Global Political and Economic Shiftsactive

Most Americans back stronger social media oversight, according to a new survey. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 61 percent of respondents said that additional government oversight is needed for social media companies, 27 percent were against additional government oversight and 17 percent did not respond or were not sure. Over half of all Republicans, Democrats and…

The British Royal Navy suspended the connectivity of a group of maritime drones after detecting that one of their components, manufactured in China, was periodically sending signals to its manufacturer. The discovery raised alarms about the security of Western military systems and brought back into focus an increasingly difficult problem to solve: dependence on foreign components in equipment intended for strategic tasks. The episode was analyzed by Andrei Serbin Pont during his column on Infobae al Mediodía. It involves 20 K3 Scout units, manufactured by the British company Kraken Technology Group and purchased for about 12 million pounds for surveillance and monitoring of maritime and river waters. The anomaly was detected during a routine review of the vessels' communications. The operators discovered that a Chinese-origin component periodically established a connection with its manufacturer. As a preventive measure, the Royal Navy interrupted the equipment's connectivity while investigating what information that communication could transmit and its range. “They detected a particular component that had or emitted signals, which is sometimes called a kind of brief return that gave data to the original manufacturer. And that specific original manufacturer of that component was a Chinese manufacturer,” Serbin Pont explained. The type of signal detected can c…

Voters right now broadly disapprove of the economy, Trump and, increasingly, Republicans in Congress.

Voters in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin will head to the polls this Tuesday, August 11, to take part in primary elections that will help determine the candidates for the November midterm elections. The contests include races for governor, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, as well as numerous state legislative offices. Seguir leyendo

A group of US investment giants are partnering with Nvidia on US$500 billion in funding for AI infrastructure projects, the Financial Times reported. Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs and KKR are among the firms in talks with Nvidia on a deal to invest in the AI buildout, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified sources. The deal may be announced as soon as Monday, the Times said. The named firms...

A series of heatwaves over the past three months, compounded by drought, have broken temperature records, caused thousands of excess deaths, and fuelled massive wildfires.

After the United Kingdom experienced its driest July on record, the government declared that some 71.3% of England was in a state of drought, and that 'nowhere' in the UK reports a normal water resource status.

Some 72,000 migrants breached the border in an unprecedented and deadly rush between 30-31 July, with 70,000 having since returned to Morocco, according to Spanish government figures.

According to the republic's Ministry of Energy, in addition to operational channels, options under consideration as prospective export routes include transport via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, shipments across the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, and the Baku-Supsa route

The expected ore processing capacity is 30,000 tons

Some 71.3 percent of England is in drought, the UK government said on Monday, after the nation experienced its driest July on record, with a fifth heatwave and scant rain forecast for the week ahead. Parks and fields that are usually green at this point in the year were parched and yellow, according to Agence France-Presse photos, as river levels dwindled and farmers battling low crop yields warned of possible food shortages. Almost three-quarters of England is now in drought as conditions...

I value that an unjust decision lacking grounds has been reversed. With these words, former Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Juan Carlos Muñoz, highlighted the lifting of the sanctions imposed on him by the Donald Trump administration, which in February withdrew his visa to enter the United States, following the controversy over the Chinese submarine cable. At the end of the government of former President Gabriel Boric, the former Secretary of State and two other officials from his department were sanctioned for the actions taken regarding the submarine cable that would connect Chile with Hong Kong, which, in the opinion of the U.S., would pose a threat to regional security. After five months of intense personal efforts, it was announced this Monday that the engineer and academic once again has the travel document that will allow him to set foot on American soil. Now that the sanctions against him have been reversed, Muñoz told La Tercera that the Frente Amplio administration conducted all analyses regarding the Chinese cable study and dismissed the idea that regional security was at risk. “At the beginning of this year, and as soon as the relevant information was received from the U.S. embassy, the previous government requested a rigorous analysis from the competent national security agencies, following the procedures available to the State of Chile. The authorities worked while safeguarding the country’s autonomy…”

By 7:31 p.m. Moscow time, Brent edged up by 4.3% to $87.14 per barrel

The Chilean stock market rebounded this Monday despite the weak performance of its main indicator: Wall Street amid concerns over the Middle East conflict and rising oil prices. The Ipsa index, of the main stocks traded on the Santiago Stock Exchange, rose 0.22% to 11,284.32 points. Among the session's notable gains were Socovesa, Enjoy, and Paz Corp with increases of 4.57%, 3.7%, and 2.22%, respectively. Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the major indicators showed slight variations. The industrial average declined 0.04%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.08%, and the Nasdaq increased 0.06%. Brent oil prices rose 3.34% to US$86.92 per barrel, and WTI in the United States gained 3.45% to US$80.87 per barrel. “The lack of news about an agreement between the United States and Iran and the delay in opening the Strait of Hormuz are putting upward pressure on the price,” said Lucas Saavedra, Market Analyst at Capitaria. He added that although Iran has repeatedly mentioned that negotiations with Oman are progressing to reopen the strait, the delay in a definitive agreement is generating upward pressure on the price. He stated that “as long as the strait remains closed, it is unlikely we will see prices fall below US$74 per barrel.” Dollar also operates upward In the foreign exchange market, meanwhile, the dollar increased, recovering…

More than 12,000 people have been forced to evacuate over the weekend after a wildfire quickly tore through Canada's picturesque Okanagan region.

DUBAI.– Iran warned on Monday that it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States fulfills a series of conditions, including lifting the blockade on its ports, paying compensation for damages caused during the war, and ending economic sanctions, in a new sign that any agreement to restore transit through the strategic maritime route still faces significant obstacles. "It depends on the American side to stop and amend its illegal and destructive actions," declared the spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Baghaei, referring to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei states that the Strait of Hormuz will not be secure until the U.S. ends the naval blockade pic.twitter.com/fpMMWeNDaV — expansioncom (@expansioncom) August 10, 2026 Tehran also demands the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and the cessation of new military threats. Iranian authorities also called for an end to actions against Iran and its regional allies, including groups linked to Tehran in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq. Iran's position keeps the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in suspense, one of the world's main energy corridors and a route through which approximately a fifth of the world's oil used to pass before the conflict.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is trying to satisfy the sometimes competing demands of his right-wing base and President Trump months ahead of a tough election.

Tehran has played down concerns over a new mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, while portraying the agreement as evidence of declining regional reliance on the United States.

The siege is closing in around FIFA president Gianni Infantino. After his failed project to buy the rights to the upcoming World Cups, critics intensified their attacks on the top leader. Even his continuation is not guaranteed in the face of the onslaught from the countries that make up the organization. The latest move in this fight that erupted since the end of the last global event was from three major confederations. An open letter published by UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation in which they made strong accusations. The letter, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three regional governing bodies, stated that the recent controversy surrounding the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal revolved around "the integrity of the game and the integrity of those elected to run it." The plan proposed creating a new company to manage the commercial rights and ticket sales for all FIFA competitions, including the World Cups, and selling 21% to a private investment firm. The project was canceled after widespread questioning from several confederations, led by UEFA, which threatened to boycott all FIFA competitions. Harsh accusations According to the British site BBC Sports, there were preliminary discussions among the three confederations about the possibility of creating parallel competitions...

The world’s seas and oceans recorded their hottest ever July according to a study released on Monday (10 August), as air temperature also broke records in Europe. Extra-polar sea surface temperatures reached all-time July highs this year at 20.96 °C according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change service, overtaking the previous July record from 2023 of 20.89 °C. The Atlantic coast and western Mediterranean were most affected, as well as the tropical Pacific, due to El Niño, the warm phase of a natural climate cycle that raises temperatures temporarily in the area. The new research found the average air temperature in western Europe to beat the previous record for June-July set in 2022. Western Europe bore the biggest brunt of rising temperatures, with the gravest heat levels in France, Spain, England, and Ireland, hitting 2.79 °C above average. However, lower than average temperatures across eastern Europe and Scandinavia brought down the average sea surface air temperature for July to 16.90 °C, which was still 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial 1850-1900 average. Read more In an over-heating Europe, treating air conditioning as ‘American decadence’ has become dangerous The ocean absorbs up to 90 percent of the excess heat on our planet, redistributing it to deeper layers from the upper 700 metres of the sea, where most of the heat gain is happening. Meanwhile, the hot and dry conditions are “extending the fire season northwards,” since the persistent increase of wildfires have been “[producing] more smoke and inject it higher into the atmosphere, meaning it can travel further and impact air quality not only locally,” said Laurence Rouil, director of the Copernicus atmosphere monitoring service. The incessant waves of heat have brought excess deaths to Europe this summer, with 11,900 estimated deaths in Germany alone, according to Berlin’s federal Robert Koch research institute. This article continues, but the full version is available only to EUobserver.com subscribers. Visit account.euobserver.com/membership

The President noted that Russian cities should not lose their historical character amid modernization efforts

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has blamed Russia’s war in Ukraine for a recent drone crash in the southeast of her country. A drone crashed and exploded in the village of Crocmaz on Sunday, causing a fire that damaged several properties but caused no casualties. After conducting preliminary analysis on the fragments, local police said it could be a “missile-like drone.” “I strongly condemn the latest violation of our airspace,” Sandu wrote on X, adding: “This is a direct consequence of Russia’s war, and it endangers us all.” Sandu said that the “risk to human life in our region is real and growing. It must stop.” The affected village is close to southwestern Ukraine, particularly the Odesa region, which came under a heavy missile and drone attack by Russia on the same day. Moldovan police said that to date, no other aircraft of this type have been found on Moldovan territory and research is continuing to establish “the exact type and origin of the aircraft as well as the circumstances of the incident.” Last week, local police discovered wreckage from a Russian Geran-2-type drone near the village of Văleni in southern Moldova. After the incidents, Moldova’s foreign ministry recalled its ambassador from Russia for consultations.

The China-India-Pakistan triangle has never been short on danger, but Islamabad’s new defensive alliance has added another variable to an already volatile situation. Last week, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed a pact in Mecca in which they agreed to treat an armed attack on one as an attack on all. The three governments have described it as defensive and not directed at any particular state. Analysts said its main significance for India lay less in whether it would be invoked, but in how...

The government has accused people smugglers of 'cramming' migrants onto 'unseaworthy vessels' and putting lives at risk.

Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran's "enemy" forecasts based on AI data and information received from spy networks and agents failed one by one

This Monday, President Claudia Sheinbaum leads the Morning Briefing from the National Palace, a space to inform about the most important events of her government at the national level. Follow the minute-by-minute updates of the most relevant from the morning conference. Follow the live broadcast here: Add EL UNIVERSAL as a preferred source on Google

Algeria decided to transfer the helicopters to Niger free of charge "to strengthen the fraternal and historical ties between the two countries"

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is pushing back on suggestions pundit Tucker Carlson could mount a third-party bid for the White House after President Trump leaves office. "Tucker, he's not running for president," Greene told Politico Playbook over the weekend. "He said that publicly. He said that privately." Greene also told the outlet she does…

After 18 month talks, Russian forces in Syria will give up control of two strategic bases on the Mediterranean coast, which will be used as joint Russia-Syrian training centers under a new agreement between the two countries.

President Trump will swear in Todd Blanche as the next attorney general on Monday, following weeks of controversy that ended in the Senate early Saturday morning with a 50-49 vote to confirm the appointment. On the Iran conflict, Trump said Sunday that it is now “like a chess game” and that the U. S. is only…

Hossein Mohebi, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, highlighted that modern warfare became a battlefield of technological innovation

Viktor Medvedchuk added that the former defense minister was "the public face of projects in which drones, digital battle management systems and artificial intelligence were gradually combined into a single control mechanism"

Andrey Svintsov recalled that AI agents have repeatedly escaped human control. In particular, companies Anthropic and OpenAI reported cases of their AI agents escaping beyond the space designated for testing

Inspired by the Cockroach movement, young people in India's eastern state of Jharkhand are marching on the state assembly to demand transparency and a probe into alleged irregularities in civil service recruitment exams.

The Minister of Finance, Emilio Hernández Hércules, stated that Honduras is making progress in fulfilling the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), although there are still pending commitments. According to him, the country completed seven structural targets in less than five months and has between five and six remaining to be executed before the end of the year. The official explained that the involved institutions are working in a coordinated manner to meet the objectives established in the periodic reviews of the international financial organization, a process he considered crucial to maintaining market confidence and the country's macroeconomic stability. He detailed that in less than five months, Honduras managed to complete seven structural targets outlined in the agreement. However, he noted that there are still between five and six commitments to be fulfilled before the year ends. Hernández indicated that if the pending reviews conclude favorably, Honduras could be among the group of countries that have successfully fulfilled the programs agreed with the IMF. In addition to meeting current objectives, the Finance Minister announced that the government plans to begin discussions with the international organization to negotiate a new economic program covering the period between 2027 and 2029. In the opinion of the official, the continuation of such agreements helps to strengthen the…

According to the Kalashnikov Group, the Legioner drone can operate at temperatures ranging from minus 25 to plus 35 degrees Celsius, with wind speeds of up to 15 m/s, and with a payload capacity of up to 4 kg

The race for artificial intelligence has just reached a new milestone. This Monday, August 10, Meta introduced Muse Glimmer, a new small-sized language model with open weights that promises to democratize access to the most advanced virtual assistants. Unlike the colossal systems developed by companies like OpenAI or Anthropic that require constant cloud connection, Meta Superintelligence Labs' new approach is designed to operate locally. With 30 billion parameters, the model requires only a Mac or PC equipped with a single consumer-grade graphics card to operate at full capacity. What is Muse Glimmer The main goal of Muse Glimmer is "agentic" tasks. This means that artificial intelligence has the ability to plan actions, write and execute code, organize files, and use different software tools in multiple steps to resolve a complex user request. By operating entirely on the user's device, the system guarantees a higher level of data privacy and completely eliminates the costs associated with external servers. According to Bloomberg, the advantage of running these models on home hardware responds to developers' need for greater flexibility and to avoid bottlenecks in cloud infrastructure. To achieve this, Meta implemented compression techniques to a...

Currency gives up nearly half of gains from joint action with investors citing lack of ‘unified voice’ among central banks

Taiwan holds military drills to prepare for invasion by China

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 1,300 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours

As of 1:54 p.m. Moscow time, the Brent price increased by 1.9% to $85.14 a barrel

President Trump said in a new interview he is “low-keying it” when it comes to the war with Iran as it nears its sixth month “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump told Axios on Sunday. The president also…

The Iranian government emphasized on Monday that the defense agreement ratified a few days ago by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey is evidence that the countries in the region have concluded that they cannot rely on the United States' "promises" for their security. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei celebrated that these three countries have developed an "alternative" agreement based on their own capabilities and experiences, "independent of destructive interventions by third parties," according to the ISNA news agency. In this regard, he explained that the perception of security that the United States claims to provide has contributed to the opposite effect and emphasized that any plan must be comprehensive, considering the historical and geopolitical realities of the region, as well as correctly identifying the "enemy." He also dismissed the idea that it would pose any threat to Iran's security. "We have deep religious, historical, and civilizational ties with Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, and there is no reason to fear that this agreement will be harmful to Iran," he stated. Rejection of Israel's plan for Gaza On the other hand, Baqaei also referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of the peace plan for Gaza proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, recalling…

Plus: Russian, Iranian sanctions legislation headed to U. S. House, and FTC to stop bringing ‘disparate impact’ cases

1,400 flights canceled in Shanghai. Heavy rains, landslide and flood risks increase

The Ukrainian president's first official visit to Serbia sends a political signal to Moscow and Brussels. But there is little evidence that Belgrade is preparing to abandon its long-running balancing act or impose sanctions on Russia.

The total number of illegal migrants to reach the United Kingdom across the English Channel since the beginning of the year has reached 15,049

Authorities have not said who organized a suspicious border breach in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa. Social media posts in Morocco are urging another push.

According to the report, Giorgia Meloni is also "hardening her tone" on migration

The 30-minute simulated disruption was part of the island’s effort to test and build people’s resilience in the face of a potential Chinese attack.

Europe’s most valuable startup is pushing to expand its banking products and services and is seeking regulatory approvals to enter new markets elsewhere.

Students in the eastern Indian state marched on the Jharkhand assembly Monday, with several on hunger strike, demanding the state scrap exams run by a private testing company they accuse of irregularities.

The United States is not disengaging from Asia and is instead "digging in" to maintain a favorable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, but wants its partners to shoulder more responsibility for their defense, a senior Pentagon official said on Monday. Seeking to counter concerns about Washington’s reliability, Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, reiterated the US interest in the region as he called for greater burden-sharing and "partnership, not dependency". "America is...

In mid-July 2026, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States (FDA) approved a pill that successfully reduced cholesterol levels more effectively than statins, the most common medication for treating this medical condition. This is the drug enlicitide, sold in the U.S. as Lipfendra, and produced by the pharmaceutical company Merck. According to the results of its clinical trials, this medication managed to reduce LDL levels — the "bad" cholesterol — to 50 or 60. This is thanks to its ability to inhibit the PCSK9 protein. American doctors highlighted the drug, especially after the update of the new cholesterol management guidelines published by the American Heart Association, which state that people should keep their LDL levels below 70 to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The effects of enlicitide, the drug that reduces cholesterol At the end of 2025, the pharmaceutical company Merck published the results of one of its 24-week clinical trials. A total of 2912 people participated, who took the pill daily. This demonstrated that the medication can reduce LDL cholesterol levels by up to 60%. Regarding side effects, there were no differences between the drug and the placebo. 9% of patients experienced dizziness and 7% diarrhea. The results achieved by the drug were the same as injectable medications q…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a US-led Gaza plan endorsed by Hamas, putting distance between himself and President Donald Trump as he tries to shore up his base ahead of close elections. “Netanyahu is willing to break ties with Trump over the 15-point Gaza peace deal to gain support from the far-right members of his coalition,” FRANCE 24 international affairs editor Philip Turle says.

Greenland’s government says no approval was granted after US firm Greenland Energy brought equipment ashore for exploratory drilling. We discuss the situation with Lukas Wahden, Associate Fellow with the Russia Program at George Washington University.

European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber has called for the swift establishment of migrant return hubs in Africa after tens of thousands of unauthorized migrants surged into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in late July. In an op-ed for German outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that was published Monday, conservative boss Weber wrote: “Ceuta has shown that close cooperation with neighboring countries can work. Morocco immediately took people back. No one was able to travel onward into the Schengen area” and, he added, “Europe must quickly establish return hubs in Africa.” After tens of thousands forced their way into Ceuta — which is situated in North Africa — several international leaders pointed the finger at Spain’s left-wing government and its migration policy. Madrid had previously granted legal status to half a million unauthorized migrants. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government are among the harshest critics, with Rome introducing border controls for travelers from Spain on Friday and sparking retaliation from Madrid. Weber echoed proposals made last week by EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, arguing that countries outside the bloc could be offered closer trade ties, economic collaboration and legal migration opportunities in exchange for accepting the installation of return hubs. “Migrants who have no right to remain must leave Europe — no ifs, ands or buts!” he wrote, adding that returns must no longer depend on the political will of individual member countries. Weber also rejected internal border controls within Europe as a long-term solution. “They may be necessary in exceptional situations. But they do not address the root cause of the problem … There can therefore be only one answer: strong, joint European protection of the external border.” In early June, the European Parliament and European Council announced new EU rules on migrant returns, including removals to countries outside the bloc in return hubs. Weber also argued that the Ceuta crisis, which left around 100 dead, was the result of unilateral national action and said that the Spanish government’s “political signals” have had “an immediate impact on migration routes.”

A British detective told the BBC how a six-year investigation provided answers to a daughter about her father's disappearance.

Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei reassured that there is no cause for concern regarding Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, asserting that the agreement is not aimed at Iran

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin emphasized that Russia’s principles and approaches "on which a long-term and fair settlement should be based have not changed"

The heat and continuing dry conditions are being supercharged by the escalating climate crisis The National Drought Group (NDG) is expected to meet this afternoon and declare that more parts of England are officially in drought, as parts of the UK head into a potential fifth heatwave of the year this week. All of Wales and more than half of England are already in drought after an unprecedented period of dry, hot weather over the summer. Continue reading...

A red alert was issued by the China Meteorological Administration, the second time this year after Typhoon Noul in late July.

According to the source, "nationalists from the reconnaissance battalion of Ukraine’s 425th Separate Assault Regiment have been tasked with evacuating the mercenaries"

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a Nato-like defence agreement in Mecca as the United States’ war on Iran prompts countries in the region to rethink security arrangements. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement stipulates that “any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” the three countries said in a joint statement. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz...

Rustam Minnikhanov expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased

Mikhail Galuzin added that Russia is not shutting the door on the negotiation process

JINCHEON, South Korea, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- He has been in competitive shooting f...

Mikhail Galuzin still highlighted the existence of informal contacts between representatives of public groups

No injuries, one person in shock. The NATO headquarters is 2 km from the explosion.

Acer Gadget, a subsidiary of Acer Group, reported strong second-quarter results for 2026 and said it expects growth to continue in the second half of 2026 as smart-life peripherals gained traction. The Taiwan-based maker said smart safes and smart door locks were supporting performance even as the PC market faces headwinds.

The Cockroach Janta Party, which spearheaded India’s biggest student protests in recent years, accused authorities of violating an agreement by pursuing participants and reiterated it will remain a pressure group rather than enter electoral politics.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that Moscow is confident that a diplomatic settlement of the situation around Ukraine is possible

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported record monthly revenue of NT$467.58 billion (approx. US$14.5 billion) for July 2026, up 5.6% from June and 44.7% from a year earlier, extending strong growth fueled by artificial intelligence and high-performance computing demand.

The cameras would not turn off even after the drones were shut, were privy to high-security meetings, and were transmitting information to a Chinese IP address.

Moscow: '12 people killed by Ukrainian drones in Tatarstan'

Met Office considers amber or red warning as forecasters say Thursday is likely to be hottest day of the week Temperatures could reach 36C (97F) or higher this week, forecaster have said, with possible disruption to railway lines and power networks as the Met Office considers issuing rare amber or red extreme heat warnings. Parts of the UK are forecast to experience their fifth heatwave of the summer as the country continues to bake in an unprecedented period of dry, hot weather. Continue reading...

Thin chip stacking Researchers from Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH), Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), and Texas A&M University developed a process that simultaneously transfers chips and forms interconnects, enabling them to reliably stack ten chips, each about 14μm thick. The process combines transfer printing for precision placement and in-situ bonding to form metallic bonds during chip transfer in low-temperature and low-pressure conditions.  Interlayer alignment errors remained extremely small even after repeated stacking, and structural warpage was significantly suppressed. “We achieved an integration density approximately four times higher than existing HBM technologies,” said Seok Kim, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at POSTECH, in a statement. “We expect this technology to become a key enabling technology for future high-performance AI semiconductors and next-generation memory systems.” [1] Analog CAM with MoS2 Researchers from the University of Hong Kong, Fudan University, and National University of Singapore designed an analog content-addressable memory (CAM) utilizing 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) flash memories with antimony as the contact electrode. The CAM requires only two transistors per cell, enabling it to directly process continuous analog signals. The fabricated 8 × 16 CAM array with 256 MoS2 flash memory devices demonstrated a high read-out current of over 60 μA μm−1 and an ON/OFF ratio exceeding 109, with energy consumption of under 0.1 femtojoules per search per cell and a latency of 36 picoseconds. It was able to calculate the analog Hamming distance for machine learning classification approximately 108 times faster than a standard CPU. “From an application perspective, search operations are incredibly valuable,” explained Professor Li. “The ‘attention mechanism’ that serves as the foundation for Large Language Models (LLMs) is essentially a search process—retrieving information from a compressed knowledge base. We are exploring how to use this high-performance hardware to implement search mechanisms for large AI models,” said Can Li, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering at HKU, in a press release. “Tasks like smartphone facial recognition could be completed instantly on the device without uploading private data to the cloud. While large-scale commercialization still requires overcoming engineering challenges in packaging, this research has successfully proven the principle, providing a clear blueprint for next-generation, high-performance AI hardware.” [2] Sensor-level processing and memory Researchers from Oregon State University built an optoelectronic device that integrates light sensing, memory, and signal processing in a single phototransistor. The device is constructed from an oxide semiconductor, which serves as the transistor channel that carries electrical current, while an organic photosensitive material on top absorbs light and generates electrical charges. When charges become trapped within the photosensitive layer, they continue to influence the current flowing through the oxide semiconductor even after the light is removed, allowing the device to retain a memory of past optical signals. “Our optoelectronic device introduces a new hardware capability that may enable more efficient processing of information directly at the sensor level,” said Larry Cheng, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at OSU, in a press release. “Unlike conventional memory that is designed to preserve information, our device can electronically control how memories strengthen or decay.” The position of the trapped charges relative to the transistor channel can be changed by applying an electrical gate voltage. Moving the charges closer to the transistor channel strengthens their electrical influence and prolongs the memory effect, while moving them farther away weakens it and speeds the loss of stored charges, causing the memory to fade. “This light-sensitive memory with a programmable memory lifetime creates a tunable time window for processing visual and other sensor signals directly where they are detected, a capability that could enable more efficient vision systems and other sensor-based AI technologies,” Cheng added. [3] References [1] U. Kim, J. Kim, S. Jeong, et al. Transfer printing and in-situ bonding for ultra-high-density integration. Results in Engineering. Volume 3, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2026.111194 [2] G. Gao, B. Wen, N. Yang, et al. Sb-contacted MoS2 flash memory for analogue in-memory searches. Nat. Nanotechnol. 21, 198–206 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02089-7 [3] A. Ullah, R. Lamug, T. Sarker, et al. Neuromodulator-Inspired Gate-Tunable Tetracene–Metal Oxide Phototransistor for Adaptive Optoelectronic Memory and Neuromorphic Computing. Advanced Functional Materials 36, no. 56 (2026): e75942. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.75942 The post Research Bits: Aug. 10 appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

Oil started the week with gains due to the lack of certainty about the future of the Strait of Hormuz, whose navigation remains restricted amid the conflict between Iran and the United States. In Monday's Asian session, Brent crude rose 0.6% to $84.04 per barrel, while WTI (West Texas Intermediate) advanced 0.5% to $78.56. The movement in prices coincided with Tehran's confirmation that talks with Oman to define new conditions and navigation routes in the strait are in their final stage. However, Iran maintains that the reopening of the maritime route also depends on other demands directed at the United States. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated that negotiations with Oman regarding transit and the management of the maritime passage "are approaching their final stage." The decision does not specify a date for the reopening of Hormuz, a strategic route for the international transportation of oil and gas. Tehran demands an end to hostilities against its territory and allies, the lifting of economic sanctions, the release of frozen assets, and compensation for damages caused during the war. These conditions are part of Iran's position to move toward reopening the strait. Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Sunday that the passage will remain blocked…

President Donald Trump signaled he’s prepared to let economic pressure on Iran build rather than launch fresh military strikes, saying the US was only “semi-negotiating” with Tehran on the Strait of Hormuz.

Even as it weakens, Typhoon Dolphin is disrupting life in China. Close to 1,500 flights have been canceled in Shanghai while parts of Beijing are under flood alert.

The storm, which made landfall on Sunday evening, is the strongest to hit China this year and also caused flooding in parts of the Philippines.

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will begin a major ...

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- The fear gauge of South Korea's stock market has drop...

Chinese researchers have found a safe way to shrink advanced tumours from an aggressive form of liver cancer, an advance that could see microbubbles used to enhance current treatments. The tiny gas-filled bubbles, typically a few micrometres in diameter, were originally designed as contrast agents in ultrasound imaging, but scientists have recently been exploring their therapeutic potential. According to a paper published by the peer-reviewed Scientific Reports on July 19, the study compared...

JINCHEON, South Korea, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- Riding a wave of recent success, the ...

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- Christopher Nolan's epic "The Odyssey" debuted atop t...

Google’s use of search crawler for AI is drawing scrutiny as automated traffic surpasses human activity and publishers seek greater control over their content.

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- Director Hur Jin-ho, who helmed "The Assassin(s)," sa...

Progressive left candidates' recent victories in primaries have stoked fears of divisions ahead of the upcoming November mid-terms among the Democratic Party.

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will begin a major ...

Mohammad Akhtar, 50, from Peterborough killed during clashes between authorities and protesters A British national was shot dead in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during clashes between security forces and protesters, the Guardian can reveal. Another Briton has been held in a regional prison for more than two months despite his family’s efforts to secure his release through the Foreign Office. Continue reading...

Big companies describe being under constant threat but only half have a plan in place to respond to an attack Nearly a third of British manufacturers have been hit by a cyber-attack on them or a company in their supply chain, according to a survey that highlighted the growing hacking risk to companies. The findings come almost a year after Britain’s largest automotive employer, JLR, was hit by an attack that forced it to halt production for weeks. Continue reading...

Syria said on Sunday that it reached a deal with Moscow on the fate of Russia's two bases in the country, which it once used to provide military support to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war.

The war has intensified Iran’s economic crisis, squeezing household budgets, hurting businesses and raising fears that millions of middle-income families are slipping closer to poverty.

The haze is back in Malaysia – with at least two states registering unhealthy air readings on Monday as raging forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia send clouds of smoke northwards. Transboundary haze is a long-standing problem in Southeast Asia, particularly affecting Malaysia and Singapore due to their proximity to Indonesia, where vast tracts of forests and agricultural land become fire hotspots during the dry season. A wildfire scorched 550 hectares (1,360 acres) of land in the Bromo...

Record summer temperatures are exposing the strain on overcrowded prisons across France, Italy and Belgium, where ageing buildings and poor ventilation are making extreme heat increasingly difficult to manage.

Shanghai airports cancelled nearly 40 per cent of all flights on Monday as heavy rain continued after Typhoon Dolphin made landfall in eastern China on Sunday evening and continued to move north. According to a notice from the Shanghai government on Monday morning, there were 642 cancellations at Pudong airport and 301 at Hongqiao. Passengers were urged to check their airlines for updates. Some trains began to recover on Monday morning, including services to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang...

Taiwan's army simulated on Monday the rejection of an air attack by the Chinese regime on the Penghu Islands, a strategically important enclave in the Taiwan Strait, as part of the Han Kuang military exercise, while the government prepares for the same day a test that will limit mobile internet speed for the first time during the annual civil defense drills. The Han Kuang exercise lasts ten days and began last week with different scenarios in the event of a military action by China against Taiwan. Beijing considers the island, democratically governed, part of its territory and maintains the possibility of resorting to force to achieve control. In the hours before dawn, troops from the First Theater Command opened fire on a Penghu beach with M60A3 tanks, artillery pieces, and anti-aircraft guns. The deployed forces formed a "multi-layer" defense against a simulated enemy attempting a quick landing on the coast. Penghu is located in the Taiwan Strait and is closer to the main island than to China. Taiwanese strategists believe that the islands could be a primary target for Beijing in a potential conflict, with the possibility that China might try to use them as a base for missile and drone attacks against Taiwan. Penghu reservists also participated in the maneuvers as part…

British Defense Minister Wes Streeting called on allies to increase the supply of air defense missiles to Ukraine ahead of winter.

Typhoon Dolphin weakens but disrupts travel in east China