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Republican and Democrat senators want Trump to reverse course on Russian diesel deal
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Republican and Democrat senators want Trump to reverse course on Russian diesel deal

Republican and Democratic US senators called on President Donald ⁠Trump on Sunday to “reverse course” on his diesel supply deal with Russia, saying it runs counter to US law barring imports of energy until Russia ends its aggression against Ukraine. “Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s brutal war ...

Trump’s Russian diesel deal may be illegal, says prominent Republican senator
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Trump’s Russian diesel deal may be illegal, says prominent Republican senator

Republican US Senator Thom ⁠Tillis on Sunday said US President Donald ⁠Trump’s diesel supply deal with Russia may be ⁠illegal and will put American lives at risk, adding to bipartisan criticism of the arrangement announced by the president on Friday. Trump said that Russia had agreed to supply diesel to global markets, and his administration temporarily lifted US sanctions on Russian fuel that wer...

Drivers detained after coach and truck crash in Turkey, killing 11
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Drivers detained after coach and truck crash in Turkey, killing 11

Eleven people were killed and 27 injured in western Turkey on Sunday when a coach turned over after colliding with a truck, authorities said. The coach crashed near the entry to a motorway between the city of Bursa and the seaside city of Izmir, the governor’s office of the local Manisa district said on social media, stating the death toll. Emergency services rushed to the scene, Turkey’s Interior...

11 dead, 27 injured after coach crashes into lorry in western Turkey, officials say
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11 dead, 27 injured after coach crashes into lorry in western Turkey, officials say

Eleven people were killed and 27 injured in western Turkey on Sunday when a coach turned over after colliding with a lorry, authorities said. The coach crashed near the entry to a motorway between the city of Bursa and the seaside city of Izmir, the governor’s office of the local Manisa district said on social media, stating the death toll. Emergency services rushed to the scene, Turkey’s Interior...

Putin aide looks to boost Russian shipbuilding ties with China during visit

Putin aide looks to boost Russian shipbuilding ties with China during visit

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Russia is looking to expand shipbuilding cooperation with China through technology partnerships and joint investment, visiting presidential aide and Maritime Board chairman Nikolai Patrushev said. Patrushev held talks in Beijing with Ke Jixin, Chinese vice-minister of industry and information technology, the Russian Maritime Board said in a statement on Saturday. It said the two sides discussed th...

Russia hits Ukraine power plants despite Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ declaration

Russia hits Ukraine power plants despite Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ declaration

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US President Donald Trump sowed confusion on Sunday, announcing an “energy ceasefire” between Ukraine and Russia that sparked astonishment in Kyiv, silence from Moscow and support from Ukraine’s Western allies. But the ceasefire appeared shaky at best as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia struck multiple Ukrainian power plants on Sunday, including one in the capital and another in ...

Russia hits Ukraine power plants despite Trump’s energy ceasefire claim

Russia hits Ukraine power plants despite Trump’s energy ceasefire claim

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Russian strikes hit multiple Ukrainian power plants on Sunday after US President Donald Trump’s claim that both sides had agreed to stop hitting each other’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Zelensky, in a post on social media, said a drone had hit a Kyiv power plant, leading to power cuts in the capital. Soon after, he said there had been a strike on the CHP-5 p...

Trump says Russia, Ukraine agree to ‘energy ceasefire’

Trump says Russia, Ukraine agree to ‘energy ceasefire’

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US President Donald Trump said in a brief statement on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he wrote on his Truth Social network, without further details. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine ...

Wuhan’s Covid mayor Zhou Xianwang jailed for 14 years for corruption

Wuhan’s Covid mayor Zhou Xianwang jailed for 14 years for corruption

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Zhou Xianwang, the former mayor of Wuhan widely criticised for the initial handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption. Zhou used various positions he held between 2003 and 2025 – including party secretary of Huangshi, mayor of Wuhan and vice-governor of Hubei province – to “provide assistance to companies and individuals in contracting projects, busi...

Pakistan imposes emergency in stronghold of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan

Pakistan imposes emergency in stronghold of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan

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Pakistan’s president declared a state of emergency and suspended the provincial government of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday, the president’s office said, following allegations it had failed to tackle Islamist militancy. The constitution allows the federal ‌government to take over some or all provincial government functions during an emergency. The provincial governor will take ...

Pakistan imposes emergency rule over ex-PM Imran Khan’s provincial government

Pakistan imposes emergency rule over ex-PM Imran Khan’s provincial government

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Pakistan’s president declared a state of emergency and suspended the provincial government of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday, the president’s office said, following allegations it has failed to tackle Islamist militancy. The constitution allows the federal ‌government to take over some or all provincial government functions during an emergency. The provincial governor will take ...

‘A Hawaiian son’: Honolulu honours Sun Yat-sen as his landmarks vanish

‘A Hawaiian son’: Honolulu honours Sun Yat-sen as his landmarks vanish

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Eddie Flores pressed the button at a pedestrian crossing on King Street, then pointed across the road. In the spring of 1910, Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen lodged over there, on the second floor of a shop owned by a friend and fellow party member. “It’s no longer there,” said Flores, chairman of the restaurant chain L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. “But we can more or less point out where the building i...

Poland detains suspect in alleged plot to attack PM and defence minister

Poland detains suspect in alleged plot to attack PM and defence minister

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Polish police are investigating after arresting a man suspected of plotting an attack against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the interior ministry said on Sunday. Searches were continuing at the suspect’s home, ministry spokeswoman Karolina Galecka said, adding: “information about this man will of course then be verified by the police”. This came after T...

Poland detains suspect in alleged assassination attempt on PM, defence minister

Poland detains suspect in alleged assassination attempt on PM, defence minister

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Polish Perime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday a man accused of threatening an assassination attack against him and his defence minister had been detained, following an earlier announcement of suspected threats from the interior ministry. “The man threatening an attack has been detained,” Tusk wrote on social media, praising the poelice for their “swift and decisive action”. A “report about a p...

Poland probes suspected assassination attempts on PM, defence minister

Poland probes suspected assassination attempts on PM, defence minister

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Poland’s interior ministry said on Sunday that the country’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz may have been targeted by assassination attempts. A “report about a potential assassination attempt on Prime Minister Donald Tusk, as well as on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, was transmitted to the police via the ...

Leading Chinese mathematicians unite behind use of AI in research

Leading Chinese mathematicians unite behind use of AI in research

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Leading China’s mathematicians joined forces in Beijing on Sunday to launch an alliance aimed at integrating artificial intelligence into mathematical research. The Yau Laboratory Alliance for Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence is being spearheaded by Fields medallist Shing-Tung Yau, who warned that China was lagging behind the United States in using AI to advance frontier science. It will br...

The EU’s China dilemma: how to counter Beijing without alienating friends

The EU’s China dilemma: how to counter Beijing without alienating friends

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In September, the Jaecoo 7 – a budget SUV from China’s Chery Automobile – made headlines when it shifted more than 10,000 units to become Britain’s bestselling car. Christened the “Temu Range Rover” online, a nod to the cheap goods available on the Chinese online marketplace and the luxury 4X4 made by Jaguar Land Rover that it resembles, its success showed British drivers’ new-found taste for cut-...

Pope Leo to undergo surgery for small growth on lung

Pope Leo to undergo surgery for small growth on lung

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Pope Leo said ⁠on Sunday that doctors had detected a small growth on his lung during a recent health check and he would be undergoing surgery this ‌week to remove it, in the first health scare of the 71-year-old pontiff’s tenure. Leo told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly Sunday prayer that the growth was “well-contained” and caught at an early stage. “Recently, during ⁠some medical ex...

Hong Kong hiker dies, Singaporean teen discharged after 2 trail emergencies

Hong Kong hiker dies, Singaporean teen discharged after 2 trail emergencies

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At least two people were airlifted to hospital in the past two days after falling ill while hiking in Hong Kong, with a 17-year-old Singaporean girl discharged and the other dying. The teenager was flown to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai on Saturday morning after vomiting and experiencing chills while hiking on Lion Rock, a 495-metre peak. In a separate incident, a middle-aged man suddenly felt un...

‘Special-forces’ travel: Chinese woman wins admiration after climbing 5 famous peaks in 5 days

‘Special-forces’ travel: Chinese woman wins admiration after climbing 5 famous peaks in 5 days

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A woman from southwestern China has climbed five famous mountains in five provinces in five days, earning widespread admiration on social media. The climber, surnamed Peng, began her journey in her hometown of Guiyang, Guizhou province, on September 23, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported. She climbed Mount Hua in northwestern Shaanxi province the following day, then Mount Heng in neighbouring S...

How Taiwan’s military manpower shortage is undermining its ability to fight

How Taiwan’s military manpower shortage is undermining its ability to fight

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Taiwan’s military is grappling with a worsening manpower shortage, with its volunteer staffing rate remaining below the 80 per cent target for a third consecutive year and concerns mounting over the impact on combat readiness, according to the island’s legislature. The shortages extend deep into frontline formations – including infantry, artillery, missile and air defence units – raising questions...

From Abby Choi to the ‘Hello Kitty’ killing: Hong Kong’s most shocking crimes

From Abby Choi to the ‘Hello Kitty’ killing: Hong Kong’s most shocking crimes

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The alleged murder and dismemberment of Abby Choi Tin-fung in 2023, which prosecutors say was linked to a dispute over a luxury flat, has once again gripped Hong Kong as the trial over the 28-year-old socialite’s death entered its second week. Choi’s ex-husband, Alex Kwong Kong-chi, 31, and his elder brother, Anthony Kwong Kong-kit, 35, have pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of her bo...

Why are mainland China’s tax officials suddenly so interested in my Hong Kong MPF?

Why are mainland China’s tax officials suddenly so interested in my Hong Kong MPF?

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For the past few months, this newspaper has extensively covered China’s ongoing clampdown on tax avoidance, especially its push to tax the income of super-rich families held in offshore trusts. We never expected to become targets of the campaign ourselves. But there have been signs in recent weeks that officials are starting to take an interest even in the incomes of South China Morning Post journ...

If Hongkongers’ support for Legco is waning, it isn’t just lawmakers’ fault

If Hongkongers’ support for Legco is waning, it isn’t just lawmakers’ fault

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Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Hong Kong’s first post-handover Legislative Council president, recently dropped a political bomb. She revealed that one of her friends had been telling her that a legislature with 90 seats costs a lot more than one with 60 and that “I kind of agree with that”. The basic maths behind the statement cannot be refuted: 60 is two-thirds of 90. Even though Fan didn’t bring up the t...

Man arrested after 23,000 bogus customer service scam calls in over a week

Man arrested after 23,000 bogus customer service scam calls in over a week

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Hong Kong police have arrested a 24-year-old man over an alleged scam operation that made more than 23,000 fraudulent calls in over a week by impersonating e-commerce customer service representatives, with one victim losing more than HK$100,000 (US$12,741). The force said on Sunday that the man was suspected of operating a call centre for a syndicate that posed as online shopping platform staff an...

Can Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Fifa World Cup survive the Middle East’s escalating wars?

Can Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Fifa World Cup survive the Middle East’s escalating wars?

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When 60,000 football fans gathered in Jeddah for the Arabian Gulf Cup on Tuesday, they inadvertently highlighted the vulnerability of major sports events hosted by Gulf monarchies to the wars raging across the region. The previous day, Saudi Arabia resumed strikes on Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi rebels after a four-year ceasefire collapsed. That truce had originally followed a Houthi attack on an oi...

China’s rich coastal cities to see sea-level rise up to 20% higher than global average

China’s rich coastal cities to see sea-level rise up to 20% higher than global average

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International scientists warn that rising sea levels driven by melting Antarctic ice will be 15 to 20 per cent higher in cities such as Hong Kong and Shanghai compared with the global average. They said gravitational shifts caused by shrinking Antarctic ice would redistribute water across the globe, causing higher ocean levels along China’s densely populated coastlines. “Even if we limit warming t...

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: Gaza nurse’s obstacle-laden road to becoming a professor

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: Gaza nurse’s obstacle-laden road to becoming a professor

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On six occasions, Hammoda Abu-Odah, a Gaza nurse-turned Hong Kong scholar was offered an opportunity to study overseas. But each time, border closures and travel restrictions prevented him from taking them up. Abu-Odah had obtained a nursing degree in his native Gaza but set his sights on an academic career abroad. He kept working, teaching and conducting research, despite the many challenges that...

Urn with Anita Mui’s ashes missing from Lantau monastery as family appeals for help

Urn with Anita Mui’s ashes missing from Lantau monastery as family appeals for help

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The urn containing the ashes of late Hong Kong Cantopop star Anita Mui Yim-fong went missing from a monastery three months ago, the singer’s family has revealed, saying police had made “no progress” in their investigation, causing them distress. A police spokesman said on Sunday that the force received a report on July 18 that an item stored in a Lantau monastery was suspected to have gone missing...