September 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
Qualcomm and Amazon agree on multi-generation custom chips for AI data centres
Qualcomm said on Tuesday that it is working with Amazon across multiple generations of customised silicon for large-scale AI data centres. The work covers inference parts and optical connectivity. The Register reports that Amazon purchases and other commercial commitments could total up to 60 billion dollars through September 2036.
Ratko Mladic is buried with full military honours in Belgrade
Serbia buried the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic at Topcider Cemetery in Belgrade with full military honours. Thousands attended, and Patriarch Porfirije, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, led the service. The coffin was wrapped in the Serbian flag; President Aleksandar Vucic did not attend, while his son Danilo did. European Commissioner Marta Kos cancelled her Belgrade visit, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned against actions that glorify convicted war criminals.
Russia hits Kyiv again after the three-day pause on capital strikes
Russia struck Kyiv again hours after the three-day pause Vladimir Putin had ordered on attacks against the capitals during the visit of US envoys expired on Monday evening. The city military administration said the air raids killed 2 people and wounded 7. The raids struck residential buildings, and drones came down in the Boryspil and Fastiv districts. Ukrainian drones hit civilian infrastructure in Saratov, about 1,000 km from Moscow, injuring several people.
Samsung and TSMC commit to ASML's High NA EUV machines for AI chips
ASML said Samsung would deploy its High NA extreme ultraviolet machines by 2028 and TSMC from 2030. Both follow Intel, which has already run more than 1 million wafers through the tools on its 18A process. The companies also opened a shift from today's 6 inch photomask to a 12 inch one, with testing in 2031 and production in 2033.
Second-hand smoke reached 2.7 billion people in 2023, with 1.66 million deaths attributed to it
A Global Burden of Disease analysis in The Lancet Public Health estimates that 2.7 billion people breathed other people's tobacco smoke in 2023. The authors attribute 1.66 million premature deaths to that exposure, along with 5.2 million respiratory tract infections in exposed children aged 0 to 14.
Semaglutide tracked with 40 per cent fewer asthma attacks and 20 per cent fewer COPD flare-ups
Chloe Bloom's team at Imperial College London tracked semaglutide in UK electronic medical records among people with asthma and COPD. Semaglutide went together with about 40 per cent lower asthma-attack rates and 20 per cent lower COPD flare-up rates. Results were presented at the European Respiratory Society congress in Barcelona. Bloom says the findings should not change treatment decisions on their own. The analysis covers people taking the drug mostly for type 2 diabetes.
Seven deaths alleged in strike on Jawf prison
Houthi authorities said a strike on the prison in Hazm killed seven people, including a child, wounded at least seven and was carried out by Saudi Arabia. Footage from a Houthi channel described by AP showed a collapsed building and people searching rubble. Riyadh had not commented, and neither responsibility nor the casualty figures were independently confirmed.
South Africa's economy shrinks 0.2 per cent in second quarter and mining falls
South Africa's gross domestic product contracted by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, ending six consecutive quarters of growth. Mining and quarrying fell 3.0 per cent, trade 1.9 per cent and manufacturing 1.8 per cent. Finance, transport and government services recorded smaller gains, and household spending rose 0.4 per cent.
South Korea, Japan and the US begin the Freedom Edge 2026 exercise
South Korea, Japan and the United States began the multidomain Freedom Edge 2026 military exercise on September 7. KBS World reported maritime and air drills around the Korean Peninsula and Japan, while Jiji Press reported an opening ceremony at Yokota Air Base. The two publishers covered the exercise's start through separate editorial lineages.
Stripped-down LSD analogues separate the structural parts that carry the hallucinogenic effect
A team led by David E. Olson at the University of California, Davis synthesised nine simplified analogues by removing structural components from LSD one at a time. Two of them showed profiles with reduced hallucinogenic and cardiotoxic effects in mouse behavioural tests.