South China Morning Post

A collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coastguard patrol vessel off the eastern Aegean island of Chios has killed at least 15 people, the coastguard said late on Tuesday, while a search and rescue operation involving patrol boats, a helicopter and divers was under way for potentially missing people. The bodies of 14 people – 11 men and three women – were recovered from the sea, the coastguard said, while another 25 migrants, including about 11 children, were rescued and...

Beijing’s bold move to remove top generals accused of corruption reflects its strategic assessment that overhauling the armed forces is more urgent, and that the issue of Taiwan can wait, according to military analysts. The investigation into China’s top commanders, Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, has left the Central Military Commission (CMC), the country’s highest military command body, with just two members at present – President Xi Jinping, who is chairman of the CMC, and vice-chairman Zhang...

US President Donald Trump appeared to bury the hatchet with his Colombian counterpart on Tuesday after months of tensions, praising the leftist leader as he hosted him behind closed doors at the White House. “You are great,” Trump wrote to Gustavo Petro as he signed a copy of his 1987 book Art of the Deal, according to a picture posted by the Colombian president after their first ever face-to-face meeting. The two leaders had duelled online for months over drugs and immigration, while Trump even...

Now we know why they didn’t want to release the Epstein files. It’s not just about implicating US President Donald Trump, who was a long-time close friend of the infamous paedophile and sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. Rather, they basically implicate the ruling and business elites of the Anglo-American world. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a wave of mass hysteria sweeping across the United States based on fear of satanic cults, child abuse and sacrifices. Well, it turns out maybe it wasn’t...

US President Donald Trump signed a roughly US$1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding. The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote. “This bill is a great victory for the American people,” Trump said. The vote on Tuesday wrapped up congressional work on 11 annual appropriations bills that fund...

The first husband of former first lady Jill Biden has been charged with killing his wife at their Delaware home in late December, authorities announced in a news release on Tuesday. William Stevenson, 77, of Wilmington was married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975. Caroline Harrison, the Delaware Attorney General’s spokeswoman, confirmed in a phone call that Stevenson is the former husband of Jill Biden. Stevenson remains in jail after failing to post US$500,000 bail after his arrest on Monday on...

The US military on ‌Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the ‍Arabian Sea, a US official said. The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, and US President Donald Trump warned that with American warships heading towards Iran, “bad things” would ⁠probably happen if a deal could not be reached. The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying towards the carrier “with unclear intent”...

Nato said on Tuesday that military planning has started for a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic, after US President Donald Trump made protecting the region central to his demands for Greenland. “Planning is under way for a Nato enhanced vigilance activity, named Arctic Sentry,” said Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for Nato’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. “The activity will even further strengthen Nato’s posture in the Arctic and High North,” he added, without providing...

The Walt Disney Company announced on Tuesday that Josh D’Amaro, head of its theme parks division, will replace Bob Iger as chief executive when the entertainment titan steps down in March. D’Amaro, 54, will take the helm on March 18 following a unanimous board vote, the company said. He will succeed Iger, who has led Disney for nearly two decades across two separate stints. “Josh D’Amaro possesses that rare combination of inspiring leadership and innovation, a keen eye for strategic growth...

A secondary school pupil stabbed an art teacher in southern France on Tuesday, leaving the 60-year-old in critical condition, a prosecutor said. The pupil, in a class of early teenagers, stabbed the teacher at least three times. He was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, said Raphael Balland, the public prosecutor in the southern city of Toulon. There were no known “religious or political connotations” at this stage, said Balland. “All we know is that there had been tensions with...

Beijing has slammed a Panamanian Supreme Court ruling that nullified Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings’ right to operate two major ports at the country’s canal as “legally unfounded”, warning the Central American nation that it could pay a heavy political and economic price. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said in a commentary on Tuesday that the ruling was “self-sabotaging” to Panama’s creditworthiness and would inflict profound damage on its business environment while severely...

Hong Kong authorities are considering changing the proposed fine for smoking on a construction site to a fixed penalty of HK$3,000 (US$385) rather than a maximum of HK$150,000. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Tuesday that the initial plan was to amend the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, which only stipulates the maximum fine to be determined by the courts rather than a fixed amount. The proposed smoking ban is in response to the deadly Tai Po blaze in...

The British government said on Tuesday it had sent a file of material to police looking into allegations that Labour Party politician Peter Mandelson passed sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein. Detectives are assessing whether Mandelson should face a criminal investigation over leaks to the late sex offender. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his Cabinet that he was “appalled” by the revelations in newly released Epstein files, and was concerned there are more details still to...

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Hong Kong’s largest developer by market capitalisation, said executive director Maureen Fung Sau-yim resigned with immediate effect on Tuesday due to health issues, according to a stock exchange filing. “Ms Fung has confirmed that she has no disagreement with the board of the company and that she is not aware of any matters in relation to her resignation that need to be brought to the attention of the holders of the securities of the company,” the filing said. Her...

China on Tuesday urged the United States to “respond positively” to Russia’s offer to maintain nuclear warhead limits ahead of Thursday’s expected collapse of a major US-Russia agreement to control nuclear build-up. Beijing also reiterated its refusal to join trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations with Washington and Moscow, despite repeated calls for such talks by US President Donald Trump. China cited the disparity in nuclear stockpile sizes as the reason for its refusal. Absent a...

Venezuela will ensure that Chinese energy, trade and investment interests in the South American country are secure, its envoy to Beijing has said. The reassurance from Remigio Ceballos comes amid growing concern in Beijing that last month’s unprecedented US assault on Venezuela might complicate China’s ties with the resource-rich country and the wider region. “China and Venezuela are trusted partners who share mutual trust. Both nations are sovereign states, and their bilateral relationship...

A number of mainland-based suppliers of memory chips and storage solutions are pursuing share listings in Hong Kong, signalling a strategic change in how the sector aims to fuel its global ambitions, according to analysts. The most watched firm is Shanghai-based Montage Technology, a designer of high-speed interconnect chips for data centres, which is taking orders from institutional investors and is set to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday. Montage, which listed in Shanghai in...

Hong Kong’s annual fundraiser, Operation Santa Claus (OSC), has wrapped up its campaign this year, raising more than HK$19 million (US$2.4 million) for charitable projects and victims of the Tai Po fire – nearly double its target. The campaign, launched on November 4, had aimed to raise at least HK$11 million for 13 charitable projects. However, fundraising intensified less than three weeks later, after the Tai Po fire broke out on November 26. An emergency appeal was launched to raise funds to...

South Korea has emerged as one of the countries experiencing the world’s largest outflow of wealthy individuals, in part due to its rigid inheritance tax system. A recent analysis by British consultancy Henley & Partners showed on Tuesday that the net outflow of Korean millionaires last year was estimated at 2,400, double the 1,200 recorded in 2024. The figure was the fourth largest globally, following the United Kingdom, China and India. “Korea’s inheritance tax rate of up to 60 per cent may...

Hong Kong’s banking regulator has unveiled four flagship projects, including a quantum computing readiness index, to help the city’s lenders stay competitive and secure in the artificial intelligence era. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said the initiatives formed part of its new Fintech Promotion Blueprint, aimed at guiding responsible innovation and preparing the city’s banking sector for rapid technological change. The blueprint was announced on Tuesday in response to industry...

At this turbulent crossroads of 2026, the global order is undergoing a major paradigm shift. This is signalled most vividly by a wave of Western leaders visiting Beijing. From British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s historic mission last week – the first visit by a UK prime minister in eight years – to the high-profile arrivals of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo last month, a clear pattern of strategic recalibration has emerged. These moves represent a...

A Hong Kong taxi driver has been fined HK$1,000 (US$128) for rude behaviour, having thrown a passenger’s change out of the window after she had asked him to slow down. Magistrate Winnie Lau Yee-wan at West Kowloon Court convicted taxi driver Lam Ching-fung of behaving rudely towards a female passenger who had booked his cab from Hong Kong International Airport to a residential complex in Hung Hom on December 7, 2024. Lam denied a summary charge of behaving “other than in a civil and orderly...

Following the sudden demise of a major gold trading platform in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, another retail-focused operator has suffered a run, stoking fears of contagion in China’s private market for the precious metal. The platform, Ydd007, is the latest to face trouble. On Sunday, it told investors that it had experienced three “severe runs” in recent days amid mounting industry panic. It also acknowledged a significant funding shortfall, according to Chengdu.cn, part of the...

China’s 4.5-generation fighter the J-10C appeared at the Singapore Airshow this week amid a drive by Beijing to boost arms sales to Southeast Asia. The model has gained increasing global prominence following reports last May that it had been used by the Pakistan Air Force to shoot down at least one French-made Rafale fighter operated by India during a brief border conflict. The seven J-10C jets taking part in the Singapore Airshow arrived last Wednesday, accompanied by a Y-20A refuelling...

Chinese robotics firms continue to secure fresh financing, including from state-backed funds, as investors shift focus from hardware to the “brains” of humanoids – the software and operating systems that underpin their intelligence. Alongside hardware-centric companies like Unitree Robotics, a new wave of firms is emerging with capital directed towards robotic software and operating systems. Shenzhen-based humanoid robot maker LimX Dynamics announced on Monday the completion of its US$200...

French police raided the Paris offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as prosecutors summoned its owner Elon Musk for questioning over a widening investigation into alleged offences, including the spread of child pornography and deepfakes. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the search was part of a probe opened in January last year by its cybercrime unit, conducted in coordination with the EU police agency Europol. In a major escalation of the legal scrutiny facing the platform...

A Chinese research vessel has been operating in Middle Eastern waters close to a US aircraft carrier, according to ship-tracking data, at a time of heightened American military presence near Iran. China’s Dayang Yihao (or “Ocean No 1”) has been surveying the Arabian Sea west of India since December 19, according to SeaLight, a maritime analysis group affiliated with Stanford University. The ship is China’s first modern comprehensive ocean-going scientific research vessel, and is equipped with...

Hong Kong’s property transactions slipped in January, official data showed, but agents are betting on a Lunar New Year “mini-boom” after several new-home launches sold out in recent weeks. Deals covering new and existing homes, offices, shops, car parking spaces and industrial units fell 15.2 per cent month on month to 7,631, while transaction value declined 12 per cent to about HK$57.25 billion (US$7.3 billion). “With both the economy and stock market performing well, coupled with steadily...

The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind Science & Technology under the foreign subsidies regulation, a tool that has previously irked Beijing. The investigation will assess whether subsidies from the Chinese state illegally boosted the company’s position in the European market. The commission said a preliminary investigation found “indications” that Goldwind “may have been granted foreign subsidies that distort the internal...

A secondary school in Hong Kong has apologised after a teacher was criticised for citing the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze as an example to urge students to take a fire drill seriously. The MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College in Tseung Kwan O on Tuesday said it was aware of the incident that took place last Friday and had initiated a crisis response plan. “The school acknowledged that some individual faculty and staff had used inappropriate language and expressions, and expressed its deepest...

The son of Norway’s crown princess pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to four counts of rape at the opening of a trial that has embarrassed the royal family. Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, stood and muttered a negative response when asked to enter a plea to the four counts of rape. Clad in green trousers and a green jumper, wearing bold glasses and earrings, Hoiby remained expressionless as his trial got...

Russia launched its largest drone and missile attack this year on Ukraine overnight, leaving hundreds of thousands without heating in freezing temperatures on Tuesday, just one day ahead of fresh talks aiming to find an end to the four-year war. The strikes hit as Ukraine was experiencing the coldest temperatures during the Russian invasion and damaged an iconic Soviet-era WWII monument. They also came a day before Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were due to meet for a second round of talks in...

China’s civil aviation authority has floated a regulatory change that would allow its home-grown passenger jet, the C919, to use narrow runways typically found in smaller airports, a move that could help the plane expand its presence at home and break into the Southeast Asian market. The Civil Aviation Administration of China announced on Friday that it had set “special conditions” for the C919 to use narrow runways based on the jet’s design features, releasing a draft proposal for a...

A feng shui-obsessed Chinese woman who kept repositioning a traffic mirror caused multiple accidents in her residential compound. Residents of a Shanghai community were troubled by frequent road accidents at a sharp turn for the past two months. People believed that a traffic mirror positioned since the compound opened for use in 2012 was being constantly moved, compromising public safety. The property management company adjusted it many times, but the problem persisted. An investigation...

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up StepFun has unveiled a lightweight AI model that it says punches above its weight, rivalling larger systems from domestic competitors including DeepSeek and Moonshot AI as competition intensifies in the country’s AI sector. The Shanghai-based AI lab said on Monday its latest Step 3.5 Flash model was designed to deliver advanced reasoning and agentic capabilities while maintaining efficiency. Despite its relatively modest size of about 196 billion...

A veteran Chinese investigative journalist has been detained by police in Sichuan province after publishing an article critical of local officials, raising fresh concerns about the abuse of power. On Monday evening, police in Jinjiang district in the southwestern city of Chengdu issued a notice on social media stating that a person surnamed Liu, 50, and a person surnamed Wu, 34, had been “subjected to criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law” on suspicion of lodging “false...

Hong Kong’s retail sales rose 1 per cent in 2025 after recording a 6.6 per cent year‑on‑year increase in December, with authorities saying that improving consumer sentiment and growth in visitor arrivals would continue to support the sector. Figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday estimated that the value of December’s retail sales reached HK$35 billion (US$4.48 billion), marking a fourth consecutive month of growth above 6 per cent year on year. For the whole of last...

Around 85 per cent of insurance claims for damages caused by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades have been settled, with the amount paid out totalling almost HK$510 million (US$65.3 million). The city’s Insurance Authority said on Tuesday that insurers had settled 1,032 claims related to the Tai Po fire that broke out last November, accounting for around 85 per cent of such claims. “The [authority] is aware that a majority of claims have been successfully settled based on the principle of...

The last treaty limiting nuclear weapons deployments by the US and Russia expires on Thursday, ending more than 50 years of restraints on the world’s two biggest nuclear powers. Russia has offered a one-year extension to New START, which was originally signed in 2010 by then-presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. No “substantive reaction” has been received from the US, Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said in a recent interview with the Kommersant...

China’s economic locomotive Shanghai is aiming for a growth rate of around 5 per cent this year, after gradually rebounding since 2023 and reaching a better-than-expected 5.4 per cent growth last year. The megacity, whose economic size is comparable to that of Belgium with last year’s GDP totalling 5.67 trillion yuan (US$816.2 billion), is upgrading its role as a global financial, trade and shipping centre, Mayor Gong Zheng told the city’s annual plenary sessions on Tuesday. The government is...

Two men are set to be charged with murder in Malaysia following the discovery of the charred skeletal remains of six people – including three young children – in a remote, abandoned house in Johor state. Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad confirmed on Tuesday that the grisly findings were made on January 9 in Kangkar Pulai. The remains were discovered by a 48-year-old local man who had been searching for his family after losing contact with them three months prior. “The man claimed that his...

The sudden death of a top fund manager in Shanghai – the latest in a string of similar cases – has raised alarm in China’s financial sector, as worries grow over the health risks posed by the industry’s intense work culture. Shen Xianbing, a founding partner of the private fund Qilin Investment, died on Monday at the age of 40, the company announced the same day, without explaining the cause of his death. The former University of Science and Technology of China graduate had served as a founding...

I pay far less attention to China’s growth numbers today. What matters more is where fiscal capacity is flowing. China has entered a phase where population ageing, security needs and industrial upgrading all draw on the same budget. This shift follows a structural adjustment in property. Income from land sales – once a pillar of local government finance – has fallen sharply and is unlikely to return. Balance sheets will have to be reset. The question is no longer how much stimulus Beijing can...

A social media warning to transnational scam networks by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ignited backlash from Cambodians accusing him of tarnishing their country’s image, prompting the post’s deletion amid diplomatic clarifications. On Friday, Lee shared a report by Korean outlet OhMyNews stating that Chinese organised crime groups in Cambodia were shunning Korean recruits for fear of Seoul’s police raids, as reported by the Khmer Times and The Korea Herald. “If you dare to mess with...

Data leakage cases recorded by Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog increased 21 per cent last year, with hacking being the primary cause. But the number of doxxing cases has dropped significantly since legislation criminalising the act was passed in 2021, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Ada Chung Lai-ling said on Tuesday. Chung’s office received 246 data breach notices in 2025, a 21 per cent increase from 203 cases in the year before. Hacking was the main cause of data leaks, accounting for 81...

Uber Technologies is rolling out its ride-hailing service in the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, expanding into a new Asian market for the first time in years. Riders from Tuesday would be able to book and pay for taxis in the city using multiple languages, the US-based company said in a statement. It would also offer a limousine service between Macau and neighbouring Hong Kong, though trips had to be booked 24 hours in advance, it said. The move marks Uber’s first new entry to an Asian market...

The US defence secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, Jim Mattis, repeatedly warned that China would revert to a Ming dynasty-style model, projecting its strong military, technological and economic influence globally. At the time, his views were widely questioned by mainstream academics as too aggressive. A decade ago, China still lagged far behind the United States. But Mattis underestimated China’s ambitions. On January 29, China announced the official launch of a national space...

The sultan of Pahang in Malaysia has urged the public to view royal pardons with “calmness of emotion” and not as “a political gift”, in what analysts describe as a pointed reminder that clemency is a constitutional process, amid a furore over a decree supposedly extended to ex-prime minister Najib Razak. According to Najib, the supplementary royal decree, or “addendum”, would allow him to serve his reduced prison sentence at home, after the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed his bid to enforce a...

In a move to bolster the stability of the property market, Shanghai unveiled a plan to buy second-hand homes for use as public rental housing, with the move timed to coincide with the opening of the city’s annual “two sessions” meetings. With the official launch of a pilot programme on Monday, the city aims to meet rental demand from young residents including college students and new urban arrivals. The initiative will roll out first in the downtown districts of Pudong, Jing’an and Xuhui. Backed...

US President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration would seek US$1 billion in damages from Harvard University after a New York Times report said the college had won some concessions in ongoing settlement negotiations with the government. “We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump officials have accused Harvard and other colleges of promoting so-called...