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Will fixing Hong Kong’s childcare bottleneck help lift the city’s birth rate?
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Will fixing Hong Kong’s childcare bottleneck help lift the city’s birth rate?

Shortly after Erica Lam found out she was pregnant with her second child, submitting a day care application for her unborn daughter became a top priority, as places at Hong Kong childcare centres were insufficient to meet demand. Even though Lam, a nurse in her early forties, tried to secure a place early, her daughter Ho-yan only managed to enrol in day care services operated by the Sheng Kung Hu...

Nepal floods: could foreign rescue teams have been brought in earlier?
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Nepal floods: could foreign rescue teams have been brought in earlier?

The Nepalese government has appealed for rescue aid from other countries just two days after it reportedly refused help, as several hundred people are still believed to be trapped in hydropower tunnels and thousands remain missing following the catastrophic flash flooding at the border with China last week. Kathmandu’s apparent reversal reflects caution born from its chaotic experience with foreig...

Chief of Japan’s biggest lower house opposition party confirms alliance’s split
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Chief of Japan’s biggest lower house opposition party confirms alliance’s split

The chief of Japan’s largest opposition party in the powerful House of Representatives effectively confirmed on Monday that it would split, following the failure of merger talks with other forces. The break-up of the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) comes around seven months after it was established in January by lower house lawmakers from the left-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (C...

Japan opposition alliance on brink of collapse after merger talks stall
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Japan opposition alliance on brink of collapse after merger talks stall

Japan’s centrist opposition alliance stood on the brink of falling apart on Monday, with sources saying members who joined from the Komeito party just months ago could leave the group. The development follows the collapse of talks on the incorporation by the Centrist Reform Alliance of members of Komeito and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) in a three-way merger to counter the r...

Singapore firms keen to tap Northern Metropolis’ ‘massive potential’, envoy says

Singapore firms keen to tap Northern Metropolis’ ‘massive potential’, envoy says

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Singaporean businesses are keen to explore the “massive potential” emerging in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis megaproject after the country’s prime minister visited the site earlier this year, its top envoy to the city has said. In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Singapore’s consul general to Hong Kong, Eric Teo Boon Hee, said the country’s business chambers were conside...

Chinese team maps South China Sea floor with ‘twice the resolution’ of Western models

Chinese team maps South China Sea floor with ‘twice the resolution’ of Western models

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China has mapped the seabed of its claimed waters including the South China Sea, with twice the resolution and up to five times the accuracy of methods used by other countries after more than two decades of effort, according to scientists involved in the project. The importance of such work was underscored in October 2021, when the US Navy’s Seawolf-class nuclear submarine USS Connecticut struck a...

Don’t leave Hong Kong parents to their own devices on child social media use

Don’t leave Hong Kong parents to their own devices on child social media use

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Hong Kong, a city of overachievers, especially when it comes to the young, is also filled with children who take to social media early. Almost 35 per cent of kindergarten pupils log at least one hour of recreational screen time daily. By the junior forms, 60 per cent exceed the international two-hour daily limit. The time children spend on screens creates friction at home, accounting for 85.5 per ...

Huawei and Apple bend to a tougher market with foldable phones as memory crunch bites

Huawei and Apple bend to a tougher market with foldable phones as memory crunch bites

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Highly anticipated foldable launches from Apple and Huawei Technologies next week are expected to offer a much-needed lifeline to a subdued global smartphone market, which is bracing for an estimated 17 per cent decline in 2026. Apple’s September 9 event has the industry watching closely, with expectations building for its first foldable iPhone to take centre stage alongside standard model refresh...

China teen with zero programming skills earns US$2,600 in 3 days selling AI study app

China teen with zero programming skills earns US$2,600 in 3 days selling AI study app

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A 13-year-old girl in China has earned 18,000 yuan (US$2,600) in just three days from an artificial intelligence (AI) product she developed to assist parents in supervising their children’s study habits. Zhu Shuhan, a Grade Two student at a junior secondary school in Shanghai, has no programming background. She began using AI only last year, as reported by the Shanghai Morning Post. At a national ...

Golden hour: why Hong Kong may finally succeed in becoming precious metal’s trading hub

Golden hour: why Hong Kong may finally succeed in becoming precious metal’s trading hub

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For decades, Hong Kong has been a hub for gold jewellery. Brands such as Chow Tai Fook and Chow Sang Sang have drawn buyers from the world over, aided by the city’s duty-free status and its proximity to one of the world’s largest gold-consuming markets. Two years ago, when officials set the goal of making Hong Kong a global gold trading hub comparable to New York and London, it was met with scepti...

Hong Kong can play unique role in fostering robotics industry: Paul Chan

Hong Kong can play unique role in fostering robotics industry: Paul Chan

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Hong Kong can serve a unique role in the development of the robotics industry, the financial chief has said as he welcomed the coming opening of the city’s first convenience stores operated by humanoid robots developed by a Beijing-based company. Following an opening ceremony on Monday, the first “Galbot stores” will open in Hung Hom, Kai Tak and Wan Chai the next day, marking the company’s first ...

At your service: Hong Kong welcomes first humanoid robot-run convenience stores

At your service: Hong Kong welcomes first humanoid robot-run convenience stores

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Hong Kong’s first convenience stores operated by humanoid robots will open on Tuesday, with the Beijing-based company behind it planning to establish about 10 more outlets locally as it makes the city its first stop in “going overseas”. Following an opening ceremony on Monday, the first “Galbot stores” will open in Hung Hom, Kai Tak and Wan Chai the next day, marking the company’s first outlets ou...

Hong Kong, Singapore aren’t ‘enemies’, our competition is healthy, envoy says

Hong Kong, Singapore aren’t ‘enemies’, our competition is healthy, envoy says

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Singapore and Hong Kong do not view each other as enemies, but rather admire one another’s accomplishments, the country’s top envoy to the city has said, calling for greater cooperation between the two jurisdictions often cast as fierce rivals. Eric Teo Boon Hee, Singapore’s consul general in Hong Kong, said Asia was big enough to accommodate two financial centres and that both sides should work t...

‘Zero sense’ Hong Kong, Singapore are seen as enemies in changing world: envoy

‘Zero sense’ Hong Kong, Singapore are seen as enemies in changing world: envoy

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Singapore and Hong Kong do not view each other as enemies, but rather admire one another’s accomplishments, the country’s top envoy to the city has said, calling for greater cooperation between the two jurisdictions often cast as fierce rivals. Eric Teo Boon Hee, Singapore’s consul general in Hong Kong, said Asia was big enough to accommodate two financial centres and that both sides should work t...

‘Zero sense’ to view Hong Kong, Singapore as enemies in changing world: envoy

‘Zero sense’ to view Hong Kong, Singapore as enemies in changing world: envoy

SCMP

Singapore and Hong Kong do not view each other as enemies, but rather admire one another’s accomplishments, the country’s top envoy to the city has said, calling for greater cooperation between the two jurisdictions often cast as fierce rivals. Eric Teo Boon Hee, Singapore’s consul general in Hong Kong, said Asia was big enough to accommodate two financial centres and that both sides should work t...

Hong Kong, Singapore can work to expand the pie, competition not zero-sum: envoy

Hong Kong, Singapore can work to expand the pie, competition not zero-sum: envoy

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Singapore and Hong Kong do not view each other as enemies, but rather admire one another’s accomplishments, the country’s top envoy to the city has said, calling for greater cooperation between the two jurisdictions often cast as fierce rivals. Eric Teo Boon Hee, Singapore’s consul general in Hong Kong, said Asia was big enough to accommodate two financial centres and that both sides should work t...

Small state, big agenda: Singapore prepares to steer Asean through crisis

Small state, big agenda: Singapore prepares to steer Asean through crisis

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Every bloc needs a chair capable of getting things done – and Southeast Asia watchers say that description fits no country better than Singapore. The city state will get the chance to prove it in the bloc’s 60th anniversary year, after it takes the Asean helm from the Philippines on January 1. Speaking at Singapore’s National Day Rally on August 22, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the world was ...

Hong Kong WhatsApp hijacking scams surge 170% to nearly 2,000 cases

Hong Kong WhatsApp hijacking scams surge 170% to nearly 2,000 cases

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WhatsApp account hijacking scams in Hong Kong surged by nearly 170 per cent to almost 2,000 cases in the first seven months of this year, with one victim losing as much as HK$12.2 million (US$1.55 million). Police said the 1,993 cases logged from January to July represented a 169.7 per cent increase from the 739 cases recorded over the same period last year. The figure also surpassed the 1,669 cas...

Citi’s China-US corridor thrives as mainland firms hedge risks amid trade turbulence

Citi’s China-US corridor thrives as mainland firms hedge risks amid trade turbulence

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Escalating US-China trade friction has failed to dampen corporate activity between the two economies, with Citi reporting steady revenue growth on its North America-China corridor as Chinese companies aggressively deploy risk-hedging strategies to protect their global market share. Instead of retreating from the US market, mainland Chinese firms had leaned heavily on global institutions to navigat...

Google Maps changes Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ for US users after Trump order

Google Maps changes Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ for US users after Trump order

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Google has updated its maps application to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States, reflecting a recent order by US President Donald Trump that changed the name of the lake, the global technology giant said. The Google Maps update comes days after Trump’s order amid an escalating trade war with Canada that has led both countries to impose billions of dollars in added t...

Lake Ontario now called ‘Lake America’ on Google Maps for US users after Trump order

Lake Ontario now called ‘Lake America’ on Google Maps for US users after Trump order

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Google has updated its maps application to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States, reflecting a recent order by US President Donald Trump that changed the name of the lake, the global technology giant says. The Google Maps update comes days after Trump’s order amid an escalating trade war with Canada that has led both countries to impose billions of dollars in added t...

Trita Parsi on why US air strikes strengthened Iran’s hand and failed to trigger a revolt

Trita Parsi on why US air strikes strengthened Iran’s hand and failed to trigger a revolt

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Trita Parsi is co-founder and executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. He is an expert on US-Iranian relations, Iranian foreign policy and the geopolitics of the Middle East. He has written four books on US foreign policy in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Iran and Israel. Born in Iran, Parsi moved to Sweden with his family as a child and then to...

Grand Canyon flash flooding leaves 1 dead, around 15 others missing

Grand Canyon flash flooding leaves 1 dead, around 15 others missing

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At least one person was killed and around 15 others are missing after a flash flood at the Grand Canyon, one of the most popular tourist sites in the United States, the National Park Service said in a statement Sunday. The floods hit the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area on Saturday, forcing dozens of people to evacuate and damaging the sole water pipeline serving the park. The body of a ...

About 15 people unaccounted for after Grand Canyon flash flooding

About 15 people unaccounted for after Grand Canyon flash flooding

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About 15 people may be missing after a flash flood in Grand Canyon National Park, the National Park Service said in a statement Sunday. The floods hit the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area on Saturday, the service said, adding that it was working with Arizona authorities to evacuate people and account for missing individuals. Earlier, the park service said that more than 20 people were be...

At least 20 missing, dozens evacuated from Grand Canyon after flash flood hits creek

At least 20 missing, dozens evacuated from Grand Canyon after flash flood hits creek

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More than 20 people may be missing after a major flash flood at the Grand Canyon, the US National Park Service said on Sunday. The flood forced the evacuation of dozens of people and swept large boulders, metal structures and other debris into the Colorado River that runs through it, the park service said. The flooding in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, happened on Saturday afterno...

Reusable rocket milestone opens a door for Hong Kong’s space ambitions

Reusable rocket milestone opens a door for Hong Kong’s space ambitions

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On the morning of August 19, LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area. After deploying its second stage and payload into orbit, the rocket’s first stage touched down softly at a recovery site in Gansu province using deployable landing legs. It was China’s first successful land-based recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster that had just c...

US strikes Iranian launchers in first action in a month, triggering retaliation

US strikes Iranian launchers in first action in a month, triggering retaliation

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US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Vowing to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack, Iran later said it had launched missiles at US sites in Jordan. Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to...

US strikes Iranian launchers in first action in a month, prompting retaliatory strikes

US strikes Iranian launchers in first action in a month, prompting retaliatory strikes

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US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Vowing to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack, Iran later said it had launched missiles at US sites in Jordan. Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to...

US strikes Iranian launchers in first action in weeks, triggering retaliation

US strikes Iranian launchers in first action in weeks, triggering retaliation

SCMP

US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Iran swiftly vowed to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack. Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, acco...