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A 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday, leaving several people dead and dozens of others injured or missing after part of a shopping centre and a huge chimney at a paper factory collapsed, officials said. A tsunami advisory was issued but quickly lifted. At least three people, including two who were found without vital signs at the mall late on Tuesday, ...
Emergency responders searched early on Wednesday for people feared trapped in a shopping centre in Japan after a major earthquake toppled buildings, sparked fires and reportedly killed one person and injured more than 100. Private broadcaster TBS reported that a “considerable number” of people were feared dead inside the shopping centre in the town of Kashima after the fire brigade said the second...
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and leaving some trapped and others presumed dead inside a partially collapsed shopping centre. Speaking to reporters from her office in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage in the area...
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and leaving some trapped and others presumed dead inside a partially collapsed shopping centre. Speaking to reporters at her office in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage in the area, ...
A major earthquake collapsed buildings and sparked fires in Japan’s southwest, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday, with broadcaster NHK noting that at least 50 people were taken to hospital. Television footage on NHK showed several blazes, damaged bridges, a derailed cargo train and cracked roads after the tremor on Kyushu island. The broadcaster reported at least 12 collapsed houses. T...
A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, issuing a tsunami alert. The tremor also measured at the highest possible level seven on Japan’s own Shindo scale of shaking, the agency said. More to come …
China has shipped a record number of electric vehicles (EVs) overseas from a Shanghai terminal, carried by a new generation of China-built car carrier ships – the latest instance of the country’s products taking on an even larger role in global supply chains. The Malta-flagged Glovis Nova, a newly delivered vehicle carrier built in China, loaded 7,738 new energy vehicles at Shanghai’s South Port T...
The owner of a Hong Kong private tutorial centre that ceased operations has been jailed for six years and four months for molesting five boys on the premises and filming some of the offences. The High Court on Tuesday sentenced Yu Hey-tsit for the “despicable and repulsive” acts he committed at the Prime Solid Learning Education Centre in Mei Foo Sun Chuen against the five minors, when they were b...
The owner of a Hong Kong private tutorial centre that ceased operations has been jailed for six years and four months for molesting five boys on the premises and filming some of the offences. The High Court on Tuesday sentenced Yu Hey-tsit for the “despicable and repulsive” acts he committed at the Prime Solid Learning Education Centre in Mei Foo Sun Chuen against the five minors, when they were b...
Hong Kong lawmakers have called on city leader John Lee Ka-chiu to revamp the public complaint hotline using Beijing’s AI-assisted model, fast track the Northern Metropolis and strengthen executive-legislative ties during a first-of-its-kind closed-door dialogue. The session on Tuesday marked the first time the new slate of lawmakers were given the opportunity to put questions directly to the chie...
Hong Kong authorities should revamp their public inquiry hotline to better handle residents’ complaints by learning from Beijing’s model, lawmakers have told the chief executive at the first “rules-free and warm-hearted” closed-door dialogue session. While the current Legislative Council term marks the first since the 1997 handover not to hold any formal question and answer session with a city lea...
Hong Kong authorities should revamp their public inquiry hotline to better handle residents’ complaints by learning from Beijing’s model, lawmakers have told the chief executive at the first “rules-free and warm-hearted” closed-door dialogue session. While the current Legislative Council term marks the first since the 1997 handover not to hold any formal question and answer session with a city lea...
India has been spared the worst of Washington’s latest tariff action, but analysts say much work still needs to be done to secure a long-awaited US trade deal despite the lower-than-expected levy. The Trump administration’s fresh round of tariffs, unveiled last week, targeted 60 economies it accuses of failing to curb imports made with forced labour. As late as last month, India was being threaten...
Myanmar’s military-backed parliament approved a law on Tuesday that authorises capital punishment for those who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centres, the speaker said. The “Anti-Online Scam Bill” was passed after MPs approved changes to a draft bill at a combined meeting of the lower and upper houses Tuesday morning in the capital Naypyidaw, Union Parliament Speak...
A woman in eastern China who was catching cicadas one evening with her husband accidentally fell into a sewage manhole, while the spouse, worried about her safety, immediately climbed into the shaft to keep her company. The couple were successfully rescued by firefighters shortly afterwards, the Dazhong Daily reported. The incident unfolded in Dongying, Shandong province, on July 15 when the coupl...
Holding a by-election to fill a seat vacated by former lawmaker William Wong Kam-fai after he resigned over a drink-driving arrest is a lower priority than preparing three important polls over the next 18 months, Hong Kong’s leader has said. Weighing in on the issue for the first time nearly a month after Wong’s resignation, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu stressed that electoral authorities need...
A wildfire in southwest France grew so powerful that its smoke column became a thunderstorm, generating lightning that struck the ground and ignited new fires beyond the original blaze, French officials said. Put another way, that means the inferno was no longer simply being propelled by the weather. It was making its own. The thundercloud also produced violent, erratic winds capable of driving th...
The first tonne-class long-distance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) suitable for multiple civil purposes to be built to airworthiness standards in China – Yitong UAV System’s TP200 – completed its maiden flight on Sunday. According to a Science and Technology Daily report on Monday, the TP200 – designed to handle maritime patrols, island supply and land surveying – can stay in the air for 24 hours a...
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. Indonesia’s plan for a rival to Singapore starts to take shape Indonesia wants to build a financial centre to rival Singapore, Hong Kong or Dubai, but analysts say the rea...
Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) reported a 1 per cent organic growth in the second quarter at its core fashion and leather goods division on Monday, ending seven straight quarters of decline, opening a busy week of French luxury results on a positive note. Over the first half, organic sales at the fashion and leather goods division fell 1 per cent, an improvement on the 3 per cent decline in th...
After conquering the sky and land, China’s robotics industry is quietly building momentum in a niche segment: high-altitude operation solutions. RobotPlusPlus, a Zhejiang-based robotics supplier, has made headway into the market with its flagship global offering – an autonomous climbing robot designed for ship hull cleaning and descaling. The robot was considered safer than manual labour, the comp...
A Malaysian factory worker who had spent nearly seven years building a life in South Korea was killed after going to help a friend caught up in a late-night confrontation, his family said – prompting an online fundraiser that collected about 80,000 ringgit (US$19,600) within a day to bring his body home. Ahmad Shah Ahmad Ros, 26, died in the early hours of Sunday in Daeso-eup, Eumseong county, abo...
Australia will consider building its first new oil refinery in more than 60 years, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, as war in the Middle East squeezes supplies from overseas and underscores the urgency to improve energy security. Albanese said the project will help build Australia’s resilience and sovereign capability on fuel, potentially helping shield the country from future sup...
This article was first published on July 29, 1976. Quake rocks Northern China by Staff Reporters Heavy casualties and severe damage to industrial plants and property were feared when the strongest earthquake for 12 years struck the industrial belt of northern Hopei Province early yesterday (July 28, 1976) morning. The tremor was followed by a series of aftershocks and 16 hours after the first quak...
The Chinese government has appealed to the public for clues as part of its investigation into a reservoir dam that collapsed in southern China earlier this month, causing heavy casualties. State media reported on Monday that the public was invited to submit information related to the collapse of the Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on July 6 via a dedicated telephone ...
NASN Intelligent Tech, a mainland Chinese smart driving motion control technologies company, is seeking to kick off its initial public offering (IPO) as soon as Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, backed by battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), recently passed its listing hearing, signalling it could kick off its book building anytime. Debuts ar...
Malaysia once decided Formula One was too expensive to keep, but Bahrain’s displaced Grand Prix has given it an unexpected route back to the calendar, as well as a chance to test whether the sport can still deliver value without the full financial burden of a long-term comeback. Analysts say the one-off race, made possible by the war in Iran and the cancellation of April’s races in Bahrain and Sau...
US diplomats walked out as their French counterparts were speaking at the United Nations on Monday after America’s close European ally criticised the Trump administration’s human rights record. The surprise move during a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine followed US opposition to giving UN human rights chief Volker Turk another four-year term. The reappointment on Friday got overwhelming supp...
Hongkonger Ms Lam has long known she is carrying a ticking time bomb after her mother and grandmother died of liver cancer. Her mother was completely asymptomatic until a late-stage diagnosis left no option for surgery. “I knew I carried the hepatitis B virus when I was in my twenties and had since then undergone regular health check-ups to manage the bomb,” the woman in her fifties recalled. Her ...
Hong Kong’s first large-scale Northern Metropolis land disposal tender was designed to test a new public-private partnership model integrating housing, economic transformation and innovation. As the Hung Shui Kiu pilot tender concludes, the market’s response provides insights into investor sentiment and highlights opportunities to strengthen future phases. The key question is how to turn this visi...
