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A Hong Kong advocacy group has urged the government to let residents use a portion of their mandatory pension savings for home purchases, one of several proposals submitted ahead of the policy address later this month. The Federation of Public Housing Estates noted on Wednesday that recent cuts to administration fees for the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) – the city’s compulsory retirement scheme ...
For the first time in recent history, Danish conscripts have been deployed to Greenland, as Denmark moves to bolster its presence in the Arctic after US demands to acquire the territory. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish island, citing national security concerns and accusing Copenhagen of neglecting Arctic defence. Denmark and Greenland have ...
Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Egypt on Tuesday, the second stop in a potentially busy month of travel that will probably conclude with a White House meeting. “Once you drink from the Nile, you are destined to return,” the Chinese leader said on arrival at Cairo International Airport. Xi is likely to sign economic agreements with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Wednesday a...
Top performers BYD and Leapmotor clawed their way up higher in terms of sales last month, even as China’s electric vehicle (EV) market was shrinking amid weaker consumer demand. However, smaller players were expected to face falling sales and mounting losses for the rest of the year as competition got fiercer, according to analysts. BYD, the world’s largest EV builder, saw its sales in August surg...
China is cracking down on artificial intelligence-generated “slop” – low-grade, mass-produced synthetic content cluttering social media and news feeds – as part of a sweeping campaign against the abuse of the generative technology, the country’s top internet watchdog said on Wednesday. In a statement posted to its website, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it had scrubbed more than...
China is cracking down on artificial intelligence-generated “slop” – low-grade, mass-produced synthetic content cluttering social media and news feeds – as part of a sweeping campaign against generative technology abuse, the country’s top internet watchdog said on Wednesday. In a statement posted to its website, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it had scrubbed more than 5.61 milli...
International students in the United States are facing new hurdles when it comes to internships and off-campus work after several major universities paused or restricted certain forms of Curricular Practical Training (CPT). CPT is a form of work authorisation that allows foreign students to take part in internships and other practical training related to their studies. The changes follow two Augus...
A former assistant warden at a care home run by Hong Kong’s largest NGO for people with intellectual disabilities has been convicted of raping a female resident five times two years ago. A High Court jury of four men and two women returned a unanimous verdict on Wednesday, finding Chung Pui-kei guilty of five counts of raping a mentally incapacitated woman who lived at a Tai Po home operated by th...
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was born 25 years ago as a modest mechanism for managing borders between China, Russia and four Central Asian states. At its anniversary summit in Bishkek this week, it looks more consequential – and harder for the United States to dismiss. The timing is important. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains unresolved, while the war between Iran and the US has...
Indonesia on Wednesday said the government was ascertaining reports that eight of its citizens who applied for civilian jobs allegedly ended up fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said authorities were checking the identities and hiring processes involved, which offered attractive perks such as hi...
A Boeing 747-8 operated by Air China reportedly suffered a fuel leak at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport early on Monday, leading to the flight being cancelled. No injuries were reported in or around the aircraft, which was expected to operate flight CA982 from New York to Beijing that day. The leak is said to have occurred between 1am and 2am while the plane was parked at the gate...
Vietnam faces heightened security in the South China Sea amid reports of construction works in the Paracels archipelago – which Beijing calls Xisha Islands – with analysts saying that the latest developments could alter the strategic balance in the contested waters. Hanoi voiced its strong objection after reports citing satellite imagery said new Chinese infrastructure had appeared on Yagong Islan...
The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will summon a Malaysian participant in the Miss Equality World 2026 pageant in Thailand for questioning, following the circulation of social media posts. In a statement on Tuesday, Jakim director general Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee said Jakim would work with state Islamic religious authorities and relevant agencies to take action against the individu...
The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will summon a Malaysian participant in the Miss Equality World 2026 pageant in Thailand for questioning, following the circulation of social media posts. In a statement on Tuesday, Jakim director general Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee said Jakim would work with state Islamic religious authorities and relevant agencies to take action against the individu...
A former Malaysian minister has been remanded for five days as part of an anti-corruption inquiry into the management of the country’s state haj fund. The suspect, who is in his sixties, was detained at about 4.30pm on Tuesday after he went to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya to have his statement recorded. MACC confirmed the arrest in a statement on social...
We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. After gaining EV sway, Chinese carmakers eye full hybrid market Chinese carmakers, already at the vanguard of electric vehicle (EV) technology and production, are looking to make a dent ...
Fourteen people, including nine children, have been injured in a collision involving two school buses at a Hong Kong girls’ primary school. The Fire Services Department said on Wednesday that it dispatched 10 ambulances to handle the accident at 1.26pm at Good Hope Primary School cum Kindergarten, located at No 381 Jat’s Incline in Ngau Chi Wan. Eight of the 14 injured people were sent to United C...
At least 14 people have been injured in a collission involving two school buses at a girls’ school in Hong Kong. The Fire Services Department said on Wednesday that it dispatched 10 ambulances to handle the accident at 1.26pm at Good Hope Primary School cum Kindergarten, located at No 381 Jat’s Incline in Ngau Chi Wan. Two of the 14 injured people were rushed to United Christian Hospital in Kwun T...
The parent company of Philippine fast-food giant Jollibee plans to spin off and list its international operations, choosing Hong Kong over New York in a strong endorsement of the city’s initial public offering (IPO) diversification efforts. Jollibee Foods Corp (JFC) said in January that it intended to list its overseas arm, Jollibee Foods Corporation International (JFCI), in the United States. The...
The parent company of Philippine fast-food giant Jollibee plans to spin off and list its international operations, choosing Hong Kong over New York in a strong endorsement of the city’s initial public offering (IPO) diversification efforts. Jollibee Foods Corp (JFC) said in January that it intended to list its overseas arm, Jollibee Foods Corporation International (JFCI), in the United States. The...
Chinese scientists have identified a genetic barrier that makes it hard to crossbreed African and Asian rice varieties – a discovery that could lay the foundations for creating high-yielding hybrids. While both Asian and African cultivated rices possess distinct strengths, crossing them often produces offspring with sterile pollen and low yields. A research team has now identified three genes that...
Cambodia says it has flushed out a scam industry estimated to have stolen tens of billions of US dollars last year alone, but a string of arrests in recent days suggests the gangs behind it may have simply changed address. Scam centres proliferated across Cambodia during the pandemic, when hundreds of thousands of jobless young people were pulled into defunct casino complexes to target victims wor...
Tencent Holdings’ strategy of using its vast product ecosystem to train its new Hy4 preview model gives it an edge in developing AI agents and brings its flagship model suite back into the top tier of open-source offerings, according to analysts. The Chinese tech giant’s “differentiated product-plus-model strategy”, where preview models were first deployed across Tencent’s suite of products, enabl...
Hong Kong’s City University (CityU) has launched an investigation after a video surfaced showing a half-naked man carrying a woman wearing only a bra and shorts during a student-led orientation event. The university issued a statement on Wednesday stressing “zero tolerance” of improper conduct after the clip appeared online showing the behaviour during a disco-themed party. The clip has since been...
Hong Kong’s City University (CityU) has launched an investigation after a video surfaced showing a half-naked man carrying a woman wearing only a bra and shorts during a student-led orientation event. The university issued a statement on Wednesday stressing “zero tolerance” of improper conduct after the clip appeared online showing the behaviour during a disco-themed party. The clip has since been...
Hong Kong’s City University has launched an investigation into an alleged indecent incident during a student-led orientation activity after a video surfaced showing a half-naked man carrying a woman wearing only a bra and shorts. The university issued a statement on Wednesday pledging “zero tolerance” for improper conduct, after a social media clip appeared to show intimate behaviour among individ...
An American journalist who lived in Beijing, worked for Chinese state media and pleaded guilty to helping Beijing collect US intelligence was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal prison. Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and barred from overseas travel during that period, according to the US Justice Department. He also used the alias Tom McG...
Nepal urged international travellers not to abandon the Himalayas, declaring the country open for tourism as it continues to assess the human and economic toll from catastrophic floods that killed hundreds and left thousands missing. “Our mountain trails, trekking routes are still waiting for you,” Tourism Minister Khadak Raj Paudel said in a video message on social media, using the hashtag #Nepal...
Images of a migrant worker apparently guiding visitors around one of Kuala Lumpur’s best-known heritage sites have triggered a backlash in Malaysia, with critics asking why locals were not hired instead. The row erupted after photos and video circulated online showed visitors being shown around the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, a colonial-era landmark that has overlooked the capital’s Independence ...
For more, check out the South China Morning Post’s full anti-corruption data bank project:
