Day: April 29, 2026

A young scientist who was a leader in Britain’s AI chip field has returned to China, joining Nanjing University earlier this year as an associate professor at its School of Artificial Intelligence. Song Yuhang, whose published papers on artificial intelligence (AI) have been widely cited and reported, obtained his PhD from the University of Oxford in 2022, and is also a recipient of the coveted JP Morgan AI Research Award. According to Song, he and his fellow Oxford PhD candidate Walter Goodwin co-founded Fractile as an entrepreneurial project in 2021.…

Ant International, the overseas spin-off of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, has connected more than 150 million merchants with over 2 billion consumer accounts around the world, as it positions its payments network as core infrastructure for the emerging AI commerce economy. The figures, disclosed at the company’s MoMents 2026 forum in Kuala Lumpur, which ran from Monday to Wednesday, underscore the scale Ant is seeking to leverage amid the rising adoption of artificial intelligence agents. Ant International said its network supported more than 300 payment methods across 220 markets…

The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has continued to shatter global markets. These are the major takeaways of what happened overnight. What did Trump say? US President Donald Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, discussing the wars in Ukraine and Iran. Trump said that the conversation was “very good” and that the US was “going to come up with a solution relatively quickly” over its continuing conflict with Iran. He also said that the US was having talks with the Iranians. “They’ve come…

Geely Automobile Holdings, Chery Automobile and BYD, the most profitable listed Chinese carmakers last year, all reported double-digit declines in net profit in the first quarter, highlighting a squeeze at home amid reduced purchase incentives. Hangzhou-based Geely, the country’s second-largest carmaker behind BYD, said in a filing on Wednesday that its net profit for the January-March period slid 27 per cent year on year to 4.17 billion yuan (US$610 million). The profit slump came even as growth in exports and sales of high-end models boosted first quarter revenue by 15…

China is the United States’ “most consequential threat and competitor in space,” leveraging its capabilities “as a tool of diplomacy and influence,” US lawmakers were told at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, as the two countries’ race to the moon intensifies. The US and China are locked in a high-stakes space race, with both nations aiming to put astronauts on the moon in the coming years. While China has set a 2030 target for its first crewed lunar landing, the US’ Artemis programme aims to return astronauts to the lunar…

The United Nations is bloated, costly, badly in need of reform, and too often works against US interests, but pulling out of the international organisation would see China expand its influence and leave Washington at a major disadvantage, according to testimony before a House oversight committee on Wednesday. The hearing came as the administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed an “America first” overhaul of international funding, leaving the UN, over the past 18 months, at what Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called a “financial breaking point”. US arrears…

The United Arab Emirates’ decision to leave a global cartel of major oil-exporting countries is seen to reflect a widening fracture within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The country joined the group in 1971, though one of its emirates – Abu Dhabi – joined in 1967. Advertisement The UAE’s Ministry of Infrastructure said in a statement that the decision was based on the country’s national interests and its commitment to meeting global market demand. The UAE is one of the world’s biggest oil producers and exporters. The decision follows the…

The two-month war with Iran has cost about US$25 billion, a Pentagon official told lawmakers on Wednesday, as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth defended a record $1.5 trillion military budget that faces backlash from Democrats. At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Jules Hurst III, the Pentagon’s chief financial officer, offered the first official estimate of the cost of the war in Iran. He said that most of the US$25 billion in spending went towards ammunition, but the US military also allocated funds for operations and equipment upgrades.…