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With Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the United States just weeks away, Washington and Beijing are still struggling to arrange a hoped-for dialogue on artificial intelligence, with the venue, participants and scope of the talks yet to be settled. Two sources familiar with the discussions said Washington had yet to decide which part of the US government should take the lead. The two...
Read more: https://sc.mp/841640 Bangladesh has launched a women-only “Pink Bus” service in Dhaka staffed entirely by female drivers and conductors. Created to provide a safe, dedicated transit option for women, the programme is operating 14 buses. Ten started running in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday and on Wednesday the cities of Chittagong and Bogra each received two new lines.
Public registration for Hong Kong’s flagship annual cycling event will open on Thursday, with more than 6,500 places available across two non-competitive rides scheduled for October 11. This year’s Hong Kong Cyclothon, hosted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, will feature a new extended 56km (34.8 miles) non-competitive ride on a “Five Tunnels, Three Bridges” route. The new route will take participa...
China-based LandSpace successfully launched a Zhuque-3 rocket and recovered its first stage, a breakthrough in the nation’s efforts to develop reusable boosters that can slash the cost of space launches. The first stage of the 66-metre (217-foot) rocket touched down in Minqin County, Gansu province, northwest China, on Wednesday after an eight-minute flight that delivered a Honghu-3 internet satel...
Thailand is ready to shift its approach to a slow-burn insurgency in its Muslim-majority deep south and revitalise a peace process, Bangkok’s chief negotiator has said, as violence simmers in one of Southeast Asia’s longest-running conflicts. Any such move could mark a return to addressing the political roots of a conflict that has killed more than 7,800 people since 2004, when the latest round of...
Goldman Sachs has remained upbeat about offshore wealth management despite concerns over Beijing’s tighter scrutiny of cross-border money flows. The Wall Street investment bank forecast wealth fee income at Standard Chartered and HSBC to grow 30 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, in 2026, while projecting 16 to 25 per cent growth for Singapore banks. “We continue to believe offshore wealth al...
Goldman Sachs has remained upbeat about offshore wealth management despite concerns over Beijing’s tighter scrutiny of cross-border money flows. The Wall Street investment bank forecast wealth fee income at Standard Chartered and HSBC to grow 30 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, in 2026, while projecting 16 to 25 per cent growth for Singapore banks. “We continue to believe offshore wealth al...
Despite July’s sharp sell-off in global semiconductor shares, driven by concerns over AI-linked profitability, artificial intelligence and chips remained China’s most preferred investment themes in August, while more investors moved to hedge tech exposure, according to a survey by BofA Global Research. The findings come from the August edition of the Asia Fund Manager Survey, for which Bank of Ame...
Macau has unveiled a sweeping five-year strategic blueprint to break its long-standing dependence on casino revenues by pivoting towards modern financial services, digital currency adoption and deeper economic integration with mainland China. Under its third five-year plan for economic and social development, released on Tuesday, the gambling hub aims to boost the added value of non-gaming industr...
A US guided-missile destroyer that was adrift in the South China Sea without power last month is a sign that America is taxing its reserve capacity as its operation against Iran drags on, according to an analyst. “This is an extremely unusual occurrence and a variety of equipment and process failures would have to have taken place,” said Brad Martin, a former US Navy captain who is now a senior po...
The parents of a Hong Kong baby taken into the care of welfare authorities have lost a legal bid to have their home-born baby son returned to them, with the judge arguing the father’s child-raising methods failed to consider the possible risks. High Court Judge Queeny Au Yeung Kwai-yue on Wednesday dismissed Tsang Wai-bong’s application after he earlier filed a writ of habeas corpus regarding his ...
Indonesia has seized 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine hidden on a Tanzanian-flagged vessel in one of the country’s biggest drug busts, with 10 crew members arrested, a senior narcotics official said. The National Narcotics Agency said in a statement late on Tuesday it had received intelligence that a vessel sailing from Sarawak, Malaysia, through the Andaman Sea may be carrying narcotics to In...
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. Demand for affordable EVs will force open US market to Chinese models: analysts Consumer demand for affordable electric vehicles is likely to force open the US market to Chinese electric...
Instead of celebrating her son’s birthday this month, Zimbabwean mother Rodwin Chitewere spent the day praying for his body to be brought home from Russia, where he was reportedly killed fighting Moscow’s war against Ukraine. In Botswana and South Africa, too, women are desperate for sons and husbands to return from a conflict many say they were duped into joining, as authorities warn recruiters a...
The business environment for Chinese robotaxi operators in Europe has become more open and friendly over the past year, which would help facilitate Chinese firms to commercialise their self-driving technology worldwide, according to Pony AI founder and CEO James Peng. “Compared to last year, there is a clear increase in the openness towards autonomous driving and the willingness to gradually open ...
A senior Mongolian official has apologised after the Chinese embassy raised concern that Mongolians were “harassing the camp” of a Chinese-invested oil exploration company on Friday. According to Mongolian media, protesters went to the Kherlen Tohoi XXVIII oil exploration area on August 14, attempted to halt exploration work by Mongolia Foison Energy and conducted a social media live stream. Socia...
At Singapore casino Resorts World Sentosa’s Lunar New Year lucky draw for high rollers earlier this year, the biggest prize was a bottle of Martell Cognac. Across the harbour at rival Marina Bay Sands, the top sweepstakes winner walked away with a new Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 worth much more. It is one of the incidents that has made the casino duopoly in one of the world’s top gambling venues more lo...
Japan is weighing how far to push back after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a disputed island last week, as analysts debate whether tougher measures would have much impact on Moscow. Some observers urged Japan to recall its ambassador, impose additional sanctions and deepen cooperation with Ukraine to show it would not be “bullied”, while others said Tokyo had little economic leverage le...
At least nine people were killed and several others injured in a fire at a hotel in the Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, a senior fire department official said. “Nine people were killed, including a child, in the fire that broke out early on Wednesday,” said Anuj Sharma, the fire services director of West Bengal state. “Thick smoke enveloped the hotel. Some victims were found in the bathrooms....
En Poy was minding cattle in a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in Cambodia when he set off his first landmine. The blast from the rusty relic he picked up cost him an arm and an eye. It also inspired his career with non-profit organisation Cambodian Self Help Demining, which clears landmines and unexploded ordnance across the country, deadly remnants of wars from the last century. Groups like Poy’s ...
Hong Kong’s bourse operator will focus on diversifying into multiple asset classes and extending its trading hours to serve international investors, in support of the city’s five-year-plan goal to strengthen its role as an international financial centre, according to its CEO. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) in the coming years would introduce a wide range of products and platforms in fixed...
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) profit jumped to a record amid a boom in initial public offerings (IPOs) and sizzling stock market turnover in the second quarter, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday. Quarterly net profit for the operator of Asia’s third-largest stock market soared 21 per cent year on year to HK$5.38 billion (US$683.4 million), or HK$4.26 per share, higher tha...
Senior US defence officials have fanned out across Asia in recent weeks to reassure allies of Washington’s commitment to the region, even as the war with Iran strains American resources and President Donald Trump fuels doubts by criticising joint combat drills with South Korea. The visits by Admiral Frank Bradley and Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby were intended to show that W...
Hong Kong authorities have charged the owner of a large dog that mauled two smaller pets earlier this week with failing to properly control the animal, which is currently under government custody. The Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD) said on Wednesday that it had charged the owner, 52, with failure to properly control a large dog under the Dangerous Dogs Regulation, and t...
The owner of a large dog that mauled two smaller pets to death in Yuen Long earlier this week has expressed “regret” over signing the animal to authorities and hopes to withdraw the surrender, according to the founder of a local animal rescue group. The development followed remarks by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) on Wednesday that the dog could be euthanised if its...
The owner of a large dog that mauled two smaller pets to death in Yuen Long earlier this week has expressed “regret” over signing the animal to authorities and hopes to withdraw the surrender, according to the founder of a local animal rescue group. The new development followed a remark made by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) on Wednesday that the dog might be euthani...
Hong Kong authorities may euthanise the large dog that mauled two smaller pets to death in Yuen Long earlier this week if its owner surrenders it, or alternatively formally classify it as a “known dangerous dog”. Jackie Yip Yin, assistant director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) responsible for inspection and quarantine, said on Wednesday that the 60kg (132lb) mixe...
A father and his two daughters were killed after an Immigration Department truck collided with a car and veered into four pedestrians at a road junction in Malaysia’s capital on Wednesday. The victims, a 53-year-old man and his daughters, aged 25 and 12, died at the scene along Jalan Sultan Ismail at about 1am, Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Assistant Commissio...
The Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX) and TGX Technology have launched a joint venture to build a “secure, stable and internationally competitive” gold trading and clearing platform, as the city pushes to become a gold trading hub. Hong Kong Gold Exchange Trading System (HKGXTS) would draw on technology partners, including Alibaba Cloud – which backs TGX Technology – and Hundsun Technologies, to deli...
A former Vietnamese politician unintentionally killed a teenager in a traffic accident in central Hanoi last year but was exempted from criminal prosecution, a police officer told state television, shedding light for the first time on a case that has fuelled criticism online for months. The interview was broadcast on Monday evening, days after people began leaving flowers at the site where the a...
