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Top Chinese and US officials held a call on Friday to discuss trade, including ongoing efforts to implement an agreement to de-escalate their countries’ trade war.
Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng had an “in-depth and constructive” video call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
Both sides agreed to...
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US President Donald Trump was awarded the new Fifa peace prize on Friday at the 2026 World Cup draw – giving the soccer spectacle to set matchups for the quadrennial tournament even more of a Trumpian flair.
Trump, who has openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, had been heavily favoured to win the newly created Fifa prize.
He and Fifa president Gianni Infantino are close allies, and...
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The European Union hit Elon Musk’s X with a €120 million (US$140 million) fine on Friday for breaking its digital rules, in a move that risks a fresh clash with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The high-profile probe into the social media platform was seen as a test of the EU’s resolve to police Big Tech. US Vice-President J.D. Vance fired a warning against “attacking” US firms...
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A group of vaccine advisers on Friday scrapped a long-standing recommendation that all US children receive the hepatitis B shot at birth, a major policy win for health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr that disease experts say will reverse decades of public health gains.
The committee voted to keep the birth dose only for infants whose mothers test positive for the virus, replacing the 1991...
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Hong Kong authorities have hit back at US politicians’ “absurd and fact-twisting” allegations over the health of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and their call for his unconditional release from prison.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong government described the resolution introduced in the United States House of Representatives as an attempt to pressure the city’s courts over Lai’s ongoing...
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Export controls may have been the economic weapon of choice in 2025, but the Dutch minister at the centre of the Nexperia crisis has admitted he was blindsided by Beijing when it blocked the company’s chips from leaving China.
His concession raises fresh questions over how much planning went into the decision to reach for a Cold War-era law to intervene in the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered...
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Candidates started campaigning again this week for Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council election, but opted for a more subdued approach, including fewer street booths and volunteers, in the aftermath of last week’s deadly fire in Tai Po.
Some Legco hopefuls also unveiled new policy platforms in the run-up to Sunday’s poll, such as calling for a thorough investigation into the fire and enhanced...
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The People’s Liberation Army has carried out an urban warfare drill, according to state media, in what appears to be a response to Taipei’s bid to fund improved “asymmetric capabilities”.
In a report on Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV aired footage of troops carrying out an operation to seize a built-up area in a war-torn city.
The drill – involving reconnaissance, clearing and occupation –...
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Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi has accused her former agent of exerting undue pressure on her and defrauding her out of 8 million yuan (US$1.13 million) by making false representations.
Cheung, 45, took the witness box at the High Court on Friday to counter allegations that she reneged on a promise to Asia Entertainment Group (AEG) president Samuel Yu Yuk-hing to appear in four films...
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Major Chinese airlines have extended their offer of full refunds for flights to Japan for another three months, as the heated diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo shows no signs of easing.
On Friday, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines – the country’s largest state-owned carriers – along with several others, including Hainan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Spring...