2 w. ago 2 cats found at Tai Po inferno site a month after Hong Kong blaze, SPCA says

At least two pet cats have been found alive at the Wang Fuk Court fire site in Tai Po about a month after the inferno, according to an animal protection group, which called the discovery a “miracle” and expressed hope of finding more. The non-profit body, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), revealed on Friday that it had trapped a cat a day before and reunited it with the owner. It was the second cat found in the week following Christmas Day, the group said. In an earlier...

Politics

2 w. ago Hongkongers make 2.73 million outbound trips over Christmas, up 11% from last year

Hongkongers made 2.73 million outbound trips over the Christmas holiday period, an increase of about 11 per cent from last year, with an industry leader reporting a boost in the nightlife sector, and experts saying the food and beverage business remained lacklustre. According to the Immigration Department on Monday, the number of outbound trips between December 23 and 28 was 2.73 million, up from the more than 2.36 million recorded over the same period in 2024. Christmas Day and Boxing Day fell...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump says he ordered Nigeria strike delayed by a day to ‘give a Christmas present’

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that a US military strike targeting Islamic State militants in Nigeria was originally supposed to take place on Wednesday but he ordered it delayed by a day. “They were going to do it earlier,” Trump told Politico in an interview. “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present’. They didn’t think that was coming but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.” Thursday’s strikes marked a major escalation in an offensive that the West African...

Politics

3 w. ago Venezuela frees 99 prisoners detained after 2024 election protests, prisons authority says

Venezuela released 99 prisoners on Christmas Day, officials said, with the government calling it a goodwill gesture as it assesses arrests made after President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election. “The national government and the justice system have decided to evaluate each case individually and, in accordance with the law”, released 99 citizens “as a concrete expression of the State’s commitment to peace, dialogue and justice”, the Ministry of Penitentiary Services said. “They were deprived of liberty...

Events

3 w. ago Beijing extends Mars mission lead; stranded astronauts back home: China’s year in space

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China space stories of the year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Stranded Chinese astronauts return home from space station mission Three astronauts whose return to Earth from China’s Tiangong space station was delayed after a suspected debris strike touched down on November 14 at the Dongfeng landing site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. 2. China’s Shenzhou 20 debris crisis: a catalyst for space war – or...

Events

3 w. ago Robots Begin Work on Christmas Day in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou

Robots Begin Work on Christmas Day in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou  36Kr

Politics

3 w. ago US launched ‘deadly’ strikes against Isis in Nigeria, Trump says

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday night that he had launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after he spent weeks decrying the group for targeting Christians. “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!”...

Events

3 w. ago US launches strike on Islamic State targets in Nigeria, Trump says

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday night that he had launched a “powerful and deadly” US strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country’s government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians. “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,...

Events

3 w. ago Britain’s King Charles calls for ‘reconciliation’ in Christmas speech

Britain’s King Charles called for “compassion and reconciliation” at a time of “division” across the world in his Christmas Day message on Thursday. The 77-year-old monarch said he found it “enormously encouraging” how people of different faiths had a “shared longing for peace”. Charles praised individuals who risked their lives to save others in situations of violence, including those caught up in the killings at a Jewish event at Bondi Beach in Australia this month. “Individuals and...

Politics

3 w. ago Jimmy Kimmel takes aim at Trump in ‘alternative Christmas message’ to UK

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel took aim at US President Donald Trump as he warned on Thursday about the rise of fascism in an address to UK viewers dubbed “The Alternative Christmas Message.” The message, aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, reflected on the impact from the second term in office for Trump, who Kimmel said acts like he is a king. “From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year,” he said. “Tyranny is booming over here.” The channel began a tradition of airing an...

Politics

3 w. ago Andrew’s daughters join UK royals for traditional Christmas Day service

Britain’s Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie attended the royal family’s traditional Christmas Day church service on Thursday, while their father Andrew, recently stripped of his titles over ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was absent. King Charles and Queen Camilla led senior royals to a church in Sandringham in eastern England, about 110 miles (175 km) northeast of London, greeting well-wishers in crisp winter weather. Charles and Camilla walked ahead while the Prince and...

Politics

3 w. ago Hundreds flock to opening of Hong Kong Food Festival on Christmas Day

While many Hongkongers have left the city over the Christmas holiday, hundreds of others have flocked to the annual Hong Kong Food Festival in Wan Chai for the first of a five-day fair featuring gourmet seafood, snacks and other delicacies. “I’m going to buy whatever catches my eye today, I don’t have a particular budget,” Angel Wong, a 40-year-old customer service worker, said. “I don’t think I can get away from spending at least HK$600 [US$77] to HK$700.” Wong, who has attended the event at...

Politics

3 w. ago Hongkongers, tourists celebrate Christmas at West Kowloon with picnics, selfies

Tourists and locals descended on Hong Kong’s premier arts hub in droves to celebrate Christmas Day, while others opted to enjoy an annual food fair selling gourmet seafood, snacks and other delicacies. The West Kowloon Cultural District’s Christmas market and pop-up forest, boasting more than 60 trees and a 12-metre-tall (39 feet) centrepiece, proved so popular on Thursday afternoon that crowd-control measures were put in place for the more than 100 queuing revellers. Many others chose to picnic...

Politics

3 w. ago Revellers pack into Hong Kong’s Central for Christmas photos, nightcap

Thousands of revellers packed into Central in Hong Kong at night to celebrate Christmas on Thursday, after many visited the city’s premier arts hub for picnicking and photo-taking. Locals and tourists alike were out in full force along Chater Road, many donning whimsical Christmas outfits and transforming the thoroughfare into a sea of festive cheer. The road turned pedestrian zone hosted a series of seasonal installations. Most striking was a colossal, spaceship-inspired Christmas light...

Politics

3 w. ago Chill to deepen on Boxing Day as Hongkongers wake up to cold Christmas

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Hongkongers woke up to a cold Christmas Day, but the weather is expected to get even colder on Boxing Day, with temperatures set to drop further to 13 degrees Celsius (55.4 Fahrenheit). The Hong Kong Observatory said on Thursday that the city was “appreciably cooler” under the influence of...

Politics

3 w. ago Australia investigates after car with Hanukkah sign torched in Christmas Day attack

Australian police are investigating a “suspicious fire” after a car carrying a sign celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah was set ablaze on Thursday in Melbourne. The empty car, which had a “Happy Chanukah” sign fixed to the roof, was scorched by the fire while parked in a house driveway, images on national broadcaster ABC television showed. It was set alight in the early hours of Thursday morning in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria police said in a statement, describing it...

Events

3 w. ago Nigeria says ‘spat’ with Trump over killing of Christians ‘largely resolved’

The Nigerian government on Monday said its recent diplomatic dust-up with the United States, in which President Donald Trump threatened military intervention over the alleged killing of Christians, “has been largely resolved”. Trump unexpectedly tore into the west African nation in October and November, saying that Christians there faced an “existential threat” that amounted to “genocide” amid Nigeria’s myriad armed conflicts. The diplomatic offensive was welcomed by some but interpreted by...

Politics