Attackers are exploiting trust in Adobe’s brand to deliver covert remote access, using a fake Acrobat Reader download page to install ConnectWise ScreenConnect through a fileless, memory-heavy attack chain that is designed to leave few traces on disk and make forensic analysis harder. Security researchers who uncovered the campaign said the operation began with a phishing site made to resemble Adobe’s official software page, where victims were […]
China’s economy expanded faster than expected in the first quarter, giving Beijing a firmer platform as it confronts the fallout from the war involving Iran, but the details beneath the headline number pointed to a recovery still leaning heavily on industry and exports while households remain cautious. Official data released on Thursday showed gross domestic product grew 5.0% from a year earlier in January to March, above the 4.8% forecast in a Reuters poll and up from 4.5% in the final quarter of 2025. Quarterly growth came in at 1.3%, slightly ahead of the previous quarter.
The stronger reading suggested that the first shockwaves from the conflict in the Middle East have not yet knocked China off course. Markets took the figures as a sign of resilience. Mainland share indices rose after the release and the yuan held near its strongest levels in three years, reflecting confidence that the world’s second-largest economy has, for now, absorbed higher energy risks better than some had feared.
Yet the composition of growth was less reassuring. March industrial output rose 5.7% from a year earlier, beating expectations, but retail sales slowed to 1.7%, well below forecasts and down from 2.8% in the first two months of the year. Fixed-asset investment in the first quarter rose 1.7%, also missing expectations, while property investment fell 11.2%. Those figures reinforced a pattern that has defined China’s economy for months: factories, infrastructure and technology manufacturing are carrying more of the load than domestic consumption or housing.
That imbalance matters because Beijing has repeatedly signalled that stronger household demand is essential to putting growth on a steadier footing. Economists cited in the reporting on Thursday said the first-quarter strength was driven largely by momentum built in January and February, especially through exports and industrial activity, while March showed signs of softer conditions. The slowdown in shop spending is particularly sensitive because consumer confidence has remained fragile even as policymakers talk up support for incomes, jobs and services-led demand.
The war has complicated that task without yet derailing it. Since hostilities erupted on 28 February, China has faced a familiar vulnerability: it is the world’s largest energy importer and still relies on stable global shipping and manageable oil prices to protect factory margins and household purchasing power. Reuters reported that economists believe China has so far weathered the shock because of large oil reserves, a diversified energy mix and price controls, but they also warned that persistently higher oil costs are beginning to filter through supply chains and squeeze profits.
Evidence of that pressure is already visible. Reuters noted this week that factory-gate prices in March rose for the first time in more than three years, a signal that energy-driven cost increases are feeding into production. Export growth, which had been one of the brighter spots, also lost momentum in March after a very strong start to the year, raising the possibility that manufacturers will find it harder to sustain their pace if shipping costs stay elevated and overseas demand weakens.
Beijing’s response is likely to stay measured unless the conflict worsens. Policymakers have already set a budget deficit of about 4% of GDP for 2026 and planned heavy bond issuance to support activity. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the central bank to keep the one-year loan prime rate steady through the year, with only a modest cut to reserve requirements anticipated later on. A stronger first quarter gives officials more room to avoid large-scale stimulus at this month’s Politburo meeting, though that calculus could change if oil prices climb further or exports weaken more sharply.
The broader international backdrop is not especially forgiving. The IMF said in its April World Economic Outlook material that the Middle East conflict is lowering growth expectations for advanced economies in 2026, even if the aggregate effect is described as modest. For China, that matters less through direct battlefield exposure than through energy costs, shipping uncertainty and the health of major overseas markets. A prolonged conflict would test the durability of China’s export-led strength at the same time as its consumer recovery remains incomplete.
Alibaba Group Holding has unveiled a new artificial intelligence model aimed at building 3D environments and interactive video, widening its challenge to Tencent in one of the most commercially sensitive corners of China’s technology market: games, cloud services and creator tools. The model, called Happy Oyster, was introduced on Thursday as a “world model”, a system designed to generate explorable digital scenes rather than only short clips, […]
Bitcoin’s market backdrop has strengthened sharply, with a closely watched Bull Score Index climbing to its highest reading since October 2025 after several previously weak on-chain signals improved over roughly three days, according to market analytics platforms tracking network activity and investor behaviour. The shift has added momentum to a rebound that has pushed Bitcoin back towards the mid-$70,000 range, even as analysts warn that the move […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Middle East conflict damage to energy infrastructure could leave the region facing as much as $58 billion in repair costs, according to a sharply revised estimate from Rystad Energy, with oil and gas facilities alone accounting for up to $50 billion and much of the burden falling on complex plants whose restoration may take years rather than months. The research firm said the […]
Google’s Discover feed has become the latest battleground in the cybercrime economy after researchers uncovered a large-scale operation that used AI-written articles, fake news hooks and misleading browser prompts to push scam alerts to users’ phones and computers. The campaign, dubbed Pushpaganda, relied on more than 100 bogus domains designed to look like ordinary content sites, then turned visitors into targets for persistent scareware, ad fraud and […]
Cardano is drawing fresh attention after a burst of on-chain activity revived debate over whether stronger network usage can translate into a rebound for ADA, the blockchain’s native token, after a prolonged spell of weak price action. The trigger for the discussion was commentary tied to staking infrastructure provider Everstake, which said daily active addresses and transaction counts had risen sharply over the past three months, feeding […]
Scientists are advancing a new way to search for life beyond Earth by looking not for a single decisive signal on one planet, but for recurring patterns across many worlds. The idea, set out in a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, argues that life may reveal itself statistically if it spreads between planets or reshapes planetary environments in ways that leave linked traces across a wider […]
Pupils across the UAE will return to classrooms from Monday, April 20, after the Ministry of Education said all nurseries, kindergartens, and public and private schools are cleared to resume full in-person learning for students, teachers and administrative staff nationwide. The move ends more than six weeks of distance learning and signals that authorities believe campuses have completed the safety, staffing and facility checks needed for […]
Attackers are exploiting a critical flaw in nginx-ui, an open-source web interface used to manage Nginx servers, exposing organisations to unauthorised server control through a weakness in the product’s Model Context Protocol integration. The bug, tracked as CVE-2026-33032, carries a CVSS severity score of 9.8 and allows an unauthenticated attacker on the network to invoke privileged functions that can rewrite configuration files, reload services and alter how […]
OpenAI has launched GPT-5.4-Cyber, a new version of its frontier model tailored for defensive cybersecurity work, moving quickly to answer growing concern that ever more capable AI systems could help both defenders and attackers in a widening digital arms race. The release came a week after Anthropic disclosed Claude Mythos Preview under its tightly controlled Project Glasswing programme, setting up a new contest over who can best […]
A digitally signed software operation tied to Dragon Boss Solutions LLC has been linked to the disabling of antivirus protections on more than 23,000 endpoints worldwide, raising concerns that what had been treated as aggressive adware was operating much closer to a supply-chain style threat. Security researchers said infected machines were found checking in from 124 countries, with affected systems present in education, government, utilities, healthcare […]
Europe’s cybersecurity agency has moved to strengthen its influence over the global system used to identify and catalogue software flaws, with ENISA no longer merely seeking a bigger role in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures programme but already holding Root status in a shift that gives the EU a stronger hand in how vulnerabilities are coordinated across borders. The development matters because the CVE system remains a […]
More than 30 WordPress plugins tied to the developer Essential Plugin were taken offline after a hidden backdoor was found in code distributed to live websites, exposing site owners to unauthorised access, malware installation and search-spam abuse. The campaign, traced by security researchers to code inserted in August 2025 and activated in April 2026, is being treated as a serious software supply-chain breach rather than an ordinary […]
Google has issued an emergency-style security update for Chrome after disclosing 31 vulnerabilities in the desktop browser, including five rated critical, in a release that underlines how quickly memory-safety flaws in widely used software can become a serious risk for consumers, businesses and public institutions. The stable desktop channel moved on April 15 to version 147.0.7727.101/102 for Windows and Mac, and 147.0.7727.101 for Linux, with the rollout […]
A sharp jump in brute-force attacks against SonicWall and Fortinet devices has put security teams on alert, after Barracuda said such activity made up more than half of the confirmed incidents its SOC tracked during February and March, with about 88% of the attacking IP addresses geolocated to the Middle East. The company said most attempts failed because they were blocked or aimed at invalid usernames, but […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai UAE investors are moving faster than their peers almost anywhere in the world to bring artificial intelligence into investment decision-making, with a new global study by wealth-tech firm BridgeWise placing the country second overall in its AI optimism rankings and first on “momentum”, a measure of how strongly investors intend to replace traditional research methods with AI tools over the next year. The […]
The tour, taking place from April to August, will include visits to major academic hubs in the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea and South East Asia. Through a series of academic exchanges, faculty dialogues, and participation in leading international conferences—including IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (IEEE); the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML); The 17th Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities (ACAH); and The Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM). VinUni seeks to foster meaningful engagement with scholars working at the forefront of research, particularly in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
This initiative reflects VinUni’s evolving approach to academic recruitment, characterised by sustained international engagement and an emphasis on scholarly collaboration. The University aims to attract individuals of high academic distinction who are committed not only to advancing disciplinary knowledge, but also to contributing to the broader societal application of research.
Central to this effort is the VinUniversity Assistant Professorships (VAP), established to support exceptional early-career scholars. The programme provides a comprehensive academic environment, including significant research funding, access to dedicated laboratory space, and advanced research infrastructure. Scholars are further supported through institutional mechanisms for research development, grant acquisition, and academic administration.
In addition to internal resources, VAP appointees may pursue competitive funding opportunities through established national and international channels, including the Vingroup Innovation Foundation and the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED), thereby enabling the sustained growth and international visibility of their research programmes.
Professor Ling San, Senior Deputy President of VinUniversity, noted:
“The VinUniversity Assistant Professorships program is designed to attract exceptional early-career scholars who want to do more than follow traditional academic pathways. With up to $1M in research funding, dedicated lab support, and strong industry partnerships, VinUni provides the conditions for scholars—particularly in AI and emerging technologies—to move quickly from ideas to real-world impact.
What makes VinUni distinctive is the rare opportunity to help build a world-class university in a rapidly evolving economy. For many scholars, this is not just a career move, but a chance to shape the future of research and innovation in a new global hub.”
Established as Vietnam’s first private, not-for-profit university founded on international standards, VinUni has developed strategic partnerships with leading global institutions, including Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). These collaborations contribute to the University’s academic development and its integration within the international higher education landscape.
Supported by Vingroup, VinUni operates within a broader ecosystem that connects academic inquiry with industry and innovation. This environment offers faculty the opportunity to extend the reach of their research beyond the academy and engage with questions of practical and societal significance.
Through the Global Academic Recruitment Tour 2026, VinUni affirms its commitment to academic excellence and international engagement, and extends an invitation to scholars who seek to contribute to the advancement of knowledge within a dynamic and globally connected setting.
Hashtag: #VinUniversity
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 April 2026 – ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), one of the world’s fastest-growing data centre colocation service providers headquartered in Singapore, today announced the findings of a new regional research study, Mind the Gap: Bridging the AI Infrastructure Readiness Divide, examining how organisations across Asia are progressing from AI ambition to execution. Commissioned by STT GDC with research partner Ecosystm, the study surveyed more than 600 enterprise and digital-native leaders across nine Asian markets: India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
High adoption, limited readiness across Asia
The report reveals that AI ambition across Asia is high, with nearly 90% of organisations having embarked on their AI journeys. However, a significant 71% remain in the “Builder” stage of maturity, where initial AI pilots struggle to scale into production environments capable of delivering consistent and measurable return on investment (ROI). In contrast, only 17% of organisations are considered “future ready”, having invested in scalable infrastructure, mature data governance and specialised operational expertise, highlighting a widening readiness gap across the region.
Challenges faced by the Builders
Across Asia, the research identifies a reinforcing cycle that keeps many organisations stuck in pilot mode. AI initiatives are often launched on infrastructure that cannot scale to production, limiting their ability to demonstrate measurable ROI and making it harder to justify further investment in purpose-built, high-density environments. This challenge is compounded by gaps in in-house expertise, with many organisations lacking the specialist operational skills required to manage increasingly complex AI infrastructure at scale.
“Across Asia, organisations are moving quickly from experimentation to implementation, but many are discovering that AI success now depends less on training models and more on foundations,” said Chris Street, Group Chief Revenue Officer of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. “Without scalable infrastructure and operational readiness in place, it becomes difficult to convert early AI ambition into consistent business value.”
The Sustainability Blind Spot
Despite rising energy and cooling demands driven by AI workloads, sustainability considerations remain secondary for most organisations when evaluating infrastructure options. Although 27% of organisations say ESG goals will actively shape or be central to their future plans, 64% of organisations across Asia continue to prioritise performance or cost, even as power density, thermal efficiency and long‑term total cost of ownership become increasingly critical factors in scaling AI responsibly.
A disconnect between what organisations want and what they need
The study also highlights a persistent disconnect between how organisations evaluate infrastructure partners and the capabilities they actually need to scale AI. Across Asia, organisations continue to prioritise baseline requirements like security and reliability, despite identifying operational expertise, scalability and cost efficiency as their most significant challenges.
Singapore: ahead of the region, but facing a new constraint
These challenges are visible across the region, but they manifest differently in more mature markets. Singapore stands out against the regional baseline with a significantly larger share of organisations having progressed beyond early-stage pilots. While only 17% of organisations across Asia are considered future‑ready, 40% of Singapore organisations have reached the Integrator stage, reflecting stronger early execution and deployment capability.
However, the study also finds that the final step to leadership remains the most difficult. Only 3% of Singapore organisations have reached the “Leader” stage of AI infrastructure maturity, signalling that even in Asia’s most mature AI market, the transition from integration to full leadership remains difficult.
Scaling, not adoption, is now the key challenge
In Singapore, where adoption is more advanced, the constraints have shifted. Limited infrastructure headroom, shortages in specialised operational expertise and continued investment discipline are now emerging as the primary barriers to scaling AI workloads and sustaining leadership.
“For Singapore, AI adoption is relatively mature; the defining challenge now is scaling deployments fast enough to support real‑world demand,” said Mingcheng Lim, Country Head – Singapore, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. “Whether the country can maintain its lead in the region will depend on whether infrastructure capacity, specialist expertise and investment approaches can evolve at the same pace as AI workloads.”
Sustainability awareness has yet to shape infrastructure choices
In Singapore, regulatory expectations have driven relatively high awareness of sustainability issues. However, sustainability continues to rank among the lowest priorities when organisations evaluate infrastructure providers, highlighting a gap between awareness and action, even as power density, thermal efficiency and long‑term cost efficiency become increasingly important to scaling AI responsibly.
The mismatch between wants and needs persists
As with the wider region, Singapore organisations continue to evaluate infrastructure providers based on familiar baseline criteria, even as their scaling challenges point to a growing need for specialist expertise, speed to scale and sustainable, high‑density infrastructure capability.
These findings suggest that Asia’s next phase of AI progress will be defined not by ambition alone, but by execution capability. For Singapore, sustaining regional leadership will depend on infrastructure strategies that support scale, resilience and speed, enabling organisations to convert early AI momentum into enduring competitive advantage.
To download the report, Mind the Gap: Bridging the AI Infrastructure Readiness Divide, please visit: https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/resources/ai-readiness-assessment-report.Hashtag: #STTelemedia #STTGDC
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) is one of the fastest-growing data centre providers with a global platform serving as a cornerstone of the digital ecosystem that helps the world to connect. Powering a sustainable digital future, STT GDC operates across Singapore, the UK, Germany, India, Italy, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, providing businesses an exceptional foundation that is built for their growth anywhere. For more information, visit
https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/.
Losses from hacks, phishing and other Web3 security incidents climbed to about $482.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, even as projects expanded audits, compliance work and other defensive controls. The biggest change was not simply the amount lost, but where attackers found success: away from pure code exploits and deeper into off-chain operations, user manipulation and privileged access. Data published by security firm Hacken shows […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Global smartphone shipments fell in the first quarter, ending the run of growth that had followed the sector’s rebound from its 2023 downturn, as a squeeze in memory supply and higher component prices forced brands to trim volumes, raise prices and rethink launch plans. IDC said worldwide shipments declined 4.1 per cent in the January-March period, while Samsung and Apple were the only […]
Paper tubes, cartons and bamboo-based alternatives are gaining commercial ground across Asia as the war-linked disruption to petrochemical supplies pushes plastic costs higher and leaves manufacturers, retailers and consumer brands scrambling for substitutes. What began as a supply shock tied to oil and chemical flows from the Middle East is now rippling through supermarket shelves, cosmetics counters and factory floors, giving an unexpected opening to packaging formats […]
More than 100 Chrome extensions presented as harmless tools for games, social media sidebars and translation have been tied to a coordinated data-harvesting operation that security researchers say exposed user identities, browser sessions and browsing activity through a shared command-and-control network. The campaign, uncovered by Socket’s Threat Research Team and independently checked in part by BleepingComputer, involved 108 extensions listed under five publisher identities and accounted for […]
What looked like a nuisance adware issue inside managed IT environments has emerged as a broader cyber-security warning, after Huntress said software signed by Dragon Boss Solutions LLC exposed more than 25,000 endpoints to a supply-chain style compromise through an insecure update mechanism that could have been hijacked for the price of a cheap domain registration. Huntress published its findings on April 14, saying the software was […]
