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Louisville's Jo Jo Evans got the Cardinals' third interception off Beck with 7:50 remaining. However, on the ensuing play, Keionte Scott forced Isaac Brown to fumble the ball at the Cardinals' 25. Zechariah Poyser recovered it and returned it to the Louisville 12.
Alibaba Group Holding has introduced a computing pooling solution that it said led to an 82 per cent cut in the number of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) needed to serve its artificial intelligence models. The system, called Aegaeon, was beta tested in Alibaba Cloud’s model marketplace for more than three months, where it reduced the number of Nvidia H20 GPUs required to serve dozens of models of up to 72 billion parameters from 1,192 to 213, according to a research paper presented this week at the 31st Symposium on Operating Systems Principles (SOSP) in Seoul, South Korea. “Aegaeon is the first work to reveal the excessive costs associated with serving concurrent LLM workloads on the market,” the researchers from Peking University and Alibaba Cloud wrote. Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud services unit of Hangzhou-based Alibaba, which owns the Post. Its chief technology officer, Zhou Jingren, is one of the paper’s authors. Cloud services providers, such as Alibaba Cloud and ByteDance’s Volcano Engine, serve thousands of AI models to users concurrently, meaning that many application programming interface calls are handled at the same time. However, a small handful of models such as Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek are most popular for inference, with most other models only sporadically called upon. This leads to resource inefficiency, with 17.7 per cent of GPUs allocated to serve only 1.35 per cent of requests in Alibaba Cloud’s marketplace, the researchers found. Researchers globally have sought to improve efficiency by pooling GPU power, allowing one GPU to serve multiple models, for instance. Under Aegaeon, the researchers designed a solution that performs “auto-scaling” at the token level, meaning that a GPU can switch between serving different models in the middle of generating tokens, or the basic units of data processed by AI systems. The solution allowed a single GPU to support up to seven models, compared to a maximum of two or three models under alternative systems, and slashed latency associated with switching between models by 97 per cent, the researchers said. In a post on Thursday, Alibaba Cloud said the solution has been implemented in its model marketplace called Bailian, which serves the company’s own Qwen models to corporate users. US chipmaking giant Nvidia had developed the H20 GPU, which is especially suited for model inference, specifically for the Chinese market in response to Biden-era export controls. However, the chip has since come under investigation from Chinese regulators over alleged backdoor security risks. At the same time, major Chinese chip designers, such as Huawei Technologies and Cambricon Technologies, have stepped up efforts to develop domestic GPUs in response to Beijing’s self-reliance strategy. Earlier this month, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said the company’s position in China’s advanced chip market had dropped to “zero”.
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from “Faith and Family,” the series premiere of CBS’ “Boston Blue.” When “Blue Bloods” came to an end last year after 14 seasons, there were multiple questions viewers still had about what happened to the Reagan clan. Luckily, with spinoff “Boston Blue,” led by Donnie Wahlberg’s Dannie Reagan, they got […]
Hong Kong will adjust to navigate lingering geopolitical tensions, welcoming new growth in supply chains, financial services and innovation, the finance chief has vowed while promoting the city’s opportunities in the United States. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po made his remarks at the end of his first in-person visit to Washington since 2019, as a fresh phase of the US-China trade war looms, with Hong Kong caught in the rivalry. “Geopolitical tensions will continue to be there for quite some time,” he told the Post on Friday US time in an interview on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington. Tensions between the world’s two largest economies flared up last week over new rare earth restrictions and “reciprocal” port fees, which prompted US President Donald Trump to threaten a new 100 per cent tariff increase starting in November. Hong Kong companies are also targeted. On Wednesday, the US Federal Communications Commission moved to revoke HKT International’s licence to operate in the US, citing national security concerns. “Trade war tariffs are not good for anyone, even for the American people … from the Hongkongers’ perspective, we need to find a way to navigate this challenge,” the minister said. Chan is one of the highest-ranking Hong Kong officials to visit the US in recent years. His four-day trip began in New York on Tuesday, where he delivered a welcome message to American businesses and assured the city’s commitment to remaining a free port and upholding its common law system. In Washington, Chan also met a team from the IMF responsible for regular assessments of the city’s macroeconomic conditions, fiscal and monetary policies, financial stability, and structural reforms. During the meeting, Chan provided details about the city’s current economic and fiscal conditions, as well as its development directions. He also said that during the trip, he understood the US perspectives and concerns about Hong Kong and promoted the city’s opportunities. “Given the current geopolitics, what opportunities exist? Also, under the new government led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, what are our priorities and the economic direction for Hong Kong? These are the topics we have discussed,” he said. But Chan saw opportunities emerging from the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. For instance, the reconfiguration of mainland Chinese companies’ industrial base and supply chains – many moving business operations to Southeast Asia to avoid high US tariffs – has allowed the city to become a hub for supply chain management, professional services and trade finance. Funds raised from initial public offerings in the city jumped 220 per cent year on year to US$23.3 billion in the first nine months of this year, strengthening its position at the top of the global rankings. “Our stock market is doing very well,” Chan said. “We can help these mainland companies going global to come to Hong Kong to raise funds to support their overseas expansion.” He also pledged to provide an environment for stablecoins and other digital assets to grow responsibly and sustainably. “Our general policy concerning digital assets is that this is an innovation based on blockchain technology and we need to embrace it,” he said. “Our idea is to put in proper guard rails so that this sector will be able to grow while the risks are properly managed.” Chan also pointed to the risk to financial stability, anti-money-laundering and the need for investor protection. The city is going to start issuing licences from the beginning of 2026 after the Stablecoins Ordinance took effect in August this year. The government will initially issue a handful of licences, according to the finance chief, and only those with “a real-life case usage, a demonstrable and sustainable business model, strong compliance culture, and risk management culture” will be granted. “We want to do it prudently, step by step,” he said. Chan said Hong Kong would continue to play its superconnector role in China’s coming five-year plan, with plans for development objectives such as outbound investment and renminbi internationalisation. “The overriding principle is how to make good use of Hong Kong under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework with these unique advantages, connecting China with the rest of the world.” To support Beijing’s overseas yuan strategy, Chan said Hong Kong would boost investment and risk management products, more liquidity and infrastructure to help promote the use of renminbi in international markets. The city is the largest offshore renminbi centre, with about 968 billion yuan of bank deposits as of August and a variety of Connect programmes to facilitate two-way capital flows. “The bigger picture, globally, is that the use of renminbi will be on the rise,” he said. “There will be more offshore renminbi and this money needs to find investment opportunities.”
One week following floods sweeping through huge portions of five states in eastern and central Mexico, the nation’s government has confirmed that 72 people have died, while 48 others are missing. Multiple regions have been left isolated due to mudslides and bridges that have gotten damaged, with the state of Hidalgo getting some of the worst of the devastation. The state is to Mexico City’s northeast. Veracruz, another state, received the most damage. At the time of writing, a total of 127 towns are currently inaccessible, according to Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation Minister Jesús Esteva per Mexico News Daily. (RELATED: Wild Video Shows Bolivia’s Tarija Buried In Hail After Gargantuan Thunderstorm Rolls Through) Per Esteva, the ministry is evaluating the damage in order to launch rescue and recovery operations. Meanwhile, over 8,000 soldiers are in the impacted areas to seek out the missing, as well as working on debris removal. A week after the floods, central Mexico still reels from the devastation — in pictures https://t.co/V1uYAVbQXj pic.twitter.com/tlS5bPlYqy — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 16, 2025 Working around the clock, the Defense Ministry tasked 21 helicopters with delivering supplies, including medical, with a lot of them being sent to Hidalgo and Veracruz, the most isolated regions. According to Esteva, the government is urgently working due to an incoming cold front that will be generating heavy rain, per the weather forecast for the weekend. Fortunately, the expected storms will be to the south of the areas impacted by the flooding. Hit the hardest by the floods, Veracruz has so far reported 32 deaths and 14 missing, while Hidalgo has the second-highest fatalities at 21. Puebla is the next-highest at 18, per Mexico News Daily.
Ukraine president suggests after talks that the door may not be entirely closed on deal for US long-range missiles; Zelenskyy has ‘productive’ call with European leaders. What we know on day 1,333
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Imagine driving down a narrow road and having to avoid a cut-down tree, discarded trash, and a large pile of dumped roofing materials in the middle of the street. One resident of northeast Houston reached out to ABC13 to say he was having to do exactly that to get in and out of the Rosewood community. ABC13 emailed the city about the issue around 1 p.m. on Friday. The entire northbound lane of Woodwick Street near Bellingham Drive was clogged up with discarded shingles, tools, and nails when ABC13 initially arrived to survey the dumped materials. The majority of it had been cleaned up by 4 p.m. Octavius Perry, who initially reached out to us, said he doesn't think that would have happened had ABC13 not gotten involved. "I've had to talk to too many people (from the city)," Perry said. "Our community is just as important as any other community in the City of Houston," Perry said it was the worst his neighborhood had looked in the six decades he's lived in the area. In addition to being upset about the debris, Perry also said members of the community are worried because of overgrown trees and plants along both sides of Woodwick. "We need these branches cut so we can see," Perry exclaimed. A crew was on-site surveying the overgrown areas this afternoon, but told ABC13 they'd have to come back next week to trim the limbs back. For news updates, follow Chaz Miller on Facebook, X and Instagram.
"We're going to do everything we can to try to win in the last game of the season," Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena said. "We don't have control of things. All we can do is in the last game of the season go out and try to get three points and see where we stand when all the dust clears. Hopefully, it's positive."
CANTON — Having a lockdown defense is basically a requirement for success in the always competitive Hockomock League. And Foxboro certainly has that taken care of as its defense went up to another level Friday night to take down Davenport Division rival Canton. The Warriors turned in a stingy defensive performance and have now allowed only 28 points over their last four games following a grind-it-out 14-6 road win at Memorial Field. “A lot of the kids on defense played full time last year, kind of under the radar,” Foxboro head coach Jack Martinelli said. “I knew we would be pretty good defensively.” Foxboro (5-1) allowed an 89-yard touchdown pass from JT Norton (8-for-22, 151 yards) to Jake Marcell on Canton’s second offensive play of the game, but suffocated the Bulldogs’ attack after that. Canton (4-2) punted on three straight drives to open the second half before Jackson Bohlen came up with the only turnover of the game by intercepting a deep pass from Norton. Two plays after the turnover, Ryan Foley, who spearheaded Foxboro’s offense with 20 carries for 156 yards, scampered 18 yards for a touchdown with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter to give the Warriors a little cushion. The Bulldogs moved the ball of their final drive, including converting a fourth down in Foxboro territory thanks to the Norton-Marcell connection, but Foxboro’s defense proved to be too resilient. Trevor Palmer came up with a massive sack to force a fourth-and-20 with 19.1 seconds remaining, and after a holding penalty wiped out a first-down pass which would have put Canton deep in Foxboro territory, Palmer’s fellow defensive end Kawan Dias sacked Norton on the final play of the game. “Kawan Dias and Trevor Palmer have been doing it all year for us, putting pressure on quarterbacks,” Martinelli said. “They’re well-coached by the defensive line coach Wes Burhoe, and they got it done tonight.” Canton’s defense matched Foxboro in the first half by coming through with two defensive stands in Bulldogs territory. Canton nearly had a third key defensive stop late in the second quarter, but Foxboro quarterback Cam DeLeskey delivered some magic on fourth-and-goal from the 14-yard line. DeLeskey bought extra time with his legs by rolling to his right before lofting his pass into the back of the end zone for Dias, who came down with the catch with defenders all around him for the score that Foxboro’s defense made sure held up. “(DeLeskey) extends plays when they’re not there,” Martinelli said. “You can’t coach any of that. That’s instinctive, you either have it or you don’t. And he has it.”
"We all know what's on the line right now," said defender Justen Glad. "It's that time of year where it's going to take a little more to win games. You're going to get defeated every once in a while and it's how quick you can bounce back.
Political analyst Mark Halperin said Friday that this week’s New York City mayoral debate revealed a glaring failure, not from the candidates, but from the moderators. Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican New York City mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa faced off Thursday in a debate for the New York City mayoral race. “The tragedy for me is in two hours, the moderators never really tried to pin Mamdani down on the economic policies that he’s espousing. And how he proposes to pay for things that are not currently affordable. The other candidates didn’t do it either,” Halperin said on “Special Report with Bret Baier.” “And I think even though, as Mark [Penn] said, there is another debate, I think he’s going to be elected mayor of New York City without even [coming] close to explaining how his numbers add up on the outside.” Halperin said it is “very difficult” to see how Cuomo can change the dynamic of the race. “I never like to take it away from the voters or declare it’s over, but I think it’s as cooked as a Twinkie and a pizza oven for 35 minutes,” Halperin added. “It’s very difficult to see how Cuomo changes the dynamic of the race. I don’t think Sliwa would be more likely to get out after his performance last night, because I’d argue he was probably the best person on the stage.” During the debate, the moderators asked Mamdani why he refused to endorse Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, even after she publicly backed his campaign. When asked by moderators to raise their hands if they would support Hochul’s reelection, neither Mamdani nor his opponents responded. (RELATED: Mamdani Dodges Straight Answer When CNN Asks If Trump Deserves Credit For Brokering Ceasefire) “It’s a decision that should be made after this general election,” Mamdani said. Mamdani also did not deny Cuomo’s accusation that he did not vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Instead, the socialist Democrat said he left his ballot blank to protest what he called “the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.” All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
MP tells supporters he won’t run for his seat of New England and is ‘free to now consider all options’
LOWELL – In a massive Merrimack Valley Conference game, Lowell defeated Billerica in comeback fashion with a wild 22-20 win at Cawley Stadium. Lowell quarterback Seth Ly led an 80-yard drive in the final two minutes to pick up the exciting win after going down 20-16 late in the quarter. Red Raiders head coach Scott Boyle said the drive showed how Ly had adjusted to the role. “He didn’t play QB here for three years, but he worked hard to learn how and he throws the ball really well in the games,” Boyle said. “Couldn’t have asked any more out of him in the last drive tonight.” Billerica (3-3) came out thundering as it strung together a 15-play 78-yard drive of all runs where the Indian offensive line mauled their opponents seemingly every play. The drive was capped off by a sneak from senior quarterback Timothy Murphy from one yard out. The drive lasted over 10 minutes. Lowell (5-1) responded immediately when Ly found junior receiver Collin Christiansen for a 50-yard bomb on the third play of the drive, and the last of the quarter. The following PAT was blocked, so Billerica kept a one-point lead. The Indians started to put together another seemingly productive drive until a fumble stifled the plans, and Lowell took over in Billerica territory. The Red Raiders were able to take the lead on a field goal by senior Benjamin Durkin to make it 9-6 with just over four minutes left in the second quarter. This score would remain the same at the half. Lowell did not waste any time adding onto the lead as senior Ryan Conley took the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. Both teams would trade punts for the next three possessions. With 38 seconds to go in the third, Billerica junior running back Jackson Gearin took the first handoff of the drive 75 yards to the end zone to cut the lead to 16-14. The Red Raiders would miss a 34-yard field goal attempt on the ensuing drive to keep it a two-point contest. The Indians would get the lead back on their 10th play, a 27-yard scamper from senior running back Gryffin Bourdeau to make it 20-16 with 2:21 remaining. That’s when Ly orchestrated the flawless 80-yard two-minute drill, completing 6-of-6 passes and finishing with an 11-yard TD connection to senior Anthony Perez with 30 seconds left. The PAT was missed to make it 22-20. Billerica started on its own 29, but did not get the ball past midfield and the last play of the game was an interception. Ly finished 11-for-17 for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the win for Lowell. The Red Raiders host Lawrence next week, while Billerica hosts Dracut as conference play continues. “I told our boys that it wasn’t a perfect game,” Boyle said. “But we battled and came out on top. It’s important to improve but the most important thing was that we came through adversity and were able to win against a really tough, physical team.”
SCITUATE – Quincy took a sledgehammer to midfield pregame for some added incentive as it travelled to Scituate for a key Patriot League matchup. Not only did the prop not work – the defending Division 4 Super Bowl champions didn’t take kindly to the stunt, and it backfired immensely. The pre-game shenanigans only added fuel to the fire for the Sailors (5-1) as they rattled over 20 unanswered points on the way to a 48-14 rout over the previously undefeated Presidents. Grayson Foley had career highs with 242 yards on only 16 carries and four rushing touchdowns for Scituate as it kept pace for the league championship with the win. “Pre-game when (Quincy) came out, it got us a little angry, but we went back to the locker room and we knew what we had to do,” said Foley. “We came into this game knowing that our goal was to win, we needed the win, and we came out and wanted it more.” Foley scored three of his four touchdowns to open the scoring for Scituate. Foley scored on runs of three yards and five yards in the first quarter and punctuated things with an electric breakout 40-yard run to open the second quarter as Scituate was staked to the 20-0 lead with 11:37 left in the second quarter. “Overall, we played a physical game, and we were ready to play,” said Scituate head coach Herb Devine. “Sure, we had a little motivation at the beginning, it translated to the football field, our kids responded, played physically. Quincy has some good running backs that we had to stop and contain, and we did a pretty good job of holding them to not so many big runs.” Quincy (5-1) got on the board with a 14-yard run from Jaylen Parks, but Cam Cerussi hauled in a pretty pass from Jimmy Donovan (8-of-10 for 112; two TDs) for seven yards over the middle. Cerussi and Donovan put the nail in the coffin with five seconds remaining in the first half by connecting for the second time for 34 yards to essentially finish things off with a dominating 34-7 halftime lead. Quincy tried to rally with a 17-play drive to open the second half that ate up 10:09 of the third, but Scituate was not nearly done scoring. Cerussi finished with three touchdowns with a 70-yard kick return and Foley finished it off with a 77-yard scamper up the left sideline and went in untouched for the final score. “The defense played great, and we got out of the gates like we like to. Up 34-7 and they take 12 minutes off the clock – we were good, it was beneficial,” said Devine. “Credit to them, they kept fighting and never gave up, but this was a big game. Somehow, some way, we have a big game next week against North Quincy, if we can take care of business there, then we are playing for the league title hopefully.”
COMMENT | I have every reason to believe the word “tiong” will soon enter the Malay lexicon courtesy of our tortured politics. Further, I predict a brilliant future for its use and acceptance among all Malaysians in the same way as other recently borrowed Chinese words.Words like “chin-chai” (anything is fine) and “chun chun” (great, excellent). Or “ngam ngam” (just nice), “ma chai” (sycophant) and “ta pau” (take away). Or the wonderfully versatile “kau kau”, used in describing someone giving the other a good piece of their mind or ordering a strong cup of coffee as in, respectively: “Saya taruh dia kau kau” (I gave him a piece of my mind) or “Uncle, satu kopi kau kau” (One strong cup of coffee, uncle). “Kau kau” comes into its own when describing things taken to the extreme like in...
Officers reportedly tackled and dragged several people after authorities told demonstrators to stay in ‘protest zones’
Weeks of nationwide Gen-Z protests in Madagascar sparked by power and water shortages escalated and led to a military coup that forced President Andry Rajoelina into exile. Army officer Col. Michael Randrianirina has been sworn in as the new leader of the Indian Ocean nation. The colonel is not the first in history to rise from the barracks to the presidential palace. Here are five other famous military leaders who followed a similar trajectory: Myanmar — Min Aung Hlaing After decades of a gradual, deliberate ascent through the Myanmar military, Min Aung Hlaing was appointed joint chief of staff of the army, navy, and air force, the military’s third-highest position, in 2010. A year later, he was appointed commander-in-chief and would spend the next decade consolidating his power and influence. Facing mandatory retirement in July 2021, Min Aung Hlaing seized power through a military coup in February that year, declaring a state of emergency, transferring all state power to himself and establishing a military government, the State Administration Council (SAC). Since then he has ruled Myanmar under various titles. The military government has announced plans to hold a general election by year’s end. Uganda — Idi Amin Idi Amin began his military career as a cook and served in the British colonial army. After Uganda's 1962 independence, he rose quickly through its military ranks under President Milton Obote’s guidance to become commander of the army. In January 1971, Obote was in Singapore for a Commonwealth summit when Amin took control in a military coup. Obote fled to neighboring Tanzania after the coup, which was the result of the two men’s growing political and personal animosity. Ugandans initially welcomed Amin’s rise to power, as he promised to release political prisoners and restore democracy. However, his regime rapidly descended into a brutal dictatorship characterized by violence and human rights abuses. Amin was himself overthrown in April 1979 by an invasion force composed of the Tanzanian military and Ugandan rebels. Turkey — Kenan Evren Kenan Evren began his military career as an officer from a military academy, rising through the ranks over several decades until he reached the highest rank of general, serving as the chief of the general staff. He led a military coup in Turkey in September 1980 after months of violence between left-wing and right-wing militants that nearly brought the country to civil war. The leader of the coup took over the presidency and then rewrote the constitution to guarantee the military’s political power. The military dissolved Parliament and ruled through a National Security Council, which Evren was the head of, effectively running the country as a dictator. His period of sole military rule ended when he formally assumed the title of the seventh president of Turkey in November 1982, after a new constitution was approved by referendum, and he served until November 1989. In 2012, he was put on trial for leading the coup and later sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against the state. Ghana — Jerry Rawlings Jerry Rawlings rose to power through two military coups, first in June 1979 and then in December 1981, before transitioning to a democratically elected president. Rawlings, a pilot in the Ghanaian Air Force, became well-known for the successful first coup he led. He briefly held the position of ruler of Ghana before ceding it. In a second coup in 1981, he toppled the civilian government and commanded the Provisional National Defense Council military dictatorship in the early 1990s. Following the drafting of a new constitution in 1992, he was democratically elected as president and held office for two four-year terms, from January 1993 to January 2001. His legacy is complex, with both praise for his economic reforms and criticism for human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances. Chile — Augusto Pinochet Augusto Pinochet was a career military officer who had risen through the ranks and was appointed commander-in-chief of the army by Chile President Salvador Allende in August 1973. The following month, Allende, the democratically elected socialist president, was overthrown in a bloody military coup led by Pinochet. The military surrounded and bombed the presidential palace, La Moneda, where Allende remained until his death by suicide. In the aftermath, the military imposed a junta where Pinochet emerged to establish himself as its single head before instituting a cruel, 17-year dictatorship. Until 1990, Chileans lived in a period marked by systematic human rights abuses and the implementation of radical free-market economic policies.
The Chinese public has come out in force to pay tribute to Communist Party undercover agents who perished during the 1940s civil war, inspired by a television drama that gained a passionate following and sparked an outpouring of praise. The fervour centres on Silent Honour, the mainland’s first television series to chronicle the Communist Party’s espionage activities in Taiwan in the war’s final months when one of the party’s major intelligence operations was systematically crushed by the Kuomintang, which had fled to the island after losing the civil war. In Beijing, people have laid flowers on the tombs and statues of intelligence agents Chen Baocang, Nie Xi, Wu Shi and Zhu Feng – Silent Honour’s main characters – at the Unknown Heroes Memorial Square in Beijing’s Xi Shan National Forest Park. A park employee told Beijing Daily of “a sudden surge” of visitors to the square in recent days, despite it not being Ching Ming, China’s grave-sweeping festival. Hundreds of flowers were laid on Wu’s tomb. An underground party member, Wu was a KMT lieutenant general delegated to Taiwan in 1949 to serve as deputy chief of staff of the island’s Ministry of National Defence. Beijing resident Harry Wang, 35, visited the square on Thursday and said many people had left thank-you notes to Wu, whom he called an “unsung hero”. “When I got there at noon, there were already hundreds of bouquets of flowers, fruit plates and other offerings laid on the ground in front of the statues, just like it was Ching Ming,” he added. Wang opted not to watch the show’s finale on Thursday night, explaining it would have been “too painful to watch” and that the fate of Wu and his team had already been sealed. Silent Honour is based on real events and uses the names of communist spies who operated in Taiwan at the time, marking a departure from previous mainland television dramas drawing from history and involving secret agents. Wang noted the show was unlike other Chinese spy dramas whose stories culminated in the communist agents winning. “There is no reversal at the end and no miracle in their fate,” he said. “It just gave me a lingering melancholy.” Many Chinese social media users agreed. “I cried my eyes out. I can’t accept the ending that they all died,” said a Weibo user after watching the last of Silent Honour’s 39 episodes. “They did their best, but they were betrayed by their comrades,” the internet user added. “They accepted their fate peacefully. There is a hidden yet profound sadness even in the scenes of happy gatherings.” Another Weibo user called the show’s storyline “probably the most extensive and long overdue recognition of these hidden martyrs”. Silent Honour was ranked among the 10 most discussed topics on Weibo on Thursday night. Visitors have also flooded the Wu family’s residence in Fuzhou, Fujian province, the hometown of Wu and his adjutant Nie, according to Fuzhou Daily. Some brought to Wu’s statue photos of China’s latest weapons displayed during the large-scale military parade in Beijing last month, including the latest DF-5C nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, the report added. Hailing the four as “martyrs”, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson of the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, on Wednesday said their “faith and determination will undoubtedly inspire compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to achieve the great cause of national reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation at an early date”. Beijing hailed Wu as “Secret Agent No 1”, and former Chinese leader Mao Zedong penned a poem commemorating his death. Silent Honour centres on Wu’s repeated transmissions of crucial military intelligence to the East China Bureau during his time in Taiwan. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons. Amid high tensions across the Taiwan Strait in recent years, Taipei has faced challenges from a growing number of espionage cases exposing vulnerabilities in its counter-intelligence systems. Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, has characterised Beijing as a “hostile foreign force” and proposed 17 national security measures to counter Beijing’s alleged infiltration efforts. At least five people close to senior DPP officials are under investigation or have been detained this year for allegedly leaking classified information to mainland Chinese intelligence. They include aides to Lai and Joseph Wu, secretary general of Taiwan’s National Security Council. According to Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, 159 people have been prosecuted since 2020 for allegedly engaging in espionage for mainland China. Of these, nearly 60 per cent were active or retired military personnel. In 2024 alone, 64 people were prosecuted, a significant increase from 48 the previous year. They included 28 active-duty military officers and 15 retired military personnel.
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Democratic strategist James Carville warned Republicans on Friday that Democrats have no intention of backing down amid the ongoing government shutdown fight. Senate Democrats voted for the eighth time Tuesday to keep the government shut down, rejecting a bipartisan measure to reopen it as the funding lapse reached its second week. Appearing on “The Beat With Ari Melber,” Carville said Democrats do not plan on backing down. “Democrats are not going to cave on this budget. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t. There is no appetite among Democratic voters to give in. I don’t think there’s any appetite among Democrats on the Hill — both the House and the Senate,” Carville told Ari Melber. Carville said Democrats see themselves on the “right side” of the issue and believe momentum is on their side. “They feel like they’re not going to lose it, that they’re on the right side — and there is zero appetite to give in. If they wanted to, they couldn’t, because Democratic voters would come out of the woodwork,” Carville said. “You better brace yourself for what’s going to happen in November, because this is the first time voters are going to the polls. We’ve had special elections, and in every one, Democrats have outperformed by over 15 points. The moment of reckoning cometh — and it’s not that far away.” Carville predicted Democrats will win key state elections this fall. “We’re going to win in Virginia, and we probably are, in all likelihood, going to win in New Jersey. That is going to change the entire dynamic of the coverage,” Carville said. “I’m sorry, [but] Senator Thune or Speaker Johnson can go out and do all the talking points they want. You better prepare your caucus for a long haul, because the Democrats feel they’re winning this fight.” Despite Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying Democrats would gain politically from a lengthy shutdown, recent polls show voters still favor Republicans and the Trump administration on economic issues, giving them a slight edge over Democrats. Harvard CAPS/Harris polling shows Republicans holding a 4-point lead on economic issues among 2,413 registered voters, while Democratic polling firm Navigator Research found the GOP ahead by 2 points on inflation and cost-of-living concerns and by 11 points on “getting things done.” All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.