11/06/2026

THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2026

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‘AI must serve humanity, not dominate it’

Nine charged over deadly HK fire

HONG KONG: Authorities here charged seven people and two companies yesterday over the world’s deadliest residential building fire in decades, which killed 168 people at a public housing estate last year. The massive blaze, which engulfed seven of the eight high-rise apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court estate in November, prompted a months-long investigation in to the cause. Public hearings were told that almost all life saving fire safety measures had failed on the day of the blaze because of human error. Authorities “today charged seven individuals and two companies with 25 counts of offences, including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, ‘money laundering’, attempting to pervert the course of public justice, and tax evasion”, the government said in a statement yesterday. The seven people charged included directors and inspectors of a consultancy firm involved in the estate’s renovation, as well as the main contractor involved in the project. Substandard construction safety netting and cigarette butts were focal points of the probe into the causes and rapid spread of the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980. Fire alarm systems for seven of eight blocks had also been deactivated, which “greatly shortened the time for residents to evacuate”, leading counsel Victor Dawes had told an independent committee conducting the probe. – AFP More charges piled on shooting accused SYDNEY: A man accused of committing one of Australia’s worst mass shootings, at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach last December, has been charged with 19 additional offences. Naveed Akram was initially charged with 59 offences in the days following the shooting that killed 15 people, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder and a terror offence. Akram’s lawyer, Leonie Gittani, said 19 additional charges had been filed. Court records showed the new charges included 10 counts of shooting with intent to murder, six counts of discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest and three counts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. Akram, 24, has yet to enter a plea. His father, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead at the scene. The attack stunned a nation known for its strict gun laws, prompting renewed calls for tighter controls. – Reuters Pumice clogs remote PNG island shore WELLINGTON: Thick rafts of volcanic pumice ejected by an undersea eruption in Papua New Guinea’s Bismarck Sea have blocked boats, damaged fishing grounds and fuelled fears of food shortages, the leaders of remote coastal communities on Manus Island said. The eruption, still underway, began on May 8 about 125km southeast of the island, satellite observations show, sending floating pumice and discoloured water outwards from the site. Local government official Jayso James So-on said: “Our livelihoods are based on saltwater, and with the influx of the pumice, it’s affecting daily activities,” he said, adding reefs had been covered and sea transport to Lorengau, the provincial capital, disrupted. Images show brown pumice rock lines the island’s coast, in places 2-3m deep, say residents, allowing them to walk in areas once covered in water. Such pumice rafts form only when gas-rich magma erupts at the right depth to foam and float, said volcanologist Mike Rosenberg of Earth Sciences New Zealand. – Reuters

o Safeguard values, corporate media told

On the challenges accompanying rapid technological progress, Shen warned that the digital landscape was increasingly affected by misinformation, algorithmic influence and emotional manipulation. “Technology can build an interconnected world, but it can also erect invisible walls. In today’s internet, issues such as misinformation, algorithmic domestication, and emotional manipulation are assaulting the public opinion ecology with unprecedented, cascading waves of debate.” Shen also stressed the importance of international collaboration to ensure the benefits of AI reached all societies and helped narrow technological disparities. He said CMG would continue to strengthen partnerships with media organisations to promote exchanges, enhance cooperation and support the development of a more open and inclusive digital communication landscape. The forum, themed ‘Upholding and Reshaping: The Media’s Mission in the Intelligent Era,’ was organised by CMG and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government. – Bernama

ensuring that algorithms transmit goodwill instead of amplifying bias,” he said. Also present were Bernama chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, Reuters president Paul Bascobert and Rector of the United Nations University and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Tshilidzi Marwala. They joined representatives from media organisations, technology companies, academia and government agencies to exchange views on the future of media in the era of AI. Shen said the media’s role in the AI age went beyond adopting new technologies and involved safeguarding the values of civilisation and promoting human well-being. “The media’s mission in the intelligent era is not merely a technical proposition, but a value-driven one concerning the direction of civilisation and human well-being,” he said. He said CMG was expanding the use of AI across its operations to create new forms of storytelling and deepen the integration of culture and technology, while enabling traditional Chinese culture to be presented in innovative ways.

CHONGQING: Artificial intelligence (AI) should remain a force that benefits humanity, with its advancement guided by ethics, inclusivity and shared responsibility among media professionals, China Media Group (CMG) president Shen Haixiong said. Echoing the need for AI to benefit humanity, Shen quoted President Xi Jinping as saying: “Artificial intelligence should be an international public good that benefits all of humankind.” Addressing the 5th CMG Forum here yesterday, Shen said the rapid advancement of AI had made the media’s role more important than ever in ensuring that technology served humanity rather than dominated it. “The more advanced AI becomes, the more precious the media’s mission truly is. CMG always insists that technology must serve humanity rather than dominate it,

Protesters waving the national flag outside a vote-counting centre in Seoul yesterday. – AFPPIC

Students protest in ballot shortage row SEOUL: University students across South Korea staged protests yesterday as anger grew over ballot paper shortages at recent local elections. over his brief martial law declaration in late 2024.

political affiliation,” said Hwang In-seo of Yonsei University’s student council. Analysts say the National Election Commission, a constitutional body with limited external oversight, has long faced gaps in internal discipline and review mechanisms. A Seoul court this week ordered evidence from an affected polling station in the capital be preserved for investigation, while local media reported prosecutors and police had agreed to set up a joint investigation team. The evidence includes ballot boxes and CCTV footage, a representative of the Seoul Eastern District Court told AFP.

Lee’s ruling liberal Democratic Party won most races in the vote for mayors, local government officials and assembly members, but failed to flip the critical Seoul mayoral seat. The head of the election watchdog has resigned over the ballot paper row, but authorities have not offered to hold a new vote, sparking huge protests at the weekend. Student unions at 18 universities said they will hold new demonstrations. “We are determined to protest because people are universally outraged regardless of

Dozens of polling stations nationwide were short of around 7,000 ballot papers on June 3 election day, official data showed. The supplies were eventually replenished on voting day, but the mishap fuelled fury in a nation where unfounded claims of vote tampering have found a growing audience. The local election was the first nationwide vote since President Lee Jae Myung took office following conservative Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster