Two-week programme includes basic military training, specialised lectures, field visits and cultural and sports activities
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US signs deal to boost Patriot and THAAD missile parts production
The US has signed a more than US$3 billion deal with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to ramp up production of Patriot and THAAD interceptor missile parts, as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain stockpiles.
The deal, announced by the Pentagon and Northrop on Monday, follows last week’s announcement of a contract for Lockheed worth up to US$58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.
The United States has supplied large amounts of arms to allies while also using munitions in the Iran conflict,
A military base, a displaced people and Trump’s China fears: Burnham’s Chagos test
Bertrice Pompe was born in Diego Garcia , situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia, in 1971, making her one of the last Chagossians to enter the world on an island that her family would soon be forced to leave.
“Some families, like brothers, sisters, were separated,” she said. “Some went to the Seychelles, some to Mauritius … close family, brothers, sister, mother,
China’s political and scientific elite head to Beidaihe for summer retreat season
Beijing has signalled the start of the summer break for China’s political elite with the announcement of retreats at the seaside resort of Beidaihe.
State news agency Xinhua reported on Monday that Cai Qi , the man often referred to as President Xi Jinping’s “chief of staff”, “extended sincere greetings” to various academics and scientists invited to the resort about 300km (186 miles) east of Beijing.
The
The AI talent war: tech giants court researchers years ahead of graduation
Doctoral researcher Hu Qi still has about two years left in his programme at the University of Hong Kong, but headhunters are already reaching out to pitch specific jobs and ask when he will graduate.
Hu, who specialises in artificial intelligence agent security, is currently interning at a Chinese tech giant where his team leaders regularly ask about his post-graduation plans, urging him to sign on full-time the moment he finishes his degree.
His experience reflects a growing sense of urgency across the fast-moving AI sector. With
Trump election claims debunked, US critical minerals fears: 7 US-China relations reads
From smaller US-China AI gap to crawfish soup on Mars, here are highlights from our overseas correspondents in the second half of July 2026
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We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing .
Will Philippines’ push for seabed rights derail South China Sea code talks?
The Philippines ’ latest push for seabed rights in the South China Sea could complicate its efforts as this year’s Asean chair to build regional consensus, analysts say, adding another layer of complexity to already slow-moving talks on a code of conduct for the disputed waterway.
On July 28, Manila delivered an official presentation of its partial submission on its extended continental shelf in waters the Philippines considered its territory to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said
Woman missing for 11 days found alive on hillside near Hong Kong cemetery
Danny Mok and Kristen Cheung
Hong Kong authorities have found a 60-year-old woman on a hillside near a cemetery nearly two weeks after she went missing, despite the search being hampered by a typhoon and days of heavy rain.
Police said on Monday that Ngan Lai‑ching left her home at Kwong Ming Court in Tseung Kwan O on the morning of July
Unknown number of people missing after Indonesian ferry fire kills 5
Indonesian rescuers searched for possible missing passengers on Monday after rescuing 231 people from a ferry that caught fire the previous day off the main island of Java, leaving at least five people dead. Passengers described leaping overboard and staying afloat for hours before rescue.
The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry was travelling from Indonesia’s second-largest city of Surabaya in East Java to the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi. Initial reports said it was carrying 271 people, including 39 crew members, based on the ship
What’s a Burmese python doing in Causeway Bay? Expert links reptile to rain
A Burmese python has gone viral on social media after it was spotted along a busy road in a Hong Kong shopping district on Sunday evening, with an expert saying heavy rain over recent weeks may have forced wild animals into urban areas.
The snake was caught on camera by a passing jogger near Causeway Bay’s Jardine Noonday Gun at around 11pm that day.
In the clip, the reptile, which appears to be about two to three metres long, can be seen slithering across a section of pavement along Victoria