Hong Kong will cut public spending and restore fiscal balance by mid-2027 after a string of huge deficits, the city's finance chief said Wednesday as he unveiled growth plans including an artificial intelligence institute.The finance chief said Wednesday that the government would spend HK$1 billion (US$129 million) to set up a Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, in a bid to make the city "an international exchange and co-operation hub for the AI industry".
The United Nations has urged the international community to respond to what it called human rights violations by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's government as it seeks to further consolidate power, according to a report published on Wednesday. Ortega, a former leftist rebel who initially came to power in 1979 and returned in 2007, has been extending his control by allowing his presidency to "coordinate" judicial and legislative duties as well as expanding state control over media. The UN report accuses Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who serves as co-president, of having "transformed the country into an authoritarian state where no independent institutions remain."
Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent for those in the Christian faith. Find out what date Ash Wednesday falls on in 2025, Lent dates and Easter.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will provide A$8 million ($5 million) to technology firm Licella for a study on a biorefinery in Queensland to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the Brisbane Airport. The project would located at the Isis Central Sugar Mill which will provide the sugar mill waste feedstock, the energy and transport ministries said in a joint statement without providing a production figure or timeline. Australian refiner Viva Energy will also receive A$2.4 million for trials on storing and using SAF at the airport, they added.
Hamas will return the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the group said, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire. Israel has delayed the release of some 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas. The militant group has said the delay is a “serious violation” of their ceasefire and that talks on a second phase are not possible until the Palestinians are freed.
Pope Francis remained in critical condition and resting Wednesday, as Argentines and Romans alike gathered in the Eternal City to pray for his recovery from double pneumonia. The Vatican’s short morning update said: “The pope had a peaceful night and is resting.” On Tuesday night, the faithful from Francis' homeland gathered in the Argentine church of Rome for a special Mass presided over by Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, the pope’s vicar for Rome.
In Albania's capital, Baba Mondi envisions a Vatican-like state for his Bektashi faith on a tiny scrap of land that would serve as a model for love and tolerance. The practice is part of an overall vision of tolerance and promoting harmony that is central to Bektashi thought, according to Baba Mondi.
Fourteen members of a small Australian Christian sect who deprived an 8-year-old girl of insulin in the belief that God had healed her – or would raise her from the dead – have received lengthy prison sentences for her manslaughter.
A Sudanese military aircraft crashed in the city of Omdurman, killing at least 19 people, military and health officials said Wednesday. The Antonov aircraft crashed Tuesday while taking off from the Wadi Sayidna air base north of Omdurman, the military said in a statement. Omdurman is the sister city of the capital, Khartoum.
In a workshop tucked away in Beijing's historic Forbidden City, a restorer hunched over a centuries-old figurine, using a cotton bud to delicately clean its dusty crevices after years hidden in storage.The museum -- established in the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties after the last emperor Pu Yi and his household were evicted from the Forbidden City -- celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Baltimore prosecutors are no longer seeking to vacate Adnan Syed’s murder conviction, according to a new court filing submitted just hours before Syed’s due in court for a judge to hear a separate motion to reduce his prison sentence.
Hong Kong stocks resumed their impressive start to the year on Wednesday as they rocketed more than three percent on the back of a surge in tech firms fuelled by fresh optimism over the sector in China.The Hong Kong market climbed more than three percent and has enjoyed a blockbuster start to the year, rocketing by almost a fifth to hit its highest level since March 2022.
A Sydney nurse has been charged with making threats after she appeared in an online video saying she would not treat Israeli patients. Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with the federal offenses of threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace and harass, police said in a statement. Neither a defense lawyer nor Abu Lebdeh has commented on the charges.
Planning a Mardi Gras celebration? Find out when the Fat Tuesday lands in 2025, along with everything to know on Mardi Gras, King cake and more.
Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of four hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli source told CNN, indicating the fragile Gaza ceasefire remains intact for now.
Chilean authorities said they restored power to most homes on Wednesday, hours after a massive, rare blackout caused transport chaos in the capital and forced the president to declare a state of emergency and curfew across much of the country.President Boric had activated "a state of emergency due to a catastrophe" and announced a curfew until 6 am Wednesday.
India's Kumbh Mela festival wraps up Wednesday, with final ritual river bathing ceremonies ending six weeks of celebration that organisers say have been attended by hundreds of millions of devotees.Just on Wednesday, more than eight million devotees were reported to have shrugged off stomach-churning faecal matter measurements to immerse themselves in sacred river waters.
The number of births in South Korea rose last year for the first time in more than a decade on the back of a rise in marriages, officials said on Wednesday, bucking a trend for a country battling a demographic crisis.Park Hyun-jeong, an official from Statistics Korea, attributed the rise to an increase in marriages as well as shifting demographics.
The law, which took effect Tuesday, prohibits transgender students from using facilities that align with their gender identity.
An airline traveler has spoken of his shock after cabin staff sat him next to the body of a fellow passenger who had died during the flight.
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