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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, March 25
JAKARTA -- One was killed and nine others, including children, went missing after a landslide struck a village in the Indonesian province of West Java on Sunday, a local official said Monday. The disaster took place in Cibenda village in West Bandung regency on Sunday after torrential rain reportedly poured over the area for around two hours. (Indonesia-Landslide) - - - - SYDNEY -- Local media repo.....»»
2 Pangasinan-based environmental defenders abducted
by DOMINIC GUTOMAN Bulatlat.com MANILA – Two Pangasinan-based environmental defenders and organizers were violently mauled and dragged into an SUV at about 8 p.m. on March 24 in Barangay Polo, San Carlos, Pangasinan, according to human rights group Karapatan-Central Luzon Karapatan – Central Luzon said the abduction of Francisco “Eco” Dangla III and Axielle “Jak”… The post 2 Pangasinan-based environmental defenders abducted appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Ecija onion farmers get storage facilities
The Department of Agriculture has turned over two onion cold storage facilities to the DA-Central Luzon office in Nueva Ecija......»»
‘Extreme danger heat index seen in May’
The cities of Puerto Princesa in Luzon and Cotabato in Mindanao sizzled with a heat index of 42 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to state meteorologists......»»
SMC starts works on Pangasinan tollway
Food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has started the civil works for the Pangasinan Link Expressway (PLEX), laying the bedrock for a P34-billion project that would improve travel and tourism in Northern Luzon......»»
DOT seeks inclusion in protected areas board amid Chocolate Hills issue
Department of Tourism Sec. Christina Frasco —INQUIRER.net file photo / Ryan Leagogo After the recent controversy surrounding a resort development near Chocolate Hills in Sagbayan town, Bohol, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced plans to advocate for its inclusion in the national government’s Protected Area Management Board (PAMB). Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco stated during a.....»»
Philippines, US air forces back together for Cope Thunder
The Philippine Air Force and the US Pacific Air Force are set to embark on joint exercises – involving their advanced fighter jets – from April 8 to 19 for this year’s iteration of Cope Thunder, an annual air defense and offense training event to be held in Luzon......»»
Israel bombs Gaza as war resumes after truce with Hamas collapses
Israel resumed its deadly bombardment of Gaza on Friday despite international calls for a renewed truce, killing at least 178 people according to Hamas authorities as five hostages held by the militant group were also confimed dead. Clouds of grey smoke from strikes shot up on the Gaza skyline and rockets fired from the territory.....»»
Powerful and loving
You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. — Deuteronomy 4:11.....»»
On the edge of Gaza, Israeli soldiers brace for battle
After 16 days of mobilising and massing near the Gaza Strip, an eerie calm lingers among Israeli troops as they await the highly anticipated invasion of the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory. The parched desert floor is now filled with hundreds of armoured vehicles along with columns of tanks primed for the expected onslaught. The mechanised steel is adorned with the blue and white Israeli flags, while soldiers labour away with the everyday maintenance of their vehicles. This entire first line is protected by an immense trench, about two kilometres (more than a mile) long, that was dug by engineering units outfitted with heavy machinery. Like most ground offensives, the combat engineering corps will lead the armoured formations when they enter Gaza -- breaching defences and clearing mines and booby traps to pave the way for ground troops. "Military engineering is essential. Without us, no one enters Gaza," explained a soldier serving with unit 601 of the military engineering corps, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "There are a lot of obstacles. The enemy is spraying rockets and other things that I cannot detail to prevent us from progressing," he added. Jammed Israel's general staff said their troops are "ready" for a ground incursion, after more than two weeks of heavy bombardment of Gaza by Israeli warplanes and artillery that the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed more than 5,700 people. The campaign follows the bloodiest day in Israel's 75-year history, when hundreds of Hamas fighters rampaged through communities across southern Israel, killing around 1,400 people and taking more than 200 others hostage, according to Israeli officials. The decision to launch a ground invasion is now in the hands of the Israeli government, even as pressure builds from its allies over the shape and parameters of the operation. As its forces wait to strike, Israel has jammed signals near the Gaza border, rendering navigation applications like Google Maps and Waze useless throughout the militarised zone that has been sealed off from civilian use. AFP journalists on the ground noted that the attempts to pin their locations with the apps resulted in errant positions, including the airport near Tel Aviv or the Egyptian capital of Cairo. To reach the sprawling Tze'elim base some 20 kilometres from Gaza, a steady traffic jam leads to the entrance of the largest military facility in the country's southern desert. For kilometres (miles), tourist buses, family cars, tanks and army jeeps form an seemingly endless convoy en route to the base. Tze'elim has long been renowned as one of the premier training grounds for urban combat, which includes life-size replicas of Gaza neighbourhoods, including a mosque and minarets. The forces that have spent years honing their skills at the base will likely be instrumental in the expected ground campaign. Israeli forces last entered Gaza on foot in 2014, allowing Hamas ample time since then to fortify and expand their defences, including a maze of tunnels snaking under the city. In Tze'elim, "tens of thousands" are believed to be on hand in addition to the 169,500 Israeli soldiers already serving in active duty, while an estimated 360,000 reserves have been mobilised to assist in the fight. "Many are already on the ground," explains a senior officer on condition of anonymity referring to the Gaza border. The families of conscripts flock to the base to deliver meals or join their relatives on brief stints of leave, as they lounge on camping chairs lining the road to the base. 'We have to face this' At the entrance to the facility, Omer, a 23-year-old artillery reservist, searches through the masses of troops hoping to find a friend who is taking him on 24-hour leave. "I have been cut off from everything for 14 days -- two weeks in the field, shooting day and night," explained the artilleryman, with a dirt-smeared face and an Indian necklace hanging from his neck. Before the war, the gunner was a yoga teacher and had been studying in northern India when he received his marching orders. Since then, Omer has been manning his battery during "impossible" nights filled with the repeated concussion of heavy artillery and clouds of dust kicked up by passing armoured vehicles. "The worst thing is being in this shit and not even having time to grieve. I have two friends from Nova killed and a friend of a friend kidnapped," said the Israeli soldier, referring to the desert rave where around 270 people were gunned down by Hamas. "When all this is over, we will also have to face this," he added. "But right now, we don't have time." The post On the edge of Gaza, Israeli soldiers brace for battle appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Lenovo treats Phl as top Southeast Asian market
Even if neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region are advantageous in terms of being technology savvy, the Philippines remains an integral market according to an official of Lenovo, a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, business solutions, and related services. “We see strong demand for the Philippines, the only question is how the consumers get the technology. The pandemic has even made the demand for the Philippines surge because of the digital transformation, unlike pre-pandemic where everyone is scrambling. Right now, because of the transformation, growth is very evident. In other words, investments, including Lenovo technologies are still in demand in the market,” according to Giancarlo Nogales from the Infrastructure Solutions Services Sales of Lenovo Philippines at the sidelines of the VST ECS CXO Tech Summit at the Dusit Thani in Mactan Cebu. “In terms of devices, the Philippines is actually doing well,” he added. Last August, the company said that over the next three years, Lenovo is committing a further $1 billion in investment for artificial intelligence that will focus on providing AI devices, AI-ready, and AI-optimized computing infrastructure, and embedded AI-generated content into the intelligent solutions of vertical industries to help customers improve their productivity. Lenovo in September 2023 has unveiled new cutting-edge tech tools and essentials tailored to empower the dynamic, evolving needs of today’s business end-users. It said that the new monitor, software, and accessories are not only designed to boost the capabilities of today’s remote and hybrid workforces but also to address significant challenges faced by businesses as they digitize operations across departments. “Lenovo research shows that managing a remote workforce and global teams remain central tasks for CIOs.1. That is why the new offerings integrate impressive processing power, immersive 3D, and advanced security to create a unified, human-centered experience,” the company said. Further, Nogales added that sales for Lenovo in the Philippines will continue to soar as the country has a bigger population which connotes demand compared to other nations in SE Asia. What Lenovo can count on with the Philippines is the demand for laptops and tablets that are now being used by students, educators, workers, and even the government. “Actually, we have an ongoing engagement with the government sector. I was at an event with the DICT (Department of Information and Communications) and we had discussions with the Department of Education as well, but we still understand what they are looking for. Of course, with DepEd, it’s a big agency, and what I can say is we are working with them across whatever we can offer—cloud technologies, among others,” he told the DAILY TRIBUNE. Nogales said he sees an ongoing digital transformation within organizations and will continue over the coming years. Digital transformation is an ongoing journey Meanwhile, VST ECS president and CEO Jimmy Go stressed that in the ever-evolving world of technology, organizations are charting a course - through a landscape that has seen profound advancement in recent years. “It's important to understand that digital transformation is not a one-time event but an ongoing journey. Every day, we bear witness to the unveiling of new digital technologies. In this dynamic environment, the lines between the physical and digital worlds are blurring, creating a phenomenon known as phygital convergence," he said. He said organizations nowadays stand at the threshold of a remarkable technological revolution. “Generative AI is the talk of the town with Chat GPT and other AI, offering organizations the power to intelligently automate customer experiences and streamline internal operations. The implications of this technology are far-reaching. Microsoft is launching CoPilot and most software applications are incorporating AI in their applications. Gartner predicts that by 2030, a staggering 80 percent of people will interact with smart robots daily, and in just two years, these smart robots will become workforce partners for 90 percent of global companies,” he said. Further, Go stressed that AI and machine learning, once a novel concept, have become integral to the products and services offered by major companies. “A mere decade ago, we were learning to communicate with machines. Today, machines understand and adapt to our language, erasing the boundaries between humans and technology. While AI is currently the headline in the tech world, we must not lose sight of the critical need to modernize our IT infrastructure,” he stated. For organizations to embrace technology, he said it’s a pivotal step in allowing organizations to embrace the latest technology trends, including Multi Clouds, Quantum computing, Data explosion, RPA, Generative AI, and more. “Investments in Connectivity solutions, Digital Infrastructure, Cloud technologies, Cybersecurity, Big data, Storage, Automation, and Collaboration tools remain vital to prepare for the ever-evolving Tech landscape. In the Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia wars, Technology plays a very important and critical role in their war strategies. Computers, AI, Starlink, and drones are heavily used in their strategies,” he said. The post Lenovo treats Phl as top Southeast Asian market appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Medics recount shocking toll of child deaths in Gaza war
Eight sleeping children killed in one strike, doctors fighting but failing to save an unborn child -- such were the stories recounted by Gaza medics on Thursday as Israel stepped up its air strikes. Gaza's Hamas-run government said that children made up 1,524 of the 3,785 people killed since Israel launched a relentless barrage on Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attacks. Grief-stricken parents carrying the bodies of children in white shrouds through Gaza streets have become a familiar sight since the war started. Doctors say they are fighting a losing battle against a lack of medicines, water and fuel to keep hospitals running. Eight children aged between two and five were among 10 people from the same family killed in an air strike on a house in the city of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, early on Wednesday, relatives said. "The children were asleep when they destroyed the house," their 67-year-old grandfather, Abu Mohammad Wafi al-Bakri, said. Father escaped Diyala, Ayman, Hamada, Zaher, Uday, Jamal, Nabil and Acil all came from one extended family and all slept on the ground floor. It took an hour after the raid to find their bodies, rescuers said. "None of my children were linked to Palestinian organisations and no men were in the house at the time," said Jihad al-Bakri, father of three of the children. He had left his home an hour before the missile hit to try to find water. At Najjar hospital in Rafah, doctors mourned the unborn child of a woman killed by a missile strike early on Thursday. Arij Marwan al-Banna, seven months pregnant, and her daughters, Sarah and Samya, both aged under 10, were killed on the spot, medical sources told AFP. Banna had fled to her parents' house from northern Gaza after Israel warned its 1.1 million people to head south. Doctors operated but could not save her child. She was posthumously named Fatima and her tiny body bag placed atop that of her mother, doctors said. The Israeli military said on Thursday it had carried out hundreds of air raids in 24 hours, targeting Hamas military infrastructure. Terrified Gaza residents have flocked to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the only possible escape route from the besieged territory, but it has remained closed. Scores of people waited forlornly about 100 metres (yards) from the crossing hoping that it would reopen to let aid in and refugees out. US President Joe Biden announced after visiting Israel on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to let some food, water and medicines into Gaza. He said some deliveries could be made on Friday. Wary inhabitants kept away from the gates fearing that they would again be a target for Israel's relentless strikes after the crossing was hit four times last week. "I have been waiting for three days with my family in a house 10 minutes away. We are ready with our bags but we just don't know if or when the crossing will open," said Mohammed, a 40-year-old working for an Italian group. Majed, 43, who works for a German organisation, told AFP: "I came on my own this morning. If the crossing opens, I will get my wife and family -- they're ready." He estimated there were about 400 foreigners, dual nationals and employees of international organisations waiting near Rafah. The Hamas government media office said it had no details on aid deliveries. It said the crossing's head of operations, Fuad Abu Btihan, had been killed in the Israeli strikes. Israel intensified its air strikes after Biden flew home and clouds of black smoke again rose over Gaza City. "It's been tough for three nights, but tonight was the hardest," 60-year-old Umm Mohamed Abu Ziada told AFP. The post Medics recount shocking toll of child deaths in Gaza war appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned of a "long and difficult" war, as fighting with Hamas left hundreds dead on both sides after a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group. The conflict's bloodiest escalation in decades saw Hamas carry out a massive rocket barrage and ground, air and sea offensive Saturday that Israel's army said had killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded 1,000, while soldiers and civilians were taken hostage. Gaza officials said intense Israeli air strikes on the coastal enclave had brought the Palestinian death toll to at least 256, with nearly 1,788 wounded. As fighting raged Sunday, Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it had fired "large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles" at Israeli positions in a contested border areas "in solidarity" with Hamas. Israel's army had earlier said it fired artillery on southern Lebanon in response to a shot from the area without identifying the attackers. "We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack," Netanyahu said on X, formerly Twitter, early Sunday. "The first stage is ending at this time by the destruction of the vast majority of the enemy forces that infiltrated our territory," he added, pledging no "respite" until victory. Overnight Israel battered the Gaza Strip with air strikes as rockets from the blockaded Palestinians territory rained on Israel. Sunday morning gun still battles raged between Israeli forces and hundreds of Hamas fighters in multiple locations, including at the Sderot police station across the border from Gaza. Police and Israeli army special forces "neutralized 10 armed terrorists" who were holed up inside the station, a police statement said. The bloody air, sea and land attack launched Saturday by Hamas came half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, taking Israel and the world by surprise. As the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting for Sunday, President Joe Biden voiced "rock solid and unwavering" support for the US ally and warned "against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation". - Hostages and 'so many bodies' - The Israeli army said overnight its forces were still engaged in gun battles in a string of Israel locations, in an operation labelled "Swords of Iron", as reservists were being called up. Hamas earlier released images of several Israelis taken captive, and another army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, confirmed that soldiers and civilians had been kidnapped. "I can't give figures about them at the moment," he said late Saturday, adding there was also a "severe hostage situation" in the Negev desert communities of Beeri and Ofakim east of Gaza. According to Ynet Israeli news website "dozens of Israeli captives, including numerous women, children and elders, are believed to have been taken into the Gaza Strip". The fighting prompted Israel to cut off Gaza's electricity, fuel and goods supplies, Netanyahu said. The Islamist group started the multi-pronged attack around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday with thousands of rockets aimed as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some bypassing the Iron Dome defense system and hitting buildings. Hamas fighters -- traveling in ground vehicles, motorized paragliders and boats -- breached Gaza's security barrier and attacked nearby Israeli towns and military posts, opening fire on residents and passersby. "Send help, please!" one Israeli woman sheltering with her two-year-old child pleaded as militants outside opened fire and tried to break into their safe room, Israeli media reported. Bodies were strewn on the streets of the Israeli town of Sderot near Gaza and inside cars, the windscreens shattered by a hail of bullets. "I saw many bodies, of terrorists and civilians," one man told AFP, standing beside covered corpses on a road near Gevim Kibbutz in southern Israel. "So many bodies, so many bodies." AFP journalists witnessed Palestinian armed men gather around a burning Israeli tank, and others driving a seized Israeli military Humvee vehicle back into Gaza, where they were met by cheering crowds. - 'Gates of hell' - Israeli army Major General Ghasan Alyan warned Hamas had "opened the gates of hell". An AFP journalist in Gaza saw clouds of dust from the remains of bombed residential towers which Gaza's interior ministry said contained 100 apartments. Israel's military said it had warned residents to evacuate before targeting the multi-story buildings used by Hamas. The escalation follows months of rising violence, mostly in the occupied West Bank, and tensions around Gaza's border and at contested holy sites in Jerusalem. Before Saturday, at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners had been killed this year, including combatants and civilians, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas labeled its attack "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" and called on "resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as in "Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle. Its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed to have fired more than 5,000 rockets, while Hecht said Israel had counted more than 3,000 incoming rockets. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the group was on the "verge of a great victory", vowing to press ahead with "the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons must be completed". - 'Dangerous precipice' - Air raid sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, as well as in Jerusalem on Saturday, and there were major disruptions at Tel Aviv airport where many carriers canceled flights. Israel said schools would remain closed on Sunday which marks the start of the week. Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, leading to Israel's crippling blockade of the impoverished enclave of 2.3 million people. Israel and Hamas have since fought several wars. The last major military exchange, in May, killed 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. Violence also erupted across the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, with five Palestinians killed and 120 wounded in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers, Palestinian medical services said. Countries around the world condemned the wave of attacks by Hamas, which Israel, the United States and European Union consider a terrorist group. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack "terrorism in its most despicable form". But Hamas drew support from other foes of Israel, with Iran's supreme leader declaring he was "proud". UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland warned of "a dangerous precipice" and called on all sides to "pull back from the brink". (Rosie Scammell with Adel Zaanoun in Gaza) az-rsc-jd/hkb © Agence France-Presse The post Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Skin in the game
Where do you find yourself in the skincare spectrum? Are you still assiduously doing your 13-step Korean beauty routine, convincing everybody your glistening face is not “hulas,” but glass skin? “The word is dew-y!” Or are you the basic sunscreen, a chemical and physical exfoliant or two, maybe slathering a peptide, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, or whatever serum is in vogue type? Or are you, “I will fight the ravages of time until my skin is as taut as a drum head and as supple as clouds, or I die trying?” In a crowded field littered with skin and beauty “CEOs” being as high profile as the brands they carry, Skin Manila is positioning itself as a sober alternative, anywhere between Glenda, Rosmar (If you don’t recognize these names, maybe get thee a Tiktok app, Luddite!), the basic aesthetic clinics, and the Belo-Aivee industrial complex. Skin Manila has been around for a decade, and the brand quietly expanded to nine branches without much fanfare and hype, but they’re beginning to introduce it to a much wider audience. The company’s choice of name — Skin Manila — even has a generic bent to it. This is something they have done on purpose, trying to be above the fray of the skincare noise and hype, but also smack dab in the middle in terms of accessibility and affordability. Even Skin Manila’s retail line is called Prescription Skin Care, which calls to mind a no-frills approach, although a glance at the ingredient label will see active ingredients like niacinamide and salicylic acid in their creams and serums. One of Skin Manila’s most successful branches is in Baguio, already bedecked with a Christmas-winter theme where people keep taking selfies. This is where we found ourselves trying its services, during its first anniversary. Apparently, red-cheeked Baguio denizens with what seems like the perfect temperate weather for good skin aren’t taking any chances. Skin Manila offers infusion treatments, cosmetic surgery services, rejuvenation and skin repair, but a signature treatment I chose is the ALMA-Q/PICOLASE Carbon Facial (P8,000) because it sounded like a spacecraft model, and as someone middle-aged, you know you need something industrial strength. This is described on the brochure as “a non-invasive, painless laser skin facial that uses a formulated carbon liquid applied to the face that quickly and effectively treats a variety of skin imperfections. It is suitable for all skin types and particularly beneficial for oily skin, blackheads, enlarged pores, dull rough, uneven textured skin and acne.” [caption id="attachment_193124" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The Exilis is used to contour both face and body.[/caption] As the kind of person who registers a mere 2.1 on the tiis ganda scale, I wouldn’t call this procedure completely painless. You feel fluttery pinpricks when the laser hits the skin because a fan is administered alongside, so the pain skates away, but the memory of it stays? (Yes, this is still about skincare) along with the smell of singed hair? Flesh? This is definitely medical grade. This is presumably nothing but a cakewalk to someone who’s already used to all sorts of facial treatments, but if a client is particularly pain-sensitive, the nurse can administer Emla, a topical cream-based anaesthetic. This same procedure is definitely painless on the underarms because skin is thicker there, and is more used to trauma with waxing and depillating. The laser definitely stimulates collagen because immediately after treatment, your face feels very soft, but the results would reveal themselves over a couple of days and weeks. One of our companions said he received compliments days later from people who didn’t know about his facials. The carbon facial is also supposed to reduce hyperpigmentation, which the aestheticist said wasn’t actually my main problem, and I could feel the smugness of my 14-year-old self for deciding to have an at-the-very-least-SPF-15-sunscreen-on-your-face routine whatever else happens because that’s what I read on the pages of Glamour in the late ‘80s. One of my other companions tried the Exilis Face and Neck Contour (P5,000), “which is supposed to contour and tighten the skin by forcing heat deeply into the skin while using cooling technology. The optimal heat stimulates heat production of collagen, which tightens skin, and reduces wrinkles.” He took a picture of his face when one side had already been treated and this half did appear visibly slimmer. According to the clinic brochure, this type of facial is for maintenance after you’ve done the other medical-grade facials. Aesthetic centers are like salons, where you go to a particular one because they make you feel good and pampered. Stephanie Nuestro, general manager of Skin Manila, said this is a large part of their training. “Customer training is as important as the technical know-how of machines…all our aestheticians are nurses.” No matter where you find yourself in your skincare journey, the old adage remains true — the most effective skincare routine is the one you’re able to stick to. The post Skin in the game appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tech’s carbon footprint: can AI revolutionize responsibly?
Across the globe, data servers are humming, consuming both megawatts and precious natural resources to bring life to our digital world. The planet's 8,000 or so data centers are the foundation of our online existence and will grow ever further with the advent of artificial intelligence -- so much so that research estimates that by 2025, the IT industry could use 20 percent of all electricity produced, and emit up to 5.5 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. This poses a real -- and to some, increasingly urgent -- question about the industry's carbon footprint as startups and companies fall behind Silicon Valley's latest forward march. "Pandora's box is open," said Arun Iyengar, CEO of Untether AI, a highly specialized chip-making company that strives to make AI more energy efficient. "We can utilize AI in ways that enhance the climate requirements or we can ignore the climate requirements and find ourselves facing the consequences in a decade or so in terms of the impact." The transformation of the world's data servers to AI readiness is already well underway, in what one Google executive called a "once-in-a-generation inflection point in computing." But the scope of the mission is huge. The creation of generative AI tools such as GPT-4, which powers ChatGPT, or Google's Palm2, behind the bot Bard, can be broken into two key stages, the actual "training" and then the execution (or "inference"). In 2019, University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers trained several large language models and found that training a single AI model can emit the CO2 emission equivalent of five cars over their lifetimes. A more recent study by Google and the University of California, Berkeley, reported that training GPT-3 resulted in 552 metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to driving a passenger vehicle 1.24 million miles (2 million kilometers). OpenAI's latest generation model, GPT-4, is trained on around 570 times more parameters -- or inputs -- than GPT-3, and the scale of these systems will only grow as AI becomes more powerful and ubiquitous. Nvidia, AI's chip giant, provides the processors that are indispensable for training, known as GPUs. And while they are more energy efficient than typical chips, they remain formidable consumers of power. The ChatGPT 'problem' The other side of generative AI is deployment, or inference: when the trained model is applied to identify objects, respond to text prompts or whatever the use case may be. Deployment doesn't necessarily need the computing heft of an Nvidia chip but taken cumulatively, the endless interactions in the real world far outweigh training in terms of workload. "Inference is going to be even more of a problem now with ChatGPT, which can be used by anyone and integrated into daily life through apps and web searches," said Lynn Kaack, assistant professor of computer science at the Hertie School in Berlin. The biggest cloud companies insist that they are committed to being as energy-efficient as possible. Amazon Web Services pledges to be carbon-neutral by 2040 while Microsoft has pledged to be carbon-negative by 2030. The latest evidence that the companies are serious about energy efficiency is reassuring. Between 2010 and 2018, global data center energy use rose by only 6 percent, despite a 550 percent increase in workloads and computing instances, according to the International Energy Agency. 'Backwards' thinking Silicon Valley's AI tycoons believe discussions of AI's current carbon footprint are beside the point, and underplay its revolutionary potential. The naysayers have it "backwards," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told reporters on a recent visit to his company's headquarters in California. The mass deployment of AI and faster computing will in the end diminish the need to go to the world's data clouds, he argued. AI's superpowers will turn your laptop, car, or device in your pocket into an energy-efficient supercomputer without the need to "retrieve" data from the cloud. "In the future, there'll be a little tiny model that sits on your phone and 90 percent of the pixels will be generated, 10 percent will be retrieved, instead of 100 percent retrieved -- and so you're going to save (energy)," he said. OpenAI's Sam Altman meanwhile believes that AI will soon enough be able to build humanity a completely new future. "I think once we have a really powerful super intelligence, addressing climate change will not be particularly difficult," Altman said recently. "This illustrates how big we should dream... Think about a system where you can say, 'Tell me how to make a lot of clean energy cheaply, tell me how to efficiently capture carbon, and tell me how to build a factory to do this at planetary scale.'" But some experts worry that the mad dash for AI has elbowed out fears about the planet, at least for now. "Large corporations are spending a lot of money right now deploying AI. I don't think they are thinking about the environmental impact yet," said Untether AI's Iyengar. But, he added: "I think that is coming." The post Tech’s carbon footprint: can AI revolutionize responsibly? appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Chinese carmakers confront European industry at Munich show
Chinese manufacturers will be out in force at next week's IAA auto show, one of the industry's biggest, revving their new electric models on the turf of German carmakers, which have been lagging in the e-mobility race. Elon Musk's Tesla, usually a hold-out from such events, will also make an appearance at the show in Munich, joining the jostle to steal the spotlight from Europe's biggest brands. The industry fair, which opens Tuesday with a speech from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, comes with clouds gathering for the automotive sector in Europe and in particular, Germany. While suffocating supply chain problems have eased from the pandemic years, European auto giants are struggling to cope with increased energy costs in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. Although sales in the European Union have steadily improved over the last 12 months, they remain around 20 percent below their pre-coronavirus levels as inflation and higher interest rates dampen appetite for new vehicles. At the same time, European manufacturers are facing increasingly stiff competition from Chinese carmakers which are touting their vehicles at far lower prices. Local upstarts have captured an increasingly large part of the prized Chinese market and are threatening to dominate the growing trade in electric vehicles. Chinese groups were starting "their assault on Europe with the IAA", said industry analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer from the Center Automotive Research in Germany. "The IAA 2023 maps out a new automobile world in Europe. Competition will be tougher. After the Chinese battery factories, their automobile makers are coming," he said, calling it a "turning point" for the industry. In all, 41 percent of exhibitors at the industry fair have their headquarters in China, including brands such as BYD and Leapmotor which will hope to steal the spotlight from German giants Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Contrary to the Asian onslaught, participation from other European makers is muted. Opel will be US-European conglomerate Stellantis's lone ambassador in Munich, while Renault is showcasing only its eponymous marque at the show. In contrast, Musk's Tesla was slowly falling in line with traditional manufacturers as "the brand that doesn't do marketing begins to do exactly that" with its first appearance at the IAA, said independent analyst Matthias Schmidt. - Petrol protest - Over the week, around 700,000 visitors are expected to attend the show, split between exhibition halls and the city center. The move away from combustion engines to electric vehicles -- and the bigger climate question -- will take center stage inside and outside the exhibition halls. As carmakers roll out their latest offerings, climate groups have vowed protests at the fair, including "civil disobedience" aimed at disrupting the IAA. The last edition of the show in 2021 was already troubled by small-scale protests. This time around, some 1,500 people are expected at a camp in a suburban Munich park promoting a "revolution in mobility". Car manufacturers were "destroying the lives of countless people worldwide with their growth imperative", one of the climate groups said ahead of the fair. Automotive groups have not helped their case recently by recording massive profits on the back of strong inflation. Manufacturers -- particularly those at the high end of the market -- have been able to benefit from rising prices to boost their margins. A growing climate consciousness movement is increasingly pitting environmental activists against carmakers. Mindful of society's changing views on automobiles, the IAA upped sticks from Frankfurt to Munich in 2021 and restyled itself as a festival for all forms of "mobility" -- bringing bikes and scooters into the fold. As well as cleaning up its image, the move was an attempt to reinvigorate traditional motor shows. The marquee events have struggled to attract manufacturers, who are doubtful that they create enough publicity to be worth the bother. In 2022, the Paris Motor Show saw visitor numbers dwindle, as it was cut in length from two weeks to one. Many big European names, such as Volkswagen, BMW, and Ferrari were absent from the French fair, to which Chinese carmakers like BYD by contrast turned up. The post Chinese carmakers confront European industry at Munich show appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Top 3 Surprise Raptors Predictions for the Next NBA Season
As clouds of uncertainty loom over the Toronto Raptors following a 41-41 season, many are skeptical about their prospects. With several key players from their.....»»
More evacuations as ‘severe’ weather fans vast Tenerife wildfire
Stronger winds and higher overnight temperatures caused a vast wildfire raging out of control in Tenerife to spread, prompting more residents to flee their homes in the northern sector of the Spanish holiday island, officials said Saturday. The huge blaze, which broke out late Tuesday in a mountainous northeastern area of the island, is the "most complex fire" to hit Spain's Atlantic Canary Islands in more than 40 years, the authorities say. "The fire is beyond our capacity to extinguish it, maybe not in all sectors, but in a large part of the sectors," said Pedro Martinez, who is in charge of efforts to quench the blaze, saying efforts to tackle the flames were being hampered by the huge clouds of smoke and the wind. "Weather conditions last night were frankly severe... meaning the fire spread, mainly along the northern slopes," Canary Islands leader Fernando Clavijo told reporters, pointing to "much stronger winds, temperatures much higher than expected, and lower relative humidity". By Friday night, the fire had forced more than 4,500 people to flee although there was no update on how many people had been affected by the early morning evacuations in five municipalities. "The fire and the weather have changed and we've had to evacuate five municipalities in northern Tenerife," said Manuel Miranda, the islands' head of emergencies on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, pointing to "the danger and the proximity of the fire". The latest evacuations came as forecasters warned that high temperatures and strong gusts of wind over the weekend would complicate efforts to tackle the blaze. The fire, which has a perimeter of 50 kilometers (30 miles), has so far destroyed 5,000 hectares (more than 12,300 acres) of land with 225 firefighters engaged in overnight efforts to control the flames. The area affected by the fire equates to nearly 2.5 percent of Tenerife's surface area, which stretches 203,400 hectares. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska was due to visit the fire control center on Saturday along with Tourism Minister Hector Gomez, while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to fly in on Monday, officials said. Towering pillar of smoke By Friday night, the blaze had affected 10 municipalities in Tenerife, the largest of the seven islands that make up Spain's Canary Islands. Another 1,700 people have been ordered to stay inside their homes. On Friday, there had been a "favorable evolution" after a night in which the flames advanced more slowly and predictably and the winds had eased. That followed two days in which the behavior of the fire was "highly unusual", complicating efforts to control it. The blaze has generated a vast pillar of smoke that now stretches eight kilometers into the air, rising far above the summit of Mount Teide, the volcano that towers over the island. At 3,715 meters (12,200 feet), Teide is Spain's highest peak and a popular tourist destination, but all roads to the national park were closed on Thursday. The blaze broke out after the archipelago suffered a heatwave that left many areas tinder dry. As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned heatwaves will become more frequent and intense. Last year was a particularly bad year for wildfires in Europe, with Spain the worst-hit nation, suffering nearly 500 blazes that destroyed more than 300,000 hectares, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. So far this year, EFFIS says almost 76,000 hectares have been ravaged by 340 fires in Spain, one of the European countries most vulnerable to climate change. The post More evacuations as ‘severe’ weather fans vast Tenerife wildfire appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
New milk tea collab
Moonleaf Tea Shop brings the gaming and milk tea-loving community together for a legendary collaboration with the number one mobile game in the Philippines, Mobile Legends Bang Bang. Epic teas and treats await—from in-game prizes of skins and diamonds to in-store excitements from August to September 2023. Being the community’s tambayan for their authentic drinks, delectable eats and exciting events, Moonleaf is a staple brand that has become Pinoy’s go-to milk tea shop for years. If the conversation is about being the crowd’s favorite, Mobile Legends Bang Bang knows it too like no other — a well-acclaimed mobile game enjoyed by various types of gamers all over the country. A first in the Philippines, this partnership will excite milk tea enthusiasts and mobile gamers with extraordinary treats coming their way. “Here at Moonleaf, we are passionate about bringing communities together, and gaming is one of these communities. We are excited to launch this collaboration because we see milk tea and Mobile Legends as a perfect pair to give good vibes to everyone,” Mike Magallanes, Moonleaf marketing director. “Over the years, we have been partnering with brands across regions to deliver unique experiences for our gamers, and this is our first-ever collaboration with a local milk tea brand in the Philippines. We think this partnership is perfect because we’re very much in sync in gathering communities and bringing them a legendary experience,” shared Adam Wang, MLBB PH Community manager. Moonleaf will be launching a “Beyond The Clouds’’ menu that features drinks inspired by the game’s newest hero skins: Okinawa Milk Tea x Kagura, Wintermelon Milk Tea x Edith, and Passion Fruit Tea x Xavier. These drinks will retail from P95 to P115 each. There will also be special co-branded cup sleeves that showcase these new skins to excite everyone even more. Selected Moonleaf branches will be dressed up in MLBB-inspired decor and customers can also take home a Moonleaf x Mobile Legends co-branded key ring when they purchase drinks from the Beyond The Clouds menu. Because Moonleaf and Mobile Legends are always about bringing people together, this partnership also launches the Barkada Fight Promo. Here, groups of friends who are up for some healthy competition can brawl in an ML game over a perfectly-brewed cup of Moonleaf milk tea, giving the team MVP a chance to win a sought-after skin and the rest of the team members an exclusive MLBB Beyond The Clouds poster. Interested teams can choose either Dagupan, General Trias, Mindanao Ave, Matatag, or Kalibo Moonleaf branches as their battlefield. Gamers and ML fans can also flaunt their ML knowledge with the Quiz Challenge. Moonleaf and Mobile Legends will give away exclusive MLBB merchandise to winners. Interested players can participate in this contest by scanning a QR code at selected branches to answer the online quiz. This team up also takes the hype to the online world. With the Moonleaf x MLBB Fanart Contest, interested artists are encouraged to design artworks that show an ML hero enjoying a Moonleaf milk tea. Thirty winners can receive special MLBB skins or Moonleaf drinks for this contest. Unleashing more of everyone’s creative prowess, a Pose and Post Photo Contest will also be facilitated. Every customer is encouraged to strike a pose with their Moonleaf x MLBB drink and share it on Moonleaf’s social media pages for a chance to win skins and diamonds as well. The post New milk tea collab appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Cloud station
After the Titan tragedy, submarine tours seem riskier. There is fear of suffering the same fate as the five people aboard the submersible that imploded while touring the wreck of the Titanic ship beneath the North Atlantic last 18 June. India’s government is unperturbed, however. It plans to start using a submersible called MATSYA 6000 by 2026 to explore underwater 6,000 meters deep, 2,000 meters deeper than the Titan reached in its ill-fated dive. The MATSYA 6000 can accommodate three people at a time, run for 12 hours, and sustain passengers for up to 96 hours in emergencies, News Nine reported. OceanGate Expeditions itself, the company that built and operated the doomed Titan, is embarking on a more daring voyage for extreme travelers. OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein recently revealed to Insider that he plans to host up to 1,000 people in his floating station by 2050, New York Post reported. Sohnlein operates his own company that aims to make space exploration cheaper. While his project is a space station, it will be located in another spot far beyond the moon Staying in Sohnlein’s space station is not for the faint-hearted as it will hover in a hostile environment. If the recent heatwaves that hit many northern hemisphere countries last month exposed earthlings to dangerous temperatures upward of 40 degrees Celsius, his destination has ground heat of 472 °C, which can melt lead. Thus, the station will instead float 30 miles above Venus’ thick clouds, where humans can theoretically survive, according to the 57-year-old Argentine-born CEO of Humans2Venus, a private venture aiming to establish a human colony on the second planet nearest to the sun. The cloud station, however, should withstand the sulfuric acids and the 224 mile-per-hour, hurricane-force winds in Venus’ atmosphere, NYP said. Söhnlein is confident that engineers or scientists can overcome the myriad challenges of the extreme environment of space, according to NYP. WJG @tribunephl_wjg The post Cloud station appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»