Hong Kong national security police have arrested an operator of a local prisoner support group on suspicion of importing seditious publications, days after the group revealed that customs had seized dozens of books it had ordered from Taiwan. Police said officers carried out an enforcement operation in Mong Kok on Thursday morning, arresting a local man, 34, on suspicion of “importing a publication that has a seditious intention”, an offence under the Safeguarding National Security...

Five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and army said in separate statements, according to local media on Thursday. Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Tehran has severely restricted traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption. It regularly attacks ships it accuses of transiting without its authorisation. The United States military has in response imposed a...

Elon Musk bet nearly half a billion dollars that political spending could keep Washington friendly to his sprawling business empire. On Tuesday, that bet came up short. As Democrats recaptured control of the US Congress in the midterm elections, the world’s richest man found himself facing an abruptly altered political landscape. After pouring a record-breaking US$474 million into political groups – overwhelmingly backing Republicans – Musk now faces a divided Washington keen to examine his...

Russell Brand was convicted on Thursday of rape and sexual assault charges on allegations dating back more than 20 years. Judge Joel Bennathan said Brand would receive a prison term when he is sentenced on Monday. He was taken into custody. A prosecutor said the British actor-comedian was a ruthless, calculating, manipulative “sexual predator”. The 51-year-old denied the charges and testified that he was obsessed with sex as a young man and once led a promiscuous life but had never forced anyone...

Hong Kong police have arrested a domestic helper for suspected child abuse after a five-month-old baby girl was found unconscious at her Yuen Long home. The force received a report from the girl’s mother at about 7.20pm on Thursday that the infant was unconscious at a residence at Ha San Wai along Castle Peak Road. Paramedics rushed to the scene and transported the baby girl to Pok Oi Hospital in Yuen Long for emergency resuscitation. She was subsequently transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital for...

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment slipped to a 57-year last week as lay-offs remained low against the backdrop of a resilient labour market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 189,000 for the week ended October 31, the Labour Department ‌said on Thursday. Economists had forecast 196,000 claims for the latest week. Claims matched the 189,000 level touched in mid-July, which was the lowest reading since 1969. They have stayed...

The Democrat expected to become US House speaker has met Taiwan’s former leader and backed legislation supporting the island yet is unlikely to follow Nancy Pelosi’s example in pursuing high-profile engagement with Taipei, analysts said. Hakeem Jeffries, the House’s top-ranking Democrat, announced his bid for the speakership on Wednesday after Democrats won a majority of seats in the US midterm elections. He is poised to officially become House speaker following a floor vote on the first day of...