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US President Donald Trump faces questions about the security of his new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar, after he took an older jet home from a Nato summit this week. The billionaire president has barely been able to contain his excitement over the retrofitted Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which took him to Ankara on its maiden trip outside the United States. But then Trump abruptly announced in Turk...
British police arrested a man on Friday on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, after the 78-year-old former government minister and Reform UK politician was found dead having “sustained serious injuries”. Police said a 26-year-old, white British man had been arrested in Newton Abbot, a town about 15km (nine miles) from Widdecombe’s home in rural southwest England. Devon and Cornwall police ass...
King Charles hosted Prince Harry and met with his family for the first time in years Friday as they try to repair a rift that has persisted since his youngest son and wife quit royal life and moved to America six years ago. Harry, Meghan, and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, met with the king and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London. The Duke of ...
A new round of US-China dialogue on the risks of artificial intelligence, even just for the sake of dialogue, will be important for furthering US national security, according to former senior US officials responsible for China affairs. The assessment comes after the world’s two leading AI superpowers agreed to a new round of intergovernmental talks on AI safety following the Trump-Xi summit in Bei...
A new round of US-China dialogue on the risks of artificial intelligence, even just for the sake of dialogue, will be important for furthering US national security, according to former senior US officials responsible for China affairs. The assessment comes after the world’s two leading AI superpowers agreed to a new round of intergovernmental talks on AI safety following the Trump-Xi summit in Bei...
A woman who authorities say married more than a dozen men in Las Vegas to fund her gambling has agreed to plead guilty to two felonies. Jiaying Chen, 33, waived her right to a preliminary hearing during an appearance before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Rebecca Saxe on Tuesday. Chen’s lawyer, Thomas Wells, said she plans to plead guilty later this week to one count each of bigamy and obtaining mo...
The absence of Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei from the funeral ceremonies of Ali Khamenei raised questions about his health and fear of assassination, as well as indicating he may perform a quite different function as No 1 compared with his all-powerful father. The marathon funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, killed on February 28 in an air strike on the first day of the US-Israeli war wi...
It’s not yet the winter holiday season, but Christmas trees are back in the spotlight, caught in the geopolitical tug of war between Washington and Beijing. As the United States and China work to stabilise ties through a newly proposed bilateral trade mechanism, one of the most vocal groups weighing in is not the technology industry or manufacturers, but American Christmas tree growers determined ...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington had agreed to resume discussions with Iran despite declaring an end to the fragile truce that had halted months of conflict between the two countries. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wr...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington had agreed to resume discussions with Iran despite declaring an end to the fragile truce that had halted months of conflict between the two countries. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wr...
Hong Kong’s role as the exclusive Asian host of the Middle East’s flagship LEAP East exhibition affirms its status as a global hub for innovation and technology (I&T), the Tourism Board has said. The Asian debut of the expo wrapped up in Hong Kong on Friday, drawing more than 25,000 visitors over three days. The city will serve as the event’s sole Asian host for the next three years. “This signifi...
An infusion tube delivering medicine to a premature baby at a Hong Kong public hospital was closed for unknown reasons shortly before her death three years ago, an inquest has heard. Two nurses testified at the Coroner’s Court on Friday about the circumstances of what Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin acknowledged as a “serious untoward event” on June 13, 2023. Both witnesses said they had no id...
Hong Kong authorities have relaxed a recent proposal requiring mandatory annual medical check-ups for commercial vehicle drivers aged 65 to 69, reducing the frequency to twice in five years following an industry backlash. The proposal, set to take effect in mid-2027, will reduce the age threshold for mandatory medical certification for commercial vehicle drivers from 70 to 65. In a policy paper su...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill that he had called “a big yawn”, but the measure can become law without his signature. Trump said in a social media post that he was withholding his signature “in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT”. The housing bill was a rare insta...
Prominent economist Jeffrey Sachs says he chose Hong Kong and Shenzhen as the final stop on an overland journey retracing the footsteps of Marco Polo because of their significant role in powering the world’s green and digital age. The Columbia University professor set off from Rome on June 13 for a 43-day, 15,000km (9,300-mile) journey, the Marco Polo Drive of Peace, Culture and Sustainable Develo...
OpenAI’s latest GPT-5.6 release marks a growing emphasis on cost-efficiency, a move welcomed by some users in China who continue to access the blocked service via virtual private networks (VPNs) and third-party proxies, even as the artificial intelligence model remains more expensive than local rivals. The launch on Thursday introduced a trio of models tailored to different capabilities, speeds an...
China has made income growth and the reform of its wage-distribution system a priority within broader efforts to cushion the domestic job market against the impact of artificial intelligence over the next five years. A new blueprint released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Thursday laid out a detailed road map for the strategy, vowing to promote collective wage bargaining...
US scientists have carried out keyhole surgery with a Chinese-made robot taking the place of the lead surgeon. The general-purpose humanoid robot made by Unitree Robotics was remotely controlled by two human surgeons as it successfully removed a pig’s gallbladder at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Another robot also played a support role during the procedure, controlling the endosco...
After a rendition of My Way and a saxophone accompaniment that felt closer to crooning uncles at a wedding party than high-stakes diplomacy, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul announced the serious business of squashing a damaging trade row and bringing greater security to the porous border between the nations. The pair, long-standing friends, also ...
Artificial intelligence has spent years learning to generate words, images and videos. Now, the industry’s attention is shifting towards “world models” – AI systems designed to simulate how the physical or digital world changes over time. While the term was originally associated with physics simulations and robotics, a growing number of Chinese companies are applying the concept more broadly. The ...
China’s flagship Communist Party newspaper has joined a sweeping rhetorical offensive against rival maritime claimant the Philippines, days ahead of the 10th anniversary of a South China Sea arbitration ruling rejected by Beijing as “illegal”. In twin commentaries published on Friday, the People’s Daily branded the July 12 decision of 2016 a “destabilising force” and demanded that Manila pivot to ...
A former Hong Kong plastic surgeon has been sued for more than HK$12 million he allegedly owes to a friend who lent him the money to help him contest a manslaughter charge arising from a botched botox injection eight years ago. Retiree Diana King Yuen-fung initiated the lawsuit in the High Court on Thursday demanding that Franklin Li Wang-pong immediately return the money he borrowed through 14 ba...
Hong Kong’s government will release just one residential site for sale in the July to September quarter, maintaining a cautious approach even as the housing market rebounds, while officials argue that supply from other channels will keep the city on track to meet its housing targets. A 5,170-square-metre (55,649 sq ft) site on Fat Kwong Street in Ho Man Tin, Kowloon, will be offered through tender...
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has ordered the removal of a viral dashcam video clip showing a heated argument inside a ride-hailing vehicle between a driver and a passenger, identified in the footage as singer David Lui Fong. In response to queries from the South China Morning Post, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said on Friday that it had ordered a social media platform t...
A viral dashcam video clip showing a heated argument inside a ride-hailing vehicle between a driver and a passenger, identified in the footage as singer David Lui Fong, has prompted Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog to order its removal, the South China Morning Post has learned. In response to the SCMP’s queries, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said on Friday that it had ordere...
The Strait of Hormuz faces a renewed plunge in maritime traffic after the United States ended its ceasefire with Iran, casting a shadow over a tentative commercial recovery, as analysts warn unaddressed differences in the framework agreement risk fuelling further escalation. Traffic volumes dropped again on Thursday, with only 14 vessels transiting the strait, down from 35 a day earlier, according...
India’s struggle to replenish its depleted fighter fleet has led one of the world’s largest defence spenders to seek spare parts from decommissioned aircraft. New Delhi recently secured nine retired British-built Jaguar ground-attack jets, which will not enter service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) but will be dismantled to help sustain its six operational Jaguar strike squadrons of about 120 air...
A man was nearly sucked out of the window of a Ryanair flight when it “detached” mid-air en route to Germany, with other passengers pulling him back inside, witnesses and officials said. The passenger, described as a tourist from Serbia on a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany, has been hospitalised with friction burns but was otherwise in good condition, authorities said. “...
With its multi-currency advantages and regulatory clarity, Hong Kong has become a critical gateway connecting stablecoins – cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable asset like the US dollar – with traditional finance. Executives said this would help businesses cut costs, lower risks and support expansion into emerging markets. The city’s unique positioning stemmed from its century-long role as a gatewa...
With its multi-currency advantages and regulatory clarity, Hong Kong has become a critical gateway connecting stablecoins – cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable asset like the US dollar – with traditional finance. Executives said this would help businesses cut costs, lower risks and support expansion into emerging markets. The city’s unique positioning stemmed from its century-long role as a gatewa...
