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 ...

A company linked to CSI Properties chairman and founder Mico Chung and his wife has sold a luxury house on The Peak for HK$105 million (US$13.4 million), according to official records. Aqua Sole Company sold the property at 27 Plantation Road to Hu Hanyang in a transaction completed on June 12, according to Land Registry records. Companies Registry filings ...

Hong Kong police have arrested 150 people in a three-day crackdown on an illegal bookmaking syndicate that handled more than HK$320 million (US$40.8 million) in wagers, as officers warned against unlawful betting during the Fifa World Cup. About 600 officers carried out raids across the city between Friday and Sunday, targeting factory units in Kwai Chung, ...

The judge who convicted former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak over the 1MDB scandal said the plunder of the sovereign wealth fund was so vast that it eclipsed the exploits of Attila the Hun, one of historys most notorious conquerors. The scale of the plunder that took place (financially speaking, of course) made Attila the Hun look like a choirboy in ...

The Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP) and SenseTime, a Chinese artificial intelligence firm headquartered and listed in the city, have partnered to build a home-grown AI data centre by 2030 to support the sectors industrialisation. The data centre will be built in three stages, with phase one expected for completion by the end of this year, ...