The US military on Saturday announced the first American troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, saying two were killed and another was missing in an attack on a base in Jordan. They were killed Friday as the US and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, a statement said. Four other service members who were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals were later discharged. The dead were not identified. Since the war began,...

Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman has reclassified crocodiles from wild animals to “captive-bred wildlife”, a move that clears the way for the reptiles to be used for security purposes, including to deter prison escapes. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir – who reportedly proposed in December surrounding a prison for Palestinian detainees with crocodiles, a la Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility – welcomed the decision. “Are you...

The Canadian military was preparing on Saturday to evacuate a remote community of 600 people threatened by forest wildfires that have spread, choking smoke across a broad swathe of the United States. Federal Emergencies Minister Eleanor Olszewski said late on Friday that the armed forces would use aircraft to evacuate the inhabitants of Fort Hope in sparsely populated northwestern Ontario, where some of the most intense fires are burning. The region has few roads and relies heavily on air...

An independent committee examining the causes of Hong Kong’s deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze will delay submitting its final report to late October, a month later than expected, as more time is needed to review documents, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source confirmed to the SCMP on Saturday that the judge-led panel’s final report was likely to be submitted to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in late October, rather than September as the committee’s nine-month investigation deadline...

The global AI race is no longer just about chips or models. Increasingly, it is also about data – namely, the language resources that feed and train them. Beijing has identified that layer as a new strategic frontier, accelerating the buildout of a national ecosystem of Chinese-language data for artificial intelligence (AI). The push covers everything from foundational text corpora and high-quality training datasets to technical standards and governance frameworks. Language data has emerged as a...

Greater global cooperation and development-focused AI regulations are urgently needed to prevent a widening digital divide, scholars and international figures said at China’s premier AI conference on Saturday. The message aligned with a broader pitch on display at the annual World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, where Beijing is courting the Global South with an artificial intelligence package centred on training, infrastructure and a bid for greater influence over global governance. “We need...

Chinese social media accounts are profiting by hinting at the downfall of corrupt officials ahead of formal announcements, state media has warned, highlighting a “grey market” around Beijing’s anti-corruption campaign. The trend had created a new challenge for Chinese law enforcement, state-run journal Banyuetan reported on Friday. One tactic involves posting an official’s resume as a coded signal that they are under disciplinary investigation, according to Banyuetan, which is affiliated with...