Sonam Wangchuk: Why India still turns to the hunger strike

Activist Anna Hazare’s 13-day fast in 2011 gave fresh momentum to an anti-corruption campaign that briefly captured the national imagination. Irom Sharmila, protesting against the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in India’s north-east, refused food for 16 years, surviving only because authorities force-fed her through a nasal tube. Medha Patkar, a prominent social activist,…

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Microsoft CEO says Anthropic Fable request policy ‘doesn’t make sense’

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told employees Wednesday that Anthropic’s limits on requests that users submit to the startup’s high-end Fable artificial intelligence model don’t make sense. The comments come as executives express interest in cost-efficient models that don’t come from the most well funded labs can handle software development and other tasks inside companies. On…

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Bangkok bar fire: Leader of Thai band Thotsakan mourns girlfriend killed in inferno

The deadly inferno has raised familiar questions about fire safety standards across Thailand, especially at entertainment venues. Thai authorities say they are investigating if negligence led to the fire, as survivors reported doors being locked and a lack of signage demarcating emergency exits. But some question if relevant government agencies should also be held accountable…

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Musk’s Memphis AI empire is the epicenter of the data center backlash

Two years after Elon Musk made Greater Memphis the center of his artificial intelligence ambitions, building data centers and energy infrastructure at breakneck speed, residents are grappling with unwanted effects, including noise and emissions from the natural gas-burning turbines.  Now, public opposition to the SpaceXAI sites, known as Colossus and Colossus II, is providing a…

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