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Paramount poised to acquire Warner Bros after Netflix...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Paramount Skydance, run by pro-Trump technology heir David Ellison, was poised to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix said it would not raise its takeover offer, ending one of the biggest media bidding wars in a generation. The deal puts a constellation of media properties - from CNN to Nickelodeon to HBO - under the control of the family led by Oracle tycoon and White House ally Larry Ellison. Netflix said it was “declining to match” Paramount’s latest offer after the Warner...

Melania Trump to preside over UN Security Council...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

United States first lady Melania Trump is set to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York on Monday, the White House announced, marking the first time a spouse of a serving world leader has done so.“First lady Melania Trump is set to make history at the United Nations, taking the gavel as the United States assumes the Security Council Presidency to emphasise education’s role in advancing tolerance and world peace,” the White House said. The US assumes a monthly...

Singapore jails Malaysian who posed as policeman and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

A man who raped a foreign domestic worker in the bushes near a Singapore railway station after pretending to be a police officer was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday. Sharveen Chetty, a 48-year-old Malaysian, had pleaded guilty to one count of rape on the second day of his trial. A second rape charge and a charge of impersonating a police officer were taken into consideration. In sentencing, Justice Dedar Singh Gill said Chetty was aware that the victim was a...

Hong Kong’s 6.5% stamp duty will not stop luxury...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

The increase in stamp duty on ultra-luxury homes above HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) is unlikely to change buying behaviour, analysts said, as the structural forces underpinning demand from mainland Chinese buyers could outweigh the impact of the rise in transaction costs. The Hong Kong government, in the annual budget on Wednesday, increased the tax rate on residential transactions above HK$100 million to 6.5 per cent from 4.25 per cent amid a surge in demand for high-end property from...

US presses Syria to shift from Chinese telecoms...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with US interests and threatens US national security, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The message was conveyed during an unreported meeting between a US State Department team and Syrian Communications Minister Abdulsalam Haykal in San Francisco on Tuesday. Washington has been ‌coordinating closely with Damascus since 2024, when Syria’s now

Former US Air Force fighter pilot accused of secretly...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

A former fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, once entrusted with flying some of America’s most advanced combat aircraft, has been arrested for allegedly training pilots from China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) without authorisation, the US Department of Justice said. In a press release on Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that 65-year-old Gerald Eddie Brown Jr., also known by his call sign “Runner”, was taken into custody in Jeffersonville, Indiana,...

China shifts cadre-appraisal metrics away from pure...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

Ahead of China’s annual legislative meetings – typically a window into Beijing’s top-level policy agenda – this is the first entry in a series examining the complex economic recalibration driving China’s growth philosophy and its wide-ranging implications for local governments, financial investors and private enterprises. Beijing’s forceful campaign to instil a “correct” understanding of tenure performance among party cadres may signal Chinese leaders’ determination to downplay headline

Canada cannot replace US with China, Carney’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said China cannot serve as a substitute for the US, rebuking Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent outreach to the Asian superpower amid strained ties with the Trump administration. In a speech to business leaders on Thursday, Poilievre outlined his vision for the country’s relationship with the US and how his party would approach the trade war differently from the Carney government. “Canada’s prosperity and security are inseparable from a stable...

At 250, the US should promote its values in Asia, not...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

In his farewell address, then US president Ronald Reagan advocated for the United States to do “a better job of getting across that America is freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare”. The Trump administration should follow Reagan’s advice as it designs global celebrations for the country’s 250th anniversary. The US should showcase its founding principles of equality, pluralism, freedom of speech and religious liberty. It should...

New nuclear control agreement should include US,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

Washington will keep pushing China to join a trilateral nuclear control deal with the US and Russia, but can’t compel it to do so, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, citing “strategic stability” in China-US relations ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China in April, despite long-term “irritants”. “We think ultimately, in the 21st century, for there to be a true arms control agreement, it has to involve China,” Rubio said during a press conference at a meeting of the Caribbean...

UK government agrees framework on publishing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

Britain’s ⁠government has agreed a framework with the police on which documents relating to the late 2024 appointment of former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson ‌can be released, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said on Thursday. Mandelson, 72, was released from custody after the Metropolitan Police arrested him on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to ⁠Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein is at...

US and Iran wrap up indirect nuclear talks as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

Iran and the United States wrapped up another round of indirect talks in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme and potentially averting another war as the US gathers a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear programme and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home, with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Iran also hopes to avert

Trump’s US$400 million White House ballroom can move...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

A judge on Thursday ⁠declined to block US President Donald Trump from proceeding with the construction of a US$400 million White House ballroom to replace the demolished East Wing, finding that a challenge from preservationists did not meet the high bar for a preliminary injunction that would halt the project for now. US District Judge Richard Leon’s ruling came in a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation aiming to stop construction until the White House complies ‌with

New York police arrest man after officers were pelted...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

A 27-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after New York City police said officers were hurt when they were pelted with snow and ice during a massive snowball fight in Washington Square Park this week. The New York Police Department said in a brief social media post the man was arrested for “assaulting our officers”. A spokesperson for the department said it did not immediately have additional information, including what the man was charged with. Information on whether the man had a lawyer

Hillary Clinton calls for Trump to testify as she...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

A Republican-led panel grilled Hillary Clinton on Thursday over her links to Jeffrey Epstein but she called for Donald Trump to testify about the president’s own connections to the convicted sex offender. Clinton told the congressional committee she had no information about Epstein’s crimes, did not recall encountering him and had never visited his island or flown on his plane, accusing the panel of trying to “protect one public official” – Trump. “You have compelled me to testify, fully

Jersey votes to approve assisted dying as a similar...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

A second British island voted on Thursday to approve assisted dying, as a similar bill that would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives is bogged down in the British parliament. The bill, which requires the formality of approval by King Charles, would allow terminally ill residents who have lived in Jersey for more than a year and are expected to have less than six months to live – or less than 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease – to end...

Huawei targets global comeback with Mate 80 Pro...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

Huawei Technologies is aiming for a major international comeback, with the overseas release of its latest flagship smartphone, the Mate 80 Pro, alongside a new smartwatch and the addition of a “wheelchair mode” to its wearable devices. Powered by the company’s self-designed, China-made Kirin 9030 Pro processor, the overseas version of its Mate 80 Pro handsets will run on the Android-based EMUI 15 operating system, Huawei announced at a launch event in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday. While the...

Hong Kong ignites next wave of global innovation as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Hong Kong’s trade promotion body has opened applications for the 2026 edition of its Start-up Express programme, as efforts are stepped up to help local tech ventures break into overseas markets and secure commercial partnerships. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Start-up Express is positioned as a curated development scheme for early-stage companies offering innovative and tech-driven...

China’s rare earth curbs hit US aerospace, chips hard...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

Suppliers to US aerospace and semiconductor ⁠firms face worsening rare earth shortages, with two turning away some clients, industry insiders said, weeks before US President Donald Trump is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a summit in Beijing. The shortages centre on rare earths such as yttrium and scandium, niche members of the family of 17 elements, which play tiny but vital roles in defence technology, aerospace and semiconductors and are almost entirely produced in...

Hong Kong doctor, clinic operator held over illegal...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/26

A Hong Kong doctor and a clinic operator were arrested on Thursday in a joint operation by police and health authorities on a Causeway Bay medical facility suspected of performing high-risk hair transplant procedures without a valid licence. Authorities raided the clinic located in the Cameron Commercial Centre on Hennessy Road after receiving a tip-off that it was offering Regenera Activa (RGA) – an autologous cell transplant treatment for hair loss – despite not having the required day...

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