The estranged husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling more than £400,000 (US$540,000) from the Scottish National Party to fund a lavish lifestyle when he was its chief executive. Peter Murrell, 61, who was remanded into custody in the High Court in Edinburgh after his plea, admitted he used the money to buy a motorhome, two cars and luxury goods. “By embezzling from the SNP, Peter Murrell was stealing the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of...

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that any agreement with Iran should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered agreements aimed at normalising relations with Israel that were forged during Trump’s first term. In a social media post, Trump said negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the agreements first signed in 2020. He pointed to Saudi...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] At Yew Chung International School of Hong Kong (YCIS HK), a university offer is not a finish line but the first step in a life of service. The Class of 2026 demonstrates this belief: as of mid-April, graduates have secured places at Oxford (Law), Cambridge (Geography), Harvard (Environmental Science & Engineering), Stanford (Economics and Environmental Systems Engineering), Peking University (Law), Tsinghua University...

Cambodia’s acting head of state, former prime minister Hun Sen, pardoned opposition leader Kem Sokha on Monday from a sentence of almost three decades for treason. Kem Sokha, who was convicted of trying to topple the former long-ruling leader’s government and sentenced to 27 years, “is pardoned”, Hun Sen posted on social media alongside a royal decree signed by him. Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, stepped down as prime minister in 2023 and handed power to his eldest son, Hun...

Twenty-six US semiconductor firms, from Qualcomm to Nvidia, saw their China revenue climb by an average of 20 per cent last year, despite trade tensions, according to a new analysis. The data, featured in the latest “Hurun Top 100 US Enterprises in China 2026” report released by the Hurun Research Institute on Monday, tracks the performance of 100 publicly listed American companies based on their revenue in China last year. Among the top 100 earners in China, 26 were from the semiconductor...

China and Serbia agreed to deepen security and economic cooperation, with the leaders of the two nations hailing the “ironclad friendship” and strategic bonds between their countries during Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s first state visit to Beijing. In a comprehensive joint statement issued on Monday, the two sides said they would deepen cooperation in counterterrorism, preventing colour revolutions and the tightening of security for major events and Belt and Road Initiative...

Films generated by ByteDance’s AI technology made headlines at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, as the TikTok owner accelerates efforts to commercialise its flagship Seedance 2.0 model. Two short films, The Golden Tomb Seeker and Series Tower, created by Chinese platform Chushou AI using Seedance 2.0, were among 21 works selected from more than 1,000 submissions spanning 120 countries at Marché du Film, the business hub of the festival. But what drew most industry attention was Hell Grind, a...