China sends seasoned ‘American hand’ to serve as top envoy to Philippines Jing Quan, formerly the second-in-command at the Chinese embassy in Washington, arrived in Manila on Saturday to assume his post as Beijing’s top envoy to the Philippines, pledging to both defend national interests and stabilise bilateral ties. “As the ambassador, I will firmly safeguard China’s national interests and dignity, while also serving as a bridge to ensure China-Philippines relations stabilise rather than deteriorate, and that our peoples draw closer instead of drifting apart,” Jing...

South China Morning Post

China sends seasoned ‘America hand’ to serve as top envoy to Philippines

New ambassador arrives in Manila as South China Sea tensions flare and the Philippines draws closer to Washington on defence.

India caps airfares as IndiGo crisis hits 5th day, stranding hundreds India capped airfares on Saturday as hundreds of passengers gathered outside Bengaluru and Mumbai airports after IndiGo cancelled 385 flights on the fifth day of a crisis at the country’s biggest airline that has crippled air travel. IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights this week due to a shortage of pilots after it failed to plan adequately for new rules limiting pilots’ work hours. The government responded on Friday, announcing special relief for the carrier and the operation of...

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India caps airfares as IndiGo crisis hits 5th day, stranding hundreds

IndiGo’s spate of cancellations has prompted fare increases on flights operated by other airlines on popular routes.

Hong Kong police arrest man for allegedly vandalising Legco election posters Hong Kong police have arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly vandalising Legislative Council election campaign materials ahead of Sunday’s poll. Police said on Saturday that they were alerted at 8.53am that five Legco election-related posters on No 30 Mei Tin Road in Tai Wai had allegedly been destroyed. After a preliminary probe, the suspect was arrested for alleged criminal damage and detained for investigation, police said. The force’s Sha Tin division is following up on the case, according...

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Hong Kong police arrest man after Legco election posters vandalised

Five posters related to Sunday’s poll allegedly destroyed on Mei Tin Road in Tai Wai, according to force.

Indonesia’s flood death toll hits 883, hundreds still missing Indonesia’s disaster agency on Saturday reported a rise in the death toll from floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra, saying at least 883 people had been confirmed dead while more than 500 were missing. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said the figures covered three provinces – Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra – which had been hit by days of intense rainfall that triggered overflowing rivers, landslides and severe damage to transport infrastructure. The agency said 520...

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Indonesia’s flood death toll hits 908, hundreds still missing

The governor of hard-hit Aceh warns starvation has become the gravest threat to survivors in remote villages cut off by the devastation.

Drones buzz French nuclear base amid Russian hybrid warfare fears The French military used jammers as several suspected drones flew over a closely guarded base housing nuclear ballistic submarines, prosecutors said on Friday. It was the latest in a series of mysterious drone flights over airports and sensitive military and industrial sites across Europe. Three-and-a-half years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there is growing concern that such disruption could be part of hybrid war tactics by Moscow against the European Union, which has backed Kyiv. No...

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Drones buzz French nuclear base amid Russian hybrid warfare fears

Marines deployed electronic jammers against five suspected devices spotted hovering over the Ile Longue submarine facility.

China hiker wears clothing tag to support missing children and expand search A woman from northeastern China, who faced online harassment for wearing a clothing tag while hiking, later clarified that it contained information about a missing child as part of a brand’s charitable initiative. Deng, hailing from Jilin province, recently posted a hiking video in which the tag on her backpack was visible, quickly inciting criticism across mainland social media. One user commented: “She’s probably one of those who buys something, wears it once, and then returns it for a refund....

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China hiker wears clothing tag to support missing children and expand search

Brand’s owner says that tags featuring information about missing children have been part of their public welfare initiative for four years.

‘We all knew’: is your job safe from the AI you are helping train? For Malaysian tech worker Sam, there were three short steps to being replaced by robots at a global social media company’s Kuala Lumpur office. First came weeks spent training the company’s artificial intelligence systems. Then came the ominous warnings of “restructuring”. Finally, the inevitable: redundancy. “One day, out of nowhere, we had to attend a town hall,” said the 29-year-old, who asked to use a pseudonym to protect his job prospects. “They never explicitly said it was due to AI, but...

South China Morning Post

‘We all knew’: is your job safe from the AI you are helping to train?

Asia makes the chips driving the AI boom, but the technology threatens to erase jobs and widen the region’s wealth gap, a new UN report says.

Fire risks persist on construction sites despite deadly Hong Kong blaze: watchdog Fire safety risks still persist on construction sites across Hong Kong following the deadly blaze in Tai Po, the industry watchdog has warned, after a scaffolding worker in a major subsidised estate was sacked for smoking. Thomas Ho On-sing, chairman of the Construction Industry Council, on Saturday criticised the industry for failing to “learn a lesson” from the Tai Po tragedy. “I have been inspecting construction sites recently and found that many still have styrofoam boards and volatile...

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Lessons not learned, Hong Kong construction council says after site checks

Head of industry association says flammable materials and cigarette butts still found at sites after deadly Tai Po blaze.

India and Russia agree to boost trade to US$100 billion by 2030 Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday at an annual summit and agreed to diversify mutual economic ties, as the United States presses India to revise its decades-old partnership with Russia. The 23rd Russia-India Summit comes at a pivotal moment as the US pushes for a Ukraine peace deal while seeking global cooperation. It will test New Delhi’s efforts to balance relations with Moscow and Washington as the nearly four-year war in Ukraine...

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India and Russia agree to boost trade to US$100 billion by 2030

India’s Modi greeted Putin with a bear hug before announcing free electronic visas for Russian tourists.

From shoes to scholarships: Hongkongers unite for Tai Po fire victims From shoes, apparel and daily necessities to food, logistics services and even university sponsorships for two orphans, donors from all walks of life have come together to support survivors of the Tai Po fire, Hong Kong’s deadliest in decades. Beyond the HK$2.8 billion (US$360 million) raised from the private sector and the government so far, many compassionate people contributed what they could in a show of solidarity. The fire has so far claimed 159 lives, including that of a firefighter, and...

South China Morning Post

From shoes to scholarships: Hongkongers unite for Tai Po fire victims

Individuals and companies are helping to gather food, clothing and bedding, with one anonymous donor offering to fund education of up to two orphans.

Australian TikTokker gives widowed US cashier, 88, gift of retirement A young man from Australia with a huge social media following has given an 88-year-old US supermarket worker the gift of retirement. Ed Bambas from Michigan was presented with an oversized cheque for US$1.7 million on Friday – the result of an extraordinary online fundraising drive. “No, no,” Bambas said, wiping away tears in front of reporters. “Thank you. Oh, my God.” Sam Weidenhofer, 22, from Melbourne, is using his online influence to spread kindness – and financial support – during a visit...

South China Morning Post

Australian TikTokker gives widowed US cashier, 88, gift of retirement

Ed Bambas took a cashier job at 82 to cope with grief and bills after his wife’s death, but a stranger’s kindness has changed everything.

A Chinese home-grown business jet is on the way. Will it rival Gulfstream? China’s top aircraft maker is stepping up efforts to promote its first business jet as it looks to break into a market dominated by Western aviation firms like Gulfstream Aerospace. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) took the rare step of showcasing a completed version of the model – called the Comac Business Jet, or CBJ – at an exhibition in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in October. The move signalled the state-owned company was “seeking to break into the large-cabin...

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A Chinese home-grown business jet is on the way. Will it rival Gulfstream?

China’s state-owned aircraft maker is stepping up efforts to break into the business jet market with its CBJ model.

Meet the Illinois farmer sowing the seeds of the world’s biggest IPOs of 2026 Jeff Rowe grinned with satisfaction when the dashboard of his John Deere combine harvester showed the yield of the first run on his family’s farm during this year’s harvest: 253 bushels per acre, equivalent to 13.8 tonnes of corn per hectare. The yield on the 100-acre Schubert parcel was the highest in many years, said Rowe, the CEO of Syngenta Group and the son of the owners of Rowe Farm, Dean and Carol. Located in the corn belt of Illinois state in the US Midwest, the farm used Syngenta’s...

South China Morning Post

Exclusive | Meet the Illinois farmer sowing the seeds of the world’s biggest IPOs of 2026

Jeff Rowe, a fifth-generation Illinois farmer, runs a Chinese-owned Swiss company in Basel that is aiming for one of the world’s largest IPOs in ...

Chernobyl safety shield damaged, UN confirms. Ukraine blames Russian drones A protective shield at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in war-torn Ukraine, built to contain radioactive material from the 1986 disaster, can no longer perform its main safety function due to drone damage, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday, a strike Ukraine has attributed to Russia. The International Atomic Energy Agency said an inspection last week of the steel confinement structure completed in 2019 found the drone impact in February, three years into Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, had...

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Chernobyl safety shield damaged, UN confirms. Ukraine blames Russian drones

Despite the loss of ‘confinement capability’ at the notorious nuclear plant, IAEA officials report no radiation leaks.

Lifeline or trash? Taiwan safety guide sparks fierce debate amid Beijing threat Taiwan’s updated crisis and war survival guide has ignited fierce political debate, hailed by officials as a lifeline amid Beijing’s mounting military pressure but blasted by critics as costly propaganda prompting fear rather than readiness. Mass distribution of In Case of Crisis: Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide – quickly dubbed the “little orange book” – began late last month, targeting 9.83 million households. The 29-page comic-style publication explains how to stockpile food and water,...

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Lifeline or rubbish? Taiwan updates disaster and conflict survival guide

‘Little orange book’ sent to nearly 10 million households advises on survival response, but many question its cost and value.

Politicisation of Hong Kong’s fire tragedy in Western media a new low As sure as night follows day, you can always count on the big Western media outlets to politicise anything bad that happens in Hong Kong or on the mainland. So with the horrific Tai Po fire, you can be sure those platforms will go to town with that approach. The real cause of the fatal fire? Well, of course, it’s all about democracy and freedom, or rather the lack of their Western versions in China. The same old “democracy” explains everything, which turns every ignorant foreign commentator into...

South China Morning Post

As I see it | Politicisation of Hong Kong’s fire tragedy in Western media a new low

There has been an unhelpful propensity to view the fire and its aftermath through the lens of a Western version of democracy.

Trump’s security playbook recasts US allies as tools to counter China: analysts US President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy frames America’s allies not just as partners, but as instruments to preserve US primacy and counter China’s rise, analysts say. The strategy urges wealthy allies to increase defence spending, align more closely with Washington on measures such as export controls, and take greater responsibility for their regions, a shift that recasts long-standing alliances as tools in great-power competition. The 33-page document declares that the era...

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Trump recasts US allies as tools to counter China in security playbook: analysts

Plan urges wealthier partners to boost defence roles, align export controls and shoulder more regional responsibility.

Russian fitness coach dies at 30 after gaining 25kg in promotional junk food binge A Russian fitness coach who died from a binge-eating challenge while promoting his weight loss courses has raised concerns about extreme stunts. The 30-year-old influencer on Russian social media, Dmitry Nuyanzin, died in his sleep in Orenburg in November. Nuyanzin reportedly binged on junk food to gain at least 25kg before showing how fast he could lose the same amount of weight. He did so in an attempt to promote his weight loss courses. Nuyanzin told his thousands of followers that he was...

South China Morning Post

Russian fitness coach dies at 30 after gaining 25kg in promotional junk food binge

Online influencer gorges on cakes, pizzas, pastries, dumplings and chips before dying in his sleep, sparking warnings about extreme eating.

‘Crowd is missing’: stronger ringgit keeps Singapore shoppers away from Johor The year-end usually brings hordes of Singaporeans to Johor Bahru, but this holiday season, the city feels unusually quiet, according to business owners in the capital of the Malaysian state of Johor. They believe this is due to the stronger Malaysian ringgit, with the drop becoming especially noticeable since last month. Besides the ringgit’s strong performance, other factors included the unpredictable weather. “November and December have always been the busiest period for businesses here, but...

South China Morning Post

‘Crowd is missing’: stronger ringgit keeps Singapore shoppers away from Johor

‘This is probably the worst year-end crowd we have seen since the Covid-19 pandemic,’ a business owner says.

Drones spotted near Zelensky’s flight path to Dublin spark security alert An Irish navy ship spotted up to five drones operating near the flight path of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s aircraft as he arrived for a state visit to Ireland on Monday, local media reported on Thursday. The sighting triggered a major security alert amid fears it was an attempt to interfere with the flight path, the Irish Times reported. It quoted unnamed sources as saying the aircraft, which arrived slightly early, was not in any danger. The Ukrainian delegation arrived late on...

South China Morning Post

Drones spotted near Zelensky’s flight path to Dublin spark security alert

Report says enquiries are trying to determine whether the drones took off from land or an undetected ship.