Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Chinese authorities refused to let Canadian diplomats attend the trial of a Chinese-born Canadian tycoon who disappeared from Hong Kong five years ago, Canada's government said Tuesday.
Xiao Jianhua was last seen at a Hong Kong hotel in January 2017 and was believed to have been taken to the mainland by Chinese authorities. He was placed under investigation by anti-graft authorities that year, according to news reports, though the government has released no details.
The government has never confirmed whether Xiao, the founder of Tomorrow Group, which has been linked to a series of anti-corruption prosecutions and seizures of financial companies by regulators, was detained or what charges he might face.
The Canadian government said earlier Xiao was due to stand trial Monday but gave no indication whether a trial took place or where. It gave no details of possible charges.
"Canada made several requests to attend the trial proceedings. Our attendance was denied by Chinese authorities," a Canadian government statement said.
A foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said he had no information about Xiao.
Xiao vanished amid a flurry of prosecutions of Chinese businesspeople accused of misconduct.
That fueled fears the ruling Communist Party might be abducting people outside the mainland. Hong Kong at that time prohibited Chinese police from operating in the former British colony, which has a separate legal system.
Since then, Beijing has tightened control over Hong Kong, prompting complaints it is violating the autonomy promised when the territory returned to China in 1997. The ruling party imposed a national security law in 2020 and has imprisoned pro-democracy activists.
Hong Kong police investigated Xiao's disappearance and said the subject crossed the border onto the mainland. But an advertisement in the Ming Pao newspaper in Xiao's name the same week denied he was taken against his will.
At the time of his disappearance, Xiao was worth nearly $6 billion, making him China's 32nd wealthiest person, according to the Hurun Report, which follows the country's wealthy.
Founded in 1999, Tomorrow expanded into banking, securities, insurance, coal and real estate.
The company became one of the highest-profile targets in a campaign by the ruling party to reduce risks in Chinese financial industries. News reports said Xiao was suspected of improperly using money from banks and other companies to pay for acquisitions, but no charges against him have been announced.
In 2020, regulators seized nine companies controlled by Xiao. That included four insurers, two securities firms, two trust firms and a company involved in financial futures. The business magazine Caixin reported at the time that the seized assets totaled almost 1 billion yuan ($150 million).
A retired bank regulator, Xue Jining, admitted taking bribes of 400 million yuan ($62 million) in bribes in a corruption case linked to Baoshang Bank Ltd. in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, which regulators seized from Tomorrow in 2019.
Auditors found Tomorrow misused money from Baoshang Bank, according to news reports.
One of the Tomorrow companies seized in 2020, Tianan Property Insurance Co., put its assets up for sale last month, asking 2.1 billion yuan ($315 million).
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Canadian Blood Services issued an apology on Friday to the LGBTQ2S+ community for what it now admits was a harmful and discriminatory blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says that she is hopeful an announcement could be made soon amid multiple reports that a WNBA team is coming to Toronto in 2026.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.