World

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration was moving to retake control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, claiming that such a move was necessary because of the facility’s proximity to nuclear weapons sites in China. Bagram, located 44 kilometres (27 miles) north of Kabul, was the largest US military base in Afghanistan and the central hub …

US Donald Trump on Thursday said he does not know the UK’s former ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, who was sacked over links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. There had been concerns the issue could cast a shadow on the US president’s second state visit to the UK, not least because Trump was also close to Epstein, although they fell out …

OPINION — You’ve probably seen that iconic photo of Senator Frank Church (D-ID) holding up a CIA poison dart gun, right? Or perhaps the one of Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) aiming it at the sky? They came from the Church Committee’s live hearings on intelligence activities some fifty years ago, in September 1975. We know that the Senate’s Church Committee …

Venezuela’s foreign minister said Wednesday that China pledged support for Caracas’ efforts to preserve peace in the Caribbean, quoting Ambassador Lan Hu as saying Beijing stood “in solidarity” as Washington pressed ahead with military strikes on boats it claimed were carrying drugs. Foreign Minister Yván Gil met with Lan in Caracas and described the message from Beijing as a significant …

Hong Kong police have arrested three people for allegedly practising medicine without a licence at a Central cosmetic clinic after two women suffered from septic shock following anti-ageing intravenous injections. The women, both 57, were hospitalised after undergoing infusion treatments at a clinic named Bioscor Hong Kong in Crawford House on Queen’s Road Central, the Department of Health said on …

A patron at one of the nation’s newest amusement parks has died after riding a roller coaster there, Florida authorities said. The man in his 30s was found unresponsive after riding the coaster at Epic Universe on Wednesday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The roller coaster …

David Baltimore, the Nobel Prize-winning American biologist who died this month at 87, built a legacy in China through decades of scientific exchange that helped the country rise as a global powerhouse in life sciences. Baltimore revolutionised gene research in his 30s and went on to mentor dozens of Chinese researchers and advise on the creation of top research institutions …

More than 70 per cent of Hongkongers fear running out of savings when they retire, while 50 per cent say they do not have a clear retirement plan, according to a recent McKinsey survey in the city, where 22 per cent of residents are over 65. The survey found only 16 per cent of those aged from 55 to 65 …

India and the United States are exploring ways to tap Myanmar’s rare earth reserves, with New Delhi reportedly in talks with a powerful rebel group and Washington considering working with either opposing side of the country’s civil war, as they seek to diversify their sources for the crucial minerals. But analysts say their plans face formidable challenges, including risks from …

On Wednesday, Lieutenant General He Lei, the former vice-president of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences, told Phoenix Television that there was “no explicit distinction” about whether mainland China’s advanced weaponry was aimed at Taiwan. Speaking on the sidelines of the Xiangshan military forum in Beijing, he added: “We do not wish to possess weapons for attacking Taiwan. …