뉴스

IT/기술

Hong Kong data centres have among world’s worst energy carbon footprints – UN study

A new UN study has named Hong Kong’s data centres as some of the most carbon-intensive in the world, blaming the city’s heavy dependence on a fossil-fuel-powered energy grid. The report, titled “Environmental Cost of AI’s Energy Use,” examined the global carbon, land and water impacts of the infrastructure powering AI, saying that by 2030, […]

China turns African port into tourist spot, students rethink Hong Kong: 5 weekend reads

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China is transforming historic African slave port into waterfront tourism magnet 2. The new Panama? Why Nicaragua could be next front in US-China influence battle 3. Is the dream over? Mainland students rethink Hong Kong over costs and cultural fit 4. How Chinese drink chains are testing the...

IT/기술

Hong Kong to open first convenience store operated by humanoid robot in AI push

Hong Kong will soon open its first convenience store operated by a humanoid robot as part of the city’s push to integrate AI into everyday life and deepen residents’ understanding of the technology, the finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also revealed on Sunday that a high-level government committee dedicated to AI development in Hong Kong had been formed and would hold its first meeting this month. The 24-hour convenience store was located on the waterfront in Hung Hom...

정치

Beijing sends largest patrol ship east of Taiwan after Japan-Philippine boundary talks

Beijing has sent a flotilla that includes mainland China’s largest patrol vessel to waters east of Taiwan in response to Japanese-Philippine maritime boundary negotiations. The Ministry of Transport ships are expected to conduct joint patrols with a coastguard formation dispatched to the same waters last Monday. The Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily published a commentary on Sunday that accused Japan and the Philippines, which already have long-running territorial disputes with Beijing,...

For Malaysia’s Rohingya refugees, survival is just the start

For nine days, Nurul Nisa was crammed onto one of four fishing boats with 130 others, fleeing her village in Myanmar in search of safety. She was a child then, but she still remembers the crying, the sleepless nights and the hunger. “We had to drink seawater,” she said, recalling the journey she made with her mother and two sisters in 2010, after their village had been burnt down. To secure the four wooden fishing boats needed for the voyage, the villagers pooled their resources and sold...

Hong Kong Free Press

정치

Taiwan coast guard says deploys vessels in response to China operation

Taiwan’s coast guard said Sunday it has deployed vessels “to respond appropriately” to a Chinese operation in waters east of the island democracy, which it said “violates international law”. It comes after Chinese state media reported Saturday that the “law enforcement operation” was in response to talks between Japan and the Philippines to draw a […]

How travel permit for non-Chinese in Hong Kong has redefined weekends over border

Visiting indoor ski resorts, enjoying water parks and eating at dim sum restaurants in Shenzhen and other nearby cities have become weekend draws for Hong Kong residents holding foreign passports, who praise a travel permit that has made crossing the border easier and faster. But even two years after the launch of the scheme, some hiccups remain, such as the lack of recognition of the permit by some mainland Chinese immigration staff, representatives of non-Chinese residents and foreign business...

How China is turning historic African slave port into waterfront tourism destination

In Benin’s southern Atlantic coastal town of Ouidah, located about 40km (25 miles) west of the economic capital of Cotonou, China is turning a former slave trade hub into a busy tourist destination. The historic port once saw nearly 2 million enslaved Africans marched along the 2km “Slave Route” from the auction plaza to the beach during the transatlantic slave trade. On the shore, captives were passed through the “Gate of No Return”, with a monumental memorial arch now standing at the exact...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

사회

Typhoons tipped to be fewer this year but stronger

A former assistant director at the Observatory said the El Nino effect will bring fewer but stronger typhoons to Hong Kong this summer. He was speaking after the Observatory predicted that Hong Kong would see four to seven typhoons near the territory this year. Speaking after attending a radio programme on Saturday, Leung Wing-mo, a spokesman for the Meteorological Society, said El Nino increases sea surface temperatures in the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific while Hong Kong is located in the west. "When the pool of warm water shifts to the east, most of the tropical cyclones will develop in the east, which is further away from Hong Kong," he said. "So since the distance of the origin of the typhoons in Hong Kong increases, the chances of the typhoons coming very close to Hong Kong decrease as a result. "But if a typhoon comes close to Hong Kong, then it has a longer time and longer sea track for development. "There is a chance that the typhoons which eventually come close to Hong Kong would be a very strong typhoon, maybe a super typhoon." Leung also said El Nino would bring hot weather to Hong Kong, as well as the entire planet, due to the close interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean. He called on people to pay attention to their health condition, as extreme hot weather can trigger pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Edited by Robert Kemp

How Malaysia’s Langkawi became a paradise for smugglers

Waves break along Cenang Beach as the sun drops over the Andaman Sea, washing Langkawi’s white sand in gold. Tourists sip fresh coconuts beneath rows of bright umbrellas, gazing out at the “Jewel of Kedah”: a duty-free archipelago long sold as one of Malaysia’s premier tropical escapes. Out on the water, meanwhile, small boats traverse the 8km (five miles) of open water that separates Langkawi from Thailand’s Koh Tarutao. On fast boats, the crossing takes a matter of minutes. No navigation...

Race for rare earths at Myanmar’s borders fuels pollution fears

A race to dig rare earths and metals in the mineral-rich mountains of eastern Myanmar is polluting waterways that millions of people living downstream depend on after a new tungsten mine reportedly began operations near the Thai border, according to environmental groups. Myanmar is among the top three producing nations of rare earths and other critical minerals used to make magnets and other components that power products ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles, with most of its output...

New Zealand’s Wellington hit by ‘disgusting’ deluge of faeces, sanitary items after storm

Homes in New Zealand’s capital were flooded with faeces and sanitary products on Friday after an overnight storm blocked waste water pipes, the city’s utilities company said. Wellington Water said the waste water overflow in the picturesque suburb of Island Bay was the result of a blocked main. It said five properties were affected by the overflow and its crews were working to remove the faeces and sanitary products and disinfect the homes. “There is a suction truck on-site at the overflow,”...

China proposes nuclear-powered floating island to reshape global shipping

A Chinese shipbuilder has unveiled a blueprint for a massive, nuclear-powered floating island that will serve as a container transfer terminal and a charging station for vessels. The floating terminal will be powered by advanced molten salt reactors that use liquefied salt as both a fuel and coolant. These reactors can store vast amounts of thermal energy and cool without the need for water. Jiangnan Shipyard, a subsidiary of state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation, said the complex...

정치

Are Japan-Philippines talks a maritime red line for China’s blue-water ambitions?

Beijing’s strong opposition to maritime boundary talks between Manila and Tokyo reflects growing wariness over a shifting balance of power in the western Pacific. And, experts warn, these talks – part of a highly calculated geopolitical effort by US allies – could reinforce the so-called first island chain and restrict Beijing’s naval access in an area vital to any potential conflict over Taiwan: its clear red line. Tensions have sharpened since Japan and the Philippines announced last week that...

Part boat, part plane, part sci-fi: China debuts flying watercraft

The Soviet “sea monster” is back – and this time it’s for sale. A Chinese company has completed the maiden flight of a passenger craft that skims just above the water’s surface using ground-effect technology, reviving a concept once associated with the Soviet Union’s giant Cold War-era experimental vehicles. Chinese mobility company Navee on Thursday showcased its WaveFly 5X on Lake Taihu in Suzhou, eastern Jiangsu province, as it raced to commercialise what it said was the world’s first...

IT/기술

Want to save the planet? Stop being so polite to AI chatbots

Skipping pleasantries like “please” and “thank you” when talking to chatbots could save enough energy to power the annual needs of 760,000 residents in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the massive but often hidden environmental toll of artificial intelligence, according to a new UN report. Released by the Institute for Water, Environment and Health under the United Nations University, the UN’s academic arm, the study published on Wednesday also warned that the true cost of AI extended far beyond...

UN warns world to prepare for El Nino extreme weather

There is an 80 per cent chance of the warming El Nino phenomenon developing between June and August, increasing the risk of extreme weather events, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday. “Fuelled by unusually warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific, El Nino conditions are developing and are set to influence global temperature and rainfall patterns,” the United Nations’ WMO weather and climate agency said. Forecasts from the WMO global network “indicate a pronounced shift...

Summer campaign to mark 50th anniversary of international dragon boat races

The Hong Kong Tourism Board will launch a 13-day summer campaign featuring citywide discounts and events to mark the 50th anniversary of the international dragon boat races at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, in a bid to attract more overnight visitors. To welcome the summer travel season, the board announced on Tuesday that its “Hong Kong Summer Fun” campaign would open with the Sun Life Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races, running from June 19 to July 1. The board’s chairman, Peter Lam...