Superquiz, Thursday, November 5

Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here In the wake of Democrats’ sweeping victory in congressional elections, Asian countries are weighing how their ties with the US will shift under a lame-duck Trump administration. Observers expect the “blue wave” midterm results will push the Trump administration to heighten pressure on Washington’s Asian allies for greater US investment and increased defence cost-sharing. In South Korea, analysts have predicted that managing relations with Washington will...

Customers flooded social media sites to report confusion after receiving missed calls from people they said they hadn’t even phoned.

Hong Kong’s education minister has shot down a suggestion to turn the final stretch of undergraduate degree programmes into an internship period to boost employability, amid a fall in entry-level jobs due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said on Wednesday that university courses should not be changed solely to meet manpower needs or be based on single indicators such as labour market supply and demand data. She was responding to lawmaker...

The installation of anti-ram bollards costing HK$5 million (US$637,230) has begun at a busy crossing in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay to prevent vehicles from mounting crowded pavements, sparking debate over whether the safety barriers justify the price tag. By Wednesday afternoon, workers had installed four fixed bollards along the pavement outside the landmark Sogo department store, while construction continued on the ground behind temporary barriers. Officials said the bollards and crash barriers...

Serial sex offender Dennis McKenna could be free from jail within two weeks.

Hongkongers will be able to create advance medical directives electronically on the city’s eHealth record platform as early as next year, setting out which life-sustaining treatments they do not wish to receive when terminally ill, authorities have said. In a written reply to lawmakers on Wednesday, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the electronic service for advance medical directives, which currently exist in paper form only, would be rolled out “in phases”. He said that...

The decision by a global law institute to open its first overseas office in Hong Kong reflects the city’s importance as a forum for legal international exchange, bolstered by its common law system and close ties to mainland China, a former justice minister has said. Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, secretary general of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) and a former secretary for justice, said on Wednesday that the opening of the regional office of the International Institute for the...

Hong Kong’s first luxury expo is more than a showcase, offering international brands opportunities to find partners and develop business, the city’s financial chief has said, while exhibitors noted that bringing different sectors under one roof can help them reach new customers. The inaugural Festival of Connoisseurs, organised by Informa Markets, is the first exhibition supported by the government’s HK$100 million (US$12.7 million) initiative to attract high-quality, large-scale international...

Two truck drivers have died in a catastrophic crash on the Great Eastern Highway west of Perth.

Australian software giant Canva is the latest tech company hit by the AI boom, letting go of nearly 1300 staff.

Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here Democrats won control of both chambers of the US Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, dealing a heavy blow to President Donald Trump as voters vented frustration over rising costs and the Iran war. With Democrats set to take over Congress in January, they will have the power to block Trump’s agenda and investigate his administration. Under these conditions, the president is expected to face a far more constrained final two years in office, with...

While the tabloids get cut down.