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Top biotech scientist Chen Xiaoyuan denies sexual...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Biomedical scientist Professor Chen Xiaoyuan denies allegations of sexual harassment and says he will appeal against the termination of his tenure by the National University of Singapore (NUS) over an alleged breach of staff conduct policies. The termination, confirmed to the South China Morning Post by NUS on Wednesday, followed an internal investigation into claims by a female PhD candidate who accused Chen of repeated verbal and physical misconduct since early this year. Chen broke his...

Beijing extends Mars mission lead; stranded...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China space stories of the year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Stranded Chinese astronauts return home from space station mission Three astronauts whose return to Earth from China’s Tiangong space station was delayed after a suspected debris strike touched down on November 14 at the Dongfeng landing site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. 2. China’s Shenzhou 20 debris crisis: a catalyst for space war –

In world first, Chinese surgeons save patient’s ear...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Chinese surgeons have performed the world’s first operation to graft a patient’s torn-off ear onto her foot before putting it back in place. The woman’s ear was torn off in a workplace accident in April that also ripped away a large part of her scalp, medical news social media account Yixue Jie, or Med-J, reported on Monday. Qiu Shenqiang, deputy director of the microsurgery unit at Shandong Provincial Hospital in Jinan, said the woman’s injuries had been caused by heavy machinery and left

China village imposes ‘unjust’ fines for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

A Chinese village has faced an online backlash after it introduced controversial fines for pregnancies outside marriage and couples living together before they wed. The village, in Lincang, Yunnan province, southwestern China, sparked heated debate online after a notice titled “Village Rules: Everyone is Equal” was photographed and reposted by netizens. According to widely circulated photos on social media, the notice outlines strict penalties for unmarried pregnancies, cohabitation without...

Hong Kong restaurant sales fall 10% over Christmas as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Hong Kong’s food and beverage sector recorded a 10 per cent year-on-year drop in business over the Christmas period, an industry leader said, as 1.2 million trips were made through the city’s borders on the first day of the long holiday. But the city’s hospitality sector appeared to fare better, with one hotel group saying two of its properties recorded more than 90 per cent occupancy and a slight rise of 5 per cent in room tariffs. Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of...

The brutal life of child recruits under a shadowy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Forcibly recruited into a rebel militia affiliated with Islamic State, two boys have revealed the “torment” of living in its camps as members committed massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast. The two minors freed from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) gave Agence France-Presse an unprecedented account of the shadowy group, notorious for its extreme brutality. Paluku, a frail 12-year-old, spent two months with the ADF after rebels killed his mother during an attack on his...

Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Israel is cashing in on soaring international demand for combat-proven air defence systems, as analysts say the billions of dollars' worth of weapon sales will significantly expand the country’s influence beyond the Middle East. The weapon exports to Europe, Asia and Africa are helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration overcome its diplomatic isolation over the Gaza war by making the Jewish-majority state a key long-term security partner for its customers. “Exporting air

Hong Kong probes mainland Chinese driver for using...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Hong Kong authorities have vowed to investigate a mainland Chinese driver under the southbound travel vehicle scheme and may suspend his eligibility after he posted a video of himself using adaptive cruise control illegally in the city on social media. The Transport Department said on Friday that it would issue a warning to the driver while urging Guangdong motorists under the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Entry into Urban Area)” scheme to use Octopus cards for car park access

Inside Chernobyl: Ukraine races to repair radiation...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Inside an abandoned control room at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, a worker in an orange hard hat gazed at a grey wall of seemingly endless dials, screens and gauges that were supposed to prevent disaster. The 1986 meltdown at the site was the world’s worst ever nuclear incident. Since Russia invaded in 2022, Kyiv fears another disaster could be just a matter of time. In February, a Russian drone hit and left a large hole in the New Safe Confinement (NSC), the outer of two radiation...

China’s reusable rocket failure, PLA’s growth leaves...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Pentagon says Chinese aircraft carriers, 6th-gen fighters make US ‘vulnerable’ A Pentagon report contends that China’s development of its aircraft carriers, sixth-generation fighters and nuclear arsenal illustrates Beijing’s...

China vows to keep up the fight after record number...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to keep up efforts to fight corruption next year after a record 63 high-ranking officials – known as “tigers” – were placed under investigation on suspicion of graft in 2025. During a meeting on Thursday, top decision-making body the Politburo also discussed a plan to improve conduct within the party, strengthen integrity and combat graft, official news agency Xinhua reported. It said officials at the meeting had agreed to “resolutely push forward the...

China’s C919 maker teams up with China Eastern with a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

China’s state-owned planemaker intends to supersize its flagship jet through a partnership with a major domestic carrier to meet rising market demand for bigger narrowbody types, according to sources. The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) signed an agreement with China Eastern Airlines last week to deepen cooperation, including on a stretched variant of the single-aisle C919 that would be able to seat at least 200 passengers, the Post has learned. The deal positions China Eastern, the...

China’s rising biotech clout on show in flurry of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Chinese drugmakers have signed a late-year burst of out-licensing agreements with overseas partners, underlining China’s growing role as a source of novel medicines as multinational pharma groups hunt for new assets. Jacobio Pharmaceuticals said it expected to receive an upfront payment of US$100 million from AstraZeneca, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on December 21. The British-Swedish drugmaker was paying for exclusive rights to research, develop, register,

Hong Kong could take ‘lead in supporting Greater Bay...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Hong Kong could take a leading role in supporting children with autism in the Greater Bay Area, a former medical faculty dean has said, ahead of plans for a comprehensive care platform to come into operation within a year. Professor Francis Chan Ka-leung of the Chinese University of Hong Kong said the one-stop platform would comprise professionals from the medical, education, insurance and finance sectors, among others. The academic said that a research team from the university’s medical

China’s new quantum computer hits stability...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Chinese researchers have taken a major step in the global race to build practical quantum computers, becoming the first team outside the United States – and the second in the world after Google – to cross a key threshold that determines whether these machines can work reliably at scale. A team led by Pan Jianwei at the University of Science and Technology of China said their superconducting quantum computer, Zuchongzhi 3.2, had reached the fault-tolerant threshold – a point where fixing

‘Can’t buy true love’: Chinese man abducted as child...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

A man in China who was abducted at the age of four has reunited with his birth parents and severed ties with the family who brought him up. On December 12, Peng Congcong, now 26, originally from Jiangxi province in southeastern China, shared an online post looking back at his first year after reuniting with his birth family. Peng said his family moved to Beijing when he was four and he was abducted after being lured away while playing alone near a market. His devastated parents reported him...

Quiet strength: how Hong Kong’s Tai Po community is...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Tai Po residents are forging ahead with new paths forward following a catastrophic blaze that claimed the lives of 161 people. In this first part of a series on how the community is moving on one month from the fire, Fiona Sun explores how the neighbourhood is rebuilding and adapting. A heavy quiet has settled over the neighbourhood in Hong Kong’s Tai Po where seven towers stand charred. Gone are the piles of flowers and notes bearing messages of grief and condolences that filled a makeshift...

US launches strike on Islamic State targets in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US launched a “powerful and deadly” strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country’s government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians. In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes. But a video posted by ‍the Pentagon showed at least one projectile launching from a warship. A US...

King Charles calls for ‘reconciliation’ in Christmas...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Britain’s King Charles called for “compassion and reconciliation” at a time of “division” across the world in his Christmas Day message on Thursday.The 77-year-old monarch said he found it “enormously encouraging” how people of different faiths had a “shared longing for peace”. Charles praised individuals who risked their lives to save others in situations of violence, including those caught up in the killings at a Jewish event at Bondi Beach in Australia this month. “Individuals and...

‘Golden Fleet’: will Trump’s battleship plan deter...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

US President Donald Trump’s new battleship plan, apparently aimed at deterring China, faces huge implementation hurdles and could cause Beijing to double down on its anti-ship weapons, according to analysts. Trump unveiled a new class of navy battleships on Monday. These “Trump-class” ships will be larger, faster and “100 times more powerful” than any previously built, according to the American leader, forming the centrepiece of what he called an expanded “Golden Fleet” aimed at cementing US...

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