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The United States launched new air strikes hitting Iran early Thursday, sparking retaliatory Iranian fire targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in crossfire that again threatened an interim deal aimed at finding a way to end the war gripping the Persian Gulf. The strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signalled the end of the f...
The United States launched new strikes on Iran on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump vowed to hit “hard” following Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump, while ordering retaliation against Tehran, said he expected the latest military flare-up to end quickly and left the door open to more talks. US Central Command said the strikes were carried out to degrade the ability of ...
The US-Israeli military campaign against Iran was more than another Middle Eastern conflict. It became a defining stress test for the expanded Brics (Brics+), the grouping that is frequently portrayed as the flagship political platform of the Global South and a cornerstone of an emerging multipolar order. The war showed that the grouping – which has grown beyond its founding members Brazil, Russia...
US President Donald Trump has promised new arms sales in Europe, including advanced air defence systems to Nato allies and Ukraine, as the transatlantic alliance ramps up its military partnership, signalling a potential thaw after Trump repeatedly railed against the coalition. In a press conference on the last day of the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, Trump said that as European nati...
US President Donald Trump has promised new arms sales in Europe, including advanced air defence systems to Nato allies and Ukraine, as the transatlantic alliance ramps up its military partnership, signalling a potential thaw after Trump repeatedly railed against the coalition. In a press conference on the last day of the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, Trump said that as European nati...
US artificial intelligence company Anthropic said users in China being advised to uninstall its flagship Claude Code product were not supposed to be using it in the first place, responding after Beijing warned of security “backdoor” risks. The company’s statement comes after a cybersecurity platform managed by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Wednesday that An...
A California man who swapped a library’s 17th century Chinese manuscript for a fake was sentenced on Wednesday after admitting to stealing a major artwork. Jeffrey Ying used a number of aliases to get access to classic works, some over 600 years old, at the library of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the Department of Justice said. Ying, 39, would check the works out and return da...
A California man who swapped a library’s 17th century Chinese manuscript for a fake was jailed for a year on Wednesday after admitting to stealing a major artwork. Jeffrey Ying used a number of aliases to gain access to classic works, some over 600 years old, at the library of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the US Department of Justice said. Ying, 39, would check the works out a...
A judge on Wednesday authorised the payment of a multimillion-dollar award to magazine writer E. Jean Carroll to satisfy a 2023 civil verdict in which a jury found US President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ordered the disbursement of nearly US$5.8 million to the former Elle magazine advice columnist, representing the origin...
British anti-immigrant politician Nigel Farage faces the embarrassing prospect of going head-to-head with perennial joke candidate Count Binface in a by-election after he decided to quit parliament. His surprise move threatened to backfire on Wednesday after other heavyweight parties confirmed they would not contest the vote for Farage’s seat in southeast England. Count Binface, a self-described “...
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was leaving Turkey aboard an older Air Force One aircraft rather than a recently renovated Qatari-donated jet, an unexpected switch that renewed scrutiny of the costly, fast-tracked retrofit. The trip to Turkey, the first international travel for the new plane, took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, a country that borders Turkey. The switch f...
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would fly from Turkey to Britain on an older Air Force One aircraft, an unexpected switch that raised questions about a retrofitted Boeing 747 donated by Qatar that he unveiled only weeks ago as his new presidential jet. The trip to Turkey was the first international trip for the new plane. The switch follows months of scrutiny over the luxury g...
The Pitt led all nominees with 25 in a dominant second season, while Hacks led all comedies with 24 for its final season as the Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday. HBO Max’s emergency room series The Pitt was a rookie upstart last year with big wins including best drama series, best actor for Noah Wyle and best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa. Already a beloved veteran show, it o...
The Pitt led all nominees with 25 in a dominant second season, while Hacks led all comedies with 24 for its final season as the Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday. HBO Max’s emergency room series The Pitt was a rookie upstart last year with big wins including best drama series, best actor for Noah Wyle and best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa. Already a beloved veteran show, it o...
Spain remained calm in the face of US President Donald Trump’s latest attack on Wednesday – which saw him order a halt to all trade with the country – as Madrid stressed its relationship with Washington remained “positive”. Trump called Spain a “wasted cause” and “hopeless, bad people” during comments to reporters ahead of a Nato leaders’ meeting in Ankara, and ordered officials to cut off trade w...
Hong Kong’s rail operator has launched a new advertising campaign featuring veteran actor Kent Cheng Jak-si, aiming to discourage the long-standing commuter habit of walking on escalators after reports of more than 500 related accidents annually. In the MTR Corporation’s promotional video, to be shown in stations and on social media, the 75-year-old actor demonstrates safe escalator use, drawing o...
Civilian and navy searchers off Pakistan’s coast on Wednesday located and recovered wreckage of a cargo plane that disappeared while approaching the southern port of Karachi, and a search continues for five missing crew members, officials said. The aircraft operated by the private carrier K2 Airways had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and reported a navigational system problem be...
President Xi Jinping has called for stronger efforts to draw overseas talent and address flaws in China’s innovation ecosystem, as intensifying tech rivalry pushes Beijing to bolster its global competitiveness. Xi underscored these priorities on Wednesday as he presented China’s highest scientific honour – the State Pre-eminent Science and Technology Award – to solid-state lithium battery pioneer ...
A lithium battery pioneer and a trailblazer in military radar technology are this year’s winners of China’s most prestigious annual science prize. Chen Liquan received his 2025 State Pre-eminent Science and Technology Award for developing the country’s first lithium battery and helping to launch the industrialisation of the technology in China. And Ben De, who led the development of China’s first ...
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday modestly downgraded its outlook for the world economy this year, citing the energy shock caused by the Iran war. But the fallout from the conflict is being partially offset by booming investment in artificial intelligence and other technologies. The IMF now expects the global economy to expand by a sluggish 3 per cent in 2026, down from 3.5 per cent las...
At least two girls have been seriously wounded and a 16-year-old suspect arrested after an attack at a secondary school in the southern German state of Bavaria on Wednesday. The perpetrator appeared to have deliberately targeted the Welfen grammar school in the town of Schongau in a suspected “rampage”, a police spokeswoman said. She was unable to confirm press reports according to which the assai...
At least two girls have been seriously wounded and a 16-year-old suspect arrested after an attack at a secondary school in the southern German state of Bavaria on Wednesday. The perpetrator appeared to have deliberately targeted the Welfen grammar school in the town of Schongau in a suspected “rampage”, a police spokeswoman said. She was unable to confirm press reports according to which the assai...
Hong Kong’s annual anime fair will return with its biggest edition yet, boosting capacity by 20 per cent and featuring a record 201 exhibitors, alongside live sketches by local comic masters and a vintage toy collectibles exhibition. The organiser of Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong (ACGHK) on Wednesday announced that its 27th edition would be able to accommodate 38,000 participants, 7,000 more than last...
A German palliative care doctor was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for murdering 15 people with lethal doses of sedatives, and he remains under investigation for dozens more killings. The court in Berlin convicted the 41-year-old of killing 12 women and three men during home visits between September 2021 and July 2024. But presiding judge Sylvia Busch said the conviction for 15 murders m...
Beijing has urged the Netherlands to ensure fair treatment for Chinese companies and maintain stable chip supply chains during a visit by the Dutch trade minister, as the two sides navigate tech tensions with Washington while seeking a “clean break” from friction over Nexperia. “We hope the Dutch government will create a fair, impartial and predictable business environment for Chinese companies in...
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding surged to a high of 13.8 per cent in Hong Kong on Wednesday as equity analysts expect revenue to reaccelerate in the June quarter, driven by growing demand for artificial intelligence and narrowing losses in food delivery. The gain, the strongest this year, came before the company closed up 12.2 per cent at HK$107.5 (US$13.71). Rivals Tencent Holdings and Meituan sa...
In the animated Soviet film The Golden Antelope, inspired by Indian folklore, a magical antelope tries to save a boy from a greedy raja by promising him as much gold as he wants. When she asks whether there can be too much, the raja laughs: “You can never give me too much gold.” But when the gold begins to bury him, he cries “enough” – and loses everything. Today’s financial system risks repeating...
A 49-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly sewing together the lips of a woman she was living with, according to local police. Masae Sakurai, a part-time worker living in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of injuring the 42-year-old woman by sewing her lips together with a needle and thread at Sakurai’s house on June 29. The 42-year-old, who had b...
Beijing has issued a lengthy critique of the Philippines’ territorial claims in the South China Sea, condemning its actions as “unlawful” expansions that posed a “grave threat” to the post-war global order. Wednesday’s report by a Ministry of Natural Resources think tank – its third within days – marks the latest move in China’s campaign to reinforce its position in the disputed waters. It also re...
China and Russia launched joint naval exercises focused on submarine rescue, a matter in which Beijing said it hoped to learn operational experience from its strategic partner amid intensified competition beneath the seas. The Joint Sea-2026 exercise between the two navies began in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao on Monday, underscoring deepening military cooperation between Beijing and M...
