Man arrested for arson, murder after woman found injured in Hong Kong flat dies A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and murder after a woman was found injured inside a Hong Kong flat and later died. Police said they received a report at 6.59am on Tuesday after security guards at Ting Fuk House of On Ting Estate in Tuen Mun spotted a fire in the flat. First responders arrived at the scene to find papers burning, along with a man and a woman, both believed to be about 50 years old. The unconscious woman, who had cut wounds on her body, was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital,...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong man facing murder charge after wife found with knife wounds, burns

Fire put out in Tuen Mun flat, with police arresting man, 51, on suspicion of murdering wife, 50.

John Lee stresses need for lawmakers after Tai Po fire as poll to go on Hong Kong will hold the Legislative Council election as scheduled on Sunday, the city leader has announced, arguing that it is important to elect new lawmakers as they will be his key partners in launching reforms as the city reels from the deadly fire in Tai Po. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday said lawmakers were needed to help scrutinise funding and work together with the government in reviewing the city’s policies to prevent such a tragedy from taking place again. “The partners I...

South China Morning Post

John Lee stresses need for lawmakers after Hong Kong fire as poll to go on

City leader argues new legislators will be key partners in launching reforms needed to address issues laid bare by calamitous fire in Tai Po.

‘Exhausted’: Hong Kong fire victims call for centralised relief platform Victims of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades have called for a unified platform to access funds and resources, as some elderly people say they feel “exhausted” having to travel around and repeatedly provide their personal information to different parties for support. Several people who lost their homes in the Tai Po fire, which had claimed 151 lives as of Monday, told the Post that while retrieving new identity cards and other documents from the Immigration Department was a smooth process, they...

South China Morning Post

‘Exhausted’: Hong Kong fire victims call for centralised relief platform

‘Now all the information is here and there and we have to spend a lot of time searching and filling it in one by one,’ a survivor says.

Illegal migrants to face clothing and mouth searches for phones at UK ports Police in Britain will be able to require illegal migrants to remove their coats and allow mouth searches at British ports so officers can look for mobile phones or SIM cards and gather intelligence on their journey, the government said on Monday. The Home Office, Britain’s interior ministry, said the new powers would support investigations aimed at dismantling criminal gangs suspected of smuggling migrants across the Channel. It said the gangs frequently use phone contacts and social media to...

South China Morning Post

Illegal migrants to UK face clothing and mouth searches for phones, SIM cards

The Home Office says the new powers are needed to gather intelligence quickly on criminal gangs suspected of smuggling migrants.

Right-wing rivals for Honduras presidency in ‘technical tie’ A businessman who has US President Donald Trump’s backing for the presidency of Honduras was locked in a “technical tie” with a rightwing television host after a preliminary vote count, the Central American country’s electoral body said on Monday. Nasry Asfura, 67, led 72-year-old rival Salvador Nasralla by just 515 votes, making it a “technical tie”, National Electoral Council (CNE) head Ana Paola Hall said on social media after a partial digital tally of Sunday’s down-to-the wire ballot. She...

South China Morning Post

Rivals in Honduras presidential race locked in a ‘technical tie’

Trump-backed Nasry Asfura leads Salvador Nasralla by a razor-thin margin as the election council begins a manual vote count.

China snack brand hit for making staff change surname to ‘rat’, call customers ‘master’ A popular Chinese snack brand has ignited online controversy after netizens revealed that its employees have to change their surnames to “rat” and refer to customers as “master”. Recently, a mainland netizen posted online claiming that “after joining Three Squirrels, you lose your real name”. Photographs from an internal meeting showed nameplates such as Shu Laodie, meaning “Rat Dad”, and Shu Laomu, meaning “Rat Mum”. Three Squirrels, which was founded in 2012 in Anhui province, central China,...

South China Morning Post

China snack brand hit for making staff change surname to ‘rat’, call customers ‘master’

Employees refer to themselves as vermin responsible for shipping, customer service; naming culture seen as painting staff in ‘cute’ light.

ByteDance teams up with ZTE as China races to take on Apple in agentic AI phones TikTok owner ByteDance has entered the race against Apple to define the future of smartphones by putting its artificial intelligence agent Doubao into a ZTE-made handset. The Beijing-based company on Monday launched the Doubao Mobile Assistant in a technical preview, describing it as “an operating-system-level collaboration between ByteDance’s Doubao [AI model] and mobile phone manufacturers” that “brings more convenient interaction and richer capabilities”, according to a post on Monday on its...

South China Morning Post

ByteDance teams up with ZTE as China races to take on Apple in agentic AI phones

From editing photos to booking restaurants, ByteDance’s partnership with ZTE offers a glimpse of China’s vision for agentic AI phones.

African nations push for recognition of colonial crimes and reparations African leaders have made a new push to have colonial-era crimes recognised, criminalised and addressed through reparations. At a conference in Algiers on Sunday, diplomats and leaders convened to advance an African Union resolution passed at a meeting earlier this year calling for justice and reparations for victims of colonialism. In his opening speech, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf said Algeria’s experience under French rule underscored the need to seek compensation and reclaim stolen...

South China Morning Post

African nations push for recognition of colonial crimes and reparations

The economic cost of colonialism in Africa is believed to be staggering, with some estimates putting the cost of plunder in the trillions.

India’s looming BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia challenges US-China binary India and Indonesia are close to finalising a US$450 million sale of BrahMos missiles, in a deal analysts say could give Southeast Asia a long-sought alternative to dependence on the US or China. The deal, discussed last Thursday during the third India–Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue co-chaired by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, would make Indonesia only the second Southeast Asian country after the Philippines to acquire the missile...

South China Morning Post

India’s looming BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia challenges US-China binary

New Delhi is emerging as a serious alternative security partner for Southeast Asia, offering hi-tech arms without ‘hegemonic baggage’.

Pop-star princess: Japan’s Aiko turns 24 amid calls for her to become empress Japan’s beloved Princess Aiko is often cheered like a pop star. During a visit to Nagasaki with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, the sound of her name being screamed by well-wishers along the roads overwhelmed the cheers for her parents. As she turns 24 on Monday, her supporters want to change Japan’s male-only succession law, which prohibits Aiko, the emperor’s only child, from becoming monarch. Along with frustration that the discussion on succession rules has stalled, there is a sense of...

South China Morning Post

Pop-star princess: Japan’s Aiko turns 24 amid calls for her to become empress

The princess’ supporters want Japan to change its male-only succession law but an academic says that is unlikely in the conservative country.

What’s next for China’s economy in 2026 – and how it plans to tackle challenges After a turbulent year marked by the trade war and domestic headwinds, China will head into 2026 cautiously as it grapples with structural challenges to growth. Global investors are watching closely to see how Beijing works to shore up confidence, double down on strategic industries and mitigate overcapacity, all while navigating a fast-evolving geopolitical environment. In this explainer, the Post distils forecasts from major investment banks and economists on what to expect in 2026, also the...

South China Morning Post

Explainer | What’s next for China’s economy in 2026 – and how it plans to tackle challenges

Top investment banks forecast moderate growth next year amid trade, property and structural challenges.

Pakistan rejects UN warning over legal immunity for military chief Pakistan dismissed on Sunday a warning by the UN rights chief of potential “far-reaching consequences” for the rule of law in granting the head of the all-powerful military legal immunity. The foreign ministry said Pakistan was “fully committed to protecting … basic freedoms and the rule of law as enshrined in the constitution,” responding to criticism from UN rights chief Volker Turk. A constitutional amendment approved by parliament earlier this month, shielding Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir...

South China Morning Post

Pakistan rejects UN warning over legal immunity for military chief

A constitutional amendment approved by parliament earlier this month shields Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and other top officials from prosecution...

Trump’s world view offers Beijing a window of opportunity on Taiwan Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a growing chorus of Chinese officials and analysts have talked of an unprecedented window of opportunity for Beijing to recalibrate its domestic and international strategies. At its heart lies the Taiwan question, a perennial flashpoint in relations between Washington and Beijing. As the Trump administration ramps up its “America first” policies abroad, the US – the self-appointed world’s policeman for seven decades – has embarked on an...

South China Morning Post

Opinion | Trump’s world view offers Beijing a window of opportunity on Taiwan

As the US reframes the dynamics between allies and adversaries, Beijing may see an opportunity to advance its cross-strait goals.

Last frontier: Nepal slashes pricey permit but will it boost tourism, economy? Nepal is preparing to open one of its last untouched frontiers for foreigners by slashing the costly permit to enter Upper Mustang, a rugged plateau of ochre cliffs, hidden valleys and centuries-old Buddhist heritage. The government has announced plans to replace the flat US$500 charge for a 10-day stay with a daily US$50 rate, a shift that tourism entrepreneurs believe will make the destination more accessible and help drive the local economy. “We have been lobbying to reduce the permit fee for...

South China Morning Post

Last frontier: Nepal slashes pricey permit, but will it boost tourism, economy?

Upper Mustang residents worry that they will not be able to reap the benefits from the cheaper permit and instead be like ‘animals in a zoo’.

Why do Chinese no longer feel the need to boycott Japanese products? During past flare-ups in diplomatic tensions between China and Japan, Chinese consumers spontaneously boycotted Japanese goods. But the latest row, sparked by controversial remarks on Taiwan by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, has met with a markedly different response, with almost no one in China calling for a boycott of Japanese products. Part of the reason for the turnaround is a seismic shift in China’s consumer market, with the Japanese home appliances, digital gadgets and cars once...

South China Morning Post

Why do Chinese no longer feel the need to boycott Japanese products?

A seismic shift in the market has resulted in people preferring Chinese fashion, locally branded appliances and domestically made cars.

Chinese state media praises Hong Kong for fire efforts, vows Beijing’s support Beijing’s state media has praised the swift rescue and relief efforts by the Hong Kong government after the city’s worst fire in decades, commending its leadership and pledging support in its first editorial commentary on the disaster. The commentary by Xinhua, which typically reflects the stance of the central government, published on Sunday focused on how the tragedy had united the city and urged Hong Kong to move forward. It recognised the leadership of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu as...

South China Morning Post

Chinese state media praises Hong Kong for fire efforts, vows Beijing’s support

Commentary by Xinhua, which typically reflects central government stance, says tragedy united city and urges Hong Kong to move forward.

Video killed the radio star and now streaming has killed MTV across Europe MTV kick-started a new era of music and pop culture in 1981, when it went on air for the first time, emblematically playing “Video Killed the Radio Star” as its debut music video. More than four decades later, the channel, now owned by US media giant Paramount Skydance, will wind down its international music broadcasting by the end of the year as it struggles to compete with online streaming and social media. MTV Music, MTV Hits and its 80s and 90s music shows will be shut down in the UK and...

South China Morning Post

Video killed the radio star and now streaming has killed MTV across Europe

MTV Music, MTV Hits and its 80s and 90s music shows will be shut down in the UK and other European countries in the coming months.

China’s factory activity contracts in November for 8th month in a row China’s factory activity contracted for an eighth consecutive month in November, according to official data, as external headwinds and weak domestic demand continued to drag on the world’s second-largest economy. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 49.2 in November, up from 49 a month earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday. The reading was in line with a forecast of 49.2 based on economists polled by financial data provider Wind. The monthly index...

South China Morning Post

China’s factory activity contracts in November for 8th month in a row

Manufacturing PMI comes in at 49.2 but survey official says business sentiment has improved.

China boy, 14, acts like ancient scholar, turns bedroom into museum of artefacts A 14-year-old Chinese boy who turned his bedroom into a small history museum and spoke like an ancient scholar has attracted an army of followers online. The secondary school student from central China’s Henan province, Xie Zhaoyutong, loves ancient Chinese history and literature and has filled his bedroom with his antique collections. A recent video of Xie passionately introducing his collections went viral online. It attracted 837,000 likes and 40,000 comments. Xie collects pottery, china,...

South China Morning Post

China boy, 14, acts like ancient scholar, turns bedroom into museum of artefacts

Teenager with a passion for history collects items stretching across China’s dynasties; says packed bedroom is the ‘container of my spirit’.

4 dead, 10 injured in shooting at birthday party in Stockton, California Four people were killed and 10 wounded in a shooting during a family gathering at a banquet hall in Stockton, sheriff’s officials said on Saturday evening. Heather Brent, a spokeswoman for the San Joaquin County sheriff’s office, said the victims included both children and adults. Early indications “suggest this may have been a targeted incident”, Brent said during a news conference at the scene. The shooting occurred inside the banquet hall, which shares a car park with other...

South China Morning Post

4 dead, 11 injured in shooting at child’s birthday party in California

Police appealed to the public for help in finding the person responsible for the shooting in the city of Stockton near Sacramento.