SCMP News Digest
Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Authorities to seek public views on walkway for New Praya selfie hotspot
Hong Kong authorities will consult the public later this year on building a pedestrian walkway for a waterfront selfie hotspot in Kennedy Town, with the options including small-scale reclamation works.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, speaking at the Legislative Council on Wednesday, said authorities were considering whether they could use “small-scale reclamation” to build a pedestrian walkway or sea wall along New Praya.
“To allow tourists at New Praya, Kennedy Town, to enjoy…
Hong Kong to test firefighting drones in pilot scheme
Hong Kong authorities will launch a pilot scheme to test firefighting drones, with the aim of deploying the equipment in operations once the technology has matured, the security minister has said.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung made the remarks on Wednesday while answering lawmakers’ questions on fire safety in the Legislative Council, following the Tai Po blaze in November, that claimed 168 lives.
Tang said drones in Hong Kong are used only to analyse fire scenes, while mainland…
Nipah cases in India raise regional anxiety but experts say wider spread unlikely
A small cluster of Nipah virus infections reported in eastern India has sparked regional anxiety because of the disease’s high fatality rate, prompting countries across Asia to tighten health screening ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush, even as experts say the outbreak is likely to remain contained.
That assessment follows confirmation by Indian authorities of two Nipah cases in West Bengal, but analysts have said the limited numbers, combined with the time that has passed since the…
Nipah virus alarms China, semiconductor fibre breakthrough: 7 science highlights
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1. China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returns to Earth broken and unbroken
China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returned to Earth with no astronauts inside – just metal, heat and a cracked window – touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia on Monday.
2. Nipah virus outbreak in India sparks worry in China…
Hong Kong’s US$8 billion wealth fund eyes fintech, aerospace and AI for growth
The Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) is eyeing investments in fintech, aerospace and artificial intelligence, tapping the city’s strengths and a wave of incoming talent and enterprises as geopolitical shifts create new opportunities, according to its CEO.
The city’s wholly owned investment vehicle, which manages HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) in funds, would look at these new sectors in addition to its other focus areas, “playing to Hong Kong’s advantages in the context of the global…
South Korea’s ex-first lady Kim Keon-hee gets 20 months’ jail for corruption
A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon-hee to 20 months in prison for corruption on Wednesday but acquitted her of alleged stock manipulation and other charges.
While the ruling marked the first time that both members of a presidential couple were convicted of crimes in South Korea, Kim’s lighter punishment could be seen as a legal victory.
Her husband, former president Yoon Suk-yeol, was handed a five-year jail term earlier this month after being found guilty of multiple…
China new blind box series features cute muyu-inspired toys to help ‘gain merits’, reduce stress
Chinese toymaker Pop Mart’s new blind box series, inspired by the Buddhist ritual instrument called muyu, or “wooden fish,” has become the latest sensation in China following the success of Labubu.
The series, titled Pucky Knock Knock, was launched in January and is priced at 99 yuan (US$14) per piece.
This plush toy keychain series showcases a charming and fluffy character that holds a wooden drumstick.
One can pull out the drumstick to knock on the toy’s head, producing the electronic sound of…
Top Malaysian football officials quit over foreign-born players scandal
The entire executive committee of Malaysia’s football association resigned on Wednesday, the latest blow in a damaging eligibility row over forged documents used to field foreign-born players in Asian Cup qualifiers.
The move follows Fifa’s investigation last year into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) over its inclusion of “heritage players” in the national team – foreign-born athletes accused of falsely claiming Malaysian ancestry.
“The resignations are to safeguard the reputation and…
Malaysians lampoon minister over stress-gay link: ‘they never work hard in parliament?’
A Malaysian minister has become the butt of jokes for claiming that work stress can turn people gay, as continued government intervention of what it describes as sexually deviant behaviour piles pressure on the country’s LGBTQ community.
The enforcement spotlight fell on Malaysia’s sexual minorities two weeks ago after religious authorities and police acted on complaints from a sultan and Islamist politicians that a camping retreat was promoting the LGBTQ lifestyle.
The community came under…
North Korean ex-envoy on Kim Jong-un’s ‘decapitation’ fears after Maduro’s capture
The dramatic US operation that overthrew Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro this month may have left North Korean leader Kim Jong-un feeling he was also vulnerable to “decapitation”, according to a former Pyongyang envoy to Havana.
In a wide-ranging interview, Lee Il-kyu, who served as Pyongyang’s political counsellor in Cuba from 2019 until 2023, said Washington’s lightning extraction in Caracas was a worst-case scenario for his former boss.
“Kim must have felt that a so-called decapitation operation…
Hong Kong authorities consider legal action after tooth found in Maxim’s toast
Hong Kong authorities have said they may take legal action against a major bakery chain after a government laboratory confirmed that a foreign object found in its toast was a tooth.
The case surfaced in December when a customer reported finding what appeared to be a decayed tooth inside a “Rich Milk Toast” bought from a Maxim’s Cakes branch in Sai Wan Ho.
The customer described the discovery as “disgusting” in a social media post and said a family member had vomited repeatedly in shock.
After…
Hong Kong home prices snap 3-year downturn as rents surge to a new high
Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices ended a three-year downturn with a 3.25 per cent increase in 2025, as the property market gallops into the new year buoyed by expectations of more transactions and further price gains, according to analysts.
Rents climbed to a record high in December, boosting annual gains to 4.26 per cent in 2025 and marking a third consecutive year of increase, according to the Rating and Valuation Department on Wednesday.
“Hong Kong’s residential market strengthened notably…
Ukraine war military casualties ‘near 2 million’ as more crunch talks loom
Russia’s grinding invasion of Ukraine has caused nearly 2 million military casualties – killed, wounded or missing – between the two countries, according to a new study by a US think tank.
Moscow’s forces have borne the brunt of the losses, suffering as many as 325,000 killed out of an estimated total of 1.2 million casualties since invading Ukraine nearly four years ago, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found.
“No major power has suffered anywhere near these numbers of…
Workers stage protest to demand wages owed by contractor involved in Tai Po fire
A group of construction workers have staged a demonstration at an upscale residential estate undergoing renovation in Hong Kong to demand that the contractor involved in the deadly Tai Po fire settle their unpaid wages, with two climbing up the erected scaffolding as part of the protest.
About 15 workers on Wednesday held banners and chanted slogans outside Baguio Villa in Pok Fu Lam at around 9am. The Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union said Prestige Construction &…
Taiwan’s defence ministry slams TPP’s ‘unworkable’ military spending plan
Taiwan’s defence ministry on Tuesday pushed back against an opposition party proposal to cut a planned NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special military budget to NT$400 billion and drop plans for the “T-Dome” layered air defence system.
It said the plan would not only be unworkable but could also undermine the island’s defence readiness in the face of mounting military pressure from Beijing.
The warning came as Taiwan’s legislature remained deadlocked over the special funding bill, which was…
‘Don’t blindly follow’ US changes to infant vaccines, Hong Kong tells parents
Hong Kong health authorities have warned parents not to “blindly follow” overseas changes to childhood immunisation schedules, including the flu and hepatitis B birth dose, after the US scaled back its routine vaccine recommendations for infants.
The Health Department’s Centre for Health Protection issued the warning on Wednesday in response to a controversial overhaul by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Albert Au Ka-wing, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s…
Trump warns Iraq against returning former prime minister to power
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to end all US support for Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki, a former prime minister with ties to Iran, returns to the post.
Trump, in his latest blatant intervention in another country’s politics, said that Iraq would make a “very bad choice” with Maliki, who has been nominated as prime minister by the largest Shiite bloc.
“Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos. That should not be allowed to happen again,” Trump…
Partnerships, not plants: Chinese companies rethink overseas expansion strategy
As Chinese companies accelerate their overseas expansion, industry leaders are urging a more partnership-driven approach rather than simply building factories abroad – a strategy they say could help ease growing concerns about excess capacity.
As it pushes further into global markets, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will prioritise partnerships over rapid capacity build-outs, vice-chairman Daniel Li Donghui said at the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
“We don’t think it’s the…
Operation Santa Claus: law firm volunteers dig deep with Hong Kong elderly
On a sunny Saturday, 25 employees from the Hong Kong law firm Deacons spent the morning working side by side with 18 elderly volunteers, weeding, tilling the soil, and transplanting seedlings, while sharing laughter and lessons on organic farming and healthy eating.
The event on January 24 took place on the rooftop of Metroplaza in Kwai Fong, at an urban farm run by Farm the City, one of 13 charities selected to receive funding this year from the annual fundraising campaign, Operation Santa…
Malaysian man arrested after illegal sea crossing to see pregnant second wife in Indonesia
A 46-year-old man from Perak in Malaysia sneaked out of the country to visit his pregnant second wife without his first wife’s knowledge.
He landed in hot water when he was arrested while returning from Indonesia via an illegal route. His passport was being held by his first wife.
The man, a lorry driver, who just arrived from Tanjung Balai in Indonesia, told officers he had travelled to Medan to visit his pregnant second wife.
“My second wife was pregnant and in critical condition, which is why…