7 h. ago Jimmy Lai trial: closing arguments begin in Hong Kong trial of pro

Lai has been detained since December 2020, with western nations and rights groups calling for his releaseJailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai’s national security trial, which began in late 2023, will enter its final stages on Thursday as lawyers present closing arguments.The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong’s national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Jimmy Lai trial: closing arguments in Hong Kong delayed by aftermath of Typhoon Podul

Lai has been detained since December 2020, with western nations and rights groups calling for his releaseThe closing arguments in the national security trial against jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai were postponed on Thursday after the Asian financial hub issued its highest-level “black” weather warning, stemming from ex-typhoon Podul.Queues had formed outside the court for the public gallery, but torrential rain saw the closing arguments in the trial, which began in late 2023, delayed. Proceedings are expected to resume on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago Chinese firm a leading contender to buy Thames Water, reports say

Hong Kong’s CKI among those lining up to acquire struggling company if it collapsesA Chinese firm is reportedly a leading contender to buy Thames Water if the heavily indebted company collapses in coming weeks.Hong Kong’s CKI, which invests in power and other utility companies in the UK, is among those lining up to acquire the water and sewerage supplier if it enters a special administration regime (SAR), according to the Times. Continue reading...

Economics

22 h. ago Japanese pop idol Kenshin Kamimura convicted of indecent assault but avoids jail in Hong Kong

Japanese pop idol Kenshin Kamimura has been found guilty of indecent assault on a female interpreter

Events

23 h. ago Flight cancellations and evacuations ordered as Typhoon Podul makes landfall in Taiwan

More than 5,500 people have been moved from vulnerable areas, some still recovering from storms earlier in the summer

Politics

33 h. ago Police in Southern California find $30K worth of Labubus stolen from warehouse

A police department in Southern California has recovered about $30,000 worth of Labubus that were stolen from a warehouse

Events

35 h. ago US announces sanctions against armed group and companies profiting from conflict minerals in Congo

The U.S. government has sanctioned an armed group accused of illicit trading in minerals in eastern Congo

Events

40 h. ago Man tried to smuggle hundreds of turtles inside socks out of the US

The protected turtles were worth more than $1 million

Politics

40 h. ago Vote in our Independent Money poll: Do you know the interest rate on your main savings account?

Each week, we invite readers to share their views on the financial stories making headlines – and impacting your bank balance

Economics

42 h. ago Horror pics of 'new Chinese pandemic' emerge as quarantine imposed after 10,000 cases

More than 10,000 cases of Chikungunya have been reported in China with infections also reported in Taiwan and Hong Kong and travellers have spread it to Europe and US

Events

42 h. ago Concerns for Briton Jimmy Lai’s deteriorating health as landmark trial set to resume in Hong Kong

City court to hear closing arguments in media tycoon’s national security trial from 14 August

Politics

55 h. ago HSBC flags 73% of Hong Kong commercial property loans as risky

Prolonged slump in retail spending and sluggish office demand put Europe’s largest lender on notice

Events

57 h. ago Beyond Meat could be beyond saving! Questions swirl about company’s future after financial struggles

The CEO of Beyond Meat says he’s ‘disappointed’ by the company’s recent financial results

Economics

57 h. ago China records more cases of deadly chikungunya virus as country battles 'largest outbreak ever'

More people have been sickened in China's record-breaking outbreak, officials say, after cases were also detected in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Events

3 d. ago ‘I don’t expect to live a normal life’: how a Leeds teenager woke up with a Chinese bounty on her head

After speaking out about the suppression of Hong Kong’s protests, Chloe Cheung was targeted by Beijing, followed on the street and abused online. Yet she remains defiantIt was Christmas Eve 2024 and 19-year-old Chloe Cheung was lying in bed at home in Leeds when she found out the Chinese authorities had put a bounty on her head. As she scrolled through Instagram looking at festive songs, a stream of messages from old school friends started coming into her phone. Look at the news, they told her.Media outlets across east Asia were reporting that Cheung, who had just finished her A-levels, had been declared a threat to national security by officials in Hong Kong. There was an offer of HK$1m (£94,000) to anyone who could assist in her arrest or capture. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Manhunt for masked thieves as thousands of pounds worth of Labubu dolls stolen

Labubus, collectible toys from a Hong Kong artist that look like monsters with a toothy grin, have become a growing Tiktok trend across the world in recent months

Politics

4 d. ago ‘I had her right in front of me. And now she’s gone’: how one mother lost her daughter to mental illness

Studying in London before taking up a high-flying job in New York, Naina Mishra seemed set for a bright future – until she began retreating from friends and family into a paranoid spiral even her mother couldn’t break. What does her story reveal about the dangers of young adult estrangement?Naina Mishra seemed to turn up at the yoga studio in Euston, north-west London, out of nowhere. She wasn’t referred by anyone; she didn’t come with a friend. A 21-year-old woman of Indian heritage with an American accent who grew up in Hong Kong and had recently arrived in London, Naina just “fell in” off the street in January 2022, say her yoga teachers, Hamish Hendry and Louise Newton. But it became part of her daily life. Every morning, she returned to practise there.Chatting after class, they learned that Naina had just graduated from university in the US and had been interning at the investment bank Goldman Sachs and the consulting firm McKinsey. She was studying in London before beginning a...

Politics

4 d. ago Helen Flanagan marks 35th birthday with racy snaps and emotional note about heartbreak, career and 'amazing' kids... after driving ban and 'financial crisis' claims

 Helen Flanagan took to Instagram on Friday night to celebrate her 35th birthday with a duo of sexy snaps and a profound message about life in her 30s. 

Events

5 d. ago Hong Kong police warrants ‘act of transnational repression’ – minister

Security minister Dan Jarvis said the UK would not tolerate ‘these acts of transnational repression’.

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Transnational repression’: Australia condemns Hong Kong’s attempts to silence exiled dissidents

G7 nations’ joint statement says arrest warrants and bounties for pro-democracy campaigners are undermining human rights and state sovereigntyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government has signed a joint statement issued on behalf of G7 nations condemning Hong Kong for seeking to “silence, intimidate, harass, harm or coerce” pro-democracy campaigners living abroad.The statement, which was also made on behalf of New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands, has described the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties for exiled dissidents as acts of “transnational repression” that undermine human rights and state sovereignty. Continue reading...

Politics