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Lard can actually keep you fit and feeling more...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Consuming a diet with a moderate amount of lard can decrease both fat accumulation and inflammation in body fat, according to a new study by Chinese scientists. “These findings challenge the conventional view of animal fats and demonstrate that consuming lard at the recommended level (with dietary fat providing 25 per cent of energy) can confer metabolic benefits by regulating adipose tissue homeostasis,” the team wrote. Scientists from Hunan Agricultural University, the University of South...

Japanese tourist in China receives extreme kindness...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

A Japanese tourist in China experienced incredible kindness from locals after a car accident, actions which completely shifted her perception of the host country. On December 14, a woman known online as @takomanmaru shared her story on social media. Her post went viral, attracting more than 1.9 million views. A fan of Chinese singer Su Ruiqi, she opened a takoyaki shop in Osaka after discovering her idol’s interest in the Japanese savoury snack. Takomanmaru recently travelled to Beijing to

Does the US want to conquer Greenland? Trump’s new...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

US President Donald Trump’s newly appointed envoy to Greenland said on Tuesday that the Republican administration is looking to begin a conversation with residents of the semi-autonomous Danish territory about the best way forward for the strategically important island. In his first extended comments since being appointed to the role this week, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the Trump administration isn’t going to “go in there trying to conquer anybody” or try to “to take over anybody’s...

Singapore’s young graduates feel the heat in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

After finishing his postgraduate studies in May, Tan Kwan Ann expected the job hunt to be difficult, but not so disheartening. The 33-year-old, who specialised in structural biology at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), sent out more than 600 applications while waiting for the formal conferment of his doctorate, but heard back from almost none of them. “It seemed like I was excluded from society and made me feel very lousy. It made me question if it was my fault that I chose

How Fan Bingbing mastered ancient black magic for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Award-winning Malaysian director Chong Keat Aun has shared behind-the-scenes footage of his latest film, Mother Bhumi, including a clip showing actress Fan Bingbing learning how to draw a talisman, China Press reported. According to Chong, he persuaded his father to guide the Chinese actress on creating a talisman to ward off curses, a ritual that was crucial to the film’s plot. Fan stars in the film as Feng Yin, a widowed farmer who uses magic to help her community in Malaysia’s Kedah

China’s Xi urges state giants to be pillars of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

President Xi Jinping has instructed central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to serve as the bedrock of national development, urging them to drive industrial upgrading and secure critical technologies in the next phase of China’s growth. “Central SOEs must fully recognise the responsibilities and missions they shoulder and better serve the overall priorities of the party and the state,” he stressed in remarks conveyed to a meeting of central SOE leaders in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, though

Japan loses appeal as Hongkongers pick South Korea,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Hong Kong tourists are choosing South Korea and other mainland Chinese cities over Japan for their Christmas holiday, a trade body has said, while predicting about 1,500 outbound tours will depart the city. Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said on Wednesday that 60 per cent of Hong Kong’s tour groups would leave via high-speed rail, mostly for short-haul trips lasting three to four days. “We predict that there will be about 1,500 outbound tours during

China urged to sue over Japanese royal’s role in Unit...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

The late Emperor Hirohito of Japan should be held accountable under international law for the crimes of Unit 731, according to Chinese scholars who say the wartime ruler authorised the infamous programme but was shielded from prosecution by US policy after World War II. The secret Japanese military unit in northeastern China, which was responsible for human experimentation, biological warfare and at least tens of thousands of civilian deaths, had been created by imperial order in 1936, said

Vietnam’s To Lam may secure dual role as party and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Vietnam’s Communist Party will nominate current General Secretary To Lam to stay in the top job, according to people familiar with the matter, paving the way for him to push on with a reform programme that is reshaping the nation. In a rare and politically significant move, Lam will also be put forward to hold the dual role of the nation’s presidency, the people said, asking not to be identified because they are not authorised to speak publicly. This could face a challenge when it gets to the...

‘C-beauty’ brands find retail expansion outside China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

With its signature fan-shaped wall of lipsticks displayed at the entrance, the Hong Kong store of Mao Geping Cosmetics at the Harbour City shopping complex in Tsim Sha Tsui appeared quiet on a recent weekday night. That underscored a sluggish state of affairs at Mao Geping, about two months after opening its first overseas location in the city, and the broader challenges faced by Chinese beauty – dubbed C-beauty – brands seeking to expand sales outside the mainland. The cosmetics firm was

Indonesia’s Aceh residents traumatised by flooding –...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

As Hamdaniyah Surbakti, a 62-year-old resident of Aceh province, began to pick up the pieces of her house that was destroyed by last month’s severe floods, she inevitably thought about the 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia and other parts of the world. “It was worse than the 2004 tsunami,” said Hamdaniyah, referring to the recent torrential rains and flash floods that swept across northern Sumatra. “When the tsunami came, it only hit one area around [the provincial capital of] Banda

Russell Brand charged with new counts of rape, sexual...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

UK police said two new charges, of rape and sexual assault, had been issued on Tuesday against British comedian and actor Russell Brand. The media personality turned anti-establishment influencer already pleaded not guilty in May to five charges - one count of rape, one of oral rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault between 1999 and 2005. “These new charges are in relation to two further women and are in addition to the charges issued to Brand in April 2025 which involved

US hits 5 Europeans with visa bans in ‘censorship’ row

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

The US State Department announced on Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure US tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. The Europeans, characterised by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponised” non-governmental organisations, fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States. “For far too long,...

Pentagon says China’s ‘historic’ military build-up...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

Washington is not pursuing a forceful strategy towards China but Beijing’s “historic” military build-up is making the US increasingly vulnerable, the Pentagon said in its annual report to Congress on military developments related to China. “We do not seek to strangle, dominate, or humiliate China … We seek only to deny the ability of any country in the Indo-Pacific to dominate us or our allies,” the 100-page report released on Tuesday said. “China’s historic military build-up has made the US...

Operation Santa Claus: Hong Kong shopping centre...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

A shopping centre’s imaginary world, featuring a festive train station inhabited by colourful animal characters, is adding holiday cheer for shoppers while supporting Hong Kong’s annual fundraising campaign, Operation Santa Claus (OSC). “Ticket to Christmas” is the theme of this year’s celebrations at Admiralty’s Pacific Place and the nearby Starstreet Precinct – a Wan Chai area comprising shops, bars, cafes and restaurants connected to the centre by the Three Pacific Place underground

China is now the good guy in climate change

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

China draws flak in the West for seemingly everything it does. However, it’s the end of the year and we shouldn’t be so down on China, at least not all the time. So let me draw attention to a major development in the country that’s making the world a better place: clean energy. That is a major “China shock” if ever there was one, but no one is putting it that way. Critics like to cite the stats that China burns as much coal as the rest of the world combined. That is true, but the country

Singapore Airlines passenger jailed for in-flight...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

A man who took a passenger’s luggage on a Singapore Airlines flight from Dubai to Singapore was jailed for 20 months on Tuesday. Liu Ming, a 26-year-old Chinese national, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft. The act was financed by a criminal syndicate and Liu had boarded the flight specifically to steal high-value items from business class passengers, the prosecution said. His case follows other convictions for on-board theft this year, including one case of an offender who had accomplices

China needs ‘original’ knowledge system on border...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

China should establish an “original” knowledge system regarding the history of its border regions to mitigate security risks from “hostile forces in the West”, according to a senior scholar at a prominent state-run think tank. Fan Enshi of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) also warned about the threat of “de-Sinicisation” in US-led historical perspectives, calling for a shift from “fragmented research” towards systematic domestic theories that could better project Chinese

Japan girl pop group member comes out as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

A member of the Japanese girl pop group Xtraordinary Girls (XG) has come out as transmasculine non-binary and revealed that she recently underwent breast removal surgery. The seven-member idol group has made global waves with their bold blend of hip-hop and R&B, plus retro visuals inspired by Y2K and Harajuku styles. Since their debut in March 2022, they have gained more than 4.5 million social media followers, with fans praising their “strong female energy” and lyrics. The youngest member,...

Hong Kong firms hoping new southbound travel scheme...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/24

A new scheme that allows private cars from Guangdong province to enter Hong Kong’s urban areas has brought business opportunities for some, with users of a popular online platform selling courses on how to drive in the city or one-stop application services for mainland Chinese motorists. Local businesses are also offering perks to drivers using the scheme, ranging from parking discounts to accommodation packages. Under the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Entry into Urban Area)”...

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