US ‘sexpert’ deported from Bali, Japan schools shun Kyoto: 7 Asia highlights

Hong Kong authorities froze HK$261 million (US$33.4 million) in suspected criminal proceeds linked to money laundering and drug trafficking last year, but experts say it may take as long as seven years for any of the funds to reach government coffers. According to data from the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit, run by police and customs,…

As negotiators assemble in Belém, Brazil, for COP30, the global climate conversation stands at an inflection point. Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the pledges that once inspired optimism now face a sobering reality: Emissions continue to climb, the 1.5 °C target is slipping away and the promised climate finance remains more rhetorical than real….

British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said on Thursday it plans to invest US$15 billion in China through 2030, signalling renewed momentum in Sino-UK commercial ties. The investment – the biggest deal announced so far during UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s trip to Beijing aimed at strengthening trade ties – will support expanded medicines manufacturing as well…

Japan has fired the first ship-mounted railgun at sea, a hypersonic shot that could rewrite the balance between guns and missiles in naval warfare. This month, Naval News reported that Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD), through its Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA), announced the country’s first successful live firing of a ship-mounted electromagnetic railgun…

The long-awaited Yau Ma Tei section of Hong Kong’s Central Kowloon Bypass opened on Sunday, with eight bus routes – including three new ones – to begin operating on Monday, cutting peak-hour travel time between West and East Kowloon from 30 minutes to just five. The new 4.7km transport corridor includes a 3.9km, three-lane, two-way…