U.S. FAA: No Plans to Sign Communication Contract with Starlink for Now
On July 16 local time, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated it has not considered replacing its existing contracts with L3 Harris Technologies and Verizon with SpaceX’s Starlink for aviation control systems. The FAA clarified it will not use Starlink or any satellite service as the sole communication technology for safety-critical air traffic services, nor will it abandon previous partners for SpaceX.
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U.S. Department of Defense Secures $200M AI Contracts with OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, xAI for National Security
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced on July 14 it has awarded up to $200 million in AI contracts to OpenAI, Google parent company Alphabet, Anthropic, and xAI, aiming to accelerate the deployment of advanced AI capabilities across national security systems. The contracts, managed by the DoD’s Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO), will fund the development of "agentic AI workflows" to address critical defense challenges, including cybersecurity, intelligence analysis, and operational decision-making .
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Perplexity Eyes Post-Training with Moonlit's Kimi K2 Model for AI Enhancement
Moonlit AI, a Beijing-based AI research firm, has unveiled its trillion-parameter Kimi K2 model, a MoE (Mixture-of-Experts) architecture with 1T total parameters and 32B activated parameters. The model demonstrates exceptional capabilities in code generation and general-purpose Agent tasks, marking a significant advancement in open-source AI technology. This development has drawn attention from U.S. AI startup Perplexity, whose CEO has hinted at potential post-training on K2 to boost product performance.
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Meta Ignites Silicon Valley AI Talent War with $Billion Superintelligence Labs Push
Meta has triggered a Silicon Valley talent crisis with its newly launched Superintelligence Labs (MSL), luring top AI researchers from Apple, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind with unprecedented compensation packages. The move, backed by multi-billion-dollar investments, aims to rebuild Meta’s generative AI capabilities after its Llama series models faced mounting competition.
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OpenAI Unveils AI Browser Ambitions to Dethrone Chrome
OpenAI is poised to disrupt the global browser market with its upcoming AI-powered browser, designed to challenge Google Chrome’s 65.94% market dominance and reshape how users interact with the web. Built on the Chromium framework—the same foundation as Chrome—the browser integrates ChatGPT-style conversational interfaces and AI agent capabilities, aiming to transform passive browsing into an interactive, task-driven experience.
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New Zealand Unveils First National AI Strategy to Boost Competitiveness
The New Zealand government on July 8 launched its first national AI strategy, outlining a roadmap to accelerate AI adoption, enhance productivity, and strengthen global competitiveness. The initiative comes as the country lags behind other advanced economies in AI readiness, with many businesses yet to plan AI adoption. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti stated the government will provide regulatory guidance to encourage responsible AI use, along with the Responsible AI Guide to help businesses use, develop and innovate AI in an ethical, transparent way that meets internati
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Europe Aims to Cut U.S. Reliance with Nordic Spaceport Projects
As reported by Reuters on July 10, Europe is pushing forward with building domestic launch facilities in Sweden’s Esrange and Norway’s Andøya to reduce dependence on the U.S. and strengthen its independent space capabilities. The goal is to send satellites into orbit from the European continent for the first time. Previously, Europe’s only launch site was in French Guiana, South America—its remote location and high costs made it hard to meet rising commercial and military needs.
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Singapore Launches Asia Pacific Sustainable Aviation Centre to Drive Regional Decarbonization
Singapore’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAS) announced on July 10 that the Asia Pacific Sustainable Aviation Centre (APSAC) will officially launch on July 14. Partnering with Airbus, Boeing, GenZero (a green investment firm under Singapore’s Temasek), and IATA, APSAC aims to support regional decarbonization through policy research, cross-sector collaboration, and training—making it the world’s first institution focused on policy and capacity-building for sustainable aviation in the Asia-Pacific.
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Meta Buys 3% Stake in EssilorLuxottica Asia-Pacific for $3.5B to Boost AI Glasses Push
Meta has invested $3.5 billion to acquire roughly 3% of EssilorLuxottica’s Asia-Pacific unit, the world’s largest eyewear maker, in a bid to strengthen its artificial intelligence (AI) glasses business. Sources say Meta is considering raising its stake to around 5% in the future, signaling a shift to reduce reliance on smartphone platforms and build its own dedicated hardware ecosystem.
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UK Startup Allotrope Energy Secures $6.7M for Revolutionary Supercapacitor, Partners with Brazilian Pulp Firm
UK-based Allotrope Energy, a 2016-founded battery capacitor startup, has unveiled a groundbreaking super EDLC (electrochemical double-layer capacitor) set to disrupt automotive tech. It secured $6.7 million from Brazil’s Suzano Ventures, partnering with the pulp producer—known for paper products—to manufacture the innovation.
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Ancient DNA Unravels Pre - historic Family Trees and Social Structures
Scientists have successfully reconstructed the kinship networks of multiple ancient settlements through the genetic analysis of a large number of ancient human DNAs, with the longest network extending up to eight generations. This research has revealed social - structural features such as matrilineal or patrilineal inheritance and the layout of kinship cemeteries. Some individuals have even been traced to relatives thousands of miles away.
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Animal Life Discovered at Hydro - thermal Vents of the East Pacific Rise
Scientists from Austria and the Netherlands have discovered animal life in the hydro - thermal vent area at a depth of 2,515 meters on the East Pacific seabed. The discovered species include large tube worms and sea snails. These living organisms are found in the warm, liquid - filled cavities within the rock fractures, indicating a possible connection between the sub - crustal ecosystem and the seabed ecosystem.
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"Exploration - 3" Commissioned in Sanya, Boosting Manned Deep - sea Diving to Cover the Entire Sea Area
Xinhua News Agency, Sanya, December 29th – The "Exploration - 3", a multi - functional scientific research vessel independently built by China, arrived at the Nanshan Port Public Scientific Research Wharf in Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City on December 29th, 2024, and was officially commissioned. This event marks a significant breakthrough in China's deep - sea exploration capabilities.
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Carbon Dioxide Has Governed Earth's Climate Change for Nearly 500 Million Years, New Research Unveils Deep - time Climate Evolution Map
Recently, scientists from the United States have reconstructed the curve of Earth's average temperature changes over the past 485 million years. By integrating 150,000 paleoclimate records with model simulations, they found that extreme warming events on Earth are highly correlated with the increase in CO₂ concentration. This research was published in the journal Science.
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Scientists Drill Deep into Mantle, Obtain Deepest - ever Mantle Core Sample
An international team of scientists has successfully drilled a 1,268 - meter - long mantle core in the Mid - Atlantic Ridge. This is the deepest mantle sample ever retrieved from the ocean floor, mainly composed of serpentinized peridotite, revealing the long - term reaction records between the mantle and seawater.
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