Rate tops level last seen after Liz Truss mini-budget as fears of global inflation and US political instability spook markets
Britain’s long-term cost of borrowing has hit its highest level since 1998, as political instability in the US and fears of sustained high levels of inflation triggered a sell-off in global bond markets.
The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year UK government bonds hit 5.115% early on Wednesday, according to the financial data provider Refinitiv.
Continue reading...Lawyers for Alexander Csergo say a search using AI tools used to check plagiarism at universities verified his claim he provided open source material
Lawyers for a Bondi businessman accused of selling Australian secrets to China say simple artificial intelligence tools used to check for plagiarism at universities verified his claim he only provided publicly available information.
Alexander Csergo watched on via video link from Sydney’s Parklea prison on Wednesday as prosecutors told Downing Centre local court they would ask the federal attorney general’s department if it wanted to continue his case.
Continue reading...At least two people dead and five wounded in incident at Siam Paragon shopping centre
A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after two people were killed in a shooting at a busy luxury mall in central Bangkok.
A Chinese national and Burmese national were killed in the incident at Siam Paragon mall, according to Thailand’s national police chief, Torsak Sukvimol. A further five people were injured. Their condition is unclear.
Continue reading...Picture of athletes’ ‘6/4’ race numbers erased in perceived reference to 1989 massacre
A photograph of two Chinese athletes hugging after a race has been censored on Chinese social media because the women’s race numbers inadvertently formed a reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni, China’s entrants in the women’s 100m hurdles final, embraced after the race at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Lin won gold in the race with a time of 12.74 seconds. A photograph of the two women in profile showed Lin’s lane number, 6, next to Wu’s lane number, 4.
Continue reading...José Ramos-Horta rejects concerns about plan that includes enhanced military engagement as ‘imagined Chinese ghosts’
Timor-Leste’s president has hit back at criticism of a new partnership between his country and China, which includes plans to enhance military engagement, accusing detractors of “imagining Chinese ghosts”.
José Ramos-Horta, serving as president for the second time, told the Guardian that both Timor-Leste and China were “confused” by the concerns raised over the upgrading of ties between the two countries to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” announced last week.
Continue reading...Stock was suspended after report billionaire founder Hui Ka Yan was under police surveillance
Shares in the embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande jumped after trading resumed in Hong Kong after their suspension last week.
Shares soared more than 40% early on and were later 20% ahead. Trading in Evergrande and its property services and electric vehicle subsidiaries was suspended on Thursday, after a Bloomberg report that the company’s billionaire chairman and founder, Hui Ka Yan, was under police surveillance. On Friday, the company said he was being investigated over suspected “illegal crimes”.
Continue reading...Japanese talent agency to create new firm to manage artists as it tries to distance itself from disgraced founder
The Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, whose late founder has been accused of sexually abusing hundreds of boys and young men, will change its name and establish a new firm to manage upcoming artists, as it struggles to repair its battered reputation.
The agency’s president, Noriyuki Higashiyama, told a televised press conference on Monday that the company would be renamed Smile-Up, as part of its attempts to distance itself from its disgraced founder, Johnny Kitagawa.
Continue reading...Ngo Thi To Nhien detained over charges of ‘appropriating documents’, a government spokesperson confirmed
Vietnam state media has confirmed the arrest of the director of an independent energy policy thinktank – the sixth expert working on environmental issues to be taken into custody in the past two years.
A rights group reported last month that Ngo Thi To Nhien, executive director of the Hanoi-based Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition (Viet), had been detained, although at the time there was no official confirmation.
Continue reading...Runoff vote was widely seen as a referendum on whether to pursue closer ties with China or India, both vying for influence in the island nation
Pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu won Saturday’s presidential election in the Maldives, a result set to once again upend the archipelago’s relationship with traditional partner India.
Muizzu helms a party that presided over an influx of Chinese loans when it last held power in the atoll nation, better known for its luxury beach resorts and celebrity tourists.
Continue reading...As the website boasts about increased revenue, some partners say they have not been paid for months
Travel website Booking.com has left many hotel operators and other partners across the globe thousands of dollars out of pocket for months on end, blaming the lack of payment on a “technical issue”.
The issue is widespread in Thailand, Indonesia and Europe among hoteliers who are venting their frustrations in Facebook groups as rumours swirl about the cause of the failure to pay.
Continue reading...Pro-Delhi incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih faces uphill battle against Beijing-leaning frontrunner Mohamed Muizzu as contest remains on knife’s edge
The Maldives started voting on Saturday to decide their next president, in an elections widely seen as a referendum on whether to hitch their fortunes to China or India, both vying for influence in the island nation.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, 61, faces an uphill battle to secure a second mandate after a term that saw renewed ties with New Delhi, the archipelago’s traditional benefactor.
Continue reading...Timor-Leste’s president alludes to 2004 spying scandal as he brushes off concerns about new strategic partnership with Beijing
Australian intelligence agencies “know very well” that Timor-Leste’s decision to upgrade diplomatic relations with China is nothing to worry about, the country’s president has said, in an apparent reference to the 2004 spying scandal.
José Ramos-Horta has sought to ease any concerns among Timor-Leste’s neighbours about the country’s new comprehensive strategic partnership with China, despite the agreement flagging plans to expand military exchanges.
Continue reading...Pro-China presidential candidate Mohamed Muizzu accuses incumbent Mohamed Solih of allowing traditional benefactor India too much influence
As the archipelago of the Maldives goes to an election run-off on Saturday, it will not just be two presidential candidates on the ballot.
This election is being pitched as a larger geopolitical battle between India and China, which over the past decade have been engaged in a tug-of-war to gain influence over the Maldives.
Continue reading...Censorship, data harvesting and purchases of foreign news outlets could lead to ‘sharp contraction’ of freedom of expression
China is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, according to a new report from the US state department, which warned the trend could lead to a “sharp contraction” of global freedom of expression.
The report released on Thursday found that Beijing had spent billions of dollars annually on information manipulation efforts, including by acquiring stakes in foreign media through “public and non-public means”, sponsoring online influencers and securing distribution agreements that promote unlabelled Chinese government content.
Continue reading...Chinese group’s statement about chair Hui Ka Yan piles on the woe for once top-selling property developer
The founder of China’s Evergrande is being investigated over suspected “illegal crimes”, the group has said, as creditors become increasingly concerned about the prospects of the world’s most indebted property developer.
Evergrande Group, which has more than $300bn (£245bn) in total liabilities, did not say whether Hui Ka Yan was still in a position to run the company, or what crimes he was being investigated for.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Former Manus Island detainees facing loss of accommodation, but the Australian government claims it is no longer responsible for their welfare
Refugees exiled to Papua New Guinea by Australia have been told they will be evicted from their Australian-sponsored accommodation after bills were not paid for more than a year.
The refugees and asylum seekers were formerly detained within Australia’s Manus Island detention centre before it was ruled unlawful and ordered shut by PNG’s supreme court. About 70 men remain held in PNG, most in rented accommodation in Port Moresby.
Continue reading...Hong’s three-year sentence is the latest in a string of convictions for environmental campaigners in the country
A leading Vietnamese climate activist has been jailed for tax evasion, the latest environmentalist put behind bars by the country’s communist government.
A court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Hoang Thi Minh Hong to three years in prison for dodging $275,000 in taxes related to her environmental campaign group Change, her lawyer, Nguyen Van Tu, said.
Continue reading...Moves by broadcaster NHK, McDonald’s, Nissan and Suntory follow allegations against late Johnny & Associates founder
Some of Japan’s best-known companies have cut ties with a powerful talent agency whose founder was accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of teenage boys, in a scandal that has rocked the country’s entertainment industry.
The public broadcaster NHK said this week it would not sign new contracts with stars from Johnny & Associates until it was convinced the firm had properly addressed the scandal.
Continue reading...Suspension comes a month after developer resumed trading and follows its chair reportedly being put under police surveillance
Embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande has suspended share trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange only a month after it resumed trading after a 17-month suspension.
Trading in its two other units – the property services and electric vehicle groups – also stopped at 9am on Thursday, according to notices posted by the stock exchange.
Continue reading...Government says regulation aimed at protecting small businesses from competition
Indonesia has banned goods transactions on social media platforms as it aims to protect small businesses from e-commerce competition.
Calls had grown in recent months for a regulation governing social media and e-commerce, with offline sellers seeing their livelihoods threatened by the sale of cheaper products on TikTok Shop and other platforms.
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