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Tajik officials are proposing the creation of a regional mechanism in Central Asia to legally regulate “new technologies,” including artificial intelligence. Tajikistan, along with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have announced government programs to develop their respective countries’ IT/AI sectors. Kazakhstan has gone so far as to establish a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, while Tajikistan’s digital infrastructure at present lags far behind its Central Asian neighbors. Speaking at a regional forum in Bishkek on December…
The tit-for-tat trade war between the US and China earlier this year cooled by late October after President Trump and President Xi agreed to a trade truce that, so far, appears to be holding. There are early signs that the truce is beginning to restore rare earth trade between China and the West, as Beijing has started approving some rare earth export license applications this week. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic told Bloomberg TV earlier this week that industry chatter suggests China is granting so-called general licenses, a shift from a highly…
Lithium-ion batteries dominate the tech world. You probably have at least one within reach right this moment, considering that lithium-ion batteries now power a whopping 70 percent of all rechargeable devices, from your smartphone to electric vehicles, and even power utility-scale energy storage. And while the tech industry is eager to diversify battery design to relieve its dependency on this “white gold”, lithium continues to dominate the sector – and will likely remain essential for a long time to come. While lithium…
For years, heat pumps were seen as the fragile heroes of mild climates, efficient in theory but unreliable when the mercury dropped. That narrative has now collapsed under the weight of experience. From the frozen lakes of Finland to the prairies of Canada, heat pumps are thriving where they were once thought impossible. The data from the multiple past winters tells the story clearly. Even in subzero temperatures, installations are growing faster than almost any other clean heating technology. This shift is more than a technical achievement; it…
The global oil market looks well-supplied at the end of the year, with output sufficient to absorb a supply disruption in Venezuela, the world’s biggest crude resource holder. The escalating U.S.-Venezuela tensions in recent weeks, a tanker seizure, and further U.S. sanctions squeezes on Nicolas Maduro and his allies, including companies operating tankers, have cut Venezuela’s production to a seven-month low. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated Venezuela’s oil supply at 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November,…
