Clear filters Clear Filters
Hong Kong records hottest day of year so far as Typhoon Dolphin brings extreme heat
SCMP

Hong Kong records hottest day of year so far as Typhoon Dolphin brings extreme heat

Hong Kong’s weather forecaster recorded its highest temperature of the year at its headquarters as parts of the city exceeded 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) on Saturday. The Hong Kong Observatory said Severe Typhoon Dolphin’s outer subsiding airflow was driving extremely hot conditions across Guangdong and Hong Kong, with the heat expected to persist into early next week. “As of 4pm, the maxi...

Hong Kong records hottest day of year so far as typhoon Dolphin brings extreme heat
SCMP

Hong Kong records hottest day of year so far as typhoon Dolphin brings extreme heat

Hong Kong’s weather forecaster recorded its highest temperature of the year at its headquarters as parts of the city exceeded 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) on Saturday. The Hong Kong Observatory said Severe Typhoon Dolphin’s outer subsiding airflow was driving extremely hot conditions across Guangdong and Hong Kong, with the heat expected to persist into early next week. “As of 4pm, the maxi...

Hong Kong temperatures exceed 38 degrees as Severe Typhoon Dolphin brings extreme heat
SCMP

Hong Kong temperatures exceed 38 degrees as Severe Typhoon Dolphin brings extreme heat

Temperatures exceeded 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in parts of Hong Kong on Saturday as the city’s forecaster warned that extremely hot weather would persist over the coming days. The Hong Kong Observatory said Severe Typhoon Dolphin was bringing high temperatures to the region, with the heat expected to continue into early next week. “With [Severe Typhoon] Dolphin moving towards the vicini...

‘Path open’ for revival of CUHK student union – if it registers, Dennis Lo says
SCMP

‘Path open’ for revival of CUHK student union – if it registers, Dennis Lo says

The president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has said “the path is open” for the revival of the institution’s main student union, so long as it registers with authorities in accordance with the law. Dennis Lo Yuk-ming also pushed back on claims that the university was overreliant on intake from mainland China, arguing that it was making strides in diversification. In an interview wi...

Typhoon Dolphin causes flight chaos in China, with Shanghai set to enter danger zone

Typhoon Dolphin causes flight chaos in China, with Shanghai set to enter danger zone

SCMP

Flights serving eastern China were disrupted on Saturday as Typhoon Dolphin approached the coast, with some services cancelled and airlines offering flexible rebooking and refund options for affected passengers. Most of the typhoon-related flight disruptions have been reported at airports in the cities of Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai, according to Chinese media. Some travellers ...

India’s Kusha missile test signals step closer to self-reliance for air defence

India’s Kusha missile test signals step closer to self-reliance for air defence

SCMP

India’s first test of its Kusha long-range surface-to-air missile system is seen as a milestone that could pave the way for New Delhi to bolster its home-grown air defence network and meet the challenges of future conflicts. Developed by the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation, the system is expected to become a key part of the two-phase Mission Sudarshan Chakra, Prime Minister...

Man falls to death after cleaver attack on neighbour in lift over noise dispute

Man falls to death after cleaver attack on neighbour in lift over noise dispute

SCMP

Hong Kong police are investigating an attempted murder and suicide case after a man allegedly attacked his upstairs neighbour with a cleaver in a lift before falling to his death at a public housing block in Wong Tai Sin. Police said they received a report from a security guard at 7.19am on Saturday that a man was attacking another man inside a lift in Chiu Sin House at Upper Wong Tai Sin Estate. ...

Man found with knife wounds in lift before another falls to death at same Hong Kong block

Man found with knife wounds in lift before another falls to death at same Hong Kong block

SCMP

Hong Kong police are investigating after a man with multiple knife wounds was found in a lift at a public housing block in Wong Tai Sin, seven minutes before another man was discovered to have fallen to his death at the same building. Police received the first report at 7.19am on Saturday after the injured man was found inside a lift at Chiu Sin House in Upper Wong Tai Sin Estate. The man, who had...

Bar Association broadly backs new offence for persistent child sexual abuse

Bar Association broadly backs new offence for persistent child sexual abuse

SCMP

The Hong Kong Bar Association has said it “broadly supports” a dedicated offence for persistent child sexual abuse, after concerns over evidential issues in such cases were resolved in other jurisdictions in the past two decades. Vice-chairman Martin Hui Siu-ting said that while the association had reversed previous reservations it expressed when the city last discussed such a proposal in 2001, th...

Bangkok branches out: secret to Thai capital’s green revival

Bangkok branches out: secret to Thai capital’s green revival

SCMP

In recent years, Thailand’s capital has discovered a surprising new attraction to add to its temples, shopping malls and street food: urban greenery. Unlike the others, which took decades to develop, Bangkok’s green credentials are a more recent phenomenon, emerging only during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite their novelty, the city’s greening efforts are already bearing fruit. Visitors returning t...

Chinese scientists find some Yangtze flood controls may do more harm than good

Chinese scientists find some Yangtze flood controls may do more harm than good

SCMP

For centuries, the Yangtze River has been China’s vital lifeblood, yet its floods have claimed countless lives. To tame its waters, flood-control systems have evolved from ancient dykes to the engineering marvel of the Three Gorges Dam. But a new study has uncovered a paradox: some human interventions may have inadvertently worsened the very flood risks they were built to mitigate. “We show that f...

‘Hopeless’: Palestinian Christians leave West Bank as hardships mount

‘Hopeless’: Palestinian Christians leave West Bank as hardships mount

SCMP

Palestinian Christians call themselves “living stones” and say they have lived continuously in the Holy Land for the last 2,000 years. Maybe not for much longer, believes Reverend Mitri Raheb. “If the current conditions continue, there will not be a single Palestinian Christian left by 2050,” said Raheb, founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jes...

Russia’s sole anti-war party targets coming elections, favours ceasefire

Russia’s sole anti-war party targets coming elections, favours ceasefire

SCMP

Sensing frustration among many Russians towards the Ukraine war, Russia’s liberal Yabloko party is hoping to use parliamentary elections this September to raise its profile, casting itself as the only opposition group in favour of a ceasefire. Elections in Russia are tightly controlled – every parliamentary vote since 2003 has been won by the ruling “United Russia” party, which supports President ...

China faces new AI bottleneck as it runs out of Chinese-language training data

China faces new AI bottleneck as it runs out of Chinese-language training data

SCMP

China’s high-stakes race to build next-generation artificial intelligence models is entering a critical new phase, where a less visible yet far more existential threat is coming into view: a severe shortage of high-quality training data. While the US chokehold on advanced computing chips has dominated headlines, Chinese AI experts increasingly warn that running out of quality data could prove to b...

Chip off the old bloc: Thailand looks to Siam Silica to propel it to top Asean player

Chip off the old bloc: Thailand looks to Siam Silica to propel it to top Asean player

SCMP

Thailand launched its Siam Silica framework last week, a national road map that stamps the Southeast Asian country’s stake in the semiconductor race by building a domestic ecosystem and positioning it as a key hub within an integrated supply chain among Asean member states. However, analysts say that the country will have much ground to cover as it trails behind neighbours Malaysia and Singapore. ...

CUHK chief calls for more funds for campuses in Northern Metropolis university town

CUHK chief calls for more funds for campuses in Northern Metropolis university town

SCMP

The leader of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has called for greater financial support to develop a proposed 300-hectare (741 acres) university town near the border with mainland China, including funding for local institutions to build campuses, arguing that expansion will help navigate future challenges. In a wide-ranging interview with the South China Morning Post, CUHK president Denn...

111-year-old Chinese grandma reveals secret daily ‘workout’ leading to her longevity

111-year-old Chinese grandma reveals secret daily ‘workout’ leading to her longevity

SCMP

A 111-year-old grandmother in eastern China has captured the attention of social media by attributing her remarkable longevity to simple habits, such as viewing housework as a form of daily exercise. Wang Gaiying lives in Rugao, Jiangsu province, which is renowned as one of the country’s “longevity capitals.” As of February, the area was home to 672 centenarians, according to the Jianghai Evening ...

Taiwan’s push to dissolve pro-Beijing party triggers political censorship debate

Taiwan’s push to dissolve pro-Beijing party triggers political censorship debate

SCMP

Taiwan’s plan to dissolve the pro-Beijing Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) has sparked controversy over whether the independence-leaning authorities are using security concerns to suppress political dissent. The island’s interior ministry is seeking a Constitutional Court order to declare the CUPP unconstitutional and dissolve it, marking the first such action against a political party i...

How the humble burrito triggered a Maga ‘civil war’ in Trump’s party

How the humble burrito triggered a Maga ‘civil war’ in Trump’s party

SCMP

Debate over the price of a burrito is causing indigestion for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which fears being punished for the high cost of living in November’s midterm elections. The Mexican speciality – rice, beans, meat and other toppings wrapped in a tortilla – is beloved by many Americans as a comforting, filling and inexpensive meal. Not any more, argues Andrew Kolvet, a spokesm...

Malaysia’s monarchy charts a new course amid political flux

Malaysia’s monarchy charts a new course amid political flux

SCMP

When Malaysian artist Darwisy Mustafani received a commission to paint the country’s king and queen, he did not reach for an ordinary canvas. Instead, the 25-year-old from the northeastern city of Kota Bharu transformed songket – the lustrous handwoven fabric once reserved for Malay courts and ceremonial dress – into a portrait of the sultan and his wife before a golden-domed palace. The portrait,...

Visa-free entry, short flights fuel surge in weekend trips to China among South Koreans

Visa-free entry, short flights fuel surge in weekend trips to China among South Koreans

SCMP

Kim Ji-soo wrapped up a visit to the coastal city of Qingdao in northern China just last weekend, but she is already contemplating where she will go on her next visit. “It seemed affordable, nearby and I wanted to visit a new city,” said the 57-year-old Seoul resident, who had been to Beijing before. “I enjoyed the food and the vast space the most,” Kim said, adding that the city’s bustling energy...

Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ ball heads to US auction

Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ ball heads to US auction

SCMP

The football that Diego Maradona used to score his infamous “Hand of God” goal during Argentina’s win over England in the 1986 World Cup is expected to sell for US$10 million at a US auction this month. Maradona’s goal in the quarter-final match at the Estadio Azteca saw him punch the ball past the England goalkeeper, with the South Americans ultimately winning 2-1. After the game, the Argentine s...

Trump ally Abelardo de la Espriella sworn in as Colombia president

Trump ally Abelardo de la Espriella sworn in as Colombia president

SCMP

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella took office Friday, vowing to wage war on drug-running guerrillas and usher in a new era of close ties with the United States. The flamboyant former lawyer brings a lurch to the right for the Andean nation, vowing to bomb jungle cocaine labs, build “mega prisons” and slash the size of the state. De la Espriella and his Vice-President Jose Manuel Restrep...

Trump renews effort to fire Fed’s Lisa Cook despite Supreme Court ruling

Trump renews effort to fire Fed’s Lisa Cook despite Supreme Court ruling

SCMP

US President ⁠Donald Trump is renewing his effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, keeping alive his assault on the central bank’s independence even after the US Supreme Court in June dealt him a significant setback in his bid to remove her earlier this year, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The White House told Cook in a letter this week that the president was “considering” remov...

US judge blocks Pentagon’s ‘Chinese military’ label for WuXi AppTec

US judge blocks Pentagon’s ‘Chinese military’ label for WuXi AppTec

SCMP

A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Pentagon from designating Chinese biotechnology group WuXi AppTec as a “Chinese military company”, finding that defence officials repeatedly misread the evidence used to justify the decision. US District Chief Judge James Boasberg granted WuXi a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Defence from enforcing or otherwise giving effect to...

Trump-pick Todd Blanche confirmed as US attorney general

Trump-pick Todd Blanche confirmed as US attorney general

SCMP

The US Senate has confirmed Todd Blanche, 52, as attorney general, elevating President Donald Trump’s one-time personal defence lawyer to lead the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said on Friday he would back Todd Blanche for attorney general, clearing a path for Trump’s nominee after weeks of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s independence from the ...

Trump pick Todd Blanche confirmed as US attorney general

Trump pick Todd Blanche confirmed as US attorney general

SCMP

The US Senate has confirmed Todd Blanche, 52, as attorney general, elevating President Donald Trump’s one-time personal defence lawyer to lead the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said on Friday he would back Todd Blanche for attorney general, clearing a path for Trump’s nominee after weeks of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s independence from the ...

Trump pick Todd Blanche clears major hurdle in bid to become US attorney general

Trump pick Todd Blanche clears major hurdle in bid to become US attorney general

SCMP

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said on Friday he would back Todd Blanche for attorney general, clearing a path for Donald Trump’s nominee after weeks of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s independence from the White House. Cassidy emerged as the probable deciding vote after Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of ‌Alaska said she would oppose Blanche for the top US law enforcement job, leaving t...

US unveils critical minerals deals in latest push to counter China

US unveils critical minerals deals in latest push to counter China

SCMP

The United States on Friday announced several critical minerals agreements with multiple mining companies, marking its latest push to curb China’s dominance over the production and processing of strategic materials. While attending a round table with global mining industry executives at the State Department, US President Donald Trump, without naming China, said that his administration would ensure...