4 h. ago Outrage as Korean cabby uses translate app to ask Thai tourist to ‘pay with body’

A South Korean taxi driver who harassed a tourist from Thailand by suggesting that she could “pay” the fare with her body has sparked anger online in both countries. A woman visitor posted a video clip on a social media on June 19, which shows an unidentified taxi driver communicating with her using a translation app while she was in his cab. He was asking her inappropriate personal questions, like whether she had a boyfriend and why was she not married. The driver also said that he could find...

Politics

11 h. ago US Senate, passing Trump bill, bars energy tax credits for China

The US Congress is poised to bar companies with ties to China from gaining clean energy tax credits – a move that critics warn could jeopardise dozens of planned projects and freeze investment in a sector already struggling to decouple from the country. After an overnight series of amendment votes, the Senate on Tuesday passed its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which would also remove the decades-old “de minimis” trade rule that allows low-value packages to avoid duties and rigorous...

Politics

19 h. ago China bets on tax perks to win back foreign investors amid global headwinds

China has stepped up efforts to attract foreign investors, as policymakers look to bolster the domestic economy and safeguard its position in global supply chains amid negotiations with major trade partners. New tax breaks unveiled this week aim to encourage foreign firms to reinvest profits locally – part of a broader effort to restore confidence and signal openness as challenging trade talks continue with the European Union and United States. The Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance...

Economics

21 h. ago China offers tax refund to French cognac makers amid EU brandy probe: source

Beijing has extended an olive branch to French cognac producers by promising a “significant” tax refund if they cooperate with its anti-dumping investigation into European Union brandy sold in China, according to an industry source with knowledge of the matter. Major brands Hennessy, Martell and Rémy Martin have been offered the terms, said the person, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue. To qualify, producers must agree to Beijing’s demands, commit to a minimum selling...

Economics

39 h. ago Clean energy stocks fall as Trump bill taxes components from China, phases out credits

Clean energy stocks fall as Trump bill taxes components from China, phases out credits  NBC 7 San Diego

Politics

40 h. ago ‘Risky choice’: why Canada’s tough stance towards US and China may backfire

The Canadian government appears to be caught between “a rock and a hard place” after trying to introduce tough measures targeting both American and Chinese companies last week, analysts said. Ottawa raised eyebrows by ordering a high-profile Chinese company to cease operations in the country due to national security concerns on Friday – the same day that US President Donald Trump announced he was breaking off trade negotiations with Canada over its proposed digital services tax. But Canada has...

Events

42 h. ago Trump’s budget bill is a debt bomb. Can the ‘Pennsylvania Plan’ defuse it?

With the US Senate voting to move an updated version of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget legislation – the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” – forward in the legislative process, the controversial bill now comes closer to becoming law. It has also brought the country’s mounting debt back into the spotlight. Rife with spending increases, tax cuts and no additional revenue sources to compensate, the bill has been estimated to add US$3.3 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next decade; a...

Economics

43 h. ago New tax rules risk choking U.S. clean energy projects over China supply links

New tax rules risk choking U.S. clean energy projects over China supply links  The Daily Climate

Events

53 h. ago Explainer | How can you claim tax refunds as a tourist in China?

Explainer | How can you claim tax refunds as a tourist in China?  South China Morning Post

Politics

68 h. ago Hong Kong handling of taxi/Uber mess has been a decade of disappointment

This week marks the third anniversary of John Lee Ka-chiu taking up the office of chief executive, with just two years to go in the current term. I wonder if we are getting close to a sensible resolution of Hong Kong’s taxi/hired car situation. Though I am an optimist, on the basis of past form, I find it difficult to be confident. After all, 2025 also marks the 11th anniversary of Uber setting up in Hong Kong. Yet here we are – two Hong Kong chief executives have come and gone, and a company...

Politics

69 h. ago Man arrested over attacking Hong Kong taxi driver with knife after being woken

Hong Kong police have arrested a man for allegedly attacking a taxi driver with a knife in the early hours of Sunday morning for waking him when they reached his destination in Tai Kok Tsui. The force said the case was reported to officers at 5.58am, who were told the incident occurred when the 35-year-old cabby stopped at the intersection of Kok Cheung Street and Tai Tsuen Street. The suspect, a 31-year-old surnamed Chong, had reportedly fallen asleep in the taxi during the journey from Yau Ma...

Events

4 d. ago Trump: US to tell countries ‘what they have to pay’; China, India deals coming

With the July 9 deadline for “Liberation Day” tariffs nearing, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington would inform countries “what they have to pay” to do business with America “over the next week and a half or so”. His remarks came hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested trade talks could continue to September. Trump also directed a new salvo at Canada, announcing an immediate halt to trade talks in retaliation for Ottawa’s plan to introduce a digital trade tax...

Politics

4 d. ago Groundhog Day in Thailand as Shinawatra clan faces protests, courts and crisis

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under mounting pressure from protests, court cases, coalition rifts and a spiralling border dispute with Cambodia – a convergence of crises that could determine whether she remains in office. Paetongtarn, 38, is Thailand’s youngest leader and the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, whose two-decade power struggle with the royalist establishment has repeatedly thrown the country into political turmoil. The return of Thaksin from self-imposed exile...

Events

4 d. ago 1,000 premium taxis to operate in Hong Kong in July, half the intended number

About 1,000 premium taxis will hit the streets of Hong Kong in July, falling short of the government’s target by about 50 per cent, despite the positive responses received during the trial, according to an official. Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee Chung-yan said on Friday that the Transport Department would grant official licences to five taxi fleets by the end of July and that the progress made on both the hardware and software of the fleets was satisfactory. “Most of the taxi fleets have...

Politics

4 d. ago 1,000 premium taxis to operate in Hong Kong from July, half the intended number

About 1,000 premium taxis will hit the streets of Hong Kong next month, about 50 per cent fewer than the government planned, despite the positive responses received during a trial run, according to an official. Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee Chung-yan said on Friday the Transport Department would grant official licences to five taxi fleets by the end of July and the progress made on both the hardware and software of the fleets was satisfactory. “Most of the taxi fleets have reached the 60...

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong police hunt for man who allegedly robbed convenience store, stole taxi

Hong Kong police are searching for a man in his 30s, described as non-Chinese and clad in a trash bag, after he allegedly robbed a convenience store in Tin Shui Wai before stealing a taxi, the Post has learned. Police first received a report of the suspect robbing the convenience store with a beef knife during the early hours of Friday, according to a source familiar with the case. A subsequent report was filed about a taxi being allegedly stolen by the same suspect, the source added. The first...

Events

5 d. ago Hong Kong woman opens up about life after moment her heart stopped beating

More than a decade ago, Hongkonger Olivia Cheung Lok-man’s heart stopped beating for 63 minutes. She was a 19-year-old student at the time and had suffered a fulminant myocarditis attack, a rare and severe illness that can cause heart failure. Cheung, now a 30-year-old art teacher, has since developed the ability to cope with the uncertainties surrounding her condition, thanks to the special care of the medical team at Queen Mary Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). “I have experienced [near...

Politics

6 d. ago Indonesian mum shares how son was allegedly hit with bottle in Singapore

A five-year-old Indonesian boy was allegedly struck on the head with a wine bottle by a stranger in Singapore – an incident that has prompted Indonesian media outlets and social media users to question personal safety in the city state, long regarded as one of the world’s safest travel destinations. The incident occurred on June 20 in Singapore’s Arab Street district, a popular tourist area, as the family was seated outside a coffee shop shortly before attending Friday prayers at the nearby...

Events

6 d. ago Indonesian mum recalls ‘scary’ moment son was hit with bottle in Singapore

A five-year-old Indonesian boy was allegedly struck on the head with a wine bottle by a stranger in Singapore – an incident that has prompted Indonesian media outlets and social media users to question personal safety in the city state, long regarded as one of the world’s safest travel destinations. The incident occurred on June 20 in Singapore’s Arab Street district, a popular tourist area, as the family was seated outside a coffee shop shortly before attending Friday prayers at the nearby...

Events

6 d. ago China’s top security agency mocks CIA informant drive: ‘farcical’

China’s top intelligence agency says a recent CIA campaign aimed at recruiting informants from China is a sign the US spy agency is desperately looking for ways to survive as Washington slashes budgets. “Yet, as resources shrink, the CIA has doubled down on hyping the ‘China threat’ as its lifeline, peddling fear to Congress and taxpayers to carve out a larger slice of the budget pie,” the Ministry of State Security (MSS) said in an article published on Wednesday on its official WeChat...

Events