Can Quad break China’s mineral monopoly amid US-India rift?

The Quad brings together Australia, India, Japan and the United States to address shared strategic and economic challenges, including dependence on China. Photo; Shutterstock

The US strike on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month did more than kill three Indian sailors and severely undercut US-India relations. It has also cast further doubt on the unity of the Quad , an informal bloc made up of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and the group’s ambitious agenda aimed at loosening China
Continue reading...

What Hong Kong can learn from mainland cities’ 5-year plans

People collect copies of the consultation document for Hong Kong’s first five-year blueprint from the Wan Chai District Office on June 15. Photo: Karma Lo

Daryl Ng is chairman of Sino Group and the founding chairman of the Hong Kong-Asean Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation promoting and deepening ties between Hong Kong and Asean to build a community of shared future to reinforce Hong Kong’s international position and support future growth.

The Hong Kong government has launched a two-month public consultation for the city’s first five-year plan, marking an important milestone in its development

Shooting in Montreal, Canada leaves 3 dead including suspect

A midday shooting in Montreal killed three people on Monday, including a police officer, a civilian and the alleged gunman, triggering rare levels of shock across the Canadian city.

The bloodshed took place in a partly Jewish neighbourhood that includes kosher markets and restaurants but police declined to comment on what the motive might have been and whether the incident amounted to a hate crime or act of terror.

French language public broadcaster Radio Canada said the shooter was connected to “incel” ideology – a misogynistic worldview that fuelled the man responsible for


China closing in but US leads in biotech quality and commercial reach, survey finds

China, which now conducts more clinical drug trials than the US, still lags in the quality and commercial reach of its biomedical science, according to a recent survey of senior US leaders in industry and academia.

The ‌poll, conducted by Cure Innovation Index, found that China is seen as the clear leader in two out of six sectors: clinical development and supply chain.

It found that the US leads in moving experimental products through to large-scale production, capital, and commercialisation and talent. The two countries were


US-China rare earth clash 2.0? Fragile truce tested as tit-for-tat moves return

The MP Materials' rare earth open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California. Photo: Reuters

Beijing’s latest restrictions on US rare earth companies, imposed in response to the Pentagon’s designation of leading Chinese firms, are testing the durability of the fragile US-China truce, analysts said.
China’s export controls, targeting 10 US entities including national giants MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, mark one of the most significant escalations since Washington

2 young children found dead in locked car during France heatwave

The siblings, aged 2 and 4, had accidentally locked themselves inside the car, officials said. The 33-year-old mother was treated for shock

2 -MIN READ 2 -MIN

Journalists at the entrance of a residential pavillion where two children were found dead in their family car amid a heatwave, in Carpentras, southern France on Monday. Photo: AFP

Two young children, aged two and four, were found dead inside their family’s car in the southern French town of Carpentras on Monday.

According to initial findings, the siblings had accidentally locked themselves inside the car, the local prosecutor’


China signals openness to Colombia’s Trump-backed president-elect despite US tilt

Beijing congratulated Colombia on its presidential run-off and said it would work with the incoming government of Abelardo de la Espriella, the far-right lawyer who has promised to pull the country back towards the United States.

Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made the remarks on Monday, a day after a preliminary count put de la Espriella narrowly ahead of his leftist rival, Senator Ivan Cepeda.

“China … congratulates Colombia on the smooth second round of presidential elections,” he said, adding that Beijing viewed the relationship “from


European Central Bank’s President Lagarde urges talks on yuan undervaluation

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB). Photo: EPA

European Central ⁠Bank President Christine Lagarde ⁠on Monday urged global leaders to discuss undervaluation of the Chinese currency as a facet of the imbalances endangering the global economy.

China has ‌consistently denied that it manipulates its currency for trade advantage but its surging trade surpluses are one of several macroeconomic mismatches worrying leaders of the Group of Seven ( G7 ) nations who met last week in ⁠France, along with chronic US deficits and Europe’s underinvestment

Mexican president seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba as island’s crises deepen

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the National Palace in Mexico City on Monday. Photo: AP

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that her country seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba soon, a move that could provide much-needed relief as the island’s crises deepen given a lack of petroleum.

Sheinbaum said her administration would seek to send the oil via commercial and privately owned firms instead of state-owned companies as it has done in the past.
Mexico became a key fuel supplier to Cuba after the US attacked Venezuela in

Clive Davis, towering music executive who reshaped American sound, dies at 94

Clive Davis, a former corporate lawyer who became one of the most influential figures in American rock and pop music as he fostered the careers of Bob Dylan, Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen and other stars, died ⁠on Monday at the age of 94, The New York Times reported, citing ⁠his family.

Davis, who was known as “the man with the golden ear” for his ability to identify potential hit ⁠songs, died at his home in Manhattan, the daily