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Bali’s waste woes under scrutiny as Prabowo slams...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

The waste woes of tourism hotspot Bali have come under intense scrutiny after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto shamed island authorities for what he said were improper steps to tackle the problem. But even as Balinese officials scramble to clean up their beaches, experts point to structural problems endemic to the issue, such as overtourism, lack of enforcement and insufficient education among locals. Prabowo publicly dressed down Bali’s governor, Wayan Koster, and his regents earlier

Indian teacher wins US$1 million prize for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

An Indian teacher and activist known for creating hundreds of learning centres and painting educational murals across the walls of slums won the US$1 million Global Teacher Prize on Thursday. Rouble Nagi accepted the award at the World Governments Summit in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, an annual event that draws leaders from across the globe. Her Rouble Nagi Art Foundation has established more than 800 learning centres across India. They aim to have children who never attended school

From China’s chokehold to Trump’s stockpile, Europe...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

EU industry chief Stephane Sejourne was in Washington on Wednesday, with a mandate from the bloc’s 27 member states to work towards a memorandum on critical minerals with the United States. With the sides keen to reduce their reliance on China, dramatically weaponised during last year’s US-China trade war, the French commissioner secured a “commitment” to work towards a memorandum within 30 days, to identify joint mining, refining, processing and recycling projects. In a joint statement that...

Chinese boy, 10, fights leukaemia, calls medicines...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

A 10-year-old Chinese boy has died after a lengthy and brave battle with leukaemia, breaking millions of hearts online. The boy, known by his nickname Haohao, from southwestern China’s Guizhou province, died in Beijing on January 27, his parents announced on his social media account with 600,000 followers. The video received 780,000 likes and 410,000 comments. Many mourned the death of the strong-minded boy. Haohao was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at the age of four after his

Fugitive caught after 37 years handed back to Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Thai police have helped Hong Kong authorities in arresting two fugitives, including a murder suspect who had been on the run for more than three decades, the city’s police chief has said. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said on Thursday that the two local suspects were wanted in separate cases – a murder 37 years ago and a robbery. “We had intelligence suggesting [the murder suspect] was hiding in Thailand, our colleagues handed over information to Thai police for follow-up action,”...

Xi holds Trump, Putin calls as Iran tensions mount

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Iran in wide-ranging calls with both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as the US president steps up pressure on the Islamic Republic following the bloody quashing of anti-government protests. The US president said on social media that the “excellent” phone call with Xi covered topics including Iran, the Chinese purchase of US oil and gas, and Taiwan. Earlier, Xi and Putin “checked their approaches” on Iran, Venezuela and Cuba among other...

China’s clean power energising economy, adding a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Clean energy technologies – led by solar power and electric vehicles – drove more than one-third of China’s economic growth last year and over 90 per cent of the rise in investment, according to a new study. China’s clean energy industries generated a record 15.4 trillion yuan (US$2.1 trillion) in economic output in 2025, equivalent to 11.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found. If they were a country, the Chinese...

Hong Kong man jailed for laundering millions through...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

A Hong Kong man has been jailed for nearly four years after admitting to laundering millions of dollars in criminal proceeds through bank accounts linked to investment and romance scams. The 38-year-old defendant was sentenced on Wednesday to 44 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to two counts of money laundering at the District Court in Wan Chai. “To enhance deterrence against the use of bank accounts for money laundering, police applied to the court for a sentence enhancement at the...

China probes mental hospitals over reports patients...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

China’s top medical watchdog has ordered a nationwide review of the country’s psychiatric institutes following media reports that multiple hospitals in central China had locked up patients – including people who were not suffering from mental illness – as part of an insurance scam. The National Healthcare Security Administration said on Wednesday that its provincial bureaus should hold talks with directors of all psychiatric institutes in their area by Sunday. They were also told to ensure

China’s CATL tests EVs – and lithium’s dominance –...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has deployed the world’s first sodium-ion batteries in passenger cars, as it aims to stay ahead in China’s fiercely competitive electric vehicle (EV) market amid price volatility in traditional lithium-ion batteries.The company’s new Naxtra battery will be installed in China Changan Automobile Group EVs this week for winter testing in the chilly Inner Mongolia autonomous region in the country’s north. “The breakthroughs in sodium-ion technology bring...

Gaza’s violent reality: hundreds have been killed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

As the bodies of two dozen Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes arrived at hospitals in Gaza on Wednesday, the director of one asked a question that has echoed across the war-ravaged territory for months. “Where is the ceasefire? Where are the mediators?” Shifa Hospital’s Mohamed Abu Selmiya wrote on Facebook. At least 556 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a US-brokered truce came into effect in October, including 24 on Wednesday and 30 on Saturday, according to Gaza’s...

Hong Kong teachers withdrew HK$8.4 billion from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Hong Kong public school teachers withdrew HK$8.4 billion (US$1.1 billion) from two retirement fund schemes in 2024-25, down 3.4 per cent from the year before, marking the third consecutive annual decline amid subsiding emigration. Resignation remained the main reason for withdrawals, rather than retirement, as a growing proportion of young teachers left the profession, accounting for 32 to 35 per cent of all cases in the two funds, the highest level since 2021. The Education Bureau on

119 arrests made over HK$20 million fake Hong Kong ID...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities have arrested 119 people linked to a HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) racket that forged and distributed identity cards and arranged accommodation for cross-border recruits to obtain jobs illegally in the city – the largest sum recorded in such a case to date. The Immigration Department said on Thursday that the cross-boundary sting, code-named “Operation Sharpspear”, was carried out between October and January in collaboration with Guangdong and

China first-generation celebrity known for photo of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

More than two decades ago, he was among China’s first generation of online celebrities. A photograph of his large head went viral and his pudgy face was superimposed on a raft of well-known figures. However, Qian Zhijun, who is better known as Xiao Pang, or “Little Fatty” in English on social media, and who disappeared from the spotlight, is back, Dawan News reported. “My life is no different from that of any ordinary person. I have been married and have a child. I just live an ordinary

Malaysia bans e-waste imports: ‘not world’s dumping...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Malaysia has announced an immediate and full ban on the importation of electronic waste, as the government vowed the country would not be a “dumping ground” for the world’s waste. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said in a statement late on Wednesday that all electronic waste, commonly known as e-waste, would be reclassified under the “absolute prohibition” category effective immediately. This removes the discretionary power previously given to the Department of Environment to...

Outrage in South Korea over ‘importing virgins’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

A South Korean governor has sparked outrage after he proposed “importing Sri Lankan and Vietnamese virgins” to help stem the population decline in provincial areas. Jindo county Governor Kim Hee-soo made the suggestion during a town hall meeting in South Jeolla to discuss an administrative merger of nine cities and counties in the province with Gwangju Metropolitan City. “Of the 89 regions facing declining populations nationwide, 20 per cent are in South Jeolla province. We need to solve this...

Church angel resembling Italy’s prime minister...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Call it divine intervention, or maybe just a hasty fix-it job to put an end to days of speculation and scandal. But the end result is that the Angel Meloni is no more. A painting of a cherub with a face bearing a remarkable resemblance to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had attracted large crowds to the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, one of the oldest basilicas in Rome. That angel’s face was gone when the church opened its doors on Wednesday: the cherub’s body remains, but the face

Indonesia to force billionaires to sell shares:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Indonesia’s stock market needed just two days of chaos to highlight what investors have long lamented: parts of the market are not trading freely. Last week’s worst tumble in nearly three decades drew attention to a major problem at the heart of Southeast Asia’s biggest equity market: a handful of billionaires own so much of their listed companies that barely any of those companies’ shares are left to trade. At least three billionaires directly control 85 per cent or more of three listed...

Historian on Trump’s new world order, Ukraine war and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Luuk van Middelaar is the director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, a think tank he co-founded in 2022. A political theorist and historian by trade, he has written several books and was in the cabinet of the first European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy. Van Middelaar is widely read and cited across Europe for his analysis of the EU’s political evolution, with his books translated into many languages and awarded major European literary prizes. He writes regularly for leading...

Gunmen massacre nearly 200 in Nigeria attacks, some...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/05

Nearly 200 people have been ‍killed by armed men in separate attacks in remote villages in central and northern Nigeria, a local lawmaker, residents and police said on Wednesday, as security forces searched for survivors and chased the attackers. In central Kwara state, gunmen attacked the Woro community on Tuesday leaving at least 170 ⁠people dead, the lawmaker for the area, Saidu Baba Ahmed, said by phone. It was the deadliest assault recorded this year in the district bordering Niger

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