11 h. ago EU hits Google with US$3.45 billion fine, drawing tariff threat from Trump

The EU on Friday slapped Google with a massive €2.95 billion (US$3.45 billion) antitrust fine for favouring its own advertising services, drawing a furious rebuke from US President Donald Trump and a threat of fresh tariffs against Europe. Google vowed to appeal the decision by the European Commission, which accused the US firm of distorting competition in the 27-nation bloc. “Google abused its dominant position in adtech, harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. This behaviour is illegal...

Economics

16 h. ago Locals will gain from Hong Kong becoming global university hub: education chief

Local students are “beneficiaries and participants” in the process of turning Hong Kong into an international higher education hub, a government minister has said, amid concerns that they will become “victims” whose interests are being undermined. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin also told lawmakers on Friday that authorities would closely monitor the need to make further adjustments to non-local student quotas. At a meeting of the Legislative Council’s education panel, lawmaker...

Politics

22 h. ago Asylum seeker convicted in UK of sex assault on teen that sparked protests

An Ethiopian asylum seeker, whose arrest in July sparked angry protests outside the hotel near London where he and other migrants were being housed, was found guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman. The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 30km (20 miles) north of the British capital, became a touchpaper for a string of country-wide demonstrations amid rising tensions over immigration. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was convicted at Chelmsford...

Events

22 h. ago Asylum seeker convicted of sex assault on teen that sparked UK protests

An Ethiopian asylum seeker, whose arrest in July sparked angry protests outside the hotel near London where he and other migrants were being housed, was found guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman. The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 30km (20 miles) north of the British capital, became a touchpaper for a string of country-wide demonstrations amid rising tensions over immigration. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was convicted at Chelmsford...

Events

25 h. ago Chinese firms still want Nvidia chips despite Beijing concerns: sources

Alibaba Group Holding, ByteDance and other Chinese tech firms remained keen on Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips despite regulators in Beijing strongly discouraging them from such purchases, four people with knowledge of procurement discussions said. They wanted reassurance that their orders of Nvidia’s H20 model, which the US firm in July regained permission to sell in China, were being processed, and were closely monitoring Nvidia’s plans for a more powerful chip, tentatively named the...

Politics

25 h. ago Trump renaming Department of Defence the ‘Department of War’

US President Donald Trump is changing the name of the Department of Defence to the Department of War, the White House announced on Thursday, after the US leader repeatedly insisted the rebrand would project a more powerful image. Trump will sign an executive order permitting the use of the Department of War as a “secondary title” for the sprawling department, a White House document said, apparently due to its official name being set in law. That signing was expected to take place on Friday,...

Politics

29 h. ago US restricts visas of some Central American nationals over China ties

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Washington was restricting visas for some Central American nationals who it alleged to be “intentionally acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party” and undermining the rule of law. “As a result, these individuals and their immediate family members will be generally ineligible for entry into the United States,” Rubio said in his statement. The statement did not name any individuals or cite specific examples of actions over which they...

Politics

30 h. ago U.S. House passes Uyghur Policy Act supporting victims of persecution by China

U.S. House passes Uyghur Policy Act supporting victims of persecution by China  Radio Free Asia

Events

34 h. ago Alarm as ‘dangerous’ Madeleine McCann suspect set to be freed in Germany

German law enforcement authorities have voiced alarm that the “dangerous” chief suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British three-year-old Madeleine McCann will soon leave prison and could flee the country. Prosecutors believe Christian Brueckner, 48, killed the girl in a Portuguese resort in a missing persons case that has captivated the world and remains unsolved. But lacking sufficient evidence to lay charges, they are helpless as Brueckner – who has a history of violent sex crimes – is due...

Events

40 h. ago Indonesian working at Asean body fired for ‘inciting’ police HQ to be burnt

An Indonesian staff member of an Asean parliamentary body has been fired and named a criminal suspect after allegedly posting a video urging protesters to set fire to the national police headquarters in Jakarta, amid escalating unrest triggered by a fatal accident involving a police armoured vehicle. Laras Faizati Khairunnisa, 26, was arrested on Monday and detained a day later following a police investigation into her social media post, which authorities said had incited demonstrators to burn...

Events

40 h. ago Moonshot AI’s updated Kimi model offers expanded context window, improved coding

Alibaba Group Holding-backed Moonshot AI is set to release an updated version of the Kimi K2 artificial intelligence model that took the world by storm in July. On Wednesday, the Beijing-based start-up announced a giveaway for 20 users to beta test a model called Kimi K2-0905 on its Discord server. The announcement was later edited with the updated model’s name and other details removed. The original version of the model had been referred to as Kimi K2-0711, referring to its release date of July...

Politics

41 h. ago In too deep? Filipino couple under scrutiny in flood control scandal

As public furore mounts over the revelation of widespread corruption in flood control projects in the Philippines, few names have captured public attention more than Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya and her husband Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya. The couple, once virtually unknown, emerged in the spotlight after Sarah Discaya ran against popular Pasig City mayor Vico Sotto in the May midterm elections – only to lose by a landslide. Her biography has since become a lightning rod for scrutiny. Born in London in...

Events

45 h. ago Adrian Cheng exits as CTFE director, ending role in Hong Kong family empire

Adrian Cheng Chi-kong is no longer a director of New World Development parent company Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), cutting the last tie that connected the former heir apparent to one of the city’s most powerful business empires. His name is no longer listed as a director, according to the Hong Kong Companies Registry, the government body responsible for the incorporation and regulation of companies. It did not indicate when he stepped down from the post. CTFE did not respond to requests for...

Politics

51 h. ago Epstein victims compiling their own list of sex abusers: ‘We know the names’

Victims of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said on Wednesday they were compiling a confidential list of his associates who abused underage girls. US President Donald Trump, a one-time close friend of the deceased financier, sought meanwhile to dampen the enduring political furore over the Epstein case. “This is a Democrat hoax that never ends,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve...

Events

51 h. ago Epstein victims compiling own list of sex abusers: ‘We know the names’

Victims of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said on Wednesday they were compiling a confidential list of his associates who abused underage girls. US President Donald Trump, a one-time close friend of the deceased financier, sought meanwhile to dampen the enduring political furore over the Epstein case. “This is a Democrat hoax that never ends,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve...

Events

54 h. ago Famed tram in Portugal’s capital Lisbon derails and crashes, killing 17

The death toll in the Lisbon tram crash has risen to 17, an emergency services official said on Thursday. Two of the injured died overnight in a hospital, Margarida Castro Martins, head of Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency, told reporters. She did not provide the names or nationalities of the dead, saying that their families would be informed first. Another 21 people were injured in Wednesday’s crash, including multiple foreigners who were on the tram popular with tourists, she said. Portugal...

Events

64 h. ago 5 things to know for Sept. 3: China, War on drugs, Epstein files, RFK Jr., Google

5 things to know for Sept. 3: China, War on drugs, Epstein files, RFK Jr., Google  CNN

Events

67 h. ago Did scam call centres lure missing British teen to Malaysia?

A British teenager who went missing in Malaysia in June may have become the victim of a scam call centre operation, an anti-fraud group has warned, as concerns rise over the country becoming a new hub for the criminal industry. David Balisong, 17, was reported missing after he secretly took a flight from the UK to Malaysia on June 6, carrying nothing but a backpack. Malaysian police said he was last seen by eyewitnesses at the KL Sentral transport hub in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur a day...

Events

67 h. ago South China’s Greater Bay Area boasts world’s largest innovation cluster

A portion of China’s Greater Bay Area has been named the world’s largest innovation cluster, underscoring Beijing’s drive for technological self-reliance at a time of rising geopolitical uncertainties with the United States. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou technology hub – the heart of the bay area plan – has overtaken Tokyo-Yokohama to become the world’s largest innovation cluster, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) 2025 Global Innovation Index released on...

Politics

3 d. ago US House Oversight Committee releases batch of files in Epstein, Maxwell cases

The US House Oversight Committee on Tuesday publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The folders contained hundreds of image files of years-old court filings related to Epstein and Maxwell. They also contained video files appearing to be body cam footage from police searches, as well as law enforcement interviews with victims with their faces obscured. The Justice...

Politics