Spain remained calm in the face of US President Donald Trump’s latest attack on Wednesday – which saw him order a halt to all trade with the country – as Madrid stressed its relationship with Washington remained “positive”. Trump called Spain a “wasted cause” and “hopeless, bad people” during comments to reporters ahead of a Nato leaders’ meeting in Ankara, and ordered officials to cut off trade with the country – the second time Trump has made such a threat since March. The US leader has...

Hong Kong’s rail operator has launched a new advertising campaign featuring veteran actor Kent Cheng Jak-si, aiming to discourage the long-standing commuter habit of walking on escalators after reports of more than 500 related accidents annually. In the MTR Corporation’s promotional video, to be shown in stations and on social media, the 75-year-old actor demonstrates safe escalator use, drawing on a catchphrase from his role as the ancient Chinese politician Dong Zhao in a 2012 TVB...

Civilian and navy searchers off Pakistan’s coast on Wednesday located and recovered wreckage of a cargo plane that disappeared while approaching the southern port of Karachi, and a search continues for five missing crew members, officials said. The aircraft operated by the private carrier K2 Airways had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and reported a navigational system problem before losing contact with air traffic control late on Tuesday. The Pakistani navy and civilian teams...

President Xi Jinping has called for stronger efforts to draw overseas talent and address flaws in China’s innovation ecosystem, as intensifying tech rivalry pushes Beijing to bolster its global competitiveness. Xi underscored these priorities on Wednesday as he presented China’s highest scientific honour – the State Pre-eminent Science and Technology Award – to solid-state lithium battery pioneer Chen Liquan and military airborne radar expert Ben De. Each 2025 laureate received 5 million yuan...

A lithium battery pioneer and a trailblazer in military radar technology are this year’s winners of China’s most prestigious annual science prize. Chen Liquan received his 2025 State Pre-eminent Science and Technology Award for developing the country’s first lithium battery and helping to launch the industrialisation of the technology in China. And Ben De, who led the development of China’s first airborne pulse-Doppler fire-control radar – a core sensor for fighter aircraft – also won for his...

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday modestly downgraded its outlook for the world economy this year, citing the energy shock caused by the Iran war. But the fallout from the conflict is being partially offset by booming investment in artificial intelligence and other technologies. The IMF now expects the global economy to expand by a sluggish 3 per cent in 2026, down from 3.5 per cent last year and from the 3.1 per cent it had forecast for this year back in April. The fund expects...

At least two girls have been seriously wounded and a 16-year-old suspect arrested after an attack at a secondary school in the southern German state of Bavaria on Wednesday. The perpetrator appeared to have deliberately targeted the Welfen grammar school in the town of Schongau in a suspected “rampage”, a police spokeswoman said. She was unable to confirm press reports according to which the assailant used a knife in the attack. Local police said on their social media account that “a suspected...