News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Hong Kong actress Barbara Chan Man-yee has died at the age of 66, five years after the death of her husband, actor Liu Kai-chi. Chan’s sons said that she died peacefully on Friday morning, surrounded by family at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin after an illness. The announcement did not specify the nature of her condition. Her husband died in the same hospital in 2021 after reportedly battling stomach cancer for several months. “In accordance with her wishes during her lifetime, the memorial...
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Turkmenistan News
June 12, 2026 at 2:16 PM
BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center on Friday issued a blue alert for rainstorms, as heavy rain or rainstorms are expected to hit parts of southwest China, east China and south China from Friday to Saturday. Some areas in Guizhou, Jiangxi and elsewhere are likely to experience torrential rain, while parts of the affected regions may see short-term heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and
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Tajikistan News
June 12, 2026 at 2:16 PM
BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center on Friday issued a blue alert for rainstorms, as heavy rain or rainstorms are expected to hit parts of southwest China, east China and south China from Friday to Saturday. Some areas in Guizhou, Jiangxi and elsewhere are likely to experience torrential rain, while parts of the affected regions may see short-term heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and
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Kyrgyzstan News
June 12, 2026 at 2:16 PM
BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center on Friday issued a blue alert for rainstorms, as heavy rain or rainstorms are expected to hit parts of southwest China, east China and south China from Friday to Saturday. Some areas in Guizhou, Jiangxi and elsewhere are likely to experience torrential rain, while parts of the affected regions may see short-term heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Chinese regulators are stepping up public enforcement against the nation’s corporate giants, marking a departure from the low-key approach adopted after a bruising 2021 tech crackdown. In recent months, agencies have summoned company representatives, launched high-profile investigations, and named and shamed offenders. However, while the uptick in activity has rattled investors, some analysts and observers contend that this does not herald a return to China’s heavy-handed campaign that...
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
China called on major nations to “foster a free and facilitative trading environment” ahead of two summits next week that may herald a trade war with the European Union. Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing said China was “steadfastly expanding high-standard opening up” in a videoconference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended along with representatives from Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea,...
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Chinese scientists have uncovered differences between American and Chinese vaginal microbiomes, revealing that a bacterium closely linked to bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth is more prevalent and virulent in American women. The study underscores the need for localised treatments and “fills a critical gap for Asian populations and provides a foundational platform for global vaginal microbiome research and microbe-host interaction studies”, according to the researchers. The scientists said...
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr will travel to Russia next week for a summit with Moscow and Southeast Asian leaders in a visit analysts say will allow Manila to show it can fulfil its role as Asean chair while keeping diplomatic channels open with major powers, despite closer security ties with Washington. While the trip is unlikely to signal a shift in Philippine foreign policy, observers say it will be watched closely in both Washington and Beijing for any concrete outcomes on...
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The Astana Times
June 12, 2026 at 1:50 PM
The Astana Times provides news and information from Kazakhstan and around the world. ASTANA — Kazakhstan has attracted more than $480 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) since independence, Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Kuantyrov said during a United States (US)-Kazakhstan roundtable at Astana Mining and Metallurgy (AMM) 2026 on June 11, highlighting opportunities in critical minerals, renewable energy, logistics and technology. According to Kuantyrov, gross FDI inflows reached $20.5 billion in 2024, while investors from more than 120 countries are currently active in Kazakhstan. Photo credit: MFA The roundtable brought together government officials and business representatives from Kazakhstan and the United States, including U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Julie Stufft and Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Vogel, to discuss trade, investment and industrial cooperation. According to Kuantyrov, gross FDI inflows reached $20.5 billion in 2024, while investors from more than 120…
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Tajikistan News
June 12, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Share articlePrint articleThe Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan is about an institution tasked with the job of housing strangers - Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel. Through this hotel, which sits high on a hill, and the people within it, seasoned BBC journalist and current
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Turkmenistan News
June 12, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Share articlePrint articleThe Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan is about an institution tasked with the job of housing strangers - Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel. Through this hotel, which sits high on a hill, and the people within it, seasoned BBC journalist and current
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Kyrgyzstan News
June 12, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Share articlePrint articleThe Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan is about an institution tasked with the job of housing strangers - Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel. Through this hotel, which sits high on a hill, and the people within it, seasoned BBC journalist and current
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 1:30 PM
In their 2022 book Sinostan, Raffaello Pantucci and Alexandros Petersen saw Central Asia as China’s “inadvertent empire”. If that is true – and the five-country region embracing Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan (informally called the C5) certainly sits at the heart of China’s Belt and Road Initiative – then Beijing could not have chosen a less noticed corner of the world atlas. Unnoticed, perhaps, by almost everyone except Halford Mackinder, who in 1904 described...
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 1:05 PM
EU tech sovereignty may prove an “illusion” in an AI world dominated by China and the US, a Chinese expert has argued, urging Beijing to seize the opportunity during Donald Trump’s second term to make its products indispensable to middle powers. The past few weeks have seen a number of efforts by middle powers to try to control their AI technology stacks. Last week, the European Union rolled out its Technological Sovereignty Package in a bid to make the bloc “a global leader” in artificial...
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The Astana Times
June 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
The Astana Times provides news and information from Kazakhstan and around the world. ASTANA — More than 200,000 people have participated in volunteer activities across Kazakhstan since the beginning of 2026, a year designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development at the initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Photo credit: gov.kz The year-long campaign officially launched on Jan. 30 during a national volunteer forum attended by Tokayev and has since brought together volunteers through environmental, cultural and community projects across the country. One of the key events was the Volunteering and Environmental Action session held on April 23 in Astana as part of the Regional Environmental Summit. The event brought together approximately 200 participants from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Japan and Afghanistan, as well as United Nations Under-Secretary-General Haoliang Xu. Vo…
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Turkmenistan News
June 12, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Washington DC [US], June 12 (ANI): Apple Original Films has acquired the romantic comedy One Month Mark, with Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence attached to star in and produce the project, The Hollywood Reporter. The film, based on an original spec script by playwright, writer and director Sophie Fleur de Bruijn, reportedly attracted strong interest from multiple studios and producers before Apple secured th
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Tajikistan News
June 12, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Washington DC [US], June 12 (ANI): Apple Original Films has acquired the romantic comedy One Month Mark, with Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence attached to star in and produce the project, The Hollywood Reporter. The film, based on an original spec script by playwright, writer and director Sophie Fleur de Bruijn, reportedly attracted strong interest from multiple studios and producers before Apple secured th
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Kyrgyzstan News
June 12, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Washington DC [US], June 12 (ANI): Apple Original Films has acquired the romantic comedy One Month Mark, with Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence attached to star in and produce the project, The Hollywood Reporter. The film, based on an original spec script by playwright, writer and director Sophie Fleur de Bruijn, reportedly attracted strong interest from multiple studios and producers before Apple secured th
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Bangladesh and India have agreed to deepen cooperation along their shared border with improved intelligence sharing and coordinated patrols, according to a joint statement released on Friday, amid strained relations over alleged undocumented migration. Dhaka has accused Indian authorities of attempting to force migrants across the border without due process, complicating efforts to stabilise ties following the 2024 ousting of Sheikh Hasina and India’s broader effort to identify and deport...
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News - South China Morning Post
June 12, 2026 at 12:21 PM
A series of emergency management and local government officials in central China’s Hunan province have come under investigation following a catastrophic fireworks factory explosion that killed 37 people last month. The provincial discipline inspection commission announced on Thursday that three senior figures within the emergency management system were under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law”. The officials are Lei Min, deputy director of the safety production emergency...
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