This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The parents of a 13-year-old Hong Kong girl critically in need of a new heart and lungs have appealed to the public in hopes of a “miracle”, with the girl fearing she “won’t be able to go home”. In a letter published on Friday, Ching Ching’s parents called on families who have recently lost loved ones to consider donating the needed organs to their daughter,...

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. Here, Teresa Elena Frontado and Igor Patrick look at how Beijing is testing long-standing US influence in the western hemisphere. Asked during the 2024 presidential campaign whether he was concerned about Brazil and Mexico drifting...

Alibaba Group Holding has banned its employees from using Anthropic’s Claude Code for work, citing security risks related to the US artificial intelligence firm’s previous use of hidden code to track Chinese users – a move that has sparked widespread backlash in recent days. “As Claude Code was recently discovered to carry back-door risks, after comprehensive evaluation, Claude Code has now been added to a list of high-risk software with security vulnerabilities,” Alibaba said on Thursday in an...

China has tested a satellite engine with a record-breaking operating life, a key technology that could help propel the world’s largest communications, military and deep-space spacecraft into their intended orbits faster and more reliably. The upgraded engine, developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology in Xian, can produce 750 newtons of thrust, according to Chinese media reports. The Chinese engine fired for 11,617 seconds – 3.2 hours – across five orbit-raising manoeuvres...

Adli Hakimi knows the first obstacle in Johor’s state election is not the ballot box, but the Causeway. The 26-year-old nurse is among Johor’s workers based in the city state – often called “SGD fighters” online for earning stronger Singapore-dollar wages – who are weighing leave, shifts and border queues before polling day on July 11. For Malaysia, the challenge is keeping immigration glitches and Causeway congestion at bay so that these voters can take part in one of the country’s most closely...

Germany ⁠does not have to shy ⁠away from talking up its record on defence spending, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, when asked about US President Donald Trump calling Germany’s past efforts “ridiculous”. The issue of defence spending has loomed large as Nato leaders prepare to gather ‌next week in Ankara, where Europeans aim to set aside strife with Trump over Iran and Greenland and show they are stepping up to defend the continent. “Germany is doubling its defence budget within four...

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said Malaysia would maintain its legal pursuit of Jho Low even if the fugitive financier were to receive a US presidential pardon. Low, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, was charged in 2018 with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the sovereign wealth fund and violating anti-bribery laws in Malaysia. He also reportedly used the stolen loot to gain access to Hollywood A-listers and buy luxury homes, a superyacht and fine art...