Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin made little progress on long-delayed plans to to build a new gas pipeline between the two countries at a presidential summit in Beijing. There was still no “clear timeline” and “there are still some details to be worked out”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media. The two countries had reached a “basic understanding”, including ...
Chinese investment in Europe hit a seven-year high of €16.8 billion (US$19.5 billion) in 2025, driven by a strong rebound in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and record greenfield completions, a new report has found. But the annual study, published on Tuesday by Rhodium Group and the Mercator Institute for China Studies, cautioned that the pipeline may be thinning, with newly announced projects fall...
The Philippine Supreme Court refused on Wednesday to block the arrest of a fugitive senator wanted by the International Criminal Court over his role in the nation’s deadly drug war. The interim ruling clears the way for the potential arrest of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, the former national police chief who was the main enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown. “The Supreme Court, in a v...
The Philippine Supreme Court refused on Wednesday to block the arrest of a fugitive senator wanted by the International Criminal Court over his role in the nation’s deadly drug war. The interim ruling clears the way for the potential arrest of Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the former national police chief who was the main enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown. “The Supreme Court, in a v...
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s charity will expand support for liver cancer patients by subsidising surgery fees for 200 patients over the next three years, enabling access to cutting-edge treatment at a cost of HK$50,000 (US$6,380). Announcing the initiative on Wednesday, the Li Ka Shing Foundation said eligible patients would be selected by three partnering private hospitals to undergo histotrip...
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s charity will expand support for liver cancer patients by subsidising surgery fees for 200 patients over the next three years, enabling access to cutting-edge treatment at a cost of HK$50,000 (US$6,380). Announcing the initiative on Wednesday, the Li Ka Shing Foundation said eligible patients would be selected by three partnering private hospitals to undergo histotrip...
Shares of Chinese aviation and aerospace parts supplier Shanghai Top Numerical Control Technology ended 80 per cent higher on its debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday, as investors continue to bet on the commercial aerospace sector. Top Numerical Control opened at HK$37 per share on its first day of trading, representing a 40.2 per cent premium to the offer price of HK$26.39. It reached as high as HK$4...
As conflict in the Middle East sends marine insurance costs surging, Hong Kong has an opening to prove that it is more than a port city by becoming a trusted centre for risk pricing, legal certainty and maritime resilience. When tensions rise in the Middle East, the first signs of trouble in global shipping do not always appear at sea. Often, they appear in the insurance market. Premiums jump. Und...
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese engineer Peng Pai on Wednesday, over a quarter century after a chance encounter during his first presidential visit to China, when Peng was 12 years old. Putin, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day visit, received Peng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. According to a Kremlin statement, Putin praised Peng’s decision to study in Russia, saying...
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese engineer Peng Pai on Wednesday, over a quarter century after a chance encounter between the two when Peng was 12 years old during Putin’s first presidential visit to China. Putin received Peng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing and praised his decision to study in Russia, which he said was “very pleasing” to him. He also observed that Peng was...
While China’s oil and gas imports from Gulf nations plunged in April amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis during the US-Israeli war on Iran, shipments from Russia have provided Beijing with a partial buffer for its growing economy. Russia’s crude shipments to China rose 11.3 per cent year on year to nearly 9 million tonnes in April, according to Chinese customs data released on Wednesday. But market c...
Two years after severe turbulence left one passenger dead and dozens injured on a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight, investigators have released their final report, addressing major questions about what caused the disaster. Flight SQ321, travelling from London to Singapore, was diverted to Bangkok so passengers and crew could receive medical treatment. In the immediate aftermath, multiple analysts a...
An escalating outbreak of a rare Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo has kicked off a race to find vaccines and treatments that can be quickly tested and rolled out to save lives and stem the crisis. More than 130 people have died so far during the outbreak, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated he was “deeply concerne...
When South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met on Tuesday, they had energy security atop the agenda – and something harder to name top of mind. It was their fourth meeting in six months, a pace of leaders’ encounters that analysts say reveals much about the uncertainty the two US allies are united in feeling, despite their historical grievances. The formal...
When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday evening for a two-day state visit, he once again returned to his “second home” at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a royal garden that has hosted dignitaries including Richard Nixon, Boris Yeltsin and Kim Jong-un. Diaoyutai is a familiar setting for Putin, who has visited China more than 20 times and personally met President Xi Jin...
When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday evening for a two-day state visit, he once again returned to his “second home” at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a royal garden that has hosted heavyweights including Richard Nixon, Boris Yeltsin and Kim Jong-un. Diaoyutai is a familiar setting for Putin who has visited China more than 20 times and personally met President Xi Jin...
Viral “zombie vape” videos of young Malaysian men appearing dazed and disoriented after vaping have intensified concern that drug-laced liquids are spreading through the country’s booming e-cigarette market. The clips, shared widely on social media over the past month, showed local men slumped on the ground or behaving erratically after allegedly inhaling piu-piu or piao-piao (online slang for dru...
A Hong Kong court has denied bail to internet personality “Mr Ho” after he pleaded guilty to stabbing his 45-year-old wife “Mrs Ho” in a domestic violence dispute that escalated into a criminal case. The District Court on Wednesday heard that Ho Huen, 79, pleaded guilty to attacking his 45-year-old wife Ye Xiuding, known as Mrs Ho, with a folding knife as she was leaving their home for mainland Ch...
As energy cooperation tops the summit agenda, back-to-back state visits of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could pave the way for emerging “trilateral coordination” between China, Russia and the United States. That is according to Cui Hongjian, a former diplomat and the head of European studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. But Cui said the US would remain the biggest uncertainty. During ...
British police said on Tuesday they would ask prosecutors to consider charging 57 people and 20 organisations with criminal offences over the Grenfell Tower blaze, almost a decade after the deadliest fire in Britain’s modern history killed dozens. The Metropolitan Police said files of evidence would be submitted to prosecutors by the end of September, with charging decisions by June 14, 2027 – the...
Hong Kong authorities have approved 820 additional flights and fast-tracked 4,100 adjustment applications to help airlines respond to sudden surges in passenger and cargo demand amid the Middle East war. “We are actively engaging airlines to encourage them to deploy extra cargo capacity to connect Hong Kong International Airport with destinations currently experiencing service shortfalls due to th...
Hong Kong authorities have approved 820 additional flights and fast-tracked 4,100 adjustment applications to help airlines respond to sudden surges in passenger and cargo demand amid the Middle East war. “We are actively engaging airlines to encourage them to deploy extra cargo capacity to connect Hong Kong International Airport with destinations currently experiencing service shortfalls due to th...
Hong Kong authorities have approved 820 additional flights and fast-tracked 4,100 adjustment applications to help airlines respond to sudden surges in passenger and cargo demand amid the Middle East conflict. “We are actively engaging airlines to encourage them to deploy extra cargo capacity to connect Hong Kong International Airport with destinations currently experiencing service shortfalls due ...
A Chinese student’s complaint about the lack of benches in a university smoking area has been strongly rejected by a teacher, reigniting discussions on smoking publicly in China. The student at the Xian International Studies University, in northwestern Shaanxi province, made the complaint in the school’s internal feedback channel. The complainant said the lack of benches made smoking too “exhausti...
A joint operation by the United States and Nigeria against Islamic State fighters has killed 175 over the past few days, Nigeria’s military said on Tuesday, while the head of the US Africa Command said it showed the capabilities its forces could bring in Africa, home to the “epicentre of global terrorism”. The US sent troops to Nigeria in February in what was deemed a mostly advisory and training ...
Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz faces a deepening crisis as widespread protests and blockades leave the political capital under siege less than six months after he took office. Two weeks of road closures – spearheaded by the Bolivian Workers’ Central, COB, peasant unions and miners – have emptied markets in La Paz and depleted vital hospital oxygen reserves. The government reported that at least t...
Allegations of sexual assault by an heir to a beer fortune against his own older brother have thrust one of Thailand’s richest families into an uncomfortable spotlight, stunning a public unaccustomed to seeing prominent households air their affairs in public. The scandal erupted last week when Siranudh Scott, better known as “Psi” – a fourth generation heir to the Bhirombhakdi family’s beer-to-rea...
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday. Putin’s trip to Beijing came only days after US President Donald Trump’s closely watched visit to the Chinese capital, the back-to-back summits highlighting the strong trust between Beijing and Moscow and China’s ability to manage ties with the two major powers. Here are the main takeaways from their talk...
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday. Putin’s trip to Beijing came only days after US President Donald Trump’s closely watched visit to the Chinese capital, the back-to-back summits highlighting the strong trust between Beijing and Moscow and China’s ability to manage ties with the two major powers. Here are the main takeaways from their talk...
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday. Putin’s trip to Beijing came only days after US President Donald Trump’s closely watched visit to the Chinese capital, the back-to-back summits highlighting the strong trust between Beijing and Moscow and China’s ability to manage ties with the two major powers. Here are the main takeaways from their talk...
