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China’s designation of a national nature reserve in the contested Scarborough Shoal – and its punitive measures for unauthorised entry – have prompted strong pushback from the Philippines, with analysts warning the move could escalate tensions in the strategically important waterway.Beijing’s announcement of the decision on Wednesday marked its latest efforts to consolidate its claims in the contested area that is now a focal point of intense confrontations between the two countries and could drag the US, an ally of Manila by treaty, into the conflict.On Thursday, Philippine national security adviser Eduardo Ano called the Chinese plan a “clear pretext…

Amap Street Stars – which uses AI algorithms to rank destinations including restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions – recorded that many users on its launch on Wednesday, as the mapping app positioned itself as a gateway for lifestyle services, according to data released by the Alibaba unit on Thursday. Alibaba owns the Post.That initiative marked “a significant step towards Alibaba’s vision for a super-app strategy”, JPMorgan analysts said in a research note on Wednesday. “Amap is increasingly positioned as Alibaba’s primary entry point for offline local services, running parallel to Taobao as the online traffic entrance.”The new service could also…

Nepal’s Gen Z protesters have endorsed former chief justice Sushila Karki to lead an interim government following violent anti-corruption demonstrations that toppled prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli and left at least 30 people dead.Members backed Karki in an online vote on the chatting app Discord, where she emerged as the most favoured candidate, beating influencer Rastra Bimochan Timilsina, young politician Sagar Dhakal, Dharan mayor Harka Sampang and Mahabir Pun, a leading social figure known for pushing tech innovations and rural development.Karki, 73, who became Nepal’s first woman chief justice in 2016, is known for her zero-tolerance approach against corruption.That factor…

Nearly 44 per cent of Japanese in their twenties never drink alcohol and another 16 per cent do so less than once a month, according to a new survey – a generational shift that is rattling Japan’s drinks industry and challenging long-held social norms.The findings, by Tokyo-based marketing consultancy Mery Co, reflect deeper changes in Japanese society, observers say, with pandemic-era habits, rising costs and evolving attitudes about work and well-being reshaping how younger generations socialise and spend.The release of the report coincided with monthly data published on Wednesday by the nation’s major brewers showing that beer consumption fell by…

Ant Group unveiled its first humanoid robot at a trade show in Shanghai on Thursday, heralding the Chinese fintech company’s entry into the increasingly competitive field of embodied artificial intelligence to take on rivals like Unitree Robotics.The wheeled, two-armed humanoid, named R1, was developed by Ant’s robotics unit Ant Lingbo Technology, also known as Robbyant. At the company’s booth at the Inclusion Conference on the Bund on Thursday, the second day of the four-day event, one R1 stood on display while another was deployed in a mock kitchen, putting ingredients into a wok.The company said the first-generation R1 weighed 110kg,…

KARACHI: Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, SVP FPCCI, has stated that Pakistan’s exports to Bangladesh can be enhanced to USD 3 billion within a couple of years from the current export volume of approximately USD 800 million; whereas, medium-term export potential to Bangladesh stands at USD 5-7 billion. It is pertinent to note that he represented FPCCI at the DyeChem Bangladesh 2025 Expo; where, he inaugurated Pakistan Pavilion along with HE Imran Haider, High Commissioner of Pakistan in Bangladesh at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre, Purbachal, Dhaka. The High Commissioner of Pakistan assured his full support for the Pakistani exporters to Bangladesh;…

ISLAMABAD: The eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE), scheduled to be held from November 5 to 10, 2025, in Shanghai, is set to provide Pakistan with a valuable opportunity to showcase its products, reduce the trade gap, and expand economic cooperation with China. With China being Pakistan’s second-largest export destination, the CIIE is seen as a gateway to global markets. The event is expected to inject new momentum into Pakistan-China economic relations, strengthen cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and open fresh opportunities for Pakistani enterprises to tap into China’s import market. A high-profile promotion event for the expo…

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday as expected and maintained an upbeat view on growth and inflation, dampening expectations for any further cut in borrowing costs. The ECB halved its key rate in the year to June but has been on hold at 2% since, arguing that the economy of the 20-country euro zone is in a “good place” even if all policy options, including additional easing, could not be ruled out. Recent data has confirmed this sanguine view, giving policymakers time to understand how US tariffs, higher German government spending, looming Federal Reserve rate…

ISLAMABAD: The government has directed the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) to enhance storage capacity and provide other facilities to cement and clinker exporters who are facing problems in exporting their products through Karachi Port. A high-level meeting was held here on Tuesday with Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM), in the chair. The meeting discussed and reviewed the progress made by the task force constituted by the Prime Minister to enhance cement and clinker exports. The meeting was briefed by the Chairman of Port Qasim Authority and officials of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT). The participants…

KARACHI: Junaid Naqi, President of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) has warned that the recent spell of rains has once again crippled industrial activities in the Korangi industrial area, disrupting around 30 percent of production and export operations. Junaid Naqi said that the overflowing Korangi River and the closure of the EBM Causeway had blocked entry and exit routes to the industrial zone, leaving the Jam Sadiq Bridge as the only access point. However, he noted that during rains, hours-long traffic jams on the bridge had become routine, further paralyzing industrial movement. “This is a recurring issue.…