Day: April 25, 2026

A new wave of South Korean content creators is descending on Chinese cities, cameras in hand, transforming the streets of Shanghai, Shenzhen and beyond into lively backdrops for travel vlogs and lifestyle videos. Dubbed the “Korean v-blogger influx” by some online users, their ranks have swelled since China extended its unilateral visa-free policy for South Korean passport holders for another year, allowing stays of up to 30 days for tourism, business and family visits. Introduced in 2024 and extended in November last year, the measure has lowered a major barrier…

Chongqing, also known as ‘the most confusing city’ has become one of China’s most popular tourism attraction spots in recent years. Many Chinese and international social media content creators have hopped on the viral trend of making videos about the city’s bewildering, mountainous urban landscape. The South China Morning Post’s Llewellyn Cheung travelled to Chongqing to meet a local content creator and tourism experts to find out what the city is really like beyond the viral trends, and why its success is so hard to replicate elsewhere in China. Advertisement…

After an hour’s drive through the jungle of Borneo, you reach more jungle. Your rental van from the Balikpapan city airport shakes precariously, navigating a partial bridge washout. A roadside sign admonishes against poaching the endangered sun bears. By hour three you’ve arrived at Indonesia’s new capital, which is due to start taking over from gridlocked, polluted and seaward-sinking Jakarta in 2028. Advertisement Welcome to Ibu Kota Nusantara, known locally as just Nusantara or IKN. Eventually, if all goes according to plan, it will be a brand new city housing…

In the world of mathematics, the United States is becoming an outlier. The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) – the world’s most important mathematics conference and the venue for awarding the prestigious Fields Medal – is facing worldwide opposition because the US is hosting this year’s event in Philadelphia in July. More than 2,300 mathematicians from at least 76 countries have signed an online petition to “move the 2026 ICM out of the US” and “commit not to participate in the ICM if it is to be held in the…

In the latest move as the US and Iran circle each other warily and the world holds its breath, US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered his negotiating team not to travel to Pakistan for talks on ending the eight-week war that has upended the global economy. Trump told his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff to stay put and avoid wasting more time until Tehran stepped up. Vice-President J.D. Vance, who presided over the first round of talks earlier this month, remains on “standby”. “Too much time…

When US special forces raided Caracas and abducted president Nicolas Maduro and his wife in early January, the Venezuelan capital was hit by widespread power outages and communication blackouts. Yet, within hours of the attacks, connectivity began to return – not from paralysed ground infrastructure, but from space. Elon Musk’s Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, activated communications services across Venezuela via its vast constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites on terminals residents acquired via informal channels. Advertisement It was not merely a case of business operation, observers said, but…

As one of the world’s largest automotive glass producers, and the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary, Fuyao Glass is a familiar name in the United States. Now, its founder has warned he is prepared to shut down his American plants if trade friction and tariffs cause severe losses. Responding to questions regarding geopolitical risks at the company’s annual general meeting, Cao Dewang said that the company would not engage in loss-making ventures. Advertisement “How much in duties you want to impose is your business,” said the billionaire, who turns 80…

The United Nations’ maritime agency has highlighted the plight of seafarers trapped in the Persian Gulf, saying the weeks-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz was taking a high toll on the crews. International Maritime Organisation secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said that at least 10 seafarers had been killed in 29 attacks on vessels in the Gulf and around the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran. In addition, several vessels had been seized and detained in the region in recent days while thousands of…

A Chinese naval video has fuelled speculation that its next aircraft carrier is likely to be nuclear-powered. The film Into The Deep was released on Wednesday to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Highlighting the continuity of China’s maritime ambitions, from coastal defence to a “blue-water” navy capable of deep-sea operations, the film also included footage from real-life drills in the western Pacific and the use of advanced equipment. Advertisement It also showed a compass being handed down through generations of naval officers,…