Author: stingfm

Few places in the small African kingdom of eSwatini have a more feared reputation than the Matsapha Correctional Centre, a high-security sprawl of concrete and rust outside the capital, Mbabane. “It’s like a jungle,” a former detainee told Agence France-Presse of the prison that is holding 14 men deported from the United States in the […]

US President Donald Trump on Thursday called critical minerals a key priority as he hosted the leaders of five Central Asian nations at the White House, emphasising his administration’s efforts to expand and secure US supply chains through new global agreements. The meeting with leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan came as Washington […]

US forces on Thursday struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from Washington’s controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 70. The United States began carrying out such strikes – which experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known […]

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US singer unknowingly marries Malaysian sultan: ‘I deserve a proper […]

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back at the idea that the company would seek federal guarantees to reduce the risk of its artificial intelligence infrastructure spending spree, one day after a top executive at the ChatGPT maker suggested there may be a role for the government to help finance the technology. “We do not have […]

China’s key trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, has called on the US to create “a favourable atmosphere” for agricultural cooperation between the two countries. “We hope the US will work together with China, with a focus on the broader picture, to create a favourable atmosphere for practical cooperation in areas such as agriculture,” Li told a […]

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will add the yuan to the settlement currencies available to airlines and aviation suppliers through the industry association’s clearing house, in another boost to China’s efforts to promote the internationalisation of its currency. Yuan settlements will be available from next month following the completion of a trial period, the […]

Fallout from lethal police raids in Rio de Janeiro and mounting regional fears about US military intervention in Venezuela are threatening to overshadow the major United Nations climate summit set to begin in Brazil. The Cop30 gathering in the northern city of Belem was supposed to provide President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a chance […]

Satellite images analysed on Wednesday appear to show mass burials being conducted in El-Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized it, further raising concerns about the scale of the violence that descended on the city. The images of El-Fasher come as the two-year war grinds on in Sudan despite growing […]

The death toll from a cargo plane crash in the southern US state of Kentucky rose to 12 on Wednesday, with investigators saying the accident was caused by one of the engines catching fire and detaching during take-off. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11, operated by package delivery giant UPS and bound for Hawaii, crashed at 5.15pm […]