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 Pakistan can protect the technology to “substantially the same degree” as the US government. The Pakistan Air Force is also the only declared interested buyer of China’s J-35 stealth fighter, a generational leap in technology. The Chinese jet first flew at the Zhuhai...

China has allowed the Philippines to resupply a grounded warship on a disputed South China Sea reef, the coastguard said on Wednesday, as tension remains high over the Chinese ambassador’s controversial comment. The Philippines delivered necessities to its warship BRP Sierra Madre grounded at the Second Thomas Shoal on Wednesday, “with permission from the Chinese side”, the China Coast Guard said in a statement. “The China Coast Guard conducted confirmation checks and maintained full supervision...

Just two weeks before the US midterm elections, Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he did not believe America would maintain its lead over China in frontier AI indefinitely, describing restrictions on advanced chips as Washington’s key leverage. “I don’t believe for one second that we’re going to maintain a lead over Chinese frontier models forever. But we should for as long as we can,” said Himes at a Brookings Institution event in Washington. “And the one...

Virginia Tech is accelerating the closure of a joint undergraduate programme with China’s Xidian University, bringing forward the end of a partnership that it had previously planned to keep running until 2029, according to a university spokesperson and a copy of an official letter reviewed by the South China Morning Post. This decision comes as the Pentagon’s push to tighten oversight of US universities’ research ties with China has led to more than 80 termination-related actions across 30...

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 the largest verdicts issued in US legal history. The award comes after a jury in Santa Fe determined that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection over 43 million times based on widely viewed deceptive statements made by the company and its top...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) pursues a dual internationalisation strategy: attracting talented students, scholars and researchers from around the world while exporting educational and research expertise to communities beyond Hong Kong.  “We live in an interconnected world that goes beyond the West, and it should be viewed as a highly connected whole,” says EdUHK President Professor John Lee Chi-Kin....

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] For many of Hong Kong’s high-flying executives and entrepreneurs alike, Central is already part of their working day. That proximity is part of the reason why OCBC has chosen the prime location of 35 Queen’s Road Central for its Central Branch. Here, clients can access wealth management services close to where they work or spend their time, in a cosy, private setting, while eligible Premier Private Clients can also...

Tesla has agreed a deal to integrate Chinese fintech giant Ant Group’s Alipay digital payment software into its vehicles in China, as Elon Musk’s firm steps up efforts to offer localised smart features amid intense competition in the Chinese market. The agreement, signed on Tuesday, will see Tesla roll out an Alipay-powered smart parking service across its Chinese fleet, according to the fintech firm. Neither side revealed a launch date or which car models would receive the feature, though...

A 12-year-old unvaccinated girl has become the second child to die after suffering from influenza A since the current flu season began in Hong Kong in late June, the Centre for Health Protection has said. Centre controller Edwin Tsui Lok-kin said on Wednesday that local influenza activity remained at a high level. “I urge the public not to take influenza lightly, and to take appropriate preventive measures, including receiving [a vaccination] as early as possible in order to build an immunity...

The US government’s latest ban on Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek could have a chilling effect on the wider American business community and deter companies from adopting low-cost Chinese AI models, industry experts say. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and third-party services built on the Chinese AI model from their IT systems, according to a directive signed in July and published on Monday. The...

A flight-tested attack drone similar to Iran’s Shahed model that its Taiwanese maker says could reach military targets in mainland China is meant to swamp PLA air defences, analysts said. Drawing on battlefield lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East, military experts broadly agree on the utility of such low-cost systems, but differ on how the drone could be deployed in a conflict with Beijing should it enter service. While some see greater value in targeting People’s Liberation Army forces in...

Hong Kong police are investigating after two local media outlets received suspicious letters containing white powder – believed to be crushed oatmeal – sent from the United Kingdom. Police said that at around 3pm on Wednesday, online media outlet HK01 received an airmail letter delivered from the UK at its Kwai Chung office. Staff at the office in Tower 1 of Ever Gain Plaza opened the letter and found suspicious white powder inside. They subsequently called police. The police force deployed...

About 20 more non-local students have been admitted to Hong Kong semi-private schools under a government scheme to boost the city’s status as an international education hub, with a principal urging authorities to do more to promote the initiative to prospective pupils. Education authorities said on Wednesday that the non-local students holding student visas this year came from countries including Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, the United States and several European nations. Ida Lee Bik-sai,...

Europe should work with Beijing to develop shipping through the Arctic rather than trying to advance its transatlantic security alliance by framing China as a threat linked to Russia. That was the assessment of Chinese analysts following the release of the European Union’s Arctic policy on Tuesday. In addition to identifying Russia as its main threat, the policy warns of Beijing’s growing strategic ambitions in the European Arctic through its deepening alignment with Moscow. “With our new...

Hong Kong lawmakers and the media industry have raised concerns about the authorities’ plan to tighten arrangements for journalists searching land records, with some legislators urging the government to explain operational details and streamline the application to support investigative reporting. The Hong Kong Journalists Association voiced objections on Wednesday, after the government tabled eight pieces of subsidiary legislation, including the Land Titles Regulation that covers land record...

From October 22, China’s grace period for the disclosure and settlement of certain offshore-trust tax liabilities ends. For the Chinese government, this deadline highlights its desire to affirm control over capital outflows, while for Chinese high-net-worth families, it serves as a reminder that it is now harder to keep international assets beyond the reach of the government. The deadline sits against the backdrop of China tightening scrutiny around cryptocurrency, stablecoins and real-world...

In an age of AI-induced answers to complex mathematical problems, Chinese mathematician Sun Zhiwei maintains that curiosity and asking good questions are more important then ever. Over a career spent probing the edges of number theory, Sun, a 61-year-old professor at Nanjing University’s department of mathematics, has built a vast landscape of problems – more than 1,000 and counting – for the global research community to tackle. While traditional mathematical training emphasises mastering...

Star Ferry fares are set to rise by as much as HK$1.80 (23 US cents) from January after Hong Kong authorities endorsed the operator’s application for an increase, taking the cost of a weekend cross-harbour trip to up to HK$8.30. The operator, which last raised its fares in 2023, applied in March to increase charges on its two franchised routes by between 80 HK cents and HK$2 per journey. Under a proposal approved by the Executive Council last Tuesday and announced on Wednesday, fares for the...

The director of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), Song Tao, has held a rare meeting with a delegation of US scholars, pledging to push for the peaceful development of cross-strait ties. During the meeting in Beijing on Tuesday with a delegation from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) led by its president and CEO, Susan Elliott, Song spoke of a broader diplomatic context following summit meetings between Chinese and US leadership. “President Xi Jinping elaborated on...

Tour operators have changed itineraries and pulled Hong Kong travellers away from protest hotspots in France, while some school groups have cancelled planned trips to the country following the issuance of an official travel warning. EGL Tours chairman and executive director Steve Huen Kwok-chuen said one of the company’s tour groups had encountered protests at the Louvre in Paris on Saturday, with police helping clear a route for their coach to return to the hotel. “Our tour group happened to be...

Nominations have closed for Hong Kong’s Election Committee election, setting the stage for the November 22 poll. The poll, the second since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system to ensure patriots rule Hong Kong, will return 1,500 members who will nominate and vote in next year’s chief executive election. Here’s all you need to know about the 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections, now that nominations have closed: from the hopefuls’ line-up and the heavyweights in the...

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), one of Hong Kong’s largest developers, has sold out the latest batch of flats at its Sierra Sea project in the New Territories, where units were offered at discounted prices ahead of a possible US Federal Reserve interest-rate increase by year-end. By 5.40pm on Wednesday, SHKP had found buyers for all 128 flats offered at listed prices in Phase 2C(2) of the development in Shap Sze Heung, between Sai Kung and Ma On Shan, according to agents. Sales began at...

China’s Type 051C destroyer Shenyang has been spotted undergoing sea trials after a reported refit, as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) begins phasing out legacy warships following the commissioning of a massive wave of new vessels. Witness photographs circulating on social media appear to show the Shenyang, hull number 115 and lead ship of the Type 051C class, with its Russian-made hardware replaced by domestic air defence systems. While precise details have yet to be independently confirmed,...

Hong Kong has reaped the benefits of the Apec Finance Ministers’ Meeting, with foreign political and business leaders expressing renewed confidence in the city and supporting cross-border digital finance infrastructure development, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has said. Following the conclusion of the two-day milestone meeting on Wednesday, Chan said senior officials and representatives had discussed macroeconomic, fiscal and financial policy, as well as young talent, in a sincere and...

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) nations agreed to boost economic coordination amid mounting challenges after a meeting of finance ministers in Hong Kong. “We note that global imbalances have persisted, creating risks to growth and stability,” the finance ministers said in a joint statement following two days of talks. “We recognise that global rebalancing is in our common interest and agree to strengthen communication and cooperation in this regard.” The group also released a 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 enough on their defence. Together with new trade barriers, his words suggest that the US is scaling back its ambitions for global leadership and concentrating more on its own region. Our latest projections of national strength for 2027 take into account...

As Super Typhoon Champi – now the strongest storm of the year worldwide – barrels towards eastern China, authorities are planning evacuations and urging those in its path to prepare. Airports in major Chinese cities could be affected by the storm, including Wenzhou Longwan, Fuzhou Changle, Ningbo Lishe, Hangzhou Xiaoshan, Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Pudong and Xiamen Gaoqi, according to aviation data platform VariFlight. Travellers are bracing for potential disruptions, though there have been no...

A controversial lighting project along a walking trail on The Peak “is not set in stone yet”, authorities have said, with the South China Morning Post learning that related works have been suspended amid mounting complaints that the installations are damaging the environment. The project’s future remains uncertain after residents accused the Tourism Board of removing trees and flowers to make way for the installations, while a lawmaker said a district councillor from the city’s largest political...

This article was first published on October 22, 1986. ‘Our thoughts will always be with you’: Queen confident on HK future Hongkong gave Queen Elizabeth a warm and enthusiastic reception yesterday (October 21, 1986) when she arrived for her long-awaited visit. And in return she gave the people a message of confidence in the future. Fresh from her triumphant tour of the mainland, the Queen told a welcoming ceremony in City Hall that the Sino-British agreement over Hongkong’s future had made...

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China breakthrough unlocks low-cost, high-margin sustainable aviation fuel Chinese researchers have developed a catalyst that converts synthesis gas into sustainable jet fuel – an advance that could boost production, help meet net-zero carbon goals and yield a gross profit margin above 50 per cent. 2. Landmark...