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China’s rare earths challenge, Apec meeting in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Is the G7’s new rare earths alliance a big challenge to China? 2. How did Chen-ning Yang miss out on a second Nobel Prize in physics? 3. China to host 2026 Apec meeting in Shenzhen, ‘vigorously’ push AI cooperation 4. Hong Kong comedian Stanley Fung dies days after friend Benz Hui 5....

Database of younger scientists’ deaths triggers...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

A database tracking the deaths of young Chinese scientists has triggered a heated debate amid growing concern about whether there is a disturbing pattern emerging among the academic community. But the list also triggered a public backlash, with critics raising ethical concerns about the way the information was used and questioning whether it was giving the full picture. According to the file posted on CSND, an online platform for computer programmers, last week, at least 76 researchers under

Malaysia’s super magnet plant will boost attraction...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the development of a 600 million ringgit (US$143 million) super magnet manufacturing facility in the state of Pahang would strengthen the nation’s rare earth sector, state media reported. In July, Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths and South Korea’s JS Link signed a deal to develop a 3,000-tonne (3,300-ton) neodymium magnet manufacturing facility near Lynas’ advanced materials plant in Malaysia’s Kuantan district. Anwar said Malaysia’s trade minister

‘Not funny’: South Koreans unamused by US jokes about...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

A wave of satire on American late-night television over South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s gift of a replica Silla-era gold crown to US President Donald Trump has provoked strong reactions in the country, highlighting lingering sensitivities amid recent strains in the alliance over tariffs and labour issues. The ornate replica crown, presented during the South Korea-US talks on Wednesday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province, quickly

Hong Kong’s large-scale genome sequencing project...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

Hong Kong’s first large-scale genome sequencing project has recruited more than 52,000 participants in about four years of operation, exceeding its original target, with the body behind it hoping to expand the scheme further to help more patients discover the causes of their undiagnosed diseases. The Hong Kong Genome Institute, a government-owned organisation that runs the Hong Kong Genome Project, said that more than three-quarters of participants had experienced positive treatment changes...

‘Affordable dignity’: Chinese develop taste for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

Students, white-collar workers and families filled the tables during a recent dinner rush at a branch of Saizeriya – a Japanese-owned chain of Italian restaurants – in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. In the same shopping district, a queue stretched outside a Sushiro conveyor belt sushi restaurant at 8pm. “We waited two hours for a seat, but it was worth it,” said one diner. Such scenes present a contrast to China’s generally sluggish catering market, with analysts saying that budget...

Hong Kong Olympic champion Vivian Kong to sign up for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

Hong Kong Olympic gold medallist Vivian Kong Man-wai will sign up for the coming Legislative Council election on Monday, vying for the tourism sector seat. Her election office confirmed that the 31-year-old would submit her nomination form for the tourism functional constituency in the afternoon, ending weeks-long speculation. On her Instagram account, Kong said that all her previous posts had nothing to do with the Legco election. Perry Yiu Pak-leung, the incumbent lawmaker representing

Filipinos rally behind coastguard amid sea tensions,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

Filipinos have placed higher levels of trust in the coastguard and the armed forces despite public rows between officials and pro-Duterte politicians over the country’s deepening ties with the US, according to the latest poll. Among the 1,200 people surveyed by research firm OCTA in September, 75 per cent expressed satisfaction with the Philippine coastguard’s (PCG) performance over the past three months and 71 per cent said they trusted the outfit. The results, released on October 22, also...

Hong Kong can live with cosmetic changes. Just don’t...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

Hong Kong is bouncing back, especially in finance, defying predictions of decline after the 2019 unrest and the 2020 national security law. The Hong Kong stock exchange has surged to the top of this year’s global rankings as the world’s largest initial public offering venue, with over 300 companies queuing up to list their shares. This resurgence signals resilience, but it also ignites a deeper debate: what kind of Hong Kong is emerging? Concern has swirled around the recent influx of

Powerful 6.3 quake kills at least 20 in Afghanistan,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

A powerful, 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 300 others, a health official said. The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was located 22km (14 miles) west-southwest of the town of Khulm, and that it struck at 12.59am at a depth of 28km (17 miles). The USGS issued an orange alert in its PAGER system, which is an automated system that produces information on the impact of earthquakes, and...

How Thailand melted tariff barriers to become Asia’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

To stand out among the dizzying array of sweet treats that pack supermarket freezers from the likes of Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s, an ice cream brand needs more than just flavour, says Thai entrepreneur Danupon Umnouypreechakul. It needs a story that sings. His company, Lamoon Group, is a boutique made-in-Thailand contender in an industry of global heavyweights. Its unique approach connects each flavour to the farmers who grow the ingredients, offering increasingly discerning – and higher...

China toddler, 3, chokes to death while drinking...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

The tragedy of a Chinese toddler who choked to death on the tapioca bubbles in his milk tea has sparked heated online discussion about parental responsibility. On October 24, the three-year-old’s father, surnamed Li, posted a surveillance video of a playground in a shopping centre in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. In the clip, the boy takes a sip of the bubble tea his mother bought him before playing on a trampoline on October 19. Li said his son passed out a minute later and despite his...

CEO of Singapore-owned Optus refuses to resign after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

The CEO of Singapore Telecommunications-owned Optus apologised to Australia’s parliament for an emergency number outage that was linked to four deaths but declined to stand down, citing a need for stability. Stephen Rue started in the role a year ago following a massive cyberattack and separate half-day outage which resulted in the previous CEO leaving. On September 18, Optus said a failure of its “000” emergency line affected thousands of people and four died as a result of the inability to...

Mainland China robots join bomb squad to keep Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/03

Hong Kong’s bomb squad has turned to tailor-made robots from mainland China amid geopolitical tensions, as it intensifies drills against home-made explosives in preparation for the National Games. Superintendent Andy Cheung Lap-tak of the explosive ordnance disposal bureau told the Post that bomb disposal officers had been advising authorities on potential security risks during the Games and would be present during the events to ensure overall safety. Cheung explained that organisers who

Trump doubles down on ICE raids: ‘they haven’t gone...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/02

Aggressive US immigration raids which have sparked protests and allegations of rights violations have not gone far enough, US President Donald Trump said in a CBS interview released on Sunday. Trump was interviewed on Friday by CBS’ 60 Minutes show, his first meeting with the broadcaster since it agreed to a US$16 million settlement with him. The Republican president had sued the Paramount-owned organisation over a 2024 pre-election interview with his Democratic opponent, former

Mexican mayor gunned down during Day of the Dead...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/02

A mayor in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan was shot dead in a plaza in front of dozens of people who had gathered for Day of the Dead festivities, authorities said. Local politicians in Mexico are frequently victims of political and organised crime violence. The mayor of the Uruapan municipality, Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodriguez, was gunned down on Saturday night in the town’s historic centre. He was rushed to a hospital, where he later died, according to state prosecutor Carlos Torres

UK police release 1 of 2 men over train stabbing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/02

British police said on Sunday that one of two men arrested in connection with a mass stabbing attack that spread fear and panic on a London-bound train a day earlier has been released without charge, and that one person, a “heroic” member of the railway staff, remains in a life-threatening condition. In a statement Sunday evening, police said the only remaining suspect was a 32-year-old British man who remained in custody on suspicion of attempted murder. A second man initially arrested as a...

‘Won’t be extorted’: Trump vows no negotiation as US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/02

The US government shutdown was poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans dragged into a new month. Millions of people could lose food aid benefits, healthcare subsidies were set to expire and there were few real talks between the parties over how to end it. US President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday that he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats who were demanding negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that

Michael Sandel on Donald Trump’s rise, meritocracy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/02

Michael Sandel is a political philosopher and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University. His course on justice was the first at Harvard to be made freely available online and has been viewed by tens of millions of people. Sandel recently received the 2025 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, which some have described as the Nobel Prize for philosophy. In this interview, Sandel discusses the roots of Donald Trump’s rise to power, the crisis in American...

Hong Kong must do more to empower women in the workforce

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/02

More than 200 C-suite women senior executives, including global chief executives and chief financial officers, are gathering in the epicentre of Hong Kong’s financial district for the city’s first ever Women Chief Executives summit today. The conference is symbolic as much as it is significant. Women in this city have progressed by leaps and bounds over the past decade. A recent report by one of the summit’s organisers, the Women Chief Executive Network, as well as KPMG and the Women’s...

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