News Trends

How some grey-market crypto ATMs in Hong Kong can turn users into fraud victims

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:00:07 +0000

Inside a tiny self-service laundromat in Quarry Bay in the east of Hong Kong Island, next to a wall of washing machines, stands a waist-high cryptocurrency terminal with signs reading “Elon Musk recommends Dogecoin” and “Buy bitcoin in one minute”. In order to obtain Dogecoin through the ATM, customers feed Hong Kong dollar notes into a slot and scan a QR code. The equivalent amount in cryptocurrency is then credited into their digital wallet. Such machines have proliferated across the city in...

Chinese food delivery platform sparks buzz after rider flies to Singapore for curry puff run

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:00:10 +0000

A Chinese man dressed in a food delivery uniform has sparked widespread curiosity online after he was seen in Singapore buying curry puffs for a customer in China to fulfil a “cross-border food order.” On August 31, Chloe, a Chinese woman living in Singapore, shared a video depicting the man in a Meituan uniform waiting at Hong Lim Curry Puff, a snack shop located in PLQ Mall, about a 17-minute drive from Changi Airport. Meituan is among China’s largest food delivery platforms. Chloe informed...

India and Japan swap young workers for expertise to meet each other’s needs

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:30:09 +0000

India’s largest-ever business delegation, 200 executives strong, touched down in Japan late last month in search of money, machinery and manufacturing know-how. At its head was Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, whose four-day tour from August 24 to 27 not only laid the groundwork for next year’s 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties but also worked to solidify an economic partnership now expanding into shipbuilding and defence. “We believe in the principle of continuous improvement and we are...

‘Can’t live without fighting’: Myanmar youth find solace in bareknuckle lethwei

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 02:00:11 +0000

In a country consumed by conflict, a sport defined by brutality dominates: Myanmar’s lethwei martial art, where headbutts are encouraged and knockout blows are the aim of the game. “I can’t live without fighting,” said 19-year-old Su Luck, who enters the ring under the paradoxical pseudonym “Peace Prize”. “I have never once considered giving up this passion,” she said. Lethwei is traditional Burmese boxing, distinct from Thai kickboxing because head blows are permitted and fighters compete...

Bolivian military barracks explosion leaves 2 dead, 14 missing and dozens injured

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 02:29:13 +0000

At least two people were killed and dozens injured on Friday after an explosion at a military barracks in the ‌Bolivian municipality of Viacha, about 30km (20 miles) from La Paz, Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said. His ministry said in a statement that 14 people were missing. The blast occurred at around 2.30pm in an area used to ⁠store pyrotechnic material, authorities said. While the cause has yet to ‌be established, officials said the blast originated from the defence ministry’s...

After 66 years, Kau Kee’s first shop offers fish balls ‘every Hongkonger has eaten’

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 03:00:15 +0000

Anita Lee Yan-kwan grew up around a traditional business that supplied fish balls to Hong Kong’s street food stalls and eateries. But for decades, Kau Kee Food Factory’s signature product was known only among industry operators until Lee, a second-generation owner, opened the company’s first retail store late last year. Kau Kee has operated as a silent giant in the food industry for 66 years, supplying its fish balls to nearly 1,000 eateries and snack stalls across the city. But it finally...

Southeast Asia’s extreme heat exposes holes in safety net for outdoor workers

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 03:00:17 +0000

When the day heats up, small business owner Chung Kee Wa, 68, changes how he tends his oil palm plantation in Yong Peng, in Malaysia’s southern Johor state. Oil palms younger than three years offer little shade, so he tends them in the early mornings and evenings, spraying pesticide, applying fertiliser or weeding. “We try our best to avoid going to the plantation around noon,” Chung said. He carries extra drinking water and, as a smallholder, decides when to slow down or change his hours. But...

Bangladesh measles outbreak nears 1,000 child deaths as hospital wards overflow

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 03:45:07 +0000

Bangladesh’s deadliest measles outbreak in decades is nearing the grim milestone of 1,000 child deaths, as a devastating epidemic sweeps through the country and crowded hospital wards fill with struggling babies. Cries of sick children and the hiss of oxygen machines fill the air at Dhaka’s Shishu Hospital, where Rima Akter keeps a vigil beside her nine-month-old son. “Just an hour ago, a child died, and they wheeled him out in front of us,” 30-year-old Akter said on Thursday. “We saw two...

Taiwan’s opposition parties split over mayoral race, threatening 2028 election alliance

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:00:09 +0000

A rupture between Taiwan’s two opposition parties over a mayoral race threatens to spill into November’s elections and erode the fragile trust underpinning their potential 2028 alliance. The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have both registered candidates for mayor of Zhubei, the biggest city in Hsinchu county, after weeks of negotiations failed to produce a joint contender. The KMT has nominated Hsinchu county councillor Wu Hsu-chih, while the TPP’s Chiu...

‘Mini-dictatorship’: students slam far-right turn at Argentina-run residence in Paris

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:33:33 +0000

Weeks before President Javier Milei visits France, scrutiny has grown around an Argentina-run university residence in Paris supposed to promote peaceful coexistence but which activists say instead restricts lodger freedoms and hosts European far-right figures. Paris city officials have demanded the foreign ministry investigate Argentina House, one of dozens of homes run by foreign nations or French institutions on an international campus in the French capital. The Cite Universitaire campus, or...

Typhoon Saudel: days of flooding trigger fatal landslide in central China

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:44:34 +0000

At least one person was killed and 11 are missing after they were buried by a landslide in central China as the region continued to battle severe flooding caused by Typhoon Saudel. The landslide hit Gaoping, a town in a mountainous area of Jiangxi province, at around 4am on Saturday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. It said rescue teams were rushing to the disaster site. The accident followed days of torrential rain brought by the outer bands of Typhoon Saudel and a cold front. Floodwaters...

Hong Kong’s leader outlines 3 key new growth drivers ahead of first 5-year plan

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:44:50 +0000

Hong Kong’s leader has identified financial services, innovation and technology, and education as three key new growth drivers ahead of the unveiling of the city’s inaugural five-year development blueprint and annual policy address, calling on individuals and industries to show vision and plan for the future. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Saturday that Hong Kong’s first five-year plan would outline broad strategies, set clear development directions and align with the nation’s 15th...

Japan, US to advance cooperation on US$550 billion trade deal

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 05:00:06 +0000

Japan and the United States have confirmed they will advance cooperation on investing in strategic sectors and honour the other terms of a trade deal they reached last year, even though President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have changed significantly over time. “We reaffirmed that last year’s agreement remains unchanged,” Japan’s Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa told reporters in Washington on Friday, after meeting Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative...

Overhead display left dangling at airport’s Terminal 2, investigation under way

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 05:45:57 +0000

An overhead electronic display was left dangling in the air at Hong Kong airport’s newly reopened Terminal 2, prompting authorities to pledge a detailed investigation. A spokesman said the incident occurred at about 8.30am on Saturday, when a suspended screen “experienced a technical fault”, triggering its fall-arrest safety system. “The Airport Authority takes the incident very seriously and will conduct a detailed investigation into the cause, with a view to further enhancing the stability of...

China expands currency swap with Egypt as trade ties reach new heights

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:00:10 +0000

Egypt’s expanded currency swap with China may help bring the yuan into wider use in trade and investment, but experts say any reduced reliance on the US dollar will not happen in a hurry. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi this week backed greater use of their currencies, while linking closer financial ties to plans for new factories, energy projects and digital infrastructure. A joint statement released on Wednesday during Xi’s state visit to Cairo...

Visitors urge Hong Kong to ease restrictions as Sai Kung trail registration begins

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:21:55 +0000

Hundreds of Hong Kong residents and visitors braved the heat on Saturday morning to visit a popular Sai Kung trail overlooking hexagonal rock columns, as a trial reservation system requiring real-name registration came into force, prompting some calls for easing restrictions. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department announced the arrangement last month, capping visitor numbers at 2,000 per designated day between 9am and 5pm for the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Geo...

Putin meets US envoys in Moscow for Ukraine war talks

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:31:27 +0000

Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on ending more than four years of war in Ukraine in the Kremlin on Saturday, ahead of their first visit to Kyiv expected on Sunday. Both Russia and Ukraine vowed not to strike each other’s capitals for three days during the negotiations, as Washington tries to revive US-led talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. US President Donald Trump earlier said his son-in-law Kushner and business...

Middle East war drives 35% rise in Hongkongers’ overseas help requests

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:45:19 +0000

Hongkongers’ requests for help from overseas jumped 35 per cent in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, the city’s immigration chief has revealed, attributing the rise to the war in the Middle East. Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung said on Saturday that his department had received around 3,160 requests for assistance from Hong Kong residents overseas between January and August this year. “The rise mainly came from the military conflict in the...

New reality for China’s entertainment sector as AI drama goes prime time

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:00:07 +0000

From low-quality “slop” such as soap operas starring humanlike cats and dating shows featuring anthropomorphic fruit, to increasingly slick productions realistic enough to pass for live action, artificial intelligence-generated video dramas have become almost inescapable on Chinese social media feeds. This week, the format graduated to prime time. A fully AI-generated adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West debuted on Hunan Satellite Television, a major state-owned...

Malaysia’s PAS eyes new pecking order as it rekindles ties with Umno

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:04:05 +0000

Malaysia’s biggest Islamist opposition party has used its annual convention to reopen the door to former rival Umno, while signalling that any reunion will come with a new pecking order as the party sets its sights on leading the federal government. The recalibration comes after a partnership involving Umno and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) jointly toppled Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition in Negeri Sembilan last month, weeks after Umno crushed Pakatan Harapan (PH) in Johor. With...

3 arrested for allegedly acting with seditious intent outside MTR station

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:42:48 +0000

Hong Kong national security police have arrested three people on suspicion of acting with seditious intent over a gathering outside Prince Edward MTR station to mark a 2019 protest flashpoint there. A police force spokesman said on Saturday that two men and a woman were arrested on Thursday, noting that some people were allegedly shouting seditious slogans and holding white flowers outside the station on August 31. “The people concerned were suspected of spreading false information and attacking...

Philippine Vice-President Duterte-Carpio posts bail over alleged Marcos death threat

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:46:06 +0000

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio posted bail at a Manila courthouse on Saturday, a day after an arrest warrant was issued over her alleged death threat against the country’s president. Duterte-Carpio was charged last month with “grave threats” stemming from a late-night news briefing in which she claimed to have hired a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, his wife and a congressman cousin should she be cut down first. She later said the comments had been misconstrued. The...

Rich Dad, Poor Dad author’s vast debts spark awe – and some bitterness – in China

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:00:07 +0000

The revelation that Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has amassed a staggering debt pile has sparked heated discussion in China, where property investors have suffered painful losses in recent years amid a deep market downturn. The 79-year-old Japanese-American author, who inspired generations of investors to take on leverage to scale up their investments, claimed in a series of podcast interviews over the summer that he owed US$1.2 billion. His ex-wife and long-term business partner Kim...

Police probe death of Tesla driver after collision on Hong Kong road

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:01:05 +0000

Police are investigating the death of a 54-year-old driver of a Tesla whose vehicle collided with two other cars along Hong Kong’s Island Eastern Corridor. The police force said it received a report at 10.37am on Saturday that the man was driving west along the corridor when he was suspected to have lost control of the Tesla and collided with two other vehicles near the North Point Ferry Concourse Promenade. Police added that the Tesla driver sustained “no superficial injury”, but was rushed...

Why former East Germany became the stronghold of far-right AfD

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:01:36 +0000

More than three decades after Germany’s 1990 reunification, lasting east-west divisions may be thrown into stark relief at Sunday’s election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The anti-immigration and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to win big and even hopes to take power at the state level, which would be a first for a far-right party in German post-war history. As much of the east has become an AfD stronghold, the government’s commissioner for eastern Germany,...

Hong Kong to boost STEAM degrees as city targets two-way global education highway

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:54:46 +0000

The Hong Kong government will expand science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education and allocate more land for higher education to transform the traditional study-abroad trend from a “one-way street into a two-way global highway”, the education chief has said. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin delivered the remarks on Saturday at the inaugural Global Education Summit, co-organised by the South China Morning Post and HSBC Premier. “We have set a clear goal....

Ukraine war: how escalating attacks are upending lives in Kyiv

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:09:55 +0000

Commuters stranded; ⁠children rushed underground in the middle of the school day; festivals cancelled; walks punctuated by booming air defences. Near-constant drone attacks are the stark new reality in Kyiv, and daily life is likely to get harder. Kyiv has survived many traumas since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Despite the initial shock of war and the advent of attack drones and ballistic missiles, residents adapted and managed to impose a semblance of normality. But as a...

14 fall ill after dining at Eaton HK hotel restaurant

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:30:35 +0000

Hong Kong health authorities have detected seven additional suspected food poisoning cases linked to a hotel restaurant in Yau Ma Tei, raising the total number of affected diners to 14. The Centre for Health Protection said on Saturday it had identified three additional food poisoning clusters involving The Astor restaurant at Eaton HK, after initially announcing two clusters on September 3. “The centre’s preliminary investigations revealed that all five clusters are epidemiologically linked,”...

War on Earth could spill over to the moon, Chinese space scientists warn

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:00:09 +0000

In a rare study, Chinese aerospace researchers have explored how a war could one day spill into the vast space between the Earth and the moon, with rival spacecraft chasing and evading each other, trying to slip past defences and even blocking strategic routes. Spacecraft could hide in the complex gravitational environment around the moon, where their trajectories are difficult to predict, before emerging and moving towards targets closer to Earth when needed, according to a team from the...

China’s billion-dollar pet funeral industry stays largely unregulated without public oversight

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:00:13 +0000

In May, at a pet funeral home in Dalian, northeastern Liaoning province, a grieving couple wept as they tenderly combed the fur of their deceased pet cat, a Silver British Shorthair, bidding farewell to their beloved “fur kid.” The feline, cherished by the couple for eight years, succumbed to heart disease. “Pidan (the cat’s nickname), you will no longer feel pain in that world. Please visit us in our dreams to share your news. I hope we will be a family again in the next life,” said the...

Hong Kong mega bridge’s popularity takes toll on helicopter, ferry services: lawmaker

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:00:27 +0000

The number of vehicles using a mega bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau hit a record high last year, the South China Morning Post has learned, with a lawmaker saying the boom has taken a heavy toll on ferry services and a long-running helicopter service. Transport Department figures obtained by the SCMP showed that vehicle flow via the popular Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge reached a record high of 5.21 million last year, up more than 19 per cent from 4.36 million in 2024. The 2025...

Asia-Pacific media outlets forge new partnerships ahead of Shenzhen Apec summit

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:03:07 +0000

Media outlets across the Asia-Pacific region have gathered in Shenzhen to deepen collaboration on content, talent and technology ahead of the coming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in the southern Chinese city. Hundreds of media representatives witnessed the launch of several partnerships at the Asia-Pacific Media Forum, which opened in Shenzhen on Saturday after two days of sub-forums in other Guangdong cities as part of a series of events marking the 2026 Apec “China...

Singapore investigates racism related to China-Nepal disaster, Air India investment

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:30:42 +0000

Police are investigating “shameful” racist and xenophobic online comments about the China-Nepal disaster and Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) investment in Air India, Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Saturday. Mr Shanmugam told reporters that the Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also ask social media platforms to remove comments that breach guidelines. “The media tells me that they had to remove several comments because they were so nasty. I don’t know if all the comments are all...

Safety or hostility? Dog owners split over Hong Kong’s crackdown on leash rules

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:49:14 +0000

Hong Kong authorities’ intensified enforcement against dog owners who fail to control their pets has drawn mixed reactions, with supporters welcoming improved safety and critics warning it is stoking panic and hostility. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department carried out inspections and enforcement operations across the city on Saturday following a spate of dog attacks in recent weeks. Among those walking their pets at the West Kowloon Cultural District despite the heat were...

Canada and China thaw continues as militaries hold first talks in 8 years amid US pressure

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 11:00:11 +0000

China and Canada’s armed forces held their first round of talks in eight years on Friday in the face of growing tensions with the United States. The Chinese defence ministry said there had been a candid and in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of common concern. “[Both sides] expressed willingness to strengthen practical exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries, and enhanced mutual understanding and trust,” the ministry added. It was the first meeting...

Chinese man, Nepali woman found alive 10 days after flood

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 11:10:16 +0000

Rescuers pulled out a 64-year-old Nepali woman alive on Saturday from her home, buried under thick mud and debris when the region was struck by massive flooding 10 days ago, killing over 1,300 people and leaving at least 5,500 missing. Emergency personnel said earlier they had rescued a Chinese man, named only as Luhaitao, found alive inside a 225-metre tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district. Footage ‌shared by the Nepali army showed him being given...

Chinese-German team builds ultra-sensitive ‘floating compass’ to hunt dark matter

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:00:06 +0000

Chinese researchers have developed a table-top magnetic sensor that operates at room temperature and can spot magnetic signals a billion times fainter than the Earth’s own field. The Levitated Magnet Magnetometer (LeMaMa) functions like a compass with a needle that floats in mid-air with virtually no friction. By tracking the needle’s tiny deflections, the team can measure magnetic fields down to the femtotesla level – an advance that could widen the hunt for elusive dark matter particles or...

Taiwan remains Asia’s ‘most dangerous’ issue, former Singaporean diplomat warns

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:30:05 +0000

Asia remains shackled by “mental colonisation” despite accounting for over half the global population, a former UN Security Council president has said, while warning that Taiwan remains the region’s most dangerous flashpoint. “The big mistake that Asians made after the end of colonial rule [is assuming] that the end of physical colonisation would automatically mean the end of mental colonisation,” veteran Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani told the inaugural Penang Peace Dialogue in Malaysia...

How can future doctors blend clinical rigour with AI fluency and empathy?

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:46:30 +0000

Medical experts have stressed that Hong Kong’s next generation of healthcare professionals must combine clinical rigour with emotional resilience, an open-minded approach to artificial intelligence (AI) and the drive to transform the sector. The remarks came during a panel discussion on the first day of the inaugural Global Education Summit, co-organised by the South China Morning Post and HSBC Premier. “We always talk about people going north, going to Shenzhen … for medical services. But I...

China launches plan for 3D satellite network to monitor sun and cosmic explosions

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:00:06 +0000

China has started an international project to build a three-dimensional satellite network between Earth and the moon that will track solar activity and study some of the universe’s most powerful explosions. The project plans to send 30 backpack-sized CubeSats into highly elliptical orbits around Earth in the next four years or so, according to the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, which will lead the project. The laboratory said on Friday the constellation would “fill a global gap in systematic...

UK government condemns masked anti-immigrant protesters blocking Dover port

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:36:26 +0000

Dozens of masked anti-immigration protesters blocked roads leading to Britain’s busiest ferry port on Saturday, clogging traffic and disrupting travellers and cargo vehicles heading for France. The government condemned the action, saying it went beyond peaceful protest. The Port of Dover said Saturday morning that all traffic in and out was “stopped due to an ongoing public order incident” and police said they were “engaging with the protesters”. Video posted on social media showed several dozen...

How Asian shipyards in Japan, Korea and Philippines keep US warships battle ready

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:00:06 +0000

After being stranded in the South China Sea following a power failure in July, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Benfold was towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines for emergency repairs. The facility is among the repair and maintenance hubs the US Navy has been developing in the region, strategically pushing for allies to perform major maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work on US naval vessels given the decline of its shipbuilding base at home. The repair work on the Benfold in the...

Hong Kong’s first astronaut Lai Ka-ying to give live lecture from space

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:31:36 +0000

Hong Kong’s first astronaut Lai Ka-ying and her two fellow Shenzhou-23 crew members will deliver a live lecture from space for students and teachers in the city and neighbouring Macau. Hong Kong authorities revealed on Saturday plans for live broadcasts of “Tiangong Class” to take place soon, without specifying the date and time. The activity, jointly organised by the Hong Kong and Macau governments and the China Manned Space Agency, includes an expert lecture, an in-orbit demonstration and a...

US strikes 3 Iranian oil tankers after warships targeted, military says

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:59:57 +0000

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it hit three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, including one off the coast of Kharg Island adjoining Iran’s major oil export hub. CENTCOM said the strikes were conducted after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles at a pair of US Navy ships. “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM’s...

US ambassador calls violent Israeli settlers ‘terrorists’ after weeks of West Bank unrest

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 16:50:54 +0000

The United States ambassador to Israel condemned Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank again on Saturday, calling the behaviour an “act of terror” as he visited Palestinian American residents shaken by months of attacks. Mike Huckabee referred to such settlers as “terrorists”, a word that US officials usually reserve for Palestinian militants. “If there are squatters that come in and put up their own flags and take possession of something that does not belong to them, if they burn a...

2 pilots killed after Greek air force plane crashes at annual air show

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 17:07:27 +0000

A Greek air force plane crashed at an air show north of Athens on Saturday, killing the two pilots, officials said, as thousands of people attended the event. A fire after the crash sent up large plumes of black smoke. There were no injuries among the spectators. The crash of the twin-seat Phantom F4 jet took place during a low-altitude manoeuvre. Air force officials in Greece said the bodies of the two pilots were located during a rescue operation, hampered in the early stages by the fire on...

Egypt sentences TV presenter, 11 others to death in drugs case

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 17:38:14 +0000

An Egyptian court sentenced a well-known television presenter and 11 others to death for manufacturing and trafficking narcotics in a sprawling drugs case, official media reported on Saturday. The presenter, Sarah Khalifa, 39, is best known for her programme Mission Impossible, which dealt with issues concerning security and crime. The state-linked Al-Ahram newspaper said a Cairo court sentenced “Khalifa and 11 other defendants to death by hanging on charges of forming an organised criminal gang...

Competitors dig deep at Hungarian gravedigging contest

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 19:27:47 +0000

A gravedigging contest in a Hungarian cemetery may sound like the opening line of a comedy sketch. It proved to be anything but as 38 competitors grabbed picks and shovels on Saturday. The Hungarian Association of Cemetery Maintainers and Operators organises the contest to showcase the gravedigging trade and its skills, and shake off death-related taboos. The dry summer-baked soil in the public cemetery in Nyergesujfalu, northern Hungary, proved a worthy adversary for the 19 two-man teams. They...

Commemoration held for late Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 19:57:58 +0000

A commemoration was held on Saturday in Belgrade for war criminal Ratko Mladic two days ahead of his burial, attended by dozens of former military staff, family members and officials. Mladic died last week after suffering several strokes while serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes committed during the 1990s war in Bosnia. His body was returned to Serbia on a government plane on Thursday, with his casket draped in flags and received with military honours. The 84-year-old will be...

At least 22 dead, several injured, in fire at DR Congo wedding reception

South China Morning Post rss · Sat, 05 Sep 2026 20:49:01 +0000

A fire at a wedding party in Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa left at least 22 people dead, the regional mayor said on Saturday. Several others were injured. The fire started on Friday night and continued into early Saturday in a building in Lingwala in northern Kinshasa. The building’s narrow hallways were constricted by people trying to escape the fire. Several people - some alive and some dead - were laid by the roadside as attendees tried to help those who were still...