China draws Hong Kong closer as development erases mainland border

Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave HONG KONG — The Sham Chun River and adjoining wetlands, which separate Hong Kong from the Chinese city of Shenzhen, have throughout modern history served as a physical marker of the differences between the two territories and their distinct systems. Millions swam across the river from Communist-ruled … Read more

Google’s Lumiere brings AI video closer to real than unreal

Google’s new video generation AI model Lumiere uses a new diffusion model called Space-Time-U-Net, or STUNet, that figures out where things are in a video (space) and how they simultaneously move and change (time). Ars Technica reports this method lets Lumiere create the video in one process instead of putting smaller still frames together.  Lumiere … Read more

Cryptographers Are Getting Closer to Enabling Fully Private Internet Searches

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. We all know to be careful about the details we share online, but the information we seek can also be revealing. Search for driving directions, and our location becomes far easier to guess. Check for a password in a trove of compromised data, and we … Read more

With every strike and counterstrike, Israel, the US and Iran’s allies inch closer to all-out war

In the last week alone, Israel has killed a senior Hamas militant in an airstrike in Beirut, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into Israel, the U.S. has killed a militia commander in Baghdad and Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have traded fire with the American Navy. Each strike and counterstrike increases the risk of the … Read more

TEPCO’s operational ban is lifted, putting it one step closer to restarting reactors in Niigata

TOKYO — Japanese nuclear safety regulators lifted an operational ban Wednesday imposed on Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator behind the Fukushima plant that ended in disaster, allowing the company to resume preparations for restarting a separate plant after more than 10 years. At its weekly meeting, the Nuclear Regulation Authority formally lifted the … Read more

Sweden a step closer to NATO membership after Turkey committee gives approval

ANKARA, Turkey — The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee gave its consent to Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Tuesday, drawing the previously non-aligned Nordic country closer to membership in the Western military alliance. Sweden’s accession protocol will now need to be approved in the general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process … Read more

Jupiter 3 Satellite Pushes SpaceX Rival Closer to Starlink Internet Speeds

Following the launch of its next-generation satellite, Hughes Network Systems is now starting to offer faster internet speeds to compete with its main industry rival SpaceX. Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their View The Maryland-based company has launched new high-speed satellite internet plans for its customers in the Americas, with download … Read more

UK inches closer to technical recession as growth is revised down

People shopping on Oxford Street in London. Picture date: Thursday December 29, 2022. (Photo by James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images) James Manning – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images LONDON — The U.K. is edging closer to recession after revised figures showed the economy shrank in the previous quarter. U.K. gross domestic … Read more

King Charles is closer to Camilla’s grandkids than Prince Harry’s children

King Charles seems to have a deep connection with grandkids of his wife Queen Camilla King Charles is closer to Camilla’s grandkids than Prince Harry’s children  King Charles shares a stronger bond with Queen Camilla’s grandchildren than with Prince Harry’s children, according to an expert’s analysis. Charles is often seen displaying playful body language with … Read more