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Why did a Chinese bomber carry a nuclear-capable missile in an anti-ship exercise?
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Why did a Chinese bomber carry a nuclear-capable missile in an anti-ship exercise?

The People’s Liberation Army has unveiled the first official footage showing a nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile, the Jing Lei-1, mounted on an H-6N bomber in combat-ready status during a joint anti-ship exercise. The strategic bomber was seen in flight, carrying a massive missile under its belly, in the final episode of the documentary Securing Victory, which has been airing on state...

Copper floods US as traders try to get the jump on Trump tariffs, but ‘Taco’ trend looms
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Copper floods US as traders try to get the jump on Trump tariffs, but ‘Taco’ trend looms

Spurred by US President Donald Trump’s proposed new tariffs on cathode imports, copper shipments from across the globe are flooding into the United States. But analysts warn that should a so-called Taco scenario again unfold – as in, “Trump always chickens out” – copper prices in the US would likely fall in the short term. IHS Markit shipping data showed that more than 200,000 tonnes of copper lan...

‘Savage abuse’: Hong Kong mother gets 22 years for starving boy, 5, to death
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‘Savage abuse’: Hong Kong mother gets 22 years for starving boy, 5, to death

A Hong Kong mother who abused and starved her five-year-old son to death was sentenced to 22 years in prison, with the judge condemning a crime that exposed a “savage nature utterly devoid of the empathy inherent to motherhood”. Madam Justice Susana D’Almada Remedios on Wednesday said she had to impose the heavy sentence on the 37-year-old mother, whom she said had committed the worst form of chil...

Malaysia vows to tighten airport security after pilot’s drug arrest in Indonesia
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Malaysia vows to tighten airport security after pilot’s drug arrest in Indonesia

Malaysian authorities vowed to identify and close security loopholes in its airports after a pilot allegedly transported drugs from the country before being arrested in Indonesia last week. Malaysia’s home and transport ministries would implement steps to improve aviation security, and would place police officers at certain checkpoints, the government’s spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said in a briefing on...

‘Devastated’: Tung Wah College says sorry for false admission offers to 11,000 hopefuls

‘Devastated’: Tung Wah College says sorry for false admission offers to 11,000 hopefuls

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A tertiary institution in Hong Kong has apologised for mistakenly sending an email to all 11,139 of its applicants telling them that they had been admitted and asking them to pay an acceptance fee, saying the error was an administrative oversight. The blunder involving Tung Wah College (TWC) in Kowloon on Wednesday sparked angry complaints online for briefly raising the hopes of candidates who had...

‘Devastated’: Tung Wah College says sorry for false admission offers to 10,000 hopefuls

‘Devastated’: Tung Wah College says sorry for false admission offers to 10,000 hopefuls

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A tertiary institution in Hong Kong has apologised for mistakenly sending an email to all 10,000 of its applicants telling them that they had been admitted and asking them to pay an acceptance fee, saying the error was an administrative oversight. The blunder involving Tung Wah College (TWC) in Kowloon on Wednesday sparked angry complaints online for briefly raising the hopes of candidates who had...

China’s AI revenue projected to reach US$13b on breakthroughs, adoption: Goldman Sachs

China’s AI revenue projected to reach US$13b on breakthroughs, adoption: Goldman Sachs

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Rising cost efficiency and rapidly advancing capabilities from players like DeepSeek and MiniMax have prompted Goldman Sachs to raise its run-rate revenue forecast for China’s artificial intelligence model market by 30 per cent to US$13 billion. In a research note published on Monday, the US investment bank boosted its year-end annualised recurring revenue (ARR) projection for mainland Chinese AI ...

US-Japan trade thaw driven by shared yen for stronger currency

US-Japan trade thaw driven by shared yen for stronger currency

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A rare joint intervention to stabilise the yen has given US-Japan relations a near-term lift, according to analysts. But whether that goodwill endures depends on how long the currency’s rebound can survive mounting market and policy pressures. Friday’s operation, Washington’s first yen purchase since 1998, came after the Japanese currency had slumped to a four-decade low of almost 164 yen to the U...

PLA scientists say submarine cables carrying 99% of global data could be ‘easy target’

PLA scientists say submarine cables carrying 99% of global data could be ‘easy target’

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The underwater cables that play a vital role supporting the international digital economy are increasingly vulnerable to attack from low-cost drones, Chinese military researchers have warned. They said the seabed had long been viewed as a strategic “blind spot” due to the difficulty of exploration and the high cost of controlling it, but was becoming a “new arena for great power rivalry”. “The bar...

Man arrested for dangerous driving as woman jumps clear of swerving van

Man arrested for dangerous driving as woman jumps clear of swerving van

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Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of dangerous driving after a video went viral showing his van swerving dangerously close to a woman. A police spokesman confirmed that officers arrested a 37-year-old man on Wednesday and remains in custody. The widely circulated video shows a van swerving at high speed, passing close to the female cleaner who was about to cross the road. The vehic...

Amid slowing hotpot growth in China, Haidilao takes on biggest American burger brands

Amid slowing hotpot growth in China, Haidilao takes on biggest American burger brands

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China’s largest hotpot chain Haidilao International Holding is aiming to further diversify its business with hamburger stores – following the example set by American brands like McDonald’s and KFC – and has also opened up more sushi stores to tap new growth drivers, as its core hotpot business shows slowing momentum. The country’s hamburger market is seeing intense competition, with US brand Five ...

Public outrage after Chinese woman gets just 3 years jail for abducting baby 35 years ago

Public outrage after Chinese woman gets just 3 years jail for abducting baby 35 years ago

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A woman in China was sentenced to three years in prison for abducting a 10-month-old baby boy 35 years ago from the family who employed her as their maid. The woman, identified by her surname Wang, confessed in court that she took the boy after being diagnosed with infertility, driven by her desire to become a mother, as reported by the Beijing News. In early 1990, Wang, a 24-year-old migrant work...

Explosive drone found near Ukrainian plane at German airport

Explosive drone found near Ukrainian plane at German airport

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German police raised the alarm at an airport overnight after an explosive-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane and another aircraft collided with an unknown flying object nearby before landing safely. All flights to Leipzig-Halle airport were diverted for several hours from around midnight as police deployed a bomb-disposal robot to remove the detonator from the explosive in the dron...

German airport diverts flights after security alert over unidentified object

German airport diverts flights after security alert over unidentified object

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German police said Wednesday that a “security related” incident involving an unidentified object found at an airport forced the diversion of flights and the deployment of a bomb disposal robot overnight. The Bild newspaper said the object found at Leipzig-Halle airport was a drone with a detonator and possibly explosives, found near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft, but police did not immediatel...

Malaysia risks hurting EV push with ‘poorly timed’ levy as foreign investment stalls

Malaysia risks hurting EV push with ‘poorly timed’ levy as foreign investment stalls

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Malaysia is considering a levy on electric vehicles (EVs) to fund charging infrastructure, even as export and pricing conditions on high-volume foreign assembly projects have left Chinese giant BYD’s planned 1.3 billion ringgit (US$318 million) factory in limbo. Economists and industry experts warn the two policy moves could raise ownership costs while weakening Malaysia’s appeal as a manufacturin...

Saved as a baby, HKU medical newbie aims to pass on ‘hope and courage’ to society

Saved as a baby, HKU medical newbie aims to pass on ‘hope and courage’ to society

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Top scorers who have secured places at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical school have expressed a desire to pursue both clinical care and medical research, with one student, inspired by her doctor, saying she wants to pass on “hope and courage” to society. Their comments followed the release of the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) results on Wednesday. About 34 per ce...

Hong Kong fatal traffic accidents rise 44% in first half of 2026, with 63 dead

Hong Kong fatal traffic accidents rise 44% in first half of 2026, with 63 dead

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Hong Kong recorded a 44 per cent year-on-year increase in fatal traffic accidents in the first half of 2026, with many cases involving elderly victims and older drivers, police said, adding that they supported tighter health check requirements for motorists. Police said on Wednesday that the city recorded 59 fatal traffic accidents in the first half of this year, up from 41 in the same period in 2...

Bangkok airport apologises after clash with Chinese tourists at boarding gate

Bangkok airport apologises after clash with Chinese tourists at boarding gate

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Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport has apologised for “inappropriate behaviour” following backlash over an employee making a slant-eyed gesture towards reportedly disruptive Chinese nationals. The apology came soon after Thai authorities insisted that individual clashes would not harm bilateral relations. In a statement on Tuesday night, airport management expressed regret over the “inappropriate beha...

Indonesia’s Prabowo is happy to play mediator to both Koreas. But does North want him to?

Indonesia’s Prabowo is happy to play mediator to both Koreas. But does North want him to?

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is keen to visit North Korea – a trip that could boost Jakarta’s diplomatic clout and allow it to act as a bridge between Seoul and Pyongyang. But Indonesians might not support another overseas trip, given negative public opinion of Prabowo’s frequent travels, analysts warn. Plus, he has not even been invited by the increasingly isolated North Korea. At a meet...

To lead Greater Bay Area integration, Hong Kong can look to San Francisco

To lead Greater Bay Area integration, Hong Kong can look to San Francisco

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Hong Kong’s first-ever five-year plan for economic and social development (2026-2030) is out for public consultation. The section on the “development of regional cooperation” stands out for its call to “advance the development of key cooperation platforms, and strengthen collaboration with other areas, provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the mainland”. Similarly, Shenzhen has set o...

Beijing decries ‘bullying’ US tech curbs that ensnare Chinese firms and products

Beijing decries ‘bullying’ US tech curbs that ensnare Chinese firms and products

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A mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party has urged Washington to expand its cooperation list with Beijing rather than add to a restrictive “Covered List”, pushing back against broadening US curbs on Chinese technology exports. The pushback came just days after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added foreign-made power inverters and advanced robotics, including humanoids, to its so-...

Hong Kong tests thermal drones to catch illegal smoking at construction sites

Hong Kong tests thermal drones to catch illegal smoking at construction sites

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Hong Kong labour authorities have begun testing an infrared thermal-imaging drone to detect heat sources and illegal smoking at construction sites, with plans to add artificial intelligence (AI) to identify smoking workers. Since the total site smoking ban took effect on July 17, about 1,400 construction sites have been inspected as of Tuesday, according to Wan Chi-ping, assistant commissioner for...

China’s X Square Robot submits confidential filing for Hong Kong IPO, sources say

China’s X Square Robot submits confidential filing for Hong Kong IPO, sources say

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Chinese start-up X Square Robot has filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, according to two sources familiar with the matter, joining a growing wave of domestic robot makers flocking to capital markets, despite new US trade restrictions. The Shenzhen-based firm has tapped Huatai Securities and Morgan Stanley as sponsors for the prospective float, one of the sources...

Malaysian politics heads for reset as Malay nationalism surge threatens reform experiment

Malaysian politics heads for reset as Malay nationalism surge threatens reform experiment

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The door is fast closing on Malaysia’s reform experiment after nearly a decade of false starts and political intrigue, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition facing the real possibility of being booted out of office as the country’s ethnic majority seeks the return of strong Malay leadership. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) suffered bruising losses in three state elections since last No...

Trump claims China is fuelling resistance to AI data centres in the US

Trump claims China is fuelling resistance to AI data centres in the US

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US President Donald Trump has accused China of fuelling the growing nationwide backlash against AI data centres, claiming Beijing is promoting resistance because the United States is pulling ahead in the global artificial intelligence race. “A big part of it is China,” Trump told Fox News on Tuesday during a California visit focused on the economy ahead of the midterm elections in November. “Look,...

‘China doesn’t want these built’: Trump claims Beijing is behind AI data centre protests

‘China doesn’t want these built’: Trump claims Beijing is behind AI data centre protests

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US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused China of fuelling the growing nationwide backlash against AI data centres, claiming Beijing is promoting resistance because the United States is pulling ahead in the global artificial intelligence race. “A big part of it is China,” Trump told Fox News during a California visit focused on the economy ahead of the midterm elections in November. “Look, who...

Flying to South Korea? Brace for 80-minute wait at Incheon airport immigration

Flying to South Korea? Brace for 80-minute wait at Incheon airport immigration

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Foreign travellers arriving in South Korea through Incheon International Airport can expect a long wait at the immigration counters. The lengthy queues were apparent at Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 1 on Friday, where foreign visitors stood waiting to clear immigration. The line stretched beyond the 10 waiting lanes marked out by retractable belt barriers. Chaos ensued near the entrance...

BYD’s first humanoid robots; Brazil named biggest buyer of Chinese cars: 7 EV reads

BYD’s first humanoid robots; Brazil named biggest buyer of Chinese cars: 7 EV reads

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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. BYD to debut first humanoid robots in August as rivalry with Tesla intensifies Electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD plans to unveil its first humanoid robots within the next few weeks, as Chi...

Narrow escape: how ANA flight from Shanghai avoided a collision at Tokyo airport

Narrow escape: how ANA flight from Shanghai avoided a collision at Tokyo airport

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An All Nippon Airways passenger jet took evasive action after coming close to a government inspection aircraft near Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, in the latest aviation safety incident at the airport since a deadly runway collision in 2024. According to Japanese media reports, ANA flight NH968 from Shanghai was approaching the airport at around 6am on Tuesday when its traffic collision avoida...