Portugal Seizes Record-Breaking Cocaine Haul Off Azores
Portuguese authorities intercepted a semi-submersible craft off the Azores archipelago on Monday, seizing a record haul of nearly nine tonnes of cocaine. The seizure, the largest ever in Portugal, was announced by police officials, according to Euronews.
The operation involved Portuguese law enforcement, the navy, and the air force, with assistance from UK and US authorities. Artur Vaz, director of the National Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking (UNCTE), stated at a press conference on Sunday afternoon that bales of cocaine were recovered from the vessel, Euronews reported. The difficult weather conditions complicated the operation.
The record cocaine seizure comes as Finland announced increased efforts to monitor undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. According to Euronews, this action follows several incidents involving vessels, suspected to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet," that allegedly damaged cables in the region. Finland plans to establish a new maritime surveillance mechanism in cooperation with other Baltic Sea states, as part of the European Commission's plan to bolster data and telecom infrastructure security. Mikko Hirvi, head of maritime safety at the Finnish Border Guard, said the mechanism would include hubs around the region.
In other news, South Korean startup Edenlux is preparing to launch its eye-strain wellness device in the U.S., TechCrunch reported. The company aims to address eye and ear health issues caused by increased screen time. Research indicates that people spend an average of over three hours daily on smartphones, with many adults exceeding six hours of total screen time. This constant screen exposure has been linked to eye-health problems, including dry eyes, eye fatigue, blurred vision, headaches, and worsening nearsightedness. Edenlux founder and CEO Sungyong Park, a former military physician, developed the technology based on his personal experience with eyesight issues.
Meanwhile, AI chip startup Ricursive Intelligence announced it had raised $300 million at a $4 billion valuation, just two months after its launch, according to TechCrunch. The Series A round was led by Lightspeed. Ricursive is developing an AI system to design and improve AI chips automatically. The company claims its system can create its own silicon substrate layer and accelerate AI chip improvements. Ricursive was founded by former Google researchers Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini, whose work on the AlphaChip design method has been used in four generations of Google's TPU chip.
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