Pope Leo spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday, calling for a ceasefire in a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine, as he recovers in hospital from a lung cancer operation. The Vatican said that Pope Leo “expressed his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance, and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population”. The...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled what he described as a “flying” car, equipped with thrusters, during a live-streamed event at his SpaceX rocket company’s facility on Thursday. Technical and regulatory challenges have so far prevented the much-hyped flying car sector from getting off the ground. Musk revealed his new Roadster sports car during a launch event at a SpaceX test facility in Texas. During the demo, which was live-streamed on Tesla’s X account, the car launched from a steep steel ramp and...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday asked European Union leaders to provide Kyiv an extra 70 billion euros (US$79 billion) in funding next year to help it keep fighting Russia. “The war will cost 155 billion euros next year. And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you – for defence, for weapons and for our resilience,” Zelensky said in a speech at an EU summit in Brussels. “This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back.” The...

The awarding of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay matters for reasons that go well beyond the laureate herself. The award does three things at once. First, it restores credibility to the prize. Second, it rejects in unambiguous terms the Thrasymachian doctrine that might is right, which has become the operating philosophy of major powers. Third, it highlights a warning of what happens when a hegemon decides it is above the law. The correction was...

European leaders on Friday rallied around Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as Kyiv’s ties with US President Donald Trump have nosedived and worries grow that US leader is increasingly siding with Russia. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since last week, when Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel onto global markets. Zelensky infuriated Trump further by ordering Ukraine’s forces to restart strikes on Russian oil refineries in...

Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is ⁠a “disgrace” that keeps ⁠global energy prices elevated, US President ⁠Donald Trump told the Newsmax news outlet in an interview aired on Thursday. Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites that Trump had announced, ‌and criticised his willingness to strike deals with Moscow. “All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese scientists say they spotted possible Israeli electronic warfare units Chinese military scientists claim they have developed an algorithm that could help identify electronic warfare units using civil aviation flight data. 2....

Illinois authorities believe a 19-year-old man charged with planning a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in suburban Chicago entered the building’s car park on Sunday, hours before police arrested him near his home after receiving a tip about the alleged attack plan. Authorities announced Wednesday that they had arrested Alexandros Paporakis and provided the additional detail about his suspected movement during a news conference Thursday. The leaders of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in a...

A teenager shot and killed three children and a teacher on Thursday at an elementary school in the US state of Oregon, police said, adding the assailant was later killed by an armed community member who pursued him into the building. Officers rushed to Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, a city of about 100,000 in the nation’s northwest, after reports of a shooter on campus on Thursday afternoon. The three children who died on the scene were aged 5, 8 and 11, said Bend police chief Mike Krantz....

A minibus collided with a stationary train in a Channel Tunnel vehicle boarding area in France on Thursday evening, injuring the driver and 18 passengers, authorities said. Five people were severely injured, though no one’s life appeared to be in danger, the local prefect said in a statement. The minibus was carrying truck drivers of various nationalities who were heading to travel on a LeShuttle train, which carries vehicles and their passengers through the tunnel. The area around the tunnel...

Talk of global decoupling from China has persisted for years, as has speculation that emerging economies such as India and Vietnam could soon replace it as the “world’s factory”. But for Indian hardware engineer Neeraj Arora, the growth of India’s electronics manufacturing industry has not eliminated the need to source components from China. Instead, it has changed the nature of those imports. A decade ago, Arora imported finished phone chargers from the world’s second-largest economy. Today,...