A small plane crashed in Texas Hill Country, killing all five people aboard, officials said on Friday. The crash happened on Thursday night in Wimberley, a city about 40 miles (65km) southwest of Austin, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said on social media. The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna 421C crashed around 11.25pm with five people on board. It said the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The plane took off from Amarillo, Texas, about two...

The US stock market is rising towards more records on Friday after Apple, Estee Lauder and other big companies became the latest to deliver fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. Modest dips for oil prices also helped to steady the relatively few stock markets open worldwide on the May Day holiday. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent and added to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 226 points, or 0.5 per cent, as of 9.35am Eastern...

We have selected six of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chile exposes smuggling ring that shipped US$917m in stolen copper to China Chinese buyers were the end destination of a five-year smuggling pipeline that drained an estimated US$917 million worth of stolen copper from Chile, authorities said in April after police dismantled the network...

Japan’s relaxation of its weapons-export rules opens a path for talks that could one day lead to Tokyo supplying military equipment to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, Kyiv’s ambassador to Japan said. “This allows us to talk,” Yurii Lutovinov said in an interview at Ukraine’s embassy. “Theoretically, it’s a very big step forward.” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s move last week to ease export rules – Japan’s latest shift away from a strict post-war pacifist stance – has sparked broad...

A 45-year-old man was charged on Friday with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain’s Jewish community. Essa Suleiman was remanded into custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face two counts of the charge related to the attack in Golders Green. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier the same day that left a man with...

If the “China shock” of the early 2000s was about China catching up, then “China shock 2.0” is about the country redefining the boundaries of what is economically possible across manufacturing sectors, according to Columbia University professor Adam Tooze. Amid complaints about the trade and industrial policies accelerating China’s rise in many sectors – including aviation, space, artificial intelligence (AI), telecoms, microprocessors, robotics, nuclear and fusion power, quantum computing,...

The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval. The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US economic gap over China to widen, but Iran might bring them closer: former UN official The economic divide between the United States and China is projected to widen to US$11 trillion by the end of the decade, yet escalating...

Elusive street artist Banksy on Thursday confirmed he was behind a new work drawing crowds in central London: a statue of a suited man striding into the void while holding a flag that blocks his view. The monument, which has Banksy’s name scrawled on the base, first appeared on Wednesday just off the central street of Pall Mall. The man depicted is mounted on a plinth, with one leg striding off it, and appears to be blindly stepping off the platform without knowing it, thanks to the flag...

After winning legislative backing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club to offer basketball betting – an initiative aimed at drawing punters away from illegal online bookmakers and capturing additional tax revenue – the government has now paused the roll-out. Officials say the rise of prediction markets has altered the landscape and warrants closer examination. So, what is it about prediction markets that unsettles officials? Prediction markets are online platforms where the menu stretches far beyond...

US President Donald Trump and the head of the Secret Service said on Thursday the federal agent injured during the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner had not been hit by friendly fire, as authorities released a video of the incident. Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, posted the nearly six-minute video on social media amid lingering questions over whose bullet struck the officer. Pirro noted that the security footage captured suspect Cole Tomas...

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by the UK’s King Charles and Queen Camilla. “The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted on social media. Trump said people had wanted this change, especially with regard to the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged. His post left it unclear if the tariffs were...