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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.”
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