How India’s US$40 billion order for French Rafales will help local fighter jet makers India’s approval for a 3.6 trillion rupee (US$40 billion) purchase of defence equipment on Thursday – including 114 Rafale French fighter jets – will significantly boost the capabilities of the country’s armed forces amid heightened tensions with Pakistan, analysts say. The decision comes at a time when the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fighter squadron strength has shrunk to 29, well below the 42 considered essential in the event of a simultaneous war with Pakistan and China. French President...

South China Morning Post

India pushes for domestic weapons manufacture with French jet purchase

Around 80 per cent of the fleet will be assembled in India, with parts being progressively made in the country.

Hua Hong says memory shortage ‘positive’ for pricing as it reports record quarterly sales Chinese foundry Hua Hong Semiconductor said the global memory shortage was an opportunity to raise prices on its logic chips, as it reported record revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025. On its earnings call on Thursday, Hua Hong chairman and president Bai Peng said the memory supercycle was “a positive thing” as it gave the company room to raise prices on logic chips. “Memory certainly is in high demand nowadays, and that will reduce the supply on the logic side,” Bai said, adding that “if the...

South China Morning Post

Hua Hong reports record Q4 revenue as AI-driven memory crunch fuels price hikes

Revenue growth primarily driven by increases in wafer shipments and improved average selling prices, company says.

Another US aircraft carrier is being sent to the Middle East: source The world’s largest aircraft carrier has been ordered to sail from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East, a person familiar with the plans said Thursday, as US President Donald Trump considers whether to take possible military action against Iran. The move by the USS Gerald R. Ford, first reported by The New York Times, will put two carriers and their accompanying warships in the region as Trump increases pressure on Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme. The person spoke on condition of...

South China Morning Post

US is sending second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to coerce Iran

The USS Gerald R. Ford would join the USS Abraham Lincoln as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Iran for a deal.

North Korea threatens dire consequences if Seoul doesn’t stop drone incursions North Korea on Friday threatened a “terrible response” if it detects any more drones buzzing across the border from the South. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to repair ties with North Korea since taking office last year, criticising his predecessor for allegedly sending drones to scatter propaganda over Pyongyang. But North Korea said it shot down a surveillance drone just last month, an incident which threatens to blight Lee’s efforts to patch things up. Kim Yo-jong, the...

South China Morning Post

‘We don’t care’: North Korea threatens Seoul with dire consequences over drones

The warning from Kim Yo-jong could derail President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to mend ties with Pyongyang.

Trump flouts science to revoke landmark US climate finding, calling it ‘giant scam’ US President Donald Trump on Thursday revoked a landmark scientific finding underpinning US regulations to curb planet-warming pollution, marking his biggest rollback of climate policy to date. The repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding” was paired with the immediate elimination of greenhouse gas standards on automobiles. But it also places a host of other climate rules in jeopardy, including carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and methane leaks for oil...

South China Morning Post

‘A giant scam’: Trump makes his biggest rollback of US climate policy to date

US president confounds critics as he repeals finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health.

Russian losses in Ukraine now exceed recruitment, Western officials claim Russia sustained around 9,000 more battlefield losses in Ukraine than it was able to replace last month, according to assessments from Western officials, signalling progress for Ukraine’s ambition to inflict heavier damage on the front line. Russian forces were unable to achieve significant gains on the ground in January even as they sustained heavy losses, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The assessment, which could not be independently verified, could bolster Kyiv’s...

South China Morning Post

Russian losses in Ukraine now exceed recruitment, Western officials claim

Battlefield casualties outpaced replenishment in January as the war enters its fifth year of full-scale conflict.

Malaysia enforces stricter controls on China visa-free entry to curb abuse A stricter control measure is being enforced on Chinese nationals to curb any abuse of the visa-free facility under the Malaysia-China mutual visa exemption agreement, according to Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. Saifuddin explained that while Chinese nationals are permitted visa-free entry for up to 30 days per visit, they are subject to a cumulative stay limit of 90 days within any 180-day window. “The provisions under this agreement do not grant continuous 90-day visa-free...

South China Morning Post

Malaysia enforces stricter controls on China visa-free entry to curb abuse

Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin said the move was aimed at boosting border controls and protecting local jobs.

Rat in Don Don Donki sushi chiller sparks outcry over Hong Kong hygiene standards A video of a live rodent in a sushi display chiller at a branch of the Japanese supermarket chain Don Don Donki in Hong Kong has sparked concerns over food safety and hygiene standards in the city. The footage, posted on the social media platform Threads on Thursday, captured a grey rat scurrying across pre-packed boxes of sushi in a chiller at a supermarket, which some users identified as the Don Don Donki branch in Tuen Mun Town Plaza. In the 20-second clip, a male shopper carrying a tote bag...

South China Morning Post

Licensee prosecuted over rat spotted in Don Don Donki sushi chiller in Hong Kong

Video on social media shows shopper recoiling as rodent scurries across boxes of sushi in display chiller at Tuen Mun supermarket.

AmCham chairman’s 2026 wishes? More US-China talks, fewer tariffs, no shocks In January, James Zimmerman returned to the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) as its chairman. He previously served in that role for four one-year terms in 2007, 2008, 2015 and 2016. A lawyer by training and a resident of China for 28 years, Zimmerman has witnessed the rise of the world’s second-largest economy, the challenges it has faced and the attendant changes to how American businesses operate in the country. In this interview, Zimmerman assesses the potential of US... https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343252/amcham-chairmans-2026-wishes-more-us-china-talks-fewer-tariffs-no-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed

Man dies after being thrown from taxi in crash near Hong Kong airport A passenger has died after being ejected from a taxi that collided with a highway maintenance vehicle en route to the Hong Kong airport. Police said they received a report at 9.46am on Wednesday from a cabby who claimed his New Territories taxi had collided with a road-maintenance shadow vehicle while travelling along the North Lantau Highway towards Hong Kong International Airport. The taxi slammed into the rear of the shadow vehicle that was carrying a directional arrow sign when it reached a...

South China Morning Post

Man dies after being thrown from taxi in crash near Hong Kong airport

Passenger ejected from taxi during collision with highway maintenance vehicle.

WuXi Biologics earnings jump as ‘follow and win the molecule’ strategy pays off WuXi Biologics expects a sharp rise in full-year earnings for 2025, forecasting a 46.3 per cent increase in profit as it secures more projects across the drug development value chain, from discovery through to manufacturing. In a positive profit alert filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday, the company said profit attributable to equity shareholders would reach about 4.91 billion yuan (US$710 million), while revenue is set to climb 16.7 per cent to 21.79 billion yuan. Shares rose...

South China Morning Post

WuXi Biologics earnings jump as ‘follow and win the molecule’ strategy pays off

Chinese contract drug maker forecasts 46.3 per cent profit rise and signals continued growth despite US political scrutiny.

‘Multiple victims’ in school shooting in Canada’s British Columbia There are “multiple victims” in a shooting at a high school in the northeast part of the province of British Columbia, Canadian police said on Tuesday. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Staff Sergeant Kris Clark confirmed in a text message to Canadian Press that there are victims at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia’s Peace region in what police have called an “active shooter” situation, but couldn’t say how many people were involved or the extent of their injuries. Police...

South China Morning Post

Shootings at school and home in Canadian town leave 10 dead, many injured

Police say a suspect is among the dead and more than 25 people are injured in the remote British Columbia town of Tumbler Ridge.

Hong Kong family offices jump 25% as the wealthy shift focus from US: Deloitte Hong Kong housed nearly 3,400 single-family offices by the end of last year, a 25 per cent rise in two years, as the affluent refocused on the city amid US-centred trade tensions and the rise of China’s tech sector, according to a report by Deloitte on Tuesday. The global auditing firm made the estimates after surveying 136 market participants across Hong Kong’s family office sector, including 85 single-family offices, whose wealth originated across all major regions, and 36 multi-family offices...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong adds 681 family offices as wealthy shift focus from US: Deloitte

The auditing firm’s survey shows a 25 per cent increase in the city’s single-family offices over two years, with the affluent wary of US volati...

Hong Kong’s national security work ‘an ongoing process’, Beijing says in white paper Beijing has issued a white paper on Hong Kong’s role in safeguarding national security under the “one country, two systems” principle, stressing that the city’s struggles on this front “have never stopped” and will remain an “ongoing process”. The State Council issued the white paper on Tuesday, a day after a Hong Kong court sentenced former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to 20 years in prison for offences under the national security law, which authorities described as a severe...

South China Morning Post

Struggle for national security an ‘enduring task’ for Hong Kong, Beijing says

John Lee says white paper issued by State Council serves as a stern warning to ‘traitors who betrayed the country and Hong Kong’.

China accused of secret nuclear tests, Eileen Gu’s big comeback: 5 weekend reads you missed We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US accuses China of secret nuclear testing after offering Beijing arms treaty 2. As Beijing and Moscow tout ties, China’s companies keep Ukraine’s lights on 3. Call for tougher animal welfare laws after invasive turtle found in Hong Kong 4. Mum urges China star Eileen Gu to ‘wake up’, sparks...

South China Morning Post

China accused of secret nuclear tests, Eileen Gu’s wake up call: 5 weekend reads

From China’s companies keeping Ukraine’s lights on to pushing endurance limits, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

Woman, 65, with trolley fatally hit by goods truck in Hong Kong A 65-year-old woman has died after being hit by a truck in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong district. Police received a report at 5.55am on Monday that a medium goods vehicle was travelling along Kwun Tong Road towards Lam Tin when it struck a woman pushing a trolley stacked with cardboard near the Tsui Ping Road junction. The force of the collision caused the 65-year-old woman to hurtle through the air before she landed on the ground, unconscious. The scene was marked by a pool of blood, cardboard debris...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong police arrest truck driver over fatal collision

Police say victim, 65, was pushing trolley loaded with cardboard when she was struck by vehicle on Kwun Tong Road.

How the US can actually benefit from China’s ‘overcapacity’ Western media and policymakers enjoy wagging their fingers at China’s industrial “overcapacity”, which in reality is simply the ability to produce solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, steel and other goods more cheaply and efficiently than others can. Yes, some industries are subsidised, but they also benefit immensely from rapid growth in technical know-how and economies of scale. China hasn’t really built too much; it’s just built too efficiently for the comfort of its competitors. The...

South China Morning Post

Opinion | Why the US really fears Chinese ‘overcapacity’

China doesn’t have a problem with ‘overcapacity’; rather, the United States lacks an economic strategy that can generate abundance.

Mandelson Epstein scandal: demands grow for ex-envoy to repay US$75,000 severance The former British ambassador to the United States and former government minister Peter Mandelson is facing demands to hand back the payoff he received after being sacked as US envoy. The senior Labour Party figure was sacked over his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, but anger in Westminster has intensified after the latest release of documents which indicated he leaked information to his friend while he was a government minister. Allies of Prime Minister Keir Starmer said...

South China Morning Post

UK’s Mandelson faces demands to repay US$75,000 severance after Epstein link

Government allies urge ex-ambassador to return controversial UK taxpayer-funded buyout as probe into his Epstein connections deepens.

What is Hong Kong’s headquarters economy – and how it drives a commercial property upswing Hong Kong’s so-called headquarters economy, in which the city serves as a regional and global base for corporate headquarters, is spurring recovery in the commercial real estate sector as analysts forecast an improved investment environment this year. The city’s battered office market showed signs of stability in 2025, with 2.1 million sq ft (195,000 square metres) of net absorption for the full year, the largest annual total since 2018, according to CBRE. Central recorded the biggest...

South China Morning Post

How Hong Kong’s headquarters economy fuels rebound in commercial property

The headquarters economy is powering office and retail recovery, with rising demand, stabilising rents and renewed investor confidence.

Hong Kong ‘will deepen technology, industry links under nation’s blueprint’ Hong Kong will promote the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation through opportunities brought by the nation’s blueprint to drive economic growth, the finance chief has pledged, two weeks ahead of the annual budget. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday also said that Hong Kong must better utilise its strengths as an international financial centre to empower and speed up industrial development as the city enters the first year of the national 15th five-year...

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong ‘will deepen technology, industry links under nation’s blueprint’

Finance chief Paul Chan says Hong Kong must make better use of strengths as global financial hub to speed up industrial development.