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Chinese scientists have found evidence that individual neurons can act like powerful minicomputers that enable flexible behaviour such as making decisions. Scientists do not have a complete understanding of how our brains adapt to changing contexts to respond appropriately to sensory information. But by studying mice, the team obtained the first experimental evidence that dendrites – branchlike st...
Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) extended its stock price rout after recording a surprise slowdown in third-quarter net profits, as analysts warned the company could be hit by slowing demand from China’s electric car industry next year. The world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker saw its shares continue to tumble by over 10 per cent in Shenzhen and 8...
Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) has recorded a surprise slowdown in third-quarter net profits, as analysts warned the company could be hit by slowing demand from China’s electric car industry next year. The world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker posted a net profit of 21.25 billion yuan (US$3.18 billion) for the July-September period, up 14.54 per cent ...
China has set up a new state-owned enterprise dedicated to managing the country’s massive data resources, a significant move designed to turbocharge the nation’s artificial intelligence industry and bolster its digital economy. The National Data Group Co – based in China’s “city of the future”, Xiongan New Area in northern Hebei province – is tasked with “developing and utilising data resources, u...
An independent committee investigating the deadly Tai Po fire is set to submit its final report to the Hong Kong government on Thursday, with the judge-led panel expected to largely endorse the scathing closing submission of its lead counsel, sources have said. A redacted version of the committee’s report, which may withhold some information to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings related to Hon...
An independent committee investigating the deadly Tai Po fire is set to submit its final report to the Hong Kong government on Thursday, with the judge-led panel expected to largely endorse the scathing closing submission of its lead counsel, sources have said. A redacted version of the committee’s report, which may withhold some information to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings related to Hon...
An independent committee investigating the deadly Tai Po fire is expected to submit its final report to the Hong Kong government on Thursday, with the judge-led panel expected to largely endorse the scathing closing submission of its lead counsel, sources have said. A redacted version of the committee’s report, which may withhold some information to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings related t...
British fighter planes will be deployed to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against increasing attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the UK government announced on Tuesday. The defence ministry said the deployment formed part of “additional defensive military support” to Riyadh. “The UK will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastruct...
Japan says it has spotted PLA aircraft, spy drones and warships, including a supply ship that could support the Liaoning aircraft carrier, in recent days as Tokyo and Washington started drills focused on a potential Taiwan contingency. Three People’s Liberation Army military aircraft – two drones and a reconnaissance plane – flew through international airspace between Japanese islands into the Pac...
The coming launch of India’s largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) will test investor confidence in the country’s leading telecoms operator, Jio Platforms, the digital arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. Jio’s public share offer on Wednesday comes close on the heels of an escalating row between Ambani and Elon Musk. The SpaceX founder has accused the Indian industrialist o...
Yuki Chen, a prolific Chinese cybersecurity researcher, has joined leading Chinese artificial intelligence model company Z.ai as the country’s AI sector grapples with the technology’s growing impact on global cyberspace. Chen’s appointment comes amid growing concern over AI-assisted cyberattacks and autonomous agents acting beyond their instructions, including recent cases involving Chinese tech g...
Yuki Chen, a prolific Chinese cybersecurity researcher, has joined leading Chinese artificial intelligence model company Z.ai as the country’s AI sector grapples with the technology’s growing impact on global cyberspace. Chen’s appointment comes amid growing concern over AI-assisted cyberattacks and autonomous agents acting beyond their instructions, including recent cases involving Chinese tech g...
Hong Kong has issued an amber outbound travel alert for France after weeks of protests over school conditions spread across the country, triggering clashes and damage in major cities. The alert – the lowest of three levels in the Security Bureau’s outbound travel alert system – advises residents travelling to France to exercise caution in response to signs of a threat to personal safety. “Due to p...
China on Tuesday accused a US naval vessel of undermining regional stability by entering waters near the South China Sea’s disputed Spratly Islands. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the USS Charleston “illegally intruded” into the waters around the Sabina Shoal “without approval”, said the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command Navy spokesman Yin Gang. The Chinese navy monitored...
China on Tuesday accused a US naval vessel of undermining regional stability by entering waters near the South China Sea’s disputed Spratly Islands. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the littoral combat ship USS Charleston “illegally intruded” into the waters around the Sabina Shoal “without approval”, said the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command Navy spokesman Yin Gang. The C...
As the threat of a reclassification by MSCI that could relegate Indonesia to an investment hinterland looms, the country’s financial regulators and stock exchange officials have vowed to address systemic concerns, including removing stocks with concentrated ownership. The global index provider announced on Friday it was launching a formal consultation to decide whether to downgrade Southeast Asia’...
As haze from forest fires in Indonesia continues to shroud Southeast Asia, Malaysians have taken to social media to air their grievances, with a video of an elevated outdoor reading from an air purifier among viral content marking public frustration. The clip, posted by user syahierarafie, shows a device detecting an Air Pollutant Index (API) of up to 318 in Gelang Patah, a suburban town in wester...
An increasing number of Chinese celebrities are voluntarily sharing their histories of mental illness, rather than following the previous practice of keeping them hidden, in what some see as an effort to win empathy and audience support. These conditions include depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In January last year, famou...
China’s military has published what appears to be the first official photograph of a Y-20B heavy transport aircraft in PLA Air Force livery fitted with aerial refuelling pods, suggesting that the multi-role tanker-transport (MRTT) configuration has entered service. An image published by the PLA Daily newspaper on October 14 shows the four-engine aircraft painted in standard military grey, with ref...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Kyiv is once again receiving early warnings from its partners following recent Russian missile attacks that occurred without enough notice. Zelensky said the change happened after talks with his American counterparts, including a phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the day. “We are thankful that intelligence works no...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Oslo on Tuesday for talks with top US envoys in a bid to get strained relations with Washington “on a more constructive path”, the Norwegian government said. “We are maintaining all contacts that can help bring peace,” Zelensky said in a social media post announcing his arrival in the city. Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said earlier that...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is travelling to Norway for new peace talks as US pressure mounts for concessions from Kyiv to reach a deal with Russia. US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Oslo to take part in the talks on Tuesday with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, according to a government statement in Norway. Another US envoy, Jared K...
Malaysia’s main opposition coalition lost its registration on Tuesday, just 11 days before nominations for a state election, drawing accusations that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government is using state powers to cripple its rivals. The decision leaves Perikatan Nasional (PN) – already fractured by a bitter dispute between its Islamist anchor, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), and estrang...
Two days have passed since the scenes of chaos and looting on Saturday, but walking down Rue Beaurepaire in Paris on Monday, one can still smell burning in the air, likely coming from the heaps of burned rubbish and charred bicycles left among the smashed shopfronts. Among the most damaged was La Barrique, a local bar-tabac – classic French corner cafe and bar – burned down by rioters. Its owner, ...
Hong Kong authorities will focus on incorporating infrastructure monitoring into the first phase of its AI-powered urban management system, while exploring its expansion into public services in later stages. Officials also told a Legislative Council meeting on Tuesday that government arms were encouraged to develop their own databases before connecting them to the “AI city brain”. Undersecretary f...
Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing raised less than expected in its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), as investors weighed potential US trade restrictions on its optical modules business amid the city’s cautious appetite for mega listings, analysts said. The company has started taking investor orders for a Hong Kong listing, offering 113.7 million shares at a maximum price of HK$93.80 ...
Two Singaporean men lost their positions in the armed forces after they were convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old boy. Former army captain Chaw Chia Jun, 41, was sentenced to 17 months’ jail on Tuesday, while his co-accused Owen Toh Wei Song, a former navy cook, was jailed for 12 months on September 22, according to CNA. Singapore’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that both were suspended ...
A country need not run out of money to find itself in a debt crisis. It only has to run short of US dollars to pay for its energy. At the recent International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, the IMF, which expects global economic growth of 3.1 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent the next, cautioned that energy-importing and lower-income economies face a harder road, even as th...
Chinese carmakers, facing a European Union import quota targeting their hybrid electric vehicles (EVs), are gearing up for more local production to reinforce their go-global drive. They plan to either splash out billions of yuan to set up their own factories or tap international marques’ idle plants to build their vehicles, looking to sustain a sales boom in one of the world’s major automotive mar...
We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Forgive us’: Indonesians urge Singapore, Malaysia to sue Jakarta over haze Many Indonesians are urging foreign governments on social media, including those of neighbourin...
