Hong Kong educators took out HK$8.7 billion in pension funds in past academic year
By William Yiu
Hong Kong public school teachers and principals took out HK$8.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) from two retirement fund schemes in the past academic year, a drop from the peak two years ago when a wave of emigration was cresting.
In the 2023-24 academic year, 2,603 teachers from subsidised and grant-receiving primary and secondary schools left the profession as a result of retirement, resignation or other reasons, down from 3,551 in 2021-22 and 3,334 in 2022-23.
The data was reported in the Subsidised Schools Provident Fund and Grant Schools Provident Fund annual reports that the Education Bureau released this week and last month respectively.
Teachers cashed out HK$8.7 billion in the previous academic year, down from HK$10.1 billion in 2022-23 and the peak of HK$10.7 billion in 2021-22.
Each teacher took out about HK$3.36 million on average last year, according to the Post’s calculations.
Before the emigration wave, about 2,000 teachers quit and cashed out about HK$5.2 billion from the two provident funds each year.
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By William Yiu
Hong Kong public school teachers and principals took out HK$8.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) from two retirement fund schemes in the past academic year, a drop from the peak two years ago when a wave of emigration was cresting.
In the 2023-24 academic year, 2,603 teachers from subsidised and grant-receiving primary and secondary schools left the profession as a result of retirement, resignation or other reasons, down from 3,551 in 2021-22 and 3,334 in 2022-23.
The data was reported in the Subsidised Schools Provident Fund and Grant Schools Provident Fund annual reports that the Education Bureau released this week and last month respectively.
Teachers cashed out HK$8.7 billion in the previous academic year, down from HK$10.1 billion in 2022-23 and the peak of HK$10.7 billion in 2021-22.
Each teacher took out about HK$3.36 million on average last year, according to the Post’s calculations.
Before the emigration wave, about 2,000 teachers quit and cashed out about HK$5.2 billion from the two provident funds each year.
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Hong Kong’s tourist attractions are all around us
By Vijay Verghese
Retail therapy was such a reliable driver of Hong Kong tourism that few in the business contemplated the need for diversity. Why fix a wheel that wasn’t broken? Luxury brands gobbled up prime space, muscling out local designers and innovation. Now, that well-oiled wheel is grinding to a halt and klaxons are sounding. Yet it is not too late for the city to end its haute couture strut.
A strong Hong Kong dollar and the dwindling allure of monoculture shopping has seen retail drop from 51 per cent of overnight tourism receipts in 2018 to 41 per cent in the first six months of 2024.
Flogging this dead horse will yield diminishing returns. To bring in international travellers, Hong Kong must go local. It is time for this richly endowed enclave to tap its enormous array of natural beauty and local food and culture.
According to the Tourism Board, most of the city’s top 10 places most visited by overnight visitors have been unchanged over the past decade. The government has responded with a tourism blueprint for growth, betting on events, pandas and new recreation zones. Tellingly, Xia Baolong, who oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs for Beijing, put his finger on it when he said simply, “Tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong”.
Hong Kong does not need a host of new attractions. The place, its people and food are the attraction. But it needs revitalising and smart marketing.
The New Territories, stretching beautiful and wild across the north, encapsulate the essence of Hong Kong. Much of this is an untamed wilderness brimming with adventure. In a city built on stirring tales of piracy and plunder, this vast district offers a romantic swathe of windswept hills, beaches, temples, historic villages, wetlands, organic farms and dai pai dong. Its guileless charm offers a window into a fast fading way of life.
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By Vijay Verghese
Retail therapy was such a reliable driver of Hong Kong tourism that few in the business contemplated the need for diversity. Why fix a wheel that wasn’t broken? Luxury brands gobbled up prime space, muscling out local designers and innovation. Now, that well-oiled wheel is grinding to a halt and klaxons are sounding. Yet it is not too late for the city to end its haute couture strut.
A strong Hong Kong dollar and the dwindling allure of monoculture shopping has seen retail drop from 51 per cent of overnight tourism receipts in 2018 to 41 per cent in the first six months of 2024.
Flogging this dead horse will yield diminishing returns. To bring in international travellers, Hong Kong must go local. It is time for this richly endowed enclave to tap its enormous array of natural beauty and local food and culture.
According to the Tourism Board, most of the city’s top 10 places most visited by overnight visitors have been unchanged over the past decade. The government has responded with a tourism blueprint for growth, betting on events, pandas and new recreation zones. Tellingly, Xia Baolong, who oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs for Beijing, put his finger on it when he said simply, “Tourism is everywhere in Hong Kong”.
Hong Kong does not need a host of new attractions. The place, its people and food are the attraction. But it needs revitalising and smart marketing.
The New Territories, stretching beautiful and wild across the north, encapsulate the essence of Hong Kong. Much of this is an untamed wilderness brimming with adventure. In a city built on stirring tales of piracy and plunder, this vast district offers a romantic swathe of windswept hills, beaches, temples, historic villages, wetlands, organic farms and dai pai dong. Its guileless charm offers a window into a fast fading way of life.
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Japan zoo bans solo male visitors to prevent flirtation, citing family and couple discomfort
By Zoey Zhang
A zoo in Japan has implemented an entrance ban for solo men following repeated instances of harassment directed towards its female owner and women guests, attracting significant attention online.
Situated in Tochigi Prefecture in eastern Japan, Healing Pavilion is an interactive zoo that allows visitors to feed, cuddle, and forge bonds with animals such as pigs, cats, dogs, and sheep.
Since its opening last March, the zoo has aimed to provide therapeutic companionship through engaging animal interactions.
The facility also features a dog park where visitors are welcome to bring their pets.
On January 26, the zoo’s director, known online as Misa Mama, took to her social media to announce the restriction, leaving netizens in shock.
She stated: “Effective immediately, male visitors are prohibited from entering the zoo alone.”
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By Zoey Zhang
A zoo in Japan has implemented an entrance ban for solo men following repeated instances of harassment directed towards its female owner and women guests, attracting significant attention online.
Situated in Tochigi Prefecture in eastern Japan, Healing Pavilion is an interactive zoo that allows visitors to feed, cuddle, and forge bonds with animals such as pigs, cats, dogs, and sheep.
Since its opening last March, the zoo has aimed to provide therapeutic companionship through engaging animal interactions.
The facility also features a dog park where visitors are welcome to bring their pets.
On January 26, the zoo’s director, known online as Misa Mama, took to her social media to announce the restriction, leaving netizens in shock.
She stated: “Effective immediately, male visitors are prohibited from entering the zoo alone.”
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HSBC cuts rates on fixed mortgages in Hong Kong amid slumping sales
By Cheryl Arcibal
Hong Kong’s largest banks are likely to offer new mortgages to ease the burden on homebuyers amid elevated interest rates, but experts doubt that the trend would overcome the factors weighing down the struggling property market.
HSBC, one of the city’s three currency-issuing lenders, unveiled on Wednesday new mortgage plans offering a fixed rate of 3.18 per cent for the first three years, or 3.03 per cent for the first five years. In both cases, the rate for subsequent years is the prime interest rate minus 1.75 per cent.
The bank had offered fixed-rate plans at 3.25 per cent for three years or 3.15 per cent for five years starting in September.
With the likes of New World Development (NWD) selling new flats at its State Pavilia project in North Point and Kerry Properties offering units in Hava in Yuen Long this month, the latest mortgages mean more options for homebuyers.
“Large banks may follow HSBC,” said Eric Tso Tak-ming, chief vice-president of mortgage broker mReferral. In September, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered launched similar plans after HSBC, he said.
Since then, however, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut base rates by a cumulative half a percentage point in November and December, in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve.
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By Cheryl Arcibal
Hong Kong’s largest banks are likely to offer new mortgages to ease the burden on homebuyers amid elevated interest rates, but experts doubt that the trend would overcome the factors weighing down the struggling property market.
HSBC, one of the city’s three currency-issuing lenders, unveiled on Wednesday new mortgage plans offering a fixed rate of 3.18 per cent for the first three years, or 3.03 per cent for the first five years. In both cases, the rate for subsequent years is the prime interest rate minus 1.75 per cent.
The bank had offered fixed-rate plans at 3.25 per cent for three years or 3.15 per cent for five years starting in September.
With the likes of New World Development (NWD) selling new flats at its State Pavilia project in North Point and Kerry Properties offering units in Hava in Yuen Long this month, the latest mortgages mean more options for homebuyers.
“Large banks may follow HSBC,” said Eric Tso Tak-ming, chief vice-president of mortgage broker mReferral. In September, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered launched similar plans after HSBC, he said.
Since then, however, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut base rates by a cumulative half a percentage point in November and December, in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve.
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Why are Hong Kong government buildings slated for demolition filling up again?
By Kahon Chan
Two Hong Kong government buildings in Wan Chai heading for demolition have begun filling up again with temporary occupants, prompting calls for better long-term planning by authorities.
While a lawmaker said it made sense to use the available premises before the 2027 deadline for all occupants to move out, a land use concern group’s founder questioned whether the administration was pessimistic over future demand for top-grade office buildings.
Immigration Tower and Revenue Tower were earmarked together with Wanchai Tower for redevelopment into a complex connected to the Convention and Exhibition Centre. All three had to be vacated by 2027.
But while the original occupants moved out of the first two, other government offices were allowed to move in for up to three years. Ongoing renovations at some premises were only expected to be completed next year.
Legislator Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said it was inconceivable and a waste of money to move government agencies into buildings due to be demolished.
“It seems they were not attentive enough in their long-term coordination of the overall planning,” she said.
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By Kahon Chan
Two Hong Kong government buildings in Wan Chai heading for demolition have begun filling up again with temporary occupants, prompting calls for better long-term planning by authorities.
While a lawmaker said it made sense to use the available premises before the 2027 deadline for all occupants to move out, a land use concern group’s founder questioned whether the administration was pessimistic over future demand for top-grade office buildings.
Immigration Tower and Revenue Tower were earmarked together with Wanchai Tower for redevelopment into a complex connected to the Convention and Exhibition Centre. All three had to be vacated by 2027.
But while the original occupants moved out of the first two, other government offices were allowed to move in for up to three years. Ongoing renovations at some premises were only expected to be completed next year.
Legislator Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said it was inconceivable and a waste of money to move government agencies into buildings due to be demolished.
“It seems they were not attentive enough in their long-term coordination of the overall planning,” she said.
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Did Japan’s Ishiba cozy up to Trump or was he an effective negotiator at the summit?
By Julian Ryall
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has received mixed reactions back home over his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump, with critics saying he was submissive in Washington and others defending his effective diplomacy.
During a TV interview on Monday, Ishiba outlined his strategy that he was using in his talks with Trump, who made it clear in his first few weeks in the White House that the US intended to dominate its allies as well as rivals.
Ishiba told Nippon Television Network that the negotiation tactics he deployed in Washington were simple and effective.
“If I said ‘no’ to him, then everything would be disrupted,” he said. “It is said that he hates being disagreed with, so I didn’t.”
Ishiba avoided pointing out “the rule of law” to Trump so the president did not feel he was being “lectured”, he added.
His comments have lent credence to Japanese media reports that he underwent intensive training with the help of bureaucrats in Tokyo ahead of his departure for the US on how to deal with Trump.
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By Julian Ryall
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has received mixed reactions back home over his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump, with critics saying he was submissive in Washington and others defending his effective diplomacy.
During a TV interview on Monday, Ishiba outlined his strategy that he was using in his talks with Trump, who made it clear in his first few weeks in the White House that the US intended to dominate its allies as well as rivals.
Ishiba told Nippon Television Network that the negotiation tactics he deployed in Washington were simple and effective.
“If I said ‘no’ to him, then everything would be disrupted,” he said. “It is said that he hates being disagreed with, so I didn’t.”
Ishiba avoided pointing out “the rule of law” to Trump so the president did not feel he was being “lectured”, he added.
His comments have lent credence to Japanese media reports that he underwent intensive training with the help of bureaucrats in Tokyo ahead of his departure for the US on how to deal with Trump.
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Trump blames Biden for surprise rise in US inflation
By Agence France-Presse
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for last month’s unexpected acceleration in consumer inflation, as he looked to deflect a moment of potential political peril early in his second term.
The consumer price index (CPI) edged up to 3.0 per cent in January from a year ago, the US Labour Department said in a statement – slightly above economists’ estimates.
Stripping away volatile food and energy costs, so-called core inflation rose by 3.3 per cent over the past 12 months, which was also slightly above expectations.
“BIDEN INFLATION UP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the data was published, seeking to blame Biden for the CPI figures, which included 12 days in which was Trump was in office.
“It’s far worse than I think anybody anticipated, because unfortunately, the previous administration was not transparent in where the economy truly was,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington later on Wednesday.
Inflation increased by 0.5 per cent in January from a month earlier, while core inflation rose by 0.4 per cent.
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By Agence France-Presse
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for last month’s unexpected acceleration in consumer inflation, as he looked to deflect a moment of potential political peril early in his second term.
The consumer price index (CPI) edged up to 3.0 per cent in January from a year ago, the US Labour Department said in a statement – slightly above economists’ estimates.
Stripping away volatile food and energy costs, so-called core inflation rose by 3.3 per cent over the past 12 months, which was also slightly above expectations.
“BIDEN INFLATION UP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the data was published, seeking to blame Biden for the CPI figures, which included 12 days in which was Trump was in office.
“It’s far worse than I think anybody anticipated, because unfortunately, the previous administration was not transparent in where the economy truly was,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington later on Wednesday.
Inflation increased by 0.5 per cent in January from a month earlier, while core inflation rose by 0.4 per cent.
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Canada’s new fentanyl tsar says goal is to totally stop drug from entering US
By Associated Press
The man appointed by the Canadian government to help stop fentanyl from entering the United States said his goal is to totally eliminate the drug crossing the border.
“Getting the number to zero is a goal and should be our goal,” Kevin Brosseau, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a former national security and intelligence adviser, said on Wednesday.
“If it’s one pound, 10 pounds, we all know the amount of deaths that possibly could represent. We should be focused on eliminating the scourge that is fentanyl in this country and in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian government announced Brosseau’s appointment as its fentanyl tsar on Tuesday.
The move was partly in response to President Donald Trump saying the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US was a reason for threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods – with an exception of 10 per cent on energy.
Trump has paused the implementation of those tariffs until at least March 4.
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By Associated Press
The man appointed by the Canadian government to help stop fentanyl from entering the United States said his goal is to totally eliminate the drug crossing the border.
“Getting the number to zero is a goal and should be our goal,” Kevin Brosseau, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a former national security and intelligence adviser, said on Wednesday.
“If it’s one pound, 10 pounds, we all know the amount of deaths that possibly could represent. We should be focused on eliminating the scourge that is fentanyl in this country and in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian government announced Brosseau’s appointment as its fentanyl tsar on Tuesday.
The move was partly in response to President Donald Trump saying the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US was a reason for threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods – with an exception of 10 per cent on energy.
Trump has paused the implementation of those tariffs until at least March 4.
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Beijing approves construction of first South China Sea deepwater ‘space station’
By Stephen Chen
After years of debate and technical reviews, China has given the green light to a deep-sea research facility that could redefine marine exploration, while amplifying Beijing’s geopolitical leverage in one of the world’s most resource-rich areas.
The “cold seep” ecosystem research facility will be anchored 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) below the surface of the strategically significant South China Sea, which is also subject to a number of competing territorial claims.
The facility – one of the deepest and most technologically complex underwater installations ever attempted – is scheduled to be operational by around 2030, with room for six scientists on missions that will last as long as a month.
The planned facility – which is known among the research community as a deep-sea space station – will be used to study cold seep ecosystems – the methane-rich hydrothermal vents that teem with unique lifeforms and contain vast deposits of methane hydrates, also known as flammable ice.
Details of the station’s design were revealed this month by researcher Yin Jianping, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, and his colleagues, writing in the journal Manufacturing and Upgrading Today.
Pioneering features include the long-term life support system that will be needed if scientists are to build and operate a permanent monitoring network to track methane fluxes, as well as ecological shifts and tectonic activity.
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By Stephen Chen
After years of debate and technical reviews, China has given the green light to a deep-sea research facility that could redefine marine exploration, while amplifying Beijing’s geopolitical leverage in one of the world’s most resource-rich areas.
The “cold seep” ecosystem research facility will be anchored 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) below the surface of the strategically significant South China Sea, which is also subject to a number of competing territorial claims.
The facility – one of the deepest and most technologically complex underwater installations ever attempted – is scheduled to be operational by around 2030, with room for six scientists on missions that will last as long as a month.
The planned facility – which is known among the research community as a deep-sea space station – will be used to study cold seep ecosystems – the methane-rich hydrothermal vents that teem with unique lifeforms and contain vast deposits of methane hydrates, also known as flammable ice.
Details of the station’s design were revealed this month by researcher Yin Jianping, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, and his colleagues, writing in the journal Manufacturing and Upgrading Today.
Pioneering features include the long-term life support system that will be needed if scientists are to build and operate a permanent monitoring network to track methane fluxes, as well as ecological shifts and tectonic activity.
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Why Trump is not TikTok’s saviour
By Zhou Xiaoming
Many in China see Washington’s determination to force Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok as an act of robbery. But do the actions fit the crime?
Towards the end of his first term in office, President Donald Trump tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the Chinese company from the United States despite two executive orders, in 2020, first to ban any transaction with ByteDance and his subsidiaries, including TikTok, and then to demand ByteDance’s divestment of TikTok’s US operations.
Trump’s forced sale plans fell through, TikTok sued and, as we know, Joe Biden was elected into office. President Biden revoked the ban on TikTok but the app would face the same threat again as the temperature rose on national security concerns.
To lend a veneer of legitimacy to the second attempt to ban TikTok, Congress passed legislation in April last year to force ByteDance to divest its US operations. TikTok sued again but this time, the Supreme Court has held that the sell-or-be-banned law was constitutional.
The re-elected Trump’s decision to postpone the January 19 deadline brings but temporary relief. TikTok still needs to be sold to an American buyer. And a forced sale is hardly a viable option for ByteDance, or for that matter, any company. How could a seller with a rope around its neck hope to strike a fair deal?
Already, US companies are jostling for position for the tremendous bargain, expecting, it seems, to fetch the beleaguered app on the cheap. As Trump put it: “Every rich person has called me about TikTok.”
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By Zhou Xiaoming
Many in China see Washington’s determination to force Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok as an act of robbery. But do the actions fit the crime?
Towards the end of his first term in office, President Donald Trump tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the Chinese company from the United States despite two executive orders, in 2020, first to ban any transaction with ByteDance and his subsidiaries, including TikTok, and then to demand ByteDance’s divestment of TikTok’s US operations.
Trump’s forced sale plans fell through, TikTok sued and, as we know, Joe Biden was elected into office. President Biden revoked the ban on TikTok but the app would face the same threat again as the temperature rose on national security concerns.
To lend a veneer of legitimacy to the second attempt to ban TikTok, Congress passed legislation in April last year to force ByteDance to divest its US operations. TikTok sued again but this time, the Supreme Court has held that the sell-or-be-banned law was constitutional.
The re-elected Trump’s decision to postpone the January 19 deadline brings but temporary relief. TikTok still needs to be sold to an American buyer. And a forced sale is hardly a viable option for ByteDance, or for that matter, any company. How could a seller with a rope around its neck hope to strike a fair deal?
Already, US companies are jostling for position for the tremendous bargain, expecting, it seems, to fetch the beleaguered app on the cheap. As Trump put it: “Every rich person has called me about TikTok.”
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US should strengthen strategic ties to Greenland, senators hear
By Robert Delaney
US Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed on Wednesday that the US needs a closer relationship with Greenland to keep the autonomous Danish territory from falling under the influence of China and Russia.
They clashed, however, over President Donald Trump’s stated intention to purchase the island and his refusal to rule out military force to gain control.
Witnesses appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee warned that the US was badly outnumbered by Beijing and Moscow in terms of icebreakers and other vessels that frequently skirt Greenland’s coast.
Transits by the two countries’ ships and submarines through Greenland’s territorial waters, they contended, often occur without proper notification in accordance with Nato protocols.
They also said the critical mineral bounty underneath the island’s thick cover of ice could help break China’s stranglehold on global supplies, while arguing for a modernised monitoring infrastructure to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles launched at the US from China, Russia or the Middle East.
While the witnesses did not dismiss buying the island – assuming that would involve negotiation with a population of around 56,000 which may vote this year on a referendum on independence from Denmark – they offered other options that would give Washington more control. None endorsed a US invasion.
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By Robert Delaney
US Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed on Wednesday that the US needs a closer relationship with Greenland to keep the autonomous Danish territory from falling under the influence of China and Russia.
They clashed, however, over President Donald Trump’s stated intention to purchase the island and his refusal to rule out military force to gain control.
Witnesses appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee warned that the US was badly outnumbered by Beijing and Moscow in terms of icebreakers and other vessels that frequently skirt Greenland’s coast.
Transits by the two countries’ ships and submarines through Greenland’s territorial waters, they contended, often occur without proper notification in accordance with Nato protocols.
They also said the critical mineral bounty underneath the island’s thick cover of ice could help break China’s stranglehold on global supplies, while arguing for a modernised monitoring infrastructure to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles launched at the US from China, Russia or the Middle East.
While the witnesses did not dismiss buying the island – assuming that would involve negotiation with a population of around 56,000 which may vote this year on a referendum on independence from Denmark – they offered other options that would give Washington more control. None endorsed a US invasion.
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Trump says he and Putin have agreed to begin ‘negotiations’ on ending Ukraine war
By Associated Press
US President Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin “negotiations” on ending Ukraine war.
The Republican said in a social media post Wednesday disclosing a call between the two leaders that they would “work together, very closely”.
The call followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing American teacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention.
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of Fogel, two US officials confirmed on Wednesday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the swap.
The leaders spoke for nearly an hour and a half and agreed to meet, the Kremlin said, in what was Putin’s first known direct contact with a US president since February 2022.
Putin last spoke to a sitting US president in February 2022 when he had a call with Joe Biden shortly before ordering thousands of troops into Ukraine.
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By Associated Press
US President Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin “negotiations” on ending Ukraine war.
The Republican said in a social media post Wednesday disclosing a call between the two leaders that they would “work together, very closely”.
The call followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing American teacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention.
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of Fogel, two US officials confirmed on Wednesday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the swap.
The leaders spoke for nearly an hour and a half and agreed to meet, the Kremlin said, in what was Putin’s first known direct contact with a US president since February 2022.
Putin last spoke to a sitting US president in February 2022 when he had a call with Joe Biden shortly before ordering thousands of troops into Ukraine.
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US Senate confirms Tulsi Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence
By Associated Press
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as US President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination.
Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden.
Gabbard, a military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote, with Democrats opposed in the sharply divided Senate where Republicans hold a slim majority. The only “no” vote from a Republican came from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
She will take over the top intelligence post as Trump works to reshape vast portions of the federal government.
Intelligence agencies including the CIA have issued voluntary resignation offers to staff, while cybersecurity experts have raised concerns about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to sensitive government databases containing information about intelligence operations.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created to address intelligence failures exposed by the September 11 attacks. Republicans have increasingly criticised the office, saying it has grown too large and politicised. Trump himself has long viewed the nation’s intelligence services with suspicion.
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By Associated Press
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as US President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination.
Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden.
Gabbard, a military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote, with Democrats opposed in the sharply divided Senate where Republicans hold a slim majority. The only “no” vote from a Republican came from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
She will take over the top intelligence post as Trump works to reshape vast portions of the federal government.
Intelligence agencies including the CIA have issued voluntary resignation offers to staff, while cybersecurity experts have raised concerns about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to sensitive government databases containing information about intelligence operations.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created to address intelligence failures exposed by the September 11 attacks. Republicans have increasingly criticised the office, saying it has grown too large and politicised. Trump himself has long viewed the nation’s intelligence services with suspicion.
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Triad member held in Hong Kong cell with other gangsters found dead
By Danny Mok
A triad gang member charged with robbery and detained with two alleged accomplices from another gang was found dead in a detention cell they shared at Yuen Long Police Station in Hong Kong on Wednesday, prompting an investigation.
The deceased, a 44-year-old man surnamed Wong, had ties with the Wo Shing Wo triad gang. His cellmates, an 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, were affiliated with the Sun Yee On triad gang, a police source said.
All three were suspected to have been involved in a robbery early on Sunday in Tin Shui Wai. A 75-year-old man exercising alone at Tin Ching Estate was struck in the head with a plastic bottle and fell. He was then kicked and his wallet containing about HK$1,000 (US$128) stolen.
The three suspects were arrested the same day, later charged and taken to Tuen Mun Court on Tuesday.
They were then remanded in custody at the station for identification parade.
On Wednesday evening, the three men were being held in the same cell at the station. At dinner time, Wong was found unconscious and later confirmed dead.
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By Danny Mok
A triad gang member charged with robbery and detained with two alleged accomplices from another gang was found dead in a detention cell they shared at Yuen Long Police Station in Hong Kong on Wednesday, prompting an investigation.
The deceased, a 44-year-old man surnamed Wong, had ties with the Wo Shing Wo triad gang. His cellmates, an 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, were affiliated with the Sun Yee On triad gang, a police source said.
All three were suspected to have been involved in a robbery early on Sunday in Tin Shui Wai. A 75-year-old man exercising alone at Tin Ching Estate was struck in the head with a plastic bottle and fell. He was then kicked and his wallet containing about HK$1,000 (US$128) stolen.
The three suspects were arrested the same day, later charged and taken to Tuen Mun Court on Tuesday.
They were then remanded in custody at the station for identification parade.
On Wednesday evening, the three men were being held in the same cell at the station. At dinner time, Wong was found unconscious and later confirmed dead.
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Nato membership for Ukraine, return to 2014 borders ‘unrealistic’, says US defence chief
By Associated PressReuters
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Nato membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and in sweeping remarks suggested that the way forward for Kyiv was for the country to abandon hopes of a return to its pre-2014 borders and prepare for a negotiated settlement with Russia – one that should be backed up with an international force of troops.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth told the meeting of more than 40 countries allied to Ukraine.
“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he added.
Hegseth made the comments on Wednesday during the first trip to Nato and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine’s government.
What they heard was that US President Donald Trump is intent on getting Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for the defence of Ukraine – to include a possible peacekeeping force that would not include US troops – and that Hegseth said should not have Article Five protections if those troops end up in contact with Russian forces.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv’s forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Associated PressReuters
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Nato membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and in sweeping remarks suggested that the way forward for Kyiv was for the country to abandon hopes of a return to its pre-2014 borders and prepare for a negotiated settlement with Russia – one that should be backed up with an international force of troops.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth told the meeting of more than 40 countries allied to Ukraine.
“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he added.
Hegseth made the comments on Wednesday during the first trip to Nato and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine’s government.
What they heard was that US President Donald Trump is intent on getting Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for the defence of Ukraine – to include a possible peacekeeping force that would not include US troops – and that Hegseth said should not have Article Five protections if those troops end up in contact with Russian forces.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv’s forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
