Month: July 2025

Chinese pterosaur’s last meal feeds dino-sized diet debate

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Scientists in China and Brazil have found the first evidence of a plant-eating pterosaur, the ancient flying reptiles that coexisted with dinosaurs. Advertisement The rare find sheds light on the mysterious diets of the creatures that ruled the skies before birds and renews a contentious debate among palaeontologists. “We report the first evidence of stomach contents of a pterodactyloid pterosaur,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin on July 1. The fossil of the Sinopterus atavismus – a species of pterosaur – was found…

South Africa pushes to increase exports to China amid US’ 30% tariff hike

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Facing a US tariff of 30 per cent from August 1, South Africa is intensifying efforts to significantly grow its exports to China and address a persistent trade imbalance. Advertisement A high-level delegation, led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, has been on a week-long visit to Beijing, seeking investments and pitching strategic opportunities to diversify the nation’s export basket beyond basic commodities towards higher-value products such as pharmaceuticals, automotive goods and green energy technologies. In a speech at the South Africa China Investment Forum, held on the sidelines of the…

Japan’s ruling coalition braces for losses as voters go to the polls

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japan’s ruling bloc is girding itself for a backlash as voters cast their ballots in an election that opposition parties have made a referendum on inflation, immigration and the leadership of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Sunday’s election for just over half the seats in the country’s upper house of parliament threatens to dent — or even wipe out — the majority currently held by the ruling Liberal Democratic party and…

Typhoon Wipha forces evacuation of hundreds of thousands in southern China

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Hundreds of thousands of people in southern China have been evacuated and flights and trains cancelled as a result of Typhoon Wipha. Advertisement The China Meteorological Administration issued an orange typhoon warning, the second highest level in the four-tier system, on Sunday, expecting Wipha to make landfall between Zhuhai and Zhanjiang in Guangdong province on Sunday afternoon or evening. The storm, which had already battered Taiwan and the Philippines, also caused strong winds and heavy rain in the neighbouring provinces of Fujian and Hainan as well as Hong Kong, where…

EU commissioner shocked by dangers of some goods sold by Shein and Temu

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The EU justice commissioner has expressed shock at the toxicity and dangers of some goods being sold by Shein and Temu, amid a crackdown on the popular Chinese retail platforms. With 12m low-value parcels each day coming into the EU from online retailers outside the bloc, Michael McGrath has vowed to crack down on the sale of goods that blatantly break the law. He is waiting for the imminent results of an EU-wide secret shopper operation to further test evidence already gathered that Chinese retailers are bypassing EU laws. Among…

UK relocated Afghan family after legal bid to disclose data breach

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The British government relocated one Afghan family to the UK after they sought to use data protection laws to uncover details of the colossal data breach that officials kept secret for two years. A man referred to in court papers as “MK” was among 1,800 Afghans who had fled to Pakistan and received a WhatsApp alert from UK officials in August 2023 warning their data may have been compromised. The message gave few details about the nature or scale of the breach. After MK demanded more information via a UK…

UK relocated Afghan family after they sought data breach disclosure via law firm

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The British government relocated one Afghan family to the UK after they sought to use data protection laws to uncover details of the colossal data breach that officials kept secret for two years. A man referred to in court papers as “MK” was among 1,800 Afghans who had fled to Pakistan and received a WhatsApp alert from UK officials in August 2023 warning their data may have been compromised. The message gave few details about the nature or scale of the breach. After MK demanded more information via a UK…

Taiwan pledges to Israeli settlement project but may mar its own global support

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Taiwan’s recent pledge to donate to an Israeli settlement health project in the West Bank has broken international norms of engagement with Israel’s occupation and could backfire, experts say. Advertisement Abby Ya-Ping Lee, Taiwan’s representative to Israel, made the donation pledge this month during a visit to the Binyamin Regional Council, which governs 48 settler communities in the occupied West Bank. She was accompanied by Israel Ganz, chairman of the Binyamin Regional Council and the Yesha Council, the umbrella organisation of municipal councils of settlement communities. The donation will fund…

Iran accelerates deportation of Afghans as it hunts for infiltrators

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Iran has expelled thousands of undocumented Afghans in the wake of its 12-day war with Israel, accelerating a mass deportation campaign as paranoia about Israeli infiltration during the conflict fuels anti-migrant sentiment. The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR said that the number of daily returns to Afghanistan from Iran — which launched a deportation campaign earlier this year — soared from about 5,000 to 30,000 after the war, adding that the…

Virgin float has led Australian IPO market revival, says Bain

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The long-awaited listing of Australia’s second-largest airline has breathed life into the country’s anaemic initial public offering market, according to the head of Bain Capital, Virgin Australia’s largest shareholder. Mike Murphy, a former Olympic diver who is now head of Bain’s Australian operations, said the US investment firm had pushed the button on the float in June despite turbulence in global markets. Some of his US colleagues had suggested putting…