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Can China use widening yield gap between the US dollar and yuan to boost global role?

China should seize a window opened by the widening US-China yield gap to strengthen the financing, hedging and asset-absorption systems behind the yuan, turning its cyclical low-interest-rate advantage into lasting global use of the currency, according to a researcher from a Beijing-based governmental think tank. The 10-year US Treasury yield was 5.22 per cent on Thursday, compared with 1.69 per c...

Sacred splashes: ancient Chinese ritual of ‘elephant washing’ for good fortune

In ancient China, royal families washed elephants to pray for good fortune – until one elephant went rogue and brought the tradition to an end. Elephants had been spotted and documented in China as early as 4000 BC. They are believed to have once been familiar animals in the Central Plains before gradually migrating south to more remote regions. From the Han dynasty (202 BC–220), elephants were pr...

New York mayor urges Trump to remove ICE after driver with child in car is shot

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he would ask US President Donald Trump to remove federal immigration agents from the city as tensions flared over the latest shooting involving ICE. The New York Police Department said a man had been shot around 4pm in the Marble Hill neighbourhood of the Bronx during an altercation with federal agents. Mamdani and the Department of Homeland Security (DH...

Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker, September 2026

Chinese President Xi Jinping was busy travelling abroad last month. In September, he paid a historic state visit to the United States, his first to the country in more than a decade. He also made his first visit to India in seven years, meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Brics summit. China will host the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, ...

Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro wins support of third-place candidate in presidential race

Brazil's right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro secured third-place finisher Augusto Cury's endorsement on Thursday, strengthening his position against incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of the runoff. Cury won nearly three percent in Sunday's first round. A Datafolha poll put Bolsonaro ahead with 52 percent against Lula's 48 percent.

Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro wins third-place candidate’s support against Lula

Brazil's right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro secured third-place finisher Augusto Cury's endorsement on Thursday, strengthening his position against incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of the runoff. Cury won nearly three percent in Sunday's first round. A Datafolha poll put Bolsonaro ahead with 52 percent against Lula's 48 percent.

Singapore film festival rejects South Korean party’s calls to drop The Assassin(s)

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is standing by its decision to screen South Korean political thriller The Assassin(s) as its opening film, despite calls from South Korea’s conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP) to withdraw it over allegations of historical distortion. The film, directed by Hur Jin-ho and starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, has drawn critic...

Houthis claim attack on Riyadh airport as airlines suspend flights to Saudi capital

Saudi Arabia has not commented on claims, but confirmed three killed in airport strikes earlier this weekYemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis say they have struck Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh ⁠airport with a ballistic missile, badly damaging a plane and leading some airlines to suspend flights to the capital.The group provided no evidence, and Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the claim. Continue readi...

27 people, groups named finalists for 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards

Twenty-seven individuals and groups have been named finalists for the 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, which recognises the unsung heroes of the city who have made major contributions to society. This year’s shortlist for the awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post, is divided into nine categories: community, culture, innovation, sustainability, perseverance, teamwork, ...

'ICE out of our neighbourhoods’: Shooting of man sparks protests in New York

Christa Pike has 'profound' health turnaround after botched execution, lawyers say

Pike's lawyers say her recovery is "remarkable" as they give an update on her condition after she survived an execution attempt by lethal injection.

Labour wins Holborn and St Pancras byelection as Polanski falls short – UK politics live

Sagal Abdi-Wali defeats Green party leader Zack Polanski to retain the Holborn and St Pancras seat for LabourActivists in Camden have suggested the Greens’ decision to back the anti-Zionism motion has cost them votes in the byelection.Councillors for both Labour the Liberal Democrats told the Press Association that voters had informed them they would not be backing the Green party after it passed ...

Christa Pike case underscores prevalence of botched executions in US

Experts say methods such as lethal injection promise a more humane form of execution but are frequently marred by mishap

Labour fends off Green party to win Holborn and St Pancras byelection

Victory by Sagal Abdi-Wali in north London seat will be a relief for Andy Burnham in high-stakes battle for the left of British politicsLabour has won the Holborn and St Pancras byelection in a high-stakes battle for the left of British politics.The byelection, called after the former prime minister Keir Starmer resigned the seat in September, was considered a two-horse race between the Labour can...

Key takeaways from US Senate debate in Michigan between El-Sayed, Rogers

The race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers is considered a toss-up in push to control Senate.

Hong Kong police to launch international academy, reveal details of new degree

Hong Kong’s police have revealed they will launch an academy offering specialised courses for overseas officers and shared new details about the force’s bachelor’s degree programme, with classes expected to start next March. Kelly Cheng Lai-ki, director of the Police College, said establishing the Hong Kong International Academy of Policing would consolidate generations of frontline wisdom handed ...

Rare Chinese calligraphy scroll resurfaces after 81 years, sells for US$22.6 million

A rare work of Chinese calligraphy long presumed destroyed in the chaos of 1945 only to resurface 81 years later, fetched HK$177.45 million (US$22.6 million) in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The work called Jishi Tie, or Accumulated Time Letter, by early Tang dynasty (618-907) calligrapher Yu Shinan, went under the hammer at China Guardian Hong Kong’s autumn auction at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhib...

India’s ‘Cockroach’ party accuses government of mass detention of members ahead of weekend protest

Thousands expected to march in Delhi on Saturday, as anger mounts over controversial changes to voter lists in world’s largest democracy India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which began as a satirical movement but is now emerging as a political force among gen Z’s, says authorities have begun detaining its members en masse days before a major anti-government protest in Delhi.Opposition parties, th...

Ukraine’s Zelensky accuses US of inaction as Russian strikes kill nearly 80 in 2 days

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the US of being unwilling to help Ukraine after a Russian bomb attack on Thursday killed at least 35 people in the east, sending the two-day death toll from Russian strikes to over 70. Hours after the strike on the embattled city of Kramatorsk tore through two buses, Zelensky criticised Washington’s effort to pursue economic ties with Russia while als...

Green party concedes in Holborn and St Pancras byelection as result imminent – UK politics live

Results are expected very soon in the north London poll to choose a replacement for former PM Keir StarmerActivists in Camden have suggested the Greens’ decision to back the anti-Zionism motion has cost them votes in the byelection.Councillors for both Labour the Liberal Democrats told the Press Association that voters had informed them they would not be backing the Green party after it passed the...

Margaret Hamilton, scientist who worked on Nasa's Apollo programme, dies

Margaret Hamilton, an American scientist known for her work on NASA's Apollo program, has recently passed away. She played a crucial role in developing the software for the Apollo missions, ensuring safe lunar landings. Hamilton's contributions to computing have been recognized widely, including the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her work not only advanced technology but also inspi...

3 dilemmas on keeping AI under control are converging

In March, artificial intelligence agents powered by leading Chinese models reportedly displayed deception, concealed failure and pushed against imposed limits in controlled tests. In July, OpenAI’s internal research model circumvented controls meant to keep it offline and accessed developer platform Hugging Face’s systems. In August, Britain’s AI Security Institute uncovered unsanctioned agent beh...

3 siblings killed in Malaysia crash after insisting on going to haze-closed school

A boy and his sister lost their lives in a road accident after they wanted to attend classes despite their school being closed due to the haze in Malaysia’s Johor state. Their elder brother, who took them on his motorcycle to check out the school for themselves, was killed as well. The three siblings – Nordaniel Aiman Norlizan, 18, Nordaniel Fikri Norlizan, 11, and Puteri Naufa Raisha Norlizan, ei...

Millions on alert as Hurricane Isaias set to bring dangerous storm surge

Residents in areas from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Florida urged to ‘evacuate if told to do so’Millions of people from Louisiana to Florida were under hurricane warnings on Thursday as Hurricane Isaias heads toward the US Gulf coast, with weather officials warning of dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall and flooding.Isaias intensified from a tropical storm into t...

Counting under way in Holborn and St Pancras byelection – UK politics live

Results are expected from 2.30am BST in the north London poll to choose a replacement for former PM Keir StarmerA quick reminder of the byelection candidates in Holborn and St Pancras:Labour – Sagal Abdi-WaliGreen party – Zack PolanskiConservative party – Ewan CameronReform UK – Peter NewmanLiberal Democrats – Patrick Thomas StillmanRestore Britain – Tyler Kurtis JohnsonWorkers party – George Gall...