Irish Government AI Report 2026 - First Step for Small Business AI Visibility

Hong Kong’s athletes were praised for producing “a beautiful harvest of medals” at this year’s Asian Games, and the success of the delegation’s younger members bode well for the future, the city’s leader said on Monday. A first tennis, a rugby sevens three-peat, combined with success on the water, in the pool, and on the squash court all led to a historic tally of 54 medals and a record number of gold over a fortnight in Japan. While the rise of the city’s younger athletes was in many ways a...

England captain Harry Kane is the favourite to win a wide-open race to be crowned Ballon d’Or winner at a glitzy London ceremony on Monday, with Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe also in the running to be named the world’s best footballer. The 70th edition of the award, established by the magazine France Football, will be hosted in England for the first time in recognition of the first winner, Stanley Matthews, and fittingly could have a first English winner for 25 years. Bayern Munich striker Kane...

A decline in local turnover might have given Jockey Club boss Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges cause for concern to start the season, but a surge in wagering on overseas races has helped boost total turnover to a healthy figure. After 13 of 88 local meetings, total turnover on local and overseas races was up 12.5 per cent on last year to HK$24.8 billion. In his CEO blog published on the Jockey Club website before Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting, Engelbrecht-Bresges said wagering on Hong Kong racing was...

Asia’s answer to NCAA basketball has taken another big step forwards, with 18 universities weeks away from the start of a two-conference season. The teams involved in the Asian University Basketball League will play between November and April, with a championship week, similar to the sweet 16 or final four, pencilled in for next August. A 12-strong Eastern Conference and six-team Southern Conference will compete in a total of 54 games, with universities from 11 different places across the region...

Bustling City was one of two shock beaten favourites for David Hayes on one weekend, but the Australian Hall of Fame trainer is adamant the horse he declared “could be the new dirt king in Hong Kong” will bounce back on Wednesday night. Adding to the pain of Ka Ying Rising’s narrow The Everest (1,200m) defeat at Randwick on October 17, Bustling City was sent off the $1.4 favourite the following day at Sha Tin but couldn’t back up his explosive seven-length victory on his seasonal return. After...

Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali bin Hussein accused Fifa leader ⁠Gianni Infantino on Sunday ⁠of hijacking the Asian Football ⁠Confederation Congress for political purposes ahead of his re-election bid for a fourth term. At the AFC’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Friday, its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, endorsed Infantino’s bid for re-election as Fifa president. Months after the confederation ‌accused Infantino of a “fundamental breach of trust” over the...

The list of Link Hong Kong Open winners has always read like an honour roll of golf’s great and good; on Sunday John Catlin added his name to that illustrious grouping and it might be that’s what finally broke through his steely exterior. Sitting with the trophy long after the crowds had gone home, Catlin read off the names of Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Rory McIlroy, Miguel Angel Jimenez and the rest, with the kind of dawning realisation that follows any major achievement. And while Tom McKibbin’s...

Ka Ying Lightning struck again at Sha Tin on Sunday to remain unbeaten and give David Hall the best birthday possible in the Class Three Lukfook Jewellery Night Banquet In Tang Palace Collection Handicap (1,000m). Impressive in a pair of starts thus far, including a two-length romp on reappearance, the All Too Hard galloper gave another sizeable boost to his reputation with a gritty effort under Andrea Atzeni. Quick away from the plum draw in stall 14, Ka Ying Lightning’s task was made tougher...

Brenton Avdulla boosted his hopes of securing a licence extension with a deserved feature success aboard consistent sprinter Raging Blizzard in Sunday’s Group Two Lukfook Jewellery Premier Bowl (1,200m) at Sha Tin. Riding on a part-season licence after sliding down the championship standings with 21 wins last term, Avdulla lifted the John Size-trained Raging Blizzard to a narrow victory over Ka Ying Attack under top weight of 135lb. The Australian jockey, whose Hong Kong licence expires in...

Loud cheers, thumping bass lines, flashing court lights and the crisp pop of plastic paddles filled Kai Tak Arena on Sunday as Asia’s largest professional pickleball tournament reached a festive climax. Moving beyond the quiet formality of traditional court sports, finals day at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam 2026, which drew a crowd of more than 2,000 spectators, felt more like a block party than a high-stakes championship, bringing fans within arm’s reach of the world’s elite players. The...

In the end there was no Sunday shoot-out at the Link Hong Kong Open, just John Catlin cruising to a five-shot victory on a historic day for golf in the city. The American’s six-under-par 64 took him to 20 under overall, and the only blip on an otherwise perfect day was a bogey at the par-3 5th. Not that it mattered. Catlin had no need to outgun his rivals, with Hongkonger Matthew Cheung and Finland’s Kalle Samooja at 15 under the closest the field got to depriving him of the places at next...

Max Verstappen advised Kimi Antonelli to enjoy the ride and get ready to celebrate as the Italian stands on the brink of becoming Formula 1’s youngest-ever champion. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver qualified on pole position for Sunday’s US Grand Prix and could clinch the title with five rounds ‌to spare, according to the current calendar that includes races in the Middle East, at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas if he wins and other results go his way. Red Bull’s Verstappen, a four-time...