Secular News

The epic series that changed David Attenborough’s life forever

Across Bangkok, aromas of garlic, chilli and grilled meat drift from roadside stalls and carts, but tighter controls on vendors threaten livelihoods and the street food culture that defines the Thai capital.

BBC's Nadine Yousif and Eloise Alanna spent five days travelling with the country's military rangers through frostbite and sub-zero temperatures.

BBC's Nadine Yousif and Eloise Alanna spent five days travelling with the country's military rangers through frostbite and sub-zero temperatures.

BBC's Nadine Yousif and Eloise Alanna spent five days travelling with the country's military rangers through frostbite and sub-zero temperatures.

BBC's Nadine Yousif and Eloise Alanna spent five days travelling with the country's military rangers through frostbite and sub-zero temperatures.

Perched above the streets of Tai Hang, the 91-year-old Haw Par Mansion has stood as a watchman to Hong Kong’s evolving history. The mansion and its front garden are the only remaining sections of what was once a sprawling estate and theme park built in the 1930s by the Aw family of Tiger Balm ointment fame. They are striking examples of the period’s architectural hybridity, often called the Chinese Renaissance style. From 2019 to 2022, the restored mansion was used by a music school that the Aw...

Industry leaders from Hong Kong’s property management sector have said a security staff shortfall of up to 25 per cent persists, as they defended a major housing estate’s recruitment of one-third of its guards from across the border. The owners’ corporation of Richland Gardens in Kowloon Bay has come under fire after announcing on social media last week that 31 guards from mainland China would be hired through a government labour scheme. The scheme allows firms to import low-skilled workers if...

The high-speed rail tunnel extends as far down the mountains as some of the deepest mines on the planet

In December 2010, on the final day of his three-day India visit, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao offered a metaphorical vision for bilateral ties, suggesting that “the dragon and the elephant should tango”. The analogy – dragon for China, elephant for India – had already circulated in Western academic and media circles as a comparative frame. With Wen’s remark, it formally entered China’s diplomatic lexicon. Over the past 15 years, through cycles of border tensions and uneasy resets, China’s...

China’s smartphone and electronics supply chain is adapting its expertise to support the country’s fledgling but fast-growing humanoid robotics industry, as component suppliers seek new growth beyond a slowing mobile market. The sector received a glimpse of that crossover after Honor’s humanoid robot D1, a dark-horse entrant from the smartphone maker, won Beijing’s recent robot half-marathon, beating established Chinese robotics names such as Unitree. Honor entered the humanoid robotics sector...

In India, cuddly and colourful animals are paraded across Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels, where free advice is shared on how to raise a lemur – or what to feed an iguana – in congested megacities far from forest habitats. Cuteness has become a commodity in Asia’s social media world, with Thailand’s main airport emerging as a reluctant hub for wild animal smuggling. On Wednesday, a 19-year-old passenger bound for Taipei tried to evade security at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport with...