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US grand jury rejects charges against 6 Democrat...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Federal prosecutors failed to bring charges Tuesday against six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse illegal orders, outraging US President Donald Trump, who had called for jail time, US media reported. A federal grand jury composed of local citizens in Washington denied the Justice Department’s attempts to indict the lawmakers who posted a short video urging conscientious service, sources told The New York Times and The Washington Post. In the video posted to social media

Chinese civilisation’s true age; engineer leaves US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. How old is Chinese civilisation? A scholar says it really dates back 8,000 years A noted archaeologist is challenging conventional wisdom on one of the world’s oldest cultures, arguing that Chinese civilisation has a recorded history stretching back 8,000 years – three millennia beyond the widely accepted...

China’s Mengzhou spacecraft passes key test for 2030...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

China has successfully completed a crucial safety test and fired off a new-generation rocket as part of the country’s preparations for a crewed mission to the moon. Wednesday’s escape test on board the Mengzhou crew carrier was designed to ensure that astronauts could be safely returned to Earth if something went wrong during the launch. The Chinese space programme had already carried out a ground-level safety test in June, but the latest test was designed to check that crew members would be...

China’s consumer price growth cools as inflation...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

China’s consumer prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in January – although at a slower pace – while the decline in factory-gate prices continued to narrow, in a tentative sign that deflationary pressures in the Chinese economy may be starting to let up. But analysts said a clearer picture of the outlook for inflation would only emerge in the coming months due to distortions caused by the Lunar New Year holiday, which typically brings a surge in demand that drives up prices. The

Person detained in Guthrie abduction case following...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Authorities on Tuesday released video of an armed ⁠man in a ski mask tampering with the doorbell camera at the Arizona home of US television journalist Savannah Guthrie’s elderly mother shortly before she was abducted nine days earlier in a presumed kidnapping for ransom. Retrieval of the images came hours before another major break in the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie – the first known arrest in the case following days in which investigators reported making little progress. The Pima...

Country Garden shares edge up after regulators hold...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Shares of Country Garden inched higher on Wednesday after the Chinese property developer disclosed that the Shanghai Stock Exchange had issued a “circulated criticism” over its failure to disclose overdue debts in a timely manner. Country Garden shares closed at HK$0.285, up about 1.8 per cent from Tuesday’s close of HK$0.280. In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday night, Country Garden said it and three executive directors – chairwoman Yang Huiyan, co-chairman Mo Bin and

China’s SMIC expects flat revenue as drop in low-end...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), China’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expected first quarter revenue to remain flat as a decline in low-end orders partly offset surging demand for chips used in artificial intelligence applications. SMIC reported on Tuesday that 2025 revenue increased 16.2 per cent from a year earlier to US$9.3 billion, while net profit surged 39 per cent to US$685.1 million. The growth was mainly due to increases in wafer shipment and utilisation...

Shootings at school and home in Canadian town leave...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

A shooting at a school in British Columbia left eight dead including a woman whom police believe to be the shooter, while two more people were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said on Tuesday. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more than 25 people are injured, including two who were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, after the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. School shootings are rare in Canada. The town of Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian

Challenges and pathways in the South China Sea

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Does eating raw oysters put Hongkongers at risk of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Norovirus has fallen under the spotlight in Hong Kong following a series of food poisoning cases linked to raw oysters in eateries since January, with the latest incident added to the list taking place at the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel. Between January 18 and Monday, the Centre for Health Protection recorded 37 food poisoning cases affecting 115 people. Of these, 33 cases – involving 101 individuals – were linked to norovirus. Epidemiological findings showed that all those affected by...

China turns old oil pipeline into new carbon highway...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

China has achieved a breakthrough in its decarbonisation efforts by successfully repurposing a long-haul oil pipeline to transport carbon dioxide, in a trial run that offers a potentially scalable solution to accelerate the nation’s ambitious climate goals. The 27km (16.8-mile) route delivered carbon dioxide to an oilfield in central China’s Henan province earlier this month, according to China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network Corporation, also known as PipeChina. In an online statement, the...

Britney Spears sells rights to her music catalogue in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

US singer Britney Spears has become the latest musician to sell the rights to her catalogue that includes hits like “Baby One More Time” and “Oops!...I Did It Again”, US media reported on Tuesday. The deal is believed to be worth around US$200 million, according to sources cited by celebrity site TMZ, though it said the exact amount is not detailed in legal documents. That sum would be comparable to the sale of Canadian singer Justin Bieber’s catalogue in 2023. Spears, 44, joins a growing

Outside its few red lines, China is the ultimate...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

China has a few red lines. But if you respect them, life can be smooth and wonderful. China doesn’t care if you are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu or an atheist. It doesn’t care if your government is democratic, theocratic or dictatorial. If you want to do business, China is more than happy to partner with you. If you need aid, that’s fine; it won’t tell you what to do with the money or otherwise dictate your finances, so long as it sees some returns, whether commercial, strategic or...

Chinese healthcare firms expand overseas to support...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Chinese healthcare companies are looking to expand overseas to serve Chinese communities in regions such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where many mainland companies are setting up operations across sectors. “A wide range of Chinese companies are expanding overseas,” setting up local operations and bringing Chinese employees with them, said Philip Wang, CEO of Distinct Healthcare Holdings, in an interview on Monday. “Chinese expatriate workers are often not familiar with the local...

How Sanae Takaichi’s big win in Japan may complicate...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s sweeping victory in Sunday’s snap election has sounded alarm bells in Beijing, which is wary that closer ties between Tokyo and Taipei could complicate its long-term objective of reunifying Taiwan. Beijing’s annual work conference on Taiwan affairs, held on Monday and Tuesday, came just after Japan’s lower-house election, in which Takaichi’s party secured a two-thirds supermajority. At the event, Wang Huning, the Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader,...

Rise in emotional economy: China ‘love-brained’ youth...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

On a popular social media live-stream a young girl pours her heart out to a stranger. She is highly educated, comes from a wealthy family, but has fallen head over heels for a man 10 years her senior who is poor and does not love her. The live-streaming influencer, Taozai, responds not with sympathy, but with something far more jarring: “Not only do you have a ‘love brain’, you also subconsciously discriminate against people with lower education and the poor. You discriminate against others,

Hong Kong social enterprise for needy unable to set...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

A Hong Kong social enterprise known for serving underprivileged residents has seen its comeback derailed by a technical error from housing authorities in the tendering process for shop space. The owner of Agape Garden, a restaurant that was forced to close in July last year due to an abrupt government decision to reclaim the space, submitted a tender for a shop in Shek Kip Mei Estate last November. However, the Housing Authority cancelled the tender exercise a month later after identifying an...

MTR Corp says sorry after 1½-hour disruption on Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/11

Hong Kong’s rail operator has apologised after items from a maintenance vehicle and damage to track equipment caused a 1½-hour partial suspension of the MTR Island line during Wednesday’s morning rush hour. Almost five hours after service resumed between Sheung Wan and Quarry Bay stations, the MTR Corporation’s management met the press past noon to apologise to the public for the inconvenience caused. “The incident is very rare. We attach great importance to it and will conduct an in-depth...

The Vocational Training Council poised to develop...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/10

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Hong Kong’s economy is undergoing a profound transformation into a multifaceted international hub, strengthening the city’s role across the “Eight Centres” set out in the 14th National Five-Year Plan and further accelerated under the 15th Five-Year Plan. The shift, reinforced by the Northern Metropolis initiative and deeper integration with the Greater Bay Area (GBA), signals a new era of spatial–economic synergy and...

Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quits over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/08

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ‌chief of staff Morgan McSweeney has ‍quit, he said in a statement on Sunday, as pressure intensifies on Starmer over his decision to appoint ⁠Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.Starmer is facing what is widely seen as the biggest crisis of his 18 months in ‍power over his decision to send Mandelson to Washington ‍in 2024, after files showed the extent of Mandelson’s relationship to the ‌late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. McSweeney,...

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