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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country played no role in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe, following the arrest in Croatia of a second Ukrainian suspect sought by Germany. “Ukraine has never even been involved in even the idea of this operation,” Zelensky told reporters during the Ukraine Nordic-Baltic summit in Kyiv on Sunday. “I hope there w...
The Trump administration on Sunday warned that Canada would be “foolish” to think it could win a trade war with the United States, predicting a “devastating” impact on its northern neighbour. Negotiations between Washington and Ottawa broke down late Friday, putting into force new 50 per cent US tariffs impacting about US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods, or 5.5 per cent of Canadian exports to t...
Chinese archaeologists will carry out their first joint field project in South America by exploring sites dating back thousands of years in Peru as Beijing steps up its efforts to deepen cultural ties with the region. The Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said it had signed a cooperation agreement with the Caral Archaeological Zone of the Peruvian Ministry of Cultu...
Indonesian authorities arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the forest and peatland fires as huge blazes in central and west Indonesia triggered choking haze. Indonesia has been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB. Fir...
Ukraine thinks Russia is planning to draft an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after Russian parliamentary elections in mid-September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Moscow’s forces are pressing ahead with an effort to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine’s industrialised Donbas region, where its troops have ground forward at what Kyiv says is a great cost. In comment...
Next time you spot a vivid orange-yellow crust spreading across a rock in your garden, on a country wall or along a hiking trail, take a closer look – you might be standing on a fortune. A Chinese research team has found that a humble lichen could serve as a visible field indicator of unknown rare earth deposits around the world. The researchers said the lichen’s distinctive colour made it easy to...
Singapore will increase its spending on pro-family measures focusing on easing childcare costs, with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong calling them “one of the best investments” on Sunday, as the city state aims to reverse its declining fertility rate. The policy shifts announced by Wong at the annual National Day Rally, Singapore’s biggest political speech of the year, are some of the most significant...
China’s historic Chang’e-7 mission to drill for ice near the moon’s south pole has been delayed, the country’s human space flight programme authority said on Sunday. The Chang’e-7 – carrying an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a hopper – was set to lift off aboard a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang spaceport in southern China as early as Monday. The China Manned Space Agency said on Sunday even...
China’s historic Chang’e-7 mission to drill for ice near the moon’s south pole has been delayed, the country’s human space flight programme authority said on Sunday. The Chang’e-7 – carrying an orbiter, a lander, rover and hopper – was set to lift off aboard a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang spaceport in southern China as early as Monday. The China Manned Space Agency said the mission would ...
A 76-year-old man has been sent to hospital after falling on an escalator at a Hong Kong shopping centre, while two other elderly people sustained minor injuries, according to police. The force received a report at 4.19pm on Sunday that three people had fallen on an escalator in phase one of Shek Lei Shopping Centre, leaving the man trapped. He sustained injuries to his arms and legs and was taken...
A 76-year-old man has been hospitalised after falling on an escalator at a Hong Kong shopping centre, while two other elderly people sustained minor injuries, according to police. The force received a report at 4.19pm on Sunday that three people had fallen on an escalator in phase one of Shek Lei Shopping Centre, trapping the man. He sustained injuries to his arms and legs and was taken to Princes...
The United States may want the world to choose sides in the AI race with China, but in Africa, many businesses are pursuing a more pragmatic strategy: using Chinese models where they offer better value or flexibility, while keeping their options open. For example, when African insurtech platform Curacel expanded the range of artificial intelligence (AI) models powering its internal infrastructure,...
Singapore will no longer restrict the number of cinema screenings for dialect films, relaxing a decades-long policy in a significant move that analysts say was driven by recent discourse over the Chinese blockbuster Dear You. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday the relaxation came with the prerequisite that a Mandarin-dubbed version would be available. Restrictions for pay television conte...
In the second instalment of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on Hong Kong’s growing wellness trends, Fiona Sun looks into how residents are embracing digital detox, as experts warn that excessive screen use is linked to anxiety, depression and sleep disorders. For Robert Broad, stepping away from electronic devices has become part of a self-care routine he developed after the Covid-19 pa...
The latest US artificial intelligence (AI) and supply chain initiatives are doomed to fail, according to a prominent political scientist who also argued that efforts to restrict US companies’ access to low-cost Chinese models would backfire. Instead, he argued, the United States and China should collaborate on driving global economic development to generate the external demand needed to sustain lo...
The latest US AI and supply chain initiatives are doomed to fail, according to a prominent political scientist who also argued that efforts to restrict US companies’ access to low-cost Chinese models would backfire. Instead, he argued, the United States and China should collaborate on driving global economic development to generate the external demand needed to sustain long-term growth. “US framew...
While China’s new “AI tigers” have captured global attention for challenging Silicon Valley front-runners, a quieter wave of domestic technology companies is building in-house artificial intelligence systems serving everyday users. Beyond pure-play AI labs like DeepSeek, Z.ai (also known as Zhipu AI), Moonshot AI and MiniMax, consumer-facing platforms that span e-commerce, video gaming, social med...
A tennis ball flew across the net. On the other side, a humanoid robot crouched, shuffled sideways in a series of quick steps, adjusted its position and swung its racquet to send the ball back. The robot traded forehands and backhands with human players during singles and mixed-doubles demonstrations. At one point, while chasing a ball, it lost its balance and toppled backwards, drawing gasps from...
China has stepped up its offensive against a US-born school of thought on China’s last imperial dynasty, accusing it of providing “theoretical ammunition” for attempts to divide the country. The denunciation comes as online debates over the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) continue to give rise to inflammatory rhetoric, and as Beijing’s ethnic policies and historical narratives are increasingly becoming a...
Dressed as his favourite superhero, Indonesian teenager Rudiyansah walks along a charred landscape, helping douse wildfires that have razed large parts of Borneo island. The Southeast Asian country has been battling infernos that have left a thick, blanketing smog over parts of the island that Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei. Rudiyansah’s red and blue Superman costume stood out against t...
Dressed as his favourite superhero, Indonesian teenager Rudiyansah walks along a charred landscape, helping douse wildfires that have razed large parts of Borneo island. The Southeast Asian country has been battling infernos that have left a thick, blanketing smog over parts of the island that Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei. Rudiyansah’s red and blue Superman costume stood out against t...
The flagship newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party has run back-to-back commentaries defending the resilience of the world’s second-largest economy, saying domestic risks were being contained while China continued to provide greater stability to the global economy. The People’s Daily commentaries, published on Saturday and Sunday, came as weak domestic demand and persistent imbalances weighe...
At a recent Apec digital technology and AI forum in Chengdu, ministers across the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum issued a statement in support of open-source artificial intelligence models – a rare point of agreement in a debate often framed as a zero-sum US-China contest. It pointed towards an AI order that cuts against the assumption of a contest with a single winner, an assumption that...
Hong Kong is tipped to see more luxury home sales with expatriates increasingly choosing the city as their retirement base, drawn to its low-tax environment as well as business opportunities, according to analysts. “A huge influx of expats who used to live in Hong Kong are moving back with a long-term view to retirement,” said Victoria Allan, founder and CEO of Habitat Property. “Many expats who p...
More ride-hailing platform operators from mainland China and Southeast Asia have approached the Hong Kong government about entering the city’s market ahead of the launch of licensed operations, the transport minister has revealed. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan also said on Sunday that more than 7,500 people applied for the new combined taxi and ride-hailing vehicle written test,...
Hong Kong will partner with major technology firms to launch an AI training programme for the labour force in November as part of a government drive to equip workers with new skills, the city’s finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said on Sunday the separate HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) “AI for All” push announced in February would feature more than 200 activities and...
Hong Kong will partner with major technology firms to launch an AI training programme for the labour force in November as part of a government drive to equip workers with new skills, the city’s finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said on Sunday the separate HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) “AI for All” push announced in February would feature more than 200 activities and...
Hong Kong’s employees retraining board will partner with major tech firms to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) training programme for the working population in November, the city’s finance chief has said. In his Sunday blog, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) “AI for All” inclusive programme, announced in the February budget, would feature more than 20...
President Donald Trump is betting new sanctions, a naval blockade and ramped-up economic pressure against Iran’s trading partners can accomplish what thousands of bombs and missiles could not: force Tehran to accept a deal to end the war on US terms. But like other US efforts to force Iran into capitulation, there is one main problem: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has claimed con...
It was a vision to give South Korea a stock market that reflected its true economic dynamism, by shedding regulatory taboos and encouraging bolder bets – instead, it created an investor trauma that could take years to shake. The 30 per cent decline in the Kospi benchmark since its June 19 peak has hurt President Lee Jae Myung’s government politically and turned the spotlight on an economic syst...
