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Analysts predict Beijing will opt for a behind-the-scenes role over direct intervention as tensions build between Southeast Asian countries

Thailand’s top lawmaker will arrive in China on Sunday for a week-long visit as his country is roiled by a political crisis that threatens to topple its coalition government.

Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, speaker of the Thai House of Representatives, will visit China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Zhao Leji, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, without giving further details.

Wan Noor’s trip comes as Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra battles to hold on to power amid an uproar over a leaked phone call between her and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen about the border dispute.

In the call leaked on Wednesday, Paetongtarn called Hun Sen “uncle” and criticised a military commander, prompting widespread anger and a public apology from the prime minister.

Bhumjaithai, the second-biggest party in the coalition, quit the alliance the same day and another coalition partner has threatened to follow suit unless Paetongtarn steps down.

The Thai prime minister’s call with Hun Sen was an attempt to resolve a weeks-long stand-off following a clash on May 28 that left one Cambodian soldier dead.

On this day 20 years ago, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen succeeded Tung Chee-hwa as Hong Kong’s leader, a post he held until 2012

This article was first published on June 22, 2005.

Donald Tsang Yam-kuen on Tuesday (June 21, 2005) called on local people to join him in starting a new chapter for Hong Kong following his appointment as chief executive, saying he would safeguard the overall interests of the city with concrete action.

The salesman-turned-leader pledged to engage in dialogue with people from different walks of life and reach out to the public through district visits.

“Without Beijing’s and the public’s support, I will have nothing,” he said.

Premier Wen Jiabao, who signed the appointment decree installing Mr Tsang as chief executive after a State Council meeting, said he believed the Hong Kong government under Mr Tsang could reap greater achievements in promoting the city’s prosperity and stability.

Mr Wen praised Mr Tsang for making a great contribution to safeguarding the “one country, two systems” concept and the Basic Law, as well as maintaining the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong while serving as financial secretary and chief secretary.

Competition featuring 13 amateur, city-based teams has become a commercial juggernaut in the past month

Football coach Pan Xin was impressed by the vibrant atmosphere at the Jiangsu City Football League’s opening match a month ago, but admits to being surprised it has persisted.

The game drew a large crowd – including senior provincial officials – with cheerleaders adding a dash of colour, and was broadcast live by state media, he said.

“It felt like a great start to the event, but I didn’t anticipate such a lasting impact,” said Pan, who coaches a youth football team in Danyang, Jiangsu province.

Over the past month, the grass-roots football league – known colloquially as the Su Super League – has attracted millions of online viewers and thousands of fans to stadiums, sparking a consumption boom in products ranging from match tickets to local specialities.

Chinese soccer fans, repeatedly disappointed by the men’s national football team, which was knocked out of the Asian qualifiers for next year’s World Cup after losing to Indonesia earlier this month, are showing unprecedented enthusiasm for the amateur tournament in the east coast province.

Featuring 13 city-based teams with players from diverse backgrounds, the league has become a commercial juggernaut, with the rekindled passion boosting consumption.

Swimmer and co-founder of Hong Kong-based mental health charity Mind the Waves named IOC mental health ambassador.

Hong Kong Olympic hero Camille Cheng Lily-mei’s work outside the pool was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier this month, when she was named one of the body’s first mental health ambassadors.

Cheng, who has represented Hong Kong at three Olympic Games, travelled to Lausanne, Switzerland, for the IOC Consensus Meeting on Mental Health for Elite Athletes in early June after being invited to serve as the female representative for Asia.

The IOC’s mental health ambassador scheme is a new initiative aimed at putting athletes’ voices and lived experiences at the centre of efforts to address mental health challenges and disorders in elite sport.

Cheng is the co-founder of Hong Kong-based mental health charity Mind the Waves.

“There’ll be 12 representatives: a female representative and a male representative from the Americas, Asia, Oceania, Europe, Africa, and then two more,” Cheng said.

“It is up to the ambassador to be very proactive in how we bring what the IOC is doing in this space to our own region.

Professor David Hui of Chinese University warns that new outbreaks will occur every six to nine months

Hong Kong’s vulnerable groups should get vaccinated against Covid-19 infections once a year as new outbreaks will occur every six to nine months, a medical expert has urged.

David Hui Shu-cheong, a professor of respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, made the appeal on Saturday while noting that the current wave of Covid-19 infections had been declining since late last month and could end in July or August.

“The current outbreak started in April, peaked at the end of May and is now beginning to subside,” he told a radio programme.

“High-risk groups such as the chronically ill, children, the elderly and those with weakened immunity can easily develop complications such as pneumonia, respiratory failure or even die once infected with the Covid-19 virus.”

Authorities have reported six severe paediatric Covid cases so far this year, none of which have been fatal. Two of the children had underlying illnesses and four were unvaccinated.

Hui said that as Covid-19 antibodies were not long-lasting, there would be periodic decreases in overall community immunity and new outbreaks occurring in cycles – about once every six to nine months.

Huawei is expected to ship about 700,000 Ascend AI processors in 2025, according to Mizuho estimates

The fake news barrage has included clips of Trump, Pakistan’s defence minister and an Iranian official making explosive, false claims

One doctored clip appeared to show Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif claiming that Islamabad had tipped off Tehran about Israel’s surprise assault – an attack that came just two days before Iranian and US negotiators were set to meet in Oman.

Taiwan depends on US military presence to act as a bulwark against Beijing, but America may find itself stretched in a volatile world

Analysts said the United States would need to look at ways to balance immediate operational needs in the Middle East with long-term strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, as fluctuating and prolonged conflicts made greater demands on American military resources.

The carrier cancelled plans to dock in Vietnam this week, Reuters reported on Monday citing sources, one of whom said the US embassy in Hanoi had mentioned “an emergent operational requirement”.

US Navy jets fly over American aircraft carrier in South China Sea

The redeployment comes as arch-enemies Israel and Iran are engaged in their worst hostilities in decades.

Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs lays down direction for city’s development at high-level national security forum

Hong Kong should remain vigilant over “complex and severe” external and internal national security threats it still faces, while also leveraging its unique strengths to boost connectivity with the world and integrate with the country, a senior Beijing official has said.

Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, on Saturday laid down directions for Hong Kong which he said had entered a new “chapter” of development after the implementation of the national security law five years ago.

The local government should improve its governance, react to trends in a timely manner and solve deep-seated conflicts in society, while the city should also remain vigilant over persistent national security threats, he stressed.

“One should not assume that all is well in Hong Kong. We should never forget about the pain when the wounds are healed,” Xia said, warning there were still people who were determined to smear the law or threaten authorities with new forms of “soft resistance”.

“The situation facing Hong Kong in maintaining national security remains complex and severe,” he added. “[The city] should maintain and consolidate its hard-earned stability through firmly grasping the practical requirements of maintaining national security under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.”

Xia, who is in Hong Kong for a five-day inspection of the city, was speaking at a high-level forum marking the fifth anniversary of the Beijing-imposed national security law.

Shen says he never finds caring for her to be a burden, is committed to providing her with the best life possible

A Chinese man devoted over a decade to caring for his fiancée after a car accident reduced her IQ to that of a five-year-old, touching many hearts online.

Shen Lan, 38, has committed himself to looking after Li Mei for the past 10 years in the Zhejiang province of eastern China.

In 2014, just before their wedding, Li suffered severe injuries in a traffic accident. She was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), where doctors issued three critical illness notices.

Li incurred significant damage to the left side of her brain. The medical team informed Shen that even if they managed to save her life, she might remain in a vegetative state.

Desperate for her recovery, Shen pleaded with them to do everything possible to save her and cared for her every day. Remarkably, Li awakened after three months.