SCMP multimedia series traces causes, failures and human toll of Tai Po blaze

The South China Morning Post has documented Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po blaze in a series of multimedia projects, from detailing the search and rescue mission to examining evidence revealed at public hearings set up to investigate the cause of the inferno.

The fire, which engulfed the Wang Fuk Court residential complex last November, claimed 168 lives and displaced nearly 5,000 people, making it the city’s deadliest blaze in decades.

For a deeper look at the causes of the tragedy, the “systemic


Malaysia’s Network School probe raises questions over openness to tech talent

A controversy in Malaysia over a foreign tech community in Johor state has raised questions on whether immigration scrutiny and political sensitivities could slow the country’s push to attract digital nomads and other global talent.

Johor authorities are investigating Network School, a private co-living and co-working community based in Forest City and founded by American tech investor and former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan, following online allegations that Israelis were involved in the project and had entered Malaysia using secondary passports.

For 38-year-old Malaysian


China rejects Trump’s election meddling claims as ‘fabricated’ and ‘slanderous’

The president has been making similar accusations for years, claiming China wanted him to lose against his Democratic rivals

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President Donald Trump has been claiming that China meddles in US elections since 2018. Photo: EPA

The allegations are “entirely fabricated, maliciously slanderous and have long been proven completely groundless”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Friday.

In a prime-time national address on Thursday, Trump accused Beijing of carrying out the


Jury rules baby died of natural causes despite nurse’s error in medical tube check

The Coroner’s Court has ruled that a premature baby born at a Hong Kong public hospital died of natural causes, after an inquest into her death revealed that a tube delivering medicine had remained closed for 30 minutes despite repeated checks by staff.

The baby girl, Angel Yu Pui-fei, was born in June 2023 at 27 weeks’ gestation at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit due to complications arising from her premature birth.

The court earlier


Philippines’ plan to fortify coastal defences: deterrence or target?

Oyster Bay naval facility in Palawan province, the Philippines. Photo: AFP

A Philippine coastal defence project in Palawan province could complicate Chinese operations near the Spratly Islands, but is unlikely to close Manila’s military gap with Beijing and could turn one of the country’s most important naval hubs into a more prominent target in a crisis, analysts have said.

On Monday, the Puerto Princesa City Council approved a Department of National Defence proposal


‘Mini Kabul’ falls silent as Pakistan targets undocumented Afghans in border province

About 2.3 million Afghans – some who lived in Pakistan for decades – have been sent back since the repatriation drive began in 2023

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A man collects building materials in Peshawar before his repatriation to Afghanistan on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Members of Afghan settlements in Pakistan ’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border province hurriedly packed up belongings this week while others hid at home as police launched a “large-scale crackdown” on undocumented residents.

Authorities in the northern province carried out housing demolitions, roadside identity

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Xi’s call on AI, Trump blasts China, US tariffs

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the dual nature of artificial intelligence’s opportunities and challenges, calling for a principle of “openness” and regulations to keep the technology “secure and controllable” in a speech at the country’s flagship annual AI conference.Xi’s first speech to the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai showed AI is a national strategic priority as China seeks to build greater technological self-reliance amid its tech rivalry with the United States. Earlier...

Ex-primary school IT technician jailed 11 years for molesting 3 boys on campus

A former Hong Kong primary school IT technician has been sentenced to 11 years in jail after he admitted to repeatedly molesting three male pupils, with one of the boys still recovering from the trauma of being subjected to having intercourse with him.

The High Court on Friday heard that 30-year-old Law Yuen-lung had been diagnosed with paedophilic disorder, despite his denials of having any sexual interest in children. The court also heard psychologists had assessed that he had lived a lonely life with no previous dating experience


Agentic AI: the next battleground for Chinese brands

A man stands near a poster promoting Alibaba’s AI agent Wukong, at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing on June 22. Photo: AP

James David Spellman, a graduate of Oxford University, is principal of Strategic Communications LLC, a consulting firm based in Washington, DC.

China’s companies have mastered social media marketing playbooks. Now, they must learn to win the trust of artificial intelligence (AI) agents that will increasingly shape what consumers discover, consider and ultimately buy.

These personal concierges are


5 Hong Kong booksellers arrested for alleged sedition released on bail

Five Hong Kong booksellers arrested on suspicion of sedition have been released on bail two days after national security police raided a pair of independent bookshops where they worked.

Police said the three women and two men, aged between 30 and 59, were released on Friday pending further investigation.

A source earlier said the two bookstores involved were Have a Nice Stay bookshop in Prince Edward and Greenfield Book Store in Mong Kok.

Media footage showed Sum Wan-wah, who was among a group of former journalists who co-founded