From a new border agreement to resuming direct flights and deepening economic cooperation, China and India appear to be entering a new diplomatic chapter following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yis first visit to New Delhi in three years. There could be a further thaw in ties when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Tianjin at the end of the ...

A 42-year-old man who repeatedly molested his colleague at work on the night shift in Singapore was sentenced to 26 months jail and six strokes of the cane on Thursday. He was also ordered to pay S$766.56 (US$596) for the expenses the woman incurred seeking psychiatric and psychological treatment after the assault. He pleaded guilty to three charges of ...

A company in China has landed itself in hot water for praising employees who work extra hours after it emerged that the longest overtime total for one employee was 160 hours in a month. On August 6, the Yisai e-commerce Company in Shanghai issued a notice of commendation for the overtime performances of its staff. The document soon went viral on mainland ...

Chinese shipments of urea a major fertiliser and chemical used to reduce emissions have surged after Beijing reportedly eased an export ban imposed last year to curb domestic prices and maintain food security. Analysts said exports of the chemical a type of nitrogen used in agriculture as well as to curb diesel and industrial emissions may continue ...

Hong Kongs procurement system has failed to detect document fraud and authorities are taking immediate steps to strengthen it, the head of the logistics department has said as he apologises to the public for the first time amid a growing water scandal. Treasury chief Hui Ching-yu, meanwhile, said on Thursday that his task force reviewing the system would ...

South Koreas jailed former first lady Kim Keon-hee is casting herself as a victim of political persecution to rally sympathy and blunt the impact of mounting corruption charges, analysts say. Since August 12, the 52-year-old has been held at the Seoul Nambu Detention Centre, awaiting trial on charges including bribery, stock manipulation and accepting ...

Chinas top political adviser has stressed the Communist Partys strong leadership in a speech reviewing decades of achievements to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet autonomous region. Wang Huning, also Chinas No 4 official, said that since the 18th party congress in 2012, under President Xi Jinpings guidance and comprehensive plan, Tibet ...

Hong Kongs Tseung Kwan O has experienced the highest cumulative rainfall in China so far this year, with 2,397mm (94.37 inches) recorded in the first 7 months, topping a chart from the national meteorological centre. But Leung Wing-mo, former assistant director of the Hong Kong Observatory, said on Thursday that while southern China was more prone to heavy ...

Alibaba Group Holding plans to spin off its Banma Network Technology unit, as one of Chinas largest technology behemoths moves ahead with a separate listing for its autonomous driving unit to raise capital. Alibaba has received an initial go-ahead from the Hong Kong stock exchange for Banmas proposed initial public offering (IPO), the company said in a ...

Hong Kong authorities have extended a special allowance for transitional housing tenants for another two years. Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on social media on Wednesday that the two-year pilot scheme launched in 2023 will be renewed, with the amount of the allowance to be increased by around 10 per cent due to the rising cost of living. ...

North Korea has quietly built and operated a sprawling long-range missile base near the Chinese border that stores Kim Jong-uns most advanced strategic weapons, showing Pyongyangs ongoing efforts to advance its nuclear strike capabilities, a think tank said. The base in Sinpung, North Pyongan province, located 27km (17 miles) from the border with China, ...

US Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Wednesday that European countries will have to take the lions share of the burden of Ukraines security guarantees as Washington tries to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Russia. I dont think we should carry the burden here. I think that we should be helpful if its necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing. ...

Chinese artificial intelligence unicorn Z.ai, formerly known as Zhipu, has joined forces with Alibaba Group Holdings cloud computing unit to push a new general-purpose AI agent for smartphones, tablets and desktop computers that handles everyday tasks such as ordering food and making reservations online. Beijing-based Z.ai, which created the AI agent, said ...

Simon Leung, an experienced event coordinator in the social work sector, has been unemployed for nearly 18 months and said he would settle for a job as a security guard or a mooncake production assistant in Hong Kong. The jobseeker, who holds a civil engineering degree from Queens University in Canada, has been surviving as a gig worker after working for a ...

Chinas exports of permanent magnets rose to a six-month high in July, marking a second month of growth after the government pledged to accelerate export permit approvals for the rare earth derivative. According to customs data, China exported 5,577 tonnes of permanent magnets last month, up 75 per cent month on month. Rare earth permanent magnets are an ...

Some bottled water brands in Hong Kong are taking advantage of a growing government procurement scandal to promote their products. Watsons Water posted on social media on Wednesday that its products were safety and quality assured, highlighting its strictly controlled production processes, which included multiple filtration and high-temperature ...

When I first arrived in Beijing in the summer of 2012, I was greeted with what local authorities called a historically rare storm. Trains were late, traffic was congested, basements were flooded and a man driving an SUV drowned in logged water under the Guangqumen Bridge. A total of 79 people died and the government vowed to make changes. Then Beijing mayor ...

A Chinese woman who sought shelter from the rain in a lottery shop and casually bought a scratch card has won a million yuan (US$140,000), astonishing and delighting many people online. On August 8 in Yuxi, Yunnan province, southwestern China, an unidentified woman was caught in a sudden downpour and stepped into a lottery shop in the Hongta District to ...

The massive success of Chinas mini dramas at home has prompted the industry to set its sights more squarely on the global market, with ever more studios exploring potential in North America, Southeast Asia and beyond. The productions going overseas include translated Chinese dramas and original ones made with local teams. The push comes as Beijing urges ...

Hong Kongs restaurant sector is in crisis, with a wave of closures, shrinking margins and residents lured by cheaper options locally and across the border. In the second of a two-part series, the Post looks at how operators are bucking the trend to thrive and survive. Read part one here. Shortly after Italian chef Stefano Rossi opened his restaurant in one ...

Canadas status as the dominant supplier of canola to China appears to be under threat as shipments plunge amid a tit-for-tat tariff battle between the two nations. And Australia is already emerging as an alternative source of the staple vegetable oil, analysts and industry insiders say. Chinas imports of canola from Canada fell by 55 per cent year on year ...

A unit of Foxconn Technology Group, the worlds largest electronics contract manufacturer, is investing US$30 million in Hong Kong-based Robocore Technology, marking the Taiwanese companys foray into the smart robotics market. Foxconn Technology an independently listed firm in Taipei that is 9.88 per cent owned by the Apple and Nvidia supplier made the ...

Elon Musk was ordered on Wednesday by a federal judge to face a lawsuit by voters accusing the worlds richest person of defrauding them into signing a petition to support the US Constitution for a chance to win his US$1 million-a-day giveaway. US District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas said Jacqueline McAferty plausibly alleged in her proposed class ...

Hong Kong stocks remain favourable, as attractive valuations and easing tariff uncertainty have enhanced the predictability of corporate earnings on the citys stock market, according to US fund manager Franklin Templeton. The firm, which manages US$1.5 trillion of assets worldwide, was constructive on Hong Kong and mainland Chinas stock markets, as the ...