56 m. ago Tencent seeks collaboration with other major AI developers to improve tech for vulnerable users

Researchers at Tencent Holdings are looking to collaborate with other major artificial intelligence developers to improve how most generative AI services, such as chatbots, interact with the elderly, left-behind children and other vulnerable users in society. Specialised data sets can make AI services more helpful to vulnerable users who have become progressively reliant on them for emotional support and health assistance, according to Lu Shiyu, a senior researcher at Tencent Research Institute...

Politics

10 h. ago Forget the Great Wall: Xiaomi factory becomes one of China’s hottest tourist attractions

Forget the Great Wall: Xiaomi factory becomes one of China’s hottest tourist attractions  Ynetnews

Politics

15 h. ago Indonesian plane with 11 people missing, search and rescue under way

A regional passenger aircraft carrying 11 people lost contact with ground control on Saturday while approaching a mountainous region between Indonesia’s main island of Java and Sulawesi island, officials said. A search and rescue operation is under way. The turboprop ATR 42-500 operated by Indonesia Air Transport was on the way from Yogyakarta to the capital city of South Sulawesi when it vanished from radar, said Endah Purnama Sari, a spokesperson for the transportation ministry. The plane was...

Events

20 h. ago Chinese man earns US$39,000 in 2 years teaching adults to ride bicycles amid surging demand

A master’s degree student in China, who has taught hundreds of adults and children to ride bicycles over the past two years and earned 270,000 yuan (US$39,000) from it, recently went viral on social media. The man, whose surname is Li, is a third-year master’s degree candidate at Shanghai University of Sport (SUP) majoring in sports education, as reported by the news outlet The Cover. Li shared that years ago, he and a friend recognised the demand for bike-riding instruction and decided to...

Politics

29 h. ago Musk’s xAI sued over Grok deepfakes – this time, by mother of his child

The mother of one of Elon Musk’s children is suing his AI company, saying its Grok chatbot allowed users to generate sexually exploitative deepfake images of her that have caused her humiliation and emotional distress. Ashley St Clair, 27, who describes herself as a writer and political strategist, alleged in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in New York City against xAI that the images have included a photo of her fully dressed at age 14 that was altered to show her in a bikini, and others showing...

Politics

42 h. ago As families shrink, our primary relationship is increasingly with ourselves

More than 2,300 years ago, Aristotle mused in Politics that to live alone, a man must be a god or a beast, or words to that effect. I wonder what he would have thought of the popularity of China’s “Are You Dead?” app. For Aristotle, we are social animals, thriving in the “polis” in the company of family, friends and fellow citizens. The average mother had at least five children. Many homes housed three, even four, generations. Family life was noisy and crowded, full of companionship, contest and...

Politics

3 d. ago Japan woman mocked for ‘ugly’ looks, resists cosmetic surgery, transforms with make

A 50-year-old Japanese woman, who was mocked for being “ugly” as a child, has shunned cosmetic surgery and spent 13 years taking more than 30,000 selfies to study make-up, skincare and fashion. The ridiculing left Kozue Sakurada with deep emotional scars, but her persistence has inspired countless people online. A male classmate once stared at her and repeated the word “ugly” to her face 10 times. Other boys even made up a parody of a children’s song to mock her large nose. By her early...

Politics

3 d. ago Musk’s Grok barred from undressing AI images after global backlash

Elon Musk’s platform X on Wednesday announced measures to prevent its AI chatbot Grok from undressing images of real people, following global backlash over its generation of sexualised photos of women and children. The announcement comes after California’s attorney general launched an investigation into Musk’s xAI - the developer of Grok - over the sexually explicit material and multiple countries either blocked access to the chatbot or launched their own probes. X said it will “geoblock the...

Politics

3 d. ago China midwife accidentally severs baby’s middle finger, results in reattachment surgery

Social media in China has been shocked and outraged by a midwife who cut off a newborn baby’s finger when severing his umbilical cord during a caesarean section. The infant boy was born on the morning of December 25, at Xuyi County People’s Hospital in Jiangsu province, eastern China. Two hours later, his father was told by doctors that the child’s left middle finger had been snipped by accident during the surgery, the Red Star News reported. The baby then faced two hospital transfers before...

Politics

3 d. ago FBI raids home of US journalist who reported on Trump firings

FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of an investigation into sharing secret government information, officials said, in a move that press advocates said threatened journalistic freedom. The reporter, Hannah Natanson, has covered US President Donald Trump’s campaign to fire hundreds of thousands of federal workers and shift remaining workers to implementing his agenda. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents had executed the search at the request...

Politics

3 d. ago China Online Travel Leader Trip.com Stock Sinks On Antitrust Probe

China Online Travel Leader Trip.com Stock Sinks On Antitrust Probe  Investor's Business Daily

Politics

3 d. ago Indonesian comic hit with blasphemy complaints over Netflix jokes

A police complaint against one of Indonesia’s best-known comedians has reignited debate over satire, blasphemy and free expression in the world’s third-largest democracy. The case involves 46-year-old stand-up comic and actor Pandji Pragiwaksono, whose Netflix special Mens Rea – an unfiltered performance touching on politics, law and democracy – was recorded in Jakarta before an audience of around 10,000 people on December 30. Pandji’s routine pokes fun at Indonesia’s political elite, taking aim...

Events

3 d. ago Old Beijing Bus Children's Park in Changping, Beijing by XISUI Design

Old Beijing Bus Children's Park in Changping, Beijing by XISUI Design  we-heart.com

Politics

3 d. ago Why are Chinese tourists spending less overseas than before?

Chinese tourist numbers are recovering across Asia after a pandemic-era contraction, buoyed by the expansion of visa-free policies and a stronger yuan. But one thing has not returned: the spending sprees that used to boost duty-free retailers around the world. The trend can be clearly seen in South Korea, which relied on Chinese travellers for 70 per cent of its duty-free sales before Covid-19. Around 5 million visitors from China arrived in the country during the first 11 months of 2025, a...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Structurally hurt’: why are Chinese tourists spending less overseas than before?

Chinese tourist numbers are recovering across Asia after a pandemic-era contraction, buoyed by the expansion of visa-free policies and a stronger yuan. But one thing has not returned: the spending sprees that used to boost duty-free retailers around the world. The trend can be clearly seen in South Korea, which relied on Chinese travellers for 70 per cent of its duty-free sales before Covid-19. Around 5 million visitors from China arrived in the country during the first 11 months of 2025, a...

Politics

3 d. ago PH boat ‘ignores’ China radio challenge at Scarborough – Beijing

PH boat ‘ignores’ China radio challenge at Scarborough – Beijing  Inquirer.net

Politics

4 d. ago Crane collapses on moving train in Thailand, killing at least 22

A crane at a China-backed high-speed railway project in Thailand collapsed onto and derailed a passenger train on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring scores, local authorities said. Footage from the scene showed the crane’s broken structure resting on giant concrete pillars, with smoke rising from the wreckage of the train below. Rescuers worked to extract passengers from the tilted carriages in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast of the capital, Bangkok. “At around 9am, I heard...

Events

4 d. ago Registered births in Hong Kong hit record low in 2025, ending 2

The number of registered births in Hong Kong plunged to a record low of 31,714 in 2025, despite a range of government incentives to encourage families to have more children, ending two years of growth, the Post has learned. The figure was also well below the government’s target of increasing births by 20 per cent from the previous historic low recorded in 2022. Experts and parents said the government needed to tackle the underlying causes of the city’s low birth rates. “Those incentives were...

Events

4 d. ago Singapore urged to expand Johor SEZ to Indonesia to deepen Asean integration

A special economic zone between Singapore and the Malaysian state of Johor (JS-SEZ) should include Indonesia’s Riau Islands to ramp up the region’s allure to global investors, an apex business chamber and leading accounting firm have said, ahead of the city state’s budget address next month. As part of its 18 top recommendations, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which has more than 32,000 members, and PwC Singapore on Monday said expanding the zone to include the Indonesian islands of...

Politics

4 d. ago I travelled to Beijing in search of the enigmatic city my great

I travelled to Beijing in search of the enigmatic city my great-grandparents knew  The Telegraph

Politics