‘Hang in there’: Chinese boys offer US$1.5 to struggling store owner, sparking wave of support
SCMP

‘Hang in there’: Chinese boys offer US$1.5 to struggling store owner, sparking wave of support

Three boys from southeastern China offered 10.5 yuan (US$1.5) to a convenience store owner on the brink of closing, igniting a wave of public support. Five years after borrowing money to establish his convenience store in Guangzhou, Chen decided to shut down the shop as business continued to decline. On August 12, three primary school boys visited the store, as they often did, to buy drinks. Durin...

Homes crack as London heatwaves trigger record subsidence claims
SCMP

Homes crack as London heatwaves trigger record subsidence claims

Londoners are facing historic levels of subsidence risk after five successive heatwaves dried out the clay soil on which much of the British capital is built. Insurance claims tied to subsidence – a phenomenon associated with bouts of hot, dry weather that shrink the soil and destabilise the foundations on which buildings stand – hit a record last quarter, according to data provided by the Associa...

Half of Hong Kong’s public bodies omit emissions data, green group finds

Half of Hong Kong’s public bodies omit emissions data, green group finds

SCMP

Half of Hong Kong’s government departments and public bodies have not disclosed their greenhouse gas emissions data and some calculations have been based on outdated information, a green group has found. The findings from The Green Earth have prompted calls for stronger carbon reporting and the setting of reduction targets across the public sector to align with the city’s goal of achieving carbon ...

Alibaba’s top executives buy US$15m in shares in vote of confidence after AI fundraising

Alibaba’s top executives buy US$15m in shares in vote of confidence after AI fundraising

SCMP

The top two executives at Alibaba Group Holding bought a combined HK$120 million (US$15.3 million) worth of the company’s ordinary shares on Monday in a vote of confidence after the tech giant unveiled one of China’s biggest fundraising rounds dedicated to AI. The share placement, the first since Alibaba’s listing in Hong Kong in 2019, was oversubscribed three times amid strong investor sentiment,...

Alibaba’s US$10 billion share sale three times oversubscribed in Hong Kong

Alibaba’s US$10 billion share sale three times oversubscribed in Hong Kong

SCMP

Alibaba Group Holding has sold 710 million new shares at HK$112.70 each to raise HK$80 billion (US$10.2 billion) in one of the largest artificial intelligence-dedicated fundraising efforts by a Chinese technology firm. The offer price represented an 8.4 per cent discount to the stock’s closing price in Hong Kong on Friday and a 3.6 per cent discount to the Friday closing price of its New York-list...

Australia news live: KMPG axes hundreds of staff in wake of audit leaks scandal; jobseeker now barely two-thirds of pension

Australia news live: KMPG axes hundreds of staff in wake of audit leaks scandal; jobseeker now barely two-thirds of pension

The Guardian

Audit and consulting giant reports revenue fall of 1% year-on-year. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlan Jones trial enters its fourth weekThe Alan Jones trial enters its fourth week today, with a series of witnesses expected to give evidence at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court before Judge Glenn Walsh. Continue reading...

US territories hit out at Trump plan to explore deep sea mining in the Pacific

US territories hit out at Trump plan to explore deep sea mining in the Pacific

The Guardian

US agency releases plan to lease millions of hectares of seabed off the coast of the Northern Mariana Islands and GuamA US government plan to lease out millions of hectares of seabed near the Mariana Trench for deep sea exploration has drawn opposition from US territories in the Pacific, as the Trump administration remains locked in a race with China for control of critical ocean minerals.On Tuesd...

Remembering Zhu Rongji and understanding his legacy

Remembering Zhu Rongji and understanding his legacy

SCMP

“History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.” This famous quote, widely attributed to Mark Twain, keeps playing in my mind as China mourns the death of former premier Zhu Rongji and reflects on his legacy. It was early afternoon on August 12 when I received a message from a friend on the mainland that made my heart sink: “Our much-respected Premier Zhu left us this morning!” As we anxiously...

Malaysian villages shaken as blasts rock southern Thailand

Malaysian villages shaken as blasts rock southern Thailand

SCMP

Residents of Malaysian villages near the Thailand border were left shaken this weekend after hearing loud booms and seeing flashes of light across the frontier, as Thai authorities confirmed more than 50 coordinated attacks on Saturday night. The blasts, heard in Kampung Lubok Gong and Kampung Tersang in Malaysia’s Kelantan state, coincided with a wave of near-simultaneous attacks across 21 distri...

Kazakhstan election: pro-Tokayev party wins landslide as president hints at staying on

Kazakhstan election: pro-Tokayev party wins landslide as president hints at staying on

SCMP

A party led by allies of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won a landslide in parliamentary elections on Sunday, hours after he hinted that he may stay in power beyond his current term. The Adilet party won 71.2 per cent of votes in the election to a new single-chamber parliament, Kazakhstan’s central election commission said on Monday. The Auyl party representing agrarian interests was s...

Kazakhstan election: pro-Tokayev party set for landslide as president hints at staying on

Kazakhstan election: pro-Tokayev party set for landslide as president hints at staying on

SCMP

A party led by allies of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won a landslide in parliamentary elections on Sunday, hours after he hinted that he may stay in power beyond his current term. The Adilet party won 71.8 per cent of votes in the election to a new single-chamber parliament, according to an exit poll released on state television. The Auyl party representing agrarian interests was se...

Record non-DSE admissions to Hong Kong’s universities spark calls for quotas

Record non-DSE admissions to Hong Kong’s universities spark calls for quotas

SCMP

Hong Kong public universities have admitted a record number of students applying outside the local exam system, with the intake surging by 63 per cent over seven years to account for nearly 30 per cent of the 15,000 government-funded places, the South China Morning Post has found. Meanwhile, the intake of home-grown students taking the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam has dropped by 7 per...

Homicide Ruling Detailed: LA examiner finds Celeste’s death was homicide; D4vd lawyers deny murder

Homicide Ruling Detailed: LA examiner finds Celeste’s death was homicide; D4vd lawyers deny murder

Times of India

A newly unsealed medical examiner’s report has revealed that Celeste Rivas Hernandez died from multiple penetrating injuries, with her death officially classified as a homicide. The findings add a major development to the case involving streamer D4vd, who faces a first-degree murder charge and has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys maintain his innocence, while Celeste’s family continues to seek ju...

We Are Charlie Kirk Controversy: Hasan Piker hits back at backlash; calls Republicans “grifters”

We Are Charlie Kirk Controversy: Hasan Piker hits back at backlash; calls Republicans “grifters”

Times of India

Hasan Piker has responded to backlash over singing “We Are Charlie Kirk” during a live show, dismissing what he called repeated “fake outrage.” In a fiery stream, the Twitch commentator claimed he was more respectful toward Charlie Kirk than Erika Kirk and criticized Republicans attempting to carry Kirk’s legacy. Piker also called them “goddamn grifters,” adding fresh fuel to an already heated con...