Hong Kong Ocean Park does not rule out shutting down its Water World facility to prevent further deficit and will actively consider if the government is willing to take over operating rights, its chairman has revealed. Paulo Pong Kin-yee admitted on Thursday that the theme parks HK$274.7 million (US$31.8 million) deficit over the past year was primarily ...

As China prepares to unveil its next five-year plan on Thursday, the mouthpiece of the countrys ruling Communist Party has styled the nations socialist system as a source of strength that powers the development of the vast Chinese economy and provides stability to the global economy. In an editorial published on Thursday morning, Peoples Daily said that ...

A collector has offered Malaysias growing trading-card community a chance to own a piece of Pokemon history after putting part of his rare trove up for sale at 1.87 million ringgit (US$441,993) or willing to trade it for a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S plus additional cash. Damiral Imran listed his collection on social media, where he described it as history, ...

Beijing is likely to view the growing defence cooperation between India, South Korea and Australia as a strategic effort to contain China in the Indo-Pacific, according to analysts. They said closer defence ties between the three reflected concerns over a possible security vacuum in case the United States reduced its military presence in the region. The ...

A Chinese national who United States authorities accuse of trafficking large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl into the US before being arrested and then escaping custody in Mexico was recaptured in Cuba, Mexican authorities said Wednesday. Zhi Dong Zhang, alias Brother Wang, was indicted in federal court in Atlanta in 2022 on drug trafficking and money ...

South Koreas former first lady Kim Keon-hee has again made headlines after revelations that she sat on a royal throne during a private palace visit triggering ridicule that she must have fancied herself a queen, given her oversized influence over her husband. Kim reportedly sat on the throne during a private tour of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main royal ...

Hong Kong airports north runway has been temporarily closed as two salvage vessels with an 80-member crew are set to arrive in the city to lift a crashed cargo plane that veered off its path and killed two people. The Airport Authority said that the north runway would be closed starting from 8am on Thursday, with the operation to salvage the aircraft, which ...

China should break free from Western discourse traps over issues such as state subsidies, democracy and the global order to challenge double standards about its rise, a former official policy adviser has urged. Ding Yifan, a former deputy director of the Institute of World Development, a government think tank, also said many Chinese scholars were reluctant ...

Global hotel chain operator Hilton plans to introduce new brands to mainland China, aiming to meet evolving lifestyle demands amid its rapid expansion in the worlds second-largest economy. Qian Jin, president of Hilton Greater China and Mongolia, said in an interview this week that the US hospitality group remained bullish on the mainlands market, where Gen ...

Millions of tonnes of discarded electronics from the United States are being shipped overseas, much of it to developing countries in Southeast Asia unprepared to safely handle hazardous waste, according to a new report released on Wednesday by an environmental watchdog. The Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN) said a two-year investigation found at ...

A Chinese man who had a gold straw worth 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) tailor-made for drinking milk tea accidentally dropped it while riding his electric bike. The man surnamed Shou, from eastern Chinas Zhejiang province, recently went viral because he asked for police help to look for the golden drinking implement. Shou was riding his electric bike home at ...

As Japans new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office, she wasted no time extending an olive branch to South Korea, calling it an important neighbour and praising its culture. But how long will the goodwill last? Concerns linger in South Korea that Takaichi, known for her nationalist leanings, may eventually adopt a more hawkish stance, risking again ...

Huawei Technologies on Wednesday released to consumers in China the latest version of its proprietary operating system, HarmonyOS 6, that enables direct file transfers between Huawei and Apple devices for the first time. HarmonyOS 6, which was initially made available to developers in June, is expected to be found in more than 90 Huawei devices including ...

Car sales in mainland China are likely to slide in 2026, breaking a six-year streak, if Beijing stops granting cash subsidies and tax incentives to buyers, according to a JPMorgan forecast that looms over the earnings outlook for the countrys 100-odd vehicle assemblers. We expect retail [car] sales to see flat growth next year in a bullish scenario, Nick ...

With an eye to transforming Cambodia into a Southeast Asian travel and cargo hub, a new US$2.3 billion airport developed by a venture affiliated with one of the countrys wealthiest men was opened at a grand ceremony near Phnom Penh, where officials and business leaders praised the project for enhancing regional connectivity and deepening links with Hong ...

The Chinese governments recent announcement of more export controls on rare earth-related items marks a significant shift in global economic statecraft. The new measures, covering a spectrum of rare earth elements, other critical materials and relevant processing technologies, have been justified as measures to safeguard national security and fulfil ...

The US military struck a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, expanding a controversial campaign against cartels that had been so far limited to the Caribbean Sea. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the strike in a social media post on Wednesday, saying two narco-terrorists were killed. Narco-terrorists intending ...

Speculation has grown that Chinas latest Type 076 amphibious warship, which will serve as a drone carrier and is capable of launching fixed-wing fighters, has begun testing its advanced electromagnetic catapult. The Sichuan, which is currently being fitted out at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, was pictured on Chinese social media with its ...

The director of the Louvre on Wednesday admitted there was inadequate security camera coverage of the outside walls of the museum, three days after a brazen daytime heist stunned the French capital. Senators grilled Laurence des Cars over how thieves were able on Sunday to make off with an estimated 88 million (US$102 million) in jewels from the ...

Ukraine could buy up to 150 Gripen fighter jets, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Wednesday after the signing of a letter of intent on stepping up aviation cooperation between the two countries. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference, Kristersson said the letter of intent would create the conditions for a ...

Political purges, funding cuts and a growing hostility towards expertise have unsettled the US research community, evoking memories among Chinese-Americans of a dark chapter in Chinese history and prompting some to look to China for stability. The Cultural Revolution, launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 to eliminate bourgeois influence and consolidate his power, ...

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would travel to Malaysia later that day as scheduled to meet with Chinese officials over what he called Beijings incredibly aggressive measures to curb rare earth exports. The meeting is seen as a stepping stone to a sit-down in South Korea next week on the ...

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Wednesday that Israel must allow the UN aid agency in Gaza, known as UNRWA, to provide humanitarian help to the war-torn territory. The UN General Assembly asked the court last year to give an advisory opinion on Israels legal obligations after the country effectively banned the United Nations Relief and ...

A body representing Hong Kongs semi-private schools is considering promoting its institutions to Southeast Asian countries, with more than 60 per cent of members saying they plan to admit more non-local students under a new government trial scheme. Sharing its enrolment strategy on Tuesday, the Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council said that the region was ...

A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of land which Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israels parliament on Wednesday. The vote was the first of four needed to pass the law, and it coincided with the visit of US Vice-President J.D. Vance to Israel, a month after President Donald ...