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China’s bricks-and-mortar bookstores are increasingly counting on coffee, merchandise and cultural events rather than books to stay afloat – a survival strategy whose tensions were laid bare after a major chain asked a book buyer to vacate its cafe seating unless she bought a drink. The dispute at a Beijing branch of Sisyphe Bookstore, one of the country’s largest chains, went viral earlier this month, sparking an online debate over the struggles bookshops face in the digital age. The customer,...

Infighting in organised crime group The Commission is suspected to be behind two murders, three shootings and a series of arson attacks.

Hong Kong must proactively expand trade networks and not “wait for luck to come our way”, as the recent growth in artificial intelligence exports may gradually slow down, the city’s commerce minister has said. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah said on Sunday that Hong Kong’s September export growth rate – the highest monthly figure in more than 40 years – was driven by an increase in re-export volume equivalent to 1.4 times the city’s gross domestic...

Rescue workers pronounced two people dead after they were stuck by an Amtrak Surfliner train near a Ventura County beach campground. California has the country's highest fatality numbers from railroad trespassing and rail grade crossings.

Anthony Albanese has apologised after he and Energy Minister Chris Bowen were caught joking about phone radiation and private parts.

The state government has released a management plan to protect Neil's welfare and community safety.

The internationally acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang has denied making a last-minute change to a recent performance in Hong Kong that resulted in audience refunds, saying the concert organiser was told weeks in advance about the revised programme. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Beijing-born American pianist and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra accused the local organiser, Premiere Performances of Hong Kong, of withholding the announcement of a change that had been “communicated weeks in advance by...

SpaceX’s Starship aircraft successfully touched back down at a South Texas launch site Saturday afternoon — marking a historic milestone in the aerospace giant's effort to build reusable rockets.  The 170-foot-long spacecraft launched from Starbase, Texas, on Friday for its 15th flight, the Elon Musk-headed company wrote in a Saturday release. Once it got into orbit,...

The top scorer in Korea’s recent tax accountant qualification examination admitted Sunday that he used generative artificial intelligence (AI) and a camera to cheat, reversing his earlier denials after his unusually high marks drew public scrutiny. “I cheated on the tax accountant examination,” Han Won-seok said on the YouTube channel run by his lawyer Lee Don-ho. “I sincerely apologize for the harm my wrongdoing has caused so many people.” Han’s results attracted attention because he answered 159 of the 160 questions correctly in the first-stage tax accountant examination in April, scoring 397.5 out of 400. Three months later, he scored 663 out of 800 in the second-stage written examination and was named the overall top scorer. His exceptionally high scores had fueled online speculation about possible cheating. Initially, he rejected suggestions that he had used AI-enabled equipment.

Hong Kong International Airport has become the world’s first to deploy robots to repaint runway markings, cutting the time needed to refresh centre lines by about 67 per cent compared with manual painting, its managing authority has said. According to the Airport Authority, the AI-powered robots, called “Brushman”, also improve painting accuracy and worker safety, reducing the need for physically demanding overnight work and allowing staff to take on supervisory roles. Steven Yiu Siu-chung, the...

Before mainland Chinese troops could attempt a landing on Taiwan, they would first have to assemble vehicles, weapons and supplies along the coast – potentially exposing them to Taiwanese drone, rocket and missile attacks. A nighttime drill reported by state broadcaster CCTV on June 11 offered a glimpse of how the People’s Liberation Army could shield those amphibious forces as they prepared to cross the Taiwan Strait. As soldiers headed into open water aboard amphibious armoured vehicles, a...

Investors are doubling down on speculative wagers that have delivered both spectacular gains and crushing losses this year.