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Hong Kong Jockey Club plans fourth public riding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is planning to build its fourth public riding school on a former landfill site in Tseung Kwan O to reduce applicant wait times and boost the equestrian talent pool.The project has already gained in-principle support from authorities and the club will seek town planning approval in the first quarter of next year and begin construction as early as the end of 2027, according to a paper submitted to Sai Kung District Council. The plan will be part of the agenda of a...

Launch window opens for China’s private space...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

China’s private rocket makers are stepping up their dash for public funding, with Beijing-based LandSpace becoming the first commercial launch provider to clear a key regulatory “tutoring” milestone ahead of a planned listing on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star Market. LandSpace completed its initial public offering (IPO) tutoring process on December 23, according to information published on the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) – a step that typically precedes the...

Beijing sanctions 20 US defence firms over Taiwan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Beijing has imposed sanctions against 20 US defence firms and their executives in response to Washington’s massive arms sales package to Taiwan last week. The deal, if approved by the US Congress, would mark the largest-ever American weapons package to Taiwan, valued at more than US$10 billion. It includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones. Beijing views Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an...

2 decoration workers remanded in custody over 1...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Two men arrested over a 1 billion yen (US$6.4 million) robbery in Hong Kong were remanded in custody after appearing at Fanling Court on Friday. Lee Wan-kwong, 36, and Lee Chun-wa, 28, were each charged with conspiracy to commit robbery alongside seven others accused of robbing two men of 1.08 billion yen on December 18 in Central. Lee Wan-kwong was alleged to have been the mastermind behind the operation, while Lee Chun-wa was accused of handling the stolen cash. According to court

China bolsters e-cigarette regulations to smoke out...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

China has unveiled plans to tighten controls over e-cigarette production and investment to address concerns over fierce intra-industry competition and excess capacity, the latest step in the country’s broader effort to enhance its regulatory power over tobacco, a sector which enjoys a functional monopoly. The draft policy, released by the national tobacco regulator on Thursday, follows a State Council opinion issued earlier this month which placed e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches under

Malaysia’s Perlis state in turmoil after chief...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Malaysia’s smallest state, Perlis, has been plunged into political uncertainty with the resignation of Chief Minister Mohd Shukri Ramli and the sacking of three assemblymen from his party, sending ripples across the country’s political alliances. Shukri, from the Islamist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), cited health reasons for stepping down, but said he was blindsided by the withdrawal of support from state assemblymen from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition made up of PAS and Parti...

Top biotech scientist Chen Xiaoyuan denies sexual...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Biomedical scientist Professor Chen Xiaoyuan denies allegations of sexual harassment and says he will appeal against the termination of his tenure by the National University of Singapore (NUS) over an alleged breach of staff conduct policies. The termination, confirmed to the South China Morning Post by NUS on Wednesday, followed an internal investigation into claims by a female PhD candidate who accused Chen of repeated verbal and physical misconduct since early this year. Chen broke his...

Beijing extends Mars mission lead; stranded...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China space stories of the year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Stranded Chinese astronauts return home from space station mission Three astronauts whose return to Earth from China’s Tiangong space station was delayed after a suspected debris strike touched down on November 14 at the Dongfeng landing site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. 2. China’s Shenzhou 20 debris crisis: a catalyst for space war –

In world first, Chinese surgeons save patient’s ear...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Chinese surgeons have performed the world’s first operation to graft a patient’s torn-off ear onto her foot before putting it back in place. The woman’s ear was torn off in a workplace accident in April that also ripped away a large part of her scalp, medical news social media account Yixue Jie, or Med-J, reported on Monday. Qiu Shenqiang, deputy director of the microsurgery unit at Shandong Provincial Hospital in Jinan, said the woman’s injuries had been caused by heavy machinery and left

China village imposes ‘unjust’ fines for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

A Chinese village has faced an online backlash after it introduced controversial fines for pregnancies outside marriage and couples living together before they wed. The village, in Lincang, Yunnan province, southwestern China, sparked heated debate online after a notice titled “Village Rules: Everyone is Equal” was photographed and reposted by netizens. According to widely circulated photos on social media, the notice outlines strict penalties for unmarried pregnancies, cohabitation without...

Hong Kong restaurant sales fall 10% over Christmas as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Hong Kong’s food and beverage sector recorded a 10 per cent year-on-year drop in business over the Christmas period, an industry leader said, as 1.2 million trips were made through the city’s borders on the first day of the long holiday. But the city’s hospitality sector appeared to fare better, with one hotel group saying two of its properties recorded more than 90 per cent occupancy and a slight rise of 5 per cent in room tariffs. Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of...

The brutal life of child recruits under a shadowy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Forcibly recruited into a rebel militia affiliated with Islamic State, two boys have revealed the “torment” of living in its camps as members committed massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast. The two minors freed from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) gave Agence France-Presse an unprecedented account of the shadowy group, notorious for its extreme brutality. Paluku, a frail 12-year-old, spent two months with the ADF after rebels killed his mother during an attack on his...

Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Israel is cashing in on soaring international demand for combat-proven air defence systems, as analysts say the billions of dollars' worth of weapon sales will significantly expand the country’s influence beyond the Middle East. The weapon exports to Europe, Asia and Africa are helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration overcome its diplomatic isolation over the Gaza war by making the Jewish-majority state a key long-term security partner for its customers. “Exporting air

Hong Kong probes mainland Chinese driver for using...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Hong Kong authorities have vowed to investigate a mainland Chinese driver under the southbound travel vehicle scheme and may suspend his eligibility after he posted a video of himself using adaptive cruise control illegally in the city on social media. The Transport Department said on Friday that it would issue a warning to the driver while urging Guangdong motorists under the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Entry into Urban Area)” scheme to use Octopus cards for car park access

Inside Chernobyl: Ukraine races to repair radiation...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Inside an abandoned control room at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, a worker in an orange hard hat gazed at a grey wall of seemingly endless dials, screens and gauges that were supposed to prevent disaster. The 1986 meltdown at the site was the world’s worst ever nuclear incident. Since Russia invaded in 2022, Kyiv fears another disaster could be just a matter of time. In February, a Russian drone hit and left a large hole in the New Safe Confinement (NSC), the outer of two radiation...

China’s reusable rocket failure, PLA’s growth leaves...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

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. Pentagon says Chinese aircraft carriers, 6th-gen fighters make US ‘vulnerable’ A Pentagon report contends that China’s development of its aircraft carriers, sixth-generation fighters and nuclear arsenal illustrates Beijing’s...

China vows to keep up the fight after record number...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to keep up efforts to fight corruption next year after a record 63 high-ranking officials – known as “tigers” – were placed under investigation on suspicion of graft in 2025. During a meeting on Thursday, top decision-making body the Politburo also discussed a plan to improve conduct within the party, strengthen integrity and combat graft, official news agency Xinhua reported. It said officials at the meeting had agreed to “resolutely push forward the...

China’s C919 maker teams up with China Eastern with a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

China’s state-owned planemaker intends to supersize its flagship jet through a partnership with a major domestic carrier to meet rising market demand for bigger narrowbody types, according to sources. The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) signed an agreement with China Eastern Airlines last week to deepen cooperation, including on a stretched variant of the single-aisle C919 that would be able to seat at least 200 passengers, the Post has learned. The deal positions China Eastern, the...

China’s rising biotech clout on show in flurry of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Chinese drugmakers have signed a late-year burst of out-licensing agreements with overseas partners, underlining China’s growing role as a source of novel medicines as multinational pharma groups hunt for new assets. Jacobio Pharmaceuticals said it expected to receive an upfront payment of US$100 million from AstraZeneca, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on December 21. The British-Swedish drugmaker was paying for exclusive rights to research, develop, register,

Hong Kong could take ‘lead in supporting Greater Bay...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/26

Hong Kong could take a leading role in supporting children with autism in the Greater Bay Area, a former medical faculty dean has said, ahead of plans for a comprehensive care platform to come into operation within a year. Professor Francis Chan Ka-leung of the Chinese University of Hong Kong said the one-stop platform would comprise professionals from the medical, education, insurance and finance sectors, among others. The academic said that a research team from the university’s medical

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