How ethnic minority students overcame language barriers to score high on DSE exams
For Manaal Khan, the gruelling journey of taking Hong Kong’s university entrance examination was not just an academic challenge but also a linguistic trial.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Khan, who is of Pakistani descent, Khan kept going through her difficult days at secondary school by holding on to her dream of becoming a modern-day Sherlock Holmes by joining the police force.
“As a kid, I loved reading Sherlock Holmes and I aspired to be a detective like him,” said the graduate of Hong Kong
‘End of my political journey’: UK’s Starmer takes last Prime Minister’s Questions
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he was leaving the United Kingdom “in better shape than I found it” as he fielded questions, criticism and even a bit of praise from lawmakers in the House of Commons for the last time on Wednesday.
Starmer, who leaves office next week, bid farewell to the boisterous weekly Prime Minister’s Questions sessions where he has traded barbs with opposition politicians and defended his government’s record.
On Monday
Thai police arrest boxing camp manager for trafficking underage boys for sex
Thai police said on Wednesday they had arrested the manager of a boxing camp for trafficking underage boys for sex, and were searching for a Norwegian also believed to have been involved.
Police raided the day camp in Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok, on Tuesday and took 12 children into protection, the Central Investigation Bureau said in a statement.
The 28-year-old manager has admitted charges of trafficking minors under the age of 18 for sexual exploitation and soliciting sexual services, according to the statement.
The
Why the US-China space race could come down to a thin metal cap
Propellant tank dome that is only millimetres thick must withstand extreme internal pressures and is very difficult to mass-produce
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In the high‑stakes space race between the United States and China, the decisive advantage could come down to a metal cap that few outside the industry have ever heard of: the propellant tank dome.
An ellipsoidal bulkhead several metres wide but only millimetres thick, the dome must withstand extreme internal pressures
Former Hong Kong law student gets nearly 3 years after riot acquittal overturned
A former law student has been jailed for nearly three years for taking part in a riot during the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong, after a judge overturned her acquittal and found her guilty based on “overwhelming” circumstantial evidence.
Alice Tong Ka-yan, 27, was sentenced at the District Court on Wednesday to two years and 10 months’ imprisonment for rioting. Her lawyers had said in mitigation that she had acted under peer influence and the prevailing social atmosphere.
Judge Edmond Lee
Nearly blind student among Hong Kong’s top DSE scorers who plan careers giving back
Several top scorers in Hong Kong’s university entrance examinations overcame personal adversity to achieve their exceptional grades, with an almost entirely blind student vowing to become a legal advocate for the vulnerable and four others driven to study medicine by the trauma of childhood illnesses and witnessing friends suffer.
Sixth Form students across the city received their results for the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams on Wednesday. Of the 24 top scorers, 20 planned to study medicine.
Nine hoped to attend the Chinese University of Hong Kong (
Sam Altman signals OpenAI price war as rivalry with Anthropic, China heats up
OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman has signalled that the company was prepared to slash the price of its latest artificial intelligence models, as competition intensifies with US rival Anthropic and a growing wave of cheaper, rapidly advancing Chinese alternatives.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Altman noted that OpenAI’s flagship GPT-5.6 Sol was already “half the price” of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5, adding that OpenAI would be “happy to deliver at one-quarter of the price”.
OpenAI released GPT
UK grooming gangs scandal deepens Labour’s woes amid voter backlash
When Shabir Ahmed, a convicted leader in one of Britain’s grooming gang cases, was released from prison this month and allowed to stay in the country rather than being deported to Pakistan, the political fallout extended well beyond a single immigration dispute.
The case has become a test for the ruling Labour party, which is under pressure both as the government responsible for deportation policy and over criticism of failures by some local authorities to protect vulnerable girls.
Analysts said Ahmed’s release had revived public anger over group-based
Award-winning chemist Zhang Wei leaves US to join China’s Great Bay University
Zhang Wei, former chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Colorado Boulder, has returned to China to join Great Bay University (GBU) as a full-time faculty member.
Zhang, who will be the deputy dean and chair professor of GBU’s physical sciences school, attended a hiring ceremony at the university’s Songshan Lake campus in Dongguan, in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on July 2.
He was presented with the appointment letter by GBU president Tian Gang, who is also a member of