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News - South China Morning Post

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Beijing looks for social workers for posts on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

China is recruiting social workers for disputed islands in the South China Sea. According to a notice published on Monday, the government of Sansha, the authority set up to administer the disputed territories, said it was looking for 11 “community workers” to post on eight reefs and islands in the Paracel and the Spratly islands. The territories include Woody Island, the administrative centre of the disputed territories, and Mischief Reef, which is home to a large military base. The notice

Japan woman mocked for ‘ugly’ looks, resists cosmetic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

A 50-year-old Japanese woman, who was mocked for being “ugly” as a child, has shunned cosmetic surgery and spent 13 years taking more than 30,000 selfies to study make-up, skincare and fashion. The ridiculing left Kozue Sakurada with deep emotional scars, but her persistence has inspired countless people online. A male classmate once stared at her and repeated the word “ugly” to her face 10 times. Other boys even made up a parody of a children’s song to mock her large nose. By her early...

Tougher building checks may add costs, slow projects,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Extra costs and the use of public resources may be incurred under the Hong Kong government’s proposed moves to increase professional scrutiny of building maintenance projects following the deadly Tai Po inferno, a lawmaker has said, calling for further discussion. Election Committee lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo, a town planner by training, said on Thursday that expanding the Urban Renewal Authority’s (URA) role in such projects might require extra time and money, urging the government and...

Man shot by federal officer in Minneapolis as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

A federal officer shot a man in the leg on Wednesday night in Minneapolis, a week after the fatal shooting of a local woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent touched off angry protests and an intensifying clash between state leaders and the Trump administration. The shooting followed a targeted traffic stop shortly before 7pm Central Time, when the man fled in his vehicle and crashed into a parked car, according to Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland...

2 killed in Thai crane collapse just a day after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

A crane collapsed over a Thai highway outside Bangkok, crushing cars and killing two people on Thursday, just a day after another construction crane plunged onto a rail track in the country’s northeast, killing 32 passengers. Thursday’s incident occurred just outside Bangkok in Samut Sakhon province, where a crane installed on an under-construction elevated highway toppled onto the busy road below. Dashcam footage shared on social media shows the crane collapse onto unsuspecting drivers in a...

Pakistan’s arms deals cleared for take-off as JF-17...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Pakistan is increasingly confident of making billion-dollar arms sales, headlined by JF-17 fighters co-produced with China, as up to six Muslim-majority countries look to upgrade their air forces amid growing geopolitical turbulence and civil wars. A preliminary deal worth US$4 billion for an unspecified number of JF-17s and other training aircraft manufactured by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex was struck last month with the Libyan National Army, according to Reuters reports citing Aamir

61 million passenger trips at Hong Kong airport in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Passenger trips at the Hong Kong International Airport reached 61 million in 2025, marking a 15 per cent year-on-year increase, after a full year of operation with the facility’s third runway. The Airport Authority said on Thursday that the strong figures came on the back of a busy Christmas season, which saw over 200,000 daily passenger trips over eight days in December. Cargo throughput for the year also rose by 2.7 per cent to 5.07 million tonnes. “The strong traffic performance in 2025

Japan, Philippines tighten ties with new defence pact...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Japan and the Philippines signed a defence pact on Thursday that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with Beijing, which was angered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that potential mainland Chinese action

Hong Kong consumer watchdog urges better elderly...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has called on businesses to improve services for elderly customers after receiving more than 9,200 complaints in the past three years, including a woman who spent HK$400,000 (US$51,294) on beauty treatments. The Consumer Council said on Thursday that improving services for seniors would help boost the spending potential of the “silver economy”, a priority for the city’s government amid a rapidly ageing population. “The council urges traders to provide tailored...

Chinese military says it is developing over 10...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

China’s military says it is using quantum technology to gather high-value military intelligence from public cyberspace. The People’s Liberation Army said more than 10 experimental quantum cyber warfare tools were “under development”, many of which were being “tested in front-line missions”, according to the official newspaper Science and Technology Daily. The project is being led by a supercomputing laboratory at the National University of Defence Technology, according to the report, with a...

China’s C919 airliner put through paces by test...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

European aviation evaluators have begun test flights of China’s home-grown C919 airliner in Shanghai, the Post has learned, as the manufacturer of the narrowbody jet presses ahead with its bid to secure Western safety certification – a crucial step in the journey to global adoption and being able to compete with industry leaders Boeing and Airbus. Two test pilots from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have conducted verification flights, according to a source with knowledge of

BTS fans in Malaysia ecstatic over comeback concerts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

The announcement that BTS will return to Malaysia after more than a decade has sent K-pop fans into a frenzy, with many calling it a once-in-a-lifetime moment. The South Korean supergroup will stage two concerts in Kuala Lumpur on December 12 and 13, marking its first appearance in the country since 2015, when it performed its Red Bullet Tour at Mega Star Arena. This will also be BTS’ first-ever concert in Kuala Lumpur as its previous Malaysia performance was held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. For...

Hong Kong, Shenzhen ‘to deepen’ ties in finance and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Hong Kong and Shenzhen can work closely to empower finance with artificial intelligence, delegates said on Thursday at the China Conference: Greater Bay Area, an event hosted by the South China Morning Post. Joseph Chan Ho-lim, undersecretary for Financial Services and the Treasury in the Hong Kong government, said Hong Kong and Shenzhen were seeking deeper cooperation between finance and technology. Chan said at the event in Qianhai, a bonded zone in Shenzhen, that Hong Kong, as a...

Musk’s Grok barred from undressing AI images after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Elon Musk’s platform X on Wednesday announced measures to prevent its AI chatbot Grok from undressing images of real people, following global backlash over its generation of sexualised photos of women and children. The announcement came after California’s attorney general launched an investigation into Musk’s xAI - the developer of Grok - over the sexually explicit material and multiple countries either blocked access to the chatbot or launched their own probes. X said it would “geoblock the...

Trump’s 500% tariff push raises risk of India-US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

US President Donald Trump’s backing for a Senate bill that would allow tariffs of up to 500 per cent on goods from countries buying Russian oil has raised the prospect of a near-freeze in trade between India and its largest export market, as New Delhi continues to absorb steep US duties imposed last year. Trump last week gave the green light to the proposal, which targets any country that continues to buy Russian oil, petroleum products or uranium, a move seen as part of Washington’s effort

Time to end bid-rigging in Hong Kong with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Recent events in Hong Kong, particularly the tragic blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last November, have focused society’s attention on reforms to the legal system, especially those concerning building management and maintenance. Corruption and improper practices in the tendering process for large-scale building renovation or maintenance have also become a hot-button issue. In response, the government has established an independent committee to uncover the causes of the fire and examine...

Without pension reform, China is leaving its rural...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

“Rural heating problems in Hebei cannot wait any longer” declared a recent report in Farmers’ Daily. It described a disturbing reality in parts of northern China: elderly villagers who would rather shiver through freezing temperatures than turn on their heaters, because they simply cannot afford the cost. For many urban readers, this may sound implausible. For millions of rural elderly, it is routine. On the surface, the problem appears to be a side effect of China’s well-intentioned...

Trump prevails in US Senate showdown over Venezuela...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

US President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign to unify his party behind his takeover of Venezuela succeeded Wednesday when all but three Senate Republicans voted to block a resolution opposing further military action in the country. US Vice-President J.D. Vance broke a tie vote in order to stop the resolution. The 51-50 vote followed fiery phone calls from Trump to Republican defectors who last week voted to advance the resolution. Trump’s success in flipping votes effectively ends one of the...

China midwife accidentally severs baby’s middle...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/15

Social media in China has been shocked and outraged by a midwife who cut off a newborn baby’s finger when severing his umbilical cord during a caesarean section. The infant boy was born on the morning of December 25, at Xuyi County People’s Hospital in Jiangsu province, eastern China. Two hours later, his father was told by doctors that the child’s left middle finger had been snipped by accident during the surgery, the Red Star News reported. The baby then faced two hospital transfers before...

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