News - South China Morning Post

US artificial intelligence company Anthropic appears to have stepped up enforcement of geographical restrictions on its Claude models in Hong Kong, with local users reporting abrupt account suspensions after accessing the service through virtual private networks (VPNs). A wave of complaints surfaced on social media platforms X and Reddit on Thursday, as users who had operated accounts for months u...

The first apartment came up for auction and nobody moved. More than 60 people crowded into a room in Singapore to watch seven properties seized in one of the world’s biggest money-laundering cases go under the hammer. Their opening prices totalled more than S$43 million (US$33.6 million). But when bidding began for a luxury unit at Gramercy Park, an upscale condominium near the city state’s Orchar...

Hong Kong airport authorities’ move to take back the 11 Skies mall project will catalyse the development of its aviation hub, a government adviser and a hospitality sector expert have said, calling for better access and immersive entertainment to attract visitors. Their remarks came on Friday, two days after developer New World Development (NWD) announced it would return the project to the Airport...

Finland is investigating a slew of suspected break-ins at the homes of members of parliament, which the prime minister said could be linked to a foreign power. Following media reports, speaker of parliament Jussi Halla-aho on Thursday said parliament had been made aware of a “significant” number of apparent intrusions at the homes of several politicians. Finland, which shares a 1,340km (830-mile)...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese commercial reactor achieves nuclear fusion with clean hydrogen-boron fuel In a first, a Chinese company has achieved high-para...

South ‌Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday threatened unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledged what Seoul says was a confidentiality agreement covering the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and apologised. “If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” Lee said in a social media post. Lee also...

Ethiopia and Eritrea broke diplomatic ties on Thursday, accusing each other of stoking internal conflicts as fighting continued in northern Ethiopia. Long-standing tensions between the two neighbours reached a crisis point after heavy fighting broke out last week between Ethiopian forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), raising fears of a return to the devastating 2020–2022 civil w...

Thitu Island and its residents have come under the spotlight after the Philippines, in a bid to reinforce its claims in the South China Sea, announced plans to file an updated maritime chart with the United Nations. Observers say the filing would not establish Philippine sovereignty but could help Manila identify and challenge competing claims in more precise legal terms. More than just a technica...

A condemned female murderer who survived two lethal injections during a botched execution by the US state of Tennessee was in critical condition and receiving “life-saving care”, her lawyer said on Thursday. In an extraordinary chain of events, Christa Pike, 50, was whisked from a prison execution chamber to a hospital Wednesday night, still alive despite two deadly doses of pentobarbital. “What w...

China’s veteran filmmaker Zhang Jizhong, 75, and his 44-year-old wife, Du Xinglin, ignited online debate after announcing they are contemplating having a fifth child. The Beijing-born director and producer is renowned for his adaptations of celebrated television versions of classic Chinese novels, including Water Margin and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Du, who studied in France, holds a doctorate in...

China’s quantitative investing sector has produced 18 funds managing more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in assets each so far this year, underlining the industry’s ability to generate competitive returns despite a tight regulatory environment. The firms are among 159 Chinese hedge funds overseeing more than 10 billion yuan in assets each, riding the technology-driven momentum in the world’...

A meeting next month between the leaders of the world’s three biggest nuclear powers is possible but hinges on the three sides finding common ground and setting realistic expectations about outcomes, according to analysts. National Day congratulations from Moscow to Beijing on Thursday fanned speculation that the leaders of China, Russia and the United States could meet at the Apec summit in Shenz...

Two new islands have appeared off Anak Krakatoa, potentially the first in nearly a century to emerge within the caldera left by Krakatoa’s catastrophic 1883 eruption. The formations, discovered following a 25-hour eruption in early September, sit hundreds of metres off opposite sides of Anak Krakatoa – one to the northwest and the other to the southeast – almost on a straight line through the volc...

Singapore’s biggest crackdown so far on fake online reviews has exposed how businesses exploit the appeal of five-star ratings to game the system, with experts warning generative AI will make fake reviews more rampant and consumers need to be more discerning of what they read online. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) has taken action against 45 companies – including a fune...

Companies from the United States, Britain and Singapore have been among the leading sources of inbound foreign capital in Hong Kong so far this year, the city’s commerce minister has said, insisting that “money is money” despite geopolitical instability. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with the South China Morning Post, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah...

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s recent policy address set out an ambitious reform agenda designed to sharpen Hong Kong’s competitive edge while enhancing people’s livelihoods. As we enter Mental Health Awareness Month, we should reflect on the role mental well-being can play in the city’s fortunes. Lee’s address mentioned an integrated approach featuring 11 measures as part of efforts to promot...

Online claims that archaeologists have identified the source of mercury in the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang – China’s first emperor, who unified the country more than 2,000 years ago – have revived interest in ancient cinnabar sites in northwestern China’s Shaanxi province. The claims, which sent related hashtags trending on social media late last month, centred on three sites in Xunyang where archa...

Reggie Manlapig, 46, has been driving jeepneys for nearly 25 years and has weathered rising fuel prices – but with costs spiking amid the global energy crunch, he is now wrestling bigger demons. “The impact has been huge. Before, in a 16-hour shift of driving, I could take home 400 to 500 pesos [US$6.30 to US$8] – now there’s a big cut to that income,” said Manlapig, who plies a two-hour daily rou...

As education sector demand supports Hong Kong’s Grade A office leasing activity, analysts said infrastructure that will serve the Northern Metropolis could decide whether schools and universities move their administrative and other services to this potential new centre of the city. “Over the medium to long term, the Northern Metropolis could be a viable option for institutions seeking to expand th...

⁠The family of Renee Good, one of two US citizens fatally shot by ⁠federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, sued the Trump administration on Thursday, saying there had been “no accountability” for her killing during deportation sweeps. Good, 37, was shot dead in her car by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on January 7 when she and her wife joined one of the city’s daily...

Not long after he entered secondary school, Hong Kong youth Jason* was bullied by an older student with triad links. He was relieved when another senior stepped in to protect him. He helped Jason take revenge on the bully, then recruited him into a syndicate. Without undergoing any initiation ritual, Jason paid his protector a red packet to become an informal triad member. Later on, he discovered...

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday that there is no timeline yet for implementing the US-China Board of Trade, one of the key economic outcomes of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington last week. Speaking on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Trade Ministers’ meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Greer said the tariff reductions under the mechanism were...

The US on Thursday told its European allies to help lower global diesel prices by releasing strategic reserves “immediately,” with EU member states due to discuss the crisis on Friday. Reports said the Trump administration wants France and Germany in particular to tap their stockpiles of diesel to try to curb prices sent soaring by the US war on Iran. “Our European partners should accelerate deliv...

Two giant pandas arrived in the US following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, continuing a decades-old tradition in which the beloved fuzzy ambassadors have become symbols of China’s ties with countries around the world. Zoo Atlanta announced the arrival of giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang on Sunday, saying it was “overjoyed” to welcome the pair after the zoo’s previous 25-y...

The farewell to former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa was moving because it marked the passing of a figure who stood at the beginning of a wholly new chapter for Hong Kong, a city to which he devoted so much of himself. For many, Tung will always be associated with the formidable demands of the early years after the return to the motherland – the Asian financial crisis, the bursting of the property...