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Law and Crime

Jimmy Lai trial: Hong Kong judges to hear mitigation arguments from defence

About 150 people queue for the high-profile national security case amid tightened police presence outside West Kowloon Court.

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A Correctional Services Department vehicle believed to be transporting Jimmy Lai to West Kowloon Court. Photo: Edmond So

Hong Kong Opinion

Opinion | Hong Kong courts cross-border drivers – then traps them in licence queues

Overnight queues and a complicated application system open to abuse expose gaps between Hong Kong’s policy ambition and execution.

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People queue overnight for test-free driving licence applications outside the Transport Department’s licensing office at United Centre, Admiralty, on January 7. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong

US sacrifice Hong Kong fencing title bid with Olympic gold already in their sights

Head coach Ralf Bissdorf’s inexperienced squad take team foil bronze at AsiaWorld-Expo, while Italy seal third consecutive World Cup title.

The US women’s foil team (from left) Carolina Stutchbury, Jaelyn Liu, Lauren Scruggs and Lee Kiefer. Photo: FIE

Diplomacy

Opinion | Forget Venezuela and Greenland – here is the real trillion-dollar question

As the world fixates on US military adventurism, trillion-dollar shifts in trade, R&D and debt are rebalancing the global economy and geopolitics.

China has become the first nation to post a US$1 trillion annual trade surplus, while the US is adding that much to its national debt every 71 days. Photo: Reuters

People & Culture

Filipino woman worships green statue for 4 years, finds out it is animated character Shrek

Woman treats green ogre figure with great reverence; says she will continue to worship ‘kind-hearted’ cartoon statue.

A woman in the Philippines spent four years worshipping a green Buddha statue, only to be told by a friend that it was a 3D-printed figure of the animated character Shrek. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/IG@thetropixs
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Society

Expert panel formed in Hong Kong to probe chronic water loss at Yuen Long estate

Water Supplies Department says it will offer technical support to residents of Fairview Park, where water loss problems have persisted since the 1990s.

Fairview Park, a middle-class residential estate of free-standing houses, has struggled with water loss problems since the 1990s. Photo: Martin Chan

Society

Exclusive | Hong Kong surveyor’s undeclared role prompts rule review after deadly Tai Po fire

Arrested surveyor’s undeclared link to Wang Fuk Court triggers move from the government to tighten potential conflict of interest rules.

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The fire at Wang Fuk Court killed 161 people. Photo: Jonathan Wong

China Business

Foreign, Hong Kong retailers shut mainland China stores amid fierce competition

High-profile store closures included those of Lane Crawford, Ikea, Triumph, Zara Home and Zara.

Lane Crawford plans to close its store in Chengdu after February 28. Photo: agirlaboutdesign.com

Politics

Exclusive | Philippine army colonel faces charges after anti-Marcos post goes viral

Audie Mongao will also undergo psychiatric tests after he sparked a political storm by withdrawing support for the president.

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Philippine army colonel Audie Mongao’s actions are under military investigation. Photo: Facebook/YourPhilippineArmy

Business

Which stocks will Hang Seng shareholders buy with their US$14 billion windfall?

Investors could favour high-dividend stocks like HSBC and Bank of China as they seek stable returns and growth potential, analysts say.

Shares of HSBC could be a viable investment alternative for Hang Seng Bank shareholders, analysts say. Photo: Eugene Lee
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Opinion

Editorial | US raid on Venezuela should push nations to revive collective security

Following Washington’s fragrant breach of international law, responsible member states must restore the UN’s credibility and authority.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz arrives for a Security Council meeting concerning the situation in Venezuela on January 5 in New York. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Chinese culture

Year of the Horse 2026 predictions for Monkeys, from love to health

In the Year of the Fire Horse, Monkeys should focus on travel and avoid places with heavy yin energy, fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha says.

The Year of the Horse 2026 will be a time for those born in the Year of the Monkey to expand networks abroad. But married Monkeys are at risk of feeling alienated from their spouse. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Outdoor

Marathon marks another mile in lifelong friendship for Hong Kong’s ‘Running Babes’

Members fly in from around the world for China Coast Marathon and to support friend’s 88th long-distance race.

Members of the ‘Running Babes’ get ready for the start of the Roads Scholar China Coast Marathon. Photo: Dickson Lee

Opinion

Editorial | Hong Kong must stay on its toes to keep queues for public services fair

The long lines that formed outside Transport Department offices for test-free licence application tickets underscore the problem of professional queuers.

People at a Transport Department centre in Admiralty on January 8. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Europe

Avalanches in French Alps kill 6 skiers over the weekend

A British man and five others perish in separate incidents as avalanche dangers remain high.

La Plagne ski resort in southeastern France. On Sunday, three skiers were killed in avalanches at the resorts of La Plagne, Courcheval and Vallorcine. File photo: AFP
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Middle East

Iran rights group reports many dead as government calls counter-protests

Iran’s president accuses arch-foes of trying to escalate unrest as Trump threatens US intervention.

A masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran on Friday. Photo: UGC via AP

Diplomacy

Exclusive | Zheng Yongnian on US, Venezuela and why China doesn’t want ‘a separate kitchen’

Political scientist says the Western-led global order remains useful, and the Belt and Road Initiative isn’t a geopolitical project.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Wellness

How celebrity wellness brands are reshaping self-care

From wellness OG Gwyneth Paltrow, to newer entrepreneurs like Halle Berry, celebrities have shifted their focus from beauty to health.

Lemme, founded by Kourtney Kardashian, offers nutritional gummies and even lollipops. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong Opinion

Opinion | Hong Kong’s fertile ground for AI IPOs aligns with China’s tech strategy

If Hong Kong remains a stable offshore bridge linking global capital with priority technologies, it will bolster China’s innovation funding.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 30. China is increasingly using Hong Kong as an offshore capital platform for funding priority technologies. Photo: Sun Yeung

Europe

UK’s former US envoy Mandelson apologises to Epstein’s victims, not for own ties

The ex-ambassador, fired over his links to the late sex offender, said: ‘I was not culpable, I was ‌not knowledgeable of what he was doing’.

Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to the US, attends an interview pre-recorded for the BBC in London, Britain on January 10. Photo: Jeff Overs / BBC / Handout via Reuters
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Middle East

Hamas says it will dissolve its Gaza government when Palestinian body takes over

An Egyptian official said Hamas will meet other Palestinian factions this week to finalise the leadership committee’s formation.

Tent shelters housing displaced Palestinian families are set up on empty land in Gaza City on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Americas

Cuba defiant after Trump says island to receive no more Venezuelan oil or money

‘No one tells us what to do,’ said Cuba’s President Diaz-Canel after Trump ‘strongly suggested’ they make a deal before it is ‘too late’.

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Cubans gather in support of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in Havana on January 3. Photo: AFP

South Asia

India’s Modi to host German leader to bolster trade, defence ties

Merz’s visit is his first to an Asian country since he took office, ahead of a planned EU-India summit and as they work on a free-trade agreement.

A poster featuring German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opinion

My Take | The days of EU and Nato may be numbered under von der Leyen and Kallas

Europe’s leaders continue to play supplicants to Trump, who may be an even bigger existential threat than Putin with his undisguised US imperialism.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks with the media as she arrives for the EU Summit in Brussels, December 18, 2025. Photo: AP

Military

Could China execute special forces operation like US precision Maduro abduction?

The Pentagon sees China’s 20,000-30,000 special operation personnel as limited by logistics support and fragmented command structure.

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On January 5, Nicolas Maduro is escorted towards the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan after being abducted from Caracas by US forces. Analysts ask whether China has the capacity to carry out a similar opertion. Photo: Reuters
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Europe

Britain ‘in talks with Nato to counter China and Russia in the Arctic’

Heidi Alexander said the talks are ‘business as usual’ rather than a response to recent threats by US President Trump to take over Greenland.

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Britain’s Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. Photo: EPA

Southeast Asia

Malaysia suspends Grok access amid global backlash on Musk’s AI

The regulating commission deemed the platform’s safeguards inadequate, adding that access would resume only after the required changes are verified.

Workers install lighting on an ‘X’ sign atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco in 2023. Photo: AP

Science

China applies to put up 200,000 satellites after calling Starlink a crash risk

US Federal Communications Commission says it approved SpaceX to launch 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites.

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Several Chinese firms have applied to the International Telecommunication Union to put internet satellites in space as China and the US in a race to build megaconstellations. Illustration: Shutterstock

World Opinion

Opinion | How Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ is escalating US-China rivalry

Maduro’s capture not only challenges China’s influence in Latin America but also signals a bolder US security posture that could reshuffle great-power competition.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens

Society

Hong Kong plans to complete Kowloon waterfront promenade projects by 2028

Development Bureau says link-up will extend total length of pedestrian pathways on both sides of Victoria Harbour to 34km.

Some sections are set for completion within this year, including a pedestrian passage connecting the West Kowloon Cultural District to Tai Kok Tsui. Photo: Dickson Lee