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Hong Kong councillor warned over parking offence as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

A Hong Kong district councillor who illegally parked his car and blocked access to a fire exit lane has been “sternly reminded” to watch his conduct, a minister has said, following a similar offence by a colleague within a week. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen revealed on Friday that the Kwai Tsing district officer had already “sternly reminded” Poon Chi-shing in writing to act in accordance with the public’s expectations. “The government attaches great importance to

Prince Jewellery director sells upscale Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

A director of Hong Kong-based Prince Jewellery and Watch has sold a flat in Kowloon and upgraded to a two-storey unit in the same neighbourhood, with an analyst saying that wealthy homeowners are taking advantage of improving sentiment to swap their dwellings. Tang Yick-ki, a director at Prince Jewellery and Sky Regal Properties, completed both deals in just over a month. Tang also serves as a director in many other companies including Just Gold, Peonia Diamond and Peonia Holdings, according

Mother in France charged after 2 babies found dead in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

The mother of two infants found dead in a freezer in eastern France has been charged and placed in pre-trial detention, a prosecutor said on Friday. The case is the latest suspected instance of infanticide to emerge in France in recent years. Prosecutor Cedric Logelin said the 50-year-old woman was charged late on Thursday, a day after she was arrested in the western Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and admitted to freezing her newborns. No one else has been charged, he added. The grim...

Henderson Land’s Martin Lee sues actress Chrissie...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Martin Lee Ka-shing, chairman of Hong Kong’s Henderson Land Development, has taken an actress to court over allegedly defamatory remarks that suggested they had an illicit relationship, while also seeking damages from US tech giant Google and five YouTube channels for failing to remove “false” content. The 54-year-old business mogul on Friday sued Chrissie Chau Sau-na in the High Court for allegedly spreading baseless and malicious rumours about their “relationship” for personal fame. “Over

Hong Kong diners bid farewell to 80-year-old Honolulu...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Dozens of diners flocked to an 80-year-old cha chaan teng in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai to get a last taste of its famous egg tarts and milk tea before the restaurant shuts its doors next month. Honolulu Coffee Shop was packed during lunch hour on Friday, with long, snaking queues of patrons waiting outside along Hennessy Road. The Hong Kong-style restaurant announced on Thursday that it would close its long-standing Wan Chai branch on March 1 “after careful consideration”. It is the latest in a

How did a prized red gemstone reach the ancient,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

In the highest-ranking sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui, 11 crimson beads remained undisturbed for 3,000 years among bronze vessels, ivory tusks and fragments of gold. They are carnelian – a red gemstone prized across the ancient world, from the Indus Valley to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. In China, however, carnelian was not commonly found in elite burials until the late Western Zhou dynasty (c1046-771BC), with red tones traditionally represented by other minerals, such as ochre and...

Chinese University of Hong Kong ‘expels’ student held...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

A Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) student who was arrested for sedition after launching a petition calling for an independent committee to investigate the Tai Po fire has said he has been expelled from the institution.“I was just expelled by CUHK,” Miles Kwan Ching-fung wrote on social media at midnight on Friday, ending his post with a thumbs-up emoji. He said he had been suspended twice and had studied only intermittently over the past six years. Kwan uploaded a screenshot that

China woman, 30, earning US$140,000 a month running...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

A 30-year-old Chinese woman earning over 1 million yuan (US$140,000) per month has publicly announced her retirement plans to travel to Iceland, igniting widespread envy among younger generations online. Deng Yiran, a geophysics graduate from Nanjing University in Jiangsu province, southeastern China, has garnered considerable attention following her announcement to retire at such a young age. As of this month, Deng collaborates with several companies across China, including those in Beijing,...

How India’s US$40 billion order for French Rafales...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

India’s approval for a 3.6 trillion rupee (US$40 billion) purchase of defence equipment on Thursday – including 114 Rafale French fighter jets – will significantly boost the capabilities of the country’s armed forces amid heightened tensions with Pakistan, analysts say. The decision comes at a time when the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fighter squadron strength has shrunk to 29, well below the 42 considered essential in the event of a simultaneous war with Pakistan and China. French President...

Beijing warns carmakers: stop killing your...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

China has banned carmakers from selling new vehicles for less than it costs to make them, including through discounts and subsidies, as regulators continue trying to smother a persistent price war that has sent hopes of profitability up in smoke for most producers. In “pricing guidance” released on Thursday, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) listed a series of tactics that would result in below-cost pricing for new vehicles, warning that carmakers using any of them would

Hua Hong says memory shortage ‘positive’ for pricing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Chinese foundry Hua Hong Semiconductor said the global memory shortage was an opportunity to raise prices on its logic chips, as it reported record revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025. On its earnings call on Thursday, Hua Hong chairman and president Bai Peng said the memory supercycle was “a positive thing” as it gave the company room to raise prices on logic chips. “Memory certainly is in high demand nowadays, and that will reduce the supply on the logic side,” Bai said, adding that “if

Hong Kong to soon unveil rehousing plans for Wang Fuk...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Hong Kong authorities will announce long-term rehousing plans “shortly” for residents displaced by the deadly Tai Po fire, after settling differences in individual preferences and resolving uncertainties over insurance and legal issues, the city’s leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made the pledge on Friday while visiting some of the affected residents temporarily staying in a youth hostel in Kai Tak and revealed that he had instructed all ministers to conduct community visits...

US is sending second aircraft carrier to the Middle...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

The United States will send the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back up another already there, a person familiar with the plans said on Friday, putting more American firepower behind US President Donald Trump’s efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its nuclear programme. The USS Gerald R. Ford’s planned deployment to the Middle East comes after Trump only days earlier suggested another round of talks with the Iranians was at hand. Those negotiations did not

Chinese scientists find path for long-distance...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Chinese researchers say they have found a viable pathway to building long-distance quantum communication networks. In a study published this week in Nature, a team from Peking University said it had developed a prototype networking capacity that could communicate over distances of more than 3,700km (2,300 miles). Quantum key distribution (QKD) is regarded as the gold standard for secure communication – any attempt at eavesdropping inevitably leaves detectable traces, regardless of distance or...

North Korea threatens dire consequences if Seoul...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

North Korea on Friday threatened a “terrible response” if it detects any more drones buzzing across the border from the South. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to repair ties with North Korea since taking office last year, criticising his predecessor for allegedly sending drones to scatter propaganda over Pyongyang. But North Korea said it shot down a surveillance drone just last month, an incident which threatens to blight Lee’s efforts to patch things up. Kim Yo-jong, the...

China’s canal link to Southeast Asia; Malaysia’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Time is ripe’: why China is eyeing another vast canal link to Southeast Asia China has almost finished building the US$10 billion Pinglu Canal to deepen trade ties between its southwestern provinces and Southeast Asia. Now, it is...

US pulls out of strategic military base and hands it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

The US military said it completed a withdrawal from a strategic base in Syria on Thursday, handing it over to Syrian forces, in the latest sign of strengthening US Syrian ties that could enable an even larger American drawdown. The al-Tanf garrison is positioned at the tri-border confluence of Syria, Jordan and Iraq. Established during Syria’s civil war in 2014, the United States initially relied on it as a ‌hub for operations by the US-led coalition against Islamic State militants who once...

Hong Kong police arrest 2 over HK$300,000 watch theft...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Hong Kong police have arrested two people on suspicion of stealing a passenger’s watch worth HK$300,000 (US$38,380) on an inbound flight from Abu Dhabi on Thursday. The force said on Friday that a male passenger discovered a watch missing from his backpack in the overhead compartment and suspected it had been stolen. Police arrested a 40-year-old local woman and a 32-year-old man from mainland China. They remain in police custody for further investigation. Separately, a 69-year-old woman was...

Why Indonesia’s Muslim groups are revisiting...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisations appear to be recalibrating their stance on Palestine by softening earlier criticisms of President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, in what analysts describe as a shift from prioritising Palestinian independence to broader security issues. The adjustment, which followed a closed-door meeting at the presidential palace earlier this month, has fuelled a debate on whether major Muslim bodies are being

Africa’s yuan pivot: why more top lenders are eyeing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/13

Beijing’s push to internationalise the yuan is gaining a new vehicle in Africa as another major multilateral lender is set to diversify towards the Chinese currency to slash borrowing costs and reduce the risks of dollar volatility. Multilateral lender Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has confirmed that a debut panda bond issuance is “on the table for this year”, as it looks to deepen its ties with Chinese capital markets following last year’s successful triple-A Chinese rating. Banji

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