Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea: Nicolas Jackson sent off as Blues collapse in Club World Cup clash
Chinese PhD student jailed for life after being exposed as serial rapist who filmed attacks as trophies
PhD student jailed for life after being exposed as serial rapist
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Express Tribune
33 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Pakistani products shine at China expo
Listen to article With the growing popularity of Pakistani products such as fresh fruits, pink Himalayan salt and handcrafted goods among Chinese consumers, more and more Pakistani companies are using CPEC and the expo platform to reach Chinese buyers. At this year's 9th China-South Asia Expo, Pakistan's pavilion occupied a prominent space. Many Pakistani businesspeople brought freshly made, locally sourced products directly from Pakistan to showcase at the event. According to exhibitors, convenient logistics, efficient sea freight services and streamlined customs clearance have made it easier for them to bring their goods to Chinese customers. Faisal from Karachi brought rosewood furniture, wool scarves, handcrafted copperware and gemstone jewellery for his Chinese buyer. "It's now quite easy to ship goods from Pakistan to China," said Faisal. "From Karachi to any city in China, we can get our shipments delivered within 15 days. Tariffs are low and customs clearance is smooth. Everyone knew we were participating in the expo, so our goods were cleared efficiently at ports like Huangpu in Guangzhou and Tianjin. In fact, the economy is showing signs of improvement this year. I'm hopeful sales will be better than last year." Another trader said: "It's not difficult to ship products to China – we use sea freight. Help is coming from all directions and the organisers along with the local government have made sure everything is well-organised and runs smoothly."
Kyodo News
34 minutes ago
- Kyodo News
Japan to provide defense equipment to Thailand, 7 other nations
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 09:01 | All, Japan Japan plans to supply defense equipment to Thailand, Tonga and six other nations in the current fiscal year as security aid, a government source said Friday, in bid to ensure safe sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific region where China is evolving its military posture. The eight countries -- also including East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Sri Lanka -- are expected to be designated as the recipients of Japan's "official security assistance" framework, designed for like-minded partners, for fiscal 2025 from April, the source said. The government is considering providing them Japanese-made drones to help in their natural disaster relief and maritime surveillance missions, according to the source. Japan launched the OSA scheme in April 2023 to help developing countries strengthen their defense capabilities amid security concerns such as the Chinese forces' increasing assertiveness at sea and in the air. In the past two fiscal years through 2024, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia and the Philippines were recipients of the assistance program. In May, Japan gave the Fiji navy a rescue boat and surveillance equipment, in its first delivery under the OSA framework. In its fiscal 2025 initial budget, Japan earmarked 8.1 billion yen ($56 million) for OSA assistance, up from 2 billion yen in fiscal 2023 and 5 billion yen in fiscal 2024. Related coverage: 87 Japanese nationals, family members evacuated from Iran, Israel Japan destroyer sails Taiwan Strait after China jet encounter 520 landings, takeoffs seen from 2 Chinese carriers in Pacific: Japan
Business Times
35 minutes ago
- Business Times
Apple executives have held internal talks about buying AI startup Perplexity
[SAN FRANCISCO] Apple executives have held internal discussions about potentially bidding for artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity AI, seeking to address the need for more AI talent and technology. Adrian Perica, the company's head of mergers and acquisitions, has weighed the idea with services chief Eddy Cue and top AI decision-makers, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The discussions are at an early stage and may not lead to an offer, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Such a deal would help Apple develop an AI-based search engine, part of efforts to cope with the potential loss of a longstanding arrangement with Google. That partnership, which involves making Google the default browser on devices, generates roughly US$20 billion a year for Apple, and is now under threat from US antitrust enforcers. To date, Apple executives have not discussed a bid with Perplexity management. Bloomberg News reported earlier Friday that Meta Platforms tried to buy Perplexity earlier this year. 'We have no knowledge of any current or future M&A discussions involving Perplexity,' the AI startup said. Apple declined to comment. The Perplexity service provides real-time answers to questions using the latest information from the web. If Apple were to engage in talks to buy the startup, such a move likely would not happen until a decision is made in the Google antitrust trial. That's when Apple would know whether its lucrative Google agreement may have to be unwound. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Google shares reversed gains and fell nearly 1 per cent in late trading after Bloomberg reported on Apple's Perplexity discussions. Perplexity recently completed an investment round that valued it at US$14 billion. A deal anywhere near that level would be the largest acquisition in Apple's history. The company's biggest transaction until now remains the US$3 billion takeover of Beats in 2014 – though Apple made more recent billion US dollar deals for Intel Corp.'s modem unit and a stake in Chinese ride-sharing company DiDi. After Meta failed to reach an agreement with Perplexity, it bought a 49 per cent slice of Scale AI for US$14.3 billion. That deal is part of Meta's attempts to create a so-called superintelligence AI team, which will now include Scale co-founder Alexandr Wang. Perica and Cue, who both report to Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, are leading the AI acquisition and recruiting efforts. The hunt for talent is part of a bid to catch up in generative AI. The company was slow to deliver its Apple Intelligence platform and still lags rivals in key features. A revamped Siri was delayed indefinitely this year, with the company now aiming to have it ready by next spring. Apple unveiled a relatively meagre slate of new AI enhancements at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. The latest features include live translation capabilities and a deeper partnership with OpenAI on ChatGPT-based image generation. Buying Perplexity would give Apple an infusion of AI talent, a known brand in the AI space and a consumer product. A deal could also potentially assist with future recruiting efforts. Apple has also discussed an alternative plan: teaming up with Perplexity instead of buying it. A partnership would involve adding Perplexity as an AI search engine option in Apple's Safari web browser and integrating it into Siri. Apple has met multiple times in recent months with Perplexity, and its AI team has been actively evaluating the technology – a sign that it's at least considering a close relationship with the company. One major snag in the process could be an in-the-works deal between Perplexity and Samsung Electronics, which plans to announce a deep partnership with the startup. Samsung is Apple's biggest competitor in smartphones, and AI features have become a critical new arena for the two rivals. In its statement, Perplexity said it should not be surprising that top manufacturers want to offer the 'best search and more accurate AI for their users.' 'That's Perplexity,' the startup said. Cue, whose department includes Apple's streaming services and iCloud, previously expressed an interest in Perplexity. While testifying at the Google antitrust trial in May, he told jurors that the industry is shifting away from standard Internet searches to AI tools. He outlined a scenario in which AI search engines could quickly supersede Google's current offering. 'We have been pretty impressed with what Perplexity has done, so we have started some discussions with them about what they are doing,' he said. BLOOMBERG
