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Japanese fashion brand WEGO has scrapped a plan to launch a new range in collaboration with the hit anime and manga franchise My Hero Academia after it triggered an angry backlash from Chinese consumers. The Tokyo-based company triggered an outcry on Chinese social media after announcing it would release an exclusive range of My Hero Academia-themed clothing. The franchise was widely condemned in ...
Chinese researchers have developed a way to make an emerging type of memory chip much more durable, potentially overcoming a critical reliability barrier to its use in high-performance computing and future artificial intelligence systems as the AI boom drives demand for more advanced semiconductors. The team demonstrated more than 10 billion writing cycles in wurtzite ferroelectrics, a class of ma...
A Chinese Porsche owner covered his luxury sports car with 90 flyers of missing children, garnering significant attention online. Recently, a Porsche 718 from Kunming, in southwestern China’s Yunnan province, went viral on Chinese social media, with many residents posting about their encounters with the eye-catching vehicle. They filmed the car not for its luxury appeal, but for the striking sight...
Chinese scientists say they have devised a new technique for refining oil that cuts the amount of energy consumed during the process by roughly 90 per cent. If the technology used in the study could be scaled up for industry, it would not only greatly reduce production costs and emissions, but also make the process more precise and boost product value. Crude oil cannot be turned directly into petr...
Chinese scientists say they have discovered a massive underwater mineral deposit in the western Pacific that is remarkably rich in gold and silver. According to a report by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday, the discovery was made during a joint scientific expedition involving several Chinese academic institutions. The ores within this seabed hydrothermal field – an area where hot, mineral-rich wat...
For 10 days, Nepali hydropower worker Sanjay Sah survived in darkness inside a flooded tunnel, drinking muddy water and losing all sense of time as he desperately prayed for rescue. When a disaster response team finally pulled him to safety on September 4, Sah’s first question showed how deeply the ordeal had disoriented him. “When I was rescued I first asked, how many days has it been?” Sah, aged...
For anyone who has spent time living in Canada, the country’s default posture towards its southern neighbour has long felt almost hard-coded: polite, deferential, almost allergic to confrontation. I saw this first-hand as a visiting scholar in the country in the early 1980s, when I met locals who embodied the national stereotype of moderation in all things. Canadians preferred compromise even when...
Bangladesh’s tilt towards China has added a new dimension to security and trade in South Asia, signalling what observers see as Dhaka’s desire to be a strategic actor in the region and ease its overreliance on India. The hedging policy comes after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in 2024 amid a student-led uprising. Under an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunu...
Visiting beauticians from South Korea continue to offer illegal cosmetic procedures in Hong Kong, despite a warning issued by the country’s consulate earlier this year reminding them that working without a permit is a crime. At least two practitioners have been arrested by local immigration authorities this year, including one caught red-handed in Tsim Sha Tsui last week during an operation witnes...
A growing number of South Korean beauticians are providing illegal eyebrow or lip microblading treatments in Hong Kong, with the country’s consulate issuing a warning to its citizens that practising without a proper permit breaches local laws, following an arrest earlier this year. Hong Kong immigration authorities made two arrests this year, including one last week witnessed by the South China Mo...
The head of Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation accused Ukraine on Sunday of attacking diesel fuel trucks, killing two Russian servicemen and deliberately jeopardising safety at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Alexei Likhachev said the attack took place on Friday and also resulted in injuries to other Russian soldiers. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s larges...
Hong Kong police have received reports from more than 700 people regarding unauthorised transactions on credit cards worth HK$14.7 million (US$1.87 million) linked to pre-orders of Apple’s newest iPhones, prompting the force and major banks to launch investigations. A police spokesman said the force’s e-Report Centre received the reports on Saturday and Sunday from individuals who suspected that t...
Scores of Hongkongers have complained about unauthorised transactions on credit cards used to pre-order Apple’s latest iPhones, prompting HSBC and Hang Seng Bank to launch investigations. One internet user on the social media platform Threads said she received a message on Saturday night saying she had unauthorised transactions of HK$33,598 (US$4,280) from Apple on her HSBC credit card. “When I ca...
Scores of Hongkongers have complained about unauthorised transactions on credit cards used to pre-order Apple’s latest iPhones, prompting HSBC and Hang Seng Bank to launch investigations. One internet user on the social media platform Threads said she received a message on Saturday night saying she had unauthorised transactions of HK$33,598 (US$4,280) from Apple on her HSBC credit card. “When I ca...
Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a less-than-24-hour trip to India on Sunday with an offer to help Brics members develop open-source AI and smart manufacturing. Summit host Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, warned against turning technology and critical minerals into economic weapons. Experts said the exchange captured the wider picture of the Brics summit. Two days of diplomacy produ...
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Sunday to help Brics countries develop and apply open-source large language models and build smart manufacturing factories. Speaking at the second day of the Brics summit in New Delhi, he identified these as two key initiatives to promote economic growth and technological development in the Global South. Xi also said Beijing would offer to train young talent...
Hong Kong’s first leader Tung Chee-hwa, who died last week, has been remembered by former colleagues for his foresight in developing technology and actively engaging with mainland China to boost the city’s economic development during his tenure. Political heavyweights praised the former chief executive for being able to foresee developmental trends before others could, citing Tung’s decisions to e...
Young dieters in China are increasingly turning away from low-calorie foods in favour of a new trend: chewy snacks. On social media, they are sharing their new-found favourites, including beef jerky, frozen buns, and even baby teething biscuits – each characterised by their toughness and chewiness. Many prefer chewy foods as a way to keep their mouths busy and trick their brains into feeling satis...
Artificial intelligence agents are increasingly taking the wheel in designing China’s next-generation semiconductors, as Beijing and domestic technology firms accelerate efforts to integrate AI into chip design software to bolster national self-sufficiency. Empyrean Technology, China’s top maker of electronic design automation (EDA) tools, has been accelerating the chip design process by using AI-...
The French UN mission said it regretted an online post criticising how the United States voted during a UN General Assembly meeting, with US officials saying on Saturday that Washington appreciated the statement. France’s permanent mission to the UN published the apology on Friday, saying it regretted a social media post criticising the US’ commitment to human rights. “France and the United States...
For 65 years, even as India and Pakistan fought wars, severed diplomatic ties and traded nuclear threats, one agreement held: the Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the river system sustaining roughly 300 million people across the subcontinent. That was until April last year, when New Delhi suspended the pact in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir that it blamed on Isl...
The US church group that co-founded Hong Kong International School (HKIS) accepted an out-of-court payment to end a “bad marriage”, a source has told the South China Morning Post, saying their differences would have led to more litigation if the partnership had continued. The source familiar with the settlement said the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), which sued the school for allegedly bre...
The US church group that co-founded Hong Kong International School (HKIS) accepted an out-of-court payment to end a “bad marriage”, a source has told the South China Morning Post, saying their differences would have led to more litigation if the partnership had continued. The source familiar with the settlement said the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), which sued the school for allegedly bre...
China is moving early to secure a role in Sudan’s reconstruction, pursuing port and power agreements with the army-backed government while the war continues and many Western countries maintain only a limited presence. One expert also said Beijing was using the prospect of future investment as a bilateral incentive to encourage warring parties to cease hostilities. Sudan signed an agreement with th...
A mainland Chinese university student in Hong Kong has lost about HK$1 million (US$127,500) in a scam, in which the fraudster claimed she was involved in a criminal case and demanded “guarantees” from her. Police said they received a report from a 19-year-old mainland woman who was student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) at 1.07am on Sunday. The force said the victim ...
Indonesian rescuers say about 130 passengers and crew are missing after a ferry carrying more than 240 people sank in bad weather in the Java Sea on Sunday. At least 107 people were rescued and the bodies of six passengers were recovered as the search operation expanded in waters around the vessel’s last known position. The ferry was travelling from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Ka...
Indonesian rescuers were searching on Sunday for 140 people from a passenger ship that sank in the Java Sea after 103 others were evacuated, one of whom died, a search and rescue agency official said. The ship carrying 243 people had been reported missing after losing contact early on Sunday during bad weather, the search and rescue agency said. The Virgo Transport 8 ship had set sail on Satur...
Indonesian rescuers were searching on Sunday for 140 people from a passenger ship that sank in the Java Sea after 103 others were evacuated, one of whom died, a search and rescue agency official said. The ship carrying 243 people had been reported missing after losing contact early on Sunday during bad weather, the search and rescue agency said. The Virgo Transport 8 ship had set sail on Satur...
Indonesian rescuers were searching on Sunday for 140 people from a passenger ship that was earlier reported missing in the Java Sea after 103 others were evacuated, one of whom died, a search and rescue agency official said. The ship carrying 243 people was reported missing after losing contact early on Sunday during bad weather, the search and rescue agency said. The Virgo Transport 8 ship set...
Indonesian rescuers were searching on Sunday for 140 people from a passenger ship that was earlier reported missing in the Java Sea after 103 others were evacuated, one of whom died, a search and rescue agency official said. The ship carrying 243 people was reported missing after losing contact early on Sunday during bad weather, the search and rescue agency said. The Virgo Transport 8 ship set...
