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1. Hong Kong can’t raise its birth rate without easing education stress

   Hong Kong hit a record low in births last year despite a range of government incentives, including a HK$20,000 (US$2,560) baby cash bonus for new parents launched in 2023. Just 31,714 babies were born last year. This might have come as a surprise for the authorities, which had projected a rise to 39,000 births. So was the baby bonus worth the try? Yes, if we can draw insight from the...

2. 10 killed in Karachi as pro-Iran protests erupt across Pakistan, India

   At least 10 pro-Iranian protesters were killed in clashes with police as they tried to storm the gates of the US consulate in Pakistan’s main port city of Karachi on Sunday. Security forces opened fire at the consulate, resulting in the deaths of 10 protesters, with 34 injured, said Sukhdew Assardas Hamnani, a spokesman for the Sindh government. “The police reached the site and took the...

3. Fines, penalties and forfeitures pump HK$2.1 billion into government coffers

   Fines worth HK$2.1 billion (US$268.39 million) flowed into Hong Kong’s coffers in 2025‑26, nearly 26 per cent more than initially forecast, following an increase in cigarette penalties and a surge in forfeitures. According to budget estimates analysed by the South China Morning Post, the HK$2.1 billion income amounted to 0.3 per cent of the government’s total revenue. The funds were primarily...

4. China boy defends aunt who faces pressure to marry, says she ‘only wants a man with 8-pack abs’

   A woman in southern China who was being pressured by her family to marry has been defended by her nephew, leaving relatives speechless. On February 19, the 26-year-old woman from Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, known online as “I Have a Nephew (Boasting Edition)”, shared a viral video. The clip showed a family gathering during Chinese New Year, where she was introduced to a man in his 30s and...

5. Hong Kong luxury real estate: how a European agent won US$30.45 million penthouse listing

   Minna Honkanen could not have anticipated the seismic events that would grip Hong Kong after she decided to try her luck there in early 2019. Two months after she arrived, unprecedented social unrest engulfed the city, followed immediately by the coronavirus pandemic, which shut borders and restricted travel for more than two years. Least of all did the Finnish national imagine she would become...

6. 5 takeaways from the first 2 days of US-Israel war against Iran

   The United States and Israel’s military campaign against Iran entered a more volatile phase on Sunday, with Washington reporting its first casualties, Tehran widening retaliatory strikes across the region, and energy markets bracing for shock after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict – triggered by US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader and senior officials – is...

7. Asia’s Gen Z go sober as alcohol producers and bars revamp business model

   For her New Year’s resolution, Cheryl Tan decided that she would drink less alcohol on nights out. The 26-year-old Singaporean finance professional said she was starting to find it increasingly difficult to shed the effects of hangovers, rendering her immobile long into the next day. “It seemed like recovery after a night out was taking too long, and I started to scale back so I would be more...

8. HSBC signals intent to join Hong Kong’s stablecoin regime amid digital innovation push

   HSBC, the largest lender in Europe and Hong Kong by assets, has signalled for the first time its intent to engage with the city’s forthcoming stablecoin regime, citing Hong Kong’s sound regulatory environment and its potential to drive innovation in the digital asset space. “We are interested in every part of Hong Kong’s innovation landscape, and we want to play a role in all of it,” CEO Georges...

9. Venezuela’s opposition leader Machado ‘will return to the country in the coming weeks’

   Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado said on Sunday that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in the South American country. Machado did not set a date for her return but said one of the objectives will be to prepare “for a new and gigantic electoral victory”. In a message shared on social media,...

10. Top China shipbuilding voice Li Yanqing on why the US industry can’t be rebuilt overnight

    Li Yanqing, executive vice-president and secretary general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi), discusses the impact of US trade policies, global market cycles and China’s strategic pivot towards high-quality manufacturing. As a shipbuilding veteran who also serves as chairman of the ISO/TC 8 ships and marine technology committee, which oversees international...