Jimmy Lai trial: all eyes on Hong Kong as court set to deliver verdict This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Three Hong Kong judges who presided over former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s high-profile national security trial for more than 1½ years are set to return their verdict on Monday. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily has spent most of the past five years in solitary...

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Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai found guilty on all charges in national security trial

City leader John Lee welcomes conviction, calls it an upholding of justice and a safeguard for Hong Kong’s core values.

Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk As the holiday season approaches in the United States, the rush for Christmas gifts is straining manufacturers thousands of kilometres away in Southeast Asia, where supply chain shocks triggered by US tariffs are hitting exports of everything from mittens and headphones to toys. Manufacturers have spent much of the past year trying to adapt to the tariffs, which have driven up production and logistics costs while also disrupting delivery schedules. Now, the seasonal demand spike has only served...

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Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk

From Hot Wheels to headphones, new levies are squeezing the supply of Americans’ festive favourites.

Thai PM Anutin says no Cambodian ceasefire as first civilian is killed Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said there is no plan for a ceasefire as the country reported the first civilian death from a Cambodian rocket attack after eight days of intense fighting. “There was no plan nor agreement by the Thai government for a ceasefire with our enemy as of 10 p.m. last night,” Anutin wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday, after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged the two sides to stop fighting by that time. “Thailand stands firm with our determination to...

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Thailand considers blocking fuel exports to Cambodia as conflict escalates

Thailand last year exported 2.2 billion litres of fuel to Cambodia, according to the energy ministry’s data.

No contact with Iran Nobel winner since arrest, supporters say There has been no contact with Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi since her arrest in Iran at the end of last week, her supporters said on Sunday, urging the Islamic republic to release the campaigner and dozens of others arrested alongside her. Mohammadi, who won the 2023 Nobel Prize, was detained on Friday after addressing a memorial ceremony in the eastern city of Mashhad for lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who was found dead earlier this month. According to Mashhad prosecutor Hassan...

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No contact with Iran Nobel winner laureate arrest, supporters say

Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Peace Prize laureate, was detained on Friday alongside dozens of activists and may face national security charges.

French farmers spray manure, keep up road blocks over cow ‘mass slaughter’ Farmers sprayed manure on government offices and kept up roadblocks in southern France on Sunday in protest against a mass cull of cows as officials urged Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to urgently intervene. Many farmers in southern and southwest France have been incensed by the use of police force and the government’s mass slaughter policy to contain the spread of nodular dermatitis, widely known as lumpy skin disease. Farmers have blocked roads after veterinarians on Friday slaughtered a...

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French farmers spray manure, block roads over cow ‘mass slaughter’ policy

Farmers in southern France are incensed by the government’s mandatory slaughter of herds to contain ‘lumpy skin disease’.

Netanyahu accuses Australia’s PM of inaction in tackling antisemitism Following the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Australia of not taking decisive action to tackle antisemitism. Netanyahu said in a statement that he had warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a letter four months ago, stating that “the Australian government’s policy was promoting and encouraging antisemitism in Australia”. Australia and other leading nations formally recognised the State of...

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Netanyahu accuses Australia’s PM of inaction in tackling antisemitism

After the Bondi Beach shooting, the Israeli PM said he warned Albanese months ago that Australia’s policy was ‘encouraging antisemitism’.

Frenchman cycles 18,000km from hometown to China to support other Lyme disease patients A man who cycled 18,000km from his hometown in France to China to realise a Silk Road adventure dream has trended on social media in China. Frenchman Killian Le Guyader, 24, began his journey in the northwestern city of Rennes at the beginning of this year. He arrived in China not long ago and a video showing him standing on the Great Wall in Beijing went viral on mainland social media in early December. “Mum, I made it. I rode from France to China, covering 18,000km and crossing more than 30...

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Frenchman cycles 18,000km from hometown to China to support Lyme disease patients

24-year-old realises dream of riding bike to China by crossing more than 30 countries; describes standing on Great Wall as ‘awesome’.

Germany thwarts Islamist plot to ram vehicle into Christmas market German authorities said on Saturday they had arrested five men on suspicion of involvement in an Islamist plot to plough a vehicle into people at a Christmas market. Officials have been on high alert during the festive season after a deadly car-ramming attack at a market in the city of Magdeburg last Christmas shocked the nation. Police and prosecutors said they had detained an Egyptian, three Moroccans and a Syrian on Friday over the plan to carry out the attack in southern Bavaria...

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Germany thwarts Islamist plot to ram vehicle into Christmas market

Authorities arrested five men over the plan to carry out the attack in southern Bavaria state.

Sales of high-end cars tumble in China as affordable local brands trump European marques Chinese demand for foreign luxury cars is waning as customers opt for more affordable Chinese brand models, often sold at big discounts, catering to their taste for fancy electronics and comfort. That is bad news for European carmakers like Porsche, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and BMW that have long dominated the upper reaches of the world’s largest auto market. A prolonged property downturn in China has left many consumers with little appetite for big purchases. Meanwhile, the well-to-do are...

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High-end car sales sink in China as cheaper brands trump European marques

Many buyers were swayed by a 20,000 yuan (US$2,830 ) trade-in subsidy offered by the government for purchasing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Speed up innovation, create jobs key facets of next Hong Kong budget: Paul Chan Accelerating innovation and creating more jobs will be key facets of the next annual budget, Hong Kong’s finance chief has vowed, while noting positive investor sentiment after several entities recently bought and leased commercial properties in the city. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said in his weekly blog post on Sunday that public consultation for the next budget would start soon. “Key issues will include how to further expand the facets and areas of economic development,...

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Speed up innovation, create jobs key facets of next Hong Kong budget: Paul Chan

Finance chief says public consultation for next budget will start soon and he ‘looks forward’ to ideas from residents.

China tourism: cold spots are hot tickets as southern residents head north to ski With temperatures falling and holidays approaching, ski resorts across northern China are experiencing a surge in visitors from the south, a trend that is cheering airlines as well as resort operators including Malaysia-based Genting Group. Since the ski season opened on November 15, the Changbai Beautiful China Resort in the northeast province of Jilin, a complex owned by China Green Development Group, has welcomed more than 110,000 visitors, marking a nearly 40 per cent year-on-year increase....

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Cold spots are hot tickets as southern Chinese head north to ski

Ski resorts record big visitor increases as high-speed rail and flight expansions bring in those who have tried the sport in indoor venues.

Europe fears hidden Russian threat in Trump-backed Ukraine peace plan European officials are growing concerned that an emerging US-brokered peace deal in Ukraine could be exploited by Russia, paving the way for a reinvasion of territory in the war-battered nation’s eastern Donbas region. The fear, a main sticking point in recent talks, is that the US plan for a demilitarised zone would give the Kremlin cover to deploy covert forces in the contested area, according to people familiar with the matter. The Kremlin might then use hybrid tactics, including so-called...

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Europe fears hidden Russian threat in Trump-backed Ukraine peace plan

Europe worries a US plan for a demilitarised zone in the Donbas region may help Moscow to reinvade Kyiv.

Operation Santa Claus helps Hong Kong domestic workers rise as community leaders Two non-governmental organisations serving Hong Kong’s large community of about 400,000 domestic helpers, mostly women from the Philippines and Indonesia, have joined forces to train some of them as community leaders to support their peers. Many NGOs may lack the resources and capacity to help individual workers, who work long hours far away from home and face a variety of issues. But Uplifters and EmpowerU have pulled together to create a programme that helps domestic helpers cope better with...

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From workers to leaders: Operation Santa Claus empowers Hong Kong’s migrants

Uplifters and EmpowerU join forces to train domestic workers as community leaders who can support their peers.

Deported porn star Bonnie Blue mocks Bali arrest: ‘did you think I’d face jail time?’ Bonnie Blue, the former OnlyFans star who made headlines for claiming to have slept with more than 1,000 men in just 12 hours, is back in her native UK after being deported from Indonesia, where she was arrested in Bali for allegedly violating “morality” laws. Upon returning to England on Saturday, the 26-year-old adult content creator addressed the controversy in a press release sent to the media. She said it cost her less than “US$20 to get out of prison” in Indonesia, and joked that she...

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‘Did you think I’d face jail time?’: deported porn star Blue mocks Bali arrest

The adult content creator returned to the UK, saying it cost her less than ‘US$20 to get out of prison’ in Indonesia.

Active shooter reported at Brown University in Rhode Island Police responded to an active shooting on Saturday on campus at Brown University in Providence, according to the school’s alert system. School officials initially said a suspect was in custody, before saying that was not in fact the case and police were still searching for a suspect or suspects. The incident was reported near the Barus and Holley building, a seven-storey structure that houses the School of Engineering and Physics Department, according to the school’s website. It includes 117...

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Suspect arrested in US after 2 students shot dead at Brown University

Nine others were injured in Saturday’s attack in Providence, Rhode Island. US President Donald Trump called the shooting ‘terrible’.

6 UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan drone strike blamed on RSF paramilitary group A drone strike hit a United Nations facility in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, killing six peacekeepers, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. The strike hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement. Eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike. All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). “Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute...

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6 UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan drone strike blamed on RSF paramilitary group

The victims were all Bangladeshi nationals working at a United Nations logistics base in Kadugli.

More than 30 people evacuated after warehouse catches fire in Hong Kong A warehouse in northern Hong Kong caught fire on Saturday, forcing more than 30 people including dozens of residents of a nearby nursing home to evacuate. Police received multiple calls about the fire breaking out in the warehouse on Ma Liu Shui San Tsuen’s Lung Ma Road in Sheung Shui at around 5.27pm. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within an hour, and no injuries were reported. A manager and three staff members were in the warehouse when the fire started but moved to safety immediately,...

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More than 30 people evacuated after warehouse catches fire in Hong Kong

Firefighters extinguish blaze at building in Sheung Shui’s Ma Liu Shui San Tsuen, and no injuries are reported.

China’s Wang Yi urges UAE to help close free-trade deal with Gulf Cooperation Council China is looking to the United Arab Emirates to help speed up negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang met his Emirati counterpart in Abu Dhabi on Friday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on its website. He told Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan that China supported the UAE’s “measures to safeguard national security and development” and its “increased role in international and...

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China’s Wang Yi urges UAE to help close free-trade deal with Gulf states bloc

Chinese foreign minister is on a three-nation Middle East tour and met Emirati counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday.

Indonesia flood death toll passes 1,000, over 200 still missing Devastating floods and landslides have killed 1,003 people in Indonesia, rescuers said on Saturday as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with relief efforts. The disaster, which has hit the northwestern island of Sumatra over the past fortnight, has also injured more than 5,400, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in its latest toll. The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra, where a tsunami wreaked havoc in 2004 in Aceh province, which lies at...

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Over 200 still missing in Indonesia as flood death toll passes 1,000

With vast areas hit and thousands of people injured, 1.2 million have been forced to take refuge in temporary shelters.

Hong Kong expo vendors expect 20% sales boost amid bigger crowds, good weather Exhibitors at one of Hong Kong’s largest annual bazaars expect sales to rise by up to 20 per cent from last year, citing higher attendance and good weather as they introduce modern twists to some traditional food products. The 59th edition of the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo, organised by the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, opened on Saturday at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay and will run until January 5. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po was among the first customers,...

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Hong Kong expo vendors expect 20% sales boost amid bigger crowds, good weather

Vendors at the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo express optimism at the 24-day fair’s opening at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.