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S.Korea political upheaval shows global democracy's fragility - and resilience
NoneThe design phase of the indigenous nuclear attack submarines (SSN) will take four to five years and another five years for the construction of the first one building on the experience of the ballistic nuclear missile submarine programme (SSBN), officials in the know said. Meanwhile, the third SSN leased from Russia is expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy in 2028 after delays. Last week, when asked about the indigenous SSN programme , Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi said that “as per their timelines, 2036-37 was the very realistic timeframe when the first SSN can be inducted followed by the second one in a couple of years.” The design and development should take four to five years, and the construction another five years, sources said. An SSN is different from SSBN but the experience of building the latter is helpful and the reactor and other specifications will be finalised considering the requirement of speed and endurance that SSNs need, the sources stated. India has leased two SSNs INS Chakra 1 and 2 in the past from Russia. A third one that has been contracted on lease has seen several delays due to COVID and holding up finalisation of the hull that was to be refurbished among others and is now expected by end-2027 or early-2028, according to sources. The SSNs are a critical requirement for the Navy to keep a watch over the Indo-Pacific as they give unlimited endurance to perform a variety of tasks with their endurance only limited by that of the crew. October saw two major developments — the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the indigenous construction of two SSNs estimated to cost around ₹35,000 crore while India’s fourth SSBN referred to as S4* was launched into water at Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam, as reported earlier. India currently has two SSBNs in operation. INS Arihant with a displacement of 6,000 tonne and powered by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor with enriched uranium was commissioned into service in August 2016. The second SSBN, INS Arighaat (S3) which retains the same reactor and dimensions with several technological upgrades was commissioned end-August this year. The third SSBN Aridhaman (S4) is currently undergoing sea trials and is expected to be commissioned into service next year, sources said. INS Arighaat recently fired the K4 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) with a range of 3,500 km, on which Admiral Tripathi said the launch was “successful” and the agencies concerned are examining as to what trajectory the missile took. The S4* is bigger and more capable than the first one, INS Arihant (S2), that is essentially a technology demonstrator developed under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme. The first two SSBNs share the same reactor while the S4 and S4* have an improved reactor and can carry a good number of the K-4 SLBMs, as reported by The Hindu earlier. The completion of the nuclear triad was announced in November 2018, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on social media that INS Arihant had returned from its first deterrence patrol. The ATV project began in 1980s and INS Arihant was launched in 2009 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A robust, survivable and assured retaliatory capability is in line with India’s policy to have ‘Credible Minimum Deterrence’ (CMD) that underpins its ‘No First Use’ commitment. In 1998, India conducted nuclear tests under Phokran-II and in 2003, India declared its nuclear doctrine based on CMD and a NFU policy while reserving the right of massive retaliation if struck with nuclear weapons first. Published - December 07, 2024 11:02 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit defence / defence equipment / armed Forces
SANTA CLARA, Calif. , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FuriosaAI , an emerging leader in AI semiconductor solutions, is closing out the year with rapid technical and customer progress with its second-generation chip, RNGD (pronounced 'Renegade'). The recently announced AI solution has achieved compelling performance metrics in real-world enterprise deployments meeting the demand for inference with advanced large language and multimodal models. The new performance benchmarks showcase RNGD's ability to meet industry-leading throughput demands for Llama 3.1 models, including the 8B and 70B variants, with additional optimizations already in progress. The company also announced key software features that bring advanced optimization for customers currently sampling RNGD hardware in their production environments. These achievements represent the first phase of Furiosa's vision for AI infrastructure that overcomes the inherent limitations of GPUs. RNGD delivers winning throughput metrics with Llama 3.1 8B and 70B : Building on the AI-native Tensor Contraction Processor (TCP) architecture of RNGD , Furiosa is redefining real-world AI deployments, delivering unmatched performance, programmability, and power efficiency. Furiosa's RNGD recently achieved a throughput of 3,200–3,300 Tokens per Second (TPS) when running the LLaMA 3.1- 8B model. In single-user scenarios, RNGD consistently delivers 40–60 TPS performance. Additionally, RNGD demonstrates exceptional power efficiency, consuming 181W per card, with further optimization efforts underway. Rather than excessively boosting per-user performance, the company aims to maintain performance levels exceeding typical text-reading speeds (10–20 TPS or higher) while optimizing for multi-user environments and achieving a balanced performance approach. Furiosa is advancing the performance and efficiency of the LLaMA 3.1- 70B model. With just two RNGD cards, LLaMA 3.1- 70B can be executed effectively. Currently, a single server supports up to 100 concurrent user queries, with ongoing optimizations aiming to achieve 8,000 TPS per server when equipped with 8 RNGD cards. With the release of SDK v2024.3.0, Furiosa will expand the range of preloaded models. The SDK will also include support for tensor parallelism, enabling seamless processing across multiple elements without requiring model modifications, and a torch.compile, providing the foundation for executing customized models. Integration with HuggingFace Optimum will further empower customers to leverage a broader variety of models. Advanced optimization tools delivered to early RNGD customers: Building on these milestones, domestic and global enterprise customers are conducting tests with Furiosa to find a more efficient solution for scaling the inference of their self-developed models, compared to their existing setup. Their objective is to manage TCO effectively as they prepare for large-scale AI adoption. Furiosa plans to provide a high-quality AI development environment through a powerful and user-friendly SDK optimized for RNGD. The SDK v2024.1.0, currently available through the Early Access Program (EAP), is designed to handle high-performance processing of multiple LLM serving requests. It incorporates optimization techniques such as PagedAttention, Block KV Cache, and Continuous Batching, while also supporting various token sampling methods, including Greedy, Beam Search, and Top-k/p. These features allow developers to seamlessly create AI services customized to meet a wide range of requirements. The SDK and online sample will be available after the release of v2024.3.0. Furiosa remains committed to delivering the most sustainable AI deployment solutions through rigorous optimization at an unprecedented pace. "With RNGD now in customers' hands, we are accelerating the next generation of frontier LLMs to unlock emerging Agentic AI applications—bringing advanced reasoning capabilities to enterprise verticals, all at dramatically lower costs," said June Paik , Co-Founder and CEO of FuriosaAI. Furiosa Expands Global Footprint with Strategic Leadership Appointment Furiosa is scaling production and expanding its leadership team with the appointment of Alex Liu as Senior Vice President of Product and Business. A Technology Emmy Award winner and co-founder of NETINT Technologies, Alex brings over 20 years of expertise in startup management, technology innovation, and strategic leadership. At NETINT, he spearheaded groundbreaking achievements, including the development of the world's first VPU SoC, setting new industry benchmarks and securing the prestigious 2024 Technology Emmy Award. At Furiosa, Alex will lead global product management, go-to-market strategies, and partnerships to drive innovation and align the company's AI-native technologies with a vision to empower the development of planet-scale AI infrastructure. RNGD is currently sampling with customers, and mass production will ramp up in partnership with TSMC for 2025 availability. To learn more about Furiosa, please visit https://furiosa.ai/ . About FuriosaAI FuriosaAI is a semiconductor company dedicated to creating sustainable AI computing solutions that make powerful AI accessible to all. With its innovative Tensor Contraction Processor architecture, FuriosaAI is revolutionizing the AI hardware landscape, offering unparalleled efficiency and programmability for the most demanding AI workloads. For more information, please visit https://furiosa.ai/ . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/furiosaai-ends-2024-on-a-high-note-llama-3-1-performance-sdk-release-leadership-expansion-302336756.html SOURCE FuriosaAIChina has expanded its nuclear force and strengthened ties to Russia, the Pentagon says
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The Government has announced it is doubling funds to support workers and businesses affected by job losses at a giant Tata steel plant. Ministers said an extra £15 million will be made available for supply chain businesses and workers affected by changes at Tata’s Port Talbot site in south Wales. Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said the move means a fund to support businesses across Wales heavily reliant on Tata steel will be increased to £30 million. She also announced that more businesses will be able to apply for the funds, and the value of individual grants is increasing to up to £250,000 for businesses to invest in equipment, property, technology. The Government said there has been “significant demand” on the existing funding, with almost 40 businesses employing 2,000 people having begun the application process. Grants worth millions of pounds are expected to be released in the new year. The increase in funding is in anticipation of more people leaving Tata in early 2025 through the company’s voluntary redundancy scheme. Ms Stevens said: “This Government is acting decisively to support workers and businesses in Port Talbot. “We are doubling the funding available to businesses and workers and widening access to grants to ensure we support as many people as possible. “In just four months we have announced more than £40 million in investment. We said we would back workers and businesses affected by the transition at Port Talbot and we are doing exactly that. “While this remains a very difficult time for Tata workers, their families and the community, we are determined to support workers and businesses in our Welsh steel industry, whatever happens.”During his first presidency and in his campaign leading up to the 2024 election, Donald Trump repeatedly pledged to crack down on illegal immigration. As president-elect, Trump posted on Truth Social on Nov. 18 confirming his plans to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Trump commented “TRUE!!!” with a repost of a Truth Social post from Tom Fitton, who runs the conservative group Judicial Watch . Fitton’s post reads, “GOOD NEWS: Reports are incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.” Several VERIFY readers, including Debbie, Jacq and Matty, asked us whether Trump can use the military to carry out mass deportations. Can the president use the military to carry out mass deportations? Yes, it's legal for the president to use the military to help carry out mass deportations and other immigration enforcement actions. The National Guard, with approval from a state's governor, can detain individuals, but the other branches of the military can offer mostly logistical support. A president has the executive power to deploy the military to assist with immigration enforcement, but there are legal limits on the role the military can play. The Posse Comitatus Act, a 143-year-old law, prohibits the president from using active-duty, full-time service members, such as soldiers or Marines, as a police force, according to the Brennan Center for Justice . That means federal military branches like the U.S. Army or Air Force can’t perform tasks such as detaining individuals or making arrests on U.S. soil, even under a national emergency declaration. David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, explained that active-duty service members, barred from acting like police under Posse Comitatus, would likely focus on non-law enforcement tasks. That could include building infrastructure, like temporary detention facilities, transporting detainees and providing armed backup for domestic law enforcement. The Posse Comitatus Act, however, does not apply to the National Guard, Peter Margulies, a law professor at Roger Williams University, told VERIFY. “The National Guard is a state militia and can be called out by the president with the cooperation of the state governors, and so you could have the National Guard from, let's say, Texas, be used for apprehension. That would not create Posse Comitatus issues,” Margulies said. Trump's post on Truth Social mentioned declaring a national emergency, but the president can request National Guard assistance or federal military assistance with or without declaring a national emergency , according to Chris Mirasola, a contributor for non-profit Lawfare. The Brennan Center for Justice explains that declaring a national emergency grants a president with swift authority during times of crises without waiting for Congressional approval, including diverting federal funds or resources. Both Bier and Margulies told VERIFY Trump's deportation agenda would likely face significant legal challenges and be subject to congressional oversight. And if he declares a national emergency, Congress has the ability to eventually terminate that declaration , but it would require passing a law with a veto-proof supermajority, “which is increasingly difficult in our polarized political environment,” Goitein told VERIFY. Military involvement in immigration enforcement is not unprecedented. In 2019, then-President Trump declared a national emergency to redirect military funds to construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall. More recently, President Joe Biden used a national emergency declaration to deploy the National Guard to the southern border to assist with processing and facility operations tied to drug enforcement. According to Google Trends data , online searches about mass deportation have spiked, with some appearing to link the military's involvement to martial law. Martial law involves the suspension of ordinary law and government functions, with military authorities assuming control. Margulies said even if Trump uses the military in his administration’s deportation efforts, it would not equate to declaring martial law. Margulies explained that martial law hasn’t been used since the Civil War and is “profoundly unlikely” to happen as part of Trump’s proposed initiative because he doesn’t need martial law to execute his deportation plans.
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French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has announced a new government, after the previous Cabinet collapsed in a historic vote prompted by fighting over the country’s budget. Newly named Prime Minister Francois Bayrou put together the government that includes members of the outgoing conservative-dominated team and some new figures from centrist or left-leaning backgrounds. Coming up with a 2025 budget will be the most urgent order of business. The new government enters office after months of political deadlock and pressure from financial markets to reduce France’s colossal debt. Mr Macron has vowed to remain in office until his term ends in 2027, but has struggled to govern since snap elections in the summer left no single party with a majority in the National Assembly. Since his appointment 10 days ago, Mr Bayrou has held talks with political leaders from various parties in search of the right balance for the new government. Some critics were angry at Mr Bayrou for consulting with Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, and some argue the government looks too much like the old one to win the trust of politicians. Former prime minister Michel Barnier resigned this month following a no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes in the National Assembly, leaving France without a functioning government. Ms Le Pen played a key role in Mr Barnier’s downfall by joining her National Rally party’s forces with the left to pass the no-confidence motion. Mr Bayrou will need support from moderate legislators on the right and left to keep his government alive. Banker Eric Lombard will be finance minister, a crucial post when France is working to fulfil its promises to European Union partners to reduce its deficit, estimated to reach 6% of its gross domestic product this year. Mr Lombard briefly worked as an adviser to a socialist finance minister in the 1990s. Mr Bayrou has said he supports tax hikes championed by his predecessor, but it is not clear how the new government can find the right calculation for a budget that satisfies a majority of politicians angry over spending cuts. Bruno Retailleau stays on as interior minister, with responsibility for France’s security and migration policy. Sebastien Lecornu, who has been at the forefront of France’s military support for Ukraine, remains defence minister, while foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who has travelled extensively in the Middle East in recent weeks, also retains his post. Among the new faces are two former prime ministers. Manuel Valls will be minister for overseas affairs, and Elisabeth Borne takes the education ministry.NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Justin Thomas was long off the tee and made a few long putts on the back nine to overtake Scottie Scheffler with a 6-under 66 and build a one-shot lead Saturday over golf's best player going into the final round of the Hero World Challenge. Thomas is trying out a 46-inch driver — a little more than an inch longer than normal — that he previously used for practice at home to gain speed and length. He blasted a 361-yard drive to 8 feet on the par-4 seventh hole and led the field in driving distance. But it was a few long putts that put him ahead of Scheffler, who had a 69. Thomas was on the verge of falling two shots behind when he made an 18-foot par putt on the par-3 12th hole. On the reachable par-4 14th, he was in a nasty spot in a sandy area and could only splash it out to nearly 50 feet. He made that one for a most unlikely birdie, while behind him Scheffler muffed a chip on the 13th hole and made his lone bogey of a windy day. Scheffler never caught up to him, missing birdie chances on the reachable 14th and the par-5 15th. Thomas hit his approach to 3 feet for birdie on the 16th after a 343-yard drive. Scheffler made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th to close within one. Scheffler missed birdie chances on the last two holes from the 10-foot and 15-foot range, while Thomas missed an 8-foot birdie attempt at the last. “I had a stretch at 13, 14, 15 where I felt like I lost a shot or two there, but outside of that I did a lot of really good things today,” Scheffler said. Thomas hasn't won since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and a victory at Albany Golf Club wouldn't count as an official win. But the two-time major champion has made steady progress toward getting his game back in order. “I'm driving it great. I've had a lot of confidence with it,” Thomas said of his longer driver. “I feel like I've been able to put myself in some pretty good spots going into the green. I’m still not taking advantage of some of them as much as I would like, but that’s golf and we're always going to say that.” Thomas was at 17-under 199 and will be in the final group Sunday with Scheffler, who is trying to end his spectacular season with a ninth title. Tom Kim put himself in the mix, which he might not have imagined Thursday when he was 3 over through six holes of the holiday tournament. Kim got back in the game with a 65 on Friday, and then followed with 12 birdies for a 62. He had a shot at the course record — Rickie Fowler shot 61 in the final round when he won at Albany in 2017 — until Kim found a bunker and took two shots to reach the green in making a double bogey on the par-3 17th. Even so, he was only two shots behind. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was four back. “Feel like I’ve been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that’s all I can do,” Thomas said. “I can’t control everybody else or what’s going on, I’ve just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it’s enough come Sunday.” AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
FuriosaAI Ends 2024 on a High Note: Llama 3.1 Performance, SDK Release, Leadership Expansion
Concerns have also been raised about the “renormalisation” of smoking. Dr Rachel O’Donnell, senior research fellow at the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, said restrictions on smoking in outdoor places can “reinforce” a message that smoking “isn’t a socially acceptable thing to do” and could also help smokers to kick the habit. In November, it emerged that the UK Government is to scrap plans to ban smoking in the gardens of pubs and restaurants in England. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the hospitality industry has “taken a real battering in recent years” and it is not “the right time” to ban smoking outside pubs. But smoking and vaping could be banned in other public places in England – such as in playgrounds or outside of schools – under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. According to the World Health Organisation, there is no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure. In a briefing for journalists, Dr O’Donnell said decision-making “should be on the basis of all the evidence that’s available”. She added: “Any debate about legislation on smoking in outdoor settings shouldn’t only focus on air quality and second-hand smoke exposure levels, because the impacts of restrictions in outdoor settings are also evident on our social norms.” Smoke-free outdoor environments “reinforce smoke-free as the acceptable norm”, she said. “This, I think, is a critically important point at a time where in the media, over the last year, we’ve seen various reports and questions as to whether we might be on the cusp of renormalisation of smoking for various reasons, and so smoke-free public environments still have a critically important role to play. “If you reduce opportunities to smoke, it can also help individuals who smoke themselves to reduce the amount they smoke or to make a quit attempt.” Dr O’Donnell said visibility of tobacco products and smoking is a “form of marketing for tobacco companies” as she pointed to studies highlighting the increasing number of tobacco depictions on screen. She went on: “The more often young adults observe smoking around them, the more likely they are to believe that smoking is socially acceptable, which feeds back into this idea of renormalisation of smoking. “So, restrictions on smoking in outdoor public places have other positive knock-on effects, potentially for young people as well, just sending out that clear message that this isn’t a socially acceptable thing to do and see, and this could help to discourage smoking initiation among young people at quite a critical time.” On being exposed to second-hand smoke at work, she added: “I think sometimes when we think about exposure to second-hand smoke in outdoor settings, in pubs, in restaurants, we think about that sort of occasional customer exposure, the nuisance element of it when people are out enjoying a meal with friends, but we also need to be reminded that this is a repeated occupational exposure for those who are working in hospitality and serving drinks and food. “Now, as we’ve already seen, concentrations of second-hand smoke in these settings are generally low, and they’re likely to present a low risk to health for most healthy people. “But ... there’s no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, and so any individual with pre-existing heart, lung or respiratory conditions may be particularly vulnerable even to low levels of exposure. “We know that second-hand smoke is its known carcinogen, and on that basis those exposed in the hospitality sector have a right to be protected. “On that basis, there’s a need to protect them, as there is anybody in any workplace setting from second-hand smoke exposure in all areas of workplaces and spaces.” Sean Semple, professor of exposure science at the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, said: “I think that if I were a policy-maker, which I am not, then I would be looking at those occupational exposures as well. “I have asthma, if I was being occupationally exposed to SHS (second-hand smoke), and knowing that I was one of a very small number of workers now being legally exposed to SHS in the workplace, then I might not be very happy about that.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “As part of our 10 Year Health Plan we are shifting focus from sickness to prevention, including tackling the harms of smoking and passive smoking. “The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill is the biggest public health intervention in a generation and will put us on track towards a smoke-free UK.”
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