French official says Pakistan downed Rafale jet as officials examine possible further losses - CNN
A high-ranking French intelligence official told CNN today that one Rafale fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force was downed by Pakistan, in what would mark the first time that one of the sophisticated French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.
Pakistan claimed earlier today to have shot down five Indian Air Force jets in retaliation for Indian strikes, including three Rafales. Indian officials are yet to respond to the claim.
The French official told CNN that French authorities were looking into whether more than one Rafale jets were shot down by Pakistan overnight.
Pictures taken of parts of an aircraft that crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir show the label of a French manufacturer, but experts said it was not possible to say whether the part came from a Rafale aircraft.
Dassault Aviation, the French manufacturer of the jet, has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment.
Deutsche Bank report: China eats the world
On February 5, 2025, Deutsche Bank published a research report titled "China Eats the World", drawing on the phrase by Marc Andreessen, who said in 2011, "Software is eating the world," making a prescient prediction that software would drive tremendous economic benefits. Deutsche Bank is also optimistic about China, viewing its criticized economic flaws as minor in light of its broader momentum.
In microchip news:
Intel invests US$300 million in China chip packaging and testing plant
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The US chip giant aims to expand an existing chip packaging and testing facility in China, its largest market
US semiconductor giant Intel said it would expand its chip packaging and testing base in Chengdu, in a show of commitment to the mainland market despite a recent call by a Beijing-backed cybersecurity group to review the company’s products.
In addition to enlarging packaging and testing capacity for server chips, the facility will also establish a “customer solutions centre to improve the efficiency of the local supply chain, increase support for Chinese customers and improve response time”, Intel China said on Monday on its WeChat account.
The Santa Clara, California-based company will inject US$300 million into its local entity, Intel Products (Chengdu), to support the expansion, according to a WeChat post published by the city’s Reform and Development Commission.
Launched in 2003, Intel’s Chengdu plant is responsible for the packaging and testing of more than half of the company’s laptop processors shipped worldwide. Packaging and testing is the final step in semiconductor manufacturing, ensuring the quality and reliability of a product.
The facility plays a critical role in Intel’s global supply chain, while Chengdu provides a “favourable” business environment that paves the way for the company’s “stable growth”, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger said during a visit there last year. Chengdu is the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province.
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“My simple message is, ‘Let’s get it finished,’” said Gelsinger in an interview with The New York Times.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has been frustrated with the U.S. government’s slow progress in providing Intel with its promised CHIPS Act funding. The New York Times shared recent interviews with Gelsinger and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo about the CHIPS and Science Act.
The Biden-backed CHIPS Act represents $280 billion of funding for semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, giving the Commerce Dept. the ability to provide 10-figure grants and loans to companies like TSMC and Intel to supercharge a young U.S.-based chip industry. The Biden administration has promised Intel $8.5 billion in direct funding to build its new chipmaking fabs (plus $11 billion in loans and a 25% investment tax credit of up to $100 billion). Still, the company has not seen any of these funds so far.
Missing the funds is a problem for Intel, which is in turmoil due to $1.6 billion in losses in Q2 2024. Intel is cutting 15% of its workforce, representing 15,000 or more workers worldwide. Gelsinger has spent the past three months since the disastrous August earnings call restructuring his company and placating stockholders. He has become “frustrated” with the roadblocks the government has put in between Intel and its CHIPS Act funds.
“My simple message is, ‘Let’s get it finished,’” said Gelsinger in an interview. “There’s been renegotiations on both sides.” The U.S. government put some objectives between CHIPS Act recipients and their money, with milestones including completing building projects, securing customers, etc. “Obviously, with elections, you know, nigh in front of us, hey, we want this done,” said Gelsinger, with the possibility of a new presidential regime lighting a fire of urgency.
This reticence to give out CHIPS Act funding right away apparently stemmed from fears from the government that Intel specifically would not meet its promises. “[There is fear that] Intel is going to take chips money, build an empty shell of a factory and then never actually open it, because they don’t have customers,” said former Commerce Department official Caitlin Legacki.
Gelsinger’s tenure as CEO since 2021 has been marked by a desire to rebuild the company in a foundry-forward direction. One of the major forces behind lobbying for the CHIPS Act, Gelsinger also supercharged the Intel Foundry division, which, despite its extremely high costs, has been deemed crucial for Intel's long-term success. The foundry is set to be spun off into an independent subsidiary, with its overseas operations paused for the next two years while its U.S. facilities are prioritized.
According to reports from last month, Intel is set to receive its first round of CHIPS Act funds before the end of 2024. Gelsinger, as mentioned above, is anxious to receive funds before the election, and Qualcomm is reportedly waiting until the election to make a move on purchasing Intel assets.
The live streaming platform Twitch has banned users with Israeli IPs from creating new accounts, 
gamers are very mad.
Previously, the South Koreans did not supply anything to Ukraine
That's a lie, isn't it?
Egypt to back South Africa genocide case against Israel at world court ^[SCMP]^
From what I've heard Egypt cracked down pretty hard on the protests and I'm under the impression no one expects the government to do the right thing unprompted so this was kind of surprising.
I somehow completely missed that Ukraine is now using civilian planes to bomb Russia. You'd think the international "rules based" order people would have something against this but they predictably do not.
A Ukrainian Sport Plane Drone Just Flew 800 Miles Into Russia To Blow Up An Oil Refinery ^[forbes]^
Presumably nothing will come from this (because nothing good ever happens) but it would be great if China could start prying Europe away from the US.
Decided to check the google trends for this "overcapacity" the news has been trying to push and the region stats really reflect the target demographic.
US first quarter annualized GDP growth comes in at 1.6%, lower than the expected 2.5%. At the same time inflation rises to 3.5%.
Did users of other subs also get hit with these or were we privileged?
I feel like it was just an excuse to hamper activity on the sub or they would have told you what the rule-breaking post was.
Chinese premier announces construction of Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project