Cheap energy, abundant land, and proximity to Beijing have turned a city in Inner Mongolia into a crucial hub for data centers. Travel just two hours west of Beijing by train, and you'll find yourself surrounded by the rolling grasslands and ancient cinder cones of Inner Mongolia. This vast, arid land has long been China's capital of sheep farming and coal mining, but over the last few years, it has become the hottest place in the country to build an AI data center. In Ulanqab, a city in Inner Mongolia home to about 1.5 million people, nearly 100 data centers have been opened or begun construction since 2016. Chinese companies have pledged to build projects with a combined estimated capacity of 12.5 gigawatts in the city, and over 70 percent of the total commitments have been announced in just the last year, making it one of the fastest growing compute clusters in Asia, according to a research note published by Goldman Sachs last week.

What is Iran's Pickaxe Mountain? Crude oil and natural gas supplies have been disrupted worldwide by the United States-Israel war on Iran, but one energy sector appears to be cashing in - coal. This week, South Africa's thermal coal producer Thungela Resources said it had doubled its half-year profits as the war has forced more countries to buy the fuel. Mining it causes water pollution, and burning it releases enormous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. In recent months, several countries, especially in Asia, have reversed or delayed promises to scale back on coal production.

NOAA's Cook Islands expedition has returned multiple specimens from the extinct giants. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Fossilized megalodon teeth absorb rare earth elements and minerals from the ocean waters. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

More expansive than the island of Manhattan, Thacker Pass in northern Nevada is the biggest U.S. lithium-mining project developed in decades. And it's been one of the country's most visible flash points in the race to build new critical-mineral mines. While at first spurred by the clean-energy transition, the demand for critical minerals is now driven by their role as essential ingredients for AI data centers. Meanwhile climate advocates have tried to thread the needle between its potential to produce lithium, a key component of some rechargeable-battery technology needed to manufacture electric vehicles, and mining's risks to the local environment. Today, Thacker Pass is grinding ahead alongside dozens of other projects in the U.S. facing similar concerns. Much of the world's critical-mineral supply chain currently runs through China, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to geopolitical wrangling. The success of the ongoing American mining renaissance will shape whether the U.S. and other allies can insulate themselves from such challenges--not to mention power the transition to renewable energy.

Ancient Rome viewed male genitals as symbols of good luck, protection, and fertility. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Other discoveries included artifacts like a copper belt buckle and 19th century buttons. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

From the best air fryer to frying pans to knife sharpeners anyone can use, these ideas will keep the curious home chef in your life tinkering away. A Lightweight Cast-Iron Skillet Field Company No. 8 Cast Iron Skillet The Best gifts for cooks can be a tough prospect, especially because chances are the cook in your life is cooking for you. You want it to feel special, thoughtful, something luxuriant that they wouldn't buy for themselves and will be excited to have. This is a guide to the best kitchen gifts that mix classic beauty and technological innovation, geared to home chefs who love not just food but the act of cooking. We've gathered up some of our favorite gift ideas for every budget. For more inspiration, be sure to check out our guides to the best air fryers, the best cast iron pans, the best blenders, chef knives, and pizza ovens . One could plausibly argue for a 5-quart Le Creuset. But otherwise, when you picture a classic and beautiful cast-iron Dutch oven, what you picture is likely this: the 4-quart Staub La Cocotte. It argues for itself, sitting majestically baroque in its heft and with its trademark self-basting cones on the underside of its lid, its classic shape, and its elegant sense of proportion. It is welcome in any home.

Why has British Steel been nationalised? British Steel has been taken into public ownership after years of uncertainty over the future of the steelworks. It comes months after the UK government took control of the company's plant in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, though it was still owned by China's Jingye Group. What is British Steel and why is it important? British Steel's Scunthorpe plant employs 2,700 people, about three-quarters of the company's workforce.

Samples of rare earth luminescent materials displayed at an exhibition on China's manufacturing achievements at the National Museum in Beijing in March | REUTERS China's tightening export controls on dual-use materials and strategically important rare earths are beginning to disrupt Japanese industry -- including the defense sector. Chinese customs data tell the sharpest part of the story. Exports of dysprosium oxide to Japan ceased after October 2025, and shipments of terbium oxide ended a month later. No shipments of either material have been recorded since. The halt matters because dysprosium and terbium -- both heavy rare earth elements -- are among the most critical inputs for high-performance permanent magnets used in advanced military systems, electric vehicle motors, aerospace applications and industrial robotics.

Plus: Anthropic is now valued higher than OpenAI. How a new extraction process could unlock the world's lithium A new method for extracting lithium could cut costs and emissions from one of the world's most important materials for EVs and energy storage. The technique uses a weak acid to dissolve silicate minerals. That frees not only the lithium but also other useful materials, including alumina and silica. "At scale, we believe this will be the lowest-cost way of sourcing lithium in the world," says Yet-Ming Chiang, an MIT professor who co-authored a study of the process published yesterday in . Startup Rock Zero is already working to commercialize the research.

As chaotic negotiations over the end of the Iran war continue, US negotiators think they have the framework for a deal in place. Now they just have to sell the president on it. President Donald Trump's negotiators face the arduous task of trying to convince the president that a deal he previously rejected is their best option in Iran . Last month, Trump initially gave his blessing for a so-called "cash for uranium" deal, under which the US would release around $20 billion in frozen funds in exchange for Iran handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, sources familiar with the matter tell WIRED. Trump's negotiators, vice president JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, received repeated approvals from the president while they were in Islamabad, giving them confidence a deal was close.