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1. ‘No taste’: Malaysia’s Life of Pi and Squid Game artists warn against AI rush

   Firdaus Hashim has spent nearly two decades breathing life into the impossible. The Malaysian visual effects (VFX) artist has won multiple accolades for his painstaking, frame-by-frame artistry and even contributed to an Oscar-winning film. But today, the 39-year-old finds himself confronted by a force shaking the very foundations of his craft: artificial intelligence. Since starting out in...

2. China-led team replicates human embryo ‘invasion’ of the womb for the first time

   A China-led team has built the world’s first mini-womb on a chip that can fully replicate the “invasion” of human embryos in the uterus during early pregnancy. Their 3D model on a microfluidic chip can be used to uncover the mysteries behind human embryo implantation and lead to personalised treatments for women struggling to get pregnant. The team led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of...

3. North Korea revives drone claims in rebuff to Seoul’s outreach

   North Korea’s latest accusations that South Korean drones violated its airspace appear aimed at painting Seoul as a permanent enemy ahead of a key party congress, rather than addressing an actual security breach, analysts say. By reviving claims of cross-border incursions and threatening retaliation, the North is reinforcing its portrayal of inter-Korean relations as irreversibly hostile – just...

4. Hong Kong housing estate flat owners drop contractor linked to deadly Tai Po blaze

   Owners of a private housing estate in Tuen Mun have voted overwhelmingly to terminate their renovation contract with Prestige Construction and Engineering Company – the same contractor responsible for works at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. At a general meeting held on Friday night at Elegance Gardens, 96.45 per cent of 1,655 effective undivided shares held by...

5. All aboard the cat train as Japan railway gets new feline stationmaster

   A calico cat named Yontama was formally appointed stationmaster at Kishi Station in western Japan this week, stepping into a role that is at once whimsical and ceremonial but also important to the survival of a rural railway line. The appointment ceremony on Wednesday drew fans, photographers and local officials to the station in Kinokawa, Wakayama prefecture, where Wakayama Electric Railway...

6. What does HSBC’s buyout of Hang Seng Bank mean for its future and investors?

   Following the January 8 shareholder vote that overwhelmingly approved the largest privatisation deal in Hong Kong’s history, many questions remain about the future of Hang Seng Bank, its stakeholders and the broader financial landscape. For Hang Seng Bank’s shareholders, the immediate question is what to do with the HK$106.16 billion (US$13.6 billion) windfall from HSBC Holdings for acquiring...

7. Will X be banned in the UK? Elon Musk hits back at shutdown warnings

   Critics of X “want any excuse for censorship”, Elon Musk has claimed, as his website faces the threat of being shut down in Britain over deepfake pornography and child abuse images. The billionaire appeared defiant on Friday night despite the outcry over reports X’s AI chatbot Grok was creating sexualised images of people, including children, at users’ request. Pointing to claims other AI...

8. Body, capsized boat found in Japan waters raise spectre of North Korean ‘ghost ships’

   A lone body discovered on a cold Japanese beach and a shattered wooden boat coated in black tar have stirred memories of the “ghost ships” that in past winters drifted across to Japan from North Korea. The body washed ashore on Wednesday in Ishikawa prefecture, while a Japan Coast Guard vessel later recovered the capsized boat nearby, local media reported. Authorities have yet to identify the...

9. Where do lonely hearts in China go now? Late-night live streams

   For two weeks recently, most of my evenings were spent in Douyin’s live-stream section. On Douyin, TikTok’s sibling platform in China, shopping, entertainment and conversation blur into an endlessly scrollable feed. The most prominent virtual rooms here are for shopping: live-streaming hosts talking at high speed, shouting out discounts. Then come the talent rooms, where people sing, dance, play...

10. China tutoring school’s promotion links civil service exam success to higher bride prices

    A Chinese civil service exam tutoring company has sparked controversy by claiming that they can help clients pass the test and then demand an additional 200,000 yuan (US$29,000) in bride price. On December 28, a netizen posted a video claiming that a civil service exam tutoring institution in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, northern China, had used a controversial banner to promote its business. The...