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A bookmaker counts money at an archery club in Shillong, India, where men gamble on a game known simply as “shoot arrow”. Photo: AFP
India

‘Families are breaking’: India bans real-money online gaming to fight addiction

India’s online gaming industry is reeling from a ban meant to curb addiction and suicides. Critics warn it could drive gambling underground.

Japan

Japan launches QR codes to locate the nearest vacant restrooms

Huawei

Tech war: Huawei executive claims victory over US sanctions with tech ecosystem

Tencent

Tencent counts on Chinese AI tools demand to lift overseas cloud business

Tencent says there is a lot of opportunities to bring Chinese open-source AI models to overseas clients.

Tencent Holdings senior executive vice-president Dowson Tong Tao-sang, who serves as CEO of the firm’s Cloud and Smart Industries Group. Photo: Edmond So
Health in China

China cracks down on fake medical advice with new rules for health influencers

Industry suggests more than 92 per cent of China’s 1.07 billion short-video users consume health-related information online.

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Kuaishou

Kuaishou to pay first dividend since Hong Kong IPO as AI tools lift results

China’s No 2 short video app operator will pay a special dividend totalling US$256 million.

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India

India to ban ‘harmful’ online money games, threatening US$3.6 billion industry

Gaming firms may challenge the law in the Supreme Court, arguing it was passed without consultation and shouldn’t apply to skill-based games.

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Porters play a game of Ludo online. Companies may challenge India’s new online gaming law, claiming it unjustly targets skill-based games. Photo: AP
Artificial intelligence

China Telecom unit says AI wave drives steady growth in digital services market

China Communication Services sees the proliferation of AI projects accelerating digital transformation across thousands of industries.

Artificial intelligence

Chinese unicorn Z.ai, Alibaba Cloud team up to deploy new AI agent

The Z.ai agent is free and available on the Android and iOS mobile platforms.

United States

‘I am your voice’: Trump White House debuts TikTok account before possible ban

The White House’s app debut seeks to engage youth and address ban fears before impending deadlines to find a new US owner.

A TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of The White House. On Tuesday, the White House launched an account on the app before deadline to find a new owner or face a US ban. Photo: Getty Images
Artificial intelligence

Chinese start-up joins NetDragon-owned Cherrypicks to push AI tech overseas

This venture shows China’s AI ‘go-global’ strategy converging with Hong Kong’s innovation focus, NetDragon vice-chairman Simon Leung says.

The collaboration between Zhongke WengAI and Cherrypicks is expected to further cement Hong Kong’s innovation hub status. Photo: Shutterstock
Russia

Russia restricts calls on Telegram, WhatsApp, accusing apps of law breaches

The curbs are part of Russia’s push for ‘digital sovereignty’, which includes a new state-backed messaging app to reduce dependence on foreign tech.

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Apple

Apple eyes Douyin Pay for China App Store while speculation swirls on new iPhone

The potential addition of Douyin Pay to Apple’s China App Store reflects the continued growth of mobile payment services in the country.

Tencent

Tencent’s second-quarter earnings beat forecasts, bolstered by AI

Net profit rose 16 per cent to 56 billion yuan (US$7.81 billion ) while sales jumped 15 per cent to 184.5 billion yuan.

Tencent’s AI investments are paying off. Photo: Shutterstock
Internet

The You’ve Got Mail era is ending: AOL shuts down dial-up

On September 30, AOL will switch off the phone-line internet service that introduced millions to the web.

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AOL has announced that it’s discontinuing dial-up internet. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Musk says xAI to take legal action against Apple over App Store rankings

The billionaire accuses Apple of making it ‘impossible’ for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach No 1 in App Store rankings.

ChatGPT and other generative AIs

ChatGPT and other AI chatbots’ how-to suicide advice raises big questions

Recent experiment discovers Chat GPT, Google Gemini and other AI tools were quick to give specific self-harm advice, if asked the right way.

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Hong Kong society

US firm says it made Hong Kong student’s award-winning app ‘from scratch’

AI Health Studio co-founder addresses controversy over MediSafe app, which he says was entered into academic contests without firm’s consent.

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A screenshot of MediSafe. A Form Four student from St Paul’s Co-educational College has submitted the app in competitions and has won eight awards in global contests. Photo: Handout
Alibaba

Alibaba debuts loyalty scheme with shopping discounts, hotel perks

The membership programme is designed to drive mutual growth in various Alibaba services by leveraging the firm’s core e-commerce business.

Alibaba

Alibaba unites online shopping, travel booking under new loyalty scheme

Members of the new membership programme will enjoy benefits across a range of Alibaba services, sources say.

Malaysia

Malaysian parents back curbs on ‘brain rot’ excess of social media

Government weighs ban on children below the age of 13 from having social media accounts to protect them from harmful content.

Social media icon apps on a mobile phone. Over the years, Malaysia has progressively imposed stricter laws on social media. Photo: Shutterstock
US-China relations

US commerce secretary says next week’s China trade talks could include TikTok

Without divestment deal for ByteDance, app will go dark in US and ‘those decisions are coming very soon’, Lutnick says.

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US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick participates in a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington July 8. Photo: EPA
Artificial intelligence

Tencent’s AI-powered programming tool fully automates app development

CodeBuddy IDE provides a ‘conversation-is-programming’ approach, enabling even a non-technical user to design and build applications.

DeepSeek

DeepSeek’s chatbot sees a drop in downloads as AI apps for work, education rise

The average monthly download of DeepSeek’s chatbot fell 72 per cent to 22.6 million in the second quarter from the preceding three months.

Artificial intelligence

Manus AI lays off China staff, scrubs social media, shelves mainland service

The start-up has relocated to Singapore with an eye on overseas clients and funding amid heightened US-China tensions.

Manus AI says it has started restructuring its operations after relocating to Singapore. Photo: Shutterstock
TikTok

TikTok urgently pitches Canada security solution to avoid shutdown

TikTok started this month to freeze spending after a directive to close its Canadian unit, which cited national security concerns.

The Tiktok logo on a smartphone. Photo: dpa
Computer hackers

Hacked Elmo X account called for extermination of Jews, US media reports

Antisemitic posts and messages calling Trump a ‘puppet’ of Netanyahu were shared on Sesame Street character’s account by an ‘unknown hacker’.

United States

Musk’s xAI apologises after Grok chatbot praises Hitler

The company blamed the offensive posts on a software update meant to make the artificial intelligence assistant act more like a human.

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