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Lai Ka-ying suffers from motion sickness, cannot stand hot weather, was not a top student and did not speak Mandarin – all of which made the 43-year-old mother of three an unlikely pick as Hong Kong’s first astronaut. But the Hong Kong-born payload specialist on China’s Shenzhou-23 mission, which is expected to blast off on Sunday night and head to the Tiangong space station, made it through almos...
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has told his diplomatic representatives not to rush into a deal with Iran because “time is on our side”, less than a day after announcing that an agreement with Tehran had been largely negotiated. “The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed. Both sides must take their time and g...
The United States and Iran sought on Sunday to finalise an agreement to formally end the Middle East war after Donald Trump said a proposal that included opening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz was “largely negotiated”. However, the US president emphasised that the deal was still “subject to finalisation”, while The New York Times reported that the two sides would only address thorny issues about I...
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a deal with Iran, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region. “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said on social media, with no details on timing. He said he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabi...
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States and Iran are “getting a lot closer” to an agreement to end the war in the Middle East. But Trump also warned in the phone interview with CBS that if the US and Iran do not come to an agreement, “we’re going to have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they’re about to be hit”. Meanwhile, Iran said on Saturday tha...
Senior US and Iranian officials said on Saturday they could be close to a breakthrough in talks to strike a draft deal to end the war in the Middle East. Iran said gaps remain between the parties, and the dispute over its nuclear programme would not be part of the initial talks. But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed optimism, just as Pakistan’s army chief, a key go-between between the Un...
France has decided to ban Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from French territory, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, adding that this reflected growing anger among governments around the world over the treatment of an activist flotilla heading to Gaza. “As from today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory,” Barrot wrote on X. “Along with my ...
An early glimpse of the battle to succeed US President Donald Trump atop the Republican ticket played out last week in classic Trumpian fashion when Vice-President J.D. Vance was temporarily demoted to play press secretary. His hour-long spell fielding questions from the White House “lion’s den” press corps included statements chiding the media and the obligatory denial for ambitious politicians. ...
India’s state-run refiners raised retail prices again of diesel and petrol on Saturday to help processors cut losses on discounted sales and to control a spike in demand. Prices of both fuels rose by nearly one per cent, or less than 1 rupee, with petrol now sold at 99.51 rupees (US$1.0399) and diesel at 92.49 rupees per litre in New Delhi, according to the website of Indian Oil Corporation, the c...
India’s state-run refiners raised retail prices again of diesel and petrol on Saturday to help processors cut losses on discounted sales and to control a spike in demand. Prices of both fuels rose by nearly one per cent, or less than 1 rupee, with petrol now sold at 99.51 rupees (US$1.0399) and diesel at 92.49 rupees per litre in New Delhi, according to the website of Indian Oil Corporation, the c...
China appears to be close to launching the world’s largest naval support ship. On Thursday, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation released a picture of one of its shipyards on social media as part of a message marking a new Chinese solar term, which showed a massive hull in a dry dock in the background. The photo prompted speculation among military observers that the hull was an auxiliary ship ...
New Zealand intends to spend about NZ$1.6 billion (US$936 million) on drones, ship maintenance and naval upgrades to bolster the island nation’s maritime security at a time of increasing concern about supply routes. Defence Minister Chris Penk said on Saturday that the government would invest in two types of drones: one for the southwest Pacific to provide long-duration intelligence, surveillance ...
Hong Kong’s first astronaut will operate a locally developed observatory that monitors key sources of greenhouse gas emissions on Earth during her time aboard the Tiangong space station, the research team behind the project has said. The imaging equipment could pinpoint the location and intensity of emissions, providing data that could be used to reduce carbon sources in the Greater Bay Area and e...
Hong Kong’s first astronaut will operate a locally developed observatory that monitors key sources of greenhouse gas emissions on Earth during her time aboard the Tiangong space station, the research team behind the project has said. The imaging equipment could pinpoint the location and intensity of emissions, providing data that could be used to reduce carbon sources in the Greater Bay Area and e...
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is visiting China as the country seeks support for its efforts to mediate in the conflict between Iran and the United States. The visit also coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between the two countries, which are expected to use the occasion to upgrade their already close relationship. One Chinese analyst said ...
Ebola is spreading faster than responders can track it in eastern Congo, where health workers managed to follow up with barely one in five identified contacts in a single day. Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported 83 confirmed infections, 746 suspected cases and 1,603 identified contacts as of May 21, according to the health ministry. Yet health workers were able to follow...
China is turning coal waste into a source of critical metals including lithium, gallium and germanium, leveraging its advantages in extraction technology and industrial infrastructure. Coal mining and burning produce large amounts of waste, including coal gangue, the rock embedded in coal seams, and fly ash, the fine particulate ash captured after burning. Traditionally both are used only as low-v...
Hong Kong’s justice department has rejected online accusations involving the newly promoted public prosecutions director and a colleague, labelling the allegations “despicable behaviour” and an attempt to “defame public officers”. In a statement on Saturday, the department said it had referred the case to law enforcement agencies for further investigation and action, vowing to “severely punish law...
Nearly 10,000 Hongkongers have been granted permanent residence in the UK under a bespoke British immigration pathway launched in January 2021, making them eligible to apply for citizenship next year. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the British National (Overseas) visa pathway, which allows successful applicants and their dependants to live, work and study in the United Kingdom for up to ...
Pope Leo on Saturday called out companies who seek “dizzying” profits at the cost of environmental pollution, on a visit to an area in Italy known as a hotbed for illegal dumping of toxic waste. On a visit to Acerra, about 220 km (137 miles) south of Rome, the first US pope urged the world to “reject temptations of power and enrichment linked to practices that pollute the land, water, air, and so...
An association representing native English-speaking teachers (NETs) in Hong Kong has warned that less-attractive pay offered under a new hiring scheme risks lowering the quality of recruits and standards, with the contracts of some experienced educators not being renewed. Most public primary and secondary schools seeking NETs have decided to switch to the flexible scheme, which no longer ties remu...
A US and Philippine-led military drill seen as targeting China grew this year into the largest yet, prompting Chinese experts to warn that the annual event will exacerbate regional instability amid heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific. The decades-old drill called Balikatan, which means shoulder to shoulder, reached record highs in terms of scale, scope of participation and training complexity ...
China’s decision to ease residency restrictions on social insurance applicants will help unleash positive, long-term economic growth, according to analysts. The new measures announced on Friday by the State Council are part of China’s broader push to create a unified national market by removing barriers to the free flow of capital and talent. Under the new policy, workers can enrol in social insur...
A group of Hongkongers have started the city’s first corpse restoration team, aiming to bring an affordable service in reconstructing badly disfigured bodies, allowing the dead to be buried with dignity and consoling their families. The six-member team, under local funeral information sharing platform RIPHK, has handled more than 10 cases since it started operations last December, including victim...
In ancient China, women were largely denied formal education and confined to the roles of dutiful wives and mothers. Against this restrictive social order, two women pushed beyond the limits and left notable marks on medicine, astronomy and mathematics. About 1,500 years ago, during the Southern dynasties, Zhang Xiugu is believed to have made an early contribution to pathological anatomy in China....
War is now a possibility in Norway, by the prime minister’s own admission. The country, which borders Russia, has gone into “total defence” mode, preparing its population for the worst in light of the fighting in Ukraine. Dug beneath a peaceful park, the St. Hanshaugen air raid shelter, one of Oslo’s largest, can take in 1,100 people behind its heavy metal doors if ever the worst comes to pass. Th...
A fatal fire at a subdivided flat on Thursday has highlighted the need to eradicate substandard housing in Hong Kong, the housing minister has said, noting that affected residents had an average living space of just five square metres (54 sq ft). Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin was referring to Thursday’s blaze in a subdivided flat that killed one resident and injured four others, saying ...
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has twice in recent weeks urged the country’s armed forces to defend its sovereignty, in a carefully calibrated attempt to sound more assertive on the South China Sea issue without directly challenging Beijing, according to analysts. While Duterte-Carpio did not name China, her repeated calls marked a tonal shift from her earlier approach, when she eit...
France has committed €23 billion (US$26.7 billion) to Africa’s private sector in a bid to counter Chinese dominance and rebuild its influence on the continent. Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron pitched the investment as a “jolt” to reset relations, positioning Europe as a partner for Africa’s “strategic autonomy” as the geopolitical race...
Hong Kong authorities will consider requiring claw machine operators to display the odds of winning, while remaining open to increasing prize values and maximum payouts under proposed changes to the regulatory regime, the home affairs minister has said. “The most important thing is to protect players and consumers, ensure they play in a safe environment, and prevent addiction,” Secretary for Home ...
