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Why Southeast Asia is wary of Trump’s ‘pay-to-play’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Southeast Asian countries invited to join Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” should think carefully before entering what looks like a “more exclusive version” of the United Nations Security Council with the US president in ultimate control, analysts caution. Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are among about 60 countries that have reportedly received invitations, alongside South Korea and India. The initiative, presented by Trump as a new international body to promote global...

South Korea’s ex-PM Han gets 23 years in prison for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

A South Korean court sentenced former prime minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison on Wednesday for aiding and abetting a declaration of martial law that briefly suspended civilian rule. The defendant “disregarded his duty and responsibility as prime minister until the very end”, said Judge Lee Jin-gwan of the Seoul Central District Court. “We sentence the defendant to 23 years in prison.” The sentence is eight years longer than prosecutors’ demand. The 76-year-old career technocrat was...

Former flight attendant posed as pilot for hundreds...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

A former flight attendant for a Canadian airline posed as a commercial pilot and as a current flight attendant to obtain hundreds of free flights from US airlines, authorities said. Dallas Pokornik, 33, of Toronto, was arrested in Panama after being indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court in Hawaii last October. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday following his extradition. According to court documents, Pokornik was a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019, then used...

China aunties teach qigong exercises to fellow...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

A group of Chinese aunties led an impromptu qigong lesson at Cairo Airport, captivating fellow passengers and earning applause. On January 9, a Chinese tour group in Egypt was waiting for their flight to Aswan when the flight was delayed for more than five hours. Some middle-aged women, known in China as aunties, in the group, united by their love of dancing and travel, decided to pass the time and relieve fatigue with Baduanjin qigong. An auntie surnamed Chen told the mainland media outlet...

China should leverage buying power to boost yuan’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

China should leverage its massive buying power to boost imports settled in yuan and shift towards a more balanced trade structure, to accelerate the currency’s global use, according to a former central bank adviser. The proposal signals a potential opportunity for the yuan’s internationalisation, years after Beijing kicked off the process in 2009 by allowing selected exporters to be paid in the Chinese currency. “China is the world’s largest goods exporter, but the yuan’s international

As more nations block Grok for obscene content, calls...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

The separate moves by three Southeast Asian countries to block the AI chatbot Grok over sexually explicit deepfake images are “emergency brakes” that analysts say may avert immediate harm, but they fall short of coordination at the regional level needed to curb the risks of manipulated artificial intelligence. On Friday, the Philippines said it was restricting access to Grok, following similar steps by Malaysia and Indonesia, after users complained that doctored sexual images of women and

Hong Kong authorities could vet construction firm...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Hong Kong authorities could expand background checks on authorised persons in construction projects to cover company directors, the development chief has said, as the government moves to plug policy loopholes exposed by the Tai Po inferno. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho indicated the possible policy direction on Wednesday, after experts said earlier this month that government proposals to strengthen the city’s maintenance regime did not go far enough to address long-standing...

Chile’s president-elect picks Pinochet lawyers as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Chile’s right-wing president-elect Jose Antonio Kast on Tuesday named two ex-lawyers of former dictator Augusto Pinochet to lead the ministries of defence and human rights when he takes office in March. Kast will be sworn in on March 11 as the first far-right head of state in Chile since the exit of Pinochet, whose brutal regime left deep scars on the South American nation. Pinochet led a dictatorship from 1973 to 1990 that left more than 3,200 dead or missing, and tortured or imprisoned tens

Japan ex-PM Shinzo Abe’s killer Tetsuya Yamagami...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

The gunman charged with killing Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was found guilty and jailed for life on Wednesday, more than three years after the broad-daylight assassination shocked the world. The slaying forced a reckoning in a country with little experience of gun violence and ignited scrutiny of alleged ties between prominent conservative lawmakers and a secretive sect, the Unification Church. As he handed down the sentence at a court in the city of Nara, judge Shinichi Tanaka

Chinese rivals to Musk’s Starlink wrestle with rocket...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Four Chinese groups are racing to build global satellite communications infrastructure to challenge the considerable head start made by US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink. The two leaders for China so far are the central-government-backed GuoWang and Shanghai-backed Qianfan. They have the most satellites in orbit and plans to eventually deploy more than 10,000 apiece. Carmaker Geely’s Geespace also has satellites in space. The fourth group, Hongqing Technology, 48 per cent owned by...

US forces seize seventh sanctioned oil tanker linked...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

US military forces boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela on Tuesday, as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to take control of the South American country’s oil. US Southern Command said in a social media post that US forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta “without incident” and that the tanker was operating in defiance of US President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean”. The military command did...

Chinese carmakers eye Western markets, China-EU...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Soft landing’: China, EU see progress in EV dispute with price floor option Beijing and Brussels last week announced a milestone in resolving their years-long trade dispute over Chinese electric vehicles, with the European Union releasing guidance set to address the countervailing...

Seoul warns North Korea’s nuclear weapons will soon...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

North Korea is producing enough nuclear material a year for up to 20 weapons, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday. The North carried out its first atomic test in 2006 in violation of UN resolutions and is now believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads. “Even now, nuclear materials sufficient to produce 10 to 20 nuclear weapons a year are still being produced” in North Korea, Lee told reporters at a new year news conference. At the same time, the North is continuing to...

Air Force One taking Trump to Davos turns around due...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

US President Donald Trump’s plane, Air Force One, returned to Joint Base Andrews about an hour after departing for Switzerland on Tuesday evening. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision to return was made after takeoff when the crew aboard Air Force One identified “a minor electrical issue” and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to turn around. A reporter on board said the lights in the press cabin of the aircraft went out briefly after takeoff, but no

China is building world-first triad reactor system to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

China plans to power a world-class petrochemical complex under construction with ultra-high-temperature steam from an unprecedented three-reactor nuclear system. The steam can reach up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 Fahrenheit) – high enough to break molecules apart. Located in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, the project combines two third-generation Hualong One pressurised water reactors with one fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) for heating and electricity...

Trump could lead his Board of Peace for life after ...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

US President Donald Trump could still lead his proposed Board of Peace after he leaves the White House, a US official has said. The chairmanship would be Trump’s to hold until he resigns it, the official said on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity. A future US president could choose to appoint or designate the official US representative to the board, the official added. The possibility of a chair-for-life status for Trump was the latest wrinkle in the creation of the signature diplomatic...

North Korean blame game: what’s behind Kim Jong-un’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s public dismissal of a vice-minister during an inspection tour of a major industrial zone reflects growing anxiety within the leadership as Pyongyang prepares for a pivotal ruling party congress amid persistent economic strain, according to analysts. By firing the official on the spot, Kim appears to be signalling zero tolerance for delays and mismanagement while reinforcing his authority ahead of the 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea to be held

‘Each of the 39 deceased was killed unlawfully,’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

A Hong Kong court has found that 39 people were unlawfully killed in a 2012 crash between two ferries off Lamma Island, as it began wrapping up a long-overdue inquest into the causes and circumstances of the city’s deadliest maritime disaster in decades. The Coroner’s Court on Wednesday returned the same conclusion it reached in 2020, when it decided against commencing an inquiry, citing the comprehensive findings of a government-led hearing in 2013 and subsequent criminal

Police probe child abuse report after man runs with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

Hong Kong police are investigating a report of child abuse after a runner took part in a marathon while carrying his baby, the Post has learned. The investigation was launched after a viral video showing the baby strapped to the runner’s chest during the race sparked public concern. A source said on Wednesday that police received a report on Sunday accusing the mainland Chinese man of child abuse. “The investigator in charge has already reached out to the runner and is arranging a time for

Philippines eyes ‘game changer’ for maritime defence...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/21

French shipbuilder OCEA is looking for a local partner and site in the Philippines to establish its first shipbuilding venture in Asia, under a France-backed patrol boat programme that Philippine Coast Guard leaders say could be a “game changer” for maritime enforcement. The project, which combines local shipbuilding, French-backed financing and technology transfer, is expected to significantly expand the coastguard’s fleet at a time of growing operational demands in Philippine waters. “OCEA

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