Just now: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned everyone to leave U.S. institutions in the Middle East, as a retaliatory action is imminent. Targets: Qatar Carnegie Mellon University Georgetown University Texas A&M University Northwestern University Weill Cornell Medical College UAE New York University Abu Dhabi American University in Dubai American University of Sharjah Lebanon American University of Beirut Lebanese American University Iraq Baghdad Iraqi American University Sulaymaniyah Iraqi American University Dohuk Kurdish Region American University Kuwait Kuwaiti American University Jordan Madaba American University
Ten years in a humble room, finally rising to a tall building. Ten years ago, Xiaopeng was just a small workshop in Guangzhou University Town that couldn't afford air conditioning; ten years later, Xiaopeng has grown into a large group producing cars, robots, flying cars, and Robotaxis. From being unnoticed, to attracting everyone's attention, Xiaopeng has never stopped moving forward.
Middle East's Largest Aluminum Company: Factory Severely Damaged by Iranian Missile and Drone Attacks
Excerpt from Shi Zhengcheng, Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily
EGA (Emirates Global Aluminium) announced that its Tawira Tawira production facility in Abu Dhabi suffered severe damage.
Author | Shi Zhengcheng
As the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran continues, the focus of the capital market has shifted from disrupted shipping to whether the region's industrial output can survive until the end of the war.
Late Saturday night Beijing time, EGA, the Middle East's largest aluminum producer, issued a statement saying that earlier that day, its Tawira production facility in the Khalifa Economic Zone of Abu Dhabi was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones, suffering severe damage.
As background, on Friday local time, following attacks on two large Iranian steel mills and their associated power facilities, as well as a "yellowcake" factory, Iran listed six steel mills in Israel and related industrial facilities in five other countries in the region as new targets for retaliatory strikes, warning that "industrial enterprises and heavy industry workers in the region with ties to the US and Israel should immediately leave their workplaces to avoid endangering their lives."
Emirates Global Aluminium stated that several employees were injured in the attack, but none are in life-threatening condition. The assessment of the damage to the facilities is still underway.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office disclosed earlier on Saturday that three fires caused by ballistic missile debris near the Khalifa Economic Zone injured six people.
Emirates Global Aluminium is one of the largest aluminum producers in the Middle East and a significant supplier to the global market. The Middle East accounts for approximately 9% of the global aluminum market (8% excluding Iran).
According to the company's website, one ton of every 25 tons of aluminum produced globally comes from Emirates Global Aluminium. This equates to 4% of global capacity.
The attacked facilities include a smelter with a production capacity of 1.6 million tons of cast aluminum by 2025 and a refinery that supplies alumina (the main raw material for this metal) to the smelter.
The impact of the attack on production capacity is currently unclear. The company only stated that it had substantial metal inventories in its sea and overseas warehouses at the time of the Israeli and US-led war against Iran last month, and is currently utilizing these overseas inventories to meet customer demand.Besides Emirates Aluminium, another major Middle Eastern aluminum producer, Alba, also announced earlier this month that it was reducing production due to cargo being unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Norwegian company Hydro's Qatalum aluminum smelter in Qatar has also reduced output.
The United States has just discovered that it has been badly deceived by Israel! Excerpt from Historical Attitude by Tao Ran On March 27, 2026, AIXOS News reported that Vance had a heated argument with Netanyahu during a phone call. Vance criticized Netanyahu, saying he was "too optimistic in predicting the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict and exaggerated the possibility of regime change in Iran." This means Israel is in trouble, and the White House is starting to realize whether it has been tricked by Netanyahu. Regarding this war, Vance has long been recognized as an "anti-war faction" and strongly opposes going to war with Iran. He was even reprimanded by Trump for this. However, on March 25, Trump suddenly agreed to send Vance to Pakistan to lead talks with Iran. That’s how the phone call between Vance and Netanyahu came about; the U.S. and Israel needed to synchronize their messages before the negotiations. On the surface, it was Vance leading the talks at Iran's request. In reality, if Trump had disagreed, Vance could not have led the talks, and that phone call wouldn't have happened. Iran chose Vance over Whitakoff and Kushner because they valued Vance’s anti-war stance. Trump knew this well; agreeing to Iran’s request indicated a problem. We know that Israel's external propaganda is very powerful, leading the whole world to believe that Iran is weak and just a crumbling house that will collapse with a kick. Trump believed it too, thinking he could easily rake in a lot of spoils, just like in Venezuela. No one expected such big trouble; U.S. military bases in the Gulf region suffered heavy losses, and decades of infrastructure were wiped out, leaving imperial dignity in tatters. There have been too many reports proving that Trump wants to extricate himself from this situation, which aligns with his business mindset; if he can't profit, he quickly minimizes losses, which is why Vance can lead the talks. Besides, Israel has even worse news. This war has had a profound impact within the United States. More and more people are dissatisfied with Israel's blatant dragging of the U.S. into the water; even a fool can see that the war has nothing to do with U.S. national interests and is purely for Israel's sake. Recently in the U.S., a phenomenon has emerged where many political figures publicly cut ties with Jewish capital. For example, Ruben Gallego, a Democratic Senator from Arizona, has pledged not to take sponsorship from the "American Israel Public Affairs Committee." For instance, Brandt Herrera, a Republican candidate for Texas's 23rd district, who was promoted by Trump and is part of the MAGA faction, has openly stated he will not take sponsorship from the "American Israel Public Affairs Committee." Those familiar with American politics know that the "American Israel Public Affairs Committee" (AIPAC) holds significant weight in American politics. Many American politicians take money from this organization. In the past, few dared to oppose AIPAC; now, opposition to AIPAC is becoming public, even if "anti-Semitism" is politically correct, Israel's actions this time are too much. Vance's attitude is merely a reflection of the overall public sentiment in the U.S. So, is the U.S. going to withdraw from the war? That’s wishful thinking, as Netanyahu has explicitly stated that they have prepared for this war for over forty years. Forty years of manpower, resources, finances, and energy invested—how can they easily let the "cooked duck" that is America fly away? Israel and Jewish capital will certainly take more drastic actions. There is not just one Loli Island. Israel's years of careful planning may very well come into play at this critical moment. More importantly, although this war does not align with U.S. interests, an easy withdrawal is even less in line with U.S. interests. The core of American hegemony is dollar hegemony, and the pillar of hegemony is oil, commonly known as "petrodollars." The princes agree to settle oil in dollars; in exchange, the U.S. military must protect the princes. If Iran effectively closes the Strait of Hormuz, the princes' oil cannot be sold, and U.S. protection is minimal; having collected protection fees without delivering, will the princes still willingly pay in the future? All of this could severely impact petrodollars. Without giving Iran a heavy blow, the "petrodollar" system cannot be maintained. Once things reach this point, even if Trump wants to back out, many domestic interest groups related to petrodollars will oppose it. So we see that despite overall public opposition to war, every vote in Congress to limit the war after it started, Trump has managed to pass, and the anti-war faction does not hold the upper hand in politics. Perhaps this is exactly what Israel hopes for.
“When the energy is strong, one can go to the sea; when the energy is weak, one must go to the mountains.” This reflects the ancient understanding of the rise and fall of “energy.” “Energy” can be understood as life force or the state of fortune. Why go to the mountains when energy is low? The mountain represents yang, strength, and stillness. The mountain's towering and steady presence allows energy to rise and disperse outward. When a person is low in energy and depressed (weak energy), what is needed is uplift and support. Climbing high to see far and absorbing the strong energy of the mountains helps stabilize the mind and regain upward strength. If one were to go to the sea at this time, the sea represents yin, softness, and entrapment. The vastness and depth of the sea might amplify feelings of powerlessness and confusion within, hence the metaphor “it is easy to fall into the water when observing the sea with weak energy.” Why go to the sea when energy is strong? When a person is full of energy and feels accomplished (strong energy), what is needed is restraint and settling. Facing the vastness of the sea instills a sense of awe, teaching one to be tolerant and humble, redirecting and collecting the overly extroverted “strong energy.” At this time, if one were to climb the mountains, it becomes easier to foster pride and impulsiveness at a high place; the saying goes, “the heights are hard to bear,” and one might carelessly “fall off the cliff” due to excessive confidence.
In 2018, before the United States cut off supplies to Europe, Japan, and South Korea, China's integrated circuit export value was only $84.67 billion. However, seven years after the cutoff, in 2025, the export value soared to $201.9 billion, breaking through the $200 billion mark for the first time. It may sound a bit exaggerated, but many countries should be developing new energy.
2026 Top 100 Potential New Energy Storage Companies in China Excerpt from Baihua Season DBC Deben Consulting Energy storage is transitioning from a 'cost item' to a 'strategic asset' in the AI era. If there is one thing that is most important in the energy storage industry from 2025 to 2026, it is: energy storage is evolving from a passive supporting device into a core infrastructure of the AI era. This sounds like a slogan, but it hides a profound paradigm shift. For the past decade, the story of energy storage has been simple: it is an 'appendage' of renewable energy. Photovoltaics and wind power are unstable; we pair them with energy storage to store excess electricity and smooth out the output. At this time, energy storage is a cost item. The core logic of the industry is to reduce the cost of electricity and increase the cycle life. However, this logic is being disrupted by a 'too romantic' force, which is, of course, AI. The demand for electricity from AI has already exceeded the design boundaries of traditional power systems. The annual electricity consumption of a large intelligent computing center is comparable to that of a small city with hundreds of thousands of people. Moreover, the requirements of AI computational power on power quality are nearly harsh. Voltage fluctuations, frequency deviations, and even millisecond-level power interruptions can render weeks of model training worthless. More critically, the power load of AI is not flat. It fluctuates wildly with the peaks and valleys of model training and inference requests. Traditional power grids have never faced such a dual impact of 'digitalization + electrification'. In the future, the role of energy storage will change. It will no longer be 'batteries that store electricity', but 'systems that regulate power'. A number of 'new faces' are rising. They may not have the largest battery cell production capacity, but they definitely understand 'power systems + AI loads' the best. For example, companies like Kehua Data and KSTAR, which are rooted in data center UPS, inherently understand what 'high reliability, zero interruption' means; companies like Huawei Digital Energy, leveraging intelligent string architecture, are enabling energy storage systems to possess the ability to 'actively respond to the grid' for the first time; companies like Guoneng Rixin and Hengshi Technology are not making batteries, but energy storage EMS and virtual power plant platforms—using algorithms to predict load, optimize charging and discharging, and participate in electricity market transactions. Regarding the core capabilities of energy storage in the AI era, it should not only be about how much electricity is stored, but also how to make electricity 'obey'. Another change that many people overlook is that long-duration energy storage is shifting from 'technical reserve' to 'essential need'. AI computing centers, large manufacturing bases, and even entire cities' zero-carbon parks require not just 4 hours of peak-valley arbitrage, but a stable supply of green electricity for continuous hours or even across days. Lithium batteries can do this, but cost, safety, and resource constraints will become increasingly tight. Thus, we will see that all-vanadium flow batteries from Dalian Rongke, zinc-iron flow batteries from Weijing Storage, and compressed air storage from China Energy Storage are transitioning from 'marginal technologies' to 'mainstream alternatives'. What they are solving is the Achilles' heel of 'long-cycle stable power supply' in the AI era. At the same time, the business model of energy storage is being reshaped by AI. In the past, energy storage made money through 'peak-valley price differences'. Charge during the day, discharge at night, and earn the price difference. Now, with the deepening of electricity market reforms, the sources of income for energy storage have diversified. Capacity leasing, ancillary services, demand response, and even participation in the spot market. And all of this relies on one core capability: forecasting and scheduling. AI not only creates demand but also provides solutions. Companies like Meike Shengen and Lechuang Energy in the list represent the use of AI algorithms to optimize energy storage operations. They do not produce batteries but can help users increase the revenue of each kilowatt-hour by several percentage points. In the future of energy storage asset securitization, this 'operational capability' will be more scarce than 'manufacturing capability'. Therefore, when looking ahead to the next few years, the most important factor might not be which company has the largest capacity, but who can transform energy storage from 'equipment' into 'service'. Who can turn battery stacks into intelligent nodes will occupy a core position in the energy system in the AI era. Behind this is no longer just competition over materials, processes, and production capacity; the focus is shifting to software, algorithms, and system integration capabilities. The answers to this transformation are likely hidden in those companies that are 'currently not yet seen'. They may not be located in industrial parks of first-tier cities, and they may not produce battery cells or inverters, but they are quietly building the next generation of energy infrastructure using code, algorithms, and a profound understanding of the electricity market. AI is too romantic, so romantic that it needs a new power world to support it. And energy storage is becoming the 'foundation' of that world. This is what we see as the most important thing. (Written by Baihua Season)
The Chairman of the Civil Committee of the Islamic Parliament of Iran stated, "We are seeking a bill that can legally uphold Iran's sovereignty, dominion, and regulatory rights over the Strait of Hormuz, while also generating revenue for the country through tolls." The draft of the bill has been formulated, but it has not yet reached the stage of a complete proposal and will be submitted to the Parliament Research Center next week, to be improved with the participation of the legal team, and will be followed up after being submitted to the Parliament once it convenes. According to this bill, Iran will impose tolls on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Has Xiaopeng's intelligent driving surpassed Huawei? A comprehensive understanding Excerpt from Yuan Guoqing
Yu Chengdong said: We are the first. He Xiaopeng said: We are 5 times ahead of the industry leader. Who is bragging? Who is telling the truth? To clarify this issue, I had dozens of conversations with AI. Today, I will explain it thoroughly from seven dimensions. 1. Route Differences Huawei insists on a safety redundancy route of "LiDAR + multi-sensor fusion," while Xiaopeng bets on a physical AI route of "pure vision + end-to-end large model." Behind this is actually two different sets of "brains" at work. Huawei is equipped with a "world model," which first reconstructs everything seen by LiDAR and cameras into a 3D virtual world, and then makes decisions. The advantage is a very high baseline, ensuring no "hallucinations" of non-existent things. Xiaopeng uses a "physical AI model," where the camera sees the scene, and the large model directly converts it into steering wheel and pedal operation commands. The advantage is extremely fast response, with a driving style more akin to humans, and the iteration speed is exponential. In simple terms, Huawei adopts an engineer's mindset—first calculating the world clearly, then controlling it, pursuing certainty and safety boundaries; Xiaopeng adopts a biomimetic mindset—mimicking the direct pathway of human "eyes-brain-hands and feet," pursuing efficiency and human-like feel. 2. How to Perceive the World LiDAR actively emits lasers and measures the time of echoes, obtaining physical 3D true values. Cameras passively receive light and output 2D images, only providing width and height, with no knowledge of depth. In the past, pure vision could not distinguish between murals and real obstacles; now the solution is "BEV + occupancy network": BEV stitches together images from multiple cameras around the vehicle into a bird's-eye view (similar to a satellite map). The occupancy network divides the space around the vehicle into countless tiny 3D voxels (small cubes) and uses AI algorithms to determine whether each space is occupied or has obstacles. Its core logic is "constructing 3D through reasoning rather than measurement." This solution has extremely high requirements for models and computing power. 3. What is the perception boundary? Mainstream 8 million pixel cameras can capture objects 200 meters away on sunny days, but in environments like heavy rain or nighttime, the effective distance is reduced. 4D millimeter-wave radar has a perception range of 200-350 meters, significantly improving the recognition ability of stationary objects compared to traditional millimeter-wave, but still has limitations for objects with extremely low reflectivity. Common LiDAR has a perception range of 200-300 meters, with accuracy far exceeding other sensors, able to accurately identify obstacles 200 meters away, providing precious time for lane changes or braking. 4. Safety Redundancy: Will it cause confusion? In 99% of everyday scenarios, pure vision is completely feasible. But in 1% of extreme scenarios, such as backlighting/heavy rain/fog, the camera image blurs, making LiDAR safer; Many people worry: Will multiple sensors conflict? For car companies with average algorithm levels, problems may indeed arise. But Huawei's core logic is: vision dominates decision-making, and LiDAR only provides physical backup. In the vast majority of everyday scenarios, LiDAR remains "silent," only intervening when vision fails, and generally does not create confusion in daily scenes. 5. Who has faster iteration speed? Pure vision has an unmatched advantage that LiDAR cannot compare: iteration efficiency. Pure vision relies on software and models, and can be upgraded via OTA, with iteration cycles measured in "weeks"; LiDAR relies on hardware, requiring redesign, tape-out, and mold opening, with cycles measured in "years." More critically, data: pure vision has a unified data format, with low collection, annotation, and training costs, forming an exponential flywheel of "more data → stronger models → higher sales → more data." LiDAR point cloud formats are not unified, annotation costs are several times to ten times higher than images, making it difficult to form a universal data closed loop. In simple terms: AI evolves exponentially, while hardware grows linearly. The longer the time, the more apparent the generational advantage of pure vision. 6. Who has greater market value? I asked AI a question: If you were an investor with 100 billion funds, which route would you invest in? AI's answer was: As an investor with 100 billion funds, the final decision is not "either/or," but "layered layout": 1. Invest 70% in the pure vision route: betting on scalability and long-term monopoly. Pure vision can achieve universal adoption of intelligent driving, occupy the largest market share, and create dual barriers of data and models, possessing platform-level value. More importantly, the pure vision model can also be applied to robots, flying cars, and other physical mobile devices. 2. Allocate 30% to the LiDAR fusion route: hedging risks and earning high-end profits. The LiDAR route follows the path of "high-end → safety reputation → brand premium," while also avoiding the risk of future policies mandating redundant hardware. 7. How should ordinary people choose? For consumers, the choice logic is: For urban commuting, focusing on cost-effectiveness and believing in the speed of algorithm evolution, choose Xiaopeng. For frequent long-distance highway driving, facing complex weather, with extreme safety requirements, and not concerned about money, Huawei is the more reliable choice. The competition between pure vision and LiDAR is fundamentally a dialogue between two technical philosophies: one side believes that AI's capabilities will eventually cover everything, while the other side believes that the physical world requires physical redundancy as a backup. Looking back at this competition, we find that Huawei's stability and He Xiaopeng's aggression are different paths to the same peak—one paves the way with engineering, while the other climbs with algorithms. The true victory or defeat is not about who replaces whom, but about who can bring L4 to ordinary people's lives faster, safer, and more inclusively. Which route do you favor more? Let's discuss in the comments #Xiaopeng Motors #Huawei #Intelligent Driving #Yu Chengdong #AI