SEOUL, June 8 — South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu missed the birth of his daughter this ‌month due to his World Cup preparations, but the 35-year-old says he is determined to compensate for his absence with performances on ‌the pitch.

Kim, who is set for his fourth World Cup appearance, acknowledged the emotional cost of being away from his family.

“I am really sorry that I couldn’t be with my wife for the birth, and I want to bring home good results from here as my presents,” he told reporters on Sunday before a training session at Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, near Guadalajara in Mexico. With ‌more than 80 caps for South Korea, the experienced ⁠FC Tokyo goalkeeper faces competition ⁠for the starting spot from Jo Hyeon-woo.

The ⁠tournament also carries a ⁠sense of finality ⁠for Kim, who suggested this campaign may mark the end of his World Cup journey. Despite that, his enthusiasm ⁠has not dimmed.

“I’ve played at every World Cup thinking it could be my last. Given my age now, this one really does feel like my final one,” he said.

“I am just as excited about my fourth World Cup ⁠as I was about my first one. The first match will set the tone for the rest of the ⁠tournament, and so there will be some pressure. I will ⁠try to ⁠stay calm and just do what I can do.”

South Korea have been drawn in Group A with co-hosts Mexico, the Czech ‌Republic and South Africa. They begin their campaign against the Czechs in Guadalajara on June 11. — Reuters

 

SINGAPORE, June 8 — Singapore has launched its newest national research supercomputer named Aspire 2B to significantly boost artificial intelligence (AI), climate research, and quantum computing capabilities.

Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said Aspire 2B allows AI and machine learning models, previously too large, to be trained in Singapore to meet the republic’s specific needs.

“Simulations that ran as approximations can now run at resolution.

“Workloads that had to be sent overseas, can now use our national research infrastructure,” she said during the National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore launching event on Monday.

Designed as a heterogeneous system that combines advanced central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) capabilities on a single platform, Aspire 2B supports large-scale workloads spanning simulation, data analytics, and AI.

It will have more than 1,500 Nvidia H200 GPUs that can deliver 115 petaFLOPS of compute performance, or equivalent to more than 100 quadrillion calculations per second.

According to Teo, the new supercomputer also allows researchers to develop advanced climate modelling approaches that combine AI and physics-based simulations, for higher resolution forecasting and sharper and more granular climate insights.

This can help the republic anticipate intense rainfall and rising seas earlier, and plan urban development and coastal defences around them, she added. — Bernama