Afghanistan’s Taliban government released an American citizen from detention on Sunday, a week after freeing an elderly British couple.

In a statement the country’s foreign ministry identified the detainee as Amir Amiri and said he had been handed over to Adam Boehler, Washington’s special envoy on hostages.

Boehler made a rare visit to Kabul earlier this month to discuss the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the Taliban government.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan released an American.…

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that he is ending his campaign for re-election.

In a video released on social media, Adams spoke with pride about his achievements as mayor, including a drop in violent crime.

But he said that “constant media speculation” about his future and a decision by the city’s campaign finance board to withhold public funding from his re-election effort made it impossible to stay in the race.

“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my re-election..…

A pep talk from Australian leader Anthony Albanese kick-started UK Labour’s annual conference on Sunday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggling to convince nervous members that he can lead the “fight of our lives” against the surging hard-right.

Although the ex-lawyer led Labour back to power in Britain in July last year after 14 years in opposition, scandals and policy missteps have already raised doubts about his future.

The four-day gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, comes amid..…

The Chinese foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong and the city government have slammed the latest edition of a US report on the local business environment, saying it continues to “maliciously smear and make unfounded and false accusations” against the national security law.

The US State Department issued its “2025 Investment Climate Statements” report two days ago covering more than 170 countries and economies, with the section on Hong Kong prompting the rebukes on Sunday.

The foreign ministry’s..…

Two men were arrested in Hong Kong shortly after they allegedly snatched three Audemars Piguet watches worth more than HK$5 million from a store in the shopping hub of Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday.

Police received a report from a female employee of Mariane Jewellery and Watches Company on Hankow Road at about 5.30pm that two men had entered the premises and snatched three high-end Swiss timepieces.

The men who had posed as customers grabbed three Audemars Piguet watches before fleeing the scene, a...

China’s aerospace industry is undergoing a quiet but potentially game-changing manufacturing revolution that could make rockets and satellites as efficiently produced as cars, according to scientists involved in the project.

Through a painful structural reform, the country’s state-owned space sector is adopting a new production philosophy known as the “final assembly pull” system, a model inspired by lean manufacturing principles seen in the car industry.

This emerging system aims to...

Denmark will ban all civilian drone flights across the country this week to ensure security as Copenhagen hosts an EU summit gathering heads of government, the transport ministry said on Sunday.

Mysterious drone sightings across Denmark since Monday have prompted the closure of several airports, with Denmark hinting at possible Russian involvement, charges Moscow has rejected.

Drones were observed over Danish military sites overnight for the second straight day, Denmark’s army said on...

China’s first drone-carrying amphibious assault vessel, the Sichuan, is expected to begin sea trials soon following the release of new images of the ship.

Pictures circulating on social media showing that the covers had been removed from the Type 076’s electric launch catapult and that a radar system had apparently been installed generated speculation that the ship was ready for the trials.

The release of the images came ahead of the week-long National Day holiday and followed the successful...

While it has China as its main trade partner and the United States as its primary export destination, Vietnam is strengthening its economic, political and military ties with Russia. The country is carefully balancing its relations with all three powers while trying to get the most economic and strategic benefit from each.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2024 visit to Vietnam seems to have been mutually beneficial. On the one hand, it allowed the Kremlin to demonstrate to a Russian audience...

Swire Pacific chairman Guy Bradley bought a luxury property in the Southern district of Hong Kong for HK$50 million (US$6.4 million), as affluent investors continue to show confidence in the city’s home market.

The low-density luxury apartment with a saleable area of 2,832 sq ft, located at 10A-10B Stanley Beach Road, was sold to Bradley at HK$17,655 per square foot, according to Midland Realty.

The chairman “had been searching for an investment on Hong Kong Island because he remains optimistic.…

More Hong Kong employers have opted to hire contract workers in recent years, a leading recruitment consultancy firm has said, pointing to an economic slowdown and uncertain conditions as driving factors.

Vivian Tsang Yuen-wa, associate director of tech and transformation at Robert Walters, said in a recent interview that she believed contracting could provide a solution to the manpower shortages seen in some sectors and the city’s rising unemployment levels.

According to the Robert Walters Hong…

Tunisia has unveiled a new Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Acupuncture Clinical Skills Training Centre, just months after the country’s health minister, Mustapha Ferjani, made a visit to China.

The facility, located at Mongi Slim University Hospital, just 18km (11 miles) from the capital Tunis, was opened on Friday and is a direct result of the two nations reaching a series of agreements on health cooperation during the February visit.

Chinese ambassador to Tunisia, Wan Li, said the...

China’s transport authorities are expecting an increased number of journeys during the upcoming National Day holiday, which starts on Wednesday.

Deputy transport minister Li Yang, said on Sunday that the authorities expected around 2.4 billion journeys during the eight-day break, around 295 million travellers each day – a 3.2 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

The “golden week” holiday will begin on Wednesday, China’s National Day, and runs into the following week to...

China’s carrier-borne J-35 fighter has a radar cross-section smaller than a human palm, pointing to a big step forward in stealth technology, according to state media.

The size of the cross-section – a measure of how detectable an object is by radar – was revealed in a programme aired on state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday.

“As a stealth fighter, the J-35 series’ low observability comes from its unique airframe shape and the country’s proprietary metamaterial technology,” CCTV reported.

“In the..…

Some Hong Kong taxi drivers have said they have no choice but to swallow a 100 per cent increase in metered parking fees from HK$8 (US$1) to HK$16 per hour that took effect on Sunday, adding that they will need to work harder to offset the higher charge.

The doubling of fees applies to all of Hong Kong’s more than 20,000 roadside metered parking spaces, with the charge jumping from HK$2 to HK$4 per 15 minutes, except for those for coaches, buses and trucks.

Among 10 vehicles queued for metered..…

Chinese budget retailer Miniso plans to spin off its Top Toy brand and list it in Hong Kong, riding a wave of investor enthusiasm for Chinese toymakers and highlighting the city’s renewed status as a global fundraising hotspot.

The business, which will remain a subsidiary of Guangzhou-based Miniso post spin-off, focuses on pop culture-inspired collectible toys. Hong Kong-listed Miniso had said in June it was assessing a potential spin-off of Top Toy, signalling growing confidence in the brand’s.…

The US military launched a covert strike on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, dropping several massive bunker-busting bombs on a single target. While US officials claimed the sites were completely destroyed, some reports suggested the core of these facilities might have survived.

This scenario underscores a persistent challenge in modern warfare: even the most powerful conventional weapons may fail to eliminate deeply buried, hardened underground targets.

But what if nuclear weapons were used.…

A Chinese tourist recovering from collarbone surgery has garnered praise for prioritising someone else’s safety over his own by descending a cliff to rescue a drowning Japanese woman at a tour site in Japan.

The 54-year-old man, identified as Yang, hails from Xian in Shaanxi province, northwestern China. He was travelling with his wife at Jogasaki Beach in Shizuoka Prefecture on September 16 when they heard someone fall into the sea.

Yang reported seeing a woman floating in the water face up at.…

Some ferry services in Hong Kong will be disrupted during peak hours to accomodate two PLA naval vessels visiting this week, while bus services will be stepped up to reduce the impact on commuters.

The Transport Department said on Sunday that ferry services would be interrupted on Tuesday and Friday. It called on residents to plan appropriately and set aside sufficient time for travel.

The city will welcome the People’s Liberation Army’s training vessel, the Qi Jiguang, and the amphibious...

India is expected to continue developing a key port in Iran due to its strategic value as a trade gateway to Central Asia and the Middle East, despite the project facing the threat of imminent US sanctions, according to analysts.

Washington’s revocation of a waiver on sanctions for the Chabahar port may lead to delays in construction and investments, as well as complicate India’s efforts to boost trade with Afghanistan and beyond, forcing it to rely again on overland routes through its...

The world’s first methanol dual-fuel-powered car carrier vessel has visited Hong Kong on its maiden voyage to Europe, as the city moves towards becoming a green maritime fuel bunkering centre.

Commissioned by a unit of conglomerate China Merchants Group and built in the southeastern province of Jiangsu, the CM Hong Kong docked at Tsing Yi on Sunday flying the city’s flag.

At a ceremony to mark the maiden voyage, Hong Kong’s No 2 official, Eric Chan Kwok-ki, said authorities were actively...

The giant inflated yellow rubber ducks that visited Hong Kong twice over the past 12 years have joined a parade of intellectual property (IP) characters in Victoria Harbour.

The Tolo Founding Duck made a return to the city on Saturday. One of the ducks was encased in an ita-bag stretching three metres (11.4 feet) high at the Ngong Ping 360 cable car attraction on Lantau Island. Visitors will have until November 2 to check out the display.

The Japanese term ita-bag refers to bags displaying...

Hong Kong stands at a pivotal juncture. The opportunities presented by the Greater Bay Area are immense, and the city’s Northern Metropolis is the strategic gateway to realising this potential.

As boldly envisioned in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address, this project is more than a property development; it is the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s transformation into an international innovation and education hub, critical to fulfilling our role in national strategies.

To succeed, we must..…

Allowing US companies like Nvidia to compete in China fits the interests of both Beijing and Washington, according to Jensen Huang, the US chipmaker’s founder and CEO, as Chinese players gear up to be Nvidia-free.

Washington should allow its technology industry to compete globally – including in China – to “proliferate the technology around the world” and thereby “maximise America’s economic success and geopolitical influence”, he said.

China is “nanoseconds behind” the US, “so we’ve got to go..…

A Chinese man who forgot to turn off the gas stove at home only remembered it while he was on a flight, but fortunately, the flight crew acted swiftly to avert a potential disaster.

The passenger, identified as Wang, on a Spring Airlines flight from Shanghai to Singapore urgently sought assistance from the crew members mid-air, as reported by the Shanghai media outlet Xinmin Evening News recently.

Wang recounted that before leaving home, he had forgotten to turn off the stove. By the time he...

Ukraine said on Sunday that Russia pounded the country with “hundreds” of drones and missiles overnight, killing at least four people in the capital alone, as neighbouring Poland scrambled jets to secure its airspace.

The attacks came after Russia warned Nato against taking sterner action in response to alleged incursions into airspace covered by the military alliance.

The barrage also followed the revelation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv had received a US-made Patriot air.…

The Philippines is among Asian nations to be covered by a US$55 million maritime defence funding from the United States, but Manila is not expected to buy any significant game-changing security assets with its share.

Analysts say while the funding signals Washington’s focus on pulling mid-sized states into its orbit to counter Beijing’s growing regional presence, the Philippines is likely to use its undisclosed allocation on radars, drones and coastguard purchases.

US Secretary of State Marco...

Hong Kong is accelerating reforms of its financial market by making the sector’s ecosystem more resilient and comprehensive, the finance minister has said, as the city grapples with geopolitics and a rapidly changing technology-led global landscape.

Paul Chan Mo-po also said on Sunday that Hong Kong would take a two-pronged approach by strengthening its advantages and diversifying the financial market to contribute to the nation’s development into a financial powerhouse.

The city had a key role.…

Hong Kong is set to deploy AI to detect early signs of lung cancer among residents and plans to create a new government office to proactively fast-track approval for innovative treatments from around the globe, the health minister has said.

The move signals a major strategic shift by authorities towards new technologies and an aggressive intervention against various forms of cancer, which accounts for one in every four deaths in the city.

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau also said on Sunday...

Some Chinese skiers are travelling to an unexpected destination to take part in the winter sport: the hot and humid tech hub of Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province, during next month’s eight-day National Day holiday, also known as the “golden week”.

Qianhai Huafa Snow World, which is being touted as the world’s largest indoor ski resort, is set to open there on Monday as authorities look to tie the winter sports economy to efforts to boost consumption.

The 10-hectare (24.7 acre)...

Hong Kong authorities are considering relaunching a scheme that lets public flat tenants purchase their rented property at a discount, but they will not introduce it in the near future due to concerns about maintaining control over the housing supply.

Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on Sunday authorities needed to study the pricing and number of flats to be offered before a pilot scheme could be launched, which would take a considerable amount of time.

Ho said the government would.…

The southern Chinese city of Sanya suspended all flights and neighbouring Haikou closed its port as Hainan Island braced for the arrival of Typhoon Bualoi on Sunday.

Bualoi, coming close on the heels of Super Typhoon Ragasa, was expected to skim the island and make landfall in Vietnam later in the day.

By 10am, the typhoon’s centre was about 160km (99 miles) from Sanya and most of Hainan Island was within the typhoon’s seventh-level wind zone of 50-61km/h (31-38mph), according to the China...

A grandmother from eastern China has shattered age stereotypes, becoming an internet sensation for her graceful and energetic skateboarding skills, earning the affectionate nickname “Chasing Wind Girl” from netizens nationwide.

Grandma Liu, 68, originally from Shandong province and now living in Chengdu, Sichuan province, discovered her passion for skateboarding in February 2022.

Accompanying her daughter, surnamed Dong, to select a skateboard, Liu was instantly captivated by the sport after...

American actress and singer Selena Gomez married her boyfriend, music producer Benny Blanco, in a star-studded southern California wedding ceremony on Saturday.

The Only Murders in the Building” star posted a slideshow of pictures and videos on social media from the wedding, showing Gomez, 33, in a wedding dress and Blanco – real name Benjamin Joseph Levin – donning a tuxedo, with the couple seen in a variety of affectionate poses.

The post is captioned “9.27.25” between two white emoji hearts,.…

Ramen restaurant operator Dominic Tang insists on going to a wet market in Hong Kong to buy seafood to prepare shrimp soup every day, resisting the temptation to use a low-cost pre-made option.

Tang, 39, made a decision to forgo potential savings of 30 per cent on labour and ingredients after visiting an upmarket restaurant and spending HK$700 (US$90) on dim sum only to find that some buns had imprints from packaging paper.

He did not complain but vowed never to return to the restaurant...

As China’s National Day holiday approaches, prices of hairy crabs, one of the most popular seasonal gifts at this time of the year, are down markedly as the first batches are delivered to markets across the country.

Industry insiders predict that prices will fall further, citing higher production, shrinking gift-giving demand and weak household spending.

Businesses and wealthy individuals have long regarded hairy crabs, which are prized for their unique flavour, as an ideal gift for clients and.…

Hong Kong police have launched an investigation after a 58-year-old man was found dead inside a parked car on Saturday evening.

The force said it received a report at 5.47 pm on Saturday from a security guard who found the man collapsed inside the vehicle at Hong Keung Court residential estate’s car park in Lok Fu.

The man, surnamed Wong, was certified dead at the scene, it said.

According to media reports, the man had been playing football with friends at the nearby Morse Park until 11am that..…

Two diners at an all-you-can-eat hotpot restaurant in Hong Kong have been caught trying to sneak fresh seafood, beef and instant noodles into bags to take home, prompting staff to intervene.

A video clip circulating on social media shows an employee at the restaurant in Tsuen Wan approaching a man and woman to ask if they had put uncooked materials into a large bag.

“Please take them out, for the sake of food safety,” the waiter says, explaining that all uncooked food must be served on-site and.…

China’s full artificial intelligence technology stack was on display at this year’s Apsara Conference, the annual gathering of Alibaba Cloud users and developers held every September in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province.

Downpours on Wednesday failed to keep crowds away following an opening speech by Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming, where he announced new AI infrastructure spending beyond the originally promised US$53 billion, sending the company’s shares to a four-year high.

Crowds..…

The number of Japanese travellers to Hong Kong jumped more than 32 per cent for the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2024, an encouraging sign of recovery for tourism authorities in the Chinese city seeking to draw more visitors from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Between January and July, 395,375 Japanese travelled to Hong Kong, a healthy 32.2 per cent increase on the same period last year. This figure is still, however, slightly more than 46 per cent down on arrivals in...

China’s Sanxingdui archaeological site – considered a cornerstone of early Chinese civilisation from 4,500 years ago – is pioneering digital exhibitions to show a broader international audience its immense collection, including top national treasures not permitted to travel overseas.

Yu Jian, deputy director of the Sanxingdui Museum in southwestern China, said the institution planned to show its artefacts at an international exhibition next year.

Final plans for the exhibition required state...

Iran’s clerical rulers face one of their gravest crises since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, caught between growing discontent at home and a stalled nuclear deal that together have left the country more isolated and divided.

The United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran on Saturday after last-ditch talks between Tehran and European powers Britain, France and Germany failed to resolve the latest of decades of stand-offs over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Without a breakthrough in talks with the West,.…

Now that the US Federal Reserve has embarked on a policy easing cycle, with some other central banks around the world following suit, property investors must treat these changes as temporary and remember that there is no substitute for proper research into specific markets and assets, according to consultants.

The Fed cut its target rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4 to 4.25 per cent during the sixth meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee last week. The Fed’s easing was widely...