Trump announces major diesel deal with Russia ahead of US midterm elections next month

South China Morning Post - Oct 9, 2026

US President Donald Trump has opened the American market to Russian diesel, reversing years of sanctions pressure on Moscow just three weeks after signing a law to punish buyers of its energy, as record fuel prices threaten his party in next month’s midterm elections. Trump said on Truth Social on Friday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had reached the supply deal in a phone call that had been expected to focus on suspected plague cases in Russia. According to Trump, Russia will...

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Comedy takes root in Korea's Russian-speaking community

Lyazzat Khan, a proud resident of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, has quietly been building an empire of laughter. Originally from Kazakhstan, she is the mastermind behind Event Max, a business that brings Russian-speaking comedians to Korea. For Korea’s Russian-speaking population of nearly 200,000, there is a growing market for entertainment services. Most of these residents are Koryo-saram, or ethnic Koreans from former Soviet Union countries. Many are employed in the country’s light and heavy industry factories, working grueling hours. Leisure services for this group of workers remain underdeveloped, mostly because of the language barrier to accessing Korean entertainment. Over half of Korea’s Russian-speaking population lives in Ansan and Incheon, where in some neighborhoods, it is common to hear Russian spoken on the street. Restaurants and lounges catering specifically to Russian-speakers have sprung up in these neighborhoods since the early 2000s. However, a demand for more community-centered entertainment is on the rise as many businesses were shuttered during the pandemic. Ent

Comedy takes root in Korea's Russian-speaking community

After interviewing 42 death row inmates, researcher believes capital punishment should end

Every weekday before 1997, death row inmates in Korea braced themselves between 6 and 9 a.m. — the hours when executions could happen. If 9 a.m. passed uneventfully, they felt relief. Then they went to sleep wondering if the next morning would be their last. No one has been executed since Dec. 30, 1997, but 56 people remain on death row — 52 in Ministry of Justice correctional facilities and four in military prisons. Kim Dae-keun, a research fellow at the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, interviewed 42 of them. "Most of them were ashamed, distressed or regretful about what they did," Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times. "I imagine they were brutal and frightening when they committed their crimes. But many I met in prison now were older, frail men." Oct. 10 marks World Day Against the Death Penalty, an annual international observance calling for the abolition of executions as judicial punishment. In Korea, the day arrives with the death penalty still on the books but widely regarded as unenforceable. Most inmates now believe executions will not resume — a beli

After interviewing 42 death row inmates, researcher believes capital punishment should end

Why a Communist Party boss had a coffee shop date with Chinese content creators

The setting may have been casual but the choice was not when the Communist Party boss of a northeastern Chinese province sat down with digital content creators at a coffee shop on Wednesday. Jilin province party secretary Huang Qiang invited the influencers to the relaxed setting of the Songyuan Coffee Shop in Changchun to encourage them to “actively promote mainstream values and spread positive energy”. According to a local government statement, Huang and the participants also exchanged views...

Why a Communist Party boss had a coffee shop date with Chinese content creators

Modi and Xi can’t bridge the India-China divide by themselves

Last month, President Xi Jinping travelled to New Delhi to attend the Brics summit – his first visit in seven years. On the summit’s sidelines, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an in-depth conversation that explored topics of shared interest between them, such as leveraging open-weight artificial intelligence (AI) for mutual benefit. Even so, such sanguine signals were soon drowned out by a spate of downbeat headlines. One recent story warned of the “asymmetric” relationship...

Modi and Xi can’t bridge the India-China divide by themselves

Lack of heat action plan leaves Hong Kong’s vulnerable residents at risk, experts warn

Environmentalists and academics have criticised the omission of a systemic heat-health action plan in Hong Kong’s first five-year plan and latest policy address, warning that relying on “common sense” is failing to protect vulnerable residents from rising temperatures. Their comments came as new research from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) found that extreme heat may have contributed to as many as 3,238 excess deaths in the city over the past decade. In response to the South China Morning...

Lack of heat action plan leaves Hong Kong’s vulnerable residents at risk, experts warn

New Taipei-Hong Kong subsea route opened to cut risk and meet AI demand

One of the world’s biggest network service providers has opened a new subsea route between Taipei and Hong Kong to strengthen the system against repeated underwater cable disruptions around the island. Britain-headquartered RETN said the new route would take its total to six serving Taiwan: four connecting Taipei and Hong Kong, and two linking Taipei and Tokyo. “Like many island economies, Taiwan’s international connectivity relies heavily on subsea cables, which creates exposure to risks such...

New Taipei-Hong Kong subsea route opened to cut risk and meet AI demand

Kurt Campbell on US’ China focus, the Indo-Pacific Quad, risks of AI

Kurt Campbell is a veteran US diplomat and strategist who has played a leading role in shaping Washington’s approach to China and the Indo-Pacific for more than a decade. He served as the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs from 2021 to 2024 and as US deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to 2013 and was a key architect of the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia”. Often...

Kurt Campbell on US’ China focus, the Indo-Pacific Quad, risks of AI

Kurt Campbell on US’ China focus, the Indo-Pacific Quad, risks of AI

Kurt Campbell is a veteran US diplomat and strategist who has played a leading role in shaping Washington’s approach to China and the Indo-Pacific for more than a decade. He served as the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs from 2021 to 2024 and as US deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009 to 2013 and was a key architect of the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia”. Often...

Kurt Campbell on US’ China focus, the Indo-Pacific Quad, risks of AI

What are the concerns and priorities behind the new language used to define China-US ties?

When China and the United States agreed in May to frame their relationship as a “constructive relationship of strategic stability”, the phrase left many observers trying to guess what it actually meant. Four months on, they have added an elaboration that offers further insight into the two sides’ respective priorities. After presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in Washington last month, the two sides pledged to build a “constructive relationship of strategic stability on the basis of...

What are the concerns and priorities behind the new language used to define China-US ties?

Port of LA, key US point for China imports, has best-ever quarter despite trade uncertainty

The Port of Los Angeles, the largest container port in the United States and the country’s leading gateway for imports from China and other Asian countries, had its busiest three-month period on record from July through to September, despite persistent uncertainty over tariffs and shifting global trade supply chains. “If there was ever a time for a drum roll, this is it,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, during a media briefing on Friday. “July through September...

Port of LA, key US point for China imports, has best-ever quarter despite trade uncertainty

Hong Kong lawmakers back 5-year plan as firms urged to align with blueprint

Hong Kong’s legislature has passed motions supporting the city’s first five-year plan and thanking Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu for his latest policy address, while Beijing’s top representative in the city urged mainland Chinese enterprises to align themselves with the government’s blueprint. At the close of a three-day Legislative Council debate on Friday, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki thanked lawmakers for their suggestions, saying they would help improve governance. “The process of...

Hong Kong lawmakers back 5-year plan as firms urged to align with blueprint

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