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Hong Kong homebuyers keep up robust demand as new...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Hong Kong homebuyers continued to show strong demand for new residential launches over the weekend, potentially pushing primary market transactions to a five-month high, according to agents. By 3.30pm on Saturday, about two-thirds of the 108 units released at Park Seasons – a Lohas Park project in Tseung Kwan O developed by Wheelock Properties and the city’s subway operator MTR Corp – had found buyers, agents said. On Friday, all 60 units on offer at K. Wah International’s Kabitat Tin Hau...

Hong Kong extends building inspection deadline for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Hong Kong authorities will extend the deadline for mandatory building inspection orders to let homeowners vet contractors’ conviction records on a new platform launching later this year, the city’s development chief has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also said on Saturday that the prequalification list on the Urban Renewal Authority’s electronic platform, currently undergoing upgrades, would be reviewed every two years and take into account owners’ feedback. “Some...

Distracted at Davos, leaders are ignoring one...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Some weighty themes were addressed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, from the apparent return of the Monroe Doctrine and US “manifest destiny” in geopolitics, to a replay of the 19th-century “Great Game” among competing nations elsewhere. But one critical issue that did not receive sufficient attention was the prospect of a global financial system crisis undermining such monumental assumptions. These annual gatherings of the supposedly great and good, from national leaders to business

‘Becoming Chinese’: foreigners adopt habits of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Many overseas internet users have recently embraced a new trend of “Becoming Chinese” by incorporating elements of everyday Chinese life into their routines. These lifestyle changes predominantly involve common self-care practices in Chinese culture, such as drinking warm water instead of cold, wearing slippers indoors rather than walking barefoot, consuming cooked vegetables instead of raw greens in salads, and practising baduanjin qigong, a slow rhythmic exercise popular among the elderly,

Viral lies: AI deepfakes hijack reality in Nepal’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

A video showing three of Nepal’s most recognisable political figures walking side by side set social media abuzz late last year, stirring widespread speculation that a new political alliance was taking shape ahead of a looming national election. But there was a catch: the meeting depicted never took place. The clip, depicting Rastriya Swatantra Party leader Rabi Lamichhane, Kathmandu’s former mayor Balendra Shah and ex-power sector chief Kulman Ghising, was a fabrication – one of a growing...

US defence strategy banks on strength – not...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

The United States will use strength – not confrontation – to deter China in the Indo-Pacific, the Defence Department said, laying out its national strategy to protect the “homeland”. The US would also push allies to spend more on their own defence, it said on Saturday in the 34-page document outlining the country’s security environment and approaches. According to the strategy, the goal after protecting the “homeland and hemisphere” is to deter China “from being able to dominate us or our...

China’s top uniformed officer Zhang Youxia among 2...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Top Chinese military leaders Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli are under investigation for suspected “serious” disciplinary violations, according to the Ministry of National Defence. Zhang is the first-ranked vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), China’s top military command body headed by President Xi Jinping, while Liu is chief of its Joint Staff Department. Zhang’s position as CMC No 2 after Xi makes him the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the Chinese military. Zhang and

Nvidia CEO tours Shanghai amid fresh signs of China thaw

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has begun his latest trip to China – visiting a grocery market in Shanghai on Saturday after touring the chipmaker’s local office – at a time when Beijing is expected to allow imports of the company’s H200 artificial intelligence chips. Huang was seen at a grocery market on Saturday in Shanghai’s busy Lujiazui area, looking relaxed, according to multiple photos circulated on social media. Earlier, Huang met with Shanghai-based staff to review Nvidia’s milestones for

Australian boy, 12, dies a week after shark attack in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

An Australian boy had died in hospital after being bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour, his family said on Saturday after a series of shark attacks along the country’s east coast. Nico Antic, 12, was attacked on Sunday as he and friends were jumping off rocks in Vaucluse, around 9km (5.5 miles) from Sydney’s central business district. He was pulled from the water by friends and taken to hospital with severe injuries to both legs. “We are heartbroken to share that our son, Nico, has passed

China wife ordered to apologise to cheating husband...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

A woman in central China was ordered to apologise to her cheating husband for posting a sarcastic story that damaged his reputation. Niu Na, from Henan province, revealed on social media that she had been married to her husband, Gao Fei, for over 10 years, and they have a daughter together. Niu discovered that Gao, a team leader at a local coal mining company, had been having an affair with a married colleague, surnamed Han, for five years. During this time, Gao used their joint assets to buy...

Indonesian actress exposes ‘fake’ marriage and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

When Indonesian actress Aurelie Moeremans released her memoir earlier this month, she never intended for it to start a national conversation over abuse and consent. Her book, Broken Strings: Fragments of Stolen Youth, recounts how she was groomed as a teenager – and how long it took her to understand what had happened. The story has struck a nerve across Indonesia, where parents, educators and officials are now asking how such harm could have happened unseen. Made freely available online, the...

Hong Kong lawmaker ready to face legal consequences...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Hong Kong lawmaker Judy Chan Kapui has apologised again for driving along a road in the wrong direction, saying that she will accept any legal consequences and refrain from getting behind the wheel for the time being. “I made a rash decision in haste at the time. I am willing to bear any legal consequences. I will also reach out to police to provide details of what happened to assist in their investigation,” she told a radio programme on Saturday. Chan, 45, confirmed the night before that she...

8 killed in Indonesia, over 80 missing in Java landslide

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

A landslide killed at least eight people and left over 80 missing on Indonesia’s main island of Java on Saturday, a disaster official said. The landslide triggered by heavy rainfall struck a village in the region of West Bandung at around 2.30am, burying residential areas. Floods and landslides are common across the vast archipelago during the rainy season, which typically runs from October to March. “There was a rumbling noise, like thunder,” said Oyoh, a resident of Pasir Langu village who,...

US teen inspired by Isis pleads guilty to attempted...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

A 17-year-old in the US who expressed interest in joining the Islamic State (Isis) has pleaded guilty to trying to kill one New Jersey police officer and attacking backup police with a knife. Fasihullah Safar, of Alexandria, Virginia, would be sentenced as an adult on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and motor vehicle theft, Burlington County prosecutors said on Friday. Safar was initially charged as a juvenile before the case...

Veteran printer’s mission to keep movable type...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

In a printing factory, an elderly man points out numerous errors he has circled in a book on the history of movable type, his voice edged with indignation. “Many historical accounts about the industry are wrong,” the 76-year-old says. “I want to tell the true story.” Leung Kwok-hung owns Sing Hung Printer, a movable type factory that has operated for more than 50 years. The business once employed 15 people but has relocated twice to smaller premises with fewer printing machines as the trade...

Has Japan’s tourism peaked? Row with China set to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Japan welcomed a record 42.7 million foreign visitors in 2025, fuelled by a weak yen that made it one of the world’s cheapest major tourist destinations, but the boom may already have peaked. The number is expected to decline this year amid a political row between Japan and China, and staff shortages in the tourism sector, according to industry forecasts, potentially complicating the government’s ambition to attract 60 million overseas visitors by 2030. In comparison, 31.9 million tourists...

This Chinese scientist boosts range of PL-15 missiles...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

This month, when China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence released a list of top 10 defence industry news items for 2025, it shed light on a home-grown aviation success story. The inclusion of the Chinese-made J-10CE and its PL-15 missile marked Beijing’s first official confirmation that the fighter jet had engaged in combat. Last May, the J-10CE – deployed by the Pakistan Air Force and armed with PL-15E missiles – was credited with bringing down...

Malaysia arrests ‘well-known’ Tan Sri over US$75...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Malaysian anti-corruption authorities have opened two investigation papers into a man bearing the title “Tan Sri” over his alleged involvement in a large-scale investment fraud amounting to more than 300 million ringgit (US$75 million). The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had arrested two individuals and carried out searches at five premises around the Klang Valley earlier in the week following information received. Preliminary investigations found that between 2021 and 2024,

Flu vaccination rates lag in Hong Kong as winter peak...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Hong Kong is approaching the winter flu season, but vaccination rates among most age groups remain below the 70 per cent threshold needed for herd immunity, a leading government medical adviser has warned. David Hui Shu-cheong, chairman of the government’s scientific committee on emerging and zoonotic diseases, on Saturday reminded the public to get vaccinated ahead of Lunar New Year, when social gatherings are frequent. He noted that 70 to 80 per cent of severe flu cases among both adults

Russian air attack on Ukraine kills 1, injures 31...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/24

Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least one person and wounded 31 overnight into Saturday as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States were to meet in the United Arab Emirates for a second day of talks to end Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion. One person died and four were wounded in drone attacks on the capital, Kyiv, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, drone attacks wounded 27 people,

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