Secular News

Marylyn Minett’s school book, her dress and her brother’s football will be preserved by Wales’ national museum.

Once dubbed the world’s tallest abandoned skyscraper, Goldin Finance 117 in northern China appears to be in the homestretch of a marathon construction effort – after nearly a decade of dormancy and a year of resumed work – even as the nation’s property market struggles to leg out a sustained recovery. Late last month, workers began installing a diamond-shaped crown on top of the building – designed to be 596 metres (1,955 feet) tall upon completion – in the port city of Tianjin, according to...

As Chinese cemeteries become increasingly expensive many people are buying flats to store the ashes of their loved ones, triggering a discussion which has divided public opinion. Chinese families have long placed great importance on burial practices, with securing a respectable grave regarded as an essential act of filial piety. However, as rapid urban development limits available land and an ageing population drives up demand, burial space has become increasingly scarce, giving rise to...

Second airman that was shot down over Iran rescued safely

A U.S. Airforce officer whose plane was shot down in Iran was rescued by U.S. forces early Sunday, President Trump announced on social media.

A U.S. Airforce officer whose plane was shot down in Iran was rescued by U.S. forces early Sunday after evading capture for more than a day in enemy territory, President Trump announced on social media.

Hong Kong’s economy showed resilience in the first quarter of 2026 amid a more volatile stock market, even though the conflict in the Middle East continued to fuel market jitters, the city’s finance chief has said. In a review of the city’s economic health in the first three months of this year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday attributed Hong Kong’s performance to the steady growth of mainland China’s economy, with the city leveraging the situation to establish itself as a global...

More than 50 years after humans first flew around the Moon, Artemis astronauts will repeat the feat on Monday and use the most basic instrument to study it: their eyes.

While the Iran war has sent shock waves through energy markets across Asia, one corner of the region has been hit especially hard. South Asia’s reliance on Middle Eastern fuel and Gulf remittances threatens to push some of its most exposed economies to the brink, analysts warn, as the conflict drives energy and food costs to multi-year highs. For Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, whose International Monetary Fund bailout programmes and thin fiscal buffers limit their ability to shield citizens...

The Iranian military said Iraq is exempt from shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz that have strangled global energy flows for weeks. “Brotherly Iraq is exempt from any restrictions we have imposed on the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s military spokesman said in an Arabic-language video statement published by state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. The declaration has the potential to unleash as much as 3 million barrels a day of Iraqi oil cargoes. It also comes just days after a French...

Leeds visit West Ham on Sunday in the FA Cup quarter-finals but both are also in a relegation scrap. Would you risk safety for glory?

Leeds visit West Ham on Sunday in the FA Cup quarter-finals but both are also in a relegation scrap. Would you risk safety for glory?