All posts tagged: China

Scientists discover ‘D-Rex,’ a giant fungus with a 65-million-year evolutionary history

Scientists discover ‘D-Rex,’ a giant fungus with a 65-million-year evolutionary history

Published by Jenni Sidey

A newly described fungus from Yunnan produces upright structures measuring up to 50 centimeters in total height. DNA and microscopic evidence support a new species, genus and family within the fungal order Xylariales. Its estimated lineage age overlaps the dinosaur extinction, but a connection between that event and its evolution remains hypothetical. Pale, fingerlike structures rising from tree roots in southwestern China have revealed an unexpected giant among fungi. Named Dianjunus rex, the newly described species produces fleshy reproductive structures reaching 50 centimeters in total height. The largest reported specimen weighed 2.2 kilograms, roughly 4.9 pounds. Its size was only the beginning of the surprise. Genetic comparisons and microscopic examinations placed the fungus on a distinct evolutionary branch, supporting a new genus and family. The findings appeared in Frontiers in Fungal Biology. The team included scientists from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and collaborating institutions. Corresponding author Indunil C. Senanayake works at the institute’s Germplasm Bank of Wild Species. He described the discovery as a rare opportunity to investigate the evolution …

China is mass-producing slop at a scale the world has never seen

China is mass-producing slop at a scale the world has never seen

Published by Jenni Sidey

“A 1960s American retro-futurist city street. A zombie outbreak has just erupted. The city has freshly emerged from battle, wearing the stillness that follows combat. It’s high summer, the sun directly overhead. Cold War, space-age streamlining: rounded, science-fiction domes. Chaos everywhere — wrecked vintage cars, scattered newspapers, blood on the pavement, storefronts from another decade. Zombie corpses litter the street. The leisure of the setting sits in violent contrast to the dead.” The scene is stitched from so many motifs of the old Hollywood zombie picture that any cinephile would feel a flush of recognition. It’s a whimsical love story between a cowboy robot and a mannequin, and the quality of its storytelling and camerawork rivals that of a Netflix or HBO production. The entire three-minute movie is the work of a 28-year-old wedding photographer from a small rural town in Yunnan Province — a man who has never once left China. He goes by Mx-Shell online, and the paragraph you read a moment ago is a slice of the prompt he fed to AI. …

Does China Have Enough Water For Its Thirsty AI Data Centers?

Does China Have Enough Water For Its Thirsty AI Data Centers?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by James Gorrie via The Epoch Times, According to China’s Ministry of Water Resources, China has nearly one-fifth of the world’s population but only about 6 percent of global freshwater resources. That presents planners in Beijing with a challenging problem: How to support 20 percent of humanity, more than 18 percent of global economic output, and an expanding digital economy, with a disproportionately small water resource? Things become even more complicated because China’s most economically developed regions are not necessarily where water is most abundant. Now, Beijing wants to build substantially more artificial intelligence (AI) computing capacity. That raises another fundamental question: Can China expand its AI infrastructure without worsening its existing water crisis? China Is Betting Big on AI Infrastructure Over the next five years, China is preparing to expand its nationwide AI data center infrastructure by roughly 2 trillion yuan, or $295 billion. The plan would create interconnected computing hubs and rely heavily on domestic technology suppliers. Rystad Energy estimates China’s installed data-center capacity reached about 32 gigawatts at the end of …

China, North Korea Open Long-Delayed Border Bridge to Boost Trade

China, North Korea Open Long-Delayed Border Bridge to Boost Trade

Published by Sam Flores

By Florence Lo and Mandy Leong DANDONG, China, Oct 15 (Reuters) – China and North Korea officially ⁠opened ⁠their most significant land border crossing on Thursday, ⁠aiming to rejuvenate trade and commerce after years of strained ties and pandemic-related disruptions. Trucks festooned with the national flags ​of the neighbours drove across the long-delayed 3-km (2-mile) New Yalu River Bridge, its towering pylons also decked in flags, linking the Chinese city of Dandong with North Korea. Knots of ‌spectators crowded a road on the Chinese side ‌overlooking the cable-stayed bridge completed in 2014 but unused while the North left its approach roads and customs compound unfinished. “(Bilateral) relations are entering a new phase, embarking on ⁠a new chapter,” Chinese ⁠Premier Li Qiang said in a video address at the opening, the official Xinhua news agency ​said. The border crossing would “strongly promote” economic and trade cooperation and further strengthen exchanges between their people, he added. It also offers an opportunity to improve border clearance procedures, boost connectivity and build cooperation in border areas, Li said. North …

US races to build rare earth supply chain as China tightens controls

US races to build rare earth supply chain as China tightens controls

Published by Sam Flores

Taipei —  Editor’s note: this story was translated from the original VOA Mandarin article. The United States is stepping up efforts to build an independent rare earth supply chain, as tensions with China over the issue of critical minerals threatens to complicate the two countries’ trade relationship. The summit between the two countries’ leaders in late September extended a trade truce by only two months, while rare earths remained a key unresolved issue in negotiations. Washington has responded with efforts to expand domestic production of critical minerals, support processing and magnet facilities, promote recycling and strengthen partnerships with other countries. Importance of rare earth minerals Rare earths are 17 metallic elements used in products ranging from smartphones and electric vehicles to fighter jets and nuclear submarines. They are especially important for permanent magnets used in motors and other high-tech equipment. Until the 1990s, the United States was the world’s leading producer and exporter of rare earths. But rising environmental concerns and production costs gradually pushed the industry overseas, creating an opening for China to build …

Pressured at Home, EU Leaders Weigh China Trade Steps

Pressured at Home, EU Leaders Weigh China Trade Steps

Published by Sam Flores

BRUSSELS, Oct 14 (Reuters) – European leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday to weigh up the future ⁠of trading ⁠ties with China, whose surging exports of cars and other ⁠manufactured goods are threatening to harm local industry and cause mass layoffs across Europe. Other topics for the two-day meeting range from Ukraine – including ​US President Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Russia – to the Middle East, defence, migration, the EU’s long-term budget and moves to enlarge the 27-country bloc. For some, the summit may mark a welcome break from domestic troubles. French ‌President Emmanuel Macron is facing student protests and sharp bond ‌losses over a budget deadlock, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is struggling to get his coalition on track after regional vote defeats, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez trails in polls before an election. Across Europe, mainstream politicians ⁠are under pressure from ⁠far-right and nationalist parties buoyed by a sense among many voters that the economy is not generating enough wealth to ​fund the levels of public services they expect. Twin challenges of …

China and North Korea to open New Yalu River Bridge, state media reports | Infrastructure News

China and North Korea to open New Yalu River Bridge, state media reports | Infrastructure News

Published by Sam Flores

The long-delayed bridge will formally open on Thursday, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. Published On 14 Oct 202614 Oct 2026 China and North Korea will officially open the New Yalu River Bridge to traffic on Thursday, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reports. China completed its side of the bridge in 2014, hoping to boost trade ties. However, North Korea left its side unfinished for years as relations soured after Beijing supported United Nations sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The first bridge connecting Russia and North Korea also opened earlier this month. China-North Korea Relations   China’s exports to North Korea rose to a six-year high of $2.3bn last year, a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Chinese President Xi Jinping was welcomed in Pyongyang in June for the first time since 2019. Since 2018, Beijing has tried to repair ties with Pyongyang, which also briefly began improving relations with Washington around the same time. The China-North Korea relationship was forged during the Korean War. In …

Bank of America fined .2 billion over money-laundering violations

Bank of America fined $1.2 billion over money-laundering violations

Published by Sam Flores

A Bank of America branch in New York, US, on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Bank of America was hit with more than $1.2 billion in federal penalties Tuesday after regulators said the nation’s second-largest bank failed for years to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions and fix longstanding anti-money-laundering problems. More than $1 billion of the unreported activity involved national security and other high-priority risks, including Chinese money-laundering networks and activity tied to the southwest border, Treasury said in a press release. The action also lands less than a day before the bank reports quarterly earnings Wednesday morning. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which enforces anti-money-laundering rules, said the $1.2 billion penalty is the third-largest in Treasury history. Treasury separately announced an $11.6 million settlement over sanctions violations. Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Bank of America Corp. stock price As part of the settlement, Bank of America admitted that it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain a compliant anti-money-laundering program, conduct required …

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay Accused Of Helping China Target Uyghur Dissidents

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay Accused Of Helping China Target Uyghur Dissidents

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness, Newly named 2026 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay is facing serious allegations that she helped China’s communist government identify Uyghur dissidents during her tenure as the United Nations’ top human rights official. Uyghur activists and human rights watchdogs raised concerns over the weekend, accusing Pillay, a former U.N. high commissioner for human rights, of overseeing the disclosure of sensitive information about dissidents to Beijing, potentially exposing them and their families to persecution. Dolkun Isa, former president of the World Uyghur Congress, said the U.N. placed significant obstacles in his organization’s path during Pillay’s leadership. “I later learned that the office she led had shared information about my participation, and that of other human rights defenders, with the Chinese government without our consent,” Isa said. He described the disclosure as a betrayal by an institution responsible for protecting human rights. “A Nobel Peace Prize does not place anyone beyond accountability,” Isa added, demanding answers about who authorized the disclosures. The accusations surfaced days after the Norwegian Nobel …

US and China take different paths on super intelligence regulation

US and China take different paths on super intelligence regulation

Published by Sam Flores

Washington —  Editor’s note: this story was translated from the original VOA Mandarin article. The United States and China are both moving to address risks posed by increasingly powerful super intelligence, commonly referred as artificial intelligence, systems, but their approaches reflect sharply different political systems and strategic priorities. China’s Communist Party leadership and State Council issued guidelines last Friday calling for technology monitoring, risk-warning and emergency-response systems to ensure super intelligence or SI remains “safe, reliable and controllable.” The document also promotes wider SI adoption across Chinese industries and faster breakthroughs in strategically important technologies. Days earlier, President Donald Trump established the Super Intelligence Force, a federal task force named after the administration’s preferred term for artificial intelligence. It will coordinate policy, assess risks and opportunities, and recommend how the government should respond without weakening U.S. leadership in the global technology race. The key distinction is that Beijing relies on centralized government oversight of super intelligence companies, applications, and content. Washington allows private companies greater freedom and relies more heavily on voluntary commitments, existing agency …