Day: October 12, 2026

Exclusive: North Korean army video says K-drama watchers deserve to be executed

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Read a version of this story in Korean A North Korean video warns soldiers that they could be punished – and they should be executed -for watching foreign media, a recording obtained exclusively by Radio Free Asia reveals. A female narrator with a booming voice denounces soldiers for not resisting the temptation to watch “impure recordings” like South Korean TV shows and Hollywood films. The footage obtained by RFA is a recording of a screen showing the video. It is believed to have been produced in 2023 and is still…

Stellantis and Renault back UK to get EU car industry protection

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Stellantis and Renault have backed the UK car industry for inclusion in proposed rules to protect EU industry, but urged the British government to consider limiting imports of Chinese cars. Emanuele Cappellano, who leads Stellantis’s European brands including Fiat, Citroën, Opel and Vauxhall, and François Provost, the chief executive of France’s Renault, said the UK should effectively be counted as one of the EU’s 27 member states for the purposes of the proposed “Made in Europe” legislation. The new rules aim to ensure EU subsidies and government procurement benefits Europe’s…

What the US and China Should Discuss at APEC

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On September 24, the presidents of the United States and China met in Washington and agreed to build what their joint language calls a “constructive relationship of strategic stability.” On November 18-19, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet again, on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen. Two summits in three months is a rare occurrence in China-U.S. relations.  In the September summit, already their second of 2026, one key area stood out as the focus: artificial intelligence. The risks of AI now have…

EU deal with China limits imports of hybrid electric vehicles

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The EU is to limit the number of hybrid electrical vehicles imported from China to 350,000 cars a year, the European Commission has confirmed. Imports have been soaring in the last two years with about 800,000 battery and plug-in hybrids likely to be sold this year. The EU expects that the quota, which will come into force in December, will halve China’s market share which now stands at 6% in a landmark four-year agreement made in Beijing last week. The annual limit on imports of hybrids will be taken under…

Lethality and Testosterone Will Get Us Only So Far

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Enemy drones over Romania. Wayward missiles in Poland. Sabotage in Germany. Every week brings some new Russian provocation as President Vladimir Putin steps up his efforts to divide Europe and undermine support for Ukraine. As Western militaries scramble to respond, the prospect of the war spilling over into NATO territory rises. The problem of escalating instability, unfortunately, is not confined to Europe’s eastern frontier. The danger of war between America’s autocratic adversaries and our democratic allies is rising around the world for one simple, troubling reason: The enemies of liberal…

Beijing sanctions Paraguayan and Belizean ministers over support for Taiwan

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Beijing on Monday sanctioned Paraguayan and Belizean government ministers over the Taiwan issue, after the two nations sealed deals with Taipei in recent months. Gustavo Villate, Paraguay’s minister of information and communication technologies, and Francis Fonseca, Belize’s minister of foreign affairs, foreign trade, education, culture, science and technology were sanctioned, effective from Monday, the foreign ministry said, citing China’s anti-foreign sanction law. The measures include… South China Morning Post

Chinese desalination plant cuts 60% energy use by turning waste brine to industrial salt

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A large desalination plant on Bohai Bay has achieved an energy efficiency breakthrough, slashing electricity consumption by more than half while converting millions of tonnes of toxic waste brine into high-value chemical salt. Situated in the Caofeidian industrial zone of Tangshan, Hebei province, the facility recently entered its trial production stage, the state-run Science and Technology Daily reported last month. This technology provides a viable pathway to solving the global challenge of… South China Morning Post

Trump’s China-savvy spokeswoman, Hong Kong trail emergencies: 5 weekend reads you missed

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We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump’s new spokeswoman is a ‘devoted fan’ who lived in Beijing and speaks Chinese 2. Hong Kong hiker dies, Singaporean teen discharged after 2 trail emergencies 3. How a museum masterpiece’s life-size replica sparked rare US-China collaboration 4. Why Malaysian doctors are turning down… South China Morning Post