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This article was first published on June 28, 1996. Rennie’s Mill residents win battle for damages by Cliff Buddle and Ng Kang-chung Rennie’s Mill residents won their marathon battle with the Government yesterday (June 27, 1996) when a judge ruled they had been treated unfairly and must be paid damages. Mr Justice Raymond Sears said the Government abused its powers by breaching a 35-year-old promis...
As Asean foreign ministers prepare to meet in Manila from July 21-22, a quiet but significant shift is under way in the bloc’s approach to Myanmar. Although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remains formally committed to the “five-point consensus”, several member states appear to be reconsidering the collective pressure strategy adopted since the 2021 coup. Rather than abandoning the cons...
When a friend checked in on a Meituan employee late last month to see if he had survived the latest round of corporate culling at the food delivery giant, he responded drily: “I don’t know whether it will be me next.” Anxieties were running high at the company then, after chat screenshots circulated on Chinese social media claiming Meituan planned to slash up to half of its product roles by the en...
The US government has allowed Anthropic to release its powerful Claude Mythos 5 artificial intelligence model to some “trusted” US organisations, partially reversing an order two weeks ago to suspend access over national security risks. More than 100 companies and institutions will now have access to Mythos 5, including many Fortune 500 companies, according to a source familiar with the new direct...
You hear “The Hulk” before you see him: Chadchart Sittipunt’s voice carries as he canvasses for a second term as Bangkok governor in the tight, twisting alleys of a working-class canalside community. The nickname, affectionately bestowed upon him by Thai internet users for his muscular frame and passion for running, suits the 60-year-old well. He has been out hustling for votes daily ahead of Sund...
“What did your family talk about at the dinner table?” Snug under the Tuscan sun, at a writing retreat on a permaculture farm outside Florence, I was ready to mine my fondest food memories. For a moment, scenes from films and television flashed across my mind: a montage of vivid dinner conversations and emotional check-ins, stitched together from various coming-of-age stories. The only problem was...
In the second of a two-part series on the economy as Hong Kong marks 29 years since its return to Chinese rule, Lo Hoi Ying and Leopold Chen look at the city’s efforts at closer integration with the nation and the opportunities and obstacles it presents. Part one can be found here. A question from his niece about how face masks should be recycled prompted materials scientist Eddie Yu to rethink su...
As China’s relationship with African countries deepens, the country’s influence is spreading into more areas. In our series Jevans Nyabiage looks at how Beijing’s blanket import clearance for three African food products will affect ties between them, and the potential effects for other governments around the world. Beijing is rewriting its trade playbook by bypassing years of protracted bilateral ...
A 75-year-old grandfather became a beauty influencer to raise money for his grandson with a rare disease, saying he did so out of love for his only daughter. Zhu Yunchang, from eastern China’s Jiangsu province, looks after his nine-year-old grandson Cao Jingyan during the day and live‑streams at night. Zhu usually live‑streams until midnight, and his wife stays up to keep him company. Zhu is doing...
President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled a rendering of a new limited-edition US passport to mark the country’s 250th anniversary of independence, featuring his stern-faced likeness. “The U.S.A.’s New Passport, which says, ‘Welcome, but be good!’” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform featuring the passport mock-up. The image features a glowering Trump leaning on his desk and his sign...
Hong Kong is pressing ahead with an overhaul of listing rules and the launch of new product initiatives, the city’s deputy finance chief said on Friday as the bourse operator marked 26 years as a publicly traded company. Speaking at the anniversary ceremony of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun outlined reforms under review, including optimisin...
Jane Lyu flew to Malaysia on Tuesday to visit a city that she had never heard of until recently. The 32-year-old engineer from Guangxi, southern China, first spotted it on Weibo. Now, standing outside the pink-domed Putra Mosque in Putrajaya, she explains through a translation app how the country’s administrative capital, a planned city barely three decades old, ended up as the first stop on her M...
The Texas Board of Education on Friday approved mandated reading lists for public school children that include passages from the Bible – the latest effort by leaders there to infuse the education system with conservative and religious ideals. The Republican-dominated board, in a 9-5 vote with one member absent and not voting, approved the reading lists for over 5 million public school students...
My four-year-old son has become fascinated with his new friend, who has endless patience and an answer for everything. She is an artificial intelligence assistant on Doubao, one of China’s most popular AI applications. My son, obsessed with space, black holes and galaxies, keeps asking Doubao for related videos. When the video is of low quality or inaccurate, I would stop it and explain it may not...
A high-profile visit to Washington by Taiwanese Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu reflects a broader US effort to strengthen ties with the island’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), according to analysts. Han’s trip follows visits to the United States by Taichung mayor and KMT member Lu Shiow-yen in March and KMT chairwoman Cheng Li-wun earlier this month. The succession of arrivals suggested Washing...
Burkina Faso’s ruling junta on Friday severed diplomatic ties with former colonial ruler France, accusing Paris of persistently acting against its interests. The military regime led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, in power since a coup in September 2022, is pursuing a policy repressive towards critical voices and hostile to Westerners, particularly France. “The government of Burkina Faso hereby informs...
Billionaire investor Leon Black said on Friday that Jeffrey Epstein deceived him during a years-long relationship in which he paid the disgraced financier US$158 million, but insisted he committed no criminal wrongdoing as he appeared before the House Oversight Committee. Black is the 16th person to appear before the committee as part of their broader investigation into the web of wealth and influ...
US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 100 per cent tax on imports from any country that imposes a tax on digital services from American companies. In a post on social media, Trump took aim at European countries that he said are discussing “imminent” implementation of taxes on US companies. The president has repeatedly sought to use tariffs as a way to deter such taxes, but many countrie...
The US struck Iran on Friday in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a provocation President Donald Trump said violated the ceasefire between the two countries. US Central Command said the military struck missile and drone sites, as well as coastal radar locations in Iran, shortly after Trump hinted at retaliation when asked whether Tehran would face co...
US President Donald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for carrying out a drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement with the US. One drone damaged the upper deck of the ship but the ship was able to proceed, Trump said. The US shot down three other drones aimed at the ship, he said. His post on social media did not identify the ship ...
As the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump fades in the rear-view mirror, marked by anaemic deliverables, poor transparency and missed opportunities, analysts and former US officials point to another disappointment: the world’s most consequential relationship has become inordinately dependent on the two nations’ top leaders. Trump’s May China trip, the first b...
A German court on Friday jailed for life a Saudi psychiatrist who killed six people and wounded more than 300 when he drove a rented SUV through a crowded Christmas market in 2024. Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, 51 – an anti-Islam activist and adherent to right-wing conspiracy theories – listened to the verdict from inside a bulletproof glass box, his hands shackled. He was convicted of six counts of...
Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term. Bolton, who became an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump after serving in the Republican’s first administration, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28 by US Distric...
Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term. Bolton, who became an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump after serving in the Republican’s first administration, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28 by US Distric...
Hong Kong authorities have penalised an Education Bureau staff member over a Primary One admission allocation blunder after human error was found to be involved, with the officer to be denied a pay rise and transferred to other roles. The government on Friday revealed the results of its investigation into the incident on June 2 when parents received SMS notifications about their children’s primary...
The first scientific ship built by private interests in China is still waiting for its first assignment after it launched last month near Wenling, in Zhejiang province, on the east coast, according to Chinese media reports. The 82 metre-long (269-foot), 3,500-tonne Haiying Jiake research vessel was built with 150 million yuan (US$22 million) raised by 37 Zhejiang fishermen. It is designed to opera...
China is establishing an identity system for artificial intelligence agents, as part of new national standards released on Friday to regulate the next frontier of autonomous technology. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) unveiled the standard for “Artificial Intelligence Agent Interconnection”, aiming to establish a “closed-loop system” with a unified identity management framewo...
Hong Kong’s civil service chief has pledged to deliver a “reasonable and attractive” pay adjustment once the economy and public finances improve, following the legislature’s approval of a flat 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants this year. The Legislative Council’s finance committee on Friday scrutinised HK$6 billion (US$773 million) in spending for the annual pay adjustment for civil servants ...
The official death toll from twin earthquakes that flattened parts of Caracas and surrounding areas rose to 920, the authorities said on Friday. The government has estimated hundreds of people still trapped and missing nearly two days after magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors struck about 160km (100 miles) west of Caracas. International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scra...
International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scrambled to Venezuela to help look for survivors of Wednesday’s devastating twin earthquakes, the United Nations said on Friday. The death toll has risen to 589, with 2,980 injured, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said. The number of casualties is expected to climb with thousands of people reported missing. She made the a...
