New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham set out a sweeping political vision on Tuesday, pledging to give Britain “a new social contract for the 21st century”, reform the country’s electoral system and reset its relationship with its European neighbours. But he acknowledged that economic constraints make delivering his sweeping plans a big political risk. “Small things will not get us through what are difficult times,” Burnham said in a tough-love speech to the centre-left Labour Party’s annual...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he does not want to work with China on addressing artificial intelligence (AI) risks, arguing that cooperation could undermine America’s lead in the fast-moving technology, as he announced a voluntary accord signed by the leaders of major US tech companies to address growing concerns surrounding the technology. “Whoever wins superintelligence wins. You’re gonna have a winner and a loser, and you’re probably not gonna have a second place,” Trump said on...

China has launched a rare air force support and training centre in Laos, the Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday. The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Centre and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy are now in operation at the Ban Keun Airport, aiming to help the Laotian Air Force train its pilots, the ministry said in a statement. The two institutions will be jointly maintained and operated by both sides, the statement said, without providing details on what personnel or...

A UK probe into a suspected bomb plot at an airbase used by the US was mired in confusion Tuesday, as police said no explosives but a “quantity of petrol” was found in vehicles seized nearby. Police were called to the Royal Air Force Fairford base in southwest England on Sunday after a resident saw several vans “acting suspiciously”, triggering an evacuation of the nearby village and the declaration of a “major incident”. “Those vehicles have been subject to extensive examination … and we can...

Spain’s coalition government said it had agreed on proposals including banning evictions until 2030 to address the country’s housing crisis, as the 87-year-old woman whose forced removal last week triggered protests accepted an offer to return home. Hundreds of ‌people remained camped in one of Madrid’s main squares on Tuesday to protest Maricarmen Abascal’s removal from her home on a stretcher last Wednesday. They are demanding legal reforms including a rent freeze and the automatic renewal of...

The operating company that runs the Eiffel Tower said on Tuesday its chief would step down at the end of this year in the wake of a controversy over the removal of women staff during a visit by a Hindu religious group. Patrick Branco Ruivo, who has been director general of the Paris landmark since 2018, would leave his job at the end of the year after an internal probe revealed that “operational flaws and shortcomings” in organising the visit led to the “unacceptable” removal of women staff, the...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Inside Chloe Tong Tsam-yu’s sketchbook is a world of her own making, populated by characters with distinct personalities and stories to tell. A Creative Advertising and Media Design student at Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU), she grew up immersed in adventure and fantasy, from Disney classics to fictional worlds that sparked her imagination. She hopes to one day turn that passion into a career by building her...