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In a public park a stone’s throw from the European Commission buildings in Brussels late last month, beer flowed, meat grilled and country music blared as revellers marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The fallout from the event, however, provided signs – if they were needed – that all is not well in America’s relations with its erstwhile European allies. Just three o...
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio did not attend the opening of her impeachment trial on Monday, leaving her lawyers to fight charges that, if upheld, could remove her from office, permanently bar her from politics and reshape the 2028 presidential race. Legal experts told This Week in Asia they expected Duterte-Carpio to be difficult, though not impossible, to convict despite the grav...
A 20-year-old Indonesian woman was stabbed to death in her flat in Hamamatsu, central Japan, police said on Monday as they investigate whether a man who was fatally hit by a train nearby was involved in the case. The woman, identified as Keiko Altaira Hanafi, was found stabbed and in a critical condition by a police officer at around 11.40am in the flat where she lived with her parents. She was la...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a red rainstorm warning for an hour on Monday night, while a suspected waterspout was spotted off Cheung Chau. The red signal – the middle level in a three-tier ...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a red rainstorm warning for an hour on Monday night, while a suspected waterspout was spotted off Cheung Chau. The red signal – the middle level in a three-tier ...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a red rainstorm warning on Monday night, following warnings about heavy rain and serious flooding in areas of Wan Chai. The red signal was issued at 9.45pm, afte...
Although the US is in decline, underestimating the country could still prove a “fatal mistake”, according to a prominent Chinese commentator. “The United States is still a hegemony in decline. Even with its relative decline, it remains a hegemony because no nation or force is currently capable of truly taking its place,” Zheng Yongnian, dean of the school of public policy at the Chinese University...
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas announced on Monday the dissolution of the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, clearing the way for a technocratic committee to implement civilian rule. The move marks a significant political shift by Hamas, which has run Gaza since its fighters seized control from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in 2007 after winning legislative elect...
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas announced on Monday the dissolution of the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, clearing the way for a technocratic committee to implement civilian rule. The move marks a significant political shift by Hamas, which has run Gaza since its fighters seized control from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in 2007 after winning legislative elect...
China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft has captured its first close-up image of a near-Earth asteroid, revealing that the target is even smaller than anticipated – a factor scientists say will make the sample-return task “far more difficult” than previous Japanese and American missions. The probe captured images about 20km (12.4 miles) from asteroid 2016 HO3 during its approach phase, the China National Spa...
Peru wants to move to the next phase of its economic relationship with China to reduce the risks from trade ties dominated by the export of raw minerals, according to the country’s ambassador Carlos Vasquez. He told Tsinghua University’s World Peace Forum in Beijing on Friday that Peru was now seeking investment in the country’s infrastructure as it sought to diversify its economy. He said a handf...
Huawei Technologies’ coming smartphone processor is on track for a performance boost, without the need for more advanced processing nodes or lithography technology, according to new production data unveiled by the firm. Using Huawei’s LogicFolding architecture, the Kirin 2026, a mobile processor set to power the firm’s coming flagship Mate handsets launching this autumn, has increased transistor d...
For much of the post-Cold-War era, the European Union understood economic interdependence as a source of mutual prosperity. Open markets, free trade and multilateral rules were regarded not merely as economic principles but as the foundations of European normative influence. That assumption is rapidly giving way to a different logic. In an era of intensifying geopolitical rivalry, Brussels increas...
A court in eastern China has handed down a rare death sentence to a former municipal official convicted of taking more than 2.2 billion yuan (US$323.8 million) in bribes, marking one of the harshest punishments for economic crimes in recent years. Yang Youlin, who once served as executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone management committee, was found gui...
Hong Kong’s legislature may review and tighten its code for members in light of the resignation of a lawmaker arrested for alleged drink-driving and failing to report an accident, its president has said. “We routinely review the code for Legislative Council members, usually during the latter stage of the term,” Starry Lee Wai-king said on Monday. “This incident will definitely serve as an importan...
Beijing has unveiled new measures to keep its tight grip on lithium prices, in a move that may give it an edge over the US in the key material vital for electric vehicle and energy storage. Following mining endeavours worldwide to secure supplies, Chinese authorities announced they would allow offshore industrial players to trade lithium carbonate onshore to cement its pricing power. Effective Jul...
When a mainland Chinese research vessel spent three days last month conducting an oceanographic survey in the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan, state media portrayed the mission as another example of Beijing’s expanding civilian maritime governance. However, experts highlighted the dual-use nature of oceanographic data, pointing out that the information gathered by the Xiang Yang Hong 22 from June 16...
India and Japan have agreed to jointly develop technology that makes Indian warships harder to detect, in a move that analysts say takes their defence partnership to a new level and reflects growing unease in both capitals over how far they can rely on Washington. The project involves fitting Indian warships with Japan’s Unified Complex Radio Antenna (Unicorn) system, which lowers a vessel’s radar...
Hong Kong churches have been urged to broaden the implementation of anti-sexual harassment policies to better protect members after a survey found signs of spiritual leaders mishandling complaints, including downplaying incidents. A survey by the Hong Kong Christian Council’s Gender Justice Ministry also identified at least 69 victims who reportedly experienced varying degrees of sexual harassment...
In a departure from convention, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the United States on Independence Day. “This year marks the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States. President Xi Jinping, on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, has already sent a congratulatory message to US President Trump,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao ...
Hong Kong police have arrested 125 people in a crackdown on a triad group that monopolised lunchbox supply businesses at construction sites by intimidating and extorting other vendors, while also running multiple illegal gambling dens. The force said on Monday that it had cracked down on a syndicate that had gained a monopoly over lunchbox catering at private and public housing building sites in E...
A Hong Kong doctor fraudulently issued more than 3,700 Covid-19 vaccination exemption certificates over seven months during the pandemic, allowing some residents to avoid inoculation on the grounds of skin allergies, chest pain and other conditions, a court has heard. Dr Tai Kong-shing, 80, stood trial at the District Court on Monday over allegations that he generated the certificates en masse for...
Indonesia and Singapore vowed on Monday that the Strait of Malacca, a critical oil transit chokepoint in the region, will remain “accessible” even as Iran imposes fees on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto discussed the matter with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Jakarta as Southeast Asia reels from the effects of oil prices pushed sky-high by ...
Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara and Singapore’s Keppel Electric, Sembcorp Industries and Singapore Energy Interconnections have signed a memorandum of understanding for a cross-border electricity project, Singapore’s prime minister said on Monday. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was speaking at a press conference following a meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto...
Singapore’s decision to open more labour channels to workers from East Timor could give the city state an “early-mover” edge in an emerging Asean market, though the economic gains are expected to take years. Analysts also say both countries, whose leaders met last week in the capital of Asean’s newest member, are looking at a “win-win” situation, with the deal set to ease Singapore’s structural ma...
Clashes in a Sri Lankan jail have killed at least 23 people, including four guards, and wounded more than 100 in the worst prison riot in more than five years, officials said on Monday. The wounded were rushed to the Negombo hospital, north of the capital Colombo, following overnight clashes between inmates from two drug gangs, police said. Hospital director Pushpa Gamlath said 23 bodies were brou...
The Chinese social media was shaken by a Good Samaritan deed that ended in tragedy when an elderly farmer died in a car crash shortly after receiving kind help from an influencer. The influencer, who has dedicated himself to helping farmers in central China’s Henan province and has 84,000 followers, posted a video of himself assisting an 81-year-old farmer on June 25. The influencer, surnamed Zhan...
A spate of seizures of Thai cannabis in the United Kingdom, Germany, Indonesia and Hong Kong has cast a shadow over the Southeast Asian nation’s decriminalisation of the plant. Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, promising a lucrative new cash crop for a market intended strictly for medicinal use. But four years on, with lawmakers still wrangling over cannabi...
A spate of seizures of Thai cannabis in the UK, Germany, Indonesia and Hong Kong has cast a shadow over the Southeast Asian nation’s decriminalisation of the plant. Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, promising a lucrative new cash crop for a market intended strictly for medicinal use. But four years on, with lawmakers still wrangling over cannabis control le...
Cantopop star Sammi Cheng Sau-man’s highly anticipated concerts in Hong Kong this weekend have been postponed after the organiser said a stage glitch forced a delay to the event. The three-day concert, scheduled for Friday to Sunday, is the final stop of Cheng’s Asia Tour. It will be watered down into free appreciation shows, with ticket holders given the choice to opt for a refund or retain their...
