News linked to both this project and an event.
According to monitoring by the Odaily Seer Prophecy Channel, in the Polymarket prediction event regarding "What will Powell say at the April press conference," the probability of purchasing "Good Afternoon" has risen to 98.3%. As the transaction price is close to 98.3¢, the total trading volume for this event currently stands at $57,749.In related context, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell is about to hold the April monetary policy press conference. As his term is set to expire in mid-next month, this press conference is viewed as a final act of his career. Based on historical precedent, Powell habitually greets the media with "good afternoon" at the start of each press conference. Although the market is currently under pressure from a high-interest-rate environment, bettors have shown extremely high consensus in predicting this customary phrasing.The Odaily Seer Prophecy Channel continues to monitor the prediction market, observing changes before prices are set.
According to Sing Tao Daily, two mainland Chinese men holding Two-way Permits—Wang Bochuan (27 years old, business consultant) and Xu Zilan (24 years old, salesperson)—were charged with raping a woman on November 4, 2025, at Regal Hotel Mong Kok (23 Tai Nan Street). Both defendants faced one count of rape and have been in custody since mid-November 2025—over five months. The case was mentioned today (April 18) at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, where the prosecution’s application to withdraw the charges was granted. One defendant applied for costs of the proceedings; the prosecution opposed the application, stating that both defendants had admitted to having sexual intercourse with the complainant and only agreed to provide their mobile phone passwords to police for investigation in the month following their charge. Based on this, the prosecution sought further legal advice before deciding to withdraw the charges. The judge ruled that the defendant had not incriminated himself and approved the application for costs. It has been confirmed that the two individuals were formerly BD staff at ME (formerly MetaEra).
Odaily News South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance has selected a new blockchain digital currency utilization pilot project under its 2026 regulatory sandbox framework. The project will explore the use of deposit tokens for executing business promotion expenses, aiming to test the application of blockchain technology in national fiscal operations.Currently, business promotion expenses in South Korea are primarily executed through government procurement cards, and their use during restricted hours such as late nights or weekends requires additional justification. Limited by the "National Fiscal Management Act," previous payment methods were relatively singular. The approval of this regulatory sandbox creates an exception for the use of deposit tokens.The Ministry stated that by pre-setting conditions such as expenditure timing and industry categories, deposit tokens are expected to enhance execution transparency and reduce the cost burden on small business owners by removing intermediaries from the payment flow. The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to officially launch the pilot in the fourth quarter of 2026, with Sejong City designated as the first implementation area. Furthermore, South Korean regulators are simultaneously strengthening oversight of stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and automated trading.
According to Newsis, South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on April 16 that the pilot project titled “Blockchain-Based Digital Currency for Treasury Fund Disbursement” has been selected as one of the targeted regulatory sandbox initiatives for 2026. Under this pilot, government agencies’ operational expense disbursements—currently made via government procurement cards—will instead be issued and paid using blockchain-based deposit tokens. The South Korean government stated that this initiative is expected to enhance fund usage transparency by predefining permissible usage timeframes and eligible industries, while also reducing transaction fees for small merchants through a disintermediated payment structure. The pilot is scheduled to officially launch in the fourth quarter of this year, initially in Sejong City, with gradual expansion to other regions thereafter.