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US-backed peace plan for Ukraine drew from Russian...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

The US-backed 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, which became public last week, drew from a Russian-authored paper submitted to the Trump administration in October, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The Russians shared the paper, which outlined Moscow’s conditions for ending the war, with senior US officials in mid-October, following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, the sources said. The paper,

Malaysian PM’s war on corruption hits snag as top...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s war on corruption has suffered a setback after a senior aide resigned over graft claims, sparking a fresh crisis for the country’s leader, who is already facing accusations of power abuse that threaten to split his ruling party. Anti-corruption authorities have previously launched a high-profile crackdown against two-time former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, his family and close associates – all once seen as untouchables – as part of Anwar’s pledge

Is the US preparing to invade Venezuela, or...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

On the face of it, the United States appears closer than ever to mounting a military campaign to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela. US President Donald Trump says he has authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside the Caribbean nation, and has massed troops, fighter jets and warships just off its coastline. US service members in the region have been barred from taking Thanksgiving leave. Airlines have cancelled flights to Venezuela after the Federal Aviation...

Italian eatery owner slammed for insulting 16 Taiwan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

A pizzeria owner in Italy has found himself in hot water after releasing a video in which he verbally abused 16 tourists from Taiwan for simply ordering five pizzas to share. The clip provoked such immense backlash that he swiftly deleted it and posted another video to apologise, as reported by Taiwan EBC News. The pizza establishment, located in Montecatini Terme – a town in Tuscany, known for its hot springs – was the setting for this incident. In early November, a group of 16 Taiwanese...

Hong Kong to offer discounts, free pools and museums...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Hong Kong authorities will roll out a range of freebies and promotions for residents over the weekend of the coming Legislative Council election, including complimentary access to swimming pools and museums, as part of efforts to boost voter turnout. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki announced on Wednesday that voters would also get thank-you cards after casting their ballots. The city’s No 2 official said that the government would offer free access to public facilities, as well as gifts or...

Momentum builds: ‘bigger’ Hong Kong property rebound...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices rose to a 14-month high in October, while rents set a new record, according to official data, raising the likelihood of a more significant property rebound in 2026, analysts said. Secondary home prices rose 0.4 per cent month on month, while rents breached the previous peak set more than six years ago, data from the Rating and Valuation Department released on Wednesday showed. The official home price index now stands at 294.3, the highest since the 297.6 in

China sets strongest yuan fix in over a year as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

China’s central bank has set the yuan’s daily reference rate against the US dollar at the strongest level in more than a year, with analysts expecting room for appreciation should a December rate cut by the US Federal Reserve weaken the dollar. The People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s midpoint rate, also known as the daily fixing rate, at 7.0796 to the US dollar on Wednesday – the strongest showing since October 2024. The decision followed a 0.34 per cent rally in the offshore yuan on

Revolut plans set-up in Hong Kong as Paul Chan touts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

One of Europe’s most prominent fintech companies, UK-based digital bank Revolut, plans to set up operations in Hong Kong, the Post has learned, after executives met with the city’s financial chief in London. The news emerged on Tuesday as Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po commenced his visit to the British capital, where he also met representatives from family offices across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Chan on Tuesday also attended a dinner hosted by Hong Kong’s Trade Development...

Journalist investigating Malaysia’s football forgery...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

A Malaysian journalist investigating a high-profile football document-forgery scandal was assaulted by three men in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday in an attack that has raised fresh alarm over media intimidation in the country. Haresh Deol, co-founder and editor of independent news site Twentytwo13, was attacked at about 3.30pm in Bangsar, a busy commercial district south of central Kuala Lumpur, shortly after leaving a meeting. As he walked towards his car, two men confronted him while a third

Amid global fusion energy race, Europe’s top nuclear...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Current geopolitics might suggest that Western scientists have been in general alignment with the United States in the global race for fusion energy – but some of Europe’s top nuclear physicists are placing their bets on China. Scepticism over US fusion goals and chronic delays at the 33-nation International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in France have created an opening for a new leader in the field, and China appears poised to fill it. Targeted for completion in 2027,

‘It was madness’: Singapore tourist survives Thai...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

What began as a self-drive holiday to Thailand turned into a harrowing ordeal for 74-year-old Singaporean Ronnie Toh. For the trip had coincided with some of the worst flooding to hit the country’s south in years, with days of heavy rain inundating major roads, cutting power to neighbourhoods and disrupting water supply. As the rain intensified and water levels rose in the city of Hat Yai, one of the declared disaster zones, Ronnie got separated from his family and became uncontactable. It...

China’s private defence companies see opportunities...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Escalating global conflicts could create opportunities for China’s private defence companies as customers, both at home and abroad, seek affordable and reliable military equipment, according to industry insiders. “The international landscape is highly favourable for our private enterprises’ participation in the defence industry,” said Li Yi, a researcher with Beihang University’s Shenzhen Research Institute. Li made the comments on Monday at a military exhibition in the southern city of...

‘Doing a great job’: Trump denies considering ouster...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

US President Donald Trump has denied a report that he was considering removing FBI Director Kash Patel amid a string of controversies. “No, he’s doing a great job, I think,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday aboard Air Force One. MS NOW reported earlier Tuesday that Trump was considering replacing Patel with FBI co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey, as concerns swirled over the director’s social media posts during high-profile investigations and the use of a government jet to visit his...

Volkswagen revs up designed-in-China approach to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Volkswagen Group has ramped up its “all in” strategy for China, banking on local development capabilities and a new electric vehicle (EV) architecture to fight back against domestic rivals and regain its leading position in the world’s largest vehicle market. The German carmaker’s China operations are now able to design and validate new models without going through approvals from headquarters, reducing development time and costs to respond quickly to local needs. On Tuesday, the company...

New Hong Kong bypass to open on December 21, cut Kai...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Hong Kong’s leader has announced that the Yau Ma Tei section of the 4.7km Central Kowloon Bypass will open on December 21, cutting commute time between West Kowloon and Kai Tak from 30 minutes to just five. The 3.9km tunnel section is part of a larger route that connects Kowloon East in Tseung Kwan O with Kowloon West in Yau Ma Tei, which will significantly reduce travelling time from 65 minutes to 12 during peak hours. “On December 21, the Yau Ma Tei section of our new Central Kowloon Bypass...

Simulation hypothesis is really a proof for the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Well, thank God we don’t live in a computer simulation after all. At least that’s according to a new paper by University of British Columbia physicist Mir Faizal and his team of international researchers, including cosmologist and science writer Lawrence Krauss. Or rather, there is no God to thank because if our universe is not a computer simulation, there is no supreme programmer in the first place. The team targets an influential simulation argument proposed by Swedish philosopher Nick...

‘Don’t sell loneliness’: Korean eatery refuses to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

A restaurant in South Korea has caused controversy by refusing to serve solo diners as the country experiences an increase in the number of people staying single. A sign outside the noodle restaurant in Yeosu City, South Jeolla Province in the south of South Korea, went viral on social media after an internet user who visited the eatery posted it online on November 17, according to a report by the Korea Times. The notice said the restaurant provides four “options” for customers eating alone:

‘Out of ICU’: Hong Kong’s quarterly real estate deals...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Investment in Hong Kong’s commercial property more than tripled in the third quarter from a year earlier, making it the second-fastest growing market in the Asia-Pacific region amid rising confidence in the city’s bruised real estate sector, according to MSCI. Some US$4.9 billion was pumped into offices, data centres, retail spaces, hotels and senior housing in the September quarter, a year-on-year increase of 231 per cent, according to the data services provider, which compiled deals worth

UK education, income rules likely to hit Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

Nearly one-third of Hongkongers planning to settle in the UK under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme are retirees, homemakers or students, groups likely to be affected by a proposed income threshold for immigrants, a survey has shown. It also found that 16 per cent of BN(O) visa holders who had only completed secondary school might struggle to meet the tougher English-language requirement, according to a survey by the London-based Sutton Hongkongers group. The survey interviewed 690...

Japanese mayor resigns over repeated hotel visits...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/26

The mayor of Maebashi, the capital city of Gunma prefecture in eastern Japan, on Tuesday tendered her resignation after her repeated hotel visits with a senior city official, assembly members said. Akira Ogawa had long rejected calls from city assembly members to resign, saying that she did not have an affair with the official, who is married. But she made an about-face on Tuesday, submitting a letter of resignation, effective Thursday, to the chairperson of the city assembly, according to

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