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The young woman in the stands simply sighed, turned her head and sat there, looking impossibly composed, while 15 million strangers fell briefly in love with someone who had never existed. She was, according to the caption accompanying one of many posts, “the average Korean woman”. Her admirers quickly crowned her a “baseball goddess”, analysing her every feature with the forensic enthusiasm reser...
The launch of limited edition Swatch watches descended into chaos on Saturday in several European cities and New York, with French police firing tear gas to restore order at one store near Paris. Hundreds of people waited through the night – and in some cases for several days – hoping to get their hands on the “Royal Pop” timepieces, made in collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. In...
Chinese businesses in Indonesia have issued an unusually blunt warning to President Prabowo Subianto that a wave of tougher rules is hurting investor confidence, exposing growing tension between Jakarta’s push for control of the resources sector and foreign capital that has helped power the country’s nickel boom. Several ministers in Jakarta have pushed back, saying Indonesia must prioritise sover...
China has confirmed for the first time that it is drawing up a “comprehensive law” on artificial intelligence. Industry insiders said the move showed China had accumulated enough practical experience and was speeding up its governance as a result. A legislative work plan for the year issued last week by the State Council, China’s cabinet, outlined plans to “improve AI governance and accelerate com...
Hong Kong’s retail property market is gradually building momentum as spending and confidence of consumers and tourists return, according to analysts. Unlike the city’s past peak rental levels, however, this time the tenant mix was more diversified, with retailers offering unique experiences and products that enhanced their appeal to shoppers, they said. “We see structural shifts towards more exper...
Three polls firmly caught my attention over the past month or so. Each was conducted by a different outlet and addressed different questions. However, taken together, they tell one overarching story – implicitly, but unmistakably. Beyond an assortment of data, the story is about direction. The first was a CNN poll. It showed that 76 per cent of Americans now see high prices and the cost of living ...
Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) is stepping up efforts to detect fraudulent certificates used for early withdrawal of pension contributions after two medical groups reported suspected cases to police in recent weeks. Responding to an inquiry from the South China Morning Post, an authority spokesman said its online platform had recently identified suspected fraud invol...
A 76-year-old woman once dubbed China’s oldest mother of twins has returned to the spotlight after a photographic series chronicling her life recently won an international award. Sheng Hailin, from Anhui province in central China, has also become a social media influencer with nearly one million followers, offering solace and inspiration to bereaved parents rebuilding their lives after loss. Her o...
Ahead of next year’s Apec summit, Vietnam has a grand plan to transform Phu Quoc, its largest island, into Southeast Asia’s leading conference and exhibition hub. The 137 trillion dong (US$5.2 billion) blueprint includes an airport overhaul, a light-rail line, clusters of luxury hotels and a brand-new sewerage system – much of it paid for by one of the country’s largest conglomerates, in return fo...
Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time on Saturday in a final overshadowed by five countries’ boycott over Gaza, claiming a dramatic victory despite another big public vote for Israel that secured it second place. The garish and usually good-natured competition involving pop acts from countries across Europe and beyond, now in its 70th year, has been plunged into crisis by a ...
One of four Canadians who returned home from a cruise ship where there was a hantavirus outbreak received a “presumptive positive” test result for the virus, Canadian officials said on Saturday. Results from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg to confirm the case are expected to come over the weekend, said Bonnie Henry, the public health officer for the province of British Columbia. “Clearly...
As the United States experiences a brain drain, Europe is emerging as a key research partner for China as both benefit from an influx of young scientists from America. Rapid changes in geopolitics have brought “massive changes in the global flow of talent”, according to Patrick Cramer, the president of Germany’s Max Planck Society, a leading research body in Europe. “These are exactly the question...
A Rwandan suspect charged in connection with the 1994 genocide died in a hospital while in custody in The Hague, Netherlands, a UN court said Saturday, three years after the court declared him unfit to continue standing trial. Felicien Kabuga, 91, was accused of encouraging and bankrolling the mass killing of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority. His trial began in 2022, nearly three decades after the 100-day ...
A humpback whale that underwent a rescue operation in Germany two weeks ago after beaching itself there has been found dead near a Danish island, officials said on Saturday. “It can now be confirmed that the stranded humpback whale near Anholt is the same whale that was previously stranded in Germany and was the subject of rescue attempts,” said Jane Hansen, division head at the Danish Environment...
A man drove a car into a crowd in the northern Italian city of Modena, injuring at least eight people, four of whom are in serious condition, police said. The driver – a 30-year-old born in Bergamo and of North African origin, who had moved to the province that includes Modena – attempted to flee after the car crashed into a shop window, Modena’s mayor told broadcaster RaiNews24. The fleeing dri...
Eight people were injured on Saturday when a car drove into pedestrians in the centre of the northern Italian city of Modena, police and the city’s mayor said. Police said they arrested the driver, a man in his thirties, and there was no further danger. Among the injured, four people are in a serious condition, the city mayor, Massimo Mezzetti, told broadcaster RaiNews24. The driver is an Ita...
Israel’s military on Saturday said it had killed the chief of Hamas’ military wing in an air strike on Gaza the previous day, the most senior Hamas official killed by Israel since an October US-backed ceasefire agreement that was meant to halt fighting. A senior Hamas official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was born in 1970, was killed in the attack. ...
China and the United States have agreed to establish trade and investment councils, committing in principle to match each other’s tariff cuts on a reciprocal basis. “The two sides will use the Trade Council as a forum to discuss issues such as tariff reductions on specific products,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday, without providing further details. The world’s two la...
Hong Kong’s chief justice has urged the city’s senior barristers to uphold public confidence in the judicial system through their practice, saying the role requires consistent integrity and judgment. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung said on Saturday during the senior counsel admission ceremony that public confidence in the city’s courts depended significantly on barristers of this rank, adding...
Beijing’s assessment of whether US President Donald Trump can “properly handle” the Taiwan issue and US-China relations will largely come down to arms sales to the island, analysts said. Following the summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Trump said on Friday that he discussed arms sales to Taiwan with Xi and would “make a determination” on the matter soon. A day earlier, Xi had warned h...
A Maldivian military diver died on Saturday while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave. The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 metres (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday. Maldives presidential spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef said that the searchers have prepared a plan bas...
Road safety has been thrust back into the spotlight after two Hong Kong tourists were killed in a car crash in New Zealand. The Chinese consulate in Christchurch on Saturday revealed details of the fatal traffic accident that occurred southwest of the city a day earlier. The South China Morning Post outlines what road safety precautions motorists should take when driving overseas. 1. What should y...
Road safety has been thrust into the spotlight after two Hong Kong tourists were killed in a car crash in New Zealand. The Chinese consulate in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Saturday revealed details of the fatal traffic accident that occurred a day earlier. The South China Morning Post outlines what road safety precautions motorists should take following the recent string of traffic accidents inv...
China’s purchase of “double-digit billions” in American agricultural products touted by US officials following President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing appears to be a marginal addition after factoring in previous commitments, analysts said, adding that new orders could reduce the country’s reliance on Brazil for soybeans and other items. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Frid...
Both the United States and China appear keen to present this week’s talks between their respective presidents in Beijing as a “historic” and groundbreaking occasion. The way they have tried to frame the interactions between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping revealed both sides’ eagerness to emphasise the importance of the occasion. The messaging began with one of the choices of venue for their talks: th...
China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that it had reached an agreement with the United States over the purchase of aeroplanes, jet engines and components. US President Donald Trump said previously that an agreement had been made to buy at least 200 aircraft from Boeing, as well as engines from General Electric. Boeing has also confirmed the deal. Beijing did not confirm the deal until Satu...
A collision between a goods train and a bus killed at least eight people and injured 35 in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday, police said. Firefighters and rescuers cordoned off the collision site, with investigators seen peering into the burnt-out shell of the bus. Pedestrians were ushered away from the busy downtown intersection, which is used by tens of thousands of vehicles each day. “Eight...
At least 80 deaths have been reported in Congo’s new Ebola disease outbreak in the eastern Ituri province, authorities said, as health workers raced to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease on Saturday. Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday, with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases. In Ituri’s capital, Bunia, locals recounted their fears amid constant burials. “Ev...
Global envoys and experts are doubling down on mediation as a preferred way to resolve regional conflicts amid stalled US-Iran peace talks and China’s appeal for more countries to join its new mediation body. According to Cui Jianchun, commissioner of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, mediation ensures “to the greatest extent” the autonomy of disputing parties and its “unique charm...
University student Harry Dong has spent more than two months sending out roughly 30 to 40 job applications across Hong Kong’s event management, technology and education sectors, but has secured only one interview so far. The 23-year-old University of Hong Kong student, who will graduate in December, said he had only applied for internship positions. “It’s too hard for us to find a full-time job di...
