Super Typhoon Ragasa has caused widespread flooding and damaged roads in Hong Kong, which resumed international flights on Thursday but kept kindergartens and some schools closed. Ragasa, the strongest storm so far this year, killed 14 people in Taiwan and 11 in the Philippines, according to officials. More than 100 people were injured in Hong Kong The Guardian
Month: September 2025
Taiwan backtracks on chip export curbs to South Africa after China spat
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Taiwan has suspended chip export curbs on South Africa days after it made unprecedented use of the island nation’s technological dominance for diplomatic retaliation. Controls on South African imports of chips from the world’s biggest chip manufacturer were announced this week after Pretoria sought to downgrade Taiwan’s de facto embassy, but will be frozen after South Africa agreed to talks, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. It said Taiwan agreed to…
China sanctions 6 US firms, Guangdong’s Ragasa recovery: SCMP daily highlights
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Southern China cleans up after lashing from Super Typhoon Ragasa Workers cut and remove a fallen tree following the passage of Super Typhoon Ragasa in Yangjiang, Guangdong province, on Thursday. Photo: AFP Ragasa made landfall at Yangjiang, in western Guangdong, at around 5pm on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds that caused flooding and disrupted transport in cities across the province. On Thursday,…
Xiaomi unveils 17-series smartphones, ramps up efforts in premium handset market
Advertisement The models unveiled at an event in Beijing were the standard Xiaomi 17 and flagship models, the Xiaomi 17 Pro and Pro Max – all of which run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. The standard Xiaomi 17 model starts at 4,499 yuan (US$632), while the 17 Pro and Pro Max models – both of which feature a back screen to display images or notifications – cost 4,999 yuan and 5,999 yuan, respectively. Xiaomi’s latest devices show the company’s sharpened focus to compete in premium-priced smartphones, handsets that…
Hydride ion battery breakthrough: Chinese team hits 6x capacity of lithium ion
Chinese scientists have created a new type of battery that uses hydrogen ions to store and release energy, which could offer a safer alternative to conventional lithium-based batteries. Advertisement The rechargeable, room-temperature stable battery was made possible using a rare-earth-based battery electrolyte that harnesses hydride ions, or negatively charged hydrogen ions. Experimental data shows that the battery’s specific capacity – or the amount of electrical charge it can store per unit of mass or volume – is up to six times higher than that of some conventional lithium-ion batteries. “We…
Taiwan races to find Ragasa victims as ‘vile’ political firestorm erupts
As rescuers raced to find people still missing after catastrophic floods struck eastern Taiwan, attention turned to responsibility and recrimination within the island’s political circles, turning the disaster zone into a partisan battleground. Advertisement At least 14 people have been confirmed dead after a landslide dam on the Mataian River burst during Super Typhoon Ragasa, submerging much of Guangfu township and leaving homes and farms destroyed. Grieving families have wept at temporary shelters, while others have clutched phones in hope of hearing word of missing relatives. But while emergency workers…
Hong Kong retains No 3 rank as global financial hub, behind New York and London
Hong Kong maintained its position as the world’s third-ranked financial hub, narrowing the gap with leading cities New York and London, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) report on Thursday. Advertisement The report, which is published twice a year, said Hong Kong’s overall rating rose 4 points, just 1 point below London and 2 points behind top-ranked New York. “This ranking is not an endpoint, but a validation of our strategy” said Benjamin Hung, chairman of the Financial Services Development Council, the Hong Kong government’s advisory body.…
For soybeans’ sake, cancel tariffs, China urges US as farmers grow desperate
China has called on the United States to lift its unilateral tariff measures so the two sides can restore normal trade flows of soybeans – a focal point of ongoing negotiations as many US farmers grow increasingly desperate for a bilateral deal to secure exports. Advertisement Washington could take decisive action to ease tensions and bring trading of the crop – a critically important export for America’s agricultural industry – back to normalcy, Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said during a press briefing on Thursday, when asked whether China…
China’s ethnic affairs chief hails Xinjiang policies in Xi’s ‘new era’
China’s top official overseeing ethnic and religious affairs has saluted Beijing’s approach to Xinjiang over the past decade, bookending a landmark trip by President Xi Jinping to the region to mark its founding. Advertisement Addressing a major event in Urumqi on Thursday for the 70th anniversary of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Wang Huning said that over the decades, especially since “the new era” – the period after Xi took power in 2012 – people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang had “continuously won great victories” in socialist revolution, construction,…
North Korean envoy due in China soon after Seoul sought help with Pyongyang
Advertisement Choe will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, state-owned Xinhua News Agency and Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday. Her trip closely follows leader Kim Jong-un’s appearance at China’s Victory Day parade on September 3 and his meeting with President Xi Jinping this month – his first since 2019. Choe was part of the delegation. South Korea’s Lee says Seoul prepared to shoulder defence costs South Korea’s Lee says Seoul prepared to shoulder defence costs During their talks, Xi and Kim reaffirmed that bilateral…