Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
Ancient China dreamed of future technology long before the modern age, conjuring visions of magic mirrors, ingenious machines and even lifelike wooden puppets. In the Tang dynasty (618–907) text Duyang Miscellaneous Records, a mysterious stone called the “immortal mirror” appears as a precursor to the CT scan. Found in the southwest of an unnamed land, the polished stone was said to span hundreds ...
Ancient China dreamed of future technology long before the modern age, conjuring visions of magic mirrors, ingenious machines and even lifelike wooden puppets. In the Tang dynasty (618–907) text Duyang Miscellaneous Records, a mysterious stone called the “immortal mirror” appears as a precursor to the CT scan. Found in the southwest of an unnamed land, the polished stone was said to span hundreds ...
Graduates of Hong Kong’s largest vocational training institution have largely avoided the negative effects of AI and could reap more internship opportunities from a coming megaproject, the body’s new leader has said. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, newly appointed Vocational Training Council (VTC) chairman Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung also vowed to review the courses to align them with ...
In a swanky penthouse office outside Kuala Lumpur, tech firm Zetrix AI is putting a grand plan into motion to get 1 million people across Southeast Asia using its artificial intelligence agent, Avatar, by the end of the year. Designed as an autonomous alter ego, Avatar is adept at dealing with tasks ranging from the mundane, like filling out forms, to the particular, such as helping influencers re...
SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he was taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world...
A US federal judge dismissed a criminal case on Friday filed against a Salvadorean man at the centre of a row over US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on migrants. US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that the indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia by the Trump administration’s Justice Department was “an abuse of prosecuting power”. Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident married to an American woman...
Chinese President Xi Jinping viewed the Thucydides Trap as the “best diagnosis” of the challenge Beijing faces with Washington when he raised the concept with US leader Donald Trump this month, signalling an awareness that their current path risked conflict, an eminent American political scientist said. “My impression is that he sees this as the best diagnosis of the challenge he and President Tru...
Chinese President Xi Jinping viewed the Thucydides Trap as the “best diagnosis” of the challenge Beijing faces with Washington when he raised the concept with US leader Donald Trump this month, signalling an awareness that their current path risked conflict, an eminent American political scientist said. “My impression is that he sees this as the best diagnosis of the challenge he and President Tru...
Chinese President Xi Jinping viewed the Thucydides Trap as the “best diagnosis” of the challenge Beijing faces with Washington when he raised the concept with US leader Donald Trump this month, signalling an awareness that their current path risked conflict, an eminent American political scientist said. “My impression is that he sees this as the best diagnosis of the challenge he and President Tru...
In an era when technology seems to defy all limits, one age-old barrier has managed to endure: geography. As geopolitical turbulence continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping artery, especially for energy – the search for other fuel sources, and other means of transport, has shifted from a strategic luxury to an existential necessity. This need has become particu...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not attend the wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jnr, to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, because he has to stay in Washington for government business. “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not attend the wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jnr, to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, because he has to stay in Washington for government business. “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for...
Foreigners applying for permanent residency in the US will now have to go back to their home countries to seek green cards. “From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” Zach Kahler, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement on Friday. “This policy all...
When Marco Rubio was confirmed as US Secretary of State last year, fireworks of optimism went off in New Delhi. Given his years as a senator championing a pro-India, staunchly anti-China posture, policymakers anticipated an unprecedented alignment. However, as Rubio arrives in India on Saturday for a four-day visit spanning Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, he enters a relationship strained by ...
Kevin Warsh, whose broad criticism of current US Federal Reserve officials, playbook for rate cuts and ties to President Donald Trump elevated him past other contenders to lead the central bank, was sworn in as Fed leader on Friday at a pivotal moment for monetary policy and the American economy. Warsh, wearing a dark suit and tie and accompanied by his wife, Jane Lauder, heiress to the Estee La...
Two Chinese nationals were indicted on charges of conspiracy to launder money for drug cartels, the US Justice Department announced on Friday. Ruhuan Zhen and Hongce Wu allegedly hid the source of illegally obtained funds on behalf of various criminal groups operating across borders, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). The two remain at large, the Justic...
Tulsi Gabbard is resigning from her job as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, Fox News Digital reported on Friday, citing her resignation letter. Gabbard advised Trump of her intention to step down during an Oval Office meeting on Friday, the news outlet reported. The resignation is effective June 30, it said. In her resignation letter, Gabbard told Trump she was ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered his military to prepare options to retaliate against Ukraine for what he described as a drone attack on a student dorm that killed six people and wounded dozens, with 15 still unaccounted for. Putin said the attack had struck the dorm in Starobilsk in Luhansk, a Russian-controlled region in eastern Ukraine. He said Kyiv’s military must have known...
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that Alberta was “essential” to the country’s future, hours after the province’s leader moved the oil-rich region closer towards a referendum on independence. Separatists in the western province spent months collecting signatures seeking to trigger a binding October vote on seceding from the nation. On May 4, they delivered their petition to provi...
Everlane, the retailer that bucked the fast-fashion industry by promising affordable ethically sourced and sustainable clothing, is being acquired by the king of fast-fashion, China’s Shein. A letter to Everlane employees from CEO Alfred Chang confirming the deal was obtained by Associated Press on Friday. Everlane did not disclose a purchase price. Shein declined to comment. Everlane was founded ...
Chinese AI firms MiniMax Group and Knowledge Atlas Technology – better known as Zhipu AI – will join the Hang Seng Tech Index next month. Their inclusion follows investor criticism that the city’s primary technology gauge has underperformed by missing out on the global artificial intelligence boom. Concurrently, Shanghai-based courier J&T Global Express, lightweight metal giant Aluminum Corp of Ch...
China has moved to ease residency restrictions that prevent migrant workers from accessing social insurance where they work, in a sweeping effort to expand coverage and strengthen labour protections nationwide. The new measures were announced on Friday by the State Council, China’s cabinet. The move is part of China’s broader push to create a unified national market by removing barriers to the fre...
France’s former prime minister Gabriel Attal said on Friday he would run for president next year when Emmanuel Macron steps down, becoming the second prominent centrist to challenge the far-right. “I can’t take this kind of French politics anymore, where it’s just 50 shades of managing decline,” said the 37-year-old, who was France’s youngest prime minister when he served in 2024. He announced his...
The original think tank paper was published in Chinese. SCMP Plus members can read an English translation here. A Chinese state think tank has offered a detailed road map to steer China and the US towards peaceful coexistence, as the competition between the two powers has entered a new strategic stalemate. In a paper published on May 13 – the same day US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing f...
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s coming trip to New York and Canada is expected to lay the groundwork for President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the US and warmer ties with Ottawa. China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that Wang would chair a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on May 26, followed by a visit to Canada from May 28 to 30. The New York leg of Wang’s trip foll...
The head of the World Health Organization said on Friday that the Ebola outbreak in Congo is “spreading rapidly” and now poses a “very high” risk at the national level. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency was revising upwards to “very high” its assessment of the risk within Congo, which had previously been deemed as high. The risk remains high for regional spr...
The head of the World Health Organization said on Friday that the Ebola outbreak in Congo is “spreading rapidly” and now poses a “very high” risk at the national level. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency was revising upwards to “very high” its assessment of the risk within Congo, which had previously been deemed as high. The risk remains high for regional spr...
The expanded second passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport will be crucial to the city’s role as a global aviation hub, with its departure concourse set to open at the end of next year, the managing authority has said. The Airport Authority said on Friday that Terminal 2 would open on May 27 and travellers would check in, clear immigration and undergo security checks before proceedi...
The expanded second passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport will be crucial to the city’s role as a global aviation hub, with its departure concourse set to open at the end of next year, the managing authority has said. The Airport Authority said on Friday that Terminal 2 would open on May 27 and travellers would check in, clear immigration and undergo security checks before proceedi...
The expanded second passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport will be crucial to the city’s role as a global aviation hub, with its departure concourse set to open at the end of next year, the managing authority has said. The Airport Authority said on Friday that Terminal 2 would open on May 27 and travellers would check in, clear immigration and undergo security checks before proceedi...
