US seizes another vessel off Venezuelan coast The United ‌States is interdicting and seizing a vessel off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, three US officials said on ‍Saturday, a move that comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. This would mark the second time in recent weeks that the United States has seized a tanker near Venezuela and comes amid a large US military build-up in the region. The officials, who were speaking on the...

South China Morning Post

Venezuela slams ‘international piracy’ after US seizes another vessel

Trump has ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers in and out of the area, but the ship is reportedly not one of those blacklisted.

German engineer becomes first wheelchair user to blast into space A paraplegic engineer from Germany blasted off on a dream-come-true rocket ride with five other passengers on Saturday, leaving her wheelchair behind to float in space while beholding Earth from on high. Severely injured in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, Michaela Benthaus became the first wheelchair user in space, launching from West Texas with Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin. She was accompanied by a retired SpaceX executive also born in Germany, Hans Koenigsmann, who helped organise...

South China Morning Post

German engineer becomes first wheelchair user to blast into space

Michaela Benthaus had thought her dreams of being an astronaut were over after she was badly injured in a mountain bike accident.

Hong Kong teaching hospital investigates staff over viral ‘water fight’ video A Hong Kong teaching hospital has launched an investigation after a viral video showed its medical staff using syringes as “water pistols” inside a ward. In a post on social media on Thursday, several staff were filmed squirting liquid at each other with syringes while their colleagues looked on. “Playing with water at the nurse station of [ward] K20N at Queen Mary Hospital,” an online user named hospital_secrets wrote when posting the video. “Using syringes as water pistols while they are on...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong teaching hospital investigates staff over viral ‘water fight’ video

Queen Mary Hospital vows disciplinary action after staff caught on video using syringes as ‘water pistols’ inside a ward.

Starmer pressured to intercept Andrew Tate in Dubai to face trial for UK rape charges UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been urged to bring influencer Andrew Tate back to the United Kingdom to face rape charges, as he is due to appear at a celebrity boxing match in Dubai. The 39-year-old self-described misogynist is due to fight in the Misfits Mania bout against American Chase DeMoor in Dubai on Saturday night. He and his brother Tristan are facing a series of 21 charges in the UK, including rape, assault, human trafficking, and controlling prostitution. Bedfordshire Police has...

South China Morning Post

Starmer pressured to intercept Andrew Tate in Dubai over UK rape charges

The self-described misogynist will appear at a Dubai boxing match this weekend, while facing civil action in the UK from four women alleging assaul...

ByteDance raises pay, boosts bonuses to retain staff amid AI talent war Beijing-based ByteDance has raised pay and sweetened incentives as the TikTok owner steps up efforts to retain and attract talent globally, as it makes progress on settling the future of its US business. In an internal letter released to all staff on Friday and seen by the Post, the social media giant said it would lift both the upper and lower limits of compensation packages for staff across all ranks. For its full-year 2025 performance cycle – with reviews starting on January 15, 2026 –...

South China Morning Post

ByteDance raises pay, boosts bonuses to retain staff amid AI talent war

The TikTok owner has announced higher bonuses, wider pay bands and faster equity payouts as it seeks to stay competitive in the global talent race.

Operation Santa Claus: Hong Kong Disneyland spreads magic to support charity drive Hong Kong Disneyland has joined an annual fundraising drive to bring holiday warmth to communities across the city, extending a partnership that began in 2019. Operation Santa Claus (OSC), jointly established by the Post and public broadcaster RTHK in 1988, invites supporters to build connections across different parts of society. Disneyland has participated through a blend of creative merchandise, guest engagement and staff involvement. The Holiday Wishes Postcards, first introduced in 2019,...

South China Morning Post

Operation Santa Claus: Hong Kong Disneyland spreads magic in charity drive

Resort to donate all proceeds from its Holiday Wishes Postcards to Operation Santa Claus, extending a partnership that began in 2019.

Bearly any time left for Japan’s panda lovers? Row with China threatens loan programme For more than half a century, pandas have helped serve as ambassadors for China around the world, but their time in Japan appears to be drawing to a close with the last two bears in the country set to return next month. Hopes of receiving new ones soon appear dim given the current tensions between the two countries. Tokyo’s metropolitan government has reportedly been in talks with China about receiving new pandas, but there is no sign of agreement in the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae...

South China Morning Post

Bearly any time left for Japan’s panda lovers? Row with China threatens to end loans

A 50-year tradition of panda diplomacy appears to be reaching its end with the last pair set to leave amid heightened diplomatic tensions.

Turkish court rules man liking women’s posts could undermine marital trust, prompts debate A court in Turkey has ruled that a husband repeatedly liking online posts made by women other than his wife could break marital trust, thereby serving as grounds for divorce. The landmark decision came from a case in the central city of Kayseri. According to a local media outlet, Haberler, a woman identified as HB accused her husband of constantly verbally humiliating her and failing to provide financial support. The woman also noted that her husband spent a lot of time on social media,...

South China Morning Post

Turkish court rules man liking women’s posts may erode marital trust, prompts debate

Judges rule against husband who ogled at ‘seductive’ and ‘suggestive’ photos of women online; lawyers say actions may be grounds for divorce.

Trump tries to allay voter anxiety by touting economic wins, dodges Epstein files in rally US President Donald Trump began a rally on Friday night in North Carolina talking about crime and then highlighted his efforts to combat economic uncertainty – while also steering clear of addressing new disclosures involving the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In front of hundreds of people at Rocky Mount Event Centre in eastern North Carolina, Trump cited a high-profile crime that galvanised his base and went through recent consumer price index data, recounting stories of threatening...

South China Morning Post

‘I inherited mess’: Trump hits out at Democrats, dodges Epstein files in rally

The US presidents also warned that the government could be headed towards another lockdown in late January.

Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass For much of the past year, Asian exporters have been racing to stay ahead of a global tariff storm – re-routing shipments, reconfiguring supply chains and absorbing rising costs as the United States tightened its trade barriers. Now another pressure point is emerging. From the start of next year, Mexico plans to impose import duties of up to 50 per cent on a wide range of goods from Asia, threatening to choke off a key workaround companies have relied on to maintain access to the North American...

South China Morning Post

Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass

A tariff wall will soon separate protected partners like CPTPP members Singapore and Malaysia from exporters facing a shutout.

Malaysia allows halal hotels, eateries to deck halls with Christmas decor Halal-certified hotels and food premises in Malaysia are allowed to display Christmas decorations, according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan. He clarified that there are no restrictions against halal certification holders from displaying festive decorations linked to religions other than Islam, provided that halal standards are upheld. “The position is in line with a decision made by the Islamic Development Department Malaysia (Jakim) in 2023,...

South China Morning Post

Malaysia allows halal hotels, eateries to deck halls with boughs of holly

The multiracial country’s religious affairs minister says festive decorations or images are allowed where halal food is served.

Japanese drone school develops AI system to track bears amid rise in encounters A drone school in northeastern Japan is developing a new system that uses drones and artificial intelligence to identify and automatically track bears amid a surge in bear-related incidents. The new system being developed by D-Academy Tohoku in Gojome, Akita prefecture, will be able to detect bears hidden from view in mountainous or urban areas and share their locations via smartphones. It is expected to be available next year, and local authorities are already showing a keen interest. The...

South China Morning Post

Bear aware: Japanese drone school develops AI system to track animals

The new system being developed in Akita prefecture can detect bears and share their locations via smartphones.

Death toll in Hong Kong fire rises to 161 after new DNA match One more person has been confirmed dead in Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire, bringing the death toll to 161, the police chief has said, citing results of further forensic analysis. “Further forensic tests found the DNA of another person in one of the bodies, later identified as belonging to a couple,” Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said on Saturday after a passing-out parade at the Hong Kong Police College. “DNA tests are still being carried out, and we do not rule out the possibility that more...

South China Morning Post

Death toll in Hong Kong fire rises to 161 after new DNA match

‘DNA tests are still being carried out, and we do not rule out the possibility that the DNA of other deceased people may be identified,’ police...

Taiwan intervention may just spell the end of the West The horrors of war are so seared into the minds of people that the resultant images in their heads can bias them to picture future conflicts as being like previous ones. The more tragic and terrible the past conflicts, the stronger this bias tends to be. Hollywood films play a big part in such image-making, but some experts themselves may also be so biased, especially if they are of the older generation. When Americans say their country may be heading towards a civil war, many likely still have...

South China Morning Post

Opinion | Taiwan intervention may just spell the end of the West

Mutual economic destruction or worse for China and the West should be enough to deter everyone from internationalising the Taiwan question.

US strikes at Isis fighters in Syria after 3 Americans killed US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced the start of an operation to “eliminate Isis fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites” in Syria following the deaths of three US citizens. “This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,” he said on social media. Two Iowa National Guard members and a US civilian interpreter were killed on...

South China Morning Post

US strikes at Isis fighters in Syria after 3 Americans killed

At least five Isis members were killed in a ‘large-scale’ strike hitting 70 Isis targets across central Syria.

China shoppers swap boutiques for bargains, fuelling US$30 billion luxury resale boom At a shopping centre in Shenzhen’s coastal business district, a store’s entrance feels more like a security checkpoint than a retail gateway. Customers check their bags, don white silk gloves, and pass through a gate. Beyond the checkpoint, which also seems incongruent with the outer facade resembling a typical multi-brand fashion shop, lies a 2,000-square-metre (21,527-sq-ft) showroom. Inside, luxury handbags are not displayed under artful lighting. Instead, they are tightly arranged in...

South China Morning Post

From taboo to trendy: China’s second-hand luxury market cashes in on resale boom

Driven by an uneven recovery and property crisis, value-conscious shoppers are powering a second-hand boom as platforms use tech to verify authenti...

Singapore cracks down on scammers with mandatory caning as fraud cases surge Singapore’s government said on Friday that scammers will face mandatory caning of up to 24 strokes from December 30, under changes to criminal law to deter surging fraud cases. The changes, passed by parliament last month, strengthen penalties that already include imprisonment and fines. The Home Affairs Ministry said the enhanced punishment “ensure that our criminal laws remain effective, fair, and responsive to emerging challenges”. Under the changes, scammers, including recruiters and members...

South China Morning Post

Singapore cracks down on scammers with mandatory caning

The new law with tougher penalties for fraud syndicates and money mules to fight rising cybercrime takes effect December 30.

Bank of Japan raises rates to levels unseen since 1995 The Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in three decades and signalled its readiness for further hikes, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support and near-zero borrowing costs. It also removed language that growth and inflation will stagnate due to the impact of higher US tariffs, underscoring the central bank’s conviction that Japan was on course to stably hit its 2 per cent inflation target backed by wage gains, and ready for a...

South China Morning Post

Bank of Japan’s historic rate increase signals new era for economy

Bank of Japan lifts rates to 0.75 per cent – a 30-year high – ending zero-interest era, paving the way for further increases amid rising inflat...

Trump’s Venezuela ‘blockade’ raises legal questions as US masses forces US President Donald Trump’s “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast was raising new questions about the legality of his military campaign in Latin America, while fuelling concerns that the US could be edging closer to war. The Trump administration says its blockade is narrowly tailored and not targeting civilians, which would be an illegal act of war. But some experts say seizing sanctioned oil tied to leader Nicolas Maduro could provoke a military response from Venezuela,...

South China Morning Post

Trump’s Venezuela ‘blockade’ raises legal questions as US masses forces

With an unusually large US military presence near Venezuela, observers warn of tactics that stretch the bounds of international law.

Hong Kong customs arrests 2 party room operators over suspected pirated songs Hong Kong customs has arrested two party room operators on suspicion of providing pirated karaoke songs to customers after raiding eight properties across the city. The Customs and Excise Department said on Friday that officers launched an operation between December 3 and 10 after analysing intelligence, with the help of copyright owners, and identifying party rooms suspected of possessing and providing infringing karaoke songs during their business operations. Officers raided eight party rooms...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong customs arrests 2 party room operators over suspected pirated songs

Customs says officers raided eight properties across city, seizing HK$240,000 worth of karaoke equipment in copyright crackdown.