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1. Hong Kong restaurant sales drop 10% over Christmas as cross-border trips hit 1.2 million

   Hong Kong’s food and beverage sector recorded a 10 per cent year on year drop in business over the Christmas period, an industry leader said, as 1.2 million trips were made through the city’s borders on the first day of the long holiday. But the city’s hospitality sector appeared to fare better, with one hotel group saying two of its properties recorded more than 90 per cent occupancy and a...

2. The brutal life of child recruits under a shadowy rebel group in DR Congo

   Forcibly recruited into a rebel militia affiliated with Islamic State, two boys have revealed the “torment” of living in its camps as members committed massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast. The two minors freed from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) gave Agence France-Presse an unprecedented account of the shadowy group, notorious for its extreme brutality. Paluku, a frail...

3. Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most potent’ foreign policy weapon

   Israel is cashing in on soaring international demand for combat-proven air defence systems, as analysts say the billions of dollars' worth of weapon sales will significantly expand the country’s influence beyond the Middle East. The weapon exports to Europe, Asia and Africa are helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration overcome its diplomatic isolation over the Gaza war by...

4. Hong Kong probes mainland Chinese driver for using banned autopilot mode in the city

   Hong Kong authorities have vowed to investigate a mainland Chinese driver under the southbound travel vehicle scheme and may suspend his eligibility after he posted a video of himself using adaptive cruise control illegally in the city on social media. The Transport Department said on Friday that it would issue a warning to the driver while urging Guangdong motorists under the “Southbound Travel...

5. Inside Chernobyl: Ukraine races to repair radiation shield as war drags on

   Inside an abandoned control room at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, a worker in an orange hard hat gazed at a grey wall of seemingly endless dials, screens and gauges that were supposed to prevent disaster. The 1986 meltdown at the site was the world’s worst ever nuclear incident. Since Russia invaded in 2022, Kyiv fears another disaster could be just a matter of time. In February, a...

6. China’s reusable rocket failure, PLA’s growth leaves US ‘vulnerable’: SCMP’s 7 highlights

   We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Pentagon says Chinese aircraft carriers, 6th-gen fighters make US ‘vulnerable’ A Pentagon report contends that China’s development...

7. Japan’s record US$782 billion budget to boost military firepower, tame inflation

   The Japanese government on Friday approved a record budget for the coming financial year to pay for everything from bigger defence spending to ballooning social security costs as inflation persists. The 122.3 trillion yen (US$782 billion) budget for the financial year from April 2026 will include some 9 trillion yen for defence spending, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to accelerate...

8. China vows to keep up the fight after record number of ‘tigers’ caught in corruption net

   China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to keep up efforts to fight corruption next year after a record 63 high-ranking officials – known as “tigers” – were placed under investigation on suspicion of graft in 2025. During a meeting on Thursday, top decision-making body the Politburo also discussed a plan to improve conduct within the party, strengthen integrity and combat graft, official news...

9. China’s C919 maker teams up with China Eastern with a bigger variant on the cards: sources

   China’s state-owned planemaker intends to supersize its flagship jet through a partnership with a major domestic carrier to meet rising market demand for bigger narrowbody types, according to sources. The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) signed an agreement with China Eastern Airlines last week to deepen cooperation, including on a stretched variant of the single-aisle C919 that would...

10. Rohingya crisis deepens as Myanmar election offers no hope for return

    Rashid arrived in Langkawi in Malaysia after weeks at sea in a fishing boat crammed with Myanmar’s unwanted: Rohingya Muslims driven out by soldiers and ethnic Buddhist militias who had razed their villages. A decade on, the now 14-year-old has witnessed countless boats arrive on the island over the years, as his stateless community continues to flee persecution. “We did not choose Malaysia...