Losses linked to the abrupt closure of Hotstone Yoga have risen to nearly HK$8 million (US$1 million), with close to 700 reports filed by affected customers in Hong Kong, according to authorities. The Customs and Excise Department said that as of 6pm on Sunday, it had received 694 reports relating to the yoga chain, involving service contracts worth about HK$7.8 million. The Consumer Council said it had received 416 complaints by 5pm the same day, with claimed losses totalling HK$5.42...
Read full articleHong Kong will begin importing hundreds of foreign domestic carers as early as the second half of 2027 under a new pilot scheme, with their pay up to 20 per cent higher than that of domestic helpers, the city’s labour minister has said. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Sunday that the carers would be equipped with both specialised elderly care skills and general domestic capabilities, and would first need to complete a 150-hour course in their home country. “We now need...
Hong Kong’s first Legislative Council president following the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 has suggested reviewing the number of seats in Legco, citing the need to use public funds properly. Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai also said on Sunday that Hong Kong and Shenzhen authorities had discussed the development of a plot at the two cities’ border before the 1997 handover, but the plan failed because of opposition within the government. Fan made the remarks during an appearance on a radio...
Taipei’s dilemma over its history during World War II appeared to deepen as Beijing and Washington looked to the Flying Tigers as a source of connection and goodwill during last month’s Xi–Trump summit. US President Donald Trump’s description of China as an American ally during the war has raised concerns in Taiwan that what could have been a valuable historical connection with the United States ended up benefiting Beijing’s ties with Washington. The dilemma resurfaced after Trump and Chinese...
President Trump’s super PAC and affiliates have injected tens of millions of dollars into pivotal Senate and House races just one month from Election Day as the GOP looks to keep control of Congress. Trump’s MAGA Inc. and several affiliated groups — No Going Back PAC Inc. and Safety & Affordability PAC Inc. — have reported some of their...
The golfing great joined Donald Trump’s newly minted ambassador to Australia in the presidents suite at Accor Stadium, joined by politicians and business leaders.
More than 60 per cent of Hong Kong’s eight-year-olds could be short-sighted by 2028, optometrists have predicted, citing a shrinking “hyperopic reserve” that normally helps delay nearsightedness. The Hong Kong Association of Private Practice Optometrists released the findings on Sunday from a screening of more than 3,500 pupils at eight primary schools conducted between November and May, urging parents to begin comprehensive eye checks when children turned three. The association found that 67...
When the Auspicious Ark entered Dakar, Senegal, on September 25, the scene looked closer to a public health mission than a naval deployment. Senegalese people and members of the Chinese community were waiting at the port as the vessel arrived for the first visit by a Chinese naval hospital ship to Senegal. The Auspicious Ark is a PLA Navy vessel. That places the visit within a wider Chinese maritime presence in Africa, something more often associated with anti-piracy patrols, port calls,...
There were 26 Melbourne schools with a median family income of $300,000 or more last year, many of which received more than their share of Commonwealth funding.
Reality TV star and celebrity fitness guru Sam Wood has spent the weekend behind bars after being charged with domestic violence offences.
Beijing has hit back at a US lawmaker’s criticism of coffee chain Starbucks for opening its first stores in Xinjiang, rejecting the allegation that China has committed human rights abuses against the far-western region’s mostly Muslim Uygur population. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun on Saturday said claims of “genocide” in Xinjiang were a “blatant lie” and accused the “US group” who raised the suggestions of attacking Beijing for political purposes. “Today’s Xinjiang enjoys social...
A back injury led Kosta Kostidis to swap from being a plumber to a seller of a Greek pastry, called bougatsa.