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A Chinese-American was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as a Chinese agent in a case involving a Chinese police station set up in New York’s Chinatown. The week-long trial of Lu “Harry” Jianwang, 64, was seen as a test of Washington’s ability to counter what prosecutors said were efforts by Beijing to expand its influence and intimidate Chinese communities well beyond its shores. On the three c...
A Chinese-American was found guilty of acting as a Chinese agent in a case involving a Chinese police station set up in New York’s Chinatown. The week-long trial of Lu “Harry” Jianwang, 64, was seen as a test of Washington’s ability to counter what prosecutors said were efforts by Beijing to expand its influence and intimidate Chinese communities well beyond its shores. On the three charges Lu fac...
US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest instalment of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we look at the likely outcomes from Trump’s trip. As Donal...
The US strikes on Iran sent a clear signal to Pyongyang. But rather than retreat or show renewed interest in denuclearisation, North Korea has doubled down on deterrence. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has tightened security around its leadership and continued its missile launches, underscoring its sensitivity to Washington’s military posture. From Pyongyang’s perspective, these moves are meant not on...
A US Senate hearing on nuclear capabilities issued a warning about China on Wednesday, hours before US President Donald Trump was due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. Senator Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in his opening statement that China has been engaged in an “unprecedented nuclear expansion” in recent years. China, Wicker sa...
A Utah mother who published a children’s book about grief after the death of her husband will serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his murder, a judge ruled Wednesday. Kouri Richins was convicted in March of aggravated murder for lacing her husband Eric Richins’ cocktail with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl at their home near Park City in 2022. A jury also found her g...
The Trump administration on Wednesday publicly renewed an offer of US$100 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba, stepping up pressure on Havana despite Beijing’s continued political and economic backing for the island. The announcement came as US President Donald Trump travelled to China this week for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Trump saying before departure that Cuba would be amon...
The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new Federal Reserve chairman to lead a central bank whose independence is under attack and with inflation at a three-year high. The Senate voted 54 to 45 to in favour of Warsh, with Republicans holding a slim majority and ensuring US President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell was confirmed. Once known as a monetary “hawk” again...
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry denied on Wednesday a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that he visited the country and held a secret meeting with its president. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said earlier he travelled to the UAE during the war with Iran and met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. A statement by the Emirati foreign ministry said that Emirati r...
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry denied on Wednesday a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that he visited the country and held a secret meeting with its president. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said earlier he travelled to the UAE during the war with Iran and met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. A statement by the Emirati foreign ministry said that Emirati r...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the United Arab Emirates and met the Emirati president during the war with Iran, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday in what would be their first confirmed meeting. According to the statement, the meeting resulted in a “historic breakthrough” in relations between Israel and the UAE. A source familiar with the meeting said Netanyahu an...
A paediatrician at a hospital near Berlin has been charged with sex offences in 130 cases, many of which are said to have taken place at the hospital, prosecutors said on Wednesday. The extent of the offences, which include serious sexual abuse of children and rape, had previously been unknown. The paediatrician has been in pre-trial custody since November, with prosecutors citing a risk of reoffe...
Washington and Beijing have piled on irritants in advance of this week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, suggesting that neither side wants to be seen as a deal killer – even as they try to build potential leverage to bargain away, analysts and former US government officials said. Scott Kennedy, senior adviser with the Centre for Strategic and Inter...
French prosecutors on Wednesday requested a seven-year prison sentence for former president Nicolas Sarkozy in an appeal trial on charges that he sought Libyan financing for his 2007 election. Sarkozy, France’s right-wing leader from 2007 to 2012, has always denied any wrongdoing but last year became modern France’s first former president to have gone to jail over the case, before he was released ...
The bodies of three women have been recovered from the sea off Brighton. Sussex Police said emergency services were called after concerns were raised for the women’s welfare at around 5.45am on Wednesday, and their bodies were pulled from the water near Madeira Drive. Chief Superintendent Adam Hays said the coastguard is completing an “extensive search of the water”, but the force is not searching...
US President Donald Trump arrived in China – flanked by his top aides and American tech leaders – on Wednesday night as Beijing rolled out a lavish welcome ceremony at the airport. He was received by Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng at Beijing Capital International Airport. Trump’s entourage includes Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia and a last-minute addition to the trip, as well as US Defence Secretar...
Ten students from an elite secondary school in Hong Kong were injured or experienced ringing in their ears after a self-heating hotpot pack exploded in a classroom on Wednesday. A police spokesman said officers received a report from St Paul’s Co-educational College in the Mid-Levels at 3.29pm, that a self-heating hotpot pack had exploded after being improperly heated. A source said a 15-year-old ...
The government-appointed administrator of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court has sought to delay an owners’ meeting, prompting calls from residents to hold it before the end of June to address concerns ahead of a decision on whether to sell their flats. The move by Hop On Management Company came after more than 240 owners, representing over 12 per cent of households at the estate in Tai Po, p...
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s rare presence in President Donald Trump’s entourage to Beijing signals a willingness on both sides to strengthen military communications to de-escalate and avoid crises, and suggests US arms sales to Taiwan will feature in talks, analysts say. The Chinese experts expected Beijing to include Defence Minister Dong Jun in talks during the summit, with one source su...
The European Union will not ban “conversion therapy” targeting LGBTQ people, but will push member states to take action against such practices, it said on Wednesday. So-called conversion “therapies” involve methods that seek to change the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of members of gay, lesbian, queer and trans people. The EU stopped short of heeding a call by over a million ...
A Hong Kong court has remanded a former university professor in custody pending sentencing for accepting a HK$40,000 (US$5,109) bribe and offering red packets to two colleagues to help a student gain admission to a postgraduate programme last year. Kwun Tong Court heard on Wednesday that Liu Hongbin, 63, abused his authority as chair professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’...
French authorities on Wednesday allowed asymptomatic passengers to leave a British cruise ship, saying a gastrointestinal virus was behind an outbreak of sickness that came after an elderly man died of a heart attack. Earlier, authorities had ordered a lockdown for the more than 1,700 passengers and crew on the vessel, but insisted there was no connection with the hantavirus outbreak suspected of ...
French authorities on Wednesday allowed asymptomatic passengers to leave a British cruise ship, saying a gastrointestinal virus was behind an outbreak of sickness that came after an elderly man died of a heart attack. Earlier, authorities had ordered a lockdown for the more than 1,700 passengers and crew on the vessel, but insisted there was no connection with the hantavirus outbreak suspected of ...
French authorities on Wednesday confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew on a British cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after an elderly passenger died, said officials, who played down any links to the hantavirus scare. Dozens also suffered from upset stomachs aboard the Ambition – most of whose 1,233 passengers are from Britain or Ireland – which arrived in the western port of Bordeaux on Tuesda...
Summer hit South Asia early this year. April saw above average temperatures and the mercury is expected to reach unbearable highs this month. We are also bracing for a “super El Nino”, where a combination of increased heatwaves and highly variable weather patterns are expected to push urban zones, agricultural systems and public health to their limits. South Asia, especially parts of Pakistan, Ind...
Gunshots broke out at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people ran for cover after a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court said his arrest was imminent and security forces entered the building. There were no immediate reports of casualties, however, Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza told reporters following the chaos at the legislature in the capital Manila. Senator Ro...
Volleys of gunshots were heard at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people were told to run for cover, Reuters witnesses heard, as chaos mounted in anticipation of an attempt to arrest a top senator wanted by the International Criminal Court. It was unclear what was happening or who fired the shots. More than 10 military personnel in camouflage fatigues had earlier arrived at the Senate bu...
Asian migrant workers in the Gulf are testing stablecoins as a backup channel for sending money home, as the Iran war heightens fears that the risk of US sanctions could disrupt remittances that millions of families and several Asian economies rely on. Remittances from these workers account for 3 per cent to 5 per cent of gross domestic product in several emerging markets – in Nepal, it is as high...
The Dutch government has objected to a proposed US law that would further restrict semiconductor equipment giant ASML from selling to China and servicing customers in the country. The Dutch company, the global market leader in the lithographic technology used to laser-print tiny circuits onto microchips, has seen its access to the Chinese market severely hampered by US sanctions. Now, as US lawmak...
Keir Starmer faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reported to be readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his government’s agenda. As Starmer and his ministers stood in silence to hear King Charles read out their government’s agenda, the ceremony was overshadowed by what coul...
