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Hongkongers snap up fire safety equipment as Tai Po...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Hong Kong residents and businesses have been rushing to snap up safety equipment following the city’s worst fire in decades, which killed 128 and injured 79. The blaze broke out on Wednesday in seven of eight residential buildings of Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district, with the blaze largely put out by Friday. The fire spread rapidly across the buildings, which were covered with scaffolding mesh and windows covered with polystyrene foam boards. Vendors of fire equipment

Hong Kong developers Emperor and Lai Sun find relief...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Emperor International Holdings has secured bank approval to resume borrowing under existing terms by nearly two years, providing the embattled Hong Kong developer with much-needed breathing room after it failed to meet HK$16.6 billion (US$2.13 billion) in debt obligations in July. Meanwhile, shares of Lai Sun Development (LSD) resumed trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday, after the firm said it was negotiating a potential asset sale alongside its parent company, Lai Sun Garment...

Singapore names Gavin Lee permanent head football...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Gavin Lee was on Friday named as permanent head coach of the Singapore men’s national football team.The 35-year-old was officially unveiled at a press conference at Jalan Besar Stadium. He is the Lions’ first Singaporean permanent head coach since V Sundramoorthy was appointed in 2016. Earlier on Thursday, reports said that Lee had been offered the full-time role and was expected to put pen to paper. This move comes hot on the heels of Lee leading the Singapore men’s national football team to

China EV profit woes fuel market anxiety over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Investors in Chinese electric vehicle (EV) stocks, who had been hoping for a strong earnings season to provide fresh tailwinds, instead face disappointing results that have stoked anxiety about what lies ahead. The sector was riding high – with Xpeng’s year-to-date gain exceeding 130 per cent earlier this month – buoyed by a surge in global risk appetite and an improved outlook for Chinese assets. But signs of pressure at even established firms like BYD have raised new questions over the...

‘Kill North Koreans’: posters urging South Koreans to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

An advertisement offering lucrative pay and citizenship to South Koreans willing to join Ukraine’s army has been rejected by Kyiv as a “Russian hoax”, even as Seoul confirmed for the first time the death of a citizen who fought against Moscow in the long-running war. The conflict-stricken nation’s response came after photographs of posters plastered on a lamp post in Seongnam, South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, circulated online, detailing supposed enlistment benefits including high wages and...

Trump vows to freeze migration from ‘Third World...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration will “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries”, following an attack near the White House he attributed to Biden-era immigration vetting failures. Trump did not identify any countries by name or explain what he meant by third-world countries or “permanently pause”. He said the plan would include cases approved under former president Joe Biden’s administration. “I will permanently pause migration from all Third...

Malaysian police chief urges more caning in schools,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

A Malaysian police chief has called for the wider imposition of caning in schools, arguing that the “fear factor” among students has eroded at a time when violent incidents, including bullying-related deaths, are drawing alarm in the country. Selangor state police chief Shazeli Kahar said caning should be considered in a phased and “controlled” manner to prevent teacher abuse, and was needed to address what he described as a worrying rise in student-related crime across the state. His remarks...

Deadly boat accident cover-up reveals corruption in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

A local government official in northeast China has been accused of covering up a fishing boat accident and preventing the vessel’s owner from calling the police for help, and investigations sparked by the incident have exposed a series of corruption cases related to fishing industry safety. The accident took place on November 10. A boat registered in Yingkou, Liaoning province, capsized while crew members were fishing, causing 11 to fall into the water. Two were rescued and nine have been...

Self-made Chinese milk tea founder marries wealthy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

The upcoming wedding of the founder of a renowned milk tea company from a grass-roots background and the daughter of a wealthy family that owns a leading solar energy firm has captivated the Chinese public and is trending online. Zhang Junjie, the driving force behind the Chinese milk tea brand Chagee, and his bride Gao Haichun, whose parents are the founders of Trina Solar, will celebrate their nuptials at the Zhongwu Hotel in Changzhou, eastern Jiangsu province, on December 15, according to...

Thai flood victim bitten by deadly snake waits 32...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

A Thai mother bitten by a deadly snake endured a desperate 32-hour wait for rescue after being trapped by floods that have devastated southern Thailand for more than a week. The woman, stranded in her submerged Hat Yai home, turned to social media at 3am on Wednesday after 24 hours of excruciating pain. She and her boyfriend had spent the previous day calling at least 10 rescue agencies, but floodwaters kept emergency crews from reaching them, according to the Thai Examiner news site. Her

Hong Kong dollar bonds to continue surge after record...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Hong Kong dollar bond issuance is poised to expand, following a record run of offerings, as easing local interest rates attract more issuers while a global diversification trend persists, according to analysts. Total issuance in the city’s currency reached a record HK$331 billion (US$42.6 billion) so far this year, nearly 37 per cent higher than 2024’s full-year total of HK$242 billion. “The Hong Kong dollar bond market will continue to grow over the long term, supported by structural

Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy: what you need to know

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

We have put together seven stories on everything you need to know about Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Hong Kong families endure unimaginable loss as fire death toll rises Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has torn apart families as the death toll increased early Friday morning, with many heavy-hearted relatives continuing to search for missing loved ones. 2. ‘Hongkongers are capable’: deadliest fire in...

Bird flu could risk pandemic ‘worse than Covid’ if it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

The bird flu virus that has been spreading among wild birds, poultry and mammals could lead to a pandemic worse than Covid-19 if it mutates to transmit between humans, the head of France’s Institut Pasteur respiratory infections centre has said. The highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds in the past few years, disrupting food supplies and driving up prices, though human infections remain rare. “What we fear is the...

A new test for consent: reforming Hong Kong’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Hong Kong has seen a number of amendments to its criminal law in recent years aimed at strengthening the response to sexual crimes. Notable examples are the new offences in the Crimes Ordinance regarding voyeurism, upskirting and the publication of intimate images without consent. There has also been discussion, including in this column, regarding how the law can adapt to the new phenomenon of pornography generated by artificial intelligence and deepfakes. It is essential that the law,...

Beijing freezes Japan youth exchange programmes over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Beijing has frozen youth exchange programmes with Tokyo amid continuing fallout over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, a diplomatic source said, raising concern that the bilateral rift could affect generations to come. The Japanese side was told about the cancelled programmes in recent weeks after China launched retaliatory measures against Japan over Takaichi’s comments earlier this month, according to the diplomatic source. “Usually, November and December are the...

Indonesia blindsided by ruling against Nusantara’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Indonesia’s plan to build a new capital in East Kalimantan is facing renewed scrutiny after the Constitutional Court scrapped a regulation granting investors land rights of up to 190 years – a move welcomed by indigenous groups but seen by developers as a potential deterrent to investment. The decision underscores the mounting challenges facing the 466 trillion rupiah (US$28 billion) Nusantara project, which has attracted lukewarm investor interest since former president Joko Widodo launched

MAMA Awards in Hong Kong to be downsized, Mirror...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Asia’s largest K-pop award show, scheduled for Friday evening and Saturday at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium, will be downsized in light of the Tai Po fire, with boy band Mirror pulling out of the event. The group announced on Friday that they would not appear at the two-day 2025 MAMA Awards, following earlier rumours over the withdrawals of film stars Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-fat. Makerville, the 12-member group’s management company, made the announcement on Mirror’s Instagram account. The

Marcos’ sister says Philippines has leadership...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Senator Imee Marcos, the estranged sister of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, said there is a void in the nation’s leadership as politicians grapple with a growing corruption scandal and instead is backing his deputy as a potential replacement. “There is a vacuum at the top,” Imee Marcos said during an interview in her Manila office on Thursday. “And that’s a problem because all sorts of sinister and malignant forces have jumped in to fill that void.” Tensions between the siblings...

Building the future: China eyes smarter, more...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

With the world’s biggest high-speed rail network already established, China now plans a more balanced, integrated and intelligent transport system over the next five years, prioritising efficiency and smart technology over sheer scale. Beijing will move away from large-scale expansion to optimising new projects and upgrading existing assets, Minister of Transport Liu Wei said at a recent symposium on the 15th five-year plan attended by local transport officials, according to an official...

Peru ex-president Castillo sentenced to over 11 years...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/28

Peru’s Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced leftist ex-president Pedro Castillo to more than 11 years in jail for trying to dissolve Congress and rule by decree to avoid impeachment. Dubbed Peru’s first poor president, the former rural teacher, who had never held elected office before winning the presidency, was impeached by Congress and jailed following his attempted power grab in December 2022. He had repeatedly clashed with an opposition-dominated Congress during his 16 months in power,...

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