54 m. ago China expels former intelligence official Gao Yichen from Communist Party for corruption

Former top Chinese intelligence official Gao Yichen has been expelled from the Communist Party for corruption after being accused of receiving bribes and interfering with judicial matters. Gao, 75, former vice-minister of the Ministry of State Security, was found to have “seriously violated party discipline”, according to an official announcement by top anti-corruption watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Tuesday. He also served as deputy director of the party’s...

Politics

3 h. ago China signals global AI push as MiniMax CEO joins meeting with Premier Li Qiang

The CEO of Chinese artificial intelligence company MiniMax met Premier Li Qiang on Monday, becoming the second representative from a foundational AI model developer to meet with the national leader after Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, a year ago. The appearance of 36-year-old Yan Junjie along with eight other leading figures from China’s business, culture and education spheres underscored the rapid ascent of the newly minted billionaire, who steered his company founded just four years ago...

Politics

3 h. ago First contact: in quest for water on the moon, Chinese team flags risk in touching ice

China’s Chang’e-7 mission this year will be the world’s first to attempt to sample and directly measure water on the moon, but just touching lunar ice could mean losing it, a team of scientists warns in a new paper. Its spacecraft is expected to touch down near the rim of Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole, where it will deploy a rover and hopper to search for ice. While water could support long-term human activity on the moon, from providing drinking water and oxygen to producing rocket...

Events

4 h. ago The Chinese Island Where Dreams of Real Estate Glory Never Die

The Chinese Island Where Dreams of Real Estate Glory Never Die  The New York Times

Events

4 h. ago Chinese Policymakers Look Focused on Domestic Demand to Lift Economy

Chinese Policymakers Look Focused on Domestic Demand to Lift Economy  The Wall Street Journal

Events

4 h. ago 7 years’ jail for Singaporean who sexually assaulted jobseeker after dinner

A man reached out to a 21-year-old woman who had declined a job offer from his employer and arranged to meet her for dinner in Singapore. After dinner, they went to a park where the man went into the woman’s toilet cubicle and sexually assaulted her and attempted to get her to perform sex acts on him. The assault was stopped only when the man heard footsteps outside and left in a hurry. The sex offender, 34-year-old Singaporean Choy Zisheng, was sentenced on Monday to seven years’ jail and four...

Events

4 h. ago Academic innovation can help budding entrepreneurs overcome future challenges

As globalisation and technological advancements continue to reshape the way we live and work, educational institutions must also evolve to help equip students with the right mindset and skills to tackle the challenges in our rapidly changing world. Academic innovation has been the guiding principle at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), in the city of Suzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, which is an international, research-focused joint venture between Xi’an Jiaotong University...

Politics

5 h. ago Don’t expect Greenland crisis to realign EU with China, former US diplomat says

While there may be hopes in Beijing that Washington’s attempt to acquire Greenland has strained transatlantic ties and might draw European countries closer to China, a veteran US diplomat said such a fundamental realignment was unlikely. The core task of the European Union’s foreign policy will remain navigating intensifying US-China rivalry while seeking a workable balance between the two, according to William Klein, a former charge d’affaires at the US embassy in China. Addressing a seminar at...

Politics

5 h. ago Chinese exports of rare earth magnets to Japan fall in December

Chinese exports of rare earth magnets to Japan fall in December  Reuters

Politics

5 h. ago DeepSeek technique to improve AI’s ability to ‘read’ long texts questioned by new research

A group of researchers from China and Japan has challenged a method unveiled several months ago by Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek that was designed to improve AI’s ability to handle long blocks of text, marking a rare case of the company’s research being publicly questioned. The DeepSeek-OCR (optical character recognition) method, designed to compress text by using visual representations, potentially revolutionising how AI models handle long texts, was flawed due to...

Science

7 h. ago As U.S. orders fade, Chinese salespeople face tough grind in new markets

As U.S. orders fade, Chinese salespeople face tough grind in new markets  Reuters

Economics

7 h. ago Singapore’s retail ownership data sparks debate about foreign chains’ influence

When Singapore’s trade minister Gan Kim Yong revealed that locals owned nearly 90 per cent of registered retail businesses in the city state while Chinese nationals came in second at a distant 3 per cent, the figures drew mixed reactions from the public and analysts. The discourse online centred on what the statistics implied – critics felt that though the proportion of foreign-owned entities, especially from China, might be minuscule, most could actually be big brands with multiple outlets,...

Politics

7 h. ago 2 Chinese nationals in Malaysia face US$392,000 tax bills after employer fraud

Two Chinese nationals working in Malaysia are facing income tax bills amounting to 748,073.84 ringgit (US$184,595) and 842,118.84 ringgit, respectively, after their employer allegedly used their identities to submit false salary information to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN). Li Juan, 42, discovered the issue when she tried to extend her work permit, while the other victim, Chen Bi Ling, 40, who was married to a Malaysian, found out about it when she was extending her spouse’s visa. Speaking at...

Economics

10 h. ago Chinese automotive suppliers speed up localisation to increase global market share

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) supply chain vendors are adding another dimension to their go-global drive: designing batteries and lidar sensors for models by international marques that cater to overseas drivers. As leading players like BYD secure mega deals with major carmakers like Ford, Chinese automotive suppliers that once trailed their global peers are now stamping their authority on the EV sector. Chinese vendors were enjoying an overwhelming advantage over their international rivals in...

Politics

10 h. ago Chinese automotive suppliers speed up localisation to boost global market share

Chinese automotive suppliers speed up localisation to boost global market share  South China Morning Post

Politics

10 h. ago Syria deal with Kurdish fighters appears to unravel as Islamic State prisoners escape

Around 1,500 Islamic State members escaped from Syria’s Shaddadi prison on Monday, the Kurdish website Rudaw reported, quoting a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Earlier, the Syrian army said “a number of” Islamic State (Isis) militants had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control in the eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them. The prison break took place a day after a sweeping deal was announced between the Syrian government and the...

Events

10 h. ago Syrian deal unravels as sides clash and Isis prisoners escape

A day after a sweeping deal was announced between the Syrian government and the country’s main Kurdish-led force, the agreement appeared to be falling apart on Monday. After new outbreaks of clashes Monday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces issued a statement calling for “all of our youth” to “join the ranks of the resistance”. “Just as our comrades in 2014 forged a historic resistance in Kobani and turned it into a graveyard for (the Islamic State group) ... today we affirm with the same...

Events

11 h. ago Ford bemoans Chinese EV deal, says he still hasn't spoken to Carney

Ford bemoans Chinese EV deal, says he still hasn't spoken to Carney  CBC

Politics

12 h. ago Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney cuts tariffs on Chinese EVs in deal with China

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney cuts tariffs on Chinese EVs in deal with China  Fox Business

Politics

12 h. ago Poverty rates have plunged, but can we all live like the Swiss by 2100?

In 1900, most people lived without electricity, antibiotics or universal education. Today, life expectancy is decades longer, literacy and access to medicine are near universal in many regions, and hundreds of millions have entered the global middle class. This progress was built through science, industry, public health, education and the hard work of ordinary people who believed tomorrow could be better. The question now is whether humanity can achieve a still more audacious goal: a world in...

Politics