The United States has dominated the global technology market for decades. Now China is determined to change that. The world’s second-largest economy is investing billions in artificial intelligence and robotics. Its primary goal is to develop high-end chips that can rival the world’s best. Last month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned that China was only “nanoseconds behind” the U.S. in chip development. Beijing is racing to close the gap and reduce its reliance on imported technology. DeepSeek Marks a Turning Point in China’s AI In 2024, the Chinese startup DeepSeek surprised the global tech community by launching a competitor to…
Author: Grace Johnson
A roadmap for global food security By 2050, every person on Earth could eat nutritious, culturally appropriate food while safeguarding the planet. The 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems outlines how a “planetary health diet” could make this possible. The report finds that combining this diet with sustainable farming and reduced food waste could feed 9.6 billion people equitably. Experts from more than 35 countries contributed, showing that global food-related greenhouse gas emissions could fall by more than half if nations act together. Currently, about 30% of global emissions come from producing, processing, and transporting food.…
Electric car sales in the UK soared to their highest level on record in September, new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show. The surge highlights how rapidly drivers are embracing cleaner, low-emission vehicles as the country pushes toward a greener future. Electric and hybrid cars dominate registrations Sales of fully electric cars climbed by almost a third to 72,779 units in September. Plug-in hybrid models grew even faster, helping electric and hybrid cars together make up more than half of all new registrations. The SMMT said wider model choices, stronger discounts, and the government’s new…
A report by a campaign group claims TikTok promotes pornography and sexualised videos to minors. Researchers created fake child accounts, enabled safety settings, and still saw explicit search prompts. These led to clips of simulated masturbation and even pornographic sex acts. TikTok says it acted swiftly after being alerted and stresses its focus on safe use for children. Fake child accounts reveal explicit material In July and August, Global Witness researchers set up four TikTok profiles. They posed as 13-year-olds by entering false birth dates. The app did not request further identity checks. Investigators enabled the platform’s “restricted mode”. TikTok…
Elon Musk has become the first person ever to reach a fortune above $500bn. The record was driven by soaring values of Tesla and his other companies this year. His wealth briefly hit $500.1bn on Wednesday afternoon in New York. It then eased back to just over $499bn, according to Forbes’ billionaires index. Musk’s other ventures, including the artificial intelligence startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX, have also seen strong valuation gains in recent months. Musk dominates billionaire rankings The milestone secures Musk’s position as the richest person alive. He is far ahead of his global tech rivals. Oracle co-founder…
The sunscreen controversy in Australia continues to grow. Regulators have already removed 18 products from shelves over safety concerns. Well-known products fall short In June, a consumer advocacy group revealed that several sunscreens offered far less protection than promised. Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen Skinscreen claimed SPF 50+ but delivered only SPF 4 in tests. The company recalled the product voluntarily in August. The medicines regulator later flagged 20 more sunscreens from various brands. All used the same base formula, which performed poorly in testing. Tests reveal weak sun protection Preliminary results showed the formula rarely exceeded SPF 21. Some products…
Donald Trump has again vowed to impose a 100% tariff on all films made outside the United States. He argued that foreign countries had “stolen” America’s movie business. California under Trump’s criticism On Monday, Trump said California had been hit especially hard. He claimed the levy would “solve this long time, never ending problem”. In May, he already spoke about meeting Hollywood executives. At that time, he warned the American film sector was dying “a very fast death”. Tariffs already hitting other markets Trump’s remarks came after he rolled out new tariffs in other industries. These included a 100% levy…
Insider threats remain one of the most dangerous forms of cyber-crime. Few employees face them. Even fewer speak openly about their experiences. I recently became one of those rare cases. A criminal group approached me with an offer to betray my employer for millions. Unexpected message on Signal The first contact arrived without warning. “If you are interested, we can offer you 15% of any ransom payment if you give us access to your PC.” The sender called themselves Syndicate. They reached me in July via the encrypted app Signal. I did not know them, but I understood immediately what…
Donald Trump has ordered troops to Portland, Oregon, and authorised the use of full force if required to stop protests targeting immigration detention centres. The president said the move would protect immigration facilities from what he described as attacks by Antifa and other domestic terrorists. He portrayed the city as war-ravaged in a post on Truth Social. This order expands military deployments in US cities during his wider crackdown on illegal immigration. pushback from democratic leaders Democratic lawmakers strongly criticised the decision. They argued there was no need for federal troops in Portland. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said the state…
Jaguar Land Rover has started a phased restart of operations after a major cyber-attack. Some IT systems are functioning again, and the company is clearing overdue supplier payments thanks to expanded invoicing capacity. Cyber-attack halts production lines The August attack forced Jaguar Land Rover to shut down its IT networks and suspend vehicle production. The company’s plants will remain closed until at least next month. The prime minister said the government is working around the clock on a support package for suppliers. Smaller businesses in the supply chain are at risk of collapse as the shutdown continues. Opposition leader Sir…