SCMP News Digest
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Indonesia’s move to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ stirs debate on foreign policy shift
Indonesia’s decision to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” has raised eyebrows at home, with critics zeroing in on how it deviated from Jakarta’s values by serving the interests of only the US and Israel instead of Palestine.
Some observers, however, argue that the move is “consistent” with Indonesia’s proactive foreign policy stance and allows it access to major powers.
President Prabowo Subianto was among several world leaders flanking Trump at Thursday’s signing of the board’s…
Elephant rides at Indonesia’s Bali attractions banned over animal welfare concerns
Bali’s elephant-riding attractions have begun shutting down after Indonesia’s forestry authorities ordered conservation centres to end the practice, as local officials threaten to revoke the relevant permits for non-compliance.
The directive calls for the centres to stop elephant-riding “performances” and shift towards wildlife tourism that is more educational and ethical, according to a circular by the Ministry of Forestry’s Directorate General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation…
Trump faces Second Amendment backlash over ICE shooting of Alex Pretti
Prominent Republicans and gun rights advocates helped elicit a White House turnabout this week after bristling over the administration’s characterisation of Alex Pretti, the second person killed this month by a federal officer in Minneapolis, as responsible for his own death because he lawfully possessed a weapon.
The death produced no clear shifts in US gun politics or policies, even as US President Donald Trump shuffles the lieutenants in charge of his militarised immigration crackdown. But…
Hong Kong teachers must meet training hours requirement for practising certificate
Teachers who fail to complete the required hours of professional development will be denied practising certificates, Hong Kong’s education authorities have said, ahead of meeting next week to discuss details of the proposed scheme.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said the proposal would also outline the requirements for rejoining the profession after registered teachers had left the sector for a period of time.
The proposed certificate was introduced as a new measure in Chief…
China’s Alibaba, Moonshot claim latest flagship AI models challenge OpenAI, Google
Alibaba Group Holding and Moonshot AI have unveiled their latest flagship artificial intelligence models, narrowing the gap with US industry leaders OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
The new models from two of China’s leading AI developers mark the first major Chinese model releases of this year, as industry observers continue to closely monitor the gap between the US and China in developing cutting-edge foundational models.
Alibaba Cloud announced its biggest-ever model, Qwen3-Max-Thinking, on…
World leaders flock to Beijing in search of trade deals
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to visit Beijing, following in the footsteps of other world leaders seeking to boost trade and investment ties with China without sparking reprisals from US President Donald Trump.
Starmer will be in China from Thursday to Saturday, according to a Chinese government statement. He will also make a brief stop in Tokyo, a UK government spokesman said.
The first official trip to China by a UK prime minister since 2018 reflects the huge opportunities…
Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker 2026
US allies are shifting their focus to Beijing as Donald Trump doubles down on his tariff threats. After fresh US warnings, the year has started with a diplomatic rush to Beijing as European, Asian, and North American leaders seek stability through bilateral engagement with China.
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung kicked off the diplomatic pivot in early January. As the first South Korean president to visit China since 2019, his trip cemented a thaw in relations. Irish Taoiseach Micheál…
China’s Xi Jinping says major powers must set example amid world’s ‘risks and challenges’
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that major powers must set an example as the world faced “multiple risks and challenges”, during a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Beijing on Tuesday.
“Major powers in particular must take the lead in promoting equality, rule of law, cooperation and integrity,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“China and Europe are partners, not rivals, with cooperation outweighing competition and consensus greater than differences,” he…
China’s Baidu merges key app businesses to drive consumer AI push
Baidu has merged two of its consumer app businesses into a new artificial intelligence-focused unit, stepping up its push into China’s fast-evolving and fiercely contested market for consumer AI applications.
The company combined its online document-sharing business Wenku and consumer-oriented cloud storage operation Wangpan to form the Personal Super Intelligence Business Group (PSIG), according to a source familiar with the matter. The move marks one of Baidu’s largest reorganisations in the…
Singapore jails, canes 6 Indonesians after illegal re-entry on sinking boat
Six men who had been sent back to Indonesia after immigration breaches tried to re-enter Singapore illegally on a sampan, but were caught when it sank.
On Monday, they were sentenced to jail terms of one year to one year and nine months, and between four and 10 strokes of the cane.
The group was led by 23-year-old Asrarudin, who steered the boat despite having no experience.
He was joined by 28-year-old Brick, a repeat offender who received the heaviest sentence of nearly two years.
Four other…
Malaysia clarifies cash aid rules for frequent commuters to Singapore
A Malaysian minister has clarified rules surrounding eligibility to receive cash aid from the government amid reports applications were “cancelled” for locals who frequently travel to neighbouring Singapore.
Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong said to ensure fair distribution of funds under the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah scheme aimed at easing cost of living pressures for select Malaysian citizens living in the country, beneficiaries’ residency status would be ascertained using data from the…
How Hangzhou’s tech ecosystem nurtures dragons and rockets
Hangzhou’s space industry got off to a flying start in 2026. On January 7, China’s leading private rocket firm Space Epoch broke ground on a medium-to-large liquid rocket assembly, testing and reuse facility in Hangzhou’s Qiantang district. Basing this in the port city allows the rockets to be transported by sea to launch areas in the East China Sea and recovered the same way.
Logistics alone do not explain the decision. Space Epoch is plugging into an industrial ecosystem Hangzhou has been…
Hong Kong’s MTR Corp raises record A$2 billion in first Australian dollar green bond sale
Hong Kong’s rail giant has sold its first-ever Australian dollar-denominated green bonds for a record A$2 billion (US$1.4 billion) to fund environmentally friendly projects, marking the country’s largest order book.
The bonds, issued in two equal tranches, were oversubscribed more than sixfold by a variety of investors, the MTR Corporation said on Tuesday.
The offering represented the largest-ever Australian dollar corporate green bond and the largest dual-tranche corporate bond in the market….
Alibaba’s Qwen-3 becomes world’s first AI model to operate in orbit
Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen-3 became the world’s first general-purpose artificial intelligence model to be uploaded and operated in orbit, marking a milestone in China’s bid to lead the nascent space-based computing sector.
Chinese aerospace start-up Adaspace Technology successfully deployed Qwen-3 to a space computing centre in orbit where it executed multiple inference tasks in November, according to company executive vice-president Wang Yabo, who spoke at a conference on Monday, as reported by the…
Is Trump pressuring South Korea to lock in deal before US court can strike down tariffs?
US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will reinstate 25 per cent tariffs on South Korea is less indicative of a sudden rupture in relations but more an attempt to reassert leverage over an ally ahead of a critical US Supreme Court ruling, analysts say.
Trump has accused South Korea of failing to follow through on a bilateral trade deal, reviving trade tensions between two close allies and prompting Seoul to seek urgent talks with Washington.
The timing also reflected Trump’s mounting…
Malaysia disputes Indonesian media reports on Sabah border, says talks ongoing
The Sabah-Kalimantan border issue on the island of Borneo is still under discussion, Malaysia has said, following media reports of a land trade with Indonesia.
“Negotiations are still ongoing. The areas on the map and on the ground are different. Discussions are carried out according to the law, but no decision has been made yet,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on Monday, as quoted by Bernama news agency.
“We will instruct our technical committee and surveyors to carry out the…
7 Fifa-banned Malaysian footballers cleared to play after CAS grants stay
Seven foreign-born players for Malaysia’s national football team have been cleared to keep competing after the Court of Arbitration for Sport temporarily halted Fifa-imposed bans while their appeal is reviewed, Malaysia’s football federation said on Tuesday.
Last September, Fifa fined the Football Association of Malaysia 350,000 Swiss francs (US$450,000) for fake documents filed to naturalise the seven players, who were also fined and suspended for a year.
The players stemmed from Argentina,…
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific rebrands Dragonair subsidiary in 2016 – from the SCMP archive
This article was first published on January 27, 2016
Exit the Dragonair as Cathay rebrands
by Sijia Jiang
Cathay Pacific group is likely to announce a rebranding of its Dragonair subsidiary as “Cathay Dragon” as the company seeks to strengthen its corporate identity.
The idea to strengthen the sister airline’s association with the premium airline Cathay Pacific Airways has been under discussion for a few months, sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning…
Malaysia aims to be sustainable aviation fuel hub, but what about low Asian demand?
When Hong Kong-based EcoCeres opened Malaysia’s first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel plant in Johor on Monday, officials pitched it as a new export segment positioned for strong growth, backed by the country’s ports, processing capacity and palm-adjacent supply chains.
The problem is that the biggest buyers are still not in Asia, EcoCeres says.
“The major part of the demand is in Europe,” EcoCeres CEO Matti Lievonen told reporters at a press conference, adding that “absolutely much…
China coming ‘closer’ to US as ‘global power’, European ex-leader says
China is approaching the United States in terms of overall world power including economic mettle, a former European Commission leader and Portuguese prime minister said this week.
The United States remains the “most important global power” but China is getting closer, said Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, the European Commission president from 2004 to 2014, pointing to US technology and finance among other aspects of its prominence.
“China comes every time closer, from my point of view,” Durao Barroso…