China warns officials, fires kindergarten principal over ‘mops in cooking pots’ scandal
SCMP •

China warns officials, fires kindergarten principal over ‘mops in cooking pots’ scandal

Local Chinese authorities have issued warnings and demerits to 11 officials and dismissed the entire kitchen staff at a kindergarten following a teacher’s revelation about unsanitary practices, including washing dirty mops in cooking pots. On June 30, several children at the Affiliated Kindergarten of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology in Jiangsu province exhibited symptoms s...

Can pay-as-you-earn funding fix Southeast Asia’s higher education debt problem?
SCMP •

Can pay-as-you-earn funding fix Southeast Asia’s higher education debt problem?

A Singapore-based education financing programme is testing whether income-linked funding can widen access to higher education without an unmanageable debt burden, a model analysts say could help ease repayment pressure faced by graduates across Southeast Asia. Global Financing for Education’s (GFE) Pay It Forward scheme, publicly launched in September, provides students with funding for their educ...

News live: David Shoebridge voted new Greens leader; inflation climbs to 4% in year to August
The Guardian •

News live: David Shoebridge voted new Greens leader; inflation climbs to 4% in year to August

Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWho is potential Greens deputy leader candidate Steph Hodgins-May?So who is the first-term senator expected to announce a leadership ticket tilt with David Shoebridge?Get your dirty hands off our kids, that is our message to the fossil fuel industry, who have no place in early-learning centres, in schools, or in o...

Supreme court allows Trump to temporarily resume deporting people to third countries – as it happened
The Guardian •

Supreme court allows Trump to temporarily resume deporting people to third countries – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.US supreme court allows Trump officials to resume deportations to third countriesSign up to the US Breaking News emailFor some context, it’s worth remembering that Smith had a two-volume report of his findings as a result of his criminal investigations – that resulted in two indictments against the president after his first term. The first focused on Donald Trump’...

News live: Inflation climbs to 4% in year to August; Alan Kohler announces retirement from ABC after 31 years

News live: Inflation climbs to 4% in year to August; Alan Kohler announces retirement from ABC after 31 years

The Guardian •

Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWho is potential Greens deputy leader candidate Steph Hodgins-May?So who is the first-term senator expected to announce a leadership ticket tilt with David Shoebridge?Get your dirty hands off our kids, that is our message to the fossil fuel industry, who have no place in early-learning centres, in schools, or in o...

Florida man, age 77, becomes 16th person to be executed in state this year

Florida man, age 77, becomes 16th person to be executed in state this year

The Guardian •

Curtis Wilkie Beasley executed for 1995 killing of Carolyn Monfort, after US supreme court declines to interveneA 77-year-old Florida man was put to death on Tuesday for his conviction in a deadly hammer attack on a woman decades ago, becoming the 16th person executed to date this year in the nation’s busiest death chamber.Curtis Wilkie Beasley was pronounced dead at 6.12pm following a lethal inje...

US-China trade truce remains ‘fragile’ after Xi-Trump summit, analysts say

US-China trade truce remains ‘fragile’ after Xi-Trump summit, analysts say

SCMP •

The two-month extension of the US-China trade truce remains fragile despite last week’s summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, with modest economic concessions leaving deeper disputes unresolved, Asia Society Policy Institute analysts said on Tuesday. “In my view, this truce is very fragile,” said Wendy Cutler, an Asia Society Policy Institute vice-president and former acting deput...

Raising Hong Kong’s birth rate is an economic imperative

Raising Hong Kong’s birth rate is an economic imperative

SCMP •

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan and latest policy address have put demographic sustainability on the public agenda. Among the measures announced are an extension of the newborn bonus scheme and increased financial support for the second and subsequent children. These are welcome steps. But the fertility debate should not be reduced to whether a bonus is large enough to change family decisions. Th...

Family of 4 in hospital after fire at Sha Tin public housing estate

Family of 4 in hospital after fire at Sha Tin public housing estate

SCMP •

A family of four was sent to hospital on Wednesday morning after a fire broke out at a public housing estate in Sha Tin, prompting the evacuation of around 140 residents. Police received a report at 6.48am as thick smoke poured from a mid-rise flat in Yan Chuen House at Shui Chuen O Estate. The family tried to put out the fire, which started at their TV stand, but failed to do so, and subsequently...

US forces leave Iraq, raising fears of Iran-backed militias amid power vacuum

US forces leave Iraq, raising fears of Iran-backed militias amid power vacuum

France 24 •

US forces are withdrawing from their remaining bases in Iraq on Wednesday, completing a pullout agreed under former president Joe Biden as fears grow over the security vacuum it could leave. Iraqi officials and analysts warn the departure could embolden Iran-backed militias and give Islamic State fighters room to rebuild their capabilities.

‘Hold the status quo’? US Congress reviews Xi-Trump summit outcomes

‘Hold the status quo’? US Congress reviews Xi-Trump summit outcomes

SCMP •

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to Washington is over, but China watchers in Congress and the US-China policy community are still parsing a wide range of outcomes, with two more leadership summits expected before the end of the year. The talks between Xi and US President Donald Trump produced a series of joint announcements, including an extension of the US-China trade truce, ...

‘Hold the status quo?’ US Congress reviews Xi-Trump summit outcomes

‘Hold the status quo?’ US Congress reviews Xi-Trump summit outcomes

SCMP •

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to Washington is over, but China watchers in Congress and the US-China policy community are still parsing a wide range of outcomes, with two more leadership summits expected before the end of the year. The talks between Xi and US President Donald Trump produced a series of joint announcements, including an extension of the US-China trade truce, ...

Cheap and illegal: mainland Chinese post social media adverts for services in Hong Kong

Cheap and illegal: mainland Chinese post social media adverts for services in Hong Kong

SCMP •

Hong Kong’s crackdown on visitors abusing visas to illegally offer tour guide, photography and other services has failed to deter adverts for such unlicensed work on mainland Chinese social media ahead of the National Day “golden week” break, the South China Morning Post has found. A search of RedNote by the SCMP turned up accounts listing themselves as Shenzhen-based photographers offering their ...

Cheap and illegal: mainlanders post social media adverts for services in Hong Kong

Cheap and illegal: mainlanders post social media adverts for services in Hong Kong

SCMP •

Hong Kong’s crackdown on visitors abusing visas to illegally offer tour guide, photography and other services has failed to deter adverts for such unlicensed work on mainland Chinese social media ahead of the National Day “golden week” break, the South China Morning Post has found. A search of RedNote by the SCMP turned up accounts listing themselves as Shenzhen-based photographers offering their ...

News live: Alan Kohler announces retirement from ABC after 31 years; six Australian universities in top 100 global rankings

News live: Alan Kohler announces retirement from ABC after 31 years; six Australian universities in top 100 global rankings

The Guardian •

Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWho is potential Greens deputy leader candidate Steph Hodgins-May?So who is the first-term senator expected to announce a leadership ticket tilt with David Shoebridge?Get your dirty hands off our kids, that is our message to the fossil fuel industry, who have no place in early-learning centres, in schools, or in o...

US Senate blocks resolution demanding accountability over Israeli violence in West Bank

US Senate blocks resolution demanding accountability over Israeli violence in West Bank

The Guardian •

Nine American citizens have been killed by Israeli settlers or security forces in occupied West Bank since 2022The US Senate on Tuesday evening rejected along mostly party lines a Democratic resolution that would have forced the state department to report to Congress on violence in the occupied West Bank, including the killings of nine American citizens by Israeli settlers or security forces over ...

David Shoebridge launches leadership bid ahead of Greens ballot at party retreat

David Shoebridge launches leadership bid ahead of Greens ballot at party retreat

The Guardian •

Shoebridge to stand on a joint ticket with Steph Hodgins-May – a first-term senator from VictoriaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales senator David Shoebridge has joined the race to become the Greens’ new leader, with an increasingly crowded field revealing splits among the 11-member party room.Shoebridge s...

Rumoured frontrunner David Shoebridge launches leadership bid ahead of Greens ballot at party retreat

Rumoured frontrunner David Shoebridge launches leadership bid ahead of Greens ballot at party retreat

The Guardian •

Shoebridge to stand on a joint ticket with Steph Hodgins-May – a first-term senator from VictoriaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales senator David Shoebridge has joined the race to become the Greens’ new leader, with an increasingly crowded field revealing splits among the 11-member party room.Shoebridge s...

Charlie Kirk Shooting: Utah man sues Candace Owens; alleges podcast defamation

Charlie Kirk Shooting: Utah man sues Candace Owens; alleges podcast defamation

Times of India •

A Utah man has sued Candace Owens, alleging she falsely linked him to Charlie Kirk’s 2026 shooting at Utah Valley University. Robert Hild Jr. claims Owens used social media photos and podcast episodes to suggest he had ties to the suspect and foreign groups. He says the allegations damaged his reputation, exposed his family’s personal information and led to threats, vandalism and safety concerns.

Gaza on stage: concert activism meets Malaysia, Singapore red lines

Gaza on stage: concert activism meets Malaysia, Singapore red lines

SCMP •

American rapper Macklemore lost his spot on British pop star Ed Sheeran’s US tour after speaking up for Palestinians, but in Malaysia it was Sheeran’s music which ended up being pulled from the airwaves. In neighbouring Singapore, British band Massive Attack faced a different kind of fallout, barred from returning after members displayed a Palestinian flag during a July concert. The contrasting ca...

Hong Kong’s executives are ‘ill prepared’ for AI era, report finds

Hong Kong’s executives are ‘ill prepared’ for AI era, report finds

SCMP •

Executives at Hong Kong’s largest listed companies have a severe lack of technological expertise, with fewer than 1 per cent of directors possessing dedicated artificial intelligence or cybersecurity skills, according to a new report by Grant Thornton Hong Kong. The firm’s 15th annual Corporate Governance Review – which surveyed 100 major listed firms on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Composite Index – fou...