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Japan zoo makes workers mimic pandas after returning...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

A zoo in Japan has allowed its staff to mimic pandas in memory of its last four bears which have been returned to China. The unusual caged activity has been seen as an attempt to continue engaging panda lovers. In June last year, four pandas, the 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring, Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin, were returned to China from the Adventure World amusement park in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture. It marks the end of the park’s 31-year history of keeping pandas. Rauhin was also the

China’s massive oil-for-loan debts at risk in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

The US takeover of Venezuela has placed billions of dollars in Chinese oil-for-loan debts at risk, analysts say, though they expect Venezuelan crude to continue flowing to China as the new government seeks immediate revenue. The abduction of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces has left Beijing’s outstanding exposure in the South American nation – estimated at about US$10 billion, according to the research lab AidData – in a state of limbo. An optimistic scenario would involve

Cambodia dissolves accused scam tycoon Chen Zhi’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

A Cambodian bank founded by accused scam boss Chen Zhi, who has been indicted by the United States over a multibillion-dollar fraud and extradited to China, was ordered liquidated on Thursday, Cambodia’s central bank said. Prince Bank “has been placed under liquidation in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia”, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) said in a statement. Prince Bank has been “suspended from providing new banking services, including accepting deposits and providing...

Hong Kong bookstore owner pleads not guilty to using...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

A Hong Kong independent bookstore owner will stand trial after he pleaded not guilty to managing an unregistered school by holding a Spanish class in his shop. Pong Yat-ming was accused of violating the Education Ordinance by allowing a Spanish class to be held on April 23 last year at Book Punch, a bookstore he founded in 2020. The bookshop located in Sham Shui Po occasionally hosts workshops and talks on various subjects, including social issues, travel and mental health. Pong had mentioned

Ex-Bar head Victor Dawes named lead counsel in deadly...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Victor Dawes, former chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, has been appointed lead counsel to an independent committee investigating the city’s deadliest fire in decades, with the inquiry expected to begin in the first quarter, the Post has learned. “Preparation work [for the hearing] has been under way at full force. The target is to start the hearing within the first quarter of this year,” a source said on Thursday. According to a document seen by the Post, Dawes topped the list of

Indonesia’s juvenile justice system under scrutiny...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

A rare case of matricide in Indonesia in which a girl, 12, was arrested for the murder of her mother has put the country’s treatment of juvenile suspects in the spotlight. The child, identified only as AL due to her age, is suspected of having killed her mother, Faizah Soraya, in the early hours of the morning on December 10, when the older woman was asleep in their home in the North Sumatran city of Medan. Soraya was found with 26 stab wounds to her body after AL allegedly attacked her with

Deadly clashes in Aleppo shatter Syria’s fragile...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Fierce fighting in Syria’s northern ‌city of Aleppo between government forces and Kurdish fighters has driven thousands of civilians from their homes, with Washington reported ‍to be mediating a de-escalation. The violence, and statements trading blame over who started it, signalled that a stalemate between Damascus and Kurdish authorities that have resisted integrating into the central government was deepening and growing deadlier. Deadly clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian

North Korea’s Kim expected to cling to nuclear...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

The United States’ decapitation operation against Venezuela will reinforce North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, an aspiration that will continue to draw China’s “tacit tolerance”, according to analysts. After the US military abducted Nicolas Maduro during an attack on Venezuela on Saturday, Pyongyang criticised Washington’s actions as “wildly” violating the sovereignty of Caracas. It was one of a slew of countries that issued swift criticism of the US move. In a statement on Sunday, the North

Hong Kong police searching for mainland Chinese man,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Hong Kong police are searching for a 47-year-old mainland Chinese man who has gone missing for three days. The force said Ye Zhihui was last seen at Tai Au Mun in Tseung Kwan O on Monday morning. His family reporting him missing later that day. According to police, Ye is about 1.65 metres (5.4 feet) tall, weighs 63 kilograms (139lbs) and is of medium build. He has a squarish face and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a greyish-blue long-sleeved jacket, dark trousers and dark grey

Starry Lee secures Hong Kong Legco presidency after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Veteran Hong Kong lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king has been elected president of the Legislative Council, narrowly defeating Ronick Chan Chun-ying by a five-vote margin in the first-ever race between two pro-government contenders for the post. Lee secured 47 votes against Chan’s 42. One member of the 90-seat legislature was absent from the vote. Election committee representative Simon Hoey Lee was not spotted in the chamber. Lee succeeds Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, who stepped down after choosing not

China seeks ‘safe and reliable’ AI supply as global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

China has vowed to achieve a “safe and reliable supply” of bedrock artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by 2027 as the global race for leadership in cutting-edge tech heats up. A plan published on Wednesday by eight government agencies, led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, listed the main areas of work to reach the goal, including promoting the deep application of three to five general-purpose large AI models in the manufacturing sector. By 2027, the plan said, the...

US allies Saudi Arabia, UAE risk a split in Middle...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Washington’s allies in the Middle East and beyond are facing the prospects of joining rival blocs in alignment with the different visions of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates following a rare clash between the two countries over war-torn Yemen. The Saudi bombing of an arms shipment reportedly provided by the UAE to separatists in southern Yemen last week has exposed the two Arab heavyweights’ divergent foreign policy approaches in the strategically important Red Sea and Horn of

Hongkongers shiver as winter monsoon drives...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. A winter chill lingered over Hong Kong on Thursday morning, with temperatures dropping to 12 degrees Celsius across the city and to as low as 5.9 degrees in some northern districts under clear skies and significant radiative cooling. The Hong Kong Observatory recorded minimum

China sends 0.1-second blackout recovery technology...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

China has developed smart power grid technology that cuts blackout recovery time to a 10th of a second, according to state media, which said the innovation was expected to play a bigger role in ensuring the safe and stable distribution of electricity worldwide. The grid protection technology enables power grid faults to be isolated and restored within a hundred-millisecond window, compared with the hours otherwise required, according to a Science and Technology Daily report on Tuesday. It

Alleged scam billionaire Chen Zhi arrested in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Cambodia has extradited to China a billionaire businessman accused of operating a transnational crime network, engaging in cryptocurrency fraud, human trafficking and money laundering. At the request of Chinese authorities, Cambodia arrested three Chinese nationals – including Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Holding Group – and transferred them to China on Tuesday, Cambodia China Times reported on Wednesday night. The Cambodian Ministry of Interior said in a statement that law enforcement

Trump invites Colombia’s president to White House...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

US President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone on Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying they had exchanged a friendly phone call and he had even invited the leader of the South American country to the White House. “It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had,” Trump posted on his social media site. “I appreciated his call and tone, and look...

Malaysia arrests ex-army chief and his wives in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Former army chief Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan has been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over corruption allegations. Also arrested were his two wives after they presented themselves at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya on Wednesday to have their statements recorded in an ongoing investigation involving military contract tenders. Another couple was also arrested earlier in the day over the same investigation and remanded for seven days. Muhammad Hafizuddeain and

Why investors are looking to Southeast Asia’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Foreign money is flowing back into Southeast Asia, and analysts expect the region to remain a draw for global investors even as geopolitical tensions and domestic political risks cloud the outlook. Emerging Southeast Asian markets recorded US$337 million of equity inflow in December last year, the highest monthly figure since September 2024, according to a Bloomberg report. These economies include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Analysts say the rebound points to...

As Beijing targets Tokyo over Takaichi’s Taiwan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

China’s access to Japan’s coveted industrial-use goods – especially a critical chipmaking ingredient – may face hurdles if Tokyo imposes export restrictions in the event of a prolonged political dispute, though trade is holding steady for now, analysts and a trade organisation said. Beijing’s response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s November 7 remarks about Taiwan has prompted some analysts to ask what cards Tokyo might play should the relationship deteriorate further. Beijing’s...

Hang Seng Bank shareholders set to back HSBC’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/08

Hong Kong’s banking sector is set for a landmark transformation as thousands of Hang Seng Bank shareholders vote on HSBC Holdings’ bid to take the lender private on Thursday morning. Analysts expected an overwhelming approval for the proposal, which offers shareholders HK$155 a share – 30 per cent higher than Hang Seng Bank’s HK$119 closing price on the last trading day before the announcement on October 9. Since then, HSBC has risen 15 per cent to close at HK$127.20 on Wednesday, on the eve

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