Brazil’s Lula hails ‘bold’ Chinese investors as rival pitches rare earths to Trump

South China Morning Post - Oct 2, 2026

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva named China as a possible partner in his critical minerals plans, three days before Sunday’s closely fought election. Lula told Flow, one of the country’s most-watched podcasts, on Thursday evening that Brazil should stop shipping out raw ore. “We want to transform them here in Brazil,” he said of the minerals. Asked whether China fit into his plans, Lula said it could be a partner “bringing technology to us”, as could the United States. “[Donald]...

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Hong Kong to relax ad rules for broadcasters to boost business edge, minister says

Hong Kong to relax ad rules for broadcasters to boost business edge, minister says

Hong Kong authorities plan to relax restrictions on indirect advertising for broadcasters amid fierce competition from online and streaming media, the commerce minister has told the South China Morning Post. In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah said many broadcast operators had requested to review the Generic Codes of Practice for Television to improve the business environment, and the government had responded. “They’re...

Residents near Xiangjiang River battlefields keep history alive

Residents near Xiangjiang River battlefields keep history alive

Residents near Xiangjiang River battlefields keep history alive

Malaysia is building a new research corridor across Asia to meet China’s rise: scientists

Malaysia is building a new research corridor across Asia to meet China’s rise: scientists

When chemical engineer Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah joined Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) 22 years ago, Western institutions dominated the field, from global research infrastructure and high-impact publications to the greatest breakthroughs. Two decades later, the centre of gravity has moved eastward, says Zuhairi, now a professor with the USM school of chemical engineering in Penang. “[Not much was known] about China at that time when I joined the university. I knew that they had quite a number of...

Hong Kong vs Singapore in tackling bad behaviour

Hong Kong vs Singapore in tackling bad behaviour

Singapore is doing something about uncivilised behaviour on public buses. The city state has started enforcing new regulations that carry an immediate fine of up to S$500 (US$390) if you put your feet up on seats, play loud audio on your phone or make a nuisance of yourself in other ways such as eating, drinking and littering. This aligns with existing rules governing passenger conduct on Singapore’s MRT railway system. Did you know we have long had similar regulations for Hong Kong’s MTR...

Hongkongers lose HK$220 million to customer service scams in August

Hongkongers lose HK$220 million to customer service scams in August

Scams involving fraudsters posing as customer service officers caused losses of over HK$220 million (US$28.2 million) in August in Hong Kong, more than triple the monthly average in the first seven months of the year, police have said. The police force also warned that scammers had shifted their modus operandi from using phishing links to taking real-time control of victims through direct calls and screen sharing, or tricking them into installing a malicious app that turned mobile phones into a...

North Korea's border fortification raises questions over DMZ buffer role

North Korea's border fortification raises questions over DMZ buffer role

North Korea’s continued construction of minefields, fences and barriers along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) is raising questions over whether its border fortification campaign is changing the role of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has served as a military buffer between the two Koreas since the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement. The risks are becoming more apparent as North Korea builds fortifications close to the MDL in areas where Seoul, Pyongyang and the United Nations Command (UNC) do not always agree on the exact location of the line. North Korean troops have repeatedly crossed the MDL during construction work, prompting warning broadcasts and warning shots from the South Korean military. North Korea began clearing land, laying mines and building fences, barriers and tactical roads along the MDL in 2024, after leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean relations as those between “two hostile states.” The South Korean military expects the project to be completed around 2028. As of August, land-clearing work was about 90 percent complete, while construction of fences and m

N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward East Sea amid tensions over DMZ blast

N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward East Sea amid tensions over DMZ blast

North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea's military said, after Pyongyang has denied responsibility for last week's mine blast along the inter-Korean border. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch at about 6:30 a.m. from the Wonsan area, without elaborating. "The South Korean military has stepped up surveillance for potential additional launches and is maintaining an all-out readiness posture while sharing relevant information with the United States and Japan," the JCS said in a notice. The latest launch came amid heightened inter-Korean tensions following the Sept. 21 blast of North Korean land mines inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. The incident left three South Korean soldiers injured, two of them seriously. The South Korean military has blamed North Korea for the mine blast, calling it a "blatant violation" of the armistice agreement. Seoul has also demanded apology from Pyongyang and urged it to halt border fortification work. North Korea denied its involvement in a statement issued

Chinese manufacturers dominate Latin America's bus fleet

Chinese manufacturers dominate Latin America's bus fleet

Chinese manufacturers dominate Latin America's bus fleet

US blast simulation targets China’s alleged secret nuclear testing

US blast simulation targets China’s alleged secret nuclear testing

The US has conducted a non-nuclear underground experiment to enhance its ability to detect low-yield nuclear explosions that it explicitly linked with a test that Washington suspects China carried out in 2020 – an accusation Beijing denies. The US Department of Energy announced on Wednesday that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) conducted a “subsurface, non-nuclear chemical high-explosive” experiment at the Nevada National Security Site, which it said aimed to “increase the...

‘No retreat’: key Trump ally urges continued US-China engagement on rare earths

‘No retreat’: key Trump ally urges continued US-China engagement on rare earths

US Republican Senator Steve Daines, a close aide to President Donald Trump and a key interlocutor between Washington and Beijing, has called on the two capitals to stay engaged and “not retreat” over differences on issues including rare earth supply chains. Daines told the South China Morning Post that both sides still had issues that predated Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington last week and that they would continue working on them after the summit. “So that’s again why...

US man arrested over alleged $300 million scheme to smuggle Nvidia AI servers to China

US man arrested over alleged $300 million scheme to smuggle Nvidia AI servers to China

Amid intensifying competition in the AI technology race, US authorities have arrested a California technology company owner accused of using Malaysia and Singapore as transit points to circumvent US export controls and send more than US$300 million worth of restricted computer servers to China. Greg Lui, 38, also known as Yiu Kong Lui, of San Gabriel, was arrested on Thursday and charged with conspiracy to violate US export controls, outbound smuggling and conspiracy to commit money laundering,...

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