A formal peace deal between Beijing and Taipei should be signed to build trust before discussions on post-reunification political arrangements, a prominent Taiwanese political scientist has argued at a security conference in Beijing. Chang Ya-chung, who heads the Taiwan-based Sun Yat-sen School advocacy group, said the one country, two systems formula, ...

Ant International, the overseas affiliate of Chinas Ant Group, is executing an artificial intelligence overhaul across its entire suite of global financial services, introducing AI agents designed to help manage payments, foreign exchange and treasury operations. Described by the company as its largest-ever product upgrade, the initiative embeds AI-native ...

Tesla officials and engineers have begun auditing part of the firms Chinese supply chain, as Elon Musks company aims to quickly ramp up production of its Optimus humanoid robot after it hits the global market later this year, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Chinese companies set to undergo supplier audits included heat-control component ...

The catastrophic danger posed to cities by nuclear weapons is nothing new. Putting major urban areas at risk across generations is, in fact, the point of these weapons of terror. The practice of doing so is benignly called nuclear deterrence, but it requires holding the cities of adversaries real and imagined under constant threat. The use of even the ...

China may be aiming to equip its sixth-generation fighter jets with laser weapons that experts say could help defend them against incoming missiles. At the 14th China International Defence Electronics Exhibition, held in Beijing from September 15 to 17, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) Beijing Precision Engineering Institute for Aircraft ...

An Australian accused of murdering a teenage girl in Thailand and abandoning her body in a suitcase pleaded not guilty in court on Friday, citing self-defence. Simon Peter Carman, 45, was arrested at a Bangkok airport in June as he prepared to take a flight back to Australia after the 17-year-old victims friend had reported her missing. The young womans ...

A department at Hong Kongs second-oldest university has faced a backlash over asking students to use mainland Chinese messaging app WeChat to register their attendance and keep its location services enabled, later saying the decision was optional. The new policy was revealed after a screenshot of an email from the information engineering department at the ...

Hong Kong will begin recruitment for an artificial intelligence (AI) commissioner in the second quarter of next year to assist in drafting policies for the technology and risk governance, with authorities confident the city does not lack suitable talent. Tech authorities on Friday revealed details of the new post under the Digital Policy Office, which will ...

Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after serving in the role at the conglomerate for more than 50 years. Buffett, 96, will become chairman emeritus and will take on his new role immediately, the company said on Friday. His son, Howard, will become Berkshire Hathaways new chairman, part of a long-planned succession. Howard ...

Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sings use of Mandarin and Chinese philosophy in his speech at a major security forum in Beijing has won him praise on Chinese social media, while shedding light on how cultural familiarity and language can be diplomatic tools for the city state. Videos of Chan at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum quoting ancient philosopher ...

Thailand has moved to make weight-loss pens prescription-only, as a glut of the GLP-1 medicines which mimic the hormones released once someone is full floods the black market and influencers swarm TikTok to extol the quick wins of the simple injections. The Southeast Asian nation, which is never far behind wellness or aesthetic trends and has a notorious ...

The United States has returned cultural relics to China ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinpings coming visit to Washington, a goodwill gesture paving the way for a positive summit and stabilising ties. At the handover ceremony at the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, China received 58 pieces of cultural relics and palaeontological fossils from the ...

Hong Kongs push to develop into a premier gold and commodity trading hub has gained momentum, with local metal storage surpassing 30,000 tonnes, a minister has said, as the administration positions the city as the destination of choice for global capital. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu also said on Friday the ...

Three repeat offenders have been sentenced to up to two years and two months behind bars for stealing 83 Jellycat and Labubu plushies worth a total of HK$115,200 (US$14,770) from a Hong Kong shopping centre last year. The District Court heard on Friday that the three men had stolen the popular merchandise from two claw machine shops at Kwai Chung Plaza on ...

China and the Philippines exchanged blame over a clash on Friday in disputed waters in the South China Sea, further fuelling tensions over the strategic waterway that has become a dangerous regional flashpoint. In a brief statement released on Friday afternoon, Chinas coastguard accused a Philippine vessel of deliberately ramming a Chinese patrol vessel ...

A Chinese professor has ignited controversy after asserting at a university conference that her extreme commitment to research involved sleeping less than two hours a day for a decade, investing two million yuan (US$300,000) of her own money, and completely sacrificing her personal and family life for over 20 years. The public health professor, Lu Chan, ...

Property agent Raymond Heng had suspected True Fitness was struggling, but he did not expect the gym he had visited for more than a decade to disappear overnight. The closure was not entirely surprising given the regions fiercely competitive fitness industry, but its abruptness left Heng, 47, in disbelief after paying S$8,800 (US$6,900) for a lifetime ...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Ken Lau, Managing Director, Greater China, & Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong, said: FWD Hong Kong warmly welcomes the HKSAR Government's publication of the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) and the ...

Nearly one-fifth of surveyed companies in the Asia-Pacific region believe wider adoption of artificial intelligence will reduce their real estate needs, a new study by CBRE has found. More than half 56 per cent held a neutral view, believing either that AI had no impact on office space demand or that it was too early to determine its effect, according to ...

An unusual vessel taking shape at a Shanghai shipyard has been assessed as a possible mothership for Chinas large uncrewed submarines a capability that, if confirmed, could enable Beijing to operate the drones far from its own coast for sustained periods. Open-source naval analyst H.I. Sutton said satellite imagery of the roughly 200-metre (656-foot) hull ...

As Rodrigo Dutertes crimes-against-humanity trial looms, an international tribunal faces the challenge of managing a sprawling prosecution case around the health of an 81-year-old former president of the Philippines, on top of shielding the proceedings from a highly charged media environment. Those pressures came into focus at an International Criminal ...

Chinese artificial intelligence models from seven major developers combined generate only about 10 per cent of the revenue reported for OpenAI and Anthropic, even as investor enthusiasm remains intense, according to US-based research firm Rhodium Group. The Chinese AI models earned an estimated US$10.7 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from March to ...

Doctors in Hong Kong have been urged to arrange blood tests for patients with symptoms of chikungunya fever, regardless of their travel history, after the city recorded its first local case of the mosquito-borne disease this year. The Centre for Health Protection issued a reminder to doctors on Thursday after a 55-year-old woman with no recent travel ...

North Koreas underground nuclear tests have triggered a chain of seismic events, activating ancient fault lines that stretch towards one of the most dangerous volcanoes on Earth, about 100km (62 miles) away, according to a paper published by the journal Science. The joint Chinese and South Korean study, which appeared on Thursday, found that the five ...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has drawn a clear line against any US request for Seoul to join the war against Iran, explicitly ruling out the dispatch of troops or military assets that could involve his country in the conflict. The stance comes amid mounting public opposition to any military deployment and growing pressure from Washington for Seoul ...