Colombia formally agreed on Wednesday to join China's vast Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru, Chile and other Latin American nations, and two-thirds of countries there have signed up to the BRI. On the sidelines of the China-Celac Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, Colom…

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would lift sanctions on Syria to offer it a chance for "greatness" after Bashar al-Assad's fall, as he cast himself as a peacemaker in the Middle East. On a state visit to Saudi Arabia primarily aimed at securing billions of dollars of investment, the billionaire president took aim both at the US left an…

Hong Kong's welfare chief on Wednesday said more seniors are choosing to spend their retirement in the Greater Bay Area thanks to continuing improvements to a scheme that subsidises elderly welfare recipients living in Guangdong care homes. Speaking on RTHK's Overview Policy programme, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun noted there are curr…

Hong Kong and the mainland are well placed to benefit from its outreach efforts to Gulf countries, executive councillor and lawmaker Jeffrey Lam said on Wednesday, with oil-rich Qatar, for example, seeking to transform its economy. Lam, who recently joined Chief Executive John Lee on his trip to the Middle East, said Qatar is focusing more on the u…

A carnival will kick off this year’s Dragon Boat Festival celebrations, setting the stage for the Sun Life Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races on June 7 and 8. Organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, the event will transform Tsim Sha Tsui East promenade into a day-and-night dragon boat carniva…

Tributes poured in from across Latin America following the death of Uruguay's former president Jose "Pepe" Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. The iconic 89-year-old – who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity – lost his battle against cancer on Tuesday after announcing…

Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday highlighted Hong Kong’s intent to promote trade ties with its Belt and Road partners on the second leg of his Middle East tour in Kuwait. Lee was hosted by the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, as well as Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Acting Prime Minister Sheik…

China and Brazil on Tuesday signed 20 cooperation documents during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's state visit to China. He also held talks with President Xi Jinping. In a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the two leaders witnessed the signing of cooperation documents covering the fields of development strategy al…

A court in Paris on Tuesday found French actor Gerard Depardieu guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021 and handed him an 18-month suspended prison sentence. His lawyer said Depardieu would be appealing the court decision. In one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases to come before judges in France, Depardieu, a towering figure …

US President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to kick off a four-day swing through the Gulf region, focusing more on economic deals than security crises ranging from war in Gaza to the threat of escalation over Iran's nuclear program. With a who's who of powerful American business leaders in tow, including Tesla CEO and Trump adviser…

China told the United States on Tuesday to "stop smearing and shifting blame" on the causes of its fentanyl crisis, condemning Washington's "unreasonable" tariffs imposed over the issue. China and the US on Monday announced a deal to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, an outcome US President Donald Trump dubbed a "total reset". Und…

China will commit credit lines amounting to 66 billion yuan to Latin American countries to support development, President Xi Jinping said when addressing a summit of Latin American and Caribbean officials in Beijing on Tuesday. The commitment came in a speech he delivered to kick off a ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, a platform for co…

An expert in communicable diseases said on Tuesday that while Covid-19 vaccines do not provide complete protection against infection, they significantly reduce the risks of hospitalisation, severe illness and death. Albert Au, head of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease branch, made the comment on an RTHK radio programme after h…

A leading digital bank says Hong Kong provides the ideal platform for mainland enterprises to reach out to Belt and Road markets, citing the city’s strengths in technology and global network. That’s according to Joe Chen, the executive vice president of WeBank who’s one of two dozen mainland business representatives currently on the chief executive…

Chief Executive John Lee announced on Monday that SAR passport holders will enjoy 30 days of visa-free travel in Qatar, starting immediately. During a luncheon speech in Doha where he is leading a delegation in search of business opportunities, Lee announced that Qataris will also be able to enjoy 30 days of visa-free travel in Hong Kong. Lee noted…

Beijing on Monday welcomed Latin American and Caribbean leaders and officials, as it pushes for a united front against US President Donald Trump's recent maelstrom of tariffs. China has stepped up economic and political cooperation with Latin American nations in recent years, with two-thirds of Latin American countries having joined the Belt and Ro…

A lawmaker on Monday said Hong Kong urgently needs more commercial vehicle parking spaces and has proposed that available spots be distributed to areas with the highest demand. Chan Siu-hung, chairman of Legco's Panel on Transport, made the comments on an RTHK radio programme after the Transport and Logistics Bureau submitted a paper to the Legisla…

Hong Kong lawyers are well-positioned to serve Middle Eastern and other overseas clients because of their international background, as well as knowledge in different legal systems, according to the Law Society. The society’s president, Roden Tong, is currently on a visit to Qatar and Kuwait as part of an SAR and mainland delegation to the Middle Ea…