Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based maker of quadruped and humanoid robots, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghais Star Market, seeking to raise 4.2 billion yuan (US$610 million) as revenue and profits surge on the back of rising interest in embodied artificial intelligence. The listing application has been formally accepted by Shanghais ...

US air strikes may have weakened Irans ability to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, but in the short term it is probably too risky to provide a military escort for oil tankers because of the threat from drones and mines, according to Chinese analysts. Multiple media reports have said the United States was considering the use of ground troops to open the ...

Indias move to supply Bangladesh with diesel as fuel prices soar amid the Iran war reflects its first responder role in the region and clout through the use of its critical commodities to deepen ties with neighbouring states. If the fuel shortages were to persist, however, India would have to balance between its own energy demand and that of its neighbours, ...

As the Philippines forms partnerships with several countries to harness its potentially huge wealth of critical minerals, analysts have called for a coherent road map to develop the countrys mining industry to globally competitive standards. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnrs administration has signed multiple agreements over the past months, including a ...

If you think the Israeli-American war of aggression against Iran is bad, it could get a lot worse. For the first time, a senior American official has openly acknowledged that Israel possesses nuclear warheads and could deploy them in the war. Israel is getting hit harder than theyve ever been hit before in their history, said David Sacks, the White Houses ...

Taiwans two main opposition parties are set to join forces in local elections, a midterm contest this autumn that analysts say could lay the groundwork for potential cooperation in the 2028 leadership race to challenge the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The elections, scheduled for November and commonly known as the nine-in-one elections, will ...

Global concerns are rising over the fate of ships and crews trapped in the Strait of Hormuz amid the intensifying Middle East conflict, as reports spread that Iran is rolling out screening processes and steep transit fees for vessels using the waterway. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) called for the establishment of a safe maritime framework ...

People across Japan have recoiled in shock over US President Donald Trumps joke about the attack on Pearl Harbour in the presence of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the White House, perceiving the incident as an insult to a long-time ally of Washington. On the other hand, Takaichi has received praise for her measured response even as she stiffened visibly ...

The mayor of the southwestern metropolis Chongqing has been put under investigation by Chinas top anti-corruption agency. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) issued a statement on Friday saying that Hu Henghua, mayor of Chongqing and deputy secretary of its municipal committee of the Communist Party, was under investigation for serious ...

An unwell Chinese woman working away from home has received a care package from her concerned parents which contained a whole cow. On March 7, a woman posted a video of herself receiving the heavy package at her home in Beijing. She says in the video that the package, sent from her hometown in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, contains a whole cow. The ...

Hong Kongs Security Bureau has apologised for an advertising blunder in its anti-drug campaign, after a banner in a railway station appeared to encourage the use of illegal substances when viewed from certain angles. The bureau addressed the issue in a social media post on Friday, a day after an internet user circulated a photo of the poorly placed advert ...

Hong Kong police have arrested 13 people from a local syndicate on suspicion of laundering more than HK$113 million (US$14.4 million) using the governments iAM Smart app. The force said on Friday that nine men and four women, aged between 38 and 75, allegedly used victims iAM Smart accounts to launder money through mule bank accounts. The syndicate placed ...

As Hainan pushes ahead with its free-trade port, the tropical island is emerging as a potential rival to Hong Kongs long-standing role as a regional shopping and low-tax hub even as both sides signal interest in closer cooperation. Since launching a separate customs regime three months ago, Hainan now a gateway to the Chinese market has positioned itself ...

A fire at a car parts factory in South Koreas central city of Daejeon injured at least 55 people on Friday, with officials warning the toll could rise. The National Fire Agency said 24 were seriously hurt in a blaze likely caused by an explosion. Officials could not immediately confirm whether any of the injured were in life-threatening condition. Nam ...

Firefighters battled a blaze at a giant oil refinery in Kuwait on Friday after a fresh drone attack as Iran kept up a wave of strikes on its neighbours and vowed there was no concern about its missile production. Despite calls for an end to targeting Gulf energy infrastructure by European leaders on Thursday, Kuwait reported a fire at its Mina Al-Ahmadi ...

If there is a thread that provides coherence to Donald Trumps mad emperorship, it is the frenetic invention of new, evermore dramatic diversions: no week can be allowed to pass without new melodrama that erases the chaotic melodramas of weeks past. Nor can a week be allowed to pass without the seeds being sown for next weeks melodramas. This week it is ...

Chinese stocks have emerged as outperformers in the latest oil shock, reversing their reputation as laggards, as crude takes a back seat to renewable fuels in the worlds second-largest economy. The CSI 300 Index of stocks trading on the mainlands exchanges has dropped 3.1 per cent since the US and Israel began attacks on Iran on February 28, outperforming ...

World-renowned life scientist Shu Xiaokun has received numerous awards and significant funding from the US government over the past two decades. Earlier this year, he was appointed the prestigious Toby Herfindahl Endowed Chair professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), capping a career that included pioneering fluorescent protein tools ...

Alibaba Group Holding unveiled the preview version of its most powerful artificial intelligence model to date, solidifying its position as Chinas leader in the race to catch American giants like Anthropic, Google and OpenAI. Qwen3.5-Max-Preview, the flagship model of Alibabas Qwen 3.5 family, is now available on Arena, formerly known as LMArena, a model ...

Five people have been jailed and another 20 arrested as part of a Hong Kong Immigration Department crackdown on illegal employment this week. The department said on Friday that it had raided 23 locations, including restaurants, cleaning companies and commercial buildings, as part of an operation that ran from Monday to Thursday. Those arrested comprised 19 ...

At least 16 US military aircraft have been lost since the start of the war with Iran, including 10 Reaper strike drones hit by enemy fire and a half-dozen other planes badly damaged in attacks or accidents. The most serious losses were because of accidents: three US F-15s downed by friendly fire in Kuwait, and a KC-135 tanker destroyed during a refuelling ...

AstraZeneca said it would establish drug manufacturing facilities in Guangzhou and Shanghai as well as a separate innovation centre in Shanghai, joining a group of foreign players building new plants in China amid geopolitical tensions. The moves are part of a US$15 billion commitment the British firm pledged to make in the worlds second-largest drug market ...

Beneath the powder snow at internationally popular Japanese ski resort Niseko, anxiety is mounting among residents over soaring prices and a massive influx of overseas workers. At a time when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is talking tough on immigration, upscale Niseko has never been more popular with seasonal workers, investors and skiers from across the ...

An emerging form of therapy in China has stirred controversy over blurred boundaries by using sensory tools, touch and hugging to ease clients stress. Mainland media reports say workshops and services centred on intimate touch have spread across social media since late last year. In quiet, softly lit rooms, intimate touch therapists offer what they describe ...