PODCAST

News - South China Morning Post

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

All Episodes

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...

UK PM Starmer arrives in Japan for last leg of East...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has landed in Tokyo ahead of a meeting with his Japanese counterpart at the conclusion of his visit to East Asia. Speaking to reporters on the flight from Shanghai to Tokyo, the prime minister said he looked forward to discussing both defence and security issues and trade and the economy with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Describing the visit to the Group of Seven (G7) and G20 ally as “really important”, Starmer said: “Outside of Europe and the US,

Full pivot or anxious hedge? Europe’s leaders flock...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Flight routes between Europe and China are suddenly crowded with prime ministers and presidents, giving the impression of a continent pivoting eastward. A flurry that began late last year with visits to Beijing by the Spanish king and French president has continued with leaders of Britain, Ireland and Finland, with Germany’s chancellor to follow next month. The frenzied outreach comes with the transatlantic relationship on the rocks. US President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland have even...

Chinese man dies after intensive work week, receives...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

A 32-year-old Chinese programmer who died suddenly after working intensively for years received a new work task message eight hours after his death. News of his overwork and death trended online and struck a chord with many people. Gao Guanghui died on a Saturday in November 2025. His wife, who used the pseudonym Li, said that he woke up early that day saying he felt unwell, needed to sit down and “do some work while he was at it”. Soon he felt more unwell, convulsed and passed out en route

New generation of Hong Kong police will need ‘iron...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

The new generation of Hong Kong police officers will need “iron bones” in the face of unrelenting “oppression by hostile foreign forces”, the security minister has said. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung, speaking at the force’s passing-out parade on Saturday, was also moved to tears when he recalled the force’s efforts to recover the human remains of those killed in the Wang Fuk Court blaze last November. “The oppression by hostile foreign forces will not stop. Those who are...

Over 200 die in DR Congo after landslide causes mines...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

A landslide earlier this week collapsed several mines at a major coltan mining site in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), leaving at least 200 people dead, rebel authorities said on Saturday. The collapse took place on Wednesday at the Rubaya mines, which are controlled by the M23 rebels, said Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesman for the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu province. He said the landslide was caused by heavy rains. “For now, there are more than 200 dead, some of

How one election in Japan could upend bond markets...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Compared with the turmoil threatened by US President Donald Trump’s actions in everything from geopolitics to trade, the outcome of Japan’s parliamentary lower house election, set for February 8, may seem like small beer. Yet it could presage a great upheaval in global finance. The election outcome is widely expected to strengthen the political power base of the fiscally expansionist Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and increase borrowing when government debt almost everywhere is

Will India warm to Russia’s bid to revive troika with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Russia’s call to revive a troika with China and India is unlikely to be greeted with enthusiasm by New Delhi, with critics pointing to tense border stand-offs and India’s reluctance to be seen as part of an “anti-West” grouping. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this month lauded Moscow’s bilateral ties with Delhi and Beijing, calling for the revival of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trialogue. First mooted in 1998 by then Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, the RIC has not

Japan eateries limit entry based on age to ensure...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/31

Some restaurants in Tokyo have ignited controversy for reportedly enforcing age restrictions on their patrons, with some allowing entry only for people over 25 and others permitting those under 40. In Japan, certain eateries in the capital have begun to adopt these age limitations. For instance, some izakaya, or Japanese pubs, explicitly state, “No entry for customers over 40,” while others only admit those aged 25 and above. One particular izakaya in Shibuya, whose name has not been

21,863 results