Stephanie Wong
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/ 5 February 2008

China predicts ‘final victory’ in weather war

China’s prime minister said ”victory” was in sight on Tuesday with the country finally overcoming huge transport and power problems caused by weeks of savage weather. A huge backlog of passengers left stranded at airports, train stations and bus depots by blizzards and icy temperatures in the last three weeks appeared to be clearing.

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/ 25 December 2007

Thaksin vows to return to Thailand

Deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday he wanted to return to Thailand in February, as he called for reconciliation with the military following weekend elections. Thaksin, who was deposed by a military coup 15 months ago, also insisted he did not want to return to politics following the polls.

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/ 27 August 2007

Vast new casino raises the stakes in Macau

The world’s largest casino-resort, a gaudy mix of baccarat, shops and Venetian canals, opened this week, aiming to accelerate Macau’s heady transformation from gambling haven to Asia’s top entertainment draw. The $2,4-billion Venetian Macao resort, built on a spit of reclaimed land called the Cotai Strip, seeks to capitalise on the casino boom by getting the millions of visitors to stay for more than just a turn at the tables.

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/ 16 October 2006

No such thing as a holiday for Lonely Planet pair

Maureen and Tony Wheeler have backpacked around the world several times over but for them there is no such thing as a holiday. That’s not surprising when their business is travel; specifically, travel on the cheap. As the names behind the hugely successful <i>Lonely Planet</i> travel guides, the Wheelers — now in their 50s — are as peripatetic as ever, spending six months of the year away from home on their lifelong working holiday.

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/ 23 September 2006

Hong Kong’s Big Buddha cable car takes off

A new Hong Kong cable car to take tourists to one of the world’s largest outdoor statues of Buddha opened to the public this week after a three-month delay due to technical problems. The attraction is the latest in a string of multibillion-dollar tourism projects aimed at making Hong Kong one of the world’s top holiday destinations.

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/ 25 November 2005

Bruce Lee fans in Hong Kong find new champion

There’s only one place in Wong Yiu-keung’s heart — and that’s for late martial arts legend Bruce Lee. He dedicates most of his time to running the Bruce Lee Club, Lee’s only fan club in Hong Kong, while he has put his family, friends and career on the sidelines to organise the city’s first festival dedicated to the kung fu hero.

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/ 9 November 2005

Boeing jet to attempt record commercial flight

Boeing was trying for the world record of the longest-ever commercial flight on Wednesday, with its new 777 Worldliner set for a 23-hour flight from Hong Kong to London — flying east over the United States. The company said a demonstration model of the 777-200LR would go east rather than the usual western route over the Russian Federation.

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/ 7 November 2005

Hong Kong man jailed in landmark web piracy case

A Hong Kong court sentenced a man to three months in prison Monday in what is believed to be the first jail sentence for distributing movie files over the popular online BitTorrent network. In a stark warning to online file sharers worldwide, Chan Nai-ming (38) an unemployed man who called himself "Big Crook", was jailed for uploading three Hollywood movies onto the web via the BitTorrent.