The Daily Edition

Snapchat has announced modifications to its Spotlight algorithm, shifting its focus towards human-made videos rather than AI-generated content. The company's recommendation system will now give priority to videos created by actual creators, while fully AI-generated submissions will no longer be monetized on Snapchat's public feed for vertical content.

Chinese AI startup MiniMax has unveiled H3, its latest multimodal video generation model, aiming to challenge the closed-source dominance in the field by offering open weights and competitive pricing. This new model is currently the most powerful AI in video editing, according to benchmark platform Artificial Analysis. However, it falls short of Google's Gemini Omni Flash in text-to-video tasks and behind ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 and Gemini Omni Flash in image-to-video capabilities.

The Trump Administration is applying greater pressure on the Senate to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General, as the legislative body prepares to recess for August. Blanche currently serves as the acting Attorney General, appointed by the administration in July. The White House released a statement on Friday, urging the Senate to "confirm Todd Blanche without delay," citing support from various law enforcement organizations, state attorneys general, and former Justice Department officials.

South Korean shares experienced a significant surge, with the benchmark Kospi index closing nearly 18% higher. This rally was driven by strong performances from chip makers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. The optimism stemmed from earnings updates from tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, signaling substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI).

The opposition in Poland may be on the brink of a significant split that could help them unseat Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government in the upcoming elections. This potential division stems from a split within the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has led to the formation of a new parliamentary caucus led by former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. This move could broaden the opposition's appeal by offering voters a more moderate, center-right alternative to the current hardline stance of PiS.

A total solar eclipse will occur on 12 August, traversing a narrow path across parts of Europe and the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. This type of eclipse occurs approximately once every 18 months when the moon aligns perfectly with the sun, blocking its entire disc and exposing the outer layers of the sun that are typically obscured by its bright surface.

However, the main event of this August eclipse will be largely confined to the ocean and remote land areas, including northern Russia, Greenland, the ocean, and subsequently, more inhabited regions as it passes through Iceland and Spain.

A deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is surging at the quickest pace in the virus's recorded history. As of now, the death toll stands at nearly 1,500, and a vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain may not be available for months. This rapid spread has prompted health workers to struggle in their efforts to contain the disease.

Sony's strategy to eliminate physical PlayStation discs comes under scrutiny as gamers express discontent. Despite this push, Sony plans to remove disc sales by January 2028, with all upcoming titles available digitally. This shift is driven by consumer preferences for digital media, though some gamers are protesting with calls for a worldwide boycott, urging them to keep their systems off until August 23.