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Lebanon reports bloodiest day since ceasefire as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Sunday killed 14 people, the deadliest day since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war came into force over a week ago.It came as Israel and the Iran-backed group traded fresh accusations of breaching the fragile truce, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was “vigorously” targeting Hezbollah and the group vowing to keep responding to “violations”. Israel’s military has carried out repeated

North Korea’s Kim vows continued support for Russia...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country would continue to support Russia’s policies and he discussed the international political situation with Russia’s defence minister, state media KCNA reported on Monday. A Russian delegation including Defence Minister Andrei Belousov attended a completion ceremony for a ‌‌memorial honouring North Korean soldiers killed while fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged an incursion in 2024, KCNA said. Russia launched a

Hong Kong’s civil service accountability system will...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

Kudos to the Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan for introducing a two-tier civil service accountability system. This will include giving an independent statutory body, the Public Service Commission, powers to investigate “widespread, repetitive and systemic” management problems, while department heads can investigate problems involving rank-and-file officers. To many, the revamp of the civil service accountability system is long overdue. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu

China launches war on Alzheimer’s that may affect 10%...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

China has launched a comprehensive national campaign against Alzheimer’s, as projections warn the degenerative brain disease could affect nearly 10 per cent of citizens by 2050. With the world’s fastest-growing dementia caseload set to sharply grow by mid-century, China is mobilising top scientific institutions, major biotech firms and dozens of experts to accelerate the development of original treatments. This urgent initiative aims to avert a looming public health and economic crisis,

China city dwellers adopt chickens as pets, treating...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

In several first-tier Chinese cities, chickens, which were once confined to the dinner table, are finding a new role: cherished household companions. On social media, posts and videos about “pet chickens” have racked up over 3.1 billion views, underscoring how they are reshaping perceptions of pet culture in urban China. In southeastern China’s Guangdong province, a local saying goes: “No chicken leaves here alive”, a testament to the region’s love of eating poultry. Yet one woman, Aguai,...

ESF reserves reach HK$3.75 billion, even as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

The reserves of Hong Kong’s largest international school group have more than tripled to HK$3.75 billion (US$480.8 million) in over a decade, even as it taps different income sources to offset shrinking government subsidies, the South China Morning Post has found by reviewing the organisation’s annual reports. The English Schools Foundation (ESF) also said in its annual report for the 2024-25 academic year that it expected increased competition for students and it would modernise its

Magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Japan’s Hokkaido, JMA...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

A strong earthquake rattled Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido early on Monday, US and Japanese meteorological agencies reported, the latest in a series of powerful tremors to hit the island nation. The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 5.23am in Hokkaido’s southern region, at a depth of 83km (52 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported, revising its preliminary estimate of magnitude 6.1. No tsunami alert was issued, JMA said, and the US Geological Survey predicted that damage to...

Japan aims to build world’s largest wind farm. Can it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/27

Japan is planning to build what could become the world’s largest floating wind farm – a gigawatt-scale project off the Izu Islands to power the island chain and Tokyo. But the plan, championed by Governor Yuriko Koike, is facing questions over whether it can be delivered by 2035. There are also doubts about the power generation forecast and whether Japan could tackle the technical demands of such a megaproject. Koike first announced the wind farm project at a climate change conference in...

US Justice Department cites shooting to press...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned US$400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House. “It’s time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said plainly on Sunday on social media, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic...

Trump factor drives up Asia-Pacific military spending...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

Military spending in the Asia-Pacific rose at the fastest pace for 16 years in 2025 as US allies felt “growing uncertainty” over whether Washington would honour its security commitments, according to a new report. Total global spending reached US$2.89 trillion, an increase of 2.9 per cent from 2024, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank said in its annual report on military expenditure published Monday. That marked the 11th consecutive year of increases and...

Daniel Gros on what China can learn from the euro as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

Daniel Gros is the director of the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University. Previously, he served as an adviser to the European Parliament, collaborated with the European Commission as economic adviser to the Delors Committee, which developed plans for the euro, and worked at the International Monetary Fund. In this interview, Gros examines the structural tensions shaping EU-China economic ties, draws lessons from the euro’s experience to analyse the yuan’s...

Why US-led security alliances in Asia are losing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules

Italy to extradite suspected Chinese hacker wanted by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

The Italian government has decided ⁠⁠to extradite a ⁠⁠Chinese man wanted ⁠⁠by US authorities on hacking charges that include stealing Covid-19 medical research, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The government’s decision, which was ‌‌first reported by Bloomberg, follows a ruling by an Italian court earlier this month which said Xu Zewei could be extradited. A representative for Italy’s government declined to comment. Xu’s lawyer Enrico Giarda told Reuters that his

King Charles’ US state visit to go ahead as planned...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

The state visit by Britain’s King Charles to the US would take place as planned, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday, following a shooting at a Washington media gala. The incident late on Saturday at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association came less than 48 hours before Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to the United States. The palace said Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump, the first lady Melania and other guests were unharmed and later on...

Mali junta in crisis after defence minister is killed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

Mali’s military rulers faced a security crisis on Sunday after coordinated nationwide attacks by jihadist fighters and separatist rebels this weekend killed the defence minister and reportedly left a key northern town in rebel hands. There was no word from the junta leader General Assimi Goita, who has not been seen since the attacks began at dawn on Saturday. The offensive, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of...

16 dead in strikes as Chernobyl anniversary...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

Strikes across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia killed at least 16 people, authorities said, as the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster prompted fresh warnings about the risks posed by attacks near the plant during Russia’s more than four-year invasion of its neighbour. The death toll from Russian drone and missile strikes on the city of Dnipro rose to nine, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said on Sunday. One man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the port

Scientists in China create a predator-like material...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

An international research team in China has developed a microscopic “predator-like” material capable of swimming through water and hunting uranium ions, a breakthrough that could open new possibilities for nuclear fuel extraction and cleaning up radioactive pollution. The light-powered material, a metal-organic framework (MOF) micromotor created by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, can autonomously move through water while capturing uranium ions....

Doctor in long-delayed hearing over alleged blunder...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

A Hong Kong doctor accused of a blunder that left a boy permanently disabled 16 years ago said he did not return to the hospital to examine the infant immediately as he initially diagnosed the emergency as a choking case, the Medical Council heard on Sunday. Testifying for the first time at the hearing, Dr Sit Sou-chi contested an allegation that he had failed to conduct all necessary and immediate investigations of newborn Li Yuanjian, the son of a mainland Chinese couple, after the infant

Can parents and children playing video games together...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

A Hong Kong survey has found a 20 percentage point gap in relationship scores between parents and children who play video games together and those who do not. The Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong on Sunday urged parents to adopt a new approach to supervising their children’s gaming habits, encouraging families to take part in such activities together rather than just observing. The group issued the call after conducting a survey of the experiences and attitudes of parents, young children and

Middle East shipping crisis elevates China-Europe...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/26

The China-Europe railway network has evolved in the past decade from a nascent logistical experiment into a growing commercial alternative to maritime and air freight. In the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, it might now be assuming an unanticipated role as a key security provider for transcontinental supply chains. What began as sporadic trial runs has matured into a sprawling web of rail connections that currently links 235 cities across 26 European countries with more than 120 Chinese...

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