Hong Kong’s debt market is surging, with Tencent Holdings and Swire Pacific raising more than US$5.2 billion in fresh funding, underscoring the city’s growing role as an international bond hub. The issuers, ranging from China’s tech champion to one of its oldest conglomerates, offered bonds across multiple currencies – US dollars, offshore yuan and Hong Kong dollars – highlighting the breadth of H...
Hong Kong’s debt market is surging, with Tencent Holdings and Swire Pacific raising more than US$5.2 billion in fresh funding, underscoring the city’s growing role as an international bond hub. The issuers, ranging from China’s tech champion to one of its oldest conglomerates, offered bonds across multiple currencies – US dollars, offshore yuan and Hong Kong dollars – highlighting the breadth of Hong Kong’s fundraising platform. Tencent unveiled on Wednesday a dual-currency bond package worth...
U.K. leaders called for calm Tuesday after the arrest of a Sudanese man accused of trying to kill a man in a vicious stabbing on a Belfast street sparked fiery anti-immigration protests. (Image credit: Peter Morrison)
U.K. leaders called for calm Tuesday after the arrest of a Sudanese man accused of trying to kill a man in a vicious stabbing on a Belfast street sparked fiery anti-immigration protests. (Image credit: Peter Morrison)
The 700 projects include wind and solar farms, battery storage, gas and hydro plans More than half the renewable energy projects needed to meet the government’s clean power targets by 2030 are now able to plug into the electricity grid after years of delay, according to the system operator. The National Energy System Operator (Neso) has offered more than 700 clean energy projects in Great Britain ...
The 700 projects include wind and solar farms, battery storage, gas and hydro plans More than half the renewable energy projects needed to meet the government’s clean power targets by 2030 are now able to plug into the electricity grid after years of delay, according to the system operator. The National Energy System Operator (Neso) has offered more than 700 clean energy projects in Great Britain a grid connection date since the start of the year, after a two-year process to unblock a bottleneck that threatened to delay projects into the 2030s . Continue reading...
The clock is ticking to take advantage of this valuable UK scheme, as the benefits are to be restricted from April 2029 Millions of workers are able to take advantage of a scheme that allows them to boost their pension and pay less tax, and experts are urging people to “max out” this valuable perk before the rules are tightened. Salary sacrifice lets you exchange some of your wages for a different...
The clock is ticking to take advantage of this valuable UK scheme, as the benefits are to be restricted from April 2029 Millions of workers are able to take advantage of a scheme that allows them to boost their pension and pay less tax, and experts are urging people to “max out” this valuable perk before the rules are tightened. Salary sacrifice lets you exchange some of your wages for a different benefit from your employer, such as a company car – or, in this case, pension contributions. You will then pay less tax and national insurance (NI) on your lower salary. Continue reading...
Government plan to de-link gas and electricity prices aims to reduce bills for consumers after global surge in prices Households in England, Scotland and Wales could save nearly £200 a year on their energy bills if the government stepped into the market to act as the sole buyer of electricity, according to a thinktank. The research found that public procurement of electricity, meaning the governme...
Government plan to de-link gas and electricity prices aims to reduce bills for consumers after global surge in prices Households in England, Scotland and Wales could save nearly £200 a year on their energy bills if the government stepped into the market to act as the sole buyer of electricity, according to a thinktank. The research found that public procurement of electricity, meaning the government would become the “single buyer” of power before it is resold to consumers, could shave billions of pounds from electricity prices. Continue reading...
Affordable, family-friendly and largely flat, the Lelångenleden is a gateway to an otherworldly wilderness with wild swimming, canoes and cabins as part the ride Imagine the Swedish landscape and a stereotypical scene of idyllic red cottages with white trim, foregrounded by a lake of glimmering blue, might spring to mind. Beyond perhaps, adding depth, lies a band of birch and spruce, and a midsumm...
Affordable, family-friendly and largely flat, the Lelångenleden is a gateway to an otherworldly wilderness with wild swimming, canoes and cabins as part the ride Imagine the Swedish landscape and a stereotypical scene of idyllic red cottages with white trim, foregrounded by a lake of glimmering blue, might spring to mind. Beyond perhaps, adding depth, lies a band of birch and spruce, and a midsummer view of wooded islands. Now, add to this image the sight of two half-naked men lunging from a tiny sauna cabin into the cold shock of a lake. One screams. The other ducks his head under, pops up, shivers, then does it again. His skin has the pinkish tinge of salmon, but he’s smiling. Continue reading...
The writer-director’s second movie lacks some of the craft shown in his later work, but remains a stylish and energetic descent into the cocaine-fulled world of the 70s adult film industry Masculinity was never more fragile than in Paul Thomas Anderson’s picaresque porn comedyfrom 1997, inspired by the life and times of 70s/80s LA adult movie star John Holmes. It’s a film that delivers the era’s j...
The writer-director’s second movie lacks some of the craft shown in his later work, but remains a stylish and energetic descent into the cocaine-fulled world of the 70s adult film industry Masculinity was never more fragile than in Paul Thomas Anderson’s picaresque porn comedyfrom 1997, inspired by the life and times of 70s/80s LA adult movie star John Holmes. It’s a film that delivers the era’s jukebox slams on the soundtrack, though oddly not the Heatwave classic that provides the title. But Boogie Nights gives the male-gaze world of porn a taste of its own phallocentric medicine. How does it feel for a guy to be known and valued for just one thing, and then mocked and even hated when that one thing shrivels? What happens, in fact, is that our detumescent hero symbolically turns to the more reliably priapic world of guns and crime, although not without first embarrassingly trying to make it as a singer. (David Foster Wallace, in his 1998 essay Big Red Son, about the Adult Movie awards in Las Vegas, compares the event’s musical interludes to the ghastly screeching in Boogie Nights.) Twenty-six-year-old Mark Wahlberg plays handsome young teen Eddie, or Dirk Diggler, as he is later professionally to style himself who, while working behind the bar in a nightclub in California’s San Fernando Valley in 1977 (where he supplements his income by jerking off in the kitchens at the bidding of paying voyeur customers) he meets silver-fox porn impresario Jack Horner, played with leathery assurance and style by Burt Reynolds. Continue reading...
This account of the Islamic Republic and its discontents told via six contrasting lives should be required reading It’s difficult in 2026 to talk about Iran without confronting a lot of crude certainty. The average non-Iranian gets their information in snippets, filtered by algorithms. The Iranian diaspora is too fractured and traumatised to educate everyone. And the regime has muffled the voices ...
This account of the Islamic Republic and its discontents told via six contrasting lives should be required reading It’s difficult in 2026 to talk about Iran without confronting a lot of crude certainty. The average non-Iranian gets their information in snippets, filtered by algorithms. The Iranian diaspora is too fractured and traumatised to educate everyone. And the regime has muffled the voices inside its borders, responding to every major uprising with internet blackouts that hide both the people’s rage and its own violent response. Meanwhile, its own network of misinformation spreads lies – that protesters are foreign instruments, that the unrest is manufactured by outsiders – exploiting legitimate western anxieties about intervention, Islamophobia, sanctions, oil and Israeli imperialism. Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati’s powerful history of the Islamic republic is a badly needed corrective because it is at once an engrossing story and a balanced, meticulously researched primer on modern Iran (the clearest I’ve ever read). And it is dramatic, personal and often heartbreaking, told through six lives lived at the forefront of the Iranian people’s almost five-decade struggle with a corrupt regime that has stolen their freedoms, votes and many thousands of their lives. Continue reading...
Apple Peiqing Ni targeted by account portraying her as promiscuous drug addict after posting about Tiananmen Square A high-profile Chinese activist in the UK who was inundated with deepfake posts on X portraying her as a sexually promiscuous drug addict was told that the abuse did not breach the rules of Elon Musk’s platform. Apple Peiqing Ni, the 27-year-old founder of the UK-based China Dissent ...
Apple Peiqing Ni targeted by account portraying her as promiscuous drug addict after posting about Tiananmen Square A high-profile Chinese activist in the UK who was inundated with deepfake posts on X portraying her as a sexually promiscuous drug addict was told that the abuse did not breach the rules of Elon Musk’s platform. Apple Peiqing Ni, the 27-year-old founder of the UK-based China Dissent Network, had been advised by UK police to complain to the US-headquartered platform after she was targeted by what she believes is a pro-regime bot. Continue reading...
When David Hill and Robert Adamson captured the lives of a small Scottish community in the 1840s, were they creating the first ever social documentary series? A fascinating new book makes the case Continue reading...
When David Hill and Robert Adamson captured the lives of a small Scottish community in the 1840s, were they creating the first ever social documentary series? A fascinating new book makes the case Continue reading...
A young Chinese man suffered acute kidney failure after working out too intensely, prompting a doctor to warn fitness enthusiasts to slow down. The 23-year-old university student from central China’s Henan province reportedly developed rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition where damaged muscle fibres break down rapidly. He was also diagnosed with acute kidney failure, which is a complication of rhab...
A young Chinese man suffered acute kidney failure after working out too intensely, prompting a doctor to warn fitness enthusiasts to slow down. The 23-year-old university student from central China’s Henan province reportedly developed rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition where damaged muscle fibres break down rapidly. He was also diagnosed with acute kidney failure, which is a complication of rhabdomyolysis. The reason behind his acute illness was fitness training. His doctor, nephrologist Liu...
The Murder Of Henry Nowak & The Poverty Of The 'Far-Right' Explanation Authored by Patrick Keeney via The Epoch Times, The brutal murder of Henry Nowak should have focused public attention on the circumstances surrounding his death and the troubling questions it raises about justice, race, and social cohesion in contemporary Britain. Yet one need only read one widely publicized headline to know th...
The Murder Of Henry Nowak & The Poverty Of The 'Far-Right' Explanation Authored by Patrick Keeney via The Epoch Times, The brutal murder of Henry Nowak should have focused public attention on the circumstances surrounding his death and the troubling questions it raises about justice, race, and social cohesion in contemporary Britain. Yet one need only read one widely publicized headline to know that another story is about to be told: “How Britain’s far right hijacked the murder of Henry Nowak.” Predictably, the tragedy is being pressed into service as evidence of the supposedly inexorable rise of the “far right” and “white grievance.” The victim, it seems, is of secondary importance. What truly concerns much of the legacy media is not the murder itself but the possibility that ordinary citizens might draw conclusions that fall outside the approved narrative. Once again, a deeply disturbing event is filtered through a set of ideological assumptions so familiar that the outcome is known before the reporting has even begun. The most revealing aspect of this story is not the crime itself, however disturbing, but the legacy media’s inability to imagine it meaning anything beyond its established ideological script. The circumstances may change, but the narrative remains reassuringly familiar: another cautionary tale about the rise of the “far right.” The conclusion is already written before the reporting begins. Predictably, the legacy media appears determined to interpret the controversy through the now-standard lens of right-wing extremism. Whenever social tensions arise around immigration, crime, identity, or unequal treatment under the law, the first instinct is rarely to assess whether the public’s concerns have any merit. Instead, attention immediately shifts to the alleged dangers posed by those raising concerns. The story ceases to be about the underlying issue and becomes about the people noticing it. This reflex reveals a profound intellectual exhaustion. The ex...
OMAHA, Neb., June 10, 2026--As Europe’s payments industry enters a decisive phase marked by sovereignty pressures, new regulatory requirements and the rise of AI‑driven commerce, the industry’s most influential players will convene in London later this month to debate who controls the rails, bears the risk and shapes the future. ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), an original innovator in global payment...
OMAHA, Neb., June 10, 2026--As Europe’s payments industry enters a decisive phase marked by sovereignty pressures, new regulatory requirements and the rise of AI‑driven commerce, the industry’s most influential players will convene in London later this month to debate who controls the rails, bears the risk and shapes the future. ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), an original innovator in global payments technology, today announced Payments Unleashed EMEA, a two‑day, invitation‑only gathering of senio
Taiwan Semiconductor reported a 30% year-over-year increase in May revenue, supported by strong demand for AI chips, underpinning its full-year outlook. Moomoo
Taiwan Semiconductor reported a 30% year-over-year increase in May revenue, supported by strong demand for AI chips, underpinning its full-year outlook. Moomoo
Carlyle's Co-Head of American Private Equity, Steve Wise, says activity is starting to pick up in private markets, with credit markets in good shape and a good backdrop for M&A. In an interview on "The Pulse with Francine Lacqua" on June 9, Wise also discussed the strength of the US economy and why Carlyle is investing in the defense and industrial industries. (Source: Bloomberg)
Carlyle's Co-Head of American Private Equity, Steve Wise, says activity is starting to pick up in private markets, with credit markets in good shape and a good backdrop for M&A. In an interview on "The Pulse with Francine Lacqua" on June 9, Wise also discussed the strength of the US economy and why Carlyle is investing in the defense and industrial industries. (Source: Bloomberg)
Almost 20,000 people have signed an online petition in Japan to protest against US President Donald Trump and the White House using manga and anime characters in posts on social media. In the latest example, a video on Truth Social uploaded on Saturday depicts Trump as ninja Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto, sparking a furious reaction from some fans of the popular series. The clip is part of an AI-gene...
Almost 20,000 people have signed an online petition in Japan to protest against US President Donald Trump and the White House using manga and anime characters in posts on social media. In the latest example, a video on Truth Social uploaded on Saturday depicts Trump as ninja Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto, sparking a furious reaction from some fans of the popular series. The clip is part of an AI-generated music video for “Thank You, President Trump”, a song by Anthony Constantino, a Republican from...
Anthropic is leasing powerful computer chips at five data centers with help from Google, one of the artificial intelligence firm's earliest investors. Google has agreed to backstop lease payments at each location, helping Anthropic obtain what amounts to a $35 billion loan. Bloomberg's Neil Campling explains. (Source: Bloomberg)
Anthropic is leasing powerful computer chips at five data centers with help from Google, one of the artificial intelligence firm's earliest investors. Google has agreed to backstop lease payments at each location, helping Anthropic obtain what amounts to a $35 billion loan. Bloomberg's Neil Campling explains. (Source: Bloomberg)