China Successfully Launches First Batch of Guowang Internet Satellites

China has successfully launched the first batch of Guowang internet satellites into orbit. The launch was carried out using the Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province. These are the first of 13,000 satellites that will be built and launched by 2034.

Former Google Chief Warns of AI

The former head of Google stated that people should be ready to disconnect AI from the network if it begins to evolve. According to Eric Schmidt, technology is advancing very quickly, and we might miss a machine uprising: "I've been working on this for 50 years and have never seen innovations on this scale."

The world's largest cave is located in Vietnam

In Vietnam, there is the world's largest cave, Son Doong, inside which 15 Cheops pyramids could fit. Its length is over 6.5 km, the height reaches up to 200 meters, and the width up to 150 meters. Inside flows an underground river, and the ceiling has collapsed in places long ago, allowing sunlight to penetrate and dense jungles to grow. Tours to Son Doong are entire expeditions lasting almost a week. They are conducted in groups of 10 people and charge about $3000 per person (with all slots for 2025 already booked).

The World's Steepest Cable Car Opens in the Swiss Alps

In the Swiss Alps, the world's steepest cable car with a gradient of 159.4% has been opened. The 1.2 km route connects the mountain village of Mürren at an altitude of 775 m with Stechelberg at the valley's bottom. Each of the two cabins holds 85 people, and the trip takes only 4 minutes.

Chinese Set New Spacewalk Duration Record

The Chinese have set a new world record for spacewalk duration - they spent 9 hours and 6 minutes outside their orbital station. The previous record lasted 23 years. It was set in March 2001 by NASA astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms with 8 hours and 56 minutes.

Meng Xiang

The construction of the ship Meng Xiang, a key tool for scientific oceanic drilling, has been completed at a Chinese shipyard in Guangzhou. The ship is estimated to be worth $470 million, measuring 180 meters long, and operations will begin as early as next year. The ship, whose name translates to "Dream," is intended for the study of plate tectonics, ancient marine climate, and the life of microorganisms in deep rock formations. One of the most ambitious tasks will be the attempt to penetrate through the Earth's crust and reach the mantle - a boundary known as the Mohorovičić surface or Moho boundary.

The Shortest Flight in the World

The shortest flight in the world lasts only 80-90 seconds - between the Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray. The flights were introduced in 1967 as a fast alternative to the ferry. The distance between the airports is 2.7 km, and in good weather, pilots can complete it in even 53 seconds.

AI Encouraged Teens to Self-Harm

Artificial intelligence urged teenagers to harm themselves and advised killing their parents. Currently, families in the US are suing CharacterAI (the maker of chatbots that can mimic stars and characters) for causing psychological harm to children.

Musk becomes world's first individual with wealth over $400 billion

Musk has become the first person in the world to surpass a fortune of $400 billion - currently, his capital amounts to $442 billion. This was achieved through the rise in Tesla's stock value and the increase in SpaceX's capitalization to $350 billion, making it the largest startup in the world.

Tech Worker Found Dead in San Francisco

The body of 26-year-old tech worker Suchir Balaji, who accused OpenAI of copyright infringement in the creation of ChatGPT, was discovered in San Francisco. A month and a half ago, he publicly spoke about the company's dark dealings in an interview with the NY Times. Recently, he was found dead in his own apartment.

Epic Parachute-Free Jump from 7.6 km high

A crazy stunt was performed by American stuntman Luke Aikins in 2016 as he jumped out of a plane without any safety harness. During the 2-minute free fall, he accelerated to nearly 200 km/h and landed precisely in a specially prepared net measuring 30 by 30 meters.

Apple Shifts Production to India

Apple is rapidly cutting down its gadget production in China. The company decided to move the production of AirPods to India. A new factory in Hyderabad has already started trial production of the earphones, and mass production will start in 2025.

Charging iPhone with Foreign Cable May Lead to Hack

Charging an iPhone with a foreign cable may result in a hack. A seemingly ordinary cable can contain a hidden Wi-Fi chip that steals data and passwords and infects the device with a virus. For example, the spy cable OMG, which has been sold since 2019, is capable of recording every keystroke - and you might not even notice.

The Secret of Ginger Cats Revealed

This is no joke - until recently, scientists did not know the mechanism of the appearance of ginger coloring in cats, unlike most other ginger animals and humans. It turned out that cats have a completely different genetic mechanism: while in most animals the MC1R protein is responsible for color, in cats, this function is performed by the recently discovered gene Arhgap36. This gene is located on the X chromosome and exists in two versions: 'O' for ginger and 'o' for black. This arrangement creates unique combinations: Females with the 'Oo' combination become tricolor; Males can be only ginger or black due to a single X chromosome; Rare tricolor males are only possible with a genetic anomaly - an extra X chromosome.

Chinese Auto Brand Jiyue Closes Down

The Chinese auto brand Jiyue, created by Geely in collaboration with Baidu, is closing down – it owes millions to investors and suppliers, and a sudden 'financial hole' of nearly $1 billion has surfaced in reporting. The company was founded in 2023, and during its existence, it managed to release two models – crossover 01 and liftback 07, which sold only 13,834 units, an incredibly low number by Chinese standards.

Elon Musk's Potential City

Elon Musk may have his own city: he wants to turn the Texas spaceport Starbase into one. According to the billionaire, hundreds of people already live there permanently, building their own roads, having a school, a hospital, and more, so granting Starbase city status is a logical step. The final decision will need to be made by Texas residents through a vote.

Google Releases 'Meteorologist Killer'

Google has released the 'Meteorologist Killer'. The company launched GenCast - an AI model for weather forecasting, trained on weather data from 1979 to 2018. Test results were astonishing: GenCast outperformed the leading European forecasting model ENS in 97.2% of cases.

New flying car unveiled in China

A new flying car has been unveiled in China. The Italian startup Manta Aircraft brought the crazy hybrid ANN 6 to the air show in Zhuhai. The electric beast for 6 people can take off like a helicopter and move silently. The air taxi's maximum speed is 330 km/h, and the flight range is 1000 km.

New World Champion

18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju from India has become the youngest world champion in chess history, breaking Garry Kasparov's record, who won this title at the age of 22. In the final, the young man defeated Chinese chess player Ding Liren with a score of 7.5:6.5. Their match lasted from November 25 to December 12 and concluded after the 58th move.

Elon Musk's Underwater Tunnel

Elon Musk stated that his Boring Company will be able to build an underwater tunnel between New York and London for just $20 billion. The trip through it would take only 54 minutes.