Cambodia deploys South Korean’s ‘peaceful’ video to ease kidnapping fears Amid growing concern over a series of kidnapping and confinement cases involving South Koreans in Cambodia, the country’s interior ministry has released a social media video featuring a South Korean woman praising Cambodia as a “peaceful and warm country”. The post on Tuesday, which included a message stating that a South Korean resident “wished to share her 13 years of life in Cambodia with Koreans and the world”, is seen as an attempt to ease rising fears among foreign residents following...

South China Morning Post

Cambodia deploys South Korean’s ‘peaceful’ video to ease kidnapping fears

The interior ministry’s clip is seen as an attempt to defuse fears among foreigners amid reports of crimes targeting South Koreans.

Why a police DNA collection drive in China has sparked privacy worries A controversial plan by police in a northern Chinese city to build a crime-fighting tool using blood samples from men has sparked a debate over privacy rights. Police in Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia announced last month that they would start collecting DNA samples to update a data bank for identification information used for such items as ID cards and passports, according to a report by China Newsweek magazine. The police also said at the time that the samples would help in “preventing elderly and...

South China Morning Post

Why a police DNA collection drive in China has sparked privacy worries

Initiative by Inner Mongolia law enforcement to collect male blood samples exposes gaps in legal safeguards.

Hong Kong’s tourism recovery to accelerate as Royal Caribbean increases sailings Royal Caribbean International, the world’s largest cruise company by passenger numbers, will increase its sailings to and from Hong Kong from the current 12 to 16 next season, marking further recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic as the city experienced strong growth in international visitors during the first nine months of this year. In an interview with the Post on Wednesday, Kevin Fung, managing director of the cruise company’s Hong Kong operations, said mega vessel Spectrum of the Seas would...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong’s tourism recovery to accelerate as Royal Caribbean increases sailings

Sailings will increase from 12 to 16 next year, while the city will also be the home port for the company’s mega vessel, Spectrum of the Seas.

For the first time in years, Japan’s opposition sees a route to power With Japan’s parliament poised to vote on who it wants to next lead the country, a resurgent opposition and the collapse of the ruling coalition have put the prospect of the nation’s first female prime minister in real doubt. On Tuesday, the leaders of Japan’s principal opposition factions agreed to convene in hopes of fielding a unified candidate for the top job, as they aim to break the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) 13-year grip on power. “It will be essential for us to achieve consensus on...

South China Morning Post

For the first time in years, Japan’s opposition sees a route to power

The Liberal Democratic Party has ruled Japan in unbroken succession since Shinzo Abe’s landslide victory in 2012.

FCC seeks to bar Hong Kong Telecom carrier from operating in US In a further sign of mounting tension between the US and China, the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) on Wednesday took the initial step to “expel Hong Kong Telecom” from the US telecommunication network. In a notice issued late in the day, the US regulatory agency announced that it had sent “Communist Party-controlled” HKT International an order to show cause why it should not revoke the carrier’s right to provide international and domestic services to and from the United States. The...

South China Morning Post

FCC seeks to bar Hong Kong Telecom carrier from operating in US

US regulatory agency moves to revoke authority of HKT International from operating there, citing national security concerns.

UK’s Starmer publishes evidence in collapsed China spy case The UK government published evidence on Wednesday it had submitted in now-collapsed legal proceedings against two men accused of spying for China, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to contain controversy over the failed case. Starmer’s government has faced accusations of killing the case to protect relations with China, and his Labour administration and the independent prosecutors have been rowing over why it failed to proceed to trial. The Crown Prosecution Service said the case collapsed...

South China Morning Post

UK’s Starmer publishes evidence in collapsed China spy case

Investigators were told Beijing carries out ‘large-scale espionage’, but the UK government is committed to pursuing a positive relationship.

Hong Kong rents flirt with record, will keep rising next year: agents Hong Kong’s residential rental market has improved for eight consecutive months, with rents reaching a record high amid sustained local and overseas demand as analysts predict the gains will continue into 2026. Home rents in the city have increased 2.95 per cent this year, according to Benny Sham, an analyst at Midland Realty. “The rental index stands at a historical high since tracking began, and we expect the figure to increase further, as the drivers for leasing momentum will remain robust,”...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong rents flirt with record, will keep rising next year: agents

With an influx of overseas talent and non-local university students, rents are set to increase by around 6 per cent in 2026, analyst says.

Trump says he’s authorised CIA to operate in Venezuela US President Donald Trump said he had authorised the Central Intelligence Agency to take covert action in Venezuela, arguing that he had to stem the flow of drugs and illegal migrants into the US. “I authorised it for two reasons,” Trump said at the White House, adding that Venezuelan leaders had “emptied their prisons into the United States of America” and “we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela”. Trump was asked about the issue after The New York Times reported earlier on Wednesday...

South China Morning Post

Trump confirms CIA covert operations in Venezuela as he weighs land operations

Venezuela’s Maduro decries ‘coups carried out by the CIA’ as the US continues a major military build-up in the southern Caribbean.

US judge blocks Trump’s plan to fire thousands of workers during shutdown A federal judge in California on Wednesday ordered US President Donald Trump’s administration to halt mass lay-offs of federal workers during a partial government shutdown while she considers claims by unions that the job cuts are illegal. During a hearing in San Francisco, US District Judge Susan Illston granted a request by two unions to block lay-offs at more than 30 federal agencies while the case proceeds. The decision is likely to be appealed quickly, but it offers a reprieve for federal...

South China Morning Post

US judge blocks Trump’s plan to fire thousands of workers during shutdown

The Trump administration is facing a lawsuit from unions alleging that the job cuts are politically motivated and illegal.

Trump says Israel could resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas doesn’t disarm US President Donald Trump told CNN on Wednesday that he would consider allowing Israeli forces to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal. “Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word. If Israel could go in and knock the crap out of them, they’d do that,” Trump was quoted as saying to CNN in a brief telephone call when asked what would happen if Hamas refused to disarm. Hamas said earlier on Wednesday that it had handed back the remains of...

South China Morning Post

Trump and Israel warn of resumed fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not respect deal

US president says ‘Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word’, as Hamas falls short handing over remains of dead hostages.

Carbon dioxide levels hit record last year, causing more extreme weather Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbocharging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather, the United Nations weather agency said Wednesday. The World Meteorological Organization said in its latest bulletin on greenhouse gases, an annual study released ahead of the UN’s annual climate conference, that carbon dioxide growth rates have now tripled since the...

South China Morning Post

Carbon dioxide levels hit record last year, causing more extreme weather

Emissions from burning coal, oil and gas, alongside more wildfires, have helped fan a ‘vicious climate cycle’, the UN’s weather agency says.

With US-China tensions back on the upswing, is the TikTok deal at risk? A tentative deal for the management of Chinese short video app TikTok in the United States is facing new pressure after last week’s flare-up in trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, with analysts mixed in their assessment of the pact’s chances for survival. “It’s probably quite hard to see that [deal] happening under such an atmosphere,” said Gary Ng, senior Asia-Pacific economist at Natixis. “I don’t know whether it will collapse or go through … The biggest downside is the US could...

South China Morning Post

With US-China tensions back on the upswing, is the TikTok deal at risk?

Analyst opinion mixed on viability of deal for Chinese short video app’s US ownership, with ‘everything on the table’ after recent flare-ups.

China airs confession from northern Myanmar crime boss Wei Hauiren Criminal gangs in northern Myanmar targeted Chinese citizens with the support of local political and military leaders, state media has reported. On Wednesday, the national broadcaster CCTV aired a confession from the head of an alleged crime family Wei Huairen, who is also known as Wei San. Wei was handed over to Chinese law enforcement in January. A police officer told the broadcaster that the criminal activities of the Wei family – one of the main ethnically Chinese crime gangs in Kokang – had...

South China Morning Post

China airs confession from northern Myanmar crime boss Wei Huairen

The alleged Kokang gang leader tells state broadcaster CCTV that he had been the ‘supreme commander of the border forces’.

Hong Kong picks second batch of banks, tech firms to test AI in finance The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has picked the second batch of use cases for testing of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), as it looks to further promote responsible technological innovation in the financial-services sector. A total of 20 banks and 14 technology partners would participate in the GenAI sandbox initiative, a project jointly conducted by the HKMA and Hong Kong Cyberport Management, according to a statement by the city’s de facto central bank. “The second cohort...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong picks second batch of banks, tech firms to test AI in finance

Second phase of sandbox initiative will see 20 banks and 14 tech firms testing 27 use cases, with focus on responsible use of generative AI.

UK’s Starmer to release security statements after China spying case collapse British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday promised to release evidence provided to prosecutors by a senior official, seeking to distance ministers from the collapse of a China spying case which has led to weeks of criticism. In an unexpected move last month, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped charges against two men who had denied passing politically sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence agent. The CPS said the decision was made because the additional evidence it...

South China Morning Post

UK’s Starmer to release security statements after China spying case collapse

The UK prime minister pledged full disclosure of China spying case evidence, blaming past government policy for the trial’s collapse.

US urged to rethink its institutions, allies, arm sales amid contest with China A prominent US think tank has urged Washington to streamline bureaucracy, strengthen institutions and recalibrate its policies with allies to solidify cooperation and consolidate its foothold in the escalating rivalry with China. Intelligence sharing, coalition planning and arms sales are suffering from structural flaws which hinder multinational effective collaboration, risking “potentially catastrophic” results, according to a report published by the Centre for Strategic and International...

South China Morning Post

US urged to rethink its institutions, allies, arm sales amid contest with China

Think tank says US may find ‘traditional American allies and more neutral countries also start working together’ – but against US.

Chinese arms makers urged to embrace AI technology in weapons development Chinese arms makers should explore the use of artificial intelligence in the development of weapons to improve efficiency and quality, according to a state-run defence industry magazine. But the article in the latest issue of Modern Weaponry also noted that AI technology had risks and challenges and its use should be approached with caution. “Artificial intelligence will leverage its self-learning capabilities in the development of weapons and equipment, serving as an advisory tool that provides...

South China Morning Post

Chinese arms makers urged to embrace AI technology in weapons development

State-run defence industry magazine says the tech can be used to improve efficiency and quality, though it should be approached with caution.

Will Indonesia’s plan to join Brics bank lead to heavier debt burden? Indonesia’s plan to join the Brics-led New Development Bank (NDB) and fulfil a payment requirement for membership has spurred a debate on whether the move is feasible given the country’s strained finances to fund President Prabowo Subianto’s priority projects. Earlier this year, Prabowo announced that Indonesia was planning to join the NDB “to boost the national development transformation” after he met the bank’s chairwoman, Dilma Rousseff, in Jakarta. “The Indonesian government has decided to...

South China Morning Post

Will Indonesia’s plan to join Brics bank lead to heavier debt burden?

With Indonesia having to pay to join the New Development Bank, it should tap foreign investors for project financing instead, analysts say.

Hong Kong’s first TCM hospital sets outpatient fee at HK$180 ahead of debut Outpatient services for Hong Kong’s first hospital dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) will start at HK$180 (US$23.10) per visit, with the operator describing the fees as both affordable and competitive. The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong in Tseung Kwan O also said on Wednesday that staff recruitment had been smooth and there would not be any manpower shortages affecting its launch on December 11. Dr Cheung Wai-lun, project director of the Chinese Medicine Hospital Project...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong’s first TCM hospital sets outpatient fee at HK$180 ahead of debut

Operator of city’s first hospital dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine, which opens on December 11, says fees are affordable.

Can Thailand’s tourism recover from a drop in Chinese arrivals? Once a bright spot in the economy, Thailand’s tourism sector appears to be losing its shine. Even with an expected bump in foreign arrivals during the peak travel season at the end of the year, the country’s main tourism body still expects just 33.4 million visitors for 2025, an almost 6 per cent drop from 35.5 million last year. That’s the first decline in a decade outside the pandemic, and underscores the country’s challenge in trying to revive tourist arrivals, which remain below pre-Covid...

South China Morning Post

Can Thailand’s tourism recover from a drop in Chinese arrivals?

The kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing in Myanmar via Thailand led to Lunar New Year trip cancellations. A strong baht has also been a factor.