Asia Pacific

Hong Kong’s Security Bureau announces measures over activists’ alleged role in unofficial parliament overseas.

Hong Kong authorities have cancelled the passports of 12 activists based overseas in their latest crackdown on activities that they claim pose threats to national security.

Hong Kong’s Security Bureau announced the measures on Monday after a local court issued arrest warrants last month for the 12 activists and seven other pro-democracy campaigners over their alleged roles in establishing an unofficial parliament overseas.

The bureau said it had also banned individuals from providing financial support or leasing property to 16 of the “absconders,” and entering into joint ventures or partnerships with them.

The wanted activists include Chongyi Feng, an Australian citizen and professor at the University of Technology Sydney, and Sasha Gong, a United States citizen and journalist who previously worked for Voice of America.

Hong Kong authorities allege that the 19 activists’ participation in the “Hong Kong Parliament” advocacy group constitutes subversion under the Chinese-ruled city’s sweeping national security law.

A Hong Kong government spokesperson said the activists had continued to “blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security” while hiding in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The Hong Kong parliament condemned last month’s announcement of arrest warrants and bounties for the campaigners as a “blatant abuse of legal instruments to pursue political persecution”.

“These actions represent a clear escalation of Beijing’s transnational repression, extending its coercive reach beyond China’s borders and infringing upon the sovereignty of democratic nations, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and members of the European Union,” the group said.

Once known for its spirited political opposition and media, Hong Kong has radically curtailed the space for dissent since the introduction of a sweeping Beijing-decreed national security law in 2020 in response to violent anti-government protests.

Opposition parties have been effectively eliminated from the city’s legislature, and public commemorations of sensitive events, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, essentially outlawed.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said last month that 332 individuals had been arrested for national offences since 2020.

Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials have defended the law, and additional national security legislation introduced in 2024, as necessary to restore stability to the city after the turmoil caused by the mass protests.

A fragile truce between the Southeast Asian neighbours continues to hold, following five days of deadly border clashes.

Officials from Thailand and Cambodia have met in Malaysia for the start of border talks, a week after a fragile ceasefire brought an end to an eruption of five days of deadly clashes between the two countries.

The meeting on Monday came ahead of a key meeting on Thursday, which is expected to be led by the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers.

This week’s talks, which will be observed by representatives from China, Malaysia and the United States, aim to iron out plans to maintain the current truce and avoid future border confrontations.

They will include finalising details for a monitoring team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysian Chief of Defence Forces General Mohd Nizam Jaffar said on Monday.

The sessions in Malaysia follow the worst fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in more than a decade.

Clashes along the long-disputed border last month killed at least 43 people, including civilians, and left more than 300,000 others displaced, according to the Reuters news agency.

Relations between the neighbours deteriorated in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border skirmish, before worsening when Thai soldiers were injured by landmines in contested territory last month.

The Southeast Asian countries downgraded diplomatic relations and violence broke out, which both sides blamed the other for starting.

The recent fighting involved infantry clashes, artillery exchanges, air strikes and rocket fire.

A ceasefire was announced on July 28, in part following economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who warned both countries that they could not make trade deals with Washington without a ceasefire.

Despite the fragile truce, tensions remain high and mistrust between the two sides lingers.

Cambodia’s defence ministry has accused Thailand of violating the terms of the ceasefire by installing barbed wire in a disputed border area, while the Thai military has suggested that the Cambodian army has reinforced troops in key areas.

Both countries have given foreign observers tours of last month’s battle sites, while seeking to show the damage allegedly inflicted by the other nation.

Thailand and Cambodia also accuse each other of violating international humanitarian laws by targeting citizens.

Phnom Penh continues to demand the release of 18 of its captured troops, whom Bangkok says it will only release following “a complete cessation of the armed conflict, not just a ceasefire”.

On Friday, Thailand returned two wounded Cambodian soldiers through a border checkpoint connecting Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.

The neighbours dispute how the troops came to be captured, with Thailand rejecting Cambodia’s claims that the troops approached Thai positions to offer post-conflict greetings.

Behind a car repair business on an unremarkable Thai street are the cherished pets of a rising TikTok animal influencer: Two lions and a 200kg (440lb) lion-tiger hybrid called “Big George”.

Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch is an enthusiastic advocate, posting updates on his feline companions to nearly three million followers.

“They’re playful and affectionate, just like dogs or cats,” he said from inside their cage complex at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

Thailand’s captive lion population has soared in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes.

The boom is prompted by social media, where owners like Tharnuwarht post lighthearted content and glamour shots with lions.

Since 2022, Thai law has required owners to register and microchip lions, and inform authorities before moving them.

But there are no breeding caps, few enclosure or welfare requirements, and no controls on liger or tigon hybrids.

Tom Taylor, chief operating officer of conservation group Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, and his colleagues have tracked the rise in lion ownership with on-site visits and by trawling social media.

They recorded about 130 in 2018, and nearly 450 by 2024. But nearly 350 more lions they encountered were “lost to follow-up” after their whereabouts could not be confirmed for a year.

That could indicate unreported deaths, an animal removed from display or “worst-case scenarios”, said Taylor. “We have interviewed traders (in the region) who have given us prices for live and dead lions and have told us they can take them over the border.”

As a vulnerable species, lions and their parts can only be sold internationally with Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permits.

Media reports and social media have documented lions, including cubs, in Cambodia multiple times in recent years, though CITES shows no registered imports since 2003.

There is also growing evidence that captive lion numbers in Laos exceed CITES import licences.

In Thailand, meanwhile, imports of lion parts like bones, skins and teeth have dropped in recent years, though demand remains, raising questions about how parts are now being sourced.

Thai trader Pathamawadee Janpithak started in the crocodile business, but pivoted to lions as prices for the reptiles declined. She sells one-month-olds for about 500,000 baht ($15,395), down from a peak of 800,000 baht ($24,638) as breeding operations like hers increase supply.

Pathamawadee’s three facilities house about 80 lions, from a stately full-maned nine-year-old to a sickly pair of eight-day-olds being bottle-fed around the clock.

He sells about half of the 90 cubs she breeds each year, often to other breeders, who are increasingly opening “lion cafes” where customers pose with and pet young lions.

The growing lion population is a problem for Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), admitted wildlife protection director Sadudee Punpugdee.

“But private ownership has existed for a long time… So we’re taking a gradual approach,” he said.

That includes limiting lion imports so breeders are forced to rely on the domestic population.

Already stretched authorities face difficult choices on enforcing regulations, as confiscated animals become their responsibility, said Penthai Siriwat, illegal wildlife trade specialist at WWF Thailand.

“There is a great deal of deliberation before intervening … considering the substantial costs,” said Siriwat. Owners like Tharnuwarht often invoke conservation to justify their pets, but Thailand’s captive lions will never live in the wild.

Sanctuary chief vet Natanon Panpeth treads carefully while discussing the lion trade, warning only that the “wellbeing of the animals should always come first”.

Sadudee is hopeful some provisions may be tightened, though a ban is unlikely for now. He has his advice for would-be owners: “Wild animals belong in the wild.

“There are plenty of other animals we can keep as pets.”

The exercise coincided with President Ferdinand Marcos’s departure for a five-day trip to India, where he said he would look to deepen maritime ties.

India and the Philippines have staged their first joint sail and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea.

The two-day joint military deployment that kicked off on Sunday is likely to anger China, which claims nearly the entire key waterway and has separate territorial disputes with the two Asian countries.

Philippine Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner Jr said on Monday that the joint sail took place inside his country’s exclusive economic zone.

“We did not experience any untoward incidents, but there are still those shadowing us – as we had already expected,” Brawner told reporters, without naming China.

In past joint patrols with other foreign navies, Chinese navy and coastguard ships have kept watch from a distance, according to the Philippine military.

Indian navy ships that took part included guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, tanker INS Shakti and corvette INS Kiltan. The Philippines deployed two frigates, BRP Miguel Malvar and BRP Jose Rizal.

The exercise coincided with President Ferdinand Marcos’s departure for a five-day trip to India, where he said he would look to deepen maritime ties and seek cooperation on sectors including defence, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

Brawner, meanwhile, expressed hope that Filipino forces could engage India’s military in more joint manoeuvres in the future.

The drill “sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific”, he said.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that territorial and maritime disputes should be resolved between the countries directly involved, and no third party should intervene.

In response to a question last week about the Philippines’ plans to build up military cooperation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense called the country a “troublemaker” that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble, in what China deems its own territorial waters.

“China never wavers in its resolve and will safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and take resolute countermeasures against any provocations by the Philippine side,” spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang had told reporters.

The South China Sea is a strategic shipping route where $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce takes place.

A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal found China’s sweeping claims have no basis under international law, a decision Beijing rejects.

Seoul removes propaganda loudspeakers to signal a shift in policy under President Lee’s administration.

South Korean authorities began removing loudspeakers blaring anti-North Korea broadcasts along the country’s border, Seoul’s Ministry of National Defence has said, as the new government of President Lee Jae-myung seeks to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

“Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,” Lee Kyung-ho, spokesman of South Korea’s Defence Ministry, told reporters on Monday.

Shortly after he took office in June, Lee’s administration switched off propaganda broadcasts criticising the North Korean regime as it looks to revive stalled dialogue with its neighbour.

But North Korea recently rebuffed the overtures and said it had no interest in talking to South Korea.

The countries remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, and relations have deteriorated in the last few years.

“It is a practical measure aimed at helping ease tensions with the North, provided that such actions do not compromise the military’s state of readiness,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

All loudspeakers set up along the border will be dismantled by the end of the week, he added, but did not disclose the exact number that would be removed.

President Lee, recently elected after his predecessor was impeached over an abortive martial law declaration, had ordered the military to stop the broadcasts in a bid to “restore trust”.

Relations between the two Koreas had been at one of their lowest points in years, with Seoul taking a hard line towards Pyongyang, which has drawn ever closer to Moscow in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The previous government started the broadcasts last year in response to a barrage of trash-filled balloons flown southward by Pyongyang.

But Lee promised to improve relations with North Korea and reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Despite his diplomatic overtures, North Korea has rejected pursuing dialogue with its neighbour.

“If the ROK… expected that it could reverse all the results it had made with a few sentimental words, nothing is [a] more serious miscalculation…,” Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said last week, using the acronym for South Korea’s official name, Republic of Korea.

Lee has said that he would seek talks with North Korea without conditions, following a deep freeze under his predecessor.

Over the past two decades, the posture of the United States towards China has evolved from economic cooperation to outright antagonism. US media outlets and politicians have engaged in persistent anti-China rhetoric, while the US government has imposed trade restrictions and sanctions on China and pursued military build-up close to Chinese territory. Washington wants people to believe that China poses a threat.

China’s rise indeed threatens US interests, but not in the way the US political elite seeks to frame it.

The US relationship with China needs to be understood in the context of the capitalist world system. Capital accumulation in the core states, often glossed as the “Global North”, depends on cheap labour and cheap resources from the periphery and semi-periphery, the so-called “Global South”.

This arrangement is crucial to ensuring high profits for the multinational firms that dominate global supply chains. The systematic price disparity between the core and periphery also enables the core to achieve a large net-appropriation of value from the periphery through unequal exchange in international trade.

Ever since the 1980s, when China opened up to Western investment and trade, it has been a crucial part of this arrangement, providing a major source of labour for Western firms – labour that is cheap but also highly skilled and highly productive. For instance, much of Apple’s production relies on Chinese labour. According to research by the economist Donald A Clelland, if Apple had to pay Chinese and East Asian workers at the same rate as a US worker, this would have cost them an additional $572 per iPad in 2011.

But over the past two decades, wages in China have increased quite dramatically. Around 2005, the manufacturing labour cost per hour in China was lower than in India, less than $1 per hour. In the years since, China’s hourly labour costs have increased to more than $8 per hour, while India’s are now only about $2 per hour. Indeed, wages in China are now higher than in every other developing country in Asia. This is a major, historical development.

This has happened for several key reasons. For one, surplus labour in China has been increasingly absorbed into the wage-labour economy, which has amplified workers’ bargaining power. At the same time, the current leadership of President Xi Jinping has expanded the role of the state in China’s economy, strengthening public provisioning systems – including public healthcare and public housing – that have further improved the position of workers.

These are positive changes for China – and specifically for Chinese workers – but they pose a severe problem for Western capital. Higher wages in China impose a constraint on the profits of Western firms that operate there or that depend on Chinese manufacturing for intermediate parts and other key inputs.

The other problem, for the core states, is that the increase in China’s wages and prices is reducing its exposure to unequal exchange. During the low-wage era of the 1990s, China’s export-to-import ratio with the core was extremely high. In other words, China had to export very large quantities of goods in order to obtain necessary imports. Today, this ratio is much lower, representing a dramatic improvement in China’s terms of trade, substantially reducing the core’s ability to appropriate value from China.

Given all this, capitalists in the core states are now desperate to do something to restore their access to cheap labour and resources. One option – increasingly promoted by the Western business press – is to relocate industrial production to other parts of Asia where wages are cheaper. But this is costly in terms of lost production, the need to find new staff, and other supply chain disruptions. The other option is to force Chinese wages back down. Hence, the attempts by the United States to undermine the Chinese government and destabilise the Chinese economy – including through economic warfare and the constant threat of military escalation.

Ironically, Western governments sometimes justify their opposition to China on the grounds that China’s exports are too cheap. It is often claimed that China “cheats” in international trade, by artificially suppressing the exchange rate for its currency, the renminbi. The problem with this argument, however, is that China abandoned this policy around a decade ago. As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist Jose Antonio Ocampo noted in 2017, “In recent years, China has rather been making efforts to avoid a depreciation of the renminbi, sacrificing a large amount of reserves. This may imply that, if anything, this currency is now overvalued.” China did eventually permit a devaluation in 2019, when tariffs imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump increased pressure on the renminbi. But this was a normal response to a change in market conditions, not an attempt to suppress the renminbi below its market rate.

The US largely supported the Chinese government in the period when its currency was undervalued, including through loans from the IMF and World Bank. The West turned decisively against China in the mid-2010s, at precisely the moment when the country began to raise its prices and challenge its position as a peripheral supplier of cheap inputs to Western-dominated supply chains.

The second element that’s driving US hostility towards China is technology. Beijing has used industrial policy to prioritise technological development in strategic sectors over the past decade, and has achieved remarkable progress. It now has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, manufactures its own commercial aircraft, leads the world on renewable energy technology and electric vehicles, and enjoys advanced medical technology, smartphone technology, microchip production, artificial intelligence, etc. The tech news coming out of China has been dizzying. These are achievements that we only expect from high-income countries, and China is doing it with almost 80 percent less GDP per capita than the average “advanced economy”. It is unprecedented.

This poses a problem for the core states because one of the main pillars of the imperial arrangement is that they need to maintain a monopoly over necessary technologies like capital goods, medicines, computers, aircraft and so on. This forces the “Global South” into a position of dependency, so they are forced to export large quantities of their cheapened resources in order to obtain these necessary technologies. This is what sustains the core’s net-appropriation through unequal exchange.

China’s technological development is now breaking Western monopolies, and may give other developing countries alternative suppliers for necessary goods at more affordable prices. This poses a fundamental challenge to the imperial arrangement and unequal exchange.

The US has responded by imposing sanctions designed to cripple China’s technological development. So far, this has not worked; if anything, it has increased incentives for China to develop sovereign technological capacities. With this weapon mostly neutralised, the US wants to resort to warmongering, the main objective of which would be to destroy China’s industrial base, and divert China’s investment capital and productive capacities towards defence. The US wants to go to war with China not because China poses some kind of military threat to the American people, but because Chinese development undermines the interests of imperial capital.

Western claims about China posing some kind of military threat are pure propaganda. The material facts tell a fundamentally different story. In fact, China’s military spending per capita is less than the global average, and 1/10th that of the US alone. Yes, China has a big population, but even in absolute terms, the US-aligned military bloc spends over seven times more on military power than China does. The US controls eight nuclear weapons for every one that China has.

China may have the power to prevent the US from imposing its will on it, but it does not have the power to impose its will on the rest of the world in the way that the core states do. The narrative that China poses some kind of military threat is wildly overblown.

In fact, the opposite is true. The US has hundreds of military bases and facilities around the world. A significant number of them are stationed near China – in Japan and South Korea. By contrast, China has only one foreign military base, in Djibouti, and zero military bases near US borders.

Furthermore, China has not fired a single bullet in international warfare in over 40 years, while during this time the US has invaded, bombed or carried out regime-change operations in over a dozen Global South countries. If there is any state that poses a known threat to world peace and security, it is the US.

The real reason for Western warmongering is because China is achieving sovereign development and this is undermining the imperial arrangement on which Western capital accumulation depends. The West will not let global economic power slip from its hands so easily.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Australia may join more than a dozen other nations in recognising the state of Palestine.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, calling for peace and aid deliveries in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis of man-made starvation has been worsening as a result of Israel’s punishing blockade.

Pro-Palestinian protesters braved heavy winds and rain on Sunday to march across the bridge, chanting “Ceasefire Now” and “Free Palestine”. Some of those attending the march, which the organisers dubbed the “March for Humanity”, carried pots and pans as symbols of the forced starvation wracking Gaza.

The protest came less than a week after a joint statement by Australia and more than a dozen other nations expressed the “willingness or the positive consideration … to recognise the state of Palestine as an essential step towards the two-State solution”.

France, Britain and Canada have in recent weeks voiced, and in some cases qualified, intentions to diplomatically recognise a Palestinian state as international concern and criticism have grown over the hunger crisis in Gaza.

At least 175 people, including 93 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition across the territory since Israel launched its war on Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, according to the latest Gaza Health Ministry figures.

Australia has called for an end to the war in Gaza, but has so far stopped short of a decision to recognise a Palestinian state.

Police said that up to 90,000 people had attended the protest while the organiser, Palestine Action Group Sydney, said in a Facebook post that as many as 300,000 people may have marched.

Marchers ranged from the elderly to families with young children. Among them was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who did not address the crowd or speak to the media.

Mehreen Faruqi, the New South Wales senator for the left-wing Greens party, addressed the crowd gathered at central Sydney’s Lang Park, calling for the “harshest sanctions on Israel”, accusing its forces of “massacring” Palestinians.

Antony Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory, a book on the Israeli arms and surveillance industry, who spoke at the rally, told Al Jazeera that protesters are “outraged” not just by what Israel is doing in Gaza, but also by the Australian government’s “complicity”.

Loewenstein said that Australia has, for many years, including since the start of the war, been part of the global supply chain for the F-35 fighter jets that Israel has been using in attacking the besieged territory.

“A lot of Australians are aware of this,” he said. “We are deeply complicit, and people are angry that their government is doing little more than talk at this point.”

United Kingdom’s Lando Norris holds off McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri of Australia to win Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris has held off McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to win the Hungarian Grand Prix on a one-stop strategy and slash the Australian’s Formula One lead to nine points going into the August break.

Norris completed 39 of the 70 laps on Sunday at the Hungaroring on a single set of hard tyres while Piastri stopped twice and closed a 12-second gap to just 0.6 at the finish with a nail-biting chase to the chequered flag and a near-collision.

George Russell took a distant third, 20 seconds down the road, for Mercedes and his fifth podium of the season.

“I’m dead. I’m dead. It was tough,” gasped Norris, who started in third place – with Piastri second – and then went down to fifth after being squeezed at the start.

“We weren’t really planning on the one stop, but after the first lap, it was kind of our only option to get back into things.

“I didn’t think it would get us the win. I thought it would get us maybe into second.”

The win was Norris’s fifth of the season and third in the past four races to Piastri’s six. It was also McLaren’s seventh one-two in 14 races.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was a frustrated fourth after starting on pole position but losing out with a two-stop strategy and a five-second penalty for erratic driving as Russell challenged.

Fernando Alonso finished fifth for Aston Martin ahead of Sauber’s sixth-placed Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.

Lance Stroll was seventh for Aston Martin ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson with Red Bull’s reigning champion, Max Verstappen, and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli completing the top 10 scoring positions.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, an eight-time winner in Hungary, started in 12th place for Ferrari and finished there.

The Briton was lapped by the leaders six laps from the chequered flag.

Joint Sea-2025 exercises begin in waters near Russian port of Vladivostok and will last for three days, China’s Defence Ministry says.

China and Russia have begun joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan as they seek to reinforce their partnership and counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order.

The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened their ties in recent years, with China providing an economic lifeline to Russia in the face of Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Joint Sea-2025 exercises began in waters near the Russian port of Vladivostok and will last for three days, China’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

The two sides will hold “submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine, air defence and anti-missile operations, and maritime combat”.

Four Chinese vessels, including guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, are participating in the exercises, alongside Russian ships, the ministry said.

After the drills, the two countries will conduct naval patrols in “relevant waters of the Pacific”.

China and Russia have carried out annual drills for several years, with the “Joint Sea” exercises beginning in 2012.

Last year’s drills were held along China’s southern coast.

With this year’s drills in the Sea of Japan, in its annual report last month, Japan’s Ministry of Defence warned that China’s growing military cooperation with Russia poses serious security concerns.

“The exercise is defensive in nature and is not directed against other countries,” the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet said earlier this week, according to a report by the US Naval Institute’s online news and analysis portal.

On Friday, the Chinese Defence Ministry said this year’s exercises were aimed at “further deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership” of the two countries.

China has never denounced Russia’s more than three-year war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine’s allies, including the US, believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow.

European leaders asked China last month to use its influence to pressure Russia to end the war, now in its fourth year, but there was no sign that Beijing would do so.

China, however, insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine.

Officials say the workers were conducting an emergency inspection of sewage pipes when the accident took place.

Four workers have died in Japan after falling into a manhole near Tokyo as they inspected sewage pipes, according to public broadcaster NHK, quoting police.

NHK reported on Sunday that the incident in the city of Gyoda in Saitama Prefecture, north of the Japanese capital, happened on Saturday, as the four men, all in their 50s, and other co-workers were inspecting a sewage pipe.

City officials say the workers were conducting an emergency inspection of sewage pipes that the central government had ordered municipalities to carry out, after a huge road cave-in in January.

Police were quoted by NHK as saying that during the inspection, one of the workers fell down the manhole, followed by three of his co-workers who were trying to save him.

According to police, the manhole is 60cm (24in) in diameter and more than 10 metres (33ft) in depth.

The fire department from the area also confirmed the incident to the AFP news agency.

Video clips published by NHK showed several emergency and rescue personnel near the manhole.

The department said rescuers detected hydrogen sulfide – a gas toxic in high concentrations – coming out of the manhole.

But city officials refused to be drawn on the cause of the initial fall.

“Detailed circumstances leading up to the accident are still unknown, so it’s too early for us to say anything about our responsibility,” a Gyoda city official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

The four workers were retrieved and taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead, according to local media reports.

About 10 workers were at the scene of the inspection, ordered to clean the pipes of wastewater and sludge if necessary.

In May, Japanese rescuers recovered the body of a dead 74-year-old truck driver months after he was swallowed by a road collapse in Saitama prefecture.

Son Heung-min captained Tottenham Hotspur to the Europa League title last season but will leave the club this summer.

After 10 years with Tottenham Hotspur, captain Son Heung-min announced on Saturday that he plans to leave the English Premier League club.

At a media conference in Seoul, Son, appearing at times to be holding back tears, said his decision to leave the Spurs was ’the most difficult” of his career and said the club was supporting him as he looks to move on to another team.

Spurs will face Newcastle United in a preseason friendly on Sunday in Seoul in what could be the final match of Son’s time at Spurs.

“Before we start the press conference, I just want to share the information that I have decided to leave this club in this summer,” Son said. “Respectfully, this club is helping me to my decisions. So I just wanted to share this information before we start the conference.

“I came to North London as a kid, 23 years old, very young age, a young boy came to London who even didn’t speak English and leaving this club as a grown man is a very, very proud moment.”

He continued his tribute by thanking Tottenham fans.

“So I just want to say thank you to all of the Spurs fans that gave me so much love and felt like it was my home,” he said. “It was one of the toughest decisions I ever made. So I hope the goodbye is always also in a good timing you know. But I think it’s the right time to make this decision.” Son was asked in Korean on his future playing plans, and he replied: ’I don’t think I have an answer yet.”

He also confirmed in Korean that he would play for South Korea at the World Cup next year in North America.

In May, Son finally won his first title in Europe as Tottenham defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final.

“I felt the pressure. I wanted it so badly,” Son said after that match. “The last seven days, I was dreaming about this game every single day. It finally happened, and I can sleep easy now.”

The 33-year-old Son has been one of the biggest stars of the Premier League, scoring 173 goals in 454 competitive appearances for Tottenham. He was made captain in 2023 by former head coach Ange Postecoglou and helped the club lift its Europa League title, a first trophy since 2008.

Son added that the team’s recent success was a factor: “ Winning the Europa League made me feel I had achieved everything I could here. I need a new environment for a fresh challenge.”

Son has been heavily linked with a move to the United States and there is reported interest from Saudi Arabian clubs.

Thomas Frank succeeded Postecoglou in June and the Danish coach paid tribute to Son on Saturday.

“He is truly a Spurs legend in every aspect,” Frank said. “One of the best players to ever play in the Premier League, in my opinion, as a winger. I think it is probably the perfect timing, going out on a high.”

Later in the media conference, Son reiterated that he has not decided on where he will play next. But he said next year’s World Cup was his priority for his home country.

“I don’t think I have an answer yet,” he said of his future playing choices. “I think I can share more about my future after tomorrow’s game once things become more certain.

“My most important priority right now is the World Cup. It’s likely to be my last World Cup and I want to give everything I have in that environment … I want to be able to play football happily, which I think will play the biggest role in my future decision-making. I am still trying to organise my thoughts around that.”

Among the first batch of freed prisoners were prominent rivals of former President Joko Widodo jailed during his term.

Indonesia has begun releasing hundreds of inmates from prison, including people convicted of political offences, after parliament approved the first stage of President Prabowo Subianto’s wide-ranging clemency plan, reportedly aimed at building national solidarity.

A first group of 1,178 inmates were to be released on Friday after House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas announced late on Thursday that Subianto had signed a Presidential Decree granting amnesties.

Barely two months after he took office in October, Subianto – the former son-in-law of Indonesian dictator Soeharto – surprised the nation by saying he planned to grant clemency to some 44,000 inmates nationwide, most of them imprisoned for political reasons, as a way to help unify the country.

Law Minister Agtas said political prisoners and inmates with mental and chronic health illnesses, older people, juveniles and those convicted of blasphemy or insulting the country’s leader will be prioritised in the pardons.

Among those released on Friday were prominent rivals of former President Joko Widodo who were jailed during his term, including Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the country’s only formal opposition party.

A former ally of ex-President Widodo who later became a harsh critic, Kristiyanto was sentenced last week to three and a half years in prison for bribery in a 2019 legislative seat appointment scheme.

Released on Friday evening from his cell at the anti-Corruption Commission’s detention centre in South Jakarta, where he had been held since February, Kristiyanto told a cheering crowd, “We must learn from this incident.”

Agtas said parliament also approved an end to criminal proceedings against former Trade Minister Tom Lembong, also a onetime Widodo ally who broke with him during the 2024 presidential election to support political rival Anies Baswedan.

Lembong was sentenced to more than four years in prison in July for reportedly abusing his authority as minister by improperly granting sugar import permits.

“Both [Kristiyanto and Lembong] have demonstrated service to the nation, and our priority now is to strengthen the unity of the nation,” Agtas said.

Six independence activists from Indonesia’s restive West Papua region, serving prison sentences for treason, were also released.

Agtas said authorities plan to submit a second list of 1,668 inmates for release to parliament in the near future.

Houayxay, Laos – Fishing went well today for Khon, a Laotian fisherman, who lives in a floating house built from plastic drums, scrap metal and wood on the Mekong River.

“I caught two catfish,” the 52-year-old tells Al Jazeera proudly, lifting his catch for inspection.

Khon’s simple houseboat contains all he needs to live on this mighty river: A few metal pots, a fire to cook food on and to keep warm by at night, as well as some nets and a few clothes.

What Khon does not always have is fish.

“There are days when I catch nothing. It’s frustrating,” he said.

“The water levels change all the time because of the dams. And now they say the river is polluted, too. Up there in Myanmar, they dig in the mountains. Mines, or something like that. And all that toxic stuff ends up here,” he adds.

Khon lives in Laos’s northwestern Bokeo province on one of the most scenic stretches of the Mekong River as it meanders through the heart of the Golden Triangle – the borderland shared by Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

This remote region has long been infamous for drug production and trafficking.

Now it is caught up in the global scramble for gold and rare earth minerals, crucial for the production of new technologies and used in everything from smartphones to electric cars.

Over the past year, rivers in this region, such as the Ruak, Sai and Kok – all tributaries of the Mekong – have shown abnormal levels of arsenic, lead, nickel and manganese, according to Thailand’s Pollution Control Department.

Arsenic, in particular, has exceeded World Health Organization safety limits, prompting health warnings for riverside communities.

These tributaries feed directly into the Mekong and contamination has spread to parts of the river’s mainstream. The effects have been observed in Laos, prompting the Mekong River Commission to declare the situation “moderately serious”.

“Recent official water quality testing clearly indicates that the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao border is contaminated with arsenic,” Pianporn Deetes, Southeast Asia campaigns director for the advocacy group International Rivers, told Al Jazeera.

“This is alarming and just the first chapter of the crisis, if the mining continues,” Pianporn said.

“Fishermen have recently caught diseased, young catfish. This is a matter of regional public health, and it needs urgent action from governments,” she added.

The source of the heavy metals contamination is believed to be upriver in Myanmar’s Shan State, where dozens of unregulated mines have sprung up as the search for rare earth minerals intensifies globally.

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington and an expert on Southeast Asia, said at least a dozen, and possibly as many as 20, mines focused on gold and rare earth extraction have been established in southern Shan State over the past year alone.

Myanmar is now four years into a civil war and lawlessness reigns in the border area, which is held by two powerful ethnic armed groups: the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

Myanmar’s military government has “no real control”, Abuza said, apart from holding Tachileik town, the region’s main border crossing between Thailand and Myanmar.

Neither the RCSS nor the UWSA are “fighting the junta”, he said, explaining how both are busy enriching themselves from the chaos in the region and the rush to open mines.

“In this vacuum, mining has exploded – likely with Chinese traders involved. The military in Naypyidaw can’t issue permits or enforce environmental rules, but they still take their share of the profits,” Abuza said.

‘Alarming decline’

Pollution from mining is not the Mekong River’s only ailment.

For years, the health of the river has been degraded by a growing chain of hydropower dams that have drastically altered its natural rhythm and ecology.

In the Mekong’s upper reaches, inside China, almost a dozen huge hydropower dams have been built, including the Xiaowan and Nuozhadu dams, which are said to be capable of holding back a huge amount of the river’s flow.

Further downstream, Laos has staked its economic future on hydropower.

According to the Mekong Dam Monitor, which is hosted by the Stimson Centre think tank in Washington, DC, at least 75 dams are now operational on the Mekong’s tributaries, and two in Laos – Xayaburi and Don Sahong – are directly on the mainstream river.

As a rule, hydropower is a cleaner alternative to coal.

But the rush to dam the Mekong is driving another type of environmental crisis.

According to WWF and the Mekong River Commission, the Mekong River basin once supported about 60 million people and provided up to 25 percent of the world’s freshwater fish catch.

Today, one in five fish species in the Mekong is at risk of extinction, and the river’s sediment and nutrient flows have been severely reduced, as documented in a 2023–2024 Mekong Dam Monitor report and research by International Rivers.

“The alarming decline in fish populations in the Mekong is an urgent wake-up call for action to save these extraordinary – and extraordinarily important – species, which underpin not only the region’s societies and economies but also the health of the Mekong’s freshwater ecosystems,” the WWF’s Asia Pacific Regional Director Lan Mercado said at the launch of a 2024 report titled The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes.

In Houayxay, the capital of Bokeo province, the markets appeared mostly absent of fish during a recent visit.

At Kad Wang View, the town’s main market, the fish stalls were nearly deserted.

“Maybe this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow,” said Mali, a vendor in her 60s. In front of her, Mali had arranged her small stock of fish in a circle, perhaps hoping to make the display look fuller for potential customers.

At another market, Sydonemy, just outside Houayxay town, the story was the same. The fish stalls were bare.

“Sometimes the fish come, sometimes they don’t. We just wait,” another vendor said.

“There used to be giant fish here,” recalled Vilasai, 53, who comes from a fishing family but now works as a taxi driver.

“Now the river gives us little. Even the water for irrigation – people are scared to use it. No one knows if it’s still clean,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to the pollution from Myanmar’s mines.

‘The river used to be predictable’

Ian G Baird, professor of geography and Southeast Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, said upstream dams – especially those in China – have had serious downstream effects in northern Thailand and Laos.

“The ecosystem and the lives that depend on the river evolved to adapt to specific hydrological conditions,” Baird told Al Jazeera.

“But since the dams were built, those conditions have changed dramatically. There are now rapid water level fluctuations in the dry season, which used to be rare, and this has negative impacts on both the river and the people,” he said.

Another major effect is the reversal of the river’s natural cycle.

“Now there is more water in the dry season and less during the rainy season. That reduces flooding and the beneficial ecological effects of the annual flood pulse,” Baird explained.

“The dams hold water during the rainy season and release it in the dry season to maximise energy output and profits. But that also kills seasonally flooded forests and disrupts the river’s ecological function,” he said.

Bun Chan, 45, lives with his wife Nanna Kuhd, 40, on a floating house near Houayxay. He fishes while his wife sells whatever he catches at the local market.

On a recent morning, he cast his net again and again – but for nothing.

“Looks like I won’t catch anything today,” Bun Chan told Al Jazeera as he pulled up his empty net.

“The other day I caught a few, but we didn’t sell them. We’re keeping them in cages in the water, so at least we have something to eat if I don’t catch more,” he said.

Hom Phan has been a fisherman on the Mekong his entire life.

He steers his wooden boat across the river, following a route he knows by instinct. In some parts of the river, the current is strong enough now to drag everything under, the 67-year-old says.

All around him, the silence is broken only by the chug of his small outboard engine and the calls of distant birds.

“The river used to be predictable. Now we don’t know when it will rise or fall,” Hom Phan said.

“Fish can’t find their spawning grounds. They’re disappearing. And we might too, if nothing changes,” he told Al Jazeera.

Evening approaches in Houayxay, and Khon, the fisherman, rolls up his nets and prepares dinner in his floating home.

As he waits for the fire to catch to cook a meal, he quietly contemplates the great river he lives on.

Despite the dams in China, the pollution from mines in neighbouring Myanmar, and the increasing difficulty in landing the catch he relies on to survive, Khon was outwardly serene as he considered his next day of fishing.

With his eyes fixed on the waters that flowed deeply beneath his home, he said with a smile: “We try again tomorrow.”

Cambodia demands return of more soldiers held by Thailand as border tensions simmer between the two countries.

Thailand has released two wounded Cambodian soldiers who were captured following intense clashes near a contested border area, as the neighbours prepare for talks next week aimed at maintaining a shaky truce.

The soldiers were returned on Friday through a checkpoint connecting Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey, the Cambodian Defence Ministry said.

Their homecoming comes amid continued accusations from both governments over alleged civilian targeting and breaches of international law during a five-day conflict that erupted last week.

Eighteen other Cambodian troops captured during skirmishes on Tuesday, hours after a ceasefire deal was reached, remain in Thai custody.

“The wounded soldiers were returned through a designated border point,” said Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defence Ministry, urging Bangkok to repatriate the remaining captured troops “in accordance with international humanitarian law”.

The two governments have provided starkly contrasting versions of the soldiers’ capture.

Phnom Penh says its troops approached Thai positions with peaceful intentions, offering post-conflict greetings. But Bangkok disputes that account, alleging the Cambodian soldiers crossed into Thai territory with apparent hostility, prompting their detention.

Thai officials say they are adhering to legal protocols while assessing the actions of the remaining soldiers. No timeline has been given for their release.

The ceasefire has done little to ease simmering nationalist anger online, with social media platforms in both countries flooded by patriotic fervour and mutual recriminations.

Meanwhile, both nations have taken foreign diplomats and observers on guided tours of former combat zones. Each side has accused the other of inflicting damage, using the visits to bolster their narratives.

The recent round of violence involved infantry clashes, Cambodian rocket fire, Thai air strikes, and artillery exchanges. The fighting killed more than 30 people, including civilians, and forced more than 260,000 others from their homes.

Under the ceasefire terms, military officials from both countries are due to meet next week in Malaysia to discuss de-escalation measures.

However, these talks will exclude the underlying territorial dispute, which has remained unresolved for decades.

The General Border Committee, which coordinates on border security, ceasefires, and troop deployments, will meet between August 4 and 7, Thai acting Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit told reporters.

“Defence attaches from other ASEAN countries will be invited as well as the defence attaches from the US and China,” a Malaysian government spokesperson told reporters, referring to the Southeast Asian regional bloc that the country currently chairs.

Separately on Friday, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said Phnom Penh intends to nominate United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in brokering the ceasefire.

Speaking earlier in the capital, he thanked Trump for “bringing peace” and insisted the US leader deserved the award.

Similar nominations have recently come from Pakistan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both citing Trump’s interventions in regional disputes.

President Donald Trump’s administration has unveiled a range of new tariffs to take effect in one week on most US trading partners.

Nearly 70 countries face Trump’s import duties that were due to come into force on August 1; most were delayed at the last minute and will begin on August 7.

Trump sees the tariffs as an economic tool of power that will put US exporters in a stronger position, by keeping out imports and encouraging domestic manufacturing.

While the situation remains dynamic, different levies will be imposed on countries, ranging from 15 percent on Japan and the European Union to 39 percent on Switzerland.

Here’s how countries and markets have reacted to the news:

China

China has warned that US protectionism “harms the interests of all parties”.

“The Chinese side’s opposition to tariffs has been consistent and clear,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

“There is no winner in a tariff war or trade war,” he added.

With no permanent deal in place, Beijing and Washington are negotiating a deal over tariffs. A 30 percent combined tariff will, however, be applied, following an agreed pause until August 12. That followed an earlier escalation to a 145 percent tariff on imports.

Taiwan

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has called its 20 percent tariff announced by Trump “temporary … with the possibility of further reductions should an agreement be reached”.

The US president had threatened to hit the island with a 32 percent tax and possible duties on its huge semiconductor shipments.

Japan

A tariff of 15 percent agreed last week between Japan and Washington – down from a threatened 25 percent – is due to be applied from August 7.

“We continue to urge the US to take prompt measures to implement the agreement, including lowering tariffs on automobile and auto parts,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Friday.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ), however, warned that profits of Japanese firms are likely to fall this year because of US tariffs, leading them to downgrade capital expenditure plans.

Automakers have swallowed the rising costs from the tariffs instead of passing them on to US consumers, as seen in a fall of roughly 20 percent in export prices since April, the BOJ said in a full version of its quarterly outlook report.

“This suggests Japanese automakers are averting price hikes that may lead to falling sales volume, at the cost of seeing profitability worsen,” the BOJ added.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s Trade Ministry has said its rate, down from a threatened 25 percent, was a positive outcome without compromising on what it called “red line” items.

Thailand

Thailand’s finance minister said the reduction from 36 to 19 percent in tariffs, would help his country’s struggling economy face global challenges ahead.

“It helps maintain Thailand’s competitiveness on the global stage, boosts investor confidence and opens the door to economic growth, increased income and new opportunities,” Pichai Chunhavajira said.

Cambodia

The US on Friday slashed the tariff rate for Cambodia to 19 percent from earlier levies of 36 percent and 49 percent, a major boost for its crucial garments sector, its biggest economic driver and source of about a million manufacturing jobs.

“If the US maintained 49 percent or 36 percent, that industry would collapse, in my opinion,” Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and top trade negotiator Sun Chanthol told the Reuters news agency in an interview.

European Union

The EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, said the bloc’s exporters now benefit from a “more competitive position” following a framework agreement between the EU and the US, although he added that “the work continues.

“The new US tariffs reflect the first results of the EU-US deal, especially the 15 percent all-inclusive tariff cap,” Sefcovic wrote in a post on social media platform X.

“This reinforces stability for businesses as well as trust in the transatlantic economy,” he added.

Switzerland

Switzerland expressed “great regret” that it was hit with 39 percent – up from the threatened 31 percent – despite its “very constructive position”.

The levy – more than double the EU’s 15 percent – appeared to catch the rich Alpine nation off guard.

Switzerland ranks sixth in terms of direct investment in the US, with pharma giants Roche and Novartis announcing major spending plans in recent months.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka expressed relief that it will face a 20 percent hit – a sharp reduction from the 44 percent originally floated – and expressed hope of a further cut.

“We are happy that our competitiveness in exports to the US has been retained,” Finance Ministry official Harshana Suriyapperuma told reporters.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh negotiated a 20 percent tariff on exports to the US, down from the 37 percent initially proposed by Trump.

Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country’s interim government, called it a “decisive diplomatic victory”.

Pakistan

Pakistan secured a tariff rate of 19 percent with the US on Thursday.

“This deal marks the beginning of a new era of economic collaboration, especially in energy, mines and minerals, IT, cryptocurrency and other sectors,” the Pakistani Finance Ministry said in a statement.

India

Trump on Wednesday said Indian goods would face a 25 percent US tariff starting August 1, slightly below an earlier threatened level.

The country would also face an unspecified “penalty” over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian weapons and energy, Trump said on social media.

In a statement, the Indian government said on Wednesday it was studying the implications of these new tariffs and added New Delhi “attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs”.

South Africa

South Africa will use the weeklong delay in the US’s imposition of 30 percent tariffs to negotiate, to avoid the penalty and save jobs, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday.

“Intensive negotiations are now under way,” Ramaphosa told journalists.

“Our task is to negotiate as strongly and as hard as we can with the United States,” he said. “Our objective, really, is to save jobs.”

Canada

Trump said on Thursday that the US would raise tariffs on certain Canadian goods from 25 percent to 35 percent.

He had warned of trade consequences for Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Unlike the new levies hitting dozens of other economies, there is no delay, and these begin on Friday, according to a White House fact sheet.

Carney said his government is “disappointed” by Trump’s decision.

Trump’s order also cited Canada’s failure to “cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs” as well as its “retaliation” against his measures.

Carney outlined Ottawa’s efforts to crack down on fentanyl and to increase border security. “Canada accounts for only 1 percent of US fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes,” he said.

Products covered by the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – which covers a wide swath of items – will, however, be exempt from the tariff rate.

Markets

European stocks hit a three-week low as investors worried about the effect of the new US levies on dozens of countries.

Asian shares were also headed for the worst week since April after the tariffs were announced.

Oil prices have, however, changed very little, heading for a weekly gain.

Official says ‘contingency plan had flaws’ as torrential rains, floods kill 31 people at senior centre near Beijing.

Torrential rains and flooding across northern China have killed dozens of people, authorities say, including more than 30 elderly residents who were trapped at a care facility in a suburb of the capital Beijing.

Officials said on Thursday that 31 people died at the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Center in the Miyun district, about a 90-minute drive from central Beijing, which was one of the areas hit hardest by this week’s storms.

“For a long time, this senior centre was in the town’s centre and was safe, and such was not included in the preparedness plans,” said Yu Weiguo, the Communist Party secretary for Miyun, expressing his condolences and adding it was a “bitter lesson”.

“This showed that our contingency plan had flaws, and our understanding of extreme weather was inadequate,” Yu said.

The care centre housed 69 residents, including 55 who were disabled in some capacity. The facility sat on low-lying ground near a river that had flooded after the unusually intense rains, local media outlet Caixin reported.

Torrential rains began a week ago and peaked around Beijing and its surrounding provinces on Monday.

In the space of a few days, the hilly Miyun district in the northeast of the capital saw rainfall of up to 573.5mm (22.6 inches). By comparison, the average annual precipitation in Beijing is around 600mm (23.6 inches).

The Miyun Reservoir, the largest in northern China, saw record-breaking water levels during the rains.

The Qingshui River, which runs through Taishitun feeding into the reservoir and is normally a small stream, was flowing at 1,500 times its normal volume on Monday morning when the disaster struck, Yu said.

One Beijing resident’s 87-year-old mother managed to get out of the elder care centre in Miyun, Caixin reported.

“She doesn’t know where she got the strength, but she managed to climb onto the windowsill,” the woman’s daughter said, noting her mother’s roommate was unable to escape and drowned.

Hundreds of thousands affected

At a news conference on Thursday, Beijing’s Deputy Mayor Xia Linmao said at least 44 people died over the past week in the city.

In total, more than 300,000 people have been affected by the rain and flooding in the capital, with more than 24,000 homes, 242 bridges and 756km (470 miles) of roads damaged, said Xia, citing preliminary figures.

In neighbouring Hebei province, authorities announced an additional eight deaths on Thursday and 16 deaths total this week.

At least 31 people were missing in Beijing and Hebei province, authorities said.

Meanwhile, in northern Shanxi province, authorities said on Wednesday evening that 10 people were dead after a minibus carrying farm workers washed away in heavy rain.

Four people were still missing as the rescue continued, according to a city government statement three days after the bus disappeared.

Global trade markets remained on edge Thursday as the United States prepared to implement reciprocal tariffs, with the deadline for negotiating a trade deal with Washington fast approaching.

US President Donald Trump has already announced steep trade tariffs for many of the country’s largest trading partners, even as dozens of countries scramble to secure last-minute deals or extensions for negotiations beyond the Friday, August 1 deadline.

Friday’s deadline comes more than 120 days after President Trump’s administration first announced a barrage of tariffs on the world, on the so-called “Liberation Day”.

Despite several delays in imposing tariffs since Trump took office in January this year, his administration looks set to roll out new tariff rates for those countries that fail to clinch a trade deal by the end of today.

So, what will happen tomorrow? Which countries already have deals in the bag? And who is hoping to rescue a last-minute deal?

What will happen on August 1?

As the clock ticks down to August 1, the US’s imposition of a significant round of reciprocal tariffs on imports from various countries marks a pivotal moment in global trade dynamics, experts say.

Trump is adamant he will not be extending this deadline. “THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE – IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED. A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Wednesday.

At midnight Eastern Time tonight, therefore, US Customs and Border Protection will begin enforcing these new duties, which will range from 15 percent to 50 percent – or even higher in some cases – depending on the trading partner, the nature of the goods being traded and whether the trading partner and the US have specific agreements in place.

Additional sectoral tariffs will be applied to certain industries. For example, a 50 percent tariff will be applied to copper, steel and aluminium for most countries, while a 20 percent levy will be applied to pharmaceutical products.

The White House confirmed that Trump will sign new executive orders on Thursday, formally imposing all these higher tariffs. Recipients are likely to include some of the US’s biggest trading partners, like Mexico, Taiwan and Canada.

Many nations facing sweeping new tariffs on all exports to the US are likely to incur immediate economic repercussions along with potential shifts in diplomatic relations.

Tariffs may also cost the US economy. The Yale Budget Lab, a non-partisan policy research centre, noted in its most recent analysis that overseas trade tariffs could cost US households on average an extra $2,400 in 2025, because of higher prices of imported goods.

Meanwhile, industries reliant on imports, such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and clothing, may have to contend with new supply chain disruptions as companies scramble to absorb costs or pass them on to consumers.

Why is Trump launching all these new tariffs?

In April, Trump declared a “national emergency” when he announced his “Liberation Day” tariff strategy and imposed an across-the-board 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports, followed by higher, country-specific “reciprocal” tariffs.

The US has large trading deficits with many countries, which Trump believes are deeply unfair.

The Trump administration, therefore, has justified these new rates as being necessary to redress these trade imbalances in order to boost US manufacturing and jobs, even though economists point out that deficits are not direct evidence of unfair trade practices.

Beyond trade, experts note that the Trump administration is leveraging these tariff threats to broader agendas of curbing immigration, combating the opioid and fentanyl crisis, and pressing allies and partners on geopolitical issues, including India’s energy ties with Russia or Brazil’s legal action against Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro.

In the last-minute run-up to the August 1 deadline, Trump’s administration has strong-armed trading partners, including Japan, the European Union, Indonesia and the Philippines, into new deals under which they accept higher US tariffs in exchange for continued market access and investment commitments – and in most cases, a promise not to levy counter-tariffs of their own.

Who already has deals in the bag with the US?

European Union

The EU has agreed to a 15 percent tariff on most of its exports to the US, including cars and pharmaceuticals, in exchange for zero tariffs on select US exports and commitments to buy US gas and increase investments. Initially, Trump had threatened a 30 percent rate.

Japan

Japan has secured a 15 percent reciprocal tariff on its goods exported to the US, reduced from a threatened 25 percent, with Japan promising to invest $550bn in the US economy.

United Kingdom

The UK agreed to a 10 percent tariff rate on its exports to the US. It also received a 25 percent sectoral tariff on steel and aluminium – half the 50 percent being imposed on other countries.

South Korea

A lower 15 percent tariff will apply to South Korean imports to the US, in return for a $350bn investment pledge and zero tariffs on US exports like cars and agricultural products.

Indonesia

Indonesia has negotiated a 19 percent tariff on its exports to the US, down from a threatened 32 percent, by making a commitment to buy US Boeing aircraft and to remove or reduce trade barriers.

Vietnam

Vietnam has agreed to a 20 percent tariff on most exports to the US, with an additional 40 percent levy to be applied to “transshipped” goods – those entering the US via another location – while also agreeing to zero tariffs on US imports like large-engine automobiles.

Philippines

This Philippines has agreed to a 19 percent tariff on its exports to the US, with zero tariffs on US exports to the Philippines, alongside commitments for enhanced military cooperation.

Pakistan

Struck a deal to jointly develop oil reserves with the US, but specific tariff rates on goods remain unclear.

Which big US partners have no deal yet?

None of the US’s top three trading partners – Mexico, Canada, and China – have trade deals in place as of Thursday.

Mexico

Tops the list of trade partners of the US, with nearly $840bn in total trade, driven by sectors including vehicles, electronics and agriculture. With no new deal for August 1, existing tariffs of 25 percent on most imports will persist under earlier 2025 trade war measures, with some exemptions under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Canada

Ranks second in terms of size with about $700bn, primarily in energy, vehicles, and aerospace products, passing between the two countries. With no deal finalised by the August 1 deadline, Trump has threatened to impose a 35 percent tariff on goods that don’t comply with the USMCA.

China

Third among the top US trade partners, Beijing trades about $532bn with the US, focused on electronics, machinery and consumer goods. With no permanent deal in place, a 30 percent combined tariff will be applied, following an agreed pause until August 12. That followed an earlier escalation to a 145 percent tariff on imports.

Who is hoping for a last-minute deal?

India

Even a “very good friendship” with Washington could not save India, the world’s most populous nation and fourth-largest global economy, from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

On Wednesday, Trump announced a sweeping 25 percent tariff on all Indian goods exported to the US, plus an unspecified penalty for buying energy from Russia, as trade deal negotiations remain unresolved.

Total trade between the US and India was valued at about $130bn in 2024, with US exports to India worth $41.8bn and imports from India at $87.4bn – a trade deficit which Trump will not ignore.

“While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Later, in another post, Trump said he did not “care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.

“We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together,” he wrote. “Let’s keep it that way.”

In a statement, the Indian government said it was studying the implications of these new tariffs and added: “India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months.”

The statement further noted that “we remain committed to that objective.” New Delhi signalled what it believes to be potential barriers to the deal by noting that the government “attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs”.

Pakistan

India’s neighbouring rival, Pakistan, has seen its stock rise with the Trump administration before and after the military conflict with New Delhi earlier this year.

Trump revealed that the US had concluded a deal with Pakistan, where they will work together on developing oil reserves, but did not announce tariffs. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day!”

Taiwan

Taiwan is also facing a high-stakes deadline, with proposed tariffs set at 32 percent, excluding semiconductors, if no deal is struck by August 1.

Taiwanese officials have engaged in intense negotiations in Washington, spanning four high-level rounds led by Vice Premier Cheng Li‑chun and US counterparts, addressing not only tariff technicalities but also non‑tariff trade barriers, investments and market access. These talks are reportedly pending US approval.

Who has little hope of reaching a deal with the US?

Brazil

The country faces the most punishing tariffs among major US trading partners, with President Trump formally issuing a 50 percent reciprocal tariff on Brazilian imports.

The US actually runs a trade surplus with Brazil of nearly $7.4bn; however, Trump has been unhappy about the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for allegedly attempting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss.

Trump has publicly called the trial a “witch-hunt” and an “international disgrace”, tying his imposition of a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports, announced on July 10, directly to this issue.

Brazil’s government responded with alarm. President Lula decried Trump’s measures as “economic blackmail” and negotiations have stalled.

Speaking at a news conference in Washington this week, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist, called for an end to the trade war.

“Restoring stability in trade policy is essential to reduce policy uncertainty. We urge all parties to settle trade disputes and agree on clear and predictable frameworks. Collective efforts should be made to restore and improve the global trading system,” Gourinchas said, indirectly referring to the Trump administration.

Japan reports one death during coastal evacuation but cancels warning across the country by Thursday afternoon.

Japan’s weather office has lifted a tsunami advisory imposed a day earlier, becoming one of the last countries to rescind the emergency order after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded hit Russia’s Far East.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a statement lifting the advisory on Thursday, as fears of a deadly disaster subsided across the Pacific, including the United States’s West Coast and several Latin American countries, allowing millions to return to their homes.

Storm surges of up to 4 metres (12 feet) were predicted for some parts of the Pacific, after the magnitude 8.8 quake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday. Ultimately, the tsunamis produced by the earthquake were weaker than had been feared.

“There is currently no coastal area for which tsunami warnings or advisories are in force,” the Japanese agency announced on Thursday afternoon (07:45 GMT).

Almost two million people had been ordered to higher ground in Japan before the warnings were downgraded to an advisory for large stretches of its Pacific coast, with waves up to 0.7 metres still being observed earlier on Thursday.

The highest recorded waves of about 1.3 metres were observed in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, on Wednesday afternoon, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.

The only reported death from the tsunamis was a woman killed when her car fell off a cliff in Japan as she tried to escape on Wednesday, Japanese media reported.

Separately, 11 people were taken to hospital after developing symptoms of heatstroke while taking shelter in hot weather, with temperatures rising to about 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some places.

In Chile, the country’s disaster response agency Senapred has downgraded its warning from “alert” to “state of precaution” in at least four areas early on Thursday.

The country had conducted what the interior ministry said was “perhaps the most massive evacuation ever carried out in our country” with 1.4 million people ordered to high ground after the earthquake on Wednesday.

Earlier, Chilean authorities reported no damage or victims and registered waves of just 60 centimetres (two feet) on the country’s north coast.

In the Galapagos Islands, where waves of up to three metres were expected, there was relief as the Ecuadorian Navy’s oceanographic institute said the danger had passed.

Residents reported the sea level falling and then rising suddenly, a phenomenon which is commonly seen with the arrival of a tsunami.

But a surge of just over a metre was reported, causing no damage.

In the US, the country’s National Weather Service originally issued tsunami “warnings” for Hawaii, Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and parts of California, as well as lower-level tsunami advisories for parts of Washington and Oregon. A less serious tsunami watch was in place for the entire US West Coast.

However, the threat level for Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands was later downgraded from a warning to an advisory, meaning that people who had evacuated can now return to their homes.

The worst damage was seen in Russia, where a tsunami crashed through the port of Severo-Kurilsk and submerged the local fishing plant, officials said.

Russian state television footage showed buildings and debris swept into the sea.

The surge of water reached as far as the town’s World War II monument about 400 metres from the shoreline, said Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov.

Russian scientists reported that the Klyuchevskoy volcano erupted shortly after the earthquake.

Wednesday’s quake was the strongest in the Kamchatka region since 1952, the regional seismic monitoring service said, warning of aftershocks of up to a magnitude of 7.5.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was one of the 10 strongest tremors recorded since 1900.

At least 16 people have died from heat-related illnesses in South Korea this year, according to health authorities.

South Korea has shattered a 117-year record for the number of sweltering nights in July amid a scorching heatwave.

Temperatures in Seoul did not dip below 29.3 degrees Celsius (84.7 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, marking the 22nd “tropical night” so far this month, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said on Thursday.

The KMA defines a tropical night as occurring when temperatures stay above 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) from 6:01pm to 9am the following day.

The number of tropical nights in July is the highest since records began in 1908.

The previous record for July was 21 tropical nights, set in 1994.

South Korea has been grappling with blistering heat over the past week, with daily temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country.

At least 16 people have died from heat-related illnesses so far this year, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The milestone continues a recent trend of scorching temperatures across Asia, as scientists warn that human-driven climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather.

On Wednesday, Japan said it experienced its hottest day in recorded history after the mercury hit 41.2 degrees Celsius (106.16 degrees Fahrenheit) in Tamba city, Hyogo prefecture.

Earlier this month, Japan and South Korea both reported that June this year was the hottest on record, while China’s National Climate Centre said the country had experienced a record number of days with temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) or above since mid-March.

In India, the National Disaster Management Authority last month issued a red alert for New Delhi after the heat index – which looks at temperature and humidity to measure perceived temperature – hit 51.9 degrees Celsius (125.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

In April, Myanmar’s weather agency said the country experienced the hottest day ever recorded for the month when the mercury hit 48.2 degrees Celsius (118.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the central town of Chauk.

While climate change is a concern worldwide, Asia has been particularly susceptible to extreme temperatures, according to scientists.

In its latest climate report released last month, the World Meteorological Organization said Asia was warming nearly twice as fast as the global average.

The average temperature of Asia’s landmass last year was about 1.04 degrees Celsius (33.87 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 trend, according to the WMO, making 2024 either the warmest or second warmest year on record, depending on the dataset used.

Au Kam San accused by police of being in contact with an unnamed ‘anti-China organisation abroad’ since 2022.

A leading democrat from Macau has been arrested for collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, police said, as the semi-autonomous region further tightens its national security laws to align with those of China.

Macau’s police said in a statement on Thursday that Au Kam San had been taken from his residence for investigation on Wednesday.

The former Portuguese colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1999 via a “One Country, Two Systems” framework that promised a high degree of autonomy and rights protections.

Au, 68, is one of Macau’s most prominent democratic campaigners who served for nearly two decades as a lawmaker in the former Portuguese colony. He served in Macau’s legislature for two decades before stepping down in 2021.

The police statement did not give Au’s full name, but local media outlets reported that the man arrested was the campaigner, and Au’s wife arrived at the prosecution’s office on Thursday and was listed as a “witness”, online outlet All About Macau said.

“The resident has allegedly been in contact with an anti-China organisation abroad since 2022, providing the group with large amounts of false and seditious information, for public exhibitions overseas and online,” the police statement added.

The police did not say which foreign entity Au was in contact with, but said he had also sought to incite hatred against Beijing, disrupt a 2024 election for Macau’s leader and “provoke hostile actions by foreign countries against Macau”.

Au and his wife could not be reached for comment.

Through the years, Au had championed democratic reforms and helped foster civil society initiatives in the tiny gambling hub that returned from Portuguese to Chinese rule in 1999 – two years after the nearby former British colony of Hong Kong was handed back to China.

Unlike Hong Kong, which has seen big social movements challenge Chinese Communist Party rule in 2014 and 2019, the democratic opposition in the China-ruled former Portuguese colony has always existed on the fringes amid tight Chinese control.

Through the years, Au had led protests and railed against opaque governance and rising social inequalities, even as gambling revenues exploded in the city, which is home to about 700,000 people.

Au was one of the founders of several pro-democracy groups, including the New Macau Association, and had worked as a schoolteacher.

The arrest comes as authorities in neighbouring Hong Kong continue to crack down on dissent using two sets of powerful national security laws that have been leveraged to jail activists, shutter media outlets and civil society groups.

While Hong Kong’s democrats had actively challenged Beijing’s attempts to ratchet up control of the city since its return to Chinese rule, Macau’s government has faced far less public scrutiny, with authorities able to enact a sweeping set of national security laws as early as 2009.

This law was amended in 2023 to bring Macau in line with similar laws in Hong Kong and China and to bolster the prevention of foreign interference.