As AI solves maths puzzles faster than humans, mathematicians face uncertain future

South China Morning Post - Nov 2, 2026

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now solving maths puzzles that have long stumped humans, prompting mathematicians around the world, including in China, to ponder not only whether machines will replace them, but also what achievement and research in their field will mean in the future. In early October, OpenAI released manuscripts showing progress on 372 categories of mathematical problems, including many which have long defied solutions. This week, the American AI firm announced three further...

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Raising the bar: Taiwan trims draft exemptions to add thousands to armed forces
Nov 2, 2026
Raising the bar: Taiwan trims draft exemptions to add thousands to armed forces

Taiwan is tightening its military service exemption rules in a sweeping overhaul expected to halve the exemption rate and add thousands of conscripts to the armed forces each year as the island grapples with persistent manpower shortages. Under the revised standards, which took effect last week, men will generally be exempt on weight grounds only if their body mass index (BMI) exceeds 45, while the height threshold for exemption has been lowered to 144cm (4.7 feet). Rules covering hypertension...

Talks are the only way out, China tells Iran as US threat hangs over Middle East
Nov 2, 2026
Talks are the only way out, China tells Iran as US threat hangs over Middle East

China’s top diplomat has again stressed the need for a political settlement to strife in the Middle East, telling a senior Iranian official in Beijing on Monday that armed conflict was not the way out. “As conflicts in the Middle East drag on and risk further spillover, dialogue and negotiation remain the only viable path forward,” Wang Yi told Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. “All parties should … focus on a political settlement in a rational and...

Turkey signed US-led Artemis Accords. Its moon rovers will hitch a ride with China
Nov 2, 2026
Turkey signed US-led Artemis Accords. Its moon rovers will hitch a ride with China

Turkey has signed America’s rule book for the moon, but its first ride to the lunar south pole – the icy region both Washington and Beijing are racing to reach – will probably come from China. A team of more than 120 students and professors at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara has built prototypes of two AI-powered rovers for Chang’e-8, a Chinese mission originally planned for 2028. Turkey is not part of the International Lunar Research Station, a base China plans to build on the...

Beijing doubles down on Type 071 amphibious warships, signalling a Taiwan focus
Nov 2, 2026
Beijing doubles down on Type 071 amphibious warships, signalling a Taiwan focus

Beijing is accelerating production of its Type 071 amphibious transport docks by expanding construction to a second shipyard, potentially strengthening its ability to move troops and military equipment across the Taiwan Strait in a conflict. The expansion comes amid long-standing United States assessments that Beijing lacks enough landing ships and logistical support for a large-scale assault on Taiwan, suggesting the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) may be moving to address a significant...

China and Oman unite in Mideast peace call on sultan’s ‘historic’ Beijing visit
Nov 2, 2026
China and Oman unite in Mideast peace call on sultan’s ‘historic’ Beijing visit

China and Oman have called for a peaceful resolution and full ceasefire between the US and Iran, stressing that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz must be restored. The call came during talks in Beijing on Monday between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq. In their joint statement, Beijing and Muscat encouraged the United States and Iran to resume dialogue and reach a “comprehensive agreement that includes the nuclear issue”. The two sides also affirmed that...

China’s fifth plenum: everything you need to know from the war on corruption to promotions
Nov 2, 2026
China’s fifth plenum: everything you need to know from the war on corruption to promotions

We have put together stories from our coverage of China’s fifth plenum. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Unwritten rules’ become newest target in Communist Party’s war on corruption The Communist Party of China has pledged to vigorously crack down on the “unwritten rules” that enable corruption in the party, deepening its long-running campaign to keep officials in line. 2. At China’s fifth plenum, Communist Party puts discipline and loyalty to Xi...

Chinese mechanic reports short-lived GE engine blades in Boeing 787
Nov 2, 2026
Chinese mechanic reports short-lived GE engine blades in Boeing 787

Some high-pressure turbine blades in US-made GE Aerospace engines powering Boeing 787 aircraft have suffered unexpectedly early damage, leaving airlines with a difficult choice: replace the engines or continue flying under strict inspection requirements, according to a Chinese aviation specialist. The findings raise questions about the reliability of American aerospace products amid growing scrutiny of US manufacturing quality. According to the study, cracks can develop in some blades within...

China’s fifth plenum readout
Nov 2, 2026
China’s fifth plenum readout

This article is the official English translation of the original Chinese document released by Xinhua.

Chinese scientists found giant ‘chimneys’ in deep water that could alter submarine warfare
Nov 2, 2026
Chinese scientists found giant ‘chimneys’ in deep water that could alter submarine warfare

Chinese researchers have mapped how energy from surface wind surges thousands of metres into the seabed, revealing massive underwater conduits they called “inertial chimneys”. The discovery, based on data collected by a US-funded ocean sensor array off the east coast of Japan, coupled with future long-term underwater monitoring, can provide underwater acoustic environmental support for marine detection and communication, the team said. The scientists from the Institute of Oceanology of the...

Ex-Kissinger partner on how China, US can evolve together or die together
Nov 2, 2026
Ex-Kissinger partner on how China, US can evolve together or die together

Joshua Cooper Ramo is chairman and CEO of Sornay, an investment and advisory firm. Previously he was CEO of Kissinger Associates. Ramo is the author of the new book Darwin’s Lock: America, China and the Shared Future of Nations. His 2004 analysis of “the Beijing consensus” contrasted the Western and Chinese economic development models. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books and now lives in Shanghai with his family. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click...

Apec China summit: from traffic curbs to tree planting, Shenzhen’s plans enter final phase
Nov 2, 2026
Apec China summit: from traffic curbs to tree planting, Shenzhen’s plans enter final phase

Construction workers have been working late into the night in downtown Shenzhen as the city makes its final preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in two weeks’ time. On a weekday night, a South China Morning Post reporter saw at least 50 construction workers gathered at an intersection about 1km (just over half a mile) from the Apec venues in the central district of Futian, laying down pebbles and planting trees along the pavements. The main road that leads up to the...

Yerevan Pathway sets course for biodiversity action
Nov 2, 2026
Yerevan Pathway sets course for biodiversity action

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