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United States & Canada

‘Total loser’: Trump vows to sue Trevor Noah over Grammys Epstein comment

Trump warns Trevor Noah to ‘get his facts straight’ after 2026 Grammys monologue linked the president to the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein.

Trevor Noah speaks during his opening monologue at the 68th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Photo: TNS

Tech

Alibaba’s Qwen ramps up AI app race with Spring Festival giveaway blitz

Alibaba unveils US$432 million campaign to push mass-market adoption of its AI as rivalry with Tencent, Baidu and ByteDance intensifies.

Alibaba’s Spring Festival campaign will be launched across its ecosystem that includes shopping platform Taobao and on-demand retail and food-delivery service Shangou. Photo: Simon Song

Banking & Finance

Gut-check time: how Chinese gold and silver investors assess the volatility

‘As long as the price keeps falling, I will keep buying gold gram by gram – it will definitely pick up again,’ one mainland investor says.

A saleswoman adjusts gold jewellery for sale at a shop in Lianyungang, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, on December 24, 2025. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong Opinion

The View | Hong Kong’s housing market recovery rests on solid foundations

Unlike the commercial property sector, the city’s residential market is supported by multiple factors helping to drive demand.

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Hong Kong seen from The Peak. Morgan Stanley expects secondary home prices to rise 10 per cent this year. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Hong Kong

Gallery | In Pictures: Longines Hong Kong International Horse Show 2026

The Shetland Pony Grand National on day 3 of the Longines Hong Kong International Horse Show 2026 at AsiaWorld-Expo in Chek Lap Kok, taken on February 1, 2026. Photo: Eugene Lee
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Entertainment

From Bad Bunny to Billie Eilish, who stole the show at the 2026 Grammy Awards?

Bad Bunny thanked his mother and praised his homeland, Puerto Rico, while Billie Eilish criticised ICE at an electric 2026 Grammy Awards.

Bad Bunny accepts the album of the year award for Debí Tirar Más Fotos at the 68th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California. Photo: TNS

China Economy

Exclusive | China’s widebody C929 could arrive early on revved-up development plan: sources

Maker of the home-grown rival to Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 is working directly with regulators, which analysts said could speed up certification.

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Models of C19 and C929 aircraft are displayed during the eighth China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Photo: AFP

Asia

Video | Singapore bans ‘undesirable’ visitors

Airlines that fly into city state required to deny access to passengers flagged as risks.

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Special Reports

For Hong Kong students, their career paths’ first steps start at university

Choosing a course is a delicate balance of passion, parental expectations and the prospects of a fulfilling career.

Students at Harrow International School Hong Kong. Educators are taking a holistic approach to real-world learning that combines hands-on experience, intellectual curiosity and strategic planning. Photo: Handout

Politics

Hong Kong to formulate first 5-year plan to align with national blueprint

Task force led by Chief Executive John Lee will formulate plan, which one expert says signals greater government role in city’s development.

Hong Kong will formulate its first five-year plan to align with the national development blueprint. Photo: May Tse
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Arts

Ysabelle Cheung gives Asian women the lead in her debut short story collection

The Hong Kong-based writer Ysabelle Cheung, who left journalism to become a gallerist, on returning to her first love: fiction.

Ysabelle Cheung, co-founder of the Property Holdings Development Group gallery, discusses her debut short story collection, Patchwork Dolls. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Americas

Costa Rica elects tough-talking right-winger for president

Laura Fernandez, a protege and former chief of staff of the outgoing president, has pledged to continue his tough security policies.

Laura Fernandez waves to supporters during her victory speech. Photo: AFP

Politics

Zhang Youxia probe to end ‘watered down’ military capability: PLA Daily

Investigation and in-depth political rectification to bring in new atmosphere and positive spirit, party mouthpiece commentary says.

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The Chinese military mouthpiece PLA Daily has urged its readers to resolutely carry the fight against corruption through to the end. Photo: Xinhua

China Business

Chinese EV makers’ shares skid as sales slide after tax incentive ends

Shares in Hong Kong-listed BYD, Xpeng, Li Auto and Nio plummet as tepid January sales underline pessimistic forecasts for the year.

BYD EVs proceed through assembly at a plant in Zhengzhou, in central China’s Henan Province, on November 14, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Education

Mainland Chinese student jailed for 3 months for cheating in TOEFL test

Huang Xinyi paid someone else to take test on her behalf in Cambodia and submitted results to Hong Kong’s Lingnan University so she could graduate.

Student Huang Xinyi has been sentenced to jail for submitting a fraudulent TOEFL test result in order to graduate from Hong Kong’s Lingnan University. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
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Business

‘Bleak start’ to 2026 for China’s property sector as sales declines accelerate

China’s top developers slumped in January, with weak demand and fading policy support raising fresh concerns over debt repayment capacity.

Bleak house: China’s top developers slumped in January. Photo: AP

Europe

Epstein files reveal ‘embarrassing’ friendship with another royal

Crown princess’ name appears hundreds of times in the millions of new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice.

An email chain illustrates the extensive redactions applied by the US Department of Justice to some Jeffrey Epstein documents. Photo: AP

Southeast Asia

Interpol issues red notice for Indonesian oil tycoon in US$285 million scandal

Mohammad Riza Chalid is wanted in Indonesia for his alleged involvement in corruption at state-owned oil company Pertamina.

Mohammad Riza Chalid is wanted in Indonesia for alleged corruption. Photo: Handout

Big Tech

China’s AI labs race to debut latest models before Lunar New Year

More firms expected to follow Alibaba and Moonshot with model releases, as the festival becomes a key period to establish visibility.

A mobile phone’s screen shows the logo of China’s Zhipu AI in Beijing on January 21, 2026. Photo: AFP

People & Culture

Japan calls for action on GPS stalking after woman allegedly murdered by ex via device in toy

Pregnant 31-year-old manicurist beaten and stabbed to death in own home; police arrest suspect after viewing surveillance footage.

Concerns are rising in Japan over safety measures against GPS stalking after a pregnant woman was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend who tracked her to her home. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/YouTube
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Football

South Korea football bosses in talks to avert Women’s Asian Cup boycott

Team has previously complained of having to pay for their own kit and being given ‘inadequate’ accommodation while on international duty.

South Korea’s women complained last year about their treatment when compared with their male counterparts. Photo: AFP

Politics

Malaysia’s PM brushes off Epstein speculation with queasy emoji post

Anwar Ibrahim has rubbished an old email describing him as a potential ‘gold mine’, insisting he had no connection to the US sex offender.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his name had merely been “dropped” into the email exchange from the Epstein files, which dated to 2012. Photo: AFP

Society

Small Hong Kong firms struggling with scaffold net safety costs: contractor

‘Bigger contractors can usually handle the testing process … But for small and medium-sized firms with only one or two projects, it’s much harder,’ representative says.

Hong Kong’s construction watchdog should help small firms procure approved scaffolding nets at a lower cost, a leading contractor has said. Photo: Dickson Lee

Southeast Asia

Supply chain ‘weaponisation’ tops agenda at Singapore aviation meet

The new UN aviation chief says global cooperation is important to achieve a ‘safer, more sustainable and more competitive’ sector.

Visitors check out the Airbus booth at the Space Summit in Singapore on Monday. Photo: Reuters

United States & Canada

Trump plans to shut down Kennedy Centre for 2 years for renovations

Planned closure marks the latest development since Trump took control of the centre, after multiple artists cancelled performances there.

A portrait of US President Donald Trump during preparations at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts before the premiere of ‘Melania’. Photo: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Travel & Leisure

Simply magical! Sailor Moon shines on in a new permanent theatre in Tokyo

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon’s legacy continues to thrive with a new, permanent Tokyo theatre, which will feature an original story.

A Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live performance in London during a 2025 tour. A new permanent Sailor Moon theatre opens in Tokyo this April. Photo: Kyodo

Business

No hack behind HSBC banking outage, as HKMA rules out cyberattack

Monetary authority signals tougher scrutiny of tech risks after shutdown, as it also moves closer to issuing stablecoin licences.

The HKMA said that HSBC’s widespread system outage last week was caused by an internal computer failure rather than a cyberattack. Photo: Sun Yeung

World

Korean travel boom in China, PLA tightens fuel rules: 5 weekend reads you missed

From China’s visa-free access drawing Koreans to Hong Kong’s seat belt law U-turn, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

A food seller prepares dishes at a restaurant in Shanghai on January 21. Photo: AFP

Celebrity Style

The Grammys 2026 red carpet: looks that stunned and sparked conversation

The Katseye crew all wore Ludovic de Saint Sernin gowns, but the most buzzed-about look is certainly Chappell Roan’s sheer Mugler dress.

Addison Rae, Olivia Dean and Chappell Roan at the Grammys 2026. Photos: Getty Images via AFP, EPA

People

Indonesian woman collapses after 140 lashes for sex and alcohol

Three female officers took turns striking the woman with a rattan cane before she lost consciousness, witnesses said.

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The woman reacts while being publicly caned by a member of the sharia police in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Thursday. Photo: AFP