Asian stocks are higher after Wall Street barreled to new records as the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology keeps sending stocks higher.

China is expanding pandemic lockdowns, including in a city where factory workers clashed with police this week, as its number of COVID-19 cases hits a daily record.

Workers who assemble Apple Inc.’s newest iPhone walked away from a factory in central China following virus outbreaks and complaints of unsafe working conditions, highlighting the clash between the disease’s enduring risks and efforts to restore the global flow of goods.

Workers who assemble Apple Inc.’s new iPhone have walked out of their factory to avoid COVID-19 curbs after some coworkers were quarantined following a virus outbreak.

Carmaker Stellantis has announced a strategy to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands.

Carmaker Stellantis and Taiwan’s Foxconn have announced plans to develop a jointly operated automotive supplier focusing on technology to make vehicles more connected, including artificial intelligence-based applications and 5-G communications.

Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images(CNN) - A new report from China Labor Watch accuses Foxconn of worker abuse, poor pay and imposing long hours on employees who make popular Amazon devices. China Labor Watch, a New York City-based non-profit group, said it found numerous violations at Foxconn's Hengyang factory in eastern China, where it makes the Amazon Echo, Kindle and tablets. According to China Labor Watch, interns make up 21% of the facility's workforce, which is more than double the 10% allowed under Chinese law. Foxconn allegedly requires teachers to recruit the students to work at the facility and supervise them, China Labor Watch said. Last year, China Labor Watch made similar allegations about the Hengyang factory.

Kiyoshi Ota / Getty StringerTOKYO - SoftBank is launching another mega tech fund. The Japanese tech company said Friday that it expects to raise $108 billion for the new Vision Fund 2 from the likes of Apple, Foxconn, Microsoft and Kazakhstan's investment fund. Vision Fund 2 will plow money into tech startups driven by artificial intelligence. Son launched his first huge tech fund in May 2017, with nearly half the money coming from the Saudi government. But the kingdom is absent from the list of roughly a dozen companies, banks and institutions listed as partners for Vision Fund 2.