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Billionaire investor Leon Black said on Friday that Jeffrey Epstein deceived him during a years-long relationship in which he paid the disgraced financier US$158 million, but insisted he committed no criminal wrongdoing as he appeared before the House Oversight Committee. Black is the 16th person to appear before the committee as part of their broader investigation into the web of wealth and influ...
US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 100 per cent tax on imports from any country that imposes a tax on digital services from American companies. In a post on social media, Trump took aim at European countries that he said are discussing “imminent” implementation of taxes on US companies. The president has repeatedly sought to use tariffs as a way to deter such taxes, but many countrie...
The US struck Iran on Friday in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a provocation President Donald Trump said violated the ceasefire between the two countries. US Central Command said the military struck missile and drone sites, as well as coastal radar locations in Iran, shortly after Trump hinted at retaliation when asked whether Tehran would face co...
US President Donald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for carrying out a drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement with the US. One drone damaged the upper deck of the ship but the ship was able to proceed, Trump said. The US shot down three other drones aimed at the ship, he said. His post on social media did not identify the ship ...
As the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump fades in the rear-view mirror, marked by anaemic deliverables, poor transparency and missed opportunities, analysts and former US officials point to another disappointment: the world’s most consequential relationship has become inordinately dependent on the two nations’ top leaders. Trump’s May China trip, the first b...
A German court on Friday jailed for life a Saudi psychiatrist who killed six people and wounded more than 300 when he drove a rented SUV through a crowded Christmas market in 2024. Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, 51 – an anti-Islam activist and adherent to right-wing conspiracy theories – listened to the verdict from inside a bulletproof glass box, his hands shackled. He was convicted of six counts of...
Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term. Bolton, who became an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump after serving in the Republican’s first administration, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28 by US Distric...
Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term. Bolton, who became an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump after serving in the Republican’s first administration, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28 by US Distric...
Hong Kong authorities have penalised an Education Bureau staff member over a Primary One admission allocation blunder after human error was found to be involved, with the officer to be denied a pay rise and transferred to other roles. The government on Friday revealed the results of its investigation into the incident on June 2 when parents received SMS notifications about their children’s primary...
The first scientific ship built by private interests in China is still waiting for its first assignment after it launched last month near Wenling, in Zhejiang province, on the east coast, according to Chinese media reports. The 82 metre-long (269-foot), 3,500-tonne Haiying Jiake research vessel was built with 150 million yuan (US$22 million) raised by 37 Zhejiang fishermen. It is designed to opera...
China is establishing an identity system for artificial intelligence agents, as part of new national standards released on Friday to regulate the next frontier of autonomous technology. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) unveiled the standard for “Artificial Intelligence Agent Interconnection”, aiming to establish a “closed-loop system” with a unified identity management framewo...
Hong Kong’s civil service chief has pledged to deliver a “reasonable and attractive” pay adjustment once the economy and public finances improve, following the legislature’s approval of a flat 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants this year. The Legislative Council’s finance committee on Friday scrutinised HK$6 billion (US$773 million) in spending for the annual pay adjustment for civil servants ...
The official death toll from twin earthquakes that flattened parts of Caracas and surrounding areas rose to 920, the authorities said on Friday. The government has estimated hundreds of people still trapped and missing nearly two days after magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors struck about 160km (100 miles) west of Caracas. International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scra...
International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scrambled to Venezuela to help look for survivors of Wednesday’s devastating twin earthquakes, the United Nations said on Friday. The death toll has risen to 589, with 2,980 injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said. The number of casualties is expected to climb with thousands of people reported missing. She made the a...
A light sport aircraft hit Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, Citic Tower, on Friday, triggering evacuations and scattering debris across the Chinese capital’s central business district. It was not immediately clear whether the crash caused any casualties or how many people had been on board the aircraft. The origin of the aerial vehicle and the circumstances leading to the crash were also unknown. Vid...
The United States represents the primary obstacle to continuing oil-for-loan arrangements between China and Venezuela, analysts say, creating a significant wild card in what ranks among the largest debt restructurings in history. Following Washington’s abduction in January of Venezuela’s then president, Nicolas Maduro, Caracas is set to reveal a US$240 billion debt pile, according to a Financial T...
A potentially dangerous haze season looms for Southeast Asia, as rising energy and fertiliser costs threaten to weaken fire-prevention efforts just as extreme weather patterns raise the risk of forest and land blazes. Analysts warn that agricultural companies facing pressure from higher production costs may cut corners on sustainable land-clearing practices, including by using fire instead of mach...
Monday’s school shooting in the Philippines that killed three students and injured dozens has highlighted the decades-long problem of gun proliferation in the country, easy access to weapons despite theoretically strict laws – and Filipinos’ fascination with firearms. One shocking issue that emerged after videos of the shooting were posted online was the quantity of bullets fired and the teenaged ...
Hong Kong is seeking to curb the flow of bulk high liquid content waste, such as expired drinks, personal care products and discarded detergents, into landfills, a move conservationists say will protect local waters and coastlines from the risk of toxic leakage. While academics and green groups welcomed the move, the retail sector expressed concern that the new requirement might result in higher r...
Leaders of the G7 rich nations might have gone into this month’s summit in France hoping for a united front against China. But, overshadowed by the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine and alienated by a mercurial US President Donald Trump, the lacklustre gathering came up short. There was no public agreement on how to address the so-called China shock 2.0, the supposed overcapacity issues and currency m...
Hong Kong’s two major electricity suppliers will provide rebates to eligible households between August and October to reduce their bills and ease financial pressure after the US-Israel war on Iran pushed up energy prices. HK Electric said on Friday that it would provide a special subsidy of 8 HK cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for three consecutive months to residential customers with a monthly elec...
The Gulf states should prioritise diverse defences and domestic capability-building to hedge against uncertain US commitments and volatility in the Middle East, according to an expert at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Dalian in northeastern China this week. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, said on Wednesday that regional government...
Hong Kong police and mainland authorities have smashed a cross-border phishing syndicate that swindled victims out of HK$16.8 million (US$2.14 million) by impersonating the Water Supplies Department, resulting in 15 arrests between March and June. The joint enforcement action, code-named Operation Boldhawk, targeted a criminal chain that sent malicious text messages to residents in the city, Super...
China Eastern Airlines has ordered 25 A330neo widebody jets from Airbus, marking the planemaker’s first major long-haul order from a Chinese carrier since last year, as the nation continues to favour the European manufacturer. The list price of the 25 aircraft is about US$9.35 billion, but China Eastern said in a statement on Friday that it had obtained a “substantial price discount” from Airbus, ...
A deadly European heatwave that has saturated hospitals as temperatures soared to record highs was shifting east on Friday, with authorities warning of more misery on a continent not used to stretches of punishing heat. At least 101 million Europeans have roasted for several days in temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius, with an estimated few hundred people, including children, thought to have d...
A deadly European heatwave that has saturated hospitals as temperatures soared to record highs was shifting east on Friday, with authorities warning of more misery on a continent not used to stretches of punishing heat. At least 101 million Europeans have roasted for several days in temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius, with an estimated few hundred people, including children, thought to have d...
The owners of an independent Hong Kong bookshop have been released on bail two days after being arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition and money laundering, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source familiar with the matter said the two owners of Hunter Bookstore – former district councillor for the now-disbanded Civic Party, Leticia Wong Man‑huen, 33, and a 32-year...
Southeast Asia is among the most vulnerable regions grappling with growing risks from heatwaves and high humidity, while the period of extreme weather has more than doubled globally over the past five decades. The duration of extreme weather has increased worldwide to an average of 23 days per year from 10 in the 1970s, according to a report by non-profit news organisation Climate Central. Parts o...
A Hong Kong court has granted the guardianship of home-born baby Danny to social welfare authorities for three years after his parents were earlier arrested for alleged child neglect. Danny’s father, Tsang Wai-bong, revealed on Friday that their two-month-old son would be under the Social Welfare Department’s care after the Juvenile Court granted the authorities’ application for a protection order...
For the first time, the complete court records from the Tokyo Trial have been published in Chinese, offering the public in China a detailed look at Japanese war crimes, according to state media. The translation, which spans 40 volumes, took a team of hundreds more than a decade to produce. It filled “a critical gap in domestic historical records”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday. The...
