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Google’s consumer AI model Gemini hacked multiple systems through guessing login credentials, the company said, the latest case of rogue AI cybersecurity transgressions, which have generated safety concerns. The hacks, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, took place in May and were discovered by Google in July. “In a standard evaluation, the model found public information online and guessed ...
This weekend, Hong Kong mourns the loss of former chief executive and elder statesman Tung Chee-hwa. The shipping tycoon who became the city’s first leader after its transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997 died on September 8 at the age of 89, leaving a legacy of determined stewardship and dedicated public service. He is remembered for steering Hong Kong through uncharted waters following the end...
In a rare development, Taiwanese Labour Minister Hung Sun-han is expected to travel to Nanjing on Sunday, becoming the first cabinet-level official under William Lai Ching-te’s administration to visit mainland China. Hung will attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) ministerial meeting on Monday to discuss employment, vocational training, social security and the impact of artificial int...
In a rare development, Taiwanese Labour Minister Hung Sun-han is expected to travel to Nanjing on Sunday, becoming the first cabinet-level official under William Lai Ching-te’s administration to visit mainland China. Hung will attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) ministerial meeting on Monday to discuss employment, vocational training, social security and the impact of artificial int...
Fears that advanced artificial intelligence could wipe out humanity have dominated global headlines, but in Japan the technology is being used for a sweeter purpose – developing never-before-seen convenience store desserts. For customers tired of the usual egg sandwiches and rice balls, major chains are turning to AI to develop products, including some unexpected flavours. Lawson, one of the count...
South Korea’s Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won withdrew his nomination on Saturday following allegations concerning his involvement in a Covid-19 treatment and approval of its clinical trials. “After much deliberation, I decided to step down as the nominee for minister of the justice ministry. I apologise for failing to live up to your expectations,” Kim said during a press conference at the...
Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma reflects on his ties to Hong Kong’s first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa. Those connections spanned both business and philanthropy, encompassing Tung’s eight years on Alibaba’s board of directors and his inspirational role in Ma’s youth entrepreneurship foundation for local youths. Ma’s reflections are part of the South China Morning Post’s special commemorative pr...
Thousands of people joined outside the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts on Friday evening to protest President Donald Trump’s plans for the facility, lending their voices to a chorus of organisations and individuals who have been horrified that he might make good on his threat to close and tear down the storied institution. The crowd streamed in from the nearest subway stop, crowding...
A new pilot scheme to bring in foreign domestic carers for the elderly to deal with an ageing population could disrupt Hong Kong’s existing helper market, driving up wages and putting care beyond the reach of low-income older residents, some employers and agencies have warned. They said the measure, announced by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his policy address on Wednesday, was likely to pro...
Stealing someone’s cattle is a serious crime, and in many places, the thief would end up in jail. However, ancient Chinese justice could result in a truly horrific form of mutilation: the amputation of the nose. This harsh consequence has been well-documented by historians as one of the infamous “five punishments” from the penal system of the Xia dynasty (2070 BC–1600 BC). Until now, no physical e...
South China Morning Post publisher Tammy Tam reflects on her encounters with Hong Kong’s first chief executive, the late Tung Chee-hwa, looking back on memories from her days as a frontline reporter, his regular exchanges with media representatives and Tung’s rare appearance at an SCMP conference in 2020 to advocate US-China dialogue. Her recollections are part of a special SCMP commemorative supp...
Briton Johnny Gibbs has been in Australia for six months, surfing and working part-time – like countless other young people drawn to the country’s pristine beaches and laid-back way of life. He is one of thousands that venture Down Under on so-called “working holiday visas” – a chance to work, and play, in Australia for as long as three years. But the future for some backpackers is now in doubt, f...
Japan’s wartime kamikaze pilots remain among the most recognisable symbols of the Pacific war: young men flying aircraft into Allied ships on missions from which they were not expected to return. Far less well-remembered are the fukuryu – suicide frogmen trained in the closing months of World War II to walk into the sea with mines on bamboo poles, then wait beneath the waves for an Allied invasion...
Hong Kong’s first five-year plan marks a new chapter for the city and will prompt discussion about individual priorities and initiatives. But there is another question worth asking: what can Hong Kong bring to the national journey over the next five years? As China begins its 15th five-year plan, Hong Kong has an opportunity to think more deliberately about its distinctive contribution to national...
The Iran war has cost US$43.6 billion as of this month, the highest official estimate to date, the Pentagon told Congress’ defence oversight panels this week. The cost estimate comes as polls show Americans increasingly oppose the war, partly over its impact on the economy, and the issue is looming large as the November midterm elections approach. The Pentagon’s latest figure comprises US$11.2 bil...
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan across two days in Washington next week. The itinerary: a White House welcome, a state dinner at which both presidents speak, a private tea and a tour of the United States’ founding documents. At a briefing late on Friday, senior US officials described a state visit built around the ...
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan together across two days in Washington next week: a White House welcome, a state dinner at which both presidents speak, a private tea, and a tour of the United States’ founding documents. At a briefing late Friday, senior US officials described a state visit built around the two coup...
Donald Trump and Melania Trump will host Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan together across two days in Washington next week: a White House welcome, a state dinner at which both presidents speak, a private tea, and a tour of the United States’ founding documents. Senior US officials set out the programme late Friday and said the pageantry will sit beside talks on artificial intelligence, a trade truce tha...
The United States is considering postponing the announcement of major arms sales to Taiwan until after November’s Apec summit in Shenzhen, multiple sources told the South China Morning Post. The potential delay comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to travel to Washington next week for a state visit. The sources said there was a strong possibility US President Donald Trump could extend th...
Hong Kong civil servants could receive flexible hourly family care leave next year as part of the government’s wider drive to boost birth rates, the South China Morning Post has learned, though business leaders warn the private sector has little incentive to follow suit, citing manpower and financial constraints, especially for smaller firms. Under the “promote fertility” section of Wednesday’s po...
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is caught in an energy policy bind with no easy exit. Cutting Russian oil imports to avoid potential new US tariffs could increase fuel prices ahead of key regional elections, or stress government finances. Maintaining such purchases could cripple Indian exports to its largest market. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and among the biggest buyers of ...
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is caught in an energy policy bind with no easy exit. Cutting Russian oil imports to avoid potential new US tariffs could increase fuel prices ahead of key regional elections, or stress government finances. Maintaining such purchases could cripple Indian exports to its largest market. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and among the biggest buyers of ...
Chinese researchers have made early strides in pushing semiconductor processing nodes below 3-nm using older lithography technology, as more advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) tools from ASML remain blocked under US sanctions. The breakthrough marks the latest progress in China’s drive to chart an alternative path to advanced chipmaking amid US export restrictions. Under current export...
In Silicon Valley and beyond, the architects of artificial intelligence are increasingly warning about the risks it poses to humanity. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wants the industry to slow down. A former engineer at his company, who also worked at its rival OpenAI, told reporters after quitting earlier this month that he was “genuinely frightened” unchecked AI development might mean “we could all ...
The stabbing of a truck driver at a remote Wyoming rest stop had US Sikhs on edge on Friday amid rising anti-immigrant vitriol against the community and its truck drivers in particular. The Sikh victim was attacked from behind early Sunday while in a restroom at the Bitter Creek rest stop on Interstate 80 midway between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City, according to court documents. He suffered stabs t...
US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a new sanctions bill into law that targets Russia’s leading energy buyers – China and India – just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for a state visit. The White House issued a brief statement, saying that the President had “signed into law” the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” which “authorises and...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that his son Donald Trump Jnr has told him he would pay back a Russian oligarch who bankrolled wedding celebrations for him in the Bahamas in May. Democrats in the US Congress launched an investigation this week into reports that Umar Kremlev, a wealthy Russian businessman and president of the International Boxing Association, paid hundreds of thousands o...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had turned away friends hoping to attend next week’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, as reports emerged that executives from some of China’s biggest companies could join the visit. “This is a very tough ticket for me,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve told a lot of very good friends of mine, you just can’t come.” The president said the Whi...
Let me begin by wishing those planning Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the US on September 24 the best of luck, something I didn’t have in 2006, when president George W. Bush invited president Hu Jintao to the White House. After you read this, you may wonder how I was able to keep my job. All I can say is, Bush was a very forgiving boss. This story begins in January 2006. I had just ...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States had reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland giving Washington permanent authority over security on the Arctic island and requiring American approval for military activity or sensitive investment by US adversaries. In a Truth Social post, Trump described the arrangement as giving the US “permanent control over security, and all...
