Alexandra Eala crashed out in the Ningbo Open last 16 on Thursday as world No 1 Elena Rybakina reached the quarter-finals on her return from injury when opponent Polina Kudermetova retired. Top seed and defending champion Rybakina was cruising 5-0 in eastern China when the world No 105 from Uzbekistan called it quits because of injury. Philippine history-maker Eala suffered a battling straight-sets defeat to Diana Shnaider, the Russian world No 13 winning 7-5, 6-4 to book a quarter-final against...

This month alone, Europe has threatened China with a trade “kill switch”, rebuked it in parliament, sent its trade commissioner on a much-trumpeted trip to Beijing and announced three new economic security instruments. The sequence exposed a European Union that has no clear goal on China, no hierarchy of priorities and has reached no agreement on what it wants from Beijing or on what it would pay to get it. China has built its European policy around this vacuum. Its method rewards patience:...

Nasdaq-listed fintech company Solana and healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson are among the latest batch of enterprises in artificial intelligence, healthtech and advanced manufacturing to establish or expand operations in Hong Kong, bringing in more than HK$10 billion (US$1.28 billion) in investment to the city. The 18 enterprises signed agreements on Thursday with the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), a government unit under the Financial Secretary’s Office tasked with...

Hong Kong’s top banking regulator has called for greater innovation in the city’s financial system to help address “pain points” in the real economy, as the city works with mainland Chinese and Asia-Pacific partners to navigate a host of sustainability, geopolitical and other challenges. “True innovation in finance is not simply about chasing novelty; it’s about transforming conventional financial tools into efficient solutions,” said Eddie Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary...

Less than two weeks after Brussels and Beijing struck a surprise deal to avert an escalating trade dispute, their fragile rapprochement has descended into a battle over who blinked first. In Brussels and Berlin, officials are emboldened by what they consider proof that collective EU pressure can force Chinese concessions. Rather than resting on their laurels, they are cooking up a fresh batch of trade restrictions. Beijing, on the other hand, has bristled at the idea that it can be strong-armed...

Deepening “symbiosis” with artificial intelligence model start-up DeepSeek is helping Chinese tech champion Huawei Technologies catch up with Nvidia’s chip hardware and software ecosystem in a scenario that could mean Jensen Huang’s “nightmare is starting to come true”, according to a new report. DeepSeek’s latest software releases, on top of its increased experimentation with Huawei’s powerful Ascend 950PR chips, reveal that the technological gap with the US is closing, as the two firms...

The president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) has urged Beijing and Washington to push more negotiations down to working-level officials, saying businesses need greater long-term stability in bilateral ties than leader-level diplomacy alone can provide. Michael Hart, president of the chamber, said American businesses were encouraged by the unprecedented frequency of meetings between the presidents of China and the US, but warned that working-level officials had less...

A mob of about 50 people beat a foreign national to death on Thursday in South Africa’s port city of Durban, a flashpoint for anti-migrant sentiment, police said. Durban has been a focus of months of protests against foreign nationals, with looting and violence erupting after an anti-migrant march in the city two weeks ago. Thursday’s attack in the city centre was on the sidelines of a march, police said, without being able to say what the demonstration was about. Two men from the group...

In its first formal statement with a Red Sea nation on the fallout from the US-Iran war, China said in a joint communique with Djibouti that it backs “constructive efforts” to ensure international shipping lanes are safe and open. The statement on Thursday was released a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Djiboutian counterpart Abdoulkader Houssein Omar met in Beijing. “The two sides emphasised the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab...

In the 67 years the Link Hong Kong Open has been in existence, the leaderboard has never featured two local players at the top – Matthew Cheung and Isaac Lam briefly changed that on Thursday. Out among the morning groups, the pair carded matching six-under-par 64s, a score South Korea’s Kim Mink-yu also posted, to sit one-stroke clear of a bunched chasing pack at Hong Kong Golf Club. The trio were later overhauled by Jazz Janewattananond and Poosit Supupramai, who shot 63s, while Anirban Lahiri...

From the cockpit of an F-22 fighter to an aircraft carrier sailing in the Pacific, the US military is showing new ways to command uncrewed aircraft over vast distances. The United States disclosed two tests this month as Washington seeks to outpace Beijing in a technology contest that could redefine air and naval power in the region. Illustrating US military advances and their potential significance for a Taiwan conflict, an F-22 pilot controlled an autonomous YFQ-44A combat drone during flight,...

China’s lithium-ion battery exports to the EU surged in the first three quarters of this year, as Chinese carmakers rush to build factories in Europe amid a tightening of import restrictions on electric vehicles (EVs). Power inverter exports to the bloc’s members also grew strongly despite EU efforts to exclude Chinese products from publicly funded energy projects. Shipments of Chinese lithium-ion batteries to the EU were worth US$31.2 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 46 per cent...

Tesla’s “flying” Roadster stunt has set social media alight worldwide, turning a car launch into a debate about technological innovation and China-US rivalry. At an event in Texas on October 15, Tesla unveiled its redesigned sports car, the Roadster, with stunts including a takeoff from a steep, curved ramp and a leap over parked cars. Pre-orders are open in China with a deposit of 332,000 yuan (US$50,000) for the street-legal, two-seat “Performance” package. The flying-car reveal quickly turned...

Dancing with the Stars’ Val Chmerkovskiy did not accompany Jenna Dewan on the stage for the show’s “Dedication Night” this week. This came after he was suspended for making an inappropriate reference to Will Smith’s infamous Oscars run-in with Chris Rock while defending his wife, Jenna Johnson, from judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s critiques. “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy, 40, wrote in a now-deleted TikTok story. The professional dancer was seemingly alluding...

A Hong Kong tertiary student convicted of sexually assaulting at least four underage girls has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, with the judge slamming him as a “very sick individual” who showed no remorse. High Court Judge Andrew Chan Hing-wai on Thursday noted from the assessment reports that Fan Chi-yuen, 22, had shown no remorse or empathy towards his victims. They included a 14-year-old girl who was so distressed after Fan attempted to rape her that she subsequently committed...

Inspections into lift safety across Hong Kong have found no missing fire-resistant door frames among contractors other than Taizoom Elevator, authorities said on Thursday, after 338 buildings served by the firm were confirmed to lack the crucial components. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department offered an update on the checks on Thursday after the government pledged to expand the inspection scope to cover lifts handled by other contractors as well to check whether the problem existed...

Facing US sanctions, the International Criminal Court was on Thursday awarded the European Union’s top rights prize, in a show of support that risks upsetting President Donald Trump. “The European Union is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions, and this prize recognises the important work of the court in upholding international law and justice,” said European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola in announcing the award. The ICC thanked the European Parliament for giving...

A strong and united party leadership is vital to victory, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a keynote speech on Thursday marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March. Speaking days before an important Communist Party meeting known as the fifth plenum, Xi said the party managed to turn the tide of defeat into a path to victory 90 years ago because it rallied around the leadership of Mao Zedong. By linking the Red Army’s historic endurance with today’s geopolitical struggles,...

By Lee Hae-rin For American Kylie Genter, a day at the beach is no longer a day off for sunbathing and swimming. Instead, it is a place where she prays for her safety before diving into the waters to gather abalone and shellfish for a living. What others see as a holiday destination has become, to her, a workplace and a landscape of possibilities. Since she began diving as a haenyeo – female divers who harvest seafood by hand – in January 2024, the work has changed how she sees the sea. Finding...

Indonesia’s government has resisted mounting calls to declare widespread forest and land fires a national disaster, insisting it can handle the crisis alone as residents report worsening health impacts and disaster experts warn that a broader, coordinated response is needed. Critics suggest the reluctance may stem from concerns that a national declaration could force Jakarta to redirect funds from other political priorities, while exposing the administration to greater scrutiny over its disaster...