Hong Kong customs has made its biggest maritime smuggling bust of the year so far, seizing HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) worth of high-value contraband destined for mainland China.A 32-year-old was arrested in the operation at the Lau Fau Shan water...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on China to use its influence with North Korea to help pressure it into abandoning its nuclear programme.Blinken, speaking in Seoul as part of a trip to shore up Washington’s ties with allies South Ko...

Hong Kong’s civil aviation agency will face a watchdog inquiry over apparent gaps in its regulation of paragliding activities, amid an increase in both the sport’s popularity and concerns over the rising number of worrying incidents, the Office f...

Singapore is poised to issue “immunisation certificates” for Malaysian cargo drivers who have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, which experts have described as a precursor to a broader vaccine passport.Singapore’s trade ministry o...

A 21-year-old man identified as Robert Aaron Long has been arrested on suspicion of killing eight people, including six Asian women, in shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlours.Here is what is known about Long so far.Motive not racial, he say...

The Chinese government has made technology and innovation key priorities in its development plans for the next five years, as it strives to build a “Digital China” and overtake the US as the world’s No 1 economy. In this third and final part of...

Tibetan police announced they believe they have found the body of internet influencer “glacier chaser” Wang Xiangjun, who went missing while visiting a glacier last year. Local police in Lhari County revealed a body was found on Sunday in a noti...

Future work on identifying the origins of the new coronavirus which causes Covid-19 will not focus on the “extremely unlikely” hypothesis that it leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan unless new evidence emerges, according to the Chinese lead of the ...

The parents of children from an affluent international preschool criticised what they characterised as the inconsiderate decision by authorities to send their children to quarantine camps, as Hong Kong recorded 10 new coronavirus cases on Thursday.A ...

A senior Australian policeman suggested on Thursday a phone app be developed to document sexual consent in a bid to improve conviction rates in sex crime cases.New South Wales state police commissioner Mick Muller said dating apps have brought couple...

Russia called its US ambassador back to Moscow for consultations on Wednesday after Joe Biden described Vladimir Putin as a “killer” who would “pay a price” for election meddling, prompting the first major diplomatic crisis for the new Americ...

Myanmar’s military regime piled more charges on ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi as it seeks to justify a February 1 coup and ensure she stays behind bars.The junta charged Suu Kyi with violating an anti-corruption law, which would result in her faci...

Tibet has one of the harshest climates in the world. The air is cold and dry, while the high elevation leaves people exposed to strong sunlight.To cope, Tibetans have for generations been using yak milk and butter to protect their skin.The hearty yak...

Europe’s battered airlines and hospitality industry have been promised a gradual return to a semblance of normality, with a plan to ease coronavirus-induced restrictions on travel.The European Union’s executive arm proposed the introduction of di...

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte claimed an “overwhelming” victory in elections, vowing to use his fourth term in office to rebuild the country after the coronavirus pandemic.Already one of Europe’s longest serving leaders after 10 years in offi...

China will need to spend US$6.4 trillion to build the new green power generation capacity needed to meet its goal of reaching carbon neutrality in 2060, but may fall short on the supply of key raw materials required, according to energy analysts Wood...

Hong Kong medical experts have said they believe incentivising people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 could boost the city’s faltering inoculation rate, but questions remain as to whether enough people will be convinced to get the jab.Chief Execu...

Malaysia’s cities are heating up – recording temperature increases of up to 6.7 degrees Celsius over the last two decades, according to a recent study – but as the nation’s leaders focus more on retaining power and battling the pandemic, the ...

North Korea on Thursday said it will ignore a US offer for talks unless it withdraws its hostile policy towards Pyongyang, days after Washington said it sought to contact the regime through various channels.The statement by Choe Son Hui, the first vi...

Russian President Vladimir Putin was appointed acting prime minister on August 9, 1999, by then president Boris Yeltsin. He has been in office as president or prime minister ever since, a period spanning more than two decades. Here’s what we know a...

Scientists in the US and Canada are opening new fronts in the war against so-called murder hornets as the giant insects begin establishing nests this spring.The scientists said Wednesday that the battle to prevent the apex predators from establishing...

When reporter Lao K went undercover working at a used car sales company he wanted to expose a consumer scam. However, he performed so well that he became vice-director of the company with a dozen staff under him before he revealed the company’s cor...

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has stressed that children being treated in paediatric wards are only placed in restraints after parents are notified and under no circumstances would the adults be unaware of such an arrangement.The authority clarif...

Get back on track, stake out your position and expect very little. That is the essential playbook on both sides as China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, sits down with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday in Alaska, the superpowers’ firs...

The Canadian government confirmed Wednesday that China will soon begin trials for two Canadians who were arrested two years ago in apparent retaliation for Canada’s detention of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologie...

A campaign targeting corruption in the coal industry of Inner Mongolia has been expanded to cover all cadres and officials in the northern Chinese region, with investigations to go as far back as two decades.The blitz on coal industry-related graft b...

Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who drew widespread criticism for his denialism of the coronavirus pandemic, has died only five months after he won a second term in a disputed election. He was 61.“We have lost our courageous leader, President Jo...

An Australian parliamentary inquiry has called on the government to consider revoking the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company citing a new foreign relations law.The decision to lease the port in 2015 caused controversy because it...

A Chinese-Australian businessman who ran for office in the state of Queensland has received an apology over a series of news reports that labelled him “pro-Beijing” and in favour of Chinese expansionism.Peter Zhuang, a property developer-turned-c...

US President Joe Biden decried the wave of “brutality” against Asian-Americans on Wednesday, following mass shootings in Georgia Tuesday night that left eight people dead, six of them reportedly Asian women.“I know that Asian-Americans are very...

Britain will see a significant reduction in the amount of Covid-19 vaccines available at the end of the month due to a cut in manufacturing supply, it said on Wednesday, in a setback to one of the fastest roll-outs in the world.Britain is on track to...

Chinese communications firms operating in the US came under more pressure on two fronts on Wednesday in decisions by the new administration of President Joe Biden, showing a continuation in Washington of hard-line policies that began under former pre...

The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday that it has served subpoenas on multiple Chinese companies that provide information and communications technology services in the United States to see if they pose a national security risk.“Beijing has e...

US and Canadian authorities colluded in an illegal detention, search and interrogation of Meng Wanzhou, which they then tried to cover up in an abuse of process that can only be remedied by setting her free, a lawyer for the Huawei Technologies Co. e...

Hiroshi Sasaki, head creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, said early on Thursday that he would step down over a derogatory suggestion involving a popular female entertainer he made last year ...

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Gavin Bade on politico.com on March 17, 2021.The Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve the nomination of Katherine Tai to be US Trade Representat...

James Levine, one of the world’s most acclaimed conductors who served as music director for the Metropolitan Opera in New York for four decades before sexual abuse accusations ended his career, has died at age 77.His personal doctor, Len Horovitz, ...

When it comes to asset allocation, I am less worried about a taper tantrum over a sudden rise in US interest rates than a violent US-China clash.In this context, it is useful to consider the true cost of conflict. The cost is much higher than a direc...

European Union officials gave the green light to sanctions on Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses in Xinjiang on Wednesday, the first of their kind since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.The penalties were approved at preparatory m...

US President Joe Biden agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer”, and said in an interview on Wednesday that Russia would pay for alleged interference in US elections.His comments, recorded on Tuesday for ABC News, came the same ...

The European Union on Wednesday threatened to ban exports of Covid-19 vaccines to Britain to safeguard scarce doses for the bloc’s own citizens facing a third wave of the pandemic that would jeopardise plans to restart travel this summer.With the n...

Britain aims to forge stronger engagement in the Indo-Pacific region over the coming decade to counter and adapt to China’s rising influence in the region.Releasing a 120-page report on Tuesday, Britain revealed it was putting deeper strategic focu...

Hong Kong plans to power ahead with its adoption of electric vehicles, more than doubling the number of charging facilities in the next four years and gradually converting petrol stations.Unveiling a new road map on popularising electric vehicles (EV...

The United States has continued with its message of countering Beijing’s “coercion and aggression” as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin held one-on-one meetings with their counterparts in Seoul, a day after...

While China expects that its home-grown C919 passenger jet will be officially certified to fly this year, analysts say the nation’s aviation industry is far from capable of filling the void left by Boeing, which remains entangled in a political dis...

Defence lawyers have questioned the credibility of a young Hong Kong boy who had testified against his parents and step-grandmother over abuse he suffered and the death of his five-year-old sister.The eight-year-old “told lies and exaggerated thing...

Three people were killed and nearly 1,900 injured celebrating Iran’s traditional fire festival in the run-up to this weekend’s Persian New Year, emergency services said on Wednesday.One of the deaths came in Tehran, despite an overnight ban on ga...

Much of northern China remained blanketed under sand and dust on Wednesday although the worst sandstorm recorded in a decade was expected to gradually settle from Thursday as cold and wet weather fronts moved in.Earlier this week the storm had caused...

A worrisome prediction by a renowned Chinese economist has sparked heated debate among experts in his field.“Stagflation is coming,” Ren Zeping, chief economist at the Evergrande Group, warned earlier this month. He had earlier cautioned that Chi...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations must suspend Myanmar if its military rulers refuse to restore democracy and release civilian leaders from custody following February’s coup, six prominent past and present regional lawmakers said on Wednes...