Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
Russia is considering fuel imports and corresponding subsidies to cap prices as ways to mitigate supply disruptions of petrol and diesel caused by Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, Vedomosti daily reported on Tuesday, citing two unnamed sources. Numerous regions across Russia, the world’s third-largest crude oil producer, have reported restrictions on fuel sales, rising prices of oil products ...
China’s industrial overcapacity should not be singled out for blame amid trade imbalances, as economies worldwide are struggling to adapt to shifts in the global economy, contributing to mounting pressures, a prominent Chinese scholar said in comments directed at the United States. “The reason why our imbalance is becoming a bigger problem is that the rest of the world is having a bigger problem i...
The son of a former mainland Chinese official has been remanded in custody in Hong Kong pending sentence for laundering more than HK$64 million, including a 4 million yuan bribe his father allegedly sought from a merchant a decade ago. Xiao Rui, 37, will also face criminal sanctions for using bogus bank records to deceive the Immigration Department into granting him the right of abode in Hong Kong...
Hong Kong’s lawmaker for the sports sector has urged authorities to focus on ensuring fair access to AI rather than attempting to restrict its use, arguing that the technology has increasingly reshaped athlete development and competitions. Speaking at a World Economic Forum panel in mainland China’s Dalian on Tuesday, Kenneth Fok Kai-kong said that artificial intelligence (AI) was transforming spo...
China has built the tallest environmental observation tower in the South China Sea, the country’s meteorological administration has said. Standing at 100 metres (330 feet) tall, the tower is almost three times higher than the previous tallest structure in the South China Sea and built to withstand super typhoons with wind speeds of over 200km/h (125mph), heavy waves, high humidity and high levels ...
China’s crackdown on cross-border securities trading could strengthen – rather than diminish – Hong Kong’s financial role, according to economists, as Beijing steers more capital through official channels and reinforces the city’s status as an offshore yuan hub. “I would argue that these moves make the importance of Hong Kong even bigger,” Diana Choyleva, founder and chief economist at Enodo Econo...
At the recent Brussels summit, the leaders of all 27 European Union states called on the European Commission to expand the bloc’s trade defence toolbox against “global macroeconomic imbalances”, widely understood to refer to China’s so-called overcapacity. Measures under discussion include mechanisms for sector-wide tariffs and other restrictions in industries such as chemicals and green technolog...
Former Scottish National Party chief executive Peter Murrell was jailed for just over five years on Tuesday after admitting embezzling more than £400,000 (US$540,000) of party funds to buy items such as cars, a motorhome and luxury goods. Murrell, 61, is the estranged husband of ex-SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who suddenly resigned in 2023, shortly before she was arrested as part of the probe into...
China’s first aircraft carrier tried new tactics in its latest drill – including working with land-based tanker aircraft and coordinating with an amphibious assault ship – amid a push to strengthen military combat capability. The Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group returned to its home port in Qingdao on Monday after completing more than 40 days of far-sea combat training, according to state br...
Malaysia’s rare postponement of a meeting of its royal council has pushed a throne dispute in the state of Negeri Sembilan beyond palace walls, threatening to turn a customary succession row into an electoral liability for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s uneasy governing alliance ahead of snap polls. The June 23–25 meeting of the Conference of Rulers – a council of Malaysia’s hereditary Malay ruler...
Hong Kong’s annual book fair returns in July with a renewed focus on cultural exploration, tourism and the role of AI in reading, with the organiser hoping to break last year’s visitor turnout. The Trade Development Council (TDC) said on Tuesday that the 36th Hong Kong Book Fair would be themed on “Reading the World: Cultural Legacy | Joyful Journeys,” running from July 15 to 21 at the Convention ...
A Chinese Long March-12 rocket launched last week used a new super fuel that boosted the rocket’s payload capacity by 10 per cent, according to its developer. As China expands its role in space with a series of ambitious lunar missions and puts growing numbers of commercial satellites in orbit, demand for larger payloads is increasing. Instead of designing bigger, more expensive airframes, The Bei...
Indonesia’s efforts to woo back Chinese investors may be gaining traction after Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa returned from Beijing with a multibillion-dollar funding commitment and political backing for the Southeast Asian country’s debut yuan-denominated sovereign bond. Whether the bilateral talks translate into lasting investor confidence in Indonesia’s economic fundamentals remains to ...
Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, and war crimes in the occupied West Bank, an independent UN inquiry said on Tuesday. The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel examined violat...
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways will lower fuel surcharges on most passenger flights for the second time in less than two months, with the revised rates taking effect from July 1 as fuel costs ease from highs triggered by the Middle East war. Under revised rates announced on Tuesday, passengers departing from Hong Kong on long-haul flights to destinations in North America, Europe, th...
Hong Kong police have arrested 69 people linked to a syndicate suspected of laundering about HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) from cross-border investment fraud affecting more than 170 victims. The force said on Tuesday that 54 men and 15 women, aged between 18 and 60, were arrested on Monday in a joint operation with mainland Chinese authorities for money laundering, involving “mule” bank account...
A man living alone in eastern China was sentenced to jail for breeding over 300 pythons at home. This shocking incident was revealed by state media CCTV in late June as a case of “serious” harm to rare and endangered wildlife. Pythons are classified as Grade Two protected animals in China, and laws prohibit the buying, selling, breeding, and transporting of this species without official permission...
Australia has refused to release internal papers about a trust fund for a climate-vulnerable Pacific nation, telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the documents could inflict diplomatic “damage”. Gravely threatened by rising seas, low-lying island nation Tuvalu relies on a US$200 million trust fund to help foot the ballooning costs of climate change. The trust has been invested on Tuvalu’s behal...
About 60 per cent of surveyed Hong Kong schools are using artificial intelligence (AI) for teaching and administrative work, with the researchers behind the poll calling for educators to improve their knowledge of the technology so they can better guide students. The Education University of Hong Kong shared its findings on Tuesday, with the survey showing about 20 per cent of primary and secondary...
Four Chinese warships reportedly confronted a Philippine Navy vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in a rare stand-off on Saturday, the same day Manila wrapped up a joint drill with the US and its allies. The confrontation coincided with the end of Salaknib 2026, a nearly three-month joint military exercise involving more than 7,000 troops from the Philippines, the United States, Japan, New ...
Four Chinese warships reportedly confronted a Philippine Navy vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in a rare stand-off on Saturday, the same day Manila wrapped up a joint drill with the US and its allies. The confrontation coincided with the end of Salaknib 2026, a nearly three-month joint military exercise involving more than 7,000 troops from the Philippines, the United States, Japan, New ...
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s two-day visit to India this week could bring both sides closer to clinching a broad trade bargain after months of tariff wrangling, even as the South Asian nation’s protected farm sector remains a major sticking point. Analysts say the visit could centre on finalising tariff rates and giving the relationship a political reset after a year of strain over tra...
China put two US rare earth miners on its export control list, along with eight technology companies, in response to the US Department of Defence blacklisting Chinese businesses for their alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army. MP Materials and USA Rare Earth will both be banned from buying Chinese exports with dual civilian and military uses, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. Motor m...
This week, the results of China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or gaokao, will be released. Within days, candidates will submit their prioritised preferences for universities and majors. Families will have to make the most consequential choices with imperfect information amid uncertainty. It is a sorting mechanism. Candidates need to find the right match by choosing programmes t...
During an inspection of shipbuilding and nuclear power firms in China’s heavy industrial hub in the northeast, Premier Li Qiang pushed state-owned firms to achieve breakthroughs in high-end equipment manufacturing and to bolster the nation’s core industrial competitiveness. “Dalian’s shipbuilding industry boasts a long history and a solid foundation in developing high-end equipment manufacturing,”...
The US has overtaken South Korea as the Philippines’ top source of foreign tourists this year, helped by diaspora travel and closer ties between the long-time allies, giving Manila a boost as it tries to close the gap with more popular destinations in Southeast Asia. Figures from the Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT) showed that between January and May, 531,859 visitors came from the US, wh...
A taxi driver and a passenger were injured after the vehicle collided with a truck on Kwun Tong Road in Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon. Police said the crash occurred at about 12.25pm on the eastbound carriageway of the road, near Ping Shek Estate in Ngau Tau Kok. The taxi was headed towards the public transport interchange in Choi Hung when it struck a medium goods vehicle that was travelling in ...
Hotel bookings in Singapore are surging ahead of K-pop boy band BTS’ highly anticipated concerts in December, with some reporting demand jumping by as much as 50 times. The spike mirrors a broader trend across Asia, where cities on BTS’ tour schedule have recorded significant increases in accommodation searches. Some booking platforms reported search volumes rising by up to 10 times in certain con...
This article was first published on June 24, 2003. WHO gives the all-clear by Jimmy Cheung, Chow Chung-yan and Benjamin Wong Hong Kong is ready to spend $1 billion to rebuild its battered image and lure back tourists and businesses after it was officially declared free of Sars by the World Health Organization yesterday (June 23, 2003). Officials said the announcement had given the go-ahead for a c...
Malaysian lawmaker Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has fired back at Tunku Ismail Ibrahim after the Johor crown prince took a swipe at the former sports minister, describing him as the “most Hollywood” among populist politicians. Tunku Ismail told a podcast show over the weekend that he “liked people who carry out their duties and show full care and concern for the people”. “Before making any decisi...
