30 h. ago NASA's Mars Sample Return is dead, leaving China to retrieve signs of life from the Red Planet

NASA's Mars Sample Return is dead, leaving China to retrieve signs of life from the Red Planet  Live Science

Events

61 h. ago Hong Kong, Shenzhen push secure data corridor to unlock AI and fintech opportunities

Hong Kong and Shenzhen are establishing a white list for data transfers as part of an overarching effort to forge closer cross-border ties, which policymakers and business leaders see as essential to unlocking opportunities in artificial intelligence and fintech in the region. “If you have a white list to facilitate the movement of sensitive data, biological data and samples between Hong Kong and [mainland] China, it would ensure trust between [parties sending and receiving information] because...

Politics

3 d. ago Gaps laid bare by deadly Hong Kong fire focus of first Legco meeting of new term

Hong Kong’s newly elected lawmakers, many of them fresh faces on the political scene, held their first meeting on Wednesday, with officials pledging to address policy gaps exposed by the deadly Tai Po inferno, from tightening oversight of maintenance project tenders and raising homeowner voting thresholds to imposing a smoking ban at construction sites. Wednesday also marked the first time since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty 28 years ago that a city leader addressed the first session...

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong’s embattled Urban Renewal Authority raises HK$8 billion in bond sale

Hong Kong’s beleaguered Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has raised HK$8 billion (US$1.02 billion) by selling bonds to finance capital expenditure and new projects. The cash-strapped authority on Wednesday said it sold two tranches of bonds, one worth HK$5 billion with a five-year term and the other for HK$3 billion with a 10-year term. The coupon rates were 2.95 per cent and 3.48 per cent, respectively. It marked the URA’s return to the bond market for the first time since August 2024, when it...

Economics

1 week ago Winning the Red Planet race: Returning Mars samples before China should be a top US priority, experts say

Winning the Red Planet race: Returning Mars samples before China should be a top US priority, experts say  Space

Science

2 w. ago Angelina Jolie visits Egyptian side of Gaza’s Rafah crossing to meet aid volunteers

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie on Friday visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing into Gaza, where she spoke to members of the Red Crescent and truck drivers ferrying humanitarian aid, Agence France-Presse journalists said. Accompanied by an American delegation and greeted by former and current officials, Jolie said she was “honoured” to meet aid volunteers at the crossing. A Red Crescent volunteer told the Oscar winner that “there are thousands of aid trucks just waiting” at the border...

Politics

3 w. ago Beijing extends Mars mission lead; stranded crew returns: China’s year in space

Beijing extends Mars mission lead; stranded crew returns: China’s year in space  South China Morning Post

Events

3 w. ago Bronze Age cemetery offers up clues to how ancient Chinese brewed red rice wine

Pottery vessels containing traces of alcohol from a Bronze Age cemetery in northwestern China indicate that people at the time consumed beverages made using a fermentation starter of rice and a red mould. Archaeologists said the drink, similar to red rice wine, played a key role in their mortuary rituals, and its presence at the Mogou cemetery suggested a tradition that probably served to strengthen the bond between the living and the dead. Researchers from Northwest University in Xian, the...

Politics

3 w. ago Bronze Age cemetery offers clues on how ancient Chinese brewed red rice wine

Traces of alcohol in pottery vessels discovered from a Bronze Age cemetery in northwestern China indicate that people at the time consumed beverages made using a fermentation starter of rice and a red mould. Archaeologists said the drink, similar to red rice wine, played a key role in mortuary rituals, and its presence at the Mogou cemetery suggested a tradition that probably served to strengthen the bond between the living and the dead. Researchers from Northwest University in Xian, the Gansu...

Politics

4 w. ago Macao SAR marks 26th anniversary of return to China with flag

Macao SAR marks 26th anniversary of return to China with flag-raising ceremony  news.cgtn.com

Politics

4 w. ago Is China Saving The Planet? Lessons From 2025’s Cleantech Race

Is China Saving The Planet? Lessons From 2025’s Cleantech Race  Forbes

Science