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China
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Machines now use AI more than humans, boosting cheap Chinese models

Agentic AIs now use five times as many tokens as humans, giving lower-priced models from Chinese firms a competitive edge, analysts say.

Customers work at AGI Bar, an AI-themed bar in Beijing, on August 9, 2026. Photo: AFP

Global Economy

German companies want tougher EU-China policy despite supply chain reliance

Hong Kong Economy

Dairy Queen to return to Hong Kong with 4 stores. Is it scooping up cheap rents?

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Military

Chinese armed trainer jets drive away Philippine aircraft over Scarborough Shoal

At least three JL-10s carrying PL-5 missiles were involved in incident at disputed atoll in what could be a more cost-effective tactic.

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A Chinese JL-10 trainer jet flies over Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday. Photo: CCTV

Military

China, US military commanders snap 2-year break with talks in Canada

Yang Zhibin and Samuel Paparo meet to keep communication lines open between the two armed forces.

Admiral Samuel Paparo (left) and General Yang Zhibin meet on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in Victoria, Canada on Monday. Photo: Handout

China Economy

‘Breakthrough’: Chinese shipyard set to take orders from Nordic cruise operator

Chinese shipyard Waigaoqiao signs MOU with Nordic cruise operator, marking another advance for the rising shipbuilding powerhouse, analysts say.

The Adora Flora City cruise ship under construction at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding on February 27. Photo: Getty Images

Politics

Philippine court orders Sara Duterte to be arrested for threatening President Marcos, his wife

The alleged ‌threats are also among the allegations included in the impeachment ⁠complaint against the Philippine ‌vice-president.

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte speaks during a demonstration outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 29. Photo: AP

Lifestyle

What drives 4 Shaw Prize laureates in pursuit of scientific discovery

In partnership with:The Shaw Prize
Four of this year’s Shaw Prize laureates: (from left) Ken’ichi Nomoto, Stanford Woosley, Camillo De Lellis and Emmanuel Candes.

Diplomacy

China arrests 52 Singaporeans in Guangxi pyramid scheme crackdown

The detentions come amid a broader push by Beijing to curb illicit financial schemes and cross-border fraud networks.

Diagrams from scammers used to explain the alleged pyramid scheme. Photo: CNA

Law and Crime

5 ParknShop and contractor staff who forged pay claims plead guilty to fraud

Hong Kong corruption watchdog says defendants colluded to make pay claims for staff who were not on shift, defrauding retail giant of HK$3.2 million.

A ParknShop supermarket in Jordan. Five former employees of the chain and its contractors have pleaded guilty to defrauding the retail giant. Photo: Jelly Tse

Lifestyle & Culture

Why US soldiers continue to flock to Thailand’s Pattaya

Military links have brought waves of Americans to Thailand since the 1940s, with the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln the latest to visit.

Pedestrians walk past a LED display welcoming the arrival of US service personnel of the USS Abraham Lincoln in Pattaya, Thailand, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
Crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln talk to a souvenir vendor in Pattaya, Thailand, on Thursday. Photo: AP
Visitor use a jet ski in the waters of Pattaya Beach in Thailand as the sun sets on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
US service personnel from the USS Abraham Lincoln pose for a picture with an owl on Walking Street in Pattaya, Thailand, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
People sit near a large LED screen (top centre) welcoming the arrival of US service personnel of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in Pattaya on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Economics

India’s push to secure place in global chip supply has ‘secret weapon’: its people

Building up its pool of design talent can gain it a spot higher up in the value chain by turning ‘Make in India’ to ‘Engineer in India’.

An Indian flag is juxtaposed on an operating chipset. New Delhi has launched the second phase of its mission with a budget of US$13 billion to build an industrial ecosystem spanning chip design to manufacturing. Photo: Shutterstock

Diplomacy

How natural disasters are putting China’s neighbourhood diplomacy to the test

Sudden Himalayan mudslides and Southeast Asian flooding potentially trigger diplomatic friction and highlight need to boost warning systems.

Cross-border disasters, such as the Nepal-China landslide and flooding last week, will test China’s diplomatic relationships with its neighbours, experts say. Photo: AP

Diplomacy

China and South Korea accuse each other of undermining key national principles

Seoul protests about an official reference to ‘two states’ in Korea, while Beijing complains about an art exhibition’s ‘Taiwan Pavilion’.

Mainland Chinese artists announced they were quitting the Gwangju Biennale in protest at the use of the term “Taiwan Pavilion”. Photo: AFP

Tech Trends

Reduced visibility into the ‘thinking’ of OpenAI’s new model sparks safety fears

The Hugging Face breach in July highlights the importance of being able to inspect what models are ‘thinking’, say analysts.

OpenAI said the written reasoning of its new Astra model was 'harder to monitor' compared with the previous generation released in July. Photo: Reuters

China Economy

China signals urgency over construction timelines amid investment decline

The NDRC urges faster work on major projects and the six networks initiative to reverse falling investment.

Workers at a train station construction site for a train station in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images

Banking & Finance

How Hong Kong can cash in as reserve managers rethink where to store gold

City in race to lure bullion custody as geopolitical risks intensify scrutiny of gold storage, Goldman Sachs report says.

Where central banks store gold appears increasingly a growing priority for reserve managers, according to a Goldman Sachs report. Photo: Getty Images

Science

2,000-year-old Roman concrete may offer clues on how Pyramid of Giza was built

Insights into how the ancient concrete grows denser could help create a low-carbon modern version and explain how the Great Pyramid endured.

Hadrian’s Villa, also known as Villa Adriana, in Tivoli, Italy, was built in the 2nd century AD for the Roman emperor Hadrian and is a world heritage site. Photo: Istituto Villa Adriana e Villa d’Este

Military

In Burkina Faso, Sky Dragon 30 missiles point to China’s military export inroads

Chinese weapons are gaining favour as the West African country cuts ties with Western suppliers, analyst says.

A Chinese Sky Dragon 30 surface-to-air missile appears in footage from Burkina Faso’s presidential office. Photo: Facebook/Presidence.bf
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US-China Relations

US urged to consider military strikes to stop China achieving AGI first

Former White House staffer calls for espionage and cyber options as Washington prepares for a potential Chinese breakthrough.

The US and China are competing for global leadership in artificial intelligence as the technology rapidly advances. Photo: Shutterstock
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Opinion
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Cats and mind-full mechanics: what happens when quantum physics meets the brain

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Queen Mary Hospital lift defects raise larger questions for Hong Kong

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China’s robot revolution may not arrive in the way you expect

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Harry’s View | 4 Sep 2026
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Latest

China Economy

‘Breakthrough’: Chinese shipyard set to take orders from Nordic cruise operator

World Opinion

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Banking & Finance

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