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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 ..

AdvertisementScienceChinaScienceNuclear fusion: could China be the first to harness the energy that powers the sun?Coordinated strategy of aggressive funding, talent repatriation and rapid prototyping is a bid to challenge Western dominance in the field
Reading Time:6 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPDannie Pengin BeijingPublished: 6:00am, 17 Oct 2025At a laboratory in northern China, less than an hour away from Beijing, a team of scientists is working on a new technology with huge potential as a clean energy source: nuclear fusion.AdvertisementThe spacious ENN Group campus in Langfang, Hebei province, is home to a cluster of experimental facilities. At its heart is a spherical device called the EXL-50U – a compact tokamak that uses a magnetic field to confine charged gas, or plasma, to fuse hydrogen nuclei.
On the day the South China Morning Post visited, engineers were installing new neutral beam – or heating – systems to increase its plasma temperature.
Chief engineer Yang Yuanming said..

AdvertisementDonald TrumpWorldUnited States & CanadaEx-Trump aide John Bolton charged amid crackdown on US president’s criticsThe former national security adviser has been indicted for allegedly retaining and transmitting national defence information
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPReutersPublished: 5:30am, 17 Oct 2025Updated: 5:52am, 17 Oct 2025John Bolton US President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, was indicted on Thursday on charges of retaining and transmitting national defence information, marking the third time in recent weeks the US Justice Department has secured criminal charges against one of the Republican president’s critics.
AdvertisementBolton’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His lawyer had previously denied that Bolton engaged in wrongdoing.
The indictment, according to court records, comes after court documents made public last month revealed that Bolton was under federal investigation for potential mishandling ..

(Phoro: X) A US Marine’s father was deported and his mother detained after both were arrested by federal immigration officials while visiting family at Camp Pendleton in California.Under the MAGA government, immigration enforcement is even affecting military families.Steve Rios, a Marine from Oceanside, said his parents, Esteban Rios and Luisa Rodriguez, went to Camp Pendleton on September 28 to have breakfast with his pregnant sister, Ashley Rios, and her husband, who is also a Marine.The couple was stopped at the gate by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.“They were taken into custody and later released with ankle monitors,” Steve Rios said. “At a later check-in with federal immigration officials, they were detained again.”The arrested parents came to the United States from Mexico 30 years ago, reports NBC 7 San Diego.Esteban Rios was wearing a red shirt and a white hat reading “Proud dad of a U.S. Marine” when he was taken into custody, his son said. “He said, ‘Yeah, t..

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Israeli forces could return to Gaza on his command if Hamas compromises the ceasefire deal.Trump said that he could deploy the IDF “as soon as he says the word” if Hamas fails to follow through on the ceasefire agreement, reports CNN.“What’s going on with Hamas – that’ll be straightened out quickly,” Trump said in a brief telephone call. He was referring to accusations by Israel that Hamas has not fully complied with the agreement to hand over hostages, both living and deceased.The 20-point peace plan outlined by Trump stated, “Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.” As of Wednesday morning, all 20 living Israeli hostages had been released, while only four bodies had been returned. The Israeli military reported that one of the bodies did not belong to an Israeli hostage. “Getting those 20 hostages out was paramount,” Trump said.Violent clashes have continued in Gaz..

AdvertisementChina food securityEconomyChina EconomyWhy China’s next 5-year plan will double down on food securityBeijing has made huge strides in its self-sufficiency push – but trade tensions, climate risks and supply-chain shocks keep fears alive
Reading Time:5 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMandy Zuoin ShanghaiPublished: 6:00am, 16 Oct 2025As China drafts its 15th five-year plan – the next entry in a line of expansive blueprints that have set the tone for the country’s development over more than seven decades – we examine how these documents inform and reflect high-level policy priorities, what to expect in the coming iteration and why food security is set to remain a cornerstone in Beijing’s push for self-reliance.
AdvertisementFor more stories in this ongoing series, click here. To view SCMP Plus Factsheets on the 15th five-year plan and more premium content, click here.For decades, one of the most common mantras from China’s leadership has been to “firmly hold the rice bowls of th..