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History
The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Brush up on your art expertise with Insta experts such as @greatwomenartists, here focusing on Self Portrait in the Green Bugatti by Polish-American artist Tamara de Lempicka, who was known as the queen of avant garde. Photo: @greatwomenartists/Instagram
Art

15 art accounts to follow on Instagram, sharing quirky facts, memes and more

Check out the social media version of Art for Dummies, get tips from ‘your next door art girlie’, influencer @thatsprettyneeat, and discover stunning works by Yayoi Kusama or Louise Bourgeois.

Tourism

Mammoths, bison in prehistoric cave art French keep under wraps

Art

Then & Now | Hong Kong’s rich history of art clubs dates back to the 1850s

Malaysia

Bid to relocate Hindu temple for mosque in Malaysia’s capital stirs debate

The government land on which the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple sat was sold to Jakel in 2014.

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Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman devotees are hoping to save the temple in central Kuala Lumpur from eviction. Photo: Facebook/Tang Ah Chai
New Zealand

Ghostly guides invoke tragic tales of New Zealand’s parliament

Visitors who take part in the ‘spooky tours’ hear spine-chilling stories of mysterious deaths and late-night apparitions in Wellington.

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage to be celebrated in new annual initiative

Different types of craftsmanship, performances, traditions and rituals among activities to be showcased across the month of June.

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From our archives

When Hong Kong announced the city’s first open-air theatre

In 1983, the curtain was raised on the Ko Shan Road park and theatre, which took two years and $50 million to build.

The Ko Shan Theatre, a park and theatre complex in Ko Shan Road, is packed with people during its opening ceremony in 1983. Photo: SCMP Archives
India

Are Indian films tapping Hindu nationalism to achieve box-office success?

The blockbuster Chhaava, which has led to violent protests, has sparked debate on whether Indian directors have forsaken historical accuracy.

Japan

Japan’s PM ‘will not tolerate’ Assassin’s Creed cultural disrespect of shrine

Japan’s PM criticised Assassin’s Creed: Shadows for cultural disrespect, sparking debate on historical accuracy and the game’s portrayal of shrines.

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Japan

30 years on, Tokyo sarin attack victims seek justice against Aum cult offshoots

The cult behind the attack has yet to compensate its victims, while its offshoots continue to gain followers and amass wealth.

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An anti-terrorist drill is conducted at a Tokyo Metro facility on Friday, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Aum Shinrikyo cult’s sarin nerve gas attack. Photo: Kyodo
United States

Trump releases documents related to JFK assassination

Experts doubt the new trove of documents will change the narrative about the infamous killing.

Documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, after they were released. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Indonesia is hungry to add rendang, tempeh to Unesco intangible culture list

Gaining recognition would be a strategic step towards encouraging more tourism, Indonesia’s culture minister said.

Asia travel

Insiders’ guide to Manila, Philippine capital and cultural melting pot

Locals share their tips on what to see, do and buy, from discovering iconic landmarks and hidden gems, to encountering Filipino craftsmanship.

United States

Around 80,000 pages of JFK files will be released on Tuesday, Trump says

The assassination of president John F. Kennedy still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.

US President John F. Kennedy moments before he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. File photo: Walt Cisco/Dallas Morning News via Reuters
Asia travel

Want to be a guest of royalty? India has a variety of heritage-rich options

India’s erstwhile royals are opening their palaces and using their influence to attract tourists and promote the heritage of their historical kingdoms.

Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj, India. Photo: Handout
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | After Trump decree, how China and Singapore’s official languages came to be

China did not have an official language in the modern sense before the 20th century, while Singapore’s is different to its national language.

US-China relations

Opinion | The US-China Thucydides Trap is by no means a foregone conclusion

Instead, it’s a call to action. From helping mediate in Ukraine to investing in the US, China may yet defy historical negative trends.

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Architecture and design

Frank Lloyd Wright’s last house is finished, and you can stay there

6 decades after the American architect delivered plans for ‘Project #5909’ it has finally been built in Ohio. RiverRock is accepting bookings.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s final project, RiverRock, was completed in Willoughby Hills, in the US state of Ohio, in February. The house was built to look “exactly the same” as in his 1959 blueprints for the site. Photo: Facebook/Sarah Dykstra
Singapore

How Singapore’s opposition hopes to loosen the PAP’s 66-year grip on power

The Workers’ Party aims to build on its gains. Tan Cheng Bock’s PSP is back in the fray, too. Can they chip away at the PAP’s supermajority?

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Art

Explore China’s culinary heritage at the Hong Kong Palace Museum

Discover artworks and national treasures tracing the Chinese culinary evolution from Neolithic times to the Qing dynasty, until June 18.

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong heritage advisers back listing of temple, former hospital as monuments

Antiquities Advisory Board discusses proposal to upgrade status of Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital’s main building and Kwong Fook Tsz temple.

Kwong Fook Tsz temple in Sheung Wan previously served as a refuge for sick and impoverished residents. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Food and Drinks

The wineries hoping to fuel a resurgence of oldest recorded wine

Commandaria has been drunk for thousands of years but is largely unknown outside Cyprus. Micro-wineries there hope to grow its global appeal.

Bottles of Commandaria wine at the Karsera Winery in Dhoros, Cyprus. Photo: AP
Science

Skull fragments found in Spain point to previously unknown ancient humans

Scientists say bones could be from the earliest human face of Western Europe.

Russia

Opinion | Russia may join the West but it won’t leave China

As the US begins rapprochement, the Russians must balance their historical ties to the West with stronger new-found partnerships.

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Tourism

July opening for Grand Egyptian Museum, twice as big as the Louvre

Treasures of Tutankhamen will take pride of place when the museum, showing more than 100,000 artefacts from Egypt’s golden age, opens fully.

A colossal statue of King Ramses II greets visitors to the Grand Egyptian Museum. Photo: AFP
Art

Jane Grey ruled England for 9 days. Is this the one painting she sat for?

A portrait purporting to be of a living Lady Jane Grey, best-known from a post-death painting of her execution, has gone on display.

English Heritage conservator Rachel Turnbull gives a portrait believed to be of Lady Jane Grey a final examination before it goes on display. Photo: English Heritage via AP
Japan

Over 100,000 killed, zero aid: Tokyo bombing survivors’ final plea for justice

Victims of the US firebombing of Japan’s capital in March 1945 have never received any welfare support.

Old Hong Kong

Then & Now | How Hong Kong led the way for women priests in the 1970s

Hong Kong was decades ahead of Britain when it came to the ordination of women priests, even though that might seem unlikely today.

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