US Congress investigates diversion of sensitive F-35 parts to Hong Kong: report

South China Morning Post - Sep 20, 2026

The United States Congress has reportedly launched a probe after a shipment of sensitive F-35 fighter jet parts was said to have been unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong and went missing, with the city’s authorities declining to comment on the case. A spokesman for the Hong Kong government said over the weekend that it would not comment on individual cases, a day after US media outlet Politico reported the story. Citing three anonymous sources, Politico said the F-35 parts were shipped from...

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Shark sightings draw crowds at Busan's North Port

Shark sightings draw crowds at Busan's North Port

Repeated shark sightings at a waterfront park in Busan’s North Port have drawn crowds of curious visitors, prompting city authorities to step up safety measures while monitoring the sea creature’s return to open waters. A shark estimated to be at least 3 meters long was first spotted at around 8:57 a.m. on Friday in a waterway at the port’s Waterfront Park, according to city officials. Another shark sighting was reported at around 1:05 p.m. the following day. The creature was believed to be a basking shark, a species found in subtropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, including waters off the Korean Peninsula. Although the species is not known to be aggressive, city officials said it could still pose a danger if provoked or approached too closely. The Korea Coast Guard initially tried to guide the shark out of the narrow waterway. But it suspended the effort after the National Institute of Fisheries Science advised that forcing the animal away could trigger defensive or aggressive behavior. Instead of deterring visitors, the unusual sight quickly turned the park

BTS performs at iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas

BTS performs at iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas

BTS has performed at a major U.S. music festival, appearing as a closing act, its label BigHit Music said Sunday. The septet performed four songs — "Swim," "2.0," "Mic Drop" and "FYA" — at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday. The annual festival also featured Cardi B, Snoop Dog and Benson Boone alongside the K-pop superstars. It marked BTS' first appearance at the festival in six years. BTS is set to begin the Latin American leg of its "ARIRANG" world tour on Oct. 2 in Bogota, followed by stops in Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

BTS, BLACKPINK lead K-pop charge in Best Group race at MTV VMAs

BTS, BLACKPINK lead K-pop charge in Best Group race at MTV VMAs

K-pop-linked acts make up half of the Best Group race at this year's MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), with BTS seeking to reclaim a title it held four years running and BLACKPINK looking to defend the trophy it took home last year. MTV announced nominees for four social media vote categories Friday (local time), naming BTS, BLACKPINK, rookie boy group CORTIS and global girl group KATSEYE for Best Group. They will compete against British girl group FLO and U.S. acts Fuerza Regida, Geese and Twenty One Pilots. The addition brings BTS' nomination tally to three for the event, following earlier nods for Song of the Year and Best K-pop for "SWIM," the lead track of its fifth studio album, "ARIRANG." The septet won Best Group four consecutive times from 2019 to 2022, the most by any act in the category's history. CORTIS also has three nominations. Last month, the group earned its first-ever VMA nods for Best New Artist and for Best K-pop with April's "REDRED." The five-member group, which launched just over a year ago, is the most recently debuted act in the Best Group lineup. KATSEYE received f

N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles hours apart ahead of Trump-Xi summit

N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles hours apart ahead of Trump-Xi summit

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea within hours of each other Sunday, ahead of a high-stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping set for later this week. The missile were detected about three hours apart — the first at around 3:00 p.m. and the second at roughly 5:50 p.m., both launched from the Wonsan area, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The first missile flew about 450 kilometers, while the second flew more than 600 km, the JCS said, adding that further analysis was under way to determine the exact specifications. The JCS said the South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked and shared related details from the initial stage of the launch, and shared information on the missile launch with Japan as well. "We are closely monitoring North Korea's various activities and maintain the capability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocations, under the staunch South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture," it added. The latest missile launches came ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi

NCT 127 makes missing members part of Seoul show

NCT 127 makes missing members part of Seoul show

The loudest KSPO Dome got on Sunday, where K-pop boy band NCT 127 wrapped the Seoul leg of its "NEO CITY – THE REDLINE" tour, had less to do with anyone standing onstage. Midway through "Ay-Yo," the screens cut to members Doyoung and Jungwoo, both away on military service. Their verses played out on video while the five who were actually there held the floor, as an audience that had already been loud for more than an hour found another register. That turned out to be the logic of the entire show. The fifth tour by the SM Entertainment act, which debuted a decade ago as a nine-piece group, opened with four of those members off the stage — two have left the group, while Doyoung and Jungwoo are serving in the military. Rather than detouring around the gaps, the production kept putting them in front of the crowd. The three-night run, which opened Friday, drew about 31,500 fans. It was the group's first headlining show in Korea in a year and eight months, and the first tour with the five-member lineup of Taeyong, Johnny, Yuta, Jaehyun and Haechan. The night opened with the five strung up o

N. Korea fires 1 short-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

N. Korea fires 1 short-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

North Korea fired one short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said, days after it vowed to take "responsive action" against continued U.S.-led military drills in the region. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch at about 3:00 p.m. from the Wonsan area. The missile flew about 450 kilometers, with further analysis under way to assess its exact specifications and other details, the JCS said. The JCS said the South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked and shared related details from the initial stage of the launch, and shared information on the missile launch with Japan as well. "We are closely monitoring North Korea's various activities and maintain the capability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocations, under the staunch South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture," it added. Sunday's launch came about a week after the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles from the same region toward the East Sea on Sept. 12. In a media dispatch two days later, the North said the country had conducte

Woman dies after suspected dog attack in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long

Woman dies after suspected dog attack in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long

Hong Kong police suspect a dog attack may have caused the death of a woman who was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday, the South China Morning Post has learned. A force spokesman said the woman was found unconscious beside a bicycle on Pok Wai South Road at 12.42am. She was taken to Pok Oi Hospital in Yuen Long, where she was pronounced dead at 2.09am. A source said that a preliminary review of surveillance footage appeared to show the woman being chased by multiple dogs while...

Murder trial of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi’s former relatives to begin

Murder trial of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi’s former relatives to begin

Hong Kong prosecutors are set to open the murder trial of three former relatives of slain socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung later this week, three years after her killing shocked the city and drew international attention. The High Court will hold the first trial hearing on Monday for parties to sort out preliminary issues. Jury selection is expected to take place later in the week before the prosecution delivers its opening statement. The 28-year-old influencer’s death came to light in February 2023,...

University calls for government funds for shared sites in Northern Metropolis

University calls for government funds for shared sites in Northern Metropolis

Hong Kong authorities should shoulder a larger share of the cost of facilities jointly used by institutions at the Northern Metropolis university towns, a varsity president has said, while calling for dedicated research funding to encourage collaboration among campuses. Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, president of the private Saint Francis University, said that while individual institutions could finance the construction of their own campuses, the government should contribute more towards...

‘Staunch patriot, close friend’: Beijing official hails Tung Chee-hwa’s legacy

‘Staunch patriot, close friend’: Beijing official hails Tung Chee-hwa’s legacy

Hong Kong’s first post-colonial leader, Tung Chee-hwa, has been lauded as a pioneer of “one country, two systems”, a staunch patriot and a close friend of the Communist Party who also contributed to Sino-US relations, according to a eulogy delivered by a senior Beijing official. In his remarks at Tung’s state funeral on Sunday, seen by the South China Morning Post, Shi Taifeng – a Politburo member and first vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – also...

Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan to give firms more long-term certainty: Paul Chan

Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan to give firms more long-term certainty: Paul Chan

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan will give businesses greater certainty to make long-term investment decisions amid a volatile external environment, the city’s finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the plan’s targets and timelines would allow companies to see the city’s direction over the next five years and better align their plans with the government’s. “The significance of planning lies not only in the document itself, but also in looking at today from the...

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