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Kazakhstan has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong’s transport authorities to establish a laboratory and discussed the low-altitude economy to help manage traffic jams. Bakhtiyar Mukhametkaliyev, Kazakhstan’s vice-minister of artificial intelligence and digital development, told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday about discussions with the team of Hong Kong’s Secretary for T...
South Korea is inching closer to a potentially risky military role in the Strait of Hormuz after sending a fact-finding team to the Middle East, with Seoul weighing US pressure to contribute against the threat of Iranian retaliation. The mission underscores the dilemma Seoul faces over supporting a major security ally and avoiding being dragged into a conflict it did not start. Observers argue tha...
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A gunman shot and killed a kindergarten teacher on Wednesday inside a school building in eastern Thailand, where 44 children and three other teachers were evacuated safely, authorities said. The shooting took place about 11am inside a building at the Nongplalai Municipal Kindergarten in Chonburi province, about 150km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Bangkok. All 44 students were unharmed and ev...
Dissent voiced in an ongoing inquiry into Australia’s most ambitious nuclear submarine pact has laid bare growing uncertainty over US commitment, amid questions about the clarity of Canberra’s explanation of the Aukus deal to citizens. Under the trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the United States, Canberra will get eight nuclear-powered submarines at an estimated cost of up to...
US cybersecurity researchers have demonstrated how artificial intelligence could help hijack WeChat accounts via unanswered voice calls, intensifying concerns about AI-driven cyber threats and prompting renewed calls for bilateral cooperation between the United States and China. US security firm Calif said on Tuesday that its AI system identified a critical flaw in Tencent Holdings’ widely used me...
Malaysian politicians have slammed a Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) party leader for claiming that those who join the Islamist party would “certainly” go to heaven. Among them, Amanah vice-president Mahfuz Omar, said in a social media post on Tuesday: “PAS’ office is not an immigration counter for the afterlife, where you get a ‘heaven’ stamp upon showing your membership certificate and ballot ...
Nagoya in central Japan said on Wednesday that it has decided to provide emergency relief across the city where at least 41 people sustained minor injuries after a linear rain band formed, pounding the Tokai region with record rainfall the previous day. Many commuters and students were stranded for the night in Nagoya after transport was paralysed due to the rain. Around 1,600 people had taken she...
We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s radar satellites capture sharp images of glacier collapse site in Nepal Within hours of a devastating glacier collapse on the China-Nepal border, a Beijing-based satellite company had already redirected ...
A second pilot has been arrested in the ongoing investigation of a drug trafficking case involving a Malaysia Airlines pilot arrested in Indonesia for allegedly smuggling drugs worth 45 million ringgit (US$11 million). Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Commissioner Hussein Omar Khan said the latest arrest was made two days ago and that the suspect was believed to ...
Urgent priorities for advancing China’s philanthropy sector include fostering a favourable legal environment and overhauling the nation’s social service industry, according to leading policy experts at a forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Mainland charitable organisations could learn from Hong Kong’s experience to increase their professional expertise, while the Greater Bay Area city cluster plan coul...
Urgent priorities for advancing China’s philanthropy sector include fostering a favourable legal environment and overhauling the nation’s social service industry, according to leading policy experts at a forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Mainland charitable organisations could learn from Hong Kong’s experience to increase their professional expertise, while the Greater Bay Area city cluster plan coul...
Thai authorities said on Wednesday they are investigating a Bangkok clinic where a Nigerian-born British businessman and influencer underwent a penis enlargement procedure that led to his death. A coroner in London last month ruled that the March 6 death of Igho Ubiribo, 43, in the Thai capital was caused by the hyaluronic acid injection he received hours earlier. The case has reignited debate abo...
Pharmaceutical companies have embraced artificial intelligence in drug research almost universally, yet few company executives expect AI to actually make drugs succeed, according to a Citi survey released on Tuesday. “The biggest risk to the AI-powered drug discovery thesis is not that AI fails to accelerate discovery,” said John Yung, head of Asia healthcare research at the US investment bank. “T...
Pharmaceutical companies have embraced artificial intelligence in drug research almost universally, yet few company executives expect AI to actually make drugs succeed, according to a Citi survey released on Tuesday. “The biggest risk to the AI-powered drug discovery thesis is not that AI fails to accelerate discovery,” said John Yung, head of Asia healthcare research at the US investment bank. “T...
An elderly Chinese couple reported their granddaughter to the police after she took 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) and a gold bracelet from their home without permission, igniting intense discussions online. The woman, identified by her surname Chen and hailing from northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, received a six-month jail sentence for theft, along with a fine of 2,000 yuan, according ...
Former Malaysian pilgrimage fund chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to abusing his position to secure a lucrative corporate post and influence a 193.5 million ringgit (US$47.5 million) investment by the fund. Azeez, 60, a veteran Umno Supreme Council member, is the highest-profile politician to be charged so far in the fallout from a royal inquiry into the state-run s...
Former Hong Kong lawmaker William Wong Kam-fai, who resigned after an alleged drink-driving incident, has been given two months to consider his plea on four traffic offences. Wong, 66, was not required to enter a plea during his first appearance at Sha Tin Court on Wednesday. Defence counsel Paul Tse Wai-chun, also a former legislator, sought a nine-week adjournment to allow time for legal advice....
China’s biotechnology market has “significantly” driven up the demand for primate experimental models as the market recovers, tightening the supply of laboratory monkeys, according to a leading biotech firm. The continued recovery of fundraising and out-licensing deals in innovative drugs in China this year has led to significant growth in the demand for primate experimental models, research firm ...
US President Donald Trump has condemned Australia’s recent moves to clamp down on social media – predominantly run by American tech companies – as “a form of extortion”, hinting at more threats to come. “President Trump has unequivocally warned trading partners against imposing digital services taxes, fines, and other forms of extortion on America’s leading technology sector,” White House economic...
Hong Kong will continue to serve as a gateway linking belt and road economies with mainland China and global markets, the chief executive has said, underscoring the city’s role in bringing together capital, talent and businesses to advance the national initiative. Speaking at the opening of the annual Belt and Road Summit on Wednesday, John Lee Ka-chiu said more than 60 government and business agr...
The first two F-16 Block 70 fighters bought by Taipei from the United States have yet to reach Taiwan, after spending more than two weeks in Hawaii for reasons that remain unclear. The aircraft, which were expected to arrive at Taiwan’s Chihhang Air Base in late August, were spotted preparing for departure at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam on Monday, raising expectations that the fighters were fi...
The police have identified and interviewed five people over online comments relating to the Nepal floods and discussions surrounding Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) investment in Air India. Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Saturday that the police were looking into “shameful” racist and xenophobic online comments about the Nepal-Tibet disaster and SIA’s investment in Air India. In response to media q...
UK air travellers faced more misery on Wednesday with nearly 300 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain’s air traffic control service scrambled to recover from a technical glitch which it ruled out as a cyberattack. After 1,746 flights were cancelled on the first day of the outage on Tuesday, another 291 were axed on Wednesday – the majority to and from London Heathrow, the United Kingdom...
Travellers in the UK faced more misery on Wednesday with more than 150 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain’s air traffic control service scrambled to recover from a technical glitch that sparked chaos. Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 said 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday had already been axed, following 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports a day before. Nearly all the...
Imagine swapping your daily cholesterol pill for a single injection that keeps “bad” cholesterol under control for a year, a decade – or even a lifetime. Two clinical trials, one in the United States and another in China, suggest that this one-and-done approach could become a reality. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), better known as “bad” cholesterol, is a major driver of heart disease...
Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, will deliver a live lesson from space to students and teachers at her alma mater on Wednesday morning, with the 90-minute event broadcast to campuses across the city and streamed live on television. Lai and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members – mission commander Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan – will take part in the “Tiangong Class” at Tsuen Wan...
Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, will deliver a live lesson from space to students and teachers at her alma mater on Wednesday morning, with the 90-minute event broadcast to campuses across the city and streamed live on television. Lai and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members – mission commander Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan – will take part in the “Tiangong Class” at Tsuen Wan...
Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, will deliver a live lesson from space to students and teachers at her alma mater at 9.50am on Wednesday, with the 90-minute event broadcast to campuses across the city and streamed live on television. Lai and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members – mission commander Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan – will take part in the “Tiangong Class” at Tsuen W...
Five people, including medical staff, died after a “flying doctor” service helicopter crashed in Malaysia on Tuesday, authorities and state news agency reports said, as haze from wildfires complicated search efforts. Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad in a statement said initial information showed a pilot and four ministry staff were aboard the chopper that crashed near Sarawak state’s Long Lellan...
