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The World
Russian Strike on Ukrainian City Kills 17: At least 17 people were killed and over 30 injured in a Russian aerial attack on a shopping district in the eastern city of Kostyantynivka, the worst such attack in recent weeks and a fresh sign that Russia is singling out towns near the front lines used by both civilians and Ukrainian soldiers. The attack came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday to signal the U.S.’s continuing support for the Ukrainian war effort. Earlier that day, Ukraine’s air defenses destroyed 23 targets, eight of which were headed for the capital, Kyiv. It also comes as Ukraine steps up efforts to both seize more territory from Russian forces and launch further drone strikes at targets in Moscow and other Russian cities. Security footage posted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed people running for cover after the blasts began. “The audacity of evil. The brazenness of wickedness. Utter inhumanity,” Zelensky wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app. (Wall Street Journal)
The US scrapped a test of what’s meant to be the Army’s first hypersonic missile in its arsenal, a setback as the US looks to catch up with China for a crucial weapon of the future. “The department planned to conduct a flight test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida to inform our hypersonic technology development but as a result of pre-flight checks the test did not occur,” the Defense Department said in a statement to Bloomberg News, referring to the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. (Bloomberg)
The White House scrapped controversial oil leases in an Alaskan wildlife reserve that were awarded in the final days of the Trump administration as part of a broad effort to clamp down on Arctic drilling. The leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were issued on January 6 2021, days ahead of Trump’s departure from office, but were suspended six months later by the Biden administration’s interior department. Their cancellation on the basis of “multiple legal deficiencies” comes as President Joe Biden’s White House looks to burnish its environmental credentials in the face of criticism over support for fossil fuel projects. (Financial Times)
Japan launched a lunar lander, aiming to become the fifth nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon's surface early next year following India's success in a similar mission last week. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) was sent to space on an H-IIA rocket, the first launch since a high-profile launch failure of the next-generation H3 rocket in March. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Covid hospitalizations on the rise, Humana says: More older adults have been hospitalized for Covid-19 over the past several weeks, according to internal data reviewed by health insurance giant Humana. Humana, which mostly provides health insurance to those 65 and older and who are therefore more vulnerable to the worst effects of Covid, expected more Covid cases and hospitalizations this year. But it didn’t expect the uptick to come during the waning summer months. (STAT News)
Dependence on Tech Caused ‘Staggering’ Education Inequality, U.N. Agency Says: A report from UNESCO, the United Nations’ educational and cultural organization, says that overreliance on remote learning technology during the pandemic led to “staggering” education inequality around the world. It was, according to a 655-page report that UNESCO released on Wednesday, a worldwide “ed-tech tragedy.” The UNESCO researchers argued in the report that “unprecedented” dependence on technology — intended to ensure that children could continue their schooling — worsened disparities and learning loss for hundreds of millions of students around the world, including in Kenya, Brazil, Britain and the United States. The promotion of remote online learning as the primary solution for pandemic schooling also hindered public discussion of more equitable, lower-tech alternatives, such as regularly providing schoolwork packets for every student, delivering school lessons by radio or television — and reopening schools sooner for in-person classes, the researchers said. (New York Times)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios he has urged former President Trump to support the mega-deal President Biden is negotiating with Saudi Arabia, which could pave the way for a historic peace agreement between the kingdom and Israel. The comprehensive deal could include a U.S.-Saudi defense treaty that would require support from two-thirds of the Senate, where many Democrats hold critical views of both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Axios)
McConnell publicly vows to ‘finish’ term after private update to Senate GOP: The Republican leader reinforced what’s become increasingly obvious since his second on-camera public freeze: He’s not going anywhere, anytime soon. (Politico)
Economy
Real-Estate Doom Loop Threatens America’s Banks: With the commercial real-estate market now in meltdown, those trillions of dollars in loans and investments are a looming threat for the banking industry—and potentially the broader economy. Banks’ exposure is even bigger than commonly reported. The banks are in danger of setting off a doom-loop scenario where losses on the loans trigger banks to cut lending, which leads to further drops in property prices and yet more losses. (Wall Street Journal)
US, Vietnam seek comprehensive strategic partnership amid China’s clout, polarised world: While the US and Vietnam want closer cooperation, there are limits to their ties amid several key geopolitical challenges, analysts say. By designating the US as its ‘comprehensive strategic partner’, as expected, Vietnam is signaling to the world it has an independent foreign policy. (South China Morning Post)
Up, Then Out: Why People Quit After Getting a Promotion. A large number of employees leave soon after their first promotion, according to new data from payroll-services provider ADP. Analyzing the job histories of more than 1.2 million U.S. workers between 2019 and 2022, the ADP Research Institute found that 29% of people quit their jobs within a month after their first promotion. It estimates that the departure rate for similar workers who weren’t promoted was 18%. The ADP analysis examines the pandemic era of work, a period marked by a red-hot job market and a wave of workers’ quitting and finding new jobs. The findings suggest that promotions, rather than enticing workers to stay, sometimes signal a flight risk. They show how challenging it has been for employers to retain workers, given one of the main tools they have to inspire loyalty doesn’t appear to always be so effective. (Wall Street Journal)
Governments join race for commercial fusion power: From the US to the UK and Japan, governments are launching initiatives to help public and private sector scientists work in tandem — in some cases for the first time — on the tantalizing goal of fusing atoms to produce safe, zero-emissions power. Countries have taken different approaches to supporting the nascent sector but there is growing hope that public-private collaboration can overcome the immense technical and funding barriers to turning recent scientific achievements into a global clean energy source. “There’s been a paradigm shift,” said Richard Pearson, a co-founder of Japan’s Kyoto Fusioneering, set up in 2019. (Financial Times)
Technology
Apple Tests Limits for Most Expensive iPhones: Apple is testing the limits of how much people will pay for premium iPhones as it tries to drive revenue despite slowing global demand for smartphones. The tech company is expected by analysts to raise prices by as much as $100 for some updated models of its flagship device when it unveils the iPhone 15 at an annual promotional event set for Tuesday. Those new iPhone Pro models are expected to include titanium casing, improved processors and photography features. (Wall Street Journal)
Arm’s IPO Pitch to Wall Street: Don’t Worry, Growth Is Coming. Behind the scenes of its much-anticipated initial public offering, SoftBank-owned chip designer Arm has pushed a clear message to skeptical analysts and investors: Growth is coming soon. The company told investment banking analysts last month in Cambridge, England, that its recently flat revenue growth would re-accelerate over the next few years after it hiked royalty fees by about 40% on smartphone companies using a new version of its chip technology. The company is also counting on a recovery in the smartphone sales market from manufacturers that purchase Arm’s chip technology. (The Information)
Apple and Arm sign deal for chip technology that goes beyond 2040: Apple has struck a deal with Arm through 2040 and “beyond,” Arm said in a SEC filing. Arm is set to debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the coming weeks at a total valuation that could be as high as $52 billion, which would be the biggest technology IPO this year. Apple, Google, Nvidia, Samsung, AMD, Intel, Cadence, Synopsis, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company have expressed interest in buying some Arm shares as part of the company’s initial public offering. (CNBC)
TSMC sees AI chip output constraints lasting 1.5 years: Advanced chip packaging will be 'paradigm shift' for semiconductor industry. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Bad news: your car is a spy. If your vehicle was made in the last few years, you’re probably driving around in a data-harvesting machine that may collect personal information as sensitive as your race, weight, and sexual activity. Volkswagen’s cars reportedly know if you’re fastening your seatbelt and how hard you hit the brakes. That’s according to new findings from Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included project. The nonprofit found that every major car brand fails to adhere to the most basic privacy and security standards in new internet-connected models, and all 25 of the brands Mozilla examined flunked the organization’s test. Mozilla found brands including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, and Subaru collect data about drivers including race, facial expressions, weight, health information, and where you drive. Some of the cars tested collected data you wouldn’t expect your car to know about, including details about sexual activity, race, and immigration status, according to Mozilla. (Gizmodo)
Smart Links
Behind Disney’s Spectrum blackout: A ‘proxy battle’ for the future of television. (Los Angeles Times)
A Historic First for Mexico as Two Women Vie for the Presidency. (New York Times)
Japanese rocket lifts off in latest attempt to land on the Moon. (Financial Times)
Apple Boosts Spending to Develop Conversational AI. (The Information)
Tencent releases AI model for businesses as competition in China heats up. (CNBC)
WeWork tells landlords it will renegotiate most office leases. (Financial Times)
China’s Credit Wreck Exposes Governance Failings to the World. (Bloomberg)