2 h. 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

3 h. ago As Trump’s threat grows, Greenlanders plot exit plan: ‘I’m thinking about where to hide’

Ulrikke Andersen has already made a plan. If the United States invades Greenland, she will flee her home with her daughter. “Before, I was ready to die for my country but when I had a kid that changed everything,” she said. The 40-year-old is one of many residents of the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, now weighing up options they would never have considered just a few months ago. But US President Donald Trump has been clear about his desire to seize the vast, self-governing Danish island, rich in...

Politics

5 h. ago Weiqi masters, fans brave snow to bid final farewell to legendary Weiqi Sage Nie Weiping

Weiqi masters, fans brave snow to bid final farewell to legendary Weiqi Sage Nie Weiping  Global Times

Sport

6 h. ago Beijing’s first snowfall of 2026 continues as nationwide cold wave possibly brings widespread snow and ice

Beijing’s first snowfall of 2026 continues as nationwide cold wave possibly brings widespread snow and ice  Global Times

Politics

6 h. ago Trump’s Greenland bid might force EU to stop placating him and fight back

US President Donald Trump’s fixation on Greenland offers an ice-cold reminder to leaders in Europe and abroad: no deal is ever final. Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff, rising to 25 per cent in June, on eight European nations, including Denmark, for saying they would undertake token Nato military exercises in Greenland in response to US sabre-rattling. While the tariffs are not certain to take effect, the threat was a brazen escalation and insult to close US allies, trampling over the US-EU...

Politics

7 h. ago This year, Hong Kong must resolve to rewrite the script for retirement

Looking back at 2025, the city made meaningful strides in supporting its retirees. The government expanded the Elderly Health Care Voucher and Community Care Service Voucher schemes, and invested HK$2 billion (US$256.47 million) in an elderly and rehabilitation technology fund. It also announced 30 measures for the silver economy and formed the Working Group on Ageing Society Strategies to improve cross-bureau coordination. These efforts helped launch the long-awaited Q-Mark Silver Scheme,...

Politics

16 h. ago Trump hits Denmark and other Nato allies with tariffs to force Greenland sale

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would charge a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations, all Nato members, because of opposition to US control of Greenland. He said in a social media post that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, which would be raised to 25 per cent on June 1 if a deal was not in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the...

Politics

16 h. ago Trump hits Denmark and 7 other Nato allies with tariffs to force Greenland sale

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would charge a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations, all Nato members, because of opposition to US control of Greenland. He said in a social media post that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, which would be raised to 25 per cent on June 1 if a deal was not in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the...

Politics

16 h. ago Trump hits Denmark and 7 other Nato allies with tariffs for opposing US on Greenland

Opening a new front in his worldwide tariff onslaught, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 10 per cent import tax on the United Kingdom and six European countries for opposing his plan to purchase Greenland and that the rate would more than double if they did not let him acquire the Danish territory. His announcement on social media two weeks to the day after he abducted Venezuela’s president from Caracas marks the latest chapter in a tumultuous start to 2026, even by...

Politics

17 h. ago Beijing slams US senators for ‘malicious’ bill targeting Hong Kong trade offices

Beijing’s foreign affairs arm in Hong Kong has “strongly condemned” a group of US senators for pushing what it calls “malicious legislation” that seeks to strip the city’s trade offices in the United States of their special privileges and potentially force their closure. A spokesman for the Commissioner’s Office of the Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said the senators’ move exposed their “deep-rooted ideological prejudice” and “Cold War mentality”. “Any attempts to smear Hong Kong’s freedom and...

Events

18 h. ago Before Maduro’s capture in Venezuela, US spoke with minister who is his loyal ally

Trump administration officials had been in discussions with Venezuela’s hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello months before the US operation to seize the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and have been in communication with him since then, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The officials warned Cabello, 62, against using the security services or militant ruling-party supporters overseen by him to target the country’s opposition, four sources said. That security...

Politics

21 h. ago China’s AI and EV boom drives record power demand, widening energy gap with US

China’s total electricity consumption hit a record high of 10.4 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, more than double that of the US, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Saturday. The 5 per cent jump from the previous year marked the first time in China’s history that annual electricity consumption had surpassed 10 trillion kWh – the highest in the world and more than the combined total of the European Union, Russia, India and Japan, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing NEA...

Politics

21 h. ago As Trump urges cap on credit card rates, could China follow suit for online loans?

US President Donald Trump’s call for American credit card interest rates to be capped at 10 per cent for a year has sparked a debate in China about whether Beijing should impose a similar limit on online loans. The discussion comes as many in China – especially younger people – are being enticed by credit offers amid a weak job market and a boom in online loan services. “Apps now keep luring young people into borrowing,” a finance blogger with nearly 500,000 followers wrote in a social media...

Politics

24 h. ago China woman shares civil service life in Iceland, admires culture that respects choices

China woman shares civil service life in Iceland, admires culture that respects choices  South China Morning Post

Politics

25 h. ago New carrier rocket built by Beijing company fails in maiden flight

New carrier rocket built by Beijing company fails in maiden flight  China Daily

Events

28 h. ago Joyful ice skating at the Summer Palace as Beijing welcomes first snowfall of 2026

Joyful ice skating at the Summer Palace as Beijing welcomes first snowfall of 2026  Global Times

Politics

33 h. ago Over 100 dead in torrential rains and floods across southern Africa

Army helicopters rescued people stranded on rooftops and hundreds of tourists and workers were evacuated from one of the world’s biggest game reserves, as torrential rains and flooding in three countries in southern Africa killed more than 100 people, authorities said on Friday. The death toll across South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe is an accumulation after weeks of heavy rains. Weather services issued warnings that more rain was on the way, possibly bringing more destructive...

Events

41 h. ago China’s charm offensive: Beijing bypasses Brussels in bid to soften EU trade push

Hua Chunying, China’s foreign vice-minister, beamed this week as she presented a leading Czech lawmaker with a decorative porcelain plate – a gift that signalled a possible thaw in ties between Prague and Beijing. The image sent tongues wagging in Europe: a symbol that a new Chinese charm offensive towards a Europe jilted by its erstwhile ally across the Atlantic had reached even its most hawkish capitals. China has spent the opening weeks of the year courting European governments, offering...

Politics

42 h. ago UK teen who praised Southport murderer jailed for possessing al

A British teenager who praised the killer of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event and said he planned to bomb British rock band Oasis’ reunion concert was sentenced to detention on Friday for possession of an al-Qaeda manual. McKenzie Morgan, 18, was arrested at his home in Wales after sending messages on the social media platform Snapchat in which he praised Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three girls and stabbed 10 others in July 2024, prosecutor Corinne Bramwell...

Events

43 h. ago Uganda election: Bobi Wine under house arrest amid violence claims, Museveni nears 5th term

Uganda’s opposition said its leader Bobi Wine was under house arrest on Friday, after an election that also saw a member of parliament accuse security forces of killing 10 people at his home. President Yoweri Museveni, 81, is seeking to extend his 40-year rule of the east African country and has been accused of “brutal repression” of the opposition. Uganda’s Electoral Commission said on Friday that Museveni was on 75.4 per cent to Wine’s 20.7 with close to 60 per cent of votes counted. Final...

Events