5 h. ago How Chinese view US rivalry, Beijing’s deterrence muscle: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. What do ordinary Chinese think of US rivalry and Russian, North Korean allies? Americans tend to believe that China wants to create a new world order to knock the United States off its perch, but the results of a survey released this week suggest Chinese people are far more nuanced and flexible in this view, providing avenues to reduce US-China tension,...

Politics

6 h. ago Afghan earthquake deaths top 2,200, survivors face aid crunch

Rescuers on Thursday pulled bodies from the rubble of homes razed in Afghanistan’s earthquakes as the confirmed death toll topped 2,200, while homeless survivors faced a bleak future with global aid agencies warning of dwindling resources. Search operations continued in the quake-hit mountainous eastern areas, the Taliban administration said, announcing a new death toll of 2,205 with at least 3,640 people injured. “Everything we had has been destroyed,” said Aalem Jan, whose house in the...

Events

7 h. ago Hong Kong police deploy drones to enhance road safety in accident

Hong Kong police will, for the first time, deploy drones to detect traffic violations starting on Sunday, with the aim of enhancing road safety in accident-prone areas. The initiative was announced during a briefing in which the force also revealed that the number of fatal crashes in the first seven months of this year had dropped by 47 per cent compared to last year, totalling 288 cases. Similarly, the number of people seriously injured in these accidents fell by 45 per cent, from 587 to...

Events

14 h. ago ‘A million people’ expected to flee as Israel prepares to seize Gaza City

Israel estimates that its imminent offensive on Gaza City would displace one million Palestinians, a senior military official said on Wednesday, as Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens killed across the territory. In Jerusalem, meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli protesters took to the streets to call for a truce and hostage release deal after nearly two years of war. Israel’s military has been building up its forces for the planned operation to seize Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s largest...

Politics

18 h. ago Hong Kong preschool teachers work a median of 55 hours per week: survey

Preschool teachers work a median of 55 hours per week in Hong Kong, 12 hours more than the figure for other workers, with nearly 60 per cent wanting to quit because of exhaustion and relatively low salaries, a survey has found. The Education University of Hong Kong, which carried out the survey, called on the government to re-examine kindergarten teachers’ working conditions and welfare benefits, review a pay scale suggested by authorities to recognise the profession, and consider making it...

Politics

21 h. ago Famed streetcar in Portugal’s capital Lisbon derails and crashes, killing 15

A picturesque electric streetcar that is one of Lisbon’s big tourist attractions derailed and crashed on Wednesday, killing 15 people and injuring 18 others, emergency services said. Five of the injured were in serious condition and a child was among the injured, Portugal’s National Institute for Medical Emergencies said in a statement, adding that an unknown number of foreigners were among the injured. Authorities called it an accident, the worst in the city’s recent history, and it cast a pall...

Events

21 h. ago Famed tram in Portugal’s capital Lisbon derails and crashes, killing 17

The death toll in the Lisbon tram crash has risen to 17, an emergency services official said on Thursday. Two of the injured died overnight in a hospital, Margarida Castro Martins, head of Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency, told reporters. She did not provide the names or nationalities of the dead, saying that their families would be informed first. Another 21 people were injured in Wednesday’s crash, including multiple foreigners who were on the tram popular with tourists, she said. Portugal...

Events

24 h. ago Hegseth suggests more US operations coming after strike on Venezuela boat

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that military operations against cartels would continue, setting the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America even as basic questions about a deadly strike against a vessel from Venezuela remained unanswered. The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, in the first known operation since President Donald Trump’s recent deployment of warships to the...

Events

24 h. ago Hegseth signals more US operations coming after strike on Venezuela boat

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that military operations against cartels would continue, setting the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America even as basic questions about a deadly strike against a vessel from Venezuela remained unanswered. The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, in the first known operation since President Donald Trump’s recent deployment of warships to the...

Events

24 h. ago US says more operations against cartels coming after strike on Venezuela boat

Senior US national security officials said on Wednesday that military operations against cartels would continue, setting the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America even as basic questions about a deadly strike against a vessel from Venezuela remained unanswered. The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, in the first known operation since President Donald Trump’s recent deployment of warships to the...

Events

28 h. ago Hot mic catches Putin and Xi talking about immortality at Beijing parade: 'Humans could live up to...' | World News

Hot mic catches Putin and Xi talking about immortality at Beijing parade: 'Humans could live up to...' | World News - Hindustan Times  Hindustan Times

Politics

29 h. ago Beijing’s Victory Day parade, China’s film industry: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s military parade, as it happened: new weapons debut in show of deterrence China held a massive military parade along Changan Avenue in central Beijing, showcasing the country’s latest and most advanced weapons to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan in World War II. 2. The 5 key takeaways from China’s Victory Day military...

Politics

31 h. ago Thai Airways defies Chinese tourist slump with global growth

Thai Airways International’s diversified global markets are buffering Thailand’s national carrier from decreasing Chinese tourists to the Southeast Asian country, according to Chief Executive Officer Chai Eamsiri. “It is a different picture between Thailand and Thai Airways,” Chai said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Lingering safety concerns stemming from news of a failed kidnapping near Thailand’s border with Myanmar of Chinese actor Wang Xing early this year continue to weigh on...

Society

32 h. ago As protests simmer, Prabowo’s China trip carries political risks

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto made a swift trip to Beijing to attend China’s World War II victory commemoration parade on Wednesday, with his spokesman citing the importance of maintaining strategic ties and the easing of unrest at home. Analysts said the tightly timed visit reflected Jakarta’s effort to reassure key diplomatic partners and project stability abroad following global coverage of Indonesia’s violent protests over the weekend, but warned it carried “political risks” at home...

Events

33 h. ago Tipping point: foreign gratuities upend Japan’s tradition of gracious service

On a bustling evening in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, a handful of coins left behind by an American tourist creates confusion at a popular izakaya. In a nation where omotenashi – selfless hospitality – is a point of pride, the growing custom of tipping as millions of foreign visitors pour into the country is catching Japan off guard. “It’s not common to tip for services such as those provided in bars, cafés, restaurants, taxis and hotels,” the Japanese National Tourism Organisation reminds...

Politics

35 h. ago China to parade new missiles in Beijing, including ‘Guam Killer’

China to parade new missiles in Beijing, including ‘Guam Killer’  Defense News

Events

35 h. ago Afghan commandos airdrop to quake zones where helicopters can’t land

Afghanistan airdropped commandos on Wednesday to pull survivors from the rubble of homes in mountainous eastern areas ravaged by earthquakes this week that have killed 1,400, as it ramped up efforts to deliver food, shelter and medical supplies. The first earthquake of magnitude 6, one of Afghanistan’s worst in recent years, unleashed widespread damage and destruction when it struck the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar around midnight on Sunday at a shallow depth of 10km (6 miles). A second...

Politics

40 h. ago ‘Carrier killer’, China’s Himars, latest tanks on display at Victory Day parade

‘Carrier killer’, China’s Himars, latest tanks on display at Victory Day parade  South China Morning Post

Events

45 h. ago US kills 11 people in strike on alleged drug boat from Venezuela, Trump says

The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, President Donald Trump said, in the first known operation since his administration’s recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean. Trump told reporters at the White House: “We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.” “And there’s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our...

Events

45 h. ago Trump says US strike kills 11 on alleged drug boat from Venezuela

The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, President Donald Trump said, in the first known operation since his administration’s recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean. Trump told reporters at the White House: “We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.” “And there’s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our...

Events