US-Israel-Iran War News Live Updates: Saudi intercepts drone headed to Shaybah oil field; Israeli strikes 10 Hezbollah targets in Beirut

AdvertisementTaiwanChinaPoliticsHow Trump’s Beijing bargaining could derail Taiwan’s multibillion-dollar defence budgetUS leader’s talk of consulting Xi Jinping on arms sales could hand Taiwan’s opposition a ‘lifeline’ to reshape spending bill, experts say
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPLawrence Chungin TaipeiPublished: 6:00pm, 22 Feb 2026Taiwan’s parliament is set to prioritise review of a disputed NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defence budget bill when its new session begins on Tuesday, as pressure mounts from Washington.But US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about consulting Chinese President Xi Jinping on arms sales could complicate the debate, potentially giving Taipei’s opposition parties greater room to manoeuvre and reshape the final version of the bill, according to analysts.The renewed push follows an unusual bipartisan letter from 37 US lawmakers on February 12 urging Taiwan’s legislature to fully fund the eight-year package.
AdvertisementThe l..

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..

UK Home Office (File photo) An undercover media investigation has claimed that migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh — both countries where homosexual relationships are outlawed — are being charged thousands of pounds by immigration advisors to pose as gay in order to remain in the UK.The BBC reported that its journalists uncovered how migrants nearing the end of their visas are being provided with fabricated cover stories and are being coached on creating false evidence. They can then apply for asylum on the grounds that they are gay and fear for their lives if returned to Pakistan or Bangladesh.“The UK's asylum process offers protection to people who can't return to their home countries because they would be in danger, for example, in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh where gay relationships are illegal,” the BBC report stated, according to PTI.“These are often people whose student, work, or tourist visas have expired, rather than those who have just arrived in the cou..