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AdvertisementHong Kong propertyBusinessSHKP, Hong Kong’s bellwether developer, posts 36% jump in first-half net profitThe company plans to launch many new residential projects over the next 10 months, including the second phase of Cullinan Harbour in Kai Tak
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPCheryl ArcibalPublished: 6:23pm, 26 Feb 2026Sun Hung Kai Properties’ (SHKP), Hong Kong’s largest developer by market capitalisation, reported a 36.2 per cent year-on-year jump in first-half net profit to HK$10.25 billion (US$1.3 billion).
Revenue rose 32 per cent to HK$52.7 billion for the six months ended December from a year earlier, while operating income increased 10.7 per cent to HK$13.4 billion, the developer said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday. Underlying profit, which discounts property revaluations, gained 17 per cent to HK$12.2 billion.
The revenue, however, missed analysts’ estimates of HK$53.4 billion, while operating income beat forecasts of HK$12.82 ..

AdvertisementWomen and genderChinaPolitics‘Digital public shaming’: Chinese AI tools under fire for pornographic deepfakesGrass-roots group warns AI platforms have ‘sacrificed women’s right to safety’ as non-consensual sexualised images proliferate
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPMeredith ChenPublished: 6:00pm, 26 Feb 2026Chinese AI tools have come under fire for allowing deepfake images that critics say are a form of “digital public shaming” targeting women.Free Nora, a grass-roots feminist media collective in China, reported last week that many internet users had been exploiting the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Doubao to generate non-consensual pornographic images of real women.“In the shadowy corners of social media, a large-scale ‘digital public shaming’ campaign targeting ordinary women has quietly unfolded, fuelled by Doubao,” said a social media article published by the group, which focuses on women’s rights and policy advocacy.AdvertisementDoubao, owned by t..

Bill Gates apologises to foundation staff over Jeffrey Epstein ties

American tech entrepreneur Bill Gates has apologised to staff at the Gates Foundation over his past ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while maintaining that he did “nothing illicit,” according to media reports.The Microsoft co-founder acknowledged in a town hall meeting that his association with Epstein was a “huge mistake” and said it had cast a cloud over the philanthropic organisation’s reputation.“I did nothing illicit,” Gates tells staffAccording to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal, Gates told employees during the town hall: “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.”“To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” he added, as per the Journal report.Gates said that images in the recently released “Epstein files” showing him with women whose faces are redacted were photographs that Epstein had asked him to take with his assistants after meetings.“I apolo..

Egyptian authorities arrested a tour guide after a viral video showed him drawing on the Pyramid of Unas in Saqqara/Image: Screenshot of X video A tour guide has been arrested in Egypt after a video showed him drawing on the exterior stones of the Pyramid of Unas while explaining details to tourists. The incident took place at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo and prompted an investigation by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior. The development was reported by Egypt Today.The Pyramid of Unas is one of Egypt’s most historically significant monuments. It dates back to the Old Kingdom and is around 4,400 to 4,500 years old. It is widely known as the earliest pyramid to contain pyramid texts and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Saqqara site.What happened at the site
According to the ministry’s statement, the Saqqara Tourist Police Station received a report from a local antiquities inspector. The inspector stated that the guide had drawn markings on the outer casing stones o..