Sensing frustration among many Russians towards the Ukraine war, Russia’s liberal Yabloko party is hoping to use parliamentary elections this September to raise its profile, casting itself as the only opposition group in favour of a ceasefire. Elections in Russia are tightly controlled – every parliamentary vote since 2003 has been won by the ruling “United Russia” party, which supports President Vladimir Putin. Yabloko is unlikely to win any seats. A poll conducted earlier this year showed it...

China’s high-stakes race to build next-generation artificial intelligence models is entering a critical new phase, where a less visible yet far more existential threat is coming into view: a severe shortage of high-quality training data. While the US chokehold on advanced computing chips has dominated headlines, Chinese AI experts increasingly warn that running out of quality data could prove to be the next major bottleneck to the nation’s tech ambitions – and one that hardware workarounds...

Thailand launched its Siam Silica framework last week, a national road map that stamps the Southeast Asian country’s stake in the semiconductor race by building a domestic ecosystem and positioning it as a key hub within an integrated supply chain among Asean member states. However, analysts say that the country will have much ground to cover as it trails behind neighbours Malaysia and Singapore. At the unveiling by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) on...

The leader of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has called for greater financial support to develop a proposed 300-hectare (741 acres) university town near the border with mainland China, including funding for local institutions to build campuses, arguing that expansion will help navigate future challenges. In a wide-ranging interview with the South China Morning Post, CUHK president Dennis Lo Yuk-ming said Hong Kong universities needed to expand their presence in the Northern...

A 111-year-old grandmother in eastern China has captured the attention of social media by attributing her remarkable longevity to simple habits, such as viewing housework as a form of daily exercise. Wang Gaiying lives in Rugao, Jiangsu province, which is renowned as one of the country’s “longevity capitals.” As of February, the area was home to 672 centenarians, according to the Jianghai Evening News. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Soil Science in Nanjing have...

Taiwan’s plan to dissolve the pro-Beijing Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) has sparked controversy over whether the independence-leaning authorities are using security concerns to suppress political dissent. The island’s interior ministry is seeking a Constitutional Court order to declare the CUPP unconstitutional and dissolve it, marking the first such action against a political party in Taiwan’s history. “The CUPP has long been linked to organised crime, including cross-border...

Debate over the price of a burrito is causing indigestion for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which fears being punished for the high cost of living in November’s midterm elections. The Mexican speciality – rice, beans, meat and other toppings wrapped in a tortilla – is beloved by many Americans as a comforting, filling and inexpensive meal. Not any more, argues Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA. “One of our TPUSA college students...