Texas was among the hottest places on Earth last week as a heat wave brought misery from Mexico

The world’s largest battery maker has launched what it claims is the first ever “superfast charging” battery capable of delivering 400 kilometres (249 miles) of range from just a 10 minute charge. China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) said its new lithium-ion battery would open up a new era for electric cars and eliminate range anxiety for owners. On a full charge, the battery holds enough charge to travel over 700 km without needing to recharge – roughly 60 per cent further than the average electric vehicle in 2023. CATL said the increase in battery capacity and charge time was achieved through a “brand-new superconducting electrolyte formula” that results in improved conductivity. “The future of the EV battery technology must remain steadfastly anchored at the global technology frontier, as well as the economic benefits,” said Dr Wu Kai, chief scientist at CATL. “As EV consumers shift from pioneering users to ordinary users, we should make advanced technology accessible for all and enable everyone to savour the fruits of innovation.” CATL, which manufactured more lithium-ion batteries than any of its competitors in 2022, plans to begin mass production of its next-generation battery later this year. The company did not reveal which automakers would be the first to receive the batteries, though its customers include BMW, Daimler AG, Honda, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. Electric car sales have experienced record-breaking growth in recent years, with more than 10 million sold last year, however they still account for less than a fifth of all car sales. Range anxiety remains one of the main barriers for consumers when considering the purchase of an electric vehicle, according to the International Energy Agency, which has led manufacturers like CATL to invest heavily in overcoming this obstacle. Other challenges include access to battery materials and battery degradation, though CATL claims this second pain point is not an issue with its latest battery. Most major carmakers have set targets to phase out cars with internal combustion engines entirely by 2040 and estimates from the IEA suggest electric car sales will overtake fossil fuel-powered car sales within the next 15 years, though battery breakthroughs could reduce this time scale even further. Read More Battery breakthroughs are about to trigger a transport revolution Streaming services now cost more than cable TV Hozier would consider striking over AI threat to music industry Google is getting ready for the ‘quantum apocalypse’

By Mathieu Rosemain (Reuters) -Banking big-shot Jean-Pierre Mustier is taking over the helm of Atos' board of directors, the crisis-hit

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The company behind a popular fertility app has agreed to pay $200,000 in federal and state fines after authorities alleged that it had shared users' personal health information for years without their consent, including to Google and to two companies based in China.

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A hacking gang stole victims’ savings and tried to blackmail major companies including the maker of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto videogames, prosecutors claim. Arion Kurtaj, 18, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons are accused of being “key players” in the LapsusS hacking group, a trial at Southwark Crown Court in London has heard. The duo, aided by unknown associates, are alleged to have hacked the servers and data files of broadband provider BT and mobile operator EE before demanding a four million dollar ransom on August 1 2021. Kurtaj is further accused of targeting transport giant Uber, financial technology firm Revolut and Rockstar Games, developer of the Grand Theft Auto series, in quick succession in September 2022, the court has heard. It’s perfectly plain from the evidence that those involved in the attacks were totally serious in this endeavour of hacking companies and stealing valuable data from those companies with the intention of profiting from that, sometimes on a huge scale, whether by blackmail or fraud Prosecutor Kevin Barry He allegedly tried to blackmail Rockstar Games by threatening to “leak the stolen source code for the Grand Theft Auto sequel onto internet forums”, the indictment states. Kurtaj and the youth are also accused of hacking software company Nvidia in February 2022 before threatening to “release Nvidia Corporation’s intellectual property on to the web” if it did not pay them. In a closing speech to the jury on Monday, prosecutor Kevin Barry said: “The victims in this case, and they undoubtedly were victims, they were members of the public who suffered the SIM swap frauds and losses as a result of that. “There were also big corporations who were targeted and attacked. “It hasn’t been suggested by anyone that any of these attacks were just individuals out for larks and laughs. “It’s perfectly plain from the evidence that those involved in the attacks were totally serious in this endeavour of hacking companies and stealing valuable data from those companies with the intention of profiting from that, sometimes on a huge scale, whether by blackmail or fraud.” He said the jury has heard evidence from members of the public who had their data stolen during the BT/EE hack. “They found their lives, some of them, turned upside down with accounts accessed and emptied of savings,” he said. He said one man’s account on Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, had £38,000 taken from it. Mr Barry said “major corporations” were also targeted by the hacking gang and “enormous disruption and costs were suffered by them” as a result. He added: “Make no mistake, in this case, members of the jury, that losses experienced by these companies were real, they were a direct consequence of the defendants’ actions and those of their associates.” He added: “Any loss they suffered through activity like this will ultimately be passed on to their customers, people like us.” He told jurors “each of the defendants has previous convictions for committing computer-enabled offences in the recent past”. Psychiatrists have assessed Kurtaj as unfit to stand trial so the jury must decide whether he committed the acts alleged against him. Kurtaj is charged with 12 offences, including six counts under the Computer Misuse Act, three counts of blackmail and two counts of fraud. The youth is charged with two counts of blackmail, two counts of fraud and three counts under the Computer Misuse Act, relating to the BT/EE and Nvidia allegations. He previously pleaded guilty to one offence under the Computer Misuse Act and one count of fraud. The prosecutor is due to finish his speech on Tuesday.