Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
Police in Greece’s capital were searching for a gunman, reportedly aged 89, who opened fire on Tuesday in a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens, wounding at least four people. Armed with a shotgun, the gunman initially opened fire at the social security office, wounding an employee, police said. Police officers who arrived at the scene treated the man, but the gunman fled the...
A Taiwanese army officer has been punished for screening The Eight Hundred, a mainland Chinese war film depicting Kuomintang (KMT) forces fighting Japanese troops during World War II. The punishment has triggered a political row on the island over Beijing’s state-led messaging to sway opinions in Taiwan as well as historical interpretation and military education on the island. The controversy emer...
When people were told to stay home during the Covid-19 pandemic, watching K-dramas became a solace for fans of South Korea’s best-known export around the world. But for North Koreans, it spelled death. A report released by North Korea-focused human rights organisation Transition Justice Working Group (TJWG) on Tuesday showed that the number of people executed for consuming South Korean cultural co...
BYD’s first-quarter net profit matched market estimates as China’s electric vehicle (EV) king partly offset weakness in its domestic market with rising exports. The mainland’s largest and most profitable EV maker reported a net profit of nearly 4.09 billion yuan (US$590 million) for the first three months of the year, a drop of 55 per cent compared with a year earlier. Revenue came in at 150.2 bil...
A Ukrainian drone attack has caused a “large-scale fire” at Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea, forcing the evacuation of nearby buildings, local officials said on Tuesday. The Rosneft-owned refinery delivers oil products mainly for exports but operations have been halted since April 16 following an earlier drone attack, industry sources said. Ukraine did not immediately comment on th...
A Hong Kong court has fined the owner of a luxury home at Redhill Peninsula nearly HK$1 million (US$173,938), the harshest penalty to date for illegal structures discovered during a government inspection at the seaside estate three years ago. Magistrate Tobias Cheng Yun-chung handed down a HK$980,000 fine on Tuesday on Future Ocean, which has owned House No 74 at Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam since...
A leading ratings agency that previously expressed concerns about China’s local debt woes has cast a vote of confidence in the world’s second-largest economy, raising the country’s sovereign credit outlook to “stable” from “negative”. This week’s move by Moody’s Ratings was closely watched, as energy shocks from the US-Israel war in Iran have exacerbated concerns about the global economy’s traject...
Jakarta’s move to press on with importing 150 million barrels of Russian oil despite latest EU sanctions against an Indonesian port underscores a growing divide between Western efforts to isolate Moscow and Asia’s push for energy security. On Thursday, the European Commission announced its 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which includes Indonesia’s Karimun Oil Terminal for its “connection...
The potential emergence of a new DeepSeek spokesman has sparked intrigue as speculation over the whereabouts of founder and CEO Liang Wenfeng continues, more than a year after his last public appearance. While the Hangzhou start-up’s latest V4 model did not make the same waves as its breakout moment a year earlier, the much-anticipated release still grabbed headlines through a collaboration with d...
China’s maritime rescue authorities have expanded their ability to carry out deep sea search and rescue operations beyond 4,000 metres (13,100 feet), according to state media. People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, credited the development of hi-tech equipment for the shift, which it described as “marking the formal transition of China’s transport rescue and salvage forces” to being able ...
China’s maritime rescue authorities have expanded their ability to carry out deep sea search and rescue operations beyond 4,000 metres (13,100 feet), according to state media. People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, credited the development of hi-tech equipment for the shift, which it described as “marking the formal transition of China’s transport rescue and salvage forces” to being able ...
China’s maritime rescue authorities have expanded their ability to carry out deep sea search and rescue operations beyond 4,000 metres (13,100 feet), according to state media. People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, credited the development of hi-tech equipment for the shift, which it described as “marking the formal transition of China’s transport rescue and salvage forces” to being able ...
Researchers have urged Hong Kong to shift its focus from boosting visitor numbers to increasing tourist spending, as mainland Chinese arrivals rebound but adopt more selective consumption habits. Preliminary findings from a joint study by Hong Kong Polytechnic University and consultancy Think China, released on Tuesday, show mainland visitor arrivals have recovered to about 88 per cent of pre-pand...
A man accused of pledging allegiance to Islamic State group and plotting to attack one of superstar singer Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna nearly two years ago pleaded guilty as his trial began on Tuesday, Austrian media reported. The plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still cancelled Swift’s three performances in August 2024. The singer’s fans, known as Swifties, who had flown to Austr...
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has charged a police superintendent with allegedly accepting a HK$1 million (US$127,599) bribe from a businessman, disclosing internal information, and arranging for his younger brother to act as a scapegoat in speeding cases. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Tuesday revealed the charges against Leung Ka-man, 52, as well as his girlfriend...
A free-trade agreement signed between India and New Zealand has marked yet another regional push towards diversification and away from overdependence on major powers. The deal, which comes after 15 years of on-and-off negotiations, gained urgency in recent weeks as Indian exporters contend with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and steep American tariffs that have rattled supply chains. New Zeal...
Battery makers and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers have seized on the Beijing Auto Show to showcase technologies promising shorter charging times in a race triggered by BYD and Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL). Fast-charging technology has dominated the floor at the 10-day event which runs until May 3. Second-tier Chinese battery suppliers including CALB Group, EVE Energy and Sunwoda...
A 21-year-old man from central China, whose greatest wish is for his parents to stop having more children, sells pork to support his six younger siblings. In April, Sun Pan, from Shaoyang in Hunan province, captured national attention for shouldering family responsibilities as the eldest son. According to the mainland media outlet Jimu News, his 18-year-old second sister suffered a childhood fall ...
Herman Susanto and Dwi Aksan were heading from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta to the satellite city of Cikarang after a long day at work on Monday when disaster struck. Susanto, the head of the Indonesian Workers’ Federation, and his colleague, Aksan, were in the third carriage of a commuter train crammed with workers going home at around 9pm when it stopped to let passengers alight at Bekasi Timur s...
Foreign forces are using social media to spread the notion that young Chinese people should be “lying flat” and not working hard as they seek to undermine China’s development, the country’s top anti-espionage agency has warned. The Ministry of State Security cautioned that anti-China forces were trying to magnify social anxiety by continuously “promoting negative notions” that effort was futile an...
Foreign forces are using social media to spread the notion that young Chinese people should be “lying flat” and not working hard as they seek to undermine China’s development, the country’s top anti-espionage agency warned. In recent years, anti-China forces have been trying to magnify social anxiety by continuously “promoting negative notions” that effort is futile and hard work makes no gain, th...
Hong Kong’s exports rose nearly 36 per cent year on year in March – the sharpest rate in more than five years – backed by what authorities described as “strong global demand” for AI-related electronic products and outpacing last month’s growth despite trade disruptions. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the total value of exports of goods rose by 35.8 per cent to HK$618.4 billion ...
Hong Kong’s exports rose nearly 36 per cent year on year in March – the sharpest rate in more than five years – backed by what authorities described as “strong global demand” for AI-related electronic products and outpacing last month’s growth despite global trade disruptions. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the total value of exports of goods rose by 35.8 per cent to HK$618.4 b...
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and fractured international relations, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has launched a new School of Governance and Policy (SGP) that aims to foster dialogue and train a new generation of policymakers. The interdisciplinary school stands out by convening a powerful convergence of global ...
Medical claims paid by Hong Kong insurers could double within a decade, a study has warned, raising concerns over the sector’s sustainability. The findings, released on Tuesday, showed total medical claims in the city rose by over 60 per cent between 2019 and 2023, driven largely by a surge in inpatient bills, especially for day procedures. “If such an increase continues at the same rate, it will ...
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East has turned the spotlight on a strategic waterway thousands of miles away in Southeast Asia, with littoral states having different ideas on how to control their stake. Indonesian officials last week flirted with the idea of imposing tolls for passing vessels in the Strait of Malacca. Malaysia and Singapore, however, have insisted that naviga...
A South Korean appeal court increased the corruption sentence for former first lady Kim Keon-hee on Tuesday to four years in jail, up from 20 months, after finding her guilty of stock manipulation and bribery. “The court sentences the defendant to four years in prison and imposes a 50 million won (US$34,000) fine,” the Seoul High Court said in a verdict televised live. More to follow …
An accounting clerk has admitted to helping a fraud syndicate withdraw HK$31 million (US$4 million) from a Hong Kong brokerage five years ago after being told she was under investigation by Beijing’s national security arm in the city. The High Court on Wednesday convicted Wong Pui-shan of 10 counts of money laundering after she confessed to authorising 10 illicit transactions at the behest of an i...
Thalassaemia is the most common genetic blood disorder in the world. China currently has 30 million thalassaemia gene carriers, while the global total reaches 350 million. Severe thalassaemia patients could confront a stark reality: regular blood transfusions, potential organ transplants, even the risk of premature death. If two carriers of the gene marry, their children have a 25 per cent chance ...
Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has launched a public consultation on food delivery platform Keeta’s proposed measures to ensure a fair market environment, after previously raising concerns about its exclusivity clauses. The Competition Commission said on Tuesday it had begun consulting on three commitments offered by Keeta under Section 60 of the Competition Ordinance, which would become legally...
