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China may gain from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) withdrawing from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), benefiting from additional supply as global oil markets face growing strain three months into the US-Israeli war in Iran, analysts said. The UAE – Opec’s third-largest producer, accounting for about 12 per cent of its total output – will formally leave the bloc on May 1. UA...
A Hong Kong government-funded online portal that provides resources for teachers and school students has failed to meet its user number target, with thousands of items never being downloaded, viewed or used, according to an audit report. The Audit Commission report, which was released on Wednesday, also cited remarks from the executive director of Hong Kong Education City (EdCity) that the platfor...
The widespread use of rape and other sexual violence as a weapon of war in Sudan has spurred a massive mental health crisis, United Nations agencies and local aid groups warned. The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict since April 2023 that has killed tens of thousands and displaced around 11 million people. Medical charity Médecins Sa...
The impact of sky-high costs for memory chips is spreading from smartphones to cars, as China’s electric vehicle (EV) king BYD announced a 21 per cent price increase for its high-end driver-assistance system. Starting on Friday, the price of the optional DiPilot 300 assisted-driving system would rise to 12,000 yuan ($1,757) from 9,900 yuan, BYD said on Tuesday, attributing the decision to “the sha...
Even if the immediate phase of conflict subsides, the Gulf is unlikely to return to the status quo. For Asia, the central question is no longer simply whether the Strait of Hormuz is open. It is whether the waterway remains reliable, predictable and politically insulated from coercion. That distinction now matters more than ever. For China and other major Asian importers, it is a question of wheth...
The People’s Liberation Army’s latest weaponised container ship could play a key role in deterring foreign intervention at a low cost during a Taiwan conflict, according to a mainland Chinese military magazine. The Zhong Da 79 is a medium-sized civilian cargo ship capable of carrying containerised vertical missile launchers, radar sensors and self-defence systems. It was first spotted at the end o...
Hong Kong’s Law Society has ordered the closure of a solicitors’ firm under investigation for its alleged role in a series of “crash-for-cash” scams in the city. The society’s council announced on Wednesday it would intervene in the practice of Raymond Lam & Associates, which will cease operations with immediate effect. The council also appointed Robertsons, another local law firm, as the interven...
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi called for “unity and the safeguarding of international justice” during a meeting with UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday, urging a global front against the “law of the jungle” amid deepening geopolitical tensions. During the talks in Beijing, Wang told Baerbock that multilateralism faced “severe challenges” from unnamed powers prioritising “m...
A top-floor residence at High Peak in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels West neighbourhood has sold for HK$420 million (US$53.7 million) as activity in Hong Kong’s high-end housing segment remains heated after a strong first quarter. The penthouse unit at 23 Po Shan Road sold to a company called Shine Action on April 8, Land Registry records showed. The buyer is believed to be a mainland resident, based on t...
Perched on the bow of his long-tail fishing boat, 75-year-old Sukjai Yana untangled a handful of small fish from his net, disappointed by his catch and fretting over whether he can sell them. Some days Sukjai earns nothing: demand for fish is falling due to worries over contamination of the Mekong River and its tributaries by toxic run-off from rare earth mines upstream that is threatening million...
Hong Kong authorities have rolled out a fresh package of measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reeling from the global fuel crisis and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, including a 21 per cent increase in available bank lending to HK$450 billion (US$78.43 billion). The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city’s de facto central bank, on Wednesday said the measu...
A Hong Kong man has been jailed for two months for sharing a social media post urging residents to shun last year’s Legislative Council election. Security guard Wong Wah-kwong, 63, pleaded guilty at West Kowloon Court on Wednesday to inciting others to boycott the December poll – the second under a Beijing-imposed “patriots-only” election overhaul in 2021. Wong admitted sharing a Facebook post dat...
A Hong Kong man has been jailed for two months for sharing a social media post urging residents to shun last year’s Legislative Council election. Security guard Wong Wah-kwong, 63, pleaded guilty at West Kowloon Court on Wednesday to inciting others to boycott the December poll – the second under a Beijing-imposed “patriots-only” election overhaul in 2021. Wong admitted sharing a Facebook post dat...
China is flexing its dominance over the global supply chain – claiming the world’s largest reserves of 14 essential minerals, including rare earths and graphite – while preparing to ramp up exploration through the end of the decade. The Ministry of Natural Resources disclosed the information at a monthly media briefing on Wednesday, vowing that China would continue accelerating its search for mine...
The Hong Kong Observatory should step up efforts to explain decisions for issuing typhoon warnings to address public concerns amid a rise in extreme weather events, the Audit Commission has urged. Citing the forecaster, a report issued by the public sector watchdog on Wednesday noted “increasing public demand” for signal change notification well in advance over the years for timely preparation as ...
Multinational furniture retailer Ikea says it will open its first small-format store in Beijing on Thursday, aiming at convenience and efficiency that analysts believe could lift footfall by bringing the brand closer to consumers amid shifting trends. The move comes after the company shut seven large outlets across mainland China in early February, as it grapples with the country’s rapidly changin...
Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama has called on Beijing and Tokyo to work together against “US arrogance”, as the global order is upended by President Donald Trump. Hatoyama, who was Japan’s prime minister from 2009 to 2010, said the two nations should find common ground and work to manage their bilateral relations. “I would argue that Japan and China should jointly confront a self-cen...
A six-year-old Chinese boy was diagnosed with a lump in his throat, which doctors said was his “twin brother”. The youngster, Xiaoliang, had been snoring heavily for the past six months, and only ate soft food. His mother, surnamed Liu, found it odd and took him for a medical examination. Their local hospital said he had an egg-sized tumour in his throat, adding that they could not treat the disea...
Indonesia’s new legislation to protect domestic helpers has been hailed by rights groups as the beginning of a “new chapter” for millions – though they warn that the road to change remains long and winding. On April 21, Indonesia’s House of Representatives passed the domestic worker protection bill into law, 22 years since it was first proposed. The legislation “provides legal certainty, protects ...
Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has yet to launch prosecutions in 34 cases involving mini-storage premises that failed to comply with safety hazard orders, with some sites first inspected as far back as 2016, the Audit Commission has said. The commission also revealed on Wednesday that none of the 249 industrial buildings required to improve fire safety measures in their common parts had comp...
New Zealand officials rejected on Wednesday an application to install a statue commemorating so-called “comfort women” enslaved by Japan before and during World War II after Tokyo suggested it could harm diplomatic relations. Japan forced up to 200,000 women from Korea, China and Southeast Asia into sexual slavery from 1932 until 1945 and the issue remains a sore point in Tokyo’s relations with it...
Hong Kong authorities have failed to meet targets on the supply and construction of youth hostels, with the number of flats offered accounting for only 44 per cent of what was intended, an audit report has found. The Audit Commission on Wednesday released its report reviewing the government’s development and management of the facilities under the Youth Hostel Scheme, which covered seven hostels, i...
One of Japan’s most popular zoos has delayed its reopening after an employee reportedly told police he had burned his wife’s body in an incinerator on its grounds. Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido’s second-largest city of Asahikawa, which had been closed for a seasonal break since April 8, was set to reopen on Wednesday, a national holiday. But the date has been pushed back to at least Friday to allow po...
Hong Kong’s financial chief has revised the city’s fiscal surplus for the previous year to HK$11 billion (US$1.91 billion), nearly four times the original estimate, saying the ongoing Middle East conflict had a limited impact on the economy with gross domestic product (GDP) growth remaining strong in the first quarter. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also dismissed concerns that increased bond...
We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s EV and battery makers race to cut charging times to under 10 minutes Battery makers and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers have seized on the Beijing Auto Show to showcase techn...
Hong Kong expects about 980,000 mainland Chinese visitors over the Labour Day “golden week” holiday from May 1 to 5, a 7 per cent increase from last year. Instead of rushing through major attractions, many travellers are opting for slower, highly curated itineraries centred on exhibitions, neighbourhood walks and carefully timed photo spots – trends driven by popular social media platforms such as...
South Korea’s jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol had his prison sentence increased on Wednesday in a separate case linked to his failed martial law decree, in what analysts said could be a “bellwether” for the trials still unfolding from the crisis. The Seoul High Court raised Yoon’s sentence from five years to seven for obstruction of justice and other offences after finding that he used presi...
A South Korean appeal court increased the sentence of jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday to seven years for obstructing justice, up from five years. “The court sentences the defendant to seven years in prison,” a judge at the Seoul High Court said, calling Yoon’s actions “highly reprehensible”. The court delivered the ruling in a televised hearing, the first decision by a spec...
Hong Kong will introduce a two-month subsidy for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used by taxis, minibuses and school buses from May, amid soaring fuel prices, while a previously announced diesel subsidy will take effect on Thursday. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday that the interdepartmental task force monitoring fuel price movements had proposed a 50 HK cents per litre subsidy ...
Hong Kong will introduce a two-month subsidy for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used by taxis, minibuses and school buses from May, amid soaring fuel prices, while a previously announced diesel subsidy will take effect on Thursday. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday that the interdepartmental task force monitoring fuel price movements had proposed a 50 HK cents per litre subsidy ...
