US Donald Trump has sparred with most of his fellow Group of Seven leaders at some point. But Italy’s Giorgia Meloni this week did something none of them dared: she escalated. Unlike Spanish Socialist Pedro Sanchez, one of the few leaders in Europe who has made political capital of being berated by
A China-led team has developed an AI system to detect space hurricanes, a phenomenon in the Earth’s upper atmosphere that can disrupt satellite signals, radar and radio communications. While the hurricane-like atmospheric phenomenon can have major space weather effects, detection has so far relied o
Cross-border biotech deals between China and the United States are becoming more complicated and could face a modest slowdown as Washington steps up efforts to restrict investment and technology transfers, according to industry analysts. “There will be more geopolitical scrutiny going forward. This
Hong Kong’s universities are often celebrated for their global rankings, research output and international reputation. Yet behind these achievements lies a quieter, more fundamental question: how do we define academic excellence and are we measuring the right things? Academic life is driven by intri
Hong Kong election authorities have stopped compiling voter turnout data by age and sex, citing a lack of operational need, in a move that has raised concerns about undermining the transparency of polls. Analysts and politicians said such statistics were valuable for election hopefuls in understandi
A former Chinese e-commerce executive in the final stages of a rare disease is still working 12-hour days, devoting what time he has left to accelerating the search for a cure. Cai Lei, 48, a former vice-president of JD.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce companies, has spent seven years battling
She was among five girls in Japan believed to have beaten a boy so severely that he required hospital treatment. Yet her most pressing concern was how much money the group should demand from him. To find an answer, she turned to artificial intelligence. The alleged assault took place in January in H
Orchard Towers, a building in Singapore once notorious enough to earn the nickname “Four Floors of Whores”, has found an unlikely new tenant. On weekends, the site of former nightclubs, illegal massage parlours and at least one murder is now flooded with church-goers. Cornerstone Community Church of
Britain’s Observer newspaper said Prime Minister Keir Starmer was expected to resign on Monday and set out a timetable for his departure, though a government source said Starmer remained focused on getting on with the job of governing. The threat to Starmer’s position, which has been building for m
In late April, China’s top intelligence agency claimed that foreign forces were weaponising the concept of “lying flat” to dispel young people’s “belief in striving” and undermine social values. Once a niche subculture, “lying flat” has evolved into a mainstream phenomenon over the past five years.
HKFP Yum Cha returns for a special episode with award-winning journalist Karen Hao. Author of bestseller Empire of AI and founder of the AI Resist List, Karen discusses with HKFP how grassroots movements around the world are taking on the tech elites. Is the recent backlash against the AI roll-out s
China said on Friday it will impose a tariff of 55 percent on beef imports from Australia after shipments from the country hit Beijing’s annual limit. The price of beef in China has trended downwards in recent years, with analysts blaming oversupply and a lack of demand as the world’s se
One of the things Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung Chiu-wai likes about acting is the novelty — “you will never repeat the same role”. When it comes to the changes wrought on his beloved cinema by technology like AI, though, there are some things it seems he would rather keep constan
The investors who excitedly bought into the SpaceX IPO, making Elon Musk a trillionaire, have implicitly made a prediction on the future. The company’s US$1.8 trillion valuation is based on the expectation that its AI business will have revenues of US$322 billion by 2030 – which is quite an ey
Hong Kong Free Press won three honourable mentions at the prestigious Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Awards on Thursday night – a new record for the newspaper. HKFP photojournalist Kyle Lam’s five shots of the Tai Po fire tragedy were recognised in the Excellence in Photography&
China called Britain’s jailing of two dual Chinese-British nationals for spying on behalf of Beijing “a classic political farce” on Friday, urging the country to rectify its “erroneous actions”. A British court jailed former UK Border Force official Peter Wai and retire
An annual Reuters Institute report on the global news industry has said that Hong Kong journalists are facing “a widening range of intimidation, including tax investigations,” amid a deepening financial crisis among local media outlets. The 2026 Digital News Report said that journalists
A British court on Thursday jailed two dual Chinese-British nationals after they were convicted of spying on Hong Kong dissidents in the UK on behalf of China. Former UK Border Force official Peter Wai, 40, was jailed for 10 years and retired Hong Kong policeman Bill Yuen, 65, was given an eight-yea
Hong Kong leader John Lee has said that China’s top official Xia Baolong concluded his two-day visit by giving “affirmations” and “recognitions” to the local government. Lee spoke to local media on Wednesday afternoon after seeing Xia, director of the Hong Kong and Maca
The Hong Kong government will make it easier for owners of subsidised flats to lease their properties in September by waiving the land premium requirement. The Housing Authority said in a statement on Thursday that it had approved a scheme allowing owners of subsidised sale flats to rent out their u