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WHO approves first malaria treatment for babies

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/25

The World Health Organization announced on Friday that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time. Artemether-lumefantrine is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest victims of the mosquito-borne disease. “The prequalification designation indicates that the medicine meets international standards of quality, safety and efficacy,” the WHO said in a statement. Up to now, infants have been treated

Mixed bag: Indonesia’s 8% growth dream hits a plastic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/25

The plastic bag is an unlikely symbol of economic frailty. But in Indonesia, the soaring cost of that humble everyday item is raising uncomfortable questions about the country’s future growth prospects. At a market in Depok, south of Jakarta, the plastic bags Budi needs to sell his chicken have nearly doubled in price. “Plastic is really expensive right now,” he said in an interview on April 17. “Usually, I’d have to set aside at least 10,000 rupiah (58 US cents) for plastic bags, but now, I...

As DJI duels Insta360, China sharpens global hardware...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

In the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, a simmering rivalry between DJI and Insta360 has transformed their shared neighbourhood into a high-stakes corporate battleground.Both companies have long been hailed as the city’s poster children for Chinese innovation. DJI dominated the skies as the world’s undisputed leader in consumer drones, and Insta360 captured the niche market of panoramic cameras. Now they find themselves locked in a crosstown struggle for market supremacy that some say could...

OpenAI’s Sam Altman apologises to Canada town for not...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has apologised to a Canadian town devastated by a February mass shooting, saying he was “deeply sorry” the company did not tell police about the killer’s troubling ChatGPT account. OpenAI had banned an account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025, eight months before the 18-year-old woman killed eight people at her home and a school in the tiny British Columbia mining town of Tumbler Ridge. The account was banned over concerns about usage linked to violent...

G7 ‘concerned’ at Russia and China’s nuclear build-up

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

G7 countries on Friday insisted on their support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), warning of the dangers from a Russian and Chinese build-up. “We are concerned with China’s and Russia’s significant nuclear weapons build-up and modernisation,” the G7 Non-proliferation Directors Group said in a statement published on the French foreign ministry website. The group brings together the diplomats from the Group of Seven countries – Britain, Canada, France, Germany,...

US sanctions China-based oil refinery and 40 shippers...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil. The move, announced on Friday, makes good on the Trump administration’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on companies and countries that do business with Iran. It is also part of the Republican administration’s overall ramped-up campaign to cut off Iran’s key source of revenue – its oil exports. Concurrently, the US...

Trump Justice Department adds firing squads for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

The Trump Justice Department said on Friday it was seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution. “The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Under

US and EU sign critical minerals plan in push to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

The US and the European Union on Friday deepened their coordination on critical minerals as part of a broader push by Western allies to loosen China’s grip on materials crucial to advanced manufacturing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic signed a memorandum of understanding for a ‌partnership on producing and securing critical minerals. Rubio did not mention China in his remarks, but said the preliminary agreement with Brussels reflected growing

Germany’s Merz says no ‘immediate’ Ukraine EU...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday there was no prospect of Ukraine’s “immediate accession” to the EU, but suggested Kyiv could join meetings of the bloc’s members without voting rights.Ukraine is pushing to speed up its bid to join the 27-nation European Union as it fights Russia’s invasion on the battlefield. Kyiv’s progress has been blocked by Hungary’s nationalist premier Viktor Orban, but his defeat in elections earlier this month raised hopes it can move to the next

UK bill to allow assisted dying fails as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives failed on Friday as parliamentary time ran out, nearly a year since elected members of parliaments gave their backing. Though the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House of Commons last June, the UK’s revising chamber, the House of Lords, effectively talked it out since then. Proponents of what has been termed “assisted dying” – sometimes referred to as “assisted suicide”

Changes to fire services law with tougher penalties...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

Hong Kong authorities are planning to launch a public consultation over a raft of new fire safety-related requirements and offences with tough penalties following the city’s deadliest blaze in decades. Confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post, the Security Bureau on Friday laid out its planned amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance, including a requirement that fire alarms be checked every six months. The bureau said its public consultation would follow its meeting with...

US crackdown threat could shake out China’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

The administration of Donald Trump has threatened action to shield the US artificial intelligence industry from being “distilled” by Chinese rivals, in a move analysts say could weed out weaker players in China’s AI sector within a year. In a memo released on Thursday, Michael Kratsios, the science and technology adviser to the US president, warned that “surreptitious, unauthorised distillation campaigns” were enabling foreign entities – mainly in China – to release models that appear to

US drops criminal probe of Fed chair Powell, likely...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

The US Justice Department has ended its probe into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh. US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro said on X on Friday that her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s inspector general would scrutinise them instead. The decision ends an investigation, one of several undertaken by the Justice Department into President...

Disciplinary inquiry resumes into doctor’s alleged...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

Hong Kong’s Medical Council resumed a disciplinary inquiry on Friday over a suspected medical blunder that left a boy permanently disabled more than 16 years ago after its decision to terminate the hearing sparked a public outcry. Dr Sit Sou-chi was accused of failing to carry out all necessary and immediate investigations on newborn Li Yuanjian, the son of a mainland Chinese couple, after the infant had a seizure on December 22, 2009. On Friday, Sit’s counsel grilled nurse Ho Kit-ha, who was

Huawei, DeepSeek strengthen China’s AI self-reliance...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

Huawei Technologies’ newest Ascend 950PR and 950DT chips enjoyed “day zero” adaptation to DeepSeek’s latest V4 model, the Shenzhen-based tech giant said in a livestream on Friday, just hours after the model’s release. The hardware-software collaboration between the two Chinese firms underscores the progress China has made in tech self-reliance, a top national priority for Beijing amid US efforts to block its access to advanced semiconductor chips and chipmaking equipment. During the

US FDA plans ultra-fast review of 3 psychedelic drugs...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it will offer ultra-fast review to three psychedelic drugs being developed to treat mental health conditions, including depression, the latest indication of the Trump administration’s commitment to the experimental treatment approach. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last weekend directing the FDA and other federal agencies to speed access and loosen restrictions on psychedelics, a class of hallucinogenic drugs which remain

4 tickets to World Cup final are listed on Fifa’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

Fifa’s resale site has four tickets on sale for the World Cup final for just under US$2.3 million each. The $2,299,998.85 seats for the July 19 match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, are located behind a goal in the lower deck in block 124, row 45, seats 33-36. Fifa does not control the asking prices on its Resale/Exchange Marketplace but takes a 15 per cent purchase fee from the buyer of each ticket and a 15 per cent resale fee from the seller. An aisle seat 33 in block

China ramps up hunt for tax evaders, frames...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

Beijing is intensifying its enforcement against tax evasion, extending its reach into consumption taxes, which have been positioned as a critical source of stabilising local government finances that have been hit hard by the nation’s prolonged property crisis. Earlier this month, the State Taxation Administration (STA) released details of eight tax-violation cases involving sectors such as gold jewellery, alcoholic beverages and refined oil. The enforcement actions spanned multiple regions,...

Why the future is fluid for middle powers in a sea of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

Faced with US-China rivalry and an uncertain future even beyond Donald Trump’s presidency, middle powers are building fluid coalitions and partnerships to hedge against American and wider unpredictability, according to a leading Southeast Asian affairs scholar. Traditional US allies are asserting greater autonomy and forming their own networks to hedge against risks – a shift that is creating openings for smaller neutral states to further diversify their partnerships, while mitigating the

A month after elections, Danish government talks...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/24

Talks on forming a new Danish government are in stalemate one month on from the country’s parliamentary election, slowing decision-making amid efforts to resolve a crisis in ties with US President Donald Trump’s administration over Greenland. Caretaker Prime Minister Mette ‌Frederiksen, armed with a royal mandate, is leading coalition talks among the 12 parties in parliament but has so far only won support from left-wing groups, which is not enough to secure a parliamentary...

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