Israel marks October 7 anniversary as talks held to end Gaza war

Israel marks the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack on Tuesday, as Hamas and Israeli negotiators hold indirect talks to end the two-year war in Gaza under a US proposed peace plan.Two years ago to the day, at the close of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas-led militants launched a surprise assault on Israel, making it the deadliest day in the country’s history.Palestinian fighters breached the Gaza-Israel border, storming southern Israeli communities and a desert music festival with gunfire, rockets and grenades.The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Militants also abducted 251 hostages into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.Memorial events were scheduled in Israel on Tuesday to mark the anniversary.Dozens of relatives and friends of those killed at the Nova music festival lit candles and held a minute’s silence at the site of the attack in southern Israel, where Palestinian militants killed more than 370 people and seized dozens of hostages.Many Israelis went to the Nova festival site on Monday.”It was a very difficult and enormous incident that happened here,” Elad Gancz, a teacher, told AFP as he mourned the dead.”But we want to live — and despite everything, continue with our lives, remembering those who were here and, unfortunately, are no longer with us.”Another ceremony was due in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where weekly rallies have kept up calls for the captives’ release.A state-organised commemoration is planned for October 16.Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza by air, land and sea continues unabated, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and vast destruction.The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 67,160 people have been killed, figures the United Nations considers credible.Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that over half of the dead are women and children.Entire neighbourhoods have been flattened, with homes, hospitals, schools and water networks in ruins.Hundreds of thousands of homeless Gazans now shelter in overcrowded camps and open areas with little access to food, water or sanitation.”We have lost everything in this war, our homes, family members, friends, neighbours,” said Hanan Mohammed, 36, who is displaced from her home in Jabalia.”I can’t wait for a ceasefire to be announced and for this endless bloodshed and death to stop… there is nothing left but destruction.”After two years of conflict, 72 percent of the Israeli public said they were dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the war, according to a recent survey by the Institute for National Security Studies.- Herculean task -Israel has expanded its military reach over the course of the war, striking targets in five regional capitals, including Iran, and killing several senior Hamas figures and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.Israel and Hamas now face mounting international pressure to end the war, with a UN probe last month accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and rights groups accusing Hamas of war crimes in the October 7 attack. Both sides reject the allegations.Last week, US President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point plan calling for an immediate ceasefire once Hamas releases all hostages, the group’s disarmament, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.Indirect talks began Monday in Egypt’s resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, with mediators shuttling between delegations under tight security.Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian state intelligence, said the discussions were focussed on “preparing ground conditions” for a hostage-prisoner exchange under Trump’s plan.A Palestinian source close to Hamas negotiators said the talks, which opened on the eve of the October 7 anniversary, may last for several days.Trump has urged negotiators to “move fast” to end the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes continued on Monday.The US president told Newsmax TV that “I think we’re very, very close to having a deal… I think there’s a lot of goodwill being shown now. It’s pretty amazing actually”.Although both sides have welcomed Trump’s proposal, reaching an agreement on its details is expected to be a Herculean task.The war has previously seen two ceasefires that enabled the release of dozens of hostages.However, Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir has warned that if these negotiations fail, the military will “return to fighting” in Gaza.

A close-up of a stack of newspapers resting on a desk, symbolizing information and media.

Une nouvelle espèce de grenouille venimeuse découverte en Amazonie péruvienne

Minuscule, colorée et venimeuse: une nouvelle espèce de grenouille a été découverte par une équipe de scientifiques en Amazonie péruvienne, a annoncé lundi le Service national des aires naturelles protégées par l’État (Sernanp). Dénommé Ranitomeya hwata, cet amphibien ne mesure que “15 mm de long”, a déclaré l’organisme dans un communiqué, sans préciser la date de la découverte. C’est une des “plus petites espèces du genre Ranitomeya”, décrit le Sernanp. Ce groupe se caractérise par des couleurs vives et un comportement reproductif unique. Les mâles recrutent “plusieurs femelles par site de reproduction”, a expliqué l’organisme. Ces grenouilles vivent exclusivement dans les forêts de bambous Guadua. Elles utilisent les cavités creuses des tiges, où l’eau de pluie est stockée, pour se reproduire. La nouvelle espèce a été observée dans le parc national Alto Purús, situé entre les régions d’Ucayalí et de Madre de Dios, à la frontière avec le Brésil. “Cette découverte souligne la valeur des zones naturelles protégées comme refuges pour la biodiversité et des espèces uniques”, a indiqué le Sernanp. 

Open AI’s Fidji Simo says AI investment frenzy ‘new normal,’ not bubble

The dizzying investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure do not constitute a bubble but rather represent today’s “new normal” to meet skyrocketing user demand, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s de facto number two, said on Monday.The French-born executive made her comments in an interview with AFP, her first since taking up her role as Chief Operating Officer of OpenAI’s applications, including its flagship model ChatGPT.In the past few weeks, her company, under the leadership of CEO Sam Altman, has made a series of huge investments in data centers and AI chips, despite no real signs that the fast-emerging AI business is close to breaking even.The answers were lightly edited for length and clarity.- Is the AI investment frenzy a bubble right now? -What I am seeing here is a massive investment in compute (or computing power), with us meeting that need for computing power so incredibly badly for a lot of use cases that people want. [Video AI generator] Sora is a great example right now — there’s much more demand than we can serve.From that perspective, I really do not see that as a bubble. I see that as a new normal, and I think the world is going to switch to realizing that computing power is the most strategic resource.- What do you say to those who fret over AI’s dangers? -I see my job as really making sure that the good side of this technology happens and we mitigate the bad side.Take mental health, for example. I’m hearing tons of users say that they go to ChatGPT for advice in tough moments where they may not have other people to talk to. Many people can’t afford to go to a therapist. I talk to a lot of parents who are telling me: God, I got this really awesome advice that helped me unlock a situation with my child. But at the same time, we need to make sure that the model behaves as expected.On mental health, we have announced a very robust roadmap. We started with parental controls. We have plans to launch age prediction: if we can predict that the user is a teenager, we give them a model that is less permissive than we would give to an adult.Jobs are also very much on my mind, and it’s a similar approach. AI is going to create a lot of jobs, like prompt engineering, that absolutely did not exist before. At the same time, there are some professions that are going to be directly impacted, and we see our role as helping with the transition.- What are the next steps toward intelligent AI? -I think the breakthroughs are about models understanding your goals and helping accomplish them proactively.Not just give you a good answer to a question, not just have a dialog, but actually tell you, ‘Oh, okay, you’re telling me that you want to spend more time with your wife. Well, there might be some weekend getaways that would be helpful, and I know it’s a lot to plan, so I’ve already done all the planning for you and I’ve already made some reservations. Just tap one button to approve and everything gets done.’We’re still very early, but we’re on that journey to capture that.- In San Francisco, you sometimes hear: ‘America innovates, China copies, Europe regulates’ -As a European, every time I hear this saying, my heart breaks a bit. I think there has certainly been a tendency in Europe to focus on regulation a little too much.On China, we continue to be extremely focused on continuing to have a lead, because we see China continuing to invest heavily in being competitive — whether in terms of innovation or in terms of computing — and so we think it’s incredibly important to continue investing across a democratic bloc to advance AI that has these [democratic] values.- Do you let your child use ChatGPT? -ChatGPT is not supposed to be for under 13, but my kid is 10 — I still let her use it under supervision. It’s magical to see what she’s able to create. Just this weekend, she was telling me about creating a new business. She was using ChatGPT to make banners for the new business, to create taglines.In our childhood, we couldn’t turn our imagination into something real that fast. And I see that really giving her superpowers, where she thinks anything is possible.

Open AI’s Fidji Simo says AI investment frenzy ‘new normal,’ not bubble

The dizzying investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure do not constitute a bubble but rather represent today’s “new normal” to meet skyrocketing user demand, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s de facto number two, said on Monday.The French-born executive made her comments in an interview with AFP, her first since taking up her role as Chief Operating Officer of OpenAI’s applications, including its flagship model ChatGPT.In the past few weeks, her company, under the leadership of CEO Sam Altman, has made a series of huge investments in data centers and AI chips, despite no real signs that the fast-emerging AI business is close to breaking even.The answers were lightly edited for length and clarity.- Is the AI investment frenzy a bubble right now? -What I am seeing here is a massive investment in compute (or computing power), with us meeting that need for computing power so incredibly badly for a lot of use cases that people want. [Video AI generator] Sora is a great example right now — there’s much more demand than we can serve.From that perspective, I really do not see that as a bubble. I see that as a new normal, and I think the world is going to switch to realizing that computing power is the most strategic resource.- What do you say to those who fret over AI’s dangers? -I see my job as really making sure that the good side of this technology happens and we mitigate the bad side.Take mental health, for example. I’m hearing tons of users say that they go to ChatGPT for advice in tough moments where they may not have other people to talk to. Many people can’t afford to go to a therapist. I talk to a lot of parents who are telling me: God, I got this really awesome advice that helped me unlock a situation with my child. But at the same time, we need to make sure that the model behaves as expected.On mental health, we have announced a very robust roadmap. We started with parental controls. We have plans to launch age prediction: if we can predict that the user is a teenager, we give them a model that is less permissive than we would give to an adult.Jobs are also very much on my mind, and it’s a similar approach. AI is going to create a lot of jobs, like prompt engineering, that absolutely did not exist before. At the same time, there are some professions that are going to be directly impacted, and we see our role as helping with the transition.- What are the next steps toward intelligent AI? -I think the breakthroughs are about models understanding your goals and helping accomplish them proactively.Not just give you a good answer to a question, not just have a dialog, but actually tell you, ‘Oh, okay, you’re telling me that you want to spend more time with your wife. Well, there might be some weekend getaways that would be helpful, and I know it’s a lot to plan, so I’ve already done all the planning for you and I’ve already made some reservations. Just tap one button to approve and everything gets done.’We’re still very early, but we’re on that journey to capture that.- In San Francisco, you sometimes hear: ‘America innovates, China copies, Europe regulates’ -As a European, every time I hear this saying, my heart breaks a bit. I think there has certainly been a tendency in Europe to focus on regulation a little too much.On China, we continue to be extremely focused on continuing to have a lead, because we see China continuing to invest heavily in being competitive — whether in terms of innovation or in terms of computing — and so we think it’s incredibly important to continue investing across a democratic bloc to advance AI that has these [democratic] values.- Do you let your child use ChatGPT? -ChatGPT is not supposed to be for under 13, but my kid is 10 — I still let her use it under supervision. It’s magical to see what she’s able to create. Just this weekend, she was telling me about creating a new business. She was using ChatGPT to make banners for the new business, to create taglines.In our childhood, we couldn’t turn our imagination into something real that fast. And I see that really giving her superpowers, where she thinks anything is possible.

Crise politique en France: 48 heures de négociations de la dernière chance

Le président français Emmanuel Macron a donné à Sébastien Lecornu, Premier ministre le plus éphémère de la Ve République, 48 heures pour des négociations de la dernière chance, laissant planer la menace d’une dissolution en cas d’échec.Le terrain est au moins glissant, sinon miné, pour le Premier ministre démissionnaire, chargé de dire au chef de l’Etat mercredi soir si un compromis est possible ou non pour ressouder une coalition fissurée, alors que la France est plongée dans une crise politique sans précédent depuis des décennies, aggravant l’impasse née de la dissolution de 2024.En cas d’échec, le chef de l’Etat “prendra ses responsabilités”, a fait savoir son entourage.M. Macron, qui a toujours exclu jusqu’à présent l’option d’une démission, semble ainsi faire planer la menace d’une nouvelle dissolution de l’Assemblée nationale. Il a précisé qu’en cas de succès, Sébastien Lecornu ne serait pas automatiquement renommé Premier ministre.Dès 09H00 (07H00 GMT), M. Lecornu recevra des chefs de partis et responsables de la coalition gouvernementale et les présidents des deux chambres du Parlement.Troisième Premier ministre désigné en un an depuis la dissolution de l’Assemblée par M. Macron en juin 2024, M. Lecornu, nommé le 9 septembre et qui devait tenir son premier Conseil des ministres lundi, a remis aux premières heures sa démission au président, qui l’a d’abord formellement acceptée.Il a regretté “les appétits partisans” ayant conduit à sa démission, lors d’une brève allocution un peu plus tard. Une allusion claire au patron du parti de droite Les Républicains, Bruno Retailleau, qui a précipité la chute du gouvernement quelques heures après avoir accepté d’y rester.Le ministre de l’Intérieur démissionnaire a assuré lundi soir qu’il ne se sentait “pas du tout” responsable de la crise. La veille, il s’était montré ulcéré par le retour, aux Armées, de l’ex-ministre de l’Economie Bruno Le Maire.Selon une source au parti, Bruno Retailleau devrait être absent de la réunion mardi et a exigé une rencontre bilatérale à Sébastien Lecornu. Les contacts se sont poursuivis dans la soirée de lundi.- “Mauvaise série B” -Sébastien Lecornu “peut réussir”, considérait lundi soir un conseiller de l’exécutif, “s’il décroche la suspension de la réforme des retraites par exemple”, une exigence des socialistes. “C’est trop tard (…) Quelle serait sa légitimité pour prendre des engagements” s’il n’est pas reconduit à Matignon?, a demandé lundi Arthur Delaporte, porte-parole du Parti socialiste. Et le député de railler “une mission impossible”, et une “mauvaise série B”.En cas d’échec, le président français a peu de cartes en main.Hormis cette mission de la dernière chance, il peut dissoudre une Assemblée divisée en trois blocs (gauche, centre et droite, et extrême droite); démissionner comme le voudrait La France Insoumise (gauche radicale); ou nommer un Premier ministre de gauche comme l’ont de nouveau réclamé lundi écologistes et socialistes. Voire faire appel à une personne sans étiquette à la tête d’un “gouvernement technique”.La France insoumise de Jean-Luc Mélenchon, qui plaide pour une “solution claire, nette, franche et massive”, continue de plaider pour la démission d’Emmanuel Macron et avait déposé début septembre une motion de destitution, dont la recevabilité doit être examinée mercredi.Quant au Rassemblement national, il ne trace lui aussi que deux chemins possibles: la dissolution “absolument incontournable”, selon sa cheffe de file Marine Le Pen, et la “démission” d’Emmanuel Macron, qui serait “sage”.Dans la soirée, le parti d’extrême droite et ses alliés ont fait savoir qu’ils “censureront systématiquement tout gouvernement” jusqu’à la dissolution ou la démission du président.