All posts tagged: lines

EU launches Chips JU pilot lines to boost semiconductor innovation

EU launches Chips JU pilot lines to boost semiconductor innovation

Published by skeptic

The European Union has officially launched the highly anticipated Chips JU pilot lines, a pivotal €3.7bn initiative aimed at strengthening Europe’s semiconductor innovation and production capabilities. This landmark effort, part of the broader Chips for Europe Initiative, is set to transform the region into a global leader in semiconductor research and manufacturing. A €3.7bn investment in semiconductor innovation The Chips JU pilot lines represent a massive financial commitment from the European Union and its Participating States. This funding will drive capacity building, innovation, and competitiveness in semiconductor technologies, which are vital to economic security and technological sovereignty. The official launch was marked by a signature ceremony hosted by the European Commission, attended by high-profile stakeholders, including Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen. Representatives of the five pilot lines also participated, underscoring their commitment to advancing Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem. The five pioneering pilot lines The Chips JU initiative comprises five cutting-edge pilot lines, each targeting a specific aspect of semiconductor innovation: FAMES: Focused on FD-SOI technology for non-volatile memories, RF, and 3D integration. APECS: Advancing …

Police arrest 1,660 criminals and close 261 County Lines in week-long | UK | News

Police arrest 1,660 criminals and close 261 County Lines in week-long | UK | News

Published by Sam

Cracking down on drug dealers (Image: Getty) Police have arrested 1,660 criminals and closed 261 County Lines used by ruthless gangs to peddle misery across the nation in a week-long crackdown. The mammoth multi-force operation also saw 557 weapons seized, removed four banned XL bully dogs from owners, as well as recovering £1.98 million in cash. County Lines is the term used to describe drug dealing where mobile phones are used to supply drugs, typically from large cities to towns into rural areas. They are run by ‘Line Holders’ who use local runners, often exploited vulnerable children, to deliver the drugs. The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for County Lines, Commander Paul Brogden, said disrupting disrupt and dismantling County Lines networks across England and Wales was one of the highest priorities in tackling crime. He said: “The latest intensification week figures shows policing continuing to make inroads into these criminal networks. During the latest intensification week, we closed 261 County Lines and targeted the drug dealers who destroy lives and communities, resulting in over 1,660 …

Artificial Intelligence & Drones Uncover 303 New Nazca Lines in Peru

Artificial Intelligence & Drones Uncover 303 New Nazca Lines in Peru

Published by José

If you vis­it one tourist site in Peru, it will almost cer­tain­ly be the ruined Incan city of Machu Pic­chu. If you vis­it anoth­er, it’ll prob­a­bly be the Naz­ca Desert, home to many large-scale geo­glyphs made by pre-Inca peo­ples between 500 BC and 500 AD. Many of these “Naz­ca lines” are lit­er­al­ly that, run­ning across the desert floor in an abstract fash­ion, but oth­ers are fig­u­ra­tive, depict­ing human beings, flo­ra, fau­na, and var­i­ous less eas­i­ly cat­e­go­riz­able chimeras. The preser­v­a­tive effects of the cli­mate kept many of these designs iden­ti­fi­able by the time mod­erns dis­cov­ered them in 1927, and thanks to arti­fi­cial-intel­li­gence tech­nol­o­gy, researchers are find­ing new ones still today. “A team from the Japan­ese Uni­ver­si­ty of Yamagata’s Naz­ca Insti­tute, in col­lab­o­ra­tion with IBM Research, dis­cov­ered 303 pre­vi­ous­ly unknown geo­glyphs of humans and ani­mals, all small­er in size than the vast geo­met­ric pat­terns that date from AD 200–700 and stretch across more than 400 sq km of the Naz­ca plateau,” writes the Guardian’s Dan Col­lyns. “The use of AI com­bined with low-fly­ing drones rev­o­lu­tion­ized the speed …

The Guardian view on the Rafah offensive: crossing US red lines should have consequences | Editorial

The Guardian view on the Rafah offensive: crossing US red lines should have consequences | Editorial

Published by skeptic

The Israeli strike that killed at least 45 displaced Palestinians, many of them women and children, at a tent camp in Rafah this weekend clearly crossed Joe Biden’s “red line” over the need to protect civilians in the Gaza conflict. France’s Emmanuel Macron did not doubt what should happen next. “These operations must stop,” he posted on X. “There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.” Those in Israel who believe that they still need to make an appearance of deference towards US sentiments pleaded that the whole episode was a “mishap” rather than a deliberate political insult. Mr Biden is inclined to give Israel’s forces the benefit of the doubt, and give himself wriggle room to say his line hadn’t been crossed. Despite the international outcry over Sunday’s deadly blast, Israel stepped up its military offensive on Tuesday, sending tanks into Rafah and leaving a score more civilians dead when it apparently struck a tented area. The US president defends Israel’s right to …

Frank Stella, artist renowned for blurring lines between painting and sculpture, dies at 87

Frank Stella, artist renowned for blurring lines between painting and sculpture, dies at 87

Published by Sam

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Frank Stella, a painter, sculptor and printmaker whose constantly evolving works are hailed as landmarks of the minimalist and post-painterly abstraction art movements, died Saturday at his home in Manhattan. He was 87. Gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch, who spoke with Stella’s family, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. Stella’s wife, Harriet McGurk, told the New York Times that he died of lymphoma. Born 12 May 1936, in Malden, Massachusetts, Stella studied at Princeton University before moving to New York City in the late 1950s. At that time many prominent American artists had embraced abstract expressionism, but Stella began exploring minimalism. By age 23 he had created a series of flat, black paintings with gridlike bands and stripes using house paint and exposed canvas that drew widespread critical acclaim. Over the next decade, Stella’s works retained his rigorous structure but began incorporating curved lines and bright colors, such …

Ukraine Struggles To Build New Defensive Lines As Its Forces Retreat

Ukraine Struggles To Build New Defensive Lines As Its Forces Retreat

Published by skeptic

Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute, Russian forces are advancing in several places across the 600-mile frontline in Ukraine, straining Kiev’s ability to build rear fortifications. Some in the Ukrainian military fault the country’s leadership for not building stronger second and third-line defenses last year while Russian troops were stalled.  According to a dozen Ukrainian soldiers, government officials, and construction company directors who spoke with the Associated Press, Kiev is struggling to set up new defensive lines as its forces retreat. The officials cited several issues including decision-making last year, bureaucracy in doling out military contracts, and ammunition shortages.  A deputy infantry commander fighting near Avdiivka explained that the defensive line needed to be built last year during Ukraine’s offensive. “There was an absence of responsibility. … People didn’t understand that fortifications can save your life if you do it in advance,” he stated. “Many people thought we … wouldn’t need to prepare such lines. They didn’t expect a new Russian offensive.” Last summer, at Washington’s insistence, Kiev launched a counteroffensive that failed to …

Lessons From the Front Lines of Canada’s Fentanyl Crisis

Lessons From the Front Lines of Canada’s Fentanyl Crisis

Published by Sam

A machine used for chemical analysis, with a slight resemblance to a printer, thrummed repeatedly as technicians at a drug testing site in Victoria, British Columbia, prepared to open its doors to local drug users. Most of the samples handed to Substance Drug Checking, a lab led by researchers at the University of Victoria, were found to have contained fentanyl, the synthetic opioid driving fatal overdoses in the province to record levels. Alarm about the spread of fentanyl is entrenched in how Canada and the United States talk about the opioid crisis. But in Mexico, the government has repeatedly denied that fentanyl abuse is spilling over its border and has asserted that the problem is exclusive to its northern neighbors. Weak detection efforts, in public health settings or during drug death investigations, have meant that the extent of fentanyl’s reach in Mexico is largely an open question. “We don’t know, because we’re not looking for it,” said Xóchitl Cárdenas, a forensic services chemist at the attorney general’s office in Sonora State, along Mexico’s northern border, …