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Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza, minister says no deal to halt attacks
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Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza, minister says no deal to halt attacks

Israeli air strikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medical staff said, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement. From dawn, Israeli warplanes hit Gaza City in the north, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern area of Khan Younis, causing the biggest daily d...

Israel says military will not yet withdraw from Gaza, as strikes kill 9
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Israel says military will not yet withdraw from Gaza, as strikes kill 9

Israeli ⁠air strikes continued in Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least nine Palestinians, despite US President Donald Trump’s Thursday announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday that there was no deal to halt attacks on Gaza and that he saw a need for Israel, which already ‌cont...

Israeli strikes kill 9 in Gaza, cabinet minister says no deal to stop
SCMP •

Israeli strikes kill 9 in Gaza, cabinet minister says no deal to stop

Israeli ⁠air strikes continued in Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least nine Palestinians, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday that there was no deal to halt attacks on Gaza and that he saw a need for Israel, which already ‌controls 70 p...

Chinese rocket scientists find ‘most effective’ way to nuke a doomsday asteroid
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Chinese rocket scientists find ‘most effective’ way to nuke a doomsday asteroid

Chinese researchers believe they may have found the most effective way to destroy or deflect a large, Earth-threatening asteroid – by burying a nuclear bomb beneath its surface and exploding it. The idea is to first slam a metal penetrator into the asteroid, digging a deep hole. A second spacecraft would then drop a nuclear bomb into the hole and blow it up, according to a team led by researchers ...

Spend HK$10,000 a month on your pets? Why not, say pet lovers at Hong Kong cat expo

Spend HK$10,000 a month on your pets? Why not, say pet lovers at Hong Kong cat expo

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With 14 cats and a dog at home, Hong Kong couple Mr and Mrs Cheung spend more than HK$10,000 (US$1,275) a month on their beloved pets. “Pets are meant to be spoiled rotten,” said Mrs Cheung, a pet groomer in her thirties who visited the cat expo in Wan Chai on Sunday with her husband and four Maine Coon cats. The cats were dressed up and carried in a HK$4,000 stroller made in Japan. She said the f...

Spend HK$10,000 a month on your pets? Why not, say cat lovers at Hong Kong expo

Spend HK$10,000 a month on your pets? Why not, say cat lovers at Hong Kong expo

SCMP •

With 14 cats and a dog at home, Hong Kong couple Mr and Mrs Cheung spend more than HK$10,000 (US$1,275) a month on their beloved pets. “Pets are meant to be spoiled rotten,” said Mrs Cheung, a pet groomer in her thirties who visited the cat expo in Wan Chai on Sunday with her husband and four Maine Coon cats. The cats were dressed up and carried in a HK$4,000 stroller made in Japan. She said the f...

‘Pets are meant to be spoiled’: Hong Kong cat owners spend big at feline expo

‘Pets are meant to be spoiled’: Hong Kong cat owners spend big at feline expo

SCMP •

With 14 cats and a dog at home, Hong Kong couple Mr and Mrs Cheung spend more than HK$10,000 (US$1,275) a month on their beloved pets. “Pets are meant to be spoiled rotten,” said Mrs Cheung, a pet groomer in her thirties who visited the cat expo in Wan Chai on Sunday with her husband and four Maine Coon cats. The cats were dressed up and carried in a HK$4,000 stroller made in Japan. She said the f...

‘Discouraged’ at university, maths star Wang Hong spurs Chinese education debate

‘Discouraged’ at university, maths star Wang Hong spurs Chinese education debate

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Many young students in China have been inspired by the achievement of Wang Hong, the first Chinese woman to receive the Fields Medal – the world’s most prestigious prize in mathematics. But it is the 35-year-old’s candid remarks about feeling “discouraged” in her early years at an elite Chinese university that appear to have struck the deepest chord. Those comments have set off a broader debate ab...

5 dead in Indonesia ferry fire, 41 missing

5 dead in Indonesia ferry fire, 41 missing

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An Indonesian ferry caught fire at sea on Sunday, killing five people and leaving another 41 missing after some jumped overboard, search and rescue officials said. A total of 225 people on the vessel were rescued, said the regional Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency, which provided the latest figures in an afternoon update. Some passengers jumped into the sea and were picked up by a nearby ship, ac...

Rains fail to deter Chiikawa fans and big spenders after roundabout cancellation

Rains fail to deter Chiikawa fans and big spenders after roundabout cancellation

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The return of an exhibition featuring popular Japanese manga series Chiikawa to Hong Kong drew crowds and big spenders on a rainy Sunday afternoon, even though the organiser cancelled a much-anticipated roundabout due to safety reasons. While some fans expressed disappointment over the halted rides at the K11 Musea promenade on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, others welcomed the alternative arrangem...

How retirees can win against rising healthcare cost in Hong Kong

How retirees can win against rising healthcare cost in Hong Kong

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Retiree Philip Kong says he realised Hong Kong’s healthcare system needed a wake-up call when he discovered that receiving treatment for his prostate condition in neighbouring Shenzhen could potentially cut his medical bill by nearly 90 per cent. The 75-year-old was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate earlier this year and set to pay HK$210,000 (US$26,780) for a scheduled surgery at Hong Kong Sana...

How can retirees win against rising healthcare cost in Hong Kong

How can retirees win against rising healthcare cost in Hong Kong

SCMP •

Retiree Philip Kong says he realised Hong Kong’s healthcare system needed a wake-up call when he discovered that receiving treatment for his prostate condition in neighbouring Shenzhen could potentially cut his medical bill by nearly 90 per cent. The 75-year-old was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate earlier this year and set to pay HK$210,000 (US$26,780) for a scheduled surgery at Hong Kong Sana...

How can retirees ease the pain of rising healthcare costs in Kong Hong?

How can retirees ease the pain of rising healthcare costs in Kong Hong?

SCMP •

Retiree Philip Kong says he realised Hong Kong’s healthcare system needed a wake-up call when he discovered that receiving treatment for his prostate condition in neighbouring Shenzhen could potentially cut his medical bill by nearly 90 per cent. The 75-year-old was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate earlier this year and set to pay HK$210,000 (US$26,780) for a scheduled surgery at Hong Kong Sana...

How can Hong Kong retirees ease the pain of rising healthcare costs?

How can Hong Kong retirees ease the pain of rising healthcare costs?

SCMP •

Retiree Philip Kong says he realised Hong Kong’s healthcare system needed a wake-up call when he discovered that receiving treatment for his prostate condition in neighbouring Shenzhen could potentially cut his medical bill by nearly 90 per cent. The 75-year-old was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate earlier this year and set to pay HK$210,000 (US$26,780) for a scheduled surgery at Hong Kong Sana...

7 face arrest after Inner Mongolia fatal blast report exposes string of failings

7 face arrest after Inner Mongolia fatal blast report exposes string of failings

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A series of failures, including poor maintenance, design and oversight, have been blamed for a deadly explosion at an industrial plant in Baotou in China’s Inner Mongolia region earlier this year. In an official report released on Sunday, the Inner Mongolian emergency management department said the blast at the Baotou Steel Group’s plant that killed 10 people and injured 84 was the result of a lea...

Climate crisis: Hungary closes nuclear power plant, Greece wildfires spread

Climate crisis: Hungary closes nuclear power plant, Greece wildfires spread

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Hungary is fully shutting down its sole nuclear power plant for the first time due to the record low levels of the Danube River, straining energy supplies and posing a major test for the economy and new Prime Minister Péter Magyar. One of the two reactors still operating at the Paks plant was shut down early on Sunday, with the final one powering down later in the day, according to Magyar. He cite...

Beijing warns Manila of ‘powerful’ South China Sea toolbox ready for ‘head-on blow’

Beijing warns Manila of ‘powerful’ South China Sea toolbox ready for ‘head-on blow’

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Beijing had a “rich and powerful” toolkit to use against those who “make waves” in the South China Sea, China’s military mouthpiece warned on Sunday, following efforts by Manila to map out its claim to a disputed shoal. The PLA Daily warning came a day after the Chinese military mounted joint naval and air drills near Scarborough Shoal, a contested group of low-lying rocky islets known as Huangyan...

Mainland transit gives Hongkongers option for Europe trips amid Middle East war

Mainland transit gives Hongkongers option for Europe trips amid Middle East war

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Transiting through mainland China for long-haul destinations from Hong Kong has become an alternative to stopping off in the Middle East amid safety concerns brought about by the US-Israel war on Iran, the city’s travel agents have said. Alex Lee Chun-ting, general manager of Miramar Travel, told the South China Morning Post that the war in the Middle East had initially reduced interest in long-ha...

Mainland transit offers alternative for Europe trips amid Middle East war

Mainland transit offers alternative for Europe trips amid Middle East war

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Transiting through mainland China for long-haul destinations from Hong Kong has become an alternative to stopping off in the Middle East amid safety concerns brought about by the US-Israel war on Iran, the city’s travel agents have said. Alex Lee Chun-ting, general manager of Miramar Travel, told the South China Morning Post that the war in the Middle East had initially reduced interest in long-ha...

Kowloon Walled City action film sequel’s gritty, nostalgic set draws residents

Kowloon Walled City action film sequel’s gritty, nostalgic set draws residents

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Tucked in a corner of a hi-tech industrial estate in Yuen Long, a cluster of cluttered flats has been designed to evoke a gritty Hong Kong slum. It is the main set for the sequel to the nostalgic blockbuster film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. The set, constructed on an empty factory site at Yuen Long InnoPark, recreates the iconic Kowloon Walled City, featuring details such as a banner hang...

Rosewood Hotel Group to press on with clubhouse takeover as opposition escalates

Rosewood Hotel Group to press on with clubhouse takeover as opposition escalates

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Rosewood Hotel Group in Hong Kong will press ahead with a controversial plan to change operations at a clubhouse in Central on August 8, despite escalating opposition from a group of members, the South China Morning Post has learned. Sources said recently the hotelier’s Carlyle & Co private club would take over the operations of the Town Club in Central from sports entity, Hong Kong Golf & Tennis ...

Why Hong Kong’s elites must become risk-takers again

Why Hong Kong’s elites must become risk-takers again

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Hong Kong is drafting its first‑ever five‑year plan, a historic blueprint to chart long‑term development. Much has been said about reforms and paradigm shifts, but far less attention has been paid to the true architects of this journey: Hong Kong’s elites. Their choices will determine whether the city reinvents itself as an innovation hub or slides into stagnation. For decades, Hong Kong’s movers ...

Is Turkey putting pressure on China in Africa’s infrastructure market?

Is Turkey putting pressure on China in Africa’s infrastructure market?

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Two years after Kenya’s deal with India’s Adani Group to modernise Jomo Kenyatta International Airport collapsed, the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has won a US$1.2 billion contract to do just that. The same pattern played out when France’s Vinci lost a major highway deal in Kenya and CRBC took over as developer alongside another Chinese firm. Under the original 30-year conc...

From gendered sacrifice to ancient politics: DNA lifts shroud on early Chinese civilisation

From gendered sacrifice to ancient politics: DNA lifts shroud on early Chinese civilisation

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Thousands of years ago, a handful of burgeoning civilisations were forming the earliest cultures of what would evolve into China. Among these peoples were the Shimao, who constructed majestic walls that were mistakenly believed to be part of the Great Wall of China until jade artefacts were discovered, dating the infrastructure to be much older. The Shimao inhabited Shaanxi, in central China, betw...

3 more suspects arrested over murder of businessman in Hong Kong bar fight

3 more suspects arrested over murder of businessman in Hong Kong bar fight

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Hong Kong police have arrested three more suspects in connection with the death of a 32-year-old entrepreneur in a bar fight on July 26. The arrests were made as part of an investigation into the murder of Issac Yeung at an upstairs bar on Cameron Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Police have already arrested six men and three women, aged 24 to 46, in connection with the case. The force said on Sunday that t...

Ukraine strikes kill 9 in Russia, Moscow says, another Wildberries warehouse hit

Ukraine strikes kill 9 in Russia, Moscow says, another Wildberries warehouse hit

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Ukraine attacked multiple regions of Russia on Sunday, killing at least nine people, while Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five, according to officials in both countries. Some of the strikes hit hundreds of kilometres from the front line, according to authorities. Both Moscow and Kyiv have upped attacks on each other in recent months, as US-led talks aimed at ending the conflict remain ...

Ukraine strikes kill 8 in Russia, Moscow says, another Wildberries warehouse hit

Ukraine strikes kill 8 in Russia, Moscow says, another Wildberries warehouse hit

SCMP •

Ukraine attacked multiple regions of Russia on Sunday, killing at least eight people, Russian officials said. Some of the strikes hit hundreds of kilometres from the front line, according to authorities. Both Moscow and Kyiv have upped attacks on each other in recent months, as US-led talks aimed at ending the conflict remain largely frozen. Kyiv, which denies targeting civilians, says the strikes...

Ukraine strikes kill 8 in Russia, Moscow says, hit another Wildberries warehouse

Ukraine strikes kill 8 in Russia, Moscow says, hit another Wildberries warehouse

SCMP •

Ukraine attacked multiple regions of Russia on Sunday, killing at least eight people, Russian officials said. Some of the strikes hit hundreds of kilometres from the front line, according to authorities. Both Moscow and Kyiv have upped attacks on each other in recent months, as US-led talks aimed at ending the conflict remain largely frozen. Kyiv, which denies targeting civilians, says the strikes...

Ukrainian drone strikes kill 2 in Russia, hit another Wildberries warehouse

Ukrainian drone strikes kill 2 in Russia, hit another Wildberries warehouse

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Ukrainian drone strikes killed at ⁠least two people in ⁠Russian regions along the ⁠Volga River overnight, hitting targets including a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, regional officials said on Sunday. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had downed ‌635 Ukrainian drones during the night. Kyiv’s drones attacked a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, around ...