59 m. ago China milk tea lover creates US$14,000 gold drinking straw, drops it while biking

A Chinese man who had a gold straw worth 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) tailor-made for drinking milk tea accidentally dropped it while riding his electric bike. The man surnamed Shou, from eastern China’s Zhejiang province, recently went viral because he asked for police help to look for the golden drinking implement. Shou was riding his electric bike home at night with the straw in his trouser pocket as he passed over a bumpy manhole, causing the straw to fall out. Shou panicked and spent an hour...

Politics

3 h. ago Trump, Xi and the ‘green paradox’: how China is building a climate

China and the United States often find themselves sharply at odds on policy, but nowhere is the divide between the rival powers more striking than on climate change – as their leaders made clear at last month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York. Even as US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, used the moment to unveil Beijing’s latest strategies for addressing the issue. Xi said...

Politics

3 h. ago How the ‘green paradox’ is driving Trump to fossil fuels and China to renewables

China and the United States often find themselves sharply at odds on policy, but nowhere is the divide between the rival powers more striking than on climate change – as their leaders made clear at last month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York. Even as US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, used the moment to unveil Beijing’s latest strategies for addressing the issue. Xi said...

Politics

4 h. ago China Council Discusses Policy Solutions for Green Transformation

China Council Discusses Policy Solutions for Green Transformation  SDG Knowledge Hub

Events

4 h. ago Ukraine war: US unveils heavy Russia sanctions, says Putin wasn’t ‘honest’

US President Donald Trump has slapped major sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies after concluding that Vladimir Putin was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief said on Wednesday. The sanctions came a day after a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest was shelved, with Washington expressing its disappointment at the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is...

Politics

6 h. ago China stopped importing US soybeans. What that means for Louisiana growers

China stopped importing US soybeans. What that means for Louisiana growers  Baton Rouge Business Report

Politics

8 h. ago Trump Administration weighs restricting US software exports to retaliate against China’s rare earth limits: Report

Trump Administration weighs restricting US software exports to retaliate against China’s rare earth limits: Report  Mint

Politics

9 h. ago Ukraine could buy up to 150 Gripen fighter planes from Sweden

Ukraine could buy up to 150 Gripen fighter jets, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Wednesday after the signing of a letter of intent on stepping up aviation cooperation between the two countries. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference, Kristersson said the letter of intent would create the conditions for a “very large defence industry deal”. “Probably somewhere between 100 and 150 fighter jets of the model Gripen E that are now beginning to be...

Politics

9 h. ago EU Gets Tough With China And Russia Over Rare Earths, Ukraine

EU Gets Tough With China And Russia Over Rare Earths, Ukraine  Bloomberg.com

Politics

12 h. ago China Publishes Landmark National Fuel Cell Vehicle Report Based on Real

China Publishes Landmark National Fuel Cell Vehicle Report Based on Real-World Operation Data  Fuel Cells Works

Politics

12 h. ago Singapore cyber summit stresses need for unified front amid rising threats

Experts and officials at a major cybersecurity summit in Singapore have called for deeper collaboration between governments and tech giants, warning that fragmented efforts are no match for increasingly sophisticated digital threats. Speaking at the Singapore International Cyber Week, policymakers and industry leaders said closer partnerships were essential to sharing threat intelligence, innovating jointly and mounting coordinated responses to cyberattacks. These partnerships were crucial as...

Politics

12 h. ago Chinese state media says US ‘dying’ as Beijing drafts next 5

Chinese state media has labelled the US a failed state, claiming it is “dying from within” as its global hegemony declines. The commentary published in Beijing Daily on Tuesday came as China’s policymakers prepared to outline long-term plans amid intensifying competition with Washington. Beijing on Monday began a key four-day conclave that will determine the country’s development over the next five years. The fourth plenum of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, which runs through Thursday,...

Events

14 h. ago Prince Harry, Meghan join calls to halt AI surpassing human intelligence

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have joined prominent computer scientists, economists, artists, evangelical Christian leaders and American conservative commentators Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck to call for a ban on AI “superintelligence” that threatens humanity. The letter, released on Wednesday by a politically and geographically diverse group of public figures, is squarely aimed at tech giants like Google, OpenAI and Meta Platforms that are racing each other to build a form of artificial...

Politics

14 h. ago Belarusian model reportedly killed in Myanmar went there on her own: Thai police

Thai immigration officials have denied claims that a Belarusian model was abducted while in Bangkok and forcibly taken to Myanmar, where tabloids claim she was reportedly killed by a criminal gang. The unconfirmed death of 26-year-old Vera Kravtsova has gained international attention in recent days after Russian and British tabloids reported that, following her arrival in Thailand, she was kidnapped and brought to northern Myanmar, where she was tortured and had her organs harvested while being...

Events

15 h. ago China toy platform refund policy requires parents slap child for unapproved spending

A major Chinese second-hand platform has sparked online controversy after allegedly requiring a mother to submit an uninterrupted five-minute video of herself slapping her child as a condition for processing a refund. The case drew public attention when Li Yun, the mother of an unidentified 11-year-old girl, tried to get a refund after discovering that her daughter had secretly spent over 500 yuan (US$70) on trading cards on the Qiandao app. Qiandao is widely regarded as China’s leading platform...

Society

16 h. ago Man charged with stealing 43 Labubu dolls during Melbourne burglary spree

Victoria Police have charged a 40-year-old man with theft and burglary after dozens of the globally sought-after Labubu dolls were recovered during a property search in a Melbourne suburb. During the search, Australian police recovered 43 of the sought-after Labubu dolls, the collectible plush creatures known for their distinctive googly eyes and pointy teeth. The seized haul, which included several limited-edition figures valued at an estimated A$500 (US$325) each, had a collective worth of...

Events

17 h. ago Goldman sees 30% upside for Chinese stocks by 2027 on policy support, earnings

Goldman sees 30% upside for Chinese stocks by 2027 on policy support, earnings  South China Morning Post

Events

18 h. ago Russia launches deadly barrage on Ukraine after Putin–Trump summit shelved

Russia launched multiple drone and missile strikes on Ukraine as the latest peace attempts by US President Donald Trump appeared to be floundering. The attack killed at least six civilians, including two children, with more than a dozen injured across the country in the early hours of Wednesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X. Zelensky said that 10 regions came under attack, including Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro, adding that while the attack primarily targeted energy...

Politics

21 h. ago Hong Kong police hunt for girl, 17, who allegedly threw knives at ex

Hong Kong police are searching for a 17-year-old girl who allegedly threw knives at her 18-year-old ex-girlfriend during a fight, injuring her head, neck, waist and legs. A source said on Wednesday that the dispute stemmed from relationship issues between the victim and the suspect, who fled the scene. “The victim and suspect were ex-girlfriends and the dispute arose from relationship issues,” the insider said. Police received a report shortly after 10pm on Tuesday from a neighbour at 10...

Events

21 h. ago China accuses Australia of covering up South China Sea airspace incursion

China accuses Australia of covering up South China Sea airspace incursion  Al Jazeera

Politics