Hong Kong remains most international city in Asia, widening lead over Singapore
SCMP

Hong Kong remains most international city in Asia, widening lead over Singapore

Hong Kong has widened its lead over Singapore as Asia’s most international city, buoyed by gains in innovation and ideas, but still trails in attracting technology investment, a leading business chamber study has found. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce’s annual Asian Cities Internationality Index, released on Thursday, ranked Hong Kong first among 11 Asian cities with 74.6 out of 100 poin...

Bears and pest control: how Japan is spending its departure tax windfall
SCMP

Bears and pest control: how Japan is spending its departure tax windfall

Billions of yen from a higher departure tax that Japan plans to use to support tourism are being channelled into projects that critics say offer limited direct benefit to travellers, including measures to prevent bear attacks and eradicate an invasive beetle. The Japanese government expects to raise 130 billion yen (US$817.7 million) in the 2026 financial year from the International Tourist Tax, a...

Nepal floods: children as young as 11 among Australian tour group missing after flash flooding
The Guardian

Nepal floods: children as young as 11 among Australian tour group missing after flash flooding

Nepali tour operator fears 15 Australians who had been on a trek near the border with China have died after devastating floodNepal flash flood live updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Nepali tour operator says he fears that 15 Australians trekking with his company in a valley ravaged by flash flooding have died.Sagar Pandey, the founder and chief executive of Himala...

Nepal floods: Children as young as 11 among Australian tour group missing after flash flooding

Nepal floods: Children as young as 11 among Australian tour group missing after flash flooding

The Guardian

Nepali tour operator fears 15 Australians who had been on a trekking tour near border with China have died after devastating floodingA Nepali tour operator says he fears that 15 Australians trekking with his company in a valley ravaged by flash flooding have died.Sagar Pandey, the founder and chief executive of Himalayan Glacier Trekking, said he has lost all contact with his tour group of 47 peop...

Democratic states sue to block postal service from carrying out Trump’s mail-in voting order – as it happened

Democratic states sue to block postal service from carrying out Trump’s mail-in voting order – as it happened

The Guardian

This live blog is now closed.Sign up for the US Breaking News emailA US military strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean on Tuesday killed four people, officials said.US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that the strike targeted a vessel “operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean.” Continue reading...

South Korean ex-spy reveals toll of secret missions to North: ‘treated as expendable’

South Korean ex-spy reveals toll of secret missions to North: ‘treated as expendable’

SCMP

In 1984, Ha Tae-jun, then 24, spotted a notice recruiting for a special unit at the Military Manpower Administration office in central Seoul’s Yongsan district. The notice was scrawled on the wall in marker, with little explanation. Ha applied, and his life was changed forever – training as a South Korean operative for covert missions into North Korea. “About a month after submitting background ch...

What we know about the environmental causes behind the Nepal landslide

What we know about the environmental causes behind the Nepal landslide

France 24

Deadly floods along the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday highlighted the near-impossible task of predicting sudden landslides and mudflows in the Himalayas. Experts say the terrain can turn a blocked river into a devastating torrent within minutes, while climate change may be increasing the risks of such disasters.

‘No transparency’: Labor to scrap levy secretly placed on Victorian public transport fares

‘No transparency’: Labor to scrap levy secretly placed on Victorian public transport fares

The Guardian

Premier confirms levy, which was intended to help pay for the multibillion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, will be abolishedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA levy secretly slapped on Victorian public transport users – designed to help pay for the Suburban Loop and other Big Build projects – wil...

Police investigate death of teenage girl two days after alleged ‘sexual choking’ act in Sydney

Police investigate death of teenage girl two days after alleged ‘sexual choking’ act in Sydney

The Guardian

Officers called to northern beaches home on Sunday evening before 16-year-old dies in hospital on Tuesday night after what source says was sexual strangulation actFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl after a suspected sexual strangulation act.Police s...

Wanted in Hong Kong: the theatrical equivalent of a hawker centre

Wanted in Hong Kong: the theatrical equivalent of a hawker centre

SCMP

On a Saturday evening, Causeway Bay crackles with its famous retail energy, yet by 9 o’clock the streets begin their nightly death. There is nowhere magnetic to spill into – no late-night jazz den, immersive dinner theatre or playhouse humming with an experimental musical. Nearby, the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium squats in silence while the catering rooms of the Happy Valley racecourse sit largel...

Australia news live: tour operator has grave fears for group of 15 Australians aged 11 to 63 missing amid Nepal flooding

Australia news live: tour operator has grave fears for group of 15 Australians aged 11 to 63 missing amid Nepal flooding

The Guardian

Sagar Pandey says he lost all contact with his tour group. Follow today’s news liveNepal flash flood disaster – live updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Dfat officials are ready to provide consular assistance to Australians in Nepal, after the devastating flooding in the country.A local tourism official said they believed 34 ...

Cyborg cockroaches with tiny syringes designed to join search and rescue teams in major disasters

Cyborg cockroaches with tiny syringes designed to join search and rescue teams in major disasters

The Guardian

Giant burrowing cockroaches with added cameras and medical injectors are being tested as potential ‘first responders’ in earthquakesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor people trapped under rubble in an earthquake or similar disaster, the arrival of a fleet of cockroaches could one day be the difference between life an...

Cyborg cockroaches with tiny syringes could soon join search and rescue teams in major disasters

Cyborg cockroaches with tiny syringes could soon join search and rescue teams in major disasters

The Guardian

Giant burrowing cockroaches with added cameras and medical injectors are being tested as potential ‘first responders’ in earthquakesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor people trapped under rubble in an earthquake or similar disaster, the arrival of a fleet of cockroaches could one day be the difference between life an...

Australia’s refugee intake to be slashed as Labor works to reduce migration amid One Nation pressure

Australia’s refugee intake to be slashed as Labor works to reduce migration amid One Nation pressure

The Guardian

Quota to fall by a third to Coalition-era levels in move that the Greens say makes Australia ‘meaner and weaker’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s annual refugee intake will fall by a third next financial year, as Labor works to drive down migration levels over increasing political pressure from One Nation.Cu...

Qantas profits dip to lowest in four years as jet fuel costs climb after Iran conflict

Qantas profits dip to lowest in four years as jet fuel costs climb after Iran conflict

The Guardian

Airline declines to predict impact of new carry-on luggage charge on Jetstar revenue or ticket sales, saying it is offering customers ‘choice’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQantas has recorded its lowest pre-tax profits in four years, at $2.06bn, after the US war on Iran pushed up its fuel costs by $610m.Australia’s ...

Busy Philipps reveals brain tumour diagnosis: ‘I’m grateful to be alive’

Busy Philipps reveals brain tumour diagnosis: ‘I’m grateful to be alive’

The Guardian

Actor says she had the ‘weirdest six months of my life’, after being diagnosed days after her Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died of cancerBusy Philipps has revealed she had a brain tumour removed, which was diagnosed shortly after her Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died from bowel cancer.The 47-year-old, born Elizabeth Philipps, starred in the hit US teen drama as Audrey Lid...

Taiwan man wins lawsuit but gets jailed for using robot vacuum to record wife’s affair

Taiwan man wins lawsuit but gets jailed for using robot vacuum to record wife’s affair

SCMP

A man in Taiwan who used a robot vacuum cleaner to gather evidence of his wife’s affair won a civil lawsuit but was subsequently sentenced to prison for invading her privacy. A recently released court ruling, reported by local media, disclosed that the man, whose identity remains confidential, got married in 2021. The couple lived with his parents and only visited their holiday home during holiday...

Hong Kong cancels rainstorm warnings, afternoon school sessions go ahead

Hong Kong cancels rainstorm warnings, afternoon school sessions go ahead

SCMP

Hong Kong’s weather forecaster cancelled its rainstorm warnings on Thursday, following spells of heavy rain that led to the suspension of morning and whole-day schools, with afternoon classes allowed to proceed. The Observatory issued the red signal – the middle level in a three-tier system – at 5.05am, and soon after also sent out a special landslip advisory for Po Toi Island due to heavy rain. T...