5 d. ago Japan launches world’s first deep sea trial to secure own rare earth supply

A Japanese mining ship departed on Monday for a remote coral atoll to probe mud rich in rare earths, part of Tokyo’s drive to curb its reliance on China for critical minerals as Beijing tightens supply. The month-long mission of the test vessel Chikyu near Minamitori island some 1,900km (1,200 miles) southeast of Tokyo, will mark the world’s first attempt to continuously lift rare earth seabed sludge from 6km deep onto a ship. Japan, like its Western allies, has been reducing its dependence on...

Politics

5 d. ago Japan launches world’s first mission to lift rare earth from deep sea

Japan launches world’s first mission to lift rare earth from deep sea  South China Morning Post

Events

6 d. ago Germany to pitch Arctic Nato mission as Greenland, EU brace for Trump

Germany will propose setting up a joint Nato mission to monitor and protect security interests in the Arctic region in a bid to ease tensions with the US over its threats to annex Greenland, according to two people familiar with the government’s thinking. Nato’s “Baltic Sentry” mission – begun a year ago to shield critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea – could serve as a blueprint for a new “Arctic Sentry” mission, which would include Greenland, said people who declined to be identified...

Politics

6 d. ago UK and Germany discuss Nato forces in Greenland to calm US threat

A group of European countries, led by the UK and Germany, is discussing plans for a military presence in Greenland to show US President Donald Trump that the continent is serious about Arctic security and to try to tamp down American threats to take over the self-ruling Danish territory. Germany will propose setting up a joint Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) mission to protect the Arctic region, according to people familiar with the plans. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has separately...

Events

6 d. ago Britain in talks with Nato to counter China, Russia in the Arctic: UK transport secretary

Britain is discussing with Nato allies how it can help strengthen security in the Arctic to counter threats from Russia and China, a government minister said on Sunday. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the talks are “business as usual” rather than a response to recent threats by US President Donald Trump to take over Greenland. Trump said on Friday that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous region of Nato ally Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from taking...

Politics

6 d. ago Britain in talks with Nato allies over Arctic security as US eyes Greenland

Britain is discussing with Nato allies how it can help strengthen security in the Arctic to counter threats from Russia and China, a UK government minister said on Sunday. Britain’s Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the talks were “business as usual” rather than a response to recent threats by US President Donald Trump to take over Greenland. Trump has said that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous region of Nato ally Denmark, to prevent Russia or China...

Events

9 d. ago Japan zoo makes workers mimic pandas after returning all 4 to China, launches club for fans

A zoo in Japan has allowed its staff to mimic pandas in memory of its last four bears which have been returned to China. The unusual caged activity has been seen as an attempt to continue engaging panda lovers. In June last year, four pandas, the 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring, Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin, were returned to China from the Adventure World amusement park in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture. It marks the end of the park’s 31-year history of keeping pandas. Rauhin was also the first...

Society

1 week ago China Launches Chip Material Probe as Export Curbs on Japan Take Effect

China Launches Chip Material Probe as Export Curbs on Japan Take Effect  Yahoo Finance

Politics

2 w. ago Likening Trump’s AI mission to the Manhattan Project is sadly mistaken

US President Donald Trump last month signed an executive order for the “Genesis Mission”, a national campaign to use artificial intelligence (AI) to boost scientific breakthroughs. In the opening section, the mission is explicitly described as “comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project”. The comparison is compelling, but also misleading. At first glance, the order evokes the image of America in the 1940s, muscular and confident, mobilising the whole nation to end World War II....

Politics

2 w. ago How Japan’s space industry can regain thrust after H3 rocket failure

Japan’s latest rocket failure has triggered much soul-searching and resurrected a debate about whether the country’s space programme, long defined by caution and incremental progress, is equipped for a market that now rewards speed, repetition and a tolerance for failure. On Monday, the domestically built H3 rocket, Japan’s new flagship launcher, failed, costing the country a satellite and drawing sharp criticism from the Japanese media. Local media called the incident a “significant setback” to...

Events

last month China is drilling a hole that will reach six miles deep into the Earth

China is drilling a hole that will reach six miles deep into the Earth  Earth.com

Politics