An exclusive look into China's ‘Manhattan Project’

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Daily Briefing

By Anisha De

Hello. In today's newsletter, we take a look at how China built its 'Manhattan Project' to rival the West in AI chips, the fate of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's war efforts and takeaways from Trump's holiday speech.

Plus, Portugal's 'DJ Priest' on his journey from the pulpit to turntables.

Today's Top News

A Ukranian service member prepares a Kalashnikov tank machine gun near the frontline town of Kupiansk in Ukraine, November 13, 2025. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

European Union leaders will decide whether to use frozen Russian assets to lend billions of euros of cash to Ukraine to keep its war effort afloat. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to take up more land in Ukraine by force if European politicians did not engage over US proposals for a peace settlement.
In a rare evening address from the White House, US President Donald Trump boasted of his accomplishments and blamed his Democratic predecessor for soaring consumer prices as his party braces for a tough midterm election next year. Here are some t akeaways from his year-end speech.
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly to advance a $901 billion defense bill for the Pentagon - sending the massive piece of legislation to the White House, while the US House passed a Republican healthcare bill without ACA subsidy renewal.
The United State approved $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever US weapons package for the island which is under increasing military pressure from China.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government will seek to introduce legislation that makes it easier to charge people promoting hate speech and violence, in the wake of the attack on a Jewish holiday event at Bondi Beach, as the youngest of 15 victims was laid to rest.
The gunman who killed two Brown University students remains at large and there is no indication that authorities have grown closer to identifying the suspect four days after he opened fire inside a classroom and escaped into the surrounding streets in Providence, Rhode Island.
The annual Academy Awards telecast will move from the ABC broadcast network to stream live on YouTube around the world starting in 2029, the organizers said.

Business & Markets

People walk near the Bank of England building in London, Britain, December 1, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo

The Bank of England cut interest rates to 3.75% from 4.0%, but it signalled that the already gradual pace of lowering borrowing costs might slow further. The ECB is widely expected to keep its policy rates steady and signal little appetite for cuts in the near term.
For European markets overshadowed by the US since the summer, investors are hoping a spending bonanza in Germany moves the dial in 2026. But first, they need to see evidence it will deliver. Read our analysis.
Dealmakers got what they wanted in 2025: an almost record-breaking year for mergers and acquisitions despite a rocky start due to Trump's global trade war. And there's still more to come. Here's what to expect.
The US crypto sector had a lot to celebrate in 2025 as the Trump administration eased oversight. But the party may fizzle next year, according to industry executives, as solutions to core problems are yet to come.
Lured by the promise of richer margins, a wave of Chinese consumer brands is making deeper inroads into American retail to offset sluggish spending at home. Take a look at how this counterintuitive trend accelerated this year despite tariffs.
China split off a Belgium-sized island with an economy comparable to a mid-ranked country from the mainland for customs processing, part of a bid to join a major trans-Pacific trade deal and establish a new Hong Kong-style commercial hub.
Japan is set to raise the tax-free income threshold and expand deductions for middle-income earners under a deal between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's minority government and a key opposition party.
US oil and gas producers in search of fresh drilling territory are looking to expand in Western Canada's Montney basin, a remote yet massive shale play that is already a hotbed of M&A activity and could see more deals soon, according to executives, analysts and advisors.

How China built its 'Manhattan Project' to rival the West in AI chips

A Chinese flag is displayed next to a "Made in China" sign seen on a printed circuit board with semiconductor chips, in this illustration picture. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration

In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence, smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance, Reuters has learned.

Completed in early 2025 and now undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company's extreme ultraviolet lithography machines or EUVs, according to two people with knowledge of the project.

The Chinese government is targeting 2028 for working chips, but sources say 2030 is more likely.

Reuters technology correspondent Fanny Potkin joins today's World News podcast with more.

Read our exclusive story

And Finally...

Portuguese Catholic priest Father Guilherme Peixoto performs on a turntable in Monterrey, Mexico, December 14, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

Under sweeping stage lights in Monterrey, Mexico, a packed dance floor pulses as a Catholic priest in a clerical collar raises one hand from the stage, electronic beats thundering through the hall.

For Father Guilherme Peixoto, it has never been about breaking Church rules, but about building community. If his sold-out shows are an indication, the message has resonated.

Read more

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