An explosion occurred at a fireworks factory in Guandu Town, Liuyang City, Changsha, Hunan Province on May 4, 2026. Photo: CCTV News A massive explosion at a fireworks factory in central China has killed 26 people and injured 61 others as of Tuesday, prompting top leaders to order an immediate investigation and a nationwide safety review during the country’s Labor Day holiday. The blast occurred a...
An explosion occurred at a fireworks factory in Guandu Town, Liuyang City, Changsha, Hunan Province on May 4, 2026. Photo: CCTV News A massive explosion at a fireworks factory in central China has killed 26 people and injured 61 others as of Tuesday, prompting top leaders to order an immediate investigation and a nationwide safety review during the country’s Labor Day holiday. The blast occurred around 4:43 p.m. local time on Monday at a workshop owned by Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co. in Liuyang, a city in Hunan province renowned as China’s “hometown of fireworks.” As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, the first round of search and rescue operations confirmed the casualties, with the injured rushed to local hospitals for emergency treatment, according to the state-run Hunan Daily.
Four men slipped aboard in the darkness. Armed with knives and moving fast, they descended into the engine room of the Taipan as the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker threaded its way through the Singapore Strait on the night of April 22. The crew managed to raise the alarm in time and thankfully no one was hurt. But by the time the vessel was searched the intruders were gone, vanished back into the...
Four men slipped aboard in the darkness. Armed with knives and moving fast, they descended into the engine room of the Taipan as the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker threaded its way through the Singapore Strait on the night of April 22. The crew managed to raise the alarm in time and thankfully no one was hurt. But by the time the vessel was searched the intruders were gone, vanished back into the water with a clutch of spare engine parts in tow. It was a modest haul. It was also the 16th such...
Carrom, a game in which players flick counters into pockets on a board, has drawn hundreds to events across the UK On a Monday evening in the upstairs room of Dishoom Permit Room in Notting Hill, the atmosphere is already crackling before the games night begins. Chai is poured and passed around, chalk is dusted across wooden boards, and the sharp click of counters striking the surface cuts through...
Carrom, a game in which players flick counters into pockets on a board, has drawn hundreds to events across the UK On a Monday evening in the upstairs room of Dishoom Permit Room in Notting Hill, the atmosphere is already crackling before the games night begins. Chai is poured and passed around, chalk is dusted across wooden boards, and the sharp click of counters striking the surface cuts through the noise of conversation. At one table, Uneeb Khalid, 39, and his friend Varun Solan, 43, are deep in conversation about artificial intelligence while flicking small counters across a wooden board. Later, they reach the final round – and finish in second place. Continue reading...
In the 1980s, she had to show her work in a corridor by the ICA’s toilet. Now she’s representing Britain at the ‘art Olympics’. So is the artist feeling a bit establishment? Quite the reverse The Venice Biennale opening is just days away but Lubaina Himid isn’t in a rush. The artist, who will represent Britain at the “Olympics of art”, is at home in Preston, where there’s an air of calm. Her wife ...
In the 1980s, she had to show her work in a corridor by the ICA’s toilet. Now she’s representing Britain at the ‘art Olympics’. So is the artist feeling a bit establishment? Quite the reverse The Venice Biennale opening is just days away but Lubaina Himid isn’t in a rush. The artist, who will represent Britain at the “Olympics of art”, is at home in Preston, where there’s an air of calm. Her wife and frequent collaborator Magda Stawarska is making a pot of tea. Gardeners are moving paving slabs in the back yard. We wander around her beautiful Victorian terrace to the house directly behind. Himid bought it, knocked down a wall between the two properties and has almost finished turning it into a studio. It’s airy, light-filled and serene. Works on canvas are dotted around; paintbrushes sit neatly in custom-made cabinetry. Everything is in its right place. Continue reading...
A whiff of David Fincher’s Seven lingers in the air but this moody crime drama from David Lipper is devoid of clever twists ‘We got a serial killer,” announces a policeman in this retro 1990s-style thriller directed by David Lipper; evidence has comes back that an enigmatic, super-clever suspect (played by Dylan Sprouse) has the blood of three different people on his clothing. (But if the victims ...
A whiff of David Fincher’s Seven lingers in the air but this moody crime drama from David Lipper is devoid of clever twists ‘We got a serial killer,” announces a policeman in this retro 1990s-style thriller directed by David Lipper; evidence has comes back that an enigmatic, super-clever suspect (played by Dylan Sprouse) has the blood of three different people on his clothing. (But if the victims were all killed at roughly the same time, wouldn’t that make him a mass murderer?) It’s best not to get too hung up on nomenclature or to think too hard about anything here – like how can one character predict that an ordinary pen would get left behind in a room to serve as a convenient murder weapon? Just go with the throwback vibe, the moody underlit cinematography, and growling subsonic score. Even the faces vaguely recall B- and C-movie fodder from the 1990s/early 2000s including Josh Duhamel and Til Schweiger, here playing a retiring police detective and his mysteriously German commanding officer, respectively. Duhamel’s Shaw is nominally the protagonist here, although he’s consistently upstaged by Sprouse’s blood-splattered murderer, called AJ, who pulls out the unsettling high-pitched giggles and evil smirks we’ve come to expect from our movie killers. It turns out that AJ has left a trail of clues leading to each of his recent murders that Shaw must unravel if he’s to find his own teenage son (Corbin Pitts), who AJ has locked up in some underground lair with only hours left until he runs out of air. Continue reading...
Ministers have committed to changing rules for children, but how this will take shape is still up for debate The UK government committed last week to either implementing a ban on under-16s accessing social media or imposing restrictions on children’s use of those platforms. A consultation is already under way on whether to impose limits and the announcement confirms that curbs will be introduced. ...
Ministers have committed to changing rules for children, but how this will take shape is still up for debate The UK government committed last week to either implementing a ban on under-16s accessing social media or imposing restrictions on children’s use of those platforms. A consultation is already under way on whether to impose limits and the announcement confirms that curbs will be introduced. Here are some of the restrictions that could be brought in. Continue reading...
WeRide boss Tony Han Xu believes the first fully autonomous cars may arrive on streets by 2035, as global carmakers and tech firms accelerate the application of self-driving technologies despite roadblocks. The latest setback came when Chinese regulators stepped in after an incident in Wuhan on March 31. Authorities scaled back the issuance of new autonomous driving licences after a system failure...
WeRide boss Tony Han Xu believes the first fully autonomous cars may arrive on streets by 2035, as global carmakers and tech firms accelerate the application of self-driving technologies despite roadblocks. The latest setback came when Chinese regulators stepped in after an incident in Wuhan on March 31. Authorities scaled back the issuance of new autonomous driving licences after a system failure on March 31 involving Baidu’s Apollo Go fleet, which left passengers stranded and disrupted traffic...
As China’s role in Africa’s economy continues to grow, so do the opportunities for locals that can speak Chinese. The change is partially being driven by the expanding footprint of smaller Chinese companies, which would rather hire locally than bring their own staff from China, and by the increasing role played by African firms in trade. Few of the thousands of Chinese executives, managers and wor...
As China’s role in Africa’s economy continues to grow, so do the opportunities for locals that can speak Chinese. The change is partially being driven by the expanding footprint of smaller Chinese companies, which would rather hire locally than bring their own staff from China, and by the increasing role played by African firms in trade. Few of the thousands of Chinese executives, managers and workers who pour into Africa every year are proficient in the languages of their host countries,...
In March, Melco unveiled its Dream Entrance art installation by contemporary artist Daniel Arsham at its flagship integrated resort, City of Dreams. This twin-headed, labyrinthine structure explores the boundaries between dreams and reality, encouraging visitors to use their imaginations as a creative tool for innovation. Coinciding with the announcement of Chinese actor Jing Boran as new “Global ...
In March, Melco unveiled its Dream Entrance art installation by contemporary artist Daniel Arsham at its flagship integrated resort, City of Dreams. This twin-headed, labyrinthine structure explores the boundaries between dreams and reality, encouraging visitors to use their imaginations as a creative tool for innovation. Coinciding with the announcement of Chinese actor Jing Boran as new “Global Brand Ambassador” and ballet artist Tan Yuan Yuan as “Friend of the Brand”, the unveiling marks the...
Nscale is announcing an expansion of its collaboration with Microsoft and Start Campus with 66,000+ NVIDIA Rubin GPUs, starting in late 2027. This agreement builds on the deployment of over 12,600 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs at the first building of the SINES Data Campus for Microsoft.
Nscale is announcing an expansion of its collaboration with Microsoft and Start Campus with 66,000+ NVIDIA Rubin GPUs, starting in late 2027. This agreement builds on the deployment of over 12,600 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs at the first building of the SINES Data Campus for Microsoft.
Mozambique is considering converting the $1.4 billion it owes China into renminbi loans as part of a debt restructuring with its biggest bilateral creditor, in line with similar moves by other African sovereign borrowers. “This is usually a possibility that the cooperation partner raises,” the finance ministry said in response to questions at the weekend. “In this specific case, it was a valid pos...
Mozambique is considering converting the $1.4 billion it owes China into renminbi loans as part of a debt restructuring with its biggest bilateral creditor, in line with similar moves by other African sovereign borrowers. “This is usually a possibility that the cooperation partner raises,” the finance ministry said in response to questions at the weekend. “In this specific case, it was a valid possibility that was put on the table.” Mozambique is facing a worsening liquidity crunch. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank warned in recent weeks that the government’s debt was unsustainable , with growing payment arrears. Fitch Ratings last month cut its assessment of the nation’s creditworthiness, saying a default was probable. Moving dollar debt into yuan would be the latest African example of China’s efforts to internationalize its currency and make inroads into the dollar’s dominance. China Finds Costly New Way of Boosting Xi’s Global Yuan Push Fitch Cuts Mozambique’s Rating, Citing Probable Bond Default Cash-Short Mozambique Seeks to Cut Debt Costs in Creditor Talks Mozambique Commits to New IMF Deal After Early Debt Settlement Kenya last year converted three loans from the Export-Import Bank of China — which originally totaled $5 billion — into renminbi, curbing debt-service costs and easing currency pressures. Ethiopia is considering a similar deal. And Zambia, which recently started accepting mine-tax payments in yuan, held talks with China for a currency swap. Still, the renminbi’s share of global foreign-exchange reserves remains less than 2%, compared with the dollar’s 56.8%, according to the IMF. The data showed the Chinese currency gaining three basis points of the total share in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with the previous three months, as the dollar ceded 16 basis points. The gas-rich southeast African nation is also in talks with Beijing over a debt-for-development swap. That may rank it among the first African nations to strike such d...
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is up by nearly 6% this year (as of May 1), and the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (NASDAQ: IXUS) has gained roughly 10% so far. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has fallen about 14%, and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is down closer to 24%. Stocks climbing while crypto declines is not unprecedented, but the gap this year is wide enough to rattle anyone...
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is up by nearly 6% this year (as of May 1), and the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (NASDAQ: IXUS) has gained roughly 10% so far. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has fallen about 14%, and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is down closer to 24%. Stocks climbing while crypto declines is not unprecedented, but the gap this year is wide enough to rattle anyone holding both. Nonetheless, there's an opportunity awaiting those who can stomach it. Here's how to play this setup. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading