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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..

AdvertisementHong Kong politicsHong KongPoliticsExclusive | 30% of 161 Hong Kong Legco election candidates linked to mainland Chinese firmsHigher proportion marks significant increase from 2021 poll and reflects growing prominence of mainland capital in Hong Kong’s economy
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMatthew ChengPublished: 7:30am, 5 Nov 2025Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council election has seen a significant increase in candidates linked to mainland Chinese enterprises, with at least 49 – almost a third of the total – affiliated with such firms, up 50 per cent from 2021.
AdvertisementThe higher proportion reflected the growing prominence of mainland capital in Hong Kong’s economy and Beijing’s push for Legco to drive the city’s integration into national development, a political scholar said.
A check by the Post found that among the 161 candidates who signed up for the December 7 poll, at least 49 – or nearly 30 per cent – hold positions or serve as independent direct..

Elon Musk has thrown his support behind Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s heated mayoral race and advised New Yorkers to not go for the 'socialist' Zohran Mamdani.In a post on X, the Tesla and SpaceX chief urged New Yorkers to “remember to vote tomorrow,” warning that “a vote for Curtis [Sliwa] is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is.” He ended his post with a blunt message: “VOTE CUOMO!”The endorsement aligns Musk with several billionaire figures who have rallied against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, including Mike Bloomberg, Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. US President Donald Trump also said he preferred Cuomo, calling him the “lesser evil” compared to Mamdani in a CBS 60 Minutes interview. The MAGA chief said he would rather have Cuomo — whom he called a “bad Democrat” — as New York City’s mayor than a “communist,” referring to Mamdani.About the candidates
Zohran Mamdani is a progressive state assemblyman from Queens who ha..

Thousands of truck drivers across the United States have been barred from operating after failing newly enforced English proficiency tests, with Indian-origin and Latino drivers among those most affected. The rule, reinstated under Donald Trump’s administration, has raised alarm among trucking companies and worker groups, who say it unfairly targets immigrant drivers. It could worsen the ongoing truck driver shortage.Since June, more than 6,000 commercial truckers have been taken off the road for failing roadside English-language checks, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) data. FreightWaves, a transport and logistics outlet, reported that at least 5,006 “English language-related out-of-service violations” were recorded through October, a number that continues to climb as states increase enforcementLast week, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, in a post on X, said that “7248 drivers placed out of service for failing to mee..

AdvertisementArtificial intelligenceBusinessCompaniesSatellite maker Uspace pivots to AI applications at new tech centre in ShenzhenThe initiative forms part of efforts to operate a network of more than 100 ‘Golden Bauhinia’ satellites above the Greater Bay Area
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPCheryl ArcibalPublished: 7:30am, 4 Nov 2025Uspace Technology Group will set up an artificial intelligence application technology centre in Shenzhen, as the satellite manufacturer realigns its space business after moving its headquarters from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province.AdvertisementA unit of Uspace, Gang Hang Ke, will spearhead the centre’s establishment, the company said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday evening.It said the new facility will focus on intelligent decision-making for satellite remote sensing data as well as AI-based satellite data processing and analysis to drive satellite-ground computing synergy, among others.
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AdvertisementEarthquakesWorldRussia & Central AsiaInternational condolences pour in after Afghanistan earthquake kills 20Pakistan, India, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the UK expressed sympathy for the loss of life and the hundreds injured in Monday’s quake
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPdpaPublished: 7:20am, 4 Nov 2025Several countries as well as the European Union have offered their condolences after a powerful earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, killing 20 people and injuring hundreds, according to official reports.
AdvertisementThe country’s national disaster management authority said 20 people have died and 643 were wounded, revising down earlier figures reported by the state-run news agency Bakhtar, which had put the death toll of the overnight quake at 27, with more than 700 injured.Pakistan, India, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom on Monday expressed their sympathies for the loss of life and the people of Afghanistan.Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s Commi..

Kash Patel called Alexis Wilkins a true patriot shutting down trolls. FBI director Kash Patel put out a statement amid the new allegations against him that he went to attend his girlfriend's performance in Pennsylvania on a $60 million FBI jet. FBI directors are not allowed to travel on any commercial plane and are supposed to use FBI jet for their personal use too paying reimbursement for that. But a former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin sensationalized this as he brought this to the notice of the people on his podcast as he said: “We’re in the middle of a government shutdown where they’re not even gonna pay all of the employees that work for the agency that this guy is jetting off to hang out with his girlfriend in Nashville on our dime?”FBI clarified that Patel always pays reimbursement in advance and his personal use is limited as he's always on FBI duty .But the FBI director made it a point to send across a message to “supposed allies” who are staying silent when he and his par..