North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crossed the border into China on his signature green train early on Tuesday to attend China’s celebration of the formal surrender of Japan in World War II, relying on a slow but specialised form of transport that the reclusive country’s leaders have used for decades.

Compared with North Korea’s ageing fleet of passenger aircraft, the bulletproof trains offer a safer and more comfortable space for a large entourage, security guards, food and amenities, and a place...

When I told friends that my university department was launching a citywide short essay competition for secondary school students, many laughed, good-naturedly, of course. “An essay competition? In the age of generative AI?” asked one. “Won’t all the entries sound the same if everyone uses ChatGPT?” said another. “Isn’t the whole point of writing gone now that AI can do it better?” said a third.

As a researcher in AI-assisted writing, I took these doubts seriously – and personally. They reflect a...

Swiss food giant Nestle on Monday dismissed Laurent Freixe as chief executive with immediate effect over an “undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate”.

The multinational behind Nespresso coffee capsules and KitKat chocolate bars said Freixe’s dismissal followed an investigation.

In a swift move, Nespresso CEO Philipp Navratil was appointed to take over by his fellow board members.

“The departure of Laurent Freixe follows an investigation into an undisclosed romantic...

State broadcaster CCTV has hinted that the Victory Day parade in Beijing this week could feature improved versions of two of its hypersonic missiles, the YJ-21 and DF-17, both with enhanced penetration capabilities.

China is set to hold a large-scale military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, and new weaponry is expected to be showcased.

One anticipated highlight is the air-launched variant of the YJ-21, originally a sea-based hypersonic missile.

In a...

A 98-year-old grandmother has caused public shock by cutting off a hornlike growth on her forehead using a pair of scissors.

The “horn” is a traditional symbol of longevity in Chinese folklore.

The woman, surnamed Gu, from Shanghai, had been living with the growth on her for several years.

It measured around 3 to 4 centimetres in diameter and, after removal, was reportedly as long as a finger.

During a hospital stay for a separate treatment, Gu grew annoyed by the growth and cut it off herself...

The latest round of “reciprocal” tariffs imposed by the United States has taken a toll on American importer confidence, prompting Hong Kong exporters to warn of weak sales and price inflation in two of the country’s most important spending seasons, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Tariffs ranging from 10 to 41 per cent took effect on August 1 in 70 jurisdictions, including many in Southeast Asia where Hong Kong exporters produce goods for the US. Washington had a deal to extend the tariff truce with...

Long after the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989, Westerners and, secretly, even some within China, were thinking that if the communist country was going to follow the decline and fall of the Soviet Union, the crackdown would have been the trigger.

But history is full of surprises.

Nowadays, some prominent intellectuals in the Anglo-American world are fretting over whether their own countries are looking a lot like the late Soviets. The historical parallels they have drawn are plausible.

Even...

Japan’s struggling pachinko industry has been dealt a fresh blow with the arrest of six executives at a major parlour operator accused of paying staff to vote for their favoured candidate in the July upper house election, an indication of the growing desperation of a sector that has fallen on hard times.

Lee Chang-beom, a South Korean national who also goes by the name Masanori Yamamoto and is president of the Derupara Group, was arrested on August 26 along with five other executives of the...

Two hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza last week were buried by family and friends in Israel on Monday in separate ceremonies.

The Israeli military on Friday announced the return of the remains of Idan Shtivi, 28, and Ilan Weiss, 55, from the Palestinian territory, nearly 23 months after they were both killed on October 7, 2023.

Shtivi, a student who had been attending the Nova music festival as a volunteer photographer when Hamas-led militants stormed the site, was laid to rest in...

An 11-year-old boy was fatally shot in Houston, Texas after a prank in which he rang the doorbell of a home and ran away, police said.

The boy had been ringing doorbells as a prank late on Saturday evening, the Houston Police Department said in a statement.

Commonly referred to as “ding dong ditching”, the prank involves fleeing before someone inside the home opens the door.

The boy, who has not yet been identified, died of his wounds on Sunday, police said.

Police spokesman Shay Awosiyan said...