Month: January 2026

In remarks published by the Jack Ma Foundation on Tuesday, former English teacher Ma said the dawn of the AI era posed a challenge for rural education, but also presented an opportunity to “return to the fundamentals of education”. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. “In the AI era, the question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to teach our children to use AI well,” Ma told teachers in a video conference call. Advertisement “Education should no longer be about making children compete with AI in…

China should consider following the US’ lead by investing in low-cost guided munitions to counter future mass drone warfare, according to a Chinese military magazine. The article said that in 2023, when the Houthis mounted attacks costing less than US$2,000 per shot, the US launched a large number of SM-2/6 missiles, each costing more than US$2.5 million, with the total American outlay rising to a “highly disproportionate” US$1 billion. Advertisement In response, the US was working on various cheaper long-range munitions – an idea that the People’s Liberation Army could…

In the global shift towards carbon neutral mobility, a striking role reversal is taking shape. China, often seen as a top-down planner, has emerged as a pragmatic, market-responsive architect of new energy vehicle (NEV) policy. Europe, a champion of climate ambition, is seemingly executing a retreat amid a disconnect between ambition and reality. The planned dilution of the European Union’s ban on new combustion-engine cars by 2035 to a carbon dioxide output reduction target of 90 per cent is more than a technical tweak; it reflects a recalibration towards constrained,…

After nearly two decades of efforts, the European Union and India have formally concluded negotiations in New Delhi for a free-trade deal, shoring up the 27-member bloc’s ambitions to diversify trade ties while navigating tariff pressure from Washington and a ballooning deficit with Beijing. The agreement, announced on Tuesday and praised by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as “the mother of all trade deals”, is poised to reduce or eliminate tariffs on 96.6 per cent of the EU’s exports to India, by value. Pending ratification, the deal could…

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returns to Earth broken and unbroken China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returned to Earth with no astronauts inside – just metal, heat and a cracked window – touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia on Monday. 2. Nipah virus outbreak in India sparks worry in China before Lunar New Year Healthcare workers…