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The first batch of flats on offer at the Deep Water Pavilia project on the south side of Hong Kong island are expected to sell out, according to property agents, as homebuyers rushed to snap up available units this weekend on the back of discounted pricing and low interest rates.As of 1pm on Saturday, 75 of the 138 flats on offer at the New World Development (NWD)-led luxury residential project in Wong Chuk Hang were snapped up, about four hours after sales started, property agents said.All the units on offer, which are worth HK$1.53 billion (US$196 million), are expected to…

LONDON (AP) — Arise Sir David, Sir Gary and Sir Roger. And Dame Elaine, Dame Pat and Dame Penny.Former England soccer captain David Beckham, Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman and The Who’s frontman Roger Daltrey were knighted in King Charles III’s birthday honors list released late Friday.Elaine Paige, the renowned musicals singer, Booker Prize-winning novelist Pat Barker and former Conservative government minister Penny Mordaunt were given damehoods, the female equivalent of a knighthood. The honors, which aim to reward individuals for their contributions to British life, are awarded twice a year to celebrities and public figures as well as ordinary people:…

On Monday, the Madleen, a UK-flagged civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians, was stopped by Israeli forces in international waters, about 200km (124 miles) off the Gaza coast.The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had organised the voyage, setting sail from Sicily on June 1. The vessel’s 12 passengers included climate activist Greta Thunberg, European Parliament member Rima Hassan, two French journalists and several other activists from around the world.The Israeli military boarded the ship and diverted it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The aid it carried – baby milk formula, food, medical supplies, water desalination kits – was confiscated. All…

The crossing of a US-designated island chain in the Western Pacific by a Chinese carrier group marks an increase in Beijing’s “operational tempo” that the Philippines should pay heed to, observers say.They warn, however, that a “delicate balance” should still be maintained to avoid any escalation amid calls for vigilance.Regional governments such as Japan and Taiwan have advised increased caution, and a former official in the Joe Biden administration has suggested formalising the so-called Squad bloc of nations meant to counter Chinese assertiveness.Earlier this week, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Navy dispatched two aircraft carriers to conduct operations beyond the…

A high-level civilian war game held in Taipei this week has exposed serious vulnerabilities in Taiwan’s defences of its outer perimeter and eastern regions, prompting a retired US admiral to warn that Washington’s involvement depended on “Taiwan’s will to fight”.In the exercise simulating a 2030 cross-strait conflict, Taiwan lost control of key outlying territories – most notably Penghu, a group of islands 50km (30 miles) east of the main island – as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched a multifront assault that quickly outpaced Taiwan’s initial response.The two-day simulation, organised by three Taiwanese think tanks led by the Taipei School…

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III and other members of the royal family in uniform wore black armbands and observed a moment of silence during his annual birthday parade Saturday as the monarch commemorated those who died in this week’s Air India plane crash.Charles requested the symbolic moves “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy,” Buckingham Palace said.An Air India flight from the northwestern city of Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on…

Chinese researchers have confirmed for the first time that artificial intelligence large language models can spontaneously create a humanlike system to comprehend and sort natural objects, a process considered a pillar of human cognition.It provides new evidence in a debate over the cognitive capacity of AI models, suggesting that artificial systems that reflect key aspects of human thinking may be possible.“Understanding how humans conceptualise and categorise natural objects offers critical insights into perception and cognition,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Machine Intelligence on Tuesday.“With the advent of large language models (LLMs), a key…

HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish authorities have accused senior officers of a Russia-linked vessel that damaged undersea cables last year between Finland and Estonia of criminal offenses related to the wreckage.They say the oil tanker, the Eagle S, dragged its anchor to damage the Estlink-2 power cable and communication links between Finland and Estonia on Dec. 25. The Kremlin previously denied involvement in damaging the infrastructure, which provides power and communication for thousands of Europeans. The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but has been described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union’s executive commission as part of…

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s attendance at the Group of Seven summit signals that the country is “back in the game”, according to analysts, as the move allows Seoul to press ahead with its long-term goal of becoming a member of an expanded G7.Sworn in as his country’s new president last Wednesday, Lee would attend the three-day G7 summit to be held in Canada from Sunday, the presidential office said on Saturday.This would mark his first overseas trip since he took office and his debut on the global diplomatic stage, following his election earlier this month, brought on by the…

The owner of the UK’s biggest bioethanol plant has given the government two weeks to come up with a rescue package for the industry after the trade agreement with Donald Trump threatened to swamp the British market with 1.4bn litres of tariff-free ethanol.The ultimatum by ABF Sugar, which owns the £450mn Vivergo plant in Saltend, Hull, was issued following an emergency meeting this week with the UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and transport secretary Heidi Alexander.The owners said unless the government tabled a package to save the industry within two weeks, they would open consultations about making the plant’s 160…