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Roof collapse kills 14 children at tutoring centre in Pakistan’s Lahore, officials say

2026-06-30T03:00:02+00:00

A roof collapse at a tutoring centre under construction in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday killed at least 14 schoolchildren, police and rescue officials said.

Eight other children were also injured and were being treated at a hospital, senior police official Faisal Kamran said, adding that the owner of the tutoring centre and another person have been arrested.

Kamran said rescuers were continuing to search through the rubble after receiving reports that more children could be trapped beneath the debris.

He said the tutoring centre was housed in an ageing building and that the roof of an unfinished second floor apparently collapsed because of poor-quality construction.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the incident. In a statement, he offered condolences to the families of the victims, prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured and said effective safety measures were needed to prevent similar tragedies.

Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials and safety regulations are frequently ignored to reduce costs in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.

Hong Kong can develop further with deeper integration, liaison office chief says

2026-06-30T02:30:01+00:00

By Wynna Wong

Beijing’s top representative in Hong Kong has expressed confidence in the city’s ability to achieve greater development by further integrating into the country, while the chief executive has said authorities are moving “at full speed” to draw up the first five-year plan to align with the national blueprint.

Speaking at a cultural gala marking the 29th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty on Tuesday evening, liaison office director Zhou Ji said he believed Hong Kong, with “the full care and support of the central government”, would be able to “seize strategic opportunities, better coordinate development and security, innovate and seek change, boost the economy, pursue development, promote reform and improve people’s livelihoods”.

He also expressed confidence Hong Kong would successfully formulate its first five-year plan and further serve the overall development of the country.

Zhou said Hong Kong had overcome successive challenges since its return to Chinese rule, including the Asian financial crisis, the global financial crisis, Sars, the Covid-19 pandemic and social unrest. Hong Kong had become “one of the safest cities in the world” under the national security law, he added.

“The motherland regards Hong Kong as a pearl in its palm, and President Xi Jinping has always cared deeply about Hong Kong and kept it close to his heart,” Zhou said.

He also mentioned the city’s first astronaut, payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, who is currently aboard the Shenzhou-23 mission.

“The pace of Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of the country is accelerating. The city is deeply engaged in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, working hand in hand with Guangdong and Macau to successfully host the 15th National Games,” he said.

“Furthermore, Lai Ka-ying [...] has honourably participated in a major national space mission and is currently journeying through the vastness of space.”

Liaison office director Zhou Ji speaks at the gala. The top Beijing official stressed the importance of long-term planning. Photo: Sun Yeung.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}

US Supreme Court again rejects cap on political campaign spending limits

2026-06-30T02:30:06+00:00

By Reuters

The US Supreme Court has again struck down campaign spending limits, this ⁠time rejecting federal restrictions on coordinated spending between political parties and their candidates on free speech grounds.

The ruling on Tuesday comes as major Republican committees head towards the November midterm elections with a significant cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts.

Siding with Vice-President J.D. Vance and other Republican challengers, the court ruled 6-3 that a cap on the amount of money parties can spend on campaigns with input from candidates violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections against government abridgment of freedom of speech.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote the ruling, said that “constitutional text, history, ‌and precedent establish that the political-party coordinated expenditure limits violate the First Amendment”.

The court’s six conservative justices were in the majority, while its three liberal justices dissented.

The majority overruled a 2001 Supreme Court ruling arising from Colorado that addressed the very same issue, determining that developments in campaign finance over the intervening decades, including shifts in the court’s jurisprudence, have eroded the rationale underlying that prior ruling.

US Vice-President J.D. Vance, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. After Tuesday’s court ruling, Trump wrote: ‘A BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS and, more importantly, The First Amendment!’.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}

Fallen firefighter Ho awarded Medal for Bravery in Hong Kong’s 2026 Honours List

2026-06-30T02:30:11+00:00

By Matthew Cheng

Firefighter Ho Wai-ho, who was killed in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades, has been recognised for his bravery in this year’s Honours List, while eminent economist Lawrence Lau Juen-yee is among three recipients of the city’s highest award.

Fencer Ryan Choi Chun-yin and cyclist Ceci Lee Sze-wing were also among the 466 individuals named in the 2026 Honours List on Wednesday, with the pair recognised for their achievements at last year’s National Games.

Ho was posthumously awarded the Medal for Bravery (Gold) for his “act of the most conspicuous courage, selflessness and bravery” during last November’s Tai Po fire in Tai Po, which claimed 168 lives and displaced around 5,000 residents.

“In the course of performing his duty, notwithstanding the extreme heat and fierce blaze, he continued his rescue work and risked his life to save others,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said. “Ho displayed unwavering dedication, utmost bravery and selfless devotion to the public.”

The government said Ho, who was among the first batch of rescuers to arrive at the scene, risked his life to continue rescue work amid extreme heat and a fierce blaze, showing gallantry of the highest order.

Fencer Ryan Choi. Photo: Dickson Lee.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}

US Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender student athletes

2026-06-30T01:30:01+00:00

By Agence France-Presse

The US Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for ⁠states to impose restrictions on transgender student athletes, upholding laws in West Virginia and Idaho banning them from female sports teams.

It delivered a major victory to conservatives in one of the country’s most fiercely contested culture-war battles.

The justices overturned decisions by lower courts siding with transgender students who challenged the bans in the two states as violating the US Constitution and a federal anti-discrimination law.

US President Donald Trump hailed the Supreme Court’s decision.

“The United States Supreme Court just RULED AGAINST MEN PLAYING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS. Wow! That takes that ridiculous situation off the table!!!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

The court’s decision allows Idaho, West Virginia and more than two dozen other Republican-led states to enforce measures requiring students to compete in public school and college teams according to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity.

Transgender rights supporters hold placards outside the US Supreme Court in Washington DC in January. Photo: Reuters.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}

Energy expert Yang Tao returns from Norway to China University of Petroleum

2026-06-30T01:30:06+00:00

By Shi Huang

An engineer who spent decades in Norway’s energy industry has returned as distinguished professor at the China University of Petroleum-Beijing, a post he says will build a bridge with Europe to help create sustainable energy solutions.

In a ceremony on June 13, university president Jin Yan handed a letter of appointment to Yang Tao, a member of both the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences and the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, for a position at the Chinese institution where he had first earned his chemical engineering degrees.

Yang was chief professional and senior specialist at Equinor, Norway’s state-controlled energy company, and was the founding co-chair of the World CCUS Council, which covers carbon capture, use and storage.

Yang confirmed the China University of Petroleum appointment on his LinkedIn account: “I see this appointment not as the culmination of a career, but as the beginning of a new mission. I hope to serve as a bridge between China and Europe, promoting deeper cooperation in low-carbon technologies, carbon management, digital energy, hydrogen, bioenergy and emerging sustainable solutions”.

Yang gained his a bachelor of science at the university in 1991 and a PhD in chemical engineering in 1996.

After completing his PhD, he conducted three years of postdoctoral research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

In 1999, he joined Whitson, a reservoir engineering consulting firm, as a technical expert, according to his LinkedIn profile. During his tenure, he provided consulting services to more than 300 oilfields and 30 international companies, focusing on reservoir fluid characterisation, gas injection, carbon dioxide flooding and flow assurance.

US Supreme Court strikes down Trump birthright citizenship order

2026-06-30T01:00:01+00:00

By Lucy Quaggin

In a historic ruling, the US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a Trump administration executive order targeting birthright citizenship, preserving a defining principle of what it means to be born an American.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Barbara, holding that children born in the United States to undocumented parents or parents on temporary visas are entitled to US citizenship.

Restricting birthright citizenship has been a cornerstone of US President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, which saw him sign an executive order in early 2025 to end citizenship for children of undocumented parents or temporary visa holders. The policy was scheduled to take effect the following month, but was repeatedly blocked in federal courts before it headed to the Supreme Court.

While much of the birthright citizenship rhetoric has been about unlawful immigration, the Trump administration’s order actually targeted those who are lawfully present in the US and on the path to permanent legal status.

This included people on highly skilled work visas such as an H-1B or L-1, as well as dependent visas, student visas, temporary labour visas and achievement visas, which are all considered “lawful but temporary” by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

If one parent is a citizen, the child would have still been granted birthright citizenship under the order.

Philippine religious group challenges Marcos, seeks to shield senator over probe

2026-06-30T00:00:01+00:00

By Raissa Robles

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr faced a stern challenge on Tuesday after the influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) religious movement staged a protest on Metro Manila’s busiest highway to demand that the presidential palace stop going after one of its members, Senator Rodante Marcoleta.

The rally at Edsa – the highway where a 1986 people power uprising helped topple Marcos’ father, who was the country’s long-time dictator – has raised the stakes of a looming criminal case involving Marcoleta, according to analysts.

Marcoleta, the first INC member elected to the Philippine Senate, has been touted as a potential vice-presidential running mate of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio in the 2028 presidential election.

The rally took place a day after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced on Monday that charges would soon be filed against Marcoleta for the non-bailable crime of plunder following his admission – as stated by investigators – that he accepted 75 million pesos (US$1.2 million) “donations” for his 2025 election campaign.

By mid-afternoon, the rally drew around 12,000 people, according to some estimates. It reportedly caught the presidential palace flat-footed. Marcos’ office abruptly cancelled a scheduled dialogue with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines and a separate event in Manila, and told its employees to return home immediately.

Philippine National Police Major General Anthony Aberin, who is in charge of security for Metro Manila, said on DZMM radio that he had ordered “the fortification of Malacanang” by setting up barricades along major routes to the palace and Liwasang Bonifacio, near the palace, due to the crowd.

Nvidia to boost its China robotics team amid emergence of physical AI

2026-06-30T00:00:06+00:00

By Richard Chen

US chip giant Nvidia is ramping up a talent drive for its robotics team in China, a market whose vendors account for the lion’s share of global shipments.

The Silicon Valley firm is recruiting for more than a dozen roles across Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to a post on its official WeChat account on Monday. The positions span four key domains: embodied intelligence, simulation, implementation and solutions.

Nvidia said its robotics team planned to build a “leading robotics platform and ecosystem to help developers and companies create autonomous machines”, with the aim of accelerating the journey of robots from research labs into real-world deployment across various business scenarios.

The hiring push underscores Nvidia’s growing emphasis on physical AI, an emerging field that combines AI models with robotics, enabling machines to perceive, reason and interact with the physical world.

Job descriptions revealed that employees would work around its technologies including the Project GR00T humanoid robot foundation model, the Cosmos physical simulation world model, and the company’s GPU-accelerated computing platforms, consisting of an all-around robotics technology development ecosystem, the company noted in the post.

Positions up for hire included engineers specialising in dexterous manipulation, whole-body control, and experts who would focus on robot learning and AI systems optimisation for humanoid robots.

Venezuela survivors pulled from rubble days after quakes

2026-06-29T23:30:01+00:00

By dpa

Almost a week after two devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, survivors were still being found alive by rescuers that have come from abroad to help.

Salvadorean rescuers reached a 44-year-old man trapped under the rubble of a shopping centre in the coastal city of Maiquetía in the early hours of Tuesday, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele wrote on the platform X.

The man had been supplied with water through a tube while rescuers found a way to reach him safely.

Workers from the Ecuadorian capital Quito’s fire brigade, which was also deployed in the disaster area, reported on Monday that they had rescued a 12-year-old boy.

“Five days after the earthquake, signs of life are the greatest motivation to keep going,” read a post on the platform X.

“As long as there is still a chance, we will keep searching.”

Residents search on Tuesday through the rubble of a building that collapsed during two earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela. Photo: AP.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}

US lawmaker Ro Khanna defends calling witness ‘racist’ in explosive China committee clash

2026-06-29T23:30:06+00:00

By Nayan Seth

Ro Khanna, the ranking member of the US House Select Committee on China, has defended calling a witness “racist” during testimony last week over comments on Chinese-Americans who obtain US citizenship through birthright.

The heated exchange took place during a June 25 hearing on economic espionage and subnational influence, where Khanna confronted Michael Lucci, founder of the Texas-based State Armor non-profit organisation, over a controversial social media post published in April.

In the post, Lucci referenced two Chinese-Americans – one linked by authorities to an alleged attempted bombing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and the other suspected of being an accessory. He argued that the accused pair had obtained US citizenship through birthright citizenship and said they were “not loyal to the USA”.

Expanding beyond that case, Lucci said about 1.5 million people were “essentially born in Saipan and raised in Communist China” through birth tourism.

“Denaturalise them all,” he said.

Speaking on Monday on the sidelines of a think tank event in Washington, Khanna, the Democratic representative from California, told the South China Morning Post: “It’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard.”

Khanna said there was “no thin line” between criticising the actions of China’s Communist Party and targeting Chinese-Americans.

“If you’re born in the United States, you can’t be denaturalised. You can’t just say, ‘OK, if you’re Chinese-American, we’re going to start denaturalising you’. It was a terrible, terrible comment,” he said.

Does Gojek co-founder’s guilty verdict test Indonesia’s investor climate?

2026-06-29T23:00:01+00:00

By Resty Woro Yuniar

Indonesia’s former education minister Nadiem Makarim, one of the country’s best-known tech founders, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after a Jakarta court found him guilty of abusing his authority in a corruption case linked to US$87 million in state losses.

The verdict against the Gojek co-founder could unsettle business sentiment and dampen foreign investment appetite in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, adding to concerns about legal certainty in cases involving government procurement and the technology sector, observers said.

Nadiem co-founded ride-hailing giant Gojek in 2010 and served as its chief executive until 2019, when he resigned to join former president Joko Widodo’s second-term cabinet as education minister.

On Tuesday, a five-judge panel at the Jakarta Corruption Court found the 41-year-old guilty of abuse of authority regarding the procurement of more than 1 million Chromebook laptops for schools in remote and underdeveloped regions between 2020 and 2022, a project the court said caused state losses.

His prison sentence was lighter than the 18 years prosecutors sought.

Nadiem was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 billion rupiah (US$55,870) and 809 billion rupiah in restitution, with failure to settle the latter resulting in an additional five years in prison. Prosecutors had demanded 5.6 trillion rupiah in total restitution.

Nadiem Makarim, Indonesia’s ex-education minister and co-founder of ride-hailing firm Gojek, speaks to his lawyers after his verdict in a corruption case related to the procurement of Google Chromebook laptops, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}

Putin superyacht ‘Graceful’ spotted on radar off Denmark

2026-06-29T23:00:06+00:00

By dpa

The Russian luxury yacht Graceful, said to be the personal vessel of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has appeared on radar for the first time in almost four years, Danish public broadcaster DR reported.

According to data from Marinetraffic.com, the vessel sailed along the northern coast of Denmark on Monday.

DR reported that from Sunday morning it had been accompanied by two Russian warships as well as alternately by the Danish navy and the German coastguard.

“The armed forces routinely monitor vessels, including foreign state vessels, transiting Danish straits and territorial waters, using the capacities designated for this purpose,” the Danish armed forces told DR.

By Monday evening, however, Graceful was no longer sending a signal, according to Marinetraffic.com.

According to DR, the yacht had switched off its AIS transmitter, used to broadcast its location, in August 2022 – around six months after the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Hong Kong private sports clubs must pay land premiums or open doors as leases end

2026-06-29T23:00:11+00:00

By Cannix Yau

Hong Kong’s 15 private sports clubs must either pay one-third of their land premium, ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, or open their doors to the public when their leases expire at the end of the year, authorities have confirmed.

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said on Tuesday that it has begun notifying the clubs and outlining lease renewal procedures, including premium payment requirements.

The arrangement, first announced in 2019, ends the long-standing concessionary land premiums granted to private sports clubs that are closed to the public.

Under the new terms, the clubs must pay one-third of the land premium upon lease renewal. Alternatively, they may convert into community organisations, pay only a nominal land premium, and fully open their facilities to the public.

A government source said the land premiums paid by these clubs could range from tens to hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars.

Private clubs have long faced scrutiny for occupying prime public land at nominal or nil rents under colonial-era arrangements while maintaining exclusive, high-cost memberships.

Public discontent has grown amid Hong Kong’s acute land shortage, with criticism that such clubs continue to enjoy preferential treatment.

Why the AI future won’t be decided by algorithms and chatbots

2026-06-29T23:00:16+00:00

By Syed Munir Khasru

When people talk about the race for artificial intelligence, they usually focus on software. Headlines revolve around ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek or the latest breakthrough model.

Governments announce AI strategies and investors pour billions into start-ups promising to transform everything from medicine to education. Nonetheless, the most consequential battle in the AI age may not be over algorithms at all. It may be over the machines.

Behind every chatbot response and AI-generated image lies a vast physical infrastructure of semiconductor factories, data centres, cloud networks, transmission lines and power plants. These are the factories of the 21st century. Increasingly, the divide may be between countries that own the infrastructure behind AI and those that only access the applications built on top of it.

History offers a familiar lesson. During the Industrial Revolution, economic power flowed to countries that controlled manufacturing capacity. In the 20th century, geopolitical influence often rested on oil, pipelines and energy markets. Today, computing power is emerging as the new strategic asset.

The United States currently hosts more than 4,200 data centres, accounting for nearly half of global capacity. Germany, Europe’s second-largest hub, has slightly over 500. China has fewer than 500, while India, despite being the world’s most populous country, has nearly 300. This gap matters because AI runs on infrastructure. Training and deploying advanced AI models require enormous processing power. Countries with stronger computing ecosystems are better positioned to attract investment, host digital industries and capture more value from the AI economy.

The US’ advantage extends beyond numbers. Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta operate some of the world’s largest cloud networks and collectively spend tens of billions of dollars each year expanding AI infrastructure. In the last financial year, Microsoft said it was investing around US$80 billion in AI data centres.

Asean hopes to tap Greater Bay Area’s tech skills with closer ties: industry chiefs

2026-06-29T22:30:01+00:00

By Connor Mycroft

Asean countries are looking to deepen supply chain integration with the Greater Bay Area to tap expertise in the region’s advanced technologies and manufacturing, with Hong Kong also poised to benefit, industry leaders and officials have said.

Panellists at the South China Morning Post’s GBA-Asean Summit 2026 highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) and green technology as key areas for cooperation, while stressing the importance of open data flows and shared digital standards.

Tuesday’s summit brought together government officials, business leaders and institutional investors to discuss emerging areas of cooperation between the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the bay area.

The bay area refers to Beijing’s initiative to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities into an integrated economic powerhouse.

Gary Wong Chi-him, chief Hong Kong and Macau liaison expert for Shenzhen’s Qianhai Authority, told a morning panel that he was interested in connecting Southeast Asia and Qianhai’s AI and green technology sectors.

He described Qianhai as “a special zone within a special zone” that could act as a gateway for companies looking to tap into the bay area.

China’s Politburo orders rapid-response overhaul in the face of floods and extreme heat

2026-06-29T22:30:06+00:00

By Phoebe Zhang

China’s top leadership has warned of the dangers of extreme weather and the need for better forecasting and disaster prevention, according to state media.

The Politburo issued the warning at its first flood and drought prevention meeting for the year in Beijing on Tuesday, a gathering chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Politburo urged local governments to take “forceful” measures against drought, flooding and typhoons, to “always put the safety of people’s lives first”, evacuate in a timely manner and prevent mass casualties.

“It is essential to ensure the flood control safety of major rivers, large lakes and key water bodies, and to comprehensively strengthen the regulation of river and lake flood discharge spaces,” it said, according to a Xinhua report on Tuesday.

“Efforts are needed to guarantee the flood-season safety of major infrastructure and projects under construction, investigate hazards and improve the protection of agricultural infrastructure.”

The meeting also called for improved rescue capabilities under extreme conditions, for greater resources at the grass-roots level and for more forces to be deployed on the front lines.

China has recently issued several rounds of warnings for storm, flood, mountain torrents and other geological disasters. On June 18, the Ministry of Water Resources issued a level 4 emergency response – the lowest in a four-tier system – for the provinces of Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou.

China reacts to Guo Wengui’s 30-year US prison sentence, highlighting fugitive status

2026-06-29T22:00:01+00:00

By Alyssa Chen

China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said it had noted the 30-year prison sentence given to self-exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, who was convicted in a US court for orchestrating a fraud scheme that bilked his followers out of more than US$1 billion.

“Guo Wengui is a fugitive wanted under an Interpol red notice issued at the request of the Chinese government, and we have noted the relevant reports,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.

The billionaire businessman, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, was sentenced on Monday by Judge Analisa Torres for leading what prosecutors described as a complex conspiracy to defraud thousands of his online followers between 2018 and 2023.

The funds were used to sustain Guo’s lavish lifestyle, which included a 50,000 sq ft (4,645-square-metre) mansion, a US$3.5 million Ferrari, two US$36,000 mattresses, and a US$37 million luxury yacht, according to a 2023 statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

“Mr Guo to this day denies responsibility and exhibits no remorse for the harm that he has caused to so many people,” Torres said before handing down the sentence. She also ordered Guo to forfeit US$889 million in restitution.

The US government seized around US$634 million in alleged fraud proceeds from 21 different bank accounts between September 2022 and March 2023, according to the federal prosecutor’s statement.

Prosecutors said Guo had promised substantial returns to his supporters if they invested in his companies or projects, including G Fashion, his personal clothing brand, and G Clubs, a luxury travel and event services company. However, these entities were not legitimate businesses but fundraising vehicles used to swindle investors.

New Asean Chamber of Commerce launched in Hong Kong will ‘fulfil long-felt need’

2026-06-29T22:00:06+00:00

By Ambrose Li

Setting up a new regional chamber of commerce will “fulfil a long-felt need” to bridge the gap between the Greater Bay Area and Asean, with Hong Kong acting as a “natural connector”, the business group’s inaugural chairman has said.

But given existing agreements and bilateral relations between the city and individual member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, analysts said the economic benefits introduced by the new chamber were likely to be more modest than dramatic.

The Asean Chamber of Commerce was launched on Tuesday at the South China Morning Post’s GBA-Asean Summit 2026.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said he was confident the chamber would build on the close ties between Hong Kong and the 11-member bloc, and promote trade and people-to-people ties.

Newly appointed chairman Daniel Fung Wah-kin said: “[The chamber] fulfils a long-felt need, which is to connect the 11 countries of Asean with the GBA … via Hong Kong, which is a natural connector between the two.”

Describing the chamber as “the new kid on the block”, Fung said he was looking to grow the organisation organically, stressing the importance of embracing economies of all sizes to create a “win-win for everyone”.

John Lee gives a keynote speech at the South China Morning Post’s GBA-Asean Summit 2026. Photo: May Tse.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}

Iraq’s 14 million barrels of trapped oil travels through Strait of Hormuz

2026-06-29T22:00:11+00:00

By Bloomberg

Iraqi oil stranded by the Middle East conflict has escaped the Persian Gulf over the past ten days as transit via the Strait of Hormuz eased during an uneasy US-Iran ceasefire.

Vessels carrying about 14 million barrels of Iraqi oil exited the Gulf in the latter part of June and are now carrying crude to buyers in Asia, Europe and the US, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

That is the equivalent of about 1.4 million barrels a day over the 10-day period.

All cargoes loaded since late February – and that were stuck inside the Gulf – have now sailed towards their final destination, the data show.

Hundreds of ships were blocked inside the Gulf after the US and Israel started attacks on Iran on February 28, resulting in Iran’s near closure of Hormuz, the vital choke point for about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

Shipping has picked up after the US and Iran agreed to pause hostilities in an effort to reach a lasting peace deal.

An oil tanker near one of Iraq’s offshore oil terminals in April. Photo: Reuters.css-mkkf9p{-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;}