Influential patriotic educator Ng Hon-mun dies aged 100
SCMP •

Influential patriotic educator Ng Hon-mun dies aged 100

Ng Hon-mun, an influential pro-Beijing educator and long-time Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress who was unafraid to call for reform, has died at the age of 100. His death was confirmed on Sunday by former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, also a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. “Deeply mourn Principal Ng Hon-mun,” Le...

Influential leftist educator Ng Hon-mun dies aged 100
SCMP •

Influential leftist educator Ng Hon-mun dies aged 100

Ng Hon-mun, an influential leftist educator and former Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress, has died at the age of 100. His death was confirmed on Sunday by former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who is also a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. “Deeply mourn Principal Ng Hon-mun,” Leung wrote on Facebook. Ng was regard...

Pakistan risks deeper instability as political feud threatens counterterrorism efforts
SCMP •

Pakistan risks deeper instability as political feud threatens counterterrorism efforts

Pakistan’s counterterrorism campaign against Taliban insurgents risks being undermined by public resentment, following the dismissal of the opposition-led administration of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. According to a statement issued by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office after an emergency cabinet meeting last Sunday, the decision to impose temporary federal rule was necessitated by the “...

China slams Japan’s Takaichi over Yasukuni ritual offering, warns of ‘remilitarisation’

China slams Japan’s Takaichi over Yasukuni ritual offering, warns of ‘remilitarisation’

SCMP •

China has condemned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for sending a ritual offering to Tokyo’s war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, a move that threatens to cast an even longer shadow over the strained ties between Beijing and Tokyo. At the start of Yasukuni’s three-day autumn festival on Saturday, Takaichi sent a ritual tree-stand offering to the shrine in her capacity as prime minister, although she...

Hong Kong police to link mall CCTVs to surveillance network, security chief says

Hong Kong police to link mall CCTVs to surveillance network, security chief says

SCMP •

Hong Kong police are in the final stages of talks to connect security cameras at shopping centres to the force’s expanding smart surveillance network aimed at tackling crime, the security chief has revealed. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung on Sunday said authorities were in discussions with private shopping centres to integrate their closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, without n...

Hong Kong to link private mall cameras to police surveillance network: Chris Tang

Hong Kong to link private mall cameras to police surveillance network: Chris Tang

SCMP •

Hong Kong police are in the final stages of talks to connect security cameras at private shopping centres to the force’s expanding smart surveillance network aimed at tackling crime, the security chief has revealed. Speaking on a television programme on Sunday, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said authorities were in discussions with private shopping centres to integrate their closed-...

Marilyn Monroe-linked home with four bedrooms and a private pool sells for $2.81 million

Marilyn Monroe-linked home with four bedrooms and a private pool sells for $2.81 million

Times of India •

A Palm Springs house linked to Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe has sold for $2.81 million, months after being listed for $3.3 million. Local designer Violet Moran purchased the four-bedroom property and plans to restore it while preserving its original features. Built in 1961, the house is known as the "Marilyn Monroe Doll House", although reports have questioned whether the actress ever owned it...

‘Many family stories’: Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet heads ABC radio poll of top 100 Australian books

‘Many family stories’: Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet heads ABC radio poll of top 100 Australian books

The Guardian •

Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief secures second place, while Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe rounds out podium dominated by menCloudstreet, Tim Winton’s sprawling Australian family epic, has been voted Australia’s favourite book in a poll run by ABC Radio National.The broadcaster announced over the weekend the results of a nationwide poll to determine a list of readers’ top 100 Australian ...

‘Many family stories’: Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet takes out ABC radio poll of top 100 Australian books

‘Many family stories’: Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet takes out ABC radio poll of top 100 Australian books

The Guardian •

Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief secures second place, while Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe rounds out podium dominated by menCloudstreet, Tim Winton’s sprawling Australian family epic, has been voted Australia’s favourite book in a poll run by ABC Radio National.The broadcaster announced over the weekend the results of a nationwide poll to determine a list of readers’ top 100 Australian ...

Condé Nast’s UK profits drop by more than a third as sale of Vogue publisher ruled out

Condé Nast’s UK profits drop by more than a third as sale of Vogue publisher ruled out

The Guardian •

Magazine group points to restructuring bill but says it ‘remains profitable in the UK for another year’Profits at Condé Nast’s UK arm slumped by more than a third last year, according to figures published shortly after the billionaire family that owns the luxury magazine group and titles from Vogue to GQ ruled out a sale.The publisher, which enjoyed a bumper 2024 after booking £64m in proceeds fro...

‘Austerity is inevitably painful’: How Michael Gove justifies his politics | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty

‘Austerity is inevitably painful’: How Michael Gove justifies his politics | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty

The Guardian •

For more than three decades, Michael Gove has been a leading figure in British Conservatism. As a journalist, government minister and now editor of the Tory bible the Spectator, he has helped shape the right even as it has moved further rightwards. In the latest episode of Radical Thinking, Gove joins Aditya Chakrabortty to discuss the future of the right, his record on Brexit and austerity, and t...

An extraordinary life: descendant welcomes biography of woman ‘gifted’ to Queen Victoria

An extraordinary life: descendant welcomes biography of woman ‘gifted’ to Queen Victoria

The Guardian •

A girl called Àìná was captured by an African king and later taken to England to become Sarah Forbes Bonetta, protege of the imperial monarch When she was seven years old, Bayo Randle’s great-great-grandmother Sarah Forbes Bonetta was presented to Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle as a “diplomatic gift” from an African king.Victoria would go on to pay for Bonetta’s education, approve her marriage t...

More drug, semiconductor firms to set up or expand in Hong Kong, OASES head says

More drug, semiconductor firms to set up or expand in Hong Kong, OASES head says

SCMP •

Ten to 20 more companies are set to establish or expand operations in Hong Kong, including leading drug makers and a semiconductor business, with a roughly equal number of mainland Chinese and overseas firms, the head of a government investment office has said. Peter Yan King-shun, director general of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), a government body under the Financial Se...

More drug, semiconductor firms eyeing Hong Kong for expansion, OASES head says

More drug, semiconductor firms eyeing Hong Kong for expansion, OASES head says

SCMP •

Ten to 20 more companies are set to establish or expand operations in Hong Kong, including leading drug makers and a semiconductor business, with a roughly equal number of mainland Chinese and overseas firms, the head of a government investment office has said. Peter Yan King-shun, director general of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), a government body under the Financial Se...

Mad rush for oxygen tanks, air purifiers in haze-choked Southeast Asia

Mad rush for oxygen tanks, air purifiers in haze-choked Southeast Asia

SCMP •

Toxic haze from wildfires burning in Indonesia has spiked a demand for oxygen tanks and air purifiers across the region, manufacturers say, as they work the clock on equipment providing life-saving clean air. The months-long haze has blanketed parts of Southeast Asia, forcing school closures and fuelling a rise in respiratory complaints. Families are now rushing to buy devices to keep indoor air c...