In a public park a stone’s throw from the European Commission buildings in Brussels late last month, beer flowed, meat grilled and country music blared as revellers marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The fallout from the event, however, provided signs – if they were needed – that all is not well in America’s relations with its erstwhile European allies. Just three of the EU’s 27 commissioners and none of its leaders showed up, while authorities were reportedly...

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio did not attend the opening of her impeachment trial on Monday, leaving her lawyers to fight charges that, if upheld, could remove her from office, permanently bar her from politics and reshape the 2028 presidential race. Legal experts told This Week in Asia they expected Duterte-Carpio to be difficult, though not impossible, to convict despite the gravity of the charges because prosecutors would need at least 16 senators – two-thirds of the chamber –...

A 20-year-old Indonesian woman was stabbed to death in her flat in Hamamatsu, central Japan, police said on Monday as they investigate whether a man who was fatally hit by a train nearby was involved in the case. The woman, identified as Keiko Altaira Hanafi, was found stabbed and in a critical condition by a police officer at around 11.40am in the flat where she lived with her parents. She was later confirmed dead at a hospital. According to the police, a neighbour made an emergency call after...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a red rainstorm warning for an hour on Monday night, while a suspected waterspout was spotted off Cheung Chau. The red signal – the middle level in a three-tier system – was issued at 9.45pm but was cancelled at 10.45pm. An amber warning had been issued...

Although the US is in decline, underestimating the country could still prove a “fatal mistake”, according to a prominent Chinese commentator. “The United States is still a hegemony in decline. Even with its relative decline, it remains a hegemony because no nation or force is currently capable of truly taking its place,” Zheng Yongnian, dean of the school of public policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, said. In a recent interview with the Greater Bay Area Review, which is...

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas announced on Monday the dissolution of the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, clearing the way for a technocratic committee to implement civilian rule. The move marks a significant political shift by Hamas, which has run Gaza since its fighters seized control from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in 2007 after winning legislative elections the previous year. Since a ceasefire took effect in Gaza last October between Hamas and Israel,...

China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft has captured its first close-up image of a near-Earth asteroid, revealing that the target is even smaller than anticipated – a factor scientists say will make the sample-return task “far more difficult” than previous Japanese and American missions. The probe captured images about 20km (12.4 miles) from asteroid 2016 HO3 during its approach phase, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Monday. It was close enough for the spacecraft to begin...