The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company, escalating pressure on Havana’s communist government and targeting a sector central to the island’s worsening energy crisis. The move came hours after senior Chinese and Cuban officials held a video conference to discuss bilateral cooperation and party-to-party ties. According to statements released by Chinese and Cuban officials, the talks involved Liu Haixing, head of the International Department...

US President Donald Trump said he is nominating Jay Clayton to be the next director of national intelligence, following controversy over his selection of housing regulator Bill Pulte to serve in the role on an acting basis. Clayton has been serving as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and was chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term. “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” Trump said on social media. Trump stunned...

Hong Kong’s heritage advisers have endorsed designating a nearly 180-year-old temple and the city’s only mosque inside a prison as statutory monuments. The Antiquities Advisory Board proposed at a meeting on Thursday that Hung Shing Temple in Wan Chai and Stanley Mosque in Stanley Prison be elevated by the Antiquities Authority to the city’s highest tier of legal heritage protection. Both buildings currently have Grade 1 historic building status. Although one board member questioned whether the...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Hong Kong Academy (HKA) has long been recognised as a leading international IB World School. As they wrap up their 25th anniversary celebrations and look forward to the next academic year the school is proud to unveil an exciting addition to its Early Childhood programming: The Maker’s Atelier.  Beginning August 2026, this optional Reggio-inspired afternoon programme for Pre-K learners is structured to intentionally...

Two Hong Kong officials have condemned “groundless accusations” against a recent update to the city’s homegrown national security law, which empowers the chief executive to certify any criminal case as a national security offence. Secretary for Security Chris Tang speaks at LegCo. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Secretary for Security Chris Tang told the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Thursday afternoon that he noticed some people had misunderstood or “deliberately misinterpreted” the subsidiary legislation. They tried to intimidate the public by claiming that the subsidiary law would widen the scope of national security offences, turning minor offences into national security crimes, he said. The security chief called the accusations “false, misleading, deceptive, and scaremongering” and said some people were attempting to incite hatred towards the government. “Some people delivered alarmist remarks, saying that the government can randomly certify any acts of the public as national security offences. Those people may have ulterior motives or are cruel-hearted, hoping to incite others’ hatred of the HKSAR,” Tang said in Cantonese. Also speaking at LegCo, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said he noticed “some media outlets with ulterior motives, foreign forces, and fugitives” had made “groundless accusations” against the national security law. The two ministers delivered their remarks during LegCo’s first meeting to review the Safeguarding National Security (Procedural Matters) Regulation, a subsidiary legislation of the homegrown national security law, commonly known as Article 23. Authorities enacted the subsidiary law through the “negative vetting” mechanism, which allows the law to be gazetted and to take effect before legislative scrutiny. The law came into effect on Tuesday, one day after the government tabled the bill in LegCo. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam at LegCo. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Lam, the justice chief, said that the subsidiary legislation was necessary to further explain articles in the Beijing-imposed national security law and Article 23, which stipulate that the chief executive should have the power to determine whether a criminal case involves national security. In its proposal, the government cited the “legislative intent” of the Beijing-imposed national security law, saying that offences endangering national security include not only the four types of offences under the national security law, but also “other offences endangering national security under the law of the HKSAR.” Lam said the recent legislative update was intended to further define “other offences endangering national security under the law of the HKSAR,” and it did not introduce any new power or new offences. Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee said the new subsidiary legislation “is purely to make the law even clearer.”

Hong Kong Customs has arrested six men and seized suspected counterfeit football products worth HK$156 million ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, including “highly authentic-looking” player-edition jerseys. Hong Kong customs display suspected counterfeit football jerseys seized ahead of the 2026 World Cup during a press conference on June 11, 2026. Photo: GovHK. Around 230,000 suspected fake items were seized in an operation codenamed “Clean Sheet,” which ran from May 26 to Wednesday, authorities said on Thursday – hours before the World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City. A 36-year-old male driver was arrested after customs officers discovered two batches of suspected counterfeit goods from two incoming lorries at border crossings with mainland China, said Wayne Chung, a senior inspector of the Intellectual Property Transnational Investigation Unit at the Customs and Excise Department. The two vehicles were intercepted at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port and the Shenzhen Bay Control Point. Five men, aged 17 to 30, were arrested on suspicion of selling fake football jerseys on the internet, Chung said. The six suspects have been released on bail pending further investigation, he added. Customs and Excise Department. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. According to customs, among the seized goods were around 30,000 player-edition jerseys, replicas of the shirts worn by professional footballers. These counterfeit jerseys – priced between HK$1,100 and HK$1,300 each, higher than fan-edition shirts – were “highly authentic-looking” and “delicately made,” Chung said. He added that around 80 per cent of the confiscated items were for export to the Americas. “Considering this World Cup is the largest ever in scale… we expect that the smuggling of World Cup-related products will become active during the course of the tournament due to increased demand from fans around the world,” Chung told reporters in Cantonese. This year’s World Cup is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, marking the first time the event features an expanded 48-team format, up from 32 teams in previous tournaments. Under the city’s Trade Descriptions Ordinance, importing, exporting, selling, or possessing counterfeit items for sale is an offence with a maximum penalty of a HK$500,000 fine and five years in jail.

China to legislate on preschool education

China to legislate on preschool education

The US military had attacked the Palau-flagged tanker on Wednesday after accusing it of not complying with directions.

Twenty people died and 120 others were injured in the explosion at the Erawan shrine 11 years ago.

A puppet show project in Gaza is using storytelling and creative workshops to help women and children process trauma.

The return of unrest to the province, which suffered decades of sectarian violence, has provoked deep concern.