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We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump says he plans to meet Kim Jong-un this year, citing good relationship US President Donald Trump said that he planned to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year, despite Pyongy...
Hong Kong public schools have slashed a record 126 Primary One classes for the 2026-27 academic year amid a shrinking student population, prompting a sector leader to warn that the “worst is yet to come”. According to the latest Primary School Profiles, the total number of Primary One classes across public schools dropped from 1,558 in 2025-26 to 1,432 in 2026-27, representing a net decrease of 8 ...
A Chinese court’s order to freeze 2.14 billion yuan (US$318 million) in Nexperia-affiliated assets has cemented the operational independence of its Chinese manufacturing engine from its European headquarters, leaving its local facilities increasingly isolated amid a prolonged custody battle. The Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court in the southern province of Guangdong, where Nexperia’s biggest as...
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged US companies to deepen their presence in China, pledging to address their concerns while calling on Washington to reciprocate, as Beijing gears up for President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the United States later this month. The remarks came as Li met a delegation from the US-China Business Council – led by its chair, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney – at the Great Hall...
Apple’s new CEO John Ternus takes the helm of the iconic tech giant on Tuesday, ending Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure during which the company’s value skyrocketed to US$4.6 trillion thanks to the iPhone’s enormous popularity. The transition to a new CEO comes at a pivotal time for Apple. Artificial intelligence has unleashed the greatest upheaval within the industry since Steve Jobs unveiled the first ...
The private data of about 33,000 customers of TVB-owned group-buying platform Neigbuy has been compromised in a suspected cyberattack, with police saying they have received six reports of scammers posing as staff. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data confirmed on Tuesday that it had received a data breach notification from the company on Sunday, and had initiated a formal inves...
The private data of about 33,000 customers of TVB-owned group-buying platform Neigbuy has been compromised in a suspected cyberattack, with police saying they have received six reports of scammers posing as staff. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data confirmed on Tuesday that it had received a data breach notification from the company on Sunday, and had initiated a formal inves...
As Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, gears up for an attempt to finally reach Earth’s orbit, experts say the risk of an in-flight catastrophe – and a cloud of debris – “needs to be of concern”. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is expected to launch the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster for the launch system’s 14th test flight and first orbital test flight later this month. Accord...
A Hong Kong man has surrendered his dog after authorities detained it and classified it as a fighting breed during a vaccination visit — the third known such case in a week, following a spate of attacks in the city. The case came as animal welfare groups called for clarity on the government’s breed-classification procedures and a transparent appeal mechanism. They warned that heightened anxiety co...
Improvised explosive devices were used on Tuesday to target power lines near a coal-fired power plant in Germany, with several electricity lines damaged and supply briefly interrupted, police and a grid operator said. Several makeshift bombs were found around 8am local time at the Preilack substation, which distributes power from the nearby Jaenschwalde plant that runs on lignite and also burns ru...
Explosive devices have been found at an electrical substation in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, dpa has learned. Police said possible damage to a power line was discovered at around 8am local time on Tuesday at the facility in Turnow-Preilack, about 100km (62 miles) from Berlin. “Evidence is being secured,” a police spokeswoman said. “Bomb disposal experts are on site.” The objects found...
Smoke from Indonesian wildfires blanketed Manila on Tuesday, turning fires nearly 2,000km (1,242 miles) away into a public-health warning for the Philippine capital and reviving concerns over Southeast Asia’s recurring transboundary haze problem. The haze, carried by southwesterly winds from fires in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, prompted health experts to urge people to wear N95 mask...
China has demanded protection of its interests in Venezuela after a US-backed energy company was granted 100-year concessions covering oilfields previously operated by Chinese and Russian firms. “China-Venezuela cooperation is protected by international law and the laws of both countries. China’s legitimate rights and interests in Venezuela must be guaranteed,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiaku...
Michael Pettis says a great rebalancing is coming and China will pay for it. It’s strange how the man who insists that power decides who pays never tests his claim on Washington. The Beijing-based economist has been warning that a great rebalancing is coming since he published a book called The Great Rebalancing. That was in 2013. His latest Foreign Affairs offering? You guessed it: “A Great Rebal...
Britain’s former prime minister Keir Starmer, who stepped down as leader this summer after a tumultuous two years in power, announced on Tuesday he would quit parliament to focus on “international affairs”. In a statement on social media, Starmer said it was the “right time” to resign as the MP for the Holborn and St Pancras seat in London after 11 years, triggering a by-election. “It is now time ...
Norway’s King Haakon VIII took an oath before parliament on Tuesday, the first major institutional step of his reign, though his wife, still convalescing after a lung transplant, was unable to attend. Dressed in a ceremonial uniform, the 53-year-old Haakon, who became king when his father King Harald V died on Friday morning aged 89, swore to abide by the Scandinavian country’s constitution, under...
An OpenAI executive and former White House adviser is calling for AI safety cooperation between Washington and Beijing ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, even as Chinese state media launch a scathing attack on American frontier governance in artificial intelligence. “I have always believed US/China AI safety collaboration would be desirable but thoug...
In a rare display of interoperability, a Chinese YY-20 aerial tanker has been pictured refuelling a French-built Egyptian Rafale fighter – showing a versatility analysts say could enable closer multinational air operations and improve the tanker’s potential for export. The photo, released by the Egyptian military on Monday, showed mid-air refuelling during the Eagles of Civilisation 2026 joint exe...
US Senator Steve Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has wrapped up a days-long trip to China, just weeks ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington. According to accounts online from a Chinese local government and various companies, the Montana Republican travelled from Wednesday to Saturday to China’s tech hub Hangzhou and the southern city of Guangzhou. The vis...
US Senator Steve Daines, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has wrapped up a days-long trip to China, weeks ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington. According to a Chinese local government and multiple corporate accounts, the Montana Republican travelled from Wednesday to Saturday to China’s tech hub Hangzhou and the southern city of Guangzhou. The visit is consistent...
Residents and rescuers in the Tibet autonomous region paused for three minutes on Tuesday morning to remember the victims of last week’s mudslide disaster. Sirens sounded for three minutes from 9.55am at the Gyirong Port police station, with similar memorials at rescue and road-reopening sites throughout the region, according to state broadcaster CCTV. More than 1,000 people died and thousands rem...
Malaysia is looking to China’s rice-prawn farms as a model to extract more from its shrinking paddy land as a slide in rice self-sufficiency has left it increasingly reliant on imports from its Southeast Asian neighbours. The experiment is also part of an attempt to confront other issues such as ageing farmers and more erratic weather, which have dented Malaysia’s rice output. Agriculture and Food...
Philippine fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp said on Tuesday it was planning to spin off and list its international operations on the Hong Kong stock exchange, abandoning earlier plans of a US listing. Jollibee Foods said it was progressing in separating its international business, Jollibee Foods Corporation International, ahead of its planned spin-off and listing. The fast food restaurant oper...
Award-winning Swedish chip expert Henry Homayoun Radamson has died in Shanghai at the age of 63. Radamson, who moved to China in 2016, was working as the chief scientist at the Guangdong Greater Bay Area Institute of Integrated Circuit and System. The institute said on Tuesday that he died from a “sudden illness” on August 12. In 2023, Radamson was awarded the Chinese Government Friendship Award, ...
Award-winning Swedish chip expert Henry Homayoun Radamson has died in Shanghai at the age of 63. Radamson, who moved to China in 2016, was working as the chief scientist at the Guangdong Greater Bay Area Institute of Integrated Circuit and System. The institute said on Tuesday that he died from a “sudden illness” on August 12. Radamson was best known for his research into nanotechnology and its us...
The Chinese-founded artificial intelligence start-up Manus announced on Tuesday that it had formally resumed independent operations, more than four months after Beijing blocked its US$2 billion acquisition by Meta Platforms. The company’s founding team would continue to lead Manus as an “independent agent lab”, the firm said in a blog post on its website, as it sought to move on from a months-long...
China has made the first amendment in 16 years to its national defence mobilisation law to include a fresh focus on new technologies – a move experts said would cover AI and drones. Analysts said the inclusion would make it possible to rapidly convert emerging infrastructure, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned systems, into defence capabilities. The revised law, passed by the top le...
A mahjong parlour owner in central China paid compensation of 19,000 yuan (US$2,800) following a failed first aid attempt on an elderly customer but received a refund after government intervention. On August 17, a man in his 60s, surnamed Luo, visited the mahjong parlour in Hunan province and passed out while resting in a chair. The shop’s owner, Xiao Aihua, sensed something was wrong with Luo and...
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and his business empire, along with Henderson Land Development and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, have pledged 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million) each to support relief efforts for victims of the deadly flash flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. Nina Wang Charity Management also pledged HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) to support relief efforts. CK Asset Holdings, CK Hutc...
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and his business empire, along with Henderson Land Development and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, have pledged 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million) each to support relief efforts for victims of the deadly flash flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. Nina Wang Charitable Management also pledged HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) to support relief efforts. CK Asset Holdings, CK H...
