World News Hub

RBA interest rates: Reserve Bank holds cash rate at 4.35% as house prices continue to fall

In a widely expected decision, the Reserve Bank of Australia holds interest rate after three consecutive hikesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank has held the cash rate at 4.35% in a widely expected decision despite persistent worries about elevated inflation.The announcement comes amid a steep decline in...

Malaysian scam kingpin walks free; Lee Kuan Yew’s pen up for auction: 7 Asia highlights

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week 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. Anger in Malaysia as Liow pays fine, has money-laundering charges dropped The revelation that an alleged Malaysian scam kingpin was released after paying 10 million ringgi...

Australia news live: RBA interest rates decision due today; PM defends Japan relationship after Coalition question over ‘classless’ melon comment

Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTed O’Brien says that just because the Japanese government has downplayed melon-gate, doesn’t mean Anthony Albanese’s gaffe isn’t a “national embarrassment”.We’ve seen reports Japan sent a memo to the government last month suggesting they did not believe the prime minister’s comments about the pair of crown melons h...

Clover Moore unveils 4,500 sq metre Sydney plaza design after more than 40 years of planning

Lord mayor says Town Hall Square will be ‘fantastic’ – but business advocate says project’s scale of demolition presents ‘unwanted disruption’Sydneysiders have been given a first glimpse of a new public square set to “unify” the CBD, more 40 years after the project was initially conceived.The City of Sydney on Tuesday released new renders of a plaza that will be built opposite Sydney town hall aft...

Hundreds more flights cancelled as Tropical Storm Dolphin causes flooding in eastern China

More than 900 flights, or about 40% of those expected, were cancelled in Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong airports after about 1,300 were canceled the day before, according to Shanghai Airport Group.

Fire rages after drone strikes Libya’s largest oil refinery

A drone attack ignited gasoline at Libya's Zawiya oil refinery, the country's largest operational facility.

Australia news live: RBA interest rates decision due today; Taylor mounts parliamentary attack on Labor’s ‘wicked’ widow tax

Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTed O’Brien says that just because the Japanese government has downplayed melon-gate, doesn’t mean Anthony Albanese’s gaffe isn’t a “national embarrassment”.We’ve seen reports Japan sent a memo to the government last month suggesting they did not believe the prime minister’s comments about the pair of crown melons h...

Tesla faces uphill battle for FSD entry as China rewrites self-driving car rules: analysts

The likelihood that US electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla will obtain Beijing’s approval for higher-level autonomous driving remains a distant prospect, according to analysts. Though Tesla recently hired people to test its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in China, many obstacles remained, with data regulation a core issue, they said. Earlier this month, China outlined its first mandatory standards f...

US swaps ideology for ‘flexible realism’ and hard deterrence in Southeast Asia

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has pressed Southeast Asian nations to join a “flexible realism” strategy in the Indo-Pacific, as the United States prioritises practical defence cooperation and deterrence over ideology. Speaking at a forum in Manila on Monday, Colby said he would travel to Jakarta, Bangkok and Phnom Penh as part of his first official trip to Asia, delivering a message he call...

Tougher than armour, hard as diamond: China’s unbreakable crystal breakthrough

Chinese scientists have created a diamond with no Achilles’ heel – one that cannot be broken, even by a hard knock with a hammer – according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Synthesis. While a diamond is the hardest natural material on Earth, it has a major weakness. It is brittle, like glass, and a sharp blow can shatter it. For years, scientists have tried to make diamond...

Where did all the money go if the US is running out of weapons?

The war on Iran is exposing shortages in US weapons stockpiles, raising questions about years of defence spending.

How US staged Air Force One departure to hide Trump’s secret exit from Turkey

US President Donald Trump secretly flew out of Turkey last month on a smaller plane than previously known due to an assassination threat from Iran, The Washington Post reported on Monday. According to an anonymous US official who spoke to the Post, Trump boarded an Air Force One jet in Ankara on July 8, but then moved into a catering container attached to the plane. The container then ferried him ...

SCMP signs 3 MOUs in Malaysia to deepen Hong Kong-Asean regional cooperation

The South China Morning Post has signed three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in Kuala Lumpur aimed at deepening regional cooperation and serving as a bridge between Hong Kong, Malaysia and the wider Asean region. SCMP publisher Tammy Tam on Tuesday signed the MOUs with the Southeast Asian Futures Initiative Centre (SEAFIC), a leading think tank; Star Media Group Berhad, publisher of Malaysia’...

Venezuela earthquake toll rises to 6,301; over 9,500 homes deemed high-risk

Australia news live: Taylor mounts parliamentary attack on Labor’s ‘wicked’ widow tax; RBA interest rates decision due today

Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTed O’Brien says that just because the Japanese government has downplayed melon-gate, doesn’t mean Anthony Albanese’s gaffe isn’t a “national embarrassment”.We’ve seen reports Japan sent a memo to the government last month suggesting they did not believe the prime minister’s comments about the pair of crown melons h...

WHO warehouse in Ukraine destroyed after overnight strikes 

A World Health Organization humanitarian warehouse holding supplies worth an estimated $500,000 was destroyed, as Kyiv and Moscow exchanged missile strikes over the weekend.

Australia adds optional gender identity and sexual orientation questions to census

Australians can for the first time reveal their sexual orientation and whether they identify as a gender that is not the one recorded at birth in the country's census on Tuesday

Pentagon official asks Asian allies to invest more in defense to deter aggression

A Pentagon official has urged Asian allies to invest more in their defense to deter regional aggression

Colombia’s far-right government recognises Israeli claim over Golan Heights

The South American nation is only the second country to recognise Israel's claims over the illegally annexed territory.

Trump Media Q2 results: US president led media ventrue posts $238 million loss as crypto holdings tumble

In the second quarter, Trump Media faced a dramatic loss of $238 million despite seeing its revenue more than double. However, operating losses expanded significantly, prompting the company to abandon new ventures like online betting and cryptocurrency. Their focus has shifted to the Truth API service, aimed at trading firms, while a nuclear fusion project with TAE Technologies remains on track.

Trump demands compensation from Iran as talks on Strait of Hormuz continue

US president seeks payment for '50 years' of damages after Iran conditions Hormuz reopening on war reparations.

Why did US defence official Colby avoid mention of Scarborough Shoal in Manila speech?

US Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby avoided naming Beijing or addressing escalating tensions in the South China Sea during a speech in Manila on Monday, adopting a measured tone weeks before an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Despite speaking in the capital of Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia, Colby made no direct referenc...

A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle: Iceland prepares for total solar eclipse

Iceland is preparing for a rare total solar eclipse on 12 August, with thousands of visitors expected to head to the country's western regions.

Why are South Korean football fans choosing European clubs over the K League?

Yoon Jin-woo had never gone to Seoul World Cup Stadium to watch FC Seoul, the city’s team and the club that calls South Korean football’s symbolic home its own. But on Sunday night, he made the pilgrimage from the suburbs of Gimpo to see Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, two European clubs whose pull in South Korea rivals, and often overwhelms, interest in the domestic game. The 21-year-old and...

Trump hid in catering cart to board secret flight in Turkey amid Iran threat – reports

Elaborate ruse was used to transport president to military flight from Air Force One to return from Nato meetPrompted by an Iranian assassination threat, Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey last month when the White House said he was flying aboard ⁠Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse that involved hiding the president in an airport catering cart, according to reportin...