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French authorities on Wednesday allowed asymptomatic passengers to leave a British cruise ship, saying a gastrointestinal virus was behind an outbreak of sickness that came after an elderly man died of a heart attack. Earlier, authorities had ordered a lockdown for the more than 1,700 passengers and crew on the vessel, but insisted there was no connection with the hantavirus outbreak suspected of ...
French authorities on Wednesday confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew on a British cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after an elderly passenger died, said officials, who played down any links to the hantavirus scare. Dozens also suffered from upset stomachs aboard the Ambition – most of whose 1,233 passengers are from Britain or Ireland – which arrived in the western port of Bordeaux on Tuesda...
Summer hit South Asia early this year. April saw above average temperatures and the mercury is expected to reach unbearable highs this month. We are also bracing for a “super El Nino”, where a combination of increased heatwaves and highly variable weather patterns are expected to push urban zones, agricultural systems and public health to their limits. South Asia, especially parts of Pakistan, Ind...
Gunshots broke out at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people ran for cover after a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court said his arrest was imminent and security forces entered the building. There were no immediate reports of casualties, however, Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza told reporters following the chaos at the legislature in the capital Manila. Senator Ro...
Volleys of gunshots were heard at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people were told to run for cover, Reuters witnesses heard, as chaos mounted in anticipation of an attempt to arrest a top senator wanted by the International Criminal Court. It was unclear what was happening or who fired the shots. More than 10 military personnel in camouflage fatigues had earlier arrived at the Senate bu...
Asian migrant workers in the Gulf are testing stablecoins as a backup channel for sending money home, as the Iran war heightens fears that the risk of US sanctions could disrupt remittances that millions of families and several Asian economies rely on. Remittances from these workers account for 3 per cent to 5 per cent of gross domestic product in several emerging markets – in Nepal, it is as high...
The Dutch government has objected to a proposed US law that would further restrict semiconductor equipment giant ASML from selling to China and servicing customers in the country. The Dutch company, the global market leader in the lithographic technology used to laser-print tiny circuits onto microchips, has seen its access to the Chinese market severely hampered by US sanctions. Now, as US lawmak...
Keir Starmer faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reported to be readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his government’s agenda. As Starmer and his ministers stood in silence to hear King Charles read out their government’s agenda, the ceremony was overshadowed by what coul...
Keir Starmer faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reported to be readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his government’s agenda. As Starmer and his ministers stood in silence to hear King Charles read out their government’s agenda, the ceremony was overshadowed by what coul...
The authority managing Hong Kong International Airport has taken over the retail and entertainment operations of 11 Skies from New World Development ahead of the opening of the second passenger terminal, the South China Morning Post has learned. Multiple sources said the Airport Authority had assumed control of key components of the 2.66 million sq ft retail and dining space, representing 70 per c...
This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump has arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport for talks with Chinese P...
This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump has arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport for talks with Chinese P...
This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump has arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport for talks with Chinese P...
This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump has arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport for talks with Chinese P...
This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump has arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport for talks with Chinese P...
This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump is set to arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport tonight for talks w...
As the early summer season approaches after weeks of heavy rain, reports of “flying ants” have emerged across Hong Kong, sparking concerns that the insects could cause a nuisance and even damage homes. Social media users also shared photos of the insects circling street lights in the evening or of their carcasses scattered across toilet sinks, with some questioning whether they are in fact termite...
In the hours before Donald Trump’s arrival in Beijing to begin his state visit, an unexpected detail caught the internet’s attention: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s choice of travel attire. Instead of the tailored formalwear typically expected of a top diplomat, Rubio appeared in a grey Nike tracksuit on the Beijing-bound Air Force One – an ensemble social media users quickly recognised as th...
Tesla China has launched a new financing scheme to attract more budget-conscious buyers after its sales in the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market fell behind its domestic rivals. The US carmaker said on Wednesday that the down payment for a Shanghai-made Model 3 vehicle – priced at 235,500 yuan (US$34,672) – would be slashed to 55,900 yuan from 79,900 yuan if the buyer chose a five-year ...
Facing scrutiny and persistent questions over its track record in artificial intelligence, Tencent Holdings’ co-founder and CEO Pony Ma Huateng offered this candid assessment to shareholders on Wednesday: “A year ago we thought we were on the boat, then we found it was leaking.” Speaking at the firm’s annual general meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, Ma signalled the beginnings of a t...
Budget carrier HK Express will cut its fuel surcharge on flights departing Hong Kong to overseas destinations by 12.8 per cent from May 16, reducing the fee by HK$50 (US$6.38) to HK$339 per leg, the airline has said. The reduction, revealed on its website on Wednesday, excludes mainland China routes, and follows lower fuel prices amid the Middle East war. The budget carrier of Hong Kong’s Cathay P...
Some European companies operating in China are shifting more production to the country as part of broader supply chain adjustments in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to a new survey by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. The flash survey of European companies found that more than a quarter of firms had adjusted their supply chain strategies in China following the Middle East con...
Malaysia said on Wednesday it was weighing legal action after Norway blocked the export of missiles ordered for its navy, in a last-minute decision that has dealt a fresh blow to one of the country’s most troubled defence projects. The row centres on the Naval Strike Missile, ordered from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace for Malaysia’s long-delayed littoral combat ship programme. Government spokesm...
Depleted US weapons stockpiles as a result of its war in Iran risk eroding Donald Trump’s bargaining power when he meets Xi Jinping in China this week. Accompanying Trump on the high-stakes trip is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking the first time a Pentagon chief has accompanied a president to Beijing since 1972. The weapons shortages not only raise questions about US preparedness for war in...
Indonesia, already leading Southeast Asia’s push to keep children off risky digital platforms with an under-16 social media ban, now wants to extend those protections to e-commerce after officials said young people had become victims of online scams and unsupervised digital spending. The plan has drawn support from child psychologists, who warn of impulsive consumption among young users. However, ...
For most people, drinking water is an unremarkable daily habit. In ancient China, however, it carried far greater meaning. Water was bound up with social rank, health beliefs, ritual practice and etiquette. As early as the pre-Qin period (Paleolithic Period – 221 BC), Chinese thinkers were already classifying natural water. The ancient encyclopedic text Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals claimed...
Hong Kong’s labour minister has dismissed calls to review the city’s immigration scheme for non-local graduates or to lower thresholds for talent schemes, despite a sharp decline in entry-level roles, arguing that the workforce is shrinking and the number of local degree holders is insufficient to meet demand. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han also said the Employees Retraining Bo...
Henderson Land Development secured the first biodiversity loan in Hong Kong, receiving around HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) from HSBC and Hang Seng Bank for green initiatives at Central Yards, the company’s flagship mixed-use development on the New Central Harbourfront. This loan would provide a “scalable blueprint” for companies to achieve their sustainability goals and enhance Hong Kong’s pos...
Gwanghwamun Square, a plaza in Seoul framed by royal palaces and monuments to Korean national identity, is at the centre of a dispute over whether a massive new Korean war memorial belongs in a public space seen as a major tourist attraction and long associated with civic gatherings and pro-democracy protests. A row of 23 stone monuments representing South Korea and the 22 foreign countries that f...
A 10-year-old girl has told a Hong Kong court that a domestic helper inappropriately touched her when waking her up one morning. Standing trial at Kowloon City Court on Wednesday, helper Lady Jay Santos Flores denied four counts of indecent assault for allegedly molesting the daughters of her former employer. The younger daughter, who was not named in court and testified via video conference, said...
