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9 missing in California avalanche as whiteout...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

A frantic search was under way on Wednesday for nine backcountry skiers missing after an avalanche in the mountains of California, where a huge storm has dumped heavy snow. Officials said a group of 15 people were caught up in the avalanche on Castle Peak in the Tahoe area late on Tuesday morning. Six skiers had been rescued “with varying injuries” on Tuesday evening, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said, though mountain rescue teams battling treacherous conditions were still trying to

China’s biotech boom sends price of lab monkeys for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

A surge in drug research in China has driven the cost of a laboratory monkey to about 140,000 yuan (US$20,260), a sum that exceeds the country’s average annual wage. Official government procurement records showed that prices had doubled in the last five years for such monkeys, which are widely used in the preclinical stage to check whether a drug is safe and how it is absorbed, broken down and cleared by the body. Analysts said the soaring cost was underpinned by a flood of drug-licensing

South Korea signals cautious support for Trump’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

South Korea will take part as an observer in the inaugural meeting of the US-led “Board of Peace”, dispatching a former envoy to Thursday’s session in Washington, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Kim Yong-hyun, former ambassador to Egypt, will attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace scheduled for February 19, as the South Korean representative,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. A ministry official said that South Korea would attend as a non-member

Hong Kong households hit by water disruptions during...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

Thousands of households in Hong Kong had their Lunar New Year celebrations interrupted when their estates were hit by water disruptions, with further repair work in Sau Mau Ping set for Wednesday evening. A freshwater pipe serving the lower levels of Hei Wah House at Lok Wah South Estate in Sau Mau Ping burst at 8pm on Tuesday, disrupting the water supply for 216 households, according to the Housing Authority. The affected homes were on the second to seventh floors of the building. A clip...

Chinese tourist arrivals to Japan plunge 41% in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

The decline in the number of Chinese visitors to Japan accelerated in January, fuelling the first monthly drop since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, offering the clearest sign yet of economic fallout from tensions between the countries. Arrivals from China shrank 61 per cent in January from a year earlier, compared with a 45 per cent decline in December, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said on Wednesday, citing a shift in the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday and warnings...

Indian university’s Chinese robot dog claim at AI...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

An Indian professor has falsely suggested a Chinese-made robot dog displayed at a major AI summit was developed by her university, prompting backlash in a situation politicians derided as “embarrassing” on Wednesday. The silver mechanical dog, a model sold by Chinese start-up Unitree, appeared at a booth run by the private Galgotias University at this week’s AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Following online uproar over the professor’s claim in a televised interview, Galgotias said that while it...

Hong Kong marks start of Lunar New Year with surge of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

Hong Kong welcomed 10 per cent more visitors on the first day of Lunar New Year against a year ago, with crowds continuing to flock to hiking trails and tourists packing border crossing checkpoints. The latest Immigration Department data showed that 153,383 visitors arrived in the city on Tuesday, representing a 10.4 per cent increase compared with the first day of Lunar New Year last year. Of these, more than 120,000 came from mainland China. Inbound trips over the first two days of Lunar

Japan to join US-Philippines military drills for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

Japan plans to deploy 300 elite ground soldiers to the Philippines for this year’s Salaknib military exercise, marking the first time the bilateral US-Philippine drills will include troops from additional partners. Officials and analysts say the move signals an operational shift away from simple bilateral engagements towards tight-knit “minilateral” security coordination among US allies, with a growing focus on remote island defence and contingencies in the Taiwan Strait and the South China...

China seniors pursue overseas education after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

As retired people in China pursue the dream of studying overseas, the country’s education system is facing the challenge of catering for the demands of an ageing population. Qiu Lianru, 66, became a student of a short-term programme at the Arts University Bournemouth in England last year. Rejecting a traditional restful retirement, Qiu studies fashion design, printmaking, jewellery making and photography and stays in a student dormitory. She says it provides her with inner fulfilment. “I

White cars, cheaper insurance: how AI is changing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

Owning a white vehicle in China may mean lower car insurance premiums because it is less likely to get in an accident, according to an executive from SunCar Technology Group, which uses artificial intelligence from ByteDance to personalise services. “This is what we found based on our massive data,” said SunCar chief strategy officer Breaux Walker in an interview with the South China Morning Post. Other factors also affect premiums, including car usage, commuting routes and driving habits....

CATL’s battery game changer, Tesla’s AI training...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China becomes Brazil’s biggest vehicle exporter in January, surpassing Argentina China surpassed Argentina in January to become Brazil’s largest exporter of vehicles, solidifying Chinese brands’ dominance in the region’s biggest car market and undercutting a long-standing Argentine...

Chinese missions in Vietnam and Singapore warn...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

Two Chinese diplomatic missions in Southeast Asia have issued warnings urging citizens to stay away from gambling following two deaths allegedly linked to financial losses. The Chinese consulate in Da Nang, Vietnam said in a statement on Monday that cross-border gambling was a criminal offence in China and citizens found to be involved would be “held legally accountable in accordance with the law”. It also warned that consular protection could not be provided to a Chinese citizen under threat...

First-ever Antarctic sleeper shark footage reveals a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

An ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun’s rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight. Many experts had thought sharks did not exist in the frigid waters of Antarctica before this sleeper shark lumbered warily and briefly into the spotlight of a video camera, researcher Alan Jamieson said this week. The shark, filmed in January 2025, was a substantial specimen with an estimated length of between three and four metres (10 and 13 feet). “We...

Man, 92, dies after apparently choking on glutinous...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

A 92-year-old man has died after apparently choking on glutinous rice balls in Hong Kong, according to sources. Police received a call for help from the man’s family on Wednesday at around 9am, saying the victim had collapsed and lost consciousness while eating. The man, surnamed Sung, was believed to have been eating glutinous rice balls, according to sources. The incident happened at the man’s residence in Sau Wah House at Sau Mau Ping Estate in Kowloon. Officers arrived at the scene and

‘Sentiment is bleak’: bitcoin declines as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

Bitcoin extended a four-week slide as investors returned to a more cautious macro backdrop. The token dropped as much as 3.2 per cent to US$66,604 on Tuesday, before paring the decline. Bitcoin, which has traded like a high-beta tech proxy in recent months, mirrored an earlier move lower in US equities, but failed to keep pace when stocks edged higher. “Sentiment is clearly bleak in crypto markets,” said Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto is Macro Now newsletter. “There is strong progress

China and South Korea find a new shared bond: their...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

China and South Korea have had a turbulent relationship over the past few years as they compete across a range of hi-tech industries. But the two countries now appear to be bonding over a shared challenge: their rapidly ageing societies. The issue has featured on the agenda of several meetings between President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in recent months, with the leaders pledging to work together to deal with the economic changes being wrought by their nations’ low...

Iran tempts Trump with ‘trillion-dollar’ nuclear deal...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

After US and Iranian negotiators agreed on Tuesday to a set of “guiding principles” at their nuclear talks in Geneva mediated by Oman, Tehran went further – framing any eventual deal as a commercial proposition, not just a security arrangement. Iran is pitching access to its vast energy and mineral reserves as what it has called a “trillion-dollar opportunity” for American firms. In doing so, analysts say Tehran is speaking the language of a US president known for his deal-making...

Germany’s Merz chides standing ovation for Rubio at...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed irritation over the standing ovation for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference. “I wasn’t in the hall and even if I had been, I would have found it difficult to stand up,” Merz said on the political podcast Machtwechsel (“change of power”), which is due to be released on Wednesday. Rubio’s speech had not been as confrontational as the one delivered by US Vice-President J.D. Vance at last year’s conference, Merz said,

Hundreds evacuated after cooking mishap sparks false...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

Hundreds of residents at a Hong Kong public housing estate were evacuated in the early hours of the second day of Lunar New Year over a suspected fire, only to discover that white smoke billowing from a flat had come from a cooking mishap. The Fire Services Department received a fire alarm report at about 2.30am on Wednesday concerning Kin Wah House at Kin Ming Estate in Tiu Keng Leng. Some residents took to social media to report the incident. “Where is the fire? I’m ready to grab my two

Budweiser and Heineken face polar opposite fates in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/18

The world’s two largest brewers faced starkly diverging realities in China in 2025 and rather than it being about taste or popularity, the contrast appears to largely boil down to a shift in the nation’s drinking habits, sparked – in part – by the economic downturn. During the year, Budweiser Brewing APAC, the Asian subsidiary of the Belgian beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, posted its biggest decline in profit growth since 2020, with the company’s CEO Yanjun Chen stating last week, “Our...

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