No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive and constructive’ talks US and Ukrainian envoys issued a joint statement on Sunday that hailed “productive and constructive” talks in Miami but did not announce any apparent breakthrough in efforts to end the war with Russia. Top representatives from both Ukraine and Russia, as well as Kyiv’s European allies, have been in southern Florida over the past several days for a series of separate talks hosted by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The meetings were the latest in a weeks-long diplomatic... image
South China Morning Post
No Ukraine ceasefire breakthrough despite ‘productive’ talks
Talks in Miami focused on aligning US, European and Ukrainian positions as uncertainty remains if Russia will accept proposed terms.
Malaysia’s Najib Razak to be released from jail for house arrest A Malaysian High Court judge ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to be released from jail for house arrest on Monday. Najib, who has been in prison since 2022, had his 12-year jail sentence halved last year by a pardons board chaired by the country’s former king. But he insists the monarch also issued an “addendum order” that converts his sentence to house arrest, and he has been seeking to compel the government to confirm the document’s existence and enforce its contents. Government... image
South China Morning Post
Malaysian court blocks Najib’s bid for house arrest
Monday’s decision keeps the former prime minister behind bars as he awaits the outcome of the far larger 1MDB case on Friday.
Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan A city’s character is not tested on a good day, but in the quiet hours after a disaster, when the smoke settles, sirens fade and residents look at the charred outline of a home that used to anchor an entire life. The Tai Po fire, which engulfed several blocks of subsidised government housing and left families displaced overnight, has forced Hong Kong into a rare moment of civic introspection. A tragedy on this scale is a stress test of our assumptions about urban planning, insurance, finance and... image
South China Morning Post
Opinion | Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan
The fire must compel us to re-examine how we assign risk, structure contracts, insure homes and support communities after a catastrophe.
China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market Nearly 270,000 cars with self-driving systems that allow drivers to be “hands off” under certain conditions will be sold in China next year as Beijing allows carmakers to build such vehicles, according to Daiwa Securities. This volume is projected to represent about 1 per cent of China’s total new car sales in 2026, as the expanding adoption of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is poised to stimulate the world’s largest automotive and electric vehicle (EV) market amid waning... image
South China Morning Post
China’s approval for L3 self-driving cars to stimulate slowing mainland market
Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1 per cent of the total market, Daiwa says.
US strikes at Isis fighters in Syria after 3 Americans killed US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced the start of an operation to “eliminate Isis fighters, infrastructure and weapons sites” in Syria following the deaths of three US citizens. “This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people,” he said on social media. Two Iowa National Guard members and a US civilian interpreter were killed on... image
South China Morning Post
US strikes at Isis fighters in Syria after 3 Americans killed
At least five Isis members were killed in a ‘large-scale’ strike hitting 70 Isis targets across central Syria.
The quiet US-China tech contest for the future Power shifts begin in places most people never see – on assembly lines making batteries and robots, along transmission lines feeding data centre clusters, in local offices selling land and in labs training artificial intelligence models. The United States and China are using these quiet levers to construct different futures. The contest will be decided not by slogans but by who builds the most productive, trusted and durable infrastructure. Those choices will shape billions of lives. The global... image
South China Morning Post
Opinion | The quiet US-China tech contest for the future
The competition will be decided by who builds the most productive, trusted and durable infrastructure. Those choices will shape billions of lives.