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Hong Kong recalls Zwilling electric kettle over handle defect and scalding risk
Business

Hong Kong recalls Zwilling electric kettle over handle defect and scalding risk

Electrical and Mechanical Services Department recalls product over potential safety risk and urges users to contact supplier for a refund Hong Kong authorities have urged the public to stop using a certain model of Zwilling electric kettle over concerns that the handle may detach, posing a risk of scalding. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department on Thursday issued a safety recall for the kettle (model 53005). Consumers should contact the supplier, Cheong Hing (1917) Company Limited, at 2687 5879 to arrange a refund. The supplier warned that, in a small number of cases, the kettle’s handle may loosen or break, potentially causing hot water to spill. In March, Zwilling issued a global recall of its 1.5-litre (0.4gallon) kettles after confirming one case in which a user suffered second-degree burns due to the defect. The UK government published an official product withdrawal notice in April. The long-established German manufacturer is known for high-quality kitchenware, professional cutlery and home appliances.

Traffic accidents involving animals in Hong Kong surge 11-fold in 4 years
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Traffic accidents involving animals in Hong Kong surge 11-fold in 4 years

Paws Guardian Rescue Shelter founder Kent Luk says increase in animals involved in accidents stems from worsening economic situation and urban growth Traffic accidents involving animals in Hong Kong have skyrocketed more than 11-fold over the past four years, with advocacy groups attributing it to a wave of pet abandonments and the blurring of urban-rural boundaries caused by large-scale development. The latest data submitted to the Legislative Council on Wednesday showed reports of animal-related traffic accidents received by police surged from 36 cases in 2021 to 416 in 2025. However, authorities do not maintain a district-level breakdown of the figures. Kent Luk Ka-chit, the founder of Paws Guardian Rescue Shelter, said the increase in animals involved in traffic accidents stemmed from the worsening economic situation and urban growth. “Land resumption for new development, particularly in the Kwu Tung area, combined with the economic downturn, has led to a rise in abandoned pets. This surge in the stray population has, in turn, driven up the number of traffic incidents involving animals,” he said.

Is North Korea’s constitutional shift a move towards ‘peaceful coexistence’ with South?
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Is North Korea’s constitutional shift a move towards ‘peaceful coexistence’ with South?

Pyongyang has dropped references to ‘national reunification’ and redefined borders in its revised constitution The constitutional overhaul is widely seen as aligning with the North’s evolving stance towards Seoul – shifting away from reunification and towards a more formalised state-to-state relationship. Accordingly, phrases from the previous constitution that emphasised “independence, peaceful reunification, and great national unity” have been deleted, along with a pledge to “struggle to achieve national reunification”. References in the preamble to reunification-related achievements of state founder Kim Il-sung and former leader Kim Jong-il were also removed. Notably, the revised constitution introduces a territorial clause for the first time.

Note linked to Epstein’s first suspected suicide bid released by US judge
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Note linked to Epstein’s first suspected suicide bid released by US judge

The document, which a former cellmate claims to have found, has been sealed in a court vault for nearly five years A note Jeffrey Epstein’s former cellmate claimed he found after the financier’s first suspected jail suicide attempt was made public on Wednesday after it had been sealed and locked in a courthouse vault for nearly five years as part of an unrelated legal dispute. US District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, New York, ordered the note’s release after The New York Times petitioned last week to unseal it and other documents in a case involving the cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione. Few people had known about the note until Tartaglione, a former police officer who is serving a life sentence for killing four people, mentioned it on a podcast last year. Tartaglione claimed he discovered the note in a book in his cell after Epstein was found on July 23, 2019, with a strip of bedsheet around his neck. “They investigated me for month – found nothing!!!” said the short note, which is hard to decipher in some places. “It is a treat to be able to choose” the “time to say goodbye”, the note continues. “Watcha want me to do – Bust out cryin!!” What were Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to people in Hong Kong?

Trump seeks to halt payment to E. Jean Carroll in hope of eventual Supreme Court win
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Trump seeks to halt payment to E. Jean Carroll in hope of eventual Supreme Court win

Trump insists he has absolute immunity from a lawsuit stemming from statements he made while he was US president US President Donald Trump’s lawyer, hoping for an eventual Supreme Court victory, has asked a federal appeal court in New York to temporarily block a long-time columnist from collecting a US$83 million defamation award. The lawyer, Justin D. Smith, told the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in a filing on Tuesday to stay its decision supporting the award so that Trump will not have to pay writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals to the high court. A Manhattan jury awarded Carroll the payout in January 2024. Another jury in May 2023 awarded Carroll US$5 million after concluding Trump sexually abused her in a Manhattan luxury department store dressing room in 1996 and then defamed her after she published her account of it in 2019. Trump has vehemently denied sexually abusing Carroll or ever knowing her and has repeatedly accused her of making accusations against him for political purposes or to promote her memoir.

US trial opens over alleged Chinese ‘secret police station’ in New York
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US trial opens over alleged Chinese ‘secret police station’ in New York

Lawyers of Lu Jianwang, who has lived in the US for decades, said the alleged covert police station was just a community centre A trial of a US citizen of Chinese descent accused of creating a covert police station in Manhattan opened on Wednesday, considering evidence of what the US government says is part of Beijing’s bid to expand its influence well beyond Chinese shores. Lu Jianwang, 64, faces three charges in the US Eastern District Court of New York: acting as an unauthorised agent of China; conspiracy to act as a foreign agent; and obstruction of justice. He is accused of using the fourth floor of a building in Manhattan’s Chinatown to monitor and harass overseas Chinese, using the room as an unauthorised police station. Lu has pleaded not guilty. US federal agents arrest 2 men for running Chinese ‘secret police station’ in New York China’s MPS, using overseas affiliates, attempts to identify “friends and allies” who are “favourably inclined” towards the Chinese government and Communist Party,” Ku said.

Will warming Arctic trigger further chill in US-China relations or bring them closer?
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Will warming Arctic trigger further chill in US-China relations or bring them closer?

The prospect of opening up new sea lanes presents both challenges and opportunities for the rival powers, analysts say US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the first part of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we look at the Arctic as an arena for competition. As Arctic warming accelerates and sea ice declines to record or near-record lows, the region is becoming more accessible for shipping and resource extraction – something that also fuels great power rivalry. The competition between China and the United States in the polar region is expected to intensify, but analysts said “functional” cooperation would still be necessary and may yet prove more important.

US aims to deploy Qatar-gifted luxury jet as Air Force One for Fourth of July
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US aims to deploy Qatar-gifted luxury jet as Air Force One for Fourth of July

There are efforts to possibly deliver the Boeing 747 even earlier, to align with Trump’s birthday on June 14 The US Air Force is targeting a Fourth of July delivery for a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar that would join the Air Force One fleet in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary, a US official and a person familiar with the programme said. The White House accepted the luxury jet from Qatar in 2025 ‌and asked the Air Force to rapidly upgrade the aircraft to presidential standards, with L3Harris tapped to carry out the overhaul. If the company meets its deadline, US President Donald Trump will have a new presidential aircraft in time for the national celebrations. The person said there were efforts to possibly deliver the jet three weeks earlier to align with Trump’s birthday on June 14, ahead of the July 4 deadline. The Qatari gift has drawn criticism from Democrats and advocates of good government, who warned it was a conflict of interest that could influence ⁠presidential decisions. Trump has dismissed complaints of accepting the 13-year-old aeroplane with a US$400 million list price, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the offer.

US allies in Asia are looking to build middle-power coalitions
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US allies in Asia are looking to build middle-power coalitions

Faced with the US’ unreliability and China’s ascent, countries such as the Philippines are creating new networks of partnerships “Under the new system, we will strategically promote equipment transfers while making even more rigorous and cautious judgments on whether transfers are permissible,” she added, confirming long-running speculation that Tokyo would relax decades-old restrictions on exports of high-end military equipment. Thanks to its post-war pacifist constitution, Japan previously limited military equipment exports to non-lethal categories, namely for transport, rescue, surveillance, minesweeping and early warning systems purposes. Though Tokyo will still refrain from sending armaments to nations engaged in conflict, as many as 17 major defence partners can now benefit from Japan’s cutting-edge military technology. Takaichi’s cabinet chief, Minoru Kihara, clarified the policy is “intended to safeguard Japan’s security and further contribute to the peace and stability of the region”.

Trump-Xi summit hides simmering trade tensions under the surface, industry experts say
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Trump-Xi summit hides simmering trade tensions under the surface, industry experts say

The scheduled summit next week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will almost certainly include proclamations about cooperation, friendship and respect between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, but beneath the surface, major trade conflict is building, said trade experts on Wednesday. In the past, a weaker China was forced to grit its teeth and grudgingly accept US tariffs, export restrictions and other restrictions, but Beijing has quietly and...

Passengers on hantavirus-stricken cruise ship sway between fear and boredom
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Passengers on hantavirus-stricken cruise ship sway between fear and boredom

A deadly outbreak followed by days stranded at sea are a far cry from the Atlantic odyssey they were expecting on the MV Hondius It was billed as an Atlantic odyssey to some of the most remote islands in the world. Instead, the cruise on the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius was left stranded off Cabo Verde, formerly known as Cape Verde, with passengers in their cabins, medical workers in protective suits tending to the sick and the ship’s operator seeking a safe port. The outbreak has left three dead and eight confirmed or suspected cases linked to the ‌Dutch-flagged expedition ship. Passengers, some of whom have been aboard since March 20, have reported moods swinging between fear and boredom: empty lounges, quiet decks, hot drinks, face masks, medical checks, and the uncertainty of not knowing when and how their journey will end. On Wednesday, specialist teams evacuated three people as the vessel prepared to extend its voyage to Spain’s Canary Islands with the consent of local authorities. After four days stationed off the West African archipelago, the ship set sail late Wednesday towards the Canary island of Tenerife, where around 150 remaining passengers and crew may finally disembark under medical supervision.

France’s ex-president Sarkozy escapes second ankle tag sentence
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France’s ex-president Sarkozy escapes second ankle tag sentence

Last year he became modern France’s first president to go to jail, in a case related to alleged Libyan funding in his 2007 election campaign Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will not serve time with an electronic ankle tag as punishment for illegal funding of his 2012 re-election bid, an informed source said on Wednesday. Sarkozy, 71, has faced a raft of accusations since leaving office after a single term from 2007 to 2012. He has denied all allegations in all cases. Last year, he became modern France’s first-ever president to go to jail, serving 20 days in a case related to alleged Libyan funding in his 2007 election campaign. His appeal trial in the case is ongoing. He has also received two definitive convictions in other cases. In one of them, the country’s top court last year upheld a six-month term in the so-called “Bygmalion” case, finding he had overspent on his failed 2012 re-election bid with a PR firm called Bygmalion and then attempted to cover it up. It was not clear at the time if he would have to wear an ankle tag.