Clear filters Clear Filters
Ex-mob hitman who became New Jersey councilman has returned to crime: prosecutors
SCMP •

Ex-mob hitman who became New Jersey councilman has returned to crime: prosecutors

A notorious mob hitman who once testified against John “Junior” Gotti before cleaning up his life and becoming a councilman in New Jersey has been arrested on extortion and loan sharking charges that, if proven, reflect a return to the lifestyle of his youth. John Alite, 63, was arrested on Friday in New Jersey, where he was sworn in early last year as a councillor in the borough of Englishtown. R...

Former Gotti hitman-turned-New Jersey councillor has returned to crime, prosecutors allege
SCMP •

Former Gotti hitman-turned-New Jersey councillor has returned to crime, prosecutors allege

A notorious mob hitman who once testified against John “Junior” Gotti before cleaning up his life and becoming a councilman in New Jersey has been arrested on extortion and loan sharking charges that, if proven, reflect a return to the lifestyle of his youth. John Alite, 63, was arrested on Friday in New Jersey, where he was sworn in early last year as a councillor in the borough of Englishtown. R...

‘Sort of a friend’: Trump takes parting shot at UK’s Starmer
SCMP •

‘Sort of a friend’: Trump takes parting shot at UK’s Starmer

US President Donald Trump criticised outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday after the Labour leader announced he would resign, saying he had “really hurt himself” over energy, immigration and his handling of relations with Washington. “I think he’s a lovely man,” Trump told reporters at an Oval Office event, before accusing Starmer of mishandling Britain’s energy policy by failing ...

Trump criticises UK’s Starmer after PM announces resignation
SCMP •

Trump criticises UK’s Starmer after PM announces resignation

US President Donald Trump criticised outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday after the Labour leader announced he would resign, saying he had “really hurt himself” over energy, immigration and his handling of relations with Washington. “I think he’s a lovely man,” Trump told reporters at an Oval Office event, before accusing Starmer of mishandling Britain’s energy policy by failing ...

Japan’s defence outreach to counter China’s military rise hits hidden roadblocks

Japan’s defence outreach to counter China’s military rise hits hidden roadblocks

SCMP •

Japan seized the spotlight at last month’s Shangri-La Dialogue, stepping into a vacuum left by the Chinese defence chief – who skipped the forum for a second year – and using the stage to sharpen its warnings over Beijing’s military rise. Speaking in Singapore on May 31, the final day of the security forum, Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pushed back against Beijing’s accusation that Jap...

‘I will do what I have to do’ if Iran does not stick to deal, Trump says

‘I will do what I have to do’ if Iran does not stick to deal, Trump says

SCMP •

US President Donald Trump said on Monday “I will do what I have to do” if Iran does not stick to its agreement with ‌Washington. “If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do,” Trump told reporters. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed an interim US-Iran deal last week, more than three months after the US and ⁠Israel attacked I...

‘I will do what I have to do’ if Iran does not stick to deal, says Trump

‘I will do what I have to do’ if Iran does not stick to deal, says Trump

SCMP •

US President Donald Trump said on Monday “I will do what I have to do” if Iran does not stick to its agreement with ‌Washington. “If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do,” Trump told reporters. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed an interim US-Iran deal last week, more than three months after the US and ⁠Israel attacked I...

Can Quad break China’s mineral monopoly amid US-India rift?

Can Quad break China’s mineral monopoly amid US-India rift?

SCMP •

The US strike on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month did more than kill three Indian sailors and severely undercut US-India relations. It has also cast further doubt on the unity of the Quad, an informal bloc made up of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and the group’s ambitious agenda aimed at loosening China’s dominant grip on critical minerals. Despite the persiste...

What Hong Kong can learn from mainland cities’ 5-year plans

What Hong Kong can learn from mainland cities’ 5-year plans

SCMP •

The Hong Kong government has launched a two-month public consultation for the city’s first five-year plan, marking an important milestone in its development. The blueprint provides the city with a clearer vision for the future and a systematic approach in pursuing further growth under the auspices of the “one country, two systems” framework. It also puts Hong Kong in a better position to align wit...

Shooting in Montreal leaves officer, civilian and gunman dead

Shooting in Montreal leaves officer, civilian and gunman dead

SCMP •

A suspect armed with a long gun opened fire Monday at a Montreal hotel, killing a police officer before officers returned fire, killing him, police said. A civilian also died but it was not immediately clear who fired that shot. Police Chief Fady Dagher said a second officer was seriously injured in the shooting in the city’s Cote-des-Neiges neighbourhood but was in stable condition. The chief sai...

Shooting in Montreal, Canada leaves 3 dead including suspect

Shooting in Montreal, Canada leaves 3 dead including suspect

SCMP •

A midday shooting in Montreal killed three people on Monday, including a police officer, a civilian and the alleged gunman, triggering rare alarm in the Canadian city. The bloodshed took place in a partly Jewish neighbourhood that includes kosher markets and restaurants but police declined to comment on what the motive might have been and whether the incident amounted to a hate crime or act of ter...

China closing in but US leads in biotech quality and commercial reach, survey finds

China closing in but US leads in biotech quality and commercial reach, survey finds

SCMP •

China, which now conducts more clinical drug trials than the US, still lags in the quality and commercial reach of its biomedical science, according to a recent survey of senior US leaders in industry and academia. The ‌poll, conducted by Cure Innovation Index, found that China is seen as the clear leader in two out of six sectors: clinical development and supply chain. It found that the US leads ...

US-China rare earth clash 2.0? Fragile truce tested as tit-for-tat moves return

US-China rare earth clash 2.0? Fragile truce tested as tit-for-tat moves return

SCMP •

Beijing’s latest restrictions on US rare earth companies, imposed in response to the Pentagon’s designation of leading Chinese firms, are testing the durability of the fragile US-China truce, analysts said. China’s export controls, targeting 10 US entities including national champions MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, mark one of the most significant escalations since Washington and Beijing reached...

Heatwave scorches Europe: at least 18 dead in France, including children in hot car

Heatwave scorches Europe: at least 18 dead in France, including children in hot car

SCMP •

At ⁠least 18 people died in France, including two children left in a hot car, as a heatwave hung over Europe, smashing temperature records in several cities on Monday. As schools in France closed or modified timetables, forecasters in Britain predicted temperatures could break records for June this week. The temperature in Bordeaux in France’s western wine country rose to 41.9 degrees Celsius (107...

2 young children found dead in locked car during France heatwave

2 young children found dead in locked car during France heatwave

SCMP •

Two young children, aged two and four, were found dead inside their family’s car in the southern French town of Carpentras on Monday. According to initial findings, the siblings had accidentally locked themselves inside the car, the local prosecutor’s office said. The children’s mother found them in the car, which was parked in the driveway of the family home. Emergency services attempted to resus...

China signals openness to Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect despite US tilt

China signals openness to Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect despite US tilt

SCMP •

Beijing congratulated Colombia on its presidential run-off and said it would work with the incoming government of Abelardo de la Espriella, the far-right lawyer who has promised to pull the country back towards the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made the remarks on Monday, a day after a preliminary count put de la Espriella narrowly ahead of his leftist rival, Senator Ivan Ce...

European Central Bank’s President Lagarde urges talks on yuan undervaluation

European Central Bank’s President Lagarde urges talks on yuan undervaluation

SCMP •

European Central ⁠Bank President Christine Lagarde ⁠on Monday urged global leaders to discuss undervaluation of the Chinese currency as a facet of the imbalances endangering the global economy. China has ‌consistently denied that it manipulates its currency for trade advantage but its surging trade surpluses are one of several macroeconomic mismatches worrying leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) na...

Mexico seeks to restart oil shipments to energy-starved Cuba

Mexico seeks to restart oil shipments to energy-starved Cuba

SCMP •

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that her country seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba soon, a move that could provide much-needed relief as the island’s crises deepen given a lack of petroleum. Sheinbaum said her administration would seek to send the oil via commercial and privately owned firms instead of state-owned companies as it has done in the past. Mexico became a key fu...

Mexican president seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba as island’s crises deepen

Mexican president seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba as island’s crises deepen

SCMP •

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that her country seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba soon, a move that could provide much-needed relief as the island’s crises deepen given a lack of petroleum. Sheinbaum said her administration would seek to send the oil via commercial and privately owned firms instead of state-owned companies as it has done in the past. Mexico became a key fu...

Legendary American music mogul Clive Davis dead at 94

Legendary American music mogul Clive Davis dead at 94

SCMP •

Clive Davis, a former corporate lawyer who became one of the most influential figures in American rock and pop music as he fostered the careers of Bob Dylan, Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen and other stars, died ⁠on Monday at the age of 94. Davis, who was known as “the man with the golden ear” for his ability to identify potential hit ⁠songs, died at his home in M...

Clive Davis, towering music executive who reshaped American sound, dies at 94

Clive Davis, towering music executive who reshaped American sound, dies at 94

SCMP •

Clive Davis, a former corporate lawyer who became one of the most influential figures in American rock and pop music as he fostered the careers of Bob Dylan, Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen and other stars, died ⁠on Monday at the age of 94, The New York Times reported, citing ⁠his family. Davis, who was known as “the man with the golden ear” for his ability to ide...

Fatal shooting exposes ‘systemic failures’ in Philippine schools

Fatal shooting exposes ‘systemic failures’ in Philippine schools

SCMP •

A rare shooting at a public high school in the central Philippines that left three students dead and seven injured has gripped the country amid concerns over campus safety and the mental well-being of young people. Two Grade 9 students, aged 14 and 15, were arrested over the incident at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte province. The weapons involved were a .38 revolver and...

Survivors fear scrutiny gaps as Hong Kong fire probe declines statutory powers

Survivors fear scrutiny gaps as Hong Kong fire probe declines statutory powers

SCMP •

An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has ruled out seeking statutory powers to compel witnesses to testify, a move that has left some survivors concerned that key figures may avoid scrutiny. Committee chairman Justice David Lok Kai-hong said the panel would not ask the chief executive to convert it into a statutory commission of inquiry during the ongoing in...

Russia-held Crimea suspends summer camps as Ukraine strikes squeeze fuel supplies

Russia-held Crimea suspends summer camps as Ukraine strikes squeeze fuel supplies

SCMP •

Russian-held Crimea, a popular tourism destination, suspended children’s summer camps and tourist activities until September 1, its governor said on Monday, as the peninsula reels from a fuel crisis due to Ukrainian attacks on its supply routes. Supplies ‌of fuel and other products to Crimea have become strained as Ukraine has targeted both sea routes and supply roads from the north. The availabil...

As Europe rearms, can it decouple its military supply chains from China?

As Europe rearms, can it decouple its military supply chains from China?

SCMP •

Europe’s defence industry would gradually reduce its reliance on China during the continent’s ongoing rearmament drive, rather than decouple completely, analysts said. On Wednesday, during the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, Italy, the US, Canada and Japan signed a declaration on securing supply chains for critical minerals. Without naming ...

Hong Kong, Fujian sign 6 deals to deepen finance, tourism and education ties

Hong Kong, Fujian sign 6 deals to deepen finance, tourism and education ties

SCMP •

Hong Kong has signed six agreements with Fujian to step up collaboration in finance, trade, tourism and education, with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu encouraging businesses from the mainland Chinese province to list on the city’s bourse for overseas expansion. At the fifth Hong Kong-Fujian Cooperation Conference on Monday, the two sides finalised 28 collaborative projects across 11 areas, inclu...

Iran agrees to invite IAEA inspectors back, says US

Iran agrees to invite IAEA inspectors back, says US

SCMP •

Tehran has agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country, US Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Monday, after a first round of US-Iran talks towards ending the Middle East war. “The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country,” Vance told reporters at Switzerland’s isolated Burgenstock resort, where his talks with Iran’s chief negoti...

Could Iran replace China as US soybean market? Farmers aren’t buying Trump pitch

Could Iran replace China as US soybean market? Farmers aren’t buying Trump pitch

SCMP •

Just hours after Vice-President J.D. Vance pitched a plan for Iran to spend unfrozen funds on US farm exports, Donald Trump insisted that American farmers were “very happy” with the proposal, saying he had received numerous calls of support. But some farmers dismissed the plan as unrealistic and accused the US president of misleading growers ahead of the midterm elections. Speaking ahead of his de...

Frozen Iranian assets could be used to buy US soybeans in ‘classic Trump deal’: Vance

Frozen Iranian assets could be used to buy US soybeans in ‘classic Trump deal’: Vance

SCMP •

Iran should use funds unlocked by Washington to buy US agricultural products, according to Vice-President J.D. Vance, who said on Monday it would help feed the country’s population while making American farmers richer. Iran has not indicated whether it would accept the terms. Vance credited US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner with the idea, which he described as a “very, very good...