How China Is Building Influence in Central Asia, One Laboratory at a Time

CPIC arrives in a country where the words "fake news" can already put a reporter in prison.

Indonesian authorities have arrested three people for allegedly tapping President Prabowo Subianto’s phone, according to police on Tuesday, with media reports suggesting one of the suspects may be a senior official. Prabowo, who took office in 2024, has come under increasing pressure for his government’s handling of the economy and destructive wildfires in the Southeast Asian archipelago. Top detective Asep Safrudin identified the suspects only by their initials, LSP, ASN, and EH, and said they...

South Korea has emerged as one of the world leaders in the AI buildout. But now, as investor sell-offs continue to force the KOSPI lower, are its AI ambitions under threat?

Archbishop Gallagher’s remarks about the “price” of setting up an office in Beijing have struck a nerve in Taiwan. But the two aren’t actually related.

Indian naval forces freed an Iranian fishing boat and its crew of 20 hijacked off Somalia after an operation lasting more than 48 hours, India’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. The rescue of the Azini was completed on Monday in the Arabian Sea, more than 3,000km (1,860 miles) from Mumbai, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. An official with the Puntland Maritime Police Force said Indian forces disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates, confiscated their mobile phones and released them. He...

China’s interests in the Middle East increasingly conflict with Iran’s cooperation with regional proxies and use of coercive threats.

A German tourist was among two men still missing on Tuesday after a landslide struck a glamping resort on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Heavy rains on Sunday afternoon caused the landslide, which struck the Eco Park Pelaga Glamping Retreat in Petang district at around 11pm, The Bali Times reported. Three tents collapsed while a fourth fell into the Tukad Yeh Kilap River and was swept away by the currents. The 4-hectare (10-acre) property, which houses 25 tents, sits on a steep cliff beside...

US artificial intelligence giant Anthropic’s initial public offering prospectus has exposed a vast profitability gap between it and rivals Z.ai and MiniMax, highlighting the challenges facing China’s AI model developers in turning technological advances into sustainable businesses. The Claude developer’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week revealed a significant financial advantage over its most direct Chinese counterparts, despite the latter’s continued...

A South Korean court revoked the Unification Church leader’s bail in a bribery case on Tuesday after footage emerged of her visiting the secretive movement’s headquarters in breach of release conditions. Han Hak-ja, 83, was sentenced to two years in prison in August for providing luxury items, including a designer handbag, to former first lady Kim Keon-hee while her husband Yoon Suk-yeol was president, in an attempt to secure policy favours. She was granted bail two months later on health...

Open source is the only viable path to creating a sustainable artificial intelligence industry, Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai said on Tuesday, as the Chinese technology giant doubles down on its open-source AI strategy. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the annual World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, Tsai pointed to a growing convergence around open ecosystems among domestic tech companies, as surging AI demand rubs up against persistent...

The Indonesian government is facing mounting pressure to scrap the value-added tax (VAT) on sanitary pads and other menstrual hygiene products, with critics arguing it adds to the financial burden for women from low-income families already struggling to buy basic necessities. While the 11 per cent tax on such products is not new, the issue has gained traction amid public anger over rising living costs. Students took to the streets of Jakarta last week to protest against the government’s handling...