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ByteDance AI model usage grows over tenfold amid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

ByteDance saw usage of its Doubao large language models (LLMs) rise more than tenfold this year, as more enterprises in China adopt artificial intelligence to increase productivity and reduce operating expenses, according to the head of its cloud computing services unit. “AI is being adopted at an unprecedented speed, and how to make better use of it has become a question all businesses have to answer well,” Tan Dai, president of ByteDance cloud unit Volcano Engine, said in Shanghai on...

In Malaysia, uproar over mall’s pet-friendly policy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

A newly opened shopping centre in Malaysia has reversed an attempt to brand its indoor space as pet-friendly after an online backlash, a reaction that underscores the sensitivities around dogs in public spaces in the Muslim-majority country. Sunway Square Mall in Selangor, which opened on December 12, said on Thursday that pets are banned from its enclosed retail areas. Instead, pets are allowed at a designated outdoor zone and supervised routes through a car park in the mall’s basement. The...

Cambodia and Thailand tell China’s Wang Yi they’re...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Cambodia and Thailand have expressed willingness to de-escalate and cease fire following recent border clashes, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, also the country’s deputy prime minister, and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow made the comments in separate phone conversations with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, according to the ministry. The Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers briefed Wang about the latest...

French doctor Frederic Pechier jailed for life for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

A French court on Thursday sentenced a doctor to life in jail for poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, reportedly in an attempt to discredit colleagues. Frederic Pechier, 53, worked as an anaesthetist in two clinics in the eastern city of Besancon, when patients went into cardiac arrest in suspicious circumstances between 2008 and 2017. Twelve could not be resuscitated. Pechier’s youngest victim, four-year-old Teddy, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil

Wall Street Journal accuses Hong Kong union head of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has accused the head of a Hong Kong journalists’ union of abusing the legal process by holding the newspaper criminally liable for her dismissal only after her “extortionate” HK$3 million (US$385,500) proposal for settlement was rejected. Lawyers for Dow Jones Publishing Co (Asia) told Eastern Court on Thursday that Selina Cheng Kar-yue’s complaint alleging the American news outlet violated Hong Kong labour laws was driven by private interests and bad

South Korea’s police chief removed for supporting...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday formally removed the country’s impeached police chief for deploying hundreds of officers to support ousted former president Yoon Suk-yeol’s brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. The court said Cho Ji-ho “actively disrupted” legislative activities by deploying hundreds of police officers to the National Assembly and trying to block lawmakers from reaching the main chamber to vote to lift Yoon’s decree. Cho also infringed upon the...

China’s Hainan launches separate customs regime...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

China’s southern Hainan province implemented a separate customs regime on Thursday, as Beijing seeks to develop the island into an offshore financing and duty-free hub and position it as a strategic hedge against rising external trade barriers. The new customs regime creates two distinct customs boundaries for Hainan: one separating the island from overseas markets, and another dividing it from the rest of mainland China. Most overseas goods entering the island – which is roughly the size of...

Manus hits US$100 million revenue milestone as global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Manus, the high-profile artificial intelligence agent launched by Chinese founders, has crossed US$100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) nine months after launch, the company said on Wednesday. The achievement makes it the “fastest growing start-up”, the former China-based team, now headquartered in Singapore, claimed in a blog post, with total revenue run rate now exceeding US$125 million. “We’ve been growing at more than 20 per cent month-over-month since the release of Manus 1.5,

Experts warn Indonesia not to rebuild in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Indonesia is pressing ahead with plans to restore parts of Sumatra devastated by a late November cyclone, pledging billions of dollars and a new coordinating body, even as experts warn that rebuilding in the same area risks a repeat of the disaster. Flash floods and landslides that hit Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra on November 26 killed more than 1,050 people and left 192 missing, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). The disaster displaced about 577,600

China influencer imitating Blackpink’s Rosé provokes...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

A Chinese influencer’s imitation of Rosé from the South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink at a pop-up shop has ignited an online debate over fan culture and celebrity identity. Rosé, who is known for her unique voice and versatile singing style, has more than 80 million followers on social media. The Korean-New Zealand singer’s career skyrocketed with the success of her solo track APT, after which she signed with top agency WME. A Chinese influencer called Daisy who identifies as a “blink”,

Hong Kong to become Asia’s leading aircraft recycling...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Hong Kong’s leader has vowed to turn the city into a leading Asian hub for aircraft recycling and parts trading, with a new locally based training centre set to offer four aviation technician courses next year. The Aircraft Engineering Training Centre was jointly launched on Thursday by the Airport Authority’s Hong Kong International Aviation Academy and French aeronautical services company the Elior Group, a subsidiary of the Derichebourg Group. Attending the launch ceremony, Chief Executive...

The Chinese University of Hong Kong appoints veteran...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

A leading university in Hong Kong has appointed a veteran academic administrator to be its vice-president in administration – the third person in the role in as many years – after his predecessor resigned less than twelve months after taking up the position.Albert Chow Hing-pong’s tenure at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) will begin in the first half of 2026 for a term of three years, according to a statement issued by the institution on Thursday. “I look forward to leveraging my...

Flat owners hit by Hong Kong fire to receive annual...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Flat owners displaced by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in seven decades will receive an annual subsidy of HK$150,000 (US$19,280) each to rent homes in the private market, under the latest government relief measure. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing‑hing on Thursday also said that both flat owners and tenants of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po would receive a one‑off subsidy of HK$50,000 to support their relocation. Thousands of displaced residents are currently living in hotels, youth hostels or...

Thai-Cambodia border conflict intensifies with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Cambodia said Thailand’s military on Thursday bombed the casino town of Poipet, a major crossing between the two nations, as foreign powers pressured them to halt reignited border clashes. Thai forces “dropped two bombs in the area of Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey Province” at around 11am on Thursday, the Cambodian defence ministry said in a statement. Thailand has not yet confirmed any strike on Poipet – a bustling casino hub popular with Thai gamblers. The renewed fighting between

As trade deficit mounts, is EU offering China what it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Facing an ever-increasing trade deficit with China, Europe has limited options to balance the situation in the short term even though it still holds an edge in key sectors including pharmaceuticals, machinery and components, analysts said. China’s global trade surplus hit an all-time high of US$1.076 trillion in the first 11 months of this year, despite a decline in exports to the United States following US President Donald Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs. A lot of China’s redirected

China FM Wang Yi reaffirms Beijing’s backing for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

China extended its support to Venezuela and opposed “unilateral bullying” in a foreign ministers’ phone call on Wednesday amid rising US pressure on the South American country. Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil that China and Venezuela were strategic partners and that mutual trust and support were a tradition of bilateral ties. In a veiled swipe at the US, Wang said “China opposes all forms of unilateral bullying and supports countries in safeguarding their...

Hong Kong fire: Indonesian helper ‘was always there’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Indonesian domestic worker Desi Widiana had spent half her life in Hong Kong, caring for other people’s families while her own waited thousands of kilometres away. Now, her relatives in Sambi village in East Java are waiting again – this time for her final homecoming. Widiana, 40, was among nine Indonesian domestic helpers killed in a massive fire that tore through Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 26, leaving at least 160 people dead and thousands homeless. She had

Hong Kong logistics group’s CEO buys US$17 million...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

A top executive of a multinational logistics group has bought a luxury flat in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels West for HK$132 million (US$16.9 million), adding to a growing list of wealthy buyers acquiring high-end homes as prices soften. Cherry Hill Investment, an entity linked to Arnold Lee, acquired the 2,772 sq ft, four-bedroom apartment at The Legacy, jointly developed by Henderson Land Development and New World Development, according to Land Registry records. The transaction was completed on...

Japan demands response from Finland over beauty...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Japan’s top government spokesman on Thursday expressed concern over images posted online of the winner of a beauty pageant and some lawmakers in Finland showing them pulling back the corners of their eyes, a gesture widely regarded as racially offensive to Asian people. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara also said at a press conference that Japan expects the Finnish government to “appropriately respond” to the matter, which has been dubbed the “slanted eyes” scandal by Finnish

Hong Kong unveils its first blueprint to develop...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/18

Hong Kong has launched its first blueprint for the Chinese medicine sector’s development, with authorities seeking to raise the competence of practitioners and product standards as part of efforts to enhance the industry’s status. The “Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint”, unveiled by the government on Thursday, covered five key categories: services, the profession itself, development areas, cultural inheritance, and going global. It also outlines eight goals and 20 actions to promote the...

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