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A man from southeastern China, dubbed the “Wind-Breaking Rider,” has mastered his wheelchair and stunned the internet with his skateboarding skills. Xie Junwu, 55, lives in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. At 19, he fell from a tree, injuring his thoracic spinal cord and leaving him paralysed from the waist down. For the first eight years after his injury, Xie depended entirely on his mother. Confined ...
The Philippine government put a bounty on Friday on the head of the top enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody anti-drug crackdown, nearly a year after the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered his arrest. Former Philippine police chief and sitting Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had mostly been in hiding for months before The Hague-based tribunal unsealed the November 2025 arrest ...
Paper straws, widely promoted as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic, may actually have a greater environmental impact than conventional plastic straws, according to a South Korean government-commissioned study that has renewed debate over whether switching materials truly reduces waste. The Comprehensive Study on Single-Use Straws, commissioned by South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and ...
One of Hong Kong’s last traditional sauce makers is to cease operations, ending its 90-year legacy, after authorities cleared land at its Kwu Tung factory on Friday. Established in 1936, Kui Lee Sauce and Preserved Fruit confirmed to the South China Morning Post that it would close down once its remaining inventory at its shop in Wan Chai was sold. “Our factory in Kwu Tung has halted production, a...
Japanese universities and other educational institutions more than doubled their applications for defence ministry research funding this year to a record 291, up from 123 last year, as Tokyo moves to strengthen its defence capabilities. The increase is the clearest sign yet that academia’s decades-long resistance to military-linked work is diminishing. The bids accounted for more than half the rec...
Ukrainian police said on Friday they had detained a 17-year-old girl suspected of helping Russia’s security services to poison Ukrainian soldiers and that two had died. Ukraine and Russia have throughout their war since 2022 accused each other of recruiting minors for sabotage acts including poisoning. The girl, who was not named, is suspected of having packaged deadly drugs and sending them to Uk...
A key Communist Party meeting next week in Beijing is likely to be dominated by two themes – the renewal of President Xi Jinping’s long-standing anti-corruption drive and the hunt for clues about a looming leadership reshuffle. “Major issues related to advancing full and rigorous party self-governance” will top the agenda at the fifth plenum of the party’s Central Committee, which runs from Monday...
Former HSBC Holdings global insurance head Edward Moncreiffe will join rival AIA Group as regional CEO from November 2, following a path taken by former HSBC Group chairman Mark Tucker, who returned to the Asia-Pacific region’s largest insurer as non-executive chairman last year. Moncreiffe will oversee AIA’s businesses in India, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand, while serving on the group’s e...
The Philippines is turning to the United States to build its oil stockpile amid the global energy crunch, with observers saying the move could also serve Washington’s military interests and deepen strategic ties. A bilateral deal could deliver more immediate benefits than a broader Asean stockpile, which would entail coordination hurdles, analysts said, but questions remain over how quickly Manila...
Palestinian militants wounded five Israelis in an attack on Friday before being killed in a prolonged shoot-out with soldiers, leading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order a lockdown in the occupied West Bank days before Israeli elections. Netanyahu, facing a tight race for a new term in Tuesday’s election, said that Israeli troops prevented what could have been a major attack, with the two ...
Suspected Palestinian militants wounded five Israelis on Friday before two gunmen were killed in a prolonged shoot-out, leading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the closure of the West Bank days before Israeli elections. Netanyahu, facing a tight race for a new term in Tuesday’s election, said that Israeli troops prevented what could have been a major attack, with the assailants allegedl...
Hong Kong recorded its highest-ever temperature for the traditional Chinese calendar’s “Frost” solar term on Friday, with the weather forecaster warning of a very dry weekend ahead. The Hong Kong Observatory said the temperature at its headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui reached 32.3 degrees Celsius by 3.30pm, the highest of the day. Frost, the 18th of the Chinese lunisolar calendar’s 24 solar terms, be...
Hong Kong recorded its highest-ever temperature for the traditional Chinese calendar’s “Frost” solar term on Friday, with the weather forecaster warning of a very dry weekend ahead. The Hong Kong Observatory said the temperature reached 32.1 degrees Celsius by 2.30pm. Frost, the 18th of the Chinese lunisolar calendar’s 24 solar terms, began on October 23. The terms mark natural phenomena and seaso...
Flight disruptions and cancellations surged across East Asia as Typhoon Champi approaches Taiwan, prompting emergency precautions in eastern mainland China, including Shanghai, and in Japan during a large-scale joint military drill with the US. Taiwan’s transport ministry said 262 local flights and 715 international and cross-strait flights had been cancelled as of 10am on Friday. The island’s lar...
Flight disruptions and cancellations are compounding across East Asia as Typhoon Champi approaches Taiwan, grounding hundreds of domestic and international flights in Taiwan and poised to affect major mainland Chinese airports next. Taiwan’s transport ministry said that 262 local flights and 715 international and cross-strait flights had been cancelled as of 10am Friday. The island’s largest airpo...
This article was first published by The Korea Times in a partnership with the South China Morning Post. Chinese humanoid robot makers are accelerating efforts to gain a foothold in South Korea, moving beyond dance performances and showroom displays to factory trials and commercial deployments, as Seoul ramps up investment in physical artificial intelligence. A growing number of Chinese robotics co...
Malaysia’s oil-rich Sarawak state will dissolve its assembly on Monday in a test of political strength for a powerful regional coalition whose support has become crucial to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government. Anwar is facing growing pressure following electoral setbacks for his own coalition in Peninsular Malaysia, while over in Borneo, ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) continues to press...
Ren Xiaoping, who once vowed to perform the world’s first human head transplant, has operated on a patient’s severed spinal cord in a 12-hour landmark operation in Moscow, according to the Chinese surgeon and Russian state sources. Ren said the procedure was carried out at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine in Russia last week. “It was our Guangxi University of Chinese Medi...
Ren Xiaoping, who once vowed to perform the world’s first human head transplant, has operated on a patient’s severed spinal cord in a 12-hour landmark operation in Moscow, according to the Chinese surgeon and Russian state sources. Ren said the procedure was carried out at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine in Russia last week. “It was our Guangxi University of Chinese Medi...
Hong Kong’s top government officials and police officers have paid their final respects to a former constable who died 21 years after being left paralysed in an attack while on duty, during a funeral with full police honours. Jacky Chu Chun-kwok, who died last month aged 52, was laid to rest on Friday following a service at the Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom at 10.30am, which was attended b...
The World Health Organization has warned that Africa faced a “complex” Ebola outbreak after the virus crossed from east Africa to Nigeria, marking the first case in the west of the continent. Nigeria on Tuesday had announced an imported case of the Bundibugyo strain, currently causing a major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was detected in the wife of a diplomat who had trav...
More than 70 flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan have been cancelled as Typhoon Champi approaches the island ahead of a possible landfall later on Friday. As of noon on Friday, more than 30 flights between the city and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport had been cancelled, according to a South China Morning Post check of the Hong Kong airport’s website. Nine outbound flights to Kaohsiung Intern...
More than 70 flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan have been cancelled ahead of Super Typhoon Champi potentially making landfall on the island later on Friday. As of noon on Friday, more than 30 flights between the city and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport had been cancelled, according to a South China Morning Post check of the Hong Kong airport’s website. Nine outbound flights to Kaohsiung Int...
The world’s oldest cave paintings on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi are under threat as heat and smoke from the country’s worst wildfires in more than a decade risk accelerating the deterioration of the more than 67,000-year-old works of art, according to researchers. Indonesia is battling its most intense forest and land fires since 2015 as a severe El Nino drives up temperatures and reduce...
Chinese artificial intelligence model developers DeepSeek and MiniMax have completed export registration procedures and proceeded with open-source releases and overseas licensing activities, according to Chinese state media, days after Beijing moved to tighten oversight on AI tech transfers. Yuyuan Tantian, an influential social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, reported on Thu...
Chinese artificial intelligence model developers DeepSeek and MiniMax have completed export registration procedures and proceeded with open-source releases and overseas licensing activities, according to Chinese state media, days after Beijing moved to tighten oversight on AI tech transfers. Yuyuan Tantian, an influential social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, reported on Thu...
Two women have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of child abuse after an 11-year-old girl posted videos on social media in a plea for help, capturing moments of emotional distress inside her home. Police arrested a 61-year-old local woman and a 43-year-old foreign woman in Wong Tai Sin on Friday on suspicion of ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of a child or young person. The girl,...
Police across France are under pressure to maintain security during further protests expected in some cities, while facing scrutiny over their riot-control tactics used during previous unrest that left some teenagers seriously injured. Officers appeared outnumbered and overwhelmed during last weekend’s protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. In response, France’s Inter...
Police across France are under pressure to maintain security during further protests expected in some cities, while facing scrutiny over their riot-control tactics used during previous unrest that left some teenagers seriously injured. Officers appeared outnumbered and overwhelmed during last weekend’s protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. In response, France’s Inter...
US and South Korean officials see the chances fading of a meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year, according to five people with knowledge of the situation. Trump, the only US president to have met a North Korean leader, has been eager to jump-start talks with North Korea, but Pyongyang has shown little interest in diplomacy aimed at containing its nuc...
