In a significant development at the Sam Altman-run OpenAI, three top executives — including Chief Technical Officer Mira Murati — have left the ChatGPT developer.

According to Altman, they made the decision to leave independently of each other and amicably. Of the 13 people who helped found OpenAI in 2015, only three now remain at the company.

“But the timing of Mira’s decision was such that it made sense to now do this all at once, so that we can work together for a smooth handover to the next generation of leadership,” he posted on X social media platform.

“Mira has been instrumental to OpenAI’s progress and growth the last 6.5 years; she has been a hugely significant factor in our development from an unknown research lab to an important company,” said the OpenAI CEO.

Murati said in a separate X post that after much reflection, “I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI”.

“There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right. My six-and-a-half years with the OpenAI team have been an extraordinary privilege,” she added.

Altman said that Matt Knight, formerly head of security, will be OpenAI’s chief information security officer.

Chief product officer Kevin Weil and VP of engineering, Srinivas Narayanan, will continue to lead OpenAI’s applied team. Josh Achiam will be the Chief Scientist at the AI company.

“Achiam is going to take on a new role as Head of Mission Alignment, working across the company to ensure that we get all pieces (and culture) right to be in a place to succeed at the mission. Kevin and Srinivas will continue to lead the Applied team,” announced Altman.

“Mark, Jakub, Kevin, Srinivas, Matt, and Josh will report to me. I have over the past year or so spent most of my time on the non-technical parts of our organisation; I am now looking forward to spending most of my time on the technical and product parts of the company,” he added.

According to Altman, leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding.

AGENCIES

Chandigarh: The 14^th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship will be held at Hockey Stadium, Sector 42 in Chandigarh from September 23 to October 03, 2024. About 650-700 players & officials from 28 States of the Country will participate in this National championship.

Anil Vohra, General Secretary Hockey Chandigarh said that Punjab Governor and UT Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria will inaugurate the championship at Hockey Stadium Sector 42, Chandigarh at 5 pm on September 24. Man of the Match of all the matches and player of the Championship (Goal Keeper, Defender, Midfielder and forward) along with handsome gift will be awarded. Memento and gifts will also awarded to the Winners, Runners up and third position team, he added.

Chandigarh:

With the onset of festive season, Amazon India is bringing an extraordinary interactive experience to the heart of Chandigarh from September 14th to 18th. The “Amazon Festive Box”, a larger-than-life installation that celebrates Chandigarh’s vibrant spirit and culture through stunning art, while giving customers a fun way to engage with Amazon’s upcoming Great Indian Festival sale. At this one-of-a-kind activation, installed at the Bridge Market, Sector 17, the audience can “make a wish” and share what they would love to gift their loved ones. This initiative is a perfect blend of Chandigarh’s uniqueness and Amazon’s biggest annual celebration.

Amazon Business – the B2B store, completes 7 years in India

The festive season preparations also coincide with the 7th anniversary of Amazon Business, the B2B store of Amazon.in, in India. Since 2017, Amazon Business has been at the forefront of transformation for many Indian businesses. It has witnessed a huge growth outside of the metros, and including in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. In these regions, Amazon Business has seen a 200% YoY growth in customers.

Mitranjan Bhaduri, Director, Amazon Business, said “The festive period holds great significance not just for customers but also for businesses as they gear up for celebrating the season with their employees and partners. Be it sharing the festive excitement through gifting or redoing their office space, we have seen that this season is equally important for businesses. At Amazon Business, we recognize this unique opportunity. As we celebrate our 7th year in India, we’re committed more than ever to empowering businesses of all sizes in every corner of India. We’re dedicated to providing unparalleled support to our sellers and innovative solutions to our business customers. Our goal is to make this festive season truly memorable by innovating to provide unmatched selection, value and convenience.”

With added convenience like enabling multi-user accounts within same teams/organizations that has witnessed a 288% of YoY growth, ‘Bill-to-Ship to’ where customers can buy from one location and ship to another without compromising GST input credit. Recently, we launched the ‘Invoice by Amazon’ feature that helps customers consolidate invoicing from multiple sellers. Amazon Business has simplified procurement needs for MSMEs across the country, and thereby improving the business efficiency. Further underscoring the platform’s commitment to providing a seamless on-the-go shopping experience for business customers, 65% of overall orders on Amazon Business are now received from a mobile phone.

IPSOS study** reveals strong consumer enthusiasm for online festive shopping, Amazon.in emerges as preferred destination

Customers are enthusiastic for festive shopping upswing this year, revealed a study conducted by Ipsos Research Private Limited, commissioned by Amazon India**. 89% respondents expressed their excitement for the upcoming festivities with 71% indicating that they intend to shop online. Nearly 50% respondents said they intend to shop online and they would spend more on online festive shopping compared to last year. This trend cuts across metros (55%) and tier-2 cities (43% in cities with 10-40 lakh population).  The study also revealed Amazon.in as a preferred online shopping destination, with over 73% of respondents trusting Amazon for their festive needs. 75% associated Amazon with wide selection of products, 72% said that sellers on Amazon provide attractive deals, and 73% viewed it as a reliable and trustworthy online shopping destinations.

A long-range surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen struck an unpopulated area near Israel’s international airport outside Tel Aviv on Sunday, Israeli sources said.

The missile triggered sirens in Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel, sending residents running to shelters during the morning rush hour, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli military said in a statement that interceptors were launched but failed to shoot down the missile, which landed in an open area.

Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported that the missile fell in Kfar Daniel, about 6 km from Ben Gurion Airport. A fire broke out in the area.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national rescue service, said five people were injured while running to shelters.

There were no changes to the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines for civilians.

The incident marks the second time a projectile from Yemen has reached central Israel, following a drone attack by Houthi forces in July that killed one person in Tel Aviv. AGENCIES

One person was killed and thousands were evacuated due to continuous rainfall in Poland, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference on Sunday.

By Sunday morning, 1,600 people had been evacuated from Klodzko, a town in southern Poland, due to severe flooding caused by continuous rainfall, Xinhua news agency reported.

Torrential rains have caused rivers to exceed alarming levels, especially in regions like Opole and Silesia.

The local water management authority in Wroclaw expects a flood peak on the Oder River in Wroclaw next Tuesday which will last for several days.

Tusk warned that delaying evacuation may pose a danger not only to citizens but also to the services that will have to carry out the evacuation later, in much more difficult conditions.

Polish Prime Minister taking to social media platform X, stated, “Now, all that matters is help for people threatened by flooding and state action. Those who can, let them help, those who can’t, do not hinder. Politics must give way to solidarity.”

People in the towns of Jarnoltowek and Pokrzywna in the region of Opole started to evacuate on Saturday with authorities warning that the situation could worsen.

The director of the Karkonosze National Park in southwestern Poland has decided to close all tourist trails in the park until further notice.

Hydrologic alerts have been extended to other regions, with infrastructure damage, road closures, and halted rail services reported. AGENCIES

The US State Department’s key diplomat Donald Lu has arrived in Dhaka to hold discussions with the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.

Lu, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, landed in Dhaka on Saturday noon after concluding his visit to Delhi, bdnews24 reported.

Upon his arrival at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport, he was greeted by Samia Israt Ronee, director of the North America division of the Foreign Ministry.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, the Ministry said Brandon Lynch, the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, is accompanying Lu.

To lead the delegation, Brent Neiman, assistant Treasury secretary for international finance, had already arrived in Dhaka on Saturday morning.

The US Embassy in Dhaka reported that Neiman had a meeting with a delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce, bdnews24 reported.

The delegation will meet Chief Advisor Yunus and discuss bilateral issues. They will also meet Finance and Commerce Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed.

Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain said US Treasury and National Security Council officials will stay in Bangladesh longer than Lu.

He added the discussions will primarily focus on financial and trade matters, bdnews 24 reported.

Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin told reporters on Thursday, “I can only say that the arrival of the US delegation after the formation of the interim government reflects the importance the US places on its relationship with Bangladesh.”

He mentioned that the composition of the US delegation suggests a broad and multi-dimensional dialogue.

“It will not be limited to just a specific issue. In line with this, we are also preparing on our end. Our team will be similarly aligned,” he added.

The five-member US delegation was received on Saturday morning at Shahjalal International Airport by Khandaker Masudul Alam, Director General (North America) of the Foreign Ministry.

This high-level delegation marks the first such visit to Bangladesh since the formation of the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on August 8.

The delegation includes officials from the US Department of State, the Treasury, the US Agency for International Development, and the Department of Commerce.

The Chief Advisor’s press wing confirmed that the delegation will meet Yunus at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday at the state guest house Jamuna.

A US State Department statement said Lu will be part of a US delegation holding meetings with the Bangladeshi interim government.

Lu will also visit India during the September 10-16 trip.

“US and Bangladeshi officials will discuss how the US can support Bangladesh’s economic growth, financial stability and development needs,” the statement said.

AGENCIES

From a military perspective, Ukrainians should not be restricted in using delivered weapons, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Military Committee Chair Rob Bauer said.

Speaking after a meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Prague, Bauer said lifting the restrictions on the use of supplied weapons to Ukraine would be logical from a military point of view, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, he noted that countries providing these weapons to Ukraine have the right to limit individual weapons, adding that there is a political discussion.

According to the Czech News Agency, debates on restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine are taking place at various levels. Italy introduced them, while countries such as the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands do not set any conditions for the use of weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that by providing Ukraine with long-range weapons, Western countries risk involving directly in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In such circumstances, Russia would be forced to make “appropriate decisions” based on the new threats, Putin was quoted by Russian media as saying.

According to Western media reports, Ukraine has been pleading with its Western allies for it to use their missiles, including long-range ones, to fire deep into Russian territory. AGENCIES

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not expect to resume talks with the US regarding a multi-billion dollar deal to acquire F-35 fighter jets, irrespective of who wins the upcoming US presidential election in November, a senior UAE government official said.

A leading media outlet reported on Friday that the UAE was planning to resume negotiations to purchase F-35s and armed drones if Donald Trump wins a second presidential term, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Trump had signed off on a deal to allow the purchase to go ahead in the final days of his presidency in 2021, but the UAE suspended talks at the end of that year, unable to agree terms with the current Biden administration.

The UAE has long sought the most advanced fighter jet, built with stealth technology allowing it to evade enemy detection.

If the US did approve the transfer, the UAE would be only the second Middle East state, after Israel, to operate F-35s.

The UAE official said on Saturday the same factors that caused it to suspend the talks in 2021 have not changed and the government does not plan to re-open negotiations.

“Technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions and cost/benefit analysis led to the reassessment at that time, and those considerations underpin our ongoing position.”

The official did not comment on the possibility of fresh talks to purchase armed drones. AGENCIES