New UK agency to fight ‘information warfare’ from likes of Russia, Burnham tells UN

New UK agency to fight ‘information warfare’ from likes of Russia, Burnham tells UN

The Guardian •

PM aims to ‘stem poisonous tide’ of disinformation and deepfakes with National Centre for Information DefenceSecurity chiefs will set up a new national centre to tackle disinformation and deepfakes from hostile states such as Russia, Andy Burnham has announced, saying the government had a duty to “stem the poisonous tide” from damaging British interests.The National Centre for Information Defence ...

Critics of UK government’s economic forecaster are ‘shooting the messenger’, say MPs

Critics of UK government’s economic forecaster are ‘shooting the messenger’, say MPs

The Guardian •

Treasury committee rejects calls for fundamental reform of independent watchdog the Office for Budget ResponsibilityAttacks on the government’s independent economic forecaster from left and right of the political spectrum are akin to “shooting the messenger”, according to an influential group of MPs.The Treasury committee rejected “siren calls to fundamentally reform” the Office for Budget Respons...

New UK agency will tackle ‘information warfare’ from likes of Russia, Burnham says

New UK agency will tackle ‘information warfare’ from likes of Russia, Burnham says

The Guardian •

PM aims to ‘stem poisonous tide’ of disinformation and deepfakes with National Centre for Information DefenceSecurity chiefs will set up a new national centre to tackle disinformation and deepfakes from hostile states such as Russia, Andy Burnham has announced, saying the government had a duty to “stem the poisonous tide” from damaging British interests.The National Centre for Information Defence ...

Chinese maker of robot-vacuum sensors launches Hong Kong IPO, undeterred by US ban

Chinese maker of robot-vacuum sensors launches Hong Kong IPO, undeterred by US ban

SCMP •

Shenzhen Camsense Technologies, a maker of spatial sensors for robotic vacuum cleaners, launched a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) that aims to raise about HK$680 million (US$86.7 million), despite headwinds from Washington’s recent import ban on foreign-made vacuum robots. “The export and procurement for our existing client products remain normal, with potential disruption limited to new ...

Did North Korea’s missile launches target the Xi-Trump summit agenda?

Did North Korea’s missile launches target the Xi-Trump summit agenda?

SCMP •

North Korea could be using missile tests to take its denuclearisation off the US-China summit agenda and drive home its demands for recognition as a nuclear power as a prerequisite for talks with Washington, according to analysts. On Sunday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, which, according to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, were dete...

Exiled opposition leader tries to enter Venezuela as Rodriguez meets Trump in US

Exiled opposition leader tries to enter Venezuela as Rodriguez meets Trump in US

SCMP •

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado tried three times in the past 24 hours to return home but was unable to complete the journey. Machado sought to travel from Panama to Venezuela by different routes, according to a person with direct knowledge of her plans. The attempts came as acting President Delcy Rodriguez visited New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where she met w...

President Xi encourages China-US youth ties after exchange

President Xi encourages China-US youth ties after exchange

SCMP •

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Nearly 100 students from 10 US universities who travelled through China under Future Makers 2026 jointly wrote to President Xi Jinping after the programme, sharing what they had seen and experienced during the trip.  In his reply to the students, Xi encouraged young people from both countries to promote friendship and co-o...

Beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence: women endure torture in Myanmar prisons

Beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence: women endure torture in Myanmar prisons

SCMP •

Female prisoners in Myanmar are subjected to widespread torture, sexual violence and life-threatening medical neglect, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, underlining the chronic ill-treatment of thousands of detainees in the war-torn nation. Since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, a protracted civil war ‌has gripped the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, devastating several r...

Hong Kong rejects EU report’s claims on freedoms as ‘unfounded and biased’

Hong Kong rejects EU report’s claims on freedoms as ‘unfounded and biased’

SCMP •

The Hong Kong government has rejected an annual European Union report alleging that the administration is undermining the city’s fundamental freedoms, calling its claims “unfounded and biased”. The more than 4,500-word statement, issued early on Wednesday morning, followed the publication on Tuesday of the EU’s 2025 annual report on Hong Kong. The report was jointly issued by the European Commissi...

Coach who slapped boy, 8, at Hong Kong training camp spared criminal charges

Coach who slapped boy, 8, at Hong Kong training camp spared criminal charges

SCMP •

A coach accused of slapping an eight-year-old boy and ordering him to stand under the hot sun during a training camp in Hong Kong has been spared from criminal prosecution after she agreed to a three-year good behaviour bond. Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak on Wednesday imposed the bond on Zhao Yiqun, 51, who faced two child abuse charges after she was alleged to have mistreated the boy during ...

Malaysia’s local acts feel left out of live music boom: ‘missing middle’

Malaysia’s local acts feel left out of live music boom: ‘missing middle’

SCMP •

Kuala Lumpur is making it easier and cheaper to bring international music stars to the city, hoping that a bigger concert calendar can help Malaysia capture more of Southeast Asia’s booming live-music economy. But as more global acts come to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian musicians are asking whether the concert boom is creating more opportunities for local artists too. Fuad Alhabshi of Malaysian rock ba...