UN report exposes brutal reality for Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 3:20 PM

Palestinian civilians are caught between “mass atrocities” of Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas’ brutal rule, a UN-mandated inquiry said on Tuesday. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe rights violations, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said. The investigative team, which last year concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in the war in Gaza, highlighted in a new report that...

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Taiwanese lawmakers spar over 12-fold budget rise for US joint defence programme

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 3:20 PM

Debate has erupted in Taiwan’s legislature over a proposed 12-fold increase in funding next year for a defence planning programme with the United States. The proposed rise in spending is for the Joint Force Design (JFD) programme, a bilateral defence planning mechanism used to assess the island’s military requirements, operational concepts and capability gaps. Findings for the JFD, formally known as the Taiwan-US Defence Department Cooperative Assessment Project, help shape force planning,...

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Hong Kong college sues finance head, director and firm over alleged HK$25m fraud

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 3:02 PM

Hong Kong Chu Hai College has sued its finance head, along with a company and its director, for allegedly embezzling more than HK$25 million (US$3.19 million) by disguising the transfers as academic and administrative expenses. The private institution filed the lawsuit in the High Court on Monday to reclaim what it said were misappropriated funds transferred to finance director Ray Yip Kam‑chun, Ho Chung-ling and Rivers Design Engineering “under the guise of payroll, autopay and academic...

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Is Trump calling the shots on Israel, or just pretending to?

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 3:00 PM

Scepticism is rife about US President Donald Trump’s claims to have reprimanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu over recent military escalations with Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran despite ceasefires negotiated by Washington. While Netanyahu’s apparent defiance is widely seen as an embarrassment to Trump, analysts say the mercurial US leader has done little more than wag his finger at his ally. In his latest interview with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid for US website Axios on...

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China woman finds late brother’s ‘favourite sisters’ online photo album, feels his love again

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 3:00 PM

A Chinese woman who went to great lengths to access her late brother’s blog has discovered his deep love for her 14 years after his death, moving many people online. Wenwen, 24, from southwestern China’s Sichuan province, had a brother 14 years older than her and her twin sister. In 2012, he died in a car crash with their father on their way to another city for work. He was only 24 years old. After they died, Wenwen’s mother worked hard to support the girls’ studies. Both have become...

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Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya cleared fit for Afghanistan ODI series: Sources

Turkmenistan News June 9, 2026 at 2:32 PM

By Vipul KashyapNew Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): India cricket stars Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are set to return to action in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan after clearing their fitness assessments, sources told ANI.According to the sources, both players have successfully passed their fitness tests and are expected to join the national squad shortly ahead of the series.

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Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya cleared fit for Afghanistan ODI series: Sources

Kyrgyzstan News June 9, 2026 at 2:32 PM

By Vipul KashyapNew Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): India cricket stars Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are set to return to action in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan after clearing their fitness assessments, sources told ANI.According to the sources, both players have successfully passed their fitness tests and are expected to join the national squad shortly ahead of the series.

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Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya cleared fit for Afghanistan ODI series: Sources

Tajikistan News June 9, 2026 at 2:32 PM

By Vipul KashyapNew Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): India cricket stars Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are set to return to action in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan after clearing their fitness assessments, sources told ANI.According to the sources, both players have successfully passed their fitness tests and are expected to join the national squad shortly ahead of the series.

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Is that a Chinese antenna at Scarborough Shoal? The Philippines thinks so

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 2:29 PM

The Philippines has accused China of building an artificial structure at the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Citing aerial monitoring, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, an inter-agency body overseeing Manila’s maritime strategy in the South China Sea, said on Tuesday that a floating platform six metres (19.7 feet) wide and six metres long was located within the shoal. The structure appeared to be an antenna and individuals were seen on board, the task...

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Pentagon blacklists China tech giants as US competition expands

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM

The Pentagon added tech giants Alibaba and Baidu and carmaker BYD to a blacklist of Chinese companies with military ties amid widening competition between the world’s two largest economies. Drug maker WuXi AppTec, robot company Unitree and carmaker Nio were among other businesses added to the 1260H list, according to a US Department of Defence notice. Some Chinese companies no longer operating in the United States were removed in the annual update. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The...

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Drainage canal projects launched in eastern Afghanistan

Turkmenistan News June 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM

KABUL, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghan authorities have launched eight drainage canal projects worth 150 million afghanis (over 2.3 million U.S. dollars) in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, the provincial government office said Tuesday. The projects, launched in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, aimed to address flooding, improve sanitation conditions, and enhance urban infrastructure, according to a stateme

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Drainage canal projects launched in eastern Afghanistan

Kyrgyzstan News June 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM

KABUL, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghan authorities have launched eight drainage canal projects worth 150 million afghanis (over 2.3 million U.S. dollars) in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, the provincial government office said Tuesday. The projects, launched in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, aimed to address flooding, improve sanitation conditions, and enhance urban infrastructure, according to a stateme

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Drainage canal projects launched in eastern Afghanistan

Tajikistan News June 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM

KABUL, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghan authorities have launched eight drainage canal projects worth 150 million afghanis (over 2.3 million U.S. dollars) in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, the provincial government office said Tuesday. The projects, launched in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, aimed to address flooding, improve sanitation conditions, and enhance urban infrastructure, according to a stateme

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As Putin courts Southeast Asia, does ‘Russia need Asean more’?

News - South China Morning Post June 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM

A summit between Russia and Asean next week promises to ease Southeast Asia’s energy crisis and Moscow’s diplomatic isolation – but not all of the bloc’s leaders are expected to show up. Analysts are also divided on whether Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, the current Asean chair, will travel to Kazan for the meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17–18. The summit marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations...

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