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China's $7.5b EU hybrid boom faces new curbs under China-EU deal <br> China&#39;s deal to curb hybrid vehicle exports to the European Union is set to deal a fresh blow to electric vehicle makers that ramped up hybrid ​shipments exempt from the bloc&#39;s tariffs on Chinese-made EVs as sales growth slows at home. Beijing&#39;s exports of hybrids to the EU&#39;s 27 member states tripled to $7.5 billion &zwnj;in the first half of this year from $2.5 billion a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data. The figure was nearly nine times the $845 million exported in all of 2021. Since the EU imposed additional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs in 2024, automakers have increasingly turned to plug-in hybrids, which are exempt from the extra duties. Weak charging infrastructure in parts of Europe has also supported demand for plug-in hybrids, which are marketed for their long range and strong ​fuel economy. SAIC, BYD and Chery accounted for more than 90% of ...

Microsoft plans huge deployment of its own AI chips, with an eye on saving costs <br> Microsoft announced the next generation of its custom AI chip on Monday and said it plans to deploy potentially more than a million of them next year to back its internal AI services. The Maia 300, ​as the chip is called, is the third generation of the company&#39;s custom chips ​designed to handle AI data crunching such as coding and carrying out complex business ⁠tasks on a user&#39;s behalf. Its predecessor is already running Microsoft&#39;s in-house AI models, as ​well as models from OpenAI delivered on Microsoft&#39;s Azure cloud computing service. The new version comes amid ​a flurry of custom chips from both cloud computing rivals and AI firms such as OpenAI aimed at loosening the hold of Nvidia on the AI computing market. To construct the chip, Microsoft took a different technical path from Nvidia ​whose AI accelerators use one massive computing chip surrounded by...

Brazil's Lula accuses Meta of election interference <br> The campaign of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused tech giant Meta of election interference on Saturday after his social media content was allegedly blocked on the company&#39;s platforms. The leftist leader is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term in the October 25 runoff, where he will face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. In a statement, Lula&#39;s campaign reported instances where platforms owned by Meta -- the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram -- allegedly restricted the distribution of his content. The campaign claimed that in recent days, Meta &quot;prevented President Lula&#39;s profile from promoting Instagram feed posts,&quot; while a post from his official account &quot;experienced an interruption in view counts, which affected its reach.&quot; It also said that prior to last Sunday&#39...

Scientific expedition warns of accelerated glacier melting in NW China's Xinjiang <br> Scientists with China&#39;s Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition announced on Saturday that they had found more than 24,000 glaciers in the region and warned of accelerating melt there. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China ranks first in glacier reserves in the country, followed by Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China. At a press conference in Urumqi, Xinjiang&#39;s capital, the expedition team released the latest data, saying Xinjiang is home to 24,202 glaciers, covering 23,629 square km. The glacier study is part of a five-year expedition, which was launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The previous two were conducted in the 1950s and 1980s. The expedition carried out studies on Xinjiang&#39;s ecology, land and agriculture, biodiversity and biological resources, mineral, energy and water resources. Forty-six national research...

New large docodont fossil sheds light on Jurassic mammaliaform diversity <br> An international team led by Chinese scientists has discovered a new docodont mammaliaform species, the largest known of its kind, in Jurassic strata dating back about 160 million years, enriching scientific understanding of Jurassic mammaliaform diversity. The new species has been named Megacauda sungei. Its fossil specimen, discovered in Ningcheng, north China&#39;s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, measures roughly 52 centimeters in length and is estimated to have weighed around 2 kilograms, making it the largest known docodont mammaliaform. Its skull is clearly preserved, its trunk is robust, and its most striking feature is an unusually long, coiled tail. The specimen also retains well-preserved pelvic bones, hind limbs and tail vertebrae, suggesting it was adapted for swimming. Based on its distinctive teeth, researchers believe it could have hunted small animals living in the same envi...

3 in 5 AI models fail terrorism safety tests: Study <br> Three in five artificial intelligence (AI) models have failed terrorism safety tests, with models stripped of safeguards consistently providing potentially dangerous information, according to research reported by CBC News on Friday. The study, conducted by the UK-based nonprofit Tech Against Terrorism, evaluated more than 130 AI models using hundreds of requests resembling those a terrorist planning an attack might submit. Researchers found that models modified through a process known as &quot;abliteration,&quot; which removes safety safeguards, failed every test. Meta&#39;s Llama 3.1 8B model scored 97 out of 100 on the organization&#39;s safety benchmark before modification, compared with approximately three afterward. Researchers said the modified model provided detailed responses to requests involving attacks, terrorist financing and radicalization, while its original version refused such reques...