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Africa’s exports to China have surged since Beijing expanded its zero-tariff policy across the continent in May, as customs data showed signs of emerging trade links in a range of new sectors alongside traditional categories such as critical minerals. China’s imports from Africa soared by 21.1 per cent and 40.2 per cent year on year in May and June, respectively – outpacing the overall growth in C...
Authorities should step up promotion of the new crossing arrangements at the upgraded Huanggang Port checkpoint between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, while ensuring the site has sufficient parking for buses, a lawmaker and a transport sector veteran have said. They issued the call a day after the government tabled the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill to the Legislative Council to provide the lega...
Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs has cast a vote of confidence in Hong Kong’s financial future by reaffirming its “buy rating” on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), as Beijing ramps up policy support to cement the city’s status as an international financial centre. “We see multiple tailwinds to ADT [average daily turnover] and revenue growth” in the second half of this year, analyst...
Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs has cast a vote of confidence in Hong Kong’s financial future by reaffirming its buy rating on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), as Beijing ramps up policy support to cement the city’s status as an international financial centre. “We see multiple tailwinds to ADT [average daily turnover] and revenue growth” in the second half of this year, analysts ...
Jia Qianqian, daughter of internationally acclaimed writer Jia Pingwa, has become the latest high-profile figure in Chinese academia to fall from grace after a university investigation confirmed allegations of plagiarism. In a statement on Wednesday, Northwest University said its months-long investigation found that nine of Jia’s published papers contained plagiarised material. The university had ...
Detainees at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas told two rights groups they were beaten by guards, denied medical care and prevented from contacting family and lawyers, according to a report issued on Wednesday. The report, issued by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, spans dozens of pages and is based on 80 interviews HRW conducted with d...
A growing number of mainland Chinese institutional fund managers have built up stakes in Hong Kong-listed biotechnology stocks over the past month, drawn by attractive valuations amid a surge in cross-border licensing deals in the sector. China’s largest mutual fund manager, E Fund Management, has taken a 7 per cent stake in gene-editing biotechnology firm Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals, buying additi...
An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will hear concluding remarks from the government on Thursday as the final round of hearings on the tragedy continues. The legal representative for nine residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po will also deliver a concluding statement before the judge-led panel on the second last session of the...
An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will hear concluding remarks from the government on Thursday as the final round of hearings on the tragedy continues. The legal representative for nine residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po will also deliver a concluding statement before the judge-led panel on the second last session of the...
An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will hear concluding remarks from the government on Thursday as the final round of hearings on the tragedy continues. The legal representative for nine residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po will also deliver a concluding statement before the judge-led panel on the second last session of the...
Hong Kong’s introduction of pet-friendly dining in designated restaurants has drawn significant public criticism, leading some lawmakers to call for tighter vetting of licences. Since the scheme began on July 9, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has received about 20 complaints as of Wednesday. The department earlier said most complaints involved minor issues such as leash length and s...
For generations, jeepneys – brightly painted minibuses that are among the Philippines’ cheapest and most used forms of public transport – have run on diesel, but recent fuel shocks are forcing thousands of small operators and drivers to weigh volatile prices against the debt needed to go electric. Diesel prices spiked anew by nearly 5 pesos this week, as renewed tensions in the Gulf threatened to ...
From rare earth elements to commercial drones, Washington has become all too familiar with the strongest weapons in Beijing’s manufacturing arsenal – the materials and products where China holds a strategic advantage in production, extraction or any other link in the supply chain. After those near-monopolies provided Chinese policymakers considerable leverage in last year’s trade dispute, US think...
Every four years, billions of football fans spend a month arguing about offside decisions, whether Ronaldo or Messi is a grass-grazing horned mammal, and whether football is finally “coming home”. For nations, however, the Fifa World Cup is far more than football. Beyond the national pride that comes with simply qualifying, the tournament offers an unparalleled opportunity to capture the world’s a...
In the first half of this year, leisure travel within China exploded. As the summer travel season builds towards the Mid-Autumn Festival and the “golden week” that follows National Day on October 1, domestic travel has emerged as one of China’s most important, if underappreciated, drivers of consumption and growth. During the extended Chinese New Year holiday, travel and consumer spending boomed. ...
The Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) recorded a major jump in investment income during its second year of operation, as it expanded its role as the city’s “patient capital” engine driving local economic development. The wholly state-owned investment firm generated about HK$6.46 billion (US$824 million) in investment income in 2025, a stunning 175 per cent year-on-year increase, according to...
After vanishing from a market near her home 35 years ago, a woman in southern China has finally been reunited with her birth family. However, injuries found on her face and the failure of nearby broadcast appeals to reach her parents fuelled online speculation about how she disappeared. Zhong Fenglin, 37, once lived near a market in Nanning, Guangxi, where her parents sold ginger and garlic. In 19...
Every year, summer rains cause flooding in China. They also bring high-stakes work for officials. Once an evacuation order goes out, local governments have long checked on families by calling them on the phone. Xie Yunshi, an official in the suburbs of the Chinese capital, told Beijing Daily that when waters rose in the past, his department would organise a dozen people to call every single family...
US lawmakers are pushing for more scrutiny of Chinese investment in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, as Washington’s strategic competition with Beijing expands beyond semiconductors and artificial intelligence into the healthcare sector. Bipartisan US senators on Wednesday unveiled legislation aimed at increasing transparency around foreign influence in the pharmaceutical industry, amid growing ...
Hong Kong suspended classes on Thursday morning after the city’s weather forecaster issued a red rainstorm warning, which was lowered to amber in less than two hours. The red warning was raised at 7.40am. It was then replaced by the amber signal at 9.25am that was cancelled at 10.20am. The Education Bureau said students attending morning and whole-day schools were not required to go to class while...
Hong Kong suspended classes on Thursday morning after the city’s weather forecaster issued a red rainstorm warning, which was lowered to amber in less than two hours. The red warning was raised at 7.40am and replaced by the amber signal at 9.25am. The Education Bureau said students attending morning and whole-day schools were not required to go to class while the red warning was in force. School...
Hong Kong suspended classes on Thursday morning after the city’s weather forecaster issued a red rainstorm warning. The Education Bureau said students attending morning and whole-day schools were not required to go to class after the signal was raised at 7.40am. Schools should nevertheless keep their premises open to care for students who have already arrived, the bureau added. The Hong Kong Obser...
Japan has voiced concern about the United States’ campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC), exposing a diplomatic bind for Tokyo as it seeks to defend a tribunal it has long championed without provoking its most important security ally. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday that Japan “places great importance on the eradication and prevent...
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that arch foe Iran has freed an American citizen detained since December 2024 and allowed her to leave the country. “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump posted on social media, adding: “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” Trump – who in recent days has ordered a resumption of strikes again...
Setting a timer to take a short break after every 25 minutes of study, compiling a “mistakes booklet” to learn from past errors and using artificial intelligence to boost English skills are among the strategies used by top scorers in this year’s university entrance exam in Hong Kong. However, some of the 24 high achievers of this year’s Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams said they would no...
A former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was sentenced to more than three years in prison for lying to federal investigators looking into whether he shared confidential data with Chinese intelligence operatives, the Justice Department said. John Harold Rogers, 64, was convicted at trial on February 3 of making false statements to investigators about sharing information on...
The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday to curb its ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as US President Donald Trump warned he could widen attacks unless the Islamic republic returned to talks. US Central Command said the strikes began at 1900 GMT and targeted Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting the vital wat...
Washington is moving to strengthen its artificial intelligence posture towards China, with lawmakers advancing new export control bills and the Trump administration deepening cooperation with leading US AI firms as concerns grow that Beijing is rapidly closing the technological gap. A senior Anthropic executive said on Wednesday that the United States holds a six-to-nine-month lead in frontier AI ...
On July 12, a coalition of 14 nations – the United States, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Britain, Japan, New Zealand, and seven European states including Germany, Italy and the Baltic nations – issued a statement marking the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea ruling at The Hague in 2016. The document recycled familiar arguments, urging compliance with the ruling and framing it as a cornerst...
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening programme for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best”. The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In ...
