Battle between Netherlands and China over chipmaker could disrupt car factories, companies say

Car companies across Europe and Japan including Volvo, Volkswagen, Honda and Nissan have warned that the battle between the Netherlands and China over control of the chipmaker Nexperia could hit production at factories.Last week’s decision by the Dutch government to take control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker, which is based in the Netherlands, has sent shock waves across the car industry, which is already facing potential shortages of products such as magnets amid China’s latest restrictions on rare earths exports.The Hague said at the time that it was taking control of Nexperia to safeguard Europe’s supply of semiconductors and that it had invoked a cold-war era law to take effective control of the company following concerns raised by the US about the Chinese owner, Wingtech.That decision caused an immediate rift with Beijing, which banned all exports from the chipmaker, escalating the already tense relations between China and the US before a potential meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping next week in Korea.The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, whose members include Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Mazda, said on Thursday it had received a warning from Nexperia that chips could now be in short supply, potentially holding up manufacturing

UK manufacturers hit by largest drop in orders since 2020; FTSE 100 hits record high – as it happened

British manufacturers see the weakest prospects for orders over the next three months since 2020, new data from the Confederation of British Industry shows.The CBI’s latest healthcheck on manufacturing has found that business sentiment deteriorated this month, with goods producers expecting the total volume of new orders to decline in the three months to January.Business sentiment deteriorated in October. Export optimism for the year ahead also declined further. pic

Trump pardons founder of Binance, world’s largest crypto exchange

Donald Trump issued a pardon for the founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on Thursday.“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” a White House statement said. “The war on crypto is over.”Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in late 2023 to one count of failing to maintain an anti-money laundering program and stepped down as CEO of Binance, which paid $4.3bn to settle related allegations

‘Attacks will get through’: head of GCHQ urges companies to do more to fight cybercrime

Companies need to do more to mitigate the potential effects of cyber-attacks, the head of GCHQ has said, including making physical, paper copies of crisis plans to use if an attack brings down entire computer systems.“What are your contingency plans? Because attacks will get through,” said Anne Keast-Butler, who has headed GCHQ, the British government’s cyber and signals intelligence agency, since 2023.“What happens when that happens to you in a company, have you really tested that?” said Keast-Butler, speaking on Wednesday at a London conference organised by the cybersecurity company Recorded Future. “Your plans … have you got them on paper somewhere in case all your systems really go down? How will you communicate with each other if you’re completely reliant on a system that actually you shut down?”Last week, the National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of GCHQ, announced figures showing that “highly significant” cyber-attacks have risen by 50% in the past year. Security and intelligence agencies are now dealing with a new attack several times per week, the figures showed

India beat New Zealand to secure last Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final spot – as it happened

India beat New Zealand by 53 runs (DLS method) to end their run of three consecutive defeats and secure a spot in the semi-finals.Put in to bat at Navi Mumbai, the hosts hit their highest ever World Cup score of 340 for three from 49 overs thanks to 122 from Pratika Rawal and 109 from Smriti Mandhana.The pair shared an opening stand of 212 in 33.2 overs before Jemimah Rodrigues added late acceleration with an unbeaten 76 off 55 balls.In reply New Zealand made 271 for eight from 44 overs with Brooke Halliday hitting 81 and Isabella Gaze finishing on 65 not out

Women’s marathon world record-holder Chepngetich handed three-year doping ban

The women’s marathon world record-holder, Ruth Chepngetich, has been banned for three years after the Athletics Integrity Unit rejected her claim that her failed drugs test came from taking her housemaid’s medication after feeling hot and having a rapid resting heartbeat.The Kenyan stunned the world when she ran 2hr 9min 56sec at the Chicago marathon in 2024, a time that shattered the previous best by almost two minutes. However her performance was immediately questioned by many in the athletics world who felt it was too good to be true.But while the 31-year-old will not be able to race again until 2028, she will be allowed to keep her world record because her positive drugs test came after her run in Chicago. That will leave a sour taste in the mouth for many people