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Hand-drawn map reunites Indonesian jailed in Malaysia...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/28

A crude map drawn from memory marking a mosque, train station and warren of small Jakarta lanes that lead to her home finally reconnected Ani Anggraeni with a family who had feared she had already been executed in a Malaysian jail for drug trafficking. Like more than a million other Indonesians, Ani left for economic opportunities in neighbouring Malaysia, where many work – legally and illegally – to send money back to their families. It was 2011, and the then 51-year-old had never left...

Russia tells West any aggression will be met with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the West on Saturday that any aggression against Moscow would face a “decisive response”, warning against attempts to down aircraft in Russian airspace and accusing Germany of militaristic rhetoric. As Russia’s war rages in Ukraine, tensions have mounted along Nato’s eastern flank in recent weeks as Estonia said Moscow sent three fighter aircraft into its airspace and Nato warplanes shot down Russian drones over Poland. “Any aggression against my...

Over 36 dead in stampede at Indian actor-politician...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

At least 39 people were killed and more than 50 injured on Saturday in a stampede at a rally held by Tamil actor Vijay, who is campaigning for election, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu said. “So far, 39 people have died, including 13 men, 17 women, four boys, and five girls – while 51 people, including 26 men and 25 women, are receiving intensive treatment,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin told reporters in Karur, the district where the incident occurred during a political rally held

50 years on, has China left Europe behind in the race...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

This year marks half a century of formal diplomatic relations between China and the European Union as well as the 25th anniversary of the founding of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. As part of a series of reports examining ties between the two powers, Meredith Chen and Nora Mankel look at how China flipped the technology script with Europe. In 1978, as China was emerging from the ruins of the Cultural Revolution, Beijing sent a high-powered delegation on a whirlwind 36-day...

Why China’s global initiatives represent the reform...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

When the General Debate of the UN General Assembly’s 80th session opened on September 23, the cavernous hall in New York was once again filled with the familiar spectacle: heads of state taking the rostrum, diplomats scribbling notes and the global press parsing every phrase. But this year’s theme – “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights” – rang painfully hollow. As delegates extolled cooperation, the world outside the glass walls at Turtle Bay seemed...

India uses UN spotlight to call out developed nations...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

India accused developed nations of hypocrisy in global trade and their responses to global crises at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, a charge that followed faltering efforts to negotiate with Washington to remove tariffs tied to its purchases of Russian crude oil. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar used his speech in New York to warn against tariff volatility, technology controls, and supply-chain coercion, while urging the Global South to push back against...

Hong Kong’s Pink Dot to hold online concert after bid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

The latest edition of Hong Kong’s largest annual LGBTQ carnival will be held online after organisers were unable to secure a venue at the West Kowloon Cultural District. In a social media post on Saturday, organisers of Pink Dot HK 2025 said that this year’s event would be held as an online concert, with Cantopop stars Marife Yau Yin-tung, also known as Marf, from girl group Collar and On Chan as its ambassadors. “There may still be a storm, but our original intention remains. Love will

Trump orders US troops to Portland, ICE facilities to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will send troops to Portland, “authorising Full Force, if necessary” to handle “domestic terrorists” as he expands his deployments to more American cities. He made the announcement on social media, writing that he was directing the Department of Defence to “provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland”. Trump said the decision was necessary to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, which he alleged are

South Korea cannot pay Trump’s US$350 billion trade...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

South Korea is unable to pay US$350 billion upfront in investment in the United States as President Donald Trump suggested under a deal to cut tariffs and is seeking an alternative solution, Seoul’s presidential adviser has said. Since a handshake deal by the allies’ leaders in July to lower US tariffs to 15 per cent from 25 per cent, as Trump earlier imposed, South Korea has said the US$350 billion in investment would be in the form of loans and loan guarantees as well as equity. Trump in...

Strong public backlash behind ongoing hold on Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Hong Kong’s environment minister has said strong public opposition led to the continued suspension of the government’s long-delayed waste-charging scheme, but has stressed that the volume of rubbish being disposed of has fallen over the years. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan on Saturday defended the government’s decision to shelve the waste-charging scheme indefinitely. He said multiple surveys showed about 70 to 80 per cent of respondents thought the scheme should not be...

How China’s DF-5C nuclear ICBM became a counterforce...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

The end of this month’s military parade in Beijing – a time slot traditionally reserved for the People’s Liberation Army’s most lethal nuclear weapon – was marked by a formation of DF-5C missiles, the latest variant of China’s first-ever long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) DF-5 series. The PLA’s other latest ICBM systems include the DF-61 and DF-31BJ, as well as the DF-41 – known to be China’s latest ICBM version in service. The DF-61 and DF-31BJ were also first unveiled in

Over 150 tonnes of counterfeit cigarettes seized in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

More than 150 tonnes of counterfeit cigarettes were seized from the largest illegal factory ever discovered in Italy, customs police said in a statement on Saturday. An underground bunker housed the 1,600-square-metre (17,000 square feet) factory near the town of Cassino southeast of Rome, which produced more than seven million cigarettes a day – around 2.7 billion a year – police estimated. The illegal factory was accessed via “a sophisticated hydraulic mechanism that perfectly concealed the...

China’s anti-spy agency warns of foreign bids to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

China’s top anti-espionage agency has warned of foreign attempts to bypass Chinese export controls to obtain rare minerals essential for cutting-edge military applications. The resources are also central to China’s push for self-reliance amid its intensifying power rivalry with the United States. The warning from the Ministry of State Security on Saturday came as it revealed two antimony smuggling cases, one involving a family-run criminal network and the other a group of

Denmark confirms new drone sightings at its military...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Unidentified drones flew over Danish military sites including its biggest base overnight following a slew of earlier sightings that Copenhagen has termed a “hybrid attack”, hinting at possible Russian involvement. Neighbouring Norway was also investigating “possible sightings of drones” early on Saturday near its biggest military base, Orland, where its F-35 fighter jets are parked. Copenhagen will host a European Union summit gathering heads of government on Wednesday and Thursday. Denmark

Iran recalls envoys to UK, France, Germany after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Iran has recalled its ambassadors to Britain, France and Germany, according to its state media. The move came hours after the UN Security Council voted down a resolution backed by China and Russia seeking to prevent the reimposition of global sanctions against the Islamic republic. China and Russia tabled a draft resolution on Friday aimed at halting the snapback mechanism under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of 2015. This mechanism, initiated by the United Kingdom, France and...

Hongkongers caught using suspicious qualifications...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Several Hongkongers applied for a Canadian immigration pathway using illegitimately obtained academic qualifications, including a candidate found to have finished a year’s worth of coursework in just two weekends, according to court papers. The cases came to light in documents from Canada’s Federal Court, which has rejected at least seven open work permit applicants from Hong Kong over suspicious educational qualifications. The permits are required as part of a bespoke settlement pathway for...

Iran braced for UN ‘snapback’ sanctions amid food...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

As Iran’s ailing economy braced itself on Saturday for the reimposition of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme, it is ordinary people who increasingly find themselves priced out of the food they need to survive and worried about their futures. Iran’s rial currency already sits at a record low, increasing pressure on food prices and making daily life that much more challenging. That includes meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table. Meanwhile, people worry about

Can fridge door sensors help Hong Kong authorities...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Technology capable of detecting when a flat or refrigerator door opens could help Hong Kong authorities remotely check on whether all is well with elderly residents living alone, a minister has said. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han also said on Saturday that the government was testing using wearable devices as part of early detection measures for high-risk cases. He raised the idea just days after another elderly resident was discovered dead in their home, the latest in a...

Dim sum trolleys go silent as Hong Kong’s Metropol...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Customers have lamented the “end of an era” as Hong Kong’s Metropol Restaurant marked its final day of operation after decades of serving handmade dim sum on trolleys, with the venue set to become a teaching facility under a local university. Dozens of diners stayed until the end of lunch service on Saturday afternoon to bid their goodbyes to the Admiralty restaurant. Many regular customers shook the hands of staff, saying on their way out: “Thank you for your hard work all these

At least 44 dead in Gaza as Israel ignores ceasefire...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/27

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 44 people across Gaza, health officials said on Saturday, as international pressure grew for a ceasefire but Israel’s leader remained defiant about continuing the war. Among the dead were nine from the same family in a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to staff at Al-Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Five others were killed when a strike hit a tent for the displaced, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the...

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