2 h. ago California man Sun Yaoning to plead guilty to acting as Chinese agent

A California man has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government in Southern California while working as a campaign adviser for a local politician. Sun Yaoning, also known as Mike Sun, is expected to appear in court in Los Angeles on Monday to enter his plea under a deal with federal prosecutors, according to a copy of the agreement available in online court records. It was signed by Sun, his lawyer and a prosecutor earlier this month. If the plea is accepted...

Politics

6 h. ago Hong Kong drones hunt illegal filling stations, diesel worth HK$6 million seized

Hong Kong has started deploying drones to detect illegal refuelling stations in the city, with the Fire Services Department having seized diesel worth more than HK$6 million (US$772,362) in the past month during a crackdown on 23 locations. Bradan Kwok Chi-kwan, divisional officer for dangerous goods enforcement, said the department introduced drones to help uncover illicit operations last month and conducted 41 flights. “When our drone squad detects suspicious activity, it alerts task force...

Events

7 h. ago China’s Unitree builds course for students to learn how to train robot dogs

Unitree Robotics has launched an education platform for students to train robot dogs and understand how they operate based on the start-up’s Go2 system, as adoption of these quadruped machines expands from enthusiasts to mainstream consumers. According to its social media post on Tuesday, Unitree has developed an in-person training course with ready-to-use tools that would enable students to learn the operation, maintenance and applications of a quadruped robot – specifically, the company’s...

Politics

8 h. ago Families of Hong Kong pair killed in plane crash get no word from Emirates

The bereaved families of the two airport staff killed when an Emirates cargo flight veered off a runway have said they have not received any condolence messages from the airline, and are demanding a comprehensive investigation into the accident as soon as possible. A dozen relatives of security patrol vehicle driver Vincent Ho Kwok-cheung, 41, and his colleague, 30-year-old Chan Chun-yin, visited Kwai Chung Public Mortuary on Tuesday morning and were visibly shaken after identifying the...

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9 h. ago Trump isn’t serious about deterring Beijing from attacking Taiwan: poll

Most people in Taiwan do not see US President Donald Trump as serious about deterring Beijing from a possible attack on the self-ruled island, according to a recent poll released on Tuesday. Asked whether Trump was willing to prevent mainland China from “invading Taiwan by force”, 44.8 per cent of the 1,070 respondents said no, while 34.3 per cent said yes in the poll conducted by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation between October 13 and 15. And on a question as to whether the US leader was...

Politics

9 h. ago Hong Kong plane crash ‘could lead to manslaughter case if negligence found’

Hong Kong authorities could resort to manslaughter charges, which carry a penalty of life imprisonment, if a cargo plane crash that killed two airport staff members is found to have resulted from gross negligence, legal experts have said. Flight EK9788 veered off a runway during landing at Hong Kong airport on Monday morning and ploughed into the waters, knocking a security patrol vehicle into the sea and killing two people inside. All four crew members of the Emirates flight, which was operated...

Events

9 h. ago Plane crash in Hong Kong ‘could lead to manslaughter case if negligence found’

Hong Kong authorities could resort to manslaughter charges, which carry a penalty of life imprisonment, if a cargo plane crash that killed two airport staff members is found to have resulted from gross negligence, legal experts have said. Flight EK9788 veered off a runway during landing at Hong Kong airport on Monday morning and ploughed into the waters, knocking a security patrol vehicle into the sea and killing two people inside. All four crew members of the Emirates flight, which was operated...

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13 h. ago Hong Kong runway on standby a day after plane accident, crew to be questioned

The north runway of Hong Kong’s airport will be reopened on standby mode by noon on Tuesday, 32 hours after an Emirates cargo plane veered off it and struck a ground vehicle, sending it into the sea and killing two staff members, the airport operator has said. A source also said the Air Incident Investigation Authority was expected to meet the four Turkish crew members on the flight as part of investigations on Tuesday, with police questioning them afterwards. The crew were not prevented from...

Politics

13 h. ago Hong Kong runway on standby a day after plane crash, crew to be questioned

The north runway of Hong Kong airport was expected to reopen on standby mode by noon on Tuesday, 32 hours after an Emirates cargo plane veered off it and struck a ground vehicle, sending it into the sea and killing two security workers, the airport operator has said. A source also said the Air Incident Investigation Authority was expected to meet the four Turkish crew members on the flight as part of investigations on Tuesday, with police questioning them afterwards. The four were not prevented...

Events

13 h. ago Hong Kong airport’s north runway reopens after cargo plane crash kills 2

Hong Kong airport’s north runway has reopened but will remain on standby to support week-long efforts to salvage a crashed cargo plane that veered off its path and killed two security workers when it struck their vehicle. Monday’s incident was the fourth in 15 years to involve Turkish company ACT Airlines, which was operating the cargo flight for Emirates, with more than 30 people killed in a previous accident in 2017. An aviation expert said on Tuesday that it was not uncommon for an airline...

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13 h. ago 4 smugglers arrested for bringing gold into Japan from Hong Kong in underwear

Four people have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle about 8kg of gold worth around 98.7 million yen (US$650,000) from Hong Kong to Japan by concealing gold powder in underwear, sources familiar with the matter revealed on Tuesday. Masamori Nishimura, 34, is believed to have orchestrated the smuggling attempt by instructing three women in their 20s and 30s to wear underwear with concealed gold powder on a flight in July last year, the sources said. The four admitted to the charges,...

Events

15 h. ago Hong Kong court gives ‘Mr Ho’ suspended jail sentence for insecticide attack

An elderly Hong Kong man, known on the internet as “Mr Ho” after a whirlwind romance with a much younger mainland Chinese woman, has received a suspended jail sentence for an insecticide attack on a passer-by who taunted him about controversies arising from his marriage. Tuen Mun Court on Tuesday suspended Ho Huen’s two-month jail sentence for two years after rejecting the defence’s suggestion to settle the case by imposing a fine. The court also ordered the 77-year-old retiree to pay the...

Events

16 h. ago Singer Soyou denies intoxication after US flight ‘racial prejudice’ row

South Korean singer Soyou, 34, formerly of girl group Sistar, has denied online claims that she was drunk on a US flight where she said she experienced racial discrimination, clarifying that the incident stemmed from a language misunderstanding rather than alcohol consumption. In a social media post on Monday, Soyou said she only had “a small amount of alcohol served with a meal” at the airport lounge before boarding. “I was not intoxicated, and I boarded without any issue or restriction,” she...

Events

17 h. ago What is ‘winology’, the new theory about unfair Western views of China?

China’s economic and technological advances are being unfairly dismissed in the United States and other parts of the West as a result of hierarchical thinking, according to a theory dubbed “winology” that is taking hold among some online commentators. The term winology was coined by Chinese academics and refers to ways in which countries can both become a global leader in certain areas and be recognised as such. However, the theory argues that the West relegates China to the lowest tier of a...

Politics

19 h. ago Apple faces new antitrust complaint in China over App Store rules

Apple faces new antitrust complaint in China over App Store rules  9to5Mac

Politics

20 h. ago US appeal court lets Trump send National Guard troops to Portland

A divided US appeal court ruled on Monday that US President Donald Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, despite objections by the leaders of the city and state, giving the Republican president an important legal victory as he dispatches military forces to a growing number of Democratic-led locales. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department’s request to put on hold a judge’s order that had blocked the deployment while a legal...

Politics

20 h. ago US appeals court says Trump can deploy National Guard troops in Portland

A divided US appeals court ruled on Monday that Donald Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, despite objections by the leaders of the city and state, giving the Republican president an important legal victory as he dispatches military forces to a growing number of Democratic-led locales. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department’s request to put on hold a judge’s order that had blocked the deployment while a legal challenge to...

Politics

21 h. ago CK Hutchison gets encouraging signs of a deal with Panama government

A senior Panamanian official said on Monday that Panama will remain flexible and potentially reach an agreement with CK Hutchison as the Latin American country navigates the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. “We are working on a plan in case that [Panama’s Supreme Court] ruling goes against the extension of the contract” for CK Hutchison, said Jose Ramon Icaza, Panama’s minister of canal affairs. “In that case, we have to step in as the Panama Maritime Authority to take...

Politics

22 h. ago To Counter China’s Hold on Rare Minerals, Trump Turns to Australia

To Counter China’s Hold on Rare Minerals, Trump Turns to Australia  The New York Times

Politics

32 h. ago Taiwan sets out new rules outlining when troops can shoot down drones

Taiwan has for the first time formally outlined the circumstances under which its troops can shoot down incoming drones. The move is part of a broader effort by the island’s defence ministry to codify its rules of engagement and strengthen its ability to respond to mounting military pressure from mainland China. The new procedures, disclosed in the recently released National Defence Report 2025, set out a four-step standard operating procedure – identification and monitoring, alert and...

Events