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Antarctica

Antarctica
Antarctica
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Antarctica. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A Dreame 10s Ultra robot vacuum cleaner. Photo: Dreame
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.

Mainland China

China drafts Antarctica activities and environment law to protect interests

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Climate change

Arctic has hottest year ever recorded, as climate impacts cascade

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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.

One of the three boats hit by the latest US strikes in the eastern Pacific. Photo: US Southern Command via X
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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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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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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University graduates stroll through a job fair held at the Minhang campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University on September 26. Photo: Xinhua
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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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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The rover is powered by four independently driven tracks, each capable of adjusting its height autonomously. Photo: National Engineering Research Centre for Metal Mining
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’.

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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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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The snailfish captured with a camera 7,500-8,200 metres deep in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. Photo: uwa.edu.au
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.

A specialist in Germany wearing a protective suit disposes of a crane believed to have died from a highly contagious bird flu strain. Photo: Reuters
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.

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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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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An aerial view of the Petronas liquefied natural gas terminal at Bintulu in Sarawak — the world’s largest single-site LNG complex and a linchpin of Malaysia’s energy exports. Photo: Ahmad Afif Isa (CC BY 2.0)
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.

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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Royal Navy sailors disembark from Britain’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier upon arrival in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
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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Taiwan

China challenges US freedom of navigation operations as having ‘no legal basis’

Beijing accuses Washington of ‘double standards’ in first report of its kind criticising its activities in South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

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US-China relations

Why is the US uneasy as China’s 5-strong icebreaker fleet arrives in the Arctic?

The US coastguard has accused some of the vessels of straying too close to the Alaskan coast, a claim rebutted by a Beijing-based think tank.

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China’s Xue Long 2 icebreaker is monitored by US authorities as it heads towards the Arctic Ocean. Photo: US Coast Guard
Asean

Opinion | As the US and China compete, Asean could play arbiter

The new cold war could promote Asean’s autonomy by creating space for choice, but only so long as the bloc exhibits strategic coherence.

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The Asean flag is placed alongside the flags of its member countries ahead of the Asean foreign ministers’ retreat in Langkawi, Malaysia, on January 17. Photo: Reuters
Americas and the Caribbean

There she blows: Erin is Atlantic’s first hurricane this season

The Category 5 hurricane is expected to bring strong winds, floods and landslides to islands in the Caribbean.

South China Sea

China tells US to rein in frontline forces after South China Sea ‘infringement’

Beijing protests over USS Higgins’ presence near Scarborough Shoal while American navy says its presence is lawful.

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