US strikes on boats in Caribbean fuel speculation over missing fishermen Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations has accused the US of killing innocent people in the Caribbean, citing local reports that two of the men in the latest boat bombing were Trinidadian fishermen. “People from different countries - Colombia, Trinidad, etc - are suffering the effects of these massacres,” ambassador Samuel Moncada told reporters at the UN on Thursday, while holding up the cover story of local Trinidadian newspaper Guardian on the deaths. The comments reflected Venezuela’s...

South China Morning Post

US strikes on boats in Caribbean fuel speculation over missing fishermen

Caribbean tensions rise as Venezuela accuses the US of killing innocent people in anti-drug operations.

Malaysia’s economy powers on, defying Trump’s volatile trade policy Malaysia’s growth unexpectedly accelerated in the third quarter, with the economy firing across all sectors and exports defying US President Donald Trump’s imposition of higher tariffs. Gross domestic product rose 5.2 per cent in the July-September period from a year earlier, according to advance estimates from Malaysia’s Department of Statistics on Friday. That is faster than even the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey and exceeds the pace of expansion seen in the previous three...

South China Morning Post

Malaysia’s economy powers on, defying Trump’s volatile trade policy

The country is counting on resilient domestic demand to provide a buffer as US levies threaten exports.

Man arrested in Hong Kong after injuries found on 7-year-old son’s head, hands The father of a young boy has been arrested after police were alerted by the child’s mother to possible abuse, and found injuries on the seven-year-old’s head and hands. Police said they received a call at around 9pm on Thursday from the mother, who suspected that her son had been “inappropriately treated” by his father, a 39-year-old man surnamed Leung. Officers who arrived at their home on Wang Fung Street in Wong Tai Sin found injuries on the boy’s head and left hand. They said he was...

South China Morning Post

Man arrested in Hong Kong after injuries found on 7-year-old son’s head, hands

Police received call on Thursday night from boy’s mother, who suspected child had been ‘inappropriately treated’ by 39-year-old father.

Trump looms large as New York mayor hopefuls clash in testy debate A socialist, an accused molester and a vigilante all hoping to be New York’s next mayor clashed in a debate with “high levels of testosterone” Thursday as the unpredictable campaign entered the homestretch. Democratic candidate and front runner Zohran Mamdani, independent former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa pitched to voters in the first of two televised debates ahead of the November 4 election. Early voting begins on October 25. Mamdani attacked Cuomo for his...

South China Morning Post

Trump looms large as New York mayor hopefuls clash in testy debate

Socialist Zohran Mamdani, ex-governor Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa trade barbs ahead of the November 4 election.

Hong Kong FinTech Week expects investment ‘action’, InvestHK says Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025 in November aims to be an all-in-one marketplace for global cutting-edge technologies, with international buyers from areas including the Middle East and Global South coming to the city to shop for opportunities, according to senior InvestHK officials. Last year’s event was almost like a “study trip” for some delegations, according to King Leung, head of financial services and fintech at the government agency, which is responsible for attracting foreign direct...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong FinTech Week expects investment ‘action’, InvestHK says

The November event, held jointly with the StartmeupHK festival, is expected to attract more than 37,000 attendees and 700 exhibitors.

New index reveals alarming online risks facing Southeast Asia’s children Southeast Asia’s children are among the world’s most exposed to online risks – and among the least protected. That is the warning from Dr Yuhyun Park, founder of the Singapore-based DQ Institute, a global think tank that develops international standards and research frameworks for digital intelligence and child online safety. She said uneven progress in cyber protection between advanced and developing economies was leaving millions of children in poorer regions vulnerable to abuse, exploitation...

South China Morning Post

Southeast Asia’s children face alarming online risks, new index reveals

Nearly 80 per cent of children between eight and 18 in Southeast Asia encountered at least one cyber risk in the post-pandemic period.

China’s property market poised to decline at least through 2026: S&P analyst China’s vast property market is expected to continue to decline at least through the next year, according to S&P Global Ratings. “We estimate nationwide primary property sales will fall 8 per cent in 2025 and between 6 to 7 per cent in 2026, as overall demand remains soft,” said Edward Chan, director at S&P Global Ratings, at a webinar on Thursday. This will continue to put pressure on Chinese developers, many of which are going through the challenge of delivering homes, while maintaining their...

South China Morning Post

China’s property market poised to decline at least through 2026: S&P analyst

Nationwide primary property sales are expected to fall 8 per cent in 2025 and between 6 to 7 per cent in 2026.

Carney walks fine line between Washington, Beijing as Ottawa weighs EV tariffs Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday said he expects to meet senior Chinese leaders in the “coming month or so” as part of a broad re-engagement with Beijing, but declined to say whether Ottawa will lift tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. “We are in the process of having those discussions on a much broader range of issues than single sectors and single trades,” Carney said at a press conference. “And when we look at the auto sector, we take into account the dynamics with the United...

South China Morning Post

Carney walks fine line between Washington, Beijing as Ottawa weighs EV tariffs

Canadian PM says he expects to meet senior Chinese leaders ‘in the coming month or so’ as both sides signal potential thaw.

Top advisory body revives Xi’s ideas on diversity, unity ahead of fourth plenum China’s top political advisory body has brought new attention to President Xi Jinping’s ideas on balancing diversity and unity ahead of a key conclave of the Communist Party. It also threw punches at Western-style multiparty political systems, championing the consultation mechanism led by the Communist Party in China. “The united front is a combination of unity and diversity,” the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) wrote in an article published in the party mouthpiece...

South China Morning Post

China’s top advisory body revives Xi’s ideas on unity ahead of fourth plenum

In new People’s Daily article, the CPPCC revisits Xi Jinping’s statements on unity in diversity, throws punches at Western political systems.

Bangladesh’s ex-PM Sheikh Hasina should be put to death, prosecution demands Bangladeshi prosecution lawyers demanded on Thursday that fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina receive the death penalty in her trial for crimes against humanity. Hasina has defied court orders to return from India, where she fled last year, to face charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to crush a student-led uprising. Up to 1,400 people were killed in the clashes between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations. “We demand the highest punishment for her,”...

South China Morning Post

Bangladesh’s ex-PM Sheikh Hasina should be put to death, prosecution demands

Prosecutors allege that the fugitive ex-prime minister is responsible for the deaths of up to 1,400 people in last year’s uprising.

Malaysian school system faces crisis after 4 arrested for second gang rape The revelation of a second alleged gang rape in a Malaysian school has heaped pressure on the education ministry to get to grips with alleged failures in child protection, especially after mounting speculation that videos of the sexual assaults are being sold over the dark web. Eight teenage boys have been arrested by police in two separate cases over the past fortnight. In both cases, the suspects were caught after videos of the alleged rape were discovered by teachers in their schools. In the...

South China Morning Post

Malaysian school system faces crisis after 4 arrested for second gang rape

Malaysians are voicing concern about the safety of their children after a recent spate of violent incidents in schools.

Advocacy groups call for better public safety after Hongkonger raped in Taiwan Advocacy groups have called for improved public safety and bystander intervention after an intoxicated Hong Kong tourist was allegedly raped in broad daylight last week by a wanted fugitive at Taipei Main Station in Taiwan. The attack on the afternoon of October 9 lasted around 10 minutes in the busy transport hub during a holiday rush, with no passers-by stepping in to help, according to the Railway Police Bureau and media in Taiwan on Wednesday. The 44-year-old suspect surnamed Chiu and the...

South China Morning Post

Advocacy groups call for better public safety after Hongkonger raped in Taiwan

Hong Kong tourist was raped in broad daylight in Taipei Main Station by man she knew who was also fugitive, local media reports say.

Hong Kong’s new lawmakers must demonstrate ‘effective democracy’, John Lee says Hong Kong’s new lawmakers should stay united and cooperate with the government to demonstrate “effective democracy” and the “perfect partnership of patriots”, the city’s leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu was speaking at a high-level seminar on Thursday centering on executive-legislature relations amid a wave of incumbent lawmakers announcing they will not seek re-election after the current Legislative Council wraps up next week. The seminar, titled “Executive-Legislative...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong’s new lawmakers must demonstrate ‘effective democracy’: John Lee

City leader says at high-level seminar that new legislature must continue momentum of current Legco and reflect ‘perfect partnership of patriots’.

‘She met with something so cruel’: stabbed Malaysian girl’s mum shares despair The mother of the teenager who was stabbed to death at a Bandar Utama school in Malaysia’s Selangor state summoned up the courage to speak out in a heart-wrenching post. Describing her 16-year-old daughter as very sweet, kind and disciplined, the mother took to social media to express her despair. “She was a beautiful child, but yet met with something so cruel … I am speechless and heartbroken,” she wrote in her post on Wednesday. “I hope she rests well in the other world, and her soul finds...

South China Morning Post

‘She met with something so cruel’: stabbed Malaysian girl’s mum shares despair

Police said the suspect harboured unexpressed feelings for the victim, although the two were in different classes.

Hong Kong least ready for AI adoption among global markets: survey Hong Kong is the least ready to fully adopt artificial intelligence in workplaces among 30 global markets, according to a survey by US tech infrastructure and software company Cisco in August and released on Wednesday. Only about 2 per cent of organisations surveyed in the city were considered “pacesetters” – companies that outperformed their peers across a series of measures related to AI adoption. That compared with 13 per cent globally, according to Cisco’s study, which surveyed more than...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong least ready for AI adoption among global markets: survey

Only 2 per cent of organisations in Hong Kong are fully prepared for AI, the lowest among all markets surveyed by Cisco.

Major US news outlets vacate offices at Pentagon over new reporting restrictions Dozens of journalists who cover the US Defence Department vacated their offices in the Pentagon and returned their credentials on Wednesday as new restrictions on press access took effect. The Defence Department had set a Tuesday deadline for news outlets to either sign a new Pentagon access policy or lose access to press credentials and Pentagon workspaces. At least 30 news organisations, including Reuters, declined to sign the new policy, citing a threat to press freedoms and their ability to...

South China Morning Post

Major US news outlets vacate offices at Pentagon over new reporting restrictions

Journalists return press credentials rather than agree to Trump administration-imposed rules on their work covering defence.

Australia researchers develop new shark bite-resistant wetsuits Researchers in Australia say they have developed a wetsuit that could protect swimmers from deadly shark attacks. The new material is said to significantly reduce blood loss, increasing the victim’s window of survival.

South China Morning Post

Video | Australia researchers develop new shark bite-resistant wetsuits

Scientists claim the bite-resistant wetsuits could protect swimmers from deadly shark attacks.

After India, US tells Japan to stop importing Russian energy US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that he told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato that the Trump administration expects Japan to stop importing Russian energy. “Minister Kato and I also discussed important issues pertaining to the US-Japan economic relationship and the Administration’s expectation that Japan stop importing Russian energy,” Bessent said on social media after the two met on Wednesday. Bessent and Kato met on the sidelines of the annual International...

South China Morning Post

After India, US tells Japan to stop importing Russian energy

US President Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Modi has pledged to stop buying oil from Moscow.

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: teen fights congenital disease with grace and humour Sixteen-year-old Cassie Li Pui-ying was rushed into an emergency operation in Hong Kong on Monday morning after days of persistent fever and severe abdominal swelling. Doctors discovered a ruptured section of her colon and extensive inflammation inside her abdomen. The five-hour procedure saved her life, and she now remains in the intensive care unit under close monitoring. Her mother, Marine Mak, remembers the shock that morning. “When the doctor called me to the operating floor, my heart...

South China Morning Post

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: teen fights congenital disease with grace and humour

Cassie Li, 16, in hospital after surgery for inflamed abdomen, embraces life despite her illness, spreading joy to others through music.

Why publishing Hong Kong court judgments is of vital importance to legal system We are all familiar with the notion that Hong Kong follows the common law system. What that means, at a high level of generality, is that decisions of the courts – that is, judge-made law – are a key source of law for us. Given how important judicial decisions are to our legal system and indeed our lives, it is perhaps a little surprising how few people know where to find this law. A question I frequently encounter, from friends here and abroad, is: “Where can I find these court decisions?” The...

South China Morning Post

Legal Tales | Why publishing Hong Kong court judgments is of vital importance to legal system

Judgments in Hong Kong are made public because it’s important that justice should not only be done, but be seen to be done.