Mainland Chinese technology giants in cutting-edge fields are increasingly treating Hong Kong as a strategic adaptation ground to transform themselves into global multinational enterprises, the citys finance chief has said. Following his trip to attend a forum and visit tech companies in Shanghai and Nanjing last week, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po ...

Hong Kong will consider expanding priority community care to include dementia patients and carers aged over 60 of people with severe disabilities, the citys welfare chief has said, in a bid to better identify high-risk cases vulnerable to tragedy. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Sunday that authorities were actively reviewing the ...

Hong Kong residents living in the villages of Ho Sheung Heung and Yin Kong in Sheung Shui will be allowed to convert their entire houses into restaurants, guest houses or shops without prior application under a pilot scheme aimed at boosting rural tourism. The relevant urban planning work is scheduled to begin in the third quarter this year, and the ...

The South Korean government and defence players are making last-ditch efforts to win Canadas next-generation submarine project worth up to 60 trillion won (US$39.14 billion), as Ottawa is expected to select a preferred bidder by the end of this month. Under the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, the Royal Canadian Navys ageing fleet of four Victoria-class ...

For decades, moving Benins cotton harvest from the north of the country to its southern ports was a slow, difficult journey along unpaved roads. Benin is Africas largest cotton producer, but it lacked the infrastructure needed to connect its northern cotton-growing belt to the coast and processing plants in the Glo-Djigb Industrial Zone (GDIZ) near Cotonou, ...

Within a week of its release, Netflixs new Korean drama Teach You a Lesson, directed by Hong Jong-chan, topped the platforms global non-English rankings for the week of June 1 to 7. Adapted from the popular webtoon Get Schooled (2020), the 10-episode series about a government-backed vigilante unit trying to fix the wrongs in schools has quickly become a ...

A new round of negotiations over the Middle East war was set to kick off on Sunday as Iranian negotiators and US Vice-President J.D. Vance arrived in the Swiss host city, even as Tehran said it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again over Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Before boarding his flight to Europe, Vance told reporters he hoped to make progress on the ...

Hong Kong is the only place in China capable of replicating the financing model of US tech giant SpaceX, which leverages market forces to grow rapidly, former leader Leung Chun-ying has said, urging the city to develop professional services for the emerging aerospace industry. Leung, a vice-chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, ...

Theatre chain Golden Village (GV) and film distributor Clover Films have added eight more screenings of Dear You in its original Teochew language in Singapore. The additional screenings will take place from June 25 to 29 at GVmax at GV VivoCity. Tickets will go on sale at 3pm on June 22 via GVs box office counters and online channels. The move comes after ...

Danny Loong did not fully grieve his fathers death until he became a parent himself. For two decades after his fathers passing, Loong remembered him mostly as a provider and disciplinarian: a man who pushed hard, cared quietly and offered little by way of tenderness. He would ask me, How come youre not this, or that? How come youre not studying hard enough? ...

Hong Kong families are turning away from long-standing summer school favourites in Britain and North America amid soaring airfares, with education consultants reporting a sharp surge in demand for alternatives in Asia. Applications for British summer schools fell 35 per cent this year as Hong Kong parents balk at soaring airfares, fuelled by the war in ...

Thailands crackdown on a loophole that effectively bypasses its restrictions on land ownership by foreigners is causing prospective buyers to delay purchase decisions on luxury villas in resort destinations such as Phuket and Koh Samui, according to agents. Bangkok has stepped up its scrutiny of business and property ownership in the country, with the ...

A China-led team has developed an AI system to detect space hurricanes, a phenomenon in the Earths upper atmosphere that can disrupt satellite signals, radar and radio communications. While the hurricane-like atmospheric phenomenon can have major space weather effects, detection has so far relied on a tedious process of studying satellite images manually. ...

Hong Kongs universities are often celebrated for their global rankings, research output and international reputation. Yet behind these achievements lies a quieter, more fundamental question: how do we define academic excellence and are we measuring the right things? Academic life is driven by intrinsic motivations. Scholars are guided by curiosity, a ...

Cross-border biotech deals between China and the United States are becoming more complicated and could face a modest slowdown as Washington steps up efforts to restrict investment and technology transfers, according to industry analysts. There will be more geopolitical scrutiny going forward. This scrutiny may lead to slightly fewer deals than without it, ...

A former Chinese e-commerce executive in the final stages of a rare disease is still working 12-hour days, devoting what time he has left to accelerating the search for a cure. Cai Lei, 48, a former vice-president of JD.com, one of Chinas largest e-commerce companies, has spent seven years battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable disease ...

Hong Kong election authorities have stopped compiling voter turnout data by age and sex, citing a lack of operational need, in a move that has raised concerns about undermining the transparency of polls. Analysts and politicians said such statistics were valuable for election hopefuls in understanding voter demographics and formulating policy suggestions, ...

Orchard Towers, a building in Singapore once notorious enough to earn the nickname Four Floors of Whores, has found an unlikely new tenant. On weekends, the site of former nightclubs, illegal massage parlours and at least one murder is now flooded with church-goers. Cornerstone Community Church officially opened weekly services at the Orchard Road landmark ...

She was among five girls in Japan believed to have beaten a boy so severely that he required hospital treatment. Yet her most pressing concern was how much money the group should demand from him. To find an answer, she turned to artificial intelligence. The alleged assault took place in January in Hachioji, a city in western Greater Tokyo. For experts, the ...

Britains Observer newspaper said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was expected to resign on Monday and set out a timetable for his departure, though a government source said the leader remained focused on getting on with the job of governing. The threat to Starmers position, which has been building for months, increased sharply on Friday when his rival Andy ...

In late April, Chinas top intelligence agency claimed that foreign forces were weaponising the concept of lying flat to dispel young peoples belief in striving and undermine social values. Once a niche subculture, lying flat has evolved into a mainstream phenomenon over the past five years. Lying flat became a buzzword on Chinese social media around 2021 ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukrainian drones had struck an oil refinery in Russias Tyumen Region in western Siberia, more than 2,000km (1,200 miles) from Ukraine. He also said Ukraine had developed new long-range drones capable of operating over more than 3,000 km. Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelensky offered ...

Claude Guillemot, who co-founded French video-game publisher Ubisoft with his brothers in 1986, has died, the company said on Saturday. Ubisoft was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Claude Guillemot, co-founder of the group and chairman of Guillemot Corp, in an accident, the statement said. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this ...

Russia has freed 24 Filipinos who have been detained for months without charges in a Siberian city, after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr raised concerns about them in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Philippine officials said on Saturday. The 24 were scheduled to arrive in Manila on two flights early on Sunday, with the first batch to be ...

Hong Kong police have arrested a man in connection with three burglaries in Ma On Shan involving losses of more than HK$700,000. Police said on Saturday that they received three burglary reports between April 26 and June 3, concerning two flats at the Sausalito private residential estate on Yuk Tai Street and a house in nearby Tai Shui Hang Village. All ...