China announces plans to cover childbirth related costs in bid to boost birth rates
China has announced plans to fully cover childbirth-related costs for families as authorities move to incentivise young couples to have more children....
Alibaba Group’s shares climbed by more than 8% on Thursday following the release of its latest artificial intelligence reasoning model, QwQ-32B.
The model, boasting 32 billion parameters, is claimed by Alibaba’s AI unit to deliver performance on par with DeepSeek's R1 model, which operates with 671 billion parameters.
In a post on X, Alibaba’s AI team highlighted that the QwQ-32B model has demonstrated strong capabilities in mathematical reasoning, coding, and general problem-solving during benchmark tests. The company said that its new model is available via its chatbot service, Qwen Chat, which also offers a range of Qwen models including Qwen2.5-Max—the most powerful in the series.
This development comes as the Chinese government has pledged increased support for key industries such as artificial intelligence, humanoid robots, and 6G telecommunications. Industry observers note that the release of QwQ-32B underscores China’s efforts to advance its AI capabilities and to offer competitive, cost-effective alternatives to models developed by global leaders like OpenAI.
DeepSeek has recently emerged as a benchmark for China’s AI prowess, achieving high performance with lower computing requirements compared to its international counterparts. In parallel, another Chinese startup, Monica, garnered attention with the invitation-only release of its AI agent, Manus. The agent reportedly outperformed OpenAI's Deep Research on a benchmark for AI assistants, with a demonstration video on X attracting over 280,000 views and sparking demand for invitations.
As the race to develop next-generation AI models intensifies, Alibaba's QwQ-32B and similar innovations are seen as key to unlocking new revenue streams and enhancing the capabilities of enterprise applications across various sectors.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his offer to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Ankara, at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks took place on the sidelines of the international Forum for Peace and Trust in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Friday (12 December).
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that Ukraine has not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of children it alleges were taken illegally to Russia, despite the issue being discussed during talks in Istanbul.
Iranian authorities have seized a foreign tanker carrying more than 6 million litres of smuggled fuel in the Sea of Oman, detaining all 18 crew members on board.
An explosive device found in a vehicle linked to one of the alleged attackers in Bondi shooting has been secured and removed according to Police. The incident left 12 people dead.
The latest round of clashes between Thailand and Cambodia has left 15 Thai soldiers dead and 270 others injured, Thailand’s Ministry of Defence spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said at a press conference on Saturday.
China’s core artificial intelligence (AI) industry is projected to surpass 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025 (about $170 billion), up from more than 900 billion yuan in 2024, according to a new industry assessment.
Time Magazine has chosen the creators behind artificial intelligence as its 2025 Person of the Year, highlighting the technology’s sweeping impact on global business, politics and daily life.
Children are forming new patterns of trust and attachment with artificial intelligence (AI) companions, entering a world where digital partners shape their play, their confidence and the conversations they no longer share with adults.
The International Robot Exhibition (IREX) opened in Tokyo on 3 December, bringing together visitors to explore robotics applications for industry, healthcare, logistics, and everyday life.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including prominent Republican China hawk Tom Cotton, introduced the SAFE CHIPS Act on Thursday, aiming to prevent the Trump administration from easing restrictions on China’s access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips for a period of 2.5 years.
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