World

The weaponisation of critical materials was not a bridge that Beijing crossed in the early years of its trade war that began with Washington in 2018. But China has grown more confident, and leadership has shifted from hesitation to measured assertiveness on critical-material controls, as demonstrated in its actions this year amid trade tensions with Washington, according to Morgan Stanley …

Moscow has urged the international community to be uncompromising in the fight against terrorism Russia has offered condolences to the victims of the blasts in Delhi and Islamabad that killed at least 25 people, and urged the international community to be uncompromising in the fight against terrorism. READ MORE: India and Pakistan spar after blast rocks Islamabad Russian Foreign Ministry …

Ant International has released an open sourced foundational AI model called Falcon to help customers forecast cash flow and foreign-exchange exposure, as one of the world’s largest fintech companies puts artificial intelligence front and centre in its priorities to spur growth. The Falcon TST model could help customers including airlines, online travel agents and e-commerce platforms forecast their cash flow …

Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has broken his silence after Vladimir Putin was left humiliated last month when Donald Trump cancelled their high-level meeting in Budapest. In late October, a session between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was postponed after it became clear that the Russian President was not ready to make concessions …

European nations are arming themselves at an alarming rate, Aleksandar Vucic has warned A direct military confrontation between Western nations and Russia is becoming unavoidable, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has warned, citing widespread rearmament efforts across Europe. Speaking during a televised interview on Tuesday, Vucic said the possibility of such a war is no longer hypothetical, pointing to an acceleration …

A humanoid robot “walking and looking like Vladimir Putin” took an embarrassing tumble on its debut outing. Russia’s first AI-powered anthropomorphic android waddled onto the stage while the soundtrack from the film Rocky played at its presentation in Moscow. It managed a wave before crashing face down, scattering several pieces across the stage. Embarrassed minders rushed to rescue the robot, …

After last month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) events in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province – which saw up to 19,000 police officers deployed daily from across South Korea – Kim Keon-pyo, director of the Korean National Police Workers Council, said the reports he received from officers on the ground were far from commendable. “They said they were treated like homeless people,” …

New Delhi has rejected allegations of a role in a suicide attack, calling them an effort to “concoct false narratives” India has denied Pakistani allegations of involvement in a suicide bomb attack outside a district court complex in Islamabad that killed at least 12 people on Tuesday. A day earlier, an explosion had left more than a dozen dead in …

A couple who moved permanently to the south of France after their wedding day discovered that what initially seemed like a great idea had turned into a nightmare. Rachel Hosie said she and her husband moved to the Côte d’Azur shortly after getting married, hoping to make a home for themselves in the popular holiday region. Moving in part because …

A Hong Kong court has granted absolute discharge to a 93-year-old plastic surgeon for the unlawful killing of a top banker during a botched Botox injection seven years ago, concluding that no other sentencing option is suitable for him in light of his advanced dementia. The High Court said on Wednesday the only practical way to dispose of Dr Franklin …