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Chinese gaokao student’s inspiring story captivates nation after losing last relative

Zeng expresses gratitude for donations but urges focus on those in greater need An 18-year-old Chinese girl recently lost her last living relative as she embarks on her university journey, yet she has declined donations, asking that they be given to others in need. Zeng Zixuan scored 564 out of 750 on this year’s gaokao, the national higher education entrance exam, and has been admitted to the petroleum engineering programme at Yangtze University. She chose this university because it is close to her home, allowing her to visit her grandmother frequently. However, just as Zeng was anticipating a new chapter in her life, her grandmother fell ill and passed away in early July, leaving her an orphan. Zeng was raised by her grandmother after her parents divorced during her childhood.

July 29, 2026

Business

Should China aim for the lead in making AI rules for the world?

Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 has exposed gaps in global governance, and the first and best will win, Chinese institute says Moonshot, which was founded just three years ago, released the model’s core components on the internet, allowing anyone to download, inspect and customise for free. Kimi is an open-weight or open-source model, unlike many American closed artificial intelligence models, whose core inner workings are guarded closely by the company that developed them. AI governance has become a new battleground for China-US rivalry and neither side has ruled out the possibility of dialogue on the issue.

July 29, 2026

Business

AI boom will sustain Hong Kong’s export surge, lift GDP outlook, economists say

Baptist University’s Billy Mak says rising export values also reflect higher prices for AI components and relative easing in China-US trade tensions Billy Mak Sui-choi, an associate professor at Baptist University’s accountancy, economics and finance department, said global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) remained far from saturated and would continue to drive exports. “No single country has yet been able to dominate the AI field across models, services and hardware,” he said. “As long as countries see an opportunity to compete, they will continue investing in the necessary hardware.” Mak noted that while initial AI demand centred on Nvidia’s graphics processing units, businesses realised that a broader ecosystem was required, including memory chips, photovoltaic modules and motherboards, helping to explain Hong Kong’s strong exports and re-exports from mainland China. Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Monday showed the value of exports climbed to a record HK$641.1 billion (US$81.7 billion) after a 40.8 per cent rise in May.

July 29, 2026

Business

South Korean scientists solve 250-year-old dementia-linked brain mystery

The breakthrough offers hope for new Alzheimer’s treatments – and provides a scientific basis for the benefits of facial massage The breakthrough, published this month in journal Cell, solved a puzzle that has stumped scientists since lymphatic vessels around the brain were first discovered roughly 250 years ago: how does our body clear away the waste? An international team led by Dr Koh Gou-young, a scientist at the Centre for Vascular Research within South Korea’s Institute for Basic Science, identified tiny openings in the tough membrane protecting the brain – dubbed arachnoid fenestrations – through which fluid drains into vessels around the nose and eyes before reaching lymph nodes in the neck. The human brain constantly produces metabolic waste, which needs to be cleared away by cerebrospinal fluid: the clear, watery liquid that acts as a natural shock absorber and nutrient bath for the brain and spinal cord. When this system slows down, toxic proteins such as amyloid beta – a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease – can build up, raising the risk of dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders.

July 29, 2026

Business

Shanghai Clearing House targets global growth with expanded offshore yuan push

SHCH will broaden its clearing services across offshore yuan bonds, interest rates and foreign exchange products As part of this push, SHCH will broaden its clearing services for offshore yuan bonds, interest rates and foreign exchange products to help foreign investors hedge risk. “We will further enrich the supply of yuan central counterparty clearing products, expanding categories into bonds, interest rates, and foreign exchange to provide foreign investors with rich risk-hedging tools for overseas yuan assets, reinforcing our clearing dominance over yuan products,” Ma wrote in the article published on the social media account of China Finance magazine last week. “We should study and formulate dedicated regulations or rules to unify the standardisation and overall supervision of central counterparty clearing, while exploring liquidity risk constraint and support facilities to stabilise market expectations,” said Ma, former deputy chief of the People’s Bank of China’s financial market department. The move comes as Shanghai released an action plan to expand offshore business, including bond issuance in pilot free-trade zone and forex trading, amid the city’s efforts to become an international financial centre.

July 28, 2026

Business

Elon Musk launches invite-only X Money where users can send cash to one another

Users will receive an ‘X’-branded Visa debit card that is usable at any ATM, a 6% yield and real-time transfers Elon Musk’s social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, launched its own bank account-like product where users can send money to one another. The service, known as X Money, is not a new bank. X Money is using technology and banking services provided by Cross River Bank and branding that backbone as X Money. It is common for new financial companies to use a traditional bank’s backbone to launch their services, as chartering a new bank is a timely and costly process. Currently X Money is invite only and users will receive an “X”-branded Visa debit card that is usable at any ATM. Users of X will be able to send money to other X users in real-time, the company said. Invitations are only available to X’s paying members presently. To attract customers, X Money is offering a 6 per cent yield on deposits and 3 per cent cashback on eligible purchases. To earn the 6 per cent yield, a customer would need to deposit at least US$1,000 into an account. Customers would also have to be signed up for X’s premium services, which is at least $8 a month.

July 28, 2026

Business

Life in prison, no parole, for US teenager who killed 4 in Georgia school shooting

Colt Gray killed 2 pupils and 2 teachers in 2024 with a gun given to him by his father, who has been convicted of second-degree murder A US teenager who shot dead four people at a high school with a gun his father gave him as a Christmas present was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. Colt Gray, 16, pleaded guilty to carrying out the September 2024 attack at Apalachee High School in the town of Winder, Georgia. Gray was 14 years old when he shot dead two 14-year-old pupils and two teachers, while also wounding nine other people. He was charged as an adult. Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm sentenced Gray to life in prison without the possibility of parole. “You were failed by each of your parents. You were failed by your extended family,” Primm said. “That failure does not absolve you from who you chose to idolise, worship and become. “You weren’t being bullied at Apalachee. It wasn’t done out of hatred. You didn’t even know anyone at that school. It was done for the infamy of it.”

July 28, 2026

Business

US thwarts Iranian missile barrage, joins Saudis in Iraq strikes

Joint air raids targeted Tehran-backed militia weapons sites in Iraq in response to recent drone and missile attacks The US military said Tuesday that it knocked down an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias used to launch attacks in recent days, shattering a brief pause in the fighting. All Iranian missiles launched against American forces in the Middle East were intercepted, US Central Command said, adding that they “remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness”. In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the US warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure risked additional action. The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil normally flows. There was no immediate comment from Tehran on the US military statement or the strikes. The resumption of fighting comes at the end of a month packed with multiple pressure points on US President Donald Trump over the war.

July 28, 2026

Business

US bans new Chinese robots, power inverters in latest tech crackdown

Trump administration cites threats to US national security and supply chain vulnerabilities as reasons for latest sanctions The action would ban the import and sale of new robotic devices and power inverters but would not affect any previously bought devices. “The networked capabilities of advanced robotic systems create extensive vulnerabilities and vectors for attacks that can manipulate the data and physical operation of the advanced robotic system,” the FCC notice said. “Advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots.” On inverters, the FCC alleged that their “remote connectivity” feature has introduced “additional vulnerabilities which compound as inverter-based resources proliferate on the US grid”.

July 28, 2026

Business

Can China and Indonesia’s strong financial ties withstand ‘resource nationalism’?

Back in 2009, when China’s economy was expanding at about twice today’s pace, a little-known private firm made a quiet bet on uncharted territory: Indonesia. The company was on a quest: to secure nickel, a vital industrial metal used in stainless steel production and, increasingly, to power advanced batteries. That bet proved lucrative. By leveraging Indonesia’s vast nickel reserves – the world’s largest – and securing greater control over upstream supplies, Tsingshan Group has grown into a...

July 28, 2026

Business

Telling Hong Kong judge to retire early is sufficient penalty for plagiarism: experts

Wilson Chan’s reputation is damaged because of his plagiarism and he will lose tens of millions of dollars in pay and allowances, they say Telling a Hong Kong judge found to have plagiarised submissions in his judgments to retire early is a sufficient penalty, as he has already suffered reputational damage and is losing tens of millions of dollars in forgone salary, allowances and pension payouts, legal experts have said. A spokesman for the judiciary confirmed on Tuesday that Justice Wilson Chan Ka-shun would be eligible for early retirement benefits calculated in accordance with his period of service. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said he respected the chief justice’s decision to take action against Chan. The spokesman said: “According to the [pensions] ordinance, early-retired judges are eligible for pension benefits, which are calculated on the basis of their length of service.” The spokesman added that Chan’s pension would be reduced proportionately as his length of service would be shorter than usual due to his early retirement.

July 28, 2026

Business

Singapore growth to hold firm but AI boom a ‘major uncertainty’: central bank

MAS chief says a lengthy boom could lead ‌to inflation, while a pullback in AI investments ‘could sharply weaken global growth’ Singapore’s economic growth should remain firm in the second half of 2026 although a major uncertainty is the sustainability of the AI investment boom, the head of its central bank said on Tuesday. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director Chia Der Jiun, speaking at the release ‌of the central bank’s annual report, said the Middle East conflict also posed risks, but for now global AI-related demand was “likely to continue to provide a meaningful boost” to the city state while other sectors maintain a pace of growth close to trend. The annual report for the year ending March 2026 was released a day after the MAS tightened its policy settings for a second consecutive meeting, citing inflation risks. Chia flagged the AI investment boom as “a major uncertainty” given how AI-driven electronics exports now ⁠account for more than 70 per cent of Asia’s export growth so far in 2026, up from 46 per cent in 2024.

July 28, 2026