Strong AI demand prompts Hong Kong trade body to raise exports growth forecast

In a first, a Chinese company has achieved high-parameter hydrogen-boron plasma control, marking a “significant and valuable” advance in research into neutron-free magnetic confinement fusion. ENN Group, based in Langfang, Hebei province, announced on Monday that its EXL-50U spherical device – a compact tokamak that uses a magnetic field to confine charged gas, or plasma, for nuclear fusion research – had successfully achieved hydrogen-boron fusion reactions. “This marks the first time a...

Starting Oct. 1, new eligibility rules and updated benefit amounts will take effect for the estimated 37 million Americans receiving SNAP assistance.

The U.S. and Chinese governments each unveiled $30 billion worth of products subject to lower tariffs, after President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met last week in Washington, according to the White House. Chinese products subject to lower tariffs under the new “30-by-30” framework include fireworks, kitchenware, flashlights, baseballs and softballs and fishhooks, as...

Hong Kong authorities have launched a one-month consultation to reform the city’s arbitration laws, as part of efforts to enhance its competitiveness as an international dispute resolution hub and advance an objective laid out in its first local five-year plan. The Department of Justice said on Monday that the one-month stakeholder consultation for amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance, which governs the use of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism, would cover four key areas to enhance...

The global electronics industry is entering a structural transition. For over two decades, China served as the dominant manufacturing centre, with an unmatched concentration of suppliers, skilled labour, infrastructure, logistics and engineering capabilities. That concentration is being diluted. But interpreting this as the decline of Chinese manufacturing would be a mistake. China is exporting parts of its manufacturing process while retaining the industrial capabilities that matter...

Excessive personal questions and interference from relatives have been named the most unwanted aspect of the Chuseok holiday this year. Comparisons with siblings and other people were also cited as the most uncomfortable topic of conversation. According to a 2026 Chuseok holiday survey conducted by research firm PMI, 48.5 percent of 1,000 adults aged 20 to 69 nationwide said “excessive interference and personal questions from relatives” was the holiday tradition they most wanted to see changed. The survey was conducted from Sept. 11 to 14, ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The next most frequently cited practices were “excessive preparation for ancestral ritual tables” at 40.8 percent, “unequal distribution of holiday chores” at 29.8 percent, “holiday cash gifts” at 25.5 percent and “excessive holiday gift giving” at 23.7 percent. Intrusive questions from relatives also topped the list of holiday customs considered most urgently in need of change, cited by 30.6 percent of respondents. When asked which topics they would rather avoid discussing with family members and relat

A proposal to upgrade meals for foreigners awaiting deportation at Incheon International Airport has divided immigration officials, with front-line officers raising safety concerns and some questioning whether better food is appropriate for those ordered to leave Korea for violating the law. According to immigration authorities, Sunday, the Incheon Airport Immigration Office under the Ministry of Justice is considering providing in-flight meal boxes to foreign nationals awaiting deportation through the airport. Foreign nationals ordered to leave the country are generally transferred to Incheon International Airport after local immigration offices confirm their illegal stay and complete the necessary procedures. After that, they remain in a designated departure waiting area until their flights. Those awaiting deportation are currently provided with bread and drinks supplied by local immigration offices. The Incheon Airport Immigration Office is now seeking to provide meals directly, replacing the basic food with airline-style meals, considering them the most practical option. The office v

Korean Air faces a growing maintenance capacity challenge, as its acquisition of Asiana Airlines creates a fleet of more than 230 aircraft at a time when heavy-maintenance slots remain increasingly difficult to secure across Asia. The integrated carrier, scheduled to launch in December, will operate the larger fleet and employ more than 4,000 maintenance workers. It will require more airframe, engine and component maintenance that must be handled internally or secured through outside maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) providers. However, constrained global MRO capacity and a shortage of international heavy-maintenance slots have become a material operational risk to Korean Air. Securing wide-body base-maintenance slots has become particularly difficult across Southeast Asia. Korean Air is responding by expanding its own capabilities. In November last year, the airline and Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) agreed to invest 176 billion won ($130 million) to build a next-generation maintenance hangar at the airport's High-Tech Aviation Complex. The facility will be able to ac

The South Korean presidential office on Sunday voiced "strong regret" over what it called Ukraine's denial of an agreement with Seoul not to disclose the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea. The presidential office "expresses strong regret over Ukraine's unilateral disclosure (of the transfer) and its subsequent false announcement that there had not been a nondisclosure agreement," Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a released statement. The Cheong Wa Dae official added the country is considering taking additional measures regarding the issue, if necessary. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed during a United Nations address last week that Ukraine has sent the two North Korean soldiers captured last year to South Korea. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office have since said Ukraine breached a nondisclosure agreement aimed at keeping the transfer a secret to safeguard the soldiers from dangers they could face if their transfer were to be disclosed, citing international law and humanitarian p

The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) agreed Monday to pursue legal amendments to strengthen sanctions against companies that repeatedly engage in collusive practices. The ruling party and the government will introduce a system to revoke business registrations or suspend operations of companies found guilty of price fixing or bid rigging in 17 industrial sectors, Min Byoung-dug, deputy chair of the party's policy committee, told reporters after a DPK-government policy consultation meeting. The 17 sectors include safety, energy and transportation, and the party and the government plan to amend the Fair Trade Act, as well as 17 relevant sector-specific laws, to implement the new system, Min said. They will extend the statute of limitations for sanctions against collusive practices, while linking information on large-scale public tenders commissioned by offices of education with the Fair Trade Commission's Bid-Rigging Indicator Analysis System. In addition, they will strictly enforce previously revised laws that allow punitive fines to be imposed for repeated collusi

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae said Monday he plans to clear up his position over his refusal to newly recommend a candidate to the top court during the upcoming annual parliamentary audit. The chief justice has been embroiled in a dispute with the presidential office over the recommendation after the presidential office last month asked Cho to recommend a new justice candidate to President Lee Jae Myung. Cho refused to comply with the request last week, citing a lack of specific reasons or constitutional grounds to do so. When asked about the issue Monday, Cho told reporters he would state his position through the parliamentary audit of the court, scheduled to begin Oct. 6. Cho's refusal last week sparked swift rebuke from Cheong Wa Dae, which accused him of harboring a view in violation of the Constitution. Under the Constitution, Supreme Court justices are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chief justice and with the consent of the National Assembly.

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose for the second consecutive week last week to 37.9 percent, a pollster said Monday. In a poll conducted on 1,508 adults nationwide from last Monday to Wednesday, positive assessments of Lee's job performance rose by 3.1 percentage points from the previous week, while negative assessments fell 3.3 percentage points to 60.1 percent, Realmeter said. Lee's approval rating fell for 10 weeks before turning upward in the previous poll, helped by his clarification of key political issues during a press conference Sept. 18. "His communication through the press conference and his overseas diplomacy at the U.N. General Assembly and the Korea-U.S. summit worked in his favor," the pollster said, noting the withdrawal of Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and resignation offer of presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik were also seen as a demonstration of his commitment to personnel reform. In a separate poll conducted on 1,005 adults last Tuesday and Wednesday, support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) surpassed that for the ruling De