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Middle powers would be better off hedging their bets rather than picking sides between countries such as the United States or China, a forum in Beijing heard on Friday. This view echoed the comments made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at Davos earlier this year when he said such countries should unite in the face of a “rupture in the world order”. Speakers at Tsinghua University’s World Pe...
A PLA Navy officer who helped evacuate hundreds of Chinese nationals during the Sudanese civil war has recounted that many burst into tears upon arriving at the ship, telling visitors at a barracks open day in Hong Kong the experience had left an indelible mark. The mission was carried out by the guided-missile destroyer Nanning, which along with the guided-missile frigate Hengyang, is making a fi...
Chinese firms not only operate, finance or hold stakes in about one third of all ports in Africa, but Beijing now also controls the software, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools that run the infrastructure. And that reach extends well beyond the docks, with Beijing financing and operating the road, rail and warehousing networks connected to these ports and other maritime projects acr...
Hong Kong’s development chief has welcomed collaboration between property developers and industry operators in bids for the Northern Metropolis pilot project, saying the consortium reflected diversity and the government’s aim of pairing the two sectors. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho made the remarks on Saturday despite the government only receiving two bids for the flagship Hung...
A 16-year-old boy remains in a critical condition with a suspected brain haemorrhage after he was believed to have been knocked from behind by a classmate while climbing through a classroom window at his school, the South China Morning Post has learned. The Education Bureau said on Saturday that it was “deeply concerned” about the incident, which occurred the previous day, and that the school invo...
Pope Leo on Saturday visited Italy’s Lampedusa island, a major port of call for migrants risking the perilous crossing from Africa, in a stark message to US and EU leaders. The Catholic Church’s first US pope, who has clashed with the administration of President Donald Trump over its treatment of migrants, is marking July 4, the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence, on a migration fron...
The government-appointed administrator of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court will hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) with owners of the flats on July 19, ending months of delays. In a notice issued on Saturday, Hop On Management Company said it would host the meeting simultaneously via live broadcast across four locations for owners of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po – the site of Hong Kong...
Almost anywhere you look these days, you can find claims from political, academic and other various sources that China’s supposed overproduction and exports of manufactured goods pose unfair advantages. These sources may also claim such unfair advantages justify protectionist countermeasures. But it is difficult to counter one’s own folly. For decades, the US, much of Europe and even Japan, long p...
A top social media agency in mainland China, suspended from business operations two years ago for selling fake Hong Kong brand mooncakes, is back in the spotlight for selling live-streaming courses. Three Sheep Network, based in eastern Anhui province, boasts top influencers Zhang Qingyan and Zhang Kaiyang, who are twin brothers. The former, better known as Crazy Younger Brother Yang, has 95 milli...
When Chelsea Wang travelled to Seoul with two friends in late April, they barely visited any of the city’s palaces or tourist attractions. Instead, their three-and-a-half-day itinerary revolved around duty-free shopping, beauty treatments, hair salons and cosmetics stores. Wang arrived with a shopping list of her own: a backpack she estimated would cost at least 500 yuan ($70) less than in China, ...
Thousands of opponents of Germany’s far-right AfD took to the streets of Erfurt on Saturday and blocked roads to the party’s annual conference ahead of regional elections that could see it take power at state level for the first time. Protesters from unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties gathered as large numbers of police, including reinforcements from across Germany, were deployed ...
The first phase of Hong Kong’s Hetao innovation hub, a key cross-border initiative under the Northern Metropolis megaproject, has been well received, with two of its wet laboratory buildings fully leased, its chairman has revealed. Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Kevin Choi Kit-ming, who also chairs the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Cha...
The first phase of Hong Kong’s Hetao innovation hub, a key cross-border initiative under the Northern Metropolis megaproject, has been well received, with two of its wet laboratory buildings fully leased, its chairman has revealed. Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Kevin Choi Kit-ming, who also chairs the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Cha...
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a major tourism drawcard, has avoided being listed as endangered despite the United Nations reporting “utmost concern” about mass coral bleaching and the impact of climate change. Canberra welcomed on Saturday the draft decision by Unesco to maintain the World Heritage status of the 2,300km-long (1,426-mile) reef stretching along the coast of Queensland state. Unesc...
The Gaza war was the spark that touched off years of Middle East conflict culminating in the US-Israeli war with Iran, but as Washington and Tehran wrangle over terms for peace, the devastated territory’s fate seems largely out of mind. “Ever since the United States went to war with Iran, the whole world has forgotten Gaza and its tragedy. We no longer have anyone standing by us,” Palestinian Ahme...
The life-size robotic elephants in Prasanth Prakashan’s backyard workshop have ears that flap, tails that swish and trunks that squirt water. But that’s about all they have in common with their real-life counterparts revered across India as manifestations of the divine. The animatrons, crafted from fibreglass, iron and rubber, are intended to take the place of live elephants in Hindu temples. The ...
Funeral ceremonies for Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei officially began on Saturday, state television reported, an event drawing thousands and intended to serve as a show of strength to the Islamic republic’s foes. Iranian authorities say they anticipate between 15 and 20 million participants in Tehran alone over the next three days for tributes to the man who ran the country for three-and...
How many crises does it take to change the way the world trades? For Asia, the answer appears to be three. First Covid closed the factories that fed the logistics networks, then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine choked off Black Sea grain exports and sent energy prices spiralling. Now, the US-Israel war on Iran may have hammered the final nail in the coffin of “just in time” supply chains that some eco...
Former Hong Kong lawmaker Andrew Wan Siu-kin has been released from prison after completing his jail term in a landmark subversion case, saying he hopes to turn a new page in his life. Wan, of the now-defunct Democratic Party, left Stanley Prison on Saturday morning in a seven-seater believed to have been arranged by police. He expressed gratitude to his supporters in a subsequent social media pos...
America turns 250 on Saturday – a landmark birthday that coincides with a time of deep national division and a president determined to seize the festive centre stage. The independence anniversary also comes in the middle of a brutal heatwave that has placed some 160 million Americans under major or extreme heat warnings, playing havoc with planned parades and block parties in towns and cities acro...
US President Donald Trump lashed out on Friday at what he called a fresh threat against the country’s identity, taking aim at domestic “radicals and extremists” on the eve of America’s 250th birthday. In a speech dripping with patriotism, Trump lauded American exceptionalism and praised its past leaders, speaking at Mount Rushmore with its giant carved heads of four of his legendary predecessors. ...
While most Hong Kong children find sanctuary at home, Bobo* spent her primary and secondary school years constantly on high alert, always looking for a new place to hide in her flat. “Every single day I had to figure out how to avoid that person, how to find another safe spot inside the flat,” said the young woman, who suffered repeated sexual abuse by a family member. Another girl, Mui*, said nig...
Starting in September, Wang Ming’s 12-year-old son will need to go to school in a city 120km (75 miles) from his home in Beijing. Originally from northeastern China, Wang and his wife have lived in Beijing for more than 20 years. But even though they work for a bank and insurance company, they have never been able to obtain a hukou – the household registration document that serves as proof of resi...
Starting in September, Wang Ming’s 12-year-old son will need to go to school in a city 120km (75 miles) from his home in Beijing. Originally from northeastern China, Wang and his wife have lived in Beijing for more than 20 years. But even though they work for a bank and insurance company they have never been able to obtain a hukou – the household registration document that serves as proof of resid...
A dangerous heatwave upended Fourth of July celebrations across swathes of the central and eastern United States on Friday, forcing officials in the nation’s capital and elsewhere to cancel or postpone dozens of parades, concerts and fireworks displays. Among the events disrupted by the sweltering heat was the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, a centrepiece of President...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory lifted its amber rainstorm warning on Saturday afternoon, but said the city would continue to face unsettled weather, including strong winds, swells and heavy showers, until the middle of next week. The forecaster issued the warning at...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory issued an amber rainstorm warning on Saturday afternoon after saying the city would still face unsettled weather – including strong winds, swells and heavy showers – until the middle of next week. The forecaster issued the rainstorm wa...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory issued an amber rainstorm warning on Saturday afternoon after saying the city would still face unsettled weather – including strong winds, swells and heavy showers – until the middle of next week. The forecaster issued the rainstorm wa...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory has cancelled the No 1 typhoon signal but warned the city will still be hit by strong winds, swells and heavy showers, with unsettled weather expected to continue until mid next week. The forecaster replaced the standby typhoon signal,...
As Hong Kong moves forward with its huge new Northern Metropolis development zone, analysts argue the government should take a cautious approach to land sales to help sustain the recent recovery in the residential property market. The large-scale project near the border with the Chinese mainland continues to progress, as the government set a tender deadline for midday on Friday for several plots i...
