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Two years ago, Narendra Modi skipped the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) summit in Astana entirely, sending his foreign minister instead. That absence was redressed first at last year’s summit in Tianjin and again this week in Kyrgyzstan, where India’s prime minister stood shoulder to shoulder with China’s Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of other SCO member s...
Parts of eastern and southern China are bracing for heavy to torrential rain over the next three days, with authorities warning of floods, landslides and mudslides, as Typhoon Saudel re-forms over the South China Sea. Several airports could be affected, including Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Baoan, Zhuhai Jinwan, Xiamen Gaoqi, Fuzhou Changle, Wenzhou Longwan, Ningbo Lishe and Hong Kong International...
Parts of eastern and southern China are bracing for heavy to torrential rain over the next three days, with authorities warning of floods, landslides and mudslides, as Typhoon Saudel re-forms over the South China Sea. Several airports could be affected, including Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao’an, Zhuhai Jinwan, Xiamen Gaoqi, Fuzhou Changle, Wenzhou Longwan, Ningbo Lishe and Hong Kong Internationa...
Japan eased overtime regulation starting on Tuesday in a move meant to help spur economic growth but criticised as a relapse into the country’s ingrained workaholic culture. The move comes after the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi – a self-proclaimed workaholic – adopted a growth strategy in July, calling for revisions to the current oversight of work hours. The change in part refl...
US financial institutions Citigroup and Invesco have separately announced that they would continue to expand their presence in Asia, even as the financial industry faces geopolitical uncertainties and Beijing tightens its control on overseas investment. Citi would boost the headcount of its north Asia and Japan corporate banking desk network by 25 per cent following double-digit growth in client a...
US financial institutions Citigroup and Invesco have separately announced that they would continue to expand their presence in Asia, even as the financial industry faces geopolitical uncertainties and Beijing’s tightened control of overseas investment. Citi would boost the headcount of its north Asia and Japan corporate banking desk network by 25 per cent following double-digit growth in client ac...
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s party swept to victory in special elections on Monday, boosting the leader’s parliamentary majority as a trade war with the United States escalates. Carney’s Liberal Party secured three seats, taking the district of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in French-speaking Quebec from the opposition Conservatives, and two other districts in Ontario and British Columbia that were...
A veteran mainland Chinese economic crime investigator and former police official has been appointed to lead the discipline inspection and supervision group at Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs. Hua Liebing, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security’s economic crime investigation bureau, fills the vacancy at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) left by Geng Cha...
A veteran mainland Chinese economic crime investigator and former police official has been appointed to lead the discipline inspection and supervision group at Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs. Hua Liebing, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security’s economic crime investigation bureau, fills the vacancy at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) left by Geng Cha...
Hua Liebing, former director of the Public Security Ministry’s economic crime investigation bureau in mainland China, has been appointed to head the discipline inspection and supervision group of Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs. The new appointment was revealed on Tuesday when the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) updated its organisation chart on its website, filling th...
Heavy rain and internet outages have marred the first day of operations for Hong Kong’s fully automated convenience stores, but visitors say they appreciate the new robot shop manager’s work. The “Galbot Stores”, operated by wheeled humanoid robots, opened two outdoor outlets in Hung Hom and Wan Chai and an indoor unit in Kai Tak on Tuesday, marking the city’s first fully automated retail roll-out...
Primary school pupils returned to class across Hong Kong on Tuesday with a mix of excitement and anxiety over the year ahead, as the education chief pledged to strengthen mental health support in schools. During a visit to the Hong Kong Taoist Association Wun Tsuen School, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin announced the launch of a new campaign aimed at improving student well-being. “...
Primary students across Hong Kong returned to class on Tuesday with a mix of excitement and anxiety over the year ahead, as the education chief pledged to strengthen mental health support in schools. During a visit to the Hong Kong Taoist Association Wun Tsuen School, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin announced the launch of a new campaign aimed at improving student well-being. “This ...
As a sensor sounded, scientist Akiko Takii hurried to a bear trap deep in the forests of Nagano in Japan, where rising nationwide attacks have brought fear and resulted in the culling of thousands of the animals. “It’s a small bear, I think, about a year and a half old,” Takii said as she peered at the 15kg (33lbs) Asiatic black bear thrashing in the cage. “It must have just parted from mum.” Its ...
Twelve people were killed and several more injured in Russian air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region on Tuesday, authorities said, in the sixth consecutive day of strikes on the Ukrainian capital. Attacks both in Ukraine and Russia continue as efforts are ongoing to find a solution to end the deadliest conflict on the European continent since World War II, which started with Moscow’s full...
Nine people were killed and over a dozen injured in Russian air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region on Tuesday, authorities said, in the sixth consecutive day of strikes on the Ukrainian capital. Attacks both in Ukraine and Russia continue as efforts are ongoing to find a solution to end the deadliest conflict on the European continent since World War II, which started with Moscow’s full-s...
Private investors in Asia, including family offices operating in Hong Kong, are showing a growing appetite for advanced medical technologies such as brain-computer interfaces and surgical robotics, as healthcare deal activity picks up across the region amid China’s biotechnology boom. “Asia is ageing, so there’s a structural, long-term demand for better surgery and medicine,” said William Chow, de...
Hong Kong’s tax chief has apologised after the ombudsman found that unclear wording in the eTAX system led to more than 33,000 people leaving their returns incomplete, triggering penalty notices for almost 5,200 taxpayers and the prosecution of two. “Some taxpayers were unable to complete the submission of their tax returns; we apologise for the inconvenience caused to them,” Commissioner of Inlan...
Hong Kong’s tax chief has apologised after the ombudsman found that unclear wording in the eTAX system led more than 33,000 people to leave their returns incomplete, triggering penalty notices for nearly 5,200 taxpayers and prosecutions of two. “Some taxpayers were unable to complete the submission of their tax returns; we apologise for the inconvenience caused to them,” Commissioner of Inland Rev...
More than 33,000 people failed to submit completed tax returns because of unclear wording in Hong Kong’s eTAX system, the ombudsman has found, with nearly 5,200 receiving penalty notices and two prosecuted. Dr Luk Che-chung, a former chief executive of the Hospital Authority’s Hong Kong East area, was among the affected taxpayers and urged the government on Tuesday to learn from the incident. In a...
A couple who survived the deadly Tai Po blaze last year have been barred from leaving Hong Kong pending trial for allegedly obtaining more than HK$330,000 (US$42,000) in government-guaranteed loans by overstating the decline in revenue of their decoration business. Former Wang Fuk Court residents Jason Kong Cheung-fat, 65, and Rosanna Cheung Yeuk-lan, 62, appeared in Sha Tin Court on Tuesday to fa...
South Korea on Tuesday unveiled its most aggressive financial spending plan on record, setting total government expenditure for 2027 at 821 trillion won (US$600 billion) to strengthen the country’s technological edge amid the global AI race. In its annual budget proposal, the budget ministry said the spending plan represented a 12.8 per cent rise from 2026, marking the largest year-on-year increa...
Modern simplified Chinese characters form a tightly connected network from just 514 basic components that evolved through a process similar to natural selection, according to researchers who say their findings could change how Chinese writing is taught. “Chinese characters evolve like living organisms,” lecturer Xie Yonghui of Shanghai Normal University said on August 24. The research into the evo...
Australian home prices fell for a fifth month in August in the biggest downturn since the pandemic, and there is further pain ahead as stubborn inflation puts upward pressure on interest rates. Figures from property consultant Cotality released on Tuesday showed national home prices fell 0.9 per cent in August from July, when they dropped 1.2 per cent. Sydney and Melbourne again led the monthly d...
Chinese President Xi Jinping ended August in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, kick-starting a potential run of overseas trips after what has so far been a quiet year for foreign travel. Xi met Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov ahead of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. He may hold talks with other SCO attendees including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian. After the sum...
South Korea’s chief presidential policy adviser has resigned, the presidential Blue House said on Tuesday, after President Lee Jae Myung reshuffled his cabinet and senior aides amid a drop in his approval rating. Kim Yong-beom was a key adviser to Lee on economic policy, including on housing and stock market issues. Kim had offered to step down from the post on Monday, which oversees the adminis...
After more than 250 days at sea fighting the war on Iran – and amid reports of dire conditions on board – the USS Abraham Lincoln is finally set to dock near Pattaya this week, giving more than 5,000 American sailors and Marines shore leave as the Thai resort city hopes they will spend big during their last pit stop before home. The eastern Thai beach resort, known for its colourful nightlife, has...
China’s leading brokerages are accelerating their push overseas, pouring billions of yuan into their international arms as cross-border deals expand and profits from overseas operations grow, according to their latest interim reports. Citic Securities, one of China’s largest brokerages, saw revenue generated outside mainland China rise 45.5 per cent, year on year, to 15.86 billion yuan (US$2.4 bil...
Hong Kong’s mega-event economy is thriving. In a blog post last month, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po noted that in the first half of 2026, the city hosted more than 130 mega-events, drawing 1.75 million visitors and injecting roughly HK$5.8 billion (US$739.9 million) into the local economy. These figures are the ongoing dividends of the government’s sustained policy and financial backing. Th...
An almost year-long legal dispute involving a prestigious Hong Kong international school and its US-based co-founder, a Lutheran church, has been resolved out of court, with the school making a substantial payment and ending its association with the religious body. Harold Kim, chairman of the board of managers of Hong Kong International School (HKIS), announced the move in a letter to parents on T...
