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A US guided-missile destroyer that was adrift in the South China Sea without power last month is a sign that America is taxing its reserve capacity as its operation against Iran drags on, according to an analyst. “This is an extremely unusual occurrence and a variety of equipment and process failures would have to have taken place,” said Brad Martin, a former US Navy captain who is now a senior po...
The parents of a Hong Kong baby taken into the care of welfare authorities have lost a legal bid to have their home-born baby son returned to them, with the judge arguing the father’s child-raising methods failed to consider the possible risks. High Court Judge Queeny Au Yeung Kwai-yue on Wednesday dismissed Tsang Wai-bong’s application after he earlier filed a writ of habeas corpus regarding his ...
Indonesia has seized 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine hidden on a Tanzanian-flagged vessel in one of the country’s biggest drug busts, with 10 crew members arrested, a senior narcotics official said. The National Narcotics Agency said in a statement late on Tuesday it had received intelligence that a vessel sailing from Sarawak, Malaysia, through the Andaman Sea may be carrying narcotics to In...
We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Demand for affordable EVs will force open US market to Chinese models: analysts Consumer demand for affordable electric vehicles is likely to force open the US market to Chinese electric...
Instead of celebrating her son’s birthday this month, Zimbabwean mother Rodwin Chitewere spent the day praying for his body to be brought home from Russia, where he was reportedly killed fighting Moscow’s war against Ukraine. In Botswana and South Africa, too, women are desperate for sons and husbands to return from a conflict many say they were duped into joining, as authorities warn recruiters a...
The business environment for Chinese robotaxi operators in Europe has become more open and friendly over the past year, which would help facilitate Chinese firms to commercialise their self-driving technology worldwide, according to Pony AI founder and CEO James Peng. “Compared to last year, there is a clear increase in the openness towards autonomous driving and the willingness to gradually open ...
A senior Mongolian official has apologised after the Chinese embassy raised concern that Mongolians were “harassing the camp” of a Chinese-invested oil exploration company on Friday. According to Mongolian media, protesters went to the Kherlen Tohoi XXVIII oil exploration area on August 14, attempted to halt exploration work by Mongolia Foison Energy and conducted a social media live stream. Socia...
At Singapore casino Resorts World Sentosa’s Lunar New Year lucky draw for high rollers earlier this year, the biggest prize was a bottle of Martell Cognac. Across the harbour at rival Marina Bay Sands, the top sweepstakes winner walked away with a new Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 worth much more. It is one of the incidents that has made the casino duopoly in one of the world’s top gambling venues more lo...
Japan is weighing how far to push back after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a disputed island last week, as analysts debate whether tougher measures would have much impact on Moscow. Some observers urged Japan to recall its ambassador, impose additional sanctions and deepen cooperation with Ukraine to show it would not be “bullied”, while others said Tokyo had little economic leverage le...
At least nine people were killed and several others injured in a fire at a hotel in the Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, a senior fire department official said. “Nine people were killed, including a child, in the fire that broke out early on Wednesday,” said Anuj Sharma, the fire services director of West Bengal state. “Thick smoke enveloped the hotel. Some victims were found in the bathrooms....
En Poy was minding cattle in a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in Cambodia when he set off his first landmine. The blast from the rusty relic he picked up cost him an arm and an eye. It also inspired his career with non-profit organisation Cambodian Self Help Demining, which clears landmines and unexploded ordnance across the country, deadly remnants of wars from the last century. Groups like Poy’s ...
Hong Kong’s bourse operator will focus on diversifying into multiple asset classes and extending its trading hours to serve international investors, in support of the city’s five-year-plan goal to strengthen its role as an international financial centre, according to its CEO. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) in the coming years would introduce a wide range of products and platforms in fixed...
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) profit jumped to a record amid a boom in initial public offerings (IPOs) and sizzling stock market turnover in the second quarter, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday. Quarterly net profit for the operator of Asia’s third-largest stock market soared 21 per cent year on year to HK$5.38 billion (US$683.4 million), or HK$4.26 per share, higher tha...
Senior US defence officials have fanned out across Asia in recent weeks to reassure allies of Washington’s commitment to the region, even as the war with Iran strains American resources and President Donald Trump fuels doubts by criticising joint combat drills with South Korea. The visits by Admiral Frank Bradley and Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby were intended to show that W...
Hong Kong authorities have charged the owner of a large dog that mauled two smaller pets earlier this week with failing to properly control the animal, which is currently under government custody. The Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD) said on Wednesday that it had charged the owner, 52, with failure to properly control a large dog under the Dangerous Dogs Regulation, and t...
The owner of a large dog that mauled two smaller pets to death in Yuen Long earlier this week has expressed “regret” over signing the animal to authorities and hopes to withdraw the surrender, according to the founder of a local animal rescue group. The development followed remarks by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) on Wednesday that the dog could be euthanised if its...
The owner of a large dog that mauled two smaller pets to death in Yuen Long earlier this week has expressed “regret” over signing the animal to authorities and hopes to withdraw the surrender, according to the founder of a local animal rescue group. The new development followed a remark made by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) on Wednesday that the dog might be euthani...
Hong Kong authorities may euthanise the large dog that mauled two smaller pets to death in Yuen Long earlier this week if its owner surrenders it, or alternatively formally classify it as a “known dangerous dog”. Jackie Yip Yin, assistant director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) responsible for inspection and quarantine, said on Wednesday that the 60kg (132lb) mixe...
A father and his two daughters were killed after an Immigration Department truck collided with a car and veered into four pedestrians at a road junction in Malaysia’s capital on Wednesday. The victims, a 53-year-old man and his daughters, aged 25 and 12, died at the scene along Jalan Sultan Ismail at about 1am, Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Assistant Commissio...
The Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX) and TGX Technology have launched a joint venture to build a “secure, stable and internationally competitive” gold trading and clearing platform, as the city pushes to become a gold trading hub. Hong Kong Gold Exchange Trading System (HKGXTS) would draw on technology partners, including Alibaba Cloud – which backs TGX Technology – and Hundsun Technologies, to deli...
A former Vietnamese politician unintentionally killed a teenager in a traffic accident in central Hanoi last year but was exempted from criminal prosecution, a police officer told state television, shedding light for the first time on a case that has fuelled criticism online for months. The interview was broadcast on Monday evening, days after people began leaving flowers at the site where the a...
New Zealand has passed hotly contested legislation to block lawsuits that seek to hold companies liable for climate change harm. The right-wing coalition government’s legal amendment cleared a final hurdle in parliament on Tuesday night by a margin of 67 votes to 53. The law aimed to prevent civil litigation overriding its climate policy and undermining business confidence, the government said. It...
The world knows that US President Donald Trump is angry with Iran. But he is not happy with the small country lying across the Strait of Hormuz from the Islamic Republic, either: Oman. Oman has played a relatively low profile role since the Iran war began, including as a mediator. But its geography has thrust the sultanate into the uncomfortable position of negotiating with Tehran over management ...
A Chinese national, described by the US Justice Department as a “prolific” money launderer, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday and ordered to pay US$25 million for his role in a Chinese money laundering outfit with ties to Mexican drug gangs. The agency said Jianfei Lu, aged 31, was involved in laundering more than US$92 million in illicit funds in a two-year period, collecting the mon...
The South China Sea’s contested islands could be transformed into autonomous, robotic fortresses, according to a defence proposal by the Chinese coastguard. The plan, which was detailed in a Chinese-language journal supervised by the state-run China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, envisions a maritime landscape defended by a coordinated swarm of machines instead of soldiers. The proposal comes ...
Shares of Unitree Robotics surged 629 per cent above their initial public offering price to open at 1,100 yuan in their Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, giving China’s best-known humanoid robot maker a market capitalisation of about 445 billion yuan (US$66 billion). The opening pop from its IPO price of 150.80 yuan was followed by a pullback, with the stock dropping below 900 yuan per share in...
Japan’s most greying municipality has turned to its Peruvian sister city in search of a way to reverse its population decline and address the labour shortage that together threaten its survival. The mountain village of Nanmoku in Gunma prefecture, where 65.2 per cent of residents were aged 65 or older in the 2020 census, signed a sister-city agreement with Belen in northern Peru in November, hopin...
Japan’s most greying municipality has turned to its Peruvian sister city in search of a way to reverse its population decline and address the labour shortage that together threaten its survival. The mountain village of Nanmoku in Gunma prefecture, where 65.2 per cent of residents were aged 65 or older in the 2020 census, signed a sister-city agreement with Belen in northern Peru in November, hopin...
Flight attendants and pilots are at the highest risk of dying from radiation-related cancers – even more than people who work with radioactive materials, according to a new study. Cosmic radiation comes from space. Only a small amount reaches the Earth’s surface, but exposure is greater for people flying at high altitudes. There has been limited evidence from small studies suggesting that the expo...
Hong Kong is formulating its first five-year plan for economic and social development. Such plans are likely to become a regular feature of governance, and will shape how the city allocates land, builds housing and infrastructure, develops industries, trains talent and improves public services. They can also give government departments a common frame for action, rather than leaving them to operate...
