A 47-year-old Chinese woman on Monday told a UK court that she played a leading role in a multibillion-pound fraudulent bitcoin scheme. Businesswoman Qian Zhimin, alias Zhang Yadi, pleaded guilty at London’s Southwark Crown Court following what is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world, now worth about £5.5 billion (US$7.4 billion). Qian admitted one count …
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China takes latest step to shore up finance, 3 years after rural banking scandal
Authorities in Henan province, central China, have approved the merger of 82 small rural financial institutions into a single regional lender, in an effort to contain systemic risks in a region once at the centre of a major banking scandal. Approved by the Henan office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), the consolidation will see Henan Rural Commercial Bank …
Read More »US citizen released by Afghanistan’s Taliban after visit by envoy
Afghanistan’s Taliban government released an American citizen from detention on Sunday, a week after freeing an elderly British couple. In a statement the country’s foreign ministry identified the detainee as Amir Amiri and said he had been handed over to Adam Boehler, Washington’s special envoy on hostages. Boehler made a rare visit to Kabul earlier this month to discuss the …
Read More »Trump says ‘we will get it done’ in the Middle East
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday about reaching a deal to end the war in Gaza, saying there is “a real chance for greatness in the Middle East”, ahead of talks on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump did not provide specific details of a prospective ceasefire-for-hostages agreement in Gaza, but Vice-President J.D. Vance said that …
Read More »افغانستان کا غیر ملکی فوجی اڈے کے خلاف پاکستان، روس، چین اور ایران کے مؤقف کا خیر مقدم – World
امارت اسلامیہ افغانستان نے پاکستان، روس، چین اور ایران کے اس مؤقف کا خیرمقدم کیا ہے جس میں ان ممالک نے افغانستان میں کسی بھی بیرونی فوجی اڈے کے قیام کی مخالفت کی ہے۔ امارت اسلامیہ افغانستان کے نائب ترجمان حمد اللہ فطرت نے کہا ہے کہ غیر ملکی فوجی اڈے کے قیام کے خلاف پاکستان، روس، چین اور ایران …
Read More »Opinion | Why Trump’s TikTok deal will be music to China’s ears
After four extensions of the statutory deadline to ban TikTok or force its Chinese owners to divest, US President Donald Trump has now signed an executive order transferring the app to US ownership. The announcement follows years of diplomatic sparring, bureaucratic manoeuvring, repeated efforts by federal and state governments to curtail the platform and even a ruling from the US …
Read More »China’s ‘full stack’ AI ambitions on show at Alibaba’s Apsara Conference
China’s full artificial intelligence technology stack was on display at this year’s Apsara Conference, the annual gathering of Alibaba Cloud users and developers held every September in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province. Downpours on Wednesday failed to keep crowds away following an opening speech by Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming, where he announced new AI infrastructure spending beyond the …
Read More »Iran recalls envoys to UK, France, Germany after China-backed UN proposal fails
Iran has recalled its ambassadors to Britain, France and Germany, according to its state media. The move came hours after the UN Security Council voted down a resolution backed by China and Russia seeking to prevent the reimposition of global sanctions against the Islamic republic. China and Russia tabled a draft resolution on Friday aimed at halting the snapback mechanism …
Read More »Typhoon Bualoi brings windy weather and swells to Hong Kong but threat limited
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. Hong Kong’s Observatory has warned of windy weather and swells for the rest of the weekend under the effects of a typhoon in the South China Sea …
Read More »By land, sea or air: 5 ways to enter China without a visa
Obtaining a visa to enter mainland China often requires filling out pages of paperwork, paying more than US$100, and waiting days for the documents to be processed. But for a growing number of visitors, some hurdles have been lowered or removed entirely as Beijing continues to relax visa-free entry rules to attract more foreign visitors and boost the nation’s tourism …
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