World News Hub

Singapore-based investors now the top non-local buyers of Hong Kong office assets

SCMP • 3 months ago

Singapore-based investors have become the largest group of non-local buyers of commercial properties in Hong Kong, drawn by the sizeable correction in the prices of distressed assets amid a slump in the city’s office segment, according to Colliers. The demand from Singapore was likely to remain steady in the coming months, given that the prices of office assets have declined by as much as 50 per c...

Cambodia’s tourism slump leaves Angkor Wat eerily quiet

SCMP • 3 months ago

Watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat once meant fighting for elbow room, a hundred phone screens glowing in the dark as tour buses disgorged crowds chasing the same postcard-perfect shot These days, the 12th century temple complex is comparatively quiet, with operators reporting an emptying of Cambodia’s most recognisable landmark. “Angkor is as quiet as I have seen it in years,” said Akim Ly, fo...

What to see at the Shenzhen Natural History Museum, from dinosaur fossils to meteorites

SCMP • 3 months ago

The Shenzhen Natural History Museum will open to the public on July 28 as the first dedicated large-scale institution of its kind in southern China. Spearheaded by the Shenzhen government with a total investment of 3.5 billion yuan (US$517 million) – excluding the cost of collecting artefacts – the museum, located in the Pingshan district in the northeast of the city, is among its “Ten Cultural Fa...

Trump administration urges US Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting

SCMP • 3 months ago

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from US President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections. The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now lower court decisions blocking the sweeping changes in nearly half the country. The request comes soon after Trump delivered an...

Trump administration urges Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting

SCMP • 3 months ago

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from US President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections. The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now lower court decisions blocking the sweeping changes in nearly half the country. The request comes soon after Trump delivered an...

Shoot-out at Seattle festival that killed 3 may have been gang-related

SCMP • 3 months ago

There were at least three suspects involved in a shoot-out at a crowded food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle over the weekend, police said Monday. One of them was among those killed in the violence. In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case waived his initial appearance Monday, police said they believe there were at least three shooters: the 15...

Police say there were at least 3 shooters at Seattle food festival, 1 among the dead

SCMP • 3 months ago

Police now say there were at least three suspects involved in a shoot-out at a crowded food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle over the weekend. One of them was among those killed in the violence. In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case did not appear for a scheduled initial appearance on Monday, police said they believe there were at least thre...

Singer D4vd to stand trial in killing of 14-year-old girl

SCMP • 3 months ago

A judge ruled Monday that there is enough evidence to put D4vd on trial in the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who authorities said had threatened to expose their relationship and crater the indie-pop singer’s rising career just a few days before his debut album dropped. “i will end ur career and ur life,” she told him in a text message sent the night before her d...

Judge rules singer D4vd must stand trial in killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

SCMP • 3 months ago

A judge ruled on Monday that there is enough evidence to put singer D4vd on trial in the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez after, authorities said, she had threatened to expose their relationship and end his career. Los Angeles Judge Charlaine Olmedo decided the evidence prosecutors presented at a preliminary hearing that spanned five days provided probable cause for...

A tale of two markets: Wall Street cheers record highs while Beijing deflates bubbles

SCMP • 3 months ago

When the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs in early July, US President Donald Trump hailed it as evidence of America’s economic revival. “This is WINNING. The Golden Age of America is beginning – and we are just getting started,” he wrote in a social media post on July 4, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. Though it was only ...

Savannah Guthrie issues new plea to mother’s kidnappers

SCMP • 3 months ago

US TV show host Savannah Guthrie has said in a new video that her family is living an unending nightmare nearly six months after her mother’s disappearance and pleads with her kidnappers: “Tell us where to look for her”. The video, released on Monday, is the latest public plea from the Today presenter about 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie since her disappearance on February 1 from her home just outside ...

Savannah Guthrie makes an emotional plea to her mother’s kidnappers

SCMP • 3 months ago

Today show host Savannah Guthrie says in a new video that her family is living an unending nightmare nearly six months after her mother’s disappearance and pleads with her kidnappers: “Tell us where to look for her.” The video released on Monday is the latest public plea from the journalist about 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie since her disappearance on February 1 from her home just outside Tucson, Ari...

With rapid Ebola aid, China shows itself a reliable partner of Africa

SCMP • 3 months ago

When Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), met Jiang Feng, head of China’s mission to the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in mid-July, the message was practical. They signed a handover certificate that brought Beijing’s direct emergency support for the Ebola response to US$4.5 million. A five-member Chinese medical team was already w...

France and Spain race to curb wildfires before new heatwave arrives

SCMP • 3 months ago

Firefighters sought on Monday to take advantage of more favourable weather to subdue massive wildfires threatening the French city and tourist region of Bordeaux and a number of sites in neighbouring Spain. They were racing against the clock as another heatwave is expected to hit both countries later this week in what has been a blisteringly hot and dry summer across western Europe. Authorities ha...

US congressional group plans annual visits to China after trade trip

SCMP • 3 months ago

A congressional advisory panel focused on China has returned from a trip to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, with commissioners pledging to make the visits an annual event to strengthen engagement and inform their work on US-China relations. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), an independent advisory body established in 2000, provides annual reports and recommendations to l...

US congressional party vows annual visits to China after trade trip

SCMP • 3 months ago

A congressional advisory panel focused on China has returned from a trip to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, with commissioners pledging to make the visits an annual event to strengthen engagement and inform their work on US-China relations. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), an independent advisory body established in 2000, provides annual reports and recommendations to l...

US congressional party vows annual visits to China after positive trade trip

SCMP • 3 months ago

A congressional advisory panel focused on China has returned from a trip to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, with commissioners pledging to make the visits an annual event to strengthen engagement and inform their work on US-China relations. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), an independent advisory body established in 2000, provides annual reports and recommendations to l...

Tate brothers to remain in US jail as they fight extradition to UK

SCMP • 3 months ago

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in prison for at least two more weeks until their next hearing as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge said on Monday. US Magistrate Lauren Louis set a detention hearing for August 13 to determine whether the Tates should stay in jail or be released duri...

Tate brothers to stay in US jail for 2 more weeks amid UK extradition fight

SCMP • 3 months ago

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in prison for at least two more weeks until their next hearing as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge said on Monday. US Magistrate Lauren Louis set a detention hearing for August 13 to determine whether the Tates should stay in jail or be released duri...

Tate brothers will remain in US jail for 2 more weeks as they fight extradition to the UK

SCMP • 3 months ago

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in prison for at least two more weeks until their next hearing as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge said on Monday. US Magistrate Lauren Louis set a detention hearing for August 13 to determine whether the Tates should stay in jail or be released duri...

Armed police officers to be deployed for UK’s biggest Pride festival

SCMP • 3 months ago

Armed officers will be deployed for the UK’s largest Pride festival, police said following the attack on Berlin’s Pride event. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting condemned the “absolutely horrific” van and stabbing attack in the German capital that left one person dead and injured at least 29 others. The suspect – named as Abdul B and said to have links to Islamic State – was shot dead by police on S...

Shot fired at Toronto’s US consulate in second incident in 4 months

SCMP • 3 months ago

At least one shot was fired early on Monday at the US consulate in Toronto, Canadian police said, the second shooting near the diplomatic compound in four months. No injuries were reported. An officer guarding the consulate “heard the sound of a gunshot in the vicinity here where he was stationed” at about 4.45am, the city’s deputy police chief Frank Barredo told reporters, adding that the consula...

Shot fired at US consulate in Toronto for second time in 4 months

SCMP • 3 months ago

At least one shot was fired early on Monday at the US consulate in Toronto, Canadian police said, the second shooting near the diplomatic compound in four months. No injuries were reported. An officer guarding the consulate “heard the sound of a gunshot in the vicinity here where he was stationed” at about 4.45am, the city’s deputy police chief Frank Barredo told reporters, adding that the consula...

Shots fired near US consulate in Toronto in second shooting near the compound in 4 months

SCMP • 3 months ago

Shots were fired early on Monday at the US consulate in Toronto, Canadian police said, the second shooting near the diplomatic compound in four months. No injuries were reported. An officer guarding the consulate “heard the sound of a gunshot in the vicinity here where he was stationed” at about 4.45am, the city’s deputy police chief Frank Barredo told reporters, adding that the consulate’s facade...

Brazil turns to China trade deal after Trump’s tariffs, as years of resistance end

SCMP • 3 months ago

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed on Sunday night to accelerate negotiations for a trade agreement between China and Mercosur, a striking reversal for Brasilia, which for years led resistance to such a deal in the South American bloc. The two leaders spoke by telephone for more than an hour, according to a statement from the Brazilian presidency,...