Philippines' Marcos expected to announce more cabinet changes
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gestures as he delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), at the House of Representative in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David/File Photo
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
38 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's HKUST handling ‘several' Harvard transfer applications
A university in Hong Kong that 'opened its doors to Harvard students' has made an offer of admission to one and is handling several transfer applications after the Trump administration last month barred the US Ivy League school from enrolling international candidates, many of whom are from mainland China. Advertisement At least two other local universities have also received inquiries from affected students. On Wednesday night, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation 'suspending the entry of foreign nationals' seeking to study at Harvard, citing its failure to address national security risks on campus. HKUST said on Thursday that since its announcement of support two weeks ago, it had received dozens of inquiries from students who had planned to study at Harvard or were already enrolled there. Advertisement 'HKUST is currently processing several transfer applications. An admission offer has been extended to one of the applicants,' a spokesman said.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong proposes 50% duty on net profits from basketball betting
Hong Kong authorities have proposed a 50 per cent duty on the operators' net betting profits from basketball gambling, while a public consultation found that 94 per cent of respondents supported legalising such activities. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Thursday, the government said that the existing calculation and collection methods for football betting tax could be adopted for basketball gambling as one of the amendments to the Betting Duty Ordinance. The duty on football betting is levied at 50 per cent of the net stake receipts. 'The government's policy is not to encourage gambling. We adopt a multipronged approach targeting illegal betting. Law enforcement and strengthening efforts in it are our foremost measures,' Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said. 'Another measure will be promotion, education and counselling services. The last resort is when illegal gambling activities have become rampant; we need a limited and legal channel to divert illegal gambling activities into legal betting.' The proposal will be discussed at a meeting of Legco's home affairs, culture and sports panel on Monday. Authorities earlier proposed establishing a regulatory regime for basketball betting by modelling it on the existing one for football wagering. The Hong Kong Jockey Club's latest assessment showed that illegal basketball betting turnover reached HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion last year.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Is it or isn't it a rare pink aurora above Kai Tak? Hongkongers have their say
Hongkongers looking at the morning sky on Thursday may have thought they were witnessing a rare pink aurora – but it was most likely to be light pollution. Advertisement A large swathe of the sky above Kai Tak Stadium glowed pink in the early hours, but the Observatory said it was not linked to a geomagnetic storm recorded in recent days. 'We have conducted a preliminary inspection of the photos and we do not believe this is a natural phenomenon,' the Observatory said. Instead, the forecaster said surrounding city lights were likely to have been the cause. The unusual sight prompted social media users to wonder whether it was connected to a geomagnetic storm that brought pink hues to other parts of the world in recent days. Advertisement 'Did not you watch the news? It's the peak of the solar storm. There will be pink auroras in different places around the world in the next two days,' one social media user said. 'The northern lights! You are so lucky,' another wrote.
