World United States & Canada
Parts of the US have been enveloped in dense smoke from hundreds of fires in Ontario, prompting warnings to residents to stay indoors
2 -MIN READ 2 -MIN
Dry, wet, dry again: India’s ‘mysterious’ monsoon swings threaten crops, power supply
India’s fifth-driest June on record was followed by a sudden deluge that dumped about a month’s worth of rain in a single week
An intensifying El Nino and global warming are driving a shift in India ’s monsoon rainfall, creating more erratic weather patterns that threaten to dent agricultural output and strain power grids.
This year’s monsoon opened with India’s fifth-driest June on record and rainfall almost 40
China can turn plastic waste to jet fuel at a low cost: study
The world produces 460 million tonnes of plastic a year, creating a devastating environmental problem. China may have an answer
2 -MIN READ 2 -MIN
Global plastic production exceeds 460 million tonnes annually, and the material’s resistance to degradation is fuelling growing concern about its environmental impact.
Traditional disposal routes – incineration and landfilling – are not only wasteful but also highly polluting. However, a new chemical technique that converts
Malaysia aims for 600,000 South Korean arrivals in new travel drive
As Malaysia pushes to welcome 47 million international visitors under this year’s travel campaign, the country is setting its sights on bringing South Korean arrivals back above pre-pandemic levels by promoting authentic local experiences beyond its well-known beach resorts and city attractions.
“ South Korea is one of our priority markets,” Kamilia Hani Abdul Halim, director of Tourism Malaysia Seoul, said in an interview.
Last year, about 558
Is Hong Kong doing enough to lose its top spot for expensive housing?
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA.
Hong Kong has come out on top again, but not in a good way. After earning the distinction of having the highest petrol prices in the world, we have again been named the world’s priciest residential property market in the “Mapping the World’s Prices” report released by Deutsche Bank.
We managed to keep our top
US ‘hit Iran very hard’, Trump says, as both inch closer to all-out war
The United States began a new round of air strikes early on Monday targeting Iran after announcing the death of another American service member, and Iran fired missiles towards Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighbouring Israel.
Step by step, the US and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.
The US military said
China court orders wedding party to pay US$34,000 after brutal bridesmaid prank
A 20-year-old woman from central China who served as a bridesmaid had one of her vertebrae fractured and became seriously disabled after a prank activity at a wedding.
A court in Ruyang county, in Henan province, released its verdict on the case to the public in early July, aiming to raise awareness of the controversial wedding revelry, news portal gmw.cn reported.
As part of nuptial ceremonies, wedding hazing, called hun nao in Chinese, dates back thousands of years, originally being intended to create
Hong Kong prepares for sweeping reforms following end of Tai Po blaze inquiry
Hong Kong authorities are set to roll out sweeping reforms following the conclusion of the investigation into the city’s deadliest fire in decades, including criminalising bid-rigging and overhauling fire safety and property management laws.
Political observers also expected senior officials, including ministers, to take accountability for the blaze once the committee submits its report, which sources said would be delayed by a month to late October due to the extra time needed to review documents.
The inferno, which engulfed seven of the eight blocks in Wang Fuk Court in
Red rainstorm warning lowered to amber but unsettled weather to persist
Hong Kong’s weather forecaster downgraded the red rainstorm warning to amber on Monday morning, but warned that unsettled weather would continue to affect the city over the next day.
The Hong Kong Observatory reissued the amber rainstorm warning at 9.30am, nearly 1½ hours after raising the red signal at 8.05am.
Authorities earlier urged schools to