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Typhoon Rose capsizes ferry in Hong Kong, killing 88 – SCMP archive
SCMP

Typhoon Rose capsizes ferry in Hong Kong, killing 88 – SCMP archive

This article was first published on August 18, 1971. Ferry disaster: no hope for missing crew by T. S. Koo A large but undetermined number of the crew of the Hongkong-Macao ferry Fatshan, including her master and senior British officers, were feared drowned when she capsized off Lantao during the typhoon early yesterday (August 17, 1971). So far four survivors have been picked up, and four bodies ...

Streaming site pulls Chainsmoker Cat series in Hong Kong over breach of ad rules
SCMP

Streaming site pulls Chainsmoker Cat series in Hong Kong over breach of ad rules

A Taiwan-based streaming platform has removed the Japanese anime series Chainsmoker Cat for Hong Kong audiences because the programme is in breach of the city’s ban on online smoking advertisements. Animation Crazy, a streaming platform launched by Bahamut, a Taiwanese internet forum and news website, said on Monday that it recently received a letter from the Hong Kong’s Department of Health conce...

All Malaysia Airlines pilots pass drug tests following Jakarta arrest
SCMP

All Malaysia Airlines pilots pass drug tests following Jakarta arrest

All pilots working for flag carrier Malaysia Airlines tested negative for drugs, owner Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) said on Monday, adding that its cabin crew would be tested next. The mandatory screening process was ⁠ordered after a Malaysian Airlines pilot was arrested in Indonesia on drug trafficking charges on July 28. Authorities found 26kg (57lbs) of the mind-altering drug MDMA in his lugga...

China’s self-driving push gains ground in Europe as Momenta, Pony.ai expand
SCMP

China’s self-driving push gains ground in Europe as Momenta, Pony.ai expand

China’s autonomous-driving ambitions are winning growing recognition in Europe, with Deutsche Bank raising its target price for Momenta following a key regulatory breakthrough, and Pony.ai expanding its European robotaxi roll-out alongside Uber Technologies. In a research note released on Monday, Deutsche Bank analyst Bin Wang saw Momenta as the “No 1 independent autonomous-driving solution provid...

China adds an 800-passenger jet with ‘flying wing’ body to its big aircraft plan

China adds an 800-passenger jet with ‘flying wing’ body to its big aircraft plan

SCMP

A Chinese research team has unveiled an aerodynamic model for a massive flying-wing passenger aircraft that could carry more than 800 people, marking a bold new entry in the country’s large aircraft programme. Unlike conventional aircraft that have separate fuselage, wings and tail, a flying wing merges most of the structure into a single broad lifting body. The proposed design is 85 metres (280 f...

AI chipmaker Biren projects up to 22-fold revenue surge amid China’s hi-tech boom

AI chipmaker Biren projects up to 22-fold revenue surge amid China’s hi-tech boom

SCMP

Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaker Biren Technology projects that its first-half revenue could shoot up by up to 2,107 per cent amid the AI hardware boom, joining industry peers like Hygon Information Technology and Cambricon Technologies in reporting accelerating demand for home-grown chips. The Shanghai-based graphics processing unit (GPU) maker, which debuted on the Hong Kong stock excha...

Shoving incident in Singapore over man patting girl’s head stirs heated debate

Shoving incident in Singapore over man patting girl’s head stirs heated debate

SCMP

A simple pat on a child’s head has sparked debate in Singapore after an elderly man was shoved to the ground by a girl’s father. Police said on Sunday they had identified a 40-year-old man in connection with the incident at a food court on Saturday afternoon, CNA reported. “Members of the public are advised not to speculate on the incident or its circumstances, and to allow the police to conduct i...

7 die in Indian temple stampede after electric wire snaps

7 die in Indian temple stampede after electric wire snaps

SCMP

A deadly stampede broke out at a Hindu temple in eastern India’s Bihar state on Monday after a snapped electric wire reportedly triggered panic among worshippers, officials said, killing seven people and injuring more than a dozen. The incident occurred near Ashok Dham Temple in Lakhisarai district, as thousands of devotees gathered to offer prayers on the third Monday of Shravan, one of the holie...

Hong Kong inventors win top prize, 35 medals at Silicon Valley festival

Hong Kong inventors win top prize, 35 medals at Silicon Valley festival

SCMP

Hong Kong innovators have won the top prize, eight special awards and 35 medals at a major international invention competition in Silicon Valley, with a solar-powered fertiliser production system claiming the event’s highest honour. The city’s delegation secured 22 gold and 13 silver medals at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF), which concluded at the Santa Clara Conventio...

Hong Kong inventors win grand prix, 35 medals at Silicon Valley festival

Hong Kong inventors win grand prix, 35 medals at Silicon Valley festival

SCMP

Hong Kong innovators have won the top prize, eight special awards and 35 medals at a major international invention competition in Silicon Valley, with a solar-powered fertiliser production system claiming the event’s highest honour. The city’s delegation secured 22 gold and 13 silver medals at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF), which concluded at the Santa Clara Conventio...

Is Philippines’ aim to become an arms exporter like India overly ambitious?

Is Philippines’ aim to become an arms exporter like India overly ambitious?

SCMP

The Philippines is looking to India as a model of defence self-reliance as it continues building its capabilities to manage maritime disputes following the purchase of its first BrahMos missiles from Delhi. While India’s experience is useful, it is more practical for Manila to cooperate with Delhi in stages than push quickly to manufacture its own weapons, according to analysts. Speaking at a foru...

‘Heroes’ star Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36, father confirms

‘Heroes’ star Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36, father confirms

SCMP

Hayden Panettiere, star of popular television series including Heroes and Nashville, has died. She was 36. Panettiere’s father, Skip, announced the actress’ death in a statement provided to ABC News on Sunday. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew h...

5 injured after taxi, 3 cars collide on Hong Kong highway

5 injured after taxi, 3 cars collide on Hong Kong highway

SCMP

Five people have been injured after a taxi and three private cars collided on Tsing Kwai Highway in Hong Kong. Police said the four vehicles crashed on the Kowloon-bound carriageway near Lai King MTR station at 8.40am on Monday, leaving four men and one woman with minor injuries. The Fire Services Department said all five injured were taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung for treatment...

Australia slows down ‘backpacker visas’ in fresh migration crackdown

Australia slows down ‘backpacker visas’ in fresh migration crackdown

SCMP

Australia is slowing the issuance of new “working holiday” visas popular with backpackers as the government looks at policies to cut migration to the country. “They are still being processed, but they are being processed more slowly than they were previously,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Sunday. The visas allow people to come to Australia to work and travel for a set period of time, a...

2 more drills with ‘harsher scenarios’ planned for revamped Huanggang crossing

2 more drills with ‘harsher scenarios’ planned for revamped Huanggang crossing

SCMP

Hong Kong will hold two more drills later this month at the revamped Huanggang border crossing, with up to 20,000 civil servants to be involved in testing the new immigration clearance gates under “harsher scenarios”, according to the city’s security chief. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Monday that authorities had identified problems, including a lack of notices and benches,...

2 more drills with ‘harsher scenarios’ planned this month for revamped Huanggang port

2 more drills with ‘harsher scenarios’ planned this month for revamped Huanggang port

SCMP

Hong Kong will hold two more drills later this month at the revamped Huanggang border crossing, with up to 20,000 civil servants involved to test the new immigration clearance gates under “harsher scenarios”, according to the city’s security chief. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Monday that authorities had identified problems such as the lack of notices and benches, as well a...

Hong Kong merchant jailed for trying to kill wife, daughters amid debt woes

Hong Kong merchant jailed for trying to kill wife, daughters amid debt woes

SCMP

A Hong Kong merchant has been jailed for five years and four months for attempting to murder his wife and three daughters by burning charcoal in their public rental flat after struggling to repay debts totalling nearly HK$900,000 (US$115,000). The High Court on Monday sentenced Wong Pak-ting in what the presiding judge described as a “tragic” case. The 45-year-old pleaded guilty in May to four cou...

Far-right Ben-Gvir urges Israel to kill ‘30 to 40 every night’ in Gaza

Far-right Ben-Gvir urges Israel to kill ‘30 to 40 every night’ in Gaza

SCMP

An extremist Israeli lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition publicly advocated for killing “30 to 40” people in Gaza each night, comments that surfaced Sunday and were quickly shared by Palestinian media. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir made the statement while speaking to a former Gaza-held hostage, Rom Braslavski, on Braslavski’s podcast. The two were discussing ...

China embraces ‘Grandpa Cute’; policewoman probed over uniform dance: 5 weekend reads you missed

China embraces ‘Grandpa Cute’; policewoman probed over uniform dance: 5 weekend reads you missed

SCMP

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why Chinese youth are turning to an 84-year-old Cambridge professor for support 2. Chinese officials rattled by White House chaos weeks ahead of Xi-Trump summit 3. How Southeast Asia’s monarchies s...

‘Inhumane’: UK’s extreme heat pushes NHS staff, patients to limit

‘Inhumane’: UK’s extreme heat pushes NHS staff, patients to limit

SCMP

“Horrific, horrendous, unbearable, unsafe.” That is how medical professionals describe the impact of this year’s heatwaves on Britain’s healthcare system, in response to a survey by the Doctors’ Association UK. In hospitals built for a cooler climate, staff are now dealing with patients too sweaty to receive intravenous drips, medication at risk of degrading in high temperatures and colleagues col...

Hong Kong ‘maid cafe’ operator arrested for allegedly molesting staff, 14

Hong Kong ‘maid cafe’ operator arrested for allegedly molesting staff, 14

SCMP

The operator of a Hong Kong “maid cafe” has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old employee multiple times, beginning on her first day at work. A police source said on Monday that the operator, a 35-year-old man surnamed Cheung, was arrested on Saturday at the cafe in Mong Kok’s Dundas Square. Maid cafes are themed restaurants inspired by Japanese subculture, in which staff dress in m...

Hong Kong maid cafe operator arrested for allegedly molesting staff, 14

Hong Kong maid cafe operator arrested for allegedly molesting staff, 14

SCMP

The operator of a Hong Kong maid cafe has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old employee multiple times, beginning on her first day at work. A police source said on Monday that the operator, a 35-year-old man surnamed Cheung, was arrested on Saturday at the cafe in Mong Kok’s Dundas Square. The victim was a 14-year-old Form Three student, who started working at the cafe on August 7. ...

South Korean shipbuilders first to benefit from Trump’s plan to keep US Navy afloat

South Korean shipbuilders first to benefit from Trump’s plan to keep US Navy afloat

SCMP

South Korean shipbuilders could be among the first US partners to benefit from President Donald Trump’s push to rebuild America’s naval industrial base, analysts said. Trump last week signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum allowing foreign shipbuilders with US investments to build up to two vessels at their parent shipyards – a move aimed at quickly addressing gaps in US Navy capacity ...

China’s Xi praises former president Jiang’s contribution in show of party unity

China’s Xi praises former president Jiang’s contribution in show of party unity

SCMP

President Xi Jinping presides over a grand ceremony in Beijing on Monday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of former state leader Jiang Zemin, who served as the country’s top leader between 1989 and the early 2000s and died in 2022. Xi is addressing thousands of officials and delegates from various sectors at the ceremony, held in the Great Hall of the People, delivering a speech t...

Xi Jinping speaks at event to commemorate former president Jiang Zemin centenary

Xi Jinping speaks at event to commemorate former president Jiang Zemin centenary

SCMP

President Xi Jinping presides over a grand ceremony in Beijing on Monday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of former state leader Jiang Zemin, who served as the country’s top leader between 1989 and the early 2000s and died in 2022. Xi is addressing thousands of officials and delegates from various sectors at the ceremony, held in the Great Hall of the People, delivering a speech t...

How has John Lee’s promise of a ‘new chapter’ for Hong Kong held up?

How has John Lee’s promise of a ‘new chapter’ for Hong Kong held up?

SCMP

It made perfect sense for Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to hold public consultations on both the city’s first five-year plan and the last policy address of his current term at the same time. Many have been putting forward views that warrant serious consideration. It is clear that Lee needs to be bolder when it comes to the “new chapter” he promised in 2022 when he was elected. The Nor...