The recent intervention by the Dutch government to seize control of Nexperia, citing the rarely-used Goods Availability Act, last invoked during the Cold War, has ignited a significant escalation in tensions with Beijing. This exceptional move sparked immediate retaliation from Beijing, which imposed export controls on Nexperias China operations, escalating ...

A 93-year-old Hong Kong plastic surgeon unlawfully killed a top banker by gross negligence during a botched Botox injection seven years ago, a jury has found. A seven-member High Court jury on Thursday reached a unanimous decision that found Dr Franklin Li Wang-pong had committed all the acts alleged in the original manslaughter charge before he was ...

China has promoted Zhang Shengmin, the militarys anti-graft chief, to vice-chair of the powerful Central Military Commission headed by President Xi Jinping. Zhang Fengzhong, a senior general with the PLAs Rocket Force, has been placed under a corruption probe. Zhang Fengzhong was an alternative member of the Central Committee. More to follow

Beijing has pledged to make notable progress in pursuing high-quality development, and substantially improve its capacity for technological self-reliance and innovation in the next five years, as it wrapped up the fourth plenum of the Communist Partys Central Committee, where the country's political leadership deliberated on the next five-year plan. China ...

Indonesia and Brazil agreed to boost ties and struck a series of agreements on Thursday as their leaders met in Jakarta, with Southeast Asias biggest economy looking to make further inroads into South American markets. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was greeted by a marching band and national anthems at a ceremony at the presidential palace ...

A Chinese firm under chipmaker Nexperia has openly challenged its Netherlands-based head office, accusing it of spreading misinformation to customers and further raising tensions in a dispute that could affect the stability of global industrial supply chains. Nexperia (Shanghai), one of nine China-registered entities under the Dutch company, asserted its ...

Wage growth in Hong Kong has slowed from 3.5 per cent in 2024 to 2.5 per cent this year, mirroring a cooling trend across the Greater Bay Area, with salaries declining significantly after the United States launched a trade war in April, according to a survey. The 2025 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Pay and Benefits Survey, released on Thursday, ...

Global cooperation is needed to help smaller and developing nations defend themselves against cyber threats, Singapore has warned, stressing that cybersecurity is only as strong as its weakest link. Speaking on Thursday at the Singapore International Cyber Week a weeklong gathering of global policymakers, industry leaders and cybersecurity experts to ...

Chinas top legislative body said it would require stronger regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) safety and ethics in an amendment to the countrys Cybersecurity Law. Wang Xiang, spokesman for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, told reporters in Beijing on Thursday that the amendment draft had ...

A former wealth banker at Citigroup got the longest sentence in Singapores biggest money laundering case for his role in aiding the movement of illicit funds and obstructing justice. Wang Qiming, a former relationship manager at Citibank Singapore, was sentenced to 24 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to four out of 10 charges. The prosecutor sought ...

Hong Kongs leader has called on the public and private sectors to encourage employees to vote in the coming Legislative Council election, describing it as their social responsibility. At the ceremony to launch the election on Thursday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu urged both public institutions and businesses to encourage employees to take part in the ...

A man in Singapore offered a woman S$5,000 (US$3,848) and a public apology after he was confronted for molesting her buttocks as he exited a lift with his wife. Chinese national Hu Guisheng, 39, was jailed for six days upon pleading guilty on Wednesday to one charge of outrage of modesty in the March 8 incident. The social visit pass holder was in a lift at ...

A video of a dog in southwestern China driving a four-wheeled mobility scooter has taken the internet by storm. The talented canine, who can also skateboard, turn on lights, and even take out the rubbish, has left many people amazed. Captured in Meishan, Sichuan province, the black dog was filmed standing on the scooter, paws on the steering wheel, barking ...

China could beat the United States to become the first country to find water on the moon, with all international payloads already handed over for its next robotic lunar mission which is slated for launch in August. Tang Yuhua, deputy chief designer for the Change-7 mission, said the spacecrafts development was progressing smoothly, with scientific ...

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 ...