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Sara Duterte’s ally Marcoleta arrested hours before her impeachment trial
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Sara Duterte’s ally Marcoleta arrested hours before her impeachment trial

A ⁠Philippine senator who is ⁠an ally of Vice-President Sara ⁠Duterte-Carpio was arrested on Monday on a plunder charge, hours before the Senate begins a high-stakes impeachment trial that could determine Duterte’s political future. Senator Rodante Marcoleta was due to sit as a senator-judge on Monday at the impeachment trial ‌against Duterte-Carpio. If convicted by a two-thirds majority in the 24...

Hong Kong police arrest 13 in drink and drug driving crackdown during World Cup
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Hong Kong police arrest 13 in drink and drug driving crackdown during World Cup

Hong Kong police have arrested 13 people in a three-day operation targeting drink- and drug-driving during the World Cup. The force said on Monday that its Traffic Kowloon East enforcement and control division conducted the operation, code-named “Quickchaser”, from July 3 to 5 on major thoroughfares in the area, netting 10 men, a 17-year-old boy and two women. The suspects, aged 17 to 62, were arr...

Chinese nuclear submarine fires test missile into Pacific, sending second-strike signal
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Chinese nuclear submarine fires test missile into Pacific, sending second-strike signal

A nuclear-powered People’s Liberation Army submarine fired a test missile into the Pacific on Monday, according to Chinese state media. The dummy warhead was fired at 12.01pm, state news agency Xinhua said. “It precisely landed in the designated waters,” it added. China’s foreign ministry described the launch as a “routine arrangement” for the PLA’s annual military training, adding that it was in ...

Nuclear-powered Chinese submarine fires test missile in the Pacific
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Nuclear-powered Chinese submarine fires test missile in the Pacific

A nuclear-powered People’s Liberation Army submarine fired a test missile on the high seas in the Pacific on Monday, according to Chinese state media. The dummy warhead was fired at 12.01pm, state news agency Xinhua said. It added that it was a routine test and was not aimed at any specific country or target. The report said that relevant countries had been notified ahead of time. The test was Chi...

Venezuela quakes survivor shares ordeal after 8 days buried alive

Venezuela quakes survivor shares ordeal after 8 days buried alive

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Hernan Gil was working his shift as a security guard in the basement of a building in Venezuela on the afternoon of June 24 when he felt the earth shake. The first tremor was short, Gil recounted in an interview from the hospital room where he was recovering after being rescued from the depths of a collapsed building. Gil became a symbol of hope for Venezuela after he survived eight days of being ...

Venezuela quake survivor shares ordeal after 8 days buried alive

Venezuela quake survivor shares ordeal after 8 days buried alive

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Hernan Gil was working his shift as a security guard in the basement of a building in Venezuela on the afternoon of June 24 when he felt the earth shake. The first tremor was short, Gil recounted in an interview from the hospital room where he was recovering after being rescued from the depths of a collapsed building. Gil became a symbol of hope for Venezuela after he survived eight days of being ...

Noted scientists leave US for China, America turns 250: 5 weekend reads you missed

Noted scientists leave US for China, America turns 250: 5 weekend reads you missed

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We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Noted neurobiologist and ex-taekwondo captain Chih-Ying Su leaves US for China Celebrated neurobiologist Chih-Ying Su, who specialises in research on the sense of smell using fruit flies and mosquito...

Outgunned Philippine Air Force takes on South China Sea defence

Outgunned Philippine Air Force takes on South China Sea defence

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For decades, the Philippine Air Force hunted communist rebels and Islamist militants in the country’s forests and southern islands. Now, amid seemingly intractable tensions in the South China Sea, it is being reshaped into an armed service meant to defend one of Asia’s most contested maritime frontiers – even as analysts rank it the weakest air arm among Southeast Asia’s six largest militaries. “B...

China’s Biren seeks US$900m to fund GPU push and challenge Nvidia amid AI boom

China’s Biren seeks US$900m to fund GPU push and challenge Nvidia amid AI boom

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Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaking champion Shanghai Biren Technology is raising HK$7 billion (US$892.5 million) to boost production of its graphics processing units (GPUs), joining a fierce domestic battle to capture Nvidia’s market share in the country amid a global AI boom. The company, which went public in Hong Kong in January, announced that it would issue 153 million new shares at HK...

Russia unleashes 400 missiles and drones against Kyiv on eve of Nato summit

Russia unleashes 400 missiles and drones against Kyiv on eve of Nato summit

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Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv early on Monday, killing at least 11 people and heavily damaging residential blocks, officials said, in an attack just a few days after the deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital this year. The bombardment also comes ahead of a ‌Nato summit in Turkey this week, where US President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a ren...

Russia unleashes 400 missiles and drones on Kyiv on eve of Nato summit

Russia unleashes 400 missiles and drones on Kyiv on eve of Nato summit

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Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv early on Monday, killing at least 11 people and heavily damaging residential blocks, officials said, in an attack just a few days after the deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital this year. The bombardment also comes ahead of a ‌Nato summit in Turkey this week, where US President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a ren...

Russia strikes Kyiv with deadly barrage on eve of Nato summit

Russia strikes Kyiv with deadly barrage on eve of Nato summit

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Russia struck Ukraine’s Kyiv region with ballistic missiles on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, authorities said, on the eve of a Nato summit in Turkey. The assault was the second on the capital and its surroundings in less than a week and came as both sides increased long-range attacks, underlining the growing reach of the war more than four years after Russia launched i...

Malaysia’s Anwar to lean on ‘good friend’ Li Qiang to rescue durian farmers as prices fall

Malaysia’s Anwar to lean on ‘good friend’ Li Qiang to rescue durian farmers as prices fall

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has promised durian growers in Johor that he will raise their falling prices with his “good friend” Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a visit to Beijing next month, as a nationwide glut leaves farmers struggling to sell the famously pungent fruit at sustainable prices. Speaking during a political campaign stop in Johor, where a state election will be held on Sa...

‘I didn’t want to miss it’: Hongkongers see off PLA warships after 5-day port call

‘I didn’t want to miss it’: Hongkongers see off PLA warships after 5-day port call

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Two PLA warships departed Hong Kong on Monday morning, concluding a high-profile five-day port call with a ceremony at the naval base on Stonecutters Island. Dozens of residents and visitors lined waterfront areas for a final glimpse of the guided-missile destroyer Nanning and the guided-missile frigate Hengyang as they sailed through Victoria Harbour and the Tathong Channel in eastern waters. Spe...

24-year-old killed by lightning on clear day in Singapore

24-year-old killed by lightning on clear day in Singapore

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A 24-year-old man has died after he was reportedly struck by lightning in Singapore. The man was among a group of eight people, aged between 13 and 54, who were taken to hospital on Sunday afternoon, the police said on Monday. The police said they had received a call for help on Sunday at about 4.50pm from 131 Pasir Ris Road, just off Pasir Ris Beach. The incident reportedly involved a lightning s...

Australia, Fiji sign mutual defence pact to boost Pacific security

Australia, Fiji sign mutual defence pact to boost Pacific security

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Australia signed a new defence alliance with Fiji on Monday, bolstering ties with its South Pacific island neighbour as it seeks to outmanoeuvre China in the region. The Ocean of Peace alliance elevates Fiji to one of Australia’s few treaty allies and binds each nation to come to the other’s “mutual defence”. China sent waves through the region in 2022 when it signed a secretive security pact with...

65 Hong Kong students from 16 schools score perfect IB marks

65 Hong Kong students from 16 schools score perfect IB marks

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At least 65 students from 16 Hong Kong schools have achieved top marks in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, with one private independent institution reporting nine perfect scorers, its best result on record. The IB released the results on Monday for 209,607 students worldwide sitting the May 2026 examinations. Among them were 2,912 students from Hong Kong, marking an 11 per cent incr...

65 Hong Kong students from 15 schools score perfect IB marks

65 Hong Kong students from 15 schools score perfect IB marks

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At least 65 students from 16 Hong Kong schools have achieved top marks in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, with one private independent institution reporting nine perfect scorers, its best result on record. The IB released the results on Monday for 209,607 students worldwide sitting the May 2026 examinations. Among them were 2,912 students from Hong Kong, marking an 11 per cent incr...

63 Hong Kong students from 15 schools score perfect IB marks

63 Hong Kong students from 15 schools score perfect IB marks

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At least 63 students from 15 Hong Kong schools have achieved top marks in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, with one private independent institution reporting nine perfect scorers, its best result on record. With results released on Monday, Victoria Shanghai Academy said nine students attained the maximum 45 points, while another eight scored 44. The school’s average score was 39. Am...

55 Hong Kong students from 13 schools score perfect IB marks

55 Hong Kong students from 13 schools score perfect IB marks

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At least 55 students from 13 Hong Kong schools have achieved top marks in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, with one private independent institution reporting nine perfect scorers, its best result on record. With results released on Monday, Victoria Shanghai Academy said nine students attained the maximum 45 points, while another nine scored 44. The school’s average score was 39. Pri...

How a Japanese prefecture is managing rising bear population with microchips

How a Japanese prefecture is managing rising bear population with microchips

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A prefecture in western Japan is drawing attention for a unique bear management programme that uses microchips implanted in captured animals to estimate population levels and guide culling decisions, as rising sightings across the country fuel calls for more effective countermeasures. Hyogo prefecture says it is the first in Japan to use information gathered from microchipped bears to determine an...

Education chief argues students must master technology, not be disconnected from it

Education chief argues students must master technology, not be disconnected from it

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As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead. Hong Kong students should not be barred from using technology and electronic devices simply because they do not know how to use them responsibly, the city’s education minister has sa...

A Trump visit to Hong Kong would be a strategic masterstroke

A Trump visit to Hong Kong would be a strategic masterstroke

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If one word could capture the essence of Hong Kong, it would be resilience. Just two years ago, much of the international community had written off Hong Kong. A widely circulated newspaper commentary carried the headline: “It pains me to say Hong Kong is over”. Though the writer later changed his opinion, the piece captured the pessimism about the city’s future as a global hub. Hong Kong’s dramati...

China restaurant sparks debate after selling simple tomato scrambled egg dish for US$75

China restaurant sparks debate after selling simple tomato scrambled egg dish for US$75

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A Shanghai restaurant has captured attention on mainland Chinese social media for launching a special dish of stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs at an exorbitant price of 520 yuan (US$75), triggering a heated discussion. The dish itself is among the most common, affordable household food items in the country, containing ordinary ingredients – tomatoes and eggs. But the dish served at Jinlong Dab...

South Korean won holds steady as historic 24-hour trading begins

South Korean won holds steady as historic 24-hour trading begins

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The South Korean won was stable against the dollar after inching higher as the currency began its first day of 24-hour trading, marking a milestone in Seoul’s push to open its financial markets to global investors. The won eased 0.1 per cent to 1,531.40 against the US dollar, after rising as much as 0.2 per cent when it started trading at 6am. Other major currency pairs were little changed. The la...

Can China’s budget brands crack developed markets? Mixue shows it won’t be easy

Can China’s budget brands crack developed markets? Mixue shows it won’t be easy

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Three months after moving from China to Japan, Alisa Lin has yet to buy a single drink from Mixue – the Chinese ice cream and tea giant – despite being a frequent customer back home, where a cup costs under five yuan (73 US cents) during promotions. “It’s not a very popular brand here. Only one of my friends in Japan has ever bought it,” Lin said, adding that value for money was the main considera...

Commercial fish farm encroaches on government land, deemed ecological threat

Commercial fish farm encroaches on government land, deemed ecological threat

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Part of a network of more than 20 artificial fish ponds in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis development occupies government land without permission, with a green group warning that materials used at the site also threaten the area’s ecology. The ponds are near the Mai Po Nature Reserve and the Inner Deep Bay wetlands, which have been designated as internationally important under the Ramsar Conventi...

Manila’s record minimum wage rise leaves workers hungry for more

Manila’s record minimum wage rise leaves workers hungry for more

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In the Philippine capital, 85 pesos (US$1.40) is barely enough to buy a meal for one, let alone a family of five. Yet that modest sum, roughly the price of 1½kg of premium imported rice, is the largest single wage increase ever approved for Metro Manila’s minimum-wage earners. The government called it “historic”. Labour groups called it an insult. The increase, to be rolled out in two stages, was ...