World News Hub

John Lee launches historic five-year plan, starts with 22 KPIs to deliver

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu will unveil the city’s first five-year plan at the legislature on Wednesday morning, followed by his annual policy address. The highly anticipated plan, which comes after a two-month public consultation, aims to align the city’s priorities with the nation’s 2026-30 d...

Historic moment for Hong Kong as John Lee delivers city’s first ever 5-year plan

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu will unveil the city’s first five-year plan at the legislature on Wednesday morning, followed by his annual policy address. The highly anticipated plan, which comes after a two-month public consultation, aims to align the city’s priorities with the nation’s 2026-30 d...

Historic moment for Hong Kong as John Lee set to deliver city’s first ever 5-year plan

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu will unveil the city’s first five-year plan at the legislature on Wednesday morning, followed by his annual policy address. The highly anticipated plan, which comes after a two-month public consultation, aims to align the city’s priorities with the nation’s 2026–30 d...

Dong Jun takes softer line on US at Xiangshan Forum as Xi prepares for Trump summit

SCMP • 1 month ago

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun’s address to a defence gathering in Beijing on Wednesday carried a message for Washington but it was delivered in a notably softer, less critical tone, according to a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army. Zhou Bo, now a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said Dong’s tone was “relatively mil...

Dong Jun adopts softer stance on US at Xiangshan Forum as Xi prepares for Trump summit

SCMP • 1 month ago

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun’s address to a defence gathering in Beijing on Wednesday carried a message for Washington but it was delivered in a notably softer, less critical tone, according to a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army. Zhou Bo, now a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said Dong’s tone was “relatively mil...

South Korean court orders Pyongyang to pay US$32.5m for destroying border office

SCMP • 1 month ago

A Seoul court ordered Pyongyang on Wednesday to pay roughly US$32.5 million for blowing up in 2020 an office in North Korea that was intended to foster relations between the two Koreas, Yonhap news agency reported. The lawsuit over the destruction of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office marks the first time the South Korean government has sought damages directly from the North, according to media repor...

Fragility and cooperation: takeaways from Dong Jun’s Xiangshan Forum speech

SCMP • 1 month ago

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun gave a keynote speech to the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, with just over a week until a summit in the United States between the presidents of the two countries. In his 20-minute address, Dong outlined China’s goals for global governance, multilateralism, conflict prevention and the development of emerging technology. Global security at a ‘moment of fra...

Fragility and cooperation: the takeaways from Dong Jun’s Xiangshan Forum speech

SCMP • 1 month ago

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun gave a keynote speech to the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, with just over a week until a summit in the United States between the presidents of the two countries. In his 20-minute address, Dong outlined China’s goals for global governance, multilateralism, conflict prevention and the development of emerging technology. Global security at a ‘moment of fra...

GSK licenses Chinese firm’s cancer drug in US$750 million deal

SCMP • 1 month ago

British pharmaceutical giant GSK has agreed to acquire a cancer drug from Chinese firm Chimagen Biosciences in a deal worth up to US$750 million, underscoring China’s emergence as a global player in biotechnology. GSK announced plans on Tuesday to buy full global rights to a “potential best-in-class” T-cell engager (TCE) from Chengdu-based Chimagen, targeting treatment for multiple myeloma, a type...

Rodrigo Duterte appears in ICC courtroom for pretrial proceedings

SCMP • 1 month ago

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte appeared in person at the International Criminal Court for the first time on Wednesday as he faces charges over his “war on drugs” that killed thousands. The 81-year-old had appeared by video link when he was first brought to the court in The Hague, but had since skipped hearings, with his defence team claiming he was too ill. Dressed in a dark suit and ...

Malingering or memory loss? Duterte appears in ICC courtroom for assessment

SCMP • 1 month ago

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte appeared in public for the first time on Wednesday since being transferred to the International Criminal Court 18 months ago to face murder charges related to his war on drugs. Duterte, 81, served as president from 2016 to 2022, before being charged with crimes against humanity for creating, funding and arming death squads that targeted narcotics peddler...

Malingering or memory loss? Duterte to appear in ICC courtroom for assessment

SCMP • 1 month ago

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is expected to appear in public for the first time on Wednesday since being transferred to the International Criminal Court 18 months ago to face murder charges related to his war on drugs. Duterte, 81, served as president from 2016 to 2022, before being charged with crimes against humanity for creating, funding and arming death squads that targeted narc...

Why more export controls won’t stop China’s industrial engine

SCMP • 1 month ago

The first “China shock” was fairly easy to understand. Beginning in the 1990s, cheap Chinese goods poured into global markets, displacing large parts of lower-end manufacturing across the world. Now, China shock 2.0 seems to be under way, with China taking the lead in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, solar panels, semiconductors and other more technologically sophisticated industries. This is o...

Neither tariffs nor export controls will stop China’s industrial engine

SCMP • 1 month ago

The first “China shock” was fairly easy to understand. Beginning in the 1990s, cheap Chinese goods poured into global markets, displacing large parts of lower-end manufacturing across the world. Now, China shock 2.0 seems to be under way, with China taking the lead in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, solar panels, semiconductors and other more technologically sophisticated industries. This is o...

Viral ‘then and now’ photos of Chinese woman reunited with family spark trafficking debate

SCMP • 1 month ago

A woman from northern China has been reunited with her biological family after 26 years, with striking before-and-after images from her disappearance renewing public attention on the plight of human trafficking survivors. Sun Meihua, from Shandong province, was located after an online user known as Chuxin shared her story. During a visit to a village captured on video, Chuxin encountered Sun, who ...

Japan’s Takaichi opts for stability in first reshuffle since taking over LDP

SCMP • 1 month ago

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retained many of her Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) executives on Wednesday, in her first reshuffle since taking the helm of the ruling party about a year ago. Takaichi kept the influential former prime minister Taro Aso as vice-president and his brother-in-law, Shunichi Suzuki, as secretary general, as she seeks to maintain continuity ahead of what is like...

Japan’s Takaichi to opt for stability in first reshuffle since taking over LDP

SCMP • 1 month ago

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to retain many of her Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) executives on Wednesday, in her first reshuffle since taking the helm of the ruling party about a year ago. Takaichi is likely to keep the influential former prime minister Taro Aso as vice-president and his brother-in-law, Shunichi Suzuki, as secretary general, sources familiar with the matte...

Hong Kong policy address to unveil bold youth housing and mediation initiatives

SCMP • 1 month ago

Hong Kong’s leader will unveil two bold initiatives on housing and mediation in his policy address, the South China Morning Post has learned, with the government planning to boost home ownership rates among young couples and prioritise settling official commercial disputes through the city’s mediation body. The new measures, to be unveiled by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday, aimed to...

Xiangshan Forum: China’s defence chief on security in a fragile world – as it happened

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, whic...

China’s defence chief on security fragility, military experience – as it happened

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, whic...

Defence chief Dong Jun at Xiangshan Forum: China willing to share military experience

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, whic...

Xiangshan Forum: Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun says multilateralism a must

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, whic...

China’s defence minister warns about fragile global security and zero-sum mindsets

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, whic...

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun warns that global security at a moment of fragility

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, whic...

Beijing hosts Xiangshan Forum, marking 20th anniversary of China’s top defence conference

SCMP • 1 month ago

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, whic...