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India summoned Iran’s senior diplomat in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest against attacks on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz that killed an Indian seafarer and wounded several others. The Indian foreign ministry said it had summoned the deputy chief of mission of the Iranian embassy in the capital to register “a strong protest” against the attacks reported early on Tuesday. The two v...
A decade after a South China Sea ruling, analysts said Beijing should continue engaging in good-faith diplomacy and explore international mediation, arguing that the unenforced ruling had failed to curb rising regional maritime tensions. The observations came after a weekend of fresh accusations over the 2016 decision by an international tribunal in The Hague ruling that most of China’s claims to ...
Hong Kong’s national security laws must be continually improved to address risks and close loopholes amid geopolitical tensions, a former senior mainland Chinese official overseeing the city’s affairs has said, while insisting they are less stringent than those in the United States and the United Kingdom. Wang Zhenmin, former bureau chief of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Office (HKMAO), ...
Hong Kong’s national security laws must be constantly improved to address risks and close loopholes amid geopolitical tensions, a former senior mainland official overseeing the city’s affairs has said, while insisting that the local pieces of legislation were less draconian compared with equivalent laws in the United States and United Kingdom. Wang Zhenmin, former bureau chief of the State Council...
Asia’s economies are once again staring down the barrel of the Strait of Hormuz as the latest breakdown of the US-Iran ceasefire and Washington’s decision to impose a blockade-cum-toll threaten to keep energy costs elevated and shipping flows under strain. But economists and shipping analysts say the region is better placed to absorb the blow this time round. Oil prices jumped to a one-month high ...
Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s first state visit to Malaysia this week comes amid strengthening ties between the neighbours and a greater willingness by both sides to let go of historical “baggage”, analysts say. Observers add that the new generation of Southeast Asian leaders also possesses a heightened awareness of mutual needs in an increasingly fragmented world order. Tharman, wh...
A Hong Kong woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for assisting in robbing three people as a teenager by luring them to a deserted location before her fellow gang members attacked them and took nude photos for extortion. The High Court sentenced 23-year-old Hau Yan-ki on Tuesday after a jury rejected her assertion that she had mistakenly believed she was just helping her friends to collec...
The High Court in Singapore has awarded two cabinet ministers S$230,000 (US$177,860) each in damages following a defamation trial involving financial news outlet Bloomberg and one of its reporters over the officials’ property transactions. In January last year, K. Shanmugam, the coordinating minister for national security, and Tan See Leng, the manpower chief, filed separate suits against Bloomber...
An independent Hong Kong bookshop founded by journalists has announced that it will close on August 30, citing financial losses and “hard-to-grasp red lines”. In a statement posted on social media on Tuesday, the bookstore Have a Nice Stay said its decision was driven by the broader social environment, financial strain, staff development considerations, and the mental and physical well-being of it...
Great leadership doesn’t start with what you do but who you are. There are generally two leadership styles: loud and quiet. Loud leadership considers visibility for effectiveness and often focuses on showing dominance to drive results. Quiet leadership focuses on depth rather than volume. It is marked by clarity and consistency. If the West favours highly visible, charismatic leaders, in the East,...
France’s Emmanuel Macron is overseeing his 10th and last national day parade as president on Tuesday. The annual military procession – which marks the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille fortress in Paris during the French Revolution – will rev up the crowds before France plays Spain in World Cup semi-finals at the end of the day. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the celebrat...
China’s chip exports nearly doubled in the first half of the year, customs data shows, as a global AI boom cemented computing hardware’s place as a key economic growth engine. In the first six months of this year, China exported 179.44 billion integrated circuits (ICs) worth a total of US$177.28 billion – up more than 96 per cent year on year – according to data released by the General Administrat...
A record 24 students from 15 schools have scored perfect marks in Hong Kong’s university entrance exams, but the proportion of day-school candidates meeting the minimum admission requirements fell slightly to 36.8 per cent, a drop an education consultant attributed to weaker performance in the two core language subjects. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority released the candidates’ ...
A record 24 students from 15 schools have scored perfect marks in Hong Kong’s university entrance exams, up from 17 last year, with 36.8 per cent of day-school candidates meeting the minimum admission requirement. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority released the results of the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) on Tuesday. Most DSE subjects are graded on a seven-level scale from ...
A young Chinese man has been dubbed “Yunnan’s strongest matchmaker” for his funny matchmaking videos that turn clients’ flaws into advantages. The 24-year-old man from southwestern China’s Yunnan province, who goes by the nickname Panlong, has amassed nearly three million online followers. He went viral for a series called “A matchmaker’s language skills”, in which he boasted about his clients in ...
Rosmah Mansor has slapped Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander with a defamation lawsuit over a stand-up comedy routine that allegedly mocked and insulted her. Rosmah, the wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, filed the writ of summons at the High Court on June 9. According to her statement of claim, the alleged defamation occurred during Harith’s performance, titled “Harith Iskander:...
A Hong Kong couple has lodged a complaint with the United Nations over an alleged breach of human rights after Swedish authorities applied to permanently transfer the legal guardianship of their daughter to a local foster family. Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin said on Tuesday that they had filed the complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding Sweden’s handling of their four-year-old daug...
A Hong Kong couple have lodged a complaint with the United Nations for alleged breach of human rights after Swedish authorities applied to permanently transfer the legal guardianship of their daughter to a local foster family. Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin said on Tuesday that they had filed their complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding Sweden’s handling of their four-year-old daugh...
China’s tropical resort island of Hainan is solidifying its timeline to ban the sale of petrol-powered vehicles by 2030, heralding the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine technology as the province, China’s largest free-trade zone, aims to spearhead the nation’s decarbonisation efforts. Hainan’s move, the first of its kind among all localities in China, will force carmakers to ...
An associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has denied indecently assaulting a woman who reported him upon discovering he was a married man. Peng Peng, 38, appeared at Sha Tin Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault. The complainant, a fellow scholar, had been seeking academic job and relocation opportunities in Hong Kong. According ...
An associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is facing two indecent assault charges after a woman accused him of molesting her and reported him upon discovering he had allegedly hidden his marital status. Peng Peng, 38, appeared at Sha Tin Court on Tuesday, where he denied two counts of indecent assault. The complainant, a fellow scholar, had been seeking academic job and r...
China’s fourth-ranked official, Wang Huning, will head to North Korea this week, the latest in a flurry of high-level exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang. Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday reported that Wang would lead a Communist Party and government delegation on an “official goodwill visit” to the country from Wednesday to Friday. Wang is a member of the Politburo Standing Committ...
Many mainland Chinese businesses that joined a Hong Kong-led delegation to Central Asia last month are preparing to list in the city to raise capital for global expansion, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has revealed. At a summit on Tuesday, the city leader stressed that Hong Kong would continue to leverage its role as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” to support businesses expanding ove...
Many mainland Chinese businesses that joined a Hong Kong-led delegation to Central Asia last month are preparing to list in the city to raise capital for global expansion, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has revealed. At a summit on Tuesday, the city leader stressed that Hong Kong would continue to leverage its role as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” to support businesses expanding ove...
From franchising to diversification, Hong Kong’s heritage brands and long-running family businesses are looking for ways to navigate challenging times amid changing consumption patterns and soaring costs. Second- and third-generation stewards of three local brands – charcoal-roasted goose restaurant Yung Kee, toy manufacturer Kader Holdings and construction group Asia Allied Infrastructure – are u...
If you have been holding out for cheaper durians, you may not want to wait much longer. Just weeks after a bumper harvest sent durian prices tumbling across Singapore, sellers said the unusually abundant supply has begun easing since last week as Malaysian state Johor’s durian season winds down. They believe the days of heavily discounted durians and free giveaways have come to an end. “The supply...
In the fields of central Luzon, farmers who planted their rice in June are watching the sky with worry. Out over the Pacific, a familiar spectre is gathering strength – and with it, the threat of empty granaries and hungry households. The Philippines has a plan for this year’s “super” El Nino, on paper at least. But to the Filipinos out actually working the paddies, that plan is barely perceptible...
Photos and discussions about China’s recent use of heavy-duty drones to “airlift” villagers affected by flooding in Guangxi have gone viral but almost two decades ago, the disaster-prone country once relied on risky, low-tech means to fight natural calamities. China’s rapid tech advancement, represented by the development and deployment of drones, has helped it better handle emergencies, as shown ...
Photos and discussions about China’s recent use of heavy-duty drones to “airlift” villagers affected by flooding in Guangxi have gone viral but almost two decades ago, the disaster-prone country once relied on risky, low-tech means to fight natural calamities. China’s rapid tech advancement, represented by the development and deployment of drones, has helped it better handle emergencies, such as h...
Hong Kong’s new cash incentives of up to HK$45,000 (US$5,740) to encourage welfare recipients to take up jobs are expected to benefit many single-parent families, lawmakers have said, while urging more flexible eligibility rules and stronger employment support. Legislators made the remarks on Tuesday as the government unveiled a three-year pilot scheme, which is financed by the Community Care Fund...
