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Hong Kong cuts taxes for foreign home buyers and stock traders as it seeks to maintain global status

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader on Wednesday cut taxes for some homebuyers and stock traders to boost markets as the city seeks to maintain its reputation as a global financial hub. Chief Executive John Lee said the extra stamp duties imposed on non-resident buyers and current local homeowners looking to buy additional properties would be halved, making the first easing over the past decade since property cooling measures were introduced.In his annual policy address, Lee also unveiled plans to reduce stamp duty on stock transactions to 0.1% from 0.13%, saying a vibrant stock market is vital to upholding the city’s status as a financial hub. After the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Hong Kong’s economy has begun to recover, fueled by growth in tourism and private consumption. The city’s economy expanded 2.2% in the first half of 2023 year-on-year and is expected to grow between 4% and 5% for the full year.However, the path to full recovery remains uneven, particularly with...

Activists demand transparency over Malaysia’s move to extend Lynas Rare Earth’s operations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Environmental activists voiced disappointment Wednesday at Malaysia’s decision to allow Lynas Rare Earths to continue operations until March 2026, and demanded more transparency on plans by the Australian miner to extract a radioactive element from its growing waste.The government Tuesday said it allowed Lynas to continue to import and process rare earths at its refinery in central Pahang state, reversing a decision for such activities to halt by Jan. 1. This came after Lynas proposed a method to draw out thorium, the radioactive element, from raw feedstock and from over a million tons of waste accumulated at its refinery.Activist Wong Tack said the government should have first compelled Lynas to prove that its proposal could work by immediately removing thorium from its existing waste.“It is extremely irresponsible of the (science) minister to extend Lynas’ license and allow them to generate more waste when the existing waste has not been safely ...

“El silencio es ensordecedor”: la reina Rania de Jordania acusa a Occidente de “flagrante doble rasero” mientras aumenta el número de muertos en la asediada Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

(CNN) — La reina Rania de Jordania acusó a los dirigentes occidentales de un “flagrante doble rasero” por no condenar la muerte de civiles bajo los bombardeos israelíes en Gaza, mientras la guerra de Israel contra Hamas amenaza con desestabilizar las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y los dirigentes árabes.En una entrevista exclusiva con Christiane Amanpour de CNN, Rania declaró: “La gente de todo Oriente Próximo, incluida Jordania, estamos conmocionados y decepcionados por la reacción del mundo ante esta catástrofe que se está produciendo. En las dos últimas semanas, hemos visto un evidente doble rasero en el mundo”.“Cuando ocurrió lo del 7 de octubre, el mundo se puso inmediata e inequívocamente del lado de Israel y de su derecho a defenderse y condenó el ataque que se produjo… pero lo que estamos viendo en las dos últimas semanas, estamos viendo silencio en el mundo”, dijo a CNN.Israel declaró un “asedio total” a Gaza tra...

El telescopio Webb descubre un fenómeno nunca antes visto en la atmósfera de Júpiter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

(CNN) — Júpiter fue uno de los primeros objetivos observados por el telescopio espacial James Webb cuando dirigió su mirada infrarroja al universo en julio de 2022. Tras captar imágenes asombrosas que superaron las expectativas de los astrónomos, el observatorio espacial ha revelado ahora una característica nunca antes vista en la atmósfera del gigante gaseoso.Los investigadores utilizaron la cámara infrarroja cercana de Webb, o NIRCam, para tomar una serie de imágenes de Júpiter con 10 horas de intervalo, aplicando cuatro filtros diferentes para detectar cambios en la atmósfera del planeta. La luz infrarroja es invisible para el ojo humano y las capacidades sin precedentes del telescopio Webb se han utilizado durante el último año para detectar muchas características celestes recién observadas, como megacúmulos de estrellas jóvenes y parejas inesperadas de objetos similares a planetas.Los astrónomos detectaron una corriente en chorro de alta velocidad en la estratosfera infe...

Israel ramps up feud with UN, vowing to ‘teach them a lesson’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

Israel said Wednesday it has denied a visa to a senior United Nations official to “teach them a lesson,” escalating the country’s growing dispute with the U.N.On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said during a Security Council meeting that the violent Hamas attack against Israel on October 7 “did not happen in a vacuum,” triggering furious reactions from Israel.In response, Israel’s U.N. ambassador Gilad Erdan told Israeli radio on Wednesday morning that the country has denied a visa to U.N. Under Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, following Guterres’ comments. “Due to his remarks we will refuse to issue visas to U.N. representatives … The time has come to teach them a lesson,” Erdan told Army Radio, reported Times of Israel.Guterres followed up in the early hours of Wednesday morning, saying that the “horrendous attacks” by Hamas “cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”Guterres’ initial “...

Championship or bust: 5 keys for Celtics as pursuit of long-awaited title begins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

Coming close to a championship doesn’t cut it in Boston. This summer, the Celtics put their money where their mouth is.Less than a month removed from a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Heat, and a year after coming two wins short in the NBA Finals, they shook everything up to their core. Literally. Marcus Smart – the franchise’s cornerstone, heartbeat and backbone – was shockingly traded as they acquired Kristaps Porzingis.“Sometimes really, really hard decisions have to be made,” Brad Stevens said shortly after.If it wasn’t already clear the Celtics weren’t messing around, they doubled down on the eve of training camp. In the wake of Milwaukee’s acquisition of Damian Lillard, the C’s didn’t hesitate to jump ahead of other contenders to trade for Jrue Holiday.The message was simple: It’s time to win. Now.“Is there pressure?” Jayson Tatum said. “Yeah, we have a really good team. We have really good players. People expect us to get to the championship and win, and when we don’t, we di...

Belgian police are looking for a Palestinian man following media report he could plan an attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities said Wednesday they were “actively” searching for an asylum-seeker of Palestinian origin after media reported that he had threatened an unspecified attack. The Brussels prosecutor’s office said it was aware of the threat mentioned in the media and added police forces were out looking for him. Only last week, an Islamic extremist shot dead two Swedes and wounded a third. Authorities said the Tunisian suspect died following a police operation trying to arrest him.The killings laid bare inefficiencies within the government and judicial apparatus, which had allowed the suspect to roam free in Brussels even though Tunisia had actively sought his extradition. The justice minister resigned over the incident last weekend. Since the attack, the terror alert level in Belgium was raised to the second highest level, meaning the threat is considered “serious.” The Associated Press

Russian parliament’s upper house rescinds ratification of global nuclear test ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The upper house of the Russian parliament on Wednesday revoked the ratification of a global nuclear test ban in what Moscow has describes as a move to establish parity with the United States.The Federation Council voted to endorse a bill rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT. The bill will now be sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. The lower house approved the bill last week.The vote follows a statement from Putin, who warned earlier this month that Moscow could revoke its 2000 decision to ratify the bill to “mirror” the stand taken by the U.S., which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban.The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world but the treaty was never fully implemented. In addition to the U.S., it is yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.There are widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuc...

Man with previous conviction for IS membership detained in Germany, suspected of murder plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A man with a previous conviction for membership in the Islamic State group has been detained in Germany and is under investigation on suspicion of conspiring to commit murder, prosecutors said Wednesday.The 29-year-old, whose identity wasn’t released in keeping with German privacy rules, was detained Tuesday at his apartment in the western city of Duisburg.Prosecutors in Duesseldorf said there were indications the suspect “may have been in contact with a person resident abroad in a criminally relevant way.” They did not elaborate. Neither they nor police addressed German media reports, which named no sources, that investigators suspect the man may have intended to attack a pro-Israel demonstration, possibly using a truck.Prosecutors said the Duesseldorf state court in 2017 gave the man a five-year sentence under juvenile law for membership in IS and other offenses, which he served. The Associated Press

Relatives of victims of alleged war crimes in Myanmar seek justice against generals in Philippines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:03:50 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Relatives of victims of alleged war crimes committed by Myanmar’s military filed a criminal complaint in the Philippines against their nation’s ruling generals as they increasingly seek to hold them accountable in courts outside the violence-wracked country.Human rights lawyers representing five Myanmar nationals, who filed the joint complaint before the Department of Justice, contend that a 2009 Philippine law that promotes human rights obligates the Philippines to prosecute war crimes committed elsewhere in the world under the principle of universal jurisdiction.Those named in the complaint are Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s ruling military council, eight of his military commanders and a state minister.Myanmar and the Philippines are both members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a conservative 10-nation bloc that has a policy of not intervening in each other’s domestic affairs. Critics say such an approach has allo...