Secular News

Hong Kong recorded a 13 per cent increase in visitors from mainland China during the Lunar New Year holiday against a year ago, with the influx boosting jewellery sales by 10 per cent during the period despite a sharp rise in gold prices. Industry representatives said on Sunday that overall business was better than last year, although the recovery remained uneven across sectors and was not always directly tied to the greater number of mainland visitors. Immigration figures showed mainland...

A man has reported the loss of Pokemon trading cards worth about HK$8,000 (US$1,023) after a burglary at a shop in Hong Kong – the second reported criminal case involving the collectors’ items in two months. Police said they received a report at about 2.50am on Sunday from a 25-year-old man that the 1,000 sq ft shop in Chung Mei Centre on Hing Yip Street, Kwun Tong, had been ransacked. He also found that more than 10 security cameras had been sprayed with red paint. An initial count indicated...

King Charles III has been left wrestling with a new test after the arrest of his brother Andrew, the latest in a series of painful personal shocks to mar his reign.

Some lucky Hong Kong fans of K-pop star G Dragon pocketed at least HK$320 (US$41) from the record HK$200 million Lunar New Year Mark Six draw after they chose lottery numbers he suggested. G Dragon fans took to social media to share news of their earnings after the winning numbers were announced on Saturday. During a fan meeting earlier this month in Seoul, the star was asked by a South Korean fan to name some lucky lottery numbers. After glancing at a countdown timer for the segment at the...

A police officer was killed and dozens of other people were wounded after two blasts in Ukraine's major western city of Lviv, as Russia pounded country's regions with dozens of missiles.

The beloved medieval friar died 800 years ago

Olympic medallist Laura Muir enjoys a winning return to the Scottish cross-country championships, 14 years after her last appearance at the event.

Olympic medallist Laura Muir enjoys a winning return to the Scottish cross-country championships, 14 years after her last appearance at the event.

Olympic medallist Laura Muir enjoys a winning return to the Scottish cross-country championships, 14 years after her last appearance at the event.

Russia fired scores of missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine on Sunday, crashing into energy and rail infrastructure and residential buildings, just two days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Journalists in Kyiv heard a series of blasts starting at around 4.00am, shortly after an air raid alert was issued, with the air force later widening the alert nationwide, citing the threat of missiles. “Moscow continues to invest in strikes more than in diplomacy,” Ukrainian...

Sanju*, a foreign domestic helper of Nepalese ethnicity, never imagined her Hong Kong dream would turn into a nightmare. The 34-year-old arrived in Hong Kong in 2023, driven by a simple wish to work in the city of her dreams. However, her first employer paid her 30 per cent below the statutory minimum wage, allowed her only two hours of sleep a day, and gave her just three rest days over six months, during which she was only paid two months’ salary. After six months, she was dismissed and thrown...

Taiwan’s parliament is set to prioritise review of a disputed NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defence budget bill when its new session begins on Tuesday, as pressure mounts from Washington. But US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about consulting Chinese President Xi Jinping on arms sales could complicate the debate, potentially giving Taipei’s opposition parties greater room to manoeuvre and reshape the final version of the bill, according to analysts. The renewed push follows...