Africa’s expanding rail links benefit Chinese contractors and mineral needs
Business case is stacking up for the export-driven railway network that China’s companies are building with African finance.
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Malaysia calls Trump plan to move Palestinians from Gaza ‘ethnic cleansing’
Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Asean governments have unanimously agreed that the proposal was unacceptable.
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US judge blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship order nationwide
More than 150,000 newborn children would be denied US citizenship annually if Trump’s order is allowed to stand.
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Any US bid to retake Panama Canal would be prohibitively costly
It would go against international law, offend Latin nations’ sense of self-determination, hurt relations with China and cause a global uproar.
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ByteDance’s new AI model goes viral for its deepfake capabilities that animate photos
Clips from the TikTok owner’s new OmniHuman-1 multimodal model have gone viral for their lifelike appearance and audio synchronisation.
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DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough ‘is biggest shock to come out of China in 185 years’
Leading scientist Rao Yi argues that the significance of the tech’s challenge to US dominance lies in ‘how surprising it was to the world’.
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Indonesia fires dozens of immigration officers after leak details airport extortion scheme
The dismissals come after a letter from the Chinese embassy detailing how travellers were forced to pay bribes was leaked.
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OpenAI’s video generation tool Sora sees Hollywood resistance amid data, labour concerns
OpenAI has spent months talking to the industry’s largest studios such as Disney and Warner Bros but faces a hard sell after 2023 labour strikes.
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Southeast Asia’s poorest nation says ‘holding off’ Chinese interest in huge gas field
East Timor would prefer to work with Australia and Japan over Chinese firms that have expressed interest in the field, Jose Ramos-Horta said.
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China’s biggest 2024 science advances are shaping future of healthcare, chips, space race
From a brain-inspired vision chip to an ice core time machine, these were the most important breakthroughs last year, according to nation’s top experts.
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China’s trade moves against US show it’s ready to fight back but willing to make a deal
Beijing retaliates after Trump’s tariffs take effect, but analysts say China may face tougher trade battle than Canada or Mexico.
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‘Scam farm’ victim, 31, set to return to Hong Kong on Tuesday evening
Woman was found on the Myanmese side of border near Thailand’s Tak province on Sunday.
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DeepSeek success shouldn’t be seen as a win for China or loss for US
While hawks on both sides say cooperation will hurt national security, Chinese and US scientists have so much to gain from sharing research.
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Jimmy Lai rejects claim he used Hong Kong activist to lobby West for sanctions
Former media boss says he suggested paralegal Wayland Chan meet a House of Lords member and a Hong Kong ‘freedom fighter’ in UK.
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Is India’s regional clout waning over Bangladesh cosying up to China?
Ties between India and Bangladesh have worsened in recent months over New Delhi’s decision to grant shelter to ex-PM Sheikh Hasina.
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Eyeing success of Singapore’s Temasek, Indonesia approves investment arm of its own
The agency, dubbed Danantara, is set to receive trillions of rupiah in initial capital as it aims to improve returns from state investments.
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China to impose tariffs of 10% to 15% on some US products
Beijing announces it will impose tariffs of 10 to 15 per cent on some products from February 10.
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Seoul’s spies back reports of North Korean troop withdrawal from Ukraine war front lines
North Korean troops deployed to the Kursk region don’t seem to have been engaged in combat since mid-January, South Korea’s spy agency said.
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South Korea’s Yoon sought to sabotage media during martial law bid: investigators
The allegations are among a 101-page indictment put together by prosecutors seeking the impeached president’s conviction for insurrection.
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Philippines reels from Trump’s aid freeze, Myanmar migrants in limbo: 7 Asia highlights
From concerns in Manila after US paused military aid to checks on Singapore’s political parties, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.
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