A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barrelling towards a group of remote US islands. Super Typhoon Sinlakua is expected to make landfall on Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said on Monday. Power cuts on the islands could be lengthy, forecasters warned. Guam, a US territory with American military installations and about 170,000 residents, could also see damaging winds and is under a...

The European Union on Monday launched ⁠the critical minerals ⁠section of its energy and materials ⁠procurement platform, which aims to give more power to regional buyers and cut dependence on dominant producer China by aggregating their purchases. The platform is part of the bloc’s RESourceEU strategy, announced in December ‌to develop its supply chains for rare earths and other strategic minerals needed for the energy transition and defence applications. China controls up to 90 per cent of...

Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of having underage sex and conning teen girls out of more than HK$30,000 (US$3,830) in a compensated dating scam. The force said on Monday the 36-year-old unemployed local man told the girls they could earn between HK$30,000 and HK$100,000. He told them he would collect the money from clients and transfer it to the girls, according to police. But he instead posed as a “customer” and had sex with one 15-year-old victim at a Yuen Long hotel and at...

Hong Kong authorities have put a plan to launch basketball betting on hold amid the rapid growth of the prediction market, seven months after lawmakers passed a bill to legalise the activity. The Jockey Club, which had been expected to operate the new wagering, said in an internal notice it respected the government’s decision. The club previously estimated that authorised basketball betting could generate HK$1.5 billion (US$191.5 million) in tax revenue annually, although a source said it could...

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has hit out at the “delay” and “timidity” in helping Ukraine after travelling through the country unprotected during a 72-hour trip for a documentary. The former prime minister travelled beyond the capital Kyiv to the so-called kill zone near the city of Zaporizhzhia where he witnessed first-hand the war between Russia and Ukraine. The 61-year-old said Ukraine can and will win the war, but that “we are risibly failing to live up to our pledges” to the...

US pop superstar Britney Spears has checked herself into rehab following her arrest last month on suspicion of driving while intoxicated near Los Angeles, US media reported on Sunday. The 44-year-old singer was arrested in early March and booked into custody by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department on suspicion of DUI (driving under the influence). She was released soon after, and a representative for Spears at the time described the incident as “completely inexcusable” and said Spears would...

Heartfelt tributes continued to be paid to Maisy Ho Chiu-ha, remembered as a dedicated philanthropist, after the daughter of late Hong Kong and Macau tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun died on Sunday, having led a notably private life. On Monday, official statements and tributes poured in from government officials and associations to mourn the loss of Maisy Ho, who had devoted herself to serving the community. She was one of 17 children of “king of gambling” Stanley Ho, and one of five siblings born to...