BEIJING — Intel products sold in China should be subject to a security review, the Cybersecurity Association of China (CSAC) said on Wednesday, alleging the U.S. chipmaker has “constantly harmed” the country’s national security and interests. 

While CSAC is an industry group rather than a government body, it has close ties to the Chinese state and the raft of accusations against Intel, published in a long post on its official WeChat group, could trigger a security review from China’s powerful cyberspace regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). 

“It is recommended that a network security review is initiated on the products Intel sells in China, so as to effectively safeguard China’s national security and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese consumers,” CSAC said. 

Last year, the CAC barred domestic operators of key infrastructure from buying products made by U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc after deeming the company’s products had failed its network security review. 

Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s shares were down 2.7% in U.S. premarket trading.  

 
…

LONDON — The world is on the brink of a new age of electricity with fossil fuel demand set to peak by the end of the decade, meaning surplus oil and gas supplies could drive investment into green energy, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.

But it also flagged a high level of uncertainty as conflicts embroil the oil and gas-producing Middle East and Russia and as countries representing half of global energy demand have elections in 2024.

“In the second half of this decade, the prospect of more ample – or even surplus – supplies of oil and natural gas, depending on how geopolitical tensions evolve, would move us into a very different energy world,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a release alongside its annual report.

Surplus fossil fuel supplies would likely lead to lower prices and could enable countries to dedicate more resources to clean energy, moving the world into an “age of electricity,” Birol said.

In the nearer term, there is also the possibility of reduced supplies should the Middle East conflict disrupt oil flows.

The IEA said such conflicts highlighted the strain on the energy system and the need for investment to speed up the transition to “cleaner and more secure technologies.”

A record-high level of clean energy came online globally last year, the IEA said, including more than 560 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity. Around $2 trillion is expected to be invested in clean energy in 2024, almost double the amount invested in fossil fuels.

In its scenario based on current government policies, global oil demand peaks before 2030 at just less than 102 million barrels/day (mb/d), and then falls back to 2023 levels of 99 mb/d by 2035, largely because of lower demand from the transport sector as electric vehicle use increases.

The report also lays out the likely impact on future oil prices if stricter environmental policies are implemented globally to combat climate change.

In the IEA’s current policies scenario, oil prices decline to $75 per barrel in 2050 from $82 per barrel in 2023.

That compares to $25 per barrel in 2050 should government actions fall in line with the goal of cutting energy sector emissions to net zero by then.

Although the report forecasts an increase in demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) of 145 billion cubic meters (bcm) between 2023 and 2030, it said this would be outpaced by an increase in export capacity of around 270 bcm over the same period.

“The overhang in LNG capacity looks set to create a very competitive market at least until this is worked off, with prices in key importing regions averaging $6.5-8 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) to 2035,” the report said.

Asian LNG prices, regarded as an international benchmark are currently around $13 mmBtu.
…

As energy-hungry computer data centers and artificial intelligence programs place ever greater demands on the U.S. power grid, tech companies are looking to a technology that just a few years ago appeared ready to be phased out: nuclear energy. 

After several decades in which investment in new nuclear facilities in the U.S. had slowed to a crawl, tech giants Microsoft and Google have recently announced investments in the technology, aimed at securing a reliable source of emissions-free power for years into the future.  

Earlier this year, online retailer Amazon, which has an expansive cloud computing business, announced it had reached an agreement to purchase a nuclear energy-fueled data center in Pennsylvania and that it had plans to buy more in the future. 

However, the three companies’ strategies rely on somewhat different approaches to the problem of harnessing nuclear energy, and it remains unclear which, if any, will be successful. 

Energy demand 

Data centers, which concentrate thousands of powerful computers in one location, consume prodigious amounts of power, both to run the computers themselves and to operate the elaborate systems put in place to dissipate the large amount of heat they generate.  

A recent study by Goldman Sachs estimated that data centers currently consume between 1% and 2% of all available power generation. That percentage is expected to at least double by the end of the decade, even accounting for new power sources coming online. The study projected a 160% increase in data center power consumption by 2030. 

The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that the largest data centers can consume more than 100 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 80,000 homes. 

Small, modular reactors 

Google’s plan is, in some ways, the most radical departure — both from the current structure of the energy grid and from traditional means of generating nuclear power. The internet search giant announced on Monday that it has partnered with Kairos Power to fund the construction of up to seven small-scale nuclear reactors that, across several locations, would combine to generate 500 megawatts of power. 

The small modular reactors (SMRs) are a new, and largely untested, technology. Unlike sprawling nuclear plants, SMRs are compact, requiring much less infrastructure to keep them operational and safe. 

“The smaller size and modular design can reduce construction timelines, allow deployment in more places, and make the final project delivery more predictable,” Google and Kairos said in a press release.  

The companies said they intend to have the first of the SMRs online by 2030, with the rest to follow by 2035. 

Great promise 

Sola Talabi, president of Pittsburgh Technical, a nuclear consulting firm, told VOA that SMR technology holds great promise for the future. He said that the plants’ small size will eliminate many of the safety concerns that larger reactors present. 

For example, some smaller reactors generate so much less heat than larger reactors that they can utilize “passive” cooling systems that are not susceptible to the kind of mechanical failures that caused disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant in 2011 and the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl plant in 1986.  

Talabi, who is also an adjunct faculty member in nuclear engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Michigan, said that SMRs’ modular nature will allow for rapid deployment and substantial cost savings as time goes on. 

“Pretty much every reactor that has been built [so far] has been built like it’s the first one,” he said. “But with these reactors, because we will be able to use the same processes, the same facilities, to produce them, we actually expect that we will be able to … achieve deployment scale relatively quickly.” 

Raising doubts 

Not all experts are convinced that SMRs are going to live up to expectations. 

Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told VOA that the Kairos reactors Google is hoping to install use a new technology that has never been tested under real-world conditions.

“At this point, it’s just hope without any real basis in experimental fact to believe that this is going to be a productive and reliable solution for the need to power data centers over the medium term,” he said. 

He pointed out that the large-scale deployment of new nuclear reactors will also result in the creation of a new source of nuclear waste, which the U.S. is still struggling to find a way to dispose of at scale.  

“I think what we’re seeing is really a bubble — a nuclear bubble — which I suspect is going to be deflated once these optimistic, hopeful agreements turn out to be much harder to execute,” Lyman said. 

Three Mile Island 

Microsoft and Amazon have plotted a more conventional path toward powering their data centers with nuclear energy. 

In its announcement last month, Microsoft revealed that it has reached an agreement with Constellation Energy to restart a mothballed nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and to use the power it produces for its data operations. 

Three Mile Island is best known as the site of the worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history. In 1979, the site’s Unit 2 reactor suffered a malfunction that resulted in radioactive gases and iodine being released into the local environment.  

However, the facility’s Unit 1 reactor did not fail, and it operated safely for several decades. It was shut down in 2019, after cheap shale gas drove the price of energy down so far that it made further operations economically unfeasible. 

It is expected to cost $1.6 billion to bring the reactor back online, and Microsoft has agreed to fund that investment. It has also signed an agreement to purchase power from the facility for 20 years. The companies say they believe that they can bring the facility back online by 2028. 

Amazon’s plan, by contrast, does not require either new technology or the resurrection of an older nuclear facility. 

The data center that the company purchased from Talen Energy is located on the same site as the fully operational Susquehanna nuclear plant in Salem, Pennsylvania, and draws power directly from it. 

Amazon characterized the $650 million investment as part of a larger effort to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. 
…

Israel has become the top target of Iranian cyberattacks since the start of the Gaza war last year, while Tehran had focused primarily on the United States before the conflict, Microsoft said Tuesday.

“Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Iran surged its cyber, influence, and cyber-enabled influence operations against Israel,” Microsoft said in an annual report.

“From October 7, 2023, to July 2024, nearly half of the Iranian operations Microsoft observed targeted Israeli companies,” said the Microsoft Digital Defense Report.

From July to October 2023, only 10 percent of Iranian cyberattacks targeted Israel, while 35 percent aimed at American entities and 20 percent at the United Arab Emirates, according to the US software giant.

Since the war started Iran has launched numerous social media operations with the aim of destabilizing Israel.

“Within two days of Hamas’ attack on Israel, Iran stood up several new influence operations,” Microsoft said.

An account called “Tears of War” impersonated Israeli activists critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of a crisis over scores of hostages taken by Hamas, according to the report.

An account called “KarMa”, created by an Iranian intelligence unit, claimed to represent Israelis calling for Netanyahu’s resignation. 

Iran also began impersonating partners after the war started, Microsoft said.

Iranian services created a Telegram account using the logo of the military wing of Hamas to spread false messages about the hostages in Gaza and threaten Israelis, Microsoft said. It was not clear if Iran acted with Hamas’s consent, it added.

“Iranian groups also expanded their cyber-enabled influence operations beyond Israel, with a focus on undermining international political, military, and economic support for Israel’s military operations,” the report said.

The Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, including hostages killed in captivity.  

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed 42,289 people, the majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The U.N. has described the figures as reliable. 
…

NAIROBI, KENYA — More than 400 delegates and organizations working in Africa’s farming sector are in Nairobi, Kenya, this week to discuss how digital agriculture can improve the lives of farmers and the continent’s food system.

Tech innovators discussed the need for increased funding, especially for women.

In past decades, African farmers have struggled to produce enough food to feed the continent.

DigiCow is one of the tech companies at the conference that says it has answers to the problem. The Kenya-based company says it provides farmers with digital recordkeeping, education via audio on an app, and access to financing and marketing.

Maureen Saitoti, DigiCow’s brand manager, said the platform has improved the lives of at least half a million farmers.

“Other than access to finance, it is also able to offer access to the market because a farmer is able to predict the harvest they are anticipating and begin conversations with buyers who have also been on board on the platform,” she said. “So, this has proven to provide a wholesome integration of the ecosystem, supporting small-scale farmers.”

Integrating digital systems into food production helps farmers gain access to seed, fertilizer and loans, and helps prevent pests and diseases on farms, organizers said.

Innovation in agriculture technology is seen as helping reach marginalized groups, including women.

Sieka Gatabaki, program director for Mercy Corps AgriFin, which is in 40 countries working with digital tool providers to increase the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers, said his organization stresses education and practical information.

“We also focus on agronomic advice that gives the farmers the right kind of skills and knowledge to execute on their farms, as well as precision information such as weather that enables them to make the right decisions [about] how they grow and when they should grow and what they should grow in different geomatic climates,” Gatabaki said.

“Then we definitely expect that those farmers will increase their productivity and income.”

According to the State of AgTech Investment Report 2024, farming attracted $1.6 billion in funding in the past decade. But experts say the current funding is not enough to meet the sector’s growing demands.

David Saunder, director of strategy and growth at Briter Bridges, says funding systems have evolved to cope with problems faced by farmers and the food industry.

“Funding follows those businesses, those startups, that can viably grow and scale their businesses, and that’s what we are trying to do with AgTech to increase the data and information on those,” he said.

During the meeting, tech developers, experts and donors will also discuss how artificial intelligence and alternative data could be used to improve productivity.
…

WASHINGTON — Russia, China and Iran are increasingly relying on criminal networks to lead cyberespionage and hacking operations against adversaries such as the United States, according to a report on digital threats published Tuesday by Microsoft.

The growing collaboration between authoritarian governments and criminal hackers has alarmed national security officials and cybersecurity experts. They say it represents the increasingly blurred lines between actions directed by Beijing or the Kremlin aimed at undermining rivals and the illicit activities of groups typically more interested in financial gain.

In one example, Microsoft’s analysts found that a criminal hacking group with links to Iran infiltrated an Israeli dating site and then tried to sell or ransom the personal information it obtained. Microsoft concluded the hackers had two motives: to embarrass Israelis and make money.

In another, investigators identified a Russian criminal network that infiltrated more than 50 electronic devices used by the Ukrainian military in June, apparently seeking access and information that could aid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There was no obvious financial motive for the group, aside from any payment they may have received from Russia.

Marriage of convenience

For nations such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, teaming up with cybercriminals offers a marriage of convenience with benefits for both sides. Governments can boost the volume and effectiveness of cyber activities without added cost. For the criminals, it offers new avenues for profit and the promise of government protection.

“We’re seeing in each of these countries this trend toward combining nation-state and cybercriminal activities,” said Tom Burt, Microsoft’s vice president of customer security and trust.

So far there is no evidence suggesting that Russia, China and Iran are sharing resources with each other or working with the same criminal networks, Burt said. But he said the growing use of private cyber “mercenaries” shows how far America’s adversaries will go to weaponize the internet.

Microsoft’s report analyzed cyber threats between July 2023 and June 2024, looking at how criminals and foreign nations use hacking, spear phishing, malware and other techniques to gain access and control over a target’s system. The company says its customers face more than 600 million such incidents every day.

Russia focused much of its cyber operations on Ukraine, trying to enter military and government systems and spreading disinformation designed to undermine support for the war among its allies.

Ukraine has responded with its own cyber efforts, including one last week that knocked some Russian state media outlets offline.

US elections targeted

Networks tied to Russia, China and Iran have also targeted American voters, using fake websites and social media accounts to spread false and misleading claims about the 2024 election. Analysts at Microsoft agree with the assessment of U.S. intelligence officials who say Russia is targeting the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, while Iran is working to oppose former President Donald Trump.

Iran has also hacked into Trump’s campaign and sought, unsuccessfully, to interest Democrats in the material. Federal officials have also accused Iran of covertly supporting American protests over the war in Gaza.

Russia and Iran will likely accelerate the pace of their cyber operations targeting the U.S. as election day approaches, Burt said.

China, meanwhile, has largely stayed out of the presidential race, focusing its disinformation on down-ballot races for Congress or state and local office. Microsoft found networks tied to Beijing also continue to target Taiwan and other countries in the region.

Denials from all parties

In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said allegations that China partners with cybercriminals are groundless and accused the U.S. of spreading its own “disinformation about the so-called Chinese hacking threats.”

In a statement, spokesperson Liu Pengyu said that “our position is consistent and clear. China firmly opposes and combats cyberattacks and cybertheft in all forms.”

Russia and Iran have also rejected accusations that they’re using cyber operations to target Americans. Messages left with representatives of those three nations and North Korea were not returned Monday.

Efforts to disrupt foreign disinformation and cyber capabilities have escalated along with the threat, but the anonymous, porous nature of the internet sometimes undercuts the effectiveness of the response.

Federal authorities recently announced plans to seize hundreds of website domains used by Russia to spread election disinformation and to support efforts to hack former U.S. military and intelligence figures. But investigators at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab found that sites seized by the government can easily and quickly be replaced.

Within one day of the Department of Justice seizing several domains in September, for example, researchers spotted 12 new websites created to take their place. One month later, they continue to operate.
…

london — Britain’s aviation regulator said Tuesday that it would allow drones to inspect infrastructure such as power lines and wind turbines, a move the authority has described as a significant milestone. 

The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had said earlier this year that it wanted to permit more drone flying for such activities as well as for deliveries and emergency services. It selected in August six projects to test it. 

Drones inspecting infrastructure will now be able to fly distances beyond remote flyers’ ability to see them. 

“While some drones have been flying beyond visual line of sight in the U.K. for several years, these flights are primarily trials under strict restrictions,” the CAA said. 

Under the CAA’s new policy, some drones will be able to remain at low heights close to infrastructure where there is little or no potential for any other aircraft to operate. It will also reduce costs, the CAA said. 

Drones will inspect power lines for damage, carry out maintenance checks of wind turbines and even be used as “flying guard dogs” for site security. 

The CAA will work with several operators to test and evaluate the policy, which according to the regulator’s director, Sophie O’Sullivan, “paves the way for new ways drones will improve everyday life.” 
…

Paris — The Auto manufacturers competing to persuade drivers to go electric are rolling out cheaper, more tech-rich models at the Paris Motor Show, targeting everyone from luxury clients to students yet to receive their driving licenses. 

The biennial show has long been a major industry showcase, tracing its history to 1898. 

Chinese manufacturers are attending in force, despite European Union threats to punitively tax imports of their electric vehicles in a brewing trade war with Beijing. Long-established European manufacturers are fighting back with new efforts to win consumers who have balked at high-priced EVs. 

Here’s a look at the show’s opening day on Monday. 

More new models from China 

Chinese EV startups Leapmotor and XPeng showcased models they said incorporate artificial intelligence technology. 

Leapmotor, founded in 2015, unveiled a compact electric-powered SUV, the B10. It will be manufactured in Poland for European buyers, said Leapmotor’s head of product planning, Zhong Tianyue. Leapmotor didn’t announce a price for the B10 that will launch next year. 

Leapmotor also said a smaller electric commuter car it showcased in Paris, the T03, will retail from a competitive 18,900 euros ($20,620). Those sold in France will be imported from China but assembled in Poland, Zhong said. 

Leapmotor also announced a starting price of 36,400 euros ($39,700) in Europe for its larger family car, the C10. 

Sales outside of China are through a joint venture with Stellantis, the world’s fourth largest carmaker. Leapmotor said European sales started in September. 

Xpeng braces for tariff hit 

Attending the Paris show for the first time, the decade-old Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng unveiled a sleek sedan, the P7+. 

CEO He Xiaopeng said XPeng aims to deliver in Europe from next year. Intended European prices for the P7+ weren’t given, but the CEO said they will start in China at 209,800 yuan, the equivalent of 27,100 euros, or $29,600. 

XPeng’s president, Brian Gu, said the EU’s threatened import duties could complicate the company’s expansion plans if Brussels and Beijing don’t find an amicable solution to their trade dispute before an end-of-October deadline. 

Brussels says subsidies help Chinese companies to unfairly undercut EU industry prices, with Chinese-built electric cars jumping from 3.9% of the EV market in 2020 to 25% by September 2023. 

“The tariff will put a lot of pressure on our business model. It’s a direct hit on our margin, which is already not very high,” Gu said. 

Vehicles for young teens 

Manufacturers of small electric vehicles that can be driven in Europe without a license are finding a growing market among teens as young as 14 and their parents who, for safety reasons, prefer that they zip around on four wheels than on motorbikes. 

Several manufacturers of the two-seaters are showcasing in Paris, including France’s Citroen. The starting price for its Ami, or “Friend,” is just under 8,000 euros ($8,720). Launched in France in 2020, the plastic-shelled vehicle is now also sold in other European markets and in Turkey, Morocco and South America. 

“It’s not a car. It’s a mobility object,” said Citroen’s product chief for the Ami, Alain Le Gouguec. 

European legislation allows teenagers without a full license to drive the Ami and similar buggies from age 14 after an eight-hour training course. They’re limited to a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour (28 mph). 

The vehicles are also finding markets among adults who lost their license for driving infractions or who never got a full license, and outside cities in areas with poor transport. 

Renault subsidiary Mobilize said that even in winter’s energy-sapping cold its two-seater, no-license, plastic-shelled Duo can go 100 kilometers (over 60 miles) between charges. A phone app acts as its door and ignition key. 

Another French manufacturer, Ligier, sells its no-license two-seaters in both diesel and electric versions.
…

WASHINGTON — Online hate against Americans of South Asian ancestry has risen steadily in 2023 and 2024 with the rise of politicians from that community to prominence, according to a report released Wednesday by nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate.

Why it’s important

Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris is of Indian descent, as are former Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, is also Indian American.

Harris faces Republican former President Donald Trump in the 2024 U.S. elections.

There has been a steady rise in anti-Asian hate in extremist online spaces from January 2023 to August 2024, the report said.

The nonprofit group blamed the rise on a “toxic political climate in which a growing number of leaders and far-right extremist voices continue to spew bigoted political rhetoric and disinformation.”

Key quotes

“Online threats of violence towards Asian communities reached their highest levels in August 2024, after Usha Vance appeared at the Republican National Convention and Kamala Harris was declared a presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention,” Stop AAPI Hate said.

“The growing prevalence of anti-South Asian online hate … in 2023 and 2024 tracks with the rise in South Asian political representation this election cycle,” it added.

By the numbers

Among Asian American subgroups, South Asian communities were targeted with the highest volume of anti-Asian online hostility, with 60% of slurs directed at them in that period, according to the report.

Anti-South Asian slurs in extremist online spaces doubled last year, from about 23,000 to more than 46,000, and peaked in August 2024.

There are nearly 5.4 million people of South Asian descent living in the United States, comprising of individuals with ancestry from nations including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
…