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Guangdong pushes AI-powered growth despite looming shadow of Nexperia tensions

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Guangdong pushes AI-powered growth despite looming shadow of Nexperia tensions

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Guangdong province – China’s manufacturing powerhouse – has unveiled comprehensive plans to integrate artificial intelligence into industrial operations and attract foreign investment, underscoring its commitment to technological upgrading and international cooperation.

The provincial government held two press conferences on Wednesday to outline a new three-year action plan – launched a day earlier – that aims to harness AI in manufacturing, as well as to preview an coming investment event designed to draw international businesses and capital to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

At the briefing, officials highlighted progress by regional giants in achieving tech self-sufficiency.

Qu Xiaojie, deputy head of Guangdong’s Department of Industry and Information Technology, cited Huawei Technologies’ Ascend processors and Tencent Holdings’ Hunyuan AI model family as examples of “full-stack ecosystems” that were providing “fresh impetus for the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector.”

Both companies are headquartered in Shenzhen, the province’s largest economy.

Huawei last month showcased new developments in its Ascend chip line, unveiling hardware designed to deliver world-class computing power without relying on Nvidia processors.

Following the Ascend 910C, launched earlier this year, Huawei plans to release the Ascend 950 series – including the 950PR and 950DT – over the next year, with the Ascend 960 and Ascend 970 chips expected in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

The road map runs broadly in parallel with releases from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

Beyond AI, Guangdong is also promoting self-sufficiency in robotics.

Li Diyun, an official from the provincial Department of Science and Technology, said a national key laboratory for heavy-load robotics would “advance cutting-edge research in heavy-duty robotics and promote domestic supply of core components”.

The facility, named Lyceem Lab and established in 2022 by Foshan-based appliance giant Midea Group, held a seminar in March to discuss the latest research into large models and robots. Midea has made significant investments in robotics since its 2016 acquisition of Germany’s Kuka.

Despite the push for home-grown innovation, Guangdong hopes to strengthen its global ties by attracting more foreign businesses and capital.

Zhang Jinsong, head of the province’s Department of Commerce, announced that the Global Investment Promotion Conference for the Greater Bay Area would be held in Guangzhou on November 3.

He said representatives from US energy giant ExxonMobil, consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble, and Japan’s Nissan and Panasonic would attend.

“With the objective of establishing a global investment promotion image, we will strengthen trade and investment cooperation with developed nations such as Europe, the US, Japan and South Korea, as well as emerging markets including the Middle East and Asean countries,” Zhang said.

The renewed investment drive comes amid escalating tensions between China, Europe and the US over Nexperia’s fate.

Late last month, the Dutch government seized control of Nexperia’s management and removed its Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, who is also the founder of Wingtech Technology. In response, Beijing banned Nexperia China and its subcontractors from exporting finished components produced in the country.

The stand-off may be linked to a recent US rule tightening restrictions on entities that are at least 50 per cent owned by companies on its export control list. Wingtech, which fully owns Nexperia, was added to the US trade blacklist in December.

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No camera covered Louvre wall where jewel thieves broke in, director says

The Louvre failed to spot a gang of thieves early enough to stop the theft of €88m (£76m) worth of French crown jewels, the museum's director has revealed.

Laurence des Cars, speaking publicly for the first time since the heist on Sunday, told French senators that CCTV around the Louvre's perimeter was weak and "aging".

The only camera monitoring the exterior wall of the Louvre where they broke in was pointing away from the first-floor balcony that led to Gallery of Apollo housing the jewels, she said.

"We failed these jewels," she said, adding that no-one was protected from "brutal criminals - not even the Louvre".

Ministers have given press conferences and interviews and denied security failings, but des Cars cut through that and admitted the Louvre had been "defeated".

Her words gave an extraordinary insight into the difficulty of securing the world's most visited museum, and how bad its security really was.

The CCTV system outside the Louvre was "very unsatisfactory" she said and inside, some areas were simply too old to adapt to modern technologies.

Despite the museum's huge volume of visitors - 8.7 million last year alone - investment in security has been slow and she highlighted the budget challenges big institutions face.

Des Cars, who became director of the Louvre in 2021, said she wanted to double the number of CCTV cameras.

She said she was warned about how "obsolete" the equipment at the Louvre was when she took the job, in contrast to the modern equipment of the Musée d'Orsay, where she had worked previously.

Some of the senators she faced at Wednesday's hearing expressed incredulity at the Louvre's security, asking why there was just one camera - on the external wall facing the river - and why it was pointing the wrong way.

That single failure meant that the lorry carrying the gang and their mechanical ladder, used to reach the gallery's first floor, was not spotted at all as it arrived at the foot of the Gallery of Apollo.

"There is a weakness at the Louvre and I acknowledge it completely," des Cars told the senators.

She praised security guards who she said acted quickly to evacuate the building as soon as they were aware there had been an intrusion, but she conceded: "We did not spot the arrival of the thieves early enough... the weakness of our perimeter protection is known."

The museum re-opened on Wednesday, although the gallery remained shut.

The Louvre is home to priceless works of art including Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

A hunt is still under way for the gang of four who, over the space of less than 10 minutes last Sunday morning, broke into one of the world's most famous museums.

They made off with eight prized pieces of jewellery including a diamond and emerald necklace Emperor Napoleon gave to his wife.

As they fled, they dropped a 19th-Century diamond-studded crown belonging to Empress Eugenie. Although it was recovered, the crown was damaged, and Laurence des Cars told the senators that it had probably been crushed as the thieves prised it from its display case.

"Initial assessments suggest that a delicate restoration is possible," des Cars said.

Some of the museum's problems she raised at the hearing included cuts in surveillance and security staff over the past decade and decaying infrastructure that could not handle the latest generation of video equipment.

The director hopes that work to improve security will begin at the start of 2026.

However, it is expected to be challenging given the aging infrastructure of what was once a royal palace.

Des Cars said she had tendered her resignation to the culture ministry after the heist but had been refused. She told senators she had been raising concerns about the state of the Louvre for some time.

She became animated, even indignant, as she defended herself from media allegations that she prioritised her own comfort ahead of protecting the Louvre and its historic collections.

"I am wounded as chair and director that the warnings I was raising, as a whistle-blower, in a sense, have come to pass last Sunday.

"We've had a terrible failure at the Louvre. I've taken responsibility for it," she said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France's Europe radio on Wednesday that he had "every confidence" the thieves would be caught.

Prosecutors have said their theory is that the robbers were under orders for a criminal organisation.

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No camera covered Louvre wall where jewel thieves broke in, director says

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No camera covered Louvre wall where jewel thieves broke in, director says

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The Louvre failed to spot a gang of thieves early enough to stop the theft of €88m (£76m) worth of French crown jewels, the museum's director has revealed.

Laurence des Cars, speaking publicly for the first time since the heist on Sunday, told French senators that CCTV around the Louvre's perimeter was weak and "aging".

The only camera monitoring the exterior wall of the Louvre where they broke in was pointing away from the first-floor balcony that led to Gallery of Apollo housing the jewels, she said.

"We failed these jewels," she said, adding that no-one was protected from "brutal criminals - not even the Louvre".

Ministers have given press conferences and interviews and denied security failings, but des Cars cut through that and admitted the Louvre had been "defeated".

Her words gave an extraordinary insight into the difficulty of securing the world's most visited museum, and how bad its security really was.

The CCTV system outside the Louvre was "very unsatisfactory" she said and inside, some areas were simply too old to adapt to modern technologies.

Despite the museum's huge volume of visitors - 8.7 million last year alone - investment in security has been slow and she highlighted the budget challenges big institutions face.

Des Cars, who became director of the Louvre in 2021, said she wanted to double the number of CCTV cameras.

She said she was warned about how "obsolete" the equipment at the Louvre was when she took the job, in contrast to the modern equipment of the Musée d'Orsay, where she had worked previously.

Some of the senators she faced at Wednesday's hearing expressed incredulity at the Louvre's security, asking why there was just one camera - on the external wall facing the river - and why it was pointing the wrong way.

That single failure meant that the lorry carrying the gang and their mechanical ladder, used to reach the gallery's first floor, was not spotted at all as it arrived at the foot of the Gallery of Apollo.

"There is a weakness at the Louvre and I acknowledge it completely," des Cars told the senators.

She praised security guards who she said acted quickly to evacuate the building as soon as they were aware there had been an intrusion, but she conceded: "We did not spot the arrival of the thieves early enough... the weakness of our perimeter protection is known."

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The quest to make an ice cream that doesn't melt

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The quest to make an ice cream that doesn't melt

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Ice cream is a staple of summer – but melts quickly when the mercury rises. Can scientists help it keep its cool?

Few things delight on a summer day like an ice cream cone. Few things cause such despair, however, like the total disintegration of said ice cream, running down one's fingers, sagging from the cone, heading earthwards before you can say "toddler meltdown".

Any number of rhapsodies could be written about the pleasures of something so short-lived, all the sweeter for their brevity. But you would have to go to another story to find them, because here we will not tolerate such masochism.

Reports of Japanese manufacturer Kanazawa Ice's ice pops, and, later on, soft-serve ice cream, withstanding numerous heat-based assaults without melting, went viral some years ago, however. The scientists behind this ice cream had pumped it full of polyphenols, a class of antioxidant molecules found in many fruits. The result was a curious stability, a notable lack of creamy liquid running over fingers. How did it work?

Ice cream is composed primarily of cream and sugar. Machines for producing the stuff churn the sweet slurry in a refrigerated drum, and when it forms a frozen film on the drum's interior, a scraper chips it off. This keeps the ice crystals from growing to a distasteful size, the phenomenon behind the slightly jagged texture of some ice cream when you bring it home from the grocery store.

When ice cream, somewhere in the long trip between factory and your freezer, heats up slightly, melts, and then is refrozen, chunky, unpleasant crystals result.

This is a known problem with taking ice cream from its first freezer into a world full of temperatures greater than zero. Ice cream manufacturers already use a number of stabilisers, such as carrageenan, from seaweed, and guar gum (from guar seeds), to try to keep ice cream from suffering too much from its journeys.

Ice cream that does not melt, that instead warms up into a rubbery monolith, is not really what most of us expect from a frozen dessert

When Cameron Wicks, a food scientist then studying at the University of Wisconsin who now works at food producer General Mills, saw the video of Kanazawa Ice's no-melt ice cream, she wondered how the polyphenols had their stabilising effect. The molecules are known for their potential health-promoting traits, not necessarily their engineering qualities. In the lab, she began to experiment with cream mixtures using higher and higher levels of one particular polyphenol: tannic acid.

In experiments where she mixed cream with 0.75%, 1.5%, and 3% tannic acid, she noticed that almost immediately, the higher concentrations began to thicken. After chilling the mixtures for 24 hours, she took measurements and noted that tannic acid had caused them to gel, so strongly that the 3% mixture could be cut with a knife or turned upside down without falling out of a cup.

Putting the cream under the microscope, Wicks saw that the higher concentrations had more distinct fat globules. The tannic acid, she and her colleagues surmised, was interacting with the proteins in the cream, creating a supportive network or barrier to the merging of the fat globs.

That would explain why ice cream made from such a substance is resistant to melting: the liberated fats from the melted crystals of cream would not be able to run down, thanks to the addition of the polyphenol.

More like this:

• Should you avoid dairy when you have a cold?

• Why not all comfort food is the same

• The explosive potential of custard powder

That said, this chemical trick is not a way to freeze time and break the physical laws of the Universe. It's more like a bra for your ice cream – or a nice, supportive pair of dessert hosiery. As the hours pass, Wicks found in later experiments, ice cream made this way acquires a pudding-like texture, although it will continue more or less in its previous shape. And polyphenols do not, of course, keep the ice cream cold.

Ice cream that does not melt, that instead warms up into a rubbery monolith, is not really what most of us expect from a frozen dessert. Expectation matters more than you think when it comes to food. If you expect vanilla ice cream, and discover upon taking a bite that it is mashed potatoes, it is a profound readjustment.

Perhaps polyphenols will join the ranks of more established stabilisers, helping to keep ice cream more or less at it should be through the travails of long-distance travel. But will high-dose polyphenol desserts, designed to withstand a hair dryer's blast or to hold their shape for hours make their way to an ice cream stand near you? Only time will tell.

--

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Sanae Takaichi makes history as Japan's first female prime minister 4b01

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Sanae Takaichi makes history as Japan's first female prime minister 4b01

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Sanae Takaichi has been elected Japan's prime minister by its parliament, making her the first woman to hold the office.

The 64-year-old won a clear majority on Tuesday - 237 votes in the powerful Lower House and another 125 in the Upper House - as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

A staunch conservative and admirer of the late former UK PM Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi takes over at a challenging economic moment as Japan grapples with a rising cost of living and a frustrated public.

It's also been an uncertain time for the world's fourth-largest economy. She is the fourth PM in just five years, after her predecessors' terms were cut short by plunging ratings and scandals.

Although she defeated four men to win the LDP race in early October, her path to the top job appeared to be blocked when the LDP's long-time coalition partner, the Komeito party, withdrew support.

But a last-minute deal with another opposition party - the right-leaning Japan Innovation Party (JIP), known as Ishin - saved her. She and the LDP will face voters next in 2028.

Meanwhile, aside from domestic challenges, she faces tricky relationships abroad. South Korea, which had started to mend historically delicate ties with Japan, is wary because of her right-wing politics, which lean nationalist. And, like some of her predecessors, including the late former PM Shinzo Abe, she is seen as hawkish when it comes to an increasingly powerful China.

But the most important relationship is with the US and a test is around the corner - a meeting with US President Donald Trump next week.

While both sides have reached a tariff deal, Trump's past comments questioning the value of a security treaty between them and demanding Tokyo pay more for defence have raised concerns - Takaichi must navigate these issues with an unpredictable US administration.

At the age of 64, Takaichi is no stranger to Japanese politics.

A known ally of Abe, she has held several ministerial roles over her career and has run for the job of PM before.

She was elected LDP leader after its former leader and PM Shigeru Ishiba resigned following major losses in midterm elections.

Nicknamed the "Iron Lady" for her admiration of Thatcher, Takaichi is known for conservative views, including her opposition to same-sex marriage and a growing demand to allow married women to keep their maiden surnames.

This has made some young women sceptical of the significance of her win.

"Everyone's like, 'Wow, she's the first female prime minister in Japanese history and that's a great opportunity for women's empowerment'," said 21-year-old student Ayda Ogura.

"[But] if you look into her political beliefs and what she stands for, you realise that some of the things are very traditional. Instead of creating structural change, she rather perpetuates the patriarchal system."

During her recent campaign, Takaichi proposed expanded hospital services for women's health and giving household support workers greater recognition.

She still has a major task ahead of her - to rebuild the trust of the public in the LDP.

The party has governed Japan for most of the past seven decades, but under Ishiba it lost its majority in the lower house for the first time in 15 years. Then it lost its majority in the upper house in July, amid public anger after a fundraising scandal.

In electing Takaichi, the LDP had hoped to win back conservative voters, many of whom had gravitated towards the far-right Sanseito party after being disillusioned with the usual options.

But first Takaichi has to turn her attention to public anger as prices continue to soar. An ongoing rice shortage, for example, has resulted in record prices for the Japanese staple.

Local media report that she may apppoint Satsuki Katayama as finance minister, yet another historic first for a woman. Like Takaichi, Katayama too is a protege of Abe.

While concerns over Japan's rising debt and lacklustre growth have been worrying investors, Takaichi's win seemed to have offered some optimism for the markets.

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I am melting, help me': The 30-year-old drug website that transformed psychedelic research

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I am melting, help me': The 30-year-old drug website that transformed psychedelic research

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Thirty years ago, drug users flocked to a website called Erowid to describe experiences on everything from Advil to LSD. Today it's become a goldmine for researchers and governments.

"I am melting, help me." This is not only an unusual plea for assistance. It's also the title of a "trip report": one person's experience with the powerful dissociative drug phencyclidine(known as PCP). And it's just one of many thousands of mind-bending anecdotes filed to Erowid, a website that, since the early days of the internet, has built one of the world's most influential records of drug use and its effects.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the scrappy, grassroots project, which hosts data on everything from caffeine to cannabis to paracetamol (also known as Tylenol) to heroin, like a Wikipedia on all things pharmaceutical. Users post information about purifying street drugs, rolling joints and the health implications of drug misuse. Visitors to the site can find information about drug toxicology and interactions between chemicals. They can even wade through the archives of Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist who first synthesised lysergic acid diethylamide – or LSD.

But perhaps most intriguing of all are the 45,000-plus trip reports in the "Experience Vault". These hallucinatory tales, with titles such as "Tripping Alone on 1.5 Grams From Hell", "The Weekend At The Edge Of The Universe" and "The Thumbprint", where an unfortunate soul loses their mind on a drug related to LSD called AL-LAD, do not just make for idle internet fodder. They have become vital for academic research, especially for esoteric and illegal substances where clinical data does not exist or is challenging to obtain.

"People publishing their personal experiences and experimenting outside of the legal and academic bubble has led to the science, in many ways," says David Luke, associate professor of psychology at the University of Greenwich in the UK who studies psychedelics and has conducted clinical trials using microdoses of LSD. "There was so little published academic research and so few resources for exploring the use of psychoactive drugs that Erowid was invaluable for research, and to understand issues around safety and experiences."

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37000 workers imported into Hong Kong since start of the labour scheme in 2023

Hong Kong has imported more than 37,000 workers since the government introduced a labour scheme two years ago, while a construction union has announced a wage freeze for most of the major trades in the industry.

The Labour and Welfare Bureau on Wednesday revealed that it had received applications to import more than 62,000 workers in the catering and hospitality industries since the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme was launched in 2023.

Between September 4, 2023, and September 30 this year, the catering industry applied to import more than 60,000 workers, of whom 35,589 - or nearly 60 per cent - were approved.

More than 11,000 of the approved workers were wait staff - the role with the highest number of imports - while 8,000 were junior cooks.

In the same period, 10 applications involving 44 imported workers were rejected.

The Labour Department made 1,257 job referrals in the catering services sector during the local recruitment period under the scheme, aimed at matching jobseekers with employers who had applied to import labour.

Only 107 jobseekers were offered employment, accounting for about 8.5 per cent.

As of the end of September, 66 referrals were made for clerical positions in the catering services sector this year, but none resulted in offers.

In the hospitality industry, more than 2,100 workers have been imported since the launch of the scheme.

Official figures released on Monday showed that Hong Kong's jobless rate was 3.9 per cent from July to September, 0.2 per cent higher than the preceding three-month period.

This represents the highest rate since the three-month period from July to September 2022, when it was 4 per cent.

The social work and construction industries had higher unemployment rates, while the figure for the food and beverage sector remained unchanged.

On Wednesday, the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union announced a wage freeze for 15 of the 16 major trades in the sector in the coming year.

Starting next month, excavator operators will receive a 3.2 per cent wage increase, with daily wages rising from HK$1,550 (US$199) to HK$1,600.

Metal scaffolding workers received a HK$50 pay rise between 2023 and 2024, but their wages will remain unchanged in the coming year.

Thirteen of the trades have had their wages frozen for the second consecutive year, while aluminium workers have not had a pay rise for the third year straight.

The union said the industry was going through an economic transition and there were

"numerous challenges" for employment in the sector. It called on the government to

"actively revitalise the local economy".

"The union hopes the government will continue to work closely with the construction industry and the labour sector and adopt a multipronged approach," it said.

"This includes continuing to promote local training and the use of technology within the industry to increase productivity, supporting workers in job reallocation, strengthening re-employment skills training, and providing job matching services."

The union said it came to the decision collectively after conducting a questionnaire with its members and discussing the market outlook with affiliated groups and stakeholders in the industry. It is the leading workers' group in the construction industry with 27 affiliated unions and more than 40,000 members.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his policy address in September that the government would prioritise hiring local workers and crack down on abuses of the labour import scheme.

Labour authorities will strengthen protection for local workers by tightening restrictions on employers importing waiters and junior cooks, and by requiring employers to hire at least two local full-time workers for every imported worker.

Employers must also extend the local recruitment period to six weeks - up from four weeks

- and attend an on-site job fair organised by the Labour Department once a week during that time.

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Topic: China milk tea lover creates US$14,000 gold straw for favourite drink but drops it while biking

Police with torches find precious hollow tube at side of road; ‘panicked’ owner expresses relief at escaping ‘punishment’ by wife

A Chinese man who had a gold straw worth 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) tailor-made for drinking milk tea accidentally dropped it while riding his electric bike.

The man surnamed Shou, from eastern China’s Zhejiang province, recently went viral because he asked for police help to look for the golden drinking implement.

Shou was riding his electric bike home at night with the straw in his trouser pocket as he passed over a bumpy manhole, causing the straw to fall out.

Shou panicked and spent an hour looking for the straw without success before calling the police.

Two police officers arrived at the scene and were shocked to learn that Shou wanted them to look for a gold straw weighing about 100g.

According to the maker of the straw, Shou paid 90,000 yuan to have it made at his shop.

Thanks to the price of gold soaring by more than 10 per cent in just a month, the straw is now worth 100,000 yuan.

The police officers used torches in a bid to find the special straw.

After half an hour, they found it lying beside a pavement about 100 metres from the manhole.

Shou was ecstatic: “Now my wife will not punish me by demanding I kneel on a washboard.”

In China, “kneeling on a washboard” is a humorous idiom widely used to describe a wife punishing her husband.

Shou said he had been buying gold for the past decade.

He said he used the straw to enjoy his favourite drink, milk tea. Shou also has a silver straw for doing so.

The gold straw was damaged in the incident and Shou said he had it melted down and would have another made next summer, but would not carry it in his pocket in future.

China has a long-established tradition of buying gold for newlyweds and newborn babies.

In recent years, gold jewellery has become increasingly popular with young people as it is considered both beautiful and a good investment.

As the precious metal’s price rose by more than 60 per cent this year, many chose to have jewellery made from gold they already had instead of buying new gold accessories.

One online observer said: “He uses a gold straw to drink milk tea, but still rides an electric bike.”

“I would not pick it up even if I actually saw it lying on the road because I would not believe a straw can be made of gold,” said another, suggesting this could be a reason Shou was able to get his precious item back.

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Topic: Outrage in China as alarming reports surface of human teeth found in sausages, dim sum

Multiple instances of diners discovering human teeth in food have reignited food safety concerns in China.

On October 13, a woman reported finding a row of three artificial human teeth in a sausage she bought for her child in northeastern China’s Jilin province. She bought the grilled sausage from an outdoor stall. Initially, the vendor denied that the teeth were present when the sausage was sold but later apologised after local market supervision authorities became involved.

On the same day, another woman reported that her father found two human teeth in dim sum at a branch of Sanjin Soup Dumplings, a renowned local dim sum chain in Dongguan City, southern Guangdong province. She confirmed that the teeth did not belong to her father.

A staff member at the branch expressed shock over the incident, insisting that the food produced at the factory “should not have such problems.”

The customer returned the next day to assert her rights and stated that the store offered her 1,000 yuan (US$140) in compensation for the defective cake. They requested she sign a receipt for the compensation but denied her request to photograph it.

Under China’s Food Safety Law, companies that produce or sell food not meeting safety standards must compensate consumers 10 times the food’s price or three times the consumer’s losses due to the issue. If the compensation amount is lower than 1,000 yuan, that sum is the minimum.

The woman chose to decline the compensation, citing “their attitude was wrong.”

The market supervision department of Shanghai Pudong New District has reportedly launched an investigation into the matter.

This is not the first occurrence of an artificial tooth found in products sold at Sam’s Club. In 2022, a woman reported that her uncle discovered three teeth in Sam’s Club’s signature Swiss roll, bought from the brand’s store in Xiamen, located in southeastern Fujian province.

Previous incidents have typically concluded with customers reaching compromises with food sellers, without any published investigation results from authorities.

Each time similar cases arise, speculation runs wild, with some wondering if human meat has been inadvertently mixed into the food.

“I hope it is not the horror story of mixing human meat into the ingredients,” one user commented on social media.

Others speculated that factory workers might have accidentally lost their artificial teeth during food production.

“I am really worried about food safety here,” another user expressed.

Yet another user remarked: “I cannot fathom why there are so many such cases, as factories normally use X-ray machines to inspect their food to prevent incidents like these.”

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China toy platform refund policy requires parents to scold, slap child for unapproved spending

Seller on multibillion-dollar platform demands ‘apology’ video of mum abusing her daughter; says clip must have ‘audible slapping’ sounds

A major Chinese second-hand platform has sparked online controversy after allegedly requiring a mother to submit an uninterrupted five-minute video of herself slapping her child as a condition for processing a refund.

The case drew public attention when Li Yun, the mother of an unidentified 11-year-old girl, tried to get a refund after discovering that her daughter had secretly spent over 500 yuan (US$70) on trading cards on the Qiandao app.

Qiandao is widely regarded as China’s leading platform for trendy second-hand toys and collectibles. It surpassed 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) in total transaction volume in 2025.

On the platform, buyers and sellers trade collectable toys, cards and model figures.

The platform provides official verification and authenticity guarantees. It also enforces a policy that these products are not eligible for unconditional returns within seven days

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Alibaba's Quark app adds AI chat-bot in challenge to ByteDance's Doubao, Tencent's Yuanbao.

Quark is also launching AI glasses in a presale which kicks off Friday on Chinese e-commerce platforms including JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall

Alibaba Group Holding has upped the ante in China’s crowded consumer artificial intelligence market by adding chat integration to its Quark app, putting it in direct competition with services from ByteDance and Tencent Holdings, as the country’s tech giants ramp up their AI rivalry.

The chat feature, powered by Alibaba Cloud’s latest Qwen3 AI models, adds ChatGPT-like text and voice conversational functions to Quark, which already offered tools spanning search to AI writing, the tech conglomerate said in a statement on Thursday. Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud services unit of Hangzhou-based Alibaba, which owns the Post.

The company said the update enabled Quark to deliver “a complete AI experience” that provided users with instant answers through search and allowed for deeper interaction through chat.

The move underscores the Chinese tech giant’s growing efforts to build Quark into a versatile super AI app for local consumers amid intensifying competition among Chinese tech firms pursuing the same goal with similar offerings, such as ByteDance’s Doubao and Tencent’s Yuanbao.

Separately, Quark is also launching AI glasses in a presale which kicks off Friday on Chinese e-commerce platforms including JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall.

The Quark AI frame – capable of hands-free calling, real-time language translation and meeting minutes transcriptions – is priced at 4,699 yuan (US$659.37), but is available as low as 3,699 yuan with discounts during the current Singles’ Day shopping festival.

The latest update follows a string of new Quark functions that have been rolled out by Alibaba this year.

In March, Quark introduced a “Super Box” feature designed to streamline the user experience of increasingly complex AI apps, analysing user queries and generating relevant responses through a single interface.

That was followed by the introduction of a “deep search” capability in May, which the company claimed could deploy a combination of multiple agents to understand complex queries and deliver comprehensive reports rather than simple responses.

At the time, Zhang Fang, the executive responsible for Quark’s search function, said the team was focused on what users needed and would continue to improve the deep search capability to build “a useful all-around AI assistant”.

ByteDance has added a string of similar functions from search to photo-based problem solving skills to its Doubao app, while Tencent did the same with Yuanbao, which is backed by both its home-grown Hunyuan model and DeepSeek’s models.

Quark has a narrow lead in the Chinese AI chatbot market, with 151 million monthly active users against Doubao’s 150 million users as of September, according to Aicpb.com, which tracks the popularity of domestic and global AI products.

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How AI Affects Our Minds: Early Evidence From Harvard and MIT

Scientific research on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on our cognitive skills and mental state is still in its infancy, but early evidence from research powerhouses suggests some worrying trends—namely, that frequent use of generative AI may undermine motivation, weaken memory retention, and erode critical thinking.

Harvard Study: AI Boosts Productivity and Boredom

A recent Harvard study by Yukun Liu et al. suggests that GenAI makes people more productive but less motivated. While LLMs are able to improve the quality and efficiency of assignments, employees who collaborated with LLMs on one task and then moved on to another task without AI assistance consistently reported a decrease in intrinsic motivation and an increase in boredom by an average of 20%. In contrast, those who worked without AI maintained a relatively stable psychological state.

MIT Study: AI's Effect on Critical Thinking in Students

Nataliya Kosmyna, a full-time researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, has recently investigated whether ChatGPT could harm critical thinking skills. The study conducted by her and her colleagues has produced thought-provoking results. In particular, her research team aimed to specifically explore the impact of AI on schoolwork, as an increasing number of students are using AI.

The study involved 54 participants aged 18 to 39 from Boston, who were given a task to write an essay across three 20-minute sessions based on school assessment test (SAT) questions, including the ethics of philanthropy and the pitfalls of having too many choices. Participants were randomly divided into the following three groups, balanced by age and gender:

1. LLM group: Participants in this group were required to use ChatGPT as their sole source of information for the essay. No other browsers or applications were allowed.

2. Search engine group: Participants in this group were free to use any website to help them with their essays, but ChatGPT or any other LLM was explicitly prohibited; all participants used Google as their browser of choice. They had to add "-ai" to any search query, so they wouldn't be able to use AI-enhanced answers.

3. Brain-only group: Participants in this group were not allowed to use either LLM or any other websites for consultation.

In an optional fourth session, participants switched roles: the LLM users used no tools (LLM-to-Brain), and the Brain-only group used ChatGPT (Brain-to-LLM).

Key Findings: Brain Activity and Essay Quality

The researchers used EEG to record the brain activity of the essay writers and found that of all three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain activity and "consistently performed poorly on neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels."

In particular, the study revealed the following results:

LLM group: The essays were remarkably homogeneous within each topic, differing hardly at all from one another. Participants often used the same expressions or ideas.

Brain-only group: Essay writers showed varied and diverse ideas among the topics.

Search engine group: The essays were based on search-engine-optimized content; their ontology overlapped with the LLM group but not with the Brain-only group.

The EEG analysis revealed that the Brain-only group exhibits the highest level of neural connectivity, particularly in the alpha, theta, and delta bands. LLM users had the weakest connectivity, 55% lower in low-frequency networks. The group of search engine users demonstrated high involvement of the visual cortex, which is consistent with the information-gathering process on the Internet.

In terms of behavioural and cognitive engagement, the LLM group participants were unable to quote accurately, while the Brain-only group participants demonstrated good recall and citation skills.

In terms of ownership, Brain-only participants claimed full responsibility for their work; LLM participants expressed either no responsibility or partial responsibility.

In terms of critical thinking, Brain-only participants cared more about the 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 and 𝘸𝘩𝘺 they wrote, while LLM users focused on the 𝘩𝘰𝘸.

Repeated use of the LLM has led to superficial repetition of content and reduced critical engagement. This indicates the accumulation of "cognitive debt", e.g., the postponement of mental effort at the cost of long-term cognitive depth.

After writing three essays, the participants were optionally asked to rewrite one of their previous works. However, the LLM group had to do it without the tool, while the brain-only group could use ChatGPT. The first group remembered little of their essays and showed weaker alpha and theta brain waves, likely reflecting the bypassing of deep memory processes. Although the task was completed effectively and conveniently, according to the researcher, none of the information was actually integrated into their memory networks.

The second group, on the other hand, performed well, showing a significant increase in brain connectivity across all EEG frequency bands. This gives hope that AI, when used correctly, can enhance learning rather than hinder it.

Public Reaction and AI Traps

The researcher decided to publish the paper while peer review process is being in progress, as she's confident that it's absolutely crucial to start educating people, and especially students, on how to use LLM tools correctly and promoting the fact that our "brain does need to develop in a more analog way." According to her, “We need to have active legislation in sync and, more importantly, be testing these tools before we implement them.”

Ironically, after the paper was published, several social media users ran it through LLMs for summarization and then published the findings online. According to Time, Kosmyna expected people to do so, so she inserted several AI traps into the paper, such as instructing LLMs to "read only this table," which ensured that they would only get limited information from the article.

Ongoing Research: AI's Impact on Programming

Kosmyna and her colleagues are currently working on another similar paper that tests brain activity in AI-driven and AI-free software engineering and programming. According to them, the results are even worse. This new research could have implications for many companies hoping to replace their entry-level programmers with AI.

Even if efficiency increases, the growing reliance on AI could potentially reduce critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving abilities across the remaining workforce.

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How AI Affects Our Minds: Early Evidence From Harvard and MIT | HackerNoon

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Discover how LLMs may impact memory, motivation, and critical thinking. MIT and Harvard studies reveal surprising cognitive effects.

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These robots can clean, exercise - and care for you in old age. Would you trust them to?

Hidden away in a lab in north-west London three black metal robotic hands move eerily on an engineering work bench. No claws, or pincers, but four fingers and a thumb opening and closing slowly, with joints in all the right places.

"We're not trying to build Terminator," jokes Rich Walker, director of Shadow Robot, the firm that made them.

Bespectacled, with long hair and a beard and moustache, he seems more like a latter-day hippy than a tech whizz, and he is clearly proud as he shows me around his firm.

"We set out to build the robot that helps you, that makes your life better, your general-purpose servant that can do anything around the home, do all the housework..."

But there's a deeper ambition: to address one of the UK's most pressing challenges - the escalating crisis in social care.There were 131,000 vacancies for adult care workers in England, a report by charity, Skills for Care, found last year. And in all, around two million people aged 65 and over in England are living with unmet care needs, according to Age UK.

By 2050, one in four people in the UK is expected to be aged 65 or over, potentially putting more strain still on the care system. Which is where robots come in. The previous government announced a £34m investment in developing robots that could potentially be used to give care. It went as far as saying, in 2019, that "within the next 20 years, autonomous systems like… robots will become a normal part of our lives, transforming the way we live, work and travel."Could this "techno-solutionism" - which sounds more like something out of a sci-fi film - really be the solution? And would you really trust your elderly relatives, or yourself when you're at your most vulnerable with what is essentially a very strong machine?

Workouts with Pepper the robot

Japan offers a peek into a future with robots living among us. Ten years ago, its government began offering subsidies to robot manufacturers to develop and popularise the use of robots in care homes - fuelled in part by an ageing population and relative lack of care home staff. Dr James Wright, an AI specialist and visiting professor at Queen Mary University of London, spent seven months observing them. And specifically, looking at how well they worked in a Japanese care home. In all, three types of robots were studied: the first, called HUG, was designed by Fuji Corporation in Japan and looked like a highly sophisticated walking frame. It had support pads that people could lean right into, and it helped carers lift people from bed to, say, a wheelchair or the toilet. The second, meanwhile, looked a bit like a baby seal and was called Paro. This robot, intended to stimulate dementia patients, was trained to respond to being stroked through movements and sounds. The third was a small friendly-looking humanoid robot called Pepper. It could give instructions and also demonstrate exercises by moving its arms - and was used to lead exercise classes in the care home. Even before he started observing them, Dr Wright had bought into the hype a little. "I was expecting that the robots would be easily adopted by care workers who were massively overstretched and extremely busy in their work. "What I found was, almost the opposite."He discovered that, in fact, the biggest drain on the time of care home staff was cleaning and recharging the robots - and above all troubleshooting when they went wrong.

"After several weeks the care workers decided the robots were more trouble than they were worth and used them less and less, because they were too busy to use them," he tells me.

"HUG had to be moved around all the time to get [it] out of the residents' way. Paro caused distress to one of the residents who had become overly attached to it. And they couldn't follow Pepper's exercise routines because it was too short for people to see - and they couldn't hear it properly because its voice was too high-pitched."The teams behind the robots had their own responses to Dr Wright's research.

The developers behind HUG says that since then they've refined the design to make it more compact and user-friendly. Paro's creator Takanori Shibata said that Paro has been used for 20 years and pointed to trials that demonstrated "clinical evidence of [the] therapeutic effects". Pepper is now owned by a different company and its software has been substantially updated.

And yet the study was not without merit.

Mr Walker of Shadow Robot is adamant that the use of robots in care should not be dismissed. For one thing, he argues, the next generation of them will be much more capable.

From labs to the real world

Praminda Caleb-Solly, a professor at the University of Nottingham is determined to make these robots work well in practice. "We are trying to get these robots out of the labs into the real world," she says.

To do this she has set up a network, Emergence, to help connect robot makers with businesses and individuals who will use them - and to find out from elderly people themselves what they'd want from robots.

The answers vary.

Some people have said they want robots with voice interaction and, understandably, a non-threatening appearance. Others want a "cute design". But many requests come down to the practical way they'd like the robot to adapt to their changing needs - and for the robot to charge and clean itself.

"We don't want to look after the robot – we want the robot to look after us," said one person who was asked the question.Some businesses in the UK are testing out robots too.

Home care provider, Caremark has been trialling Genie, a small voice-activated robot, with some people who use their services in Cheltenham.

One man who has early-onset dementia explained he enjoyed asking Genie to play Glenn Miller songs.

Overall, however, reactions have been "like Marmite," according to director Michael Folkes – with some people loving Genie, and others less complimentary.

But Mr Folkes also stresses these devices aren't about replacing people. "We're trying to build a future where carers have more time to care."

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Would you really trust a robot to care for you in old age?

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It sounds like something from a sci-fi film - but some scientists believe this clever new tech could help alleviate strains on the UK care system

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'It's harder to be a parent than a space shuttle commander', trailblazing Nasa pilot tells BBC

Original Article:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mxzdg203jo

Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ITJnWssqbvdw4uzvUCuUNFgCjk4p5AbQzA_jk3VkjUU/edit?usp=drivesdk

Reflection:

I was very inspired by Eileen Collins’ story. Being the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle, she forged a new path for breaking feminine stereotypes. Even after the Colombia disaster, she continued to stay calm and carry on with the shuttle programme. When a piece of foam broke away from the shuttle, she listened carefully to everyone’s opinions and kept her head clear.

I think her strength of character and calmness is wonderful. Even though being an astronaut isn’t my dream, there is a lot I can learn from her. Staying calm in the face of challenges is extremely important, not just in exams, but also in daily life. I have always thought of myself more as a follower than a leader, but after reading about Eileen Collins, I’ve learned that we can all make our mark with perseverance.

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Why early childhood education is crucial for future academic success 

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Why early childhood education is crucial for future academic success 

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The human brain grows more in the first few years of life than at any other time, with 90% of brain development taking place before the age of five. It’s therefore crucial that parents capitalise on this rapid phase of development in order to give their children the best possible chance of future academic success. Opting for early years education, at a school that provides high-quality learning, is key to this.

Hannah Tait, Head of EYFS and Primary at Discovery Bay International School (DBIS), says the nurture, care and education children receive in the early years is fundamental.

“Qualified early childhood teachers have an in-depth understanding of child development. This professional knowledge and understanding is essential in ensuring the setting and learning experience are tailored to each child’s individual starting point and are planned to support the children in building firm foundations for later learning.

“Through a quality early childhood education experience, children will engage with communication and language, which is essential for literacy development. In fact, the most recent research from the UK’s Department for Education (2025) found that those who are behind in communication, language and literacy development at age five are less than half as likely to achieve grade 4 or higher in GCSE English Language than those who are at the expected level.

“Skilled practitioners who understand child development and the skills required to engage with more subject-specific or formal learning later on have the expertise to ensure that early childhood settings are places where firm foundations and strong dispositions for learning are formed. Their focus will be far more on the process of learning rather than outcomes; this supports children in becoming curious, engaging with problem-solving, and developing self-regulation and meta-cognitive skills.

Missing this essential period in a child’s educational journey can have a lasting impact on their chances later in life. As documented by gov.uk in 2024, research shows that ‘children who attended pre-school provision, of any kind, attained higher total GCSE scores than those who did not. The higher the quality of the pre-school provision, the higher the GCSE scores.’”

The lesson from this? Pre-school of any kind will have a positive impact, but a pre-school experience led by highly qualified, expert educators who can apply their knowledge of child development to the learning and development of individual children will have an even greater impact on them achieving their potential.

4B(21)Oriole Yeung

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Electric buses added to Cornish bus route

A fleet of electric buses has been introduced to a route covering areas of south-east Cornwall.

The six vehicles run by Go Cornwall Bus have been added to the 70 route bus service on the Rame Peninsula travelling to places including Torpoint, Millbrook and Cawsand.

Cornwall Council said the zero-emission vehicles were the latest to be added to the county's fleet after some started serving passengers in Falmouth in July.

Dan Rogerson, council cabinet member for transport, said the electric buses would be quieter, along with the vehicles being more environmentally-friendly.

The council said funding for the vehicles formed part of a wider bid alongside Plymouth Citybus and Plymouth City Council to the government's Zero Emission Bus Regional Area 2 Fund.

The bid sought the funding for 50 zero-emission buses and electric charging infrastructure to the Milehouse Depot in Plymouth.

The Department for Transport awarded £10.34m to the bid, while Plymouth Citybus committed £19.6m to the project.

Cornwall Council said it would commit £1.19m to the project while Plymouth City Council put forward £750,000.

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The STEM crisis in China’s universities: how outdated courses are wasting talent

At a conference in December, Wang Xingxing – the robotics guru who founded China’s industry-leading Unitree Robotics – had a sharp critique.

“China is at a disadvantage in terms of talent reserves because its education system has decided that knowledge learned in school is often outdated, whereas overseas students study the world’s most cutting-edge technologies,” he told the audience.

“The education system fundamentally shapes future development potential and opportunities,” Wang said, adding that for an intelligent individual entering university, studying frontier knowledge versus 20-year-old textbook materials created “a stark gap”.

Born in 1990 in Zhejiang province in eastern China, the tech entrepreneur did not study at one of the country’s most sought-after universities.

During his undergraduate and master’s studies at local universities in Zhejiang and Shanghai, he devoted his time and passion to building low-cost robots, launching his entrepreneurial career soon after graduation.

As the world enters an era often referred to as the “fourth industrial revolution”, in which advanced technology such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, new energy and virtual reality are driving socioeconomic change, Chinese educators and innovators fear the country’s science and engineering education is not doing enough to nurture more bright minds like Wang.

While China is challenging the Western dominance in many critical sectors and has become an increasingly appealing destination for international researchers, many have criticised China’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) training, claiming it is obsolete and disconnected from industrial needs.

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Hong Kong gives green light to test driverless cars on mega bridge, in Kai Tak

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Hong Kong gives green light to test driverless cars on mega bridge, in Kai Tak

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Baidu Apollo International and Airport Authority cleared to pilot autonomous vehicles on designated routes from November 7, authorities say

Driverless vehicles will operate on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and in Kai Tak in November after transport authorities issued two more licences.

The Transport Department said on Thursday that Baidu Apollo International and the Airport Authority were the latest companies authorised to pilot autonomous vehicles on designated routes from November 7 under the Road Traffic Regulation. The pilot licences are valid for five years.

Baidu Apollo International, which already obtained two licences to operate driverless vehicles in North Lantau and Southern district, was approved to test 10 vehicles in East Kowloon.

In the first phase of road tests, a total of six autonomous private cars will operate simultaneously at a specified time in Kowloon City and Kwun Tong districts from “Runway 1331”, a youth hostel and cultural hub that opened in September, to Kai Tak station.

A backup operator will be stationed in the vehicle during the trial to take over control when necessary.

A department spokesman said that the company’s first project in North Lantau had made significant progress since its launch at the end of 2024.

“With continuous monitoring and active facilitation by the Transport Department, it has achieved four notable technical advancements, namely the simultaneous operation of multiple vehicles, passenger-carrying trials, expanded routes and increased vehicle speeds,” he said.

The company obtained approval for road tests in Tung Chung and Cyberport earlier this year, and those projects had been largely smooth, with the vehicles’ performance being stable, he added.

“This pilot project, spanning Kowloon City and Kwun Tong districts, encompassing the Kai Tak Development Area, will provide more trial data for the performance assessment of more different road scenarios in cross-district operations.”

The Airport Authority, meanwhile, obtained approval to test the vehicles between the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Hong Kong port and SkyCity at the airport.

The trial will involve seven public light buses, with a backup operator stationed in the vehicles.

“The government aims to accelerate progress towards driverless and large-scale development and also aspires to achieve commercial operation, encouraging the industry to leverage Hong Kong as a platform to explore overseas markets,” the spokesman said.

“Driving and road safety remain the top priority, and the government will draw on practical experience to refine technical standards, share research findings with the industry in a timely manner, and implement these initiatives in a prudent and orderly process.”

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Baidu Apollo International and Airport Authority cleared to pilot autonomous vehicles on designated routes from November 7, authorities say

Driverless vehicles will operate on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and Kai Tak in November after transport authorities issued two more pilot licences.

The Transport Department said on Thursday that Baidu Apollo International and the Airport Authority were the latest companies authorised to pilot autonomous vehicles on designated routes from November 7 under the Road Traffic Regulation. The licences are valid for five years.

Baidu Apollo International, which already obtained two licences to operate driverless vehicles in North Lantau and Southern district, was approved to trial 10 vehicles in East Kowloon.

In the first phase of road tests, a total of six autonomous private cars will operate simultaneously at a specified time in Kowloon City and Kwun Tong districts from " Runway 1331 ", a youth hostel and cultural hub that opened in September, to Kai Tak station.

A backup operator will be stationed in the vehicle during the trial to take over control when necessary.

A department spokesman said that the company's first project in North Lantau had made significant progress since its launch at the end of 2024.

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Hong Kong approves driverless vehicles on mega bridge, Kai Tak in November

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Baidu Apollo International and Airport Authority cleared to pilot autonomous vehicles on designated routes from November 7, authorities say.

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TV show exposes suspected smuggled sashimi supply chain to HK sushi restaurants

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TV show exposes suspected smuggled sashimi supply chain to HK sushi restaurants

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Jasmine Yau 4B20

A Hong Kong television program has uncovered a massive seafood smuggling operation from mainland China to local restaurants, with a major sushi chain issuing a strong denial after being implicated in the report.

Footage showed smugglers using taxis as transport vehicles after crossing into Hong Kong, with some drivers revealing this operation has continued for nearly a year. The seafood, including sashimi, sushi, geoduck and lobster, was often handled poorly with polystyrene boxes stacked on the ground and exposed outdoors.

Sushiro HK issued a formal statement strongly protesting the program's "inaccurate reporting containing speculative content based on one-sided information." The company denied using smuggled ingredients and announced plans to take legal action against what it described as "indirect defamation."

The sushi chain clarified that all ingredients strictly follow Centre for Food Safety regulations and quality control measures. Regarding the polystyrene boxes shown in the report, Sushiro HK stated they were discarded materials that had been "collected without consent for other purposes."

Commentary: I think this raises awareness on the issues of mistreatment of sashimi and raw fish and how close this issue actually is to us. Many large, popular and cheap sushi chains may not be using higher quality of fish and to protect our own health and rights, we should check for parasites before consuming salmon and if you are really concerned, you should avoid consuming raw sashimi from cheap sushi places, instead maybe you can visit higher-grade omakase or sushi restaurants that have transparent sourcing of raw fish.