Why does Hong Kong need a 5-year plan – and will it crimp its free-market economy?

Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Natalie Wong and Leopold Chen

As the government completes a public consultation exercise to craft the city’s own five-year plan to align with national development, the first of this five-part series looks at key questions, starting with the need for such a blueprint.

Economist Heiwai Tang has a line he likes to use on free-market purists: “The


Vietnam’s To Lam eyes trade, defence boost during trip to Australia, New Zealand

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) greets Vietnamese President To Lam at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Photo: AAP/dpa

A visit by Vietnam’s top leader To Lam to Australia and New Zealand this week is expected to lead to stronger maritime security cooperation, especially in intelligence-sharing and joint patrols. The Vietnamese president is seeking to bolster partnerships and strengthen cooperation in science and technology, according to a government statement.

During Lam’s six-day trip, which ends on Friday, he is expected to sign 12 to 16 agreements with Canberra


North Korea launches a suspected ballistic missile, Japan says

The move comes as South Korea and ‌the US plan to conduct joint military drills to counter North Korea’s ‌evolving nuclear capabilities

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News coverage showing footage of a North Korean missile launch on a screen at a train station in Seoul. On Wednesday, Japan’s Defence Ministry said North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile towards the sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Photo: AFP

North Korea fired a possible ballistic missile towards the sea on Wednesday, Japan’s Defence Ministry said, the second such weapons launch in less than a week.

The Defence Ministry said the suspected


Beyond the numbers: why China’s carrier force won’t copy the US model

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Having marked its 99th anniversary on August 1, the People’s Liberation Army is now just a year away from its centenary goals, with its evolution highlighting the past, present and future of China’s military strategy. In the sixth part of a series , Gabriel Dominguez looks at Beijing’s evolving aircraft carrier doctrine.
Debate over China’s

US lifts TikTok ban on government devices after ByteDance restructuring

Justice Department says the app’s new US joint venture is no longer covered by the 2022 prohibition targeting app’s Chinese parent company

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The restructuring saved TikTok from a US ban imposed over concerns about American user data and its ties to China. Photo: AFP

The White House has formally lifted the ban on TikTok on US government devices after the Justice Department determined that the version operated by the platform’s new US joint venture is no


How India’s government can be a good parent to its young people

Indian Youth Congress party workers hold placards featuring India’s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan during a protest over the alleged national medical school entrance exam irregularities, in Mumbai on June 2. In July, Pradhan announced his resignation after countrywide protests. Photo: AFP

Winston Mok, a private investor, was previously a private equity investor.

Outraged over the leaking of the medical school entrance exam question paper, protesters, led by a group calling itself the Cockroach Janata Party, demanded accountability and reforms. At least 20 young people had taken their own lives after a retest for the medical entrance exam was announced, underlining how such exams have become life-or-death affairs, providing many young people with


Doctors ignored ‘warning signs’ before Maradona’s death, court hears

7 healthcare professionals have been on trial since April for potential negligence leading up to the Argentine footballer’s death in 2020

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Diego Maradona waves to supporters in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2015. The football legend died in 2020. Photo: AFP

Diego Maradona showed “warning signs” that went unheeded during the home hospitalisation leading up to his death in 2020, a witness on Tuesday told the trial examining the Argentine football legend’s demise.

Seven healthcare professionals have been on trial since mid-April


US faults China over opaque overseas lending, warns of emerging-market debt risks

US State Department introduces tougher disclosure requirement covering sovereign loans, liabilities and collateral

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The US State Department said in its 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report on Tuesday that China had failed to meet its minimum transparency requirements. Photo: Reuters

Teresa Elena Frontado in Washington

The United States has stepped up scrutiny of China’s overseas lending, warning that the lack of transparency surrounding Chinese loans could increase the risk of unexpected defaults and debt restructuring in emerging markets.
In its 2026 Fiscal

US military says it has fired on ship in Gulf of Oman to enforce blockade of Iranian ports

A US Navy helicopter fired on and disabled the Panama-flagged ship after the crew ignored warnings from US forces, said US Central Command

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The Panama-flagged container ship M/V Vela Nova. On Tuesday, the US Navy said it had fired on the ship after it attempted to break the US blockade of Iran’s ports. Photo: Vladimir Tonic / Handout via Reuters

A US helicopter on Tuesday fired missiles into the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that attempted to break the American blockade of Iran’s ports, the United States military said.


Ukraine says Russia fired North Korean missiles in deadly attack

World Russia & Central Asia

‘The city was struck with North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons,’ President Zelensky said of the strike on Zaporizhzhia that killed 7

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Firefighters work at the site of an overnight Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 10 people overnight and wounded dozens, Kyiv said on Tuesday, accusing Moscow of launching North Korean missiles in the raid.

The allegation comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned – without providing evidence – that Moscow was