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Antarctica
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Antarctica

Antarctica
Antarctica
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Antarctica. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Nasa’s Aqua satellite shows an iceberg with the designation A23a heading towards the island of South Georgia off the coast of Antarctica on January 15, 2025. Photo: Nasa Worldview/dpa
Climate change

Outside In | The end of an era at sea offers us a grim reminder on land

One of the biggest icebergs in recent memory is melting out of existence. Its silent fate mirrors the neglect of our biosphere.

China-Latin America relations

US threats and a Chinese cable scandal mark first day for Chile’s new president

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‘This is great’: first-ever Antarctic sleeper shark filmed in frigid waters

Electric & new energy vehicles

Exclusive | CATL’s new innovation expands EV battery horizons in untapped cold regions

The Chinese giant pulls an ace from its sleeve amid fierce EV competition by bringing sodium-ion batteries to the mass-produced car market.

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CATL in partnership with Changan Automobile unveiled the world’s first mass-production passenger vehicle equipped with Naxtra sodium-ion batteries. The vehicle is set to reach the market by mid-2026. Photo: Handout
Electric & new energy vehicles

Why CATL’s sodium-ion breakthrough could be a game changer for China’s EV market

The Naxtra battery, more price-stable and cold-resistant than the lithium-ion units now powering most EVs, will undergo its first tests this week.

Robotics

Chinese robot vacuum maker Dreame gives staff gifts of gold, trip to Antarctica

Dreame’s surprise largesse reflects its robust business growth in 2025, as it remains one of the world’s top robot vacuum cleaner brands.

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Mainland China

China drafts Antarctica activities and environment law to protect interests

Legislation proposes expanding administrative permission system beyond scientific expeditions to include tourism, shipping and fishing.

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The draft law sets out specific requirements for the protection of Antarctic flora and fauna. Photo: AFP
Climate change

Arctic has hottest year ever recorded, as climate impacts cascade

The region is warming far faster than the global average due to a phenomenon known as ‘Arctic Amplification’.

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Americas and the Caribbean

US military boat strikes kill 8, adding to drug war death toll

The US military said it targeted ‘designated terrorist organisations’, and posted video of an operation in the eastern Pacific.

US-China relations

Senior Democrat urges Rubio to fill Arctic post and halt rise of China, Russia

In a letter, Raja Krishnamoorthi asks US Secretary of State to restore key US role in ‘one of the world’s most strategically vital regions’.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has come under increasing pressure to fill the State Department’s vacant post for Arctic affairs to help curb China and Russia’s influence in the region. Photo: Xinhua
Aviation accidents

Chinese families ‘hope truth will come out’ when search for flight MH370 resumes

Relatives still waiting for answers 11 years after plane disappeared welcome news that the search will continue later this month.

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Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished in 2014 with 239 people on board and has never been found. Photo: AFP
China society

Opinion | Elite success stories are cold comfort for disillusioned young workers

The backlash over a tycoon’s letter to overburdened staff during his trip to Antarctica reveals a fissure beyond a generational divide.

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Trending in China

Overworked staff angry at China education tycoon’s anniversary letter from Antarctica

Founder of company waxes lyrical about the survival qualities of penguins, sparking sarcastic responses from staff, online observers.

US-China relations

From reusable rockets to deep-sea dives: how China closes tech gap on the West

China sees outer space and the polar regions as ‘strategic new frontiers’ vital to its future security – and is investing accordingly.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China's military weapons

Can the Fujian aircraft carrier catapult the PLA Navy deep into the Pacific?

The vessel will be a frequent visitor to the high seas but some observers say there is still a big gap with the US.

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The Fujian, China’s newest aircraft carrier, will be based in Sanya, Hainan province. Photo: Xinhua
Science

China crosses US second island chain with deep-sea cobalt mining rover

Chinese scientists test robotic miner built to harvest valuable metals from the ocean’s floor.

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Climate change

It was once the largest iceberg in the world. Now, it’s landed in hot water

A23a is drifting in waters where the temperature is well above freezing, and is ‘rapidly breaking up’ into several ‘very large chunks’.

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China technology

China expands frontiers in space, deep sea, poles amid fierce geopolitical race

From deep in the Arctic Ocean to outer space and cyberspace, Beijing’s focus on technological advancements is reshaping the global strategic balance.

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Members of a Chinese scientific expedition team deploy ice-based buoys in the high-latitude waters of the Arctic Ocean on August 25. Photo: Xinhua
Science

Biologists find array of deep-sea survival mechanisms in Ring of Fire creatures

Scientists from Australia and Japan studying three trenches find ‘organisms have adapted strategies to filter things out of the waters’.

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Disease

What killed hundreds of seals? Bird flu spread raises fears, questions

The disease worries governments and poultry businesses due to the impact on birds, potential trade restrictions, and the risk of a pandemic.

Climate change

Global warming is crossing dangerous thresholds sooner, scientists warn

Climate change is accelerating risks to the Amazon, as warm water coral reefs experience unstoppable dieback.

A sea turtle swimming among dead coral in Baa Atoll in Maldives in 2023. File photo: AFP
Arctic

China marks largest Arctic foray with first manned deep dive below polar ice

Expedition also sees world’s first coordinated crewed-uncrewed submersible operation, with team bringing back rich haul of samples and data.

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China’s manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong returns to the surface from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean in August. Photo: Xinhua
Malaysia

Malaysia tightens security at Petronas’ Bintulu LNG hub to investigate ‘threat’

Authorities did not specify the nature of the threat to the complex, which is the world’s largest single-site LNG production facility.

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Americas and the Caribbean

US says Venezuelan aircraft flew over navy vessel in international waters

Pentagon calls the incident ‘highly provocative’ and warns Venezuela not to interfere with US counter-narcotics operations.

Climate change

One of Earth’s biggest icebergs is breaking up, could disappear in weeks

‘Megaberg’ known as A23a, which once weighed nearly a trillion tonnes and was twice the size of Greater London, is melting in the South Atlantic.

A satellite image of iceberg A23a in the South Atlantic on April 5, 2025. Photo: European Space Agency
Nato

Norway to buy UK-made frigates to monitor Russian submarines

A key mission for the frigates will be to monitor Russian submarines, whose base is in the Arctic bordering Norway.

(From left) Norway’s Minister of Defence Tore Sandvik, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Chief of Defence Eirik Kristoffersen. The Norwegian government chose Britain as a strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates. Photo: EPA
China-UK relations

Beijing sends warning on Taiwan across bow of UK-Japan defence ties

The HMS Prince of Wales becomes the first foreign aircraft carrier to make a port call in Tokyo.

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China’s military drills

Russian and Chinese submarines join forces in Pacific patrol first

Mission and choice of vessels reflect the deepening military coordination between the armed forces of the two countries.

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