The trial of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who is accused of conspiring to commit foreign collusion and publish seditious material, enters its seventh day on Monday, with the prosecution reading out the admitted facts at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court. The admitted facts included background information on the three companies under Apple Daily's parent company Next Digital – Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited, as well as the positions and roles of the defendants, including Lai, within Apple Daily and Next Digital. The prosecution also read out details of the defendants’ arrest and their communication records through phone messaging applications. The defense also told the court it intended to play video evidence in court after the admitted facts had been read, which would take four to six days. The court will decide later whether to accept this request.

SHIKA, Japan: The death toll from Japan's New Year's Day earthquake jumped to 161 on Monday as snow complicated relief efforts with more than 2,000 people still cut off and many others lacking power or in crowded emergency shelters. Authorities said 103 people were still missing after the 7.5-magnitude quake that toppled buildings, sparked a major fire and triggered tsunami waves over a meter high in the central Ishikawa region.

SING TAO Previous NextFinancial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po says it might be time for the government to adjust public service charges amid an estimated HK$140 billion deficit in the last fiscal year. Chan said the government has put a lot of resources into fighting the pandemic, with public expenditure skyrocketing at the same time. "Many public services' charges have not been adjusted for a long time, and some services under the user pays principle are also far from covering the cost," Chan said. The government will also ensure the underprivileged will get appropriate support and basic public services under Hong Kong's social security system. In the long run, Chan believes, the key to increasing government revenue is a prosperous economic development.

MANILA, Philippines — Devotees of the Black Nazarene who will participate in the Traslacion on Tuesday should prepare for wet weather, state weather bureau PAGASA said. “Metro Manila will be partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains on Monday and Wednesday, while partly cloudy to cloudy skies with possible rain showers on Tuesday,” the weather agency said. PAGASA also said that residents of Bicol region, Eastern Visayas, and Quezon province will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms caused by the shear line from Monday to Wednesday. Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains are expected over the rest of Luzon. Meanwhile, easterlies will bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms over the rest of the country.

Green group calls for a smoke- and litter-free TraslacionCatholic devotees parade images of the Black Nazarene along Carriedo Street in Manila to receive blessings at the Quiapo Church on January 3, 2024. In a release Sunday, EcoWaste Coalition issued a call for strict adherence to Rizal Park’s “no smoking, no littering” policy. Millions of devotees are expected to visit Rizal Park for the vigil and solemn Mass, and Traslacion, or the procession of the venerated image of the Black Nazarene on January 9. “Keeping Rizal Park and the entire Traslacion smoke- and litter-free will be a huge challenge, but we remain hopeful that it can be achieved with the devotees leading the way,” said EcoWaste Coalition Ochie Tolentino. During the 2020 Traslacion re-enactment, EcoWaste Coalition found bins and bags at Rizal Park overflowing with mixed garbage.

KYIV: At least 11 people, including five children, were killed by a Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukraine town of Pokrovsk on Saturday, the regional governor said, as the bombardments intensify. Since late December, there has been an increase in the number of strikes in both Ukraine and Russia, with particularly heavy casualties, as the war triggered by Russia's invasion in February 2022 nears the end of its second year.

THE Asia-Pacific (APAC) region saw significant growth in 2023, and will likely remain the fastest-growing this year, an economist said. "The APAC economic outlook for 2024 is for continued rapid economic expansion, helped by resilient domestic demand in a number of large Asian emerging markets, including mainland China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines," S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Rajiv Biswas said.

A seven-year-old girl fell to her death in On Tat Estate in Sau Mau Ping on Saturday, which led the mother to have a mental breakdown sending her to hospital. Paramedics provided the girl with resuscitation but in vain, and the girl was pronounced dead at the scene. It is understood that the girl Chan was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder two years ago and had to see a doctor on a regular basis. Mok and Chan usually slept together in the living room to better convenience Mok when looking after Chan. Mok has another older daughter aged about 12 to 13, studying in secondary school, they also said.

IN its bid to achieve carbon neutrality, the leading mobility company and automotive manufacturer, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP), signed a retail supply contract (RSC) with a local supplier to provide green-backed electricity for its manufacturing operations. This move would allow TMP to achieve 100-percent renewable energy (RE) ratio by supplying approximately 90 percent of the company's total electricity requirement, complementing the rest of RE sourced on-site from an existing 1.46-megawatt rooftop solar power system.

At least 10 people were injured after a bus collided with a firetruck on Castle Peak Road outside Tai Wo Hau Sports Center on Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred around 2 pm this afternoon when the firetruck was heading in the direction of Tuen Mun. As the route 73X bus exited the stop on the far-left, it cut across the three lanes to get into the fast lane. The firetruck failed to brake in time and crashed into the rear end of the bus. Ten people on the bus were injured, including the driver, five male and four female passengers.

Baghdad, Iraq: A US strike in Baghdad on Thursday killed a military commander of the Hashed al-Shaabi, an ex-paramilitary faction of the grouping said, with an Iraqi security official reporting two deaths in a drone attack. The Iraqi government, supported by pro-Tehran factions, decried an "aggression". It accused a US-led international coalition but stopped short of pinning the blame on Washington, as regional tensions soar amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Hong Kong will roll out electronic driving licenses by the end of 2024 at the soonest, allowing drivers to use their phones to display the license without carrying a physical one. Still, drivers can choose to carry their physical driving licenses if they wish, the Transport Department said at a press conference on Friday afternoon. The electronic license will come with a QR code for police to scan when enforcing the law, the department noted. The department expects a dedicated one-stop electronic license application platform will be launched mid-2024. The four license offices will give out a total of 980 tickets a day to handle driving license services and applications for driving exams.

Displacement of SHS students, teachers in SUCs spawn concernsStudents listen attentively to their teacher during their face-to-face class at the Hands of Children School in Quezon City on August 19, 2022. MANILA, Philippines — Education groups have expressed worries over the impending displacement and limited options faced by students and teachers affected by the discontinuation of the senior high school (SHS) program in state universities and colleges (SUC). The two groups also expressed concerns over the 17,700 current Grade 11 students who will be “affected by dislocation” and the impact this will have on public school congestion. Another teachers' group, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), said that the directive may lead to more “overworked” public school teachers as a result of having to accommodate larger class sizes from the acceptance of student transferees. Under GASTPE, voucher subsidies or financial assistance is also given to private junior high school students.

NAIC, Cavite: The happy vacation of a whole family in Bicol turned gloomy after the van they were riding on their way home to Cubao, Quezon City, figured in an accident on Wednesday morning, January 3. Due to the sheer length of the trip, the driver may have fallen asleep, causing him to lose control of the van which crashed into a tree along Governor's Drive in Barangay Sabang here.

Freetown, Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone on Wednesday charged former president Ernest Bai Koroma with treason and other offenses for his alleged role in what authorities have called an attempted coup on November 26, authorities said. Koroma, who led the West African nation from 2007 to 2018, had previously been questioned, with authorities saying he was an official suspect in the organization of the coup attempt.