UK’s new PM Andy Burnham vows to end years of instability

Andy Burnham became Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday, pledging to break with the politics of the past to deliver a new economic model to benefit a nation “fed up” with a revolving door of leaders.

In front of dozens of supporters outside his new office and residence at 10 Downing Street, Burnham said politicians had failed to bring the stability needed to raise living standards, something ‌he said he would change with immediate policies and a longer-term plan to be drawn up later this

New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham delivers a speech outside 10 Downing Street in London on Monday. Photo: EPA

Teen dies during Spain World Cup celebrations

The teen died and several people were injured after a fountain collapsed in western Spain during celebrations

1 -MIN READ 1 -MIN

A fountain in Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain’s Salamanca province, is cordoned off on Monday after it collapsed during World Cup celebrations. Photo: EPA

A teenager died and several people were injured during celebrations of Spain’s victory in the World Cup after a fountain collapsed in western Spain, local authorities and media said on Monday.

“The city hall of Ciudad Rodrigo expresses its sadness and presents its condolences for the death of a boy of 13,” the

Continue reading...

Why Singapore PM Wong moved swiftly on Faishal Ibrahim’s resignation

Singapore ’s acting minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim resigned about a month after the prime minister learned of his improper interactions with a woman, a move observers say shows Lawrence Wong ’s swift handling of the first scandal under his watch to contain any political fallout.

They told This Week in Asia that while there was no affair in Faishal’s case, it made sense for the party to deal with the consequences quickly in case of leaks as the woman was a member of the public,


Hamas’ lead negotiator in ceasefire talks elected as group’s new chief

Born in 1960, Khalil al-Hayya survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha last year, though one of his sons was killed in the strike. Photo: AP

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas announced on Monday that it had elected Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s lead negotiator in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel, as the new head of its political bureau.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announces the election of brother mujahid Khalil al-Hayya as head of the movement’s political bureau, succeeding the martyred leader Yahya al-Sinwar,” Hamas said in a statement.

Sinwar, whom


Czech legislators ‘testing the waters’ with China visit after years of tension

A group of Czech lawmakers are visiting China in the first high-level engagement between the two countries since 2019, a move Chinese analysts described as “testing the waters” rather than representing a more substantive thaw.

Tomio Okamura, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and head of the delegation, told local media he was hoping to secure agreements on more direct flights, an increase in Chinese tourist numbers and visa-free travel for Czech citizens.

Representatives from 40 Czech firms – representing sectors such as energy


Taiwan reviews Papua New Guinea LNG imports after economic office’s forced closure

The Pacific nation and Cambodia have both handed Beijing diplomatic wins by reiterating support for the one-China policy

3 -MIN READ 3 -MIN

Papua New Guinea exports more than 1.2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Taiwan each year under a 20-year supply agreement. Photo: Reuters

Taiwan is reviewing liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Papua New Guinea after the Pacific nation said it would close Taipei’s unofficial representative office.
PNG announced last week that it would immediately shut down the office, with Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko saying the move reflected the government’s “unwavering commitment

As EU’s China trade deficit widens, Germany changes tack to join France’s Beijing pushback

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive for a press conference at Schloss Augustusburg in Bruehl, Germany on July 17. Photo: Reuters

Xiaofei Xu in Paris and Huizhao Huang in Berlin

Facing Europe’s ever-widening trade deficit with Beijing , Berlin is increasingly singing the same tune as Paris. The two nations displayed a united front at this year’s Franco-German Ministerial Council, which will soon be put on paper in a joint road map due by September at the request of Germany.
“Our work between Germany and France is indispensable at a time when Russia threatens

EU fines AliExpress US$630 million over illegal products

It is the largest fine ever imposed under the EU’s powerful Digital Services Act, part of the bloc’s legal armoury to police big tech

2 -MIN READ 2 -MIN

AliExpress is the biggest Chinese e-commerce platform in the EU with 193 million users. Photo: Shutterstock

The EU on Monday slapped a €550 million (US$630 million) fine on online retailer AliExpress for allowing the sale of illegal products, including unsafe


‘Systemic leap’: China’s drug innovation push yields bumper crop

Domestically produced novel drugs accounted for more than 80 per cent of market approvals in China in the first half of the year, reflecting a “leap” in the quality of the country’s pharmaceutical innovation, according to a government spokesman.

A total of 38 innovative drugs were cleared for sale in the six-month period, of which 31 were home-grown medicines, said Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Tao Qing, at a media briefing in Beijing on Monday.

The approvals, along with

Mentally disabled Hong Kong waiter gets 28 months for inciting subversion

A Hong Kong court has sentenced a man with an intellectual disability to two years and four months in prison for inciting subversion, promoting a pro-Taiwan party and disseminating anti-Communist Party messages, with the judge noting that his condition had affected his moral judgment.

District Court Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi on Monday sentenced Chan Ho-hin, a 23-year-old waiter, who had earlier pleaded guilty to publishing 118 subversive messages on his social media accounts between June 27, 20