After winning legislative backing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club to offer basketball betting – an initiative aimed at drawing punters away from illegal online bookmakers and capturing additional tax revenue – the government has now paused the roll-out. Officials say the rise of prediction markets has altered the landscape and warrants closer examination. So,…
By Cassell Bryan-Low, Louisa Off and Anja Guder HOHENFELS, Germany, April 30 (Reuters) – At a U.S Army training facility in Germany on Thursday, some senior officers highlighted the benefits of American presence in the country, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was reviewing whether to reduce troop numbers in the country….
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) – The United States imposed sanctions on former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, according to the Treasury Department website. Kinshasa has long accused the former president of assisting the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in Congo’s troubled east. Last year, Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia in a military court in…
April 30 (Reuters) – Residents of the Russian port city of Tuapse were ordered not to drink tap water and schools remained closed on Thursday, as authorities grappled with the aftermath of the third Ukrainian drone strike on its oil refinery this month. The area has been subject to a state of emergency since Tuesday,…
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump faces a deadline on Friday to end the Iran war or make the case to Congress for extending it, but the date is most likely to pass without altering the course of a conflict that has lapsed into a standoff over shipping routes. Ending the war…
The Panama Canal has emerged as the latest maritime flashpoint, with the United States and China exchanging barbs in recent weeks over influence in what is one of the world’s most important shipping routes. Earlier this week, Washington and its allies in the region accused Beijing of detaining and holding up Panama-linked ships – and…
BEIJING, April 30 (Reuters) – Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng had “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over a video call on Thursday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. The Chinese side “expressed serious concern over the recent U.S. restrictive trade measures against China”, but…
BEIJING, April 30 (Reuters) – China and the U.S. should prepare for “important high-level exchanges”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, while warning the Taiwan issue is “the biggest point of risk” for relations. “The Taiwan issue concerns China’s core interests,” Wang told…
The international order is under mounting strain. In recent years, unilateralism, protectionism and the selective application of international law have eroded confidence in the rules-based frameworks that once underpinned global cooperation. The return of Donald Trump to the centre of American politics, along with the policy instincts the US president represents, has only reinforced concerns…
By Humeyra Pamuk and Tala Ramadan WASHINGTON/DUBAI/ISLAMABAD, April 29 (Reuters) – Iran said on Thursday that if Washington renewed attacks it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on U.S. positions, complicating U.S. plans for an international coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz. Two months into the war that started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on…