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SoftBank plans to make large-scale batteries for AI data centers

The Japan Times

SoftBank will partner with South Korea's Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production of large-scale battery cells from the fiscal year starting next April. SoftBank Group's mobile unit said it plans to begin large-scale battery cell manufacturing at its plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, to address growing power demand for AI services. SoftBank Corp. will partner with South Korea's Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production from the fiscal year starting next April, the company said in a statement Monday. The aim is to output energy storage systems at a scale of one gigawatt-hour per year, SoftBank said, which would make it one of the largest facilities in Japan, according to data from BloombergNEF. SoftBank could scale up to a capacity of several GWh, Bloomberg reported last month.


Samsung's Bespoke update is big step towards a useful AI for your fridge

Engadget

Samsung's Bespoke update is big step towards a useful AI for your fridge Samsung's Bespoke update is big step towards a useful AI for your fridge The idea of installing a software update on your fridge already feels kind of weird, let alone one centered around improving its AI capabilities. But that's exactly what's happening to Samsung's line of Bespoke refrigerators this week, and to my surprise this patch is making major strides at providing truly useful machine learning in a modern day icebox. As a quick recap, Samsung has offered AI-powered features like automatic food recognition and meal planning on its Bespoke refrigerators for a couple years already. However, as I found out after reviewing its flagship model late last year, the company's AI capabilities are still very much a work in progress. Previously, the fridge could recognize around 60 different kinds of fresh foods (like fruits and veggies) alongside another 50 or so packaged goods like yogurt or popcorn.


Drone delivers 2 pizzas in minutes

FOX News

Flytrex has partnered with Little Caesars to deliver full pizza orders by drone in Wylie, Texas, with food arriving in roughly four and a half minutes.


Russia kills three Ukrainians in 24 hours, accuses Kyiv of violating truce

Al Jazeera

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' At least three people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past 24 hours despite a three-day ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump that came into effect on May 9. Regional authorities on Sunday reported one death each in Ukraine's Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed the death on Telegram, saying the woman had been struck while walking down the street. Seven people, including a child, have also been injured across the region in drone or artillery attacks since early Saturday, he added. Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the southeastern Zaporizhia region, said one person had been killed and three others injured by artillery and drone attacks in the past 24 hours. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said eight people, including two children, were injured in drone attacks on the city of Kharkiv and nearby settlements.


I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment Micah Nathan

The Guardian

I knew my writing students were using AI. It's what's lost when we surrender the struggle to translate thought into words I have been teaching fiction writing at MIT since 2017. Mark what works and what doesn't - underline great sentences, flag clunky syntax, gaps in logic and unrealistic dialogue. Ask yourself: does the story work? Answer in a signed letter to the author, attached to their story.


US-Iran ceasefire under strain as Gulf states report drone attacks

Al Jazeera

How well do you know Iran? A fragile ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran is coming under growing strain as several Gulf countries have reported drone attacks. Qatar said on Sunday that a drone struck a cargo ship in Qatari waters, sparking a fire, while Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates said they repelled drone attacks. Qatar's Ministry of Defence said the freighter had been arriving in the country's waters from the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, and was hit by a drone northeast of the port of Mesaieed. "The vessel continued its journey toward Mesaieed Port after the fire was brought under control," the ministry said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a bulk carrier reported being struck by an "unknown projectile", and a small fire had been extinguished, but there were no casualties from the incident.


Drone strikes ship near Qatar; South Korea reports attack on one of its vessels

The Japan Times

A member of NOPO, Iran's counter-terrorism special force, stands guard under a billboard of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, on April 23. Doha - A drone struck a commercial vessel in Qatari waters on Sunday, the country's defense ministry said, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards threatened to target U.S. vessels in the region. Arch-foes the United States and Iran have been clashing in the Gulf and trading accusations in recent days, as Washington waits for Tehran to respond to its latest negotiating position. A commercial cargo vessel in the country's territorial waters -- northeast of Mesaieed Port -- coming from Abu Dhabi, was targeted by a drone on Sunday morning. The incident resulted in a limited fire on board the vessel, with no reported injuries, the Qatari ministry said on X.


Could Contact-Tracing Apps Help With the Hantavirus? Not Really

WIRED

Could Contact-Tracing Apps Help With the Hantavirus? Contact-tracing apps were widely deployed during the Covid pandemic. After three people died on a cruise ship struck by a hantavirus, authorities are actively tracking down 29 people who had left the ship. They're trying to trace the spread of the virus. It's a long, arduous, global process to find and notify people who might be at risk of infection.


How Handheld Translators Work and Why They're Handy for Travel

WIRED

Your cell phone can handle basic language translation, but bespoke tools can offer a much more immersive experience. Hans Christian Andersen once said, "To travel is to live," and while that's a romantic notion, he probably wasn't careening through Gyeongju, South Korea, at midnight in the back of a taxi with a driver who didn't speak a lick of English. Today's world traveler has it awfully easy when it comes to understanding the local lingo, as even a basic modern cell phone app can offer a pretty good translation of common phrases delivered in everything from Abkhaz to Zulu. Type or speak a sentence or two into the app, tap a button, and out it returns in the language of your choice. Tap another button, and your phone can even speak those sentences aloud.


Stop renting your tools and own a pro coding setup with MS Visual Studio for less than 35

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Skip the pricey dev subscriptions -- grab lifetime access to Visual Studio Pro 2026 for $34.97 (MSRP $499.99) Visual Studio Pro is one of the most widely used IDEs out there, but the subscription costs can stack up fast. Through May 17, you can get Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2026 for just $34.97 -- a one-time purchase that still delivers the latest tools, updates, and pro-level features without locking you into another monthly charge. Visual Studio Pro is a 64-bit development environment for building modern apps on Windows.