While Luckin Coffee’s Manhattan debut in June 2025 drew wide coverage, signaling the arrival of a Chinese model for discount specialty coffee in the United States, another rapidly growing Chinese chain with an intertwined backstory had already been spreading throughout the country for more than a year, with less media fanfare. Cotti Coffee, which claims…
There was no one in the courtroom on Thursday to speak on behalf of the four men Randy Santos bludgeoned to death with a metal bar as they slept on New York City’s Chinatown streets. No anguished friends or relatives to tell the judge about Chuen Kok, Florencio Moran, Nazario Vasquez Villegas and Anthony Manson’s…
Slowly but surely, Hong Kong is undergoing various scales of transformation. From the mixed-use development around Kai Tak to the revamped waterfronts on both sides of Victoria Harbour, the new railway extensions to the vehicular bypass tunnels below our busy streets, the adaptive reuse of underutilised spaces and the infusion of art and culture into…
A year ago, after more than a decade in the United Kingdom and several years in the United States – including time working for the United Nations in New York City – I returned to Asia and arrived in Hong Kong expecting it to also be a leading hub for international relations. Hong Kong is…
A federal agency gave the first approval to President Donald Trump’s design for an ambitious – and controversial – triumphal arch in the U.S. capital, the first step toward building the 250-foot-tall monument celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts – full of Trump allies – voted to advance the president’s…
Hong Kong is navigating a period of significant economic transition. The city is seeing a surge in family offices. It is an offshore renminbi hub and has one of the world’s most meaningful capital markets. However, it needs systemic change to attract and retain top talent, bring the Hong Kong diaspora back home and lure…
The historic East Coast Blizzard of 2026 smashed all-time records in Rhode Island, and was the heaviest snowstorm in at least a decade in several other cities, including New York City. This storm was named Winter Storm Hernando by The Weather Channel. All-Time Records Smashed The heaviest snow totals from Hernando were in a swath…
Chinese toymaker Pop Mart reported strong annual growth in revenue and net profit for 2025, but not enough to alleviate investor fears that the company remains too reliant on the Labubu phenomenon. Annual revenue jumped 184.7 per cent from a year earlier to 37.12 billion yuan (US$5.4 billion), while net profit surged 284.5 per cent…
Good morning, folks. If you’re meal prepping this week, try seeing it as an act of mindfulness and self-care, rather than a chore to be endured. Here’s how. Now, on to the news. Subscribe to get this newsletter in your inbox each morning. NEED TO KNOW Blizzard conditions in New York City on Monday. |…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is the fresh face of America’s progressive vanguard, so his policy moves are worth watching. His first big move is threatening to raise property taxes unless Democrats in Albany raise taxes on top earners and business. What an ultimatum: Fleece the rich for him, or he’ll fleece them and…