Latest News from RTHK
RTHK
25 minutes ago
- Sport
- RTHK
Brunson, Towns keep Knicks alive in Pacers rout
Brunson, Towns keep Knicks alive in Pacers rout Five players finished the game in double figures for New York. Photo: Reuters Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 56 points as the New York Knicks kept their NBA playoff campaign alive with a 111-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Trailing 3-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks roared back to life in front of a star-studded Madison Square Garden crowd with a wire-to-wire win that sets up a game six in Indianapolis on Saturday. Knicks talisman Brunson was once again the standout performer for New York, finishing with 32 points including four three-pointers. Towns, whose presence in the New York line-up was only confirmed shortly before tip-off following a left knee injury in game four, was also a pivotal figure with 24 points and 13 rebounds. "We were just able to get stops early and we would convert. We just found a way," Brunson said. "I just felt like we played better. We played to our standards. Give them credit for the way they played, but we played Knicks basketball tonight." Brunson set the tone, rattling in 14 points as the Knicks sprinted into an early 23-13 lead in the first quarter. Although Indiana came back to cut the lead to 27-23 at the end of the first, the Knicks continued to control possession, unsettling Indiana with the speed of their fast break offense and neutralising Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. New York led 56-45 at half time with Haliburton scoring just four points in the first half. Haliburton would go on to finish with a series-low eight points, shooting just two-of-seven from the field. The Pacers had staged an epic comeback to take the opening game of the series in New York last week, overturning a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Knicks. There was a hint that another fightback might be in the offing when Indiana slashed a 20-point New York lead to just 10 points in the third quarter. But the Knicks regrouped and stretched their lead once more before closing out the win to keep the series alive. It was the first time in the series that the Pacers' potent offense has been restricted to less than 100 points and means Indiana will now have to win at home on Saturday to avoid a decisive game seven back in New York next Monday. (AFP)
RTHK
26 minutes ago
- Politics
- RTHK
Judge to extend injunction relief for Harvard
Judge to extend injunction relief for Harvard Graduating students cheer Harvard University president Alan Garber. Photo: Reuters US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston announced her intention to issue a preliminary injunction, six days after she first granted Harvard a temporary order blocking the Trump administration's move. As the court hearing unfolded on Thursday, thousands of Harvard students were receiving their degrees at the school's commencement ceremony on campus about eight kilometres away. University president Alan Garber, who received a standing ovation, welcomed graduating students "from down the street, across the country and around the world," drawing applause for the last words. "Around the world – just as it should be," he added. The Trump administration has launched a multifront attack on the nation's oldest and wealthiest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding, proposing to end its tax-exempt status and opening an investigation into whether it discriminated against white, Asian, male or straight employees or job applicants. Revoking Harvard's ability to enroll international students would be damaging, the school says. More than a quarter of the student body is international; nearly 60 percent of the graduate students at the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School hail from other countries. The attack on Harvard is part of the administration's broader effort to pressure higher education institutions to align with its policy agenda. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would start "aggressively" revoking visas issued to Chinese students attending US schools, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and those studying in critical fields, which he did not specify. More than 275,000 Chinese students are enrolled in hundreds of US colleges, providing a major source of revenue for the schools and a crucial pipeline of talent for US technology companies. The decision prompted despair and frustration among students who have offers to attend next year. Prior to Rubio's announcement, the offensive against U.S. colleges had largely been confined to Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, which it has accused of left-wing bias and antisemitism. Lynn Pasquerella, president of the advocacy group American Association of Colleges and Universities, said the Trump administration's targeting of international students would have negative consequences for schools and the United States. "Chinese students, in particular, now that they're being faced with hyper-scrutiny, are looking elsewhere," she said. "That is a huge loss for us. It's a brain drain." The court hearing before Burroughs took place shortly after the administration softened its stance in an apparent effort to refute Harvard's legal arguments in advance. Late on Wednesday night, the Department of Homeland Security sent a notice to Harvard saying it would now give the university 30 days to submit evidence contesting the administration's plan to revoke Harvard's right to enroll non-US students. The notice signaled a change in course for DHS, which had said last week that the revocation was effective immediately. In its lawsuit challenging the move, Harvard argued that DHS had violated federal administrative procedure. During the court hearing, Department of Justice attorney Tiberius Davis argued there was now no need for a court order blocking the administration's actions, since Harvard could challenge them via an administrative process. But Burroughs, an appointee of Democratic former president Barack Obama, said she believed a broad preliminary injunction protecting Harvard and students was necessary while that process played out. She expressed skepticism that Harvard's fate would be any different at its conclusion, saying, "Aren't we still going to end up back here at the same place?" She also questioned whether the administration had fully complied with her temporary restraining order, pointing to a declaration Harvard submitted on Wednesday that said visas for incoming students had been recently revoked. Burroughs said the temporary order would remain in effect while lawyers for both sides negotiate over the terms of the injunction. (Reuters)
RTHK
an hour ago
- Business
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Beijing 'agrees to resume Japanese seafood imports'
Beijing 'agrees to resume Japanese seafood imports' Seafood imports from Japan are said to be expected to resume after China takes the 'necessary procedures'. File photo: AFP China has agreed on procedures to resume imports of Japanese seafood products, Japan's government said on Friday, marking a step towards ending a nearly two-year trade ban. Officials from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and China's Customs reached the agreement during a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, the ministry said, adding China-bound seafood exports are expected to resume after China takes the "necessary procedures". The agreement comes as both governments work to ease tensions stemming from the 2023 release of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Japanese ministry did not specify the details of the procedures. But the Nikkei newspaper, which reported the news earlier, said that under the agreed measures, Japan will register fishery processing facilities with Chinese authorities, and export shipments will include inspection certificates confirming the absence of radioactive substances such as cesium-137. Nikkei added that China is expected to formally announce the resumption of seafood imports from Japanese prefectures outside the Fukushima region in the near future. China imposed the ban on Japanese seafood imports in 2023, shortly after Tokyo began releasing treated wastewater from the disaster-hit plant, prompting a sharp diplomatic and economic backlash. (Reuters)
RTHK
an hour ago
- Business
- RTHK
HK stocks open down in wake of tariffs appeal ruling
HK stocks open down in wake of tariffs appeal ruling The Hang Seng Index fell 233.74 points, or 0.99 percent, to open at 23,339.64. File photo: RTHK Hong Kong stocks fell as the market digested the reinstatement of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, a day after a trade court blocked them. In opening trades on Friday, the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 233.74 points, or 0.99 percent, to open at 23,339.64. Australian shares slipped, dragged by losses in mining and energy stocks and amid uncertainty over the situation with US tariffs. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3 percent to 8,385, as of around noon. However, the benchmark is on track for a weekly gain of 0.3 percent, its third consecutive week. (Reuters/Xinhua)
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
'Hate and outrage' over Maradona death mistrial ruling
'Hate and outrage' over Maradona death mistrial ruling Julieta Makintach, one of three judges presiding over the Maradona case, is said to have potentially broken a string of ethics rules. Photo: AFP After weeks of hearings and testimony from over 40 witnesses, an Argentine court has nullified the trial of late football legend Diego Maradona's medical team due to a scandal over a TV miniseries. A new trial will have to start from scratch, with three new judges, in a case already long delayed into Maradona's death in 2020, allegedly due to medical negligence. Judge Julieta Makintach was forced to step down from the case, which began on March 11, this week after it emerged she had been involved in a documentary miniseries about the case, potentially breaking a string of ethics rules. Her colleague, Maximiliano Savarino, annulled the trial on Thursday, saying Makintach's behavior had "caused prejudice" to proceedings that have already heard hours of painful, sometimes tearful, testimony from witnesses, including Maradona's children. "I am not calm. I am angry. I hate them!" the footballer's daughter Jana Maradona said outside the court on Thursday. Ex-partner Veronica Ojeda described the events as "outrageous". But she added: "if I have to do it [testify] a thousand times more, I will." Maradona – considered one of the world's greatest ever players – died in November 2020 at the age of 60 while recovering from brain surgery. He was found to have died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema – a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs – two weeks after going under the knife. His seven-strong medical team is on trial over the conditions of his home convalescence, described by prosecutors as grossly negligent. No date has been set for the new trial, but the prosecution has said it hopes for a restart this year. (AFP)
