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News - South China Morning Post

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Australian senator slammed as ‘racist’ for wearing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

Australian far-right senator Pauline Hanson wore a burka to parliament on Monday as a political prop in her push to ban the Muslim garment in public, sparking accusations of racism from Muslim senators over the stunt. Hanson wore the burka shortly after she was denied permission to introduce a bill that would outlaw burkas and other full-face coverings in public places in Australia. It was the second time Hanson had used the head garment, worn by some Muslim women, in parliament in an effort

Bali hostel poisoning mystery deepens after Chinese...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

More than two months after a mass poisoning at a Bali hostel left a young Chinese traveller dead and scores of guests violently ill, the incident remains mired in conflicting accounts and uncertainty. Many of the lingering questions are due to the possibility of overlapping causes behind the tragedy, with medical experts pointing to an unusual mix of symptoms that could reflect severe food poisoning, mismanaged fumigation or both. Amid the scrutiny, the hostel at the centre of the incident

Wingtech says Nexperia’s headquarters remains silent...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

Wingtech Technology, the Chinese owner of Nexperia, said it had received no meaningful reply after reaching out to the Dutch chipmaker’s headquarters for talks. “It is deeply regrettable and puzzling that, despite our utmost sincerity, the Dutch side of Nexperia has not made any substantive response to our proposal for communication,” Wingtech said on Sunday. The Shanghai-listed company did not disclose the details of its outreach efforts, but urged Nexperia’s headquarters to present “a...

Night at Hong Kong museum? Evening hours eyed as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

An evening encounter with Egyptian mummies is in sight as the Hong Kong Palace Museum weighs extending its opening hours after its special exhibition attracted more than 16,000 visitors in the first four days but also complaints of poor crowd control. Museum director Louis Ng Chi-wa apologised on Monday for the inconvenience caused to patrons after large crowds queued for hours on Saturday for the “Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums” exhibition. Ng said visitors had to

Overheated power bank catches fire on Scoot flight...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

A small fire triggered by an overheated power bank broke out on a Singapore-bound Scoot flight from Hong Kong over the weekend, but it was quickly extinguished by the cabin crew, with no injuries reported. Singapore Airlines’ budget arm Scoot on Sunday confirmed the incident took place on flight TR939, which departed from Hong Kong International Airport for the city state at 5.49pm the day before. A spokesman said an overheated power bank had caused a small flame in the cabin, which was...

Premier Li Qiang urges Germany to be ‘rational and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged Germany to stand by a rational and pragmatic China policy and focus on common interests as he met on Sunday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We hope the German side will adhere to a rational and pragmatic China policy, rule out interference and pressure, focus on shared interests and consolidate the foundation for cooperation,” Li told Merz on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting with the chancellor, who is...

Backlash grows as Malaysia plans ID checks to ban...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

Malaysia’s plan to bar children aged 16 and under from having social media accounts from next year has sparked a public backlash, as experts warn that enforcement gaps, privacy risks and vague guidelines could blunt the policy’s impact. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Sunday that social media platforms would be required to implement electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) identity checks in 2026 under the Online Safety Act, which comes into force on January 1. Users will have to

Chinese woman brutally attacked 3 years ago fights...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

A Chinese woman who recently recovered from injuries she suffered in an assault by a stranger in a public toilet has been diagnosed with leukaemia, attracting widespread sympathy on social media. The 22-year-old, known as Xu, first came to public attention when she was savagely beaten by a man of the same age in Yongkang, Zhejiang province, eastern China on October 30, 2022. The assault, which lasted more than 20 minutes, left Xu with serious injuries to her head and eyes. She also lost teeth

Exchanges between Hong Kong, Japan must align with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

All official exchanges between Hong Kong and Japan should respect the dignity of the Chinese nation and align with the interests of Hongkongers, the city leader has said as he questioned the effectiveness of such interactions amid a diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Tokyo. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made the remarks on Monday after it was reported that the administration had called off several exchanges with the Japanese consulate general in Hong Kong and postponed discussions. It...

UK digital ID plan fuels conspiracies, but government...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/24

Plans for a new nationwide UK digital ID are sparking widespread public concern, but some critics including far-right politicians are fuelling fears with unproven claims that it will be used to boost government control over people’s lives. They have warned that a digital ID would be used to store data on vaccinations and carbon footprint and limit access to flying and food, which the government has vehemently denied. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September said the ID card would be...

Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina found guilty of crimes...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

A Bangladesh court convicted ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina of crimes against humanity on Monday, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan. It did not recommend any penalty for a third suspect – a former police chief who became a state witness and pleaded guilty. Hasina and Asaduzzaman were tried in absentia for...

PhD for landfill supervisor raises a stink over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

A county-level sanitation office in southern China has invited ridicule and stoked a public debate after posting a job that requires a PhD to supervise garbage trucks and landfills – an unusual demand that critics say epitomises China’s runaway degree inflation. The posting in Guangdong province, by the office that manages urban environmental sanitation for Shixing county, appeared online last week under a notice for “urgently needed high-level talent for public institutions” issued by the...

Stay ‘on high alert’, People’s Daily warns, as Japan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

People’s Daily has urged Asian nations to stay “on high alert” for Japan’s potentially “dangerous” strategic tilt in an editorial published amid a trip to Beijing by a senior Japanese diplomat over the escalating bilateral diplomatic row on Taiwan. The commentary in the Communist Party mouthpiece on Monday condemned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on potentially intervening in a Taiwan conflict, calling them “tantamount to invoking the ghost of militarism”, a reference

What US anti-scam ‘strike force’ means for Southeast...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

A US-led crackdown on online scams may hand Southeast Asia an opportunity to combat the scourge, analysts say, as Washington and Beijing find common purpose in dismantling criminal networks that exploit lax governance and human trafficking. The United States launched its “Scam Centre Strike Force” last week to counter cryptocurrency fraud linked to Southeast Asia, estimating that such crimes defraud Americans of nearly US$10 billion a year. Many of these schemes, dubbed “pig butchering”

Alibaba’s Qwen app challenges AI subscription models...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

Alibaba Group Holding has officially launched its multipurpose artificial intelligence app, Qwen, promising a “free-for-all” gateway for consumers to access a variety of AI-powered services, from mapping to shopping. Qwen, powered by Alibaba Cloud’s open-source model series of the same name and marketed as “the best personal AI assistant”, serves not only as a chatbot but also as a comprehensive AI tool designed to meet user needs in both professional and personal contexts, the company said

6 dead as landslide buries bus on Vietnam’s scenic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

A landslide buried a passenger bus on a treacherous mountain pass in Vietnam, killing six people and injuring 19 others, as more heavy rain was forecast for the week. The earth and rocks collapsed onto the bus late on Sunday as it was travelling through the Khanh Le pass in the central highlands, state media reported. The winding, 33km (20 mile) stretch carved into steep mountainsides is scenic and popular with tourists but prone to landslides in the rainy season. The landslide crushed the

AI-generated scenes ‘from France’s 2025 Louvre heist’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers. A daring daytime heist of jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris on October 19 made international headlines. During the heist, the thieves parked a truck with an extendable ladder under the museum’s Apollo Gallery, and used cutting equipment to get...

Yuan rapidly gaining ground as Chinese firms plot...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

Chinese companies expanding overseas are increasingly using the yuan for financing and payments to build their international operations, boosting the currency’s growing clout in international trade and investment. “Based on my calculation, 10 per cent of our company’s total orders were priced and settled in renminbi,” said Yang Feng, finance director for overseas marketing at Sieyuan Electric, in a panel discussion organised by Standard Chartered at the China International Import Expo in...

Tech war: Huawei bets on AI tech to squeeze more...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies is expected to unveil a new artificial intelligence infrastructure technology on Friday that could double the utilisation efficiency of graphic processing units (GPUs), according to the state-owned Shanghai Securities News. The report said the technology would be able to lift the utilisation rate of AI chips – including GPUs and neural processing units (NPUs) – to 70 per cent, up from the current 30 to 40 per cent, in another major advance in

‘Don’t mention the war’: EU recalibrates China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/11/17

Under pressure from Beijing’s chokehold on rare earths and the simmering feud over chipmaker Nexperia, EU officials have been asked to tone down their public rhetoric on Beijing, even as the bloc moves forward aggressively with its de-risking plans. Brussels is in “de-escalation mode”, several official sources confirmed, as it looks to convince China to issue more licences for the export of the critical minerals vital to hi-tech manufacturing and ensure the supply of chips from beleaguered...

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