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Hong Kong health authorities have deployed an AI chatbot developed by a local university to help residents quit smoking, after missing their target despite a clampdown on tobacco products. The Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office also said on Wednesday that the city’s smoking rate had dropped to 8.5 per cent as of last year, one of the lowest among developed economies. The office unveiled its “Chat ...
Alibaba Group Holding’s latest artificial intelligence model has clinched a top-tier spot on a major global coding leaderboard, making the Chinese technology giant the only developer other than Anthropic to break into the ranking’s top five spots. Qwen3.7-Max, Alibaba’s latest AI model, scored 1,541 on the Code Arena ranking to claim the fourth spot globally, placing it ahead of rival models from ...
While much of military AI globally focuses on autonomous weapons and large language models, a new study suggests Beijing may also be pursuing a quieter transformation: embedding artificial intelligence (AI) in the deepest layers of industrial manufacturing. A study published last month in the Chinese defence engineering journal Acta Armamentarii described how researchers developed an AI-powered “b...
A controversial Chinese app with the allegedly offensive name “dead or alive” has been transformed into a government-backed safety tool. The app, called Sileme, or “Are you dead?”, went viral in January because of its straightforward name that challenged the traditional taboo notions about death. Its function was extremely simple. The sign-in app features a giant green button on the screen. A pers...
Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies said it had found a way to make semiconductors on a par with the best worldwide without having to use cutting-edge chipmaking equipment it is unable to access due to US sanctions. The breakthrough will allow Huawei to make high-end chips that are equivalent to 1.4 nanometres by 2031, He Tingbo, president of the company’s semiconductor business, told a tech co...
Hong Kong will introduce a two-month LPG subsidy of HK$0.50 (6 US cents) per litre starting this Sunday to help transport operators running more than 20,000 vehicles, from taxis to minibuses and school buses, cope with soaring fuel prices linked to the Middle East war. A government spokesman announced on Wednesday that the subsidy would be implemented across all 66 filling stations supplying lique...
Hong Kong authorities will offer a subsidy of HK$0.50 per litre on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from this Sunday to July 30 to ease the pressure of soaring fuel prices caused by the Middle East war on local transport companies, which run more than 20,000 vehicles from taxis to minibuses and school buses. A Hong Kong government spokesman announced on Wednesday that the measure will be implemented ...
South Korea’s programme to develop engines that can power flying drones to serve as loyal wingmen for fighter jets suggests that Seoul has set its sights on competing at the top level in the global market for autonomous military systems, analysts said. Hanwha Aerospace, one of the country’s largest defence contractors, announced the programme on Tuesday – a joint project with South Korean space ag...
Chinese short-video company Kuaishou Technology beat estimates with 33.7 billion yuan (US$5 billion) in revenue in the first quarter, driven by the rapid commercialisation of its flagship artificial intelligence video generator, Kling AI. Overall revenue grew 3.4 per cent, but Kling’s revenue surged more than 300 per cent to 650 million yuan in the period, the company said on Wednesday. “AI techno...
The unravelling of a S$1.43 billion (US$1.12 billion) merger between Singapore mobile operators M1 and Simba has highlighted the city state’s brutally competitive telecoms market, revealing a potential regulatory minefield around scarce radio spectrum. The foiled deal would also mean Singapore’s mobile network operators – Singtel, StarHub, M1 and Simba – will continue to operate in a cutthroat pri...
When He Tingbo took the stage in Shanghai this week to unveil Huawei Technologies’ Tau (τ) Scaling Law, the message was about more than a new chip development framework. It was also a statement, showing how the most prominent Chinese technology company to have been subjected to US sanctions wants to compete in semiconductors when access to the world’s most advanced chipmaking tools remains restric...
Veteran industrialist Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu has been appointed as chairman of a government-owned company set to be tasked with developing Hong Kong’s San Tin Technopole – a key pillar of the Northern Metropolis megaproject. Authorities said on Wednesday that the San Tin Technopole Company would be established in the first half of 2026 and that Chai would start his three-year term as the head of the...
At a sprawling bazaar on the outskirts of Vietnam’s capital, the trade in counterfeit goods is bustling despite government crackdowns and the threat of US tariffs over the issue, two visits by Reuters journalists to the market found. “Police come once a year with a TV crew. They film the seizure of a shop, and then it’s business as usual,” said a seller at her stall displaying fake Ralph Lauren p...
Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Hamas’ newly appointed armed wing chief in Gaza, days after it killed his predecessor, while intensifying military pressure in Gaza and expanding operations in Lebanon. The Israeli military said Mohammad Odeh was killed in an operation in Gaza on Tuesday. A relative of Odeh confirmed his death to Reuters and said the funeral would take place after noon praye...
A 67-year-old jobless divorcee with a history of criminal offences has been jailed for nine years for sexually assaulting a woman during a brazen daytime break-in at a public rental flat in Hong Kong two years ago. The High Court on Wednesday sentenced former dockworker Leung Kam-wah over the “very serious” offences committed against the 26-year-old mother after he tailed her from a wet market to ...
We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese firm Xpeng builds driverless cabs, challenging Tesla’s FSD software Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng has begun mass production of autonomous cabs powered by its own chip...
A 68-year-old construction worker is in critical condition after being struck by an electric chain hoist at a Hong Kong government site undergoing drainage replacement works on Wednesday morning. The site on Yen Chow Street in Sham Shui Po is part of the government’s drainage pipe replacement project that spans from Tsuen Wan to West Kowloon. The project is expected to be completed by the end of t...
For two years, some of them never touched the ground. Locked in tiny wire cages and destined for a life of being drained of bile through syringes or surgically implanted taps, the 27 Asiatic black bears rescued in northern Laos this week had known almost nothing of what it means to be a bear. Now, for the first time in years, some are finally drinking clean water freely. Others are feeling solid e...
A Hong Kong policeman accused of throwing red paint at the front door of a residential flat and accessing the force’s internal systems without authorisation could face up to seven years in prison after prosecutors sought to transfer his case to the District Court. Leung Lung-kwan, 41, appeared at Eastern Court on Wednesday for the first time after being charged with one count of criminal damage an...
Four out of 15 public primary schools in Hong Kong with insufficient enrolment will cease operations, eight will merge with other schools, while two others will operate self-financing Primary One classes in September, according to education authorities. Representatives from a schools council and a principals’ association said on Wednesday that they expected more institutions that fell short of enr...
A year after South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun broke down in tears at a high-profile press conference over allegations involving late actress Kim Sae-ron, the controversy has entered yet another dramatic phase. Kim Se-ui, head of controversial YouTube channel HoverLab, also known as Garo Sero Institute, was taken into custody this week, as police reportedly concluded that audio files previously pres...
Foreign spies in China have disguised themselves as wedding photographers near naval ports, or have collected mapping data using advanced radar and GPS optical lenses mounted on cars under the cover of autonomous driving research, according to China’s top body protecting state secrets. The National Administration of State Secrets Protection warned of foreign spies’ “eyes in the dark” in its latest...
Foreign spies in China have disguised themselves as wedding photographers near naval ports, or have collected mapping data using advanced radar and GPS optical lenses mounted on cars under the cover of autonomous driving research, according to China’s top body protecting state secrets. The National Administration of State Secrets Protection warned of foreign spies’ “eyes in the dark” in its latest...
For the first time, China has included artificial intelligence chips in its official “secure and reliable” technology assessments, expanding the scope of a state-backed drive to adopt domestic alternatives to Western products. The China Information Technology Security Evaluation Centre and the National Secrecy Science and Technology Evaluation Centre released the latest batch of assessments on Tue...
A feminist film which won an award at an international film festival last year has been ordered to withdraw its coming release for violating the law in China. The film Her Heart Beats in Its Cage was scheduled to be screened in mainland cinemas on May 30. But on May 21, Shanghai Film Bureau announced the release should be stopped because the film had breached the law when applying for its producti...
Hong Kong lawmakers have called for more clarity on an HK$9.96 billion (US$1.27 billion) project, which includes a fencing arena, in the Northern Metropolis, questioning the “immense” cost and whether the sports venue will host global tournaments. Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling on Wednesday defended the massive price tag, saying the government had sought to keep construction...
Hong Kong lawmakers have called for greater clarity on a proposed HK$10 billion project featuring a fencing arena in the Northern Metropolis, questioning its “immense cost” and whether it is meant to host international tournaments. Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling on Wednesday defended the massive price tag, saying the government had sought to keep construction costs down and ...
Hong Kong lawmakers have called for greater clarity on a proposed HK$10 billion project featuring a fencing arena in the Northern Metropolis, questioning its “immense cost” and whether it is meant to host international tournaments. Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling on Wednesday defended the massive price tag, saying the government had sought to keep construction costs down and ...
Malaysia’s recently retired anti-corruption chief, Azam Baki, is facing a police investigation for allegedly threatening a whistle-blower linked to a mineral licence scandal involving politicians in Sabah. Azam accused Albert Tei of “playing games” and spreading misinformation after the businessman lodged a report earlier this month, which prompted the police to pursue the case under criminal inti...
Israel pounded Lebanon with more than 120 air strikes on Tuesday in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks, Lebanese security sources said, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military was deepening its operations in the country. The bombing raids further strained a ceasefire announced on April 16 that was meant to halt fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group H...
