# Dutch Hand Back Control of Chinese-Owned Chipmaker Nexperia
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-19
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: The Dutch government suspended its powers over chipmaker Nexperia, restoring control to its Chinese owner (paywalled; alternative source) and defusing a standoff with Beijing that had begun to hamper automotive production around the world. The order that gave the Netherlands powers to block or revise decisions at Nexperia was dropped as "a show of goodwill," Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans said Wednesday in a post on social media site X.
Bloomberg had reported earlier this month that the Netherlands was prepared to take the step if chip deliveries from the company's site in China could be confirmed.
The move marks a significant de-escalation of a dispute that underscored the global nature of supply chains and highlighted Beijing's growing leverage. Even though Nexperia's chips aren't advanced and the company only operates one facility in China, the spat disrupted automakers from Honda Motor Co. to Volkswagen AG.
The reversal by the Dutch government was set in motion after a breakthrough in talks earlier that involved Chinese and Dutch officials, with input from Germany, the European Union as well as the US. To help resolve the stalemate, Beijing agreed to loosen export restrictions from Nexperia's Chinese plant, the largest of its kind in the world. The Dutch economic affairs ministry sent a delegation to Beijing this week to negotiate a "mutually agreeable solution," according to a ministry statement.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/225253/dutch-hand-back-control-of-chinese-owned-chipmaker-nexperia?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-19
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: The Dutch government suspended its powers over chipmaker Nexperia, restoring control to its Chinese owner (paywalled; alternative source) and defusing a standoff with Beijing that had begun to hamper automotive production around the world. The order that gave the Netherlands powers to block or revise decisions at Nexperia was dropped as "a show of goodwill," Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans said Wednesday in a post on social media site X.
Bloomberg had reported earlier this month that the Netherlands was prepared to take the step if chip deliveries from the company's site in China could be confirmed.
The move marks a significant de-escalation of a dispute that underscored the global nature of supply chains and highlighted Beijing's growing leverage. Even though Nexperia's chips aren't advanced and the company only operates one facility in China, the spat disrupted automakers from Honda Motor Co. to Volkswagen AG.
The reversal by the Dutch government was set in motion after a breakthrough in talks earlier that involved Chinese and Dutch officials, with input from Germany, the European Union as well as the US. To help resolve the stalemate, Beijing agreed to loosen export restrictions from Nexperia's Chinese plant, the largest of its kind in the world. The Dutch economic affairs ministry sent a delegation to Beijing this week to negotiate a "mutually agreeable solution," according to a ministry statement.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/225253/dutch-hand-back-control-of-chinese-owned-chipmaker-nexperia?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Can Chinese-Made Buses Be Hacked? Norway Drove One Down a Mine To Find Out
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-19
An anonymous reader shares a report: This summer, Oslo's public-transport authority drove a Chinese electric bus deep into a decommissioned mine inside a nearby mountain to answer a question: Could it be hacked? Isolated by rock from digital interference, cybersecurity experts came back with a qualified yes: The bus could in theory be remotely disabled using the control system for the battery.
The revelation, presented at a recent public-transport conference, has spurred officials in Denmark and the U.K. to start their own investigations into Chinese vehicles. It has also fed into broader security concerns across Europe about the growing prevalence of Chinese-made equipment in the region's energy and telecommunications infrastructure.
The worry is the same for autos, solar panels and other connected devices: that mechanisms used for wirelessly delivering system updates could also be exploited by a hostile government or third-party hacker to compromise critical networks. [...] The Oslo transport authority, Ruter, said the bus's mobile-network connection via a Romanian SIM card gave manufacturer Yutong access to the control system for battery and power supply. Ruter said it is addressing the vulnerability by developing firewalls and delaying the signals sent to the vehicles, among other solutions.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/186230/can-chinese-made-buses-be-hacked-norway-drove-one-down-a-mine-to-find-out?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-19
An anonymous reader shares a report: This summer, Oslo's public-transport authority drove a Chinese electric bus deep into a decommissioned mine inside a nearby mountain to answer a question: Could it be hacked? Isolated by rock from digital interference, cybersecurity experts came back with a qualified yes: The bus could in theory be remotely disabled using the control system for the battery.
The revelation, presented at a recent public-transport conference, has spurred officials in Denmark and the U.K. to start their own investigations into Chinese vehicles. It has also fed into broader security concerns across Europe about the growing prevalence of Chinese-made equipment in the region's energy and telecommunications infrastructure.
The worry is the same for autos, solar panels and other connected devices: that mechanisms used for wirelessly delivering system updates could also be exploited by a hostile government or third-party hacker to compromise critical networks. [...] The Oslo transport authority, Ruter, said the bus's mobile-network connection via a Romanian SIM card gave manufacturer Yutong access to the control system for battery and power supply. Ruter said it is addressing the vulnerability by developing firewalls and delaying the signals sent to the vehicles, among other solutions.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/186230/can-chinese-made-buses-be-hacked-norway-drove-one-down-a-mine-to-find-out?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# New Antibiotic Could Be a Breakthrough in Treatment for Killer TB, Trial Suggests
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:02 2025-11-19
A new treatment for tuberculosis could boost cure rates and shorten the time needed to treat the disease by months, trial results suggest. The Guardian: Globally, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB last year and 1.23 million died from it. In its annual report on tuberculosis, launched last week, the World Health Organization said it remained a "major global public-health problem" and the leading infectious cause of death. [...] Sorfequiline, a new antibiotic, showed stronger action against the deadly bacteria than existing treatments, with a comparable safety profile, researchers from the TB Alliance told the Union Conference on Lung Health in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
The trial involved 309 people across 22 sites in South Africa, the Philippines, Georgia, Tanzania and Uganda, with different dose regimens. All participants had "drug-sensitive" tuberculosis, meaning a standard cocktail of drugs can safely treat them but researchers believe TB infections that are resistant to standard treatment could also be helped. The trial suggested a sorfequiline-based regimen could be used for anyone testing positive, said Dr Maria Beumont, vice-president of TB Alliance.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/1820223/new-antibiotic-could-be-a-breakthrough-in-treatment-for-killer-tb-trial-suggests?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:02 2025-11-19
A new treatment for tuberculosis could boost cure rates and shorten the time needed to treat the disease by months, trial results suggest. The Guardian: Globally, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB last year and 1.23 million died from it. In its annual report on tuberculosis, launched last week, the World Health Organization said it remained a "major global public-health problem" and the leading infectious cause of death. [...] Sorfequiline, a new antibiotic, showed stronger action against the deadly bacteria than existing treatments, with a comparable safety profile, researchers from the TB Alliance told the Union Conference on Lung Health in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
The trial involved 309 people across 22 sites in South Africa, the Philippines, Georgia, Tanzania and Uganda, with different dose regimens. All participants had "drug-sensitive" tuberculosis, meaning a standard cocktail of drugs can safely treat them but researchers believe TB infections that are resistant to standard treatment could also be helped. The trial suggested a sorfequiline-based regimen could be used for anyone testing positive, said Dr Maria Beumont, vice-president of TB Alliance.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/1820223/new-antibiotic-could-be-a-breakthrough-in-treatment-for-killer-tb-trial-suggests?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Ultra-Processed Food is Global Health Threat, Researchers Warn
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 20:22:01 2025-11-19
Action is needed now to reduce ultra-processed food (UPF) in diets worldwide because of their threat to health, say international experts in a global review of research. From a report: They say the way we eat is changing - with a move away from fresh, whole foods to cheap, highly-processed meals - which is increasing our risk of a range of chronic diseases, including obesity and depression. Writing in The Lancet, the researchers say governments need "to step up" and introduce warnings and higher taxes on UPF products, to help fund access to more nutritious foods.
[...] This review of evidence on the impact of UPFs on health, carried out by 43 global experts and based on 104 long-term studies, suggests these foods are linked to a greater risk of 12 health conditions. These include type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, depression and dying prematurely from any cause.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/1813215/ultra-processed-food-is-global-health-threat-researchers-warn?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 20:22:01 2025-11-19
Action is needed now to reduce ultra-processed food (UPF) in diets worldwide because of their threat to health, say international experts in a global review of research. From a report: They say the way we eat is changing - with a move away from fresh, whole foods to cheap, highly-processed meals - which is increasing our risk of a range of chronic diseases, including obesity and depression. Writing in The Lancet, the researchers say governments need "to step up" and introduce warnings and higher taxes on UPF products, to help fund access to more nutritious foods.
[...] This review of evidence on the impact of UPFs on health, carried out by 43 global experts and based on 104 long-term studies, suggests these foods are linked to a greater risk of 12 health conditions. These include type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, depression and dying prematurely from any cause.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/1813215/ultra-processed-food-is-global-health-threat-researchers-warn?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.