Canada’s Carney on verge of majority after another Conservative MP jumps ship A Canadian opposition legislator defected to the ruling Liberal Party on Wednesday, leaving Prime Minister Mark Carney on the verge of a parliamentary majority that would make it easier to push through his agenda. The centrist Liberals, ‌governing with a minority after the April 2025 election, need opposition support to pass key legislation. Carney says he needs a majority to deal with US President Donald Trump’s trade measures. The prime minister welcomed the defection by Marilyn Gladu – a...

South China Morning Post

Canada’s Carney on verge of majority after another Conservative MP jumps ship

Marilyn Gladu’s defection means the PM is just one seat short of the majority he says he needs to deal with Trump.

Judge quashes subpoenas of Fed chair, says investigation was ‘politically motivated’ A federal judge on Friday quashed US Justice Department subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve in January, a severe blow to an investigation that has already attracted strong criticism on Capitol Hill. Judge James Boasberg said that a “mountain of evidence suggests” that the purpose of the subpoenas was simply to pressure the Fed to cut its key interest rate, as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded. Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed the investigation on January 11, prompting Senator...

South China Morning Post

Judge quashes subpoenas of Fed chair, says probe was ‘politically motivated’

A ‘mountain of evidence’ suggests the subpoenas were to pressure Jerome Powell to obey Trump’s demands to cut interest rates, the judge says.

2 Tiananmen vigil activists have case to answer in subversion trial, court rules Two former leaders of a now-disbanded alliance behind Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil have a case to answer in a high-profile trial after judges ruled the evidence supported prosecutors’ allegations that the activists incited others to overthrow the Communist Party leadership. Three High Court judges on Friday found that the evidence appeared to suggest Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung committed a subversion offence as leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic...

South China Morning Post

2 anti-China activists have case to answer in subversion trial, court rules

Hong Kong judges say prosecutors’ evidence suggests Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung might have incited others to oust Communist Party leadership.

HKEX opens door for small innovative firms to list with biggest reforms since 2018 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has unveiled its biggest listing reforms since 2018, broadening its special listing regime for innovative companies and opening the door for smaller and more diverse firms to list in the city, the bourse operator said on Friday. HKEX proposed lowering the minimum threshold for companies to list under the weighted voting rights regime to a minimum valuation of HK$20 billion (US$2.6 billion), half the current requirement of at least HK$40 billion. It will...

South China Morning Post

HKEX unveils biggest listing reforms since 2018 to lure diverse innovative firms

Bourse operator lowers bar for companies with weighted voting rights and expands the confidential filing option for all listing candidates.

‘Two sessions’ webinar This year’s ‘two sessions’, China’s biggest annual political gathering, featured the announcement of the lowest GDP growth target in decades and official approval for the 15th five-year plan. SCMP Plus hosted a webinar to discuss these developments with three experts from the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. Other topics included the upcoming US-China presidential summit, President Xi Jinping’s purge of the military and efforts to reshape the economy. The panel... https://www.scmp.com/plus/economy/article/3346449/two-sessions-webinar?utm_source=rss_feed

Cambricon, China’s ‘little Nvidia’, to pay maiden dividend after profitable 2025 Cambricon Technologies, a Chinese semiconductor designer seen as a potential alternative to US giant Nvidia, will pay its maiden dividend after posting its first full-year profit since listing in 2020. Cambricon, dubbed “little Nvidia”, planned to distribute a cash dividend of 15 yuan (US$2.2) for every 10 shares held, totalling more than 632 million yuan, according to its filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday. Another 20 million yuan would be allocated for share buy-backs, taking...

South China Morning Post

Cambricon to pay maiden dividend after turning profitable in 2025

The Shanghai-listed chip designer will distribute a cash dividend of 15 yuan for every 10 shares, its first since listing in 2020.

China beats US, Japan in carbon-fibre arms race to create world’s first T1200 factory China has become the first country to mass produce the strongest carbon fibre, which has wide applications for defence industries such as aerospace, drones and robots, state broadcaster CCTV’s military channel reported on Wednesday. The domestically developed T1200-grade fibre has a tensile strength 10 times greater than ordinary steel, yet it is less than one-tenth of a human hair in diameter, according to the state broadcaster. Mass production of the ultra-strength fibre at a projected output...

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China beats US, Japan in carbon-fibre arms race with world’s first T1200 factory

‘Black gold’ fibre deemed transformative for energy and military purposes, EV innovations, medical devices and low-altitude economy.

US returns for WWII dead of Japan’s ‘hell ship’ tomb in the Philippines They were killed by American bombs. They were held at gunpoint by Japanese guards who fired indiscriminately into the crowded holds and when the ship finally went down, many were left to drown. Eight decades later, the United States is coming back for them. Hundreds perished when the Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru was sunk in Subic Bay in December 1944. Now, the Pentagon has launched a multi-year mission in waters off the Philippines to retrieve their remains. As many as 250 Americans are...

South China Morning Post

250 men went down with a WWII ‘hell ship’. Now the US is coming back for them

Eight decades after the Oryoku Maru was sunk by American bombs, specialist divers are returning to retrieve the 250 men still trapped inside.

US sanctions 2 firms, 6 individuals for funding North Korean weapons The United States has imposed sanctions on two companies and six individuals for their roles in operations that used information technology workers in foreign countries to raise money for North Korea. The Treasury Department said the schemes, orchestrated by the North Korean government, had systematically defrauded US businesses and generated revenue to fund North Korea’s weapons programmes, including nearly US$800 million in 2024. The department also accused workers associated with North Korea...

South China Morning Post

US sanctions 2 firms, 6 individuals for funding North Korean weapons

North Korea-linked IT workers raised nearly US$800 million in 2024 by defrauding or stealing data to blackmail American companies.

US-Israel war on Iran: Indian homes stockpile electric stoves to beat gas crunch Indian households are rushing to buy electric induction stoves, draining ⁠stocks online and in stores, ⁠amid fears of a potential cooking gas ⁠shortage tied to the Middle East conflict. India, the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has invoked emergency powers to boost supplies for households even as availability tightens for commercial users including canteens, hostels and restaurants. Meanwhile, consumers are buying electric cooking appliances as a precaution,...

South China Morning Post

Kitchen crisis? Indian homes stockpile electric stoves to beat gas crunch

LPG volatility sparks panic buying of induction stoves and other electric cooking appliances as households worry about refill delays.

Swire sells part of Cathay Pacific stake for HK$1.8 billion to boost working capital Conglomerate Swire Pacific has sold part of its stake in Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways for HK$1.8 billion to raise working capital. In a rare move, the group revealed on Friday that it sold 153.05 million shares at HK$11.74 each the previous day. This marks a 9.6 per cent discount to the last traded price of HK$12.99 on Thursday. It marked the latest shareholder to reduce its stake in Cathay, following Air China’s sale in January for HK$1.32 billion. In a Hong Kong stock exchange...

South China Morning Post

Swire sells part of Cathay stake for HK$1.8 billion to boost working capital

Group sold 153.05 million shares on Thursday at HK$11.74 each, but still holds 45.12 per cent of airline’s stock.

Ant smuggling rises in Kenya as Chinese national caught with 2,238 insects at airport A man was arrested with more ⁠than 2,200 live ⁠garden ants in his ⁠luggage at Nairobi’s main airport this week amid a rise in cases of smuggling of the insects in Kenya. Chinese national Zhang Kequn, 27, was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta ‌International Airport on Tuesday while he was trying to leave the country, court filings on Thursday showed. Immigration officials flagged a “stop order” on Zhang’s passport after he evaded arrest in Kenya last year. Ant aficionados pay large sums to ⁠maintain...

South China Morning Post

Kenya seizes 2,238 live garden ants from Chinese national at airport

The case has exposed a growing, organised ant-smuggling network threatening the African nation’s biodiversity.

Former Hong Kong lawmaker Regina Ip swaps policy for photo cards at ComplexCon Former Hong Kong lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee will hold a fan meet-and-greet at this year’s ComplexCon in the city, underscoring the senior government adviser’s enduring online popularity since ending her 17-year tenure in the Legislative Council. Seventy-five-year-old Ip, convenor of the government’s top decision-making Executive Council, will join guests including Jennie from K-pop group Blackpink, American rapper Yeat and Korean R&B singer Crush at the two-day event later this month. The...

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Former Hong Kong lawmaker Regina Ip swaps policy for photo cards at ComplexCon

Veteran politician-turned-online sensation joins global stars, including Blackpink’s Jennie, at two-day pop culture festival.

From net worth of US$580 to US$580 million, China school dropout builds steamed bun empire A school dropout from eastern China who survived a violent attack and bankruptcy has built a steamed bun empire that generates 180 million yuan (US$26 million) annually. Liu Huiping, 49, hails from Anhui province, famously known as China’s “hometown of dough makers.” To ease the financial burden on his parents, Liu left secondary school early. He initially learned furniture making before shifting his focus to the craft of Chinese buns. In 1998, with a 4,000-yuan (US$580) loan, Liu ventured to...

South China Morning Post

Profile | From owning US$580 to US$580 million, China school dropout builds business empire

Liu Huiping rents his home instead of buying as he believes his wealth should not be inherited by his descendants.

‘Outdated intelligence’: US faces mounting evidence in deadly strike on Iran school Outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out a deadly missile strike on a junior school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict, according to a US official and a second person briefed on findings of a preliminary US military investigation into the incident. The bombing of the school and its casualties involving children has become a focal point of the war, and if ultimately confirmed to be at the hands of the US,...

South China Morning Post

‘Outdated intel’: US faces mounting evidence in deadly strike on Iran school

Preliminary findings suggest the US relied on target coordinates for the February 28 missile strike using outdated data.

Malaysian man jailed for 10 months, fined US$12,700 over Facebook post insulting Islam The administrator of a Facebook account has been jailed 10 months and fined 50,000 ringgit (US$12,700) by the Sessions Court in Miri, Sarawak, over a post deemed insulting to Islam. The Malaysian Comm­unications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said John Mule anak Alai, 48, was convicted under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities. “MCMC takes seriously any form of misuse of digital platforms that insults religion, incites hatred,...

South China Morning Post

Malaysian man jailed for 10 months, fined US$12,700 over Facebook post insulting Islam

Malaysia has warned that ‘stern action’ will be taken against content that insults, incites hatred or touches on race, religion or royalty.

Preparing for the worst? US bunker maker claims big demand in Middle East Since the war in the Middle East began nearly two weeks ago, the phone at Ron Hubbard’s bomb shelter company in Texas has not stopped ringing. Foreign and US clients are rushing to buy his bunkers, seeking refuge in case of air raids, nuclear fallout or apocalypse. With the United States and Israel pounding Iran, and Tehran retaliating with strikes across the region, Hubbard has seen demand for his product soar, mostly from Gulf nation clients in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab...

South China Morning Post

Preparing for the worst? US bunker maker claims big demand in Middle East

Following strikes on regional hubs, Atlas Survival Shelters says demand from Gulf nation clients is at an ‘all-time high’.

China’s five-year jet goals target C919 output, a new engine and reduced reliance Beijing aims to accelerate the rise of China’s home-grown airliner fleet, including the C909 regional plane, C919 narrowbody and C929 widebody, through 2030. This push to challenge the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus comes as a national five-year plan calls for aircraft production, development and the roll-out of a domestically developed engine. The next five years will prove vital to the success of the three aircraft models and the continued localisation of critical parts such as engines,...

South China Morning Post

China’s 5-year jet goals target C919 output, a new engine and less reliance

Amid geopolitical risks and supply-chain disruptions, Beijing is looking to shore up self-sufficiency in aircraft components, and an analyst says i...

Meta disables 150,000 accounts in global sting on Southeast Asian scam centres Meta disabled more than 150,000 accounts and Thai police arrested 21 people in a sweeping international crackdown on Southeast Asian criminal scam centres that targeted people around the world, the social media giant said on Wednesday. The operation was led by Thailand’s Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Centre alongside the FBI and the US Justice Department’s Scam Centre Strike Force, with Meta investigators acting on intelligence shared in real time by law enforcement. Online scam networks –...

South China Morning Post

150,000 Meta accounts shut down in Southeast Asian scam centre crackdown

Meta has also launched protective tools such as Facebook and WhatsApp alerts for suspicious friend requests and activities.

‘Cyber confession room’ where China youth share struggles like financial problems gains traction At first glance, it is just a photograph of an empty room. But on mainland social media, it has become something else entirely: a virtual confessional. Beneath such posts, users anonymously unburden themselves to strangers, sharing the guilt, anxiety and struggles they cannot voice to family or friends. Traditionally, the confessional in Christianity is a space where believers admit their sins to a priest and seek absolution. Such so-called cyber confession rooms have recently surged in...

South China Morning Post

‘Cyber confession room’ where China youth share life’s struggles gains traction

Young people shun sharing feelings, fears with family or friends, turn to virtual spaces, which experts warn could erode real human contact.