Japan as a nuclear power, Chinas first female C919 captain: 5 weekend reads

The images from Tehran and other Iranian cities are undeniably dramatic. Protesters chanting for regime change, security forces firing on demonstrators, thousands reported killed in what’s being described as the largest uprising since 1979. The Washington think tank circuit is buzzing with revolutionary fervor, and predictably, calls for American intervention are growing louder. We’ve been…

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US-China rivalry will adapt, spread into other areas: Pascal Lamy “Bumpy” US-China relations will persist for decades as the rivalry shifts from trade to the weaponisation of strategic sectors…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that he met with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng a day earlier on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in advance of US President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated speech to the global body on Wednesday. Bessent’s account of the sit-down between the main interlocutors over…

Spain’s king and queen visited the site of the collision of two high-speed trains that killed at least 42 people on Tuesday, as the country began three days of national mourning. The country’s deadliest rail accident in more than a decade took place late on Sunday when a train operated by rail company Iryo, travelling…

A remark by US Vice-President J.D. Vance expressing hope that his Hindu wife might convert to Christianity has drawn sharp criticism in India, where commentators see it as a troubling signal of his expected bid for the Republican Party’s 2028 presidential nomination. Speaking at the University of Mississippi last week, Vance said his children were…

Hong Kong has pulled ahead of Singapore in attracting technology-driven companies that use cryptocurrency for treasury management and other applications, reinforcing its position as Asia’s leading digital-asset hub, at least for now, according to a crypto industry veteran who advises both governments. “Over the past two years, especially in the first half of this year,…