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Fifteen Indian workers were feared trapped on Tuesday after a blast caused by a suspected gas leak in a tunnel at a hydroelectric project in the rugged state of Sikkim killed 10, authorities said. Monday’s incident took place at state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corp’s (NHPC) project on the Teesta river in the northeastern state’s village of Samardung, district official Subash Ghimirey sa...
Malaysia is close to overhauling its nearly 30-year-old cybercrime law and giving authorities long-sought tools to pursue online fraud, digital impersonation and AI-generated abuse, but experts say the bill’s impact will depend on whether investigators can enforce it effectively and prevent misuse of its powers. The Cybercrimes Bill 2026 was first tabled in parliament on June 22 and passed by the ...
While Beijing has lifted refined fuel export restrictions this month amid elevated global oil prices and ample national reserves, it has also introduced compliance requirements for refiners – a cautious pivot aimed at safeguarding domestic stockpiles, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. “With the interim truce between Washington and Tehran having collapsed, Beijing has adopted...
Nvidia’s H200 chips, a step down from its most advanced Blackwell line, have resumed imports into China, albeit in small quantities. Meanwhile, China’s chip exports nearly doubled in the first half of this year. Much of these exports are mature logic integrated circuits for applications in consumer electronics and automotive sectors. While the US is the undisputed leader in the most advanced artif...
A man stabbed and wounded two tourists Tuesday morning near the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece’s top tourist attraction, police said. The assailant attacked a man and a woman, both Greek Americans, with a knife on a pedestrian street near an entrance to the Acropolis itself and near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum, which lies at the foot of the Acropolis hill. The woman suffered light in...
With four months to go until it hosts the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen is already tightening its security, banning travellers on the subway from carrying perfume and imposing a no-fly zone for drones. In a notice on Sunday, the city government said that subway passengers would be scanned and their carry-on items would be X-rayed to “completely ensure travel...
Though it will not host the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting until November, the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen is already tightening its security, banning travellers on the subway from carrying perfume and imposing a no-fly zone for drones. The local government said in a notice on Sunday that subway passengers would be scanned and their carry-on items would be X-rayed to “completely ensure trave...
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has threatened to remove ministers and federal appointees who use public office to attack their own government partners, drawing a new red line as the ruling coalition’s rival camps collide again ahead of the Negeri Sembilan state election on August 1. Anwar said senior officials were free to campaign for their parties but must step down to avoid weaponising...
New findings on Chinese financing in the Philippines are challenging the assumption that Beijing reduced its funding under President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr because of worsening tensions in the South China Sea. Instead, Chinese capital has continued to support Filipino businesses in recent years, including a US$3.9 billion syndicated loan to telecommunications company Dito Telecommunity in 2023, the ...
Nicaragua’s long-serving President Daniel Ortega said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, eliminating the possibility of an electoral challenge when his term ends next year and further entrenching the rule he shares with his wife. Ortega, who has continuously held power since 2007 following an earlier presidential term in the 1980s, said the move will close off any path to...
China has lodged a formal protest with the Philippines, accusing it of initiating an attack on its coastguards following the latest clash between the two sides in the South China Sea. Monday’s clash near the Second Thomas Shoal involved a Chinese coastguard vessel and two Philippine Navy rubber dinghies. The China Coast Guard said the Philippines had “illegally” launched the dinghies from the BRP ...
An attempted robbery outside a bank in Malaysia ended without any cash stolen after a security guard’s swift action secured 82,000 ringgit (US$20,000) inside an armoured van. Selangor police chief Commissioner Shazeli Kahar said the incident occurred at about 5.30pm on Monday while security personnel were transferring cash into the van in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang. He said a man wearing a dark ja...
BYD has rolled out its 100,000th new-energy vehicle from its Brazilian assembly line, underscoring the growth potential for Chinese products in South America, just as electric cars fuel fresh tension in Europe. China’s largest electric vehicle (EV) producer reached the landmark on July 16, reflecting BYD’s rapid expansion as governments increasingly push for local manufacturing and job creation. T...
We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Malaysia’s US$500 million warship set for delivery, minus the missiles Malaysia’s navy is preparing to take delivery of a warship fully equipped for anti-submarine, anti-a...
Chinese police scientists have offered a rare insight into how they were able to break into the dark web using artificial intelligence to decode underground content. The dark web – a realm unfamiliar to most – is built on encrypted communications and anonymous routing technologies that render user activity nearly untraceable, making it a haven for illegal activity and data trafficking. In recent y...
A Chinese ride-sharing driver has dedicated himself to his city’s emergency medical services, offering first aid to nearly 400 cases in the past year. Liu Xianfu, 54, is a driver and first aid volunteer in Foshan city, in southern China’s Guangdong province. The migrant from Hunan province in the south-central region first worked as a truck driver, then a taxi driver. He saw many accidents on the ...
The death of veteran actor Patrick Tse Yin at 89 marks the loss of one of the last icons from Hong Kong’s cinematic golden era, a time when the city’s movie industry held sway across Southeast Asia. Charles Cheung Chi-wai, an associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s humanities and creative writing department, said the glittering cohort of stars in the 1960s helped cement the city’s re...
The death of veteran actor Patrick Tse Yin at 89 has brought Hong Kong closer to the end of a cinematic golden era, when the city’s film industry exerted influence across Southeast Asia, a film academic has said. Charles Cheung Chi-wai, an associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, said the glittering cohort of stars in the 1960s helped cem...
The death of veteran actor Patrick Tse Yin at 89 has brought Hong Kong closer to the end of a cinematic golden era, when the city’s film industry exerted influence across Southeast Asia, a film academic has said. Charles Cheung Chi-wai, an associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, said the glittering cohort of stars in the 1960s helped cem...
The Hong Kong Book Fair and its linked expos drew nearly 1 million visitors this year as attendance increased by double digits, although some exhibitors said most people were browsers and the days of suitcases stuffed with purchases were over. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council said on Tuesday that persistent rain had failed to disrupt the seven-day event, which featured more than 770 exhibit...
More than 1,000 shoppers turned out on the final day of the annual Hong Kong Book Fair on Tuesday, even as some exhibitors reported weaker foot traffic and spending throughout the week compared with last year. Several booksellers told the South China Morning Post that shifting consumer habits and unstable weather during the seven-day event had dampened business. Sally Ng Wai-shan, an editor at Mat...
Hong Kong authorities have vowed to introduce a smart management system and speed up the replacement of water mains to reduce the number of pipe bursts and leakages, after residents in Shau Kei Wan went without fresh water for more than a day. The Water Supplies Department announced on Monday night plans to accelerate the replacement of water mains. It said improvement works were already under way...
Iran targeted US radar and air defence installations in the Gulf on Tuesday, warning Washington of “more decisive and powerful” attacks to come as the conflict threatened to widen with a blockade of Saudi ports by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked and stopped two “non-compliant oil tankers” attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, part of an effort to ti...
A sharp pullback in US space-technology giant SpaceX and renewed valuation pressure on Wall Street’s tech heavyweights are unlikely to trigger a major sell-off in Hong Kong equities, according to analysts, who note that local tech firms operate under distinct business models and lack the stretched valuations of their overseas peers. “I don’t think there will be much impact” in Hong Kong, said Kenn...
Victims of transnational online scams in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand lost up to US$114.1 billion last year, a UN report said on Tuesday, with estimated losses at least tripling from 2023. Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia and Myanmar, has emerged as a regional hub for crime syndicates running fake romance and cryptocurrency investment schemes in which scammers – some wil...
A 16-year-old Hong Kong student has been sentenced to up to six months at a detention centre for attempted voyeurism after he admitted to trying to spy on a female pupil in a school toilet. Kowloon City Court Magistrate Tsang Chung-yiu on Tuesday told the student to reflect on his actions as he spent the next few months at the Sha Tsui Correctional Institution, which is for young offenders. The de...
China has rejected Japanese reports that a PLA Navy ship conducted a live-fire drill within its exclusive economic zone on the weekend, saying Tokyo’s claims to the zone are illegal. Japan’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that the People’s Liberation Army vessel was one of three conducting exercises with a Russian navy ship in the Pacific on Sunday. It said that at one point the Chinese ship con...
Chinese and Russian navy ships were spotted conducting joint live-fire drills within Japan’s claimed exclusive economic zone in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, its defence ministry said. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi first revealed that the two navies had held drills in Japan’s EEZ during an address to the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain on Monday, highlighting their deepeni...
India’s first privately developed orbital rocket has given the country’s fledgling commercial space industry a long-sought proof point, but analysts say Skyroot Aerospace must now show it can launch regularly, cheaply and reliably enough to win customers in a crowded global market. Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket lifted off on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in the southern I...
Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of making unauthorised investments using assets from a securities brokerage, resulting in an estimated loss of HK$150 million (US$19.1 million), the South China Morning Post has learned. A source said on Tuesday that the suspect was a 26-year-old investment manager at Chief Securities and had worked as a trader for the firm for about six months. He...
