40 h. ago Hongkonger reported missing in Iran ‘for many days’ amid internet shutdown, protests

Immigration authorities have confirmed receiving a plea for help concerning a Hong Kong resident reported missing “for many days” in Iran, as the country faces a nationwide internet shutdown amid protests against the government. A spokesman for the Immigration Department told the Post on Friday that it had received “a relevant inquiry” and was in touch with the Chinese consulate in Bandar Abbas and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ local arm in the city. A source confirmed the inquiry came from...

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4 d. ago South China Sea: claims of coercion, deception as Beijing and Manila wage new war of words

China and the Philippines have again exchanged barbs over confrontations in the disputed South China Sea, with each accusing the other of provocation and escalating tensions. The Chinese embassy in the Philippines on Tuesday said a statement the day before by the National Maritime Council – a government body created by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in 2024 to address the nation’s maritime challenges – was “unfounded and misleading”. It accused Manila of “provoking trouble and...

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5 d. ago Iranians use Musk’s Starlink to pierce internet blackout during protests

Some Iranians were still using Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service despite a nationwide communications blackout, three people inside the country have said, the latest example of Starlink being used to counter internet shutdowns in geopolitical flashpoints. Iranian authorities have in recent days launched a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, including the near-complete shutdown of internet service, which is provided through fibre-optic cables and mobile phone towers. The...

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8 d. ago Video shot by ICE agent as he killed Minnesota woman emerges, further inflaming tensions

The White House on Friday reposted on social media a new video taken from the cellphone of the Immigration officer who fatally shot a Minnesota woman in her car this week, adding to the documentation of an incident that has sparked days of nationwide protests. The 47-second video shows 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good telling the officer, “That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you,” moments before he opens fire after Good puts the car in gear in an apparent effort to pull back into the street. The...

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2 w. ago How Hong Kong can take on a more frontier role in China’s development

On December 16, Chinese President Xi Jinping, on receiving a work report from Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, said the city should proactively align with the country’s 15th five-year plan and better integrate into, and serve, the national development agenda. In recent days, discussion of the coming plan across the Hong Kong government and wider society has underscored a growing consensus behind deeper integration with the mainland. While the 14th five-year plan spoke of “maintaining”...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘CEO monk’ scandal: China creates new oversight body for Buddhist clergy

China’s official national Buddhist association has established its first supervisory body less than six months after the high-profile downfall of the “CEO monk”, former Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin. The move to improve oversight of Chinese Buddhist monks’ conduct was announced on Tuesday, a day after the Buddhist Association of China’s (BAC) 11th national congress concluded in Beijing. Shi Zhengci, the abbot of Wuzu Temple in Huangmei county, Hubei province, was elected as the association’s...

Politics

2 w. ago China Declares Taiwan Unification Inevitable As Beijing Encircles Self

China Declares Taiwan Unification Inevitable As Beijing Encircles Self-Governed Island  Times of India

Politics

3 w. ago Bus crash kills 15 in Guatemala, government declares 3 days of national mourning

An intermunicipal bus veered off a road in Guatemala and fell into a deep ravine, killing 15 passengers and injuring at least 15 others, authorities said on Saturday, declaring three days of national mourning. The accident happened on Friday night outside the town of Totonicapan along a route known as the Inter-American Highway. Officials said it took rescuers more than two hours to recover the bodies from the crash site and rescue injured passengers. Fifteen people were still being treated for...

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3 w. ago Southern California drenched by powerful Christmas storms, flash flooding

Flash flood warnings were in effect in Los Angeles and most of southern California on Wednesday as one of the worst Christmas storms in recent memory brought heavy rain and fears of deadly mudslides. Driven by an atmospheric river known as “the Pineapple Express”, which moves heavy moisture from the tropical climes of Hawaii to rain on the West Coast, the storm is expected to deliver months’ worth of rain over the next few days. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in...

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3 w. ago 16 dead as Indonesian bus hits barrier, rolls on side; witnesses say driver was speeding

A passenger bus crash killed at least 16 people on Indonesia’s main island of Java just after midnight on Monday, officials said. The bus carrying 34 people lost control on a toll road and struck a concrete barrier before rolling onto its side, said Budiono, a search and rescue agency chief who goes by a single name like many Indonesians. The inter-province bus was travelling from the capital Jakarta to the country’s ancient royal city of Yogyakarta when it overturned while entering a curved...

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3 w. ago Australian PM Albanese booed as Bondi Beach attack victims honoured

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed by an angry crowd gathered at the famous Bondi Beach on Sunday to honour the victims of a gun attack a week earlier that targeted a seaside Jewish Hanukkah festival event. The nation marked a day of reflection on Sunday to honour the 15 people killed and the dozens wounded in the attack by two gunmen. With security tight and flags at half-staff on government buildings, a minute of silence was held at 6.47pm local time, the time the attack...

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