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President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is set to be the first Philippine leader to join the Brics Summit in New Delhi this weekend – presenting him with the perfect “low-risk opportunity” to engage the grouping as Manila continues to diversify its ties, analysts say. “The president seeks to ensure that our modern partnerships remain open, resilient and capable of delivering prosperity to our people,” Phil...
Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was acquitted on Friday in a case related to a marine’s drowning death in a rare reprieve in one of the criminal cases brought against him following his ousting for imposing martial law. The independent counsel’s indictment had alleged Yoon deliberately appointed former defence minister Lee Jong-Sup as his ambassador to Australia to help him leave the co...
Young Chinese investors may be just as willing to take risks as their global peers, but their portfolios remain more conservative against a backdrop of years of relative underperformance in China’s stock market, a prolonged property downturn and deflation, according to a senior researcher at the CFA Institute Research and Policy Centre. The disconnect between their willingness to take risks and th...
Deng Yu, the 37-year-old Chinese mathematician who won the 2026 Fields Medal, has a backup plan if artificial intelligence puts him out of a job. On Tuesday, he wrote on social media that “if AI can solve all maths problems, I’ll go home and write my yuri novel”. Deng is known to be a big fan of yuri, a genre of Japanese novels and comics that depicts intimate friendships and romantic relationship...
Deng Yu, the 37-year-old Chinese mathematician who won the 2026 Fields Medal, has a backup plan if artificial intelligence puts him out of a job. On Tuesday, he wrote on social media that “if AI can solve all maths problems, I’ll go home and write my yuri novel”. Deng is known to be a big fan of yuri, a genre of Japanese novels and comics that depicts intimate friendships and romantic relationship...
A Chinese milk tea chain has ignited a debate about workplace culture and employee autonomy after reports of its military-style onboarding training garnered public criticism. Frontline employees at Chayanyuese, also known as Modern China Tea Shop, recently voiced their concerns on mainland social media, alleging that the company’s “Cornerstone” induction programme infringes on personal boundaries....
Emma Bonino’s life in politics began with a crime. In 1974, at a time when abortion was illegal in Italy, she travelled to a clandestine clinic in Florence to terminate an unplanned pregnancy. “Coming back by train at night, I decided that never, never, never again should anyone have to suffer this humiliation,” she later recalled. A year later, determined to drag abortion out of the shadows, s...
About 60 per cent of Hong Kong’s first batch of dental graduates who underwent mandatory internship training have joined the city’s Department of Health, a move that has helped “significantly ease” the manpower crunch. The development followed a controversial amendment to the Dentists Registration Ordinance in 2024, requiring all dental graduates in Hong Kong to complete a 12-month internship befo...
Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to India for the first time since 2019 and finalising plans for a US trip as he works through his busiest month of international travel in years. Xi will attend the annual Brics summit in New Delhi over the weekend and meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa are among other leaders going to the eve...
Turkey has unveiled plans to more than triple its defence spending over the next three years, driven by regional conflicts and a desire for a greater security footprint across Europe and the Middle East. Rather than ramping up its purchases from Western allies, Nato’s second-largest military power will direct most of its 229 per cent budget increase between 2027 and 2029 towards expanding domestic...
Battle-testing modern weapon systems can come at a steep price: a country must send its forces to war. But for China’s 4.5-generation J-10CE fighter aircraft, exports have opened another route. Pakistan provided the aircraft’s first major combat test during its four-day conflict with India in May 2025, when Islamabad’s J-10CEs were used in an air battle. Two US officials told Reuters that at least...
The Hong Kong government will not cap the number of admissions under its talent schemes, with the labour minister saying “the more, the better” amid a global race for skilled workers, despite rising concerns over whether the city can absorb the influx. Wrapping up a five-day visit to Hong Kong by overseas innovation and technology specialists, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han sai...
On September 1, former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced that Alex Karp, CEO of artificial intelligence and data analytics firm Palantir Technologies, would become the lead investor in a new defence technology company he is building. This confirmed what Fedorov had only gestured at two days earlier in an interview with the Financial Times: that what he was selling investors was...
A flurry of cybersecurity breaches, internal whistle-blowing, and declining visibility into model safety has sparked fresh alarm over the US artificial intelligence boom, igniting calls from some experts to slow down development – even as critics warn that deceleration risks surrendering America’s technological lead to China. The mounting concerns come just weeks before President Xi Jinping and US...
Tokyo police arrested two American women for allegedly smuggling US$1 million worth of cannabis, with one suspect claiming she was motivated by a free trip to Japan, an official and media reports said on Friday. The pair, both 25, arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda airport from New York last Saturday with two suitcases in which “cannabis-like dried plants were secretly stored”, a police spokesman said. Jap...
In the windswept village of Doonbeg on Ireland’s Atlantic coast, Donald Trump is less polarising US president and more golf resort owner credited with bringing jobs and money to a remote corner of the country. Trump arrives in Ireland on Saturday for a two-day visit, stopping for a few hours in Dublin before heading west to his Trump International Golf Links, where the Irish Open began Thursday. T...
This article was published on September 12, 2011. Veteran Ip wins best actress in Venice by Adrian Wan Veteran Hong Kong movie star Deanie Ip Tak-han was named best actress at the Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of an ageing domestic servant in Ann Hui On-wah’s film A Simple Life (Tao Jie). The award, a first for a Hongkonger, was a crowning achievement for the 63-year-old Ip, who returned ...
Malaysia’s Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Friday called for the general election to be held immediately, in the once-dominant Malay party’s clearest indication yet that it was looking beyond the country’s current governing alliance ahead of the next election. The call comes as Umno deepens ties with opposition Islamist party the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), buoyed by recent state victo...
The United States is leaning on its coastguard to reinforce its presence in the western Pacific as its navy comes under increasing strain in the Middle East. Although this move may be seen as a lower-risk way of countering Beijing’s growing presence in the region, increasing US cooperation with the Taiwanese coastguard risks further mainland Chinese pressure on the island. Recently, the US announc...
The United States is leaning on its coastguard to reinforce its presence in the West Pacific as its navy comes under increasing strain in the Middle East. Although this move may be seen as a lower-risk way of countering Beijing’s growing presence in the region, increasing US cooperation with the Taiwanese coastguard risks further mainland Chinese pressure on the island. Recently, the US announced ...
China’s buoyant stock market lifted brokers’ earnings in the first half, while Hong Kong saw continued growth in retirement assets. Beyond China, a strengthening yen and Washington’s Treasury buy-back programme highlighted shifting dynamics in global currency and bond markets. Here are some of the figures that have drawn the most market attention this week. Chinese brokerage revenue jumps more tha...
In a cramped workshop near the front in northeastern Ukraine, military mechanic “Chimera” is helping prepare his unit’s robot forces for battle. Lined up in a row, the four-wheeled unmanned vehicles known as “Hyenas” will crawl towards Russian lines with their payload of explosives and attack an enemy dugout or halt an advance. Similar models have captured Russian prisoners, said Chimera, 44, who...
In a cramped workshop near the front in northeastern Ukraine, military mechanic “Chimera” is helping prepare his unit’s robot forces for battle. Lined up in a row, the four-wheeled unmanned vehicles known as “Hyenas” will crawl towards Russian lines with their payload of explosives and attack an enemy dugout or halt an advance. Similar models have captured Russian prisoners, said Chimera, 44, who...
Indonesian authorities are working to repatriate five baby orangutans allegedly trafficked to India, where they were found motherless in a forest, Jakarta’s forestry ministry said on Friday. The critically endangered animals were found on Tuesday by rangers patrolling in the Balasore district of India’s eastern Odisha state. Authorities suspect the primates, known for their shaggy red fur, were tr...
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has come under intense social media scrutiny after photos resurfaced showing him wearing a high-value amulet created by a senior monk now at the centre of a fraud and sex scandal. The photos were taken in October 2023 while Anutin – then serving as deputy prime minister and interior minister – was leading a group of Bhumjaithai Party MPs to watch the hit hor...
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has come under intense social media scrutiny after photos resurfaced showing him wearing a high-value amulet created by a senior monk now at the centre of a fraud and sex scandal. The photos were taken in October 2023 while Anutin – then serving as deputy prime minister and interior minister – was leading a group of Bhumjaithai Party MPs to watch the hit hor...
Alibaba Group Holding has mourned the death of Tung Chee-hwa, who served as an independent director, saying the global perspective of Hong Kong’s first leader helped the e-commerce giant remain rooted in China while expanding internationally. Tung, Hong Kong’s first postcolonial chief executive, later became a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He join...
A junior secondary school in southern China has faced significant backlash since implementing a quota that restricts students to using the toilet only once during class for the entire term. This toilet policy was highlighted in a photo reportedly taken by a teacher at Ruyuan County High School in Guangdong province during an internal management meeting in late August, as reported by the Xiaoxiang ...
Malaysia’s Pardons Board has postponed discussions on disgraced former leader Najib Razak’s pardon application, days after widespread public outrage over the possibility that he could walk free from his corruption conviction. The country has been in an uproar since it was revealed earlier this week that Najib’s application for clemency was on the agenda of the board’s meeting, chaired by King Sult...
Any sign of domestic violence must never be dismissed, with families, friends and neighbours urged to step in and help without judging victims, Malaysia’s Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Lim Hui Ying said on Thursday. Lim said support should be given carefully, prioritising the victim’s safety, as this could be crucial in helping someone seek protection. She said domestic v...
