34 y. ago The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 12

The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 12  Newspapers.com

Politics

50 m. ago Gotta sell ‘em all: Malaysian offers Pokemon cards for US$441,993 or a Porsche

A collector has offered Malaysia’s growing trading-card community a chance to own a piece of Pokemon “history,” putting part of his rare trove up for sale for 1.87 million ringgit (US$441,993) with an alternative deal: he is willing to trade it for a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S plus additional cash. Damiral Imran listed his collection on social media, where he described it as “history, rarity and legacy in one vault”. According to screenshots from Shiny, a global card-valuation tracker, Damiral’s...

Politics

2 h. ago Asian markets retreat on potential new US trade curb against China By Reuters

Asian markets retreat on potential new US trade curb against China By Reuters  Investing.com

Economics

3 h. ago Asian markets retreat on potential new US trade curb against China

Asian markets retreat on potential new US trade curb against China  Reuters

Economics

5 h. ago Japan’s new PM talks up ties with South Korea but her past casts a long shadow

As Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office, she wasted no time extending an olive branch to South Korea, calling it an “important neighbour” and praising its culture. But how long will the goodwill last? Concerns linger in South Korea that Takaichi, known for her nationalist leanings, may eventually adopt a more hawkish stance, risking again straining ties over long-standing issues such as Japan’s wartime history and territorial disputes. “I would say there is optimism about the...

Politics

5 h. ago New Phnom Penh airport opens with fanfare as Cambodia touts regional, China ties

With an eye to transforming Cambodia into a Southeast Asian travel and cargo hub, a new US$2.3 billion airport – developed by a venture affiliated with one of the country’s wealthiest men – was opened at a grand ceremony near Phnom Penh, where officials and business leaders praised the project for enhancing regional connectivity and deepening links with Hong Kong and mainland China. Techo International Airport (TIA), which has replaced the Cambodian capital’s previous facility, has been forecast...

Politics

5 h. ago China car sales to slump in 2026 if Beijing scraps subsidies, JPMorgan says

Car sales in mainland China are likely to slide in 2026, breaking a six-year streak, if Beijing stops granting cash subsidies and tax incentives to buyers, according to a JPMorgan forecast that looms over the earnings outlook for the country’s 100-odd vehicle assemblers. “We expect retail [car] sales to see flat growth next year in a bullish scenario,” Nick Lai, head of auto research in Asia-Pacific at JPMorgan, said in an interview. “The market has more than a 50 per cent chance of seeing...

Events

6 h. ago Editorial | Japan’s new PM must respect China’s red lines if ties are to improve

Editorial | Japan’s new PM must respect China’s red lines if ties are to improve  South China Morning Post

Politics

8 h. ago Ukraine war: US unveils heavy Russia sanctions, says Putin wasn’t ‘honest’

US President Donald Trump has slapped major sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies after concluding that Vladimir Putin was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief said on Wednesday. The sanctions came a day after a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest was shelved, with Washington expressing its disappointment at the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is...

Politics

8 h. ago US sanctions Russian oil giants over Ukraine war as Trump’s patience snaps

US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies on Wednesday, complaining that his talks with Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war “don’t go anywhere”. The European Union also unveiled a fresh wave of sanctions to pressure Russia to end its relentless, three-and-a-half-year invasion of its neighbour, which is allied with both Washington and Brussels. Trump has held off pulling the trigger on sanctions against Russia for months, but his patience snapped after...

Politics

10 h. ago US widens campaign on suspected drug boats with first deadly strike in Pacific

The US military struck a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, expanding an aggressive campaign of air strikes that so far had been limited to the Caribbean Sea. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the strike in a social media post on Wednesday, saying two people were killed. “Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores, will find no safe harbour anywhere in our hemisphere,” Hegseth wrote. In a brief video Hegseth posted, a small boat,...

Events

10 h. ago US widens campaign on suspected drug boats with first lethal strikes in Pacific

The United States has announced strikes on two alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean that left five people dead, expanding the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in South America. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the two strikes on boats in the Pacific - one on Wednesday and another the day before - in social media posts showing the vessels being engulfed in flames. “Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our...

Events

12 h. ago Ukraine could buy up to 150 Gripen fighter planes from Sweden

Ukraine could buy up to 150 Gripen fighter jets, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Wednesday after the signing of a letter of intent on stepping up aviation cooperation between the two countries. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference, Kristersson said the letter of intent would create the conditions for a “very large defence industry deal”. “Probably somewhere between 100 and 150 fighter jets of the model Gripen E that are now beginning to be...

Politics

14 h. ago US, China trade officials to meet in Malaysia amid escalating rare earths dispute

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would travel to Malaysia later that day as scheduled to meet with Chinese officials over what he called Beijing’s “incredibly aggressive” measures to curb rare earth exports. The meeting is seen as a stepping stone to a sit-down in South Korea next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a time of...

Politics

15 h. ago Australia vs China: Dispute over ‘unsafe’ military aircraft interaction

Australia vs China: Dispute over ‘unsafe’ military aircraft interaction  AeroTime

Events

15 h. ago In Beijing and Delhi, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Aimed to Balance Consequential Relationships

In Beijing and Delhi, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Aimed to Balance Consequential Relationships  The Diplomat – Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine

Politics

15 h. ago Singapore cyber summit stresses need for unified front amid rising threats

Experts and officials at a major cybersecurity summit in Singapore have called for deeper collaboration between governments and tech giants, warning that fragmented efforts are no match for increasingly sophisticated digital threats. Speaking at the Singapore International Cyber Week, policymakers and industry leaders said closer partnerships were essential to sharing threat intelligence, innovating jointly and mounting coordinated responses to cyberattacks. These partnerships were crucial as...

Politics

16 h. ago China pushes trilateral currency swap, new drone sighted: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China eyes currency swap with Japan and South Korea amid trade tensions: source China is in talks with Japan and South Korea – both US allies – about a possible trilateral currency swap to bolster the region’s financial safety net and deepen economic cooperation amid US President Donald Trump’s trade war, according to a source familiar with the issue. 2....

Events

16 h. ago Retreating globally, US finds a new arena to flex power – at home

The Donald Trump administration is executing not merely a restructuring but a fundamental redefinition of American military purpose. The clearest evidence emerged in June, when the US president deployed 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles alongside 4,000 federalised National Guard troops to confront immigration enforcement protests – without California Governor Gavin Newsom’s consent. A federal judge subsequently ruled that this deployment violated the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which...

Politics

17 h. ago Beijing warns Australia over ‘arms race’ after minerals deal

Beijing warns Australia over ‘arms race’ after minerals deal  The Nightly

Events