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The Project Aura eyewear from Xreal and Google is expected to compete with other augmented reality spectacles from the likes of Meta Platforms, Orion and Artemis. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Meet Chinese start-up Xreal, Google’s partner in AR glasses project

Project Aura provides a big boost to Xreal’s credentials in the smart glasses arena, while widening its reach in the international market.

Alibaba

Alibaba lands US$250 million convertible bonds deal with selfie app giant Meitu

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s online porn crackdown nets 380,000 content removals

Science

China makes first 5G satellite-to-phone video call. Will it defy TikTok curbs?

Breakthrough enabling streaming video content directly to phones via satellites would face significant regulatory, technology hurdles, experts say.

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The technology that allowed a satellite-to-smartphone broadband video call using 5G standards could theoretically enable streaming video content directly to phones via satellites, but it faces significant hurdles. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong society

Half of Hong Kong organisations audited by watchdog collect personal data using AI

Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data says most of the organisations have contingency plans for data breaches.

Wellness

How social media can be terrible for teens and the people fighting back

Phone and social media use have led to a youth mental health crisis and transformed teens’ lives but schools and governments are stepping in.

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Tencent

How AI investments are paying off for Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent

Tencent CEO Pony Ma says strategic AI investments ‘create value for users and society’, while generating substantial returns for the firm.

Tencent Holdings’ artificial intelligence capabilities have made tangible contributions to its businesses. Photo: Shutterstock
Old Hong Kong

Then & Now | It’s in the mail: how postal services shaped global communication

In the not-so-distant pre-digital age, poste restante services provided a vital lifeline to home for generations of travellers.

E-commerce

Beijing tells food delivery giants to simmer down as feud gets too hot to handle

Five government agencies, led by the State Administration for Market Regulation, urged the instant commerce giants to follow competition regulation.

Artificial intelligence

Alibaba pushes global adoption of Qwen3 AI models via more developer platforms

The Qwen3 family of AI models can now be deployed via large language model platforms Ollama, LM Studio, SGLang and vLLM.

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The Qwen3 AI model family’s expanded availability reflects Alibaba Group Holding’s growing leadership position in the global open-source community. Photo: Shutterstock
Social media

Asia-Pacific takes the lead in fight to regulate Big Tech for children

From Australia’s under-16s ban to Malaysia’s licensing demands, the region is blazing a trail to protect young users from online harms.

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A combination of photos shows the logos of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on mobile devices. Photo: AP
Thailand

Lisa’s Thai fans lash out at rapper Azealia Banks after transphobic tirade

Banks’ offensive social media meltdown exploded into a racially-charged online battle with the K-pop star’s Thai supporters.

India

Indian woman’s ‘extremely creepy’ online job hunt sparks cyber abuse concerns

Women say they are subjected to inappropriate behaviour during online work interviews, with one even getting molested.

Semiconductors

Nvidia modifies H20 chip for China to overcome US export controls: sources

Chinese customers have been notified by Nvidia that it aims to release the downgraded version of the H20 chip in July, sources say.

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China accounted for US$17 billion in revenue, or 13 per cent of Nvidia’s total sales, in the firm’s financial year ended January 26. Photo: Shutterstock
Alibaba

Alibaba teams up with social media platform RedNote in fresh e-commerce push

The cross-platform alliance allows consumers to find products via RedNote, which redirects them to buy the goods on Taobao and Tmall.

RedNote had more than 300 million monthly active users in 2024. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s Qwen3 unseats DeepSeek’s R1 as world’s top-ranked open-source AI model

Qwen3 surpassed R1 in LiveBench tests that gauge open-source AI models’ capabilities including coding, maths and data analysis.

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New Zealand

First Australia, now New Zealand eyes social media ban for under-16s

Worried about cyberbullying and harmful content, New Zealand’s PM is pushing for a ban modelled on the one Australia is introducing.

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China economy

My Take | China’s ‘instant commerce’ is no fast fix for low consumer spending

Consumers love instant delivery of everything from clothing to everyday items, but no amount of convenience will address China’s demand problem.

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A delivery courier takes a brake on his scooter in Shanghai on April 28. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong tourism

Call for Hong Kong to fix border internet issues, protect rural areas

Measures suggested by observers after train Wi-fi networks became overloaded and littering increased in parks during ‘golden week’ holiday.

United States

US professor teaches Assassin’s Creed trolls a lesson by killing with kindness

Narrative adviser Sachi Schmidt-Hori became the target of backlash by gamers who did not like the idea of a ‘woke’ Black African samurai.

E-commerce

Alibaba launches Taobao fast-delivery service ahead of schedule

The early introduction of the service reflects heightened domestic demand for efficient and affordable delivery of goods ordered online.

For Taobao, China’s largest online marketplace, fast delivery is a means to help boost sales amid slow consumer spending on the mainland. Photo: Shutterstock
Millionaires and billionaires

Meet DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang, who grew up in Hong Kong

Tang was born in Japan and grew up in Hong Kong before moving to California; he was a successful internet entrepreneur by the time he was 15 and co-founded DoorDash while a student at Stanford.

Hong Kong-American entrepreneur and co-founder of DoorDash, Stanley Tang, with his wife Gloria Zhu. Photos: @stanleytang/Instagram
Dating

The new dating trend in China? Live-streamed video chats

In China, busy young singles are meeting in group video chats hosted by a cyber matchmaker with others watching, and some are finding love.

Vietnam

Vietnam targets social media users in ‘crackdown’ on dissent: rights group

Human Rights Watch reports ordinary social media users now face jail for criticising the state under Article 331.

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Artificial intelligence

Chinese tech giants race to expand AI services market via open-standard protocol

China is seeing growing adoption of the model context protocol, which has become a de facto standard for AI integration.

The open model context protocol enables artificial intelligence agents to connect with third-party online tools, data sources and systems. Photo: Shutterstock
Japan

Sex tourists flock to Japan’s red-light area, lured by weak yen, social media

Money pressures are forcing women to offer cheaper services, further adding to Kabukicho’s attraction, shelter says.

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Advertisements for entertainment clubs are reflected in the window of a passing car in the Japanese red-light area of Kabukicho in Tokyo. Photo: AFP
United States

US judge rules Google monopolised online ad markets in antitrust case

Google will now face the possibility of two different US courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices.

India

Musk’s SpaceX set to transform India’s space sector with Jio and Airtel tie-ups

Reliance Jio and its rival Bharti Airtel have signed separate deals with SpaceX to bring the Starlink internet service to India.

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