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Saudi Arabia set to redraw economic road map as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/01

Almost a decade after launching the Vision 2030 programme to diversify its oil-dependent economy, Saudi Arabia is redirecting its spending away from attention-grabbing futuristic urban projects into sectors that hold more promise to deliver results. Since last year, the programme has undergone a review following a US$8 billion writedown at the end of 2024. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has scaled down glitzy projects significantly, such as the US$500 billion 170km (105 mile) long...

Chinese man crafts equine figure from 2,600 metres of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/01

A man in China has used more than 2,600 metres of aluminium thread to weave a horse ornament as a gesture to welcome the Year of the Horse. The golden figurine is named Mythical Horse Embracing Auspiciousness according to its creator, Yang Guang. Its front two legs are lifted high, two back legs stand on the ground and its head is turned back. The animal’s saddle and the bridle are vibrant in colour. Yang, an aluminium artist based in Qingzhou of Shandong province, eastern China, told the

In China, is ‘family’ becoming a legal shield for rape?

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/01

It started out as a family reunion story but soon took a darker turn. A 45-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Bu, had lost contact with her family for more than a decade. She was found in late 2024 in a rural area in Heshun county in the central Chinese province of Shanxi, more than 100km (62 miles) from her home. Bu had an advanced university education but she also had a history of mental illness, and the discovery that she had given birth to several children with a villager

‘Technical issue’ forces Hong Kong-bound Cathay...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/01

A Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific Airways flight had to return to Kaohsiung in Taiwan shortly after take-off on Sunday morning due to a technical problem, with around 200 passengers affected. A Cathay Pacific spokesman confirmed flight CX449 had turned back because of an unspecified “technical issue”. “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our customers for their understanding and patience,” the spokesman said. Taiwanese media said on Sunday that a fuel leak in the

How Marius Hoiby went from living in Norway royal...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/01

Marius Borg Hoiby, the son of Norway’s future queen from a previous relationship, was initially welcomed into the royal family, but now, facing trial accused of four rapes, he has become a liability. The 29-year-old, who was born before his mother Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby married Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, goes on trial in Oslo’s district court on Tuesday accused of 38 counts, including four rapes and assaults against ex-girlfriends. He was arrested on August 4, 2024, suspected of

Failures on 2 fronts led to Hong Kong’s seat belt...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Hong Kong authorities’ swift U-turn on a law requiring bus passengers to wear seat belts came about because of a lack of public consultation during policymaking and a less than thorough crafting process for the regulatory fine print, political observers have said.Failures on both fronts should serve as a wake-up call for officials and lawmakers to do much better and put themselves in the public’s shoes when formulating policies, they said. In an embarrassing about-face, authorities announced

Hongkongers should brace for chilly Sunday as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hongkongers should brace for cooler weather on Sunday as temperatures are expected to drop to as low as 13 degrees Celsius (55.4 Fahrenheit). The Hong Kong Observatory said on Saturday that the mercury would plunge to about 13 degrees in urban areas the next day and a couple of degrees lower in the New Territories. The maximum temperature is forecast to be

The future of AI in music? US and China strike...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Dressed like 1970s rock stars evoking bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Velvet Sundown look the part of a real band – with one key difference: despite millions of listeners, they do not exist. The group is generated by artificial intelligence. AI-generated music is exploding, with the rapid expansion of platforms like the United States’ Suno and Udio, as well as China’s Mureka. From creation to copyright, the technology is making waves globally. But the US and China are approaching

Iran state media reports fatal explosion in Gulf...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Several explosions were reported across Iran on Saturday, amid growing fears of war. In the Persian Gulf city of Bandar Abbas, one person was killed and 14 others injured in an explosion, according to the news agency Tasnim, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Eyewitnesses also reported at least one explosion near the capital, Tehran. In southwestern Iran, the online outlet Nur News said, citing the fire chief in the city of Ahvaz, a gas explosion there killed four...

Pakistan multiple attacks kill 21, including...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Separatists from Pakistan’s Balochistan province claimed responsibility for nearly a dozen coordinated attacks across southern Pakistan early on Saturday that targeted civilians, a high-security prison, police stations and paramilitary installations. Eleven civilians, 10 security personnel and 67 insurgents were killed, authorities said. Though Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban frequently target security forces in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country, coordinated attacks on

CK Hutchison tipped to sell remaining ports despite...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings is expected to move forward with selling its remaining port assets, despite Panama’s Supreme Court nullifying its contract for two terminals at either end of the country’s geostrategically vital canal, according to experts. But the effort by billionaire Li Ka-shing’s conglomerate to offload the rest of its ports would still face scrutiny from Beijing and local authorities, and the overall deal might need to be re-evaluated, experts told the South China...

China’s military redoubles corruption fight in wake...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

China’s unrelenting anti-corruption drive will improve – not compromise – the military’s fighting strength, two signed commentaries published in the PLA Daily have argued. The articles – one on Friday and the other on Saturday – in the People’s Liberation Army mouthpiece called corruption the “number one killer” of battle effectiveness and cautioned against both “unrealistic optimism” and “harmful pessimism” about the anti-graft campaign – suggesting the crackdown on corruption will not end

Film on Scotland community resisting immigration raid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

A documentary about a community resisting an immigration raid in Scotland has won an award at a major film festival. Everybody To Kenmure Street was recognised with the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance at the Sundance Film Festival in the US. The film documents events on May 13, 2021, when hundreds of people gathered in Kenmure Street in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow to prevent two of their neighbours being detained. The two men were released after

Hong Kong steps up scrutiny of private schools

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Hong Kong’s private schools could be ordered to cease operating or have their registration revoked if their management is deemed unsatisfactory under new guidelines issued by education authorities. The Education Bureau released a code of practice on Friday for private primary and secondary schools, following reports of poor management – including some allegedly offering unauthorised courses and collecting fees from parents without approval. The document said the bureau might issue an advisory

Electricity lines between Ukraine, Moldova, Romania...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Ukraine’s power grid experienced mass outages on Saturday after a “technical malfunction” caused electrical lines between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine to fail, Ukraine’s energy minister said. The outages knocked out water supplies to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and prompted a complete shutdown of the city’s metro network, paralysing transport for thousands. “Today at 10.42am a technical malfunction occurred, causing a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of

China’s military tightens fuel supply rules as US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

The People’s Liberation Army has moved to tighten control over fuel supplies as part of its latest efforts to improve logistics – a cornerstone of combat readiness. New regulations issued “recently” aimed to standardise the process of military fuel management in areas such as procurement, transport, storage and disposal, the official PLA Daily said on Tuesday. The rules were also designed to introduce strict controls and joint military-civilian oversight to prevent misuse and to ensure...

‘Outcomes, not output’: Exco held 25% fewer meetings...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Hong Kong’s top decision-making body has held 25 per cent fewer meetings in the first 3½ years of the current administration compared with the previous two governments, the South China Morning Post has found, with the group’s secretariat urging the public to focus on “outcomes of the work” rather than on the number of gatherings. The Executive Council Secretariat stopped short of commenting on the trend directly due to the principle of confidentiality, but said the government had been...

Chinese military patrols Scarborough Shoal, 5 days...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

China carried out naval and air patrols around Scarborough Shoal on Saturday – just days after joint US-Philippine drills nearby – underscoring tensions in the disputed South China Sea waters. The PLA Southern Theatre Command issued a statement on the “combat readiness patrols” near the shoal, which China calls Huangyan Island. They were aimed at countering “infringement and provocative actions by individual countries”, it said, in a thinly veiled reference to the United States and rival...

Labubu toymaker Pop Mart picks London as European...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Labubu toymaker Pop Mart plans to establish its European headquarters in London, as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met the company’s founder during a high-profile China visit aimed at rebuilding Britain’s economic ties with the world’s second largest economy. That plan was revealed at a closed-door CEO round table on Friday during the UK-China Business Forum, where Starmer met a group of Chinese business leaders that included Pop Mart founder and CEO Wang Ning. “London stands at the heart of

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 20, including...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the fighting. Strikes hit locations throughout Gaza, including lethal ones on an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis, said officials at hospitals that received the bodies. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. Gaza’s Health Ministry has recorded 509 Palestinians killed by...

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