Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Rosatom has agreed to form a logistics joint venture with DP World in a deal that would place Russia’s state nuclear corporation in majority control while bringing one of Dubai’s biggest global trade operators deeper into a strategically sensitive transport network centred on FESCO and Arctic shipping lanes. Under the proposed structure, Rosatom will hold 51% and DP World 49%, with Rosatom contributing […]
DeepSeek is investigating a prolonged disruption that knocked its chatbot offline for more than seven hours in China, in the most serious outage yet for the Hangzhou-based artificial intelligence company since its rise into the global mainstream. The company’s public status page showed web and app service problems began late on Sunday night, rolled into Monday morning, and were not fully marked resolved until 10:33 a. m. […]
A China-Singapore youth dialogue in Singapore has closed with artificial intelligence, innovation and cross-border cooperation at the centre of discussions, as both countries seek to deepen people-to-people links alongside a broader push into advanced technology and digital governance. The two-day event was held on 24 and 25 March and brought together 12 young representatives from the two countries under the theme “Building Tomorrow: Youth Voices United”.
The gathering was co-organised by People’s Daily and Lianhe Zaobao, giving it a media-diplomacy character as well as a youth engagement role. Participants discussed how their generation is navigating technological change, cultural renewal and sustainable development, with one panel focused specifically on how young professionals in robotics, flying cars and data verification see the opportunities and risks of the AI era.
That emphasis matters beyond the symbolism of a youth exchange. Singapore has been working to position itself as a regional hub for trusted AI deployment, regulation and commercialisation, while China continues to expand its technological reach across sectors from advanced manufacturing to data-driven consumer platforms. Against that backdrop, a dialogue framed around youth voices and innovation also functions as a signal that bilateral engagement is moving beyond trade and official diplomacy into talent, technology and narrative influence.
Organisers said the technology segment featured participants working in frontier and emerging fields, including robotics, air mobility and digital verification. Those subjects reflect a wider regional agenda in which governments, universities and companies are trying to balance investment enthusiasm with concerns over safety, labour disruption, misinformation and the standards needed for responsible AI adoption. The inclusion of data verification in the discussion is especially notable at a time when synthetic media, manipulated content and trust in online information have become strategic concerns across Asia.
The event also extended beyond technology. Another strand of the dialogue focused on culture and identity, with participants in wood sculpture, paper arts, jewellery design and cultural reporting arguing that heritage does not have to be sidelined by digital change. That framing aligns with a broader trend in both China and Singapore, where policymakers and institutions increasingly present innovation and cultural continuity not as competing ideas but as parallel pillars of national development and soft power.
For Singapore, the dialogue fits neatly into its longer-standing strategy of maintaining practical, multi-layered ties with China while preserving its distinct regulatory and economic model. Youth exchanges, especially those tied to technology and entrepreneurship, can help widen those ties at a time when regional competition for skilled workers, capital and research partnerships is intensifying. Singapore’s universities and public institutions have also hosted multiple youth-oriented dialogues on China-related themes this year, pointing to a sustained effort to cultivate a new generation conversant in both policy and commercial realities.
For China, the event offered another platform to project openness and collaborative intent through younger voices rather than official communiqués. That matters at a moment when Beijing is trying to reassure partners in Southeast Asia that technological cooperation can advance without crowding out local priorities. Using youth representatives, entrepreneurs and cultural figures helps soften what might otherwise appear as a purely state-led message, while also reinforcing the idea that future bilateral ties will be shaped as much by personal networks and innovation ecosystems as by government ministries.
Still, such forums come with limits. Dialogues can build familiarity and create useful connections, but they do not by themselves resolve harder policy questions around data governance, platform regulation, research openness or strategic competition. Singapore has been careful to develop AI frameworks that stress accountability and trust, while China’s model is backed by a far larger domestic market and a different regulatory environment. That means cooperation may expand fastest in applied innovation, education, mobility and selected commercial fields rather than in fully harmonised digital rules.
Online anonymity is facing a sharper threat as new research suggests large language models can now identify pseudonymous internet users at scale by combining fragments of public writing with broader online data. The warning comes from a February 2026 preprint by Simon Lermen and co-authors at ETH Zurich, Anthropic and the Machine Learning Alignment and Theory Scholars programme, which argues that the “practical obscurity” that once protected […]
Rocketlane has raised $60 million in a Series C round led by Insight Partners, as the software company moves to expand an AI-driven platform aimed at professional services teams that are increasingly being asked to turn enterprise AI spending into measurable operating results. The funding, announced on March 25, takes the company’s total capital raised to $105 million and comes as more corporate buyers shift attention from […]
Artificial intelligence is redrawing the economics of data centres at a speed that is forcing developers, utilities and investors to rethink where digital infrastructure can be built and how it can be financed. A new 2026 marketplace report from Colliers says global investment in data centres topped $580 billion in 2025, up 27 per cent from a year earlier, as hyperscalers and infrastructure groups poured money into […]
Distributed denial-of-service attacks gathered dangerous momentum in the second half of 2025, with a new industry report showing incidents rising 150 per cent year on year as both volume and velocity increased, underscoring how quickly cyber disruption is moving from episodic nuisance to board-level operational risk. The findings point to a sharp escalation in late 2025, when total attacks climbed to about 1.3 million in the fourth […]
Co-organized by the People’s Daily and Lianhe Zaobao, the two-day event featured 12 young representatives who explored how their generation is shaping the future through innovation, cultural renewal and cross-border collaboration.
In the first panel, “Youth Driving Tech Innovation,” participants working in robotics, flying cars and data verification discussed both the opportunities and challenges of the AI era.
Tan Wei Hua, head of design at Singapore-based LionsBot International, addressed concerns over “AI anxiety” and its impact on jobs. “New jobs are going to be created. The next generation will be doing something entirely different,” he said, pointing to robotics as a growing field of opportunity.
Quah Zheng Wei, CEO and co-founder of Accredify, encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to take the first step. With the tech industry evolving rapidly, he stressed that “nothing is holding you back.”
From an industry perspective, Michael Du, CFO and vice president of ARIDGE, said emerging technologies are expanding possibilities in everyday life. Meanwhile, Xu Huazhe, assistant professor at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences at Tsinghua University, highlighted the strengths of younger generations: “With the correct taste, they will build the most meaningful things.”
The second panel, “Contemporary Renewal of Traditional Culture,” shifted focus from innovation to heritage. Artists and cultural practitioners in wood sculpture, paper art, jewelry design and journalism explored how tradition can be revitalized in modern contexts.
Wood sculpture artist Deng Kun emphasized the importance of cultivating an eye for beauty, while Lianhe Zaobao arts and culture journalist Zhang Heyang described traditional culture as “a place of spiritual haven for today’s youth.”
Designer Longhong Ziwei, founder and art director of the accessory brand Soft Mountains, said engaging with Yi heritage has inspired her work and resonated with international audiences.
Singaporean paper and mixed media artist Koh Pei Li, drawing inspiration from everyday urban life, highlighted the value of noticing overlooked details. Through her work, she hopes to reconnect people with the subtle beauty around them.
In the final panel, “Jointly Building a Sustainable Future,” speakers from architecture, fashion, and marine conservation offered interdisciplinary perspectives on sustainability.
Chen Kan, principal architect of TAB Architecture and Design, spoke about the philosophy of “being-with” as a guiding principle. “We need a deeper capacity to coexist with others,” he said.
Goy Zhenru, principal architect of Goy Architects in Singapore, emphasized designing in harmony with nature. She highlighted the importance of connecting living spaces with natural elements such as breeze and sunlight to create comfort and environmental awareness.
Sam Shu Qin, co-founder of Our Singapore Reefs and Our Blue Spaces, who describes herself as “a gardener underwater,” expressed hope that younger generations will recognize their ability to give back to the ocean.
For fashion designer Chen Peng, founder of brand CHENPENG, sustainability is both cultural and practical. “It should be culture-based and do no harm to the earth. It’s not a choice, but a natural extension of philosophy,” he said.
The dialogue marked a step forward in media cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between China and Singapore. By amplifying youth perspectives, it showcased the innovative energy and collaborative potential of both countries, while helping to build a long-term platform for bilateral engagement and shared progress.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Telda has moved beyond payments and cards to add stock and fund investing to its app, opening a new front in Egypt’s fast-growing race to attract first-time retail investors. The Cairo-based fintech said on Sunday that users can now buy and sell shares on the Egyptian Exchange and subscribe to investment funds from within the same platform, without relying on a traditional broker […]
Blippo+ has arrived as one of the stranger releases to gain traction across independent gaming, presenting itself not as a conventional narrative title but as a faux television service from an alien world. Built around channel surfing, short-form live-action broadcasts and a deliberately warped retro aesthetic, the project has drawn attention for turning the language of late-20th-century television into an interactive spectacle that feels equal parts parody, […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Exeed has opened a new showroom in Jeddah through Arabian Heritage Motors, part of Al Ghurair Mobility, extending the premium vehicle brand’s physical presence in Saudi Arabia as competition intensifies among Chinese carmakers across the Gulf. The Jeddah launch was disclosed by Al Ghurair in a corporate post and comes after Exeed appointed Al Ghurair as its exclusive distributor in the Kingdom in […]
Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, has expanded its push into prediction markets with a fresh $600 million investment in Polymarket, tightening a partnership that could take its total commitment to almost $2 billion and further pull event-based trading into the financial mainstream. ICE said the new cash injection forms part of a previously announced arrangement and does not expect to materially affect […]
London Internet Exchange has completed a broad upgrade of its 17-site LON2 network in the capital, handing Nokia a deeper role in one of the UK’s most important interconnection systems at a time when traffic growth, AI-led workloads and the retirement of older equipment are forcing operators to rethink how core internet infrastructure is built and scaled. The overhaul covers LINX’s secondary London interconnection fabric, known as […]
Instagram is working on a feature that could let users watch Reels without a live internet connection, according to a leak from app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi that points to automatic downloads and offline playback controls inside the app. The feature has not been announced by Meta, and there is no public timeline for a wider test or launch. The leaked interface suggests Instagram is experimenting with a […]
Foreign visitors to India will have to complete a digital e-Arrival Card before landing from April 1, 2026, marking the end of the paper disembarkation card that travellers had long filled out on board or at immigration counters. The move is part of a wider technology-led overhaul of border processing that authorities say is aimed at cutting queues, improving data accuracy and giving immigration officers faster access to passenger information.
The e-Arrival Card is submitted online through the official Indian Visa Online portal, the Bureau of Immigration platform or the government’s Indian Visa Su-Swagatam mobile app. The current official guidance says the form must be completed within 72 hours before arrival and is for arrival information only, not a visa. Travellers are asked to provide passport details, travel information, contact particulars, purpose of visit and their address in India, after which a digital confirmation is generated for presentation on arrival.
The April 1 deadline is not the start of the digital system itself but the point at which the physical card is being withdrawn after a transition period. Government-linked notices issued through overseas missions said the digital disembarkation process had already come into force on October 1, 2025, while paper cards would continue temporarily for as long as six months or until further notice. An immigration advisory published this week by Fragomen, citing a government announcement, said physical cards would be permanently discontinued from April 1, 2026.
That chronology matters because it shows India is not unveiling a wholly new border form overnight, but completing a staged shift towards paperless arrival processing. The official visa portal now prominently carries a notice that foreigners and OCI card holders can complete and submit the e-Arrival Card online within 72 hours before arrival through approved government channels. That wording suggests authorities are folding the form more tightly into the wider immigration and visa network rather than treating it as a stand-alone travel add-on.
The policy aligns with a broader expansion of the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration and Tracking scheme, or IVF-RT, which the Union Cabinet has approved for another five years through March 2031 with an outlay of Rs 1,800 crore. Officials have described the plan as a way to link visa issuance, immigration records, travel history and foreigner registration databases so that decisions at entry and exit points rely less on fragmented manual checks and more on integrated digital records.
For travellers, the most immediate consequence is procedural rather than legal. The e-Arrival Card does not replace a visa, e-Visa or other entry authorisation. It supplements them. A visitor who already holds valid travel permission for India will still need to file the digital arrival declaration in the permitted time window. That means airlines, travel agents, business mobility firms and universities handling international arrivals are likely to spend the next few days reminding passengers that a boarding document and an arrival declaration are now separate steps in the journey.
The government’s pitch is built around speed and visibility. Digital pre-submission allows immigration systems to receive data before a flight lands, which can reduce form-filling bottlenecks at the airport and improve risk screening. Industry specialists tracking mobility rules say the change also gives authorities stronger data control and supports more real-time monitoring of foreign arrivals. That mirrors a global pattern in which governments are replacing handwritten landing cards with app-based or portal-based pre-arrival disclosures.
There are, however, operational questions that matter for passengers. Official pages make clear that the form should be completed within 72 hours of arrival, yet some secondary reports have described slightly different timelines or suggested varying treatment of QR code presentation depending on when the form is filed. The most reliable course for travellers is therefore to follow the instructions displayed on the official government portal or app at the time of submission, rather than relying on social media summaries or copied advisories.
Another area requiring care is who exactly falls under the rule. The current official portal text explicitly refers to foreigners and OCI card holders being able to submit the e-Arrival Card, while some earlier mission notices had described OCI holders as exempt before later updates changed that position. For foreign visitors travelling on tourist, business, student or other visas, the direction is straightforward: the digital arrival filing now sits at the centre of entry processing.
A newly documented BlankGrabber infection chain is using a bogus “certificate” loader to disguise a multi-stage Windows compromise, adding another layer of deception to a commodity stealer already known for targeting browser credentials, crypto wallets and messaging sessions. Security researchers say the campaign abuses certutil. exe, a legitimate Windows utility, to make malicious code appear routine, while later stages rely on Rust, Python and packed archives to […]
A critical weakness in Open VSX’s new pre-publication scanning system allowed malicious extensions to pass security checks and become publicly available, raising fresh concerns over the safety of a software marketplace relied on by Cursor, Windsurf and other tools built on the VS Code extension ecosystem. The flaw, dubbed “Open Sesame” by Koi Security, has been patched, with Open VSX maintainers fixing it in version 0.32.0 after […]
The European Commission has confirmed a cyberattack on cloud infrastructure supporting parts of the Europa. eu web platform, with the intrusion discovered on March 24 and swiftly contained as investigators assess whether data was taken from affected public-facing services. The Commission has said its internal systems were not hit. The breach centres on a compromised Amazon Web Services account used to host elements of the Commission’s web […]
Zomato has opened a free three-month District Gold offer for users in the UAE, waiving the usual Dh29 quarterly fee as it tries to deepen its foothold in the country’s dining and entertainment market through its District platform. The campaign gives users instant access to premium membership benefits tied to restaurant, events and leisure offers on the app. The promotion marks a sharper consumer push by the […]
Singapore-linked professional bodies and trade groups have opened a Professional Services Centre in Nanjing, pitching it as a gateway for Chinese companies seeking to expand into Southeast Asia and for Singapore firms looking to deepen their footprint in China. The launch took place on March 27 at a forum in Nanjing and marks the alliance’s second centre in China and third globally, according to the announcement distributed by the organisers.
The centre has been set up under an alliance led by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and supported by the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, Institute of Valuers & Appraisers, Singapore Business Federation, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Tax Academy of Singapore and the Law Society of Singapore. Organisers said the Nanjing base is intended to provide companies with legal, tax, accounting, valuation, advisory and market-entry support as they navigate cross-border expansion. The move comes as commercial links between China and ASEAN continue to broaden and as businesses face a more complex regulatory and geopolitical environment when operating across jurisdictions.
Nanjing was presented as a deliberate choice rather than a symbolic one. The alliance said the city offers strong university linkages, talent pools and institutional support, while the Singapore-Nanjing Eco Hi-tech Island provides an established platform for bilateral cooperation. That project is jointly backed by authorities in Jiangsu and Nanjing as well as Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, giving the new centre an anchor in a corridor that already carries a Singapore brand in east China.
Officials used the launch to underline the commercial logic. Nanjing Vice Mayor Xu Feng said enterprises expanding overseas depend on professional services support and described Singapore as a global hub with complementary strengths. Ernie Koh, a council member at Singapore Business Federation and vice-chairman of the research and publications committee at Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said the platform could help enterprises build capabilities and unlock opportunities across Southeast Asia. Darren Ku, a council member at ASME, said smaller companies in particular need a more coordinated route into foreign markets, from compliance to market-entry strategy. Daniel Koh, vice-president of the Law Society of Singapore, framed the legal dimension as equally important, arguing that cross-border growth now demands stronger risk management and regulatory advice.
The alliance is presenting the centre as more than a ceremonial office. It says its centres in China and Vietnam have already supported more than 100 businesses, and cited BIPO, the human resources technology group, as one example of a company that used the ecosystem to establish operations and build local teams in Nanjing. Those claims could not be independently verified from public disclosures in full, but they fit the broader trend of service providers bundling market access, compliance and talent support for companies trying to expand across Asia without building every capability in-house.
That broader trend matters. Enterprise Singapore continues to position China as a major destination for outward expansion, pointing to its scale, consumer market and innovation ecosystem, while also offering grants and overseas market assistance to firms venturing abroad. At the same time, ASEAN’s own data show the region’s trade in goods rose to about $3.8 trillion in 2024, and ASEAN says two-way merchandise trade with China reached $772.4 billion that year, accounting for roughly a fifth of ASEAN’s total trade. Chinese media and official commentary have since pointed to China-ASEAN trade crossing the $1 trillion mark in 2025, underscoring why service platforms that specialise in cross-border operations are multiplying.
Commercial opportunity, however, does not remove the risks. China is trying to reassure foreign investors after weaker inbound investment figures, while international companies remain alert to policy shifts, compliance burdens, data rules and geopolitical tensions. Reuters reported this month that Beijing has been signalling a more open stance to foreign business even as it works to reverse a decline in foreign direct investment. For Chinese firms heading south, Southeast Asia offers growth, manufacturing diversification and access to younger consumer markets, but it also presents a patchwork of tax regimes, legal systems and political risks that can complicate expansion plans. That is precisely the gap the Nanjing centre says it wants to fill.
The launch also reflects a wider Singapore strategy of exporting professional and business services alongside capital and trade links. Earlier alliance messaging around the Shanghai centre described a “hunt in a pack” model in which multiple associations expand together so companies can tap a bundled network rather than isolated advisers. That approach appears to be carrying over into Nanjing, with the added emphasis on helping Chinese enterprises invest in Singapore and across ASEAN, not only on helping Singapore firms move into China.
Seychelles has used two high-level forums in Malabo to press for stronger backing for small island states and to elevate youth priorities within the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, with Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Minister Barry Faure taking a visible role in both meetings. The government said Faure addressed the Small Island Development States forum and later served as rapporteur at the youth forum, […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Mezza, a new hospitality platform in the UAE, has launched with a model aimed at giving restaurants upfront capital in exchange for future food and beverage credit, offering operators an alternative to bank debt or equity fundraising while also promising a pipeline of diners over time. The company says partner venues can access between AED 20,000 and AED 10 million, with the credit […]
Blackstone has invested $250 million in an Abu Dhabi-based payments and data intelligence platform aimed at regulated digital markets, pressing ahead with a Gulf deal even as the war involving Iran continues to unsettle investors, energy markets and regional transport links. The investment in Advanced Digital Gaming Technology, or ADGT, marks what LSEG identified as the first private equity-backed inbound transaction in the Gulf since the conflict […]
As of December 31, 2025, total paying subscribers reached an all-time high of 16.91 million, a substantial 34.1% YoY increase, with a subscription rate of 6.1%, up 1.4 percentage points from 2024.
AI Agent-Integrated Products Gain Explosive Popularity, Driving Strong Penetration and Monetization Growth
Following the July launch of RoboNeo (Meitu’s flagship AI visual design agent), Meitu integrated AI Agent capabilities across most of its product portfolio to enhance workflow automation and user experience.
As such, Meitu’s productivity tools segment achieved an all-time high 9% subscription rate, up 3.1 percentage points YoY. Paying subscribers of this segment grew to 2.16 million, representing a significant 67.4% YoY growth, with international paying subscribers more than doubling.
The segment comprises three core tools: DesignKit specializing in AI workflows for e-commerce design,Kaipai and Vmake specializing in AI workflows for video production.
Backed by AI Agent empowerment, in 2025, DesignKit established strategic partnerships with leading global e-commerce platforms including Alibaba, JD.com, and Amazon. Kaipai focuses on verticals including healthcare, education, beauty, insurance, and real estate, empowering industry users to create professional talking videos. In 2025, Kaipai’s MAU nearly doubled, and paying subscribers tripled. Vmake targets fitness and wellness markets, achieving rapid MAU growth in the U.S., with Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) reaching approximately USD 3 million.
Meitu’s leisure product segment including the Meitu app, BeautyCam and Wink maintained robust user engagement. The paying subscribers for the leisure segment grew 30.3% YoY to 14.75 million, driving the segment’s subscription rate to a solid 5.9%.
Globalisation Milestones: Expanding Footprint in High-ARPU Regions
Meitu’s Globalisation strategy achieved significant progress, with MAU in markets outside Mainland China surpassing the 100 million milestone, a 6.3% YoY increase. International paying subscriber growth accelerated in the second half of 2025, with the majority of new additions coming from high-ARPU regions including Europe, the Americas and East Asia, enhancing the sustainability of international monetization.
AI Technology Advancement & Industry Recognition
Following the training of its self-developed large vision model’s foundational capabilities in 2024, the company has since shifted its R&D priorities towards vertical-specific model training and application-level optimization to better address targeted user needs, consistent with its model-agnostic strategy. In 2025, the company’s total R&D expenses grew moderately by 3.8% YoY.
Meanwhile, on Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)’s “Global Top 50 Gen AI Mobile Apps” list, Meitu ranked first in the photo, video and design category by the number of featured products, with four apps selected. This external recognition reinforces Meitu’s position as a leading global AI application company in imaging, video and design.
Fueled by sustained R&D investment, Meitu is systematically deploying AI Agents into scalable productivity workflows. Going forward,Meitu will continue expanding diverse imaging skills to empower global developers and users with professional-grade AI creation experiences.
Hashtag: #Meitu
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