TAIPEI, Taiwan – The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has grown “exponentially,” and urged talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “communication” with North Korea and that Washington “may do something” with Pyongyang. “I have been saying that we need to engage,” said Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. “You cannot have a country like this which is completely off the…
Day: April 23, 2025
Why China’s robot makers are unfazed by US tariffs: ‘we’re the only supplier’
At China’s largest trade expo, a group of buyers crowds around an automated cafe, watching eagerly as a pair of robotic arms fixes a latte. Advertisement The robotic cafe has already racked up orders worth 8 million yuan (US$1.1 million) over the first two days of the Canton Fair in Guangzhou – more than its makers had dared to expect. “To our surprise, the enthusiasm from buyers this year has been overwhelming,” said Han Zhaolin, the founder of Dolphin Robot Technology. “Buyers from Vietnam to the Middle East showed a…
SK Hynix profits double on memory chip stockpiling ahead of US tariffs
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Chipmaker SK Hynix’s quarterly operating profit has more than doubled on strong sales of advanced memory chips used in artificial intelligence products, amid stockpiling ahead of looming US tariffs. Analysts said SK Hynix toppled arch-rival Samsung Electronics as the world’s biggest dynamic random-access memory (Dram) chipmaker for the first time during the first quarter. Operating profit rose 158 per cent to Won7.44tn ($5.2bn) in the first three months of this…
Eat, prey, eat: fossil find in China reveals unusual dinosaur-mammal food chain
A remarkable fossil discovery in northeastern China has revealed a twisted prehistoric food chain – a dinosaur species that devoured a mammal, which itself may have preyed on dinosaurs. Advertisement The findings, detailed in a study published in National Science Review, highlight a complex predator-prey dynamic between dinosaurs and mammals 125 million years ago. The fossilised remains of Huadanosaurus sinensis – a newly identified compsognathid-like theropod dinosaur – were found in Liaoning province in what is known as the Yixian geological formation, a treasure trove of Early Cretaceous fossils. The…
South Korea’s GDP falls as political turmoil hits consumption
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. South Korea’s economy contracted in the first quarter, with political turmoil hitting consumer sentiment in Asia’s fourth-largest economy while business concerns grew over President Donald Trump’s tariffs on exports to the US. South Korean GDP fell 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter in the first three months of this year, according to data released by the Bank of Korea on Thursday, hours before senior ministers were set to launch trade…
South Korea GDP falls as political turmoil hits consumption
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. South Korea’s economy contracted in the first quarter, with political turmoil hitting consumer sentiment in Asia’s fourth-largest economy while business concerns grew over President Donald Trump’s tariffs on exports to the US. South Korean GDP fell 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter in the first three months of this year, according to data released by the Bank of Korea hours before senior ministers were set to launch trade talks with…
China’s ‘involution’ trap is hurting nation’s competitiveness, state media warns
Chinese state media has refreshed its calls for local-level governments and businesses to refrain from unhealthy, exhausting competition that is feared to be damaging the competitiveness of the nation’s economy, as the issue remains a headache for Beijing. Advertisement A self-defeating cycle of excessive competition – known as neijuan, or involution – has remained prevalent, distorting market dynamics and hindering sustainable growth, the Economic Daily warned in a commentary on Wednesday, as the issue has been a focal point in the past year. Explaining the term as “the harder you…
How Chinese citizens can prepare for travel to the United States
The tariff war between the world’s two largest economies has not only raised uncertainties about trade, it has also generated unease in China about travel to the United States. Advertisement So much so that Beijing is urging citizens looking to travel to the US to be cautious and has issued two travel warnings for the United States, citing “the deterioration of Sino-US economic and trade relations, and the domestic security situation” in the country. Canada, Germany, Britain and Australia have updated their travel advisories following reports of their citizens being…
InDrive ride-hailing app faces deletion in Laos
Ride-hailing app inDrive is under risk of being scrapped in Laos after recent reports of sexual assaults by drivers that raised concerns over a lack of safety provisions for users, state media say. A 15-year-old girl reported to police that she was sexually assaulted by an inDrive operator after she booked a journey on Saturday in the capital, Vientiane, from the bus terminal to her workplace. Screen from InDrive rideshare app Screen from InDrive rideshare app (InDrive) Police in Vientiane told RFA that they are aware of the complaint. It…
North Korea orders schools to breed more rabbits to feed army
Authorities in North Korea have ordered schools across the country to raise more rabbits to supply and feed its army or face punishment, sources told Radio Free Asia. Ahead of the 93rd founding anniversary of North Korea’s armed forces on Friday authorities have launched inspections of rabbit breeding farms in schools across the communist country, demanding they increase the livestock supplied to local army units. Reeling from persistent food shortages since the mid-1990s, the North Korean regime has been actively promoting the raising of “grass-fed” livestock like rabbits and goats…