Eight people killed in three separate avalanche accidents in Austria were citizens of the Czech Republic and Austria, authorities said on Sunday. The deadliest incident on Saturday occurred in the Grossarl Valley in the state of Salzburg, where three men aged 53, 63 and 65 were killed. A 60-year-old woman also died after being buried by snow. The victims were part of a group on an alpine ski course offered by the Austrian Alpine Club, the organisation announced on Sunday. “Risk competence and...

Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” initiative aimed at resolving conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations. Only ‍Hungary, whose leader Viktor Orban is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats. “We have, of...

Yemeni politicians met on Sunday in Saudi Arabia’s capital in their first public gathering since a southern separatist group backed by the United Arab Emirates was disbanded following weeks of clashes. The meeting in Riyadh discussed the future of southern Yemen ahead of a Saudi-sponsored conference, the dates of which have not yet been announced. The separatist demands in southern Yemen are one element in a complex civil war that has gripped the country since 2014, when Houthi rebels backed by...

Iran’s president warned on Sunday that any US strike would trigger a “harsh response” from Tehran after an Iranian official in the ‍region said at least 5,000 people, including about 500 security staff, had been killed in nationwide protests. Iran’s protests, sparked last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic grievances, swiftly turned political and spread nationwide, drawing participants from across generations and income groups – shopkeepers, students, men and women, the poor and the...

Hong Kong will launch an enhanced government-backed tendering platform for private building maintenance projects in the second half of the year to curb bid-rigging while tightening scrutiny of contractors, consultants and their leaders. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho told the media that authorities aimed to launch the upgraded “Smart Tender” platform in the second half of the year. She added that under the new system, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) would conduct strict...

China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has significant design flaws that future carriers can overcome only by adopting nuclear power, according to a military magazine. The Fujian is the country’s first domestically designed aircraft carrier and was commissioned in November. With a displacement of over 80,000 tonnes, it is the world’s largest conventional warship and the first non-American ship to be equipped with advanced electromagnetic catapults. However, the most advanced US ships – the...

Kurdish-led forces withdrew on Sunday from Syria’s largest oilfield, a conflict monitor said, as government troops extended their grip over swathes of territory in the country’s north and east. The push came after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree granting the Kurds official recognition in an apparent goodwill gesture, even as his Islamist government seeks to assert its authority across Syria after the ousting of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The Kurds’ de facto autonomous...

Talk of the United States acquiring Greenland has often been dismissed as rhetorical provocation. But the latest escalation is harder to wave away. President Donald Trump said it would be “unacceptable” if the US did not control Greenland only hours before Vice-President J.D. Vance hosted the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers. When territorial language is paired with senior-level diplomacy, it forces allies to draw public red lines, narrows the space for quiet crisis management, and turns...

A Hong Kong travel blogger whose brief disappearance during a solo trip to protest-hit Iran has triggered a heated online debate over the safety of women travelling alone to politically volatile nations. More female solo travellers took to the internet on Sunday to share their experiences and feelings on visiting Iran for leisure, as the country became embroiled in social unrest and was isolated from the rest of the world. Hong Kong authorities on Saturday night confirmed the missing blogger...

The number of firearms in Australia reached an all-time high of more than 4 ‌million in 2025, the centre-left government reported on Sunday, ‍a day after saying it would introduce a gun reform bill in parliament in response to the Bondi massacre. There were a record 4,113,735 guns in Australia last year, with ⁠1,158,654 of those in the most populous state of New South Wales where the Bondi attack took place, the government said, citing Department of Home Affairs data. The Labour government on...

China is rolling out hundreds of activities across Africa, including study trips and AI competitions, as part of what experts have described as a “soft power” charm offensive designed to deepen its influence across the continent. In moving beyond its traditional focus on infrastructure and high-level finance, Beijing is expanding its engagement through the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges – an initiative dedicated to cultural and social diplomacy. Announced by Chinese Foreign...

Two Western defence companies appear to have Chinese warships in their sights, with promotional videos of their weapons systems targeting vessels that look a lot like those belonging to the PLA Navy. London-based BAE Systems posted videos on social media on Wednesday for “game-changing naval weapons and launching systems” it said it was showcasing at a US defence industry conference last week. One animated video simulated a naval base under attack. The base then launches missiles from containers...

Hong Kong police arrested two drivers and found that motorists had committed about 220 traffic violations in a two-day crackdown on illegal vehicle modifications, speeding and other offences. Police said on Sunday the arrests were made during the force’s two-day operation called ‘Fossington’ over the weekend, targeting traffic violations across New Territories locations such as Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tolo Highway, Tai Mei Tuk, Luk Keng Road and Bride’s Pool Road. At around 9am on Sunday, transport...

A record 11 candidates are standing in Portugal’s presidential election on Sunday, with a populist party leader poised to bring another political breakthrough for Europe’s far-right. The large field makes it unlikely that any candidate will capture more than 50 per cent of the vote for a first-round win. That would leave the two top candidates to compete in a run-off ballot next month. Almost 11 million people are eligible to vote in the election, with most results expected late in the day. The...

Chinese nuclear scientists have developed a world-class “microscopic scalpel” essential to various forms of chipmaking, potentially unblocking a bottleneck in the country’s efforts to fortify key supply chains. The China Institute of Atomic Energy said on Saturday that it had developed the nation’s first high-energy hydrogen ion implanter called the POWER-750H, saying it performed on a par with advanced international standards. Ion implanters are a critical part of some forms of semiconductor...

China’s Manchu people have quirky child-rearing traditions known as Luocao and Caisheng which include hanging a wooden bow outside the front door when a boy is born, or a red cloth strip for a girl. The Manchu ethnic group, historically known for founding the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), now lives across various regions of China. According to the China Statistical Yearbook 2021, their population exceeds 10 million. In Manchu tradition, the birth of a baby is referred to as luocao, which literally...

Indonesian authorities said on Sunday they had located the wreckage of a fisheries surveillance plane that went missing in South Sulawesi province on the slope of a fog-covered mountain, and had recovered the body of one of the 10 people on board. The ATR 42-500 turboprop owned by aviation group Indonesia Air Transport lost contact with air traffic control on Saturday at about 1.30pm local time around the Maros ⁠region in South Sulawesi. There were seven crew members and three passengers on...

A Hong Kong dancer paralysed from the neck down in an accident during a concert by popular local boy band Mirror is set to undergo a more intense rehabilitation programme, his father has revealed, calling for more financial support. Mo Li Ka-yin, 31, would embark on a three-year rehabilitation journey powered by advanced technologies, including regenerative medicine and an implantable microstimulator, his father, Reverend Derek Li Shing-lam, revealed in a prayer letter. “It is a thorny path we...

Hong Kong police are investigating after a drone fell out of the sky and damaged a car in Jordan. The force said it received a report from the owner of the Tesla at around 11.52am on Sunday. The driver said he was waiting at traffic lights along Cox’s Road in Jordan when the drone suddenly struck the roof of his car. The drone, measuring around 20cm (8 inches) wide, shattered the car’s glass roof and windscreen before bouncing onto the road. No one was injured in the incident, and officers were...

The latest developments in Venezuela are interpreted as part of a broader US strategy to secure access to major oil resources. They are much more than that: the US raid signals a transformation in the global economy wherein a country’s power is increasingly determined not by its political actions, but by its capacity to embed resource wealth within a self-sustaining production system. These deeper processes did not begin today, but rather around 2008-2009 when, according to an integrated...

A 63-year-old Hong Kong man has died after collapsing during a hike on Robin’s Nest Country Trail near the border with mainland China. Police received a call at 12.42pm on Sunday from a female hiker who said her male friend had collapsed and lost consciousness. He was hiking with two men and two women at Robin’s Nest Country Park in Sha Tau Kok, bordering the mainland city of Shenzhen. The unconscious man was transported by helicopter to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan for...

In just over a week, passengers on various modes of public and private transport in Hong Kong will be required to wear seat belts under new rules to enhance safety through stricter penalties for motorists and commuters. The Post looks at the new rules and what passengers, including those with special needs, should do in different scenarios. 1. What are the new rules? From January 25, all passengers must wear seat belts wherever available on public and private buses – including franchised and...

A tiny but destructive invader is threatening South America, and Uruguay’s iconic palm trees are on the front line. Since 2022, the National Emergency System in coordination with agricultural agencies and with operational support from the air force, has struggled to contain the red palm weevil outbreak, prompting them to call scientists to help. Experts from the Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC) stepped in with an innovative detection strategy using drones and aerial imaging, but...

Chinese office workers are literally switching to working on the run as the building of bonds with customers and colleagues becomes increasingly trendy. On mainland social media, increasing numbers of people say running has become their company’s work culture or helped them bond with clients. A woman based in Beijing said she first learned about the concept of “business running” two years ago when her client invited her on a 7am run. The woman, surnamed Peng, said the client was difficult, but...

South Korea has begun deploying its most powerful conventional ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5 – dubbed the “monster missile” for its massive warhead – to frontline units, military officials said on Sunday, a move that underscores Seoul’s effort to strengthen deterrence against North Korea. The ground-to-ground missile, capable of carrying a warhead of up to eight tonnes, began entering frontline units late last year and is expected to complete full operational deployment before the current...

A peculiar gridlock has settled on Singapore’s political scene with the position of Leader of the Opposition (LO) vacant after Pritam Singh was removed from the post by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, with public discourse now centred on the constitutional basis, or lack thereof, for the role. Created in 2020 by then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong after Singh’s party won a record 10 seats in parliament, the non-statutory position contrasts sharply with its counterpart in Westminster systems, where...

An exhibition on classic Hong Kong crime films at the former Yau Ma Tei police station has attracted higher-than-expected demand, with the show’s project supervisor saying she hopes visitors will go beyond taking selfies to learn more about the local movie industry. Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries Drew Lai Sai-ming said the exhibition had sold more than 80 per cent of tickets in the first month since its debut on January 2, adding that the new tourist attraction’s popularity...

This year is likely to be a watershed one for the global drive by Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers, as more Western countries open up their markets to high-performance made-in-China models. Despite low expectations for a hefty jump in overseas sales, EV assemblers like BYD and Geely are expected to get off to a strong start in some of their untapped markets, honing their image as world leaders in terms of production and technology before establishing a long-term foothold, according to...

The last unregistered student union at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has been dissolved after all its committee members resigned, leaving only two registered groups operational at the institution’s nine colleges. The demise of Chung Chi College’s student union followed a meeting on Saturday evening during which provisional administrators and relevant representatives said the body could no longer function and that they would resign. Only two college student unions remain, both of...

A female cyclist died after being struck by a van in Hong Kong’s North district on Sunday. The driver of the vehicle was later arrested. Police said they received a report about the collision at the junction of Ma Sik Road and Tin Ping Road, at 8.41am. The van was travelling towards Sheung Shui and knocked down the woman, 55, on a bicycle as it approached Tin Ping Road at 8.37am. The cyclist was sent to North District Hospital unconscious, and was certified dead at 9.17am, after sustaining...

Researchers at Tencent Holdings are looking to collaborate with other major artificial intelligence developers to improve how most generative AI services, such as chatbots, interact with the elderly, left-behind children and other vulnerable users in society. Specialised data sets can make AI services more helpful to vulnerable users who have become progressively reliant on them for emotional support and health assistance, according to Lu Shiyu, a senior researcher at Tencent Research Institute...

A Chinese actress has apologised for making comments in which she flaunted her wealth, sparking a public backlash. Yan Xuejing made the controversial comments during a live-streaming session at the end of December when she said a couple should earn at least 800,000 yuan (US$115,000) a year to “maintain a family’s operation”, China Newsweek reported. Yan, 53, complained to her audience that her son earns little. “He is 32 years old. He and his wife both have a very low income,” said Yan. She...

Somewhere on the cavernous loft floor, cooing softly from inside a stack of crates, a feathered fortune waits for its moment to shine. It’s “basketing day” for Asia’s richest pigeon race, held in Pattaya, eastern Thailand. In 24 hours’ time, a US$2 million prize pot will be shared among the lucky owners of the birds that find their way home. For now, those hopes are packed tightly, wing to wing, into crates: more than 5,000 perfectly conditioned racers waiting to be scanned, logged and stamped...

The People’s Liberation Army said it sent a drone into airspace near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Island on Saturday, as Beijing ramps up military pressure amid soaring cross-strait tensions. The deployment was “a routine flight training in the airspace around China’s Dongsha Island, which was completely legitimate and lawful”, the PLA Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea, said in a statement on Saturday. It came hours after the Taiwanese defence ministry reported that a...

How do you get youngsters interested in lessons about saving, budgeting and investing? Definitely not with lectures, said the founders of Talents Foundation, a Hong Kong charity that aims to teach young people how to manage their finances and achieve their career and life goals in a fun way. Founders Arthur Hui Ka-yu and David Wong have developed a curriculum, including a Monopoly-like board game, that teaches primary and secondary school students how to seize opportunities, such as job...

Ulrikke Andersen has already made a plan. If the United States invades Greenland, she will flee her home with her daughter. “Before, I was ready to die for my country but when I had a kid that changed everything,” she said. The 40-year-old is one of many residents of the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, now weighing up options they would never have considered just a few months ago. But US President Donald Trump has been clear about his desire to seize the vast, self-governing Danish island, rich in...

Hong Kong will sign an accord with Shanghai next week to establish a cross-border gold trade clearing system, a move the finance chief has said will bolster the city’s push to become an international trading hub for the precious metal. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po revealed on Sunday that the city and the Shanghai Gold Exchange would sign a memorandum of understanding at next week’s Asian Financial Forum to pave the way for greater connectivity between the two markets. “We are accelerating...

A giant airship launched in a densely populated area of southwestern China earlier this month has set social media on fire. Footage of the S2000, the world’s most powerful flying wind farm, in the skies above Yibin, Sichuan province, prompted comparisons with an alien spaceship or the airships that featured in the animated film Big Hero 6. The white airship – measuring 60 metres (200 feet) in length and a width and height of 40 metres – was filled with helium on the ground before ascent,...

Indonesia begins its tenure as president of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this month under a cloud of contradiction, with officials hailing the prestige of the largely ceremonial role even as activists raise uncomfortable questions about the country’s own rights record. The 47-member body, a subsidiary of the UN General Assembly, has a mandate to promote and protect human rights globally. Indonesia’s ambassador was elected president on January 8 after being put forward as the Asia‑Pacific...

Malaysian actress Nadia Kesuma, who went missing upon arrival at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, was confirmed to have died of a heart attack. The news was announced by her daughter via social media, according to Astro Awani. “Assalamualaikum everyone, I would like to inform you that my mother, Nadiah Kasumawati Abdul Karim, has returned to Rahmatullah on January 15 at around 8.05am,” she said. “Thank you to all of you who have not stopped praying for Mama. Please pray that her...

The army has once again missed its own deadline for fielding the first US hypersonic weapon, in a sign that one of the Pentagon’s top priorities is still running late. The unit responsible for using the advanced weapon is trained and ready, but the missile – part of a US$10.4 billion hypersonic programme – is not ready for use. And while the army as recently as last month said that it planned to field the weapon by the end of 2025, the army acknowledged this week that it missed that...

More economy and mid-range hotel operators in China are leasing office buildings for conversion to guest accommodation, and such flexible, mixed-use approaches are expected to increase amid a continued weakening of the office market. In some Chinese cities, the practice of multiple hotel brands co-leasing separate floors within a single building has become more prevalent, fuelled by interest from both property owners and hotel operators. In Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China’s Zhejiang...

After several subdued years, 2025 marked a turning point for demand in Hong Kong’s most prestigious housing enclaves, as mainland buyers streamed back into scarce ultra-luxury homes once prices stabilised and transaction momentum rolled into the new year. That shift was most visible in The Peak and Southern district – two low-density, ultra-wealthy neighbourhoods on opposite ends of Hong Kong Island. Mainland purchasers bought about HK$16 billion (US$2.05 billion) worth of homes in the areas in...

US President Donald Trump’s fixation on Greenland offers an ice-cold reminder to leaders in Europe and abroad: no deal is ever final. Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff, rising to 25 per cent in June, on eight European nations, including Denmark, for saying they would undertake token Nato military exercises in Greenland in response to US sabre-rattling. While the tariffs are not certain to take effect, the threat was a brazen escalation and insult to close US allies, trampling over the US-EU...

Last week’s naval drills involving China, Russia, Iran and host country South Africa signalled a shift for Brics beyond its traditional focus on economic cooperation, analysts said, as the US noted it had closely monitored the exercise. However, observers also described the high-profile exercise as largely symbolic, calling it a diplomatic statement of intent rather than a step towards a formal military alliance. The “Will for Peace 2026” drills were launched at a port in Cape Town on January 9...

Hong Kong education authorities will review the policy on the medium of instruction in public secondary schools for the 2028-34 cycle after looking at the results of a three-year evaluation study and consulting the sector, the Post has learned. The review comes as a council representing subsidised secondary schools urged the government to allow more institutions to teach subjects in English to better prepare pupils moving on to higher education programmes conducted in the language. The Education...

Recent viral clips in Japan of bullying, including one which later led to a mass murder revenge threat, have sparked concerns in the country about school violence. The latest case centres on an email message sent to the board of education in Oita city, in Kyushu, at 11pm on January 11 warning of an imminent attack. “On Thursday, January 15, I will intrude into the junior high school where the bullying video spread, together with several accomplices, and carry out a mass killing of students and...

Looking back at 2025, the city made meaningful strides in supporting its retirees. The government expanded the Elderly Health Care Voucher and Community Care Service Voucher schemes, and invested HK$2 billion (US$256.47 million) in an elderly and rehabilitation technology fund. It also announced 30 measures for the silver economy and formed the Working Group on Ageing Society Strategies to improve cross-bureau coordination. These efforts helped launch the long-awaited Q-Mark Silver Scheme,...

Traditional Chinese folk superstition sees some families seek help from “egg-standing exorcists” who try to balance raw eggs on mirrors or kitchen knives to detect spirit possession. If the egg manages to stand upright, legend has it that a wandering spirit has taken over the person’s body. Traditionally, a superstition known as Cai Zhuang Ke, which is often referred to as “spirit possession”, is used to determine whether a sudden illness or extreme lethargy is caused by a wandering spirit or...

Eric Wong is only 20, but his life online is so consuming that he struggles to draw a line between his digital presence and the physical world. A member of Malaysia’s Gen Z – those aged 13 to 29 this year – Wong belongs to the first generation of true digital natives, raised on a steady stream of social media, online gaming and endless internet connectivity. “If there’s time in between classes, me and my friends will gather in the cafeteria or the nearby mamak (food stall) to play PUBG or Mobile...

The Trump administration is asking countries that want a permanent spot on his new Board of Peace to contribute at least US$1 billion. According to a draft charter for the proposed group seen by Bloomberg, US President Donald Trump would serve as its inaugural chairman and would decide on who is invited to be members. Decisions would be taken by a majority, with each member state present getting one vote, but all would be subject to the chairman’s approval. “Each Member State shall serve a term...

Like many of her classmates, Xie Roumei, a 28-year-old accountant from China’s Fujian province, started using South Korean cosmetics in high school – a preference she carried into her twenties. Most of the eye make-up and beauty products she uses are still Korean, Xie said – a loyalty that has helped turn its cosmetics industry into a global powerhouse, with exports rivalling those of semiconductors and cars. Fuelled by the global appeal of K-pop, K-dramas and the “glass skin” ideal, the...

A third round of retaliatory strikes by the US in Syria resulted in the death of an al-Qaeda-affiliated leader, who officials say had a direct tie to the Islamic State member responsible for last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country. US Central Command announced that the strike in northwest Syria on Friday killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who they claim was “an experienced terrorist leader who plotted attacks and was directly connected” to...

Europe’s debate over its technological future is both timely and necessary. The centre of gravity for platform technologies, advanced semiconductors, hyperscale cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) has undeniably shifted towards the United States and China. While the US boasts giants like Microsoft and Nvidia, and China has cultivated powerhouses like Huawei and Tencent, Europe has seen its share of the digital platform market shrink. However, viewing this shift as inevitable...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on ‍Saturday that this week’s Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to ⁠government policy. It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The statement did not specify what part of the board’s composition contradicted ‍Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment. The board, unveiled...

Opening a new front in his worldwide tariff onslaught, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 10 per cent import tax on the United Kingdom and six European countries for opposing his plan to purchase Greenland and that the rate would more than double if they did not let him acquire the Danish territory. His post on Truth Social two weeks to the day after he abducted Venezuela’s president from Caracas marks the latest chapter in a tumultuous start to 2026, even by Trump’s...

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni won his seventh term with 71.65 per cent of votes, according to official results Saturday, in an election marred by an internet shutdown and fraud claims by his youthful challenger, who rejected the outcome and called for peaceful protests. The musician-turned-politician best known as Bobi Wine took 24.72 per cent of the vote, the final results showed. Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has condemned what he described as an unfair electoral process...

Two Hong Kong students secured championship titles on Saturday in the first storytelling competition for global youth, delivering impassioned speeches on education and AI before an audience of about 100 people. Vanessa Jane Wong, a Form Four pupil from the Independent Schools Foundation Academy, won the top award in the senior category, while Wan Ruixi, a Form Two student from Hong Kong University Graduate Association College, took the junior prize. Organised by the South China Morning Post and...

A regional passenger aircraft carrying 11 people lost contact with ground control on Saturday while approaching a mountainous region between Indonesia’s main island of Java and Sulawesi island, officials said. A search and rescue operation is under way. The turboprop ATR 42-500 operated by Indonesia Air Transport was on the way from Yogyakarta to the capital city of South Sulawesi when it vanished from radar, said Endah Purnama Sari, a spokesperson for the transportation ministry. The plane was...

Beijing’s foreign affairs arm in Hong Kong has “strongly condemned” a group of US senators for pushing what it calls “malicious legislation” that seeks to strip the city’s trade offices in the United States of their special privileges and potentially force their closure. A spokesman for the Commissioner’s Office of the Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said the senators’ move exposed their “deep-rooted ideological prejudice” and “Cold War mentality”. “Any attempts to smear Hong Kong’s freedom and...

Trump administration officials had been in discussions with Venezuela’s hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello months before the US operation to seize the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and have been in communication ‌with him since then, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The officials warned Cabello, 62, against using the security services or militant ruling-party supporters overseen by him to target the country’s opposition, four ‍sources said. That security...

America’s military action in Venezuela and President Donald Trump’s talk of owning Greenland are stoking concerns that the United States is dismantling the rules-based global order. But this could also be a diplomatic opening for China as it tries to portray itself, in contrast, as a more responsible and stabilising power. Analysts said while this aligned with Beijing’s push to strengthen ties with its neighbours – a strategic move as its rivalry with Washington has intensified – concrete...

Hong Kong authorities have identified 1,600 at-risk elderly households in public housing, but analysts have said the figure fails to reflect the scale of this group of vulnerable residents and urged the government to speed up search efforts. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Saturday that authorities had identified high-risk cases by reviewing Housing Department data from more than 800,000 households in public housing. “These 1,600 households could become the hidden,...

Thousands of people took to the streets of Denmark’s capital on Saturday to protest at US President Donald Trump’s push to take over Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. The protest followed Trump’s warning on Friday that he “may put a tariff” on countries that oppose his plans to take over mineral-rich Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. They also coincided with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress that has made clear the opposition of...

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has warned against external “interference” in Iran’s governance, offering support to Tehran in a thinly veiled rebuke of Washington. In a statement issued on Friday, the security bloc led by China and Russia expressed “grave concern” over the “recent tragic events in the Islamic Republic of Iran”, saying they had caused “casualties among civilians and law enforcement officials”. “The SCO opposes interference in the internal affairs of the Islamic...

Hong Kong police officers rarely fire their guns, but when they do, it grips the city’s attention. On Thursday, officers shot dead a man who had taken a woman hostage while brandishing a 30cm knife at a shopping centre in Tuen Mun. Under police guidelines, officers may open fire to protect anyone – including themselves – from death or serious injury. They may also use lethal force against anyone believed to have committed a serious or violent crime and who is attempting to evade arrest. Firearms...

Chinese researchers and Japanese activists have renewed calls for Japan to return a Tang dynasty relic looted over 120 years ago. The effort to recover the Tang Honglu Well Stele comes amid rising regional tensions and Beijing’s ongoing national campaign to reclaim cultural heritage. Shanghai University’s Research Centre for Chinese Relics Overseas and Japanese cultural groups issued a joint declaration on Friday urging Tokyo to “correct historical errors” and return the stone monument, Chinese...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said “several thousand people” died in this month’s anti-government demonstrations, his first acknowledgment of the deadly scale of the unrest. Some of those were killed “brutally and inhumanely”, Khamenei said without offering details in a public meeting broadcast on state TV. He accused the US and Israel of aiding the killings and said the Islamic Republic had evidence to support the claim. Iran did not intend to push the country towards...

The United States’ decision to withdraw from dozens of UN and other international organisations may have dealt another blow to Taiwan’s efforts to raise its global profile amid mounting pressure from Beijing. While Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s government has sought to play down the impact, observers have warned that Washington’s retreat could further squeeze the island’s already narrow international space. US President Donald Trump on January 7 ordered the US to exit 66 international...

Hong Kong’s health minister has revealed that the number of less urgent patients seeking treatment at public hospital accident and emergency (A&E) departments has dropped by 24 per cent in the first 10 days of a new pricing regime. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau also said in a television interview on Saturday that authorities had so far approved 60,000 people for fee waivers, with about 80 per cent processed on the same day of application. Under a public hospital fee overhaul implemented on...

China’s total electricity consumption hit a record high of 10.4 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, more than double that of the US, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Saturday. The 5 per cent jump from the previous year marked the first time in China’s history that annual electricity consumption had surpassed 10 trillion kWh – the highest in the world and more than the combined total of the European Union, Russia, India and Japan, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing NEA...

US President Donald Trump’s call for American credit card interest rates to be capped at 10 per cent for a year has sparked a debate in China about whether Beijing should impose a similar limit on online loans. The discussion comes as many in China – especially younger people – are being enticed by credit offers amid a weak job market and a boom in online loan services. “Apps now keep luring young people into borrowing,” a finance blogger with nearly 500,000 followers wrote in a social media...

A murder suspect who fled across the border late last month after allegedly killing his girlfriend in a public housing flat has been handed over to Hong Kong police following his capture by mainland Chinese law enforcers. The Hong Kong identity card holder, 28, was wanted in the city in connection with the murder of a woman, 35, whose body was hidden in the storage compartment of a bed in his Ngau Tau Kok flat. He was arrested by Hong Kong police on Friday and is expected to be charged with...

Walk into any public bath in Japan, and you are liable to see a sign banning any visible tattoos. Even as Japan opens up to more international tourists and residents, body art remains taboo, not only at baths but gyms, swimming pools and other businesses. The strong stigma, which also extends to tattoo artists and can result in difficulties finding jobs, comes from its historical link with the yakuza and other criminal elements of Japanese society, dating back to the Edo period (1603-1868). The...

Hong Kong authorities will expedite updates to safety guidelines for elevated work platforms and launch a large-scale inspection campaign after three workers died in accidents involving work at height or lifting devices. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Saturday expressed grave concern over the string of industrial fatalities, vowing that the government would take follow-up action. “We will expedite updates for the guidelines for elevated work platforms, such as highlighting...

For 26-year-old Tianjin office worker Celine Wang, it is an extra cup of milk tea. “One for me and the other for lao ji,” she said, placing the double order on a workday afternoon in January. “After going through all the difficulties from trying to be the best performer at school to surviving at my workplace, I feel tired. “I’ve decided to treat myself well … ai ni lao ji,” she said, using a buzzword that took off in the gaming world and has become a mantra for personal wellness in China. The...

A master’s degree student in China, who has taught hundreds of adults and children to ride bicycles over the past two years and earned 270,000 yuan (US$39,000) from it, recently went viral on social media. The man, whose surname is Li, is a third-year master’s degree candidate at Shanghai University of Sport (SUP) majoring in sports education, as reported by the news outlet The Cover. Li shared that years ago, he and a friend recognised the demand for bike-riding instruction and decided to...

South American and European Union officials on Saturday signed a major trade deal, which they hailed as sending a powerful message at a time of tariff threats, global uncertainty and protectionism. The deal between the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur bloc members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay creates one of the world’s largest free trade areas after 25 years of tricky negotiations. It was given fresh impetus amid the sweeping use of tariffs and trade threats by US President...

A former Hong Kong youth cricketer has set a world record after running the length of Sri Lanka in just over six and a half days, overcoming a journey beset by problems, during which “nothing went to plan”. Rahul Sharma, 24, said he faced a slew of obstacles along the way – from logistical chaos to unbearable heat and physical exhaustion – but eventually overcame them with strong faith and support from people around the world. He completed the journey in six days and 13 hours, and was confirmed...

Beijing is urging Phnom Penh to broaden its crackdown on Cambodia’s online fraud industry, keeping up pressure following the arrest and extradition to China of alleged fraud kingpin Chen Zhi. In a meeting with Phnom Penh’s interior and foreign ministers, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin said criminal acts of online fraud, illegal detention and related transnational crimes “posed a serious obstacle” to deepening cooperation between the two countries. “Recent incidents involving Chinese...