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1. Panama’s ‘dangerous precedent’: why global ports appear pawns as politics trump contracts

   Panama’s decision to invalidate port contracts with a Hong Kong-based conglomerate is sending shock waves through global port investment, analysts warn, creating a destabilising precedent amid rising geopolitical fragmentation. Tensions are escalating in the Central American nation following a top court’s ruling that voided CK Hutchison Holdings’ port concession – a long-term agreement granting...

2. ‘Drastic increase’ in food poisoning cases in Hong Kong linked to raw oysters

   Hong Kong’s health authorities have warned of a recent “drastic increase” in norovirus-related food poisoning incidents that are all related to raw oyster consumption, with 20 of them being recorded over the past 2½ weeks. The Centre for Health Protection said on Thursday that it had received 23 reports of food poisoning, involving 69 patients, since January 18. Among them, 20 cases affecting 57...

3. What Xi’s calls with Trump and Putin reveal about China’s balancing act

   Chinese President Xi Jinping’s unprecedented back-to-back conversations with his US and Russian counterparts have shed new light on how the three powers are positioning themselves. The Chinese leader’s separate talks on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin also reveal their attempts to stabilise ties as they prepare for in-person summits and grapple with...

4. Japan’s consulate in Hong Kong marks emperor’s birthday, but city officials absent

   Japan’s representative to Hong Kong has said his consulate is making “steady progress” in improving ties with the city, while noting the absence of top local officials at a celebration of the emperor’s birthday amid tensions between Tokyo and Beijing. Jun Miura, the country’s consul general to the city, on Thursday expressed his thanks for the friendship between Japan and Hong Kong at an event...

5. Bitcoin dips below US$70,000, wiping out gains since Trump election win amid Warsh Fed fears

   Bitcoin tumbled through the key US$70,000 level on Thursday ‌as a slide in the world’s largest cryptocurrency showed no signs of stopping. Bitcoin fell by as much as ‍3.8 per cent to a low of US$69,858, its weakest since November 2024, when Republican Donald Trump won the US presidential election, having signalled his intention to support crypto on the campaign trail. Bitcoin has already fallen...

6. Indonesian village at risk of being swallowed by 100-metre-deep sinkhole

   A 100-metre-deep sinkhole has slowly swallowed part of a village in northwestern Indonesia. Local farmers are struggling to expand their farmland to escape the advancing crater. Staff from the state electricity company fear the sinkhole will reach a high-voltage transmission tower. Authorities say the affected area has expanded from about 27,000 square metres to 30,000 square metres (291,000 to...

7. China eyes gold production surge amid de-dollarisation drive, aiming to hedge global risks

   China is charting a course for a major increase in domestic gold output over the next five years, while also advancing a new round of mineral-exploration breakthroughs, to bolster self-sufficiency amid a global shift away from the US dollar and heightened geopolitical tensions that underscore gold’s role as a financial haven. The proposal, outlined by the China Gold Association, aims to upgrade...

8. Starmer apologises after Mandelson-Epstein ties spark UK political storm

   UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, battling for his political future, apologised on Thursday to victims of Jeffrey Epstein for appointing disgraced Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Starmer issued the wide-ranging apology after being dogged for days by the decision, following fresh allegations about Mandelson’s cosy ties to late sex offender Epstein which emerged in newly released files last...

9. How ‘America first’, in many respects, puts America behind

   US President Donald Trump’s trip to Europe to speak at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss alpine town of Davos was possibly one he wished he had never made; such was its failure to impress. First, his plane had to turn back due to a technical problem. Second, he gave a typically hostile speech, but then he lived up to his nickname “Taco” (Trump always chickens out) over threats to invade...

10. Hong Kong ombudsman slams Medical Council’s ‘excessively long’ complaints system

    Hong Kong’s ombudsman has found that the Medical Council’s complaint-handling processes are excessively lengthy and plagued by a persistent backlog of cases, urging the watchdog and authorities to hasten procedures to uphold public confidence. The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday released its investigation findings into the effectiveness of administrative support provided by the secretariat...