Category: China

One of Europe’s most prominent fintech companies, UK-based digital bank Revolut, plans to set up operations in Hong Kong, the Post has learned, after executives met with the city’s financial chief in London. The news emerged on Tuesday as Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po commenced his visit to the British capital, where he also met representatives from family offices across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Chan on Tuesday also attended a dinner hosted by Hong Kong’s Trade Development… Source link

Volkswagen Group has ramped up its “all in” strategy for China, banking on local development capabilities and a new electric vehicle (EV) architecture to fight back against domestic rivals and regain its leading position in the world’s largest vehicle market. The German carmaker’s China operations are now able to design and validate new models without going through approvals from headquarters, reducing development time and costs to respond quickly to local needs. On Tuesday, the company… Source link

US President Donald Trump has denied a report that he was considering removing FBI Director Kash Patel amid a string of controversies. “No, he’s doing a great job, I think,” Trump told reporters Tuesday aboard Air Force One. MS NOW reported earlier Tuesday that Trump was considering replacing Patel with FBI co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey, as concerns swirled over the director’s social media posts during high-profile investigations and the use of a government jet to visit his girlfriend. “This… Source link

Escalating global conflicts could create opportunities for China’s private defence companies as customers, both at home and abroad, seek affordable and reliable military equipment, according to industry insiders. “The international landscape is highly favourable for our private enterprises’ participation in the defence industry,” said Li Yi, a researcher with Beihang University’s Shenzhen Research Institute. Li made the comments on Monday at a military exhibition in the southern city of… Source link

What began as a self-drive holiday to Thailand turned into a harrowing ordeal for 74-year-old Singaporean Ronnie Toh. For the trip had coincided with some of the worst flooding to hit the country’s south in years, with days of heavy rain inundating major roads, cutting power to neighbourhoods and disrupting water supply. As the rain intensified and water levels rose in the city of Hat Yai, one of the declared disaster zones, Ronnie got separated from his family and became uncontactable. It… Source link

Hong Kong’s leader has announced that the Yau Ma Tei section of the 4.7km Central Kowloon Bypass will open on December 21, cutting commute time between West Kowloon and Kai Tak from 30 minutes to just five. The 3.9km tunnel section is part of a larger route that connects Kowloon East in Tseung Kwan O with Kowloon West in Yau Ma Tei, significantly reducing travelling time from 65 minutes to 12 during peak hours. “On December 21, the Yau Ma Tei section of our new Central Kowloon Bypass will open…. Source link

A restaurant in South Korea has caused controversy by refusing to serve solo diners as the country experiences an increase in the number of people staying single. A sign outside the noodle restaurant in Yeosu City, South Jeolla Province in the south of South Korea, went viral on social media after an internet user who visited the eatery posted it online on November 17, according to a report by the Korea Times. The notice said the restaurant provides four “options” for customers eating alone: pay… Source link

Nearly one-third of Hongkongers planning to settle in the UK under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme are retirees, homemakers or students, groups likely to be affected by a proposed income threshold for immigrants, a survey has shown. It also found that 16 per cent of BN(O) visa holders who had only completed secondary school might struggle to meet the tougher English-language requirement, according to a survey by the London-based Sutton Hongkongers group. The survey interviewed 690… Source link

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has insisted his country remains neutral as a mediator in the escalating border row between Thailand and Cambodia, as criticisms mount over his peacemaking role. The backlash reflects how divisive the conflict has become, with some factions in Thailand and Cambodia viewing foreign-brokered truces as harmful to their interests. Analysts say Anwar is keen to avoid provoking such sensitivities, mindful of deep-seated distrust in Thai–Cambodian relations and… Source link

The FBI has requested interviews with six Democratic members of the US Congress who in a video message told members of the military they can legally refuse to carry out unlawful orders, a Justice Department official said on Tuesday. The Pentagon on Monday threatened to recall Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth described on social media as “seditious” acts. US President… Source link

Joan Branson, the wife of British billionaire Richard Branson, has died at age 80. Branson announced her death on Tuesday on social media. No other details were disclosed. “Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” he said. “She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for. She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world.” Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Atlantic airline, space tourism… Source link

As China’s traditional spirits and premium wines grapple with declining consumption, a significant shift is under way across the beverage landscape. This three-part series examines the challenges faced by Maotai town as its once-coveted baijiu loses its lustre, the impact of economic shutdowns on European wine imports, and the rise of craft beer as a budget-friendly alternative for consumers seeking quality without breaking the bank. Marshall Su, a 30-year-old headhunter based in Shanghai, has… Source link

As South Africa hands over the Group of 20 presidency, something more consequential than a routine rotation is taking place. The moment marks the end of an unprecedented cycle: four consecutive presidencies led by major economies of the Global South – Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa. For four years, the G20 was steered by countries whose development priorities, demographic structures and geopolitical positions diverged from those of the Group of Seven. In 2026, the gavel will pass to… Source link

US President Donald Trump did not bring much holiday cheer Tuesday when bestowing ceremonial pardons on two Thanksgiving turkeys, dispensing more insults than goodwill at the traditional White House ritual. He joked about sending the turkeys to an infamous prison in El Salvador that has been used to house migrants deported from the United States. He said the birds should be named Chuck and Nancy – after Democratic stalwarts Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi – but “I would never pardon those… Source link

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro started on Tuesday to serve his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt designed to keep him in office after losing the 2022 presidential elections, a move that many in the South American nation doubted would ever take place. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has overseen the case, ruled Bolsonaro will remain at the same federal police headquarters where he has been since he was pre-emptively arrested on Saturday for being… Source link

There are moments in statecraft when a government reveals its strategic character. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s new administration has shown one such moment – and it was encouraging. On Ukraine, Berlin has moved with a decisiveness long thought beyond its political metabolism. Weapons are flowing. Defence production is expanding. Germany is anchoring Nato’s eastern flank and, for the first time in decades, speaking like a country prepared to bear the burdens of European security. On China,… Source link

The Philippine military has confirmed that plots to oust President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr were “not far-fetched”, but downplayed fears of a coup led by troops and said there was “no junta” forming within its ranks. “There is no such thing as a military junta within the [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” military spokeswoman Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said on Tuesday. Her comments come amid rising public anger over a corruption scandal linked to flood-control infrastructure amounting to 100… Source link

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies. In a speech to allies known as the coalition of the willing, Zelensky urged European leaders to hash out a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” to Ukraine and to keep backing Kyiv for as long as Moscow showed no inclination to end its invasion. US and… Source link

In a rare instance of China-US cooperation on a sensitive frontier technology, Tencent Holdings’ cloud unit has struck a partnership with San Francisco start-up Cartesia to develop next-generation voice artificial intelligence applications. Tencent Cloud said in a statement on Tuesday that it had formed a “strategic partnership” with Cartesia, which last month raised US$100 million for its text-to-speech model, Sonic 3. Tencent’s “enterprise-grade global real-time communication infrastructure”… Source link

Villagers demonstrate against drive for alternative funeral practices instead of burial to preserve land resources Protests have erupted in China’s southern Guizhou province, the latest in a string of rural demonstrations that have seen incidents of unrest increase by 70% compared with last year. The protests in Shidong town started over the weekend in response to a directive from local authorities that people should be cremated rather than buried after their death. Continue reading… Source link

US President Donald Trump’s phone calls with both his Chinese and Japanese counterparts this week suggest Washington is engaged in a delicate balancing act over the Taiwan issue. These high-level communications are also intended as a message to Japan, and other US allies, that Taiwan is not a top priority for the Trump administration and should not disrupt the stabilisation of Sino-American ties, according to diplomatic observers. On Tuesday morning, Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae… Source link

Beijing is expected to calibrate its response to Japan with caution, weighing potential punitive measures against the risk of economic blowback, analysts say. And while China possesses an arsenal of levers – from tourism curbs to export controls – the experts warn that a heavy hand could backfire. “China won’t move abruptly,” said Xu Weijun, an assistant research professor with the Institute of Public Policy at the South China University of Technology. He noted that economic interdependence… Source link

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that a key theme of his interviews for the next chair of the Federal Reserve has been simplifying the US central bank, which he indicated has become too complex in how it manages money markets. “One of the things in terms of the criteria that I’ve been looking for” has been the interplay of the Fed’s various instruments, Bessent said on CNBC Tuesday. “I realise the Fed has become this very complicated operation.” Bessent said his final second-round… Source link

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has banned the selling and consumption of dog, cat and bat meat to prevent rabies transmission, the city’s governor announced on Tuesday, in a win for animal rights advocates. “I have signed the regulation … which prohibits the sale of rabies-transmitting animals for food purposes,” Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said in a statement on social media, a month after promising to do so. The regulation, which Pramono said he signed on Monday, provides a six-month grace… Source link