Manila’s plan to acquire submarines and additional missiles to counter Beijing’s military might in the South China Sea has been praised by observers as a strategic long-term measure, despite the high costs and questions about the country’s readiness to maintain such technology. One analyst said the move was long overdue, since the Philippines discovered last year that its rival had used drones in mapping out the seabed in the disputed waters. On Wednesday, citing an “increase in China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive activities” General Romeo Brawner Jnr, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, announced the country’s desire to procure two submarines and additional BrahMos missiles in response to China’s military build-up in the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone. Last
Category Archives: WORLD NEWS
Feb
LONDON — Hamas said in a statement Thursday it would release the next group of hostages as planned in accordance with its ceasefire agreement with Israel, adding that Egyptian and Qatari mediators had confirmed they will work to “remove obstacles and close gaps.” The next hostage-prisoner exchange is set to take place Saturday, as previously agreed in the current ceasefire deal. There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. MORE: Netanyahu warns ‘ceasefire will be terminated’ if Hamas doesn’t free hostages This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Guy Hedgecoe Business reporter Reporting from Segovia, central Spain Getty Images Spain attracts the second highest number of overseas visitors after France It’s a chilly mid-winter afternoon in Segovia, in central Spain, and tourists are gathered at the foot of the city’s Roman aqueduct, gazing up at its famous arches and taking selfies. Many of the visitors are Spanish, but there are also people from other European countries, Asians and Latin Americans, all drawn by Segovia’s historic charm, gastronomy and dramatic location just beyond the mountains north of Madrid. “There was a moment during Covid when I thought ‘maybe tourism will never, ever be like it was before’,” says Elena Mirón, a local guide dressed in a fuchsia-coloured beret who is about to lead a group across the city. “But
Feb
A Hong Kong biotech start-up is working with a number of university partners to conduct global clinical trials that could lead to a better way of delivering drugs for prevalent eye diseases. Alephoson Biopharmaceuticals, established in 2019, has developed a technology to combine a proprietary cell-penetration peptide (CPP) compound with biologic medication that is currently used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetes-related macular edema (DME). If planned clinical trials are successful, this could result in the commercialisation of a medication that can be administered via eyedrops instead of an injection into the cavity at the back of the eye, according to Benjamin Lee, a founder and CEO of Alephoson, which is based in the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park . “As a research-and-development-focused company, we are forging
Feb
We are the State of the Start-Up Nation and need to act like it. Will that be easy? No. But if there’s any country in the world that can make chaos work efficiently, it is Israel. By ZVIKA KLEIN FEBRUARY 7, 2025 05:54 WOULDN’T IT be great if every prime minister had an advisery group comprising the top Jewish and Israeli businessmen and women? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes Elon Musk on a tour of Kibbutz Kfar Aza in November 2023. (photo credit: Amos Ben-Gershom-GPO/Handout via Getty Images) It would appear as though no day goes by without another scandal or story hitting the headlines involving Elon Musk – the candid, colorful billionaire who has become the right-hand man to US President Donald Trump since the campaign trail. He disrupted the
Feb
The woman had six fingers on her left hand, a characteristic that in ancient cultures was often interpreted as a sign of distinction and spiritual authority. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF FEBRUARY 6, 2025 09:20 Excavation near Jerusalem finds 9,000-years-old six-fingered Neolithic shaman woman. (photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority) A recent study published in the journal Atiqot described a tomb found at the Motza archaeological site in the hills of Jerusalem, dating back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period. The excavations at Motza, conducted between 2018 and 2020, uncovered one of the largest concentrations of settlements from this period in the area. The research was carried out before the construction of Highway 16, the third access road to Jerusalem from the west. The tomb contained the remains of a woman who
Feb
Reuters The charred shell of Grenfell Tower was covered with protective white wrapping soon after the 2017 fire The government has decided to demolish Grenfell Tower, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told a meeting with bereaved relatives and survivors, the BBC understands. Seventy two people died when the tower block in west London caught fire in June 2017. The decision follows several years of debate over the future of the 24-storey tower, with some hoping it would remain in place as a lasting reminder of the tragedy and others wanting it replaced with a new memorial. A formal announcement by the government is expected to be made on Friday. Kimia Zabihyan, representing the group Grenfell Next of Kin which acts for some of the bereaved families, told the BBC she
Feb
Thailand has pulled the plug on electricity and internet access to Myanmar border areas bristling with scam factories, in a belated effort to disrupt fraud operations being carried out by illegally sending logistics and people across the border. Bangkok has faced diplomatic blowback for failing to help eradicate these syndicates, which are mostly clustered around the Myawaddy area of Myanmar, particularly since the high-profile rescue of Chinese actor Wang Xing last month from a scam park close to the Thai border in Tak province. The incident triggered outrage across social media in China and prompted holidaymakers from Thailand’s most important tourism market to cancel their plans to travel to the kingdom. Attention has focused on Thailand being used as a transit hub by criminal syndicates to lure and transport unsuspecting
Feb
The Former Refugees Repatriation Association Namibia is demanding the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to release funds meant to repatriate over 43 387 refugees. Association president Mathues Nangolo says they want the same compensation the UNHCR gave to the Caprivi secessionists who were repatriated from Botswana to Namibia. “The Namibian refugees who were at Dukwe Refugee camp and were repatriated by the UNHCR from Botswana were given all kinds of assistance, they were resettled,” he says. He was speaking at a meeting between the association and UN resident co-ordinator Hopolang Phororo in Windhoek on Wednesday. Spokesperson Mathues Stefanus alleged the UNHCR has failed to implement its resettlement and rehabilitation programmes in Namibia under United Nations Resolution 435 of 1978. “What happened to the resettlement and rehabilitation budget of
Feb
See Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC. By BENJAMIN NETANYAHU FEBRUARY 5, 2025 09:09 US President Donald Trump greets Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2025. (photo credit: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) “Thank you, Mr. President. I’m honored that you invited me to be the first foreign leader to visit the White House in your second term. This is a testament to your friendship and support for the Jewish state and the Jewish people. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: You are the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House. That’s why the people of Israel have such enormous respect
Feb
Indonesia has removed dozens of immigration officers and launched an internal investigation after a leaked diplomatic letter from the Chinese embassy exposed allegations of systemic extortion at Jakarta’s main airport and reignited concerns over corruption in law enforcement. The letter, dated January 21, appears to have been sent to Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and details how the embassy has “solved at least 44 cases of extortion” by immigration officials against Chinese nationals who arrived at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport between February of last year and January. It says more than 32 million rupiah (US$1,950) in extortion money has been returned to more than 60 Chinese nationals. “It is just a tip of the iceberg since many more Chinese nationals who were extorted did not file complaints due to tight schedules
Feb
Less than 15% of Israelis believe Trump’s plan is “immoral,” including 54% of Arab respondents and only 3% of Jewish israelis. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF FEBRUARY 3, 2025 19:16 US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025. (photo credit: Jim WATSON / POOL / AFP) A majority of Israelis support US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Gaza’s population to other countries, a Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Israel Index survey revealed Monday. The survey, which was published ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump in Washington, found that approximately eight out of ten Israelis support Trump’s suggestion that “Arabs from Gaza should relocate to another country,” while most Arab Israelis oppose the proposal. According to the findings, 43% of all
Feb
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing . 1. Taiwanese actress Barbie ‘Big S’ Hsu dies from pneumonia Hsu gained popularity for her starring role in the 2001 TV drama Meteor Garden. Confirming Hsu’s sudden death on Monday, her family said in a statement that the actress was travelling in Japan when she caught the flu, which triggered pneumonia. 2. China warns that US tariffs will hit fentanyl cooperation efforts, damage trust China’s public security ministry has spoken out against the US decision to place a 10 per cent duty on all Chinese imports – along with larger tariffs for Canada and Mexico – warning that it will be detrimental
Jan
Hamas’s failure demonstrates how quickly years of diplomatic work can be jeopardized by chaos on the ground, which could derail future releases. By JPOST EDITORIAL JANUARY 31, 2025 06:01 Updated: JANUARY 31, 2025 06:07 Palestinian terrorist surround hostage Arbel Yehoud, held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack, on the day they hand her to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Yunis. (photo credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters) Our ceasefire and hostage exchange deal is hanging by the thinnest of threads, and no instance proved that more than Thursday’s hostage return. On yet another emotional and miraculous occasion, Israel saw the release of eight hostages: three Israelis and five Thai
Jan
US President Donald Trump ’s decision to exit the Paris Climate Agreement has cast doubt over Washington’s commitment to a key clean energy partnership with Indonesia, raising the possibility that Jakarta may turn to China for climate funding. On Tuesday, the United Nations confirmed the US formally sent a notification of its withdrawal from the climate accord effective January 27, 2026, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by nearly 200 countries, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, or those recorded in the late 19th century. Climate scientists warn that exceeding this threshold would make it challenging for humanity to adapt to climate change. Dujarric noted that the US withdrew from the