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HKPC launches ‘AI for All’ program to help SMEs and workers adopt technology

The Hong Kong Productivity Council launched its “AI for All” Inclusive Programme on Thursday, offering training and practical support to help small and medium-sized enterprises, workers and different community groups make greater use of artificial intelligence.

Heat Stress at Work Warning system tightened with two new triggers

Hong Kong will enhance its Heat Stress at Work Warning system from Friday by introducing two new trigger conditions aimed at issuing earlier and higher alerts during extreme heat, the Labour Department announced on Thursday.

Insurance giant AIA suspends employee and shuts comments after viral shopping mall brawl

An insurance company has suspended a business director and disabled comments across its social media channels following massive online backlash linked to a viral physical dispute at a Kwun Tong shopping mall.

Educator urges one-year extension of student suicide prevention mechanism

A veteran educator has called for the Three-tier School-based Emergency Mechanism supporting students at risk of suicide to be extended for at least another year, as its trial period is due to end this month.

Joint release of Five-Year Plan and Policy Address helps public understand their link, says lawmaker

Releasing Hong Kong’s first Five-Year Plan on the same day as the annual Policy Address will help the public understand how the two blueprints are connected, enhancing policy awareness and allowing people to make better use of the new policy concepts, lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu said on Thursday.

Business Today

Hong Kong unveils first cohort of GenA.I. Sandbox++

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission, the Insurance Authority, and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, announced the first cohort of the Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenA.I.) Sandbox++ on Thursday, with technical trials commencing later this year.

Hong Kong home prices fall in first time since April 2025 in July, rents hit record

Hong Kong private home prices fell in July, snapping a 13-month rising streak, but rents hit yet another record, official data showed on Thursday.

HKEX may merge GEM with Main Board, introduce Chapter 18D for GEM’s 300 companies

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388) is planning to merge its GEM board with the Main Board and introduce a new Chapter 18D to the Listing Rules to accommodate more than 300 companies currently listed on the GEM, local media reported on Thursday.

Blockchain network chief executive warns of cybersecurity risks as Q-Day looms

The acceleration of quantum computing has put global blockchain networks under a risk more imminent than we think, according to Christopher Smith, a security researcher, co-founder and chief executive of Quantus, a blockchain network.

BOJ deputy chief calls for timely rate hike, focus on inflation risk

Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino on Thursday stressed the need for timely interest rate hikes with a focus on the risk of an inflation overshoot, reinforcing dominant market expectations for a near-term increase in borrowing costs.

World/China

Japan's 'polka dot queen' artist Yayoi Kusama dies aged 97

Yayoi Kusama, the acclaimed Japanese avant-garde artist who transformed her hallucinations into works that ranged from vibrant dot-covered paintings and pumpkin sculptures to infinity mirror room installations, has died at the age of 97.

Desperate families search for missing after Nepal floods

Anxious relatives crowded the corridors of a Kathmandu hospital Thursday as they searched for missing family after devastating floods on the Nepal-Tibet border killed at least 180 people.

Meta, US states agree $18 bn settlement in landmark teen safety case

Meta agreed to pay a coalition of US states as much as $16.7 billion and to impose sweeping new limits on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram, according to a court filing on Wednesday that ends a landmark trial in California.

Trial for accused mastermind of 9/11 attacks set for June 2028

A U.S. Air Force judge on Wednesday ordered Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and three co-defendants to go on trial before a military tribunal in June 2028.

Guangzhou cabbage prices plunge 20pc over toxic chemical preservation fears

Wholesale prices and sales of Chinese cabbage in Guangzhou have plunged by about 20 percent over fears that toxic chemicals are being used during transit, despite all samples passing government safety checks.

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