Chinese tech company Alibaba (9988.HK), opens new tab on Wednesday released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model that it claimed surpassed the highly-acclaimed DeepSeek-V3. The unusual timing of the Qwen 2.5-Max’s release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year when most Chinese people are off work and with their families, points to the pressure Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s meteoric rise in the past three weeks has placed on not just…

Global investors who have historically bet on China’s economic development are ditching grand narratives of long-term prosperity and instead adopting more modest views that see the market as an opportunity for smaller bets with quicker payoffs. Frustration over Beijing’s efforts to shore up faltering growth and fading investor conviction over where the economy is headed have kept stocks moving sideways, despite some initial excitement over promises of stimulus last year.…

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping directive to pause federal grants, loans and other financial aid, giving a win to advocacy groups that said it would disrupt programs that serve tens of millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ordered the Trump administration not to block funding for ongoing programs until Feb. 3 at a hearing in Washington court. Groups representing…

An Air Busan passenger plane bound for Hong Kong caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, prompting the swift evacuation of all passengers and crew members onboard. The fire reportedly broke out around 10:30 PM local time (1330 GMT) at the tail section of the aircraft, according to Yonhap News Agency. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants were onboard…

President Donald Trump issued an executive order late on Tuesday night to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military. The move was no surprise. Trump spoke frequently on the campaign trail about his plans. “If you want to have a sex change or a social justice seminar, then you can do it somewhere else, but you’re not going to do it in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air…

The mystery of the unexplained drone sightings over New Jersey and along the East Coast late last year has been solved, according to White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who said she was relaying the update directly from President Trump in the Oval Office. In her first White House press briefing Tuesday, Leavitt said, “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were…

At least 56 bodies have been discovered in unmarked mass graves in northern Mexico, not far from the border with the United States, local prosecutors said Tuesday in a statement. The remains included some bodies, some complete skeletons and other partial remains, as well as clothing and bullet casings. They were exhumed earlier this week in Chihuahua state — which lies along a drug and migrant trafficking route to the…

Caroline Kennedy, the cousin of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., sent a blistering letter to senators on Tuesday — a day before his confirmation hearings — that described him as a “predator” whose actions “have cost lives.” In the letter to committee leaders, the former ambassador to Australia urged senators to reject his nomination as health and human services secretary, alleging that he “preys on the desperation of parents and sick…

…Say freeze will disrupt education, housing, disaster aid President Donald Trump ordered a pause in all federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday, a sweeping decision that could disrupt education, health care and poverty programmes, housing assistance, disaster relief and a host of other initiatives that depend on trillions of federal dollars. The freeze followed Trump’s suspension of foreign aid last week, a move that began cutting off the supply…

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he plans to speak to Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and that Netanyahu would be traveling to Washington to meet with him. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump did not give a date for the face-to-face meeting, but said it would take place “very soon.” The meeting comes amid a fragile six-week ceasefire that has brought a temporary pause…

The United States government has suspended funding for HIV treatment in Nigeria and other developing nations following an executive order by President Donald Trump. the administration moved on Tuesday to stop the distribution of drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as medical supplies for newborn babies, in countries supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The U.S. is the largest single donor of aid globally,…

Not done with his flurry of orders, President Donald Trump yet again signed an executive order aimed at eliminating what he referred to as “transgender ideology” from the military, marking a significant step back for LGBTQ rights on Monday. The US president also announced a series of military-related announcements aboard Air Force One, where he advocated for the development of a US equivalent of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.…