Hong Kong Customs busted three suspected smuggling cases involving restricted drugs valued at about HK$250,000. Officers discovered a large amount of Covid-19 oral drugs and restricted aphrodisiacs when searching three male travelers from India, who transited from Thailand to Hong Kong. The smuggled drugs included Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medicine formulation used for the treatment of Covid19, and Primovir, another drug to treat Covid. Customs stated that the above three cases are still under investigation and stressed that smuggling is a severe offense, with the highest sentence being a HK$2 million fine and 7 years imprisonment. In addition, any person who moves medicine without a permit will also be breaking the law, with the highest sentence being a HK$500,000 fine and 2 years imprisonment.

(AFP)A magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook eastern Indonesia and southern Philippines on Wednesday, with no damage immediately reported and no tsunami warning issued. Resident Pius Ohoiwutun said some people ran from houses when the quake shook. The undersea quake was also felt in several provinces and cities across the southern Philippines, but there was no immediate reports of injuries or damage. No tsunami warning was issued by Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. A magnitude 6.1 quake also shook eastern Indonesia earlier Wednesday morning.

Nearly 70 percent of overseas enterprises indicated intentions to expand their footprint in the Greater Bay Area in the next three years and Hong Kong remained the most popular destination, a HSBC survey found. The poll took in 3,400 enterprises in 16 markets, including South Korea and Japan, with respondents operating in or eyeing entry into the Chinese market. Separately, BOC Hong Kong (2388) forecasts the SAR economy will grow 2.8 percent and the jobless rate drop to 3.1 percent this year, driven by tourism and consumption recoveries. This came as PwC's annual Global CEO Survey showed nearly three quarters of chief executives believe global growth will decline over the next 12 months. The poll took in 4,410 CEOs in 105 countries and territories in October and November.

To achieve emission reduction targets, Gammon Construction introduced Hong Kong’s first battery-powered crawler crane on Tuesday. The new crawler crane could have a net carbon saving of nearly 76 metric tonnes of CO2e annually. In addition, the crawler crane comes with a 95% recyclable battery with a short charging time of 4.5 hours. Gammon Chief Executive Kevin O’Brien stated that introducing the first electric crawler crane to Hong Kong demonstrates the company’s commitment towards net zero. The builder is setting two targets for 2033: cutting 55 percent of the company’s absolute energy-related emissions and reducing the company’s indirect emissions by 33 percent.

Commuters crowded in the High-speed rail station on Tuesday morning as 14,000 tickets were made available today for them to travel via the transportation tool between Hong Kong and the mainland. The transport authority announced Monday to increase the quota by 4,000 for the relaunched Hong Kong-Mainland cross-border trains, offering 7,000 tickets respectively for commuters to depart from or arrive in Hong Kong every day. Hundreds of passengers flocked into the West Kowloon Station, waiting in queue to purchase tickets on Tuesday morning. However, lawmaker Gary Zhang Xinyu said only one-third of high-speed rail transport capacity was taken into use currently, urging a further increase of tickets provided. "I believe there is still a large space for increasing ticket amounts as the high-speed rail trains are already able to serve 40,000 to 50,000 passengers each day," he said in a radio program today.

Price hike: Gasoline up P0.95, diesel by P0.50An attendant (R) fills up a motorcycle with gasoline at a petrol station in Manila on March 15, 2022. MANILA, Philippines — Oil companies are raising gasoline and diesel prices today, while a minimal rollback is being implemented on kerosene. In separate advisories yesterday, oil firms said they would increase gasoline prices by P0.95 per liter and diesel prices by P0.50 per liter. The price adjustments will take effect at 6 a.m. today for most companies, except for Caltex, which implemented the adjustments at 12:01 a.m. and Cleanfuel at 4:01 p.m. Last week, diesel prices were slashed by P2.80 per liter, kerosene by P2.10 per liter and gasoline by P0.75 per liter, ending three consecutive weeks of increases for gasoline and kerosene, while also preventing two straight weeks of price hike for diesel.

ForumThe World Economic Forum (WEF) held in the town of Davos, Switzerland is as it says it is: a forum. The Davos forum attracts some of the most influential thinkers, key decision-makers and rising political stars. But the forum, nevertheless, serves to call global attention to the issues of the day and the possible policy actions to address them. No one in the forum is interested in listening to yet another pitch to participate in a sovereign wealth fund that has no proven record for superior returns. This cannot be done, obviously, in the case of participation in a global forum.

Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro is escorted by the Carabinieri after his arrest in the city of Palermo in Sicily on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE HANDOUT VIDEO GRAB VIA AFP Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro is escorted by the Carabinieri after his arrest in the city of Palermo in Sicily on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE HANDOUT VIDEO GRAB VIA AFPROME: Antimafia police caught Sicilian godfather Matteo Messina Denaro on Monday, ending a 30-year manhunt for Italy's most wanted fugitive. Criminology expert Anna Sergi at the University of Essex said Messina Denaro was "the last one, the most resilient one, the 'purest' Sicilian mafioso remaining." Messina Denaro was arrested a day after the 30th anniversary of the arrest of Salvatore "The Beast" Riina, the Cosa Nostra boss who died in 2017.

Brownlee, wearing a Barong Tagalog, answered queries from senators, sometimes in Filipino. (Senate PRIB Photo)By NIKOLE JAVIERNewly naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee took his oath of allegiance to the Philippines on Monday, Jan. 16, less than 24 hours after winning his sixth championship title in the PBA. I’m just very honored and blessed to be a Filipino and represent the country in the right way. Show that Filipino pride to the world and on the international stage for basketball,” said Brownlee. Brownlee will also see action for the Philippines in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.

Two people are dead and another 12 are missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China, underscoring the lingering problem the world’s No. The blast around 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Panjin city, Liaoning province, also left 34 people injured, China Central Television reported, citing local officials. The fire at the the Panjin Haoye Chemical Co. facility was still burning Monday, the state broadcaster said, though it was no longer spreading. CCTV said authorities hadn’t detected any major air-quality issues in Panjin, a city of about 1.4 million people that attracts tourists to wetlands covered by a bright red plant. In 2019, the nation closed an industrial park in Jiangsu where a blast killed some 78 people and left hundreds others injured.

Markets mostly rose in Asia on Monday, following another rally on Wall Street fuelled by optimism over the world economy as inflation slows and China reopens to the world. And HSBC's Frederic Neumann said China's emergence from almost three years of strict virus containment measures would likely boost the global economy. The brighter outlook helped Asian markets on Monday. Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Wellington and Jakarta all rose, while Hong Kong was flat. And there is growing optimism that the worst-case scenario of a so-called hard landing for the economy -- caused by soaring borrowing costs -- will not happen.

POKHARA, Nepal: A plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge Sunday while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard. AIR TRAGEDY Nepalese rescue workers and civilians gather around the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal, on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. Authorities in Nepal said 68 people have been confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara. PHOTO BY AP AIR TRAGEDY Nepalese rescue workers and civilians gather around the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal, on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. Authorities in Nepal said 68 people have been confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara.

A 68-year-old woman has died on Monday after falling into a mixer at a Tsuen Wan factory that produces traditional Chinese snacks. The worker is believed to have been crushed to death after she fainted and dipped her head into the mixer when operating the machine. Unfortunately, the woman died after resuscitation attempts. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident and have listed the case as an industrial accident. The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims said they have already gotten in touch with the victim’s family members and will provide all necessary assistance.

A good startDespite their poor performance last year, global equities had a very good start this year. The S&P 500 is up 4.2 percent year-to-date and the MSCI All-Country World Index (ACWI) ETF has gained 5.7 percent. China’s reboundThe strong start of equities this year was partly driven by the surge in Chinese stocks. Year-to-date, MSCI China is up 13.4 percent while Hong Kong is up 9.9 percent. Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic believes that the Fed should raise interest rates above five percent and then go on hold for a long time.

First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos and the administration’s top economic managers flew yesterday with the President in his “sales pitch” for the soon to be created sovereign wealth fund of the Philippines. These economic missions take place even while the creation of the proposed sovereign wealth fund is still being crafted at the legislative mills of the 19th Congress. To clearly prescribe its purpose, Medalla pointed out, the proposed sovereign wealth fund should really bankroll development projects for the country. Who would still oppose the sovereign wealth fund if spent for the development of the country? But sovereign guarantee remains a big concern as far as methinks.