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'Troubled' teen goes on shooting rampage: Thai police

A 14-year-old boy in Thailand, described as "troubled" and "bullied" by a classmate, killed his grandparents before shooting dead five more people at a school on Friday, police said. First he shot dead his two grandparents, using his grandfather's handgun, then went to a secondary school in Nonthaburi province, bordering Bangkok, and killed five school staff, national police said in a statement. The 14-year-old perpetrator also died, the statement said, with a police official telling AFP he had killed himself. Officials earlier gave a higher toll and initially said students were among the victims. Dozens of police and emergency responders gathered outside the cordoned-off Debsirin Nonthaburi School, AFP journalists saw, while parents waited to pick up their children and tearful students and staff comforted each other outside. "I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to pursue my dreams," said Pawarisa Maylissa, a grade 12 student who hopes to attend medical school. "I heard many gunshots very loudly because it seemed the suspect was on the floor directly above us," she told AFP. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that "police interrogated his close friend who said the suspect had been under stress" related to his schooling. "His actions also suggested that he had clearly planned" the assault, Anutin added. "The gun was a registered firearm and was kept at a house, but somehow he gained access to it." The prime minister said more than 30 people were injured, with around nine in critical condition. The shooter was identified by local media as a student of the school. Purin Khumchoo, 17, said he was among the students who had nearly been shot. "He was my junior, but I had a feeling that he was a troubled kid. My group of friends who knew him said he was interested in the FBI and guns, and that he was bullied by many other students," Purin told AFP outside his school. "When I saw him aiming the gun at me, I thought he looked very professional, as if he had been trained for a long time." Photos published by local media show the suspect wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with several bullet casings visible on the ground. Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong pledged to provide mental health assistance to students and ramp up security measures at educational institutions. "We haven't checked whether students have brought weapons to school. Our level of security is not that tight," he told reporters at the school. Thongchai Thanakat, a motorcycle-taxi driver who has worked in the area for 20 years, said he was waiting to pick up passengers outside the school when he heard more than 10 gunshots and saw a stream of students rushing out. "Some of them weren't even wearing shoes," he told AFP. Anutin earlier called the shooting "a terrible incident", posing the question: "How could this happen in our country?" Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with around 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation – one for every seven inhabitants. Past promises of tightening gun laws have not prevented repeated shootings. Thai police shot and arrested a teenager who opened fire at a school in the south of the country in February, killing the principal and wounding two students. The teen had stabbed a police officer with a knife, stole his pistol and then used the weapon in the shooting. A local police chief said at the time that the suspect had been discharged from psychiatric hospitalisation. In 2022, an ex-policeman armed with a gun and a knife stormed into a nursery in the country's north, killing 24 children and 12 adults in one of Thailand's deadliest massacres. (AFP) Edited by Edmond Fong

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Huanggang port operations drill set for Thursday

A drill involving around 1,000 people will take place at the Hong Kong Port Area of the redeveloped Huanggang port next Thursday to test transport operations, according to Secretary for Security Chris Tang. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Tang noted that various tests have been conducted since the border crossing's Hong Kong Port Area was officially established under SAR's jurisdiction on July 31. He added that large-scale drills involving 5,000 to 20,000 participants will take place later to test the port's maximum capacity. “In the past, Huanggang port handled around 7,700 passenger trips per hour during peak periods. Our drill will simulate 20,000 passenger trips in one hour, which is more than double the current peak. If we can manage this flow of traffic, we believe daily operations in the future will be relatively smooth,” he said. Tang added that the port will only open after authorities ensure smooth operations. Edited by Aaron Tam

news.rthk.hk

Huanggang port operations drill set for Thursday

A drill involving around 1,000 people will take place at the Hong Kong Port Area of the redeveloped Huanggang port next Thursday to test transport operations, according to Secretary for Security Chris Tang. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Tang noted that various tests have been conducted since the border crossing's Hong Kong Port Area was officially established under SAR's jurisdiction on July 31. He added that large-scale drills involving 5,000 to 20,000 participants will take place later to test the port's maximum capacity. “In the past, Huanggang port handled around 7,700 passenger trips per hour during peak periods. Our drill will simulate 20,000 passenger trips in one hour, which is more than double the current peak. If we can manage this flow of traffic, we believe daily operations in the future will be relatively smooth,” he said. Tang added that the port will only open after authorities ensure smooth operations. Edited by Aaron Tam

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'Law changes on sex offences to be tabled by year-end'

Secretary for Security Chris Tang on Friday said the government aims to table legislative amendments to improve Hong Kong's sexual offence laws by the end of this year. The proposed changes include specifying 11 circumstances under which a victim will be deemed not to have consented to a sexual act, such as when the victim is mistaken about the nature or purpose of the act. The security chief noted that the administration’s target is to complete the legislative process within the current term of office. More than 6,000 submissions, he added, were received during a one-month public consultation that concluded on Wednesday. "Over 90 percent of the submissions supported our proposed amendments and offered constructive feedback. These results clearly demonstrate that our proposed amendments enjoy the support of the majority of the public and all sectors of society," Tang said. "The feedback covered various aspects of the proposal, including non-consensual sexual offences involving children and persons with mental disabilities, as well as measures to strengthen protection for victims." On strengthening child protection, Tang said the Hong Kong Bar Association, in its submission, stated that it broadly agrees with creating a new offence of persistent sexual abuse of a child. As for whether deepfake images should be classified as sexual offences, Tang stressed that one proposal is to expand sexual offence legislation to cover the transmission of sexual images to children. He added that the Crimes Ordinance already covers offences related to deepfake images, and that the secretary for justice is also leading a committee to conduct a broader review of offences related to artificial intelligence. Edited by Aaron Tam

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Robotics, AI, pharma drive new export boom for nation

Robots, AI-related products and innovative drugs are emerging as new drivers of China's export growth as the country expands into higher-value industries driven by innovation. In July, the country's exports rose 17.8 percent year on year in yuan-denominated terms, with high-tech products, including industrial robots and 3D printers, contributing nearly 60 percent of the total increase, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday. Exports of industrial robots jumped 13.2 percent to 7.34 billion yuan. This trend builds on the momentum from 2025, when China became a net exporter of industrial robots for the first time. Beyond industrial robots, Chinese-made consumer and humanoid robots are also finding widespread applications in manufacturing and everyday life around the world. Official data showed that in the first half of this year, exports of surgical robots climbed 3.3-fold to 480 million yuan, while exports of cleaning robots and intelligent bionic robots, including humanoid robots, robotic dogs and biomimetic fish and birds, reached 18.09 billion yuan. AI-related exports also gained momentum. In the January-June period, exports of electronic components and computer parts both posted double-digit growth, contributing a combined 6.9 percentage points to overall export growth. Beyond manufactured goods, China's technology exports now extend to digital services, with companies increasingly providing AI algorithms, cloud computing and digital solutions to overseas markets. OpenRouter, a global platform that aggregates large language models, said that all of the six most-used models on its platform in July were open-source models developed in China. The shift is also visible in the pharmaceutical industry, where Chinese companies are increasingly taking their innovations global through licensing deals for new drugs. In the first half, Chinese companies signed 81 outbound licensing agreements for innovative drugs with partners in 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, France and Italy. The total deal value reached 80 percent of the full-year figure for 2025. China now accounts for about 30 percent of the world's new drugs under development, ranking second globally, according to the National Medical Products Administration. (Xinhua) Edited by Aaron Tam

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CE lobbies Asean chief for the SAR's entry into RCEP

Chief Executive John Lee said the government will continue to lobby support for the SAR's early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership during a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Kao Kim Hourn. Welcoming Kao's visit to the SAR, Lee said Hong Kong will continue to maintain close exchanges with the Asean Secretariat, continue to deepen exchanges and co-operation with Asean member states in areas such as trade, investment, finance, logistics and innovation and technology, and to jointly promote regional economic development and achieve mutual benefits and win-win outcomes. Lee also touted Hong Kong's edge as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder" that will provide Asean enterprises with a high-quality business environment and diversified professional services. Also attending the meeting was the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau. Edited by Aaron Tam

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Hundreds of thousands flee Typhoon Dolphin in Japan

Hundreds of thousands of people in southwestern Japan were ordered to evacuate and more than 500 flights cancelled on Friday as slow-moving ⁠Typhoon Dolphin approached the region, bringing violent winds, heavy rain and high waves. The Category 1 typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometres per hour with gusts reaching 198 kmh and was nearing a chain of islands between the Kyushu region and ⁠Okinawa prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency ⁠said. Authorities issued evacuation orders ⁠for nearly 260,000 residents in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, while Toyota suspended work ⁠at nine factories on Friday. Dolphin was expected to maintain its strength as it approached Okinawa prefecture, raising the risk of winds that could damage ⁠or collapse some structures, authorities warned. A linear rain band – or a narrow band of intense precipitation and thunderstorms – could also develop, possibly triggering flooding, the weather agency said. The large storm was also enveloping much of the southernmost main island of Kyushu with ⁠strong winds, including Kumamoto prefecture, still reeling from last week's magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Some 6,700 Kumamoto residents remain in evacuation centres after many houses collapsed. The weather agency has also warned of heatstroke risks with temperatures expected to reach ⁠36 degrees Celsius in some areas. (Reuters) Edited by Aaron Tam

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Most outdoor workers 'unaware of heat-stress rules'

A union on Friday urged the Labour Department to raise awareness of its work guidelines for hot weather days, after a survey revealed that more than half of outdoor workers are unfamiliar with them. Its guidance notes on prevention of heat stroke at work were updated and reissued this April in a third edition, with more than 200 heat stress at work warnings being issued since they were first published in 2023. However, a recent survey of more than 500 outdoor workers – street cleaners, security guards, gardeners and delivery riders – conducted by the Service Industry General Union found that more than half of the respondents were unaware of or unclear about the guidelines. “Around 11 percent of workers are completely unaware that these guidelines even exist, and when combined with those who are unclear about them, the figure exceeds half,” the union's vice-president Horace Chan said. “What do we mean by ‘unclear’? The guidelines categorise workload into ‘moderate’, ‘light’ and ‘heavy’, amongst other classifications. "Some workers simply do not know which category their work falls into, and as their employer has not told them, how are they supposed to know how much rest time they are entitled to?” The survey also found 39 percent had worked continuously or intermittently outdoors for more than four hours while 37 percent said their employers had not arranged for them to take additional rest periods. The union called on authorities to mandate rest periods by law and establish official standards for working hours during hot weather. It also urged the government to make heat stroke a prescribed occupational disease to guarantee automatic legal compensation. Edited by Aaron Tam

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