Business
World’s first wind-powered underwater datacentre starts operating in China
The datacentre, which is located more than 10km (6 miles) off the coast Shanghai, is submerged at a depth of 10 metres and is powered by an offshore wind farm. According to the Chinese Government, the datacentre reduces energy consumption by more than a fifth compared to land-based datacentres.
The natural cooling effect of being submerged in the seawater reduces its overall energy demand.
In a traditional datacentre on land, between 25 and 40 percent of the total energy demand is due to the need to pipe cold water around the servers in order to prevent them overheating.
Water consumption in traditional datacentres has also been a subject of scrutiny. Datacentres located in the ocean reduce the need for freshwater.
The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health has warned this week that the water footprint from datacentres may reach 9.3tn. litres in 2030, enough to meet the domestic water needs for all 1.3 billion people living in sub-Saharan Africa.
HiCloud launched in 2023 the first commercial underwater datacentre on Hainan Island, a tropical island located in southern China. Shanghai’s launch is the world’s first offshore wind powered project. The farm is visible just off the coast of Lingang in eastern Shanghai, a hi tech, free trade zone that also houses a Tesla gigafactory.
China is not the first to experiment with building underwater datacentres to make them more efficient. Microsoft conducted a pilot project in the waters surrounding Orkney, Scotland in 2018. The company reported promising results two years later but the progress has since stagnated.
“Microsoft proved the concept earlier, but China has moved further in commercial deployment, because it was able bring together market demands, industrial cability, maritime engineering and policy support faster into a commercial project,” Dr Hanjiang Dong from Hong Kong Polytechnic University said.
China has made AI support a central pillar in its economic and growth strategy. It released an AI Action Plan last year that called for the rid construction of datacentres. The government has also promised that clean energy supply for AI infrastructure will “significantly increase” by 2030.
According to the Chinese government, the Shanghai Lingang datacentre has received 1.6bn Yuan (PS177m) in investment.
Underwater datacentres can also pose some risks to marine ecosystems by disrupting sediments or heating seawater. Experts said that these risks are manageable, but will require more monitoring.
Prof Rick Stafford, marine biologist from Bournemouth University said: “An undersea datacentre would be a good idea.” While cooling with seawater may result in some localised temperatures being elevated, this will not be widespread.
Original article by The Guardian
Business
Taiwan Says China Coast Guard ‘Harassed’ Commercial Shipping off Its Coast
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TAIPEI, June 9 () – Chinese coast guard ships operating around Taiwan in recent days have been “harassing” commercial shipping by asking them information about their point of origin and destination and claiming jurisdiction, Taiwan’s coast guard said on Tuesday.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, was angered after Jan and the Philippines said last month they would begin formal talks on their maritime boundaries, viewing that as involving waters off Taiwan.
Late on Saturday, Chinese state media reported ships had been sent to carry out a “special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation” in the waters east of Taiwan in response to the Janese and Philippine announcement.
In a statement, Taiwan’s coast guard said that since Sunday the Chinese ships had broadcast messages to three passing commercial ships asking for information such as their ports of departure and destination.
Taiwan’s own ships broadcast back that these were Taiwanese waters in which China had no jurisdiction and the Chinese vessels should “not harass ships,” the coast guard said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing recognises no claims of sovereignty by Taiwan’s government.
Taiwan’s coast guard said it also broadcast to the passing merchant ships that they should pay no heed to the inquiries of the Chinese vessels.
The coast guard said ships passing through Taiwan’s waters maintained normal navigation and were not boarded, inspected, proached, or interfered with by the Chinese government vessels.
Responding to the stepped up Chinese coast guard activity, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement that the U.S. expected differences between China and Taiwan to be resolved by peaceful means and “free from coercion”.
“We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with the elected leadership,” the spokesperson added.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. Beijing refuses to speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Copyright 2026 Thomson .
Business
Kenyan Police Fire Tear Gas During Protest Against US Ebola Quarantine Facility
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By Edwin Okoth
NANYUKI, Kenya, June 9 () – Kenyan police fired tear gas on Tuesday to scatter protesters in the central town of Nanyuki opposing a quarantine centre for Americans exposed to Ebola that the U.S. government has raced to build despite Kenyan court orders barring further work.
The proposed 50-bed unit on an air force base has angered many Kenyans, who accuse the United States of offloading the health risk of caring for those exposed to the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Two people were killed in protests last week in Nanyuki, where frustration has grown among residents as Kenyan and U.S. authorities publicly reaffirm their commitment to the plan in spite of the court orders.
Police fired tear gas to disperse small groups of protesters who had gathered early on Tuesday. One protester carried a white cross emblazoned with the phrase “Respect Ebola” in red.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said it “cannot and will not allow” any cases to enter the U.S., unlike during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa when several infected U.S. nationals were treated on U.S. soil.
The Nanyuki facility is designated for Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic. Patients who develop symptoms would be sent for care to other countries, U.S. officials have said.
U.S military planes have continued to ferry in staff and equipment even after court orders blocking the plan, according to U.S. and diplomatic sources and flight data, with several aircraft expected to land this week.
Satellite imagery seen by shows an increasing build-up of white tents in the middle of a plot of land totalling around 0.046 sq km (11 acres) cleared within the Laikipia Air Base since May 27.
The United States has said it is aware of the court challenge and was “working with the Kenyan government to resolve any objections”.
Kenyan officials have said the facility would also serve Kenyans and foreign nationals in addition to American citizens, but U.S. officials have not confirmed this.
(Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Aaron Ross and Clarence Fernandez)
Copyright 2026 Thomson .
Business
be tenants thousands in lost deposits
Student Mide Awosika pays thousands for a flat rental deposit – and discovers many others also did.
I thought I’d got my dream flat – so did 23 others
Last summer, 20-year-old Mide Awosika thought she had secured her dream flat ahead of starting a new term at Queen Mary University in London.
She and two flatmates together paid a £12,000 deposit to rent a four-bedroom property in Poplar, east London. But when they arrived on moving day, there were no keys – and they found nine other people also trying to move into the same flat.
The property had been advertised on major rental websites Zoopla and OpenRent. After a viewing in July, Awosika said the letting agent, who identified himself as Derrick Fringe, told them there was stiff competition and they needed to pay immediately to secure it. She said they handed over three months’ rent upfront, plus holding and security deposits.
She told us that just before the scheduled August move-in date, Fringe told them the existing tenants had refused to leave and bailiffs were needed. Then contact stopped.
When Awosika went to the building the following day, she realised the scale of the problem and described how group after group arrived, all expecting to collect keys for the same property.
She decided to set up a Whatsp group to keep track of and share information amongst those affected.
Neither Fringe nor the landlord who owns the property responded to the BBC’s questions.
Since then, Awosika said, 23 people have contacted her claiming to have been targeted in the same way, all linked to the same flat and the same agent.
Figures from Report Fraud indicated the cost of rental fraud was a growing issue with reported losses almost doubling in the past five years.
In 2021, there were 4,642 rental fraud cases reported leaving those affected £7.2m out of pocket.
In 2025, 4,178 cases were reported in England and Wales and Northern Ireland – costing victims £14.5m.
Among those who joined Awosika’s Whatsp group were Freazy Warr, 24, Nirrhit Pal, 23, and three other flatmates, who between them transferred £7,200 to secure the same property. They never received the keys either.
“As the moving van was pulling into the road, we were told by a friend to cancel immediately because two other groups were already waiting,” Warr said.
“My lease was ending and I was terrified I’d have nowhere to live.”
He said the pressure of London’s rental market had left them feeling vulnerable.
“There are so few affordable properties,” he said. “Students and people without a lot of money are pushed online, where it’s harder to know who to trust.”
Two young professionals working in nearby Canary Wharf paid a £9,460 deposit to rent the flat.
Satchit Warade and another tenant, who asked for her name to be withheld, said they were rushed into the viewing with the agent saying they had 45 minutes to get there.
On their moving-in day, the 23-year-olds told us they called Fringe between 20 and 30 times before he called them back to say the existing tenants would not move out and claimed he was going to evict them.
The next day they could not reach Fringe so reported the matter to the police.
Warade said the experience was “harrowing”.
“Especially in cases like these where a false sense of urgency is created, it becomes all the more stressful.
“It has definitely made me super cautious and I think I will forever be on my toes now every time I’m renting in London.
“There’s something about just the trauma of having to go through something that makes me lose the trust in the market and how it works.”
The flat was listed on both OpenRent and Zoopla.
Open Rent said it offered its “sympathies” to those “affected by fraudulent activities” but claimed it had “a comprehensive vetting system in place to verify the legitimacy of landlords and properties listed on our platform”.
“Upon receiving this report we acted promptly, removing the listing and suspending the account pending the outcome of any investigation,” a spokesperson said.
“When users choose to pay off-platform against our explicit guidance, which pears to be the case here, unfortunately we cannot guarantee the safety of funds.
“Our ability to help recover funds is more limited when direct bank transfers have been made to a private individual off-platform.”
Zoopla did not respond to the BBC.
Its website used to describe it as a “leading UK real estate agency” with “eight branches” and “170 staff”. That website pears to have been taken down.
However, only two staff members were named online. The agent also claimed to be a member of the industry body Arla Propertymark. Arla said it had no record of the name.
An address listed for complaints links, on Companies House, went to an unrelated firm with a similar name.
A spokesperson for that company told the BBC it was unaware its details were being used without its knowledge or consent, had nothing to do with the flat, and said it was a “victim of corporate identity theft”.
Using tenancy documents given to us by Satchit Warade, the BBC traced an email address linked to the person listed as the landlord, Edward Robinson, who peared to have bought the property in March 2025. The email was connected to the same email account used by the letting agent.
Awosika said her group emailed Robinson when she could not access the flat but never received a reply.
Another prospective tenant claimed building managers flagged to him the issue on the day of the failed move-in. The BBC contacted both men. The person known as Fringe did not respond while Robinson declined to answer questions and ended the call.
Another student, Samyek, told how he was part of a group that transferred more than £26,000 to a different person named as landlord on their contract. Tenants were given different landlord names and bank details, but all linked to the same address, the BBC found.
The organisation’s chief policy advisor said prospective tenants should:
Try to verify that the letting agent is legitimate, such as ensuring they are members of one of the reputable membership bodies for example SafeAgent or PropertyMark
If they have a high street presence, insist on going to one of their offices
Try not to be pressured into doing something that you might not do if you had more time to consider
Avoid deals that pear too good to be true and step back if you’re being put under too much pressure to act quickly. Say you’ll take away the contract and the perwork and you’ll review it that evening
As for Awosika, she said the experience had left her far more cautious.
“It was such an elaborate scam,” she said. “It felt real. Telling my mum was awful.
“It was a huge amount of money – and it was just gone.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Spencer and Paul Myers.
Source: BBC
Business
Progressive Nithya Raman advances to November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
The race also has historical markers. Bass is the first Black woman to hold the post, and Raman could be the first South Asian woman in the job.
“If you’re as frustrated by the broken status quo as I am, I hope you’ll join our movement to build a city that works for everyone,” Raman said in a statement. “For too long, City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections. Meanwhile, working people pay the price in higher rents, depleted services and a city that has stopped working for them.”
“A campaign against Nithya Raman, who allows encampments near schools and cuts the police force, is one Mayor Bass looks forward to winning,” said Bass campaign strategist Douglas Herman.
Raman gained votes on Pratt in every vote update since Election Day as Los Angeles continued to process additional mail ballots and release results. Raman moved past Pratt and into second place on Sunday and extended her lead over Pratt on Monday to nearly 22,000 votes.
The mayoral race was technically nonpartisan, so the candidates peared on the ballot without party identification next to their names.
The election was not a vote of confidence in Bass, who according to incomplete returns received under 35% of the vote, a vulnerable position for an incumbent.
Raman — in her first run for citywide office — has promised to speed up housing construction, bring back entertainment industry jobs and improve services in a city known for dirty streets, gridlock and homeless encampments that are commonplace in many neighborhoods.
“What we are doing right now is just not working,” Raman says. “LA’s primary strategy for homelessness has been to move encampments from one block to another, from your block to your neighbor’s block and back again. … It’s political theater.”
California’s vote count takes a long time
Los Angeles, like other counties in California, processes and counts mail ballots in roughly the order they are received, so the last ones returned are the last ones counted.
On Tuesday night after polls closed, Los Angeles released results from mail ballots that had been returned early and already processed as well as votes cast that day. Those votes put Bass in the lead with Pratt running in second and Raman behind in third. Since then, the county has been processing and releasing results from mail ballots that arrived later.
Election data shows that large numbers of Democrats held onto their mail ballots and returned them in the race’s final days, which helps explain why Bass and Raman have been doing better than Pratt in the votes counted since primary day.
Raman’s political positions have shifted
Born in India, Raman moved to the United States as a child and earned degrees from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied urban planning.
She has opposed efforts to prohibit homeless people from setting up tents within 500 feet (152 meters) of schools and daycare centers. However, she pears to have softened her opposition to no-camping zones, which were intended to curb the spread of encampments and clear streets. She voted against dozens of them on the council but later said she would not block them if elected mayor.
Raman’s positions on policing in the city have also changed.
She once talked of a department that would be much smaller and posted “defund the police” on social media in 2020. She did not support the mayor’s 2023 police contract, which she said was too expensive for the financially strped city.
In diverse Los Angeles, mayors are elected by building coalitions, ethnically and geogrhically. And to surpass 50% of the vote and win, Raman will need to find more supporters.
“I don’t think it’s impossible, but she is going to have to expand beyond her ideological base,” said Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who sees Bass as vulnerable.
“The people who didn’t vote for Nithya weren’t voting against her, they were voting for somebody else. Karen (Bass) had a good number of people who were voting against her,” Carrick added.
Though Raman and Pratt are political opposites, both have attracted voters who aren’t hpy with the city’s status quo.
Tanika Vickers, who works for a housing nonprofit in Los Angeles, said that she felt like she was part of a group of people who work and pay taxes but have been “forgotten.” She said she was frustrated with the way tax dollars were being spent, especially “throwing” more money toward homelessness without results.
She said she voted Raman for mayor because she was most qualified to execute her plans and fulfill what the city needs.
“I think that we are all looking for change,” she said.
___
Associated Press journalists Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington contributed.
Business
Ukrainian strikes hit oil sites in Russia and Crimea
Separately, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and Moscow. Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former owner of Premier League team Chelsea traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy said Abramovich brought the message that the Russians “want to understand what we are ready to do,” and had offered to take a reply to Putin.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said a new proposed round of sanctions against Russia includes 80 listings targeting Russia’s “military industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists.”
Kaja Kallas told a news conference after a meeting of EU defense ministers Monday that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1.2 to 1.5 trillion.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to its air force.
Ukraine strikes Russian energy sites
Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region overnight, hitting the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. The complex is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products.
Russian regional authorities confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, adding that there were no casualties. While they did not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescue workers were involved in putting out the blaze.
Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about the fuel crisis in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other agencies are working on a set of measures to respond to the situation.
“There are indeed certain problems at the moment,” Peskov said. “Measures are being taken.”
The Krasny Yar “linear production and dispatching station” in the Volgograd region was also hit, the General Staff said. A fire broke out at the site, according to the statement. Russian Gov. Andrei Bocharov didn’t specify what the facility produces, but said there were no injuries.
Ukraine also carried out strikes overnight in the Semykolodezkaya oil base in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday night, sparking a fire at the facility. The base is used to store fuel reserves supplying the Russian military, according to the statement posted on Telegram.
Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea, the General Staff said.
Zelenskyy sent message to Putin
Zelenskyy said his message was that he would meet Putin “any time” in any location other than Russia or Belarus, and either bilaterally or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.
But he said Ukraine would not surrender the Donbas region, currently part-occupied by Russia.
“It was the key message. I said we will not leave and we will not go out from our territory,” Zelenskyy told Sky News.
Putin said last week that a Russian businessman, who he didn’t identify, traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting. The Russian leader rejected the idea of a meeting, saying he saw no point in it.
Drone strikes civilians
Two people were killed and at least 18 injured, including four children aged 5, 10, 13 and 12, by a Russian drone attack in the central Zorizhzhia region that damaged residential buildings and vehicles and destroyed market kiosks, said the regional military administration head, Ivan Fedorov.
In Nikopol. a Russian attack killed a 49-year-old woman and injured four other people, according to the State Emergency Service.
The service also reported that four people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region when strikes hit residential buildings. In Odesa, three people were wounded after a Russian drone struck a public transport stop.
Russian drone strikes overnight also injured civilians and damaged buildings and businesses in the Kharkiv, Odesa and Chernihiv regions, regional authorities said.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone overnight struck a passenger train traveling from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea, injuring the driver and killing the driver’s assistant, Kremlin-installed regional leader Sergei Aksyonov reported early Monday.
Akysyonov added that no passengers were hurt. But all passenger train traffic in Crimea was halted following the attack, with passengers evacuated and replacement buses provided, Russian operator Grand Service Express reported on Telegram that same morning.
___
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