China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, showing a capability that caught U.S.
intelligence by surprise, the Financial Times reported, citing five unnamed sources.
The report late on Saturday said the Chinese military launched a rocket carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle that flew through low-orbit space, circling the globe before cruising towards its target, which it missed by about two dozen miles.
"The test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realised," the report said, citing people briefed on the intelligence.
China's ministry of defence did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment from Reuters on Sunday.
The United States and Russia are also developing hypersonic missiles, and last month North Korea said it had test-fired a newly-developed hypersonic missile.
At a 2019 parade, China showcased advancing weaponry including its hypersonic missile, known as the DF-17.
Ballistic missiles fly into outer space before returning on steep trajectories at higher speeds. Hypersonic weapons are difficult to defend against because they fly towards targets at lower altitudes but can achieve more than five times the speed of sound - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph).
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by William Mallard)
Facebook plans to hire 10,000
Facebook Inc plans to hire 10,000 in the European Union over the next five years, the social media giant said on Monday, to help build the so-called metaverse - a nascent online world where people exist and communicate in shared virtual spaces.
This would be a significant step the company is taking towards the concept, something top boss Mark Zuckerberg has touted in recent months.
In September, Facebook committed $50 million towards building the metaverse, where companies like Roblox Corp and "Fortnite" maker Epic Games have an early foothold.
The company earlier launched a test of a new virtual-reality remote work app where users of the company's Oculus Quest 2 headsets can hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves.
Facebook also said in July it was creating a product team to work on the metaverse which would be part of Facebook Reality Labs, its augmented reality and virtual reality group.
"This investment (in new jobs) is a vote of confidence in the strength of the European tech industry and the potential of European tech talent," the company said.
"Europe is hugely important to Facebook."
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Maju Samuel)