Brazil's first bird flu case on commercial firm triggers Chinese ban
SAO PAULO, May 16 (Reuters) - Brazil on Friday confirmed its first case of the highly contagious bird flu virus on a commercial chicken farm in the south of the nation, triggering a temporary trade ban from its main trade partner China.
*Brazil is the world's largest meat exporter and second largest producer behind the United States.
*Brazil's total chicken meat exports hit a record volume of 5.294 million metric tons in 2024, according to trade data compiled by industry group ABPA.
*Brazil generated $9.928 billion in export revenue last year, also a record.
*China was Brazil's main chicken export destination, importing some 562,200 metric tons in 2024, followed by the United Arab Emirates, with 455,100 metric tons, Japan, with 443,200 tons, and Saudi Arabia, with 370,800 tons, according to the data.
*Other major export destinations included South Africa, the Philippines, the European Union, Mexico and South Korea.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
US attacks on science and research a ‘great gift' to China on artificial intelligence, former OpenAI board member says
The US administration's targeting of academic research and international students is a 'great gift' to China in the race to compete on artificial intelligence, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner has said. The director of strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) joined the board of OpenAI in 2021 after a career studying AI and the relationship between the United States and China. Toner, a 33-year-old University of Melbourne graduate, was on the board for two years until a falling out with founder Sam Altman in 2023. Altman was fired by the board over claims that he was not 'consistently candid' in his communications and the board did not have confidence in Altman's ability to lead. The chaotic months that followed saw Altman fired and then re-hired with three members of the board, including Toner, ousted instead. 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Toner said the United States is concerned about losing the AI race to China and while US chip export controls make it harder for China to get compute power to compete with the US, the country was still making a 'serious push' on AI, as highlighted by the surprise success of Chinese generative AI model DeepSeek earlier this year. The Trump administration's attacks on research and bans on international students are a 'gift' to China in the AI race with the US, Toner said. 'Certainly it's a great gift to [China] the way that the US is currently attacking scientific research, and foreign talent – which is a huge proportion of the USA workforce – is immigrants, many of them coming from China,' she said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'That is a big … boon to China in terms of competing with the US.' The AI boom has led to claims and concerns about a job wipeout caused by companies using AI to replace work that had otherwise been done by humans. 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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
UK finance minister Reeves to meet China's vice premier on London trip
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
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