Emer MoreauBusiness reporter Getty Images Learner drivers could have to wait six months before booking a practical test The UK government has launched the first major road safety strategy in over a decade, aimed at lowering the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on the roads. The changes only apply to England…
Reuters Emotions are still raw outside the bar Families of the victims of a fire at a Swiss bar on New Year’s Eve have expressed shock after officials admitted the venue had not undergone safety checks for five years. Romain Jordan, who represents some of the families, said the “staggering number of breaches and shortcomings…
A plot to kill Burkina Faso’s military leader, Capt Ibrahim Traoré, has been thwarted, the West African nation has announced. The sophisticated plan had been hatched by Lt Col Paul Henri Damiba, the military officer ousted by Traoré in September 2022, the security minister said in a late-night broadcast. “Our intelligence services intercepted this operation…
An elderly cleaner was injured after being struck by a left-hand drive car with a trade licence plate at a Hong Kong public housing estate – the second street-worker accident in just over a week. Police received a report at 6.18am on Wednesday that a Geely multipurpose vehicle (MPV) was making a right turn out…
Philips Hue has introduced a new software feature called SpatialAware at CES 2026 designed to ensure that all the lights in a space are in harmony with each other. Available exclusively for the Hue Bridge Pro, it takes into account each light point in a room and tailors the colors to ensure a natural representation….
Is anyone surprised? After a headline-making press run for Josh Safdies’ ping-pong caper, Timothée Chalamet has smashed A24 records at the U.K. box office. Sources confirmed that Marty Supreme is now, officially, the studio’s highest-grossing release of all time across the Atlantic, having so far accrued $8.6 million as of Jan. 6. The dramedy, also…
Laura BickerChina correspondent, Beijing Miraflores Palace via Reuters Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro (L) and Chinese president Xi Jinping have enjoyed an amicable relationship in recent years – pictured here during a state visit to Beijing in 2023 It took just a few hours for Donald Trump to upend a relationship that China had been cultivating…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Hong Kong’s weather forecaster reported a minimum temperature of 10.9 degrees Celsius (51.6 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday morning, the lowest so far this winter….
China’s new high-power microwave system to counter drones has a longer range than its US military equivalent, according to its developer. This week its developer – state-owned defence contractor Norinco – disclosed some details of the weapon system for the first time. “Its effective interception range exceeds 3km [1.86 miles] against light and small [unmanned…
Illegal dog trapping and cat smuggling have become alarmingly common, with an animal rescue group reporting that it saved 351 animals in Hong Kong over the past six months – an average of two per day. As Paws Guardian Rescue Shelter, now in its 10th year, released a report on Tuesday detailing the condition of…
