Up to date online news on the go!
The father of the youngest victim of Australia’s Bondi Beach mass shooting gave an emotional tribute to his 10-year-old daughter, Matilda, at a vigil for victims on Tuesday December 16.
AdvertisementHong Kong economyHong KongHong Kong EconomyHong Kong launches consultation for 2026 budget focusing on economic growth‘As we prepare the new budget, we aim to gather views from different sectors, engage with the public and draw on collective wisdom,’ finance chief Paul Chan says
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPDenise TsangPublished: 11:13am, 17 Dec 2025Updated: 11:15am, 17 Dec 2025Hong Kong has launched public consultation for the 2026-27 budget, which the finance chief says will focus on how the city can expand its economic development and better integrate into China’s 15th five-year plan.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Wednesday highlighted several key issues for the coming budget, including how the city could further broaden and deepen its economy, accelerate innovation and technology, upgrade its industrial structure, and strengthen its integration and contribution to national development.
He said other issues included creating more high-quality job..
AdvertisementNepalThis Week in AsiaHealth & EnvironmentNepal rolls out tourist tracking system to keep tabs on foreigners after protest delaysStarting next year, hotels and travel companies must begin automatically reporting visitor locations to a central government database
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPBibek BhandariPublished: 11:00am, 17 Dec 2025As tourist numbers climb back towards record highs, Nepal is rolling out a new digital registration system to track every foreign visitor, in a move officials say will boost safety and curb visa misuse.Starting from January 1, all foreign visitors will be required to register detailed accommodation information through the government’s new digital platform, replacing the earlier system that allowed only partial disclosures.
Authorities say the measure will modernise an overstretched immigration network while giving authorities faster access to location data during emergencies.
Advertisement“This system enables us to have details..
Trump orders blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela 43 minutes agoShareSaveAoife WalshShareSaveGetty ImagesUS President Donald Trump has said he is ordering a “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela.
In a post on Truth Social, he said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro's government had been designated a foreign terrorist organisation and accused it of stealing US assets, as well as “Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking”.
“Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” he added.
His remarks came a week after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In a statement, Venezuela's government said it rejected Trump's “grotesque threat”.
In his post, Trump said Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America”.
He added that it will “only get b..
Dashcam video shows couple trying to stop gunman before being killed in Bondi attack16 hours agoShareSaveFrancesca GillettandAnna LamcheShareSaveWatch: Dashcam video shows couple fight with attackerA couple killed in the Bondi Beach shooting tried to stop one of the alleged attackers by grabbing his gun, dramatic dashcam footage shows.
Boris Gurman, 69, and his wife Sofia, 61, courageously stepped in to try and protect others before being shot themselves, their family said in a statement.
Video of the incident shows Mr Gurman, who was retired, wrestling with one of the gunmen and taking the weapon off him, before they both fall onto the road.
Mr Gurman then gets up and appears to hit the attacker with the gun. The attacker is then thought to have got another gun which he used to kill them.
“While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness,” the couple's family said.
“This encapsulates who Boris a..
Donald Trump (AP) US president Donald Trump on Monday said a peace deal to end the four-year-long war between Ukraine and Russia is “closer than ever,” citing ongoing talks between European leaders and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.Trump said the United States is receiving “tremendous support” from European countries, including Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands, all of which he said are keen to see an end to the conflict.Putin’s Men ‘CHANGE’ Front With New Capture, KILL 1450+ Ukraine Troops As Berlin Talks Struggle”We are going to get it done. I think we are closer now, and they will tell you that they are closer now with numerous conversations with President Putin of Russia. And I think we are closer now than we have ever been… We want to save a lot of lives,” Trump said, speaking at the White House. “We are getting closer. We are having tremendous support from European leaders that want to get it ended also,” h..
US President Donald Trump (Photo credit: AP)
US President Donald Trump on Monday filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, accusing Britain’s public service broadcaster of misleadingly editing a speech he delivered to supporters in Washington on January 6, 2021, shortly before the US Capitol was stormed, news agency AP reported.The January 2021 attack on the US Capitol sought to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump has repeatedly denied responsibility for the violence.According to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami. Trump has alleged that edited clips aired by the BBC falsely suggested he urged supporters to storm the Capitol, causing him serious reputational and financial damage.Trump claims the broadcaster stitched together excerpts from different parts of his speech including remarks urging supporters to march to the Capitol and another in which he said “fight like hell” — while excluding a p..
AdvertisementPerforming arts in Hong KongLifestyleArtsHong Kong classical concert to raise money for family of firefighter lost to Tai Po fireProceeds from the December 22 show, featuring big Hong Kong classical musicians, will go to relatives of Ho Wai-ho, who died in the blaze
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPSyrena JinPublished: 11:15am, 16 Dec 2025Updated: 11:25am, 16 Dec 2025Some of Hong Kong’s biggest names in classical music are coming together to raise funds for the family of the firefighter who lost his life in the Tai Po fire.
The concert, titled “Salute to the Brave, Soothing the Soul”, has been co-organised by the violinist and conductor Leung Kin-fung, and will be held on December 22 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Firefighter Ho Wai-ho, 37, died in the line of duty in Wang Fuk Court. The worst blaze in Hong Kong in more than 70 years killed more than 160 people and injured dozens, including 12 other firefighters.
AdvertisementAll proceeds fro..
AdvertisementPakistanThis Week in AsiaPoliticsIndia wary as US backs Pakistan with F-16 upgrades and mineral projectsAnalysts say New Delhi faces an ‘uncomfortable truth’ as Washington and Beijing find rare common ground on stability in Pakistan
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP1Tom HussainPublished: 11:00am, 16 Dec 2025The United States and Pakistan are reviving defence and minerals cooperation in a bid to reset their uneasy ties, marking a policy shift that has stirred anxiety in India even as Washington seeks to reassure New Delhi.Washington has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades for Pakistan’s ageing F-16 fighter jets and opened the door to more than US$1 billion in financing for US companies involved in critical minerals projects in the South Asian nation.
These moves mark the most substantive warming in US-Pakistan ties since Donald Trump returned to the White House, in sharp contrast to his first term, when Washington froze military aid to Islamabad ..
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced her engagement to the fervently pro-Trump news reporter Brian Glenn, cementing the couple's status as MAGA royalty.
In posts on Elon Musk's social network X on Monday evening, the pair showed off Greene's engagement ring with a beaming photo from a favorite restaurant.
“She said yes,” said Glenn, tagging in the Georgia representative.
“Happily ever after!!! I love you @brianglenntv!!!” Greene responded.
Conservative talk show host Megyn Kelly chimed in to congratulate the happy couple, saying: “This is great!” Best wishes.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Brian Glenn announce their engagement on X (Marjorie Taylor Greene and Brian Glenn via X)Since President Donald Trump's election loss in 2020, Glenn has made a splash as one of the President's most ardent propagandists outside the federal payroll. He gained special notoriety earlier this year as the reporter who asked Ukraine’s wartime President Volodym..
