PODCAST

News - South China Morning Post

All the latest breaking news from Hong Kong, China and around the world

All Episodes

Can German stealth cargo gliders boost Japan’s remote...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

A German defence company has successfully tested an uncrewed cargo glider designed to support frontline military units, a technology that Tokyo is also exploring as it looks to bolster its capabilities in islands to the far southwest of the Japanese archipelago. Munich-based Hensoldt said on February 5 that it had marked a milestone in the development of its High-Altitude Drop Infiltrating System, or HADIS, after releasing a scale version of the uncrewed vehicle from a transport aircraft

Share where risky oysters are from, authorities urged...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

Some Hong Kong restaurant operators have urged authorities to clearly tell the public about the origins of problematic raw oysters following a spate of food poisoning cases, so that diners can make informed decisions in the lead-up to Lunar New Year, their peak business season. Consumers are becoming increasingly wary about oysters, with some restaurants saying demand has plunged amid calls from health officials for diners to avoid consuming them raw as the number of norovirus-related food...

3 dead as US launches new strike on suspected drug...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

The US military said on Friday it killed three alleged drug traffickers in a strike on a boat in the Caribbean. The attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats to 133 people in at least 38 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. “Three narcoterrorists were killed during this action. No US military forces were harmed,” US Southern Command said in a statement on social media. A video linked to the

Can Pop Mart turn viral hits into lasting icons?...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

Around a decade ago, aboard a train winding through China’s landscape, Wang Ning, the founder and chairman of Beijing-founded international art toy brand Pop Mart, shared with designer Kenny Wong Shun-ming the story of his early attempts at entrepreneurship. As a fresh graduate, Wang struggled to sell affordable men’s suits sourced from Yiwu in Zhejiang province, eastern China, experimenting with small-scale arbitrage and learning first-hand how difficult it was to connect products with...

Thailand launches wild elephant birth control to stop...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

Thailand has begun using a birth control vaccine on elephants in the wild to try and curb a growing problem where human and animal populations encroach on each other – an issue in areas where farms spread into forests and elephants are squeezed out of their natural habitat. The initiative is part of efforts to address confrontations that can turn deadly. As farmers cut down forests to make more farmland, elephants are forced to venture out of their shrinking habitats in search of food. Last...

Western media criticism of the Jimmy Lai case verdict...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

There is this old British chestnut that says justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done. Justice has been amply served in the 20-year sentence handed down to former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, but it has not been seen to be done in many quarters, especially in the West. There is the reality of justice and the appearance of it, and the two don’t always or even usually coincide. There are two main reasons behind the widespread Western criticism of Lai’s case. One is that...

US paid US$35 million to deport 300 to remote...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

The Trump administration spent more than US$35 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to countries they had no connection to, doling out millions of dollars in lump sum transfers to foreign governments without a system to track how the money was used, according to a report released on Friday. The figures from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats average out to a cost of roughly US$116,666 per person deported. In Rwanda, which received seven deportees, the total cost reached about

Will allowing more Hong Kong schools to teach in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

Suri Chan Tin-wing, a first-year English major at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, found herself struggling to write her first creative short story – a 300-word assignment for the compulsory course “Introduction to Literature”. Throughout her secondary schooling at Yan Chai Hospital Law Chan Chor Si College in Kowloon Bay, only science subjects, such as maths and biology, were taught in English as the school adopted Chinese as the medium of instruction (CMI). Chan, 19, felt that she

Chinese mother prepares ‘thunder breakfast’ for son,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

A mother from eastern China who faced online criticism for making simple breakfasts has turned heads and gone viral with her bizarre breakfast creations. Clothing shop owner Zhang Liping from Zhejiang province lives with her husband and their 16-year-old son. Last December, Zhang casually posted videos on social media of her son’s breakfasts, including several pieces of dry bread, rice crackers and a cup of hot water. Netizens quickly pointed out the lack of nutrition this provided, with one...

Philippine efforts to unseat Duterte-Carpio face...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is facing three new impeachment complaints, setting the stage for renewed scrutiny aimed at preventing her from becoming the country’s next leader. But unseating her and barring her from politics will not be easy. The complaints are awaiting action from the House of Representatives, dominated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s allies, which resumes sessions next week. The accusations range from misuse of public funds to an assassination threat...

Philippines’ AI reckoning puts 13 million jobs on the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/14

Renso Bajala didn’t expect a machine to help decide whether he kept his job. In 2024, the 22-year-old Makati City native was on probation in a customer relations role for a US credit card company when he learned that becoming a regular employee would involve impressing a new gatekeeper: artificial intelligence. The AI analysed his tone, delivery and keyword usage, scoring each interaction for sentiment and customer experience. No one had mentioned it during training. “I was a new hire, and...

Trump says change of power in Iran would be ‘best...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen”, as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure on the Islamic republic.Trump’s comments were his most overt call yet for the toppling of Iran’s clerical establishment, and came as he pushes on Washington’s arch-foe Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear programme. At the same time, the exiled son of the Iranian shah toppled in

Hollywood shaken by Brad Pitt-Tom Cruise fight video...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

A viral AI-generated video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting atop a building is causing a stir online. The 15-second video comes from the latest AI video-generation platform, Seedance 2.0. The platform was launched this week by its owner, ByteDance, the same Chinese parent that oversees TikTok. As the video circulates online, the Motion Picture Association and other industry stakeholders have called out the video for its unauthorised use of copyrighted works. MPA’s CEO, Charles Rivkin,

Japanese paper-cutting art inspires flexible brain...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Chinese scientists have developed microelectrodes that can flex and move with the brain, potentially paving the way for more advanced and adaptable brain-computer interfaces, according to a study published by the peer-reviewed Nature Electronics. The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the design of the neuronal activity recorders was inspired by the Japanese art of kirigami, with its intricate 3D designs achieved by cutting and folding paper. The scientists said their

Takaichi’s anti-China stance won’t bolster Japan’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide electoral victory on Sunday signals a troubling shift: Japan’s unsettling turn to the right. In a post-US-led world order, safeguarding Japan’s security will require reaffirming, not abandoning, its post-war pacifist constitution. At the recent World Economic Forum annual meeting at Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a telling admission about the US-led international rules-based order: it was never truly fair. Canada benefited

Farewell to the ‘unipolar moment’: Europe scrambles...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

On the margins of a glitzy security event in Bavaria, the foreign ministers of France and Germany revived a dormant diplomatic format with China, in what was described as part of a larger effort to prevent the world’s superpowers from picking Europe apart. France’s Jean-Noel Barrot and Germany’s Johann Wadephul hosted China’s Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, reviving a configuration not seen since the days of French President Emmanuel Macron’s first term. “If we do not stick

Trump hails US ‘discombobulator’ weapon as he meets...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

President Donald Trump boasted on Friday about a secret US “discombobulator” weapon that can block Russian and Chinese defence systems, as he met the elite troops who captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump’s comments at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina marked the first time he has talked about the mysterious device at a public event, after previously letting some details slip in interviews. “They even talk about the discombobulator, because they never got a shot off,”...

Brazil breaks up China-linked US$190m...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Brazilian prosecutors and police launched an extensive crackdown on a Chinese electronics distribution network accused of laundering more than one billion reais (US$190 million) over seven months through a system allegedly related to one of Latin America’s most powerful crime syndicates. The Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, syndicate allegedly sold imported consumer electronics throughout Brazil via a Chinese e-commerce platform called “Knup Brasil”, including mobile phone chargers,...

Trump administration sues Harvard, accusing it of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

⁠The Trump administration sued ⁠Harvard University on Friday, accusing it ⁠of failing to comply with a federal investigation and seeking documents to determine whether the university had illegally considered race in its admissions process. The move comes less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump said ‌his administration was seeking $1 billion from Harvard to settle probes into school policies, after a news report that said Trump had dropped his demand for a payment from the Ivy

US allows oil majors to resume Venezuela operations

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

The US eased sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector on Friday, issuing two general licences that allow global energy companies to operate oil and gas projects in the Opec member and for other companies to negotiate contracts to bring in fresh ‌investments.The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general licence allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Those companies still have offices in the country and stakes in...

21,615 results