Taiwans recent launch of Himars rockets westwards towards the Taiwan Strait highlights how the islands defensive strategy is shifting to the use of mobile strike weapons to disrupt a mainland Chinese attack before it reaches shore. The exercise on June 10 was the first time the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System had been launched in the direction of ...

Alcohol has played a central role in human culture for at least 10,000 years, with the earliest known alcoholic beverage a rice wine originating from the Henan province of central China. However, much of our understanding of these early adult beverages is superficial at best. Recently, a handful of studies from China are shedding light on what the oldest ...

An asteroid discovered by a Hong Kong-born astronomer has been named after a firefighter who died in the citys deadliest blaze in decades, with his fiance expressing gratitude for a move that turned him into an eternal star. Ho Waiho, 37, was killed in the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po last November while helping to evacuate residents. To honour his ...

One of President Donald Trumps pet beauty projects for Washington was supposed to make the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool look blue, like part of the US flag. Enter Mother Nature. Algae has proliferated in the water, turning it a swampy green. Can you see it in my photos? Oh well, Ill just use a filter to hide the algae, said Farrah Lu, a 43-year-old ...

The expected reopening of the Strait of Hormuz under a US-Iran ceasefire framework could ease pressure on South Koreas energy-dependent economy while creating a thornier diplomatic problem for Seoul: how much should it contribute to securing the waterway? That question is likely to shadow President Lee Jae Myungs visit to the Group of Seven summit this week ...

SpaceX roared past Amazons market valuation on Tuesday and briefly topped that of Microsoft, rapidly scaling the list of the worlds most valuable companies on a topsy-turvy trading day fuelled by frenzied action in the firms newly listed option contracts. SpaceX shares rose 4.8 per cent to close at US$201.80, giving Elon Musks company a market value of ...

The race for artificial intelligence has hardened into a two-power contest between the United States and China, fought over rare earths, data and the rules governing the technology, with Latin America and Europe sidelined, Brazils top foreign policy adviser said on Tuesday. Celso Amorim, a former foreign and defence minister, made the case at the Forte de ...

As trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels continue to rise, Chinas firms in the European Union have been forced to walk a delicate tightrope: expanding their presence in the lucrative market while grappling with heightened regulatory hurdles and rapid geopolitical shifts. In the second part of this three-part series, we look at whether China and the EU ...

The Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue is back in the diplomatic conversation. It has not formally restarted, and no summit is on the horizon. But the signals are here. In 2025, Moscow again pushed for reviving the RIC format. India said any meeting would have to be arranged in a mutually convenient manner, a cautious but open formula. China said it was ...

The two-week US trip by Taiwans main opposition leader offered Washington a different take on cross-Strait relations, although whether it will change anything remains in question, some experts said. Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun landed back in Taipei early on Tuesday, concluding a five-stop visit she called beyond expectations. Cheng began her ...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang whose work helped enable artificial intelligence stressed in an interview on Tuesday that society has no choice but to change in the advent of AI. Huang has been optimistic about the technologys potential to rapidly change society, creating faster economic growth and more scientific breakthroughs. But as the head of a computer chip ...

A department store in central Paris announced on Tuesday the end of its cooperation with Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant Shein, which, French media reported, could see the e-commerce platforms first physical store closed by this Christmas. La Societe des Grands Magasins (SGM), owner of the historic BHV Marais, which sits opposite Paris City Hall a few ...

Two passengers were killed late on Tuesday when a truck slammed into their taxi on a wet highway in Hong Kong, with the cab flipping at least six times and tossing one of the victims onto the road. Police said the collision occurred at about 10pm on Tsing Sha Highway in Cheung Sha Wan as both vehicles were heading eastbound. The taxi was struck by the light ...

Sailors on board a Russian frigate fired warning shots at a civilian yacht near the Isle of Wight in the Channel that had come near to it on Tuesday, a source familiar with the incident said. Britains ministry of defence said it was investigating reports of an incident in the Channel. No injuries were reported. The incident involved the Russian frigate ...

A jobless man accused of killing his girlfriend in a Hong Kong village house and illegally disposing of her body four years ago has claimed he mistakenly beat her to death while trying to help her lose weight by keeping her awake at night. Ng Ka-sing, 29, is standing trial at the High Court for allegedly murdering his 30-year-old partner Yip Tsz-ching at ...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] For modern-day businesses, effective AI adoption is increasingly seen as make or break if they are to stay competitive. Executives do see this potential but frequently reduce it to little more than a tool for drafting reports or creating slides. And this digital divide is what the ...

A Hong Kong court has dismissed a HK$12 million (US$1.53 million) claim against actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi by her former agent, finding that she had never signed an agency contract she allegedly breached nor received advance payment for her services. Cheung, 46, was involved in a legal battle with Asia Entertainment Group (AEG) president Samuel Yu ...

The Iran war has exposed major risks for Southeast Asia that could cost the region billions of dollars, if it does not diversify sources of energy more quickly, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report released on Tuesday. An overreliance on oil and gas transported through the Strait of Hormuz left the region particularly vulnerable to ...

Hong Kongs graft buster has received more than 1.5 times as many corruption complaints concerning building renovation in the first four months of this year compared with the same period last year, following heightened public concern over bid-rigging after the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire. In response to the surge in complaints, the Independent Commission ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed support for Myanmars leadership under former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday, reinforcing Beijings influence as its southern neighbour struggles to contain a gruelling civil war. Speaking after a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Xi said Beijing prioritised its ties with Myanmar, which he said ...

Hong Kong must remain an outward-looking economy and a free port to thrive, current and former leaders of the citys trade promotion body have said, stressing the importance of working with mainland China and tackling challenges creatively. Hong Kong Trade Development Council chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang and four of his predecessors spoke on Tuesday at a ...

A floating Chinese platform at Scarborough Shoal has revived fears in the Philippines that Beijing could be taking another incremental step towards turning one of the South China Seas most sensitive disputed features into a permanent outpost. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday it would not allow any structure to be built at the shoal, ...

Israels efforts to phase out American military aid signal the decline of US alliances under the demands of Washingtons America first position, according to a prominent Chinese international relations analyst. Zhu Zhaoyi, executive director of the Institute of Middle East Studies at Peking University HSBC Business School, wrote in a commentary published on ...

Many people believe Chinese artificial intelligence models are leading the global tech race even in countries considered key US allies according to a new poll by the London-based consultancy Public First. However, the poll also revealed that China lags in trust regarding its AI models. The survey, which covered over 18,000 people across 15 countries, ...

Is the economic decline of Europe worse than the last decades of the Qing dynasty? Thats a question posed by Luis Vassy, director of Sciences Po, one of Frances premier universities. It has caused something of a stir in Europe and China. The European Union has seen its share of the world economy fall from 30 per cent to 17 per cent between 2008 and 2025, a ...