Two former Chinese defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, have been sentenced to death with reprieve on corruption charges, according to Xinhua. More to follow...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting US Senator Steve Daines that Beijing hoped to “truly stabilise and improve” Sino-American ties, a week before a highly anticipated summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. In his meeting with Daines on Thursday, China’s top diplomat said Beijing and Washington should seek “harmony without uniformity” and be “partners rather than adversaries”. “The US should view China objectively, develop a rational perception of China, genuinely respect China’s...

A Shanghai company has been ordered to pay a woman employee 690,000 yuan (US$101,000) for illegally firing her because her husband works for a rival firm. Xuhui District People’s Court made the ruling in Shanghai in late April, the Yangtze Evening News reported. The woman, surnamed Liu, started working at the company in 2006. The firm’s name was not disclosed in the report, only that it operates in the property management industry. At the end of 2023, Liu received a notice from her employer...

Indonesia’s economy grew 5.6 per cent during the first quarter of 2026, its fastest pace in more than three years, but analysts warn that the coming months will pose significant tests for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Statistics body BPS attributed the growth to robust household consumption – which made up 54.36 per cent of gross domestic product and grew by 5.52 per cent year-on-year – and a surge in government spending. Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, head of BPS and deputy minister for...

AirAsia X co-founder Tony Fernandes said he is preparing to launch a new airline, betting that expanding while the aviation industry’s being roiled by high oil prices will pay off in the future. The new airline will be announced in the next month or two, Fernandes said in a video interview from Montreal late on Wednesday. The low-cost Southeast Asian carrier group is moving some planes for the business it is starting, he said, without providing further details. The expansion would come on the...

US President Donald Trump said conflict in the Middle East would be “over quickly”, as Iran considered a peace proposal that could lead to the reopening of the vital Strait of Hormuz. “We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The president has repeatedly played up the possibility of an agreement with Iran since the war began on February 28, without reaching an...

Hong Kong authorities have urged the public to stop using a certain model of Zwilling electric kettle over concerns that the handle may detach, posing a risk of scalding. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department on Thursday issued a safety recall for the kettle (model 53005). Consumers should contact the supplier, Cheong Hing (1917) Company Limited, at 2687 5879 to arrange a refund. The supplier warned that, in a small number of cases, the kettle’s handle may loosen or break,...