Hong Kong customs officers have arrested three men in connection with 131 kilograms (289 pounds) of suspected ketamine worth about HK$51 million (US$6.5 million), disguised as sugar cubes and found in air cargo transported to the city. Chiu Kai-wing, a senior investigator with the Customs and Excise Department’s drug investigation bureau, said on Saturday that…
MOSCOW, July 14 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that there could be no security guarantees for Ukraine without Russia’s involvement, responding to a statement by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Moscow should play no part in shaping such arrangements. Merz said on Monday that the issue – central to attempts to end the…
PARIS, July 14 (Reuters) – Some 500 soldiers from the “Coalition of the Willing” backing Ukraine marched down Paris’ Champs-Elysees on Tuesday in the annual Bastille Day parade, in what France said would be a symbol of Europe’s strategic awakening. France’s traditional national day military parade fell one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy joined…
PARIS, July 13 (Reuters) – Western allies will seek to secure more air-defence commitments for Ukraine when they meet in Paris on Monday, as shortages have left it increasingly exposed to Russian ballistic missiles, despite recent shifts in momentum on the battlefield Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be joined by at least 25 leaders for…
There are many disconnects in financial markets. One of them is Japan’s benchmark 10-year bond yield, which currently stands at just 2.7 per cent despite the country’s large public debt burden – more than 240 per cent of economic output. Although Japanese bond yields have risen sharply in the past three years, the 10-year yield…
Hong Kong has become the world’s most unequal society in terms of wealth distribution, a study has found, as the core drivers of income inequality in the city have shifted from wage disparities to capital concentration, reducing social mobility. The findings of the study, which analysed the evolution of income and wealth inequality in the…
As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead. Resuming extradition agreements with some countries is up to the ones that suspended them, Hong Kong’s security…
By Julia Payne, John Irish and Michel Rose EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France, June 17 (Reuters) – G7 host France is pushing partners to agree a statement on critical minerals on Wednesday that could include measures to help the West reduce its reliance on China and shield investors from counter-measures and dumping, diplomats said. The leaders will discuss…
A proposed university town in Hong Kong will set aside vacant land to capitalise on future opportunities arising from social and technological changes, a minister has said, days after a top official revealed that the project size could be tripled to 300 hectares (741 acres). Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin on Wednesday told the…
Hong Kong ranks among the world’s largest data centre hubs but has a carbon footprint exceeding the global average, a United Nations think tank study has found, urging a responsible strategy to tackle the “unintended impacts” of using artificial intelligence (AI). The June report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health…