The Rio Times — Asia Pulse Covering: SK Hynix · Samsung · KOSPI · China · PBoC · Yuan · SoftBank · OpenAI · BOJ · Nikkei · Sensex · Reliance · Modi · Hormuz · UAE OPEC Exit · ASX · Vietnam · Philippines What Matters Today 1 Korea — SK Hynix Posts ₩37.61T […]

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Patrick Vallance says government working with Chinese officials to remove postings from Alibaba after Biobank data breach last week

There have been further listings of confidential health records of UK volunteers on the Chinese website Alibaba since the breach reported last week, and the government is braced for further leaks, the science minister has said.

Addressing a House of Lords debate on the attempted sale of data belonging to 500,000 UK Biobank volunteers, Patrick Vallance said the government had worked with Chinese officials to remove additional postings on the online marketplace.

China will ban the sale of drones in Beijing and require users to apply for permission for all flights in the capital under strict regulations that enter force on Friday.

Officials have cited public security for the new rules, which also forbid bringing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or their core components into Beijing.

E-commerce platforms will be banned from shipping UAVs to Beijing, though drone owners who have completed real-name registration of their gadgets before May 1 will be allowed to take them in and out of the capital.

Drone users in the city of 22 million will have three months after the new rules kick in to register their devices with local police stations.

Several sellers across the city had already removed drones from displays ahead of the rules change, AFP saw Tuesday. An employee at a DJI outlet in central Beijing said the gadgets were being boxed up for transport to other cities.

DJI, which is the world’s largest drone maker and has been sanctioned by the US government over security concerns, is dominant in the Chinese market but now faces being locked out of its home capital by the new rules.

The city’s airspace will be closed to all drone flights without prior approval from authorities, with fines of up to 10,000 yuan ($1,463) for illegal flights and possible confiscation of the drone.

Organisations or individuals caught selling drones or 17 core components will also face fines under the new rules.

‘One-size-fits-all’

Drone storage rules will also be tightened in the capital, with individuals allowed to keep at most three drones at a single location within Beijing’s sixth ring road.

Online, many users complained that the new rules were onerous and left them with few opportunities to fly their gadgets in Beijing.

“This is a crazy one-size-fits-all system,” one user wrote on the social media platform WeChat.

Others said they would sell their drones ahead of the new rules.

At one drone-flying school in central Beijing, staff told AFP they were worried about how they would acquire new drones or components when their stock breaks or needs maintenance.

But they hoped that educational and sports facilities like theirs would eventually receive some exemption from the rules.

The new regulations hold that exemptions may be provided for special purposes like counter-terrorism, agriculture, education and sport.

“As the capital, Beijing faces more challenges in low-altitude airspace safety, making it more urgent to strengthen the management of UAVs,” Beijing municipal official Xiong Jinghua said when the rules were announced in March.

National laws have also been tightened this year in China, with illegal drone flights now punishable by up to 15 days detention and UAVs required to provide real-time data to authorities during flights.

The United States led a group of regional countries in calling China’s actions during a dispute over the Panama Canal a “threat,” prompting backlash from Beijing on Wednesday.

Washington and Beijing accuse each other of seeking to control the Panama Canal, a vital trade link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Panama took control of two of the canal’s ports previously operated by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate following a decision by the Panamanian Supreme Court in January.

Since then, Washington has alleged China detained two Panama-flagged ships in response to the takeover, while China has threatened Panama with payback and rejected the US claims.

The United States led countries including Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday in calling China’s actions “a blatant attempt to politicize maritime trade and infringe on the sovereignty of the nations of our hemisphere”.

“Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system, and as such must remain free from any undue external pressure,” the US State Department said in the joint statement.

“Any attempts to undermine Panama’s sovereignty are a threat to us all.”

China’s foreign ministry slammed the statement as a “smear” on Wednesday.

“It is the United States that is politicizing and over-securitizing the port issue,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

“It is the United States that is hypocritically posturing and spreading rumors and smears everywhere.”

Trump returned to office last year vowing to seize back US control of the Panama Canal, which was handed over in a deal reached by former president Jimmy Carter, who vowed that the US would respect its sovereignty.

After Panama’s moves against the Hong Kong-based company, Trump declared victory and the canal issue largely disappeared as a point of contention between the countries.

In a national security strategy last year, the Trump administration vowed aggressively to promote US interests in Latin America against outside powers led by China.

Key Points — The World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook published Tuesday April 28 forecasts global energy prices to surge 24 percent in 2026 — the largest spike since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The World Bank commodity shock outlook projects overall commodity prices rising 16 percent in 2026 driven by the Iran war’s disruption of […]

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Mariana Mazzucato is a live wire. The Italian-American economist (born in Rome 57 years ago, raised in the United States, and based in London) belongs to a group of renowned progressive academics who offer an unapologetic opposition to neoliberalism and the Trumpism that followed, but she does so without affectation or solemnity. She speaks with passion and optimism about a different way of doing and seeing economics. Mazzucato, a professor at University College London, defends the innovative role of the public sector and cites the first mission to the moon, conceived by Kennedy and so relevant these days, as a prime example of public-private collaboration. Her written work is vibrant, and titles such as The Entrepreneurial State and Mission Economy are a testament to this. In this interview, conducted at the Global Progressive Mobilisation (GPM) in Barcelona, ​​she sounded elated about the creation of a Global Council for a Common Good Economy in partnership with the government of Spain. However, she addressed the structural impact of the Trump era on the global economy with less enthusiasm.

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Key Points — The First International Conference for the Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels opened April 24 and runs through April 29 in Santa Marta, Colombia — co-hosted by Colombia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Santa Marta conference brings together 56 confirmed countries and over 2,600 organizations representing approximately one-fifth of global fossil-fuel production […]

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KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — The Malaysian men’s national lacrosse team created history after clinching the bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Lacrosse Games in Chengdu, China, last week.

Malaysia secured third place after defeating Saudi Arabia 15-10 in the bronze medal match on Saturday (April 25), marking the country’s highest-ever finish at the Asian level.

Team captain Rashid Shukor described the achievement as a proud moment for the entire Malaysian lacrosse community, including those who have contributed to the sport’s growth over the years.

“I’ve never been prouder to wear this jersey. We went into the tournament with the smallest squad, and we still brought home bronze. This medal belongs to every player, coach and volunteer who has contributed to Malaysian lacrosse. We proved something today,” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, head coach Michael Wilder praised his players for executing their game plan effectively under pressure throughout the tournament.

“The boys executed our game plan brilliantly. We came here with a clear goal and delivered. With the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics (LA28) on the horizon, this is exactly the momentum we need, and we intend to build on it,” he said.

Malaysia Lacrosse Association president Jake Iskandar Marr said the achievement was a culmination of years of efforts in building the sport from the ground up in a country where it was once relatively unknown.

“From introducing a sport that most Malaysians had never heard of to standing on the podium in Chengdu, it is a journey we are incredibly proud of. What lies ahead excites us even more,” he said.

Lacrosse, a sport with origins tracing back centuries among Native American communities, has grown rapidly worldwide with the six-a-side format (Sixes) set to make its Olympic debut at LA28.

According to the statement, the bronze medal finish strengthens Malaysia’s credentials in their pursuit of Olympic qualification and highlights the national team’s rising competitiveness on the international stage.

The team are scheduled to compete next at the Asia-Pacific Sixes Lacrosse Championships in Sunshine Coast, Australia, in October, a crucial step on the road to LA28.

As such, the association have called for continued support from the government, sports bodies and the public to sustain the team’s momentum as they target Olympic qualification. — Bernama