Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
A second unusual Chinese vessel suspected of being designed to launch and recover large underwater drones has appeared in Guangzhou, raising questions over whether Beijing is developing a fleet of specialised motherships to extend its undersea operations beyond coastal waters. The smaller vessel, seen under tow on the Pearl River in images circulating online, resembles a ship about 200 metres (660...
A second unusual Chinese vessel suspected of being designed to launch and recover large underwater drones has appeared in Guangzhou, raising questions over whether Beijing is developing a fleet of specialised motherships to extend its undersea operations beyond coastal waters. The smaller vessel, seen under tow on the Pearl River in images circulating online, resembles a ship about 200 metres long...
A woman has been arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty after allegedly throwing a dog into the sea in Hong Kong. The incident occurred at about 1pm on Thursday, when the woman was reportedly seen throwing a dog from the waterfront near 29 Tai On Street in Sai Wan Ho into the water. She then retrieved the animal and left the scene. A passer-by who witnessed the incident alerted police. Following ...
Washington and Beijing should put aside their mutual distrust to address the risks posed by artificial intelligence, much as the United States and Soviet Union cooperated on nuclear arms control during the Cold War, a former US Treasury secretary has urged. Robert Rubin, who served as US Treasury secretary under former president Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1999, cited the Strategic Arms Limitation T...
France announced partial curfews in Paris and other cities on Monday after weekend demonstrations over soaring prices degenerated into some of the worst street violence in recent years. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu did not rule out imposing a state of emergency after the interior minister said police had “lost control”. Tourists in Paris had a taste of the disruption on Monday when they found ...
The French prime minister called for localised curfews on Monday, as protesters blocked the entrance to the Louvre in Paris and authorities scrambled to stem public discontent that over the weekend saw mass cost-of-living protests spill over into some of the worst street violence in recent years. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu huddled with ministers in a crisis meeting after the interior ministe...
Irish writer Sally Rooney is a publishing sensation, often described as the “voice of a generation” and the first great millennial novelist. More than six million copies of her books have been sold globally since her debut novel in 2017. But now, these beautifully written literary bestsellers, with their youthful exploration of romance and relationships, class and technology, are being withdrawn f...
Global attention will turn to Hong Kong this week as about 500 senior officials and delegates from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s 21 member economies gather in the city for the Apec Finance Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is the first time Hong Kong has hosted the meeting, with Beijing’s support, as mainland China prepares to host the Apec leaders’ summit in Shenzhen next ...
Taiwan’s coastguard said it warded off 16 mainland Chinese vessels in one day after they sailed into the island’s self-defined restricted waters in a coordinated, multi-pronged operation that experts say points to a shift in Beijing’s maritime pressure tactics. The vessels – 12 coastguard and research ships, as well as four fishing boats – operated simultaneously on Sunday in waters east of Hualie...
After completing a master’s degree in data science at Pace University in New York in May last year, Tarun returned to India in October, saying frequent changes in US visa rules and employer sponsorship requirements had made it difficult for him to find a job in the world’s largest economy. Tarun, who is from the southern Indian city of Tirupati, felt returning home was a more prudent move than pur...
Beijing’s ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan has denied making threats after he was summoned over his recent comments that China could “easily win” a war between the two countries. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro met Jing on Monday to express “serious concern and strong objections” over his “provocative and unacceptable” language. Lazaro added that he had aggravated an already sen...
Kanako Hosomura was working in a clothing store in Yokohama when an alert on her phone warned of an imminent magnitude 9.9 earthquake. “We all rushed outside,” Hosomura said, recalling how people poured out of nearby shops and offices to watch tall buildings and power lines for signs of shaking. But no earthquake came. Eight minutes after issuing the warning on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Age...
Kanako Hosomura was working in a clothing store in Yokohama when an alert on her phone warned of an imminent magnitude 9.9 earthquake. “We all rushed outside,” Hosomura said, recalling how people poured out of nearby shops and offices to watch tall buildings and power lines for signs of shaking. But no earthquake came. Eight minutes after issuing the warning on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Age...
Five hikers fell ill in separate incidents across Hong Kong on Monday as hot weather gripped the city on the final day of the Chung Yeung Festival long weekend. In one incident at Po Pin Chau, a popular hiking destination in Sai Kung, a 62-year-old mainland Chinese woman was hiking with friends near the High Island Reservoir East Dam when she became dizzy and weak at about 10.30am. Suspected of su...
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday that he would give every child in the United States a share in his SpaceX rocket company. “Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” Musk, the richest man in the world, said on X. “This will be the first of many,” he said, without providing details about how the scheme would work. There are around 73 million children under th...
A Monday article published by the Communist Party’s mouthpiece argued that a key lesson from the Long March was the need for the party to have a strong core leadership and for its members to uphold that core’s authority. “History shows us that only with a core can the party unite as one, and only with authority can its orders be effectively carried out … The most important thing is to establish an...
After Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen won the China Open in early October, a series of photos showing her in a white dress and studded high heels, holding the trophy on the Great Wall, unexpectedly drew criticism from female internet users who accused the athlete of trying to please men and of not looking like an independent woman. Chinese social media celebrated Zheng’s victory, which made her...
After Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen won the China Open in early October, a series of photos showing her in a white dress and studded high heels, holding the trophy on the Great Wall, unexpectedly drew criticism from female internet users who accused the athlete of trying to please men and of not looking like an independent woman. Chinese social media celebrated Zheng’s victory, which made her...
The Philippines’ telco industry wants the country to become a regional digital hub anchored by stable underwater cables, but analysts warn that slow approvals for repairs, limited monitoring and fragmented official oversight could undermine the ambition. At a forum on archipelagic governance for subsea cables, PLDT, the Philippines’ largest telecommunications company, called for greater cooperatio...
A Malaysian reform party led by two former cabinet ministers faces a new test ahead of a crucial state election after one of its founders was sidelined over an alleged religious morality offence, threatening its appeal to voters disillusioned with the country’s political establishment. The controversy surrounding former environment minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad could undercut Bersama’s promise of d...
Established performing arts groups in Hong Kong should reduce their reliance on public subsidies to make room for emerging companies, industry experts have said, after the city leader announced in his latest policy address that the government would revamp its current funding model in favour of a non-permanent system based on merit and commercial returns. But a few directors of the city’s nine desi...
The People’s Liberation Army has criticised a Chinese student who reportedly wore the Japanese rising sun flag in a classroom at a Russian university, accusing him of whitewashing Japanese militarism. The flag, which is still used by the Self-Defence Forces, is widely seen as a symbol of Japanese militarism and aggression in many countries, including China. “Regardless of which country or campus o...
China’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, keeping it broadly on track to meet Beijing’s annual growth target, as robust global demand for the country’s hi-tech exports bolstered economic momentum. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.5 per cent in the third quarter, accelerating from 4.3 per cent in the second quarter, according to figures released by the National Bureau of...
Australian lawmaker Helen Haines was in a critical condition on Monday after being deliberately struck by a car outside her office, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying a terrorism task force would be investigating an arrested suspect. Albanese told a news conference it was too early to determine the motive for the attack but later pointed to the changing face of social media having raised ...
Australian lawmaker Helen Haines was in a critical condition on Monday after being deliberately struck by a car outside her office in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne, police and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “All of our thoughts are with Helen, her family, her friends, her team, and her community at this extremely difficult time. We are praying for her full recovery,” Albanese told...
China’s export machine is accelerating as its domestic economy remains under strain. This comes amid growing trade friction as China’s partners question whether persistent surpluses can coexist with balanced and resilient regional growth. Last month, China’s exports rose 36.3 per cent year on year, while shipments to Southeast Asia jumped 52.3 per cent. The trade surplus reached US$133.5 billion, ...
A brief No 2 alarm fire broke out at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on Monday, leaving a contractor injured after she received an electric shock. The Fire Services Department said it received a fire alarm at the venue at 11.23am. When firefighters arrived three minutes later, the fire had already been extinguished. “After investigation, a female staff member was found to have been ...
Chinese physicists have discovered that a tipping point – a threshold where a physical system rapidly shifts states – can possess a smooth mathematical structure resembling a doughnut’s hole, challenging a belief that the two phenomena must be studied separately. For decades, mainstream physicists have mostly treated critical phenomena, which describe how physical systems change at critical points...
France experienced a weekend of shocks as weeks-long high school student protests for better study environments were hijacked by violent looters across major cities, angered by rising fuel prices and an ongoing cost of living crisis. While the rallies saw hundreds of thousands protest peacefully, clashes over the weekend led to chaotic scenes: hundreds of shops were pillaged, the historic city hal...
Hong Kong families have paid tribute to their ancestors on the final day of the Chung Yeung Festival long weekend, with rituals ranging from full traditional rites to a simple bunch of flowers, despite pricier offerings. More than a dozen people queued outside Chai Wan MTR station on Monday morning, a public holiday, for the special tomb-sweeping bus to Cape Collinson Chinese Permanent Cemetery. C...
