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Aspiring Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman welcomed home...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Aspiring prime minister and political heavyweight Tarique Rahman was welcomed back to Bangladesh on Thursday by huge crowds of joyous supporters after 17 years in self-imposed exile. Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and heir apparent of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), shook hands with party leaders after touching down at the Dhaka airport. Accompanied by his wife and daughter, a visibly emotional Rahman took off his shoes, stood on the grass outside the airport and...

Duopoly of Air India, IndiGo to face competition from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

India’s aviation sector is poised to become more competitive after authorities granted initial approval to two new airlines to start operations in the country, in a move that will further challenge the duopoly of IndiGo and Air India. The expansion comes as the sector was rattled by a series of setbacks this year, including IndiGo’s massive flight cancellations earlier this month and the crash of an Air India plane in Ahmedabad in June. On Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan...

Indonesians in flood-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island. The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations. Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage. Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster

From Shein to Labubu, French shoppers are buying...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

The first physical store of Chinese-owned fast-fashion giant Shein – which opened in central Paris in November amid heated protests – has become a new retail destination for many denizens of the French capital as they rush to finish their Christmas shopping. Hundreds of customers wandered among the racks of clothing, rifling through items carrying tags with rock-bottom prices, including a €66.99 (US$79) leather jacket and a €78.99 puffer coat. Those wishing to use the fitting rooms at the

Hong Kong taxi driver hospitalised after crashing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

A 61-year-old taxi driver has been hospitalised in Hong Kong after her vehicle crashed through the back door of a school building in Kwun Tong, requiring fire services to extract her from the car. Police said they were alerted at 10.33am on Thursday that a cabby was injured and trapped inside her vehicle after crashing into the building of Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo) in Kwun Tong. “The driver did not show signs of having consumed alcohol during her breath test,” a force spokesman

Charity vows to give every Hong Kong fire-affected...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

The deadly inferno that raged through a housing estate in Hong Kong last month has prompted youngsters at charity Kids4Kids to spring into action to help children affected by the blaze. Last month’s fire swept through seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight blocks, raging for about 43 hours and claiming 161 lives. While the group was already planning a Christmas toy collection, it has stepped up the drive and aims to give a new toy to every child affected by the tragedy. Founded in 2008, the

China axes 8 from top advisory body CPPCC, including...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Four former defence company bosses have been sacked by China’s top political advisory body amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign in the military and related sectors.They are among eight members removed from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) under a decision passed by the body’s National Committee in Beijing on Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua. Revocation of CPPCC membership – rather than resignation – typically signals suspicions of serious...

Hundreds flock to opening of Hong Kong Food Festival...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

While many Hongkongers have left the city over the Christmas holiday, hundreds of others have flocked to the annual Hong Kong Food Festival in Wan Chai for the first of a five-day fair featuring gourmet seafood, snacks and other delicacies. “I’m going to buy whatever catches my eye today, I don’t have a particular budget,” Angel Wong, a 40-year-old customer service worker, said. “I don’t think I can get away from spending at least HK$600 [US$77] to HK$700.” Wong, who has attended the event at...

CATL poised to bring Yichun lithium output back...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), the world’s biggest maker of electric-vehicle batteries, is set to restart a major lithium mine in eastern China, in a move that could ease raw material costs for the EV supply chain. Jiemian News, a Shanghai-based financial outlet, reported that the Yichun mine in Jiangxi province was expected to receive regulatory approval to resume operations shortly before or after the nine-day Lunar New Year break, which begins on February 15. CATL declined to...

US politicians back Coupang, seethe over South...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Coupang’s significant spending on lobbying politicians in the United States has apparently paid off, with Republicans criticising the South Korean government’s ongoing investigation into the Seattle-headquartered e-commerce firm. They have denounced South Korea’s investigation into Coupang as an attempt to favour China while remaining silent on the company’s massive data breach of the personal information of 33.7 million users, allegedly by a former employee who is a Chinese national. Amid...

Thousands stuck for hours at Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Tens of thousands of Hongkongers were stuck for hours at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on Christmas Day, as residents streamed out of the city’s border checkpoints for the holiday. Police and rail giant the MTR Corporation also warned on Thursday morning that Shenzhen Bay, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau spur line control points were crowded and that travellers should expect a longer time to cross the border. The wave of outbound travel started on Christmas Eve on Wednesday, when the net outflow of...

Chinese SUV maker Jetour bets on localised product...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Chinese sports utility vehicle maker Jetour, with an eye on becoming a global SUV powerhouse, plans to accelerate its overseas expansion in the Middle East with products tailored to local motorists. Already present in more than 100 countries and regions after seven years in operation, Jetour said at a recent fan gathering in Abu Dhabi that it was banking on local research and development (R&D) efforts to design and build world-class SUVs for countries in the Middle East. “We are listening...

Fujian enters service, J-10C’s combat action: 10...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China military stories of the year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, enters service China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered into service on Wednesday at a grand ceremony in Sanya, Hainan province, according to state media reports on Friday. 2. How did China’s J-10C match up to French Rafale in India-Pakistan aerial clash? Reports that France’s

Bronze Age cemetery offers up clues to how ancient...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Pottery vessels containing traces of alcohol from a Bronze Age cemetery in northwestern China indicate that people at the time consumed beverages made using a fermentation starter of rice and a red mould. Archaeologists said the drink, similar to red rice wine, played a key role in their mortuary rituals, and its presence at the Mogou cemetery suggested a tradition that probably served to strengthen the bond between the living and the dead. Researchers from Northwest University in Xian, the...

China university offers US$11,000 ‘micro’ overseas...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

A privately run college in China has come under fire for asking students who failed exams to pay as much as 79,800 yuan (US$11,000) to join a nonexistent “micro study abroad” programme to have their fail record removed. Xian Technology and Business College, financed by Beijing Northern Investment Group, is a little-known institute in Xian, Shaanxi province, northwestern China. In mid-December, some parents complained to the news outlet Benliu News that teachers at the school coerced them into...

‘Holding on to hope’: Hong Kong fire survivors make...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

Retired Hong Kong civil servant Ng Kook-yiu takes a shuttle bus every day from his transitional housing flat to the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. “I long to see my home, where I spent four decades of my life. It breaks my heart to see it each time, but it is still my home,” the 76-year-old said. Ng lived alone in the housing estate before the city’s deadliest blaze in decades engulfed seven of its eight buildings on November 26, killing at least 161 people. Like other residents who

China’s offshore yuan breaks major benchmark as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

China’s offshore yuan strengthened further on Thursday, dipping below the benchmark rate of seven against the US dollar – another sign of the currency’s continued appreciation after a brief breach of the same threshold on Wednesday evening. The recent fluctuations mark the currency’s first appreciation past the major psychological marker in 15 months, suggesting a change in market sentiment and providing more support for the global investors and economists who have argued the currency has

Philippine court upholds murder verdict in drug war...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

The Philippine Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of three policemen who killed a teenage boy at the height of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs in 2017, a watershed moment that legal analysts say affirms the country’s justice system. In a decision made public on Monday, the court found Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda and Jerwin Cruz guilty of murdering 17-year-old high school student Kian delos Santos while conducting an anti-drug operation in the city of Caloocan in...

Chill to deepen on Boxing Day as Hongkongers wake up...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/25

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. Hongkongers woke up to a cold Christmas Day, but the weather is expected to get even colder on Boxing Day, with temperatures set to drop further to 13 degrees Celsius (55.4 Fahrenheit). The Hong Kong Observatory said on Thursday that the city was “appreciably cooler” under the influence

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