U.S. counterterrorism head Kent resigns, says 'cannot in good conscience support' Iran war
Joseph Kent, head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on Tuesday (17 March), becoming the most senior official in President Dona...
Meta Platforms has unveiled the latest iteration of its large language model, introducing two new versions—Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick—on Saturday.
In a statement, Meta described these models as its "most advanced yet" and "the best in their class for multimodality," emphasizing their ability to process and integrate multiple types of data, including text, video, images, and audio.
The new Llama 4 models are set to be open source, which Meta says will foster broader innovation by allowing developers and researchers free access to state-of-the-art AI technology. In addition, Meta previewed Llama 4 Behemoth, which it touted as "one of the smartest LLMs in the world" and its most powerful model to date, intended to serve as a benchmark and teacher for subsequent models.
The release comes at a time when investment in AI infrastructure is surging, following the transformative impact of OpenAI's ChatGPT on the tech landscape. Meta has announced plans to spend up to $65 billion this year to expand its AI capabilities, amid increasing investor pressure on big tech firms to demonstrate robust returns on their AI investments.
According to reports from The Information, the launch of Llama 4 was delayed because early versions of the model did not meet Meta’s technical benchmarks, particularly in areas such as reasoning and math tasks, and were found to be less adept at humanlike voice conversations compared to competing models from OpenAI.
With Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick, Meta aims to reclaim ground in the competitive AI space by delivering versatile, multimodal systems that not only perform a wide range of tasks but also encourage open collaboration in the tech community. As the race in AI innovation heats up, Meta’s new models represent a significant strategic move to both address past performance challenges and push the boundaries of what artificial intelligence can achieve.
The other evening, I was fuelling my car at a petrol station in Kenya’s capital. It was one of those small moments most motorists barely notice. The attendant filled the tank, I glanced at the pump price, paid, and drove off.
President Trump called on countries to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while Starmer said the UK is working with allies to restore navigation and stabilise oil markets. It comes as a strike near Iraq’s western border killed several Hashed al-Shaabi fighters, raising regional tensions.
President Donald Trump said NATO is making a “very foolish mistake” by refusing to help the U.S. as Israel Katz confirmed Ali Larijani was killed in Israeli strikes.
Kazakhstan has adopted a new constitution that could allow President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to stay in power beyond 2029. The Central Election Commission confirmed that 87.15% of voters backed the constitution in a referendum held on Sunday (17 March).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released $2m in emergency funding to support health responses in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria as escalating regional conflict strains hospitals, raises displacement and increases pressure on already fragile health systems.
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD is pushing to make charging an electric car almost as quick and convenient as filling up a traditional petrol vehicle - a move that could help remove one of the biggest barriers to wider electric vehicle adoption.
South Korea will soon cease to be one of the few countries where Google Maps does not function fully, after its security-conscious government reversed a two-decade-old policy and approved the export of high-precision map data to overseas servers.
New research suggests 40,000-year-old carved objects from south-western Germany bear repeated marks arranged in organised sign sequences similar to early proto-cuneiform, although they are not regarded as a form of writing.
The chief executive of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, has called for more urgent research into the risks posed by artificial intelligence, warning that stronger safeguards are needed as systems become more advanced.
NASA successfully completed a critical fueling rehearsal on Thursday (19 February) for its giant moon rocket, Artemis II, after earlier hydrogen leaks disrupted preparations for the next crewed lunar mission. The launch is scheduled for 6 March, according to the latest information from NASA.
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