CHINA BREAKING NEWS

Taiwan’s representative office is among a list of entities US President Donald Trump has threatened to sue as part of his crusade against a progressive American think tank, triggering debate about the island’s US policy ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington later this month.…

Hong Kong’s policy address next week will continue with measures to help local news outlets expand overseas and build global networks, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source said on Thursday that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s “go global” initiative would assist local media, which…

A former Malaysian minister overseeing religious affairs will be charged with corruption next week, the country’s anti-corruption agency has said, as authorities close in on once-powerful figures believed to have stolen from the nation’s haj pilgrim fund. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission…

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Hong Kong’s biggest developer by market capitalisation, reported its underlying profit for the year ending June rose 4.6 per cent to HK$22.85 billion (US$2.91 billion), excluding investment property revaluations. Meanwhile, its reported profit increased to HK$21.43…

Hong Kong police have identified a tour guide suspected of helping members of a travel group evade fares at an MTR station last month, the city’s rail operator has said, warning that anyone found in breach of the rules could face prosecution. The MTR Corporation said on Thursday that police had…

The publisher of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has been found guilty of violating Hong Kong’s labour laws by illegally preventing a former reporter from running for the chairmanship of a local press union. However, Eastern Court on Thursday cleared Dow Jones Publishing Co (Asia) of unlawful…

Hong Kong can become an educational hub for artificial intelligence literacy and help build trustworthy AI by leveraging the city’s strength in professional services, industry leaders have said. Speaking at the Belt and Road Summit on Thursday, Ellen Lau Sin-tung, executive director of technology…

Chinese financial authorities have pledged further steps to expand the yuan’s global use amid a broader de-dollarisation trend, while vowing to make listing on mainland stock exchanges the “primary” choice for top-tier domestic companies. “The internationalisation of the yuan is a continuous and…

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Europe to develop its own crewed space flight capability within a decade as part of a broader push to strengthen the continent’s space sector. Macron made the call during an international space summit held in Paris this week, which was shown…

Hong Kong authorities are coordinating a state funeral for the city’s first chief executive, the late Tung Chee-hwa, the South China Morning Post has learned, honouring his legacy as a deputy national-level leader and his contributions to the “one country, two systems” framework. A source familiar…

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter and apparent successor is believed to have a younger sibling, South Korea’s spy agency has said, offering a more detailed view of the ruling family’s line of succession. Seoul’s spy agency previously said Kim was thought to have three children, but some…

Japan’s plan to develop tactical satellites equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) would boost its long-range offensive strike capabilities and pose a serious threat, Chinese state media has warned. The Japanese Nikkei newspaper reported last week that the planned AI-equipped satellites would…

The American delegation to the Xiangshan Forum, a major Chinese security conference in Beijing, will be led by Cynthia “Xanthi” Carras, the US principal deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, the South China Morning Post has learned. This year’s Xiangshan Forum, the…

Iran-aligned Houthi militants seized control of Yemen’s port city of Mocha on Thursday, military sources said, posing a further threat to global energy supplies hours after US President Donald Trump said he expected the war to end after midterm elections. Four Yemeni government military sources…

A 98-year-old man in eastern China has garnered widespread praise for his remarkable philanthropy, which includes donations totalling 60 million yuan (US$9 million), while leading an exceptionally frugal life himself. Wang Chunwen, a resident of Ninghai county in Zhejiang province, has been…

China’s Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) said on Thursday it had held talks with French companies operating in China and reiterated calls for France to stop using its “anti-fast fashion law” to undermine the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. According to ministry spokesperson Huang Ling,…

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has directed the stock exchange to suspend trading of US-based biotech firm Cloudbreak Pharma pending an investigation into its US$78 million initial public offering (IPO) last year. “The SFC has serious concerns that Cloudbreak’s initial public…

Indonesia’s wildfires are creeping towards Nusantara, the country’s new capital under construction on Borneo island, challenging its promise of becoming an eco-friendly “smart forest city”. The Southeast Asian nation is battling what officials call its most intense wildfire season in 11 years.…

China has confirmed that President Xi Jinping will travel to New Delhi for the Brics summit this weekend, his first visit to India in close to seven years and the latest leg of the Chinese leader’s busiest run of summitry in years. China’s foreign ministry said Xi would attend the summit at the…

With its sweeping victory in a key state election, the far-right Alternative for Germany is putting pressure on the ruling federal coalition and could nudge Berlin towards a more pragmatic approach to China, analysts said. By securing 43.8 per cent of the vote in the September 6 election in…

Malaysia’s Umno has been drawn deeper into a royal row in Negeri Sembilan, after the president of the dominant Malay nationalist party denied attending a meeting reportedly linked to a bid to remove the state’s ruler. The controversy has put the new Umno-led state government under pressure barely…

DeepSeek has released its V4.1 Flash model, claiming it outperforms its previous flagship while cutting inference costs and boosting speeds – the latest salvo in China’s aggressive price-and-performance war. The Chinese artificial intelligence developer said on Thursday that V4.1 Flash used a new…

Twenty-five people were killed after a fire broke out on Thursday morning aboard a foreign-flagged cargo ship at China’s eastern port of Qingdao. The vessel with 42 people on board was undergoing repairs at the state-owned Qingdao Beihai shipyard, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The blaze,…

China signalled a willingness to help set up a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the South China Morning Post reported exclusively. Beijing is playing an “active” and “constructive” role in rebuilding US-North Korea diplomacy, the SCMP said on Thursday,…

All logos, colourful designs and branding will be stripped from cigarette packs in Hong Kong under new rules that take effect in March next year as part of a fresh push to reduce smoking rates. The Department of Health announced on Thursday that subsidiary legislation would require all retail packs…

Hundreds of Thais, led by a veteran political activist, rallied outside the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok on Thursday in a rare public protest against a group of foreign nationals. The protest follows months of complaints about illegal landholding, disrespect towards local culture and proliferation of…