CHINA BREAKING NEWS

In September, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled the city’s first five-year plan along with his policy address, highlighting Hong Kong’s strategic role in promoting the greater use of the yuan outside mainland China as a key priority. In the third part of a four-part series on the…

Alvin Hellerstein, the US judge overseeing the case against deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, has died aged 92, an official confirmed on Wednesday. As one of the oldest US federal judges, questions had been raised about whether he was the right justice to preside over what could be a…

Benjamin Netanyahu looked set to ⁠remain Israel’s caretaker prime minister after unexpectedly strong backing among Jewish voters left his opponents little apparent prospect of unseating him, despite his right-wing bloc losing its parliamentary majority. With nearly 86 per cent of votes tallied on…

President Vladimir Putin told African leaders on Wednesday that Russia was their best partner, accusing what he cast as a colonial West of still trying to exploit the continent’s resources and using debt to hold back development. The Kremlin chief was speaking at the third Russia-Africa Summit in…

In a rare move, Singapore on Wednesday summoned top executives from 10 locally registered companies potentially linked to haze-causing fires in Indonesia to a meeting with three ministers. The executives all agreed to cooperate fully in an investigation by the city state into the regional…

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who arrived in the US on Wednesday, has declared ⁠himself the rightful leader of Brazil, alleging ⁠an electoral coup d’etat had been carried out by the country’s Supreme ⁠Court and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won the presidential election by over 4…

Hong Kong International Airport has become one of the first two organisations certified under an international aviation industry group’s digital identity programme, as it seeks to expand its facial recognition system beyond the city. However, the wider adoption of facial recognition technology has…

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s trip to the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday echoed the intense coordination that preceded his previous summits with US President Donald Trump. Between March 2018 and June 2019, Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping five times across Beijing, Dalian and…

Some readers, especially non-Americans, might wonder what the recurring squabbles in Washington over the debt ceiling and government shutdowns mean. That’s understandable. In virtually every country in the world, when the legislature approves a budget that results in net new borrowing of, say, 50…

An assailant with knives attacked a police officer from an elite unit guarding the Israeli embassy in Belgrade just after midnight on Wednesday, police said. The officer responded by fatally shooting the attacker. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that police were treating the incident as a…

Japan’s push to expand industrial and port cooperation with Bangladesh could transform the South Asian country into a regional trade gateway, analysts say, connecting markets in Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific while diversifying Dhaka’s economic ties. The plan was announced during…

An array of Chinese drug makers showcased positive trial results for new cancer treatments at a major European medical conference, underscoring the expanding international influence of China’s biotech sector. Domestic innovative drugs, particularly antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), delivered…

A high-speed train slammed into another that had stopped on the tracks in Spain Wednesday, killing at least 68 people and injuring dozens in the second deadly rail collision this year. The regional government of Castilla La Mancha confirmed the death toll and said another 58 people were receiving…

Private jets, fine jewellery, watches, superyachts and luxury property will feature in a new Hong Kong exhibition offering business opportunities to “brands, yacht owners and connoisseurs”, according to the organiser. The inaugural Festival of Connoisseurs, set to take place between November 4 and…

One word will hang over the Hong Kong community in the run-up to next month’s anniversary of the dreadful Tai Po fire that took 168 of our fellow citizens’ lives: accountability. By the time we mark the occasion, we will know if we still have a system based on ministers taking political…

Massive crowds, fireworks and dancing have filled the streets across Belgrade since Serbia’s nationalist strongman Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary election after 14 years in power. The political shift could cool diplomatic ties between Beijing and Belgrade and invite…

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is up against it in next month’s Melaka state poll, as his ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition risks yet another electoral wipeout at the hands of its federal partner Umno. The two are competing head-to-head in nearly all of the 28 state assembly seats up…

Malaysia will still lose tens of billions of ringgit to the 1MDB scandal even after further overseas asset recoveries, its second finance minister said on Wednesday, as disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak prepares to move to house arrest. Najib has been imprisoned since 2022 following his…

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday extended congratulations to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his re-election as president of Brazil. In his congratulatory message, Xi said that President Lula has made important contributions to advancing China-Brazil relations. Xi said he and Lula have, in…

The first global biodiversity fund set up by a developing country for other developing countries has approved its latest round of projects. The Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF) signed off nine conservation projects worth roughly $4.5 million, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Dong Baotong…

More than half of Japanese respondents believe the government should provide more opportunities for dialogue with China, according to a newly released Nikkei-TV Tokyo poll. The survey, conducted from October 23 to 25, found that 55% of respondents favored expanding dialogue with China, while 39%…