Big Brother or big help? Japan trials AI facial recognition cameras to find missing people

Police stations in Tokyo’s Arakawa ward receive about 100 reports each year of missing children and elderly people with dementia

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A security camera equipped with facial recognition AI stands in front of the JR Nippori Station in Tokyo’s Arakawa ward. Photo: Kyodo

A Tokyo ward has installed outdoor AI cameras with facial recognition capabilities to help locate missing children and elderly people, a move aimed at improving public safety but also raising privacy concerns in Japan .
Arakawa ward installed 33 artificial intelligence -equipped security cameras on pylons along the main street
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Schools and tourist sites closed as Typhoon Bavi heads through northern China

Bridges are under water, cornfields are flooded and classes and work are cancelled in northeast China as Typhoon Bavi continues moving north, prompting several local governments to issue emergency alerts.

On Monday, Shenyang, capital of the northeastern province of Liaoning, said all classes at junior high, primary schools and kindergartens were suspended for the day, along with construction work and outdoor activities, while 94 tourist attraction sites remain closed.

Typhoon Bavi makes landfall in eastern China

A government notice encouraged other employees to work from home and reduce travelling


Chinese hard tech giants see value surge in first half as global investors pour in capital

Under the mainland-Hong Kong Connect programme, northbound holdings rise to record high of 3.13 trillion yuan by end of June

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Pedestrians beneath a large screen showing the latest stock market and economic data in Shanghai on June 15. Photo: EPA

Overseas capital has poured into China’s hard technology champions at an unprecedented pace, driving the market value of their mainland equity holdings to an all-time high by the end of

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South Korean sailor missing on patrol found dead near North Korea sea border

Seoul had asked North Korea for help after fears the sailor might have drifted across the Northern Limit Line but received no response

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South Korean and Japanese navy ships sail in waters off South Korea’s east coast during a joint exercise in April 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

South Korea ’s navy said on Monday it had recovered the body of a sailor off the east coast, a day after the seaman disappeared near the de facto sea border between the two Koreas.

Authorities launched a large search involving 10 ships and aircraft after the sailor failed to

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2026 Operation Santa Claus applicants seek long-term change, not ‘quick fixes’

Many of the OSC proposals this year aim to help the working poor. Photo: Dickson Lee

Charities applying for this year’s round of funding from Operation Santa Claus (OSC) aim to tackle the root causes of Hong Kong’s problems and create a lasting impact that goes beyond the financial support period, organisers have said.

OSC, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent annual charity fundraising campaigns, received 102 funding applications by its June 10 deadline.

Senior manager Rachel Chow Chiu-yan, who leads


Malaysia reaches snapping point as crocodile encounters rise

A crocodile fitted with a satellite tag enters the Kinabatangan River in Malaysia’s Sabah state. Photo: Danau Girang Field Centre/AFP

For regular anglers in the Malaysian coastal town of Port Dickson, the sighting of a crocodile in the waters while they fish by the jetties is nothing new.

“I have seen three crocodiles while fishing there,” Razman Fozi, 33, said.

The beach holiday destination in Negeri Sembilan state has long been a preferred fishing spot for hobbyists, but increasingly frequent crocodile sightings in its waters have raised concerns about the risks to local communities

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This 13-year-old learned to play piano in a subdivided flat. Now he’s going on stage

Yang Qi, a 13-year-old pupil who lives in a subdivided flat in Hong Kong with his parents, has spent years studying and playing on a piano that blocks part of the entrances to the kitchen and bathroom.

He is among the pupils preparing for a charity concert in October at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, which aims to raise funds to fight poverty, including by supporting children who lack the resources to develop their interests.

Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of the Society for Community

Why Hong Kong must fill seat vacated by lawmaker promptly

William Wong Kam-fai is absent from the House Committee of Legislative Council meeting at Legislative Council Complex on July 3. Wong resigned from Legco that day. Photo: Edmond So

Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA.

The government has a lot on its plate right now, especially with public consultations under way for the chief executive’s last policy address of his current term and for the city’s first five-year plan . But there is an urgent matter it must address as soon as possible.

South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos hit jackpot as Chinese tourists return

The casino industry, open only to foreigners, is betting on an expected surge in Chinese group travel in the second half to drive profits

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Gaming tables at foreigner-only Jeju Dream Tower Integrated Resort. Photo: Jeju Dream Tower

South Korea ’s foreigner-only casinos are gaining renewed momentum this year, triggered by a steady recovery in inbound tourism and expectations of a surge in Chinese group travel in the second half, according to a recent analysis by Shinhan Securities.

Unlike other tourism segments that move

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Japanese Astronomical Society ex-president Shigeru Ida joins China’s Westlake University

Top planetary scientist will lead young university’s new astronomy department after decades shaping human understanding of the universe

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Shigeru Ida, president of the Japanese Society for Origins of Life and Astrobiology since 2025, is widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential planetary scientists. Photo: Handout

The universe teems with planets, yet their origins and evolution remain among science’s most enduring mysteries.
Theoretical astrophysicist Shigeru Ida of the Institute of Science Tokyo has spent more than four decades in this field – and is now bringing his expertise to China .
Ida, a former president of the Astronomical Society