Author: stingfm

US President Donald Trump told Israel on Friday to immediately stop bombing Gaza after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, but vexing issues like disarmament appeared unresolved. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was preparing for an “immediate implementation” of the […]

Munich airport was forced to halt operations for the second day in a row on Friday over drone sightings, with dozens of flights and more than 6,000 passengers affected. Airports in Denmark, Norway and Poland have recently suspended flights due to unidentified drones, while Romania and Estonia have pointed the finger at Russia, which has […]

Taylor Swift quickly set several streaming records on Friday with The Life of a Showgirl, her new album of bouncy pop songs about love, sex, success and score-settling, that had fans analysing every word. Critical opinion of Showgirl ranged from glowing to unimpressed, but fans flocked to music platforms to hear the 12 tracks, breaking […]

A federal judge ruled on Friday there was a realistic likelihood that the criminal charges the US Department of Justice brought against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged gang member who was wrongly deported by US President Donald Trump’s administration to El Salvador, amounted to a vindictive prosecution. US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tennessee, […]

The US Treasury is considering making a US$1 coin featuring President Donald Trump to commemorate 250 years since the declaration of American independence in 2026, it said on Friday. Images of the potential design showed Trump holding a raised clenched fist on one side of the coin alongside the words “fight, fight, fight” – a […]

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday condemned France’s detention of a Russian-linked ship as “piracy”, vowing a “significant” response to what he called European threats as tension flared. The Russian leader’s warning came after the French navy on Saturday detained and boarded an oil tanker that has been blacklisted by the European Union for being part […]

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Europe on Thursday recent drone incursions showed Russia was looking to “escalate” its aggression, as he offered his country’s war-honed expertise to help counter the threat. The warning came at a summit of European leaders from just under 50 countries, who converged on a conference centre in Copenhagen under tight […]

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. China deploys prototype of missile defence system with planet-wide coverage […]

Donald Trump signalled on Thursday that he planned to follow through on his threat for mass lay-offs of US federal workers as he ratcheted pressure on Democrats to back moves to end the government shutdown. The Republican US president announced he would meet budget chief Russell Vought “to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, […]

US President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict”, according to a Trump administration memo, following recent US strikes on boats in the Caribbean. The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring […]