Flagship

Russian navy officers killed in Crimea

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander was killed in a missile strike on occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s military said. Kyiv claimed that 34 officers, including Admiral Viktor Sokolov, died and 105 were injured in the attack on the navy base in Sevastopol last week. The reports have not been verified, but if true “would be among the most damaging suffered by the Russian Navy since the sinking of the fleet’s flagship last year,” The New York Times reported. Ukraine has stepped up attacks in Crimea in recent weeks: The gathering pace of missile and drone attacks on bridges, depots, and warships are making it harder for Russia to use the region as a logistics hub.

Shutdown looms as Republicans squabble

The U.S. Congress has less than five days to find a way to avoid a government shutdown. Senators of both parties are negotiating over a stopgap agreement which would stave off the closure: A major sticking point, The New York Times reported, is whether to include $25 billion in aid for Ukraine, something Republican hardliners oppose. The Republicans have been unable to unite those hardliners and the rest of the party, The Washington Post reported, making a shutdown increasingly likely. The constant brinkmanship is damaging the U.S. on the world stage, Foreign Policy argued. Spending rows lead to inefficient use of resources, and “the budget hijinks look childish: Is this how the world’s most powerful nation conducts itself?”

China extends South China Sea efforts

Chinese and Philippines officials traded barbs over disputed territory in the South China Sea. Beijing warned Manila “not to provoke or stir up trouble,” while the Philippines insisted it was “well within its rights” to remove barriers it alleges China erected in the waters, apparently to bar Filipinos from accessing the area. The latest maritime tensions are part of a long-running effort by Beijing to extend its sovereignty across the South China Sea, a campaign that has included new maps, military installations, and island-building across swaths of territory that other nations in the region claim as their own. China has in recent years “profoundly … reshaped the security landscape across the region,” The New York Times noted.

AI-translated podcasts arrive

Spotify will use artificial intelligence to reproduce podcasts in other languages with the host’s own voice. It has already released Spanish-language episodes of Lex Fridman’s podcast, as well as Armchair Expert, and The Diary Of A CEO: French and German will roll out soon. OpenAI software does the translation, and, according to The Verge, is also behind the voice-replication aspect. OpenAI itself announced that its chatbot ChatGPT is being given vision, hearing, and speech. Users will be able to take a photo, ask ChatGPT out loud what’s in it, and receive a response in a voice of their choice, like a super-powered Siri or Alexa. “Most virtual assistants are being rebuilt to rely on LLMs,” reported The Verge. “OpenAI is just ahead of the game.”

IEA says world on track for net zero

France committed to reducing its emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. President Emmanuel Macron said the country must double its efforts, but that its goal was “attainable.” The International Energy Agency, meanwhile, said a recent surge in the development of renewable energy and electric vehicles has kept the possibility of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius alive. The “pathway … has narrowed,” the IEA’s boss said, and major changes are required — sales of EVs and electric heat pumps must speed up even further. But progress is in line with reaching net zero by 2050.

Chevron boosts Venezuela production

Chevron will ramp up oil output in Venezuela as it seeks to recoup $3 billion in unpaid debt from Caracas. The projected increase in production of 65,000 barrels a day by 2024 is part of Washington’s easing of sanctions on Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest oil reserves. In exchange, the U.S. is seeking a commitment from Caracas for free and fair presidential elections next year. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, keen to revive his country’s devastated economy ahead of the vote, has also courted China. During a state visit to Beijing last month, Maduro said Venezuela and China would build a partnership “where energy and oil are at the axis.”

Canada-India row complicates China ties

Ottawa’s claim that New Delhi was behind an assassination on Canadian soil is complicating Western efforts to counter China. An ally of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Politico’s Ottawa Playbook newsletter that the allegations meant Canada should reconsider basing so much of its Indo-Pacific strategy on partnering with India. Washington, meanwhile, sought to avoid triggering blowback, calling only for India to cooperate with Canada’s investigation into the killing, while serving as a backchannel for talks between Ottawa and New Delhi, according to The Indian Express. U.S. President Joe Biden will have to balance close ties with Canada alongside aspirations for a deeper alliance with India ahead of hosting an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco in November.

Ethiopian prince’s hair returned

A lock of hair from an Ethiopian prince who died in Britain 140 years ago was returned to his home country. British soldiers invaded Emperor Tewodros II’s fortress in 1868 and took his son, Prince Alemayehu. Queen Victoria agreed to support the prince financially, but he died 11 years later, aged 18, and was buried at Windsor Castle. There have been calls to return his body, but Buckingham Palace said doing so would disturb other remains. A descendant of his legal guardian handed over the lock of hair, along with other artifacts looted from Tewodros’s fortress: A relative of the prince said he hoped it would pave the way for further restorations.

Lego drops recycled-plastic plans

Lego scrapped plans to make its bricks from recycled bottles after finding that doing so did not reduce carbon emissions. The toymaker said in 2021 it wanted to cut crude oil out of its production within two years. But the extra steps involved in turning the recycled plastic into bricks meant there were no carbon savings. Lego said it remains committed to reducing emissions. The move “highlights the difficult decisions facing companies,” noted the Financial Times, “where different targets such as eliminating the use of fossil fuels and reducing carbon emissions can come into conflict.”

Scorsese: Reject Marvel to save cinema

Cinemagoers should “fight back” against comic-book franchise movies in order to “save cinema,” said Martin Scorsese. “There are going to be generations now,” he told GQ, “that think … that’s what movies are.” The veteran director added: “The manufactured content isn’t really cinema. It’s almost like AI making a film … [You] have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork. But what does it mean?” Scorsese pointed at Christopher Nolan as an example of a director doing original work. Scorsese’s own Killers of the Flower Moon is released next month, but he said that at almost 81, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could carry on: “I’m gonna try until they pick me up off the floor.”

• U.S. President Joe Biden will join auto workers on the picket lines in Michigan.
• South Korea holds a military parade in Seoul to mark the 75th anniversary of its armed forces, the first such large-scale parade through the capital in 10 years.
• People Collide, a novel about marriage and identity by Isle McElroy, is published.

​​World trade volumes fell at their fastest pace since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as higher interest rates took a toll on global demand for goods. The 3.2% year-on-year fall in July was the biggest since a 4.4% drop in August 2020, according to the World Trade Monitor. The global goods trade soared during the pandemic, as demand for services collapsed and low interest rates fueled the world economy. But higher inflation and interest rate rises, as well as a higher share of spending going to services, has hurt goods shipping, with indicators suggesting trade could remain weak in the coming months.

Storyteller, a puzzle game about building stories, was released on Netflix today. In it players can craft narratives to fit a given title by moving characters around different settings with the aim of creating a comic-book-style story. “It’s a soothing, surprising and often amusing experience that captures the absurdity of the creative writing process,” Engadget reported. Storyteller is the latest mobile game to come to the streamer as it builds out its gaming offering: Netflix plans to hold around 100 titles in its library — free to play by anyone with a subscription to the service — by the end of the year, Engadget said.

• Six months after Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and other tech luminaries joined a call for a pause on certain AI developments, the author of the letter is reflecting on its impact.
• The White House could force cloud computing firms to report some information about their customers. The rules are intended to create a system that would allow the U.S. government to identify potential AI threats.
• Israeli officials are working to persuade U.S. leaders that a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia could strengthen the U.S. well beyond the Middle East. One top Netanyahu aide said it could be a “reverse 9/11.”