3 h. ago Hong Kong Instagram influencer pleads for release of father arrested in Cambodia

A Hong Kong-based Instagram influencer has written an open letter to Cambodia’s prime minister, calling for the immediate release of her father, who needs urgent medical care. Stephanie Cheng, also known as Laparasian on Instagram, posted a copy of the letter in English, French and Chinese on her social media early Saturday morning. In a separate post the previous day, the influencer said that her father, Cheng Chi-gian, a French citizen, had been “kidnapped in Phnom Penh just before exposing a...

Events

3 h. ago Hong Kong’s mediation centre open to developed nations, Western countries

Western and developed countries are welcome to use services offered by Hong Kong’s newly established global mediation centre, a senior official has said, dismissing concerns over the institute’s founding members being primarily developing nations. Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan on Saturday also addressed the possible direct competition with other dispute resolution hubs, including Singapore, outlining Hong Kong’s distinct advantages such as its “one country, two systems”...

Politics

3 h. ago Taiwan war game triggers US questions over island’s ‘will to fight’

A high-level civilian war game held in Taipei this week has exposed serious vulnerabilities in Taiwan’s defences of its outer perimeter and eastern regions, prompting a retired US admiral to warn that Washington’s involvement depended on “Taiwan’s will to fight”. In the exercise simulating a 2030 cross-strait conflict, Taiwan lost control of key outlying territories – most notably Penghu, a group of islands 50km (30 miles) east of the main island – as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched...

Sport

3 h. ago Taiwan war game triggers US questions over its ‘will to fight’ if PLA attacks

A high-level civilian war game held in Taipei this week has exposed serious vulnerabilities in Taiwan’s defences of its outer perimeter and eastern regions, prompting a retired US admiral to warn that Washington’s involvement depended on “Taiwan’s will to fight”. In the exercise simulating a 2030 cross-strait conflict, Taiwan lost control of key outlying territories – most notably Penghu, a group of islands 50km (30 miles) east of the main island – as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched...

Events

9 h. ago After the ceasefire, leaders of India, Pakistan seek cover under their flags

Pulled back from the brink by a ceasefire, nuclear-armed India and Pakistan avoided a potentially catastrophic collision, but the tides of nationalism unleashed by the four-day clash are still rising on either side of the border. Now, leaders of the two nations are seeking to cement a political dividend from the May conflict, with competing claims of victory relayed to domestic audiences attuned to triumphalism whenever the two nations clash. “The conflict has created a national fervour on both...

Politics

9 h. ago After the ceasefire, leaders of India and Pakistan seek cover under their flags

Pulled back from the brink by a ceasefire, nuclear-armed India and Pakistan avoided a potentially catastrophic collision, but the tides of nationalism unleashed by the four-day clash are still rising on either side of the border. Now, leaders of the two nations are seeking to cement a political dividend from the May conflict, with competing claims of victory relayed to domestic audiences attuned to triumphalism whenever the two nations clash. “The conflict has created a national fervour on both...

Politics

20 h. ago Air India crash witnesses recount horrific scenes of corpses and dead dogs

It was just another long and languorous summer afternoon for Chirag Patel at his mobile phone retail shop near Ahmedabad’s airport on the outskirts of the western city when he was greeted by a shocking sight in the sky – a massive Air India plane was plunging towards a building. “We are used to seeing planes taking off or landing at the airport, but I was horrified to see one heading right at us. The plane’s tail struck a building that houses a student hostel and got stuck. The front portion...

Events

21 h. ago 8 arrested for road races in Hong Kong, including 1 who allegedly used police car

Hong Kong police have arrested a 29-year-old man who used a vehicle believed to be a retired squad car in illegal road races, alongside seven other men caught in the same operation. Chief Inspector So Chi-bing of the regional crime unit in Kowloon East said officers had arrested eight men on Thursday after the force investigated media reports and online footage depicting several cars chasing after one another and switching lanes at high speed last month. “In the footage, the force noticed that...

Events

21 h. ago 8 arrested after video of retired police car road racing in Hong Kong goes viral

Hong Kong police have arrested eight men on suspicion of taking part in illegal road racing, including a 29-year-old man who allegedly drove what appears to be one of the force’s retired vehicles. Chief Inspector So Chi-bing of the regional crime unit in Kowloon East said officers arrested the eight men on Thursday after the force investigated media reports and online footage depicting several cars chasing each other and switching lanes at high speed last month. “In the footage, the force...

Events

22 h. ago ‘Any time, any place’: Philippine army to be deployed to South China Sea islands

A senior Philippine military official has revealed a soon-to-be-deployed strategy that would involve an army contingent to support law enforcement units on occupied islands in the South China Sea. Observers said the strategy would align with Manila’s policy shift from an internal to external defence posture aimed at protecting the country’s territorial waters. One expert, however, warned that it could lead to more aggressive moves by the Chinese navy and coastguard if Beijing were to view...

Politics

22 h. ago Huawei’s AI chip output limited to 200,000 in 2025, US commerce official says

Huawei Technologies is expected to ship no more than 200,000 of its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors this year, according to a senior Trump administration official overseeing US export controls, who estimated that “most or all of” those chips would be supplied to enterprises within China. That figure would pale in comparison to the more than 1 million China-specific H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) produced by Nvidia in the last nine months of 2024, according to a January...

Politics

22 h. ago China extracts critical mineral rubidium from brine for first time

Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the commercial extraction of the critical metal rubidium directly from salt lake brine, potentially slashing dependence on imports – mostly from Canada – that now supply two-thirds of China’s needs. This industrial-scale method produces ultra-pure rubidium chloride from ultra-low concentrations, offering a new domestic source for this strategically vital material. The Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes (ISL) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)...

Politics

27 h. ago As Chinese exporters explore home market, how are letters of credit helping?

After the United States imposed so-called reciprocal tariffs on imports from China in April, Beijing took steps to help Chinese exporters sell their products domestically. In addition to the staging of product promotion events across the country and the offering of fiscal and financial incentives, Beijing also encouraged the increased use of letters of credit (L/Cs) to help such businesses switch focus to the domestic market. What is a domestic letter of credit? A letter of credit, also known as...

Politics

28 h. ago ‘Important step’: fatal crashes prompt Malaysia to curb speeding lorries, buses

Malaysia will require owners of lorries and buses to install a device that prevents vehicles from going faster than 90km/h, after a spate of fatal road accidents, including a bus crash on Monday that killed 15 university students. Malaysia’s roads are among some of the world’s most dangerous, with one person dying every two hours according to government statistics between March 2024 and March 2025. Lorries and buses routinely flout the speed limit of 90km/h, and high-speed collisions are common...

Events

29 h. ago China delays approval of $35bn US chip merger amid Donald Trump’s trade war

China delays approval of $35bn US chip merger amid Donald Trump’s trade war  Financial Times

Politics

33 h. ago Chinese solar firms bank on overseas expansion to survive amid US tariffs

Chinese solar and energy-storage companies will continue to press ahead with their overseas expansion with or without a long-term agreement on trade tariffs, as production abroad holds the key to their long-term survival, according to executives at China’s largest solar industry exhibition. Although the US and China reached a 90-day truce in their ongoing tariff war in May, solar panel exports from China and Southeast Asia to the US are still subject to tariffs of as much as 3,521 per cent, with...

Economics

34 h. ago TikTok’s sister app Douyin courts merchants with lower deposit fees

TikTok owner ByteDance, whose Douyin short video app has emerged as a popular e-commerce shopping platform in China, will cut the guarantee deposit payable by merchants, in a move designed to keep existing sellers and lure new ones amid fierce competition. The deposit, held by the platform on behalf of sellers to cover potential costs such as refunds or penalties, would be capped at 5,000 yuan (US$695), a fraction of the previous maximum of 500,000 yuan. As a result, the deposit payable by...

Events

36 h. ago Trump seems to reverse course on Chinese students in US, saying he supports them

US President Donald Trump reiterated his support for Chinese students in America on Thursday and pledged to help them remain in the country after graduation, distancing himself from initiatives that his administration has announced to limit or block international students because of national security concerns. “I’ve always been strongly in favour of it. I think it’s a great thing,” Trump said on Thursday, referring to Chinese nationals seeking to study in the US. “It’s also good for our schools....

Politics

43 h. ago Beijing national security authorities carry out operation with police in Hong Kong

Beijing’s national security authorities in Hong Kong launched a joint operation with local counterparts on Thursday over a case of suspected collusion with foreign forces. The investigation is the first publicly known joint operation by Beijing’s national security arm in the city and the local police force. According to authorities, six people and an organisation were suspected of having committed the offence of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national...

Events

44 h. ago Nvidia CEO says Huawei has everyone ‘covered’ if US chip ban on China stays

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said his company’s technology remained a generation ahead of those developed by China, but warned that Huawei Technologies was in a position to expand its semiconductor business should US chip export curbs stay in place. In an interview with US broadcaster CNBC on Thursday, Huang appeared to echo recent published remarks made by Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, who said the Chinese company’s Ascend artificial intelligence (AI) processors lagged behind...

Politics