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Chinese smart cars set to control 20% of western European market by 2028: JPMorgan
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Chinese smart cars set to control 20% of western European market by 2028: JPMorgan

Amid surging demand for electrification and a worldwide energy crisis, domestic carmakers can benefit from the stepped-up ‘go-global’ drive The pace of electrification on western Europe’s roads is likely to fire up sales of Chinese-developed smart cars, where they could command a 20 per cent share of the regional market in 2028 at the expense of local peers, according to a JPMorgan forecast. “Electrification is accelerating across Europe, creating the precise environment where Chinese OEMs’ (original equipment manufacturers’) product breadth becomes advantageous,” he said. “Investors should anticipate a continued ‘zero-sum game’ dynamic, with Chinese OEMs potentially winning share from tier-two foreign peers in Europe, Asia and Latin America.” In 2025, Chinese cars, comprising exports from China and locally built vehicles, represented 10 per cent of total new car sales in western Europe. JPMorgan previously predicted that Chinese cars could account for 15 per cent of new vehicle deliveries in western Europe by 2030.

Hong Kong firm eyes untapped market with launch of tailor-made electric minibus
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Hong Kong firm eyes untapped market with launch of tailor-made electric minibus

Of city’s more than 4,000 minibuses, only about 10 currently electric, according to industry leader A Hong Kong electric commercial vehicle solutions company has teamed up with a mainland Chinese manufacturer to launch an electric minibus tailored for the city’s roads, with the government set to stop registering new fossil-fuel commercial vehicles in 2035. Home-grown Wai Lik New Energy unveiled five new electric models on Monday, with founder Ng Chi-wai saying the vehicles were engineered specifically for the city’s narrow streets and steep gradients. The company, which partnered with Fujian-based Wisdom Motor, expects to deliver the new electric minibus in the third quarter of this year. Of the city’s more than 4,000 minibuses, only about 10 are currently electric, according to Chau Kwok-Keung, one of the chairmen of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association. Wai Lik New Energy aims to capture more than half of the local market in three years. “With the government’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and a full halt on new registrations of petrol and hybrid vehicles by 2035, the introduction of zero-emission public minibuses has become inevitable,” Ng said.

Cross-strait ties are ‘not state-to-state’, KMT vice-chair tells senior Beijing official
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Cross-strait ties are ‘not state-to-state’, KMT vice-chair tells senior Beijing official

Wang Huning, Beijing’s top official on Taiwan affairs, meets Chang Rong-kung of the island’s main opposition party Wang said the summit showed people on both sides of the strait shared a belief that territory must not be divided and the nation must not be dispersed, according to the Taiwan-based United Daily News. He added that people on both sides wanted to safeguard, inherit and promote Chinese culture and build a common homeland for the Chinese nation. In response, Chang said that from a cultural point of view, “people on both sides are Chinese and belong to one family”. He added that under the existing legal framework, there was only one China and there were no state-to-state relations. “As long as we leverage this reality and reactivate the cross-strait consultation mechanisms, there will be a political foundation [for peaceful development],” he said. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Singaporean killed in Dukono eruption ‘didn’t go for social media’: family
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Singaporean killed in Dukono eruption ‘didn’t go for social media’: family

Timothy Heng’s stepsister said that she and her family were comforted to know that ‘his final moments were used to help someone else’ Speaking about her stepbrother Timothy Heng, Tessa Oh said that his family knew him to be someone who put others before himself and showed up for the people in his life. More details about his last movements that emerged in a media report and accounts from some of the other hikers confirmed this, and Oh said that she and her family were comforted to know that “his final moments were used to help someone else”. “I think it really made them feel a lot more heartened about his death, and they feel like they raised a good boy, they raised a good son,” she said about her parents. A group of 20 hikers, including Heng, was trapped on Mount Dukono when it erupted on Friday, launching an ash cloud about 10km into the air.

Hong Kong may broaden at-risk elderly support after recent deaths, minister says
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Hong Kong may broaden at-risk elderly support after recent deaths, minister says

Welfare chief Chris Sun says support could be extended after recent deaths expose gaps in identifying vulnerable households Hong Kong authorities may widen support to cover more younger elderly residents to bolster protection, the welfare minister has said, calling current efforts to identify at-risk seniors “just the beginning” as the city reels from two tragedies in a week. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han told the South China Morning Post that the government was mobilising all available resources to strengthen support for the elderly, but he noted the process would take time given the city’s large ageing population. Explaining how a “high-risk” household was defined under a government initiative that used an interdepartmental database to identify vulnerable older residents, Sun said it generally referred to those aged 80 and above who lived alone or only with a spouse. However, this age threshold meant a pair in their seventies involved in a recent tragedy fell outside authorities’ monitoring. “What we are looking at, one is either the elderly people are living on their own or two elderly people are living together, and then we look at the age. Right now, we draw the line at age 80,” Sun said.

Hong Kong right to move to extend long arm of the law to claw machines
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Hong Kong right to move to extend long arm of the law to claw machines

Given the addictive potential of the machines and complaints about rigging, regulation is a step in the right direction and must protect children Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in our experience of pleasure, focus, reward and motivation. It propels us to put in effort, devote time and feel good about our achievements. Before the internet, the primary way we got our dopamine fixes was through hobbies, such as exercising, reading, writing or other offline creative tasks – activities that needed sustained effort and delayed gratification. Sure, people in those “prehistoric” times probably reached for their favourite snacks for instant fixes, too. But the problem with doom scrolling is that it’s passive consumption. While minimal effort is required, it misses opportunities for deeper conversation and social engagement. We can become addicted to activities that get dopamine flowing. While very few would call a triathlete who just can’t stop training an addict, there are quite a few obsessive pursuits that are typically shunned, especially if they’re clearly unhealthy.

China confirms dates for President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing
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China confirms dates for President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing

The visit will be the first trip to the country by a US president since 2017 US President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday. It will be the first visit to China by a US president in almost nine years and comes at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries over a range of issues. It also coincides with the fragile US-Iran ceasefire and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is pushing up energy costs and weighing on the global economy. Earlier, on Sunday, US principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Trump would arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening for what she described as a “visit of tremendous symbolic significance”. According to Kelly, the US leader will attend a welcome ceremony and a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping on Thursday, followed by a visit to the Temple of Heaven and a state banquet. The two leaders will meet again on Friday for a bilateral tea and working lunch, she said, adding that the US planned to host the Chinese leader for a reciprocal visit later this year.

Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin released on parole
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Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin released on parole

The corrections department cited Thaksin’s age and the fact that he had less than a year left to serve as reasons for early release The 76-year-old telecoms billionaire has been serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption since September. He is required to wear an electronic monitor until his probation ends in four months. Hundreds of supporters who had thronged outside Bangkok’s Klong Prem Central Prison ‌since the early hours of Monday chanted “we love Thaksin” as he greeted them on his release, having served about two-thirds of his sentence before ‌being paroled.

Cigarette butts ‘strong evidence’ of smoking ban breach at work sites: Chris Sun
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Cigarette butts ‘strong evidence’ of smoking ban breach at work sites: Chris Sun

Labour chief reveals further details of proposed ban and lays out other priorities, including injury compensation mechanism for online delivery workers Cigarette butts will be considered “strong evidence” of a possible breach under a proposed construction site smoking ban, Hong Kong’s labour chief has said, even as he sought to reassure contractors that preventive measures could shield them from the maximum HK$400,000 (US$51,070) fine. It also emerged at the inquiry that no prosecutions were initiated despite 17 checks at the estate undergoing renovation, as Labour Department inspectors were unable to catch smokers in the act or trace the origins of the cigarette butts found there. Sun also outlined his remaining priorities for the final year of the current term, including the introduction of a statutory injury compensation mechanism for online platform delivery workers and reforms to a manpower retraining body to address the impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Touching on his proposed ban on smoking at construction sites, he said: “For any contractor, if there are a lot of cigarette butts at the time of inspection, that by itself is going to be very strong evidence for us to take further action.

Trump’s China return: what’s changed since his ‘friendly’ 2017 visit
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Trump’s China return: what’s changed since his ‘friendly’ 2017 visit

Nearly a decade after his first-term visit, Trump returns to Beijing amid tensions over tariffs, Taiwan and tech rivalry Don’t look for a historic breakthrough. The focus is expected to be on extending the trade truce, locking in fresh Chinese purchases of American goods, and keeping tensions from boiling over. Watch for announcements on Boeing jets, agricultural products, energy deals, rare earth supply stability, and cooperation on fentanyl. Through sanctions and public calls, the US is pressing China to use its influence on Iran to end the crisis in the Middle East. However, Beijing blames the US and Israel for the conflict and is resisting the sanctions. This mutual mistrust risks turning the Iran issue into a fresh source of friction during the summit. Other thorny geopolitical issues might include North Korea and the South China Sea. Short-term wins for US exporters are likely, but deeper structural problems, such as AI and other technological competition, supply chain security, and the Taiwan issue, are unlikely to be solved in one visit. Anticipate the full red-carpet treatment, grand banquets and plenty of Trump handshakes with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China woman fined for applying make-up, dancing while driving; claims assisted driving more reliable
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China woman fined for applying make-up, dancing while driving; claims assisted driving more reliable

SUV-driving woman eats snacks while travelling through tunnel, posts videos online of her ‘dangerous’ driving, prompts police action A woman in eastern China has been fined for applying make-up and dancing behind the wheel, then claiming her car’s driver-assistance system drove better than she could. According to CCTV News, the driver, surnamed Lin, is from Wenzhou in Zhejiang province and had repeatedly posted videos online flaunting her vehicle’s assisted driving. In the widely shared clips, Lin is seen travelling through a tunnel with the system activated, both hands off the steering wheel, while applying foundation and lipstick, moving to music and eating snacks. She was driving an AITO SUV worth about 500,000 yuan (US$73,000), part of a premium smart vehicle brand backed by Chinese technology giant Huawei. Lin had also decorated the driver’s seat with flowers and ornaments. The distance she travelled has not been disclosed. Local traffic police recently contacted her after internet users reported her for dangerous driving. “Although my hands were doing other things, I was still thinking about driving,” Lin told officers.

Trump, Tehran and a Qatari tanker transit: here’s what happened overnight
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Trump, Tehran and a Qatari tanker transit: here’s what happened overnight

The US-Israel war against Iran has now entered its tenth week and there has been little progress on the stalled peace talks. These are the major takeaways from what happened overnight. What did Trump say? Iran reportedly sent a response to Washington’s latest proposal – a one-page memo aimed at ending the war – but it was rejected by US President Donald Trump. “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” he wrote on social media on Sunday. Tehran’s Tasnim news agency, citing an “informed source”, reported that...