6 h. ago Top China tour sites assign staff to limit photo time, triggering mixed reactions

A famous tourist site in eastern China has introduced a time limit for photo-taking, captivating social media, and addressing a common complaint among visitors about long queues for pictures at key attractions. The Huangling Scenery Zone in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi province, implemented this rule in August. Workers now hold a timer near a major attraction, allowing each tourist one minute for photography, as reported by state media CCTV. This location has become an “online-celebrity spot,”...

Politics

8 h. ago China unveils full land, sea and air nuclear triad for first time, weaponized 'robot wolves' at largest

China unveils full land, sea and air nuclear triad for first time, weaponized 'robot wolves' at largest-ever military parade  New York Post

Events

9 h. ago China Unveils Large Unmanned Stealth Fighter Design During Military Parade

China Unveils Large Unmanned Stealth Fighter Design During Military Parade  The War Zone

Events

23 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

29 h. ago World's largest automated container terminal starts operation in Shanghai

As part of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the system can operate completely unmanned.

Politics

43 h. ago All signs point to a recovery firmly taking hold in Hong Kong’s housing market

Hong Kong’s home sales remained above the 5,000 level for the sixth consecutive month in August, further strengthening the view that the city’s residential property market may have bottomed out. A total of 5,291 homes were transacted last month, according to data from the Land Registry on Tuesday, continuing a run above 5,000 that started in March. While the volume fell 8.2 per cent compared with 5,766 in July, it was nearly 45 per cent higher than a year ago. In the first eight months of the...

Economics

45 h. ago On shaky ground: is Malaysia prepared for future earthquakes?

A rare series of earthquakes in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor has prompted calls by engineering experts for an overhaul of national building standards, as they warn the country can no longer consider itself safe from seismic risk. Seven tremors were recorded between August 24 and 31, including a magnitude 4.1 quake centred around the quiet inland town of Segamat in Johor’s northern region, according to data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia). Further tremors, albeit...

Politics

46 h. ago Afghanistan quake death toll passes 1,400 as rescuers search for survivors

Rescue teams scoured Afghanistan’s mountainous east for survivors on Tuesday, as the death toll from a strong earthquake rose to 1,411, a Taliban government spokesman said on Tuesday. More than 3,000 people are injured, Zabihullah Mujahid said on social media. Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities had earlier said the death toll was about 900. The 6.0 magnitude quake struck late on Sunday night in several provinces, flattening villages and leaving people trapped under rubble for hours. It damaged or...

Events

50 h. ago Filipinos target ‘nepo babies’, Malaysia’s electric train: 7 Asia highlights

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. What Vietnam’s South China Sea island-building spree means for Asean Vietnam’s rapid expansion of artificial island construction in the disputed Spratly Islands has put it on track to surpass China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea, according to new satellite...

Events

58 h. ago Maduro vows to declare a ‘republic in arms’ if US forces attack Venezuela

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if the South American country were attacked by forces that the United States government has deployed to the Caribbean. His comments during a news conference come as the US government this week is set to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels. The US has not signalled any planned land incursion by the thousands of staff being...

Events

58 h. ago US naval buildup in Caribbean draws fiery response from Venezuela’s Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if the South American country were attacked by forces that the United States government has deployed to the Caribbean. His comments during a news conference come as the US government this week was set to boost its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels. The US has not signaled any planned land incursion by the thousands of personnel...

Politics

67 h. ago EU chief’s plane hit by suspected Russian GPS jamming over Bulgaria

A plane carrying EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming as it readied to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, Brussels said on Monday, alleging Russia was thought to be behind the incident. The European Commission said Bulgarian authorities suspected the disruption “was due to blatant interference” from Moscow, but it was not clear if the chartered flight was deliberately targeted. “We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podesta told a press...

Events

2 d. ago Why South Korea and Japan are turning against foreign homebuyers

Government measures to deter foreign buyers from purchasing residential properties are by no means the preserve of Asian economies. In February 2024, Canada extended a nationwide ban on most foreign buyers until 2027 in an effort to curb speculation and improve affordability. In the US, a growing number of states, including Texas and Florida, have passed laws barring nationals from several countries, notably China and Russia, from acquiring land and property. Yet in the most liveable cities in...

Economics

3 d. ago How will China’s advanced drones and robobeasts share stage with PLA personnel?

Some 16 years after China first showcased drones in a military parade, there is keen interest in how the People’s Liberation Army has developed its unmanned systems, and how they will be displayed during Beijing’s military parade on Wednesday. Analysts say the breadth and variety of drone systems expected at China’s coming military parade could underscore the PLA’s rapid advances in integrating autonomous technologies across air, land and sea, signalling a shift towards AI-enabled, multi-domain...

Events

3 d. ago Earthquake strikes eastern Afghanistan, hundreds feared dead

Hundreds are feared dead following a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan, in a mountainous area close to the border with Pakistan, local officials said on Monday. State-owned Bakhtar News Agency reported that at least 250 people died, and that 500 people had been injured. The quake at 11.47pm was centred 27km (17 miles) east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said. It was just 8km (5 miles) deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause...

Events

3 d. ago Major earthquake in eastern Afghanistan leaves at least 500 dead: report

Around 500 people have been killed and 1000 more injured in an earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Monday, the country’s state-run broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) reported. Taliban-led health authorities in Kabul, however, said they were still confirming the official toll figure as they worked to reach remote areas. “So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work,” a foreign office spokesperson said. The quake was centred...

Events

3 d. ago Major earthquake in eastern Afghanistan kills more than 600 people

About 622 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured in an earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan, authorities said on Monday, as helicopters ferried the wounded to safety from rubble being combed in the hunt for survivors. The disaster will further stretch the resources of the nation already grappling with humanitarian crises, from a sharp drop in aid to a huge pushback of its citizens from neighbouring countries. The quake of magnitude 6 injured more than 1,500, the Taliban-run Afghan...

Events

3 d. ago Death toll from earthquake in eastern Afghanistan passes 800

More than 800 people were killed in one of Afghanistan’s worst earthquakes, authorities said on Monday, as helicopters ferried the wounded to hospital after they were plucked from rubble being combed for survivors. The disaster will further stretch the resources of nation already grappling with humanitarian crises, from a sharp drop in aid to a huge pushback of its citizens from neighbouring countries. The quake of magnitude 6 killed at least 800 people and another 2,500 were injured in Kunar...

Events

3 d. ago How China could turn Paracels into a submarine kill zone in South China Sea

Four years after the USS Connecticut, one of the most advanced nuclear submarines in the US Navy, slammed into an uncharted seamount in the South China Sea, the site of that near-catastrophic grounding may now become a deadly minefield for future naval battles. Chinese military scientists are proposing to transform the dangerous underwater terrain where the Connecticut crashed into a strategically engineered kill zone, packed with powerful mines designed to exploit the very same acoustic blind...

Events

5 d. ago Israel declares Gaza City ‘combat zone’, as bodies of 2 hostages recovered

Israel on Friday declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and said it was in the ″initial stages″ of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation. Israel’s military said it suspended midday pauses in fighting, which had allowed food and aid supplies to enter from 10am to 8pm, while also reporting it had recovered the bodies of two hostages and vowed its military offensive would return more. The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its...

Events