Call them China’s Sputnik moments: DeepSeek. BYD and Xiaomi cars. A robot Olympics in Beijing. Huawei’s resurgence. And Labubu.

Labubu did its job. The little gremlin doll made it clear that a brand being from China is no longer shorthand for cheap. Pop Mart has built trust to such an extent that company management is now forecasting US$4 billion in sales this year. So what’s next?

Not more Labubu. The next chapter is bigger and more industrial than Pop Mart. Brand muscle is spilling into places...

BTS member Jungkook has vowed strong action against repeated invasions of his privacy after a woman was arrested for breaking into his home.

During a Weverse live-stream held on Monday to mark his birthday, Jungkook spoke about the incident, which occurred just days earlier.

According to Yongsan police in Seoul, a woman in her 40s was arrested on the night of August 30 for trespassing in the underground parking space of the K-pop star’s residence.

She followed a vehicle through the entrance,...

A handicraft influencer from central China has spent four months building a mini underground station for his cats.

Some netizens suspected the feline railway station was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), but its maker, Xing Zhilei, posted clips showing that every detail was handmade.

A DIY creator from Henan province, Xing has more than 1.2 million followers on mainland social media platforms.

His handmade work includes mini houses, banks and garages for pets.

Xing lives with his wife,...

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China has hosted a massive military parade along Changan Avenue in central Beijing, showcasing the country’s latest and most advanced weapons to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan in World War II.

President Xi Jinping...

A higher level of engagement in society is among the reasons Hong Kong women’s life expectancy has reached a record high, experts have said, calling for gender-specific solutions to support the city’s ageing population.

Academics and other specialists said that less exposure to high-risk activities and a willingness to seek help were also among factors for women living longer than men in Hong Kong.

Their analysis followed the recent release of a Census and Statistics Department report, “Women...

Indonesia’s wave of unrest has put President Prabowo Subianto under intense pressure less than a year into his term, as he grapples with deep-seated public anger and economic anxiety amid attempts to stop the “deep rot” in his sprawling political coalition.

While frustration over inequality, elite privilege and economic hardship has long been simmering, observers say Prabowo’s ambitious spending, coupled with a corrupt coalition “inherited” from his predecessor, may also have limited his room to...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would deploy National Guard troops to fight crime in Chicago, an extraordinary effort to militarise the country’s third-largest city that was likely to trigger a legal battle with local officials.

“We’re going in. I didn’t say when, but we’re going in,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson swiftly condemned the action.

“He just wants his own secret police force that will do publicity stunts whenever his poll numbers...

A bipartisan bill that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials who intentionally avoid taking action to prevent the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids passed the US House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The proposed Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act passed 407-4 on lawmakers’ first day back in Washington following a month-long recess, with only a few Democrats opposing it. This comes as the two countries are preparing for their next round of trade talks, to be held before November 10...

The city’s pension regulator has begun a review of regulations related to a fee cap for a popular investment option under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), as Hongkongers get older and work past the traditional retirement age.

In a recent interview, chairwoman Ayesha Macpherson Lau of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) said the review, to be completed next year, would be the first attempt at reforming the low-fee Default Investment Strategy (DIS) fund since its launch in...

The US House Oversight Committee on Tuesday publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

The folders contained hundreds of image files of years-old court filings related to Epstein and Maxwell. They also contained video files appearing to be body cam footage from police searches, as well as law enforcement interviews with victims with their faces obscured.

The Justice...