US inflation cools on brief ceasefire but Fed keeps rate hike option

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

US consumer inflation slowed more than expected in June as energy prices retreated, but the moderation was insufficient to convince financial markets to take an interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve this year off the table against the backdrop of renewed conflict in the Middle East .

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Labour Department on Tuesday also showed underlying inflation subsiding


China used a giant net to land a reusable rocket. Does the idea have legs?

It’s an unconventional approach that has sparked debate over how it stacks up against America’s landing-leg system

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The Long March-10B rocket booster is safely recovered in the South China Sea on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

China’s successful recovery of a reusable rocket has sparked debate among aerospace experts over whether its unconventional approach could actually cut the cost of reaching space.
On Friday, the country’s Long March

Indonesia’s free meals scheme cut leaves kitchen operators in limbo

Each operator spent at least US$83,000 to build one kitchen, ⁠and had to take bank loans or sell assets to fund it

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Indonesian students eat their free meals at a primary school in Banda Aceh on March 31. Photo: EPA

Thousands of Indonesian free meals kitchens complained on Tuesday they had ⁠been left in the lurch ⁠by the government’s move to scale ⁠down President Prabowo Subianto ’s flagship free meals programme to save money.

Jakarta is considering a potential


More safety signs added for new Hong Kong overpass after 5 crashes in 3 days

A social media post by the Highways Department indicates the road leading to the new bridge (blue arrow). Photo: Facebook/Highways Department
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Louis Vuitton takes China’s trademark regulator to court as legal drive continues

The French luxury brand is suing the government body as it faces backlash over a trademark dispute with a Chinese milk tea chain

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Shoppers queue up at a Louis Vuitton store in Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP

Xiaofei Xu in Paris and Mia Nurmamat in Hong Kong

Louis Vuitton is set to face off against China’s trademark regulator in a Chinese intellectual property court on Thursday, as the French luxury brand deals with public backlash in China over a separate legal battle against a local milk tea brand

German deaths rise 32% during record June heatwave, data shows

Children cool off at a water playground in a public park in Germany’s Frankfurt am Main on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Deaths in Germany spiked 32 per cent during a record heatwave in June compared to levels in the previous four years, official data showed Tuesday.

Nationwide, about 23,900 people died between June 22 and June 28 – an increase of 7,100 compared with the two previous weeks, according to Germany’s statistics agency.

“The fact that the health impact from heat is high and that death

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Hong Kong Book Fair vendors on the same page about this year’s sales

Event, which runs in tandem with Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks, to open on Wednesday at Convention and Exhibition Centre

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Exhibitors prepare for the opening day of the Hong Kong Book Fair. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong booksellers are hoping to match last year’s business levels for the 2026 edition of the city’s annual book fair, with some vendors expressing little optimism during a


Norwegian chemical tanker hit by projectile off Oman amid US-Iran tensions

Stolt Magnesium ‘suffered from an explosion of an unidentified external device’ that started a fire in the engine room, the company said

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Chemical tanker Stolt Magnesium catches fire following an explosion off the coast of Oman on Tuesday. Photo: Hans-Peter Schroder/Reuters

A Norwegian chemical tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the Omani coast early Tuesday, a crisis response company said.

MTI Network said in a statement that shipping company Stolt Tankers reported that at approximately 12.40am local time “its tanker


EU signals emergency import curbs after dramatic growth in Chinese trade gap

Brussels looking at ‘case-by-case’ tariffs and quotas after the trade surplus expands by almost a quarter in the first half of the year

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The EU recently imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese tyres. Photo: Xinhua

Finbarr Bermingham in Brussels

The European Union is prepared to introduce emergency measures to combat China’s extraordinary export surge as new figures showed the trade gap had widened dramatically, its top


Hong Kong gazettes bill to enable joint immigration checks at Shenzhen crossing

Hong Kong authorities have gazetted a new law regulating an upgraded border crossing between the city and Shenzhen, marking another major step towards introducing a joint clearance model that is expected to cut clearance times from 30 minutes to five.

The Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill was gazetted on Tuesday, with a Security Bureau spokesman saying the official opening date of the upgraded port had yet to be finalised with mainland Chinese authorities.

“The official opening date is to be agreed upon by the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments,” the