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Hong Kong is trapped in a structural economic paradox that threatens both its long-term competitiveness and social stability. Organisations are paralysed by the urgent need for artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, complaining day in and day out that they lack technological talent. An International Data Corporation (IDC) study last year revealed that 55 per cent of Hong Kong companies face ...
The first act of pop sensation Taylor Swift’s wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce kicked off Thursday, with a rehearsal dinner for 100 guests ahead of a star-studded extravaganza at the famed Madison Square Garden. The billionaire singer and three-time Super Bowl champion, both 36, have kept fans guessing, but media reports describe an over-the-top celebration befitting one of the world’s most famous...
Pop music megastar Taylor Swift and National Football League player Travis Kelce are married, the New York Post’s Page Six reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources as preparations for an expected celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York were under way. The pair exchanged vows in front of a “tiny group of loved ones”, the outlet said. It did not say when or where the nuptials took plac...
A growing number of US lawmakers see the tax code as a way to shift corporate America’s reliance on Chinese technology, framing economic ties as a national security risk, seen most recently in a congressman’s comments on Thursday. Representative Nathaniel Moran said Thursday that business leaders must remember China is an “adversary”, arguing that the American business world remains trapped in a “...
A former Olympian was indicted on Thursday on a felony charge in what US President Donald Trump has called vandalism of the Reflecting Pool. David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, was indicted on a single count of property destruction in a Washington court. District of Columbia US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Hearn ripped up recently installed sealant on pool in “a deliberate act” that caused m...
Two British teenagers convicted of rape must serve time in custody, an appeal judge ruled on Thursday, after a public outcry over a judge’s decision to spare them detention. Lower court judge Nicholas Rowland in May sentenced the two 15-year-old boys to three-year youth rehabilitation orders, saying he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”. However, the sentences provoked a ...
Two British teenagers convicted of rape must serve time in custody, an appeal judge ruled on Thursday, after a public outcry over a judge’s decision to spare them detention. Lower court judge Nicholas Rowland in May sentenced the two 15-year-old boys to three-year youth rehabilitation orders, saying he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”. However, the sentences provoked a ...
China told the European Union that it is open to exploring ways to cut its massive trade surplus with the bloc during talks in Brussels on Monday, according to multiple people briefed on the discussion. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao signalled to EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic that China was willing to consider purchase agreements covering European goods. The discussions touched on lowering ...
A bomb blast rocked a cafe in Syria’s capital Damascus on Thursday, killing nine people and wounding 20, authorities said, in the latest challenge for the country’s Islamist leaders as they seek stability after more than a decade of war. The bombing – the deadliest since a suicide attack on a church last year – was not immediately claimed. It took place near the capital’s Palace of Justice, a key ...
A bomb blast at a cafe in Damascus on Thursday killed nine people and wounded at least 20, authorities said, in the latest challenge for Syria’s Islamist leaders as they seek to stabilise the country after more than a decade of war. The bombing – the deadliest since a suicide attack on a church last year – was not immediately claimed. It took place near the capital’s Palace of Justice, a key gover...
A bomb blast at a cafe in Damascus on Thursday killed six people and wounded 22, authorities said, in the latest challenge for Syria’s Islamist leaders as they seek to stabilise the country after more than a decade of war. The bombing – the deadliest since a suicide attack on a church last year – was not immediately claimed. It took place near the capital’s Palace of Justice, a key government buil...
A bomb blast at a cafe in Damascus on Thursday killed six people and wounded 22, authorities said, in the latest challenge for Syria’s Islamist leaders as they seek to stabilise the country after more than a decade of war. The bombing – the deadliest since a suicide attack on a church last year – was not immediately claimed. It took place near the capital’s Palace of Justice, a key government buil...
The World Health Organization on Thursday declared an end to the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship which sparked international alarm, after the last person left quarantine. There were 12 confirmed and one probable case stemming from the MV Hondius, including three deaths. But while the outbreak is now over, for scientists and experts, the work is only in its early stages, as they try to ...
Hundreds of rescuers in Venezuela cheered and embraced Thursday after pulling a 43-year-old man alive from the ruins of a collapsed building eight days after deadly twin earthquakes. With the official death toll nearing 2,300 and huge numbers of people still missing, the rescue of security guard Hernan Gil after so long under the rubble was greeted as a miracle. Gil was brought out on a stretcher ...
Hundreds of rescuers in Venezuela cheered and embraced on Thursday after pulling a 43-year-old man alive from the ruins of a collapsed building eight days after deadly twin earthquakes. With the official death toll nearing 2,300 and huge numbers of people still missing, the rescue of security guard Hernan Gil after so long under the rubble was greeted as a miracle. Gil was brought out on a stretch...
A cyberattack on leading Hong Kong appliance distributor Shun Hing Group has compromised the personal information of more than 1 million people, according to the city’s privacy watchdog. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said on Thursday that it had launched an investigation into the incident after receiving a data breach report from Shun Hing Group on March 23. The latest i...
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has said he is deeply saddened by the death of Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who publicly recounted being abducted and detained by mainland Chinese authorities in 2015. Lam died at the age of 70 after a years-long battle with lung cancer, according to Taiwanese media. Local reports said Lam, who moved to Taiwan in 2019, was admitted to Mackay Memorial Hos...
Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who publicly recounted being abducted and detained by mainland Chinese authorities in 2015, has died at the age of 70 after a years-long battle with lung cancer, according to Taiwanese media. Local media reported that Lam, who moved to Taiwan in 2019, was admitted to Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei on Tuesday, but his condition worsened and he fell into a coma...
The United States posted weaker-than-expected job growth in June as new data showed the labour market is facing headwinds ahead of the testing midterm election for President Donald Trump’s Republicans. Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 57,000 and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.2 per cent, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) said in a statement on Thursday. After months of see...
Fresh footage has offered the first look at China’s truck-mounted electromagnetic catapult launching a drone, with its developer unveiling details of this large family of containerised weapon systems. The footage shows three eight-wheeled flat-top trucks driving on to what appears to be an airfield runway. Once aligned and connected via mechanical hinges, they form a continuous platform, along whi...
Rebels in Indonesia’s restive easternmost region of Papua on Thursday shot dead an American pilot and set a civilian plane on fire in what a spokesperson for a local separatist group described as a “message” to the US and Indonesian governments. A low-level battle for independence from Indonesia has long raged in the resource-rich western half of Papua, where attacks by independence fighters ha...
The United States’ reported plan to ban foreign-made inverters – a move likely aimed at curbing reliance on China – would be difficult to implement and harmful to local industry, Chinese industry insiders have warned. Washington is working on a plan to ban foreign inverters – a vital component used in renewable power systems – over national security concerns, Reuters reported on Tuesday, with a dr...
The United States’ reported plan to ban foreign-made inverters – a move likely aimed at curbing reliance on China – would be difficult to implement and harmful to local industry, Chinese industry insiders have warned. Washington is working on a plan to ban foreign inverters – a vital component used in renewable power systems – over national security concerns, Reuters reported on Tuesday, with a dr...
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘I will sell to someone else’: Brazil’s Lula hits back at US after China beef win Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva thanked China for clearing the country’s beef of foot-and-...
A deadly school shooting in the central Philippines has prompted warnings from lawmakers and cybersecurity experts that violent online extremist networks may be approaching Filipino children through gaming platforms and chat groups. At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros said there were signs that the perpetrators behind a deadly school shooting in Tacloban City might...
A deadly school shooting in the central Philippines has prompted warnings from lawmakers and cybersecurity experts that violent online extremist networks may be approaching Filipino children through gaming platforms and chat groups. At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros said there were signs that the perpetrators behind a deadly school shooting in Tacloban City might...
Satellite imagery shows that Philippine military bases open to US troops have expanded more slowly than expected, according to a Chinese think tank. In a report published on Thursday, the Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) zoomed in on the nine sites covered by the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the two treaty allies. It said the sit...
The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently fined three Hong Kong brokerages – Tiger Brokers, Futu Securities International and Longbridge Securities – over US$330 million for offering mainland investors access to overseas stocks without authorisation. This should not be misconstrued as a move to discourage overseas investment. It is merely an attempt to discourage mainland investors from ...
China is trying to “infiltrate” the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement via Mexican automotive investments, a US manufacturing trade group said, as Washington indicated it would not renew the agreement that comes up for review this month. However, analysts cautioned that full decoupling from China’s automotive industry remains difficult, given North America’s continued dependence on Chinese-sourced m...
Knife-edge state polls in Johor and Negeri Sembilan may reconfigure Malaysian politics, as a regrouped Malay nationalist right seeks big wins to pressure Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim into calling an early election. Barisan Nasional (BN), the Malay-led bloc, is going head-to-head against Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the ballots to be held this month and next, in a move by a key government coalit...
