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Shenzhen’s 24-hour spa, a glimpse of 1970s Hong Kong:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

We have selected seven lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Saunas, sure. But sleep? A couple stays overnight at a 24-hour spa in Shenzhen A writer and her husband visit Shenzhen’s Tenz spa to see what it offers besides massages and how easy it is to get a good night’s rest there 2. Photographer’s snaps of 1970s Hong Kong given life by grandson 5 decades on During the

Xi’s back-to-back meetings with Trump and Putin in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

The presidents of the United States and Russia visited Beijing on separate trips in May to meet with President Xi Jinping. The South China Morning Post produced extensive coverage of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s summit meetings in Beijing. Here are some of the highlights of our coverage, showing you what happened, what it means, and what’s next. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. The Xi-Trump summit is over. What comes next in the US-China...

China-Russia joint statement on Xi-Putin summit

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

China and Russia released a joint statement on Thursday in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin a day earlier, during which the two leaders signed an agreement to boost strategic ties and a separate declaration to push for a multipolar global order and witnessed the sealing of more than 20 agreements on cooperation in areas including energy, trade and science and technology.China-Russia Joint Statement by scmp

Starmer’s leadership challenger Streeting floats UK...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Former British ⁠health minister Wes Streeting, a ⁠potential candidate for the leadership of the Labour Party, said he backed the introduction of tax changes which would equalise capital gains tax with income tax to make the system “fairer”. Streeting ‌said on Saturday that he wanted to challenge embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer if there is a contest, days after he stepped down and urged Starmer to set a timetable for his departure. The former health minister, who has already said he...

What Lee’s Netanyahu ‘war criminal’ remark means for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s declaration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a “war criminal” underlines the balancing act between his human rights convictions and commitment to protecting Seoul’s interests in the Middle East, analysts have said. Lee’s comments came as Seoul was pushing for the release of two South Korean nationals detained by Israeli forces while attempting to reach the Gaza Strip aboard humanitarian aid boats, drawing attention to his willingness to...

US denies role in Norway’s cancelled missile sale to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

The United States has denied any role in Norway’s decision to cancel a missile sale to Malaysia, saying it had supported the acquisition, after the dispute raised questions over Washington’s influence on weapons deals involving American-made components. The dispute centres on Naval Strike Missiles (NSMs) built by Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace for a fleet of new Malaysian combat ships, with Kuala Lumpur saying it had already paid 95 per cent of the contract, valued at €126 million...

Jailed banker ties roil Flavio Bolsonaro’s Brazil...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Brazil’s right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro was riding high in the polls until the news broke of his ties to a banker jailed over a multimillion-dollar fraud scandal. The 45-year-old senator had been polling neck-and-neck with 80-year-old President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is expected to seek a fourth term in presidential elections in October. But a change may be under way following the publication of an audio recording by investigative outlet The Intercept in which...

Police probe theft of HK$8 million in luxury wines,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Hong Kong police are investigating a burglary at a seaside luxury house in Tai Po, where a businesswoman lost an estimated HK$8 million (US$1.02 million) worth of premium wines, Mao-tai liquor and vintage tea leaves, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source on Thursday said that the victim, a 53-year-old local businesswoman, reported the break-in at around 5.47pm on Wednesday after returning from a trip to mainland China. The insider said the woman had left her home at the Mayfair

Anxiety, depression plague up to 66% of Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

As many as two-thirds of 158 subdivided housing tenants supported by an NGO in Hong Kong have shown signs of anxiety or depression, highlighting calls for stronger counselling and social support. The Kwun Tong Methodist Social Service (KTMSS) said on Thursday that it had served 158 families living in subdivided flats in the district in 2024-25, about half of whom had at least one child with special educational needs. The households had an average income of about HK$15,350 (US$1,960), with

Alibaba signals next phase of AI growth from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Alibaba Group Holding’s heavy investments in artificial intelligence have moved beyond the “initial” phase and entered “full-scale commercialisation”, the Chinese e-commerce and cloud computing giant says in a shareholder letter as it doubles down on AI as its next major growth engine. “We expect the addressable market for companies like Alibaba that provide full-stack AI capabilities is poised to grow exponentially,” chairman Joe Tsai and CEO Eddie Wu Yongming said in a joint shareholder

China woman develops 8cm throat ulcer after quickly...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

A Chinese woman developed an eight centimetre throat ulcer after eating hotpot too quickly, prompting her doctor to warn about the risks of such behaviour. The 42-year-old, surnamed Wang, from Changsha in central China’s Hunan province, was diagnosed with an oesophageal ulcer after gulping down the food. She said she was too “hungry and carried away” while chatting with friends over hotpot on a cool day in March. She did not wait for the food to cool down after taking it from the pot, and...

Hong Kong privacy watchdog warns of fake retailer...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has warned of a new scam in which fraudsters impersonate an electrical appliance retailer to offer compensation or product replacements, with losses totalling HK$17,000 (US$2,170) in one case. A spokesman for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said on Thursday that it had received 24 complaints and seven inquiries in recent months related to such claims. All complainants were customers of the electrical appliance brand Built-in Pro. “Even if...

Cambodia raids buildings linked to Chen Zhi, Chinese...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Cambodian authorities have raided two buildings in Phnom Penh’s Prince Plaza Centre, which is linked to extradited Chinese billionaire Chen Zhi, and detained 104 individuals, including 82 Chinese nationals, local media reported. The move comes as governments around the world have intensified their crackdown on an alleged multibillion-dollar online scam empire since Chen’s arrest. The raid, a joint operation by Phnom Penh police, the country’s Commission for Combating Technology-Based Scams...

Omega-3 could hurt the brain, China scores rare-earth...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Could omega-3 supplements hurt the brain? Chinese military study flags risks Oral fish oil intake may not improve and could even speed up cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, a research team from China’s Army Medical University has found. 2. China’s northeast, poor in rare earths, scores big...

Thai ⁠Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s health declines amid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

The medical ⁠condition of Thai ⁠Princess Bajrakitiyabha has ⁠worsened as a result of multiple infections in several organs, with doctors unable to contain her irregular heart ‌rate, the Royal Palace said in a statement on Thursday. The 47-year-old princess and eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn was taken to hospital in December 2022, after she collapsed ⁠from a heart condition and other infections. ‌She has been in a coma ever since. After years of treatment, doctors discovered a...

Xi’s key interactions with US and Russian presidents

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

US President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing on May 13 was Xi Jinping’s 18th meeting with a US president since he became China’s leader in 2013. Xi has previously held talks with presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as with Trump during the US leader’s first term. By comparison, Xi has had more than 40 physical meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the same period.

Tesla’s FSD launch in China heats up competition with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Tesla has announced the widely anticipated roll-out of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in China, just one week after company founder and CEO Elon Musk travelled to Beijing as part of a state visit by US President Donald Trump. The arrival of the system will raise the self-driving game in a market where level three (L3) automated driving has been legalised. “FSD Supervised” was now available in China and nine other countries including the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South

Man injured in Hong Kong 10-vehicle crash during rush...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

At least one man was injured in a 10-vehicle pile-up on Hong Kong’s Tuen Mun Road during the Thursday morning rush hour. Police received the first report of the collision near Sham Tseng Fire Station on the Yuen Long-bound fast lane of the major highway at 7.47am, while an amber rainstorm warning was in force. A private car driver in his 30s reported hand injuries after his vehicle’s airbag deployed during the crash, the force said, adding that three ambulances were dispatched to the...

China’s Xi Jinping expected to visit North Korea as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

President Xi Jinping is expected to visit North Korea as early as next week, Yonhap news agency has reported, as Beijing and Pyongyang’s long-standing ties have grown warmer in recent months. “We have obtained intelligence indicating that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea soon,” the South Korean agency said, citing a government source. Another government official told Yonhap that Xi might visit North Korea later this month or early next month. A separate source said the Chinese

Nvidia’s H200 sales prospects in China remain...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Nvidia has not generated any revenue from H200 chip sales to China and remains uncertain whether the product will be allowed into the country, the US chip giant said on Wednesday, underscoring how geopolitics continues to cloud its access to one of the world’s largest AI markets even as global demand for its data centre processors surged to a record high. While Washington has approved licences for H200 shipments to China-based customers, Colette Kress, Nvidia’s executive vice-president and

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