SCMP News Digest
Daily News • Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Washington Post cutting hundreds of jobs, as US media faces Trump pressure
The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced major job cuts Wednesday, saying that “painful” restructuring was needed at the storied newspaper.
The newspaper, which gained legendary status when its reporting helped bring down President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal, will see “substantial” reductions in its newsroom, Executive Editor Matt Murray said.
The shrinking of The Washington Post comes as major traditional media outlets in the United States face…
As US toughens stance, how exposed is China to Iranian and Venezuelan oil?
China’s discounted crude purchases are coming under strain as the United States tightens its stance on Iran and Venezuela, with analysts warning that more refineries may have to turn to higher-priced barrels from Canada, Brazil and the Middle East.
The world’s second-largest economy is also accelerating its shift to electric vehicles and ramping up domestic fossil fuel production to help narrow its oil supply gap, while maintaining strategic reserves to mitigate any potential disruption.
After…
US pitches critical minerals plan to allies to counter Beijing’s dominance
In a direct challenge to Beijing’s decades-long grip on the hi-tech economy, the United States on Wednesday sought to rally more than 50 countries and the European Union around a landmark framework to loosen China’s control over the global critical minerals trade.
“This morning, the Trump administration is proposing a concrete mechanism to return the global critical minerals market to a healthier, more competitive state,” US Vice-President J.D. Vance said in his opening remarks at the inaugural…
Trump says Iran leaders should be ‘very worried’ as talks near
President Donald Trump sent a fresh warning to Iran’s leaders as US military forces amassed in the region, even as diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran were set for later this week.
“I would say he should be very worried, yeah. He should be,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, when asked about Iran’s supreme leader. “As you know, they are negotiating with us.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post on Wednesday that talks with the US…
France arrests 4 people suspected of spying on Starlink for China
Four people, including two Chinese nationals, have been arrested in France on suspicion of spying for China and were brought before an investigative judge, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.
The cybercrime division of the Paris public prosecutor’s office has opened a judicial investigation into the affair, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
This followed the discovery that two Chinese nationals had entered French territory with the aim of capturing satellite…
Ryan Routh, who tried to shoot Trump at Florida golf course, gets life in prison
A man convicted of trying to assassinate US President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course in 2024 was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon pronounced Ryan Routh’s fate in the same Fort Pierce courtroom that erupted into chaos in September when he tried to stab himself shortly after jurors found him guilty on all counts.
Prosecutors had asked for life without parole, saying Routh was unrepentant and had never apologised. A defence lawyer brought in for his…
Nasa’s Juno finds Jupiter is a tiny bit smaller than previously thought
Jupiter, without a doubt, is the biggest planet in our solar system. But it turns out that it is not quite as large – by ever so small an amount – as scientists had previously thought.
Using new data obtained by Nasa’s robotic Juno spacecraft, scientists have obtained the most precise measurements to date of Jupiter’s size and shape. This is important information to gain a fuller understanding of this gas giant, including studying its complex interior structure.
The Juno observations showed…
Ukraine and Russia wrap ‘productive’ first day of US-backed peace talks
Ukrainian and Russian officials wrapped up a “productive” first day of new US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, Kyiv’s lead negotiator said on Wednesday, as fighting in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II raged on.
The two-day trilateral meetings come after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had exploited a US-backed energy truce last week to stockpile munitions, attacking Ukraine with a record number of ballistic missiles on Tuesday.
“The work was substantive and…
Panama president defends judiciary after China slams canal port concession ruling
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino rejected criticism from Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday over a Supreme Court ruling that voided a long-standing port concession at the Panama Canal, arguing that the decision falls squarely within Panama’s constitutional and legal framework.
Mulino’s comments came after China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office issued a sharply worded commentary condemning the court’s decision to declare unconstitutional the concession held by Panama Ports…
The AI race: US and China defence sectors emerge as key battlegrounds
US President Donald Trump wants to build his “Dream Military”. In January, he proposed setting military spending at US$1.5 trillion in 2027 while citing “very troubled and dangerous times”.
The move would increase the country’s defence budget by around 50 per cent amid growing concern at the Pentagon about China’s AI advancements.
As the United States and China race to develop the latest artificial intelligence, the use of AI technology in the military has become a battleground in its own right,…
Police arrest 4 in Hong Kong over ‘crash-for-cash’ scams
Police have arrested two doctors and a married couple for allegedly masterminding more than 20 “crash-for-cash” scams, with officers investigating over 100 suspicious cases in a fraud epidemic that has become the talk of Hong Kong.
Police said on Wednesday that the three men and a woman were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. The couple – the husband a taxi driver and the wife a nurse – are both 37, while the doctors are aged 56 and 69.
Superintendent Charles Fung Pui-kei of the…
Epstein files reveal proposal for Tsinghua University campus in Boston
A proposal to build a Boston campus of Tsinghua University, China’s most prestigious tertiary institution, with the help of Harvard University faculty was unexpectedly revealed in Friday’s release of emails related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The plan eventually fell through and has little chance of revival as the US and China engage in a heated science and technology rivalry. Tsinghua is now a bastion of China’s efforts to break US tech sanctions and controls.
But the proposal offers a glimpse at how…
Hong Kong urged to focus on economic progress, align with national development
The head of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong has called on the city to focus on economic progress, proactively align with national development and strengthen the executive-led governance model.
Office director Zhou Ji made the remarks on Wednesday at a reception to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year, highlighting Beijing’s expectations for Hong Kong in keeping with the country’s 15th five-year plan. He also urged Hongkongers to overcome adversity by embracing the “Lion Rock Spirit” and…
Trump border tsar removing 700 immigration officers from Minnesota immediately
The Trump administration is reducing the number of immigration officers in Minnesota but will continue its enforcement operation that has sparked weeks of tensions and deadly confrontations, border tsar Tom Homan said on Wednesday.
About 700 federal officers – roughly a quarter of the total deployed to Minnesota – will be withdrawn immediately after state and local officials agreed over the past week to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants, Homan said.
But he did not provide a timeline…
From chatbots to replays: Alibaba rolls out AI suite for 2026 Winter Olympics
Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing and artificial intelligence arm of Alibaba Group Holding, has unveiled a suite of AI-powered tools for the Milano Cortina Winter Games, marking the first time a large language model (LLM) will be embedded into the Olympics’ digital infrastructure.
The partnership between Alibaba Cloud, Olympic Broadcasting Services and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was announced on Wednesday.
Alibaba’s Qwen model will power “Olympic AI Assistants”, a digital system…
Wang Fuk Court survivors hit out at ‘bureaucratic’ process for URA subsidies
Survivors of Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po blaze have condemned what they called “insensitive and bureaucratic” arrangements for a government subsidy, with some saying they were blindsided by demands to provide proof of legal heirship in the wake of the blaze that tore through the estate and killed 168 people last year.
The outcry over red tape and logistical challenges followed a notice issued on Tuesday by Hop On Management, the government-appointed administrator for Wang Fuk Court, outlining a…
China’s outbound investment surges to 7-year high amid data centre, energy boom
China’s global outbound direct investment surged to a seven-year high in 2025 as Chinese firms pivoted their capital towards strategic raw materials and data centres, according to a report by Rhodium Group released on Wednesday.
The latest China Cross-Border Monitor report found that Chinese firms announced US$124 billion of new outbound direct investment last year, an 18 per cent jump from 2024 and the highest level recorded since 2018.
Completed deals also saw a robust 14 per cent increase to…
China expels defence industry officials from legislature amid corruption crackdown
China has removed three senior defence industry executives, including a nuclear weapons expert, from the national legislature as part of a deepening anti-corruption campaign.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Wednesday said it had expelled Liu Cangli, former president of the China Academy of Engineering Physics, Luo Qi, chief engineer of the China National Nuclear Corporation, and Zhou Xinmin, former chairman of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
It did not say…
China’s turbocharged EV market hits a speed bump amid falling sales and rising costs
Electric vehicle deliveries in mainland China slumped by more than 40 per cent in January, darkening the outlook for a sector grappling with rising production costs and the gradual withdrawal of government support.
The country’s roughly 50 electric carmakers sold about 900,000 vehicles last month, down 42.3 per cent from 1.56 million units in December, according to preliminary data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Wednesday.
The figures, which include retail sales,…
Xi tells Trump Taiwan is ‘most important’ issue in China-US ties in phone call
China’s leader Xi Jinping spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone on Wednesday, just hours after a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the Chinese readout, Xi told Trump that the Taiwan question is the “most important” issue in China-US relations, stressing that the island is Chinese territory and that Beijing will never allow it to be separated.
Xi said China must safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged Washington to handle arms…