Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe’s Mao remarks

Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe’s Mao remarks

Oct 28, 2026

Real Madrid has issued an apology to China over Kylian Mbappe’s controversial remarks about the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, after the Spanish football club’s initial response failed to quell anger in China. In a statement published on its website on Wednesday, the club apologised to the Chinese people for “any discomfort” caused by the French footballer’s remarks, a day after Mbappe issued his own public apology. The apology came after Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Sports rejected Real...

Hong Kong world’s first airport to receive digital identity certification from IATA

Hong Kong world’s first airport to receive digital identity certification from IATA

Oct 28, 2026

Hong Kong International Airport has become one of the first two organisations certified under an international aviation industry group’s digital identity programme, as it seeks to expand its facial recognition system beyond the city. However, the wider adoption of facial recognition technology has been slower than expected, due to government regulations and privacy requirements, according to a senior aviation industry official. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on...

Chinese astronomers find planets that somehow avoided death by red giant stars

Chinese astronomers find planets that somehow avoided death by red giant stars

Oct 28, 2026

When a star like our sun grows old, it puffs up into a red giant that can gobble up its nearest planets. But Chinese astronomers say they have found three solar systems where planets should have been eaten this way yet somehow survived – a puzzle that could change how scientists picture Earth’s distant future. Using Nasa’s TESS space telescope, a team led by Qian Shengbang from Yunnan University showed that three Jupiter-like planets – each hugging an ageing star in the northern sky – had lived...

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Oct 28, 2026

Hong Kong lawmaker urges more checks as illegal parking fines top HK$70m a year

Traffic police have issued more than 220,000 tickets for parking-related offences in each of the past three years, raking in at least HK$70 million (US$8.92 million) a year for Hong Kong’s coffers, but a lawmaker said inspections could be enhanced to target more offenders. In a written reply to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said police issued 259,589, 242550, and 225,489 fixed penalty tickets in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively to...

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Oct 28, 2026

In China gene-editing trial, 2 children improved, 1 died and 1 withdrew

Four seriously ill Chinese boys who would almost certainly have died in their twenties from a rare inherited disease received the same highly anticipated gene-editing drug. More than a year later, a set of cruel and contradictory data emerged. Two boys gained the strength to walk farther. One boy showed no improvement in gait and subsequently withdrew from the trial. And the fourth boy’s heart stopped beating 81 hours after receiving the medication intravenously, owing to a severe systemic...

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Oct 28, 2026

Police officer denies evidence was contaminated at flat in Abby Choi murder trial

A police officer investigating the alleged murder of Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung has denied tampering with the evidence he collected from a rural village flat where her dismembered remains were found. Detective Constable Chan Wai-hung on Wednesday rejected a defence contention that the alleged crime scene in Tai Po’s Lung Mei village had been contaminated because investigating officers failed to follow proper procedures. Testifying under cross-examination in the High Court, Chan...

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Oct 28, 2026

Why Kim Jong-un’s border trip to China differs from past pre-summit playbooks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s trip to the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday echoed the intense coordination that preceded his previous summits with US President Donald Trump. Between March 2018 and June 2019, Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping five times across Beijing, Dalian and Pyongyang, and three of those occasions happened not long before his summits with Trump. Yet, while Saturday’s unannounced visit appeared superficially similar, analysts said the strategic focus had...

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Oct 28, 2026

Hong Kong to prioritise public transport at Huanggang Port over Halloween weekend

Hong Kong authorities will give public transport priority at Huanggang Port this Halloween weekend, warning that cross-border private car travellers could face wait times exceeding an hour during late-night peak hours. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said that the peak departure window for outbound passengers and vehicles at the 24-hour control point would be 11pm to 2am across the three nights from Friday to Sunday. He urged residents and visitors to avoid peak-hour crossings and use public...

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Oct 28, 2026

US warns China is expanding its space toolkit with spaceplane and energy weapons

A rare satellite image of China’s secretive spaceplane has appeared in a new US intelligence report that warned Beijing was expanding its ability to track American forces and could deploy space-based directed-energy weapons by the late 2020s. The US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) report published on Sunday included an image of the reusable spacecraft, credited to satellite imagery firm Maxar in 2024, showing its shuttle-like design and apparent solar arrays. A spaceplane is a spacecraft...

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Oct 28, 2026

China’s military holds talks in France and Germany despite rising trade tensions

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has held defence strategy consultations with France and Germany over the past week despite mounting trade tensions between Beijing and Europe. A PLA strategy consultation delegation visited France and Germany from October 21 to 28 for the talks, according to a statement released by China’s defence ministry on Wednesday. The Chinese delegation engaged in in-depth exchanges of views with the two countries separately on bilateral and military-to-military...

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Oct 28, 2026

Humans should be ‘the master’: labour chief says AI reshaping jobs, not ending them

Soft skills and deep domain knowledge will decide how far young workers go in the age of artificial intelligence, Hong Kong’s labour chief has said, predicting that demand for AI practitioners with both technical capability and professional expertise will grow three- to fourfold. Rejecting fears that automation will replace the human workforce, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han dismissed the claim as a “zero-sum game”, stressing that the future lay in close collaboration between...

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Oct 28, 2026

Authorities search for elderly Hong Kong man missing in Tai Po for 3 days

Hong Kong authorities are searching for an elderly man who went missing in a remote rural area of Tai Po three days ago. Tung Chung-yin, 80, was last seen at Wu Kau Tang in Plover Cove Country Park on Sunday. His family reported him missing to police on Tuesday. A search was launched on Tuesday night and continued on Wednesday. Police have appealed to the public for information on his whereabouts. Tung, who has short grey hair, is about 1.7 metres tall (5 feet, 7 inches), weighs about 75kg and...

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Oct 28, 2026

Kowloon leads as 70% of Hong Kong’s subdivided flats registered for grace period

About 70 per cent of subdivided flats in Hong Kong have been registered for a grace period under a new law aimed at eradicating substandard homes, with most submissions coming from landlords in Kowloon’s Yau Tsim Mong district, according to the Housing Bureau. The bureau told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that 75,070 subdivided homes across about 21,000 whole flats had been registered for the three-year grace period since applications opened in March under the new Basic Housing Units...

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Oct 28, 2026

China’s former vice-premier Liu Yandong dies at age 80

Former Chinese vice-premier Liu Yandong died of illness on Wednesday at the age of 80. She was one of China’s most prominent female leaders, playing a pivotal role in the country’s united front work and education sector. Xinhua, which announced her death on Wednesday afternoon, described Liu as an “outstanding leader in the [Communist] Party’s united front work, in China’s education, science and technology, healthcare, and women and children’s affairs”. Liu was vice-premier from 2013 to 2018....

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Oct 28, 2026

China seeks India’s help in defusing border tensions

China said it would seek India’s help to “maintain peace and stability in the border areas” after new stand-offs in a long-disputed region threatened to undermine improved relations. “We hope that India will work with China in the same direction by jointly implementing the common understandings between the two sides,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a daily media briefing on Monday. China “strictly abides by the relevant agreements”, he said. Guo also said that China...

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Oct 28, 2026

Hong Kong’s third medical school denies poaching veteran HKU professor

Hong Kong’s third medical school has dismissed allegations of talent poaching after recruiting a veteran haematologist with nearly three decades of service at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Professor Anskar Leung Yu-hung met the press at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) on Wednesday in his capacity as the senior associate dean of medicine at the new school, which is expected to open in the 2028-29 academic year. “The opportunity to be part of a team to [build] a new...

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Oct 28, 2026

Hong Kong exports jump nearly 65% in September, highest growth in over 40 years

Hong Kong’s exports jumped by 64.9 per cent year on year in September, the highest growth in more than 40 years, with artificial intelligence-related (AI) products further fuelling the momentum of recent months. Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Wednesday showed the total value of exports rose to HK$762.6 billion (US$97.8 billion) last month, after a 53 per cent surge in August. A government spokesman said September marked the 20th consecutive month of...

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Oct 28, 2026

Hong Kong luxury expo to connect brands with ‘high-spending travellers’

Private jets, fine jewellery, watches, superyachts and luxury property will feature in a new Hong Kong exhibition offering business opportunities to “brands, yacht owners and connoisseurs”, according to the organiser. The inaugural Festival of Connoisseurs, set to take place between November 4 and 6, is the first event of its kind to secure government funding for large-scale international exhibitions, organiser Informa Markets said on Wednesday. Ryan Hui, the festival’s deputy event director,...

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Oct 28, 2026

Deliver accountability for Tai Po fire tragedy or admit system is broken

One word will hang over the Hong Kong community in the run-up to next month’s anniversary of the dreadful Tai Po fire that took 168 of our fellow citizens’ lives: accountability. By the time we mark the occasion, we will know if we still have a system based on ministers taking political responsibility for failures in their policy areas or whether we must revise our constitutional arrangements. The fire at Wang Fuk Court, which broke out on November 26 last year, traumatised the whole population...

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Oct 28, 2026

Why China’s ties with Serbia face scrutiny, not severance, after historic Vucic loss

Massive crowds, fireworks and dancing have filled the streets across Belgrade since Serbia’s nationalist strongman Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary election after 14 years in power. The political shift could cool diplomatic ties between Beijing and Belgrade and invite sharper scrutiny of Chinese investments in Serbia, but was unlikely to upend a relationship built on years of cooperation, analysts argued. Vucic conceded the defeat of his right-wing Serbian Progressive...

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Oct 28, 2026

Hongkong Post reports record HK$905 million deficit in ninth year of losses

Hong Kong’s government-owned postal service reported a record operating deficit of HK$905 million (US$115 million) in 2025-26, its ninth straight annual loss. In its annual report published on Wednesday, Hongkong Post said the past year showed its “resilience and adaptability” despite a volatile economic environment and an escalating geopolitical situation. “The emergence of protectionism, tightening customs policies in various places, increasing terminal dues and rising operating costs posed...

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Oct 28, 2026

Chinese anti-scam blogger killed by criminals hired online to silence his work

A Chinese investigative blogger who exposed telecoms fraud and other illegal activity was killed by criminals hired on social media, according to media reports, prompting calls for heavier punishment for the perpetrators. The body of Wu Kai, who used the name “Huijian” on social media and had written for years about telecoms fraud in Southeast Asia, was discovered in southern China in November 2024. His death and details of the case were revealed this week. In August 2024, Wu accused Liu Ren – a...

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Oct 28, 2026

'Same emotional impact across cultures': Why Netflix takes dubbing seriously

“Bite him!” “Fight!” “You know I’m a really dangerous guy, right?” On Friday, voice actors Park Sang-hoon and Choi Woo-sung were locked in a heated verbal exchange as they watched a screen at Pixelogic Korea’s studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. They were dubbing a one-on-one game between former martial arts fighters for the reality show “Physical: 100 Mexico.” As the actors delivered their lines in sync with the contestants’ movements and emotions, dubbing producer Kim Jeong-ryeong offered a steady stream of feedback: “Let me check the pronunciation,” “Make sure the microphone isn’t peaking” and “Your voice sounds a little hoarse.” “Physical: 100,” which pits 100 contestants with exceptional physical abilities against one another in extreme challenges, began as a Korean original reality show and has since spawned local adaptations in countries including Mexico and Italy. The scene observed that day was part of the Korean-language dubbing process. Dubbing involves translation, adaptation, voice casting, editing and mixing, and takes rough

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Oct 28, 2026

US Silver Star Medal reissued to late S. Korean veteran of Korean War

A late South Korean veteran who was awarded the U.S. Silver Star Medal for his role in a Korean War battle in 1952 has recently been reissued the medal posthumously after it went missing decades ago, officials said Wednesday. Late Army Staff Sgt. Nam Woon-soo was given the U.S. honor, as well as the Chungmu Order of Military Merit from the South Korean government, in 1953 for playing a key role in the Battle of White Horse Hill in what is the current border town of Cheorwon, some 80 kilometers northeast of Seoul. During the battle, Nam crawled his way up to the entrance of the enemy's position and destroyed it, making a decisive contribution to neutralizing enemy firepower. It was one of the Korean War's most fiercely fought battles between the U.S.-backed South Korean forces and the communist troops from China. After the medal went missing somehow, Nam had expressed frustration and regret before his death in 1997. His bereaved family later asked the South Korean government to reissue the medal, but the request was denied on grounds that it was issued by the U.S. government. In February t

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Oct 28, 2026

Presidential office to hold emergency meeting over financial-sector hacking attacks

The presidential office was set to hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss responses after hacking attacks on multiple financial firms led to customer data breaches. Song Ki-ho, vice chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, will preside over the meeting, which will be attended by officials from the Financial Services Commission, the presidential office said. Mirae Asset Global Investments, crypto exchange Bithumb and Daishin Securities all reported data breaches involving customers earlier Wednesday following separate recent hacking attacks. The emergency meeting is expected to discuss the full extent of the damage from the cyberattacks and measures to prevent further damage.

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Oct 28, 2026

PPP slams defense minister over remarks on trusting US forces in event of war with N. Korea

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday accused Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul of undermining the South Korea-U.S. alliance over his remarks about trusting the U.S. military in the event of a war with North Korea. Kang came under fire during a parliamentary audit Monday when he questioned whether South Korea can "really trust the U.S. military" if a war broke out with North Korea, while responding to an opposition lawmaker's concerns over Seoul's push to retake wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington. "The defense minister's remarks are undermining the trust in the 73-year-old alliance," PPP chief spokesperson Park Choong-kwon said in a commentary. Rep. Park criticized Kang for pushing ahead with the OPCON transfer despite not having held any talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth since taking office last month. He urged President Lee Jae Myung to immediately dismiss Kang, saying he is no longer qualified to serve as defense minister. Other lawmakers also denounced Kang's remarks, questioning his views on national security. "Is it not because the defe

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Oct 28, 2026

PM pledges Korea will take lead in climate crisis response

Korea will be at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Wednesday as she opened an international conference on climate crisis. "There is a saying that this summer has been the hottest one yet, but it will be the coolest summer we will ever experience," Han said in an opening address at the Global Cooperation Conference on Climate Crisis Response. "Climate crisis is no longer a warning for the future but has become a disaster that threatens our lives today." She outlined measures that Korea has taken against climate change, including the Korea Green Transformation (K-GX) strategy, which seeks sustainable growth and climate crisis response at the same time, and a series of efforts to help industries transition away from carbon emissions. "It has been more than 10 years since the Paris Agreement. It is time to produce specific outcomes," Han said, referring to the agreement adopted in 2015 with the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. "If each nation's climate policy is going to lead to ta

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Oct 28, 2026

Ex-justice minister, special counsel appeal martial law-related ruling

Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and special counsel Cho Eun-suk have both appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging an appellate court ruling that reduced Park's prison sentence from 25 years to nine years over his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration, judicial officials said Wednesday. Park and Cho's team filed their appeals with the Seoul High Court on Tuesday, the officials said. Park was indicted on charges of playing a key role in Yoon's martial law imposition on Dec. 3, 2024, and participating in an alleged insurrection. The charges included ordering the possible dispatch of prosecutors to a martial law-related organ, putting Korea Immigration Service (KIS) officials in charge of travel bans on standby and directing the Korea Correctional Service (KCS) to assess detention centers' available capacity. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park to 25 years in prison after finding him guilty of all charges brought by Cho. But the Seoul High Court last week reduced his prison sentence to nine years, acquitting him of charges related to the KIS an

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Oct 28, 2026

Births up 13% in August to highest in 7 years

The number of babies born in Korea shot up 13 percent in August from a year earlier, marking the 26th consecutive month of increase, government data showed Wednesday. A total of 23,703 babies were born in August, up from 20,983 a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the highest figure for any August since the 24,371 posted in 2019. The country's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, rose 0.09 from a year earlier to 0.87 in August. The rate remains well below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration. The number of births has maintained an upward trajectory since July 2024. Over the January-August period, 193,783 babies were born, up 14.5 percent from a year earlier. It was also the highest figure for the period since 2019. The recent rebound came amid a growing number of marriages, an increase in the population in their 30s and more positive attitudes toward having children. The number of marriages in August fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 19,21

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Oct 28, 2026

Regulatory standoff delays debut of Seoul's 1st modern streetcar line

The launch of Korea's first modern streetcar network has encountered a temporary regulatory roadblock, forcing city officials to push back the line's planned December debut as local authorities work to finalize safety protocols along shared pedestrian and roadway corridors. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that full commercial operation of the Wirye Line tram — a 5.4-kilometer wireless streetcar project — will be postponed into next year. Although physical construction is 97 percent complete, the delay stems from protracted disputes among government agencies over traffic safety infrastructure and regulatory jurisdiction. Spanning 12 stations, the 350.3 billion won ($253 million) transit project connects Macheon Station on Seoul Subway Line 5 with Bokjeong Station and Namwirye Station on Line 8 and the Suin-Bundang Line. The line represents a major milestone for urban transit in Korea, marking the return of streetcars to the capital for the first time since the city decommissioned its original tram network in 1968. It is also the nation’s first transit line to deplo

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Oct 28, 2026

Seoul rallies 1,486 volunteers to clean up Han River parks

More than 1,400 people joined forces across Seoul’s Han River parks this month, picking up litter, learning recycling rules and promoting bicycle safety in a city campaign to keep its popular riverside spaces clean and safe. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that 1,486 citizens, corporate employees and volunteers took part in three Fall Hangang Volunteer Day events held at Ichon, Ttukseom and Yeouido Hangang parks between Oct. 13 and Oct. 24. The campaign, organized under the theme “Keep Hangang clean, keep Hangang safe,” combined litter pick-up with environmental education and public safety programs. The first event, held Oct. 13 at Ichon Hangang Park, brought together 50 corporate volunteers who collected trash along park walkways. The second gathering, on Oct. 17 at Ttukseom Hangang Park, drew 95 participants for litter collection and campaigns promoting environmental awareness and safe park use. Yeouido Hangang Park hosted the largest event on Saturday, attracting 1,341 people, including children and adults who took part in environmental missions and quizzes about

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Oct 28, 2026

Jeonbuk National University institute to recruit 141 schoolchildren for advanced science programs

Jeonbuk National University’s Science Education Institute for the Gifted will recruit 141 students for its 2027 advanced programs for elementary and middle school students to nurture young scientists in the region, the university said Tuesday. The elementary school advanced program will admit 51 students, with 17 each in science, mathematics and interdisciplinary studies. The middle school advanced program will admit 90 students, with 15 each in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, Earth science and information science. The university said the institute will also give priority to applicants who have completed designated preparatory programs and those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Eligible applicants include students who have completed either the online preparatory program jointly offered by 26 university-affiliated science education institutes for gifted students nationwide or the in-person Jeonbuk Science Dream Tree Development Program run by the institute. Seven places will be reserved for priority applicants each in physics, Earth science and information science, whi

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Oct 28, 2026

President Lee to hold meeting on national safety

President Lee Jae Myung was set to hold a government meeting Wednesday to discuss measures to ensure public safety and protect the rights of victims of safety incidents. The second plenary meeting of the national life and safety committee, to be presided over by Lee at Cheong Wa Dae, is expected to discuss measures to ensure public safety and protect victims' rights guaranteed under the public life and safety law, which is scheduled to take effect next Wednesday, the presidential office said. On May 7, the National Assembly passed the law, which stipulates the duties of the country and local governments to ensure people's rights to safety, including the rights to have their lives and properties protected and to lead safe lives. It also calls for the protection of victims of safety incidents, their family members and witnesses. Wednesday's meeting will be attended by about 70 government officials, victims of safety incidents and their family members. During the session, officials plan to outline the government's safety policies and measures to reduce suicides, unattended deaths, industrial

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