Clear filters Clear Filters
Canadian province prepares lawsuit against OpenAI after school mass shooting
SCMP

Canadian province prepares lawsuit against OpenAI after school mass shooting

British Columbia said on Tuesday it was preparing a lawsuit against OpenAI over the company’s failure to report violent ChatGPT activity by the person who committed a mass school shooting in the western Canadian province. OpenAI had banned an account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025, months before the 18-year-old transgender woman killed eight people at her home and a school in the tiny...

‘Shameful’: Chinese school faces backlash for demanding new students’ family wealth details
SCMP

‘Shameful’: Chinese school faces backlash for demanding new students’ family wealth details

A secondary school in eastern China is at the centre of controversy for collecting the information of its fresh students’ parents, including what brand of car they drive and their values. Dongying No 1 Middle School in Dongying, Shandong province, distributed the information collection form in late June among students who were recently admitted, China Newsweek reported. Students were requested to ...

Hong Kong’s Paul Chan to make second trip to Saudi Arabia to build Mideast ties
SCMP

Hong Kong’s Paul Chan to make second trip to Saudi Arabia to build Mideast ties

Hong Kong’s finance chief will lead another business delegation to Saudi Arabia later this year, announcing the news as the city hosted the first overseas edition of one of the kingdom’s top technology conferences as part of efforts to boost ties with the Middle East. Speaking at the opening ceremony of LEAP East 2026 on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also announced that the confer...

Hong Kong’s Paul Chan pledges second trip to Saudi Arabia to build Mideast ties
SCMP

Hong Kong’s Paul Chan pledges second trip to Saudi Arabia to build Mideast ties

Hong Kong’s finance chief will lead another business delegation to Saudi Arabia later this year, announcing the news as the city hosted the first overseas edition of one of the kingdom’s top technology conferences as part of efforts to boost ties with the Middle East. Speaking at the opening ceremony of LEAP East 2026 on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also announced that the confer...

Why a bluefin tuna boom is slicing into livelihoods of Japanese fishermen

Why a bluefin tuna boom is slicing into livelihoods of Japanese fishermen

SCMP

In May, Japanese fisherman Tadasuke Nakamura noticed he had an abnormally large haul of bluefin tuna in his set net off the Pacific coast of Hakodate, on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. Hundreds of the prized sushi fish crowded the net, but he had to let many of them go. Japan has an annual catch quota and if ‌Nakamura had kept the haul he would have had no quota left for the colder months wh...

Google DeepMind director Cao Liangliang makes a boomerang return to Hong Kong

Google DeepMind director Cao Liangliang makes a boomerang return to Hong Kong

SCMP

In a homecoming for Hong Kong’s artificial intelligence community, Cao Liangliang – former principal engineer and director at Google DeepMind, IEEE Fellow and architect of foundational AI systems at Google, Apple and IBM – has returned to the city after a two-decade absence. His appointment as Chair Professor of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) l...

Google DeepMind director Cao Liangliang makes a boomerang-return to Hong Kong

Google DeepMind director Cao Liangliang makes a boomerang-return to Hong Kong

SCMP

In a homecoming for Hong Kong’s artificial intelligence community, Cao Liangliang – former principal engineer and director at Google DeepMind, IEEE Fellow and architect of foundational AI systems at Google, Apple and IBM – has returned to the city after a two-decade absence. His appointment as Chair Professor of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) l...

Philippine president backs defence chief over China sanctions

Philippine president backs defence chief over China sanctions

SCMP

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has broken his silence on China’s sanctions against his defence chief, in remarks seen as a closing of ranks that could complicate diplomacy between Manila and Beijing in the near term. Observers say the president’s public backing of outspoken Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro amounts to a “good cop, bad cop” approach that signals Manila’s resolve and may...

Hong Kong lawmakers push for 24-hour mandate after IVF embryo specimens blunder

Hong Kong lawmakers push for 24-hour mandate after IVF embryo specimens blunder

SCMP

Hong Kong fertility clinics should be required to report serious incidents within 24 hours to the regulator for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), lawmakers have said, following a specimens mix-up at a centre that went undisclosed for weeks. They urged the government on Wednesday to close the regulatory gap, a day after it emerged that Heal Fertility in Central had mishandled embryo biopsy specimens fr...

Hong Kong lawmakers push for 24-hour mandate after IVF embryo sample blunder

Hong Kong lawmakers push for 24-hour mandate after IVF embryo sample blunder

SCMP

Hong Kong fertility clinics should be required to report serious incidents within 24 hours to both the regulator for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and health authorities, lawmakers have said, following an embryo sample mix-up at a centre that went undisclosed for weeks. They urged the government on Wednesday to close the regulatory gap, a day after it emerged that Heal Fertility in Central had mish...

IVF embryo mix-up undisclosed for weeks sparks calls for 24-hour reporting rule

IVF embryo mix-up undisclosed for weeks sparks calls for 24-hour reporting rule

SCMP

Hong Kong fertility clinics should be required to report serious incidents within 24 hours to both the regulator for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and health authorities, lawmakers have said, following an embryo mix-up at a centre that went undisclosed for weeks. They urged the government on Wednesday to close the regulatory gap, a day after it emerged that HEAL Fertility in Central had mishandled ...

New York City races to secure unstable skyscraper after columns buckle, floors sag

New York City races to secure unstable skyscraper after columns buckle, floors sag

SCMP

Workers have started making emergency repairs to stabilise a Manhattan high-rise after buckled columns and sagging floors forced evacuations in and around the midtown construction site. The scene unfolded throughout Tuesday after the precarious conditions were spotted in the morning at the 1970s-era building, which is being converted into luxury flats. Construction workers at the site and people i...

New York City races to secure unstable skyscraper after columns buckle and floors sag

New York City races to secure unstable skyscraper after columns buckle and floors sag

SCMP

Workers have started making emergency repairs to stabilise a Manhattan high-rise after buckled columns and sagging floors forced evacuations in and around the midtown construction site. The scene unfolded throughout Tuesday after the precarious conditions were spotted in the morning at the 1970s-era building, which is being converted into luxury flats. Construction workers at the site and people i...

Hong Kong stocks rise as rallies from Alibaba, SMIC, other tech giants lift market sentiment

Hong Kong stocks rise as rallies from Alibaba, SMIC, other tech giants lift market sentiment

SCMP

Hong Kong stocks extended their gains on Wednesday afternoon as concerns over a wave of lock-up expiries, long seen as a major headwind for the city’s equities, showed early signs of easing, while surging rallies in tech heavyweights lifted broader market sentiment. The Hang Seng Index, which entered the noon break up 2.4 per cent, continued to climb in the afternoon session as of 1.30pm. The Hang...

Hong Kong stocks rebound as concerns ease over lock-up expiries

Hong Kong stocks rebound as concerns ease over lock-up expiries

SCMP

Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Wednesday as concerns over a wave of lock-up expiries, long seen as a major headwind for the city’s equities, showed early signs of easing, while continued strength in technology stocks lifted broader market sentiment. The Hang Seng Index rose 2.4 per cent to 24,057 at the noon break, with technology shares leading broad-based gains despite renewed geopolitical tensio...

In Philippines, solar power becomes ‘practical necessity’ as energy costs soar

In Philippines, solar power becomes ‘practical necessity’ as energy costs soar

SCMP

Joab Jorge runs Dream Latte Cafe, a speciality coffee shop and small-batch roastery, with his mother Ces out of their old ancestral home in Pilar, a town in Bataan province some 180km (112 miles) northwest of Manila. Rising electricity costs and frequent blackouts have put a strain on the business, which has already had to raise prices by 10 per cent to cover higher costs for goods and imported co...

YouTube says Sydney massacre ‘crisis actor’ video can stay online

YouTube says Sydney massacre ‘crisis actor’ video can stay online

SCMP

A Google executive has told an Australian inquiry that a YouTube video falsely claiming a wounded survivor of an antisemitic massacre in Sydney was a crisis actor bloodied with make-up had met the platform’s standards and would remain online. Google Australia manager Rachel Lord was testifying on Tuesday at a government inquiry into the spread of antisemitism in Australia, including an attack by t...

Mainland China court claims jurisdiction over Hong Kong-listed company in investor lawsuit

Mainland China court claims jurisdiction over Hong Kong-listed company in investor lawsuit

SCMP

A mainland Chinese court has claimed jurisdiction over an investor lawsuit against a Hong Kong-listed firm for the first time, with the move likely to increase scrutiny of corporate disclosures. Mainland investors filed the lawsuit with the Beijing Financial Court, alleging that an overseas-incorporated company had failed to disclose irregular loans, unauthorised guarantees and related-party trans...

The missile funding dispute endangering Taiwan’s ‘T-Dome’ air defence plan

The missile funding dispute endangering Taiwan’s ‘T-Dome’ air defence plan

SCMP

Taiwan’s flagship “T-Dome” air defence programme is facing delays, after budget disputes left one of its critical indigenous missile systems without a clear funding source. The island’s opposition-controlled legislature approved a reduced NT$780 billion (over US$24 billion) special defence budget in May, rejecting a larger NT$1.25 trillion package proposed by the government. Among the excluded pro...

Enemy within? The dispute endangering Taiwan’s ‘T-Dome’ air defence plan

Enemy within? The dispute endangering Taiwan’s ‘T-Dome’ air defence plan

SCMP

Taiwan’s flagship “T-Dome” air defence programme is facing possible delays to 2028 after budget disputes left one of its critical indigenous missile systems without a clear funding source. The island’s opposition-controlled legislature approved a reduced NT$780 billion (over US$24 billion) special defence budget in May, rejecting a larger NT$1.25 trillion package proposed by the government. Among ...

Rainy holidays, AC exports: Thailand eyes red-hot business from Europe heatwave

Rainy holidays, AC exports: Thailand eyes red-hot business from Europe heatwave

SCMP

As soaring temperatures fuel demand for cooling in Europe, Thailand is pitching itself as a source of relief, promoting rainy-season holidays while exporting more air conditioners. With tourism and outbound shipments two of the Southeast Asian economy’s biggest drivers, Europe’s heatwaves are creating opportunities on both fronts. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched a campaign encouragi...

How cheap AI is undermining Indonesia’s academic credibility

How cheap AI is undermining Indonesia’s academic credibility

SCMP

Indonesian authorities are widening their investigation into a case of suspected identity and research fraud at an overseas medical conference, which has exposed gaps in academic oversight and revived concerns about abuses in the nation’s system of publication-driven promotion for academia. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology has set up a team to examine papers previously publ...

All coastal tourist attractions urged to close as Super Typhoon Bavi approaches

All coastal tourist attractions urged to close as Super Typhoon Bavi approaches

SCMP

China has called for shelters to stock up with at least three days’ worth of supplies and rolling weather forecasts to be issued, with rescue teams on 24-hour call as Super Typhoon Bavi is predicted to land on the eastern coast between Saturday night and Sunday morning. In a statement on Tuesday evening, the government of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said all departments should be “highly alert” a...

China on ‘high alert’ and bracing for the worst as Super Typhoon Bavi approaches

China on ‘high alert’ and bracing for the worst as Super Typhoon Bavi approaches

SCMP

China has called for shelters to stock up with at least three days’ worth of supplies and rolling weather forecasts to be issued, with rescue teams on 24-hour call as Super Typhoon Bavi is predicted to land on the eastern coast between Saturday night and Sunday morning. In a statement on Tuesday evening, the government of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province said all departments should be “highly alert” an...

China on ‘high alert’ and bracing for the worst as super typhoon Bavi approaches

China on ‘high alert’ and bracing for the worst as super typhoon Bavi approaches

SCMP

China has called for shelters to stock up with at least three days’ worth of supplies and rolling weather forecasts to be issued, with rescue teams on 24-hour call as super typhoon Bavi is predicted to land on the eastern coast between Saturday night and Sunday morning. In a statement on Tuesday evening, the government of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province said all departments should be “highly alert” an...

Woodworkers buried as landslide death toll rises to 21 in weather-ravaged China

Woodworkers buried as landslide death toll rises to 21 in weather-ravaged China

SCMP

A total of 21 people out of 33 have died and seven injured in a landslide in northwestern China, as typhoon, flooding and other geological disasters continue to ravage the country. The victims, who were mostly woodworkers hired to trim trees in Longnan, Gansu province, were buried on Tuesday. Local government said in a press conference that as of Wednesday morning, everyone involved in the inciden...

Is Johor ready for new power balance? Malaysia’s Loke implores voters to curb BN dominance

Is Johor ready for new power balance? Malaysia’s Loke implores voters to curb BN dominance

SCMP

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke says success in Johor’s state polls will be measured by how many seats can be clawed away from Barisan Nasional (BN), imploring voters to seek a better power balance if they want a surer footing with Singapore, the economic powerhouse across the causeway that has soaked up its workers and industry. Loke leads the Chinese-majority Democratic Action Party (D...

Sometimes, it pays to be a backward country

Sometimes, it pays to be a backward country

SCMP

Who would have thought that Leon Trotsky inadvertently offered a theory to explain China’s economic leapfrog into the 21st century after bouncing back from history’s worst famine and the Cultural Revolution? In recent decades, some people thought China was done for and would eventually collapse. They might have done better if they had read at least the first chapter of Trotsky’s The History of the...

Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering financial help

Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering financial help

SCMP

A girl from a disadvantaged rural family in central China topped this year’s gaokao, attracting numerous live-streamers eager to finance her education, which she declined. The home of 18-year-old secondary school graduate Han Yaping in a Henan province village was recently bustling with live-streamers. This attention came after Han achieved an impressive score of 699 out of 750 in the gaokao, Chin...