World Briefs

HONG KONG’s traditional banks are set to face one of their biggest challenges yet: a new breed of financial technology firms estimated to snare as much as 30 percent of their revenue. 

TAIWAN President Tsai said her government has asked to purchase advanced new fighter jets and tanks from the U.S., a request that if approved, could set off new tensions between the U.S. and China.

CHINA  Companies linked to cannabis growing tumbled yesterday, as regulators put the squeeze on one of the year’s hottest trades.

LAOS A UN human rights expert urged communist-led Laos to focus less on foreign-invested dam and railway contracts and devote more resources to helping its children and the poor. 

BANGLADESH A fire struck a high-rise office building in Dhaka, killing 19 people and injuring about 70 others. It trapped many inside the building, with some shouting for help from windows on high floors or from the roof.

BREXIT Prime Minister May was making a final push to save her European Union withdrawal deal after her promise to step down gained the agreement some support but failed to win over lawmakers from Northern Ireland. 

DOLPHINS The dolphins’ bodies were horribly mutilated, the fins cut off. But what shocked French marine researchers wasn’t just the brutality of the deaths of these highly intelligent mammals, but also the numbers involved — a record 1,100 have washed up on France’s Atlantic coast since January.

FOOTBALL The hype around the Barcelona city derby this weekend seems to boil down to an Argentine superstar meeting a Chinese sensation. Lionel Messi faces Wu Lei (pictured) for the first time on Saturday when Barcelona takes on Espanyol.