Latest news with #CCN
Mid East Info
5 days ago
- Business
- Mid East Info
Confluent Unites Batch and Stream Processing for Faster, Smarter Agentic AI and Analytics - Middle East Business News and Information
Confluent, Inc. (Nasdaq: CFLT), the data streaming pioneer, announced new Confluent Cloud capabilities that make it easier to process and secure data for faster insights and decision-making. Snapshot queries, new in Confluent Cloud for Apache Flink®, bring together real-time and historic data processing to make artificial intelligence (AI) agents and analytics smarter. Confluent Cloud network (CCN) routing simplifies private networking for Apache Flink®, and IP Filtering adds access controls for publicly accessible Flink pipelines, securing data for agentic AI and analytics. 'Agentic AI is moving from hype to enterprise adoption as organizations look to gain a competitive edge and win in today's market,' said Shaun Clowes, Chief Product Officer at Confluent. 'But without high-quality data, even the most advanced systems can't deliver real value. The new Confluent Cloud for Apache Flink® features make it possible to blend real-time and batch data so that enterprises can trust their agentic AI to drive real change.' Bridging the Real-Time and Batch Divide 'The rise of agentic AI orchestration is expected to accelerate, and companies need to start preparing now,' said Stewart Bond, Vice President of Data Intelligence and Integration Software at IDC. 'To unlock agentic AI's full potential, companies should seek solutions that unify disparate data types, including structured, unstructured, real-time, and historical information, in a single environment. This allows AI to derive richer insights and drive more impactful outcomes.' Agentic AI is driving widespread change in business operations by increasing efficiency and powering faster decision-making by analyzing data to uncover valuable trends and insights. However, for AI agents to make the right decisions, they need historical context about what happened in the past and insight into what's happening right now. For example, for fraud detection, banks need real-time data to react in the moment and historical data to see if a transaction fits a customer's usual patterns. Hospitals need real-time vitals alongside patient medical history to make safe, informed treatment decisions. But to leverage both past and present data, teams often have to use separate tools and develop manual workarounds, resulting in time-consuming work and broken workflows. Additionally, it's important to secure the data that's used for analytics and agentic AI; this ensures trustworthy results and prevents sensitive data from being accessed. Snapshot Queries Unify Processing on One Platform In Confluent Cloud, snapshot queries let teams unify historical and streaming data with a single product and language, enabling consistent, intelligent experiences for both analytics and agentic AI. With seamless Tableflow integration, teams can easily gain context from past data. Snapshot queries allow teams to explore, test, and analyze data without spinning up new workloads. This makes it easier to supply agents with context from historic and real-time data or conduct an audit to understand key trends and patterns. Snapshot queries are now available in early access. CCN Routing Simplifies Private Networking for Flink Private networking is important for organizations that require an additional layer of security. Confluent offers a streamlined private networking solution by reusing existing CCNs that teams have already created for Apache Kafka® clusters. Teams can use CCN to securely connect their data to any Flink workload, such as streaming pipelines, AI agents, or analytics. CCN routing is now generally available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in all regions where Flink is supported. IP Filtering Protects Flink Workloads in Hybrid Environments Many organizations that operate in hybrid environments need more control over which data can be publicly accessed. IP Filtering for Flink helps teams restrict internet traffic to allowed IPs and improves visibility into unauthorized access attempts by making it easier to track the attempts. IP Filtering is generally available for all Confluent Cloud users. Now organizations can more easily turn the promise of agentic AI into a competitive advantage. To learn more about the other new Confluent Cloud features, including the Snowflake source connector, cross-cloud Cluster Linking, and new Schema Registry private networking features, check out the launch blog.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers propose new bill to lessen crypto industry's impact on households: 'We need to rise to the challenge'
Cryptocurrency miners and data centers have found a home in Texas because of abundant, cheap electricity. However, as CCN reported, newly proposed legislation could create stricter standards to limit these activities because they are raising utility rates for households. Cryptocurrency regulations focus on energy consumption, tax considerations, and environmental impacts. Multiple states have laws to manage the energy demand of crypto mining and to protect miners from regulations that might otherwise treat them like data centers. Regulations develop frameworks for the cryptocurrency industry and can help prevent legal issues like money laundering and fraud. Lawmakers in Texas have suggested new regulations on cryptocurrency mining out of concern for residents' energy bill costs. Mining consumes vast amounts of energy, and Texas has been able to supply that energy through natural gas, wind turbines, and other sources. Major mining operations have built enormous facilities in Texas because of dynamic pricing schemes that offer discounted rates and the opportunity to sell unused power back to the grid. However, these activities have contributed to strain on the Texas grid. Proponents of the Texas bill say that large mining operations now require more oversight to stabilize the energy grid. A big reason for this is that while crypto miners generate tens of millions of dollars monthly, ordinary Texas citizens are seeing their utility bills rise. "I think we need to rise to the challenge of getting the needed generation onto the grid," said bill sponsor Senator Charles Schwertner, per the Texas Tribune. "But there is eventually a prioritization that could be discussed, and obviously Texans — their families, their homes, their businesses — are the most important individuals, the most important clients for electricity." Laws like the proposed Senate Bill 6 (SB6) in Texas have the potential to keep utility costs affordable for homeowners while ensuring crypto operations are accountable for their energy usage. Do you think your city has good air quality? Definitely Somewhat Depends on the time of year Not at all Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Electricity used to power mining and AI data centers affects energy prices for people completely unaffiliated with those industries. To keep energy affordable in Texas and worldwide, it is crucial to invest in renewable energy, promote energy conservation, and improve energy efficiency. These goals can be achieved by developing clean energy infrastructure, implementing policies that reward clean energy adoption, and embracing smart grid technologies to minimize energy waste. Meanwhile, greener digital currencies and eco-friendly blockchains can help reduce excessive energy consumption. With energy demands growing rapidly due to advancing technology, it is important to balance profits with climate sustainability and people's livelihoods in our communities. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The South African
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The South African
Kim Kardashian finally graduates from law school
On 21 May 2025, the family and friends of media mogul, Kim Kardashian, took to Instagram to share news that the star had graduated from law school. Kardashian herself has been sharing her passion for criminal justice reform with fans for years through her reality TV show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 'All of you have been on this journey with me. It started with the Twitter video that I saw that popped up and I was just dumbfounded', said Kardashian She has publicly spoken about failing the bar three times in her pursuit of a law degree. Despite of the failures however, she said she has been involved in criminal justice reform since 2018. THE STORY OF ALICE JOHNSON On 28 August 2020, Alice Marie Johnson received a presidential pardon on her sentence related to a drug offense. According to Johnson, this was after a series of events where the media mogul got to know of her story and began working towards getting her released from prison. Through criminal justice initiatives, Kardashian approached president Donald Trump about Johnson's case. At the time, Johnson had served 21 years in prison. Today Johnson runs a criminal reform project, where according to her website, she continues to get deserving women out of jail. In an interview with Fox News, Johnson credited the new law graduate for assisting her to make her efforts successful. 'I can always depend on her, that if I'm running into a brickwall, that she will help', said Johnson. Speaking at Kardashian's graduation ceremony that was held in her backyard, CCN journalist Van Jones, said when the star started this journey, it was a lonely road. 'Seven years ago when you were working on criminal justice, you were not embraced by anyone', said Jones. 'You were working with people who were thrown away by their own families. You were working with people who were literally just one step from the grave. There's no place to be in society except the graveyard, than to be thrown away in a prison cell for years and years', he continued. Jones said with her newly acquired degree, Kardashian was about to be unstoppable. 'She helped reunite families and brought national attention to the most broken parts of our legal system. Now she does so not with just passion and determination but with six years of legal training', Jones concluded. WOULD YOU CONTINUE PURSUING A DEGREE AFTER FAILING THREE TIMES, AND WHY? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
India Today
21-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Why Israel cannot strike Iranian nuclear facilities without US help
New intelligence obtained by the United States suggests that Israel is making preparations to strike at Iran's nuclear facilities. "The chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months," CCN reported, quoting multiple US officials to indicate such preparations were comes even as the Trump administration pursues a diplomatic deal with Teheran, getting it to halt its nuclear weapons programme in return for a lifting of sanctions. Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968 and ratified it in the current Islamic regime, which took power in 1979, opposes the signing of this treaty as a relic of the previous monarchy. It has not pulled out of the NPT, but since the 2000s, Iran has embarked on a nuclear power generation program which many believe will give it nuclear India, Pakistan and Israel, whose nuclear weapons programme is a by-product of its civilian nuclear power generation facilities, Iran is believed to be pursuing twin routes to nuclear weapons: extracting plutonium from civilian nuclear plants, and enriching uranium, which it mines in the NUCLEAR WORRYIsrael acquired nuclear weapons in the 1960s. Like India and Pakistan, it is not an NPT signatory. Israel has fought and defeated its Arab neighbours in three wars since its independence in 1948. Israel has ensured no Arab country acquires nuclear weapons that could threaten its existence. It launched airstrikes against Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007 in order to destroy nuclear reactors it believed could create nuclear the 1979 revolution, the Iranian regime has directly targeted Israel, with successive leaders threatening to wipe it off the map. Israel has embarked on an extensive covert programme since the 1980s to ensure Iran doesn't get the bomb. It has assassinated Iranian nuclear weapons scientists and sabotaged reactor centrifuges using computer is yet to strike directly at Iranian nuclear weapons facilities for various reasons. But recent incidents where Israel has used its superior air force to destroy its adversaries at extended ranges indicate this could be a October 8, 2023, Israel has battled a range of Iranian proxies -- Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Iran had ringed Israel with proxies to ensure it can fight a non-contact battle with Israel. But in 2024, Israel and Iran struck each other's territories using fighter jets, drones and missiles. This suggests an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear weapons program is there are technical and geographical issues why an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure could be an issue.1. Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure is undergroundIran has learnt from Israel's pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Syria and Iraq. Both those strikes were against single reactors: Osirak in Iraq in 1981 and at the Al-Kibar facility in Syria in 2007. Iran's nuclear programme is hence dispersed across its geography. At 1.6 million square kms, Iran is a country half the size of India. Iran's nuclear infrastructure includes uranium mines and facilities such as gas centrifuges, which enrich this uranium and process of these nuclear facilities -- the enrichment facilities in Fordow and Natanz -- are buried deep underground, under several metres of rock and reinforced concrete. These facilities can only be targeted by precise bunker-busting munitions.2. Limits of Israel's airpowerIran is 1000 kms away from Israel's border. Hypothetically, Israel could launch an extraordinarily complex military operation, primarily involving fighter jets, to knock out the country's nuclear facilities. These fighters would need to be refuelled in the air and fly extreme distances to get to their targets. But here again, there's a problem. Israel's air force lacks either the platforms or specialised munitions to destroy the destroy the underground facilities like Natanz and Fordow, Israel will need something like the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which weighs over 12 tonnes, and at 6 metres long, is half the length of a city bus. The MOP can penetrate and explode 61 metres below the soil. But it can only be carried by US heavy bombers like the B-52 and the B-2, which Israel does not have in its inventory. In short, Israel cannot destroy Iran's nuclear weapons sites on its Can Israeli innovation strike on its own?Israeli military innovators are second to none. In 1976, they carried out one of the world's greatest special forces operations. A hundred Israeli commandos flew over 4,000 kms to rescue 102 Israeli hostages in Entebbe, Uganda. The rescue force travelled back safely after killing the terrorists and destroying a fourth of the Ugandan air force on the ground. In 2024, Israeli intelligence killed and maimed over a thousand senior Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon by booby-trapping their radio could well create a home-grown MOP to target Iran's buried nuclear facilities. The Israeli MOP could either be launched from the back of a converted military transport aircraft like a C-130 Hercules or by a converted intermediate range ballistic missile. Using either of these platforms would be fraught with extreme risk and technological challenges. But as history shows us, Israel has always risen to these challenges in the Watch
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Autism Care Improves With Team-Based Caregiver Training, ACES Finds
Leading autism services provider finds meaningful differences between training approaches IRVINE, Calif., May 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Children with autism have measurably better outcomes when their caregivers participate in team-based training, according to a report released today by ACES 2020, LLC ("ACES"), the country's leading provider of services to people with autism and other special needs. "The reality that caregivers are vital to their child's outcomes has been well documented in ABA research for the last few decades. Our study showed that outcomes also are influenced by the type of training they receive," said Stephanie Scheer, Senior Director of Research and Innovation for ACES. "The key is that caregivers have to be able to use the training at home. If their learning is limited to the clinic or classroom, that's not as helpful." ACES delivers caregiver training through its Caregiver Collaboration Network (CCN), a team of Caregiver Collaboration Specialists who help caregivers focus on their individual goals, ensure the caregiver feels competent and confident in working with their child, and enhance quality of life for the whole family. Before the CCN was created in November 2021, all caregiver training at ACES was one-on-one. Change in format brings increased utilization To support anecdotal data gathered at ACES' clinics in eight states, the ACES research team focused on four families who began receiving ABA services before the CCN was launched and got involved with the network as their child's treatment continued. Before receiving their caregiver training from the CCN — when the only option was to receive such services solely from their primary supervisors — these families used, on average, only 55% of their insurance-authorized caregiver training hours. After engaging with the CCN, that increased to 75%. "That's a huge increase. The families found the collegial workshop setting, led by clinicians whose No. 1 priority is caregiver education, to be more engaging," Scheer said. Better clinical results were noted, too In a larger analysis of 500 clients, families in the CCN saw an average gain of 3.9 points on their child's Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Adaptive Behavior Composite (VABS-ABC), compared to an average gain of 2.5 points for the children of caregivers who were not involved with the CCN. Any change greater than 0 in a VABS-ABC score is seen as progress, so the greater the change, the more an autistic individual gains access to their environment and independence. "So we have strong reason to believe that our network-based approach to caregiver training leads to more training and better results," Scheer said. Read the full report here. About ACES ACES is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals and families impacted with autism or other special needs. Founded in 1996 by Kristin Farmer, ACES provides comprehensive, professional services to maximize individuals' potential in the home, school, clinic and community using accepted teaching and ABA therapeutic methodologies. ACES operates in 79 markets in eight states, serving thousands of clients in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington with a long track record of positive outcomes. Learn more at View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Leah Felty, M.S., BCBA, ACES VP of Clinical Excellence & Payor Partnership, lfelty@ Sign in to access your portfolio
