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We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese executive filmed taking cash on Colombia metro project Colombian prosecutors are investigating allegations that executives of a Chinese state-owned contractor building the Bogota...
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Harvard, MIT among 30 US universities ordered to audit China research ties Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University were among 30 American ins...
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday there were signs Russia and Israel had spread the disinformation over Spain’s migration policy that triggered last month’s rush of migrants into Ceuta, but no evidence of Moroccan involvement. Over 72,000 migrants irregularly crossed from Morocco into the tiny Spanish territory between July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented surge at one of the Europ...
With Washington moving to ensure that tungsten scrap and lithium-ion battery “black mass” stay in the United States, analysts warn that the new restrictions will deprive Chinese refiners of a source of lower-cost feedstock and prompt Beijing to seek alternative supplies. China could also accelerate domestic recycling and use its own export controls on rare earths and magnets as leverage, they said...
Late August marks the annual influx of international students to US campuses, but for many Chinese students, visa processing delays and diplomatic tensions have turned scheduled departures into open-ended delays. They say stringent visa scrutiny and expanding background checks have left them in limbo, delaying their timely arrival in the US and forcing them to defer enrolment. Under a provision of...
A Hong Kong man has been returned to a Philippine prison in what his legal team condemned as “illegal detention”, after severe weather halted his deportation following his release. Tang Lung-wai’s Philippine lawyer, Blessie Rose Carpena, told the South China Morning Post that prison authorities escorted Tang to the Bureau of Immigration last Friday. However, because government offices were suspend...
Israel signed a multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Greece, the largest between the two Mediterranean countries, as Israeli defence exports soar. Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Monday the nearly €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) defence export deal, coined Achilles Shield, was one of the country’s largest and included a multilayered air defence system for Greece using Israeli technology. “Israel an...
Israel signed a multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Greece, the largest between the two Mediterranean countries, as Israeli defence exports soar. Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Monday the nearly €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) defence export deal, coined Achilles Shield, was one of the country’s largest and included a multilayered air defence system for Greece using Israeli technology. “Israel an...
More than 99 per cent of homeowners at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have accepted a government buyout of their flats, leaving just 17 households facing potential compulsory acquisition after the scheme closed on Monday. By the cut‑off time at 5pm on Monday, 1,967 or 99.1 per cent of the estate’s 1,984 flat owners had returned acceptance letters. The remaining 17 may face compulsory acquisition at l...
More than 99 per cent of homeowners at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have accepted a government buyout of their flats, leaving just 17 households facing potential compulsory acquisition after the scheme closed on Monday. By the cut‑off time at 5pm on Monday, 1,967 or 99.1 per cent of the estate’s 1,984 flat owners had returned acceptance letters. The remaining 17 may face compulsory acquisition at l...
In its latest swipe at Tokyo’s military build-up, China singled out Japan’s plans to arm its submarine drones with long-range missiles and test hypersonic weapons in Australia. Analysts say those moves could threaten People’s Liberation Army amphibious groups and surface combatants within the “first island chain” – potentially affecting the PLA Navy’s ability to operate in the event of a Taiwan co...
Hong Kong’s flagship technology hub at the border received six bids from conglomerates and hi-tech firms in its inaugural land tender by the deadline on Monday, underscoring investors’ high expectations and confidence in the sites, its operator said. Following the close of the tender opened in June, the Loop Hong Kong Park Company, which operates the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Pa...
A moving services manager has been sentenced to 3½ years in prison for molesting his girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter at home and filming and photographing the assaults, with a Hong Kong judge imposing a heavier penalty to reflect the impact on the vulnerable child. Deputy District Judge Ivy Chui Yee-mei said on Monday that a deterrent sentence was necessary for the 47-year-old defendant, whose o...
The government’s push to boost short-term public housing supply has suffered a setback after it lost an appeal against a court decision overturning conditional approval for building 12,000 flats on part of Hong Kong’s oldest golf course. In a judgment delivered on Monday, the Court of Appeal found that official endorsement of the project’s environmental impact assessment report was marred by an un...
Chinese President Xi Jinping is returning to Egypt after a decade as Beijing deepens its economic, military and diplomatic ties with Cairo and seeks to work more closely with Egypt on crises across the Middle East and Africa. Xi will visit Egypt this week following his trip to Kyrgyzstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which finishes on Tuesday. China’s foreign ministry last week...
Hong Kong leads Asia in high-growth start-up potential and ranks fifth globally, showing the city’s growing strength in nurturing scalable ventures and unicorns, according to joint research published by market research firm CB Insights and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. The white paper, released on Monday, said Asia operated on a distributed network where distinct markets ...
A tree in Hanoi has become a symbol of how Vietnam’s Gen Z views its country – but it is not the enviable growth story sold by the government. Tree 55 on Nguyen Huy Tu Street – now dubbed the “Justice Tree” – was buried under bouquets earlier this month. It was an act of digital-age defiance over the death of a teenager in a road traffic accident in the area that went unpunished. Response to the a...
Hong Kong authorities have arrested 50 people, including some with alleged triad backgrounds, in a crackdown on bid-rigging activities involving 27 housing estates and buildings and about HK$500 million in contracts. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), police and antitrust regulator the Competition Commission on Monday revealed details of their joint operation, which was conducte...
A UN committee has said countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and take other measures to address the enduring legacy of racial discrimination it says persists today. Guidance published on Monday by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated that the obligations arise from a legally binding 1965 convention on racial discrimina...
Singapore will commit S$220 million (US$173 million) over three years to boost its fintech sector, including co-funding at least 1,000 internships in a strong push to build talent for AI and other emerging technologies. The funds come under the latest iteration of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI), which aims to strengthen the country’s fintech space and accelerate innov...
China’s Hengdian World Studios, the world’s largest film and TV studio, is now offering tourists the chance to shoot their own short dramas for about 200 yuan (US$30) per person, as a response to the recession caused by artificial intelligence. Previously, tourists flocked to Hengdian World Studios to admire the sets of their favourite dramas and explore the national 5A-rated attraction, which fea...
As China ramps up its efforts to build an orbital data ecosystem and counter the US in the commercial space race, Shanghai – home to several major domestic players – has kicked off an inaugural space-computing forum alongside a new industry hub. The dedicated centre in the city’s southwestern Songjiang district, unveiled at the forum on Sunday, brought together aerospace developers, semiconductor ...
Singapore plans to introduce legislation early next year requiring social media platforms to roll out stronger safeguards for teens, including possibly setting a daily time limit, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo has said. If a platform could not or did not want to introduce these stronger safeguards, Singapore intended to raise the minimum age of access to that platf...
An executive at a Chinese military trading company has been arrested for leaking sensitive defence information to intelligence agencies from two countries, Beijing’s top spy and anti-espionage agency revealed on Monday. The Ministry of State Security regularly publicises espionage cases to raise public awareness, but the vast majority of these disclosures focus on individuals targeted by a single ...
An executive at a Chinese military trading company has been arrested for leaking sensitive defence information to intelligence agencies from two countries, Beijing’s top spy and anti-espionage agency revealed on Monday. The Ministry of State Security (MSS) regularly publicises espionage cases to raise public awareness, but the vast majority of these disclosures focus on individuals targeted by a s...
From big banks to fashion brands, tenants are taking advantage of potential lower rents for retail space in Hong Kong’s prime areas as they utilise eye-catching locations to boost visibility towards customers, according to agents. HSBC is unveiling its first flagship branch at the Capitol Centre, which was previously occupied by fashion retailers such as Chanel, Victoria’s Secret and Forever 21, a...
Hong Kong’s retail sector recorded growth for a 15th consecutive month in July, with the government reporting a 4.5 per cent increase year on year, although the pace of expansion slowed amid adverse weather and continued outbound travel by residents. Retail sales value for the month reached HK$31 billion (US$4 billion), while sales in the first seven months of the year grew by 8.9 per cent compare...
The long-standing rivalry between Asia’s two leading financial centres is heating up. As Hong Kong and Singapore compete harder for investment talent, tax incentives for fund managers have emerged as the new battleground. A government bill working its way through Hong Kong’s Legislative Council would result in sweeping changes to tax rules on carried interest. The legislation, which is expected to...
With China rolling out a stronger-than-expected package of measures to transition the housing market away from a presales model, analysts said the shift carries a double-edged sword for real estate developers: tighter regulations are poised to squeeze cash inflows, even as the reforms aim to stimulate sales and stabilise prices over time. Under new rules released by the People’s Bank of China (PBO...
A South Korean court sentenced the leader of the secretive and powerful Unification Church on Monday to two years in prison on charges of bribing officials, including the then president’s wife. Han Hak-ja, 83, was accused of providing luxury items, including a designer handbag, to former first lady Kim Keon-hee while her husband, Yoon Suk-yeol, was president, in an attempt to secure policy favours...
