‘Potassium railway’: China’s hidden card in the trade war Landlocked in the heart of Southeast Asia, Laos ranks among the world’s poorest nations. However, for over a decade, China invested heavily to build a dual-purpose passenger and freight railway through the thick rainforest between Kunming and Vientiane, the Laotian capital. This 1,000km (621-mile) rail line, with speeds of up to 200km/h (124 mph), has been operating quietly for four years. According to a Chinese government study released this month, this railway has become a critical conduit for...

South China Morning Post

‘Potassium railway’: China’s hidden card in the trade war

China’s strategic investment in transport infrastructure is helping it access Laotian reserves, securing food supply for its 1.4 billion people.

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to immediate ceasefire after Doha peace talks Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks hosted by Doha, Qatar’s foreign ministry announced early on Sunday, after the South Asian neighbours extended a ceasefire following a week of fierce border clashes. Qatar’s foreign ministry said Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to the ceasefire during a round of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Turkey on Saturday. It said they also agreed to hold follow-up meetings in the coming days “to ensure the sustainability...

South China Morning Post

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to immediate ceasefire after Doha peace talks

The two sides are seeking a way forward after border clashes killed dozens and wounded hundreds.

Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed, Israeli PM says The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages. Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza. Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said...

South China Morning Post

Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed, Israeli PM says

The crossing is a key gateway into Gaza, and Hamas says the closure prevents entry of equipment needed to find more hostage bodies.

Gangs in China exploiting US gift cards to move stolen cash, DHS says Gift cards, one of the most basic financial products in the US retail market, have become the backbone of a billion-dollar criminal economy that investigators say is moving American money into China. Homeland Security Investigations agents say Chinese organised-crime groups have built a laundering network that uses US retailers, mobile wallets and cryptocurrency to steal and export wealth. Operatives inside the US drain compromised gift cards, buy high-value goods such as iPhones and laptops,...

South China Morning Post

Gangs in China exploiting US gift cards to move stolen cash, DHS says

Stolen cards are used to buy goods like iPhones, which are then sold in China, with the proceeds converted into digital currency.

15 dead after Brazil bus crashes and flips on side A passenger bus in northeastern Brazil crashed into a sand embankment and flipped on its side, killing 15 people, local authorities said Saturday. The bus was carrying about 30 passengers, police said. The number of injured, who were taken to nearby hospitals, was not immediately clear. The vehicle departed from the state of Bahia and crashed in Saloa, a city in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco. Police said the driver lost control of the bus, crossed into the opposite lane and hit rocks on...

South China Morning Post

15 dead after Brazil bus crashes and flips on side

Police are investigating how the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to strike a sand embankment and overturn.

US braced for nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump Protesting against the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, people will gather on Saturday in the nation’s capital and communities across the United States for “No Kings” demonstrations – what the president’s Republican Party is calling “Hate America” rallies. This is the third mass mobilisation since Trump’s return to the White House and it is expected to be the largest. It comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programmes and...

South China Morning Post

Anti-Trump protesters out in force for ‘No Kings’ rallies across US

Over 2,600 demonstrations are planned, with top Democrats including Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders joining in.

Flight delays, diversions after fire at Bangladesh airport cargo terminal Flights out of Bangladesh’s main airport were delayed or diverted on Saturday after a major fire broke out in the cargo terminal, officials said. Thirty-six firefighting units were working to douse the flames, said Talha Bin Zasim, an officer at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Media Cell. Operations at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport were suspended, airport official Masudul Hasan told reporters, adding all aircraft were safe. There was no immediate information as to what may...

South China Morning Post

Flight delays, diversions after fire at Bangladesh airport cargo terminal

Firefighting units are working to douse the flames, with operations at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport suspended.

Pakistan, Afghanistan to hold peace talks in Qatar after latest clashes Pakistan and Afghan officials were due to meet in Qatar on Saturday, a day after Islamabad launched air strikes that killed at least 10 people in Afghanistan and broke a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border. The strikes targeted what Pakistan security sources said was a militant group linked to the Pakistani Taliban in the Afghan border areas, following an attack that killed Pakistani paramilitary troops in North Waziristan, a district in Pakistan’s northwest. Kabul accused...

South China Morning Post

Pakistan, Afghanistan hold peace talks in Qatar after latest clashes

Kabul accused Islamabad of violating a recent ceasefire following cross-border clashes that killed dozens of troops and civilians.

Robots take centre stage at Canton Fair, defying US tariff concerns At the autumn session of the twice-yearly Canton Fair – China’s oldest and largest trade exhibition – which opened this week, the busiest pavilions were those showcasing robotics, smart manufacturing and new energy vehicles. At the exhibition halls in Guangzhou, the capital of southern China’s Guangdong province, cameras flashed, crowds surged and long queues formed at booths displaying hi-tech products, with concerns about the shadows cast by US tariff increases thin on the ground. The sales...

South China Morning Post

Robots take centre stage at Canton Fair, defying US tariff concerns

Booths displaying hi-tech products attract plenty of potential buyers at China’s oldest and biggest trade exhibition.

Dozens injured at memorial for revered Kenyan politician Odinga: Red Cross Dozens of mourners were injured on Saturday at a memorial service for Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga as crowds swelled, with some in critical condition taken to a nearby hospital, a Kenyan Red Cross official said. A Reuters witness saw injured people receiving treatment at the scene in the city of Kisumu in western Kenya, the political heartland of Odinga’s Luo tribe. The Standard newspaper had said on X that hundreds had been injured. Two people were killed and more than 160 others were...

South China Morning Post

Dozens injured at memorial for revered Kenyan politician Odinga: Red Cross

Large crowds turn out for a memorial service for opposition leader Raila Odinga, who died on Wednesday, with some getting into a scuffle.

Racing chief hails Ka Ying Rising’s ‘phenomenal’ win, city’s world-leader status Hong Kong’s Ka Ying Rising cemented his place as racing’s best sprinter with a dominant victory in the world’s richest turf race, The Everest, in Sydney on Saturday, a moment trainer David Hayes called “the biggest thrill in my life”. The 5-year-old star became the first overseas horse to claim the title, earning A$7 million (HK$35 million) in little more than the minute it took to cover the 1,200 metres at Royal Randwick. His 14th consecutive victory, but a first outside Hong Kong, took Ka Ying...

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Racing chief hails Ka Ying Rising’s ‘phenomenal’ win, city’s world-leader status

Dominant victory in world’s richest race on grass confirms Hong Kong horse as the best sprinter there is.

‘Massive job’ ahead to rebuild ruined Gaza, UN aid chief says The United Nations’ aid chief took stock of the monumental task of restoring basic necessities in the devastated Gaza Strip on Saturday, as Israel and Hamas exchanged more human remains. In a short convoy of white UN jeeps, relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team wound their way through the twisted rubble of shattered homes to inspect a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. “I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still...

South China Morning Post

‘Massive job’ ahead to rebuild ruined Gaza, UN aid chief says

Relief coordinator Tom Fletcher says aid agencies aim to bring in food and tents, rebuild the health sector and get children back in school.

Hong Kong homebuyers flock to Henderson Land project in Wan Chai Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up new flats at a Henderson Land project in Wan Chai in the latest sign of a real-estate market recovery. By early evening on Saturday, all 75 units on offer at the Woodis residential development on Wood Road were sold out, according to property agents. The buying spree aligns with market expectations, following Henderson’s decision to price the units competitively with neighbouring flats in the secondary market. The average discounted price was set at HK$23,224...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong homebuyers flock to Henderson Land project in Wan Chai

All 75 new flats on offer at the Woodis residential development on Saturday are sold out.

Battery fire aboard Air China flight to South Korea forces emergency landing An Air China flight from Hangzhou to Seoul was forced to make an emergency landing in Shanghai on Saturday after a lithium battery caught fire in the plane’s cabin. In a statement on social media, Air China confirmed the incident. “On October 18, on flight CA139 from Hangzhou to Incheon, a lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on luggage stored in the overhead compartment spontaneously ignited,” the airline said. The crew handled the situation quickly, it added, and “to ensure flight safety”,...

South China Morning Post

Battery fire aboard Air China flight to South Korea forces emergency landing

No injuries reported as plane departing Hangzhou for Seoul diverts to Shanghai.

Hong Kong arts hub cancels gay-themed play hours before tickets go on sale Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District cancelled a gay-themed play set to be staged at its Xiqu Centre less than two hours before tickets went on sale on Saturday, citing complaints the piece promoted confrontation and defamed the city. The author of We Are Gay, Candace Chong Mui-ngam, was also attacked in a 1,000-word opinion piece in the pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po Chinese-language newspaper for “building her happiness on Hongkongers’ pain”. “It is with regret that we announce the cancellation...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong arts hub cancels gay-themed play hours before tickets go on sale

Hub’s authority says We Are Gay attracted complaints it invited confrontation and defamed city, while author attacked in opinion piece in Wen Wei...

Pope Leo visits ship sailing the Mediterranean on peace mission Arm in arm, young people of different faiths perform the dabke, an Arabic folk dance, in the Italian port of Ostia, elated by a visit from Pope Leo. Behind them is the Bel Espoir, a schooner vessel on which the young people – whether from Libya and Egypt or France and Bosnia – have been sailing the Mediterranean to promote peace. “For me especially, it means a lot that the pope believes in the project and he wants to come and meet us,” said Jesus Marro, a 30-year-old Spaniard. “He believes in...

South China Morning Post

Pope Leo visits ship sailing the Mediterranean on peace mission

Young people of different faiths have been sailing the Mediterranean on the Bel Espoir schooner vessel to promote peace and dialogue.

China-Canada ties on the mend after Ottawa’s ‘pragmatic’ shift: analysts China and Canada are showing a readiness to mend mutual ties as both nations tackle strained relations with the US, marking a shift by Ottawa that analysts have described as “pragmatic”. Beijing was willing to restart dialogue and exchanges “at all levels” and rebuild trust with Ottawa, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said as he met Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand during her two-day trip to China. Friday’s meeting in Beijing came just over a week after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney...

South China Morning Post

China-Canada ties on the mend after Ottawa’s ‘pragmatic’ shift: analysts

Beijing states a willingness to restart dialogue and exchanges ‘at all levels’ as top diplomat Wang Yi meets with Canadian counterpart.

Nexperia said to halt salaries and system access for Chinese employees Nexperia has withheld access to work accounts and halted salaries for its employees in China, according to local news reports citing a letter from the Chinese unit of the Dutch chipmaker, marking the latest escalation in a growing political dispute between the Netherlands and China. The Chinese unit of Nexperia informed customers on Friday that it had been notified by headquarters that salary payments would cease and employees’ access to company systems would be suspended, according to Chinese...

South China Morning Post

Nexperia said to halt salaries and system access for Chinese employees

European management appears to be ‘abandoning’ the Chinese market, the company’s China unit says in a letter to clients.

Iran says no longer bound by ‘restrictions’ on nuclear programme as deal ends Iran on Saturday said it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy”. The 2015 deal – signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – saw the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme. But the pact had already been in tatters after Washington...

South China Morning Post

Iran says no longer bound by ‘restrictions’ on nuclear programme as deal ends

The 2015 deal signed with world powers began to fall apart years ago after the US unilaterally withdrew and reinstated sanctions.

Expelled Chinese generals ‘disloyal’, dealt ‘serious blow’ to army: PLA Daily China has accused the nine generals expelled from the Communist Party on Friday of seriously undermining the principle that the military should be loyal to the party and dealing a serious blow to the army’s unity and the image of senior officers. An editorial published by PLA Daily on Saturday also said the nine generals – including He Weidong, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and a member of the 24-man Politburo – were “being disloyal” and losing their “chastity”. It...

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Sacked Chinese generals ‘disloyal’, dealt ‘serious blow’ to military: PLA Daily

Editorial’s scathing criticism of senior officers echoes language used when former defence chief Wei Fenghe was sacked last year.