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Putin orders development of homegrown Steam Deck-like gaming machines — 100% self-sufficiency goal apparently applies to gaming, too

Vladimir Putin recently approved a list of development plans for the Kaliningrad region of Russia, and it surprisingly listed creating a Steam-like ecosystem, including a handheld device, among the key goals. Part of a new nine-point plan handed down from Putin to PM Mikhail Mishustin, the new Russian gaming platform should include desktop and portable hardware, an OS, and a cloud system for gaming. The plans, spotted by PCGamer, indicate that PM Mishustin has a “period of execution” until June 15 to assess and organize the production of the gaming machines and ecosystem.

From a machine translation of the official instructions, we know that this nine-point plan was precipitated by a meeting in January concerning economic development in Kaliningrad. Third on the list is the diktat regarding developing a whole new gaming ecosystem.

“Consider the issue of organizing the production of stationary and portable game consoles and game consoles, as well as the creation of an operating system and a cloud system for delivering games and programs to users,” says the Putin-approved instruction.

We see that PM Mishustin needs only to consider and create outline plans for the gaming ecosystem before the period of execution, which is set for June 15, 2024. Of course, preparing meaningful plans is still a big task, but it should be achievable enough for Mishustin to feel relatively safe standing on balconies.

Local media has already been pondering the feasibility of Russia creating a viable gaming ecosystem from scratch. Industry figures in Russia reportedly agreed that a meaningful timescale would be five to 10 years. However, given the experience deficit and time constraints, the platform might be as much as 15 years behind platforms like Steam, technologically speaking, by the time it launches.

Other reports examine why the Kaliningrad region might have been chosen for this games industry project. Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, with access to the Baltic Sea, and operating as a special economic zone (with tax and customs duty breaks, etc). The region is also home to a recently opened silicon production facility estimated to produce 200 million silicon wafers annually.

It would be better for Russian gamers if the Ukraine war ended, and sanctions followed suit, so AMD, Intel, and Nvidia hardware could be put back on the menu. If not, a ‘Russian Steam Machine’ might have to run on Baikal processing power or adopt some limp Chinese chips, for example. Russia probably has less work to do on the software side, as it already has Astra Linux for the OS, which could be made more PC gaming-friendly using Proton, following the Valve / Steam playbook.

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Syria reports Israeli airstrikes near Aleppo, world court orders action on Gaza famine

The Syrian army says Israeli airstrikes early Friday near the northern city of Aleppo killed or wounded “a number of” people and caused damage. An opposition war monitor said the strikes killed 42, most of them Syrian troops.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said Israeli strikes hit missile depots for Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group in Aleppo’s southern suburb of Jibreen, near the Aleppo International Airport, and the nearby town of Safira, home to a sprawling military facility.

The Observatory said 36 Syrian troops and six Hezbollah fighters died, and dozens of people were wounded, calling it the deadliest such attack in years.

There was no immediate statement from Israeli officials on the strikes.

Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in its northern neighbor, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them.

The strikes came less than 24 hours after judges at the International Court of Justice unanimously ordered Israel to take all the necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies arrive without delay to the Palestinian population in Gaza.

The ICJ said the Palestinians in Gaza face worsening conditions of life, and famine and starvation are spreading.

“The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine (…) but that famine is setting in,” the judges said in their order.

The new measures were requested by South Africa as part of its ongoing case that accuses Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.

In January the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

In Thursday’s order the court reaffirmed the January measures but added Israel must take action to ensure unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance including food, water and electricity as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza.

The judges added that this could be done “by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary”. The court ordered Israel to submit a report in a month after the order to detail how it had given effect to the ruling.

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Top UN court orders Israel to allow food and medical aid into Gaza

The UN’s top court has unanimously ordered Israel to enable the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza in order to avert a famine.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel must act “without delay” to allow the “provision… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.

This follows warnings that famine could hit Gaza within weeks.

Israel has called allegations it is blocking aid “wholly unfounded”.

It has also denied allegations of genocide lodged at the ICJ by South Africa and has blamed the UN for problems with the distribution of aid.

The latest ruling by the court in The Hague comes after South Africa asked it to bolster an order issued to Israel in January to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza.

Although orders issued by the ICJ are legally binding, the court lacks the power to enforce them.

Last week, a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Global Initiative, which is run by the World Food Programme and others, warned that a “catastrophic” situation was developing.

It said that all of the 2.2 million people in Gaza were “facing high levels of acute food insecurity” and that famine was projected to hit the north of the territory before the end of May.

In its ruling, the ICJ said Gaza was “no longer facing only a risk of famine” but “famine is setting in” and that, according to UN observers, 31 people, including 27 children, had already died of malnutrition and dehydration.

It also noted comments by Volker Türk, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, who said last week that the “situation of hunger, starvation and famine” was “a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure”.

The court said Israel must “take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.

The aid most needed included food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, and clothing as well as hygiene products and medical supplies, it said.

The ruling also said Israel must ensure “its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza” under the Genocide Convention.

Recent months have seen long queues of aid trucks repeatedly forming as they wait to enter Gaza from Egypt, and accusations levelled at Israel that it is subjecting the deliveries to complex and arbitrary checks.

In a filing last week, Israel asked the ICJ not to issue the latest order, saying South Africa’s allegations were “wholly unfounded in fact and law” and “morally repugnant”.

It has also dismissed the broader case being brought against it under the Genocide Convention as “baseless”.

Israel has further said that Hamas takes much of the aid that enters Gaza and accused the UN of failing to distribute what is left to the civilian population.

The current conflict began after the 7 October attack, which saw Hamas-led gunmen storm across the border into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage.

Of those taken, about 130 remain unaccounted for, at least 34 of whom are presumed dead.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,552 people. Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that, of those killed, more than 25,000 were women and children.

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UN court orders Israel to provide more aid to the Gaza Strip

The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to immediately allow the delivery of significantly more humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations’ highest court in The Hague ordered on Thursday that more border crossings should be opened for the transport of food and medical aid.

The court was responding to a request from South Africa in the ongoing genocide proceedings against Israel.

At the end of January, the court had already ordered emergency measures and ordered Israel to do everything possible to prevent genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Given the deteriorating situation in the war zone and the threat of famine, South Africa called for additional measures. The court agreed with this.

Decisions of the International Court of Justice are binding.

Since the decision of January 26, the “catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have continued to deteriorate,” the decision stated.

The judges particularly mention hunger. There is now no longer just a risk of famine, but famine has already begun, they said.

Israel must work closely with the United Nations to deliver aid, they said. The judges also included water, electricity, clothing and tents among the urgently needed relief supplies.

Israel was also warned to ensure that its military units do not violate the rights of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This also includes preventing the delivery of urgently needed relief supplies.

The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre with more than 1,200 deaths that militants from the Palestinian Hamas movement and other Islamist groups carried out in Israel on October 7.

Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive. In view of the high number of civilian casualties and the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel has come in for increasing criticism internationally.

Palestinian families can be seen at makeshift tents in Rafah, amid the battles between Israel and Hamas. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

A Palestinian family can be seen at makeshift tent in Rafah, amid the battles between Israel and Hamas. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

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UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings for aid into Gaza

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court on Thursday ordered Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into the war-ravaged enclave.

The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide in its military campaign launched after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Israel denies it is committing genocide. It says its military campaign is self defense and aimed at Hamas, not the Palestinian people.

Thursday’s order came after South Africa sought more provisional measures, including a cease-fire, citing starvation in Gaza. Israel urged the court not to issue new orders.

In its legally binding order, the court told Israel to take measures “without delay” to ensure “the unhindered provision” of basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

It also ordered Israel to immediately ensure that its military does not take action that could that could harm Palestinians’ rights under the Genocide Convention, including by preventing the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The court told Israel to report back in a month on its implementation of the orders.

Israel declared war in response to a bloody cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage. Israel responded with a campaign of airstrikes and a ground offensive that have left over 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities. The fighting also displaced over 80% of Gaza’s population and caused widespread damage.

The U.N. and international aid agencies say virtually the entire Gaza population is struggling to get enough food, with hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine, especially in hard-hit northern Gaza.

South Africa welcomed Thursday’s decision, calling it “significant.”

“The fact that Palestinian deaths are not solely caused by bombardment and ground attacks, but also by disease and starvation, indicates a need to protect the group’s right to exist,” the South African president said in a statement.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry thanked South Africa, calling the case “a vital step in the global effort to hold Israel accountable for perpetrating genocide.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.

In a written response earlier this month to South Africa’s request for more measures, Israel said the claims by South Africa were “wholly unfounded,” “morally repugnant” and “an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court itself.”

After initially sealing Gaza’s borders in the early days of the war, Israel began to permit entry of humanitarian supplies. It says it places no restrictions on the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza and accuses the United Nations of failing to properly organize the deliveries.

The U.N. and international aid groups say deliveries have been impeded by Israeli military restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order.

Israel has been working with international partners on a plan to soon begin deliveries of aid by sea.

Israel has repeatedly feuded with the United Nations, particularly UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and main provider of aid in Gaza. Israel accuses the agency of tolerating and even cooperating with Hamas — a charge UNRWA denies.

The court said in its order that “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine … but that famine is setting in.” It cited a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that said at least 31 people, including 27 children, have already died of malnutrition and dehydration.

The world court said earlier orders imposed on Israel after landmark hearings in South Africa’s case “do not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation” in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the army said it inspected 258 aid trucks, but only 116 were distributed within Gaza by the U.N.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, has also run pilot programs to inspect the humanitarian aid at Israel’s main checkpoints in the south and then use land crossings in central Gaza to try to bring aid to the devastated northern part of the Strip. The agency had no immediate comment on the ICJ ruling.

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Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

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UN high court again orders Israel to alleviate crisis in Gaza

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ordered Israel to take more steps to protect civilians in Gaza and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the coastal strip where Israeli troops are fighting against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The court ordered Israel to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, noting there is no substitute for land crossings for supplies. The court also said Israel must “not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza.”

The United Nations high court’s Thursday order comes after a plea from South Africa for the ICJ to take further action after the court’s initial January ruling has not alleviated the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The ICJ noted in the Thursday order that the situation has worsened since January.

“The Court observes with regret that, since then, the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further,” it wrote in the order, “in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been subjected.”

The state of Palestine at the U.N. said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “Israel has to fully cooperate” with the order, noting that it was binding.

South Africa filed a case at the ICJ at the end of 2023, accusing Israel of genocide in the war against Hamas in Gaza. More than 32,000 people have died in Gaza, and the coastal strip is facing a hunger crisis.

Israel has rejected those accusations and maintains it has a right to defend itself after Hamas invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostages. Around 100 hostages are still left alive in Gaza.

The ICJ case could take years to resolve on the question of whether Israel is committing genocide, but the court decided to take preliminary action in January after a request from South Africa.

Those preliminary orders include taking measures to prevent the killing of civilians, facilitate humanitarian aid and punish those calling for genocide.

Israel submitted a report in February detailing the measures it has taken to follow those court orders.

The ICJ has also called for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

The U.N. Security Council has separately called for a cease-fire in Gaza for the rest of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which lasts for another two weeks, and for the release of hostages.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

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White House orders federal agencies to name chief AI officers

The White House is ordering all federal agencies to name chief artificial intelligence officers to oversee the federal government’s various approaches to AI and manage the risks that the rapidly evolving technologies might pose.

That directive is part of a government-wide policy from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, that Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday, following a sweeping AI executive order President Biden signed in October. The White House is trying to push the federal government — known more for its slow-moving bureaucracy than its ability to adopt cutting-edge technology — to keep up with the changes in the field of artificial intelligence.

“We have directed all federal agencies to designate a chief AI officer with the experience, expertise, and authority to oversee all — I’m going to emphasize that — all AI technologies used by that agency,” Harris said Wednesday in embargoed remarks on the new policy. “And this is to make sure that AI is used responsibly, understanding that we must have senior leaders across our government who are specifically tasked with overseeing AI adoption and use.”

The new OMB policy also requires federal agencies to establish AI governance boards to coordinate and establish rules for the use of AI technologies across each agency. The White House says the departments of Defense, Housing and Urban Development, State and Veterans Affairs have already set up governance boards. The Biden administration plans to hire 100 AI professionals across agencies by this summer.

By December, federal agencies must also put in place what the White House calls “concrete safeguards” when they use AI “in a way that could impact Americans’ rights or safety.”

For example, Harris said Wednesday, if the VA wants to use AI in VA hospitals to help diagnose patients, the department would first need to demonstrate the AI doesn’t produce “racially biased diagnoses.”

The White House will also be requiring federal agencies to post a list of their AI systems online, along with an assessment of the risks those systems might pose and how they plan to manage them, Harris said. That list will need to be published and updated each year.

“President Biden and I intend that these domestic policies will serve as a model for global action,” Harris said.

Overseeing the federal government’s adoption of AI technologies is one of the many hats Harris has been given as vice president. She delivered a major policy speech in London in November on the U.S. government’s vision for the future of AI.

AI has at times become a problem for Mr. Biden personally. AI was used to impersonate the president in fake robocalls that went out to New Hampshire voters, and fake and manipulated videos of the president have emerged online.

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Pope, looking strong, issues lengthy marching orders to priests during Holy Thursday Mass

Pope Francis urged his priests Thursday to avoid “clerical hypocrisy” and treat their flocks with mercy as he delivered a lengthy set of marching orders to Rome-based priests at the start of a busy few days leading to Easter.

A strong-looking Francis presided over a Holy Thursday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica during which the oils for church services are blessed. Later in the afternoon, he travels to Rome’s main women’s prison for the annual Holy Week ritual in which he washes the feet of inmates in a symbol of humility and service.

The 87-year-old Francis, who has been hobbled by a long bout of respiratory problems this winter, appeared in good form for the morning Mass. He read aloud a long homily, after skipping his text at the last minute during Palm Sunday Mass last weekend.

In his remarks, Francis warned priests against “sliding into clerical hypocrisy,” or preaching one thing to their flocks but doing differently in their own spiritual lives. Rather, he urged them to always show mercy to the faithful and not judge them, and weep instead for their own sins.

Pope Francis urged his priests Thursday to avoid “clerical hypocrisy” and treat their flocks with mercy as he delivered a lengthy set of marching orders to Rome-based priests at the start of a busy few days leading to Easter. — Pope Francis arrives to preside the Maundy Thursday mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.Alberto Pizzoli / AFP – Getty Images

Doing so, he said, “means looking within and repenting of our ingratitude and inconstancy, and acknowledging with sorrow our duplicity, dishonesty and hypocrisy,” he said.

The Mass was the first major papal liturgy in St. Peter’s since Bernini’s great columned canopy over the altar, known as a baldacchino, was covered in scaffolding for a months-long renovation and cleaning.

Francis has a busy few days coming up that will test his stamina.

On Friday, he is due to travel at night to the Colosseum for the Way of the Cross procession re-enacting Christ’s crucifixion. On Saturday, he presides over an evening Easter Vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica followed a few hours later by Easter Sunday Mass in the piazza and his big noontime Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) speech highlighting global conflicts and disasters afflicting humanity.

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Judge in Spain orders Telegram messaging service to be blocked

A court in Madrid ordered the temporary blocking of the short message service Telegram in Spain on Sunday, citing a lawsuit from several companies claiming that Telegram was being used to violate copyright protections.

Several media companies had brought the lawsuit involving Telegram.

Consumer advocates in Spain, where there are several million Telegram users, criticized the measure as disproportionate.

However, Telegram was initially still accessible from Spain and, even if instituted, the ban could likely be circumvented with relative ease using protected network connections known as VPNs.

The court announced that Judge Santiago Pedraz had repeatedly requested administrative assistance from the authorities of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, where Telegram is registered, to no avail.

Authorities there had not cooperated in clarifying the identity of the owners of Telegram accounts from which copyrighted content had been illegally distributed.

In the judge’s view, temporary blocking of the entire Telegram service was therefore “necessary, appropriate and proportionate,” according to the court.

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Putin orders arms factories to make more Lancet kamikaze drones

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has ordered the head of a state-owned defence conglomerate to increase the production of attack drones, as the drone war in Ukraine ramps up.

In televised footage of the meeting on Monday night, the Russian president was told by the head of Rostec, which produces around 90 per cent of Russia’s military equipment, to increase the number of kamikaze drones being churned out.

Putin said Russia needed more Kub and Lancet drones, which have become a thorn in the side of Ukraine’s advancing forces, saying they had proven “very effective”.

“It is necessary to increase the percentage of the production of the latest types of weapons. T-90 ‘Proryv’ tanks and aircraft systems,” the Russian leader said.

Russian state media said, last month, that the Lancet drone was going into mass-production, with Rossiya-1 television reporting that production would be tripled in the coming months.

Ukrainian military officers have described the drones as being among their biggest threats on the battlefield as Moscow’s kamikaze drones are difficult to defend against.

The drones fly low and slow to avoid traditional air defence systems and can be piloted directly by operators on the ground, unlike the Iranian-made Shahed drones which are pre-programmed to head to a target that cannot be changed once launched.

Analysts have suggested that Russia’s defence ministry is keen to get hold of more of the Lancet drones, which reportedly cost around £28,000 each, as a low cost way of making up for losses of their more expensive and sophisticated equipment.

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