96 m. ago Google hit with US$3.45 billion EU antitrust fine over adtech practices

Alphabet’s Google was hit with a €2.95 billion (US$3.45 billion) EU antitrust fine on Friday for anticompetitive practices in its lucrative adtech business, marking its fourth penalty in its decade-long fight with EU competition regulators. The move by the European Commission was triggered by a complaint from the European Publishers Council and comes amid a threat by US President Donald Trump to retaliate against the European Union for any push against Big Tech. The EU competition enforcer had...

Economics

2 h. ago Singapore must be Asia’s gateway, uphold social mobility at home: president

Singapore must remain a reliable base and a gateway to Asia’s dynamism in an increasingly divided world, while addressing social mobility and cohesion at home, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday. Tharman, a former cabinet minister, was speaking at the opening of the 15th parliament in Singapore, during which the city state’s president addresses MPs on key issues in the fresh five-year term. He noted that the new parliament was opening amid a more fragmented world where economic...

Politics

2 h. ago Why China and Russia are unlikely to move the Power of Siberia

Why China and Russia are unlikely to move the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline forward  Atlantic Council

Politics

3 h. ago Was Philippine police chief sacked for rejecting ‘overpriced’ gun deal?

A controversy over an alleged overpriced firearms deal has intensified in the Philippines, with insiders claiming that national police chief Nicolas Torre III was removed from his post for rejecting a proposed procurement of 80,000 assault rifles – a transaction some believe was padded by billions of pesos. While officials framed Torre’s dismissal as an administrative matter, multiple sources told This Week in Asia he was sacked for rejecting the “overpriced” 8 billion Philippine peso (US$140...

Economics

5 h. ago Taiwan holds back on penalties for Victory Day parade supporters

Taipei authorities have taken a softer line on Taiwanese individuals attending Beijing’s Victory Day military parade this week, despite repeated warnings in the weeks leading up to the event. Former Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu defied the warnings and appeared on the rostrum overlooking Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, watching the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The next day, Liang Wen-chieh, deputy minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said...

Politics

5 h. ago The Global AI Rules Race: China’s Strategic Response to US Tech Dominance

The Global AI Rules Race: China’s Strategic Response to US Tech Dominance  Geopolitical Monitor

Politics

6 h. ago China’s ‘silent sanction’ on US semiconductors creates a weapons generation gap

In addition to the spectacle of Wednesday’s military parade in Tiananmen Square, with its rows of never-before-seen weapons and equipment, was a less visible but highly consequential shift. At its heart lies China’s growing dominance in gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology, giving it a strategic advantage that is reshaping the global arms race, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics. “Behind this technological advancement lies a ‘hidden thread’...

Events

8 h. ago China never targets any third party in developing diplomatic relations with any country: FM

China never targets any third party in developing diplomatic relations with any country: FM  ecns.cn

Politics

8 h. ago Chinese man detained for ‘inappropriate comments’ about Victory Day parade

A man in the central province of Hubei was detained for allegedly making “inappropriate comments” about China’s Victory Day military parade and spreading rumours. According to cyber police in the city of Xiangyang, the 47-year-old man, surnamed Meng, made slanderous and derogatory remarks on Wednesday while commenting on a social media post about the parade held in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. When others expressed patriotic sentiment, Meng “insulted them and...

Politics

8 h. ago Thai parliament elects Anutin as new PM, ending political stalemate

Anutin Charnvirakul, a prominent construction tycoon and political conservative, has been chosen as Thailand’s next prime minister, capping a week of extraordinary political upheaval that saw the removal of his predecessor and the sudden flight of divisive billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra. Anutin, 58, secured a clear majority in Friday’s parliamentary vote, surpassing the 247-vote threshold required for victory in the lower house. His triumph was bolstered by the unexpected support of the...

Politics

8 h. ago Hong Kong should crack down on illegal medical practices, DAB party urges

Hong Kong authorities should step up efforts against illegal medical practices, the city’s largest political party has urged, after the organisation received about 100 complaints related to non-professionals allegedly offering pain relief services. Lawmaker Chan Wing-kwong of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said on Friday that some of the services cost tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars – more expensive than the treatments provided by registered...

Events

9 h. ago Kenya’s plan to switch debt payments from US dollars to yuan is a ‘win

Kenya’s plan to convert its US dollar-denominated Chinese debt to yuan is a “win-win”, as it is expected to reduce interest payments for the African nation while advancing China’s goal of increasing the global use of its currency, according to analysts. The deal would be precedent-setting and could establish a new rule book for future debt restructuring and possibly cut reliance on the US dollar. In late August, Kenya’s Treasury announced that talks with the Export-Import Bank of China were at...

Economics

9 h. ago Hong Kong activist wins appeal against riot conviction after trial judge’s error

A former Hong Kong political activist has won an appeal against his riot conviction due to the trial judge’s error in allowing prosecutors to substantially alter their allegations midway through proceedings. The Court of Appeal on Friday ordered the dismissal of Alvin Cheng Kam-mun’s conviction over his alleged role in the violence at Polytechnic University at the height of the 2019 anti-government protests. Cheng, who now runs a logistics company, was an assistant to former opposition lawmaker...

Events

9 h. ago Qantas Airways penalises CEO over data breach with bonus cut

Australia’s Qantas Airways said on Friday it had lowered bonuses for its CEO and her team as the airline shoulders responsibility for a hacking incident that breached personal data of millions of customers. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson will receive A$6.3 million (US$4.09 million) for the year to June 30, including a short-term bonus of A$2.04 million, trimmed by A$250,000 as part of the penalty, its annual report said. The total pay figure remains a fraction of the A$23.9 million received by former...

Politics

10 h. ago Hong Kong father suspected of murdering his 2 children has depression: court

A Hong Kong father who allegedly killed his two young children before a failed suicide attempt last month is suffering from depression, a court has heard. Salesman Chen Guocheng, 40, appeared in Kowloon City Court for the first time on Friday to face two counts of murder, as prosecutors asked for a 12-week adjournment for police to conduct further inquiries. A psychiatric report issued by Queen Elizabeth Hospital found Chen to be suicidal but fit to attend hearings, the court heard. Deputy...

Events

10 h. ago Hong Kong father suspected of murdering his children has depression, court hears

A Hong Kong father who allegedly killed his two young children before a failed suicide attempt last month is suffering from depression, a court has heard. Salesman Chen Guocheng, 40, appeared in Kowloon City Court for the first time on Friday to face two counts of murder, as prosecutors asked for a 12-week adjournment to allow police to conduct further inquiries. A psychiatric report issued by Queen Elizabeth Hospital found Chen to be suicidal but fit to attend hearings, the court heard. Deputy...

Events

10 h. ago ByteDance moves chip staff to Singapore unit in internal rejig

ByteDance has transferred its semiconductor team, comprising about 1,000 employees, to an existing Singapore-incorporated subsidiary, Picoheart (SG) – a change that was reflected in the internal directory – according to the company and staff. The Beijing-based company notified affected employees last week about the transition and moved their internal messaging accounts on the enterprise collaboration tool Feishu – known internationally as Lark – to a separate entity this week, said a source who...

Politics

11 h. ago Ukraine’s drone pilots are ‘killing for points’ as war becomes gamified

Rubik, a Ukrainian military drone pilot, had tracked the every move of one particular Russian soldier for weeks, with the promise of earning at least six points for killing him. In a war increasingly dominated by drones, Ukraine’s military has launched a new score-based purchasing system for units to replenish their stocks, and Rubik - his military nickname - was looking to help his brigade cash in. On the “Brave1” platform launched by Ukraine’s digital transformation ministry, new drones for...

Events

11 h. ago Rail life story? Cartoon featuring South Korea’s Yoon returns to comics festival

A controversial cartoon featuring South Korea’s disgraced former first couple Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee is set to be displayed in public again this month, three years after its initial showing was cut short under government pressure. Yoonsukyeolcha by Park Se-eun from Chonnam Arts High School will be included in the annual Bucheon International Comics Festival as part of a retrospective show of prize-winning works from 2021 to 2025, the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency announced on Wednesday,...

Politics

13 h. ago Thaksin leaves Thailand ahead of court ruling that could see him jailed

Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a sudden and surprising departure from the country on Thursday, just five days before a court ruling that could open him up to a new prison sentence. His exit came a week after the Constitutional Court removed his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, from her position as prime minister. The court found her guilty of an ethics violation for a politically compromising phone call with Cambodian Senate president Hun Sen. Parliament was set to...

Events