Putin superyacht ‘Graceful’ spotted on radar off Denmark
The Russian luxury yacht Graceful, said to be the personal vessel of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has appeared on radar for the first time in almost four years, Danish public broadcaster DR reported.
According to data from Marinetraffic.com, the vessel sailed along the northern coast of Denmark on Monday.
DR reported that from Sunday morning it had been accompanied by two Russian warships as well as alternately by the Danish navy and the German coastguard.
“The armed forces routinely monitor vessels, including foreign state vessels, transiting Danish straits
Hong Kong private sports clubs must pay land premiums or open doors as leases end
Hong Kong’s 15 private sports clubs must either pay one-third of their land premium, ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, or open their doors to the public when their leases expire at the end of the year, authorities have confirmed.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said on Tuesday that it has begun notifying the clubs and outlining lease renewal procedures, including premium payment requirements.
The arrangement, first announced in 2019, ends the long-standing concessionary land premiums granted
Why the AI future won’t be decided by algorithms and chatbots
When people talk about the race for artificial intelligence , they usually focus on software. Headlines revolve around ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek or the latest breakthrough model.
Governments announce AI strategies and investors pour billions into start-ups promising to transform everything from medicine to education. Nonetheless, the most consequential battle in the AI age may not be over algorithms at all. It may be over the machines.
Behind every chatbot response and AI-generated image lies a vast physical infrastructure of semiconductor factories, data centres, cloud networks,
China’s Politburo orders rapid-response overhaul in the face of floods and extreme heat
China’s top leadership has warned of the dangers of extreme weather and the need for better forecasting and disaster prevention, according to state media.
The Politburo issued the warning at its first flood and drought prevention meeting for the year in Beijing on Tuesday, a gathering chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Politburo urged local governments to take “forceful” measures against drought, flooding and typhoons, to “always put the safety of people’s lives first”, evacuate in a timely manner and prevent mass casualties.
China reacts to Guo Wengui’s 30-year US prison sentence, highlighting fugitive status
China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said it had noted the 30-year prison sentence given to self-exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui , who was convicted in a US court for orchestrating a fraud scheme that bilked his followers out of more than US$1 billion .
“Guo Wengui is a fugitive wanted under an Interpol red notice issued at the request of the Chinese government, and we have noted the relevant reports,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.
The billionaire businessman, also known as Ho Wan
New Asean Chamber of Commerce launched in Hong Kong will ‘fulfil long-felt need’
Setting up a new regional chamber of commerce will “fulfil a long-felt need” to bridge the gap between the Greater Bay Area and Asean, with Hong Kong acting as a “natural connector”, the business group’s inaugural chairman has said.
But given existing agreements and bilateral relations between the city and individual member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, analysts said the economic benefits introduced by the new chamber were likely to be more modest than dramatic.
The Asean Chamber of Commerce was launched on Tuesday
Iraq’s 14 million barrels of trapped oil travels through Strait of Hormuz
Iraqi oil stranded by the Middle East conflict has escaped the Persian Gulf over the past ten days as transit via the Strait of Hormuz eased during an uneasy US-Iran ceasefire.
Vessels carrying about 14 million barrels of Iraqi oil exited the Gulf in the latter part of June and are now carrying crude to buyers in Asia, Europe and the US, according to
China-Canada trade thaw falters as Beijing levies penalties for dumping pea starch
Beijing imposes cash deposits on imports of the widely used agricultural product ahead of Ottawa’s decision on Chinese-made steel racks
2 -MIN READ 2 -MIN
Beijing has issued a preliminary verdict finding that pea-starch products imported from Canada were dumped in China, following Ottawa’s anti-dumping investigation into Chinese-made steel racks.
“Relevant authorities have made a preliminary determination that imported pea-starch products originating in Canada have been
As China’s Communist Party grows more slowly, its members are getting older
The Communist Party ’s membership grew at a slower pace and its average age continued to climb last year, according to official data on the world’s second-biggest political party.
In line with tradition, the data was released on the day before July 1, the date of the party’s founding in 1921.
The party had 101 million members at the end of 2025, an increase