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News - South China Morning Post

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Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Diane Keaton dies at 79

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Actress Diane Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977’s Annie Hall and her role in The Godfather films, has died at the age of 79. Details were not immediately available and Keaton’s loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People magazine, which confirmed that the actress died on Saturday in California. Keaton was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in Annie Hall, the charming girlfriend of Allen’s comic Alvy...

Cheers for Trump, boos for Netanyahu as Witkoff...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday lauded US President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a Gaza ceasefire in a speech at a rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, with hundreds of thousands attending. “We all owe a debt of deep gratitude to President Trump,” Witkoff said, before being interrupted by prolonged applause and shouts of “Thank you, Trump”. A spokesman for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said there were around 400,000 people in the square, with the rally coming one day...

Trump orders Pentagon to use ‘all available funds’ to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has directed the Defence Department to use “all available funds” to ensure American troops are paid on Wednesday despite the government shutdown. Trump said in a social media post that he was acting because “our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th”. The Republican president’s action removes one of the pressure points that could have forced Congress into action, likely ensuring that the shutdown – now

Joe Biden receiving radiation and hormone therapy for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Former US president Joe Biden is undergoing radiation and hormone therapy to fight prostate cancer that was revealed in May, a spokesperson said on Saturday. “As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said. In May, the 82-year-old ex-president’s office announced that Biden had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones after he experienced

‘Aggressive’: how China’s airlines may become latest...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Chinese airlines could face ticket sale disruptions and higher costs if Washington follows through on a Trump administration proposal to bar them from using Russian airspace on US routes, analysts said – though they were divided over the plan’s feasibility. “If the proposal is really implemented, Chinese airlines might have to bear the losses from already-sold flights being cancelled – such as passenger compensation and wasted capacity,” said Yang Bo, a Chinese aviation analyst, noting that...

Competition heats up for Hong Kong’s Legco poll as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Competition is expected across all three types of constituencies in Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council election as several veterans will not seek another term and new blood is being “encouraged” to run in only the second poll held since Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral revamp, the Post has learned. While age has been cited as a reason in some lawmakers’ decision to step away, it is not a factor for others as Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, 75, will seek another term, sources have told the

Beijing names senior editor as deputy director of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Beijing has named a senior editor of the English-language China Daily newspaper as a deputy director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, confirming an earlier Post report. The State Council announced Sun Shangwu’s new role on Saturday. A source earlier said that the new deputy director would be taking charge of publicity work. The Post had reported that Sun, 56, who had been a deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, had been chosen to improve the central government’s...

Key bee and butterfly species in Europe face...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

The survival of Europe’s wild pollinators is increasingly at risk, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said on Saturday as it declared dozens of bee and butterfly species as threatened. Almost all flowering plants in Europe depend on wild pollinators, particularly bees, but habitat loss and climate change have driven many vital species to the brink of extinction. Nearly 100 additional types of wild bees have been classified as threatened in the most comprehensive

Hong Kong firms urged to find alternatives due to US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Hong Kong businesses have braced themselves for additional US tariffs, but experts are urging companies to develop alternative strategies due to proposed export controls on American-made critical software, warning of a “painful” adjustment. Industry figures told the Post on Saturday that US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese goods from November 1 would not significantly impact Hong Kong businesses, which were used to uncertainties from his...

Global agencies hope for Israel-Hamas truce to hold,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

International agencies were preparing on Saturday to pour aid into Gaza, hopeful that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will allow them to put an end to the famine haunting parts of the territory. But optimism was marked with caution. The fragile truce could open access, but aid agencies fear Israel may continue to impose restrictions on access under US President Donald Trump’s plan. Logistical hurdles were far from the mind of displaced father Marwan al-Madhun. The 34-year-old just wanted

Chinese military force tricked a foreign spy plane in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

China’s electronic warfare (EW) force successfully tricked a foreign spy plane during a South China Sea operation, a Chinese military magazine recently revealed. In the incident, a false radar signature generated by a Chinese military vehicle-mounted jamming system deceived a surveillance aircraft from an unspecified country over the South China Sea, Ordnance Industry Science Technology reported in its September issue. It was a rare public mention of a combat operation situation and outcome...

University in Hong Kong rejects hundreds of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

A top university in Hong Kong has said it rejected “several hundred” admission applications over suspicions they used fraudulent qualifications and stepped up its vetting process with the help of technology such as artificial intelligence. The cases included applicants submitting academic qualifications from secondary schools they did not attend or listing names of institutions that did not exist. Andy Wong Ka-chat, director of admissions and financial aid at the Chinese University of Hong

Hong Kong police hunt 4 suspects linked to butchered...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Hong Kong police are pursuing four suspects believed to be linked to bags of butchered wild boar carcasses left in Tseung Kwan O on Friday night. Police received a report at 8.59pm and observed four suspects who fled when officers arrived to carry out patrol duties. Three backpacks and a trolley containing suspected wild boar remains were left at the scene. The carcasses were removed by officers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The case has been classified as animal...

Chinese scientists seek ways to unlock AI’s power to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

As China rapidly advances in artificial intelligence to boost economic growth and transform industries, some scientists are working to unleash the technology’s potential to promote social good. Su Jionglong, deputy dean of the School of AI and Advanced Computing at Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, researches AI applications aimed at reducing discrimination, providing emotional support and making faster medical diagnoses. He said he was establishing a start-up with his students, who

China son seeks refund after late mum’s life savings...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

A Chinese man has been left shocked after discovering that his recently deceased elderly mother had spent nearly 480,000 yuan (US$67,000) of her life savings on more than 20 cosmetic procedures over a three-year period. The case came to light when the man, surnamed Yan from Beijing, revealed that his mother, who was nearly 70 years old, had died on June 27. While sorting through her belongings, Yan discovered that her phone was full of messages and missed calls from a stranger called...

Mainland China offers US$1,400 for arrest of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Police in the mainland Chinese province closest to Taiwan issued a reward notice on Saturday for information leading to the capture of Taiwanese military officers accused of inciting secession. The move comes a day after Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te pledged to boost the island’s defences and increase Taiwan’s military budget to deter a cross-strait attack. The Public Security Bureau in the coastal city of Xiamen, in Fujian province, identified 18 individuals as core members of a...

The real reason central banks are stocking up on gold

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Amid all the artificial intelligence-induced euphoria – or irrational exuberance – in stock markets and despite the unease caused by rising bond yields and falling prices, relatively little attention has been paid to the rising price of gold. The implications have potentially seismic monetary significance. Those who do see fit to comment on gold’s dramatic price increase this year – passing US$4,000 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday – tend to brush it off as a reaction to a falling US...

Chinese snack vendor resembles famous TV actor,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

A food stall operator in China has seen his business boom after he cosplayed as a famous actor who played an ancient emperor. The vendor, known as Ye, sells fried stinky tofu on a snack street in Wuhan, central Hubei province. He bears a striking resemblance to the famous Chinese actor Chen Jianbin, who plays Emperor Yongzheng in the viral television series Zhen Huan Zhuan. Ye, 40, started selling fried stinky tofu at the end of last year after his breakfast shop went bankrupt. Initially,

Israel air strikes in Lebanon continue despite Gaza...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Israel carried out intense air strikes on southern Lebanon early on Saturday, killing one person, wounding seven and briefly cutting a highway that linked Beirut with southern parts of the country, the Health Ministry said. The predawn air strikes on the village of Msayleh struck a place that sold heavy machinery, destroying a large number of vehicles. A vehicle carrying vegetables that happened to be passing by at the time of the strikes was hit, killing one person and wounding another,...

New film chronicles animal welfare group’s efforts to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/11

Director Au Cheuk-man spent four years making a documentary chronicling the work of an animal welfare group that rescues animals in different corners of Hong Kong, including rural areas and underground casinos. The film, which began as a six-month commitment, unexpectedly turned into a four-year journey from 2019 to 2023, during which Au and Paws Guardian Rescue Shelter tracked efforts to save and rehome 40 stray animals. Au, who previously directed another documentary about animal

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