Author: Verified News Online

Colonel Michael Randrianirina, former CAPSAT commander, assumed Madagascar’s presidency after leading troops into Antananarivo, following Gen Z protests ousting Andry Rajoelina/ Image composite: AP Colonel Michael Randrianirina, once a relatively obscure military officer, is now Madagascar’s most powerful figure. Days after leading his elite CAPSAT unit into the streets of Antananarivo to join youth-led protests demanding President Andry Rajoelina’s resignation, Randrianirina was sworn in as the country’s leader. His ascent, coming after a brief imprisonment for an alleged mutiny, has transformed a soldier from the southernmost reaches of Madagascar into the head of state.Early life and military career Randrianirina was born in 1974 in Sevohipoty, a small village in the Androy region of southern Madagascar. Little is publicly known about his family, but his career path reflects a steady rise through the military ranks. He served as governor of Androy from 2016 to 2018 under former Pres..

AdvertisementHong Kong economyOpinionHong Kong OpinionMathias WooOpinion | More than a tech hub, Northern Metropolis can be a cradle for cultureBy focusing on creative industries, the development can enhance Hong Kong’s soft power push within the Greater Bay Area and beyond
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMathias WooPublished: 5:30am, 18 Oct 2025Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis is more than a mere zoning plan; it is a crucial part of China’s development strategy and a pivotal step towards elevating the Greater Bay Area’s (GBA) global profile. With development now under way, the conversation must shift to a new realm: soft power.AdvertisementThe Northern Metropolis should not be just another new town designed to address Hong Kong’s housing and industrial needs. Rather, it must emerge as a zone of cultural emancipation that takes the GBA’s development to the next level.
Hong Kong’s developmental thinking has been trapped in the paradigm of large-scale transport infrastructure ..

AdvertisementUS-China trade warEconomyChina EconomyUS-China tensions ease as Bessent confirms call with counterpart He LifengTalks resume after threats of 100% tariffs and rare earth curbs, signalling a pause in the trade fight ahead of Trump-Xi meeting
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP4Bochen Hanin WashingtonandMia Nurmamatin Hong KongPublished: 4:52am, 18 Oct 2025Updated: 5:18am, 18 Oct 2025US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed plans to speak with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Friday in a further sign of easing tensions ahead of a potential meeting between the two countries’ leaders.
Advertisement“The vice-premier, who is my counterpart, and I will be speaking this evening at around 8.30, 9 o’clock,” Bessent said at the White House on Friday.
The Treasury secretary added that He will also join him and a delegation in Malaysia “probably a week from tomorrow” to prepare for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Bessent’s co..

A US appeals court on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s administration request to lift a lower court’s prohibition on deploying the National Guard in Chicago. President Trump ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago, asserting they were necessary to combat crime and safeguard immigration agents and facilities in America’s third-largest city, AP image reported. The three-judge panel determined that the administration had failed to demonstrate that conditions in the Illinois city warranted the troop deployment. “Even after affording great deference to the president's evaluation of the circumstances, we see insufficient evidence of a rebellion or danger of rebellion in Illinois,” the court stated. “The spirited, sustained, and occasionally violent actions of demonstrators in protest of the federal government's immigration policies and actions, without more, does not give rise to a danger of rebellion against the government's authority.” “The administrat..

The Senate voted down the House-passed spending patch for the tenth time on Thursday, as the government shutdown continued with no end in sight. Because the chamber does not plan to be in legislative session again until Monday, it nearly ensures the funding lapse will reach the three-week mark at midnight Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune continued to force votes on the GOP-led stopgap, while Democratic senators showed no signs of breaking rank and voting in support, Politico reported. The same Democrats who had been voting against the legislation in recent days continued to cast “no” votes on Thursday to advance the measure that would fund the govt through November 21. Independent Senator Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, voted again in support of the Republican-led stopgap, along with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. However, one new variable emerged this week that could help end the stalemate: Thune is hoping ..