9 d. ago Ant International and Standard Chartered partner on remittance service

Ant International, Standard Chartered Bank and the Swift system said on Wednesday they were collaborating on a global cross-border remittance service that allowed direct transfers from overseas banks to users’ home wallet apps, backed by Alipay+. The programme’s live trials are limited to Standard Chartered Bank accounts and allow participants to send cash to 36 digital wallets around the world operated by Alipay+, a cross-border payment product run by Ant International. Most of its customers...

Politics

9 d. ago Ant International, Swift and StanChart partner on remittance service

Ant International, Standard Chartered Bank and the Swift system said on Wednesday they were collaborating on a global cross-border remittance service that allowed direct transfers from overseas banks to users’ home wallet apps, backed by Alipay+. The programme’s live trials are limited to Standard Chartered Bank accounts and allow participants to send cash to 36 digital wallets around the world operated by Alipay+, a cross-border payment product run by Ant International. Most of its customers...

Politics

1 week ago China may not be waging war in Ukraine. But it still stands to win

It seems clear that US President Donald Trump achieved little more than a photo opportunity from the bilateral summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. Now, a ceasefire seems more out of reach than ever. For a negotiated peace agreement, Putin has insisted on his demands that Ukraine give up ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as land occupied...

Events

1 week ago As the West cedes leverage over Ukraine, China stands to benefit

It seems clear that US President Donald Trump achieved little more than a photo opportunity from the bilateral summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. Now, a ceasefire seems more out of reach than ever. For a negotiated peace agreement, Putin has insisted on his demands that Ukraine give up ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as land occupied...

Politics

1 week ago Alaska summit heralds change of direction for global diplomacy

When Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump on August 15, in Anchorage, Alaska, the geographic significance of the event was not lost on Russian observers. Putin became the first Russian leader to visit the former colony at a time when the Arctic is a high priority in Russia’s foreign policy strategy. However, the summit itself was an anticlimax. Peace in Ukraine remained postponed; there was a meagre readout and the delegation lunch was cancelled. As Putin remarked...

Politics

2 w. ago A new European security landscape is emerging after Alaska summit

The Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was a test balloon for Trump to find out, as he said, what Putin had in mind. The subsequent meeting in the White House between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders was another test balloon – for Europe – to find out what Trump had in mind. Both were useful yet not really productive. To start with, Putin has emerged as a clear winner. The red-carpet welcome on American soil with...

Politics

2 w. ago For Europe and Russia, the outcome of Ukraine’s war is becoming clearer

The Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was a test balloon for Trump to find out, as he said, what Putin had in mind. The subsequent meeting in the White House between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders was another test balloon – for Europe – to find out what Trump had in mind. Both were useful yet not really productive. To start with, Putin has emerged as a clear winner. The red-carpet welcome on American soil with...

Events

2 w. ago Zelensky warns against ‘rewarding’ Russia for Ukraine war ahead of Trump meet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of talks with Donald Trump on Monday that Russia should not be “rewarded” for its invasion, after the US leader pressed Kyiv to make concessions in exchange for peace. The talks, in which European leaders will also take part, follow a Friday summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska that failed to produce a ceasefire in the nearly three-and-a-half-year war. Trump, who dropped his insistence on a ceasefire in favour of a...

Events

3 w. ago Ukraine war talks: Trump and Putin meet in Alaska as summit begins

US President Donald Trump has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, for their first face-to-face meeting since Trump returned to office this year. The summit will focus on the prospect of a ceasefire to end Russia’s devastating three-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine. Initially seen as a meeting that could reshape the global order, determine Ukraine’s future and redefine America’s standing with its allies, the Trump...

Politics

3 w. ago Ukraine war talks: summit ends with no deal, but Trump says he is hopeful

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have failed to find a deal to end the Ukraine war, they said at the close of their summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday The summit, held on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, was focused on the prospect of a ceasefire to end Russia’s devastating three-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine. But Trump told the press on Friday that there would be ‘no deal until there’s a deal’. This live blog has been made freely...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal – as it happened

This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have failed to find a deal to end the Ukraine war, they said at the close of their summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday The summit, held on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, was focused on the...

Politics

3 w. ago Putin keeps Xi in loop on Trump summit but little hope for Ukraine ceasefire

Just hours before US President Donald Trump announced his summit with Vladimir Putin next week, the Russian leader was on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure Beijing’s backing. While the call on Friday underscored a high level of coordination between Beijing and Moscow in their approach to Washington, Chinese experts voiced scepticism about the prospects for the Alaska summit and its aim of negotiating an end to the Ukraine war. They cautioned that although Trump’s first...

Politics