EU launches subsidy probe into Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind

The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind Science & Technology under the foreign subsidies regulation, a tool that has previously irked Beijing.
The investigation will assess whether subsidies from the Chinese state illegally boosted the company’s position in the European market.
The commission said a preliminary investigation found “indications” that Goldwind “may have been granted foreign subsidies that distort the internal…

Red-faced Hong Kong school sorry after teacher cites Tai Po blaze in fire drill

A secondary school in Hong Kong has apologised after a teacher was criticised for citing the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze as an example to urge students to take a fire drill seriously.
The MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College in Tseung Kwan O on Tuesday said it was aware of the incident that took place last Friday and had initiated a crisis response plan.
“The school acknowledged that some individual faculty and staff had used inappropriate language and expressions, and expressed its deepest…

Norway royal’s son pleads not guilty to four counts of rape, amid Epstein link scandal

The son of Norway’s crown princess pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to four counts of rape at the opening of a trial that has embarrassed the royal family.
Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s 29-year-old son from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, stood and muttered a negative response when asked to enter a plea to the four counts of rape.
Clad in green trousers and a green jumper, wearing bold glasses and earrings, Hoiby remained expressionless as his trial got…

Ukraine left freezing as Russia bombs energy grid before peace talks

Russia launched its largest drone and missile attack this year on Ukraine overnight, leaving hundreds of thousands without heating in freezing temperatures on Tuesday, just one day ahead of fresh talks aiming to find an end to the four-year war.
The strikes hit as Ukraine was experiencing the coldest temperatures during the Russian invasion and damaged an iconic Soviet-era WWII monument.
They also came a day before Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were due to meet for a second round of talks in…

China plans regulatory change to help C919 jet compete with Airbus and Boeing

China’s civil aviation authority has floated a regulatory change that would allow its home-grown passenger jet, the C919, to use narrow runways typically found in smaller airports, a move that could help the plane expand its presence at home and break into the Southeast Asian market.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China announced on Friday that it had set “special conditions” for the C919 to use narrow runways based on the jet’s design features, releasing a draft proposal for a…

China woman adjusts community traffic mirror for better feng shui, causing series of accidents

A feng shui-obsessed Chinese woman who kept repositioning a traffic mirror caused multiple accidents in her residential compound.
Residents of a Shanghai community were troubled by frequent road accidents at a sharp turn for the past two months.
People believed that a traffic mirror positioned since the compound opened for use in 2012 was being constantly moved, compromising public safety.
The property management company adjusted it many times, but the problem persisted.

An investigation…

‘Punches above its weight’: compact AI model from China’s StepFun outshines larger rivals

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up StepFun has unveiled a lightweight AI model that it says punches above its weight, rivalling larger systems from domestic competitors including DeepSeek and Moonshot AI as competition intensifies in the country’s AI sector.
The Shanghai-based AI lab said on Monday its latest Step 3.5 Flash model was designed to deliver advanced reasoning and agentic capabilities while maintaining efficiency.
Despite its relatively modest size of about 196 billion…

Chinese journalist Liu Hu detained in Sichuan after report scrutinising local officials

A veteran Chinese investigative journalist has been detained by police in Sichuan province after publishing an article critical of local officials, raising fresh concerns about the abuse of power.
On Monday evening, police in Jinjiang district in the southwestern city of Chengdu issued a notice on social media stating that a person surnamed Liu, 50, and a person surnamed Wu, 34, had been “subjected to criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law” on suspicion of lodging “false…

Hong Kong’s retail sales edge up 1% in 2025 after 7.3% decline in 2024

Hong Kong’s retail sales rose 1 per cent in 2025 after recording a 6.6 per cent year‑on‑year increase in December, with authorities saying that improving consumer sentiment and growth in visitor arrivals would continue to support the sector.
Figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday estimated that the value of December’s retail sales reached HK$35 billion (US$4.48 billion), marking a fourth consecutive month of growth above 6 per cent year on year.
For the whole of last…

85% of insurance claims related to Tai Po fire settled, totalling HK$510 million

Around 85 per cent of insurance claims for damages caused by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades have been settled, with the amount paid out totalling almost HK$510 million (US$65.3 million).
The city’s Insurance Authority said on Tuesday that insurers had settled 1,032 claims related to the Tai Po fire that broke out last November, accounting for around 85 per cent of such claims.
“The [authority] is aware that a majority of claims have been successfully settled based on the principle of…

China grows nuclear arsenal as last US-Russia limits expire

The last treaty limiting nuclear weapons deployments by the US and Russia expires on Thursday, ending more than 50 years of restraints on the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
Russia has offered a one-year extension to New START, which was originally signed in 2010 by then-presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. No “substantive reaction” has been received from the US, Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said in a recent interview with the Kommersant…

China’s financial powerhouse Shanghai aims for 5% growth, ‘global influence’

China’s economic locomotive Shanghai is aiming for a growth rate of around 5 per cent this year, after gradually rebounding since 2023 and reaching a better-than-expected 5.4 per cent growth last year.
The megacity, whose economic size is comparable to that of Belgium with last year’s GDP totalling 5.67 trillion yuan (US$816.2 billion), is upgrading its role as a global financial, trade and shipping centre, Mayor Gong Zheng told the city’s annual plenary sessions on Tuesday.
The government is…

Malaysia police press murder charges after 6 charred skeletons found in burnt house

Two men are set to be charged with murder in Malaysia following the discovery of the charred skeletal remains of six people – including three young children – in a remote, abandoned house in Johor state.
Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad confirmed on Tuesday that the grisly findings were made on January 9 in Kangkar Pulai. The remains were discovered by a 48-year-old local man who had been searching for his family after losing contact with them three months prior.
“The man claimed that his…

China’s finance sector rocked by another sudden death amid overwork fears

The sudden death of a top fund manager in Shanghai – the latest in a string of similar cases – has raised alarm in China’s financial sector, as worries grow over the health risks posed by the industry’s intense work culture.
Shen Xianbing, a founding partner of the private fund Qilin Investment, died on Monday at the age of 40, the company announced the same day, without explaining the cause of his death.
The former University of Science and Technology of China graduate had served as a founding…

China’s real constraint is where to direct limited fiscal resources

I pay far less attention to China’s growth numbers today. What matters more is where fiscal capacity is flowing.
China has entered a phase where population ageing, security needs and industrial upgrading all draw on the same budget. This shift follows a structural adjustment in property. Income from land sales – once a pillar of local government finance – has fallen sharply and is unlikely to return. Balance sheets will have to be reset.
The question is no longer how much stimulus Beijing can…

Cambodians outraged by South Korean president’s ‘ruin you’ scam threat

A social media warning to transnational scam networks by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ignited backlash from Cambodians accusing him of tarnishing their country’s image, prompting the post’s deletion amid diplomatic clarifications.
On Friday, Lee shared a report by Korean outlet OhMyNews stating that Chinese organised crime groups in Cambodia were shunning Korean recruits for fear of Seoul’s police raids, as reported by the Khmer Times and The Korea Herald.
“If you dare to mess with…

Data leaks jump 21% in Hong Kong, doxxing cases hit record low

Data leakage cases recorded by Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog increased 21 per cent last year, with hacking being the primary cause.
But the number of doxxing cases had dropped significantly since legislation criminalising the act was passed in 2021, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Ada Chung Lai-ling said on Tuesday.
Chung’s office received 246 data breach notices in 2025, a 21 per cent increase from 203 cases in the year before.
Hacking was the main cause of data leaks, accounting for 81…

Uber enters first Asian market in years with Macau relaunch

Uber Technologies is rolling out its ride-hailing service in the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, expanding into a new Asian market for the first time in years.
Riders from Tuesday would be able to book and pay for taxis in the city using multiple languages, the US-based company said in a statement. It would also offer a limousine service between Macau and neighbouring Hong Kong, though trips had to be booked 24 hours in advance, it said.
The move marks Uber’s first new entry to an Asian market…

The Ming dynasty ‘Guide to the Galaxy’: China names 2100 space plan after 1637 book

The US defence secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, James Mattis, repeatedly warned that China would revert to a Ming dynasty-style model, projecting its strong military, technological and economic influence globally.
At the time, his views were widely questioned by mainstream academics as too aggressive. A decade ago, China still lagged far behind the United States.
But Mattis underestimated China’s ambitions.
On January 29, China announced the official launch of a national…

Najib’s house arrest row: Malaysian sultan’s comment on royal pardons stirs debate

The sultan of Pahang in Malaysia has urged the public to view royal pardons with “calmness of emotion” and not as “a political gift”, in what analysts describe as a pointed reminder that clemency is a constitutional process, amid a furore over a decree supposedly extended to ex-prime minister Najib Razak.
According to Najib, the supplementary royal decree, or “addendum”, would allow him to serve the remainder of his reduced prison sentence at home. The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed his bid…