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Volkswagen Group’s deliveries in China slumped during the first half of 2026 to their lowest level in 16 years, as local electric vehicle (EV) brands further siphoned off buyers’ interest in petrol cars amid a slowing market. Through its three ventures with Chinese partners, the German car brand handed over a total of 971,000 units to customers in China between January and June, down 26.1 per cent...
The brave new world of artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be a mixed and divisive blessing for governments – not least those of key Asian countries – as well as for financial markets. The AI revolution points to higher economic growth for economies linked to the tech supply chain, with others being left behind. It also signals the potential for financial crises. Balancing these risks will be...
A 19-year-old Chinese student recently made a will bequeathing his personal wealth of 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million) to his childhood friend, sparking heated discussion online. The teenager from Shanghai, surnamed Li, recently set up a notarised will to bequeath the property under his name, including a flat and savings of millions of yuan, to his childhood friend. Li claimed that his parents had...
Tolls at Hong Kong’s three cross-harbour tunnels could be adjusted in the future after traffic volumes exceeded pre-reform peaks, 2½ years after time-varying charges were introduced, transport authorities have said. A Transport Department paper submitted to the Legislative Council said tolls would need to remain flexible in the future because queues during some peak periods were still spilling ont...
Tolls at Hong Kong’s three cross-harbour tunnels may need to be adjusted in the future after traffic volumes exceeded pre-reform peaks, 2½ years after time-varying charges were introduced, transport authorities have said. A Transport Department paper submitted to the Legislative Council said tolls would need to remain flexible in the future because queues during some peak periods were still spilli...
US-imposed sanctions targeting other countries and a growing list of Chinese laws aimed at countering the measures are creating a compliance minefield for African businesses dealing with the world’s top two economies. At risk is a broad range of industries including mining, banking, telecommunications, technology, energy, infrastructure and others in which African businesses are simultaneously exp...
Pan Sok still remembers his relative screaming as a tiger dragged him away one night, deep inside the Cambodian rainforest where they were tapping trees for resin. So he is “not happy” about a plan to reintroduce the big cats, a decade after they were declared extinct in Cambodia. “I saw the tiger take him with my own eyes,” he said, describing the attack that took place over 30 years ago. “He was...
No government subsidies will be needed to build the long-awaited Pak Shek Kok station on the East Rail line, Hong Kong’s minister has said, after authorities agreed to grant the MTR Corporation development rights at two sites. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Saturday that the “rail-plus-property” model would fully cover construction costs, even though a detailed estimate h...
Three-legged dogs and one-eyed cats are common sights at a veterinary clinic opened by an animal welfare group in the Fo Tan area of Hong Kong’s Sha Tin district, with some of these animals having been there so long that the centre has become their home. While their injuries or illnesses vary, they share the same painful experience of being displaced by the Northern Metropolis megaproject, a gover...
Three-legged dogs and one-eyed cats are common sights at a veterinary clinic opened by an animal welfare group in the Fo Tan area of Hong Kong’s Sha Tin district, with some of these animals having been there for so long that the medical centre has become their home. While their injuries or illnesses vary, they share the same painful experience of being displaced by the Northern Metropolis developm...
Footage of the punishment quickly went viral: an unmarried couple each receiving 21 lashes of the cane in Indonesia’s Aceh province after being accused of kissing in a car and live-streaming it on TikTok. As each blow landed on their backs, the unnamed man, 22, and woman, 25, visibly grimaced. The woman later burst into tears, wailing in pain as the public punishment continued. The caning was carr...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he had ordered the military to be prepared to launch strikes against Iran if the Iranian government carried out or attempted an assassination of the president. “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in man...
For a man sanctioned by Beijing, barred from visiting China and accused of damaging bilateral ties, Gilberto Teodoro Jnr sounded remarkably composed. Composed, that is, until the conversation turned to the South China Sea – the very subject that landed him in hot water in the first place. In an interview this week, the Philippines’ defence chief said that Manila would keep only limited military co...
Shanghai raised its local typhoon warning on Saturday afternoon as eastern China braced for the arrival of Typhoon Bavi, cancelling flights and ferry services and evacuating thousands of people. As of 6pm, Shanghai transport authorities had limited the speed on the overground sections of four subway lines, and warned they might impose further limits or partially suspend services on the rest of the...
Shanghai raised its local typhoon warning on Saturday afternoon as eastern China braced for the arrival of Typhoon Bavi, cancelling flights and ferry services and evacuating thousands of people. As of 6pm, Shanghai transport authorities had limited the speed on the overground sections of four subway lines, and warned it may impose further limits or partially suspend services on the rest of the net...
Typhoon Bavi battered Taiwan on Saturday, disrupting hundreds of flights and ferry services, injuring 36 people and forcing more than 14,000 people to evacuate while leaving over 150,000 households without power. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport cancelled 913 flights over two days, including 760 on Saturday. Airlines were expected to gradually resume services after 4am on Sunday as the typhoon...
Authorities across eastern China have stepped up their emergency preparations and cancelled hundreds of flights as Typhoon Bavi, the ninth storm of the season, intensified overnight and barrelled towards the coast on Saturday. The storm is forecast to make landfall between Taizhou in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province in the early hours of Sunday, packing winds of up to 45 metres per ...
Russia’s decision to ban diesel exports this week has roiled global energy markets, exacerbating shortages of the industrial fuel and sending prices soaring, even in countries that no longer buy the fuel from Moscow. Diesel accounts for the largest share of global oil consumption and soaring prices can ripple through the global economy given its wide range of uses, from industrial machinery and f...
A profound demographic and economic shift is sweeping through Asia, quietly rewriting the rules of national development. The traditional paradigm of treating population ageing as a passive fiscal burden is being dismantled as Beijing makes the “silver economy” and proactive ageing strategies the pillars of national security and economic growth. China’s population aged 60 and above reached 320 mill...
The Philippine consulate in Hong Kong is investigating allegations that domestic helpers are being recruited in the city to become surrogate mothers for couples in other countries for up to 1 million pesos (US$16,220). At least five Filipino domestic helpers recruited in Hong Kong said they were not paid the promised amount despite carrying babies to full term, with one woman told that the child b...
The Philippine consulate in Hong Kong is investigating allegations that domestic helpers are being recruited in the city to become surrogate mothers for couples in other countries for up to 1 million pesos (US$16,220). At least five Filipino domestic helpers recruited in Hong Kong said they were not paid the promised amount despite carrying babies to full term, with one woman told that the child b...
The Philippine consulate in Hong Kong is investigating allegations that domestic helpers are being recruited in the city to become surrogate mothers for couples in Central Asia for up to 1 million pesos (US$16,220). At least five Filipino domestic helpers recruited in Hong Kong said they were not paid the promised amount despite carrying babies to full term, with one woman told that the child born...
The coalition of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was dealt a blow on Saturday after state rival Barisan Nasional (BN) trounced Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Johor election. The Election Commission announced BN’s victory of 48 seats so far, out of 56 up for grabs, with PH managing only seven. BN’s result was better than the 40 seats it secured in the 2022 race. The vote count for the final sea...
Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN) has retained the state of Johor with a simple majority amid vote-counting on Saturday night, securing 29 out of 56 seats and beating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. Johor was turned into a battleground between the federal partners, with both coalitions fielding candidates in every constituency and a voter turnout nearing the expected ...
Malaysia’s Johor election closed on Saturday with the dominant coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) set to retain its grip on the state, beating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH). Johor was turned into a battleground between the federal partners, with both coalitions fielding candidates in every constituency and a voter turnout nearing the expected 70 per cent mark for a more than 2.7...
Malaysia’s Johor state election closed on Saturday with unofficial tallies showing the dominant coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) firmly ahead of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH). The final results will determine the stability of Anwar’s coalition government, with Johor turned into a battleground between the federal partners. Both coalitions fielded candidates in every constituenc...
Polling stations across Malaysia’s Johor state closed at 6pm on Saturday, with the voter turnout nearing the expected 70 per cent of a more than 2.7 million electorate. All eyes are now on the results – set to determine the stability of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition government. Johor has become a battleground between federal partners – Pakatan Harapan (PH), led by Anwar, and Barisan Nas...
Red, blue and yellow flags crowded the roads into Johor Bahru before dawn on Saturday, lashed to lamp posts, flyovers and roadside trees after a campaign in which Malaysia’s governing allies spent two weeks trying to cut each other down. The campaign ended at 11.59pm on Friday, silencing the loudspeakers and convoys that had criss-crossed the state since late June. At 8am, the contest moved to 1,0...
A young woman from southeastern China who once posed with her father outside Tsinghua University as a child has fulfilled a long-held dream by graduating from the elite Beijing institution. Wu Han, from Guangdong province, recently drew widespread attention on mainland social media after sharing two photos taken 17 years apart. In June, she received a master’s degree from Tsinghua University’s Aca...
As residents of eastern China brace for Typhoon Bavi to make landfall, bloggers have turned to AI weather models to post forecasts on social media, prompting criticism from state media, which warned that the amateur predictions could fall foul of the law. State broadcaster China Media Group reported on Thursday that some bloggers claiming to be “weather enthusiasts” were issuing forecasts using da...
