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Norway’s King Harald has died aged 89, the palace said on Friday, his 53-year-old son Crown Prince Haakon automatically succeeding him on the throne. “It is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today. King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6.35am,” it said in a statement. The flag at the royal palace in Oslo was...
Norway’s King Harald V died on Friday at age 89, the royal palace announced. “It is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today. King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6.35am,” it said in a statement. Harald was Europe’s oldest monarch. The popular king modernised the royal house but refused to follow in the foot...
Nepali army helicopter rescue teams were working on Friday to rescue around 100 people trapped inside a tunnel at a hydropower project swamped by a devastating flood two days earlier. “Our focus is in search and rescue of people … some people are trapped in the tunnel of Trishuli 3A hydropower project,” Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said. “Two helicopters have been dispatched but it is chal...
Australia’s decision to axe partnerships with two Chinese universities has raised concerns that Canberra is moving to align with Washington on research security policy. The decision came after the United States expanded its restrictions on research entities from China. One analyst warned that Canberra’s latest move would not hinder Chinese progress, but it could leave Australia locked out of top-t...
China Life Insurance, the country’s largest life insurer, has posted record highs in its first-half results, and says it will scale up investments in technology-related sectors while seeking to become a long-term partner for innovative enterprises. The Shanghai- and Hong Kong-listed insurer recorded revenue of 434.3 billion yuan (US$64.6 billion), up 81.5 per cent year on year, according to interi...
Chinese power equipment stocks have tumbled after the United States moved to bar certain foreign-made grid equipment and related software, but some analysts believe the sell-off may have been excessive, with enforcement still uncertain and Chinese firms able to offset the impact in other markets. Sungrow Power Supply, a major Chinese inverter maker, slumped 12.24 per cent on Thursday after US Pres...
Security guard Ni-arfan Doloh was taking a routine photograph for his nightly report on Saturday when five masked men carrying rifles emerged from inside a government office in Thailand’s southern Narathiwat province. “I was shocked,” said Ni-arfan, 25, recalling how they led him and another guard behind the Chang Phueak subdistrict office, instructed them to sit with their hands behind their back...
Six months after the air strikes that began the war and propelled a badly wounded Mojtaba Khamenei into the role of Iran’s supreme leader, he remains entirely unseen and unheard by Iranians – a vacuum at the heart of his country’s leadership. Questions over his condition and role are growing increasingly fraught, with Iran facing critical decisions over a war that has set the Middle East aflame w...
Typhoon Saudel made landfall in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, disrupting flights and ferry services across major urban centres, including the industrial hub of Ningbo and the economic powerhouse of Shanghai. Ningbo Lishe International Airport suspended all flight operations from 11.30pm on Thursday. Even though services resumed at 11am on Friday, some 16 inbound and 28 outbound flights...
SoftBank-backed surgical robotics company Noah Medical has begun preparations for a Hong Kong initial public offering, joining a wave of cutting-edge technology firms tapping the city’s international fundraising pool. The US-headquartered company aimed to raise more than US$100 million and planned to file its listing application as early as next year, according to founder Zhang Jian. “We want to e...
SoftBank-backed surgical robotics company Noah Medical has begun preparations for a Hong Kong initial public offering, joining a wave of cutting-edge technology firms tapping the city’s international fundraising pool. The US-headquartered company aimed to raise more than US$100 million and planned to file its listing application as early as next year, according to founder Zhang Jian. “We want to e...
Beijing-based GalaxySpace’s deployment this week of what it called China’s first turnkey satellite export to Southeast Asia underscores how the country is boosting its space influence overseas amid competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. GalaxySpace said it launched the Lingzhi-09 Thailand CubeSat aboard a Long March-6C rocket – alongside six other satellites – from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centr...
A diplomatic push by Oman, Pakistan and Qatar is widely expected to yield another pause in the Iran conflict, but there remains little prospect of a stop to what analysts fear has already become a “forever war”. On Monday, Iran and Oman agreed in principle to a temporary maritime route for ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. This could lead to the easing of the tit-for-tat blockades imp...
South Korea supports US President Donald Trump’s efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, but aims to ensure its security posture is not weakened and that Seoul is not sidelined, according to South Korea’s national security adviser. Seoul believed the resumption of talks between the US and North Korea should focus on progress on the North Korean nuclear weapons issue and must not undermine th...
Hong Kong authorities have opened licence applications for ride-hailing platforms under a new regulatory scheme, saying operators must have a proven track record of providing legal services in a city with a population of more than 7.5 million, while handling over 100,000 daily orders in at least two cities. Announcing the licensing terms on Friday, the Transport Department said that the eligibilit...
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. The path to America is narrowing. Here’s what that means for legal immigrants US green card interviews are on hold worldwide, student ...
The record heat and extreme weather seen across East Asia this summer have prompted warnings that climate change will be an increasing challenge for military planners focused on potential flashpoints such as the Taiwan Strait. Besides the risks to both troops and equipment, typhoons and other storms could also damage critical infrastructure and disrupt training, as well as divert personnel and res...
The death toll from catastrophic flash floods and mudslides at the Gyirong Port border crossing between China and Nepal continued to rise on Friday, as concerns grew that a lake formed from the debris could breach, triggering further flooding. As of Friday morning, three people were confirmed dead and 558 missing on the Chinese side of the border, with 469 dead and at least 644 missing in Nepal. ...
The death toll from catastrophic flash floods and mudslides at the Gyirong Port border crossing between China and Nepal continued to rise on Friday, as concerns grew that a lake formed from the debris could breach, triggering further flooding. As of Friday morning, three people were confirmed dead and 558 missing on the Chinese side of the border, with 469 dead and at least 644 missing in Nepal. ...
The death toll from catastrophic flash floods and mudslides at the Gyirong Port border crossing between China and Nepal continued to rise on Friday, as satellite images revealed the full scale of the destruction. As of Friday morning, three people were confirmed dead and 558 missing on the Chinese side of the border, with 469 dead and at least 644 missing in Nepal. The tragedy unfolded on Wednesd...
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a US$16.7 million contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, saying officers would use them to control detainees and protesters who resist. ICE moved forward with the purchase despite opposition from civil rights advocates and Democratic members of Congress, who said ICE officers cannot be trusted to use t...
South Korea said on Friday it would hold joint military exercises with the United States and Japan in September, after Washington scaled back annual drills with Seoul in an apparent bid to encourage dialogue with North Korea. The three countries would conduct the North Korea-focused Freedom Edge exercise from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of South Korea’s Jeju Island, Se...
Chinese surgeons last month completed the world’s first commercial surgery to implant an invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) device in a patient with a spinal cord injury, a milestone in the neurotechnology development race with US companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink. This month a Chinese company, state-owned PICC Property and Casualty, launched the world’s first commercial insurance policy c...
Trita Parsi is co-founder and executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. He is an expert on US-Iranian relations, Iranian foreign policy and the geopolitics of the Middle East. He has written four books on US foreign policy in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Iran and Israel. Born in Iran, Parsi moved to Sweden with his family as a child and then to...
Choking haze has forced Malaysia to move its leader’s annual National Day speech to an indoor venue from a public square, the communications ministry has said, underscoring the severity of cross-border pollution from severe wildfires in the region. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, due to address the country on August 30 on the eve of Independence Day celebrations, will speak from a convention centre ...
A US federal judge on Thursday blocked the US Postal Service from implementing core parts of a new rule it adopted at President Donald Trump’s direction that would tighten mail-in voting requirements ahead of the November congressional elections. US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a temporary restraining order at the behest of Democratic-led states and voting rights groups after th...
Japan plans to provide defence equipment and other supplies to the armed forces of at least 12 like-minded countries under its Official Security Assistance programme in the current financial year, up from eight countries the previous year, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The military of Kenya, which sits on the western Indian Ocean, is expected to be a first-time recipient under ...
Japan plans to provide defence equipment and other supplies to the armed forces of at least 12 like-minded countries under its Official Security Assistance programme this financial year, up from eight countries the previous year, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The military of Kenya, which sits on the western Indian Ocean, is expected to be a first-time recipient under the progra...
When Japan’s embassy in the Philippines extended applications for healthcare jobs on April 15, the pitch was straightforward: 50 positions for nurses and 300 for care workers in Japan, a three- to four-year placement, free Japanese-language lessons in both countries and a daily allowance during training. On social media, the post’s attractive terms drew widespread interest from Filipinos – a remin...
The South China Morning Post has launched a major data project diving into President Xi Jinping’s signature anti-graft campaign. In the fourth part of an accompanying series, Yuanyue Dang and William Zheng delve into the broader reach of the campaign. While economic crimes are often seen as the target of President Xi Jinping’s crusade against corruption, the campaign has become much wider. Thirtee...
