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Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep announced $61M fund for their San Francisco startup but the comment section was filled with trolling. IIT Kharagpur graduates and Forbes 30 Under 30 alums Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep were subjected to vicious trolling as they released their video announcing that their San Francisco-based startup Giga has raised $61 million. They were trolled for their appearance, their accent and also their project as it has a call center connection. But there were enough voices to school the trolls that there are many “attractive” people on this planet but not everyone has a purpose. Giga, the Indian duo's voice AI startup, is already working with food delivery company DoorDash. With the fresh funding, the company is looking to scale up usage within Fortune 100 enterprises and grow its team. Giga creates AI systems capable of handling live interactions for large businesses. In the video that they released, the CEO described how their AI functions within two wee..

AdvertisementAfricaWorldAfricaSudan’s paramilitaries agree to US proposal for humanitarian ceasefireThe conflict has sparked international concern after witnesses say the RSF killed and abducted civilians in the recent capture of El-Fasher
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPReutersPublished: 7:41am, 7 Nov 2025Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces agreed to a proposal from the United States and Arab powers for a humanitarian ceasefire and is open to talks on a cessation of hostilities, it said on Thursday in a statement.
AdvertisementBoth the RSF and the Sudanese army have agreed to various ceasefire proposals during their two-and-a-half-year-old war, though none have succeeded. US President Donald Trump’s administration has said it was working towards ending fighting in Sudan.
The announcement, which the Sudanese army did not immediately respond to, comes less than two weeks after the RSF took over the famine-stricken city of El-Fasher, consolidating its control over the v..

AdvertisementChina’s private sectorBusinessChina BusinessFosun brings UK particle therapy to mainland China in push for advanced cancer careThe US Food and Drug Administration-approved Marie system promises human-centred care, advanced technology and lower costs
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPDaniel Renin ShanghaiPublished: 7:30am, 7 Nov 2025Fosun Pharmaceutical, a leading healthcare group, has taken a substantial step towards introducing particle therapy systems to hospitals in mainland China, aligning with Beijing’s efforts to make advanced medical treatment accessible to cancer patients across the country.AdvertisementThe Shanghai-based company, a subsidiary of China’s non-state-owned conglomerate Fosun International, formed a partnership with Leo Cancer Care on Thursday, pledging to distribute the UK firm’s Marie medical facilities in the world’s largest consumer market. The deal came three months after the UK company secured regulatory clearance for the Marie system f..

As Zohran Mamdani delivered an emphatic speech on Tuesday night to mark his victory in the race to become mayor of New York City, he delivered a special shoutout. “And to my incredible wife, Rama, hayati,” he said, using the Arabic word for “my life.” “There is no one I would rather have by my side in this moment, and in every moment.”The crowd whooped and hollered loudly at Mamdani's mention of his wife, Rama Duwaji, a sign of her important role in her husband's campaign and the growing interest in her. As Mamdani finished speaking, she joined him onstage to another round of applause.In the lead-up to Election Day, Duwaji, an animator and illustrator, continued to avoid the traditional political spotlight. She has not engaged in election and politics talk, save for a selfie on her Instagram story on Tuesday in which she posed with an “I voted” sticker.Like her husband, Duwaji, 28, has had a busy past few months – except that hers have not involved anything officially resembl..

Influencer Emily Austin's 'Hot Girls for Cuomo' campaign backfired when a forgotten domain redirected to Cuomo’s sexual harassment report/ Image: FIle As Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory as New York City’s first Muslim mayor came to fruition, making him the 111th mayor after defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, an unexpected subplot played out in the final stretch of the campaign: The emergence of “Hot Girls for Zohran,” a movement driven by young women seeking change, was met by a rival “Hot Girls for Cuomo” campaign, launched by conservative influencer Emily Austin. What followed was an ironic spectacle, a classic case of a copycat campaign gone wrongThe birth of “Hot Girls for Zohran” Zohran Mamdani’s rise in the mayoral race wasn’t just a victory of ideas, but of a movement. Unlike other campaigns that rely heavily on top-down strategy, Mamdani’s appeal lay in his ability to tap into an undercurrent of frustration felt by many young Ne..

AdvertisementAviation accidentsWorldUnited States & CanadaEngine fell off US cargo plane before crash that killed 11 peopleThe UPS aircraft went up in flames as it ploughed into businesses near a Kentucky airport, hitting multiple people on the ground
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 7:38am, 6 Nov 2025The death toll from a cargo plane crash in the southern US state of Kentucky rose to 11 on Wednesday, with investigators saying the accident was caused by one of the engines catching fire and detaching during take-off.
AdvertisementThe McDonnell Douglas MD-11, operated by package delivery giant UPS and bound for Hawaii, crashed at 5.15pm on Tuesday, shortly after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
It exploded into flames as it ploughed into businesses near the airport, killing multiple people on the ground. A three-person crew was aboard.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear called the tragedy “heartbreaking” and “unimaginable..

AdvertisementArtificial intelligenceTechTech TrendsChinese AI app start-ups lag behind US peers in making money: reportOnly four Chinese developers are included in the world’s top 100 AI apps from private firms by annual recurring revenue
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPVincent ChowPublished: 7:00am, 6 Nov 2025China’s start-up developers of artificial intelligence applications significantly lag behind their US counterparts in global recurring revenue, making overseas expansion the default strategy for these mainland firms, according to a new report.AdvertisementAs of August, only four of the world’s top 100 AI apps from private companies by annual recurring revenue (ARR) were Chinese, according to a report jointly released last week by domestic research firm Unique Research and San Francisco-based consultancy Tech Buzz China.The four Chinese players – Glority, Plaud, ByteDance and Zuoyebang – generated an estimated US$447 million in total ARR from their AI apps, which accou..

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt found herself under pressure on Tuesday when reporters repeatedly asked why President Donald Trump had undergone an MRI during a recent visit to Walter Reed Military Medical Center last week. Leavitt offered little clarity, saying only that she would “check back,” while insisting the president remained in “optimal physical health.”The questions came after the 79-year-old MAGA chief revealed last week that he had undergone both an MRI and a cognitive test during a visit to the military hospital. The disclosure came just six months after his annual physical in April.During the briefing, CNN’s Kristen Holmes asked, “Why did President Trump get an MRI during his recent visit to Walter Reed?” Leavitt responded that the visit had been a “follow-up appointment” and repeated that the president was in “optimal physical health.” When Holmes pressed further, noting that an MRI is “a very specific procedure” and not typically part of a routine exam, Lea..

Actress Sydney Sweeney has spoken out for the first time about the storm surrounding her viral American Eagle campaign, which drew both fierce criticism and unexpected praise from political leaders. The ad, featuring the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” sparked accusations of promoting “whiteness” and eugenics. Now, Sweeney says the experience was “surreal,” after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance came to her defence amid the escalating culture war over the ad.Sydney Sweeney calls the experience “surreal”In a recent GQ interview promoting her film Christy, Sweeney described her reaction to seeing the nation’s top leaders discuss her ad. “It was surreal,” she said, adding that she never expected a simple brand campaign to become part of a national conversation about race and identity.Sweeney also addressed reports claiming the controversy hurt American Eagle’s sales. “I was aware of the numbers as it was going,” she said. “So when I saw headlines saying in-stor..

AdvertisementUS-China relationsChinaDiplomacyTrump signs order to lower fentanyl-related tariffs targeting ChinaThe lowering of additional duties from 20 per cent to 10 per cent formalises a deal the US president struck with Chinese leader Xi Jinping
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 7:35am, 5 Nov 2025US President Donald Trump signed an order on Tuesday to lower fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese products, formalising a key part of his deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after their first face-to-face talks in years.
AdvertisementShortly after returning to the presidency this year, Trump imposed additional tariffs of 20 per cent on goods from China over its alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain.
But China has since committed efforts to halting the flow of precursors used to make fentanyl into the United States, after Trump and Xi’s summit last month in Busan, South Korea.
In turn, Washington pledged that it would cut its additional tariffs o..