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  • Samsung’s Latest Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 Laptop Just Hit a Record-Low at Amazon

    Samsung’s Latest Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 Laptop Just Hit a Record-Low at Amazon

    If you’re in the market for a new laptop that’s got some serious hardware, we’ve got a back-to-school deal you won’t want to miss. The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 is one of the latest and most advanced models in Samsung’s lineup, and it just hit a record-low price at Amazon.

    The online retailer has knocked this powerful 2025 laptop down to $1,350, which saves you $350 compared to the usual price. There’s no set expiration for this deal, so it could expire at any moment. Get your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out.

    Though it’s still fairly expensive, the Galaxy Book 5 Pro has some advanced specs that make it a decent bargain at this price. To start, it’s got a stunning 16-inch 3K AMOLED display that boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 500 nits.

    Read more: 78% of US Shoppers Are Stressing Out Over Back-to-School Tech Purchases

    Under the hood, it’s packing a 1TB SSD, 16GB of RAM and an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor that supports tons of helpful AI features like Circle to Search. Plus, it features a touchscreen display and it comes with an S Pen stylus, making it a great option for creatives. It’s also a decent option for working on the go thanks to the thin 12.8mm thick design and impressive 25-hour battery life.

    LAPTOP DEALS OF THE WEEK

    Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

    Why this deal matters

    This 2025 Samsung laptop has some serious hardware that make it a great option if you need a powerful workhorse. It’s got 16GB of RAM and an advanced Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and this Amazon deal drops it down to the lowest price we’ve ever seen, making it a great value.

    There are plenty of other excellent laptop deals out there if you want to shop around a bit more, though.


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  • NASA, SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts splash down – Astronomy Magazine

    1. NASA, SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts splash down  Astronomy Magazine
    2. Four astronauts home from space station after successful splashdown  Dawn
    3. Veins, Vessels Fill Station Research Schedule after Crew Returns to Earth  NASA (.gov)
    4. Japanese Astronaut Onishi Returns to Earth  nippon.com
    5. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Returns Safely After Completing Dozens of ISS National Lab-Sponsored Investigations  International Space Station National Laboratory

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  • The Relationship Between Serum Inflammatory Markers and Chronic Obstru

    The Relationship Between Serum Inflammatory Markers and Chronic Obstru

    Background

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multifactorial lung condition driven by various pathogenic mechanisms, characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow obstruction.1,2 The clinical diagnostic criterion for COPD is a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio of less than 0.7, reflecting the proportion of air forcefully exhaled in one second relative to the total volume exhaled after maximal inhalation. The key pathological features of COPD include chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Globally, COPD ranks among the top three causes of death. In 2012, it was responsible for over 3 million deaths, accounting for 6% of all global fatalities, imposing a substantial burden on clinical care and healthcare resources.3–5 Although COPD remains a major public health challenge, it is both preventable and manageable with appropriate interventions.

    The onset of COPD is often considered to be related to multiple factors. Studies have shown that abnormal inflammatory responses are strongly associated with the development of COPD, and these responses are often chronic and destructive. Over the past decade, research has increasingly highlighted the close link between COPD and inflammation.6,7 Several factors associated with COPD, including dietary patterns, exposure to cigarette smoke, and infections, have been shown to significantly influence inflammation levels.8,9 Chronic systemic inflammation is a nonspecific defense mechanism of the body in response to external stimuli or internal injury, involving the activation of various cellular and molecular processes. Prolonged inflammation can accelerate the progression of COPD.10 The systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) is an emerging and promising inflammatory biomarker, calculated based on neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte counts. It serves as an indicator of the body’s systemic inflammatory status and offers a novel perspective for evaluating inflammatory responses. Increasing evidence has demonstrated associations between elevated SIRI levels and various inflammation-related diseases, including osteoarthritis, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, and heart failure. Notably, higher SIRI levels have been linked to increased mortality in patients with heart failure and elevated all-cause mortality among individuals with diabetes. However, the relationship between SIRI and the development of COPD has not yet been fully elucidated.11–15

    The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a comprehensive survey conducted in the United States, utilizing complex, multi-stage, and probability sampling methods to collect nutritional and health information about the population. Through the NHANES database, an increasing number of factors related to human health and diseases have been identified. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the potential association between COPD and the inflammatory marker SIRI in individuals aged over 40 within the US population. All participants were registered through the NHANES between 2013 and 2018.

    Materials and Methods

    Data Sources

    This is a cross-sectional analysis utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes). NHANES is a national survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It combines interviews and physical examinations. NHANES uses a complex, multi-stage design to collect and analyze data that reflects the non-institutionalized US population. The execution of the study involves two key components: a comprehensive interview conducted at participants’ homes and detailed health examinations carried out at mobile examination centers. Both components of the study are carefully conducted by skilled and certified researchers.

    Study Design and Participants

    The detailed participant selection process is illustrated in Figure 1. This study analyzed publicly available NHANES data from the 2013–2018 cycles. Detailed information regarding the NHANES sampling design, study procedures, and survey protocols can be accessed on the official website of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The inclusion criteria for this study were as follows: 1) Age > 40 years; 2) Clear diagnosis of COPD; 3) Complete data on neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes; 4) Exclusion of incomplete information on other essential data.

    Figure 1 Flowchart of Patient Inclusion and Exclusion in NHANES 2013–2018.

    Calculation of SIRI

    Since inflammation levels have a significant impact on COPD, we used SIRI to comprehensively assess its effect on COPD. The calculation of SIRI is as follows: SIRI = N * M / L, where N, M, and L represent the counts of neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes in the peripheral blood after preprocessing, respectively. Based on SIRI levels, participants were divided into three groups according to the 3rd quartiles: Quartile 1 (Q1), Quartile 2 (Q2), and Quartile 3 (Q3).

    Inclusion of Covariates

    Based on standardized questionnaire surveys, we extracted participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, including age, gender, race, education level, poverty-to-income ratio (PIR), smoking status, obesity, use of diabetic medications or insulin, and hypertension. Additionally, laboratory measurements such as monocyte count, neutrophil count, and lymphocyte count were collected. Missing data for these covariates were excluded from this study. Race/ethnicity was categorized as non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Mexican American, and other races. Marital status was divided into married and unmarried. Education level was classified as less than high school and high school or higher. Household income was categorized based on the family PIR into two levels: poor and non-poor. Smoking status was classified as current smoker and non-smoker. Obesity status was categorized as obese and non-obese. Diabetes was categorized as diabetic and non-diabetic.

    We obtained personal interview data on the history of COPD from participants aged over 40 in the NHANES, covering the period from 2013 to 2018. The questionnaire item used to determine the history of COPD was: “Has a doctor or other health professional ever told {you/SP} that {you/s/he} had COPD?” (MCQ160o).

    Statistical Analysis

    In descriptive statistics, continuous variables are expressed as means (± SD), while categorical variables are presented as frequencies or percentages (n, %). When analyzing baseline characteristics, continuous variables with a normal distribution were analyzed using independent sample t-tests, non-normally distributed continuous variables were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square test. Additionally, appropriate weighted data were used in the analysis based on the specific situation.

    We analyzed the association between SIRI and COPD using multivariable logistic regression. To control for confounding factors, we applied three multivariable logistic regression models: Model 1: Unadjusted; Model 2: Adjusted for age, sex, and race; Model 3: adjusted for all covariates. To investigate the potential non-linear relationship between SIRI and COPD, we performed restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis. The reference point was set at 1.08, and adjustments were made for age, gender, race, education level, marital status, smoking status, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, blood cell counts, and other factors. In addition, we conducted subgroup analyses by stratifying participants based on age, gender, race, marital status, smoking status, obesity, and history of hypertension. We also evaluated potential interactions across these subgroups. All analyses were conducted using the statistical software package R 4.4.2, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

    Results

    Baseline Analysis of Study Participants Based on COPD Status

    The results show that patients with COPD have distinct clinical characteristics, including higher age, smoking rates, metabolic comorbidity burden, and systemic inflammation levels. These factors may collectively contribute to the progression and poor prognosis of COPD. A total of 10,273 participants were included in this study, 595 participants were diagnosed with COPD, and 9678 were diagnosed with non-COPD. In Table 1, there were 4940 males (47.0%) and 5333 females (53.0%). Among the participants, 6743 (70.4%) were aged 41–65 years, and 3530 (29.6%) were over 65 years old. The majority of participants were non-Hispanic White (4004 participants, 69.6%). Significant differences were observed in all baseline variables except for gender, lipids, and BMI (p < 0.05). Among participants diagnosed with COPD, the proportion of smokers was higher. Additionally, the prevalence of metabolic disorders such as hyperlipidemia and hypertension was also higher in this group. Furthermore, the proportion of participants with SIRI in the third quartile was significantly higher compared to those in the first quartile among those diagnosed with COPD.

    Table 1 Baseline Characteristics of Study Population

    Correlation Between Serum SIRI Levels and COPD

    Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for various confounding variables, showed a positive correlation between SIRI and the prevalence of COPD in all three models. Notably, participants in the highest third (Q3) of SIRI levels had a significantly higher risk of COPD compared to those in the lowest third (Q1). The trends observed in all three models were statistically significant (p < 0.05) (Table 2).

    Table 2 Association Between the SIRI and COPD

    RCS Analysis

    We used RCS curves to investigate whether there is a linear relationship between SIRI and the prevalence of COPD. The results (Figure 2) showed a non-linear correlation between the two variables (P < 0.05). As SIRI levels increased, the risk of COPD gradually rose, suggesting a positive association between systemic inflammation and COPD risk. However, this risk did not continue to rise indefinitely at very high levels of SIRI.

    Figure 2 The restricted cubic spline model revealed a significant dose–response relationship between SIRI and COPD (P < 0.05).

    Subgroup Analysis

    The results of the subgroup analysis (Figure 3) showed that when stratified by age, gender, race, marital status, smoking, obesity, and hypertension, SIRI remained positively correlated with COPD (OR > 1). The results indicated that the association between SIRI and COPD was more pronounced among individuals aged over 65 years. This association also appeared stronger in males compared to females, and was notably enhanced in individuals with elevated blood pressure. Furthermore, interaction tests revealed no significant interactions between SIRI and COPD across subgroups (P > 0.05), suggesting that the positive association remained consistent and did not differ significantly among the various subpopulations.

    Figure 3 Subgroup analysis for the association between SIRI and COPD.

    Discussion

    Until now, there has been a lack of research on the correlation between serum inflammatory marker SIRI and the incidence of COPD. In our current study, we observed a positive correlation between serum SIRI levels and the prevalence of COPD. Higher serum SIRI levels were associated with an increased risk of COPD, and this relationship remained consistent even after adjusting for covariates.

    The pathogenesis of COPD remains unclear. Previous studies suggest that its pathogenesis primarily involves inflammation, oxidative stress, and an imbalance between proteases and antiproteases.16 When the immune system is compromised and the body is unable to compensate, it eventually leads to small airway damage and emphysema. Inflammation is a key factor in the onset and progression of COPD. Airway inflammation in COPD is primarily characterized by the infiltration and proliferation of inflammatory cells, such as neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes/macrophages, which migrate into the airways and lung tissues. These cells can be detected in sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The increase in inflammatory cells is often triggered by the activation of cytokines and mediators released by airway epithelial cells in response to inhaled cigarette smoke and particulate matter. Numerous inflammatory mediators, including free radicals, chemokines, cytokines, and growth factors, contribute to the development and progression of COPD.17–19 A study found20 that the levels of the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD were positively correlated with poor outcomes, including mortality, the need for mechanical ventilation, and transfer to the intensive care unit. Another cross-sectional study involving 10,364 participants found21 that Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII) was positively correlated with the risk of COPD and showed a non-linear relationship. Compared to composite inflammatory markers like NLR and SII, SIRI may offer distinct advantages in assessing COPD. By incorporating monocytic parameters, SIRI provides a more comprehensive reflection of the chronic inflammatory response and tissue remodeling processes characteristic of COPD. Unlike acute-phase inflammatory proteins such as C-reactive protein (CRP), SIRI, based on the ratio of neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes, is less affected by confounding factors like acute infections, offering better stability and reproducibility in the results. These features make SIRI a promising biomarker for evaluating the inflammatory status of COPD.

    The SIRI is calculated based on the number of neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes, reflecting the relative proportion of these three cell types. Neutrophils can be excessively activated in the airways of COPD patients, releasing inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-8, which attract more neutrophils to the affected areas and initiate oxidative stress by releasing oxygen free radicals.22 Therefore, neutrophils are considered key cells in the pathogenesis of COPD. A reduction in lymphocytes is a marker of stress, which can lead to the destruction of alveoli in COPD patients. CD8+ cells produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-2(IL-2), interferon-gamma, and TNF-alpha (TNF-α). These cytokines are increased in COPD patients and recruit other inflammatory cells.23 When the counts of neutrophils and monocytes increase, or when the lymphocyte count decreases, SIRI typically rises. A 20-year comprehensive follow-up study involving 2656 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients found24 that serum SIRI was non-linearly positively correlated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in RA patients. This correlation was especially prominent in female patients and those with a high BMI. Another study on the relationship between SIRI and the risk of kidney stones found25 a significant positive correlation between SIRI and kidney stones. As SIRI levels increased, the risk of kidney stones gradually rose. Based on the existing literature evidence, we can tentatively infer that SIRI may be an effective biomarker for predicting the development of inflammation-related diseases. It is worth noting that although SIRI has been the subject of research in many different fields, there is still limited research exploring its relationship with COPD.

    This study found a significant positive correlation between serum SIRI levels and the prevalence of COPD. In this study, SIRI was divided into three groups: Q1, Q2, and Q3. In all three models adjusted for potential confounding factors, the Q3 group showed a higher prevalence compared to the Q1 group. Subgroup analysis results indicated that this association was consistent across different populations. The study also found a non-linear positive correlation between SIRI and COPD, suggesting that high SIRI levels may be an independent risk factor for COPD. This prospective cohort study involving 10,273 participants found that an increase in SIRI was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of COPD. Based on previous research, the potential mechanism behind this phenomenon may be that an increase in neutrophils in the blood triggers a higher probability of chronic inflammation in the lungs, while the decrease in lymphocytes leads to reduced lung immune function, ultimately resulting in a higher prevalence of COPD.

    The findings of this study may provide some insights into the screening and management of COPD. First, SIRI can be derived from routine blood count data, eliminating the need for specialized equipment or additional costs, making it well-suited for primary healthcare settings. Second, for high-risk populations (smokers + age > 40), SIRI could be considered as part of routine screening, serving as an inflammatory monitoring tool for the comprehensive management of COPD. However, several limitations should be acknowledged. First, the NHANES population represents only the US population and may not be applicable to other populations. Second, our study focused on individuals above 40 years old, excluding children and adolescents. Third, due to the cross-sectional design of NHANES, inferring a causal relationship between SIRI and COPD is limited. Fourth, COPD diagnosis relies on self-report, and some important variables, such as lung function data (FEV1%, FVC%, FEV1/FVC), were not included in the analysis, which may introduce bias into the results. Fifth, due to the limitations of the dataset, we were unable to conduct parallel analyses involving NLR and SII. This represents an important area for future research.

    Conclusion

    In this cross-sectional study based on the NHANES database, we observed that elevated serum SIRI levels were significantly associated with an increased risk of COPD, indicating that SIRI may serve as a potential novel inflammatory marker for predicting the development of COPD. However, due to the study’s observational design, the causal relationship between SIRI and the onset or progression of COPD remains to be confirmed in future prospective studies.

    Abbreviations

    COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SIRI, Systemic inflammation response index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; RCS, restricted cubic spline; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity; PIR, poverty-to-income ratio; NCHS, National Center for Health Statistics; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; OR, Odds ratio.

    Data Sharing Statement

    The data supporting the findings of this study were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which is publicly available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes. In accordance with transparency standards, the corresponding author affirms their commitment to making all data supporting this study’s conclusions available upon reasonable request.

    Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

    This study was based on publicly available data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). All NHANES participants provided written informed consent, and the survey protocol was approved by the NCHS Research Ethics Review Board. As this study involved only secondary analysis of de-identified data, it was exempt from further review by the Institutional Review Board of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University.

    Acknowledgments

    The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all the participants and staff involved in the NHANES for their invaluable contributions and dedication.

    Author Contributions

    All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

    Funding

    The study was supported by Zhejiang Provincial Medical and Health Technology Plan (Grant No. 2021PY029).

    Disclosure

    The authors declare no competing interests.

    References

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    7. Bailey MA, Holscher HD. Microbiome-mediated effects of the mediterranean diet on inflammation. Adv Nutr. 2018;9(3):193–206. doi:10.1093/advances/nmy013

    8. Obernolte H, Niehof M, Braubach P, et al. Cigarette smoke alters inflammatory genes and the extracellular matrix — investigations on viable sections of peripheral human lungs. Cell Tissue Res. 2021;387(2):249–260. doi:10.1007/s00441-021-03553-1

    9. Zhao Y, Wu Z. TROP2 promotes PINK1-mediated mitophagy and apoptosis to accelerate the progression of senile chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by up-regulating DRP1 expression. Exp Gerontology. 2024;191:112441. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2024.112441

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    11. Li S, Xu H, Wang W, et al. The systemic inflammation response index predicts survival and recurrence in patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Manage Res. 2019;11:3327–3337. doi:10.2147/CMAR.S197911

    12. Geng Y, Zhu D, Wu C, et al. A novel systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) for predicting postoperative survival of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Int Immunopharmacol. 2018;65:503–510. doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2018.10.002

    13. Zheng Y, Nie Z, Zhang Y, Guo Z. The association between heart failure and systemic inflammatory response index: a cross-sectional study. J Natl Med Assoc. 2024;116(6):662–672. doi:10.1016/j.jnma.2024.10.007

    14. Chen X-J, Liao S-F, Ouyang Q-Y, et al. Association between systemic Immune-inflammation index, systemic inflammation response index and adult osteoarthritis: national health and nutrition examination survey. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2025;26(1). doi:10.1186/s12891-025-08792-9

    15. Zhang F, Han Y, Mao Y, Li W. The systemic immune-inflammation index and systemic inflammation response index are useful for predicting mortality in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2024;16(1):282. doi:10.1186/s13098-024-01536-0

    16. Lange P, Ahmed E, Lahmar ZM, Martinez FJ, Bourdin A. Natural history and mechanisms of COPD. Respirology. 2021;26(4):298–321. doi:10.1111/resp.14007

    17. Liao S-X, Wang Y-W, Sun -P-P, Xu Y, Wang T-H. Prospects of neutrophilic implications against pathobiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: pharmacological insights and technological advances. Int Immunopharmacol. 2025;144:113634. doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2024.113634

    18. Jiang Y, Li M, Yu Y, Liu H, Li Q. Correlation between vitamin D, inflammatory markers, and T lymphocytes with the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and its effect on the risk of acute exacerbation: a single cross-sectional study. Clin Ther. 2025;47(1):44–54. doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2024.10.003

    19. Huang J, Zhou X, Xu Y, et al. Shen Qi Wan regulates OPN/CD44/PI3K pathway to improve airway inflammation in COPD: network pharmacology, bioinformatics, and experimental validation. Int Immunopharmacol. 2025;144:113624. doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2024.113624

    20. Zinellu A, Zinellu E, Pau MC, et al. A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and adverse outcomes in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. J Clin Med. 2022;11(12):3365. doi:10.3390/jcm11123365

    21. Xu Y, Yan Z, Li K, Liu L. The association between systemic immune-inflammation index and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults aged 40 years and above in the United States: a cross-sectional study based on the NHANES 2013–2020. Front Med. 2023;10. doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1270368

    22. Hiemstra PS, McCray PB, Bals R. The innate immune function of airway epithelial cells in inflammatory lung disease. Eur Respir J. 2015;45(4):1150–1162. doi:10.1183/09031936.00141514

    23. Semenzato U, Biondini D, Bazzan E, et al. Low-blood lymphocyte number and lymphocyte decline as key factors in COPD outcomes: a longitudinal cohort study. Respiration. 2021;100(7):618–630. doi:10.1159/000515180

    24. Wang W, Yao W, Tang W, Li Y, Lv Q, Ding W. Systemic inflammation response index is associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in US adults with rheumatoid arthritis. Preventive Med. 2024;185:108055. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.108055

    25. Zhang Z, Wang G, Dai X, Li W. Association between the systemic inflammation response index and kidney stones in US adults: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2007–2018. Urolithiasis. 2024;52(1). doi:10.1007/s00240-024-01668-y

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  • Samsung has launched a Micro RGB TV with impressive color accuracy

    Samsung has launched a Micro RGB TV with impressive color accuracy

    Samsung’s Micro RGB technology is being positioned as an upgrade to Mini LED backlights that employ an array of tiny white or blue LEDs behind a TV’s LCD panel. Micro RGB backlights instead use an ultra-fine pattern of individually controlled red, green and blue LEDs that are each less than than 100µm in size.

    The new backlight is powered by Samsung’s Micro RGB AI engine, which the company says “analyzes each frame in real time and automatically optimizes color output for a more lifelike and immersive picture.” The technology allows for improved color accuracy and better contrast by precisely controlling the intensity of the individual LEDs, and Samsung says it can even boost the color in dull scenes, making them appear more vivid and immersive.

    The other big advantage of Micro RGB is that the technology is cheaper to produce than MicroLED TVs. While Samsung’s first 115-inch model is launching at KRW 44.9 million – or around $32,362 – the company also currently sells a smaller 110-inch MicroLED TV in the US for $150,000.

    Other features of the new 4K TV include a 144Hz variable refresh rate for gaming, AI upscaling, HDR10+ support, a 70-watt 4.2.2 speaker setup that supports Dolby Atmos, four HDMI 2.0 ports, a pair of USB-A ports, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It can also function as a Matter controller, and if you use Philips Hue lights, the TV can sync their color to what’s on screen.

    Samsung isn’t the only company pursuing this upgraded approach to Mini LED TVs. Earlier this year, The Verge got a demo of Sony’s awkwardly-named General RGB LED Backlight Technology, featuring backlight zones made up of red, green, and blue LEDs. And at CES 2025, Hisense announced its 116-inch TriChroma LED TV, which also features a backlight made up of individual RGB LEDs controlled by a new system the company calls RGB Local Dimming Technology. But while Hisense claims its TV can reproduce 97 percent of the BT.2020 color space, Samsung says its Micro RGB technology is even better, reproducing 100 percent and potentially making it one of the most color accurate TVs available to consumers.

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  • AWS Launches Open-Weight OpenAI Models, Eroding Microsoft Exclusivity

    AWS Launches Open-Weight OpenAI Models, Eroding Microsoft Exclusivity

    AWS made a splash last week when it announced day-of-launch availability of two new open-weight models from OpenAI for use on Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker. This means that AWS customers can now use the models via these managed services, especially for building new functionality with AI agents. The move also represents the latest development in the ongoing competition among the big cloud service providers to bring the best of enterprise AI to their customers, although this one feels a little different because of the traditionally tight relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI.

    The same day these new models launched, I had a chance to talk through this news with Shaown Nandi, who leads the technical deal team worldwide for AWS, and I want to share my takeaways from that conversation and my perspective on what it all means.

    (Note: AWS is an advisory client of my firm, Moor Insights & Strategy.)

    What ‘Open-Weight’ Means And Why It’s Important

    Open-weight models have parameters that are visible to the people using them, though the underlying training data isn’t visible like it would be in a fully open-source model. Still, having access to the parameters means that AWS customers can fine-tune the models for their specific use cases. The two models just launched — gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b — are the first open-weight models that OpenAI has released since GPT-2, way back in 2019. In terms of intelligence level, OpenAI says that they are positioned between GPT-3 and GPT-4.

    For AWS customers, these two new entrants join open-weight models from Meta, Mistral and other makers that are already supported on Bedrock. Customers will be able to run the new models, edit them and fine-tune them within the AWS toolset and infrastructure — without interacting with OpenAI directly.

    You can bet that many of the use cases already being set in motion by AWS users involve agentic workflows. The two new models are text-based, not multi-modal, which makes them well-suited for agentic use cases like browsing the web or navigating software. Nandi also assured me that the new models will have full access to the same Bedrock infrastructure capability as any other model. (As usual with a model introduction like this, AWS is launching it region by region, in this case starting with the U.S. West.)

    How AWS And OpenAI Benefit From This Linkage

    First, this helps AWS continue its long tradition of (trying to) offer the widest range of choice to its customers. In fact, I see that outlook as being baked into the Amazon ethos, going all the way back to the company’s main web storefront. Nandi summarized his view of the AWS AI mindset when he told me, “Offering customers choice is something we’ve been ultra-focused on, probably since we launched Bedrock back in 2023.”

    I talk with a lot of CIOs, CTOs and CEOs week in and week out — especially about their technology purchases and rationales — and I can confirm that these people want optionality, which AWS is definitely bringing with the new OpenAI models. When I shared this observation with Nandi, he pointed out that having the choice to work with any of the top AI models via AWS also provides “air cover” for executives’ AI decisions. Your board of directors wants to know that you’re working with the right providers; when you can tell them that you’re working with the biggest CSP using the biggest variety of open models, that’s a fruitful path into a conversation about what you’re enabling in terms of innovation and productivity.

    So what’s in it for OpenAI? Nandi can’t speak for another company, of course, and OpenAI is well-known for not answering questions. But I can share an industrywide perspective that’s grounded in just how quickly the enterprise AI environment is shifting. All of the model creators — independents like OpenAI and hyperscalers like AWS alike — can see how fast things are changing. New models are dropping all the time, and disruptive events such as the debut of DeepSeek at the start of this year force everyone to reconsider the best ways to build and train models efficiently and cost-effectively.

    OpenAI set off the AI gold rush when it launched ChatGPT late in 2022, but it’s hardly the only game in town now. It has compelling technology, but there are enterprise customers that are tooled for AWS rather than Azure, and if those customers can’t easily access OpenAI via AWS, they may turn to some other model provider. Conversely, being so readily available via Bedrock and SageMaker could benefit OpenAI in terms of building out its ecosystem, meeting customers where they already live — and simply moving fast.

    How AWS Customers Stand To Benefit

    The customers that are already getting under the hood of this thing are sure to be connecting existing applications to the new models to see how they perform. Naturally, they’ll be looking for ways to improve performance and drive costs down. According to the press release accompanying the launch, AWS says that the new models “are 10x more price-performant than the comparable Gemini model, 18x more than DeepSeek-R1 and 7x more than the comparable OpenAI o4 model.” I’d like to judge those numbers for myself against real-world field results; it’s early days yet, but I’m sure I’ll have more insights to validate or challenge these claims in the coming months.

    Setting aside the potential cost advantages, there are significant operational benefits I have no question about. First, being able to access OpenAI models through AWS tools you’re already using means that you don’t need to have a commercial agreement with OpenAI. Nothing against OpenAI, mind you — just that it’s way simpler to call up one of these models in SageMaker or Bedrock and try it out for a proof-of-concept when you don’t also have to go through a vendor-onboarding process or a set of engineering steps to tap directly into OpenAI’s technical ecosystem.

    That also extends to your AI devs who are doing the actual work. They don’t need to learn a new platform or test out how well it works with their existing tools, nor do they need to rebuild their applications. Rather, they can stay within their current tools to access the new models and get down to work. If I were the engineering leader running an AI shop already tooled out for AWS, I would welcome this.

    Nandi confirmed that his customers have been calling for this. Every month or two, they see new models being launched in the market that they’re curious to try because they think it might save them money, improve latency or bring some other benefit. They like using Bedrock to try out new models — and to run existing models from Meta, DeepSeek, Amazon itself and so on. And yet, Nandi told me, “‘You’re missing OpenAI’ — that’s what they would say.” Now that gap has been addressed.

    AWS, OpenAI And Microsoft

    So what does this mean for Microsoft? The company is doing pretty well, to the tune of $101 billion in profit for the fiscal year that ended on June 30. As part of that success, AI has helped drive Azure revenue to $75 billion in the past year. (AWS is above $100 billion annually.) Azure also provides a range of OpenAI models — including hot-off-the-presses GPT-5 variants — that goes well beyond the two open-weight models AWS just launched.

    That said, Microsoft’s long-running relationship with OpenAI is complex, and at times it has been vexed. I don’t want to read too much into the availability of a couple of slick new open-weight models via the biggest CSP AI platform in the world. Yet the lock-in that Microsoft enjoyed until last week for all things OpenAI was the first angle that popped into my head when I heard the AWS news.

    At the moment — and surely for some years to come — there is plenty of AI business to go around. As Nandi pointed out during our conversation, “Agentic is super-early.” More than that, for all the enterprises building focused agents for different use cases, “They’re not looking for one general-purpose model for agents.” Rather, they want to find different models that supply the right price/performance for each use case. While they can do that with a single AI service provider — AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, IBM — they probably won’t find it with a single AI model provider. AWS will of course be adding features to support the new open-weight OpenAI models in the weeks and months to come. And there’s no question these are nice additions to the AWS toolbox.

    Maybe six months or a year from now, Microsoft’s loss of exclusivity with OpenAI in this instance won’t seem like a big deal. But I do wonder whether there could be a scenario where we look back on this as the first chink in the Microsoft–OpenAI armor.

    Moor Insights & Strategy provides or has provided paid services to technology companies, like all tech industry research and analyst firms. These services include research, analysis, advising, consulting, benchmarking, acquisition matchmaking and video and speaking sponsorships. Of the companies mentioned in this article, Moor Insights & Strategy currently has (or has had) a paid business relationship with AWS, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle.

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  • Ocean architects at risk from impact of combined acidification and ocean warming

    Ocean architects at risk from impact of combined acidification and ocean warming

    image: 

    ‘False coral’ is widely distributed in the Mediterranean. 


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    Credit: ‘False coral’ is widely distributed in the Mediterranean. ICM-CSIC

    A research team from the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) has published a study in Communications Biology showing how ocean acidification and warming — two of the main consequences of global climate change — can simultaneously affect the structure, mineral composition, and microbiome of bryozoans, colonial invertebrates crucial for forming marine habitats. The findings point to potentially serious ecological consequences under a scenario of accelerated climate change.

    The “False Coral,” One of the Most Affected Species

    The study characterizes for the first time the microbiome of Myriapora truncata, a habitat-forming species known as “false coral” and widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean. It also analyzes the response of this and another encrusting bryozoan species under future environmental conditions. False corals form three-dimensional structures that offer shelter to many species, as do other bryozoans that can even form reef-like systems — although corals usually receive more attention as primary marine habitat builders.

    “Despite being a different phylum, very diverse and abundant globally, these small architects of the sea are often overlooked in studies on responses to environmental changes,” explains Blanca Figuerola, ICM-CSIC researcher and lead author of the study. She emphasizes that this work opens a new window to better understand how bryozoans may respond to the ocean’s rapid changes.

    The researcher notes that “bryozoans play a very important ecological role,” although little was previously known about their response to the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming. She adds that “their microbiome had been virtually unexplored.”

    A Natural Laboratory to Predict Future Scenarios

    To conduct the study, the team used a “natural laboratory”: on the island of Ischia (Italy), volcanic CO₂  bubbles from the seabed, which allow simulation of the ocean acidification conditions projected for the end of the century.

    “This area offers a unique opportunity to study how marine species respond to acidification under natural conditions,” explains Núria Teixidó, researcher at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn and last author of the article.

    Using this approach, the researchers compared the morphology, skeleton mineralogy, and microbiome of colonies of two bryozoan species exposed and unexposed to these conditions. Results show that the species exhibit some acclimation capacity, modifying their skeletal mineralogy to become more resistant and maintaining a relatively stable microbiome composition.

    “However, we observed a loss in functional microbial diversity, with a decline in genera potentially involved in key processes such as nutrition, defense, or resistance to environmental stress,” Figuerola states.

    These microbial shifts may have important long-term consequences, since the microbiome plays a fundamental role in bryozoan health and resilience. “Even if colonies look externally healthy, changes in the microbiome could serve as early bioindicators of environmental stress,” adds Javier del Campo, researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF).

    Warming Amplifies the Impacts

    Over a five-year monitoring period, the study also considered the effects of rising temperatures — another key factor in climate change.

    “The models used indicate that the combination of these two stressors intensifies the effects observed, significantly reducing the coverage of the encrusting bryozoan and increasing mortality. Although the species show some morphological plasticity, it is not enough to offset the combined impact of acidification and warming,” says Pol Capdevila, researcher at the University of Barcelona.

    To reach these conclusions, the team used advanced techniques such as modelling and computed microtomography to obtain, for the first time, 3D images of the internal skeleton structure of these species. These images are valuable both for research and for science communication and environmental education. The team is currently preparing a science animation for the general and educational public, in collaboration with the team at Cooked Illustrations, a visual storytelling studio.

    Implications for Marine Conservation

    The findings have important implications for the management and conservation of Mediterranean marine ecosystems, particularly in the context of climate change. Habitat-forming species like bryozoans are not only vulnerable but their disappearance could trigger cascading effects on many other species that rely on them for shelter or food.

    The characterization of the microbiome and preliminary identification of potentially beneficial microorganisms open new research avenues to enhance the resilience of holobionts (host and its associated microbiome) through nature-based approaches.

    This research line, initiated under the MedCalRes National Plan project, is now continuing with the HOLOCHANGE consolidation project and the National Plan MedAcidWarm, which aim to deepen understanding of bryozoan–microbiome interactions to anticipate and mitigate climate change impacts.

    “The complexity of the issue demands integrated analyses,” concludes Figuerola. “This study shows how interdisciplinary approaches can help us anticipate future scenarios and more effectively protect marine ecosystems.”

    ICM-CSIC Comunicación 

    comunicacion@csic.es 


    Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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  • Musk threatens ‘immediate’ legal action against Apple over alleged antitrust violations

    Musk threatens ‘immediate’ legal action against Apple over alleged antitrust violations

    Elon Musk on Monday threatened Apple with legal action over alleged antitrust violations related to rankings of the Grok AI chatbot app, which is owned by his artificial intelligence startup xAI.

    “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action,” Musk wrote in a post on his social media platform X.

    Apple declined to comment on Musk’s threat.

    “Why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics?” Musk said in another post.

    Apple last year partnered with OpenAI to integrate its ChatGPT chatbot into iPhone, iPad, Mac laptop and desktop products. Musk at the time said: “If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, then Apple devices will be banned at my companies. That is an unacceptable security violation.”

    Prior to his legal threats against Apple, Musk had celebrated Grok surpassing Google as the fifth top free app on the App Store. When contacted by CNBC, xAI did not immediately respond to a request for further information on a potential lawsuit.

    CNBC confirmed that ChatGPT was ranked No. 1 in the top free apps section of the American iOS store, and was the only AI chatbot in Apple’s “Must-Have Apps” section. The App Store also featured a link to download OpenAI’s new flagship AI model, ChatGPT-5 at the top of its “Apps” section.

    OpenAI on Thursday announced GPT-5, its latest and most advanced large-scale AI model, following xAI’s release of its newest chatbot, Grok 4, last month.

    Musk has an ongoing feud with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015. The billionaire stepped down from its board in 2018, four years after saying that AI was “potentially more dangerous than nukes.”

    He is now suing the Microsoft-backed startup, and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging they abandoned OpenAI’s founding mission to develop artificial intelligence “for the benefit of humanity broadly.”

    Robert Keele, who headed the legal department at xAI, announced last week that he had left the company to spend more time with his family. In his announcement, Keele also acknowledged “daylight between our worldviews,” referring to Musk.

    In response to Musk’s antitrust threats against Apple, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an X post: “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”

    This is not the first time Apple has been challenged on antitrust grounds. In a landmark case, the Department of Justice last year sued the company over charges of running an iPhone ecosystem monopoly.

    In June, a panel of judges also denied an emergency application from Apple to halt the changes to its App Store resulting from a ruling that the company could no longer charge a commission on payment links inside its apps, nor tell developers how the links should look.

    — CNBC’s Kif Leswing and Lora Kolodny contributed to this article.

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  • Lewis Hamilton opens up on time at Ferrari so far as he insists team have ‘every ingredient needed to win championships’

    Lewis Hamilton opens up on time at Ferrari so far as he insists team have ‘every ingredient needed to win championships’

    Lewis Hamilton has taken a moment to reflect on his time at Ferrari so far, admitting it feels like his “most intense” season in F1 to date – but one that leaves him with no doubt the legendary team possess all they need to win titles again.

    Hamilton made his blockbuster move from Mercedes to Ferrari over the winter, with the Briton hoping to bag an eighth F1 Drivers’ Championship and help the Scuderia claim their first title since winning the 2008 Teams’ Championship.

    It has been a rollercoaster ride for the 40-year-old since then, with highs including a Sprint pole position and victory in China, and lows including a painful Hungary weekend on which Hamilton described himself as “absolutely useless”.

    Speaking before hitting the track at the Hungaroring, however, Hamilton told media that there are plenty of reasons for Ferrari fans to be optimistic about the squad’s future.

    “The team has every ingredient that they need to win World Championships,” Hamilton insisted, when asked what notes he has been giving Ferrari since his arrival.

    “It’s literally just about getting things all aligned and running smoothly and freely, stress-free, which we’re all trying to do.”

    Hamilton then opened up on how that process has been going in what marks his 19th season as an F1 driver – and why the summer break will be an important reset for both himself and Ferrari.

    “This [season] has definitely been the most intense one, I would say, just from a work perspective,” he said. “Integrating into a new culture, a new team, it’s not gone smoothly in all areas, and it’s been a real battle.

    “I definitely need to get away and recharge, be around the kids and laugh. I’m sure there will be some tears at some point, and I think that’s really healthy.

    “But I’m always excited to race. I love what I do, I love being in red, I love working with this team, and I have such belief in this team.

    “It’s really hard to explain. I already had it a lot with my previous team. Over time you really build that camaraderie, and I see the passion in this team and I love it. All I want to do is contribute the best that I can.

    “Of course, I need to do most of that on track and I’m not always hitting that, but also in the background I see there’s things that we can always improve, and there’s things that I can improve.

    “I’m just really excited for this break. I think for everybody, particularly the guys at the factory, they’ll definitely enjoy this time with their family and we’ll come back extra energised for the second half.”

    Hamilton holds sixth position in the Drivers’ Standings after 14 of 24 rounds in 2025, one spot behind team mate Charles Leclerc, while their collective efforts have put Ferrari second to reigning World Champions McLaren in the Teams’ battle.

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  • FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Preview: Montenegro

    FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Preview: Montenegro

    The official EuroBasket app

    PODGORICA (Montenegro) – After only beginning to compete as Montenegro in 2008, the Balkan nation took another step in its basketball history as it advanced to FIBA EuroBasket 2025.

    And they head to Finland this summer with plenty of experience on their roster, led by Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Vucevic, along with the standouts from the Qualifiers, Marko Simonovic and Vladimir Mihailovic.

    A team known for their resilience and fight, Montenegro will not be taken lightly in Tampere when they begin EuroBasket, and they would like to go further in the tournament.

    Schedule

    August 27: vs Germany (15:30 CET)
    August 29: vs Lithuania (15:30 CET)
    August 30: vs Finland (19:30 CET)
    September 1: vs Sweden (12:30 CET)
    September 3: vs Great Britain (12:30 CET)

    📅

    Games

    The full FIBA EuroBasket 2025 schedule

    Star Player

    Nikola Vucevic

    213 cm / 7’0″ | Center

    Nikola Vucevic will compete in his fourth EuroBasket, and the 14-year NBA veteran is eager to excel in a tournament where Montenegro has not advanced past the Round of 16 since its debut in 2011.

    Vucevic posted a EuroBasket-best 14.5 points and 8 rebounds per game in 2022, after averaging just 6 points and 3.6 rebounds before that. Therefore, his improvement, not just in the NBA but also at the international level, has been solid.

    Now, he heads to Tampere with his nation, as the leader, the mentor. Can he guide Montenegro beyond the Round of 16 this summer?

    History

    Montenegro securing their spot at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 means the Balkan nation will be playing in the continent’s top competition for the third straight time and fifth in the last six editions. They only missed the EuroBasket in 2015.

    Montenegro finished 21st and 17th in their first two appearances but has reached the top 16 in both of the last EuroBaskets, finishing 13th in both 2017 and 2022.

    Best finish: 13th – 2017, 2022

    Check out the all-time EuroBasket medalists

    Learn More

    EuroBasket Top Scorers

    Rank

    Player

    Games

    Points

    1

    Bojan Dubljevic

    17

    219

    2

    Nikola Vucevic

    16

    147

    3

    Predrag Drobnjak

    13

    139

    4

    Tyrese Rice

    10

    129

    5

    Vlado Scepanovic

    22

    107

    6

    Vladimir Mihailovic

    17

    104

    7

    Kendrick Perry

    6

    91

    8

    Milko Bjelica

    10

    72

    9

    Nikola Pekovic

    5

    65

    10

    Suad Sehovic

    11

    57

    How they qualified

    Gameday 1: GER 85-61 MNE
    Gameday 2: MNE 95-70 SWE
    Gameday 3:
    MNE 85-62 BUL
    Gameday 4: BUL 86-90 MNE
    Gameday 5: MNE 76-95 GER
    Gameday 6: SWE 86-83 MNE

    Poll: Where will they finish?

    Tickets

    FIBA

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  • Madonna urges Pope to visit Gaza ‘before it’s too late’

    Madonna urges Pope to visit Gaza ‘before it’s too late’

    Paul Glynn

    Culture reporter

    Getty Images Madonna in a white suit looking seriousGetty Images

    Madonna released her remix album Veronica Electronica last month

    Madonna has urged Pope Leo XIV to visit Gaza and bring his “light to the children before it is too late”.

    The US queen of pop shared her plea on social media, saying the pontiff was “the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.”

    Her intervention came as the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan issued a statement saying “famine is unfolding in front of our eyes” and urged action to “reverse starvation”.

    “Most Holy Father, please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late,” Madonna posted on Instagram. “As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering.

    “The children of the world belong to everyone.

    “You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.”

    Israel has faced mounting pressure over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with UN-backed experts last month warning “the worst-case scenario of famine” was playing out in the besieged territory.

    It has continued to deny there is starvation in Gaza and has accused UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it.

    Last week the UN’s humanitarian agency said the amount of aid entering Gaza continued to be “far below the minimum required”. It said it continued to see impediments and delays as it tries to collect aid from Israeli-controlled border zones.

    The Like a Prayer singer added: “We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children.”

    She signed off by saying: “There is no more time. Please say you will go. Love, Madonna.”

    In July, the new Pope renewed his call for a Gaza ceasefire after three people sheltering in the Catholic church in Gaza City were killed in an Israeli strike.

    According to PA News, he said: “I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations.”

    Reuters Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the VaticanReuters

    Pope Leo XIV became the first US head of the Catholic Church in May

    Madonna – who last month released her long-rumoured remix album Veronica Electronica – has made impassioned speeches on stage about Gaza since the war began.

    This includes while performing at London’s O2 in 2023, when she told fans: “It breaks my heart to see children suffering, teenagers suffering, elderly people suffering – all of it is heartbreaking, I’m sure you agree.

    “But even though our hearts are broken our spirits cannot be broken.”

    She urged fans to bring “light and love” into the world – both individually and collectively, via words and actions – in order to “bring peace to the Middle East” and beyond.

    In the caption of her latest online post, she noted how it was her son Rocco’s birthday and “the best gift I can give to him as a mother – is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza.”

    The star, who also asked for donations to three different organisations, continued: “I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides.

    “Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well.”

    U2’s solidarity statement

    Madonna’s comments also come as U2 frontman Bono – along with the rest of his bandmates – also released a statement letting fans know where they stand on the matter.

    While condemning the actions of both Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, the Irish frontman offered: “Our band stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine who truly seek a path to peace and coexistence with Israel and with their rightful and legitimate demand for statehood.

    “We stand in solidarity with the remaining hostages and plead that someone rational negotiate their release.”

    Getty Images Bono of U2Getty Images

    Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in its attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Israel’s response in Gaza has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, whose toll the UN considers reliable.

    On Tuesday the health ministry said five more people had died from malnutrition, bringing the total number of such deaths to 227 including 103 children.


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