TSMC Will Receive $6.6 Billion to Bolster U.S. Chip Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plans to build an additional factory and upgrade another planned facility in Phoenix with the federal grants.

A new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant under construction in Phoenix, Ariz., in December 2022.Credit...T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

The Biden administration will award up to $6.6 billion in grants to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the leading maker of the most advanced microchips, in a bid to bring some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor technology to the United States.

The funds, which come from the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, will help support the construction of TSMC’s first major U.S. hub, in Phoenix. The company has already committed to building two plants at the site and will use some of the grant money to build a third factory in Phoenix, U.S. officials said on Sunday. TSMC will also increase its total investments in the United States to more than $65 billion, up from $40 billion.

Bringing the world’s most sophisticated chip manufacturing to the United States has been a major goal for the Biden administration. TSMC announced that it would now produce two-nanometer chips at the hub, a significant step forward given that the United States currently produces none of the most advanced semiconductors.

Federal officials view the investment as vital for building up a reliable domestic supply of semiconductors, the small chips that power everything from phones and supercomputers to cars and fighter jets. Although semiconductors were invented in the United States, production has largely shifted overseas in recent decades. Only about 10 percent of the world’s chips are made in the United.

The award is the second largest by the federal government under a program intended to re-establish the United States as a leader in semiconductor manufacturing. It was unveiled a few weeks after President Biden announced that Intel, another major chipmaker, would receive $8.5 billion in grants and up to $11 billion in loans during a tour of battleground states meant to sell his economic agenda.

The CHIPS Act, which lawmakers passed in 2022, gave the Commerce Department $39 billion to distribute as subsidies to encourage companies to build and expand chip plants across the United States. The program is a major pillar of Mr. Biden’s economic policy agenda, which is centered on strengthening American manufacturing.

The Global Race for Computer Chips

🔸Making an American Microchip: Even as the Biden administration invests in bringing more of the supply chain back home, chip manufacturing will remain decidedly global. The international journey of a chip made by a U.S. manufacturer illustrates that.

A Grant for Intel: President Biden awarded $8.5 billion to the company, a major investment to bolster semiconductor production in the United States. The grant was announced as the president championed his economic policies during a tour of the Southwest.

🔸A Geopolitical Shift: As U.S. and European tech companies look to Southeast Asia to diversify from China, Malaysia is rising as a crucial link in the semiconductor supply chain.

🔸Expansion Obstacles: U.S. chip factories are facing delays, just as the Biden administration begins dispensing money to stoke production. While companies producing advanced semiconductors have requested over $70 billion in federal subsidies, twice the available funding amount.

TSMC’s award will bring the total announced grants to more than $16 billion. Three smaller companies, GlobalFoundries, Microchip Technology and BAE Systems, received the first awards.

In addition to the grants, the federal government will provide up to $5 billion in loans to TSMC. The company is also expected to claim federal tax credits that could cover 25 percent of the cost of building and outfitting factories with production equipment. About $50 million of the grants will be set aside to train and develop the company’s work force, federal officials said.

Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary, said the investment would help the United States start manufacturing the most advanced semiconductors, which are used in artificial intelligence, smartphones and the most sensitive military hardware.

“It’s a national security problem that we don’t manufacture any of the world’s most sophisticated chips in the United States,” Ms. Raimondo said on Sunday. “Now, because of this announcement, these chips will be made in the United States.”

Earlier this year, Ms. Raimondo said new investments in semiconductor companies would put the United States on track to produce roughly 20 percent of the world’s most advanced logic chips by the end of the decade.

TSMC’s investment is expected to create about 6,000 direct manufacturing jobs and more than 20,000 construction jobs, federal officials said. TSMC will have to meet certain construction and production milestones before payments are made.

The company has been counting on federal aid for years. Talks about a partly subsidized expansion in the United States began in 2019, during the Trump administration, according to company officials. TSMC first announced that it would build a new facility in Phoenix in May 2020, a project that company officials said would eventually require government subsidies to help address the higher cost of building and operating chip plants in the United States.

In December 2022, several months after the passage of the CHIPS Act, TSMC announced that it would build a second factory at the site, increasing its total investment to $40 billion from $12 billion.

But since TSMC started construction in 2021, various stumbling blocks have delayed the start of production. Last summer, TSMC pushed back initial production at its first factory to 2025 from this year, saying local workers lacked expertise in installing some sophisticated equipment. In January, the company said the second plant would not meet its original schedule of beginning manufacturing in 2026.

Production at the second facility is expected to begin in 2028, and production at the third factory is expected to start by the end of the decade, according to the Biden administration officials.

TSMC’s expansion in the United States could have an outsize impact on the global supply chain for semiconductors, the vulnerabilities of which were laid bare by crippling chip shortages during the pandemic.

TSMC, which pioneered the idea of manufacturing chips to order for others that design them, operates massive factories in Taiwan that churn out the vast majority of the small components that supply processing power to computers, phones, networking gear, appliances and military gear. America’s reliance on the company’s factories, on an island that China does not recognize as independent and claims is part of its territory, has long worried U.S. officials.

New generations of production technology are often described in terms of nanometers, or billionths of a meter, a measure of key dimensions of microscopic circuitry. In December 2022, TSMC said it would produce three-nanometer chips at its second Arizona factory. It will now also introduce the next generation of technology, at two nanometers, in the second plant, Biden administration officials announced.

Such advances determine how many transistors can be packed on each small slice of silicon, which allow chips to perform calculations more quickly and store more data. In the past decade, TSMC supplanted Intel in delivering the most sophisticated production technology, producing components that Apple designs for its latest smartphones and Nvidia develops to power artificial intelligence applications like ChatGPT.

Though the planned addition of two-nanometer technology represents a substantial advance, that does not necessarily mean that TSMC’s U.S. factories will offer the latest technology at the same time as its factories in Taiwan. The company carries out research on new technologies on the island, and adapting those processes to high-volume manufacturing is typically done first in nearby buildings to speed the transition and reduce travel time for engineers.

It remains possible that Intel, which is racing to regain its lead in manufacturing technology, will offer the most advanced production technology in the industry by 2028 at U.S. factories. The company carries out its manufacturing technology research in Oregon.

Biden administration officials are expected to award more grants in the coming months to other big chipmakers that have invested in new or expanded domestic facilities in recent years, including Micron Technology and Samsung.

US deals: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra goes on clearance, Galaxy Z Flip5 price drops

US deals: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra goes on clearance, Galaxy Z Flip5 price drops

Earlier this week Samsung US offered discounts on the Galaxy Tab S9 series – those are still available, by the way. The 2023 slates received the new Galaxy AI as an update, which brought them into the spotlight again. But grabbing the 2022 Ultra may be a better deal.

The base Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra with 8/128GB configuration (there’s a microSD slot) is down to $700, while the 12/256GB version is on clearance at $750. For comparison, a 12/256GB Tab S9 Ultra is $1,070.

Both slates feature large 14.6” 120Hz AMOLED displays and 11,200mAh batteries with 45W fast charging. Where they differ is the chipset – Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 for the older model and Gen 2 for the newer one – along with things like IP68 dust and water resistance that were added last year. It’s up to you whether those things are worth $300 extra.

https://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_tab_s8_ultra-11274.php

Israeli military says it has withdrawn its forces from Khan Younis after months of fighting

 Israeli military says it has withdrawn its forces from Khan Younis after months of fighting

 

The Israeli military said it has withdrawn its ground forces from Khan Younis in southern Gaza after months of fierce fighting.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that its 98th division had “concluded its mission” in Khan Younis. The division was leaving the Gaza Strip to “recuperate and prepare for future operations.”

The IDF added that “a significant force led by the 162nd division and the Nahal brigade continues to operate in the Gaza strip, and will preserve the IDF’s freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence based operations.”

A CNN team along the border where troops enter and leave Gaza has not yet seen large numbers of troops withdraw, but it has seen a large number of tanks pull out of Khan Younis overnight. They are now stationed on the border of Gaza and Israel.

An Israeli brigade typically has roughly a few thousand troops, but it remains unclear precisely how many Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza.

Um Ihab stands by the beach along the coast of central Gaza.

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As of January, the 98th division was the military’s biggest-ever division, as it was specifically bolstered to fight Hamas in Khan Younis.

IDF Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said at a news conference Sunday the military is “far from stopping” its operations in the Gaza Strip following the withdrawal.

“We will not leave any Hamas brigades active – in any part of the Gaza Strip. We have plans and will act when we decide,” he said, adding that the military’s goals in Gaza have not been fully achieved, including the return of all hostages, the return of displaced residents to the north and the dismantling of Hamas throughout Gaza.

In response to a question about the effect of the military’s withdrawal of ground forces from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Halevi said, “the military wing of Hamas is deterred, the vast majority of its battalions are dismantled and lost their capabilities. That military framework, which had many capabilities, is currently running as small terrorist cells.”

Halevi reiterated that the IDF has not left the Gaza Strip and that there are “many troops at this very hour” in the strip.

“This is a long war; we can’t maintain the same (extent of) troop deployment,” he said, adding, “many achievements are yet to come on our way to the victory.”

People walk past damaged and destroyed buildings in Khan Yunis on April 7, after Israel pulled its ground forces out of the area. 

Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images.

It’s unclear what the withdrawal means for Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza that has become a shelter for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Israel has said an incursion into Rafah is essential to achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas from Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that the troops were leaving Gaza to prepare for follow-up missions, including in the Rafah region.

“The troops exit and prepare ahead of their follow-up missions. We saw examples of such missions in action in Shifa. And also for their follow-up mission in the Rafah region,” Gallant said in remarks during his visit to the military’s Southern Command.

“We are reaching a situation where Hamas does not control the Gaza Strip and that it does not function as a military framework that poses a risk to the citizens of the State of Israel,” Gallant said, noting that he has completed a situational assessment of the IDF Southern Command as its forces are pulling out of Khan Younis.

The defense minister added that Israeli forces in Khan Younis were successful in destroying “enemy targets, warehouses, weapons, underground [infrastructure], headquarters [and] communication rooms.”

Israeli public broadcaster and CNN affiliate Channel 11 on Sunday reported that the remaining forces would be located along the so-called Netzarim Corridor, a route that splits the Gaza Strip in two. Named after the former Israeli settlement of Netzarim in Gaza, the corridor intersects one of Gaza’s two main north-south roads, Salaheddin Street, to create a strategic, central junction.

Before pulling out, the IDF on Sunday said that commando units had raided and searched more than a hundred locations in the Al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis, where it found a long tunnel and “eliminated terrorists.” CNN cannot independently verify those claims.

Speaking to ABC’s “The Week,” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said it was unlikely the move was sign of some incoming new operation but rather a “rest and refit.”

“They’ve been on the ground for four months. The word we’re getting is they’re tired, they need to be refit.”

The US is Israel’s major ally but has been pressuring the country to do more to protect civilians and allow in aid.

In a call this week between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden told Netanyahu to take steps to address the crisis or face consequences.

nternational pressure has been mounting on Israel, with close ally the US calling for more to be done to protect civilians. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

The IDF began its campaign against Hamas in Gaza’s north soon after the October 7 attacks that killed about 1,200 people. Early in the war, the Israeli military designated Khan Younis as a safer zone and told residents from northern Gaza to seek shelter there.

But as the IDF increasingly switched its focus to the south, the city became a battleground.

On December 1, the Israeli military launched a massive air raid operation on Khan Younis, dropping leaflets into the city telling residents to immediately evacuate.

Since then, it has been a site of intense fighting, leaving the area devastated. Visiting the scene earlier in the year, CNN found buildings completely destroyed or others beyond repair.

The IDF says the city is a Hamas stronghold, adding that the tunnel network underneath civilian buildings in the city was likely where Hamas planned the October 7 attacks from. The city is the hometown of Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Hamas has denied hiding in hospitals and other civilian structures and CNN cannot independently verify either claim.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

BITCOIN

 

BITCOIN

‘Overheated’ Bitcoin market is cooling – Time to bet on BTC’s price again?

There is scope for fresh longs entering the market, paving way for a sustained push north on the charts…

🔸Drops in funding rates, OI indicated a shakeout of over-leveraged bullish traders

🔸Market mood changed from one of extreme greed to greed

Bitcoin [BTC] retreated from its previous all-time highs (ATH) this week, dropping by 3.23% to the $67k zone, according to CoinMarketCap. Right now, bullish market participants are eagerly awaiting a rebound to $73k – A level last hit in mid-March.

However, while the king coin languishes on the charts, some of its market indicators are still flashing green.

Funding rates normalize

According to J. A. Maartunn, a contributor at on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, Bitcoin’s funding rates dropped sharply over the week. In fact, at press time, it was at levels which he deemed as “neutral.”

Typically, drops in funding rates indicate a shakeout of over-leveraged bullish traders. The funding rates soared when BTC hit its new ATH mid-March, a sign of an overheated market. However, with funding rates normalizing, and prices still around $67k, there is now scope for fresh longs entering the market, paving the way for a sustained push north.

The 11% decline in Open Interest (OI) in Bitcoin futures over the week, as per AMBCrypto’s analysis of Coinglass‘ data, also reflected the exit of over-leveraged long positions.

Euphoria starts to subside

The cool-off was further demonstrated by the shift in market mood from “extreme greed” to ” greed” over the week, as per the Crypto Fear and Greed Index. Typically, when the market becomes extremely greedy, it means it’s due for a correction.

Another bullish trigger for Bitcoin?

What could work in Bitcoin’s favor is that bankrupt crypto-lender Genesis finished selling more than $2 billion of its Grayscale Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) shares. Genesis was primarily driving outflows from GBTC in recent weeks, resulting in Bitcoin’s correction.

However, with reprieve from Genesis’ end, GBTC outflows could slow down significantly, allowing other ETFs to offset this with high inflows, potentially leading to Bitcoin’s rise again.

Gold has broken through the $2,300 level, and one market veteran has a bullish call looking ahead

 Gold has broken through the $2,300 level, and one market veteran has a bullish call looking ahead

KEY POINTS

Gold broke above $2,300 on Thursday, and Juerg Kiener, chief investment officer at Swiss Asia Capital, told CNBC the precious metal could hit $2,600 within a year.

Geopolitics, government money-printing and accelerated demand for precious metals in Asia will also boost gold's price, according to Kiener.

Expectations for interest rate cuts and central bank purchases have helped fuel a gold rally in recent months.

Geopolitical and structural factors have put gold on course to hit $2,600 per ounce within a year, according to one market veteran.

The precious metal has hit successive record highs this year, including another on Thursday when spot gold broke above $2,300 before easing slightly. Early Friday it was trading around $2278 per ounce.

The reasons behind its climb — and how much higher it can go in the near to medium-term — are hot topics among investors, especially as stock market gains remain robust.

Juerg Kiener, chief investment officer at Swiss Asia Capital, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday that his forward curve analysis for gold "looks fantastic."

"If you look at your forward curve for a year it's about 26 [$2,600]. I think we might be really fast as we take 23 [$2,300] out, it has a lot of pent-up demand," he said.

He added that an inventory collapse in the gold market is putting "a lot of derivative structures at risk."

"It puts probably a lot of structures which are in the market playing gold at risk too, because [traders] might not be able to cover [their short positions]. And if I say that 26 is for me just a forward curve, in case we get a short squeeze the numbers will go much higher."

A short squeeze is when the price of an asset rises sharply and those with short positions — who were betting on price falls — are forced to buy the asset to prevent more losses, typically driving up the price even further.

Kiener also cited geopolitics, a shift to a "multipolar world," and changing international trade structures as reasons for his bullishness on the gold price. Another was governments "printing money like there's no tomorrow," he added.

Gold is typically viewed as a so-called safe haven asset and also as a potential hedge against inflation.

Geopolitics has been cited by several analysts as the basis of a medium-term bullish case for gold, amid the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the upcoming U.S. election and the possibility of recession in major economies. Another commonly cited factor is the likelihood of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve, of which three are expected this year. Lower borrowing costs tend to increase the appeal of gold as investors shift away from fixed-income assets like bonds.

"We've got a massive flow of precious metal leaving the West," he said, adding that there was a "real shift" toward precious growing demand in Asia and the BRIC countries more broadly.

U.S. and China to hold talks on 'balanced growth' amid overcapacity concerns, Yellen says PUBLISHED SAT, APR 6 2024 3:

 

U.S. and China to hold talks on 'balanced growth' amid overcapacity concerns, Yellen says

PUBLISHED SAT, APR 6 2024 3:

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (L) shakes hands with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, on April 5, 2024.

US

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday that she and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to launch exchanges on "balanced" economic growth, an effort to address U.S. concerns about China's excess manufacturing capacity.
After two days of economic talks in China's southern export hub of Guangzhou, Yellen said she and He also agreed to start a forum to cooperate on anti-money laundering efforts in their respective financial systems.

The exchanges "will facilitate a discussion around macroeconomic imbalances, including their connection to overcapacity, and I intend to use the opportunity to advocate for a level playing field for American workers and firms," Yellen said in a statement released at the conclusion of the talks.

She characterised four and a half hours of discussions with He on Saturday as productive and frank.

Coming into her four-day visit to China, her top priority was to persuade Chinese officials to rein in excess production capacity for electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and other clean energy technology that threaten competing firms in the U.S. and other countries.

The Biden administration is facing growing calls from U.S. lawmakers to increase tariffs on Chinese EVs to protect U.S. producers.

Chinese state media pushed back on her excess capacity arguments, calling them a "pretext" for protectionist U.S. policies and "fear-mongering.

No tariff threat

Yellen did not threaten to raise tariffs or impose other trade barriers if China failed to curb state support that has expanded production of EVs, solar panels and other clean energy products far beyond domestic demand, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.

"I think the Chinese realize how concerned we are about the implications of their industrial strategy, for the United States, for the potential to flood our markets with exports that make it difficult for American firms to compete," Yellen said. "And then other countries have the same concern."

She said the forum would provide a "structured" way to discuss a complicated issue but that it would take some time to resolve.

"It's going to be critical to our bilateral relationship going forward and to China's relationship with other countries that are important," she added.

She added Chinese officials were "more confident" about the world's second-biggest economy after putting in place policies to address issues in the property sector and on local government debt.

China's Xinhua news agency said in a statement that the discussions between He and Yellen were "candid, pragmatic and constructive", confirming both parties had agreed to further discuss balanced growth and financial stability.

Beijing also expressed serious concerns about U.S. economic and trade restrictions on China and made a full response to the production capacity issue during the talks, the statement said.

The U.S. Treasury official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the balanced growth forum was first proposed in February during an economic working group meeting.

Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator, said the forum focused on overcapacity was a positive development, but there was a danger that it could "turn into a stalling tactic" by Beijing to avoid needed actions to bring supply and demand back into balance.

Yellen also said she had warned Chinese firms faced "significant consequences" if they provided material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Chinese side emphasized that their policy was not to provide such support and did not want this to be a bilateral issue.

Protectionist pretext'

Xinhua criticized Yellen's stance late on Friday, saying that talking up "Chinese overcapacity" in the clean energy sector created a pretext for protectionist policies to shield U.S. companies.

In an editorial on Saturday, Xinhua said suppressing China's EV-related industries would not help the U.S. grow its own, adding that it hoped more headway could be made during Yellen's visit to break down barriers hindering mutually beneficial cooperation.

While Treasury does not expect a major shift in Chinese policy after Yellen's visit, U.S. officials believe it was important to explain the economic risks that overinvestment in some sectors and weak consumer demand present to both China and its trading partners.

Yellen said on Friday her trip was partly aimed at cementing U.S.-China ties to "withstand shocks and challenging circumstances."

Yellen will continue her discussions with Chinese officials on Monday in Beijing, where she is to meet officials including Premier Li Qiang, Finance Minister Lan Foan and People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng.

‘Outrage against international law’: Mexico breaks diplomatic ties with Ecuador over embassy raid

 ‘Outrage against international law’: Mexico breaks diplomatic ties with Ecuador over embassy raid

Mexico is breaking diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police raided its embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had been seeking asylum there.

Confirming the move in a statement to CNNE, a foreign ministry spokesperson said all Mexican diplomatic staff would leave Ecuador immediately.

Mexico decried the raid as “an outrage against international law.”

Video from the scene showed police officers massing around the embassy, some armed. Embassies are generally considered protected spaces under diplomatic norms.

Glas has since been transferred to a maximum-security prison in Guayaquil known as La Roca, the national prisons agency SNAI announced Saturday.

A rift between the two Latin American countries had been growing for several days, culminating Friday in Mexico’s decision to grant political asylum to Glas, who served as vice president under leftist ex-President Rafael Correa between 2013 and 2017.

Convicted twice on corruption charges, Glas says he is the subject of political persecution and had been sheltering inside the embassy.

He had most recently been accused by Ecuadorian authorities of embezzling government funds meant to help rebuild after a devastating 2016 earthquake.

But on Friday, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on his official X account, said he had been informed that “police from Ecuador forcibly entered” the Mexican embassy and took Glas – who “was a refugee and processing asylum because of the persecution and harassment he faces.”

A statement released by Ecuador’s government on X also confirmed the arrest.

Glas was “sentenced to imprisonment by the Ecuadorian justice system,” the statement from Ecuador’s government read, and was “arrested tonight and placed under the orders of the competent authorities.” He had been granted diplomatic asylum “contrary to the conventional legal framework,” the government said.

“What you have just seen is an outrage against international law and the inviolability of the Mexican embassy in Ecuador,” Roberto Canseco, head of chancellery and policy affairs of the Mexican embassy, told a reporter from CNNE, calling Glas’s arrest “totally unacceptable.”

“It is barbarism,” Canseco added. “It is impossible for them to violate the diplomatic premises as they have done.”

At a news conference Saturday, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld said the decision to raid the Mexican embassy to arrest Glas was made “in the face of a real risk of imminent escape.”

Sommerfeld also accused Mexico of violating the principle of non-intervention by letting Glas stay in the embassy and evade an order to appear before authorities in a corruption probe.

“The Mexican embassy, by receiving Mr. Glas Espinel, contributed to the failure to comply with the obligation to appear weekly before the judicial authority, thus affecting the democratic institutions of Ecuador, clearly contravening the fundamental principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other states,” she said.

Sommerfeld dismissed Mexico’s claim that Glas was being politically prosecuted, saying, “For Ecuador, no criminal can be considered a politically persecuted person when he has been convicted with an enforceable sentence and with an arrest warrant issued by the judicial authorities.”

Mexico plans to lodge a complaint with the International Court of Justice to denounce the Ecuadorian police’s actions, the spokesperson for Mexico’s foreign secretary added.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena said there had been no prior contact with Ecuador’s foreign ministry about the arrest and Canseco was physically attacked during the arrest. Video shows Canseco scuffling with police outside the embassy and being dragged to the ground.

Adding to current tensions was López Obrador’s apparent criticism of Ecuador’s recent elections, saying the 2023 run-off vote took place in a “very strange” manner and suggesting presidential candidates had used the media, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio’s assassination and overall violence in their favor while campaigning.

After that comment, Ecuador declared Mexico’s ambassador to the country “persona non grata,” meaning they would have to leave the country in short order.

The dramatic rupture in relations sent shock waves through the region, with Latin American leaders swiftly condemning Ecuador’s raid on the embassy.

In a statement, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Glas’s right to asylum had been “barbarically violated” and called for an urgent examination of the “breach of the Vienna convention by a member state” conducted by international bodies, including the Organization of American States.

 

How to photograph April 8's solar eclipse with a camera or a smartphone

What you need to know about taking pictures of solar eclipsePhotographer Stan Honda shared his best tips for taking pictures of the total solar eclipse on April 8, either with a camera or a smartphone.Courtesy of Stan Honda

"Eclipse Across America," will air live Monday, April 8, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, ABC News Live, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Disney+ and Hulu as well as network social media platforms.

The historic total solar eclipse on April 8 is set to be one of the most photographed events this year.

In the U.S., 31 million people already live inside the path of totality and millions are likely to travel to cities within that path, watching the moon pass over and then completely block the face of the sun for a short period.

It's a phenomenon that almost every viewer will want to capture in a photograph, but it may be difficult to figure out what's the best gear to use or how to set up.

Photographer Stan Honda, who is based in New York City, has photographed three total solar eclipses and at least 10 partial solar eclipses. He gave his tips to ABC News on the best ways to capture this rare celestial event.

Before you start taking pictures, wear eclipse glasses

One of the most important things, before and as you are setting up equipment, is to never look up at phases of the partial eclipse -- when the moon is partly obscuring the sun -- without wearing eclipse glasses.

Looking up with the naked eye or regular sunglasses can burn the retina, leading to long-lasting -- even permanent -- damage. The glasses can only be removed during the totality period, when the sun is completely blocked by the moon.

Make sure the glasses are certified ISO 12312-2, which is the international safety standard for products designed for direct viewing of the sun.

This standard does not apply to solar filters that fit in the front of devices such as camera lenses, so make sure you're purchasing a proper solar filter to fit when photographing the partial phases of the eclipse.

Keep the setup simple

If you'll be taking photographs with a professional or digital camera, Honda recommends keeping the set-up as simple as possible.

MORE: Warby Parker offering free eclipse glasses for total solar eclipse

The type of lens you use will depend on what kind of photographs you would like to capture, but Honda says he tries to use two types of lenses for his photographs.

The first is a long telephoto lens to get a close view of the sun during the eclipse and the second is a wider angle lens to capture both the eclipse and the landscape around you.

"To me, that's almost a more interesting picture because it places the eclipse in a location," he said of the wider-angle photographs. "When you zoom in and when you do close-ups of the sun, it isolates it up in space, and you're not really sure where you are. The wide-angle ones really show the location where you are, and often can show people, things like that."

For amateur photographers, or those experiencing their first total solar eclipse, Honda recommends using just one camera, one lens and a tripod.

"I always tell people, especially if this is your first total eclipse, try not to think too much about the photography because you really want to see it with your own eyes," he said. "If you're spending all the time trying to fiddle around with your cameras, then it's sort of a lost opportunity to experience this just unbelievable event."

What if I'm using a smartphone?

With the majority of Americans owning smartphones, millions will likely capture the event with an iPhone or Android camera.

New calculations have raised concerns popular eclipse maps might be off. Here’s what scientists say

 New calculations have raised concerns popular eclipse maps might be off. Here’s what scientists say

CNN

 — 

If you’re planning to see the epic total solar eclipse that will dance across the skies of North America on Monday, you should aim to travel as close to the center of the celestial spectacle’s path as possible.

New map calculations have raised some concerns that the path of totality — where it’s possible to see the moon completely block out the sun — is slightly narrower than NASA calculated. That means some cities on the edge of the route that were expecting to experience a second or two of total darkness might be left out.

NASA has not changed its predictions, but the space agency advises that there is some uncertainty involved in mapping the eclipse’s path.

Calculations that use a slightly larger radius for the size of the Sun yield an eclipse path that is slightly narrower,” said NASA spokesperson Karen Fox in an emailed statement. “This difference would only affect cities on the very edge of the path of totality, where blanket predictions are difficult regardless — a few city blocks one way or the other could mean 20, 10, or 0 seconds of totality.”

And for viewing purposes, NASA scientists and other experts recommend that spectators head for the middle, rather than the perimeter, of the path anyway.

“I would never, never be near the edge of where that totality is because it’s a difference between night and day,” said Dr. Edward Guinan, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Villanova University.

Mapping the moment

Recent questions around a potentially shifting path have focused on a new map calculated by Guildford, England-based software developer John Irwin and published to a webpage called Besselian Elements.

The research hasn’t been thoroughly reviewed by scientists, Guinan said. And even if the NASA map is wrong, Irwin’s calculations indicate it’s only off by a couple thousand feet on the edges.

Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

A woman views a map showing the eclipse path during the Solar Eclipse Festival at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California, on August 19, 2017, two days before the total eclipse on August 21.

Irwin did not immediately respond to an email request for comment Friday.

But few things in science are ever certain. And NASA also acknowledges that exact measurements of the eclipse path are difficult to pin down.

“(P)recise eclipse prediction has brought new attention to a tiny but real uncertainty about the size of the Sun,” NASA’s statement reads. “Uncertainty in the Earth’s rotation can also affect eclipse predictions on this level.”

Guinan explained that it’s extremely difficult to determine an exact measurement of the sun’s size because “it’s a fuzzy surface.”

He noted that the sun could be slightly enlarged right now because the our star is currently going through a period of maximum magnetic activity, which “could cause the sun to swell out a bit.”

But the uncertainty accounts for only a few hundred feet, while the moon is millions of miles across.

Still, even slight adjustments in the sun’s size could gently alter the edges of the moon’s shadow on Monday.

Edge effects

The Besselian Elements website advertises that people should consult Irwin’s alternative eclipse map if they’re hoping to travel to the edge of the path — where the length of total darkness may be extremely brief but onlookers could catch a prolonged glimpse of various other eclipse-related phenomenon.

Guinan notes that eclipses do offer “edge effects.”

“You wouldn’t see the total eclipse, but you would see this diamond ring effect — flashes of the sun going in and out behind mountains and coming through valleys on the moon,” he said. “That would be kind of cool to do if you have seen a lot of eclipses.”

 

Gaza: Israel urged to publish full report on aid worker deaths

Seven aid workers were killed in three drone strikes on a convoy of vehicles

Food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) has called for an independent investigation into the killing of seven of its staff by Israeli drone strikes in Gaza.

It comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said "grave mistakes" led to the fatal targeting of the workers.

An Israeli military inquiry led to two senior officers being dismissed.

However, the CEO of the aid group said the Israeli military "cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza".

In a statement, Erin Gore continued: "[The IDF's] apologies for the outrageous killing of our colleagues represent cold comfort. It's cold comfort for the victims' families and WCK's global family."

She said Israel must take "concrete steps" to ensure the safety of aid workers operating on the ground in Gaza, where several organisations have suspended operations in light of the deaths.

Israel is under pressure from key Western partners to publish the full findings of its investigation, which have not been made public.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had received the Israeli report and was "reviewing it very carefully". He said the US will be "looking to see not just what steps are being taken, but the results that follow from them".

The Biden administration is facing mounting pressure from some Democrats over its military support to Israel. On Friday, more than three dozen members of Congress, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, signed a letter urging the US president and Mr Blinken to "reconsider" the authorisation of an arms package transfer to Israel.

The letter called for the US to withhold further arms transfers pending an investigation into the airstrike that killed the aid workers, or if Israel "fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza."

In the space of four minutes on 1 April, the seven aid workers were killed when three missiles destroyed their cars one by one as they engaged in humanitarian work.

The charity's team had been authorised by the Israeli military to help transfer aid supplies from the coast to a warehouse, but a series of mistakes and miscommunications on the part of the IDF resulted in them being mistaken for Hamas operatives and targeted.

The IDF said a "number of armed gunmen" were in the vicinity of the convoy, but drone operators wrongly tracked cars carrying aid workers.

The army apologised after admitting its soldiers did not follow protocols and were not given crucial information about the pre-approved aid mission.

The IDF said information about the aid workers' movements was not passed on to drone operators

As well as the dismissal of a colonel and a major, three IDF commanders have been formally reprimanded and the drone unit responsible has been suspended.

UK Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said British officials were "carefully reviewing the initial findings" and called the dismissal of two officers a "first step".

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: "These findings must be published in full and followed up with a wholly independent review to ensure utmost transparency and accountability."

Additional material from the IDF investigation - including video footage purporting to show a Hamas gunman on top of an aid lorry - was shown to journalists in a private briefing ahead of the IDF's public apology, but only a summary of the findings has been made publicly available.

The Israeli investigation was carried out via a pre-existing disciplinary procedure which deals with allegations of military misconduct, and was overseen by a reservist major general.

IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari described the report as being carried out by a "professional, independent body that is outside of the chain of command".

Google AI content under premium now? Search engine says it's 'not considering ad-free experience'

 Google AI content under premium now? Search engine says it's 'not considering ad-free experience'

The potential move suggests the Alphabet Inc unit still hasn’t figured out how to incorporate the new, fast-growing technology without threatening its essential advertising business.

Google logo and AI Artificial Intelligence words are seen in this illustration

Google is considering charging for new “premium" features run by artificial intelligence, the Financial Times reported, marking the first time it would put any of its core product behind a paywall.

The tech giant is mulling options such as adding certain AI search features to its premium subscription services, the FT reported, citing three unnamed people familiar with the plans. Engineers are developing the technology to roll out the service but executives haven’t decided whether or when to launch it, according to the report. Google’s ubiquitous search engine would continue to be free and ads would appear alongside search results even to subscribers, the FT said.

“We’re continuing to rapidly improve the product to serve new user needs," a spokesperson said. “We’re not working on or considering an ad-free search experience. As we’ve done many times before, we’ll continue to build new premium capabilities and services to enhance our subscription offerings across Google."

The potential move suggests the Alphabet Inc. unit still hasn’t figured out how to incorporate the new, fast-growing technology without threatening its essential advertising business. The shares were down less than 1% in premarket trading Thursday.

Ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, Google has found itself on the defensive in the face of the wildly popular chatbot. ChatGPT’s ability to give answers to queries in a narrative voice has forced Google to rethink its traditional list of blue links to websites and the lucrative ads that appear alongside them. Meanwhile, in recent years, a new crop of search startups has emerged. Some have tried to persuade users to sign up for paid subscriptions to access generative AI search features, or for better privacy protections.

Last year, Google began testing its own AI-powered search service that combines the personalized, detailed narrative in addition to links to websites and advertising. But it has been slow to incorporate features from its experimental “search generative experience" to the main search engine.

In February, Google added a new paid tier to its consumer subscription service that gives people access to its latest AI model, Gemini. Users who pay for that subscription, called Google One AI Premium, are able to use its advanced Gemini chatbot and access the generative AI model in popular services such as Gmail and Google Docs.

Using generative AI technology to power search queries is “eye-wateringly" expensive, said one former Google employee, who worked on the company’s search products. Teams regularly ran benchmark tests on random queries internally to measure how quickly Google’s search engine could deliver results — but they didn’t run the same tests for Google’s AI-powered search product in part because it was so costly, the former staffer said.

In the wake of ChatGPT’s appearance, Google has reoriented its search teams to deploy more people to work on the experimental AI-powered experience, according to another former Google employee. While early feedback was positive, the high cost likely factored into the decision not to roll it out more widely, the person said. A Google spokesperson said the company has been focused on improving issues such as latency and adding new features, and that cost hasn’t influenced the company’s decisions about how fast to incorporate more AI into search.

For Google, charging for certain AI search aspects could help the company shake loose some additional revenue, without cannibalizing its core search ad business, said Mandeep Singh, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

“Given OpenAI has reached a subscription run-rate of $2 billion with consumer subscriptions, we believe Alphabet could see a similar boost to its $15 billion subscription sales," he wrote in an email.

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Byju’s seeks arbitration over NCLT trial in dispute with investors

 Byju’s seeks arbitration over NCLT trial in dispute with investors

Investors have alleged that the edtech firm has violated the tribunal’s order, which prohibited Byju's from issuing shares to participants in the rights issue without first expanding its authorized share capital.

Byju's relationship with its shareholders worsened last month when a group of four investors moved the NCLT, highlighting their concerns over Byju's $200-million rights issue, which was priced at a 99% discount to the company's peak valuation of $22 billion.

Embattled edtech firm Byju's on Thursday filed a plea with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking arbitration in its dispute with some of its key investors.

Dhyan Chinappa, representing Byju's, argued that an application under section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act ought to take precedence over ongoing NCLT proceedings.

An NCLT bench, comprising Justices K Biswal and Manoj Kumar Dubey, was hearing a plea challenging Byju's rights issue.

A clutch of investors including General Atlantic, Prosus and Peak XV have alleged that the edtech firm violated the tribunal’s 27 February order, which had directed debt-laden Byju's to not allot shares to investors participating in the rights issue without increasing its authorized share capital.

Byju's went against the NCLT’s directive by distributing shares without augmenting the company's authorized share capital, the investors said in their plea.

Byju’s has denied the allegations.

The NCLT has given Byju's 10 days to file its response in the matter. The case will be next heard on 23 April.

A group of four investors - Prosus NV, General Atlantic, Sofina, and Peak XV Partners, with support from Tiger Global and Owl Ventures - had moved the the NCLT against Byju's $200-million rights issue fearing a near wipe-out of their investments last month.

The NCLT refused to stay the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to augment the authorized share capital of the beleaguered edtech company, giving effect to its $200-million rights issue.

Investors have also argued that they were not permitted to inspect documents to decide on their voting stance at the EGM and alleged that not all shareholders received the notice as required by law.

Currently, Byju's authorized share capital is ₹6.5 crore, whereas the rights issue’s face value is ₹40 crore, in conflict with provisions of the Companies Act. This led the company to call for an EGM for increasing the authorized share capital of the company.

The bench held that the NCLT orders should be scrupulously followed by the parties.

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