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News - South China Morning Post

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Not even a quick end to Iran war can save AI stock...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

The Iran war has baked in stagflation and starvation through big reductions in the supply of oil and fertilisers. This inflationary pressure will only increase. As inflation sucks liquidity out of financial markets and into the real economy, bond yields are being pushed up across the world. If bond yields rise by more than a percentage point, a likely scenario before the year’s end, the liquidity diversion could be big enough to pop the AI bubble. The US-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted the...

US voices hope on Iran deal progress before Pakistan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope on Thursday of progress on ending the war with Iran, with mediator Pakistan’s army chief due to arrive in the Islamic republic for talks. The expected visit by Field Marshal Asim Munir, a powerful figure with a growing role in Pakistan’s foreign relations, comes a day after US President Donald Trump warned that negotiations to end the war were on the “borderline” between a deal and renewed strikes. “I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to...

US casts Cuba as China-linked security threat while...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

One day after the United States brought criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro over the 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio portrayed Cuba as both a growing national security threat tied to China and Russia and a candidate for a negotiated political transition. The comments came amid renewed friction between Washington and Beijing over Cuba after China criticised the US charges against Castro and accused...

US foreign affairs chairman warns of China role in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast has warned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of “Chinese malign influence” in a bid for a major contract in Argentina, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The April 23 letter concerns an auction for a 25-year contract to dredge and operate Argentina’s Parana River, a vital waterway for most of ‌the country’s agricultural exports, that Argentina estimates will reach US$10 billion in investment. The terms of the tender, which is in its...

Trump scraps signing AI executive order to keep...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had postponed the signing of a planned executive order on regulating artificial intelligence (AI), out of concern that it might undermine America’s leading position over China in the field. “We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The signing ceremony, which was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was delayed...

UN ‘concerned’ over Taliban law that includes child...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls. The government rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic law and insisting the country has already banned the forced marriage of girls. Afghanistan’s justice ministry published Decree No 18 “on judicial separation of...

Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan becomes first...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan has been named music director designate of the San Francisco Symphony, capping months of intense industry speculation over her next permanent posting. The orchestra announced on May 21 that Chan will officially begin her tenure in September 2027. She will serve an initial six-year term, becoming the first woman and 13th music director in the institution’s 115-year history. The announcement marks a significant milestone for the conductor and places one of

Mother arrested after young French boys abandoned in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Portuguese police on Thursday arrested the mother of two young French boys found abandoned by a main road in the south of the country, alone and crying. The boys, aged four and five, were rescued on Tuesday by a passing motorist near the resort town of Comporta, where they had been left with backpacks containing food and water but no identity documents, according to Portuguese media. A manhunt was launched for the boys’ mother, 41, and on Thursday Portuguese police said they had arrested her

DR Congo police fire warning shots in burial dispute...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Police fired warning shots and tear gas ⁠as part of a dispute in northeastern DR Congo over the burial of a suspected Ebola victim, a footballer who played for local teams, that saw protesters burn down tents for Ebola patients, Reuters witnesses said. The incident highlighted the struggle Congolese authorities could face to enforce the safe burials of people with confirmed and suspected cases that are required to help contain the outbreak. It took place in the town ‌of Rwampara, which has

Court annuls leadership of Turkey’s main opposition...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

An Ankara court on Thursday annulled the 2023 leadership election of Turkey’s main opposition CHP party, state news agency Anadolu reported, in a sharp escalation against the country’s embattled opposition.The ruling overturns the result of the leadership election that brought in current party head Ozgur Ozel and ordered that the party’s former long-term chairman, Kemal Kilicdaroglu – who lost the election to Ozel – take over as interim leader. In response, the party urged its senior

Historic Legco trip to Beijing to include tech sector...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

All 90 Hong Kong lawmakers are set to head to Beijing for a historic “national affairs study visit” in July, attending seminars, visiting key authorities and inspecting the tech sector during their week-long trip. The visit to the capital from July 19 to 25, which will include seminars on national security and geopolitical issues, is expected to cost about HK$1.4 million (US$179,000) in total, according to a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Thursday. The estimated cost for each...

Hong Kong mobile ice cream vendor told to stop...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Hong Kong authorities have ordered a licensed mobile ice cream vendor in Central to stop selling soft ice cream after a sample was found to contain coliform bacteria levels exceeding the legal limit. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s Centre for Food Safety said on Thursday that the sample contained 310 coliform bacteria per gram, more than three times the limit of 100 per gram under the Frozen Confections Regulation. The watchdog said it had informed the licence holder of the...

China and Russia unite on world order, but Putin...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit this week offered China another opportunity to showcase its diplomatic weight after hosting US President Donald Trump. But behind the display of solidarity and trust, the packed trip appeared to yield few concrete gains for Moscow – notably no deals on the closely watched Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project. Still, Chinese observers said the trip reflected the shared push by Beijing and Moscow for a multipolar world order, even as economic and

Operation targeting fire safety in old Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Hong Kong authorities are extending an operation targeting poorly maintained fire safety equipment for another two years, aiming to inspect 5,000 high-risk old buildings after an initial phase resulted in 75 prosecutions. Law Kin-san, acting senior divisional officer for policy at the Fire Services Department, said on Thursday that ad hoc checks on high-risk buildings would prioritise residential blocks wrapped in scaffolding nets and those undergoing major renovation. “Unlike new buildings,...

Inside YMTC’s IPO plans: how is China’s 3D NAND...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

China’s push for semiconductor self-reliance is hitting the capital markets. The parent company of Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), the nation’s leading 3D NAND flash memory manufacturer, officially started the tutoring process for an initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday, according to a filing with the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Citic Securities and China Securities are acting as tutoring institutions. Meanwhile, its peer, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s...

2 Chinese supertankers join flotilla exiting Hormuz...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Three fully laden supertankers – including two Chinese vessels – crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, in a possible sign that Tehran may be starting to open up the vital waterway to more shipping traffic. The exit of the three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) came on the same day that Iran confirmed it had allowed 26 vessels to transit the strait – a hefty uptick compared with the level of traffic Iranian forces have generally permitted since the war began. The moves appeared to signal

Police to investigate suspected airgun damage to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

A Hong Kong resident has reported suspected airgun damage to her flat window in Yuen Long, with a district councillor warning that similar incidents may have occurred at the same public housing estate. Police said on Thursday that a 64-year-old woman reported the case at about 12.30pm, after discovering damage to a window at her flat in Shek Ping House in Long Ping Estate. The woman told police she found a 2mm steel pellet on her bed on Monday, but did not initially suspect anything. She

Morocco building collapse kills at least 4

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

At least four people were killed and six others injured when a four-storey building collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of ‌Fez, about 200km (124 miles) east of Rabat, local authorities said on Thursday. State media 2M had said 11 people were killed before issuing an official correction. Authorities said a search for others ⁠who might still be buried was ongoing. Local media showed ‌footage of rescuers and residents digging through the rubble. An investigation has been launched ‌into the...

US jobless claims fall as lay-offs remain low despite...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Fewer Americans filed for jobless aid last week as lay-offs remain low despite a number of uncertainties that continue to cloud the economy. US applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 16 fell by 3,000 to 209,000, the Labour Department reported Thursday. That is fewer than the 213,000 new applications analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet had forecast. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for US lay-offs and are close to a real-time

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