Anthropic inks major AI chip deal with Google

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced on Thursday that it is significantly expanding its use of Google Cloud and specialized chips in a deal valued at tens of billions of dollars.

As part of the arrangement, Anthropic will purchase up to one million Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), custom-designed integrated circuits developed by Google, according to the San Francisco-based startup.

The expansion is expected to bring more than a gigawatt of new computing power online by the end of 2026, enabling Anthropic to meet the “exponentially growing demand” for its Claude AI models, said Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao.

Anthropic currently serves more than 300,000 business customers.

Founded in early 2021 by former OpenAI employees who believed their previous employer was not doing enough to mitigate the risks of its AI models, Anthropic quickly established itself among the leading generative AI companies following the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022.

Although it trails OpenAI in user base and brand recognition, Anthropic has been recognized as a top performer in generative AI for computer coding.

Meanwhile, Google continues to invest heavily in AI as it competes with OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon, and others to lead the sector. The TPUs used in this deal compete with Nvidia’s highly sought-after GPUs.

“Anthropic's decision to significantly expand its use of TPUs reflects the strong performance and efficiency our teams have observed with TPUs over several years,” said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.

“We are continuing to innovate and drive further efficiencies and increased capacity of our TPUs."

New model

Anthropic last month launched its latest generative AI model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, which it says is the world's best for computer programming.

Anthropic's new release is also touted as the most sophisticated for applications that allow an AI assistant to use a computer as a human would.

Anthropic said early this month that it will open an office in India next year, as global generative AI players seek inroads into the world's most populous country.

Demand for AI tools and solutions has surged in India projected to have more than 900 million internet users by year's end driven by growing adoption by both businesses and individuals.

Anthropic is valued at $183 billion, while OpenAI's valuation has reportedly soared after a private share sale to $500 billion, which would make it the world's most valuable startup.

US troops deploy toward Venezuela amid Trump’s opposition to Maduro

The United States has deployed B‑1 supersonic bombers to the Caribbean coast near Venezuela, bolstering its military presence amid rising tensions with President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

The Pentagon said the B‑1s launched from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and flew over the Caribbean Sea toward Venezuela as part of routine training exercises.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the flights occurred near Venezuelan shores but did not say whether the aircraft entered Venezuelan airspace.

The B‑1 Lancer capable of carrying the largest weapons payload in the U.S. Air Force, including long‑range cruise missiles joins a broader U.S. buildup in the region.

U.S. military activity has intensified since September, when American forces began striking vessels they say were used for drug trafficking near Venezuelan waters, an action President Donald Trump has cited publicly.

Last week, B‑52 Stratofortress bombers also patrolled the area, escorted by Marine Corps F‑35B stealth fighters based in Puerto Rico; the Pentagon described those flights as a demonstration of bomber strike capability.

When asked whether the B‑1 flights were intended to pressure Venezuela, President Trump replied: “It’s false, but we’re not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons. Drugs being one of them.”

Currently, eight U.S. warships are deployed in the Caribbean Basin, supported by a P‑8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, MQ‑9 Reaper drones, an F‑35 squadron and a submarine operating near South American waters.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces have conducted nine airstrikes as part of an anti‑narcotics campaign, resulting in at least 37 reported deaths. He compared the operations to the post‑9/11 war on terror, warning: “We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.”

US Southern Command, which oversees Latin America and the Caribbean, is forming a task force for drug interdiction in the Western Hemisphere. This group appears set to handle the situation in Venezuela.

Covert CIA operation

The Trump administration has secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela, according to US officials, stepping up a campaign against President Nicolás Maduro, the country’s authoritarian leader, reported News York Times on Friday.

The authorization is the latest step in the Trump administration’s intensifying pressure campaign against Venezuela.

For weeks, the US military has been targeting boasts off the Venezuelan coast it says are transporting drugs, killing 27 people.

American officials have been clear, privately, that the end goal is to driver Mr Maduro from power.

Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that he had authorized the covert action and said the United States was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory.

“We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” the president told reporters hours after The New York Times reported the secret authorization.

Any strikes on Venezuelan territory would be a significant escalation. After several of the boat strikes, the administration made the point that the operations had taken place in international waters.

The new authority would allow the CIA to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean.

The agency would be able to take covert action against Mr Maduro or his government either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation.

It is not known whether the CIA is planning any specific operations in Venezuela.

But the development comes as the US military is planning its own possible escalation, drawing up options for President Trump to consider, including strikes inside Venezuela.

The scale of the military buildup in the region is substantial: There are currently 10,000 U.S. troops there, most of them at bases in Puerto Rico, but also a contingent of Marines on amphibious assault ships. In all, the Navy has eight surface warships and a submarine in the Caribbean.

The new authorities, known in intelligence jargon as a presidential finding, were described by multiple US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the highly classified document.

'No crazy war, please!'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday launched a plea in English as tensions mount between Washington and Caracas: "No crazy war, please!"

Maduro's comment came after US President Donald Trump said he had authorized covert action against the South American nation, and amid an escalating US military campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific.

"Yes peace, yes peace forever, peace forever. No crazy war, please!" Maduro said in a meeting with unions aligned with the leftist leader, a former bus driver and union leader.

The United States has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships as part of what it calls anti-narcotics efforts, but has yet to release evidence that its targets eight boats and a semi-submersible were smuggling drugs.

The US strikes, which began on September 2, have killed at least 37 people, according to an AFP tally based on US figures.

Regional tensions have flared as a result of the campaign, with Maduro accusing Washington of seeking regime change.

Late Thursday, the government in Trinidad and Tobago located just off Venezuela's coast announced that a US warship would dock in its capital from October 26-30.

The Trinidadian foreign ministry said a unit of US Marines would conduct joint exercises with its defense forces.

Two of those killed in the US strikes were from Trinidad and Tobago.

Last week, Trump said he had authorized covert CIA action against Venezuela and was considering strikes against alleged drug cartels on land.

The Republican billionaire president accuses Maduro of heading a drug cartel, a charge the Venezuelan leader denies.

"We know the CIA is present" in Venezuela, the country's defense minister Vladimir Padrino said Thursday.

"They may deploy -- I don't know how many -- CIA-affiliated units in covert operations...and any attempt will fail."

Padrino was overseeing military exercises along Venezuela's coast in response to the US military deployment in the Caribbean.

Experts have questioned the legality of using lethal force in foreign or international waters against suspects who have not been intercepted or questioned.

Trump Tightens Pressure on Putin, Imposes Sanctions on Major Russian Oil Companies; EU Bans LNG

US President Donald Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war. The move came after EU countries on Wednesday approved a 19th package of sanctions on Moscow for its war against Ukraine that included a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports. Trump’s measures also followed Britain’s sanctioning last week of Rosneft and Lukoil.

The US Treasury Department said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”

Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel after the US measures, with Brent crude futures extending gains after settlement, rising to about $64. The sanctions are a major policy shift for Trump, who had not put sanctions on Russia over the war and instead relied on trade measures. Trump earlier this year imposed additional 25% tariffs on goods from India in retaliation for its purchasing discounted Russian oil.

The US has not imposed tariffs on China, another major buyer of Russian oil. A $60 price cap on Russian oil imposed by Western countries after Russia’s invasion has shifted Russia’s oil customers in recent years from Europe to Asia.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday he had cancelled a planned summit in Hungary with Putin because it didn’t feel like it was the right time. Trump also said he hopes the sanctions on Russian oil companies will not need to be in place for a long time. Trump said last year that he likes to remove sanctions quickly because of the risks to the dominance of the dollar in global transactions that the measures can bring. Russia has often asked for payments for oil in other currencies.

‘Can’t be one and done’
Analysts said the measures were a big step and long overdue.

“This can’t just be one and done,” said Edward Fishman, a former US official who is now a senior research scholar at Columbia University. He said the question was whether the US now threatens sanctions on anyone doing business with Rosneft and Lukoil.

Jeremy Paner, a former sanctions investigator at the Treasury Department and now a partner at law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, said the absence of banks and Indian or Chinese oil purchasers in Wednesday’s sanctions means they “will not get Putin’s attention.”

A senior Ukrainian official, however, said the step was “great news” and that the two Russian energy companies were among US sanctions targets proposed by Kyiv in the past.

The Treasury also sanctioned dozens of Rosneft and Lukoil subsidiaries. The measures block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.

The Russian embassy in Washington and the Russian mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions.

EU targets Russia’s shadow fleet
The EU’s LNG ban will take effect in two stages: short-term contracts will end after six months, and long-term contracts from January 1, 2027. The full ban comes a year earlier than the Commission’s proposed roadmap to end the bloc’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

The new EU package also adds new travel restrictions on Russian diplomats and lists 117 more vessels from Moscow’s shadow fleet, mostly tankers, bringing the total to 558. The listings include banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus, the presidency said.

EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that four entities linked to China’s oil industry will be listed, but the names will not be made public until the official adoption on Thursday. These include two oil refineries, a trading company and an entity which helps in the circumvention of oil and other sectors.

OpenAI Launches ‘Atlas’ Search Browser, Taking on Google

ChatGPT creator OpenAI announced on Tuesday its new “Atlas” search browser, leveraging artificial intelligence in a direct challenge to Google Chrome.

“This is an AI-powered web browser built around ChatGPT,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said during a streamed presentation.

OpenAI has been intensifying its competition with Google, which has responded by rapidly adding AI features across its search engine and other platforms.

According to Reuters, shares of Alphabet, the parent company of Chrome, fell 2.6% in afternoon trading.

Atlas is the latest entrant in the growing market of AI-powered browsers, which includes Perplexity’s Comet and Opera’s Neon, as companies add tools that can summarise pages, fill out forms, and even draft code to attract users.

The browser allows users to open a ChatGPT sidebar in any window to summarise content, compare products, or analyse data from any website.

In the agent mode in Atlas, ChatGPT interacts with sites for users, who can use it to do tasks from start to finish, like researching and shopping for a trip.

The browser is now available globally on Apple's macOS. It will soon be made available on Windows, iOS and Android.

Reuters had in July reported the AI startup, backed by Microsoft, was close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's market-dominating Google Chrome.

Trump Warns Modi: “War with Pakistan Must Not Happen”

US President Donald Trump said that he had told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi there should be no war with Pakistan, emphasizing that he had helped avert several conflicts through diplomacy and trade pressure.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office during Diwali celebrations, Trump extended his “warmest wishes to the people of India” and said he had “just spoken to your Prime Minister today.” He described the conversation as “great” and added, “We talked about trade... He's very interested in that.”

Trump also discussed preventing conflict, stating, “Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with Pakistan.” He highlighted commerce as a tool to ease tensions: “The fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that.”

He emphasized the outcome, saying, “And we have no war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good thing,” and praised Modi personally: “He's a great person, and he's become a great friend of mine over the years.”

Trump claimed he had prevented eight wars so far through “deals and trade,” including one between Pakistan and India. He recalled, “During the Pakistan-India conflict, seven planes were shot down.

I called both countries and told them that if they went to war, the United States would stop trading with them. Within 24 hours, they called back and said they didn’t want to fight.”

Trump has previously taken credit for helping defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, who have fought three wars since independence and remain at odds over the disputed territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

In May, Pakistan and India engaged in a military showdown, the worst between the two nations in decades, sparked by a terrorist attack on tourists in IIOJK’s Pahalgam area, which New Delhi alleged was backed by Pakistan.

Islamabad denied involvement in the attack, which killed 26 people and was the worst assault on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

After the incident, India killed several innocent civilians in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in defence with the successful Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.

Pakistan downed six IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.

Trump added that energy was also part of the discussion, saying Modi assured him that India would be limiting its oil purchases from Russia.

"He's not going to buy much oil from Russia. He wants to see that war end as much as I do," Trump said.

India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports.

Trump has recently targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US to discourage the country's crude buying as he seeks to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.

Trump reiterated on Sunday that Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying "massive" tariffs if it did not do so.

"I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he's not going to be doing the Russian oil thing," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Asked about India's assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: "But if they want to say that, then they'll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don't want to do that."

Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India - half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said that petroleum revenue funds Russia’s war in Ukraine.

India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Trade talks between India and the US are going on in a "congenial" manner, an Indian government official said on Saturday, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of talks.

An Indian delegation, which was in the US earlier this month for talks, has returned, the official said, declining to share further details.

An email to India's trade ministry was not immediately answered on Monday, which was a public holiday.

Trump on Wednesday said Modi had assured him that day that India would stop its Russian oil purchases.

India's foreign ministry said it was not aware of any telephone conversation between the leaders that day, but said that New Delhi's main concern was to "safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer."

A White House official said on Thursday that India has halved its purchases of Russian oil, but Indian sources said no immediate reduction had been seen.

The sources said Indian refiners already placed orders for November loading, including some slated for December arrival, so any cut may start showing up in December or January import numbers.

India's imports of Russian oil are set to rise about 20% this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, according to estimates from commodities data firm Kpler, as Russia ramps up exports after Ukrainian drones hit its refineries.

Japan appoints China hawk Takaichi as its first woman PM

Japan made history on Tuesday by appointing Sanae Takaichi as its first female prime minister. A China hawk and social conservative, Takaichi secured the position after striking an 11th-hour coalition deal.

She becomes Japan’s fifth premier in as many years and will lead a minority government with a packed agenda, including a scheduled visit by US President Donald Trump next week.

Parliament voted Takaichi into office after she unexpectedly won a majority in the first round. She is set to formally take office following a meeting with the emperor.

Takaichi, a former heavy metal drummer, became head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on October 4.

The LDP, which has governed almost continuously for decades, has been losing support, and six days later, the Komeito party left the coalition due to Takaichi’s conservative views and an LDP slush fund scandal.

This prompted Takaichi to form a last-minute alliance with the right-leaning Japan Innovation Party (JIP), which supports lowering the consumption tax on food to zero, abolishing corporate and organizational donations, and reducing the number of MPs.

Takaichi pledged to “make Japan’s economy stronger and reshape the country for future generations.”

“She’s a strong-minded person, regardless of being a woman,” said 76-year-old pensioner Toru Takahashi in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara. “She’s not like Trump, but she’s clear about what’s right and wrong.”

Nordic

Takaichi has promised a cabinet with “Nordic” levels of women, up from two under outgoing premier Shigeru Ishiba.

These could include the right-wing Satsuki Katayama in charge of finances and the half-American Kimi Onoda as economic security minister, local media said.

Japan ranked 118 out of 148 in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report. Around 15 percent of lower house MPs are women and corporate boardrooms are overwhelmingly male.

Takaichi, 64, has said she hopes to raise awareness about women’s health struggles and has spoken candidly about her own experience with menopause.

But she opposes revising a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname, and wants the imperial family to stick to male-only succession.

In Nara, company worker Keiko Yoshida, 39, told AFP she hopes Takaichi will “make Japan a more liveable place for women”.

“I’d be happy if we saw more policies from a woman’s perspective: support for childcare, and help for women returning to work after having children,” agreed student Nina Terao, 18.

Abenomics

Details of a trade deal between Washington and Tokyo remain unresolved, and Trump also wants Japan to stop Russian energy imports and boost defence spending.

“I’d like her to be a Prime Minister who can clearly say ‘No’ when needed,” Satoshi Sakamoto, 73, another Nara pensioner, told AFP.

Beyond Trump, Takaichi’s many challenges include reversing the decline of Japan’s population and injecting some vim in the flatlining economy.

Being in a minority in both houses of parliament, the new coalition will need support from other parties to push through legislation.

Takaichi has in the past backed aggressive monetary easing and expanded government spending, echoing her mentor, former premier Shinzo Abe.

Despite walking back on these “Abenomics” calls in the LDP leadership contest, her victory has boosted Japanese stocks to record highs.

She previously said that “Japan is completely looked down on by China”, and that Tokyo must “address the security threat” posed by Beijing.

But she has since toned down her rhetoric on China, and stayed away last week from a festival at the Yasukuni shrine — she has been a regular visitor before — honouring Japan’s war dead.

Takaichi will also be under pressure to restore the fortunes of the LDP after a string of poor election results that cost Ishiba his job.

Smaller parties gaining support include the populist Sanseito, which calls immigration a “silent invasion”.

“Prices have gone up, and it’s tough,” Nara pensioner Satoe Tominaga, 77, told AFP, saying she was “50-50” about Takaichi.

“Honestly, I mostly shop at 100-yen ($0.66) stores now.”

OpenAI’s massive chip purchases currently outweigh its revenue

OpenAI is placing orders worth hundreds of billions of dollars for advanced chips in the artificial intelligence race, prompting investors to question how the startup will finance such purchases.

In less than a month, the San Francisco-based company behind ChatGPT has committed to acquiring roughly 26 gigawatts of sophisticated data processors from Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom more than 10 million units, consuming power equivalent to 20 standard nuclear reactors.

“They will need hundreds of billions of dollars to live up to their obligations,” said Gil Luria, managing director at financial consulting firm D.A. Davidson.

The challenge is significant: OpenAI does not expect to be profitable until 2029 and is forecasting billions in losses this year, despite generating approximately $13 billion in revenue.

OpenAI declined to comment on its financing strategy.

However, in a CNBC interview, co-founder Greg Brockman acknowledged the difficulty of building enough computing infrastructure to meet the “avalanche of demand” for AI, noting that creative financing mechanisms will be necessary to support the expansion.

Creative financing

Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom all declined to discuss specific deals with OpenAI.

Silicon Valley-based Nvidia has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI over several years to build the world's largest AI infrastructure.

OpenAI would use those funds to buy chips from Nvidia in a game of "circular financing," with Nvidia recouping its investment by taking a share in OpenAI, one of its biggest customers and the world's hottest AI company.

AMD has taken a different approach, offering OpenAI options to acquire equity in AMD a transaction considered unusual in financial circles and a sign that it is AMD that is seeking to seize some of OpenAI's limelight with investors.

"It represents another unhealthy dynamic," Luria said, suggesting the arrangement reveals AMD's desperation to compete in a market dominated by Nvidia.

Crash or soar?

The stakes couldn't be higher.

OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman "has the power to crash the global economy for a decade or take us all to the promised land," Bernstein Research senior analyst Stacy Rasgon wrote in a note to investors this month.

"Right now, we don't know which is in the cards."

Even selling stakes in OpenAI at its current $500 billion valuation won't cover the startup's chip commitments, according to Luria, meaning the company will need to borrow money.

One possibility: using the chips themselves as collateral for loans.

Meanwhile, deep-pocketed competitors like Google and Meta can fund their AI efforts from massive profits generated by their online advertising businesses a luxury OpenAI doesn't have.

The unbridled spending has sparked concerns about a speculative bubble reminiscent of the late 1990s dot-com frenzy, which collapsed and wiped out massive investments.

However, some experts see key differences. "There is very real demand today for AI in a way that seems a little different than the boom in the 1990s," said Josh Lerner, a Harvard Business School professor of investment banking.

CFRA analyst Angelo Zino pointed to OpenAI's remarkable growth and more than 800 million ChatGPT users as evidence that a partnership approach to financing makes sense.

Still, Lerner acknowledges the uncertainty: "It's a real dilemma. How does one balance this future potential with the speculative nature" of its investments today?

Trump threatens to maintain hefty tariffs on India until Russian oil imports stop

US President Donald Trump on Sunday reiterated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him India would halt Russian oil purchases, warning that New Delhi would face “massive” tariffs if it did not comply.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing.”

When asked about India’s denial of any such conversation, Trump responded, “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”

Russian oil has been a key sticking point in prolonged trade talks with India about half of Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for these purchases. The US government has said that petroleum revenues fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.

India has become the largest buyer of discounted seaborne Russian oil after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Trump had said Modi assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil. India’s foreign ministry, however, stated it was unaware of any telephone conversation between the leaders that day, emphasizing that New Delhi’s main priority is “safeguarding the interests of the Indian consumer.”

A White House official said on Thursday that India has halved its purchases of Russian oil, but Indian sources said no immediate reduction had been seen.

The sources said Indian refiners already placed orders for November loading, including some slated for December arrival, so any cut may start showing up in December or January import numbers.

India's imports of Russian oil are set to rise about 20% this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, according to estimates from commodities data firm Kpler, as Russia ramps up exports after Ukrainian drones hit its refineries.

Israel launches fresh air raids on Rafah, violating ceasefire terms again

Israel, which has reportedly breached the Gaza ceasefire agreement 47 times so far, carried out fresh airstrikes on Rafah on Sunday, sparking concerns over possible casualties.

Earlier in the day, an Israeli tank shell struck a bus in northern Gaza, killing 11 Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Hamas has firmly denied the U.S. allegations that it was plotting attacks on civilians, calling the claims baseless and politically motivated.

Hamas said it did not violate the ceasefire accord.

Over 70 Militants Killed in Precision Airstrikes in Paktika

More than seventy Khwarij belonging to Gul Bahadur group, including key Khwariji leader Farman alias Al-Karamah, have been killed during effective precision strikes on terrorist hideouts of Khwariji Gul Bahadur group in the areas of Paktika.

According to credible intelligence sources, these strikes were carried out in the night of 17th of October.

According to security officials, the Khwariji Gul Bahadur group is involved in major and numerous acts of terrorism in Pakistan while infiltrating from Afghanistan.

On October 17, the same group also carried out a failed VBIED attack in Khadi area of North Waziristan, in which three women, two children and a jawan were martyred.

Moreover, other Khwariji leaders Gulab alis Deewana, Rehmani, Adil,Siddiqullah Dawar, Ghazi Maddah Khel, Muqarrab, Qismat Ullah and Fazal-ur-Rehman were also killed in the attacks.

Khwariji Fazal-ur-Rehman is the close relative of Gul Bahadur. Similarly, Khwariji Ashiq Ullah alias Kausar and Younus were also killed in these strikes. 

The security officials termed the killing of important Khwarji leaders as a significant and big success

Meta announces closure of Messenger desktop apps

Meta has announced plans to discontinue Messenger’s desktop apps for both Windows and Mac starting December 15. From December 16, users will need to use Facebook.com or Messenger.com to continue chatting on their computers, according to a report by CNET.

The report adds that Meta will issue in-app notifications to inform users as it begins winding down the desktop versions.

Messenger users will have a 60-day grace period before access is completely blocked. After that, users “will be unable to use the Mac Messenger app,” the platform’s help page states.

Meta has also urged users to enable secure storage in Messenger to preserve their chat history. Those who haven’t done so can activate it and set a PIN through the desktop app before it’s phased out.

After the transition, chat histories will remain accessible across all platforms via Facebook.com or Messenger.com.

Users who use Messenger without a Facebook account will still be able to log in directly at Messenger.com, without needing to create one.

Meta removed Messenger from Facebook in 2014, aiming to make it a separate messaging platform.

The company was also working to develop a platform that would have connected Messenger and Instagram Direct Messaging.

However, the tech company shelved the idea in 2023 for reasons unknown.

Apart from working on new technologies and features, Meta has also been focusing on improving its safety and privacy protocols.

In September, the company introduced its Teen Accounts feature across the world, including Pakistan, to provide a safer and more age-appropriate experience for teenagers.

The feature automatically limits who teens can interact with, filters the content they see, and promotes healthier screen time.

UN aid chief says rebuilding Gaza will be a 'massive challenge' after tour of devastation

The United Nations’ humanitarian chief on Saturday assessed the enormous challenge of restoring essential services across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, as Israel received the remains of another hostage from the October 7 attack, marking the second week of the ceasefire.

In a small convoy of white UN vehicles, relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team navigated through the wreckage of demolished buildings to inspect a wastewater treatment facility in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City.

“I drove through here seven or eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing. To see this level of destruction vast stretches of the city turned into wasteland it’s absolutely heartbreaking,” Fletcher told AFP.

Once densely populated with over two million Palestinians, Gaza’s cities now lie in ruins after two years of relentless bombardment and fierce clashes between Hamas and the Israeli army.

A little over a week after U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker the truce, the main border crossing with Egypt remains closed, though hundreds of aid trucks continue to enter daily through Israeli checkpoints to distribute relief supplies.

Hamas has returned the last 20 living hostages in its custody and has begun transferring the remains of 28 others who died during captivity.

On Friday night, it handed over the body of Eliyahu Margalit, 75, who was killed in the October 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war.

Digging latrines

Surveying the damaged pumping equipment and a grim lake of sewage at the Sheikh Radwan wastewater plant, Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a "massive, massive job".

The British diplomat said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes trying to dig latrines in the ruins.

"They're telling me most of all they want dignity," he said. "We've got to get the power back on so we can start to get the sanitation system back in place.

"We have a massive 60 day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school."

According to figures supplied to mediators by the Israeli military's civil affairs agency and released by the UN humanitarian office, on Thursday some 950 trucks carrying aid and commercial supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel.

Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines, and Turkey has a team of rescue specialists waiting at the border to help find bodies in the rubble.
- Hostage remains -
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the ceasefire but is under pressure at home to restrict access to Gaza until the remaining bodies of the hostages taken during Hamas's brutal attacks have been returned.

On Saturday, his office confirmed that the latest body, returned by Hamas via the Red Cross on Friday night, had been identified as Margalit, the elderly farmer who was known to his friends at the Nir Oz kibbutz as "Churchill".

"He was a cowboy at heart, and for many years managed the cattle branch and the horse stables of Nir Oz," said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a support group founded by relatives of the hostages.

"He was connected to the 'Riders of the South' group whose members shared a love of horseback riding for over 50 years. On October 7, he went out to feed his beloved horses and was kidnapped from the stable."

Margalit had been married with three children and three grandchildren. His daughter Nili Margalit, also taken hostage, was freed during the war's first brief truce in November 2023.

In a statement confirming he had been identified and his remains returned to his family, Netanyahu's office said "we will not compromise ... and will spare no effort until we return all of the fallen abductees, down to the last one".

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Friday that the group "continues to uphold its commitment to the ceasefire agreement... and it will continue working to complete the full prisoner exchange process".

Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, negotiated by Trump and regional mediators, the Palestinian militant group has returned all 20 surviving hostages and the remains of 10 out of 28 deceased ones.

Samsung to produce 8nm chips for Hyundai’s next-generation vehicles

After landing chip manufacturing contracts from Apple and Tesla, South Korean tech giant Samsung has reportedly secured yet another major deal this time with Hyundai Motor Company to produce semiconductor chips for its upcoming vehicle lineup.

According to a report by ZDNet Korea, Samsung Foundry has won the order to manufacture 8nm automotive chips designed by Hyundai for its future models.

The new chip, developed in-house by Hyundai, is reportedly part of the company’s push toward autonomous driving technology.

Development is expected to conclude by 2028, while mass production is planned to begin in 2030.

Although earlier reports suggested Hyundai was working with Samsung on 5nm self-driving chips, that project has been delayed until next year.

The upcoming 8nm chip will reportedly debut in premium vehicles, particularly under Hyundai’s luxury brand Genesis.

Sources indicate that Hyundai opted for the 8nm process because it strikes a balance between performance and cost-efficiency, offering near-5nm capabilities at a lower expense.

The chips are expected to be used across multiple brands  Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis  while the 5nm variant will be reserved for top-tier models.

This deal marks a strategic win for Samsung Foundry, which has long sought to close the gap with Taiwan’s TSMC. After losing major clients like Nvidia and Qualcomm in recent years, Samsung is now regaining ground with a growing list of high-profile customers in the automotive and tech sectors.a

With a new strategy, the company is aiming to attract brands for its 2nm process node.

It has reportedly sent a sample chip to Qualcomm.

If Qualcomm is satisfied with the performance and stability of Samsung’s version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, it could be mass-produced next year and used in some Galaxy phones.

However, the company does not want to rely solely on smartphone chips. Recently, it has been working to secure chip orders from various companies, including AI chip makers (Preferred Networks (PFN), Rebellions, and Tenstorrent), automotive parts manufacturers (Valens Semiconductor), and automakers (Hyundai and Tesla).

Solving the Pakistan-Afghanistan Conflict Is Easy for Me: Says Trump

US President Donald Trump described the ongoing Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict as “an easy one” for him to resolve, emphasizing his pride in saving lives and preventing wars.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington on Saturday, Trump said, “This is pretty much the last one, although I understand Pakistan is involved in an attack with Afghanistan.

That’s an easy one for me to solve if I have to. In the meantime, I have to run the USA, but I love solving wars.”

Trump highlighted his track record, saying, “I like stopping people from being killed. I’ve saved millions and millions of lives, and I think we’re going to have success with this war.”

He also referenced Pakistan’s Prime Minister, noting that his mediation during the recent Pakistan-India conflict saved tens of millions of lives, avoiding a confrontation between two nuclear-armed nations.

Trump added that he has helped defuse eight global conflicts in the past eight months, including Pakistan-India tensions and the Gaza conflict, asserting, “All of these wars had nothing to do with us, but I saved tens of millions of lives.”

Last week, Trump had said that he was aware of the escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, claiming he would address the situation once he returned from the Middle East, as he described himself as “good at solving wars.”

“This (Gaza) will be my eighth war that I have solved, and I hear there is a war now going on between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I said, I'll have to wait till I get back. I am doing another one. Because I am good at solving wars,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he began a flight from Washington to Israel.

The US president’s statement came as Islamabad and Kabul mutually agreed to extend the temporary truce until the conclusion of planned talks in Doha.

Scientists develop computers powered by human mini-brains

Inside a research lab nestled in the scenic Swiss town of Vevey, scientists are keeping small clusters of human brain cells alive in a nutrient-rich solution — not for medical study, but to power computers.

These “mini-brains” must remain healthy at all times, as they serve as living computer processors and unlike laptops or servers, once they die, there’s no restarting them.

The emerging field, known as biocomputing or “wetware,” seeks to tap into the extraordinary and still largely mysterious computing potential of the human brain.

During a tour of the Swiss start-up FinalSpark, co-founder Fred Jordan told AFP that he envisions a future where biological processors replace the silicon chips driving today’s artificial intelligence revolution.

Currently, the supercomputers that power AI systems like ChatGPT rely on semiconductor chips designed to imitate neurons and brain networks.

“Instead of mimicking the brain, why not use the real thing?” Jordan said.

One of the biggest promises of biocomputing lies in its energy efficiency. As AI’s growing power demands strain energy grids and push emissions higher, biological processors could provide a sustainable alternative.

“Biological neurons are up to a million times more energy efficient than artificial ones,” Jordan explained, noting that they can also be cultivated indefinitely in the lab unlike the increasingly scarce AI chips made by companies like Nvidia.

For now, however, wetware remains in its infancy far from rivaling the raw computational strength of today’s hardware-driven world, but potentially pointing the way toward the next frontier in computing.

And another question lingers: could these tiny brains become conscious?

Brain power

To make its "bioprocessors," FinalSpark first purchases stem cells. These cells, which were originally human skin cells from anonymous human donors, can become any cell in the body.

FinalSpark's scientists then turn them into neurons, which are collected into millimetre-wide clumps called brain organoids.

They are around the size of the brain of a fruit fly larvae, Jordan said.

Electrodes are attached to the organoids in the lab, which allow the scientists to "spy on their internal discussion," he explained.

The scientists can also stimulate the organoids with a small electric current. Whether they respond with a spike in activity or not is roughly the equivalent of the ones or zeroes in traditional computing.

Ten universities around the world are conducting experiments using FinalSpark's organoids -- the small company's website even has a live feed of the neurons at work.

Benjamin Ward-Cherrier, a researcher at the University of Bristol, used one of the organoids as the brain of a simple robot that managed to distinguish between different braille letters.

There are many challenges, including encoding the data in a way the organoid might understand -- then trying to interpret what the brain cells "spit out," he told AFP.

"Working with robots is very easy by comparison," Ward-Cherrier said with a laugh.

"There's also the fact that they are living cells and that means that they do die," he added.

Indeed, Ward-Cherrier was halfway through an experiment when the organoid died and his team had to start over.

FinalSpark says the organoids live for up to six months.

At Johns Hopkins University in the United States, researcher Lena Smirnova is using similar organoids to study brain conditions such as autism and Alzheimer's disease in the hopes of finding new treatments.

Biocomputing is currently more "pie in the sky," unlike the "low-hanging fruit" use of the technology for biomedical research but that could change dramatically over the next 20 years, she told AFP.

Do organoids dream of electric sheep?

All the scientists AFP spoke to dismissed the idea that these tiny balls of cells in petri dishes were at risk of developing anything resembling consciousness.

Jordan acknowledged that "this is at the edge of philosophy," which is why FinalSpark collaborates with ethicists.

He also pointed out that the organoids which lack pain receptors have around 10,000 neurons, compared to a human brain's 100 billion.

However much about our brains, including how they create consciousness, remains a mystery.

That is why Ward-Cherrier hopes that beyond computer processing biocomputing will ultimately reveal more about how our brains work.

Back in the lab, Jordan opens the door of what looks like a big fridge containing 16 brain organoids in a tangle of tubes.

Lines suddenly start spiking on the screen next to the incubator, indicating significant neural activity.

The brain cells have no known way of sensing that their door has been opened, and the scientists have spent years trying to figure why this happens.

"We still don't understand how they detect the opening of the door," Jordan admitted.

Saudi Arabia, US reportedly discussing new defence agreement

Saudi Arabia is in discussions with the United States over a defence agreement that could be finalised during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s expected visit to the White House next month, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A senior official from the Trump administration told the FT that there were “talks about signing something when the crown prince arrives, but the details are still being worked out.”

According to the report, the proposed deal would resemble the recent US-Qatar defence pact, under which Washington pledged to treat any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to the United States.

That agreement came shortly after Israel’s air strike on Doha last month, which targeted senior Hamas leaders.

The US State Department described defence cooperation with Saudi Arabia as a “strong bedrock of our regional strategy,” but declined to provide details about the possible agreement.

Neither the State Department, the White House, nor the Saudi government responded to Reuters’ request for comment on the FT report.

Last month, Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence pact with Pakistan, deepening a decades-long security partnership between the two allies.

The pact, signed on September 17 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Riyadh, declared that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”

The agreement aimed to strengthen defence cooperation and bolster joint deterrence capabilities against potential threats.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump also pledged to view any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to US security a stance formalised in a recent defence document allowing American forces to defend the Gulf nation if needed.

Qatar welcomed Trump's order, describing it as a milestone in strengthening defence ties and bilateral cooperation, its foreign ministry said.

The executive order, which appears to significantly deepen the US commitment to Qatar, comes after Israel last month attempted to kill leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha.

That strike, launched with little advance notice to the Trump administration, caused consternation in Washington, given the close US relationship with Qatar, which hosts the largest US military base in the region.

"The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States," the order said.

"In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures including diplomatic, economic and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability."

The document said top US defence and intelligence officials will maintain contingency planning with Qatar to ensure a rapid response to any attacks.

Southern Philippines struck by 6.1-magnitude earthquake

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook southern Philippines on Friday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported, just a week after two powerful quakes hit the country.

Provincial rescuer Ralph Cadalena told AFP that there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. “We felt a sudden strong shake, but it lasted only for a very short time,” he said.

The tremor struck near Dapa municipality in Surigao del Norte province at a depth of around 69 kilometers (43 miles), according to USGS.

This comes a week after two quakes measuring 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude struck the eastern part of Mindanao island, killing at least eight people.

Earlier, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake had hit Cebu province in central Philippines, killing 76 people and damaging or destroying around 72,000 homes, according to government figures.

Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" a zone of high seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

An 8.0-magnitude quake off Mindanao island's southwest coast in 1976 unleashed a tsunami that left 8,000 people dead or missing, the Philippines' deadliest natural disaster.

Alizeh Shah refutes rumors of using AI or beauty filters in her photos

Pakistani actress Alizeh Shah has addressed and dismissed rumors suggesting that she uses AI or beauty filters to make herself look like Korean girls.

Taking to her Instagram Stories, the Ehd-e-Wafa star posted a video of herself, subtly clarifying that her look is completely natural and not digitally enhanced.

“I just washed my face,” Alizeh said at the start of the clip, pointing out that her appearance was makeup-free.

She went on to add, “People think I’m using AI or some kind of filter  it’s not AI,” while placing her hand over one eye to prove that no filter was being used.

Explaining her look further, Alizeh shared, “I’m just using a lip liner to make my lips appear fuller,” before applying the liner on camera to demonstrate.

In the following story, the actress flaunted her silky straight hair and pouty lips in a monochromatic selfie, once again emphasizing her natural features.

Earlier, Alizeh had made headlines after criticizing the producers and host of reality TV show Tamasha, accusing them of bullying contestants and undermining their self-respect and dignity.

She even blamed the show for mentally torturing its contestant for the previous season Humaira Asghar, who after the show, passed away mysteriously.

Alizeh has once again removed all the posts from her Instagram account except for one that she posted two days ago.

Alizeh is known for her unapologetic attitude towards the industry and those who she claims to have bullied her.

Instagram Introduces PG-13 Accounts for Teen Users

Instagram has tightened content filtering for teen accounts to align with PG-13 movie rating standards, the platform announced on Tuesday. The move comes as Meta and other social media platforms face increasing pressure to prioritize the well-being of younger users over profit and engagement.

Instagram described the update as the most significant change to Teen Accounts since their launch in September last year.

Under the new system, teens on Instagram will be exposed only to content comparable to what is allowed in PG-13-rated films—a rating introduced by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in 1984.

The PG-13 rating warns parents when a movie contains material that may be unsuitable for children under 13, including mild nudity, violence, or drug use.

Meta’s Capucine Tuffier, head of public affairs for child protection, explained that applying movie rating standards to Instagram is part of an effort to implement the “most protective settings” for teenagers.

Examples of content that could now trigger PG-13 restrictions include drastic dieting trends or the glorification of alcohol and tobacco use.

Instagram will continue using age-detection technology to identify teens attempting to bypass restrictions by claiming to be older.

The platform already blocks shocking or sexually explicit content from teen accounts, and the update will further limit posts promoting risky behavior or harmful challenges, removing them from recommendations and feeds.

The update is rolling out in Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States, with plans to expand to more countries in the coming months.

Film ratings under the scheme are determined by an independent Classification and Rating Administration board made up of parents.

People seeking more control over what their children see on Instagram will be able to choose a "restricted content" option that prevents young users from seeing, writing, or receiving comments under posts.

Starting next year, the restricted content option will be made available to throttle conversations teens can have with artificial intelligence tools, according to Meta.

California this week enacted a landmark law that requires chatbot operators to implement "critical" safeguards regarding interactions with AI chatbots.

The law comes after revelations of suicides involving teens who used chatbots prior to taking their lives.

Israel Receives Remains of Four More Gaza Hostages

The Israeli military announced that the remains of four additional hostages handed over by Hamas on Tuesday have been brought into Israel from Gaza. This follows the confirmation of identities for those transferred a day earlier.

The remains were initially handed over to the Red Cross before being transferred to Israel for forensic examination, marking the latest step in implementing a ceasefire aimed at ending over two years of conflict in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, Hamas had already transferred the remains of four hostages, shortly after releasing the last 20 living hostages under the ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump.

Separately, a Gaza hospital reported receiving the bodies of 45 Palestinians returned by Israel as part of the same ceasefire plan.

The hostages whose remains were handed over on Monday included Israeli citizens Guy Iluz, Yossi Sharabi, Daniel Peretz, and Nepalese agriculture student Bipin Joshi.

Yossi Sharabi, 53 at the time of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, was abducted from Kibbutz Beeri.

Daniel Peretz, 22 at the time, was killed on the day of the assault, with his body taken to Gaza.

Guy Iluz, 26, was attending the Nova music festival when militants launched the attack. He was wounded and abducted alive but later died of untreated injuries in captivity, with his death announced in December 2023.

Sharabi’s wife, Nira, expressed relief at the return of her husband’s remains, saying it allows the family to finally bring closure to a nightmare that began over two years ago and provide him a dignified burial, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Courageous' Joshi

The military said the final causes of death for the four hostages would be determined following forensic examinations.

Joshi, who was 22 at the time of the attack, was part of a Nepalese agricultural training group that had arrived in Israel three weeks before the Hamas assault.

He was abducted from Kibbutz Alumim.

"It is assessed that he was murdered in captivity during the first months of the war," the military said.

Joshi's Nepalese friend Himanchal Kattel, the group's only survivor, told AFP the attackers had thrown a grenade into their shelter, which Joshi caught and threw away before it exploded, saving Kattel's life.

Joshi was a "courageous" student, his teacher Sushil Neupane said.

"We were deeply hoping that Bipin would return home. This news hurts us all... Our hope has died," he said.

Families of hostages whose remains are still being held in Gaza waited anxiously.

"It's difficult. You know, we kind of had the rollercoaster on the up yesterday and now we're on the down," said Rotem Kuper, son of Amiran Kuper, whose remains are held in Gaza.

Job is NOT DONE

In Tel Aviv, people gathered to celebrate the liberation of the living hostages and demand the return of the others' remains.

"I don't know what to feel because I didn't think (we'd) reach this day where all the living hostages will return," demonstrator Barak Cohen told AFP.

"But still I see great difficulties in returning the remaining dead hostages," he said.

Another participant, Tovah Baruch, said she was imagining "a world where all the hostages are back, everybody is buried and we work on a new era and with peace".

The bodies of 45 Palestinians that had been in Israeli custody were handed over to the Nasser Medical Centre in Gaza, the hospital said.

Under the Trump deal, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.

"A big burden has been lifted, but the job is NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase two begins right NOW!!!" Trump said on X.

Palestinian militants are still holding the bodies of 20 hostages, which are expected to be returned under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

"We are determined to bring everyone back," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after visiting hostages freed Monday at Beilinson Hospital in central Israel.

The freed hostages had experienced weight loss, said hospital director Noa Eliakim Raz.

"Being underground affects all the body's systems," she told journalists.

"There is no fixed timetable -- each person is recovering at their own pace. It's important that they heal slowly," she added.

Twins Ziv and Gali Berman, who were reunited on Monday, said they had been held separately and in complete isolation, according to Channel 12.

The two, who were 28 when abducted, described enduring long periods of hunger, alternating with short intervals when they were better fed, the report said.

Climate Litigation in China Begins with State Involvement

Environmental and climate litigation is on the rise in China, with thousands of specialized courts handling more than a million recent cases. However, the country’s approach differs significantly from trends seen elsewhere.

Unlike in many parts of the world, where climate litigation is often led by activists and NGOs pressing governments for action, in China it is largely dominated by state prosecutors.

Their focus is primarily on enforcing existing regulations rather than pushing for new government climate policies or ambitions.

Globally, courts both domestic and international have emerged as a key arena for holding governments accountable on climate change.

A notable example came in July at the International Court of Justice, which ruled that countries have a legal duty to address climate change.

In China, however, cases tend to center on regulatory compliance, with NGOs and activists playing a minimal role. According to Zhu Mingzhe, a legal scholar at the University of Glasgow, “Courts in China use climate change provisions scattered across various laws and regulations to implement climate policy, rather than bring about policy changes.”

While many cases contribute to climate change mitigation, they rarely address climate change directly.

As the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, China’s policies will play a critical role in shaping the planet’s climate future.

Ahead of COP30 climate talks next month, President Xi Jinping announced China’s first-ever emission targets, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10 percent over the next decade.

The law grows teeth

Those figures fall short of what experts say is needed, but there is little chance they will be challenged in court.

Instead, "the courts and prosecutors make sure the law grows teeth", Boya Jiang, a climate lawyer at ClientEarth in Beijing, told AFP.

A decade ago, local authorities might have escaped sanction for skirting environmental obligations if they achieved economic growth.

Now, "they will be brought to court and there will be severe punishments", said Jiang.

"Companies also have to really consider environmental impacts."

Between 2019 and 2023, courts resolved more than a million cases, according to Chinese state media, up almost 20 percent from the previous five-year period.

China probably has the most comprehensive and "systematically established mechanism" for environmental justice, said Jiang.

And support for bringing cases is widespread, with the central government empowering prosecutors and public opinion in favour, said Lu Xu, a legal scholar at Lancaster University.

"If there is anything that is 'politically correct' for all audiences in China, this is it," he told AFP.

In 2020, for example, prosecutors in Huzhou, eastern China, won a public interest case against a company that had used Freon, a banned ozone-depleting substance and potent greenhouse gas. It was ordered to pay compensation.

Lawsuits on such substances are officially designated "climate change cases", making it the "first public interest litigation on climate change initiated by prosecutors", according to ClientEarth.

And last year, a court concluded that a power generation company's failure to meet carbon trading obligations violated China's climate mitigation goals and people's environmental rights.

NGOs largely sidelined

More than 95 percent of potential cases are settled before reaching court though, with the mere threat of litigation an effective enforcement mechanism.

NGOs meanwhile are only bit players, who cannot sue the government or officials.

They can however challenge private and state-owned firms, and in 2017 one of China's oldest environmental NGOs, Friends of Nature, accused state-owned companies of unnecessarily curtailing wind and solar power in favour of more polluting output.

One case was settled in 2023, with the state grid promising to invest in increasing renewable energy on the grid. The second is yet to conclude.

One environmental lawyer serving at an NGO concedes state prosecutors wield more power, but said other actors still play an important role.

Prosecutors will sometimes "consider some local economic interests and pressures, so they don't want to sue", the lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous due to the potential risk to their organisation, told AFP.

NGOs "may be more detached, so we can bring the case".

China's new Ecological and Environmental Code, expected to come into force in 2026, and climate law in the works for nearly a decade, could open the way for broader ambition cases, said Jiang, though it might not pass for up to five more years.

HPE Unveils the World’s Fastest Supercomputer at GITEX 2025

At GITEX 2025, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is turning heads with the showcase of its Cray supercomputing systems, which feature a groundbreaking 100% fanless direct liquid cooling architecture.

This cutting-edge technology powers some of the world’s fastest and most efficient systems, including the renowned El Capitan supercomputer.

It has also played a pivotal role in helping HPE secure top positions on the Green500 list, which ranks the globe’s most energy-efficient supercomputers.

While next-generation accelerators have enhanced performance and efficiency, the rapid rise of AI workloads has led to a surge in power consumption outpacing the limits of traditional cooling systems.

As a result, organizations handling large-scale AI operations are being pushed to adopt smarter, more sustainable infrastructure strategies.

Positioning itself at the forefront of this transformation, HPE continues to lead the industry with its direct liquid cooling technology, recognized as one of the most effective and energy-efficient cooling methods for advanced, next-gen AI systems.

The 100% fanless direct liquid cooling system architecture significantly improves the energy and cost efficiency of large-scale AI deployments.

This leads to substantial reductions in cooling power, utility costs, carbon emissions, and data center fan noise.

Additionally, systems utilizing this architecture can support higher server cabinet density, requiring only half the floor space.

Trump Sparks Buzz After Calling Italian PM ‘Beautiful’ at Gaza Summit

US President Donald Trump caused a stir at the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt on Monday when he referred to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni the only female leader on stage as “beautiful.”

The 79-year-old, who has been married three times, acknowledged mid-speech that his remark might be deemed politically incorrect.

“I’m not allowed to say it, because usually it’s the end of your political career if you do,” Trump said while discussing his peace efforts in the Middle East. “But she’s a beautiful young woman I’ll take my chances.”

Turning toward Meloni, 48, Trump added, “You don’t mind being called beautiful, right? Because you are.”

Meloni’s immediate reaction was not visible, as Trump’s back was turned to the cameras.

Trump, who has previously praised Meloni’s conservative leadership, went on to describe her as “incredible,” adding that “they really respect her in Italy she’s a very successful politician.”

The exchange quickly drew attention online, with many noting that Trump’s remarks overshadowed parts of his address on Gaza’s peace efforts.

Meloni was the only woman among around 30 leaders gathered on the stage behind Trump for the summit, where they signed a declaration pledging to help push through peace for Gaza.

Trump has previously been criticised for sexist remarks.

In September, a US appeals court upheld a jury's $83.3-million penalty against Trump for defaming author E. Jean Carroll, whom he was found to have sexually assaulted.

OpenAI Announces Acquisition of Broadcom Amid Ongoing Spending Spree

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced on Monday a partnership with chip maker Broadcom to design and develop its own specialized computer processors for artificial intelligence.

This collaboration is the latest in a string of recent moves by OpenAI as it seeks to solidify its position at the forefront of the generative AI revolution that began with ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022.

The companies stated that the new partnership, set to launch next year, will provide 10 gigawatts of computing power roughly equivalent to the energy required to power a major city.

In recent weeks, under CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI has inked major deals with Nvidia, AMD, Oracle, and South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, focusing on investments in data centers and AI chips.

These partnerships come despite the fact that the AI business shows no clear signs of profitability yet, even with strong growth and high investor interest.

Experts warn that the massive infrastructure demands of AI, including chips and data centers, could strain electricity providers, as they require substantial power and resources to deliver the necessary computing capacity.

The financial terms of the deal with Broadcom were not part of the announcement and remain unclear for many of the recent deals involving OpenAI.

That has drawn some skepticism from observers who worry the AI frenzy may have created a financial bubble, posing a risk to investors and echoing the build up and subsequent crash of the late 1990s dotcom boom.

Still, shares in Broadcom rose nearly ten percent on the news, reflecting stock price surges from AMD and Oracle following their own deals with OpenAI, which is the world's most valuable privately held company.

By designing its own chips rather than relying on off-the-shelf processors, OpenAI says it can build hardware specifically tailored to how its AI models work, potentially making them faster and more powerful.

"Partnering with Broadcom is a critical step in building the infrastructure needed to unlock AI's potential and deliver real benefits for people and businesses," said Altman, OpenAI's co-founder and chief executive.

The custom processors will be installed in data centers operated by OpenAI and its partners to keep up with soaring worldwide demand for AI services.

OpenAI has grown rapidly to more than 800 million people using its services weekly since its 2022 launch, making ChatGPT the fastest-growing consumer app ever.

Broadcom, which will manufacture and help develop the chips, called the collaboration "a pivotal moment" in AI development.

AI tools misused to create racist videos targeting European cities

London’s Big Ben has been depicted in a smouldering, dystopian AI-generated vision of the city, daubed with Arabic-style graffiti and surrounded by piles of rubbish and crowds in traditional Islamic attire.

Far-right politicians and leaders are using such AI-generated clips of reimagined European cities to promote racist narratives, falsely claiming that AI is objectively forecasting the future.

Experts told AFP that these videos, which suggest immigrants are “replacing” white populations, can be created quickly using popular AI chatbots, despite built-in safeguards meant to block harmful content.

“AI tools are being exploited to visualise and spread extremist narratives,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

In June, British far-right figure Tommy Robinson re-posted a “London in 2050” video on X, attracting over half a million views.

One viewer commented, “Europe in general is doomed.” Robinson has also shared similar AI-generated clips of New York, Milan, and Brussels, and led a far-right march in central London in September, attended by up to 150,000 demonstrators protesting migrant inflows.

“Moderation systems consistently fail across platforms to stop this content from being created and shared,” Ahmed noted, singling out X, owned by Elon Musk, as “very powerful for amplifying hate and disinformation.”

TikTok has banned the creator account responsible for Robinson’s videos, citing repeated promotion of hateful ideology, including conspiracy theories.

However, similar content has gone viral on social media, reposted by Austrian nationalist Martin Sellner and Belgian right-wing parliamentarian Sam van Rooy.

Italian MEP Silvia Sardone, from the right-wing Lega party, shared a dystopian AI vision of Milan in April, asking, “Do we really want this future?” Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom released an AI video titled “Netherlands in 2050,” depicting women in Muslim headscarves and claiming Islam will become the country’s largest religion despite Muslims making up just six percent of the population.

“These videos reinforce harmful stereotypes that can incite violence,” said Beatriz Lopes Buarque, a London School of Economics researcher on digital politics and conspiracy theories. “Mass radicalisation facilitated by AI is worsening,” she added.

Hate is profitable

Using a pseudonym, the creator of the videos reposted by Robinson offers paid courses to teach people how to make their own AI clips, suggesting "conspiracy theories" make a "great" topic to attract clicks.

"The problem is that now we live in a society in which hate is very profitable," Buarque said.

Racist video creators appear to be based in various countries including Greece and Britain, although they hide their locations.

Their videos are a "visual representation of the great replacement conspiracy theory," Buarque said.

Popularised by a French writer, this claims Western elites are complicit in eradicating the local population and "replacing" them with immigrants.

"This particular conspiracy theory has often been mentioned as a justification for terrorist attacks," said Buarque.

Round dates such as 2050 also crop up in a similar "white genocide" conspiracy theory, which has anti-Semitic elements, she added.

AFP digital reporters in Europe asked ChatGPT, GROK, Gemini and VEO 3 to show London and other cities in 2050, but found this generally generated positive images.

Experts, however, said chatbots could be easily guided to create racist images.

None has moderation that "is 100 percent accurate", said Salvatore Romano, head of research at AI Forensics.

"This... leaves the space for malicious actors to exploit chatbots to produce images like the ones on migrants."

Marc Owen Jones, an academic specialising in disinformation at Northwestern University's Qatar campus, found ChatGPT refused to show ethnic groups "in degrading, stereotypical, or dehumanising ways".

But it agreed to visualise "a bleak, diverse, survivalist London" and then make it "more inclusive, with mosques too".

The final image shows bearded, ragged men rowing on a rubbish-strewn River Thames, with mosques dominating the skyline.

AFP, along with more than 100 other fact-checking organisations, is paid by TikTok and Facebook parent Meta to verify videos that potentially contain false information.

Pakistan Faces Billions in Climate-Induced Losses

Pakistan continues to bear the brunt of the global climate crisis, with new government data revealing economic losses worth billions of dollars due to floods, extreme weather, and environmental degradation across the country.

A detailed report presented in the National Assembly outlined widespread destruction caused by record-breaking monsoon rains and climate-driven disasters.

More than 950 people have lost their lives and over 1,000 have been injured in recent months.

Flash floods have submerged over 4,500 villages, displacing millions, with nearly 96,000 people still sheltering in relief camps.

Over 2.2 million acres of farmland remain underwater, devastating rice-producing regions and crippling Pakistan’s food supply chain.

The floods have inflicted massive damage on infrastructure, agriculture, and the broader economy, pushing vulnerable communities deeper into crisis.

In the northern regions, the Hindukush, Karakoram, and Himalayan glaciers Pakistan’s vital water sources are melting at an unprecedented rate.

More than 13,000 glaciers are reportedly retreating, creating hundreds of new glacial lakes that threaten 7.1 million people with the risk of sudden outburst floods.

Meanwhile, in the southern parts of the country, seawater intrusion in the Indus Delta has ruined over 3.5 million acres of fertile land, displacing thousands of families and destroying mangrove forests that serve as natural coastal barriers.

The impact of extreme heat has also intensified, with temperatures in Jacobabad and Sibi crossing 50°C this summer, leading to several heat-related deaths and crop failures. Experts say the 2022 floods alone — which affected over 33 million people and caused more than 1,700 deaths — cost the economy an estimated $30 billion.

In major cities such as Lahore and Faisalabad, air quality has deteriorated to dangerous levels, with smog driving up respiratory illnesses and economic losses estimated at $6 billion annually.

Soil erosion and erratic rainfall patterns now threaten nearly 27% of Pakistan’s land area, further endangering food security.

Despite contributing less than 1% to global carbon emissions, Pakistan remains among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations.

While the government has launched several adaptation and resilience projects, experts warn that without significant global climate financing and sustainable policy implementation, the country’s ecological and economic future will remain at severe risk.

US warns of sanctions against countries supporting global shipping carbon tax

The United States on Friday warned it would impose sanctions and other punitive measures against any nation supporting a proposed carbon tax on maritime transport being considered by a UN agency.

In a joint statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with the secretaries of energy and transportation, said Washington would “vigorously defend its economic interests by imposing costs on countries that back” the Net Zero Framework (NZF) a plan designed to curb global carbon emissions in the shipping industry.

The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is scheduled to vote next week on adopting the NZF, which would introduce a global carbon pricing mechanism for the shipping sector.

The US government, however, slammed the proposal, calling it “a global carbon tax that would harm economic growth and penalize developing nations.”

Since retaking office in January, President Donald Trump has rolled back several climate initiatives, dismissing climate change as a “hoax” and promoting fossil fuel expansion through deregulation.

Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reiterated that the Trump administration “categorically rejects” the NZF proposal and will resist any attempt to impose what it considers “globalist economic controls” through the UN framework.

They threatened a range of punishing actions against countries that vote in favor of the framework, including: visa restrictions; blocking vessels registered in those countries from US ports; imposing commercial penalties; and considering sanctions on officials.

"The United States will be moving to levy these remedies against nations that sponsor this European-led neocolonial export of global climate regulations," the statement said.