Hong Kong
Tech news from Hong Kong, in English
100 stories this week from 1 outlet in Hong Kong.
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US rapper Macklemore launches Free Palestine Tour in Ireland after Ed Sheeran rift
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US rapper Macklemore on Monday launched his new “Free Palestine Tour” in Dublin after being dropped as a supporting act by British pop star Ed Sheeran over pro-Palestinian comments. Standing in queues outside the venue for the first show…
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Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro says he will lead opposition to Lula government
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Flavio Bolsonaro said on Monday he would lead the opposition to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government, one day after he refused to concede electoral defeat to the incumbent. “To withstand the chaos, I’m going to…
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New levy on non-EU parcels kicks in on Sunday in a bid to curb the influx from China
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The European Union will from Sunday slap a €2 (US$2.25) handling fee on packages from outside the 27-nation bloc in a bid to curb the influx from China. The new levy – coming just weeks before the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas…
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Mecca pact countries in Iran in bid to stop war restarting
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks with Iran in Tehran on Monday in an attempt to stop the Middle East war from reigniting. Officials from the three Mecca pact countries flew to Iran as part of efforts to…
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Burnham rules out UK return to EU free movement without referendum
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he would not return the UK to EU freedom of movement rules without a referendum, after ruling out the prospect of Britain rejoining the bloc within this parliamentary term. It comes after his…
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6 US citizens sue Trump, saying media ban deprives them of news as audience stakeholders
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
In the increasingly bitter legal stand-off between US President Donald Trump and media outlets whose reporting he dislikes, a new and crucial third party has emerged: citizens who watch and read the news and need it to do their jobs. A…
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Ebola patient evacuated from Nigeria to Switzerland
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A woman infected with the Ebola virus and her husband, a Swiss diplomat, were flown from Nigeria to hospitals in Switzerland on Monday, Swiss authorities said. The Ugandan-born wife of the diplomat, based in Abuja, was being treated at…
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Daughter of ex-FBI director Comey was unlawfully fired as federal prosecutor, judge rules
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was unlawfully fired from her job as a federal prosecutor in New York last year, a federal judge ruled on Monday. Judge Jesse M. Furman said Comey, who was an assistant US…
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Walter Koenig, Star Trek’s original Pavel Chekov, dies at 90
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Actor Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Pavel Chekov, the youthful Russian navigator on the Star Trek television series and several films, has died. He was 90. Koenig died on Monday at his home in the North Hollywood neighbourhood of Los…
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Thousands of observers expected at polling places to monitor the vote on US election day
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Democrats and outside watchdogs are planning a massive presence at the polls on US election day driven by concerns that US President Donald Trump will further leverage the vast resources of the federal government to interfere with a…
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Anthropic’s IPO filing shows explosive growth, risks and staggering costs
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Anthropic disclosed steep losses and explosive revenue growth on Monday as the Claude parent moved closer to a potentially record-breaking IPO, betting on AI’s ability to reshape the global economy. The listing is shaping up to be a major…
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France’s Macron promises ‘strong measures’ to ease protests
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
French President Emmanuel Macron promised on Monday that his government would announce a package of measures in response to weeks of street protests over a broad set of grievances, while acknowledging the risk of more unrest ahead. His…
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Jordan arrests 3 relatives over deadly church attack after shoot-out
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shoot-out on Monday over a church attack that killed nine people, and the suspects appear to have no ties to other cells, senior government security…
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US singer Chris Brown avoids jail after guilty plea in UK nightclub incident
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US singer Chris Brown was spared an immediate prison sentence in Britain on Monday for attacking a producer with a tequila bottle in a London nightclub in 2023, with his fans cheering as the musician walked free from court. Brown, 37, was…
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Europe can still shape the rules of AI
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
In October, two technology executives offered Europe similar advice. In Turin, Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai urged European companies to use open-source models and their proprietary industrial data to build AI capabilities. In…
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Lula secures surprise win to retain Brazil presidency
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva staged a surprise comeback to secure a fourth term in office, extending a presidency that has overseen deepening ties with China and sporadic clashes with the United States. With almost all of the…
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Saudi coalition intercepts missile as Houthis claim new attack on Riyadh airport
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis struck several of the group’s missile launchers and storage facilities, a spokesman said on Monday, while the Iran-backed group claimed a new attack on Riyadh’s international…
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US visits to China decline, Turkish rare earth deposit: 5 weekend reads you missed
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
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. China carries out in-depth…
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Lula pulls off Brazil’s first-ever run-off comeback to beat Trump ally Flavio Bolsonaro
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won re-election on Sunday in a dramatic comeback after trailing in the first round, extending the rule of a government that has overseen record Chinese investment. The Superior Electoral Court…
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Trump cites 9/11 in urging Michigan voters to oppose Muslim Senate candidate El-Sayed
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US President President Donald Trump at a Sunday campaign rally ratcheted up his push to link US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to Muslim extremists, comparing him to the 9/11 attackers while saying Democrats would let violent…
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Brazil pauses presidential vote count after Supreme Court extends voting hours
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A Supreme Court justice in Brazil ordered polls in the presidential run-off to stay open for two more hours on Sunday, minutes after voting had officially ended at 5pm Brasilia time (4am on Monday in Hong Kong). The order left election…
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Presidential race in Bulgaria heads to run-off after record low turnout
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The presidential election in Bulgaria on Sunday ended inconclusively, with the next head of state to be picked in a run-off, according to election officials. A record low turnout, attributed by observers to a general mistrust in…
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Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returns after months in exile
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was greeted by tens of thousands of cheering supporters as she made her way by car to Caracas on Sunday night, after she arrived home following several failed return attempts which have…
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Trump ‘not trying to meddle’ in Alaska election results by suing over Senate race: Blanche
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Trump administration’s lawsuit to block certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses the race and argued that the legal challenge was a…
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France’s Le Pen vows to restore ‘rule of law’ at presidential campaign launch
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Marine Le Pen, France’s far-right candidate to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, kicked off her campaign Sunday vowing to “restore the rule of law” if elected next year. Le Pen – the front runner in the polls – seems to be benefiting from…
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Netanyahu warns Iran may try to disrupt election, says ‘don’t test us’
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran and its allies might try to disrupt Tuesday’s Israeli elections, warning the Islamic republic against any hostile acts. The remarks came as Israel’s Channel 12 reported, citing unnamed…
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Storms batter northern Europe, hitting power supplies, flights and phones
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Storms battered northern Europe Sunday, killing a man, cutting power to more than 150,000 homes and disrupting travel and phone networks. A man died when a tree fell on him in southwestern Scotland, while a runner in a marathon in northern…
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The West’s double standard on global unrest
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
In the early days of the student protests in France, mainstream Western media took the protesters’ claims about poor school facilities and declining resources at face value. Only when the violence spread across the country, and to some of…
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Congo begins Ebola vaccine trial despite embedded outbreak
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A pivotal trial of vaccines against the strain of Ebola that is driving a deadly outbreak across parts of Africa has begun in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the epidemic originated and the vast majority of cases and deaths have…
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Serbia votes as ruling party faces student-led anti-corruption list
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat on Sunday in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his…
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Israel widens West Bank crackdown, displacing Hebron families after attack
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Israel said on Sunday all land crossings with the West Bank will be closed on the day of next week’s election, as it pledged a harder line on militancy after Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers in the territory. The announcement came a…
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Trump hails tariffs for new US$4.2 billion Audi plant in Georgia
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
President Donald Trump defended his decision to wield tariffs during a campaign rally in Georgia, saying they have made the US richer, as he announced that Volkswagen agreed to build a new US$4.2 billion Audi plant in the state. “Think of…
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Gulf economies accelerate diversification as recession looms over Iran war
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Before the outbreak of the war triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February, the Gulf monarchies were living the prosperity dream that was the envy of the world. Their hydrocarbon-fuelled economies were glitzy oases of growth…
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Obama blasts Trump’s ‘chaos and cruelty’ while campaigning for Democrats
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Former US president Barack Obama delivered a scathing critique of his successor, Donald Trump, at a rally in Ohio on Saturday to support Democratic candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. “After two years of chaos and cruelty…
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Trump, a critic of early voting, votes early in Florida
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US President Donald Trump cast his ballot for the midterm elections in Palm Beach on Saturday, opting to vote early in his adopted home state of Florida. At rallies ahead of Election Day on November 3, Trump has been urging Republicans to…
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How to share AI wealth? Neither the US nor Asia has the answer
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
On October 18, Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory preparing one of the largest listings in history, committed 5 per cent of its shares to a public benefit fund. The next day, Elon Musk promised one SpaceX share, next…
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Ukraine’s Starlink speeds restored after week of frontline disruption
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company SpaceX had throttled the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, disrupting operations that the country relies on to defend itself against Russia. Musk’s admission on social media came…
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German man detained after fire wrecks Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest’ mountain retreat
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Firefighters battled on Saturday to put out flames that tore through Adolf Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest” mountain retreat while police detained a suspect who investigators said may have psychiatric problems. The alarm was raised late on Friday…
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Saudi strikes kill 11 in Yemen as Houthi missiles target Saudi cities
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Houthi media reported that Saudi strikes killed 11 people in Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, shortly after the Saudi-led coalition fighting them said it had intercepted two missiles targeting Saudi cities. The Houthis’ Al-Masirah outlet…
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Chasing Gothic Lolita demand, Japanese businesses expand to Europe
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A Japanese fashion style inspired by historical European clothing is finding a growing following in Europe, where enthusiasts are embracing its elaborate designs and forming communities around their shared passion for lace, frills and…
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Populist Czech government pushes through media funding changes
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
In a rare overnight vote, the Czech ruling coalition pushed public media funding changes through a first parliamentary hurdle despite criticism that they could weaken broadcaster independence. The populist government of billionaire Prime…
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Seoul’s useless placation is a warning for all US trade partners
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The anxiety gripping Seoul is palpable. Under US pressure, South Korea signed a US$350 billion investment deal last November for a 10-percentage-point tariff reduction, billing it as a strategic alliance. Barely a year on, the facade has…
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Chinese students in Paris hunker down as city braces for more mass protests
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
France is bracing for another day of mass protests on Saturday, with the government promising that 70,000 police and gendarmes will be deployed across the country amid fears that last weekend’s scenes of violence and looting could repeat…
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Israel launches major operation in West Bank after soldiers killed
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Israel’s military launched an operation in the occupied West Bank on Friday it said would last several days and include searches and building demolitions, after gunmen killed two soldiers days ahead of Israeli elections featuring security…
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In besieged Yemeni city, drinking water supplies hit crisis levels
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Drinking water has been scarce for over a decade in Taiz, but the problem has reached crisis levels in recent weeks as Iran-backed Houthi rebels besiege Yemen’s third-largest city in their escalating conflict with government forces. The…
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Israeli election campaign turns ugly with jibes, attacks against candidates
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Days ahead of close-fought Israeli elections, campaigns have gone into overdrive with poor-taste jibes and inflammatory attacks against candidates, sometimes crossing red lines. Fuelled in part by a boom in AI-generated images flooding…
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Some Parisians buy pepper spray, tear gas for self-defence during protests
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Parisians are buying tear-gas canisters and pepper sprays to defend themselves and their property during protests, which are expected to continue over the weekend, the owner of a weapons shop in the French capital has said. France was hit…
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Kenya reports second Ebola death, a close relative of first patient
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Kenya’s health ministry announced the country’s second Ebola death on Friday, saying a 65-year-old woman who was a close relative of the first patient died after developing symptoms while in quarantine. The woman began showing symptoms 10…
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Zelensky hopes Beijing can use ‘influence’ over Moscow to help stop Ukraine war
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Beijing has “influence” over Moscow it should use to stop the war in Ukraine, and that a proposed summit meeting of the US, Chinese and Russian leaders must not lead to the…
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Trump to lowers some Canada tariffs to help Maine lawmaker’s re-election bid
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The Trump administration is expanding tariff exemptions to more Canadian products, a move that may help boost Republican US Senator Susan Collins’ re-election campaign in Maine. Collins announced in a statement on Friday that the…
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Macron condemns ‘racist terrorist attack’ after deadly shooting near Paris
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A gunman firing from a car killed one person and wounded five – including a 12-year-old girl shot eight times – in the Paris suburbs on Friday, in what the French president called a “racist terrorist attack”. The man was “firing at random…
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Gunmen kill 7 at Jordan church, king vows retaliation
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Gunmen killed at least seven people and wounded dozens at a church in southern Jordan on Friday, with the king vowing retaliation for the rare attack on Christians in the majority Sunni Muslim kingdom. Assailants stormed the compound of a…
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Melania Trump brokers ceasefire in Russian-occupied Ukraine city, White House says
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Ukraine’s top negotiator involved in a humanitarian mission led by US first lady Melania Trump has said that a local ceasefire with Russia will start on Tuesday – two days before the mission begins – and last several days. Ukrainian…
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Meghan Markle ‘distressed’ as Philippines probes father over child sexual abuse images
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Authorities in the Philippines are investigating Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, the wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, the Philippine justice undersecretary said on Friday, after allegations he possessed child sexual abuse images. “Our…
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France deploys 70,000 police for new protests as Macron delays Africa trip
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
France will deploy some 70,000 police nationwide as it braces for new protests this weekend after some of the worst urban violence in years erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations a week ago, the government said on Friday. President…
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China, Europe should coordinate on carbon pricing, border tax: energy transition expert
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
China and Europe should jointly introduce a system like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a levy on carbon-intensive imports designed to account for the carbon costs domestic producers face, which “applies against the rest of…
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The EU is its own worst enemy
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Beijing has told Brussels not to “fantasise” that pressure will extract concessions. This came after China made a goodwill gesture in the recent hybrid-car trade deal. The European Union responded by doubling down on a proposed trade “kill…
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Could Europe’s cost-of-living protests sharpen EU-China trade tensions?
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
As violent protests fuelled partly by the cost-of-living crisis shake parts of Europe, most notably France, analysts say the unrest could add to pressure on European policymakers to take a tougher trade stance towards China. “One could…
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Girl arrested after taking US$111 from Russia to poison Ukrainian troops
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Ukrainian police said on Friday they had detained a 17-year-old girl suspected of helping Russia’s security services to poison Ukrainian soldiers and that two had died. Ukraine and Russia have throughout their war since 2022 accused each…
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Netanyahu orders West Bank closure after deadly checkpoint shoot-out
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened a military operation in the occupied West Bank on a scale unseen in decades after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers on Friday in an attack near Hebron days before the national…
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WHO warns Africa faces ‘complex’ Ebola outbreak as virus reaches Nigeria
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The World Health Organization has warned that Africa faced a “complex” Ebola outbreak after the virus crossed from east Africa to Nigeria, marking the first case in the west of the continent. Nigeria on Tuesday had announced an imported…
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France braces for more unrest as police tactics and weapons face scrutiny
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Police across France are under pressure to maintain security during further protests expected in some cities, while facing scrutiny over their riot-control tactics used during previous unrest that left some teenagers seriously injured…
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North Korean silence signals Trump-Kim summit unlikely: US, South Korean officials
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US and South Korean officials see the chances fading of a meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year, according to five people with knowledge of the situation. Trump, the only US president to have…
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Honduras squeezes Chinese firms; Super Typhoon Champi nears Taiwan: SCMP’s 7 highlights
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
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…
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El Salvador deploys special forces to Haiti after soldiers seized by gangs
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
El Salvador deployed 100 special forces soldiers to Haiti on Thursday to help rescue four missing soldiers from the Central American country who recently came under attack by gangs, two officials told Associated Press. The special forces…
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‘Either blood or blown’: graphic details of botched US execution revealed
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Tennessee execution team members failed multiple times to establish working IV lines in Christa Pike’s arms before her attempted execution and warned that some of her veins may have ruptured, or “blown”, before she was injected with the…
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US police officer accused of taking over dead man’s home after finding body
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A Florida police officer who found a man dead during a welfare check in 2022 is accused of taking possession of the man’s home and impersonating him for years while fixing up the place, authorities said. The officer said he took possession…
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Video shows fatal shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley by US police officer
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Mississippi released video on Thursday showing the fatal shooting of a one-year-old boy by a police officer whom state authorities have cleared of criminal wrongdoing. Kohen Wiley was killed in June when Senatobia police officer Sergeant…
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Trump invokes Cold War-era Defence Production Act to boost oil production and refining
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US President Donald Trump determined on Thursday that petroleum production, refining and related activities are essential to national defence, a move that could open up US funding for fossil fuel projects. In a presidential memo, Trump…
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Tom Skerritt, star of Alien and Top Gun, dies at 93
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Versatile actor Tom Skerritt, who starred in Hollywood megahits including the sci-fi classic Alien, the war comedy M*A*S*H, and the action drama Top Gun, has died at the age of 93. Skerritt, a Detroit native whose Hollywood career…
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Trump blasts basketball star LeBron James for not standing still during US anthem
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused LeBron James of disrespecting the United States after the NBA star appeared to continue his warm-ups while the national anthem was performed before Philadelphia’s season opener on Tuesday. “I…
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EU mulls sanctions reprieve for Chinese fabric-maker accused of aiding Russia
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Diplomats from the EU’s 27 member states were pressured this week to lift sanctions on Yusha Group, a Chinese textiles manufacturer accused of selling sensitive European technology to Russian buyers. In exchange, Beijing has pledged that…
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Millions in cheese revenue lost as protest hits Italy’s buffalo mozzarella output
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A truckers’ protest in southern Italy has halted the production of the famed buffalo mozzarella, causing an estimated loss of €3 million (US$3.37 million) in just 24 hours as the milk cannot reach dairies in the Naples region and the…
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Judge gives Trump deadline to sit for deposition in BBC defamation suit
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A federal judge on Thursday ordered US President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his US$10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11. The order from US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett came as lawyers for the British…
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Zuckerberg gets new Meta shares to stay in California amid billionaire tax vote
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg will get a new chunk of shares in the company he founded, and in return, he has agreed to stay in California, where the company is headquartered, for at least eight more years. It is partly a financial…
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EU’s idea that China is caving to pressure is ‘serious misjudgment’: ex-diplomat
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The European Union’s perception that China is yielding to its pressure tactics on trade is a “serious misjudgment”, as Beijing proved during last year’s tariff war with the United States that it will not back down from a confrontation, a…
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Europe still has no clear goal on China
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
This month alone, Europe has threatened China with a trade “kill switch”, rebuked it in parliament, sent its trade commissioner on a much-trumpeted trip to Beijing and announced three new economic security instruments. The sequence exposed…
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50 people beat foreign man to death in South Africa as anti-migrant tensions rage
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A mob of about 50 people beat a foreign national to death on Thursday in South Africa’s port city of Durban, a flashpoint for anti-migrant sentiment, police said. Durban has been a focus of months of protests against foreign nationals…
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EU gives top human rights award to ICC after Trump sanctions
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Facing US sanctions, the International Criminal Court was on Thursday awarded the European Union’s top rights prize, in a show of support that risks upsetting President Donald Trump. “The European Union is built on respect for…
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Riot-ravaged luxury stores in Paris fear more mayhem, looting
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Across Paris’ toniest shopping districts, luxury boutiques bear the scars of a weekend of rioting that filled social media feeds around the world. Now they are bracing for the possibility of another round. On the avenue Champs-Elysees…
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Russia and Ukraine trade major attacks as Trump touts progress
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Moscow firing ballistic missiles at Ukraine shortly after talks between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russia’s Vladimir Putin showed the Kremlin’s position on the war had not changed, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday. The Kremlin…
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Canadian publisher drops Thelyson Orelien, says he used AI to write novel
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The publisher of top-selling Haitian-Canadian writer Thelyson Orelien said Wednesday it had confirmed that he used artificial intelligence to help write his novel It Was Either That or Die. Orelien has denied allegations that he used AI on…
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Uzbekistan Wins the Biggest Olympiad in History. Now Sindarov Goes for the World Crown
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] For two weeks in September, Samarkand was the capital of world chess — and when the pieces were finally swept from the boards, it was the home team standing at the…
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Uzbekistan Wins the Biggest Olympiad in History. Now Sindarov Goes for the World Crown
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] For two weeks in September, Samarkand was the capital of world chess — and when the pieces were finally swept from the boards, it was the home team standing at the…
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US orders diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The US State Department has ordered some diplomats and family members to depart from its missions in Saudi Arabia and plans to withdraw family members from a number of other US missions in the region, US officials said. The order came as…
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Ramaswamy faces firestorm over US political ad featuring Democrat rival’s estranged mother
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor, faced a firestorm of criticism Wednesday over an ad featuring Democratic rival Amy Acton’s estranged mother, whose husband was charged with raping Acton when she was a child…
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Websites go dark worldwide as AI exposes critical security flaws
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Government agencies and companies around the world shut down websites as they raced Thursday to protect themselves from hacks after artificial intelligence uncovered critical flaws in a widely used programming language called PHP. Wiz, one…
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Pakistan and the US factor as China looks to sell its J-35 stealth jets
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Last month, the US published the fine print of a US$686 million upgrade deal for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets. The deal is for data link systems, new encryption gear and a refit that keeps the jets flying until 2040. The notice says…
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Pope Leo doesn’t need further treatment for lung cancer, doctors say
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Pope Leo needs no further treatment for lung cancer after follow-up tests confirmed the disease was localised, the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday. Leo, 71, had the lower lobe of his right lung removed last week in the first major…
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Meta to pay New Mexico a historic US$25 billion in Cambridge Analytica case
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Meta Platforms was ordered to pay a groundbreaking US$25 billion civil penalty to the state of New Mexico in a consumer deception case spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The fine issued by state court Judge Francis Mathew is among…
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Trump faces fresh questions over ties to ‘humanitarian’ Putin
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
US President Donald Trump’s pivot away from Ukraine has triggered fresh questions about his attachment to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the man a top American envoy flattered on Wednesday as a “humanitarian”. Trump has cast his dealings…
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Riots unnerve France’s US$80 billion tourism sector: ‘it’s catastrophic’
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The images of France’s riots posted and broadcast around the world have cast a pall on the country’s important tourism sector, with many fearing worse consequences if violence returns. “The surge of violence in the centres of Nice, Paris…
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The EU will ‘pull its punches’ on China despite growing trade war talk: analysts
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
The European Union is likely to avoid a full-blown trade confrontation with China due to internal divisions in the bloc and fear of retaliation, according to a prominent research firm. The projection comes amid speculation that the two…
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Macron takes veiled shot at Trump, Netanyahu over ‘stupid’ France riot remarks
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday criticised world leaders for making “stupid” comments about the rioting on the sidelines of protests in France, in an apparent swipe at US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin…
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Putin holds Ukraine peace talks with Trump’s envoy Witkoff, frees American Hubbard
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, after Putin met US envoy Steve Witkoff in Washington’s latest push to stop Europe’s bloodiest…
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Can China turn national power into world leadership?
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
As turbulence grows in many countries, it is tempting to ask if there is a global hegemon that can sort everything out fairly. US President Donald Trump has threatened that his country would not defend Nato allies if they failed to spend…
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Liberty, equality, tear gas: no nation does mass protests quite like France
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
When the French fight high fuel taxes, they don yellow vests and march. When angry farmers want better pay, hundreds of them drive tractors down the Champs-Elysees. And when museum workers want better tourist management, they strike and…
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Drone strike on market in disputed Sudan border region kills at least 153
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A drone strike on a market in Abyei, a border region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, hit a nearby fuel depot, killing at least 153 people, a local official said on Tuesday. Yohanna Akol Ngor, the Abyei administration’s caretaker…
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Days before Brazil’s run-off, Lula and Bolsonaro seek to disqualify each other
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
In the latest showdown from Brazil’s increasingly rancorous presidential race Tuesday, both candidates called for the disqualification of their rivals over allegations of social media malfeasance, according to court filings and campaign…
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Russian satellite’s close approach to European spacecraft highlights orbital risks
South China Morning Post Tech
Geopolitics & Policy
A Russian satellite moved within just 100 metres of a European commercial spacecraft that supports Ukraine’s military at the weekend, orbital tracking data showed, raising concerns about Moscow’s activities in space. Russia launched the…