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AI Scientist, Founder Of China’s SenseTime Dies

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The founder of leading Chinese AI firm SenseTime and an influential computer scientist has suddenly passed away, the company said in a statement Saturday.

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we announce to everyone the sorrowful news: Our beloved founder… Tang Xiao’ou, due to illness that could not be treated, left us forever at 23:45 on December 15, 2023,” SenseTime said in an online post.

Tang, an alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who founded SenseTime in 2014, was in his mid-fifties.

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The specific cause of the renowned computer scientist’s death was not stated.

SenseTime was placed on a US trade blacklist in 2019, accused of being an arm of China’s “military-industrial complex” over the use of its technology in mass surveillance in the western region of Xinjiang.

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In December 2021, the firm’s initial public offering in Hong Kong was delayed after it came under new restrictions by the US for related accusations, although it successfully listed on the exchange before the year ended.

SenseTime hailed Tang in its Saturday statement as “an outstanding representative in (China’s) AI field”, calling him “knowledgeable, rigorous in scholarship, truth-seeking and pragmatic”.

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The company mission he formulated, to ‘insist on originality and let AI lead human progress’ will inspire all SenseTime people,” the firm said.

Tang had extensive experience in American academia, earning a PhD from MIT in 1996 after completing an MSc at the University of Rochester in 1991.

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Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

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A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

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He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

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The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

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“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

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Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

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Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

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The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

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“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

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Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

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US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

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The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

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The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

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Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

 

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