An Iranian ship believed to be a base for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and anchored for years in the Red Sea off Yemen has been attacked, Tehran acknowledged Wednesday.
A Mrs World winner facing criminal charges after an on-stage fracas at a Sri Lankan beauty pageant has relinquished her title, organisers said Wednesday.
Police in the US state of Ohio fatally shot a Black teenager who appeared to be lunging at another person with a knife, less than an hour before former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd.
Tesla said sorry and back-pedalled on its “no compromise” attitude towards what it called “unreasonable” customer grievance, as it succumbed to pressure on social media by some of its most important buyers and local authorities in the world’s largest market for electric vehicles. The apology, issued late on Tuesday night, came a day after a protest at the Shanghai Auto Show, where a woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “brake malfunction” and a Tesla logo jumped on top of the carmaker’s vehicle. She was eventually dragged away by security guards. “We are deeply sorry for the delay in resolving the owner’s issue,” Tesla said on its official account on the Weibo microblog site. “We always try our best to actively communicate with our [customers], look for solutions and we will fulfil our responsibility.”Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The about-turn in Tesla’s public relations management underscores the importance of China’s market to the carmaker’s sales, and its stock price. Tesla delivered a record 184,800 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter, buoyed by rising demand in China, where the carmaker sold 68,982 vehicles, or 37.3 per cent of global deliveries in the same period. “Users’ complaints about the quality of its Chinese-made cars are sounding an alarm at Tesla,” said Eric Han, a senior manager with the business advisory firm Shanghai Suolei. “It is not enough to knock down Tesla’s sales, but it does damage its image.” For now, Tesla remains the runaway winner in delivering premium electric vehicles in China, priced more than 300,000 yuan (US$46,160) in the mainland’s premium EV segment. Gigafactory 3 delivered 35,478 vehicles in March, more than double the 17,259 electric cars delivered by Tesla’s three New York-listed Chinese competitors NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto. Monday’s protest at the premier trade show of the world’s largest vehicle market was not Tesla’s first run-in against Chinese public opinion. The carmaker was named last December by the online technology media PingWest, which cited unnamed former and current employees in describing its US$2 billion factory a “Giga-sweatshop,” along with claims that Tesla had used substandard components in its locally assembled Model 3 vehicles. Tesla denied the accusations and said it would sue PingWest. Tesla’s executives were hauled before five ministry-level authorities in February, and grilled about the quality of its Shanghai-made Model 3s. The carmaker, which delivered 140,000 Model 3s last year, pledged to “make rectifications,” according to media reports. In the same month, Tesla apologised to China’s State Grid – the state-owned utility – for “misleading consumers” in a war of words over what damaged the inverters on a batch of Model 3 vehicles. Another Chinese Tesla challenger? Geely launches its first electric car Monday’s protest stunt at the Shanghai Auto Show quickly snowballed, as video clips of the yelling woman on the roof of a Model 3 quickly went viral. It did not take long for China’s state media to weigh in on Tesla, after the carmaker maintained on Monday that it would “not compromise” on “unreasonable” customer complaints. “Who gave Tesla the courage to not compromise?” asked a headline on an article published on Tuesday morning by Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese government’s mouthpiece media. Changanjian, the social media account operated by China’s top law enforcement agency, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, beseeched Tesla to “respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations.” “Where is Tesla’s responsibility, if the pioneering carmaker cannot provide safe products and cannot provide solutions to users when issues emerge?” according to the blog. Tesla Shanghai’s vice-president Tao Lin, who heads the carmaker’s communications and government affairs, was absent at an April 21 panel discussion about supply chains at the 2021 Boao Forum for Asia conference in Hainan, in which she was originally scheduled to speak. In its response, Tesla said it “respects and firmly complies with decisions of the relevant government departments, respects consumers, abides by laws and regulations, and actively cooperates with all investigations by government authorities,” according to the carmaker’s statement. “Tesla, as always, is grateful for the trust and tolerance given by our consumers, netizens and media friends, and listens attentively to suggestions as well as criticisms.” Additional reporting from Orange Wang at the 2021 Boao Forum for Asia in HainanMore from South China Morning Post:Tesla protest at Shanghai Auto Show 2021 ends with woman dragged off by security after climbing onto car and shoutingTesla drops lawsuit against former engineer, ending theft allegations that dragged in Chinese competitor XpengChinese Tesla rival NIO targets Europe with its smart EVs as it takes a first step towards going globalTesla, recharge: can China’s EV brands dethrone Elon Musk? Start-ups Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng are going global with cheaper electric cars for allTesla’s Chinese rival Xpeng ups the self-driving game with world’s first mass-produced LiDAR in P5 sedan, defying Elon MuskThis article Tesla says sorry to Chinese buyers in U-turn to its ‘no compromise’ on ‘unreasonable’ customer grievances as pressure mounts on social media and state press first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Kwa Kim Li, a cousin of PM Lee, faces complaints on her conduct in the preparation of the late Lee Kuan Yew's will.
At least 49 passengers on a flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said, as the financial hub introduced an emergency ban on all flights from India in a crackdown over a new wave of cases.All of the passengers who tested positive flew into Hong Kong on a flight run by Indian operator Vistara on April 4.
SpaceX is preparing to carry four astronauts to a crowded International Space Station on Thursday, in the second routine mission since the United States resumed crewed space flight, and the first with a European.
A police manhunt is under way for a gang of attackers who assaulted two men with bamboo poles on a Hong Kong street in the early hours of Wednesday. A video circulating online shows several assailants beating the two victims with one- to two-metre-long poles as they lay in the road, trying to shield themselves from the blows with their arms. The footage also captured the aftermath of the attack, showing one of the victims lying on the ground with his face covered in blood when police arrived.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Five students among 22 arrested following illegal drugs and liquor seizure Officers were called to Yee Kuk Street in Sham Shui Po after receiving a report of fighting from a passer-by at 1.41am. One of the victims, a 37-year-old man, suffered injuries to his forehead, right forearm and right knee. According to police, the other man, aged 36, was his colleague, and was experiencing pain all over his body after the attack. The pair were taken to Caritas Medical Centre in the same district for treatment. Officers combed the area, but no arrests were made. Police are searching for eight to 10 men in connection with the attack, according to the force. Elderly man dies in hospital after being rescued from burning flat in Sham Shui Po A police source said the two victims had been heading home after a night of heavy drinking at the time of the attack. “We believe they had had a dispute with the others while on the way home, and then they were assaulted,” the source said. The bamboo poles used in the attack were recovered at the scene, and officers have checked surveillance camera footage from the area to gather evidence. Detectives from the Sham Shui Po criminal investigation unit are handling the case. In 2020, police dealt with 3,514 reports of serious assault across the city. There were 3,902 cases the previous year. This article Hong Kong police seek gang of assailants who attacked pair with bamboo poles in Sham Shui Po first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said no nation should dictate global rules or interfere in other countries, as Beijing continued to signal its unhappiness over what it sees as growing international meddling in its affairs. Without naming any country, Xi made his remarks by video link to more than 2,000 officials and business executives attending the annual Boao Forum for Asia in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. “The destiny and future of the world should be decided by all nations, and rules set up just by one or several countries should not be imposed on others,” Xi said. “The whole world should not be led by unilateralism of individual countries.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. “Equality, mutual respect and trust should be at the forefront when countries are dealing with each other. It is unpopular to arrogantly instruct others and interfere in internal affairs.” China has announced record growth of 18.3 per cent for the first quarter as its economy recovers from the damage caused by the coronavirus, but its relationship with the United States has yet to show a similar rebound. Last Friday, US President Joe Biden issued a joint statement with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga that indicated China was a geopolitical adversary – which Beijing described as a move to “sow division”. Washington has also begun to consolidate its alliances in Europe and Asia, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressing “the need to engage China from a position of strength”. The US, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed coordinated sanctions on China over alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, which Beijing denies. “As we are going through the Covid-19 pandemic, people of all countries have more clearly realised that it is necessary to abandon the cold war mentality and zero-sum game, and oppose any form of new cold war and ideological confrontation,” Xi said. In the audience were prominent business US leaders including Apple’s Tim Cook, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman and Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio. The annual Boao conference is China’s top government-sponsored business forum, sometimes dubbed the Chinese version of the World Economic Forum in Davos. It was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus outbreak. In an apparent indication of decoupling between the US and China, Biden said on Friday the United States and Japan would jointly invest in areas such as 5G technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genomics and semiconductor supply chains. Washington’s planned investment in domestic chip production, meanwhile, is widely seen as an attempt to attract South Korean and Taiwanese chip makers to the US. China has also been calling for South Korean companies to expand cooperation in technology including semiconductors, in which there is a global shortage. Xi told the forum that China would keep opening up its economy to world business and that there should be integration of supply chains, the digital economy and artificial intelligence. “Any attempts to build walls and decouple are violating economic laws and market rules, which is harming others and detrimental to oneself,” he said. What semiconductors are and why China needs to make them itself Xi promised China would work with other nations to deal with climate change, but did not say whether he would attend a Biden-hosted climate summit on Thursday. The president also defended the Belt and Road Initiative, which has come under scrutiny as it extends Beijing’s geopolitical influence. Xi said the infrastructure investment strategy was open to all nations and was not a “private road for a particular single nation”. Zhu Jiejin, a professor of international relations with Fudan Univiersity in Shanghai, said Xi’s speech at Boao highlighted China’s wish to promote its own agenda. “Boao is an opportunity to highlight China’s role in Asia and China’s voice in a multilateral setting,” Zhu said. “The Asia Pacific region will continue to be an important theatre of competition between China and the US, and the starting point of China’s global governance strategy. “The US has long had a presence in Asia. But China, as a regional country, has a good foundation and should continue to amplify its advantage.” Additional reporting by Catherine Wong and Liu ZhenMore from South China Morning Post:Xinjiang: will the West’s sanctions on China force the issue or unravel?US and China pledge to work together on climate change after John Kerry visitChina accuses US and Japan of sowing division after Biden and Suga vow to counter ‘intimidation’This article Xi Jinping rebukes nations who ‘arrogantly instruct others and interfere’ first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Some applauded her friend for censoring bum and exposed skin. This article, Beauty influencer sorry for ‘dragging’ Islamic evangelist in sexy photo-op, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company.
Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday thanked well-wishers for their messages of support after the death of her husband, Prince Philip, as she turned 95 and spent her first birthday without him in more than seven decades.
Blackstone Group is seeking to invest in more properties in Singapore after buying the Sandcrawler for S$176 million from Lucas Real Estate.
A 90-year-old Hong Kong woman has been conned out of US$32million by fraudsters posing as Chinese officials, police said, in the city's biggest recorded phone scam.
Australia on Wednesday announced it would revoke a state government's deal to join China's Belt and Road Initiative, saying it was inconsistent with the nation's foreign policy.
Joe Biden's emotional voice on the call to George Floyd's family told the story of his presidency: "I wish I were there just to put my arms around you."
A trader linked to a fraud involving about $1 billion was handed five additional charges related to cheating on Tuesday (20 April).
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had hoped a fight over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed would result in an easy win -- placating the ultra-conservative quarters at home while being hailed as a defender of Islam abroad.
At least 53 passengers on a flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday, as the Chinese financial hub introduced an emergency ban on arrivals from India over a new wave of cases.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 14 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Tuesday (20 April) including one new case of locally transmitted infection, taking the country's total case count to 60,865.
Moscow's military build-up on the border with Ukraine is even bigger than in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, describing the deployment as "very seriously concerning."
Singapore prosecutors on Tuesday filed five additional charges against businessman Ng Yu Zhi in relation to a scheme that allegedly raised at least S$1 billion ($746 million) from investors to fund bogus nickel trades. The alleged fraud, which would be one of the city-state's biggest, follows a string of scandals involving Singapore trading firms that have shaken investor and banker confidence in the sector over the last year when some commodities, including nickel, have rallied strongly. The new charges of cheating against Ng were read out in Singapore's State Court.
