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OAKLAND, California, April 19 (Reuters) - Chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries Inc (GFS.O) said on Wednesday it had filed a lawsuit against International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), accusing it of unlawfully sharing confidential intellectual property and trade secrets. New York-based GlobalFoundries said in its complaint that IBM had shared IP and trade secrets with Rapidus, a new state-backed Japanese consortium that IBM is working with to develop and produce cutting-edge two-nanometre chips. It also asserted that IBM had unlawfully disclosed and misused its IP with Intel Corp (INTC.O), noting that IBM had announced in 2021 it would collaborate with Intel on next-generation chip technology. "IBM is unjustly receiving potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing income and other benefits," GlobalFoundries said in a statement. GlobalFoundries is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction against IBM to stop using the trade secrets.

Some are turning to startups who are pivoting to using powerful chips to run quantum-inspired software on regular computers as they bide their time. In the past 18 months, quantum software startups including SandBoxAQ - an Alphabet spinoff - raised about $1 billion, according to data firm PitchBook. Ultimately, the software inspired by quantum physics won't perform well on quantum computers without some changes, said William Hurley, boss of Austin-based quantum software startup Strangeworks. Still, he said companies that start using them will have engineers "learning about quantum and the phenomenon and the process, which will better prepare them to use quantum computers at the point that they do so." Strangeworks, which also operates a cloud with over 60 quantum computers on it, raised $24 million last month from investors including IBM (IBM.N).

☆ Parisians vote to ban e-scooters from French capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A woman rides an electric scooter by Tier sharing service, on the eve of a public vote on whether or not to ban rental electric scooters in Paris, France, April 1, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah MeyssonnierPARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - An overwhelming majority of Parisians voted to ban electric scooters from the streets of the French capital on Sunday, in a non-binding referendum that city authorities have said they would follow. "I preferred to vote against, because in Paris it's a mess," railway worker Ibrahim Beutchoutak, 47, told Reuters TV. Operators had offered further regulations, including checking users were over 18, fixing licence plates so police could identify traffic offenders and limiting to one passenger. On Sunday, operators such as Tier and Lime sent free voucher codes to users to encourage them to vote against the ban.

☆ Thirty-six dead, 16 hurt in India after roof collapse at temple
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Rescuers conduct an operation at a roof collapse site in Indore, India March 31, 2023 in this still image from video. ANI/Reuters TV via REUTERSLUCKNOW, India, March 31 (Reuters) - Rescuers used cranes and ropes to look for survivors a day after the roof of a well collapsed in a temple complex in central India killing 36 people and injuring 16, a government official said on Friday. Stampedes and accidents in religious places are not uncommon in India, where lack of crowd control and cramped spaces can spell danger. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and announced compensation for the dead and injured in the incident. Reporting by Saurabh Sharma; writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Stephen Coates, Gerry Doyle, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Horizon Quantum Computing Chief Science Officer Si-Hui Tan and Chief Executive Officer Joe Fitzsimons sit in front of their white board in Singapore in this handout photo taken November 2021. Courtesy Horizon Quantum Computing/Handout via REUTERSOAKLAND, Calif March 31 (Reuters) - Singapore-based software startup Horizon Quantum Computing on Friday said it raised $18.1 million to expand its engineering team and speed up product development. The company, founded in 2018, created a programming language called Helium for quantum computers, designed to make it easier to tackle complex problems. Quantum computers, based on quantum physics, could potentially perform some calculations millions of times faster than the current fastest super computers. Horizon Quantum Computing said it is also planning to open its first European offices in Ireland, where it is building its new engineering center.

OAKLAND, California, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. chip giant Intel Corp (INTC.O) said on Wednesday its first semiconductor for data center customers focused on power efficiency, Sierra Forest, would be delivered in the first half of next year, as it outlined a chip release schedule after prior delays. Intel still dominates the markets for PC and server processing chips, with a market share greater than 70%, tech research firm IDC has calculated. Intel said the next power-efficient chip, Clearwater Forest, would come to market in 2025. Rivera said that Intel was also working on building the Intel Developer Cloud with 256 Xeon chips and 512 Gaudi chips for artificial intelligence (AI) that would be available for AI developers to train and run new models. She said AI startups Hugging Face and Stable Diffusion were already using Intel chips.

OAKLAND, California, March 28 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence chip startup Cerebras Systems on Tuesday said it released open source ChatGPT-like models for the research and business community to use for free in an effort to foster more collaboration. Silicon Valley-based Cerebras released seven models all trained on its AI supercomputer called Andromeda, including smaller 111 million parameter language models to a larger 13 billion parameter model. Cerebras said the smaller models can be deployed on phones or smart speakers while the bigger ones run on PCs or servers, although complex tasks like large passage summarization require larger models. Most of the AI models today are trained on Nvidia Corp's (NVDA.O) chips, but more and more startups like Cerebras are trying to take share in that market. The models trained on Cerebras machines can also be used on Nvidia systems for further training or customization, said Feldman.

☆ French pension protest blocks entry to Louvre museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] French police look on as protesters holding French CGT labour union flags in front of the glass Pyramid block the entrance of the Louvre museum to protest against the French government's pension reform, in Paris, France, March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Marco TrujilloPARIS, March 27 (Reuters) - Trade union protesters angered by President Emmanuel Macron's move to raise the French retirement age without a final vote in parliament blocked the Louvre museum in Paris on Monday, frustrating crowds of visitors. Demonstrating peacefully against plans to make most French work an extra two years to 64 to balance the pension budget, a small number of protesters gathered at the foot of the Louvre's glass pyramid. The protest came one day ahead of a 10th round of nationwide strikes and street marches and followed violence in cities across France over the pension system changes. Separately, Paris police said they were carrying out an operation to prevent unauthorised gatherings in front of the Centre Pomopidou, another landmark museum in Paris.

☆ Angry youths challenge Macron and his pension law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Yonathan Van Der Voort | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS via Reuters TVPARIS, March 27 (Reuters) - Teenager Charles Chauliac is angry that French President Emmanuel Macron plans to delay the retirement of hard-working folk like his parents, and that he bypassed parliament to do so. Most evenings for the past few weeks, the 18-year-old has taken to the streets of Paris to try and force a U-turn. Marching through Paris, dodging police, he joins other young people in spontaneous protests, chanting: "We are here, we are here, even if Macron does not want it, we are here." Tags sprayed on the walls of Paris in recent days have targeted Macron, or simply read: Democracy. While some protesters have torched bins, thrown rocks at police or smashed shop windows and bus stops, Chauliac insists he hasn't.

On Tuesday at its developer conference GTC, Nvidia unveiled CUDA Quantum, a platform for building quantum algorithms using popular classical computer coding languages C++ and python. "CUDA Quantum will do the same for quantum computing, enabling domain scientists to seamlessly integrate quantum into their applications and gain access to a new disruptive computing technology," said Tim Costa, Nvidia's director of HPC and quantum. One difference, Costa said, is while CUDA is proprietary, CUDA Quantum is open source and was developed with input from many quantum computing companies. Nvidia also launched a new hardware system called DGX Quantum to connect the quantum computer with classical computers. "We see more and more demand to integrate these quantum computers with standard computers," said Itamar Sivan, co-founder and CEO of Quantum Machines.

☆ South Africa's EFF marches to demand president's resignation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Members of the political party, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), gather at Church Square after calling for a "National Shutdown" and demanding resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Alet PretoriusJOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - Thousands marched through the streets of South Africa's cities on Monday to demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa resign, as security forces guarded malls and roads to prevent violence and looting. The Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, whose supporters are mainly poor and working class Black South Africans who feel marginalised since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994, had called for a national shutdown. South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours over public violence ahead of planned protests. Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police.

☆ Chile culls 40,000 poultry amid industrial bird flu outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ivan AlvaradoRANCAGUA, Chile, March 15 (Reuters) - Around 40,000 poultry were culled and buried in central Chile on Wednesday after the country detected its first case of bird flu in an industrial setting. "We hope to have this situation contained and that Chile regains its status of being free of highly pathogenic bird flu," he added. Cases of bird flu, mostly in wild animals, have been detected in Chile since late last year. Brazil, the world's largest chicken exporter, still remains free of bird flu but has investigated several suspected cases. South American health authorities created a regional technical committee earlier this month to deal with bird flu outbreaks.

☆ Brazilian researchers find 'terrifying' plastic rocks on remote island
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sergio Queiroz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] "Plastic rocks" found on Trindade Island in the state of Espirito Santo is seen at the laboratory of the Federal University of Parana, in Curitiba, state of Parana, Brazil March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Rodolfo BuhrerTRINDADE ISLAND, Brazil, March 15 (Reuters) - The geology of Brazil's volcanic Trindade Island has fascinated scientists for years, but the discovery of rocks made from plastic debris in this remote turtle refuge is sparking alarm. Melted plastic has become intertwined with rocks on the island, located 1,140 km (708 miles) from the southeastern state of Espirito Santo, which researchers say is evidence of humans' growing influence over the earth's geological cycles. Trindade Island is one of the world's most important conservation spots for green turtles, or Chelonia mydas, with thousands arriving each year to lay their eggs. The only human inhabitants on Trindade are members of the Brazilian navy, which maintains a base on the island and protects the nesting turtles.

Quantum computers, based on quantum physics, have the potential one day to complete some calculations millions of times faster than the most powerful supercomputer today. One challenge is that quantum processors with quantum bits, or qubits, often need to be stored at very cold temperatures near zero Kelvin, or -273.15 Celsius. On the other hand, classical computers operate in more moderate temperatures. SEEQC has also built its quantum computer this way and is now trying to modify it with its new chips. Today's superconducting quantum computers have hundreds of qubits, but some estimate thousands, or even a million could be needed to create a quantum computer to run useful algorithms.

☆ 'Navalny,' portrait of Kremlin critic, wins best documentary Oscar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mary Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A still image taken from video footage shows law enforcement officers speaking with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny before leading him away at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, Russia January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Reuters TV/File PhotoLOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - The film "Navalny" about the poisoning that nearly killed Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, and his detention upon his 2021 return to Moscow, won the Oscar for best feature documentary on Sunday. In the documentary, Navalny works with investigative news outlet Bellingcat and they unmask FSB agents sent to poison Navalny in 2020. He decides to return to Russia in January 2021 with Yulia and throngs of supporters await his arrival. At the end of the film, Navalny is asked what his message would be to the Russian people if he were killed.

Eight other people were wounded, including a seven-months pregnant woman who lost her unborn daughter, police and prosecutors said at a news conference. Authorities identified the gunmman only as Philipp F. The 35-year-old, a German citizen and former Jehovah's Witness, began shooting through a window at the hall, where dozens of people were gathered, before entering. Following the previous shootings, Germany introduced stricter gun ownership rules and the government has announced plans to tighten controls further. Jehovah's Witnesses are an international Christian denomination that was founded in the United States in around 1870. The officials said about 50 people were at an event held in the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in the Alsterdorf district of the city when the shooting started.

☆ As parliament meets, China keeps would-be protesters at bay
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Engen Tham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Demonstrators hold up signs during a protest over the freezing of deposits by some rural-based banks, outside a People's Bank of China building in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China July 10, 2022, in this screengrab from video obtained by Reuters. Text in foreground reads, "Henan Bank, return to us our legal deposits! The people's life-saving deposits!" China has a low tolerance for group displays of discontent, even if anger is not directed against the government. Some of those who spoke with Reuters declined to use their full names due to the sensitivity of the matter.

☆ German policy response to energy crisis 'very mixed' -DIW's Kemfert
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 2 (Reuters) - Germany's policy response to the energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "very mixed," Claudia Kemfert from German economic research group DIW said on Thursday. Kemfert said in an interview with Reuters TV that some steps that had been taken by Berlin on the expansion of renewable energy were in the right direction. Germany had not faced energy supply problems over the winter thanks to mild temperatures and high gas storage levels and looking ahead to the next Kemfert said it was "well prepared". But energy savings by companies and households remain extremely important, she said, adding that the German government's gas and electricity price caps meant that people felt they could rely on the state to soften the cost blow. "That is indeed a big problem and can result in the savings potential not being achieved," Kemfert said.

☆ Death toll in Italian migrant shipwreck rises to 61
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS TV via REUTERSROME, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The death toll in a migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast has risen to 61, an Italian official told Reuters on Monday, as searches continued for missing people. A total of 61 people have been found dead so far, while 80 were rescued, said Manuela Curra, a provincial government official. The vessel was carrying people from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and the victims included 12 children, authorities said earlier. Based on reports from survivors, authorities believe 180 to 200 people in total had been on board the vessel, she added. Charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), operating on the ground, said they were assisting several people who had lost relatives in the shipwreck.

☆ Gang attacks Nigerian electoral counting centre in Lagos, video shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LAGOS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Soldiers were forced to intervene on Sunday after 15 men pretending to be electoral officials stormed a voting collation centre in the Alimosho neighbourhood of Lagos, attacking party agents with knives and sticks, video obtained by Reuters TV showed. "Hoodlum boys ... just came and started coming out with daggers and hitting everybody that are Labour Party agents," the party's ward secretary Jacob Sulemain said after soldiers repelled the attack. The presidential vote is expected to be the closest in Nigeria's history, with candidates from two parties that have alternated power since the end of army rule in 1999 facing an unusually strong challenge from a minor party nominee popular among young voters. Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NATO and EU react reservedly to Chinese ceasefire proposal for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a news conference during a NATO defence ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File PhotoTALLINN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday reacted reservedly to a Chinese proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying Beijing did not have a lot of credibility as a mediator. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said China had not shared a peace plan but some principles. "So we will look at the principles, of course, but we will look at them against the backdrop that China has taken sides," she added. Reporting by Bart Meijer and Reuters TV, writing by Sabine SieboldOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tattooed Mexican cat seeks new home after life behind bars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezMEXICO CITY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Wanted: A new home for a one-of-a-kind feline in Mexico. Authorities say they are now looking for the right family to take the cat, which is not for sale, into their home. "The cat is very sociable, and is in great shape, with no infections," Cesar Rene Diaz, ecology director for the city of Juarez, told Reuters. A committee of city authorities will make the final decision about the adoption before presenting the cat to its new family in a ceremony on March 1. Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Paraguay marijuana festival sets high hopes for legalization
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Cesar Olmedo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/12] Visitors gather near marijuana plants as farmers host a harvest festival to showcase farms that have been converted to produce medicinal cannabis, in Aguerito, Paraguay February 19, 2023. REUTERS/Cesar OlmedoAGUERITO, Paraguay, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A marijuana harvest festival in a region of Paraguay usually known for drug trafficking has sparked hopes from local farmers that legalization could follow that will allow them to grow the plant for medicinal use. They hope the festival will catch the eye of lawmakers, encouraging them to back new legislation to help small farms. Paraguay is already a major global producer of illegally-sold cannabis, exporting largely to neighboring Brazil and other South American countries. Just a handful of labs import cannabis into Paraguay for legal medicinal use, but sell it at exorbitant prices, said Jorge Rolon, the farmers' legal adviser.

☆ UN aid chief: quake rescue phase 'coming to a close'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ALEPPO, Syria, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The phase of the rescue after the major earthquake struck Turkey and Syria a week ago is "coming to a close" with urgency now switching to shelter, food, schooling and psychosocial care, the U.N. aid chief said during a visit to Syria on Monday. The Feb. 6 earthquake struck a swathe of northwest Syria, a region partitioned by the 11-year-long war, including insurgent-held territory at the Turkish border and government areas controlled by President Bashar al-Assad. Griffiths said the United Nations would have aid moving from government-held regions to the rebel-held northwest, a front line across which aid has seldom passed during the conflict. The United Nations said more than 4,300 had been reported killed in the northwest, and more than 7,600 injured. Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Timour Azhari/Tom Perry, Writing by Clauda Tanios; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'The grass does not grow': In Chile's far south, the worst drought in 50 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view of parched earth as a wetland is drying up, in Punta Arenas, Chile February 2, 2023. In the far south city of Punta Arenas, that has led to a water emergency declared last year. "In 2022 Punta Arenas had its driest year in 52 years," said Nicolas Butorovic, a climatologist from the regional University of Magallanes. "The wind picks up and dries everything and the grass does not grow, that is the drama we're facing," said Hector Garay, a livestock farmer in the region. "If there is no irrigation water, water from rain, the grass does not grow.

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