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Hong Kong’s redevelopment policy is approaching an institutional turning point. Recent government proposals – pilot schemes for additional plot ratios and cross-district plot ratio transfers – are presented as new instruments to stimulate redevelopment in ageing districts. Yet they extend the same paradigm that shaped policy for decades: incentivising redevelopment through floor-area bonuses, rely...
A couple from central China saw their business empire, valued at 100 million yuan (US$15 million), collapse and were plunged into debt after being wrongly accused of fraud. Wang Fei and his wife, Liu Sumin, from Zhumadian in Henan province, began their journey as small-scale farmers before gradually establishing two pig farms. They later expanded into a medicinal herb cooperative and an agricultur...
Claims that the recent magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck southwestern Japan was man-made have been spreading online, with experts dismissing the theory as unrealistic in technological, financial and practical terms. On July 28, the day the deadly earthquake hit Kumamoto prefecture, a user on social media who has previously shared false claims about earthquakes wrote that the “seismic wave is of...
While global markets watched closely for a joint move by Washington and Tokyo to prop up the Japanese yen this week, Australian dollar traders have been laser-focused on the actions of another power: China. Some analysts view the Australian currency as particularly sensitive to policy moves in Beijing. If China intervenes to boost domestic growth, that could also lift the Australian dollar, the th...
The career of K. Jimmy Hsia, a prominent researcher in interdisciplinary mechanics, has long spanned two worlds – he is an acclaimed scientist and a skilled administrator who unites fields and stakeholders. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Hsia has published more than 100 papers and made substantial contributions in the fields of high-temperature deformat...
The career of Kuen Jimmy Hsia, a prominent researcher in interdisciplinary mechanics, has long spanned two worlds – he is an acclaimed scientist and a skilled administrator who unites fields and stakeholders. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Hsia has published more than 100 papers and made substantial contributions in the fields of high-temperature deform...
The career of Kuan Jimmy Hsia, a prominent researcher in interdisciplinary mechanics, has long spanned two worlds – he is a laser-focused scientist and a skilled administrator who unites fields and stakeholders. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Hsia has published more than 100 papers and made substantial contributions in the fields of high-temperature def...
Hong Kong homeowners could adopt technology-led preventive maintenance of older buildings to avoid costly large-scale renovation, with the upmarket Residence Bel-Air serving as a viable example that saved residents more than HK$1 billion (US$127.5 million). Allen Ha Wing-on, convenor of the Residence Bel-Air owners’ committee, said while the Wang Fuk Court tragedy was a wake-up call to transform t...
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s once-commanding approval rating has continued to slide in a new survey, as voters weigh his ambitious welfare and village-economy agenda against concerns over household finances and the government’s ability to deliver. The poll by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) put Prabowo’s approval rating at 51.1 per cent, down from 81.2 per cent in November ...
The Federal Aviation Administration said a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump on Tuesday was briefly too close to a passenger jet departing Reagan Washington National Airport, but the US leader was not in danger. The incident raised serious questions about why the passenger plane was allowed to depart while Marine One was nearby, a time when commercial traffic is typically halted...
The Federal Aviation Administration said a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump on Tuesday was briefly too close to a passenger jet departing Reagan Washington National Airport, but the US leader was not in danger. The incident raised serious questions about why the passenger plane was allowed to depart while Marine One was nearby, a time when commercial traffic is typically halted...
The Federal Aviation Administration said a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump on Tuesday was briefly too close to a passenger jet departing Reagan Washington National Airport, but the US leader was not in danger. The incident raised serious questions about why the passenger plane was allowed to depart while Marine One was nearby, a time when commercial traffic is typically halted...
The Federal Aviation Administration said a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump on Tuesday was briefly too close to a passenger jet departing Reagan Washington National Airport, but the US leader was not in danger. The incident raised serious questions about why the passenger plane was allowed to depart while Marine One was nearby, a time when commercial traffic is typically halted...
China’s latest export controls and sanctions against American companies in response to recent US measures underscore Beijing’s expanding economic toolkit and its growing willingness to deploy it, according to analysts. “The multiple actions that China undertook underscore the breadth and depth of China’s retaliatory toolbox,” said Wendy Cutler, the senior vice-president at the Asia Society Policy ...
The People’s Liberation Army is just a year away from its centenary goals in its evolution into a “world-class” fighting force. In this part of a series, Amber Wang looks at the growing influence of artificial intelligence in combat and the private firms stepping into the area. Roughly two months before the United States launched air strikes on Iran, a little-known Chinese technology company was w...
China’s national childcare subsidy is an encouraging acknowledgement of a simple truth: raising children is expensive. This year, the central government allocated 99.9 billion yuan (US$14.8 billion) to the programme, which provides families with 3,600 yuan annually for each child under three. According to state media, the families of more than 25 million babies have received the subsidy as of last...
The Democratic Party’s progressive wing scored a high-profile victory on Wednesday when Abdul El-Sayed won the party’s US Senate nomination in Michigan, giving its anti-establishment message a boost ahead of November’s midterm elections. El-Sayed, a doctor whose campaign focused on healthcare, the economy and an end to unconditional military aid to Israel, was the first progressive to win a stat...
Brazil intends to sell yuan bonds in China every year rather than once, a senior Brazilian treasury official said on Wednesday, in a plan that would make the Chinese currency a permanent fixture of its external debt. The debut is expected before the end of the year and is small enough that the government is not relying on the proceeds, with external debt at four per cent of the federal stock. Fran...
Even as Congress remains divided over the latest US defence bill, lawmakers in both parties remain united on one issue: China. The National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), which sets US defence policy and authorises military spending each year, reflects a broad bipartisan consensus on expanding Washington’s military, technological and economic rivalry with Beijing. While the House and Senate ver...
Iran and Oman have agreed a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the waterway, Tehran’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. But official sources briefing Iranian media stressed that any reopening of the strait would depend on the United States fulfilling what Tehran sees as its commitment to end its own naval blockad...
Iran and Oman have agreed a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the passage, Tehran’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Iran has seized de facto control of the strait, a strategic waterway for the global energy trade, since the United States and Israel launched their war against the country on February 28. US Pres...
Scientists have captured images of the sun’s surface in the finest detail yet, revealing a strange and dynamic facade. It is dangerous to look directly at the sun without proper eye protection. But researchers were able to peek at its scorching surface with the help of the National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Scientists originally...
A woman has been arrested after four men were stabbed in Covent Garden in central London on Wednesday afternoon. The Metropolitan Police said the four men, aged 34, 39, 42 and 52, were found with stab wounds. No further update has been given on the extent of their injuries. The 47-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault, the force added. She was ta...
A Singaporean court has jailed a Hong Kong mother and her adult son for up to six months following a chaotic clash at Changi Airport, during which the pair attacked a police officer and a bystander. Chan Sui-kwan, 65, was reportedly sentenced to six months’ imprisonment on Monday for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty, while her son, Chan Wing-kwan, 4...
Meta Platforms’ CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to the Indian government over child sexual abuse material on the company’s platforms and for operational errors, local television channels reported on Wednesday. Zuckerberg apologised for the presence of the material, as well as deepfake content and operational lapses on Meta’s platforms, financial news publication Moneycontrol reported, citin...
Meta Platforms’ CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to the Indian government over child sexual abuse material on the company’s platforms and for operational errors, local television channels reported on Wednesday. Zuckerberg apologised for the presence of the material, as well as deepfake content and operational lapses on Meta’s platforms, financial news publication Moneycontrol reported, citin...
Washington has reopened discussions on billions in arms sales to Taiwan, casting a shadow over a leaders’ summit just weeks away – a meeting already burdened by bilateral trade frictions. US President Donald Trump is expected to submit a US$14 billion Taiwan arms package to the US Congress soon, according to senior Republican lawmaker Michael McCaul on Tuesday. “I am confident the president will f...
A Hong Kong lawmaker has warned that an unfolding crypto scam run by a coffee investment venture based in Vietnam could involve more than 1,000 victims, as an investor reported losses of HK$14 million (US$1.73 million) across her team. The warning came as police said that total reported losses tied to the syndicate operating as Fun Coffee have climbed to HK$104 million, with 225 complaints receive...
A Hong Kong lawmaker has warned that an unfolding crypto scam run by a coffee investment venture based in Vietnam could involve more than 1,000 victims, as an investor reported losses of HK$14 million (US$1.73 million) across her team. The warning came as police said that total reported losses tied to the syndicate operating as Fun Coffee have climbed to HK$104 million, with 225 complaints receive...
A Hong Kong lawmaker has warned that an unfolding crypto scam run by a coffee investment venture based in Vietnam could involve more than 1,000 victims, as an investor reported losses of HK$14 million (US$1.73 million) across her team. The warning came as police said that total reported losses tied to the syndicate operating as Fun Coffee have climbed to HK$104 million, with 225 complaints receive...
