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

‘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

Nothing Ear 3 review: good-looking earbuds with ‘Super Mic’ party trick

Nothing’s latest semi-transparent noise-cancelling earbuds have a new trick up their sleeves: a high-quality mic in the case that you can push a button to talk into.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.This so-called Super Mic is designed for all those who want a microphone-in-the-hand experience for clearer conversations, recordings and voice notes in noisy environments

No time for sleep or a shower: endurance runner covers 764km over five gruelling days to win Backyard Ultra world title

Phil Gore can be forgiven for thinking about retirement. The West Australian firefighter had just run 764km to win the Backyard Ultra World Championship in Tennessee.Over nearly five days, with little time for sleep let alone his personal hygiene, he proved himself a class above the rest of the field in one of the world’s premier endurance running competitions.At the finish line was his wife Gemma, who met him with tears and a kiss – and told him he stank. “You’re done, that’s it,” she said

Wallabies out to banish ghosts of Eddie Jones era in Tokyo Test reunion | Angus Fontaine

The Japanese believe in onryō – malicious spirits who perished full of anger and then return to scare the living to death and steal their souls. The Wallabies face an onryō of sorts this weekend – their former coach Eddie Jones, who led them off a cliff at the 2023 World Cup and then abandoned them to coach Japan.This will be the first time the Wallabies have faced off against their old mentor since he fled a five-year $5m contract just nine months into a quest to rebuild Australian rugby for home men’s and women’s World Cups in 2027 and 2029. Instead, Jones scarcely checked in on the Wallaroos and won two of his nine Tests as the Wallabies were eliminated in RWC pool stages for the first time.Current coach Joe Schmidt has spent two years cleaning up the mess Jones left behind and has forbidden any talk of revenge in the lead-up to this Test