South China Morning Post

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ruled out a withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon for the foreseeable future. In a speech, Netanyahu described the “security zone” established by the Israeli military as a barrier between the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and civilians and communities in northern Israel. Israel would not withdraw as long as its se...

Cuba on Thursday unveiled nearly 200 historic free-market reforms aimed at rescuing the communist island from a severe crisis aggravated by a US oil blockade. In a landmark speech to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero detailed 176 measures aimed at rolling back the state’s role in the economy and attracting investment in everything from banking to tourism and a...

Alex Doran, a 28-year-old corporate strategist, is cheering for the US national team and was pleasantly surprised by the size of its initial win against Paraguay last week, while acknowledging that his team is unlikely to go all the way. While he does not expect to attend a match in person involving tickets costing thousands of US dollars, he has been watching avidly online and ...

Under Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s leadership, Hong Kong is drawing up its first five-year plan to complement Beijing’s 2026-30 blueprint. A two-month public consultation exercise has just started. But what is the nation’s 15th five-year plan, why is it important and what’s Hong Kong’s role? China’s five-year plan responds to “great changes unseen in a century”, prescient ...

Vice-President J.D. Vance went on the offensive on Thursday to defend the “win-win” US-Iran agreement as critics slammed its vague provisions, even as others welcomed the apparent end to an expensive and unpopular war, no matter how potentially flawed the deal might be. “We have all the cards,” Vance told reporters at the White House. “Have a little bit of faith in the president...