Chinese scientists have developed a method to generate electricity and achieve higher energy efficiency than conventional burning, while producing zero carbon dioxide emissions, by placing coal inside a “battery”. “Coal-fired power” conjures images of heavy pollution, steep carbon footprints and modest efficiency. But a novel, direct coal power technology challenges that stereotype by eliminating combustion entirely and sidestepping the CO₂ emissions that have long defined coal use. A team led...

Two female Gen Z snipers in China have drawn attention on the training ground, defying gender stereotypes with their marksmanship and grit. Liu Jiangtao, 26, from Chongqing in southwestern China, serves as a sniper in a mobile unit of the Sichuan corps of the People’s Armed Police (PAP). She began as a scout, but later broke the women’s record in a sniper selection test, firing three rounds through a single hole on a coin-sized target hundreds of metres away. Her rise, however, was met with...

Two US citizens were among 19 people killed in a raid on an alleged communist stronghold in the Philippines that has sparked a probe by the country’s rights commission, a government task force said. More than 300 residents in the Toboso municipality of Negros Island fled their homes on April 19 as gunfire rang out in the remote sugar cane-farming region, the municipal disaster management office told reporters last week. The number of people killed in the firefight, in which only one soldier was...

The eastern section of Hong Kong’s new Fanling Bypass will be commissioned on May 3, marking the first major transport infrastructure project to be completed under the Northern Metropolis mega development. The new bypass promises to cut travel times by 10 minutes and will serve as a vital roadway for the Fanling North New Development Area. The South China Morning Post unpacks what the new bypass is and its significance. 1. What is the new bypass? The Fanling Bypass (Eastern Section) is a new 4km...

A 46-year-old mainland Chinese woman was rescued on Sunday morning after slipping into the sea while taking photos at a lighthouse in Hong Kong’s Sai Kung. Police received a report at 10.54am that a woman had fallen into the water at Fat Tong Mun, a sea channel between the southern tip of the Clear Water Bay Peninsula and the northern tip of Tung Lung Chau. A source said the woman was taking photos with friends at Fat Tong Mun Lighthouse when she lost her footing and fell three metres (9.8 feet)...

Hong Kong’s Cinema Day has drawn a record-breaking 201,000 film-goers, despite a marginal decline in occupancy rates compared with last year. The Hong Kong Theatres Association, which organises the annual event, revealed the figures on Sunday, a day after 52 cinemas offered HK$30 (US$3.83) movie tickets for 1,694 screenings. “It marks a new high for the event, with 201,000 admissions and an average occupancy rate of 81 per cent,” a post on the promotion’s social media page said. “Families, the...

In the span of a few days earlier this month, developments that usually sit in separate policy compartments began to converge. Abu Dhabi’s crown prince arrived in Beijing as President Xi Jinping used the visit to set out China’s four-point position on the Iran war. Pakistan, now central to keeping US-Iran diplomacy alive, said no date was fixed for the next round of talks. Washington escalated pressure on buyers of Iranian oil and the banks handling related funds. Reports circulated of yuan use...