Hong Kong's finance chief unveiled a "belt-tightening" budget on Wednesday that aimed to end the city's string of record-high deficits by 2028 while seeking growth in areas such as artificial intelligence."We try our best to diversify and grow our economy, but at the same time, it is a belt-tightening budget," Chan told reporters at a press conference.
A small group of foreign tourists has visited North Korea in the past week, making them the first international travelers to enter the country in five years except for a group of Russian tourists who went to the North last year. The latest trip indicates North Korea may be gearing up for a full resumption of its international tourism to bring in much-needed foreign currency to revive its struggling economy, experts say. The Beijing-based travel company Koryo Tours said it arranged a five-day trip from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24 for 13 international tourists to the northeastern North Korean border city of Rason, where the country’s special economic zone is located.
Taiwan sent forces on Wednesday in response to China's "live-fire" drills off the self-ruled island, Taipei's defence ministry said, condemning the exercises as dangerous.China's defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment from AFP. - Potential flashpoint - Taipei's defence ministry said China's actions in the region, including live-fire drills off Australia and Vietnam, "prove that China is the only and biggest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the I
The New York attorney general’s office announced a $17 million DoorDash settlement after the delivery platform used tips intended for drivers to subsidize their pay.
Holding flags, orange balloons and signs that said “forgive us,” tens of thousands of Israelis lined highways as the bodies of a mother and her two young sons, killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip, were taken for burial on Wednesday. The plight of the Bibas family has come to embody the profound sense of loss and grief still permeating Israel after the militant Hamas group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Footage of a terrified Shiri Bibas clutching her two redheaded sons — 9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel — as they were taken to Gaza by militants is seared into the country's collective memory.
In 2025, robbers aren’t going for gold or money on trains. They're targeting Nike shoes and electronics in heists that sound straight out of the Wild West.
Elon Musk's DOGE team says it saved hundreds of millions of dollars at the Education Department. But a new analysis shows it's wasting money, too.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk revel in disruptive wins, while traditional Republicans struggle with irrelevancy.
An unspecified incident at U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy has prompted a shelter-in-place order.
President Donald Trump is set to convene his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday – a gathering of agency leaders who’ve taken different approaches to proving their loyalty to Trump in public and private.
The Department of Education made no announcement before removing online application form for several student loan repayment plans.
Pope Francis had another "peaceful night" at Rome's Gemelli hospital and was resting on Wednesday morning as he continues to receive treatment for double pneumonia, the Vatican said.
Aston Martin Lagonda announced Wednesday it would cut about five percent of its workforce as weak Chinese demand contributed to losses widening at the luxury car group last year. Aston Martin, which is slowly transitioning to electric car models, said it hoped for annualised savings of £25 million.
The erosion of multilateralism threatens global growth and stability, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned Wednesday at a G20 finance meeting in South Africa marked by the absence of the US Treasury secretary."The erosion of multilateralism presents a threat to global growth and stability," Ramaphosa said in his opening address.
The Stellantis car giant -- which includes Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Peugeot -- on Wednesday reported a 70 percent fall in 2024 profits against the previous year because of troubles in North America.Shares in the Italian-US-French group -- whose 14 brands include Fiat, Peugeot-Citroen, Opel, Maserati, Chrysler, Ram and Jeep -- fell by more than five percent in morning trading on the Paris stock exchange.
Singapore's law and home affairs minister and its manpower minister have filed defamation lawsuits against Bloomberg News and one of its reporters, according to a schedule of court hearings. Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng had threatened legal action in December, saying at the time a Bloomberg report on Singapore real estate that mentioned them by name was libellous. Bloomberg declined to comment on the lawsuits on Wednesday.
Almost all of Power Africa's programs have been listed for termination and the majority of its staff fired, the report added, citing unnamed sources. The Power Africa initiative, which was launched in 2013 by then president Barack Obama, aims to bring electricity to tens of millions of households in Africa. "Each program is undergoing a review with the goal of restructuring assistance to serve U.S. interests," Bloomberg reported, quoting a State Department spokesperson.
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 about 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas. Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would hand over the bodies of four Israelis the next day.
Millions of devotees across India are celebrating the Shivaratri festival that honors the Hindu god Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism. The devotees celebrate the festival in temples by pouring water or milk over the Shiva linga, a stone sculpture symbolic of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. At some temples, Hindu holy men, also known as Sadhus, smoke marijuana — a practice that is normally illegal but is permitted during the Shivaratri festival — and smear their bodies with ash in devotion.
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 6:00 am Wednesday.
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