Category: Uncategorized

Mexican president says she was not aware of any joint operation with US officials after two US men were killed in a car crash in Chihuahua

After two US officials were killed in a crash in Chihuahua, the largest state in Mexico, president Claudia Sheinbaum said she had no idea what operation they were involved in as she was not informed. According to reports, it was a covert operation in northern Chihuahua to destroy a clandestine drug lab and Mexican officials were also part of it. But neither did the US government identify the two killed in the crash, nor did the Mexican government offer any details. Instead, Sheinbaum denied any knowledge of any joint operation.”It was not an operation that the security cabinet was aware of,” Sheinbaum told journalists. “We were not informed; it was a decision by the Chihuahua government.”Sheinbaum said her government would investigate the incident to ensure no laws were broken after the deaths on Sunday, adding that state governments must have aut..

. President Donald Trump said the US seized a ship on Monday “that had some things on it” that were not “very nice,” calling it a “gift from China.”He did not say where the ship was seized, whether it was Chinese flagged, or what its cargo was.“I was a little surprised, but because I have a very good relationship, and I thought I had an understanding with President Xi, but that’s alright, that’s the way war goes, right?” Trump said in an interview on CNBC aired earlier today.Trump brought up the incident while discussing tensions involving Iran, saying his threat to bomb Iran’s bridges would affect the country’s military operations as it moves missiles. He also said Iran had likely done “a little bit of restocking” during a ceasefire that expires tomorrow.CNN reported last week that US intelligence indicated China was preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks. Trump has previously warned China against supplying weapons to Iran. “If China does that, ..

AdvertisementUS-China relationsUSPoliticsTrump’s military push confronts US lawmakers and China’s shipbuilding edgeCongressional resistance, war costs and industrial limits could constrain ambitions, even as Beijing expands its naval capacity
6-MIN READ6-MIN1 ListenYuanyue Dangin WashingtonPublished: 11:00pm, 21 Apr 2026US President Donald Trump’s long-standing obsession with sea power was underscored by his pledge to rebuild the US Navy into what he called a “Golden Fleet” as he returned to the White House.His financial year 2027 budget released on April 3 puts a price tag on the ambition: US$65.8 billion for 34 warships, including initial funding for a next-generation battleship he wants to name after himself, part of the largest US$1.5 trillion defence-spending request in history.But analysts say the record budget blueprint must first survive a sceptical Congress focused on voter affordability in a midterm election year – and, even if it does, the money alone cannot rescue an Americ..

AdvertisementEducation in Hong KongHong KongEducationNumber of Hong Kong school leavers seeking education elsewhere hits 14-year lowOnly 2,671 of 40,948 Form Six graduates pursuing full-time courses chose to study outside Hong Kong last year, the lowest level since 2012
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenWilliam YiuPublished: 10:22pm, 21 Apr 2026The number of Hong Kong secondary school leavers pursuing higher studies outside the city fell to a 14-year low in 2025, with an expert attributing the trend to a surge in mainland Chinese students targeting local universities.
Only 2,671 students, or 6.5 per cent of 40,948 Form Six graduates pursuing full-time courses, chose to study outside Hong Kong last year, a survey by the Education Bureau showed. The number was a 13 per cent drop from the 2024 figure of 3,061 and the lowest since 2012.
Compared with the previous peak in 2020, the number of Form Six students leaving the city plunged by 56 per cent in six years, with Taiwan and Canada down by more than..

Active-duty US soldier's El Salvadoran wife detained by ICE, could be deported to Mexico.

Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano, an active-duty US Army sergeant who served the military for 27 years, including several in Afghanistan, said the ICE is out of control after his wife Deisy Rivera Ortega, an El Salvadorian by birth, was detained by the ICE on April 14 in Texas. Ortega had an appointment at the immigration office in El Paso when she was arrested.Ortega came to the US in 2016 and was granted legal protection in 2019, CBS News reported. Because of her legal protection, Ortega can't be deported to El Salvador but the administration told 51-year-old Serrano that his wife could be deported to Mexico. “I don't really understand why, because she followed the rules of immigration by the T since day one,” Serrano said, adding that his wife had an active work permit at the time of her arrest.”I love the Army. (The) Army helped me out for almost 28 years. It's not the A..

A debate over a possible US military draft started after tech giant Palantir Technologies publicly backed the idea of universal national service. It argued that all citizens should share the burden of war. The company shared 22 extensive points explaining why software companies are equally responsible for defence. In a post on X, the company said, “National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost.”The intervention comes at a sensitive moment. The United States is facing growing military pressure abroad, particularly amid the conflict involving Iran. The fighting began after US and Israeli strikes on February 28 and has since transitioned into missile exchanges, naval clashes and a blockade of Iranian ports. US President Donald Trump has warned Tehran of severe consequences if it refuses a peace deal, at one point threatening to “blow up..

AdvertisementUnited StatesUSPoliticsFBI’s Patel sues Atlantic for US$250 million, says drinking story ‘is a lie’The FBI director is suing the magazine after its story claimed that he had a drinking problem and referred to his ‘unexplained absences’
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 11:11pm, 20 Apr 2026Updated: 11:14pm, 20 Apr 2026FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation ⁠lawsuit against the Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, following the publication of an article on Friday claiming the director had a drinking problem that could pose a threat to national security.The magazine’s story, initially titled “Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job,” cited more than two dozen anonymous sources expressing concern at Patel’s “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” that “alarmed officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice”.
The ‌article, which the Atlantic subsequently titled “The FBI Director Is MIA” in its online version, reported that during Pa..

AdvertisementHong Kong tourismHong KongHong Kong Economy40 Hong Kong tour groups safe after magnitude 7.5 quake strikes JapanJapan issues tsunami warning for north and northeast prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, after quake strikes at 4.53pm
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenWynna WongPublished: 11:02pm, 20 Apr 2026Hong Kong travellers in Japan were reported safe by at least one major tour operator while the Immigration Department said it was closely monitoring the situation after a powerful earthquake struck off the country’s northeast coast on Monday, triggering tsunami warnings.
Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, executive director of EGL Tours, said the operator currently had about 40 tour groups in Japan, including three in the northeast and four in Hokkaido, areas covered by the alert.
“All our customers are safe,” he told the South China Morning Post soon after the quake struck. “Earthquakes are quite common in Japan … there has been no impact on any of our itineraries.”
AdvertisementHe adde..

Law firm representing Kash Patel made their letter to the Atlantic public which they said they sent before the article on Kash Patel's alleged drinking problem was published.

A major war of words broke out between FBI director Kash Patel's advisers and Atlantic after Atlantic's journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick exclusively reported that the FBI director has been suffering from a drinking problem, which is known to the administration. On several occasions, Patel's security detail had difficulty waking him as he was seemingly intoxicated, Fitzpatrick reported, and then asserted that she stood by every word of what she wrote as she is an award-winning investigative journalist. She said Atlantic has excellent attorneys who would fight the case as she crosschecked the accounts, and even the White House and the Department of Justice, and they did not dispute the reporting. “This is telling,” Fitzpatrick commented on Patel's advisor Erica Knight's statement threaten..

An alleged retail theft network worth millions has been broken up in Australia, with police confirming that an Indian national on an expired visa is among 31 people arrested.Victoria police say the group is accused of stealing up to $10 million worth of goods from supermarkets across the state in a highly organised operation. The arrests follow a months-long investigation.Among those charged is a 39-year-old Indian man who police allege was in the country on an expired visa. He is accused of stealing around $160,000 worth of goods over several months. Authorities say he faces 68 counts of theft and 19 counts of attempted theft and is yet to appear in court.Police say the group ran a coordinated “theft-to-order” model, targeting high-value everyday items such as baby formula, vitamins, skincare products and electric toothbrushes. These goods were then passed to receivers and sold on the black market for profit.The thefts took place across several locations in Australia including Melbour..