Category: China

Alibaba Group Holding’s new multipurpose artificial intelligence app, Qwen, recorded more than 10 million downloads in the first week of its public beta launch, faster than OpenAI’s ChatGPT or DeepSeek, the company said on Monday. The strong debut of Qwen, launched last week, augured well for the Chinese tech conglomerate’s efforts to establish a major AI assistant that would rival the performance of Google’s Gemini chatbot and ChatGPT, both of which are not available in mainland China. The Hong… Source link

The US is poised to supply Saudi Arabia with its most advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets, a move that analysts say reflects a new era of Middle East policy in which countering Chinese influence is fast becoming as important for Washington as maintaining Israeli military superiority. It would make Saudi Arabia only the second country in the region, after Israel, to operate the fifth-generation jet. US President Donald Trump announced the decision following a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s visiting… Source link

A Chinese drone maker has secured 1,600 orders for industrial models at the recently concluded Dubai Airshow – marking the largest ever single-order deal for the country’s manufacturers at the biennial event, as its companies target emerging markets. The deal, secured by Shenzhen-based United Aircraft, covered industrial drones used for low-altitude logistics, medical deliveries and agricultural applications in the United Arab Emirates and other markets, local outlet SZnews.com reported. The… Source link

A joint declaration at the Cop30 summit in Brazil – struck without United States participation after Washington withdrew from the Paris climate pact – has kept fragile climate cooperation alive for the Global South even as the meeting fell short of a fossil fuel phase-out. Observers said the outcome revealed both the limits of strained multilateralism and the room that still existed for developing nations to influence the global transition, with several pointing to the UN climate change summit’s… Source link

An Australian man who rushed at Wicked star Ariana Grande during a premiere in Singapore has been deported and barred from re-entering the country. “Johnson Wen was deported to Australia on November 23, 2025 and has been barred from re-entering Singapore,” the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said on Sunday. The 26-year-old was on November 17 sentenced to nine days’ jail for public nuisance. In sentencing, District Judge Christopher Goh told Wen that he was “attention-seeking” and that he… Source link

The renowned European electronic music festival, Tomorrowland, made its China debut in Shanghai on Saturday. Held for the first time indoors, the electronic dance music (EDM) festival drew thousands of ravers to the Hero Dome. Many say the EDM genre has become mainstream in China’s music scene. Source link

The race to develop artificial intelligence has pushed governments and technology giants to build new electricity plants and upgrade their decades-old grid networks, creating significant opportunities for Chinese power equipment companies, according to analysts. Chinese firms have been benefiting from the spillover of a US order boom, which was driven by US President Donald Trump’s push for tech leaders like Meta and SoftBank to invest in AI infrastructure. “The US buys products from Japan and… Source link

Australian far-right senator Pauline Hanson wore a burka to parliament on Monday as a political prop in her push to ban the Muslim garment in public, sparking accusations of racism from Muslim senators over the stunt. Hanson wore the burka shortly after she was denied permission to introduce a bill that would outlaw burkas and other full-face coverings in public places in Australia. It was the second time Hanson had used the head garment, worn by some Muslim women, in parliament in an effort to… Source link

More than two months after a mass poisoning at a Bali hostel left a young Chinese traveller dead and scores of guests violently ill, the incident remains mired in conflicting accounts and uncertainty. Many of the lingering questions are due to the possibility of overlapping causes behind the tragedy, with medical experts pointing to an unusual mix of symptoms that could reflect severe food poisoning, mismanaged fumigation or both. Amid the scrutiny, the hostel at the centre of the incident has… Source link

Wingtech Technology, the Chinese owner of Nexperia, said it had received no meaningful reply after reaching out to the Dutch chipmaker’s headquarters for talks. “It is deeply regrettable and puzzling that, despite our utmost sincerity, the Dutch side of Nexperia has not made any substantive response to our proposal for communication,” Wingtech said on Sunday. The Shanghai-listed company did not disclose the details of its outreach efforts, but urged Nexperia’s headquarters to present “a… Source link

A Chinese woman who recently recovered from injuries she suffered in an assault by a stranger in a public toilet has been diagnosed with leukaemia, attracting widespread sympathy on social media. The 22-year-old, known as Xu, first came to public attention when she was savagely beaten by a man of the same age in Yongkang, Zhejiang province, eastern China on October 30, 2022. The assault, which lasted more than 20 minutes, left Xu with serious injuries to her head and eyes. She also lost teeth in… Source link

Malaysia’s plan to bar children aged 16 and under from having social media accounts from next year has sparked a public backlash, as experts warn that enforcement gaps, privacy risks and vague guidelines could blunt the policy’s impact. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Sunday that social media platforms would be required to implement electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) identity checks in 2026 under the Online Safety Act, which comes into force on January 1. Users will have to verify… Source link

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged Germany to stand by a rational and pragmatic China policy and focus on common interests in his meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who plans a state visit next year. “We hope the German side will adhere to a rational and pragmatic China policy, rule out interference and pressure, focus on shared interests and consolidate the foundation for cooperation,” Li told Merz on Sunday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South… Source link

Sanae Takaichi gets no meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang at the G20 in Johannesburg after her comments about Taiwan sent tensions soaring When she selected her wardrobe for this weekend’s G20 summit in South Africa, Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, took extra care to choose something that – in her words – would “give her the upper hand” in negotiations. But she never got the opportunity to test the theory in what would have been her most pressing engagement – talks with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, aimed at easing a deepening diplomatic row between the north-east Asian…

Plans for a new nationwide UK digital ID are sparking widespread public concern, but some critics including far-right politicians are fuelling fears with unproven claims that it will be used to boost government control over people’s lives. They have warned that a digital ID would be used to store data on vaccinations and carbon footprint and limit access to flying and food, which the government has vehemently denied. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September said the ID card would be… Source link

The race to develop artificial intelligence has pushed governments and technology giants to build new electricity plants and upgrade their decades-old grid networks, creating significant opportunities for Chinese power equipment companies, according to analysts. Chinese firms have been benefiting from the spillover of a US order boom, which was driven by US President Donald Trump’s push for tech leaders like Meta and SoftBank to invest in AI infrastructure. “The US buys products from Japan and… Source link

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Disaster’: Egyptian exhibition at Hong Kong museum descends into chaos 2. ‘Limited alternatives’: why Japan will struggle to replace China’s tourists 3. Malaysia’s poorest state prepares a poll shock for the prime minister 4. China team simulates large-scale electronic warfare against Musk’s… Source link

North Korea’s wealth gap is reportedly widening, as luxury goods circulate among affluent border residents while ordinary citizens face growing extreme poverty. Economic disparities in areas near the Chinese border have become more pronounced compared with the period before trade resumed, according to Daily NK on Friday. In cities such as Hoeryong in North Hamgyong province and Hyesan in Ryanggang province, cross-border commerce through customs offices has increased, and the number of high-end… Source link

More than two years after launching its economic security strategy and with the world swept up in economic warfare, the European Union still cannot decide what economic security means. Despite this, under the strain of US tariffs and Chinese export controls, the bloc is preparing to unveil a new “economic security doctrine” in early December, which will provide bureaucrats with a dashboard of all the weapons at its disposal and the levers to pull – even as progress on its 2023 strategy appears… Source link

Seven runners’ personal belongings are still missing after a chaotic baggage collection process at the Kerry Hong Kong Streetathon, which the organiser blamed on a Wi-fi system failure. Andes Leung Pak-hang, CEO and co-founder of event organiser RunOurCity, apologised on Monday for the chaos, which left runners scavenging through thousands of bags for hours after the race to find their belongings. Leung said the team had wanted to “race against time” and decided to use a new technology this year… Source link

The Indian Navy marks a milestone on Monday with the launch of its first locally made anti-submarine ship, but it still faces a naval capabilities gap compared with arch-rival Pakistan, which is set to acquire potent Chinese-made submarines. The core issue is the Indian Navy’s long-standing failure to modernise its conventional submarine fleet, analysts say. This leaves India vulnerable to the new-generation, air-independent propulsion (AIP) equipped Hangor-class vessels that Beijing is… Source link

For most of her life, 59-year-old farmer Tip Kamlue has irrigated her fields in northern Thailand with the waters of the Kok River, which flows down from neighbouring Myanmar before joining with the Mekong River that cuts through Southeast Asia. But since April, after authorities warned residents to stop using the Kok’s water because of concerns over contamination, Tip has been using groundwater to grow pumpkins, garlic, sweetcorn and okra. “It’s like half of me has died,” Tip said, standing by… Source link

Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last week have escaped and have been reunited with their parents, the Catholic Church and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday. But around 253 of the kidnapped children, along with 12 staff members and teachers, are still with the kidnappers, said CAN Chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school. In a statement, Yohanna said the pupils escaped on Friday and… Source link

China’s top defence university is piloting a scheme that allows PhD students to graduate with a product or design instead of a thesis in an effort to solve “bottleneck” engineering problems amid the tech race with the United States. Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) – dubbed one of China’s “Seven Sons of National Defence” because of its contributions to defence research and technology – is exploring new approaches to fostering engineers. These include removing traditional academic papers as a… Source link