Advertisement
Advertisement
Latest

Diplomacy

BYD made Brazil’s slave labour list. The man behind the decision lost his job

Union said sacking is part of pattern of political meddling in slavery cases.

videocam
BYD vehicles in the production line at the company’s electric vehicle factory at the Industrial Complex in Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil, on February 3, 2026. Photo: Reuters

Diplomacy

To compete with China, US needs to rebuild rare earth talent from the ground up

Washington’s mining ambitions may be complicated by the erosion of industrial know-how and a weak education pipeline, experts say.

videocam
Illustration: Henry Wong

Celebrities

Meet Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa’s son, actor Joaquin Consuelos

Joaquin’s parents met on the set of All My Children and have been married since 1996 – they have 3 kids, including Joaquin’s sister Lola Consuelos.

Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa with their son Joaquin Consuelos on the opening night of the latter’s play. Photo: @kellyripa/Instagram

United States & Canada

Dozens arrested as protesters demand US blocks sale of bombs to Israel

Led by anti-war group Jewish Voice for Peace, demonstrators attempted a sit-in at the Manhattan office of top Democrat Chuck Schumer.

New York police officers carry a person after making an arrest during a protest against the war in the Middle East outside the offices of US Senator Chuck Schumer in New York on Monday. Photo: EPA

Asia Opinion

Opinion | Pakistan has the world’s attention. Now it must focus inwards

For Islamabad, sustaining its diplomatic success will also depend on how effectively it addresses internal challenges.

videocam
Workers remove a billboard after the peace talks between the US and Iran ended without a deal, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 12. Photo: EPA
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Americas

Brazil’s fugitive ex-spy chief detained by ICE in the US

Alexandre Ramagem fled Brazil in September after his conviction for plotting a coup with ‌former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Alexandre Ramagem at a rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2024. Photo: AFP

Europe

Wife of Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez charged with corruption

Begona Gomez, who is on an official visit to China with Sanchez, denies charges including embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, right, and his wife Begona Gomez at Tsinghua University in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP

United States & Canada

Hezbollah leader asks Lebanon to cancel meeting with Israel in Washington

‘We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity,’ said Naim Qassem ahead of Tuesday’s planned talks.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem gives a televised speech from an unknown location in a screengrab from video released on August 15. Photo: Al Manar TV / Reuters TV / via Reuters

United States & Canada

Judge drops Trump’s US$10 billion Wall Street Journal case over Epstein report

Trump launched the lawsuit after the newspaper published a letter it claimed Trump wrote to Epstein in 2003. Trump says the letter is fake.

Donald Trump, left, and Jeffrey Epstein in an undated image released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on December 12. Photo: House Oversight and Government Reform Committee / TNS

Australasia

Super Typhoon Sinlakua bears down on group of remote US islands in Pacific Ocean

Trump has approved emergency help for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where Sinlakua is expected to make landfall on Tuesday.

videocam
A satellite image provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows super typhoon Sinlakua in the Pacific Ocean on Monday. Photo: NOAA via AP
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Europe

EU launches operations of critical minerals procurement platform

The move aims to cut reliance on dominant producer China and give more power to regional buyers.

European Union flags fly at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: AFP

Law and Crime

Hongkonger arrested on suspicion of underage sex and scamming girls of HK$33,000

Suspect told girls they could earn money with ‘compensated dating’, only for him to have sex them and extract cash using excuses, police say.

According to police, the suspect recruited the girls for “compensated dating” with promises of payments of between HK$30,000 and HK$100,000. Photo: Getty Images

Society

Hong Kong puts launch of basketball betting on hold

Home Affairs and Youth Bureau concerned over effects of rapidly growing prediction market, with Jockey Club saying it respects government’s move.

A Jockey Club betting branch in Central. The club was expected to run basketball betting. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Europe

‘Failing to help’: Ex-UK PM Boris Johnson criticises ‘timidity’ over Ukraine

Johnson’s three-day trip to Ukraine is the subject of a feature-length documentary called ‘Into The Kill Zone’.

videocam
Britain’s former Prime Minister Boris Johnson stands surrounded by Ukrainian national flags and flags of military units as he visits the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. Photo: via AP

United States & Canada

Singer Britney Spears checks into rehab following arrest: media

The 44-year-old is scheduled to appear in court in May for her driving-under-the-influence arrest, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Britney Spears in Los Angeles in 2019. Photo: via TNS
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Hong Kong Economy

Maisy Ho remembered as dedicated philanthropist and community servant

Hong Kong Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau praises her ‘profound dedication to community service’ and for caring for underprivileged.

Maisy Ho (right) and her sister, Pansy Ho, attend a ceremony at Government House in 2016, where Maisy received the Bronze Bauhinia Star. Photo: Edward Wong

United States & Canada

Canadian PM Carney on verge of majority government amid special elections

Votes are being cast in three districts. Winning just one of them would give the Liberals the ability to unilaterally pass any bill.

videocam
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks in Montreal on Saturday. Photo: AP

US

‘Quick and brutal’: US moves to block Iranian ports as Tehran threatens strikes

Vessels accessing Gulf ports will not be blocked, however, situation remains fluid as Trump warns any violating ships would be ‘eliminated’.

videocam
39
A billboard with a graphic design about the Strait of Hormuz on a building in Tehran, Iran, April 13, 2026. Photo: WANA via REUTERS

Diplomacy

Could Trump’s Hormuz blockade derail China summit with Xi Jinping?

US president’s move forces China into political dilemma and could create a flashpoint ahead of his meeting with Chinese leader, analysts say.

videocam
11
Chinese President Xi Jinping with US counterpart Donald Trump outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2017, during the US president’s first term in office. Photo: Xinhua

Economy

Hungary’s PM-elect Magyar sends warm overture to China, vows fair play for firms

Peter Magyar pledges reforms to restore transparency and fiscal stability as Hungary shifts from Viktor Orban’s investment model.

videocam
Peter Magyar speaks to the media in Budapest on Monday. Photo: AP
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Travel & Leisure

Exploring Armenia’s ‘other side’ on a 5-day tour off the tourist trail

From coffee to carpets and hikes to hillside churches, going off the beaten path in Armenia reveals cultural gems beyond its capital, Yerevan.

Odzun Church, located in Lori province, is one of the oldest churches in Armenia, and is one of many old Christian sites connected by hiking trails in the nation’s countryside. Photo: TNS

Diplomacy

Why Beijing isn’t panicking over Hungarian PM Orban’s stunning election defeat

China’s substantial investments in the central European country point to bilateral cooperation that is mutually beneficial, analysts say.

videocam
4
Peter Magyar, leader of Hungary’s Tisza Party, waves the national flag at a victory rally in Budapest on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Europe

‘Failure’: UK murder of 3 girls should have been prevented, says inquiry

Agencies did not fully ‘take ownership of the risk’ while teenage killer’s parents bore ‘significant responsibility’ too.

A crime cordon in Southport, England, in July 2024 following a knife attack by a teenager. Three little girls died and ten people were injured. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

Trade, travel and TV: Taiwan industries hail Beijing’s 10-point economic package

Measures spark hopes for hard-hit sectors in possible KMT poll boost, but ruling DPP warns about economic access as a ‘political tool’.

videocam
Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wun arrives in Shanghai on April 7 to begin a six-day trip to the mainland. Photo: AP

Law and Crime

Hong Kong’s Mirror star Keung To fined HK$2,200 for driving offences

Boy band member fined for careless driving in crash last year, and separately for running a red light and failing to display a probationary “P” plate.

Hong Kong singer Keung To has been fined HK$2,200 for careless driving, running a red light and failing to display a probationary sign on his car. Photo: Eugene Lee
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

Hong Kong to slash over 10,000 civil service posts by mid-2027, minister vows

Civil service minister Ingrid Yeung says close to 60 per cent of cuts will be junior roles and about 3 per cent at senior level.

Civil servants leave the office in Tamar during lunch hour. Photo: Jelly Tse

China Opinion

Opinion | As a global Warring States era begins, China must plan for the future

Beijing needs a unifying proposal to replace the current world order that is being upended by US unpredictability.

videocam
China’s permanent representative to the United Nations Fu Cong (centre, front) vetoes a UN Security Council draft resolution on the Strait of Hormuz in New York, on April 7. The proposed resolution encouraged states to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, closed amid the US-led conflict with Iran. Photo: Xinhua

Military

US blockade of Strait of Hormuz is ‘easy for them to do’ but at what cost?

Analysts believe plan to target Iran’s economic lifeline is well within US Navy’s capabilities, but warn this may prompt a military response.

videocam
The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway for oil and natural gas. Photo: Reuters

East Asia

South Korean president’s Holocaust remarks spark Israel outcry

Lee Jae Myung’s comparing military action against Palestinians to the Holocaust comes as Israel remembers the 6 million Jews killed by Nazis.

videocam
4
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. Photo: via EPA

Politics

What Pakistani jets in Saudi Arabia mean for Gulf security in Iran war

Analysts say the Pakistani air force’s presence ‘will complicate Iran’s targeting calculus’ and force it to reconsider its attack strategy.

videocam
Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 fighter jets fly past during a multinational naval exercise near Karachi in February 2025. Photo: AFP