria Kanavaki. “It’s all burnt. There is a fear what will happen. This summer was the hottest. And the water — will we have enough water?” the 55-year-old told AFP.
- Greek authorities have thrown hundreds of firefighters with trucks and water carrying aircraft into what has become an annual battle as global temperatures soar.
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Important Takeaways:
- Authorities in Japan urged people to avoid hoarding as anxiety over a possible megaquake triggered a spike Saturday in demand for disaster kits and daily necessities.
- In its first such advisory, the weather agency said a huge earthquake was more likely in the aftermath of a magnitude 7.1 jolt in the south on Thursday which left 14 people injured.
- At a Tokyo supermarket on Saturday, a sign was put up apologizing to customers for shortages of certain products it attributed to “quake-related media reports”.
- “Potential sales restrictions are on the way”, the sign said, adding bottled water was already being rationed due to “unstable” procurement.
- A magnitude-5.3 tremor rocked the Kanagawa region near Tokyo Friday, triggering emergency alarms on mobile phones and briefly suspending bullet train operations.
- Most seismologists believe the Friday jolt had no direct link to the Nankai Trough megaquake, citing distance.
- Sitting on top of four major tectonic plates, the Japanese archipelago of 125 million people sees some 1,500 quakes every year, most of them minor.
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Important Takeaways:
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will start to redirect money from cities and counties that don’t show “demonstrable results” in reducing homelessness.
- Newsom made pointed comments Thursday criticizing some local jurisdictions for not doing enough despite the “unprecedented resources” the state has provided.
- The Democratic governor’s order followed a US Supreme Court decision in June that ruled in favor of an Oregon city that ticketed homeless people for sleeping outside
- Newsom said his order emphasizes working with local service providers to get people resources and doesn’t mention citations. “This is not about criminalization. What’s criminal, is neglecting people who are struggling and suffering and dying on our watch”
- “This is not one of those political things,” Newsom said. “This is a sincerely held belief that we need local government to step up. This is a crisis, act like it.”
- Money could start being redirected in January when the state starts forming its budget proposals, Newsom said.
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Important Takeaways:
- Ukrainian ground troops and mechanized forces crossed the international border, advancing over 30 kilometers into Russian territory in one of the most significant developments in the ongoing war between the two countries.
- Russia has announced a “federal emergency” and has scrambled troops to defend the area.
- Vladimir Putin has called the incursion a “large-scale provocation” by Kyiv, and Russia’s top general has vowed to crush it.
- The new frontline in Russia is far from other areas where intense fighting has taken place since the war began.
- US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said “Nothing has changed about our policy” and Ukraine can use US-supplied weapons only “to target imminent threats just across the border”.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has never done anything like this before.
- Since the beginning of last year, mpox cases have been surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with children making up the majority of the 14,000 reported cases and 511 deaths so far in 2024.
- In the last couple weeks, there’s been a new and alarming development. Mpox has been detected in countries that have never previously identified cases.
- It is with past health emergencies in mind that Africa CDC is trying to move quickly and garner international support.
- The World Health Organization has also taken note of the evolving mpox situation. This week it announced that the group is convening an emergency committee to determine whether it will make a similar declaration to that of Africa CDC, designating the situation a public health emergency of international concern. “The committee will meet as soon as possible,” says WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
- There’s concern about mpox in the U.S. as well. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an mpox health alert this week.
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Important Takeaways:
- After starting as a 25-acre wildland fire in El Dorado County early on Wednesday morning the Crozier Fire is now among the five largest active wildland fires in California.
- The fire is burning in the Swansboro/Mosquito area of El Dorado County, about 14.5 miles northeast of Placerville and around 60 miles east of Sacramento.
- As fire crews enter the third day of battling the Crozier Fire in El Dorado County, the fire saw a second night of large growth.
- The Crozier Fire gained 123 acres through Thursday night and is now being mapped at 1,705 acres.
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Important Takeaways:
- Iran is accelerating online activity that appears intended to influence the U.S. election, in one case targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack, Microsoft said Friday.
- Iranian actors also have spent recent months creating fake news sites and impersonating activists, laying the groundwork to stoke division and potentially sway American voters this fall, especially in swing states, the technology giant found.
- The findings in Microsoft’s newest threat intelligence report show how Iran, which has been active in recent U.S. elections, is evolving its tactics for another election that’s likely to have global implications. The report goes a step beyond anything U.S. intelligence officials have disclosed, giving specific examples of Iranian groups and the actions they have taken so far.
- The report also reveals how Russia and China are exploiting U.S. political polarization to advance their own divisive messaging in a consequential election year.
- Iran’s U.N. mission sent The Associated Press an emailed statement: “Iran has been the victim of numerous offensive cyber operations targeting its infrastructure, public service centers, and industries. Iran’s cyber capabilities are defensive and proportionate to the threats it faces. Iran has neither the intention nor plans to launch cyber attacks. The U.S. presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere.”
- Microsoft’s report aligns with recent warnings from U.S. intelligence officials, who say America’s adversaries appear determined to seed the internet with false and incendiary claims ahead of November’s vote.
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