Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
A potential hi-tech upgrade to BeiDou-based rail monitoring systems could better protect and track containers on the transcontinental China-Europe railway express, according to the developers of a new mountable device. A team drawn from various state-owned railway enterprises said the device could overcome long-standing logistics challenges in real-time rail container tracking and improve security...
A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon-hee, already serving time for corruption, to another seven years’ imprisonment on Friday in a jobs-for-gifts scandal. Kim, 53, was found guilty of accepting “high-value precious metals” in exchange for favours in personnel appointments, according to the live-streamed ruling. The court said she “unhesitatingly accepted valuables of a kind th...
–
A Hong Kong beautician has admitted tricking two women into forced labour and confinement in Southeast Asia by offering them free flights and accommodation and promising a lucrative reward for transporting 48 million baht (US$1.4 million) more than a year ago. Poon Sum-yi, 33, pleaded guilty at the District Court on Friday to a count of fraud for luring the two victims into travelling to Thailand,...
Malaysia is seeking compensation of 226 million euros (US$257 million) from a Norwegian defence firm after a deal to deliver a naval missile system was cancelled, despite the Southeast Asian country having paid about 95 per cent of the contract value. The claim comprised 129.86 million euros in direct losses, including payments already made by the government, and 96.26 million euros for additional...
Former Israeli defence chief Gadi Eisenkot is emerging as the main rival to incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, months ahead of the nation’s parliamentary elections. Eisenkot’s new centrist party, Yashar! (Hebrew for “Straight!”), has rapidly been gaining popularity in opinion polls. It is currently second behind Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud. Israelis must elect a new parliament by Octobe...
Iran and the United States may have entered a temporary ceasefire, but uncertainty over the agreement continues to cast a shadow over the operations of Chinese businesses across the Gulf region. While the deal has raised hopes that business activity could gradually resume, many traders and investors remain reluctant to make long-term commitments. For Abbas Shi, a Chinese businessman who has been h...
A 50-year-old woman died and three other people were hospitalised after a fire in a Hong Kong flat on Friday that authorities said was caused by a malfunctioning power strip. Police said the blaze broke out at Valiant Court in Ho Man Tin at around 10.04am. Fire services were immediately deployed to the scene and the blaze in the 11th-floor flat was quickly put out. “A preliminary investigation sho...
A 50-year-old woman has died in the wake of a fire at a Hong Kong flat, with three others hospitalised. Police said the fire broke out at Valiant Court in Ho Man Tin at around 10.04am on Friday. Fire services were immediately deployed to the scene and the blaze was reportedly extinguished soon thereafter. The force said three women and a man were rescued from the building. They were rushed to Kwon...
China has issued the tech industry’s first code of conduct for smart glasses powered by artificial intelligence, following public outrage over videos taken by users covertly filming strangers with the increasingly popular devices. The voluntary code calls on smart eyewear manufacturers to adopt a “minimum data collection” approach, provide clear indicators when cameras or microphones are active, a...
Hong Kong authorities have officially extended the buy-back offer to the only block spared in the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze after more than three-quarters of households indicated their intention to sell their flats to the government. Owners of 78 per cent of the flats at the other seven blocks at the Tai Po estate have already signed letters of acceptance to sell their homes under the resettleme...
The administrator of Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court estate, which was destroyed in a deadly fire last November, has finally pledged to hold a long-awaited homeowners’ meeting in July after repeated delays. In a notice issued to the estate’s residents on Friday, Hop On Management Company said it had decided not to appeal against a ruling by the Lands Tribunal this month, which dismissed the company’s e...
Spurred by the rising popularity of electric vehicles (EVs), Chinese carmakers are consolidating their foothold in the global auto market, prompting international banks like Goldman Sachs to significantly raise their export forecasts. Buoyant overseas shipments have also effectively created a cushion against falling domestic deliveries and an expected overall sales decline for Chinese automotive g...
At a time of worsening global security, East Asia could eclipse a Europe “no longer worth emulating” and become the benchmark for peace and economic growth, according to a prominent Chinese political scientist. Yan Xuetong, honorary president of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing, also said the widening rift between the United States and its European allies ...
A 19-year-old influencer in China has announced he has been admitted to top-tier Boston University, with tuition and living costs to be covered entirely by himself, as he has earned money through his online activities in recent years. Zhong Meimei, born Zhong Yusheng, shot to fame in May 2020 when he released his first batch of videos in which he mimicked female teachers at primary and middle scho...
A penthouse at CK Asset Holdings’ luxury residential project in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels has been sold via tender for HK$380.77 million (US$48.5 million), according to a statement from the flagship property developer of tycoon Li Ka-shing, underscoring the rebound in the city’s high-end residential segment. Unit 10 on the 20th floor of 21 Borrett Road in the upscale district in Central fetched HK$12...
Malaysia’s ruling Malay party was pulled into a sensitive palace row on the eve of Johor’s nomination day after a veteran figure quit Umno and accused the southern state’s royal household of influencing the timing of a snap election. The controversy lands at a difficult moment for the United Malays National Organisation, the Malay nationalist party that anchors Barisan Nasional (BN). It is trying ...
Hong Kong police have arrested a minibus driver for dangerous driving after his vehicle fatally hit a cyclist in North district. Police received a report of the incident in Ta Kwu Ling at 6.27am on Friday. Emergency personnel found the man unconscious at the scene, having sustained serious head injuries. He was taken to North District Hospital in Sheung Shui, where he was pronounced dead at 6.59am...
Hong Kong authorities have proposed overhauling the city’s medical watchdog by raising the proportion of lay members to more than a third and requiring the time frame for handling complaints to be made public, which may help slash the inquiry process from 42 to 29 months. Unveiling the proposed amendments to the Medical Registration Ordinance on Friday, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said the r...
Hong Kong authorities have proposed overhauling the city’s medical watchdog by raising the proportion of lay members to more than a third and requiring the time frame for handling complaints to be made public to avoid delays. Unveiling the proposed amendments to the Medical Registration Ordinance on Friday, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said the reform aimed to foster more diverse participatio...
As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead. Allowing all doctors without permanent residency to work in Hong Kong will not threaten the careers of local practitioners, the health minister has said as he defended a proposal to ...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. Bad weather prompted the Hong Kong Observatory to issue three rainstorm warnings within 90 minutes on Friday, with the red signal leading to the cancellation of afternoon classes in schools. A m...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. A man has been injured after being struck by lightning while hiking on Lantau Peak during unstable weather, as rapidly changing rainstorm warnings disrupted afternoon classes across the city. Po...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory has downgraded the red rainstorm warning to amber within an hour of issuing it, after the warning prompted the suspension of afternoon classes. The forecaster switched ...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory has issued a red rainstorm warning as education authorities announced the suspension of afternoon classes. The forecaster raised the warning at 12.15pm on Friday, just ...
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond 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. A crisis ‘defused’ as blockade lifted, assets to be returned to Iran after Swiss talks Statements from the US and Iran following talks...
As China’s relationship with African countries deepens, the country’s influence is spreading into more areas. In this series Jevans Nyabiage looks at an initiative to help control weapons and reduce conflict in a region where Beijing has vast economic interests. China is marketing its strict policing and arms control expertise as a blueprint to stabilise Africa’s conflict-torn Great Lakes region, ...
A Malaysian teenager’s dream of owning a Yamaha Y15 motorcycle has pushed his imagination to the next level. Too young to actually ride one, the 13-year-old instead converted his bicycle by mounting motorcycle parts with cable ties. His innovative invention drew laughter from police officers – and social media users. In a viral video, officers can be seen inspecting the “motorcycle” he is proudly ...
Japanese airlines cancelled on Friday more than 100 flights as two tropical storms barrelled towards the archipelago, with authorities advising evacuations in some areas because of possible flooding and landslides. Severe tropical storm Mekkhala, downgraded from a typhoon, was packing gusts of up to 144km/h (89mph), according to forecasters, with heavy rain already pounding parts of southern and w...
A New York City housing board voted on Thursday to freeze the rents for about one million regulated flats for up to two years, fulfilling a central campaign promise of Mayor Zohran Mamdani only months into his term. The 7-1 vote by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board set increases at zero on both one-year and two-year leases from October. Hundreds of tenants who crowded into a Manhattan museum audit...
