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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...
A light sport aircraft hit Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, Citic Tower, on Friday, triggering evacuations and scattering debris across the Chinese capital’s central business district. It was not immediately clear whether the crash caused any casualties or how many people had been on board the aircraft. The origin of the aerial vehicle and the circumstances leading to the crash were also unknown. Vid...
The United States represents the primary obstacle to continuing oil-for-loan arrangements between China and Venezuela, analysts say, creating a significant wild card in what ranks among the largest debt restructurings in history. Following Washington’s abduction in January of Venezuela’s then president, Nicolas Maduro, Caracas is set to reveal a US$240 billion debt pile, according to a Financial T...
A potentially dangerous haze season looms for Southeast Asia, as rising energy and fertiliser costs threaten to weaken fire-prevention efforts just as extreme weather patterns raise the risk of forest and land blazes. Analysts warn that agricultural companies facing pressure from higher production costs may cut corners on sustainable land-clearing practices, including by using fire instead of mach...
Monday’s school shooting in the Philippines that killed three students and injured dozens has highlighted the decades-long problem of gun proliferation in the country, easy access to weapons despite theoretically strict laws – and Filipinos’ fascination with firearms. One shocking issue that emerged after videos of the shooting were posted online was the quantity of bullets fired and the teenaged ...
Hong Kong is seeking to curb the flow of bulk high liquid content waste, such as expired drinks, personal care products and discarded detergents, into landfills, a move conservationists say will protect local waters and coastlines from the risk of toxic leakage. While academics and green groups welcomed the move, the retail sector expressed concern that the new requirement might result in higher r...
Leaders of the G7 rich nations might have gone into this month’s summit in France hoping for a united front against China. But, overshadowed by the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine and alienated by a mercurial US President Donald Trump, the lacklustre gathering came up short. There was no public agreement on how to address the so-called China shock 2.0, the supposed overcapacity issues and currency m...
Hong Kong’s two major electricity suppliers will provide rebates to eligible households between August and October to reduce their bills and ease financial pressure after the US-Israel war on Iran pushed up energy prices. HK Electric said on Friday that it would provide a special subsidy of 8 HK cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for three consecutive months to residential customers with a monthly elec...
The Gulf states should prioritise diverse defences and domestic capability-building to hedge against uncertain US commitments and volatility in the Middle East, according to an expert at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Dalian in northeastern China this week. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, said on Wednesday that regional government...
Hong Kong police and mainland authorities have smashed a cross-border phishing syndicate that swindled victims out of HK$16.8 million (US$2.14 million) by impersonating the Water Supplies Department, resulting in 15 arrests between March and June. The joint enforcement action, code-named Operation Boldhawk, targeted a criminal chain that sent malicious text messages to residents in the city, Super...
China Eastern Airlines has ordered 25 A330neo widebody jets from Airbus, marking the planemaker’s first major long-haul order from a Chinese carrier since last year, as the nation continues to favour the European manufacturer. The list price of the 25 aircraft is about US$9.35 billion, but China Eastern said in a statement on Friday that it had obtained a “substantial price discount” from Airbus, ...
A deadly European heatwave that has saturated hospitals as temperatures soared to record highs was shifting east on Friday, with authorities warning of more misery on a continent not used to stretches of punishing heat. At least 101 million Europeans have roasted for several days in temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius, with an estimated few hundred people, including children, thought to have d...
A deadly European heatwave that has saturated hospitals as temperatures soared to record highs was shifting east on Friday, with authorities warning of more misery on a continent not used to stretches of punishing heat. At least 101 million Europeans have roasted for several days in temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius, with an estimated few hundred people, including children, thought to have d...
The owners of an independent Hong Kong bookshop have been released on bail two days after being arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition and money laundering, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source familiar with the matter said the two owners of Hunter Bookstore – former district councillor for the now-disbanded Civic Party, Leticia Wong Man‑huen, 33, and a 32-year...
Southeast Asia is among the most vulnerable regions grappling with growing risks from heatwaves and high humidity, while the period of extreme weather has more than doubled globally over the past five decades. The duration of extreme weather has increased worldwide to an average of 23 days per year from 10 in the 1970s, according to a report by non-profit news organisation Climate Central. Parts o...
A Hong Kong court has granted the guardianship of home-born baby Danny to social welfare authorities for three years after his parents were earlier arrested for alleged child neglect. Danny’s father, Tsang Wai-bong, revealed on Friday that their two-month-old son would be under the Social Welfare Department’s care after the Juvenile Court granted the authorities’ application for a protection order...
For the first time, the complete court records from the Tokyo Trial have been published in Chinese, offering the public in China a detailed look at Japanese war crimes, according to state media. The translation, which spans 40 volumes, took a team of hundreds more than a decade to produce. It filled “a critical gap in domestic historical records”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday. The...
The dying wish of a 20-year-old Chinese food delivery rider, who lost his life while rescuing drowning strangers, moved many online and prompted his company to fulfil it. Jin Xiaowu, from southwestern China’s Guizhou province, died while saving a father and son on May 27. Jin and his colleague Wang Fangyang were walking along the river after finishing their delivery shifts when they suddenly heard...
Russian air defences intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in a major nighttime attack on 12 Russian regions as well as the Russia-held Crimean peninsula, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday. The authorities in Crimea on Friday declared an “emergency situation” in a bid to ease the fallout from increasing aerial attacks on the illegally annexed peninsula. “A decisio...
Russian air defences intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in a major night-time attack on 12 Russian regions as well as the Russia-held Crimean peninsula, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday. It appeared to be one of the biggest drone attacks on Russia and the illegally annexed Crimea since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago. The previ...
When Japan quietly deployed members of its elite airborne brigade for parachute drills in the Philippines’ northernmost province facing Taiwan earlier this month, the exercise was not vigorously publicised by officials on either side. The drills on Batan Island in the Philippines’ Batanes were part of the Kamandag countrywide mission, jointly hosted by Filipino and US Marine Corps until Wednesday....
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency and police have jointly arrested 19 people, including serving footballers and coaches, over illegal bookmaking, with one player accused of both fixing matches and handling illicit bets. Principal investigator Bill Ng Siu-kei of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday that the agency and police had busted a local syndicate run by indivi...
Only half of Malaysian women who were married or in a sexual relationship polled in a nationwide survey said they could refuse sex with their spouse or partner, with those who gave in saying they believed it was their marital duty or that they were guided by their faith. The survey, commissioned by Muslim women’s advocacy group SIS Forum and released on Thursday, polled 1,004 women above 18 years ...
Who would have imagined that just over 100 days could so change the world? The US-Israeli “war of choice” on Iran has fundamentally – perhaps, permanently – shifted the global balances of economic, military and political power, and not in America’s favour. Mix the direct impact of this gratuitous military conflict with the broader effects on global security, efforts to mitigate climate change, con...
Singapore’s cooling strategy, pioneered by founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, has come in for praise in Europe, which is sweltering under a deadly heatwave. Even Tesla founder and world’s first trillionaire Elon Musk has weighed in, calling the late statesman “a genius”. Record-breaking temperatures in countries including Britain, France and Germany have killed dozens, overwhelmed hospitals and...
Hong Kong continued to draw US and European firms to expand their businesses in the city in the first half of this year, the latest data shows, adding new momentum to its superconnector role. A total of 413 companies either set up local entities or expanded their businesses in Hong Kong in the first six months of 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of 9 per cent, government investment promo...
