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Tensions rise as US prepares to seize more tankers...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

The United States is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of a tanker this week, as it increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under US sanctions since 2019. It came as the US executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as US President Donald Trump

Differences should be ‘exception rather than norm’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

China’s new ambassador to the Philippines has said both sides should try to get relations back on a “healthy” course, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has said differences between the two countries should be the “exception rather than the norm”. Presenting his credentials to Marcos on Thursday, envoy Jing Quan said a healthy relationship would be essential for both countries’ development and beneficial to regional prosperity and progress. “China hopes the Philippines will proceed from its...

Scaffolding worker pay likely to rise in Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

The wages of scaffolding workers in Hong Kong are likely to increase as plastic meshes that have passed a new mandatory fire safety test are expected to be installed at more than 200 buildings from next month, according to a construction industry representative. But another construction industry leader said on Friday that the cost of scaffolding nets would not rise significantly due to collective bulk procurement. A day earlier, the government announced that testing requirements for

UK woman jailed after drunk e-scooter crash killed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A British backpacker has been sentenced to four years in prison after a fatal collision with a father-of-two while riding an electric scooter in Australia. Alicia Kemp, 25, from Redditch, Worcestershire, appeared at Perth District Court, Western Australia, on Friday, where she was sentenced after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death while under the influence of alcohol. Judge Wendy Hughes handed Kemp a four-year prison term, backdated to June 2025 for time served, with a

Malaysian religious leaders urged to provide evidence...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Malaysia’s home minister has urged senior clerics to lodge formal complaints over claims that a mysterious South Korean Christian “cult movement” has been attempting to spread its teachings among Malaysian Muslims. The controversy surfaced after religious leaders in Perlis – a conservative northern state where Muslims form the overwhelming majority – reported that a South Korean group had been proselytising there under the banner of a peace initiative. Malaysia is a multi-faith nation but

How the global market in SIM cards powers fraud and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A massive international grey market in mobile phone SIM cards is fuelling large-scale manipulation and fraud online, a University of Cambridge study has found. The researchers say physical and virtual SIMs from providers like SMSActivate, 5Sim, SMShub and SMSPVA were being used to verify fake accounts on social media platforms and e-commerce services. “We find a thriving underground market through which inauthentic content, artificial popularity and political influence campaigns are readily

Soft brain chip could help solve Neuralink’s big...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Scientists have developed a new type of semiconductor that they hope will overcome a major problem for bioelectronic devices: the immune response that causes the body to reject implants. Bioelectronics is the science of integrating electronic systems with biological systems using devices that can monitor or interact with the body’s natural processes. Advanced examples include brain-computer interfaces, which translate brain signals into commands to control external devices. Researchers in

Chinese woman with social anxiety feeds 120 stray...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A woman from southwestern China, who has been battling social anxiety, has gone viral after spending three years overcoming her fears by “crashing” around 100 wedding banquets of strangers to collect leftover food to feed over 120 stray cats. The woman, known as Xuanxuan, hails from Baoshan, Yunnan province. Previously, she struggled with social anxiety while working part-time as a video editor. In the winter of 2022, she began rescuing stray cats that she found shivering outside, and

Najib’s wife cleared as Malaysia drops money...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Malaysian prosecutors have dropped their appeal against the acquittal of Rosmah Mansor, the wife of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak, in a case involving money laundering and tax evasion, saying they saw no prospect of success. Since 2018, the couple have been subject to multiple corruption investigations surrounding Najib’s alleged role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. Both have repeatedly denied all wrongdoing. Rosmah, widely scorned in Malaysia for her extravagant lifestyle...

Hong Kong man remanded after ‘impersonating fire...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A jobless Hong Kong man has been remanded in custody on suspicion of defrauding HK$18,000 (US$2,313) in financial aid intended for those affected by last month’s deadly Tai Po fire. Kwai Chung resident Fung Chun-kit, 36, was not required to enter a plea during his first appearance at Fanling Court on Friday, as prosecutors sought extra time to investigate the case. A charge sheet available for media inspection stated that Fung successfully registered with the Social Welfare Department for...

Hong Kong ride-hailing car quota should reflect...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

The quota for Hong Kong’s ride-hailing vehicles to be set by authorities should reflect Uber’s operating situation in the city, the firm’s CEO has urged, adding that the company’s focus on safety will help it stand out among competitors. Dara Khosrowshahi, speaking to the media on Friday during a visit to Hong Kong, said the company “wouldn’t necessarily object” to a levy on ride-hailing trips to support the taxi trade similar to the system used in some parts of Australia, but the firm’s

Greek minister takes over as Eurogroup president,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Greece’s finance minister was on Thursday named head of the Eurogroup, the body that helps shape euro zone policy, underlining his country’s turnaround since the years when it came close to crashing out of the single currency. Kyriakos Pierrakakis saw off the rival Belgian candidate to become president of the assembly of finance ministers from the 20 countries sharing the euro. Greece had to be bailed out three times between 2010 and 2015 by euro zone governments to avoid economic collapse

China’s desalination technology, Hong Kong Legco...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

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. China desalination tech makes fresh water cheaper than tap water – plus hydrogen China has launched a revolutionary facility in the eastern province of Shandong that produces fresh water from seawater for just two yuan (US$0.28)

‘Fact-twisting’: Hong Kong slams US report alleging...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

The Hong Kong government has hit back at accusations in a US congressional commission annual report that Beijing has failed to honour its international obligations to protect the city’s autonomy and human rights, saying its remarks are “fact-twisting”. The report, released on Wednesday, also cited the legal team of jailed former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying as saying that he “spent over 23 hours a day in his cell and was deprived of independent medical care”, which the government said was...

China urged to bring Japan’s Unit 731 to court for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

The 2025 film Nuremberg ends with a sober line from British historian R.G. Collingwood: “The only clue to what man can do is what man has done” – a stark reminder that history repeats when justice does not. While the crimes of Nazi Germany were brought before an international tribunal 80 years ago, the atrocities committed by Japan’s secret Unit 731 in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province during the second world war – have never faced a comparable legal reckoning. The covert unit conducted...

Japan lifts tsunami warning after magnitude 6.7...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan on Friday, the weather office said, days after an even larger tremor shook the region and injured at least 50. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) upgraded Friday’s quake to a 6.7 magnitude and warned that tsunami waves of up to one metre (three feet) could hit the northern Pacific coastline. In the end, waves of up to 20cm (7 inches) were recorded on the main northern island of Hokkaido and in the Aomori region, the JMA said,

Hong Kong court to hand down verdict in Jimmy Lai...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Hong Kong’s High Court will hand down its judgment in the national security trial of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying on Monday. Judges Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana Maria D’Almada Remedios and Alex Lee Wan-tang will deliver their verdict at 10am in a hearing that is expected to last for about an hour, according to the judiciary’s website, following a marathon trial that concluded in August after more than 1½ years. Lai, who has been detained since December 2020, has denied two conspiracy...

Canada’s Carney on cusp of majority rule after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Canada’s governing Liberals were one seat short of a simple majority in Parliament after a Conservative lawmaker defected and joined Prime Minister Mark Carney’s party on Thursday. Michael Ma was the second Canadian Conservative opposition lawmaker to join the Liberals in just over a month. Hong Kong-born Ma, who represents Markham–Unionville, said he entered politics “to focus on solutions, not division”. “I have concluded that Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering the steady, practical...

China’s food-security push to slash soy imports by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

China is on track to slash its reliance on imported soybeans to less than 30 per cent within a decade, from the current 90 per cent, research from Goldman Sachs suggests, as Beijing accelerates efforts to shore up self-sufficiency – including inoculating its food supply against trade shocks. Demand-management strategies for the crop – a vital source of cooking oil and animal feed, as well as a key commodity at the centre of Beijing’s trade relations with Washington – reduced annual

Director convicted of scamming millions from Netflix...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A Hollywood director was convicted on Thursday on charges that he scammed Netflix out of US$11 million for a show that never materialised, while he instead used the cash for lavish purchases that included several Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari and about US$1 million in mattresses and luxury bedding. Carl Erik Rinsch, best known for directing the film 47 Ronin, was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering and other charges, according to court records and a spokesperson for federal prosecutors in New...

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