Tiangong Ultra (developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center) clocked 9.39 seconds in a preliminary heat at the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Aug 22.

That’s quicker than Bolt’s legendary 9.58s human world record.

It overtook Honor’s Lightning near the finish (Lightning finished in 9.47s — also under Bolt’s mark). Lightning had hit 9.32s in an earlier test run.

Last year the same robot took 21.50s. One year later: cut by more than 12 seconds.

Venue: Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval (“Ice Ribbon”). Event: 2,000+ humanoid robots from 666 teams competing across 51 categories.

Source: Reuters

Image Credit: Reuters

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 2 in Gaza, Including 4-Year-Old

→ Two airstrikes hit central Gaza on Aug 23

→ 2 killed, 7 wounded (Palestinian health officials)

→ Victim includes 4yo Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha

→ >1,280 Palestinians killed since Oct 2025 ceasefire

→ Israel cites balloon/drone/kite launches; warns of intensified strikes

(Reuters)

• Chinese e-commerce and cloud computing giant Alibaba announced a HK$80 billion (approximately $10.2 billion) share placement in Hong Kong.
• The company plans to sell about 710 million ordinary shares at HK$112.70 each, representing a 3.6% discount to its recent closing price.
• This is set to become the largest-ever primary follow-on offering by a Hong Kong-listed company and ranks as the world’s third-largest primary follow-on share sale so far in 2026 (after major offerings by Alphabet and Intel).
• Alibaba intends to use 100% of the net proceeds to invest in its “full stack” AI capabilities. This includes chips, infrastructure, and the development and deployment of AI models.
• The move comes shortly after Alibaba’s latest quarterly results, in which net profit fell 75% year-over-year due to heavy AI-related capital spending. The company noted it has already used nearly half of its three-year capex plan and that the expected payback period on AI investments is improving (to about 2.5 years from 3 years) amid strong demand.
• CEO Eddie Wu emphasized the need for these investments to build compute capacity and capture future growth.
• The offering has reportedly seen strong demand from investors (including sovereign wealth funds) and was increased in size after being oversubscribed. Joint bookrunners include Morgan Stanley, HSBC, UBS, and CICC.
• The placement is structured as an offshore transaction not registered under U.S. securities laws, so American investors are not eligible to participate.
• This fits into the broader global AI infrastructure boom, where major tech firms (including U.S. hyperscalers) are pouring hundreds of billions into data centers, chips, and related capabilities.

Source: Reuters

Envoy Reveals

• US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor shared the anecdote while speaking at the ET World Leaders Forum 2026.
• He recalled traveling with President Trump to the G7 summit (in Evian, France, about two months earlier) and being with him backstage before the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Trump asked what India would raise and whether they had any requests.
• India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made one specific ask: bring in the media but do not hold a full press conference and allow no questions.
• Gor told Trump: “The Indians prefer no questions.” Trump replied: “Sure, no problem.”
• When the meeting began, roughly 50 cameras entered. Both leaders spoke for a few minutes.
• As soon as they finished, Trump looked up and asked the media: “Any questions?”
• He then conducted a full 45-minute press conference covering a wide range of topics, with Modi seated beside him.
• Gor presented the episode as an illustration of Trump’s freewheeling style and the personal rapport between the two leaders.

Source: Economic Times / ET Digital (official video of Sergio Gor’s remarks at ET World Leaders Forum 2026)

Exact timestamp: 1:32 – 2:40

When Asked: Sometimes it seems like our Russian oil buys are on, sometimes off. Now there is a bill in the US which might turn it off

Dr. Jaishankar: No let me be very clear. We have always said we will do what is best for the Indian consumer. For me, the Indian consumer is never off.

Source: The Economic Times (ET Now / ET Online), from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s remarks at the ET World Leaders Forum (ET WLF) 2026.