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Helper who survived Hong Kong fire recovers in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

The Filipino domestic worker who fought for her life to escape from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades with her employer’s three-month-old baby is spending Christmas with her family back home after being treated for pneumonia. While 28-year-old Rhodora Alcaraz's time in intensive care is long behind her, she is still recovering from pneumonia and has been referred to a psychiatrist to help process her trauma. The helper was earlier lauded by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr as a

China actress Mao Xiaotong abandoned by dad, rejects...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Award-winning Chinese actress Mao Xiaotong may be famous for her sweet and cute appearance, but she has a tough streak that has seen her walk away from toxic relationships with her father and ex-boyfriend. Mao, 37, has won multiple awards including the Magnolia Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Huading Award for Best Actress in Contemporary Drama. She is widely recognised for playing independent and innocent female characters in Chinese television dramas, such as Nothing but Thirty

Zelensky reveals US-backed 20-point peace plan and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest version of a plan to end the Russian invasion would freeze the front line, but still pave the way for Ukrainian withdrawals and the creation of demilitarised zones. “We now have draft documents that largely reflect the joint Ukrainian-American position, in some respects the American position,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday. “Some issues are still to be resolved.” Still, Zelensky offered an upbeat assessment, saying the...

Burglary of JD.com warehouse in France prompts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Following the burglary of a warehouse belonging to Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com on Monday, a judicial source has confirmed an investigation has begun on charges of theft by an organised gang.The incident came in the middle of the Christmas shopping season and took place in the town of Dugny, a northern suburb of Paris that serves as a midpoint between the French capital and its main freight hub, Charles de Gaulle Airport. Suspects neutralised the warehouse’s video surveillance system,

Najib’s children lament Malaysian court ruling – ‘we...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

The children of ex-Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak have been yearning for their father to leave prison and the family to spend the New Year together. But their hopes were dashed this week after a court ruled against Najib’s application to return home under house arrest. In a five-minute video posted online shortly after the decision on Monday, Najib’s eldest son, Mohd Nizar Najib, said the family had gone to court prepared for both outcomes, but had quietly believed the long fight –

Cool Christmas break for Hong Kong as temperatures to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

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. Temperatures in Hong Kong will drop to as low as 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 Fahrenheit) over the Christmas holiday due to an approaching northeasterly monsoon, according to the Observatory. The forecaster said on Wednesday that the “replenishment of the northeast monsoon” would reach the...

Thailand election 2025: Anutin named PM candidate in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Thailand’s caretaker leader Anutin Charnvirakul was picked by his party on Wednesday to stand as its candidate for prime minister in a ‌general election in early February, as he bids to benefit from a wave of nationalism ‍arising from an ongoing border conflict with Cambodia. Less than 100 days after he was elected premier, Anutin dissolved parliament earlier this month when his minority government faced the threat of a no-confidence vote. Speaking to party members and supporters on

South Korean webtoon slammed for heroine resembling...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

A webtoon in South Korea has come under fire for a protagonist some say resembles the only publicly known child of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with critics arguing the series normalises a clandestine regime notorious for alleged human rights abuses. Princess Goes to School, a fictional romantic comedy released last week on platform giant Naver, centres on Kim Seol – a seemingly ordinary high school student in South Korea who is unaware she is the scion of Pyongyang’s rulers – and her...

China’s Deep Robotics joins IPO rush as embodied...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Deep Robotics, a Hangzhou-based maker of quadruped and humanoid robots, has taken the first formal step towards a mainland stock market listing, becoming the latest Chinese start-up to join a year-end rush into capital markets. The company had entered its initial public offering (IPO) “guidance” phase, according to information published by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Wednesday, December 24. The preparatory work was scheduled to be completed by June next year. The move made

China, Russia partnership ‘stronger than ever’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Western sanctions have not weakened ties between Beijing and Moscow but instead fostered closer dialogue and higher levels of mutual trust, Russia’s ambassador to China Igor Morgulov said on Tuesday. Addressing a forum at Renmin University of China in Beijing, Morgulov portrayed the deepening partnership as a response to efforts aimed at constraining both countries’ technological development and distorting fair competition. China and Russia had expanded cooperation in an “extremely complex”...

India’s gem sector regains shine beyond US as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

India’s gem and jewellery exports, among the country’s biggest earners, are rebounding in ways that reflect a successful push to diversify trade away from the United States amid higher tariffs and a tougher global trade environment, analysts and industry executives have said. The industry’s shipments rose 19.64 per cent year on year to US$2.51 billion in November, even after Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian goods – a move that had initially raised fears of a sharp hit

BYD’s big plans in Brazil, Xpeng tries to go global:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. BYD plans giant Brazil factory to scale electric bus and truck production Chinese carmaker BYD plans to build a new factory in Brazil within the next three years after rising demand for electric buses filled its existing production capacity and forced the company to redraw its...

Do Singapore’s athletes need more funding? Official’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

A statement by the secretary general of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) that athletics had to “come to the party” for the city state to attain better SEA Games results has elicited a heated response from the local athletics community and others in the sporting fraternity. The saga also sparked discussion on whether Singapore’s athletes were receiving sufficient monetary rewards for achievements and rigorous development pathways. SNOC chief Mark Chay made the comments on Saturday...

Culled bear meat sparks Japan restaurant feeding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Since Japan recorded a spike in deadly bear attacks, Koji Suzuki has struggled to keep up with booming demand for grilled cuts of the animal at his restaurant. Cooked on a stone slate – or in a hot pot with vegetables – the meat comes from bears culled to curb maulings that have killed a record 13 people this year. Suzuki’s eatery in the hilly city of Chichibu near Tokyo also serves deer and wild boar, but bear has surged in popularity after months of headlines about the animals breaking into...

Moscow blast kills 2 police near site of Russian...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Three people were killed by a bomb on Wednesday in Moscow after two police officers approached a ⁠man acting suspiciously near the site where a senior general was killed two days ago by a car bomb that Russia said was planted by Ukrainian intelligence. A string of Russian military figures and high-profile supporters of the war in ‍Ukraine have been assassinated during the nearly four-year-old conflict. Ukrainian military intelligence has said ‍it was responsible for a number of the...

Teen ‘mastermind’ among 20 held by Hong Kong police...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Hong Kong police have arrested 20 people in connection with a series of fraud cases in which a 19-year-old college student allegedly led a gang posing as mainland Chinese secret agents to swindle victims out of more than HK$2 million (US$257,000). Chief Inspector Cheung Wai-shan said on Wednesday that the group – 16 male and four female suspects, aged between 11 and 84 – were arrested during a two-day operation earlier this week for various offences, including money laundering, fraud and

Craving art, music and theatre this Christmas? Here’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

The festive season is upon Hong Kong, and as in past years, the city offers an array of cultural events for residents and visitors – from ballet to theatre and music. While unmistakably Christmas-themed events are available, some offer an alternative for those who want to spend their holidays in a slightly different way. The Post highlights some of the shows worth catching over the holidays. Family-friendly performances The Hong Kong Ballet’s annual performances of The Nutcracker mark the

7 scientists, mathematicians, physicists and experts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest stories about scientists in China this year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. After decades in the US, star Chinese mathematician couple returns home Mathematician Chen Min has left Purdue University’s maths department to join the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo as a full-time faculty member, the latest Chinese academic to return home from the US. 2. Maths star Joshua Zahl leaves Canada for China after...

Hong Kong opens bid for next Kai Tak Cruise Terminal...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

The next operator of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal will manage the entire site, including public areas, and face financial penalties if it underperforms, according to a new government tender aimed at transforming the area into an attractive tourist destination. Authorities on Wednesday launched an open tender for the next operator of the terminal in Kowloon, with the new term set to begin on June 1, 2028. The winning bidder will manage the facility for 10 years, with a possible

Former Singapore lawyer and human rights activist M...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Former lawyer M Ravi, known for taking on human rights cases and his pro bono work, has died in Singapore. He was 56. Friends of Ravi confirmed the news on Wednesday. The cause of death has not been disclosed. Police said that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Tan Tock Seng Hospital at 6.50am on Wednesday. “A 56-year-old man was admitted to the hospital unconscious, where he was subsequently pronounced dead,” police said. “Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not...

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