Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
Germany has been warned that a “China shock” to its trade economy is the biggest driver of its industrial slump, in a new report that urges Berlin to throw its weight behind stronger EU measures against Beijing. Much soul-searching has been under way in Berlin over recent years, with the German government focusing on deregulation in an effort to kick-start a sputtering economy. According to the re...
Washington would not raise future tariffs on Chinese goods above the level stipulated in a trade truce the two countries hammered out late last year, Beijing said, a commitment arising from talks in South Korea held hours before US President Donald Trump’s arrival in the Chinese capital last week. Analysts said the pledge signals a shift in relations between the world’s two largest economies – fro...
The UK moved to loosen its Russian sanctions in a controversial move aimed at preventing shortages of diesel and jet fuel, as the war in Iran eats into global oil buffers. The move highlights how Britain has become more reliant on fuel imports than other major European nations, and has prompted political backlash over the government’s commitment to support Ukraine. The European Union is not curren...
The UK moved to loosen its Russian sanctions in a controversial move aimed at preventing shortages of diesel and jet fuel, as the war in Iran eats into global oil buffers. The move highlights how Britain has become more reliant on fuel imports than other major European nations, and has prompted political backlash over the government’s commitment to support Ukraine. The European Union is not curren...
Indonesia will require exports of key commodities to pass through a state-appointed enterprise in a sweeping effort to curb revenue leaks, tighten oversight of natural resources and keep more foreign exchange earnings at home. The policy, announced by President Prabowo Subianto in a rare address to parliament on Wednesday, would apply to palm oil, coal and ferroalloys – three major export earners ...
Beijing on Wednesday accused Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of “destroying cross-strait peace”, shortly after he delivered a speech to mark his second anniversary in office. The row comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Taiwan independence following his state visit to Beijing. Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office condemned Lai’s anniversary speech and his subsequent remarks...
Beijing has accused Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of “destroying cross-strait peace” shortly after he gave a speech to mark his second anniversary in power in the wake of Donald Trump’s remarks on Taiwan independence. The State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said on Tuesday that Lai’s anniversary speech and his subsequent remarks to reporters were filled with “lies and deception, ho...
China’s exports of rare earth permanent magnets to Japan slightly rebounded in April after slumping the previous month, but Japanese firms warn they are facing “severe” shortages as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo grinds on. Shipments of permanent magnets from China to Japan rose by 2.5 per cent in April compared with the previous month, according to Chinese customs data released on Wed...
Gold can serve as a “potential bridge” between conventional and new forms of finance, Hong Kong’s treasury minister has said, highlighting the need for the city to provide more opportunities for the digital asset market to grow. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu also said on Wednesday that Hong Kong had opted against forming a separate regulatory authority ...
Malaysia’s unity government will remain intact until the end of its term amid speculation of snap elections, according to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. “Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Gabungan Parti Sarawak have given their commitment that they will support this government till the end of its term,” Fahmi said on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting. “This commitment reflects the...
Cooperation between China and Russia on science and technology could help stop US isolation and allow the international science community to “return to normalcy” amid geopolitical tensions, according to experts in the US and Russia. It could also offer the world an alternative model of scientific collaboration and signal a shift in the scientific “centre of gravity” from the West to the East. As t...
For generations of Indian tech workers, the H-1B visa has been a golden ticket, turning ambitious engineers from Hyderabad and Bengaluru into Silicon Valley professionals, as it transformed Indian IT firms into global powerhouses. Now, a Trump administration proposal to sharply raise the minimum salaries required to qualify for the programme threatens to close that door to the United States, redir...
A noodle shop in downtown Beijing went viral on social media after billionaire Jensen Huang paid it a visit, prompting the outlet to launch a “God of War in leather jacket” set menu the next day. On May 15, the Nvidia CEO was spotted holding a large bowl of noodles and using chopsticks to wolf down food outside Fangzhuanchang No 69 Beijing Fried Sauce Noodles shop in the Nanluogu commercial area i...
The European Union has shortlisted tungsten, rare earths and gallium for its first joint stockpile of critical minerals aimed at reducing its reliance on China, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The EU is also talking to major ports including Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the region’s biggest, to store the minerals, one of the three and a fourth source said. The move marks o...
Thirty-five families living in Hong Kong’s subdivided units have faced eviction in the two and a half months since the government rolled out a new regime to eradicate substandard shoebox homes, according to housing authorities. Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin also said on Wednesday that another 40 subdivided flat households from Yee Wa Building in Sham Shui Po, who faced eviction last yea...
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...
