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News - South China Morning Post

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How the AI race could play out for the US, China and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

The global artificial intelligence (AI) race remains one of the most hotly contested spheres of international competition. Few would bet today on an eventual winner, but current trends point to three possible scenarios that we should consider. In the first scenario, the AI world is dominated by the US and China. While the US still has the technological edge, China is closing in fast and vies with the US for leadership on many of the key dimensions of AI prowess. According to Stanford...

Trump’s Venezuela and Greenland threats make Canada...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

For months, many Canadians hoped Donald Trump had lost interest in making their country the 51st US state – his plate full with turning Washington and the global trading system upside down. Those hopes are fading. The shock capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Trump’s ramped-up talk of seizing Greenland have rattled Canada, forcing citizens to take seriously the US president’s past threats to Canadian sovereignty. The administration’s declaration that “THIS IS OUR HEMISPHERE”

Minneapolis ICE shooting: mayor urges activists not...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Saturday urged demonstrators protesting the fatal shooting of a ‍motorist by a US immigration agent to stay peaceful, saying that any unlawful actions would play into US President Donald Trump’s hands. Frey, a Democrat, cautioned them as civil liberties and migrant rights groups prepared nationwide rallies to protest the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday. Minnesota and US officials have

Nestlé Hong Kong recalls another baby milk formula...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Nestlé Hong Kong has recalled another batch of baby milk formula over fears of potential bacterial contamination, while the latest government tests found no toxins in the brand’s products currently on sale locally.A spokeswoman for Nestlé Hong Kong said on Saturday that the company had added a batch of formula with a best-before date of June 16, 2027, to its recall list first released on Tuesday over cereulide, a toxin derived from the microorganism Bacillus cereus. “The batch only had a

Suspect in custody after 6 killed in US state of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

A person was in custody on Saturday after six people were killed in a series of related shootings in eastern Mississippi, US authorities said. Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said in a Facebook post that “multiple innocent lives” were lost “due to violence” in the town of West Point, near the Alabama border. The sheriff told WTVA that six people were killed in three locations. A suspect was in custody and there was no threat to the community, the sheriff wrote on Facebook. “I ask that you

Irish farmers in protest march against EU-Mercosur...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Thousands of Irish farmers protested on Saturday against the European Union’s trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, a day after EU states approved the treaty despite opposition from Ireland and France. Tractors streamed into the roads of Athlone, in central Ireland, for the demonstration, displaying signs including “Stop EU-Mercosur” and ones with the European Union flag emblazoned with the words “sell out”. Farmers on Friday also marched in Poland and blocked roads in France and...

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority approves 85% of fee...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has said it receives about 5,000 public medical fee waiver applications a day under a recent shake-up, with an average approval rate of around 85 per cent, following complaints from patients about complicated procedures. The authority released the numbers on Saturday, which showed that the approval rate for fee reductions at some public hospital clusters reached nearly 90 per cent, with patients issued a certificate on the same day they applied. “The Hospital...

F-16 fighter jet crash brings fresh scrutiny to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Taiwan’s latest military crash involving an upgraded F-16 fighter jet has sparked fresh scrutiny of the readiness of the island’s ageing arsenal amid the sustained high-tempo demands of cross-strait tensions. The episode on Tuesday has sharpened debate over whether upgrades and new armament purchases can realistically keep pace with increasing wear, maintenance constraints and the rapid modernisation of mainland China’s forces, according to lawmakers and analysts. The incident involved an

Trump’s immigration crackdown ‘invites danger’,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

US President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown increasingly is sparking violent confrontations with both migrants and American citizens, a development grimly underscored by an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman this week. Under ‌Trump’s orders to ramp up deportations, masked immigration officers have surged into Democratic-led cities, sprayed tear gas in residential streets, tackled people in car parks and pointed guns at bystanders trying to film them. A federal...

Hong Kong slams attempts to ‘smear’ government ahead...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

A top Hong Kong official has condemned attempts by external forces and “anti-China absconders” to “smear” the government ahead of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s mitigation hearing, saying the former media boss’ conviction showed that any plots to undermine national security will fail. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said on Saturday that such smear campaigns during Lai’s national security trial were proof that Hong Kong still faced risks that could not be taken...

Singapore steps up migrant worker reforms amid calls...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

The life of a migrant worker in Singapore is bittersweet. Ramesh, 29, came to the city state in search of a good job. He hails from Tamil Nadu, India, and earns just over S$600 (US$466) a month working as a technician at a large multinational firm. While this is double what he made in India and has helped put his sisters through college there, it is only about 10 per cent of the S$5,775 nominal median gross monthly income of Singaporeans. Grappling with an ageing population and a low

China calls on US to form united front against...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

China has called on the US to work together to prevent a resurgence of militarism in Japan, with Beijing signalling that more sanctions could be in the pipeline for Tokyo’s defence industry. “Preventing militarism from harming the world again is in the common interest of both our countries [China and the United States],” Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in an article published in US-based Executive Intelligence Review earlier this week. “We should rise above...

Hong Kong’s Legco to discuss post-Tai Po fire support...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Hong Kong’s newly elected lawmakers will discuss a government motion to strengthen support for affected Wang Fuk Court fire residents at their first chamber meeting next Wednesday, but will skip a regular question session for officials. The Legislative Council chamber meeting for legislators, who assumed their posts on January 1, will also debate a lawmaker’s motion that calls for a review of the city’s building maintenance system and a crackdown on bid rigging in renovation projects. Legco...

1 dead in UK, 100,000 French homes without power as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

A man was killed after a tree fell on a caravan in England after record winds brought by Storm Goretti, as 100,000 homes in France were still without power on Saturday. Some 15 people have died in weather-related accidents this week across Europe as gale-force winds and storms caused travel mayhem, shut schools, and cut power to hundreds of thousands in freezing temperatures. The storm barrelled through southwestern Cornwall and parts of Wales overnight Thursday to Friday, with gusts of up to...

Including suppliers in new Hong Kong rules on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Hong Kong’s development minister has ruled out expanding an approval system for scaffolding nets to cover suppliers, saying it would amount to government overreach, while the first batch of accredited mesh is expected to be available to contractors next week. The accreditation of scaffold nets was among the measures introduced to enhance fire safety at construction sites following the deadly Tai Po inferno in November. The government ordered the removal of all netting on about 420 buildings...

Taiwan to fortify critical facilities and ramp up...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Taiwan will double down on strengthening key facilities, including defences against drones, and ramp up ammunition production to withstand growing pressure from the mainland, according to senior officials on the island. Taiwanese Vice-Premier Cheng Li-chiun said on Thursday that the government would continue to reinforce critical infrastructure and defences against unmanned aerial vehicles. “Taiwan must be more fully prepared, especially in the face of the possibility of various new forms of...

Hong Kong education summit to discuss impact of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

The impact of geopolitics on education, including whether American universities can still offer students a positive experience, will be discussed among 2,500 delegates from more than 65 jurisdictions at a major international conference in Hong Kong next month. The city will host the annual Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) Conference and Exhibition two years after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu vowed in a policy address to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand by...

North Korea: the elephant in the room when Xi met Lee...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

The leaders of South Korea and China wrapped up a summit this week with both underlining support for one of Beijing’s diplomatic priorities but making no tangible progress on North Korea, Seoul’s main concern. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday for a high-stakes summit held just over nine weeks after their first meeting. During the trip, Lee declared 2026 as the year for the “full restoration of South Korea-China relations” and Xi...

China woman who lost limbs in car crash assigns...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Five years after she lost her left arm and leg in a car crash, a Chinese influencer started a shoe-cleaning business that provides jobs for disabled people. Weng Xinyi has continued to move people with her optimistic life attitude. The 30-year-old’s left arm and leg were amputated after her friend crashed a Porsche sports car in 2020. She suffered three heart attacks and 14 rounds of surgery to survive. Weng’s boyfriend left her and her friend, who survived the crash intact, stopped paying

Crackdown fears grow as Iran rocked by new rallies:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Major Iranian cities were gripped overnight by new mass rallies denouncing the Islamic republic, as activists on Saturday expressed fear authorities were intensifying their suppression of the demonstrations under cover of an internet blackout. The two weeks of protests have posed one of the biggest challenges to the theocratic authorities who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, although supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed defiance and blamed the United...

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