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East Asia

Average South Korean YouTuber earnings jump 25% in 4 years to US$49,000 annually

Growth accelerated after a surge in political broadcasts following 2024’s martial law decree, prompting calls for stricter tax oversight.

Anonymous mukbang YouTuber Jane ASMR is one of the top content creators in South Korea. Photo: Facebook/Jane ASMR

Society

Power restored after 4-hour outage plunges 760 Hong Kong flats into darkness

CLP says suspected equipment fault disrupted supply at Ha Kwai House in Kwai Chung Estate on Sunday evening, ahead of Lunar New Year’s Eve.

The power outage left the building in pitch darkness, prompting many residents to wait outside. Photo: Handout

Health & Environment

Hong Kong set for warmest Lunar New Year’s Eve on record at 28 degrees

Previous record for the warmest Lunar New Year’s Eve was 27.8 degrees in 1953, according to forecaster.

Hong Kong could experience its warmest Lunar New Year’s Eve on record since 1884. Photo: Dickson Lee

Beauty News

Style Edit: Lane Crawford’s beauty rewards are gifts you’ll actually want

Elevate your self-care with Lane Crawford’s HK$8.8M Beauty Rewards Programme and redeem products from brands like Skit and Tom Ford Beauty.

Guerlain’s Tailor Made Treatment is one of the many offerings from Lane Crawford’s new beauty rewards programme. Photo: Handout

Jewellery

Style Edit: 4 reimagined historic necklaces celebrate Boucheron’s founder

Creative director Claire Choisne has launched Nom: Boucheron Prénom: Frédéric, the latest of the maison’s Histoire de Style collections.

The Spark is one of four stunning necklaces reimagined for today in Boucheron’s latest Histoire de Style collection, entitled Nom: Boucheron Prénom: Frédéric. Photo: Handout
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Watches

Style Edit: Audemars Piguet’s contrasting watch releases

Two very different approaches to making a head-turning timepiece – one recalls a sleek 1929 reference, the other a jewel-like aesthetic.

The new Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour is compact and resolutely graphic, with a design that draws on a reference created at the height of the Streamline Moderne movement in the 1920s. Photo: Handout

Banking & Finance

Can Hong Kong’s MPF members repeat record gains in Year of the Horse?

Volatility looms in the Year of the Horse, analysts forecast, after the Year of the Snake delivered estimated earnings of US$32 billion.

People walk during lunch hour in Central, Hong Kong. In the previous Year of the Horse in 2014, MPF members earned 2.2 per cent, while in 2002 they lost 0.4 per cent. Photo: Karma Lo

China Business

Hong Kong stocks slip in light trading before Lunar New Year break

Tech heavyweights lose ground in shortened session as traders lock in profits before break.

A sign in Central shows Hong Kong stock information on February 6, 2026. Photo: Jonathan Wong

South Asia

High tension in India as banks, utilities resist solar shift

India’s efforts to nearly double clean energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030 are being met with reluctance from banks and state utilities.

Employees inspect photovoltaic cells used in solar panels at an Adani Group factory in Mundra, India, on November 5, 2025. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong Opinion

Opinion | Government must reflect on its failures as we enter Year of the Horse

The past year has been a difficult one and it is important for the administration to assess its performance and embrace change.

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A patron passes the “Celebrating the Year of the Horse” exhibition at The Art Museum at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, on January 23. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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Basketball

Meet the Chinese teenager already being compared to NBA star Victor Wembanyama

Cao Xichen, 14, is a towering 7ft 2in tall and has been raising eyebrows with her performances despite only taking up the game 3 months ago.

Cao Xichen (left) and former China national team player Jiao Jian (centre). Photo: Handout

Trending in China

Chinese man wins iPhone at firm’s party, finds tiles in box instead, seeks apology

Employee keeps unopened ‘iPhone’ box prize until he gets home to show wife; is dumbfounded to find ceramic slabs, chocolates, lollipops inside.

A Chinese man who won an iPhone 17 Pro Max at his company’s year-end party was surprised to find tiles inside the box instead. It was his team manager’s idea of a prank. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote

Southeast Asia

‘Enough is enough’: Malaysians rally to demand arrest of anti-corruption head

The protest against Azam is the biggest since Malaysians rallied in October to demand government action against Israel over the Gaza war.

Malaysian protestors carry placards with the faces of MACC head Azam Baki (left) and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday. Photo: X/Rafizi Ramli

Society

Exclusive | Epstein funded AI pioneer, helped get him Hong Kong government grants

US government documents show financier’s funding support for Ben Goertzel, who once led AI and robotics projects in city.

Email exchanges in the Epstein files show that the financier provided at least US$113,000 to the academic’s open-source AI framework for at least five years. Photo: AP

China Business

Korean investors pour US$92.5 million into Hong Kong AI, tech stocks

Return to mainland equities bends towards start-ups and ETFs, versus earlier focus on bellwether, large-cap names.

Bull statues stand near screens showing the Hang Seng Index at Exchange Square in Hong Kong, home of the city’s bourse operator, on February 3, 2026. Photo: Reuters
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Politics

Why Indonesia’s US$1.67 billion China-backed dam is in limbo

Even energy regulators were kept in the dark about the abrupt crackdown that has spooked renewables investors.

The Batang Toru hydroelectric project in Sumatra, Indonesia, has prompted concerns from environmentalists. Photo: Handout

United States & Canada

Epstein donated to Harvard student group for years after sex conviction

From 2013 until his death, the sex offender donated at least US$375,000 to the Hasty Pudding Institute, Department of Justice files show.

An undated photo of Jeffrey Epstein. Photo: US Department of Justice via AFP

Opinion

Editorial | Hong Kong will approach Year of the Horse with optimism and resilience

As the city marks the Lunar New Year, it can rest assured that the economy seems to be in good shape and the focus is on opportunities ahead.

People browse stalls at the Lunar New Year flower market in Victoria Park on February 12. Photo: Elson Li

Chinese Zodiac

Feng shui advice for Oxen for love, health and money in the Year of the Horse

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan shares where Oxen can put lucky coloured items at home and work for good fortune in the Year of the Fire Horse.

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How can those born in the Year of the Ox use feng shui to improve their luck in love, money and health this coming year? Feng shui practitioner Andrew Kwan shares advice. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong Economy

New think tank launched to bridge talent gap in Hong Kong studies

Hong Kong Future Economy Institute’s director says focus on global topics at local universities has led to fewer people researching pressing local issues.

Hong Kong’s Tseung Kwan O. One area of concern for the think tank is the government’s housing policies for younger people. Photo: Sam Tsang
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United States & Canada

US forces board another tanker in Indian Ocean after tracking it from Caribbean

The Veronica III, which sails under the Panamanian flag, is subject to US sanctions related to Iran, the US says.

US forces aboard the Veronica III on Sunday. Photo: US Department of Defence via Reuters

Opinion

Editorial | Hong Kong police’s fight against scams needs more public support

Scams might be down in Hong Kong but they still comprise nearly half of all crimes. Vigilance and community support are vital.

Scam cases in Hong Kong fell by 2.9 per cent last year compared with the year before. Photo: Shutterstock

Middle East

Iran’s top diplomat to attend ‘indirect’ talks with US in Geneva: state news

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation left for the Swiss city on Sunday for a second round of nuclear negotiations with the US.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Photo: SOPA Images via Zuma Press Wire / dpa

Diplomacy

In Munich, US urges ‘collective strength’ among allies to deter China

Washington and its Indo-Pacific and European allies emphasise need for cooperation to counter Beijing’s military build-up.

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Chinese military activities – and the need to respond to them – have been framed as a major driver of cooperation between US allies during this year’s Munich Security Conference. Photo: Xinhua

Big Tech

Robot variety show: tech brands to take part in China’s most-watched broadcast

ByteDance, Unitree, RedNote, Bilibili and Kuaishou among the firms involved in the unparalleled nationwide marketing opportunity.

A rehearsal for China Central Television’s Spring Festival Gala 2026. Photo: Handout
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Watches

How these luxury watchmakers are going beyond boutiques

Luxury watchmakers from Richard Mille to Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger-LeCoultre now offer homelike spaces for deeper client connections.

Beyond sales appointments, luxury watchmakers are building deeper client relationships with new hospitality concepts. Photo: Handout

China Opinion

Opinion | Can Manila’s South China Sea strategy of defiance and diplomacy hold?

China and the Philippines are both signalling openness to diplomacy alongside continued military flexing, but this may not be sustainable.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens

United States & Canada

FBI says DNA recovered from discarded glove near Guthrie home

The glove appears to match the pair worn by the masked suspect in surveillance video of Nancy Guthrie’s front door.

A masked individual at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance. Photo: Pima County Sheriff’s Department via Reuters

United States & Canada

ICE releases detained Filipino after ‘unreasonable failures of care’

Greggy Sorio, who lost a toe and 10kg while held by ICE in Seattle, still faces a deportation order and the threat of removal from the US.

Kuya G. Photo: Tanggol Migrante

United States & Canada

Over 1,000 agents leave Minnesota as immigration surge winds down

US border tsar says a ‘small’ security force will remain to protect remaining personnel following weeks of volatile protests.

Observers film ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo: AFP