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The weight of silk: what the honour means for the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Few moments at the Bar are more joyful and surreal than watching one’s former pupil take silk: pride, disbelief and the sudden realisation that someone you still instinctively think of as “junior” is now being bestowed with unmistakable senior seriousness. Last Saturday was, therefore, a sentimental moment for me as I watched my former pupil, Bonnie Cheng, being honoured with the new status at the ceremony. As the old saying goes, every barrister wants to take silk – until one does. The great...

‘Soaking wet’: Hong Kong parents furious after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

Hundreds of parents have criticised Hong Kong’s weather forecaster after children were required to attend school during heavy downpours, with many complaining of flooded streets and difficult commutes even after the year’s first red rainstorm warning was downgraded. The Hong Kong Observatory issued the red rainstorm signal at 2.40am on Thursday as intense rainbands battered the city, followed by a flooding alert for the Northern New Territories. The middle-tier warning, which is issued when...

US to send Typhon, Himars missile systems to Japan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

The US military will deploy its Typhon midrange missile launcher and Himars rocket system to southwestern Japan next month for joint exercises with the Self-Defence Forces, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a move apparently aimed at deterring China. The systems will be deployed to the Maritime Self-Defence Force’s Kanoya Airbase in Kagoshima prefecture during the Valiant Shield and Orient Shield joint exercises between June and September, the sources said. The Typhon...

Hong Kong helpers cry out as popular garden in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

A Hong Kong migrant workers’ group has urged authorities to expand a pedestrian area in Central on Sundays, as a section of a landmark garden that serves as a popular gathering spot for domestic helpers will temporarily close for the construction of a pedestrian underpass. The subway is part of the tender requirements for a Central harbourfront site secured by developer Henderson Land Development. It will run below Statue Square Gardens and connect the Central MTR station at Chater Road to

China beauty influencer returns after 3-year hiatus,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

A former top beauty make-up influencer who has made a whirlwind return to social media after disappearing from view has called on her fans to place their trust in her. The influencer, who previously used the handle @chengshian and had a combined 30 million followers on several leading platforms in China, stopped releasing videos in May 2023, news website Sina reported. She returned to the spotlight on May 13 by opening a new account @Jiang Chenglan, which is her real name. She then amassed 10...

As war engulfs the Middle East, China’s Xinjiang is...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/21

As the war in Iran disrupts global oil and chemical supplies, China’s coal-heavy energy sector is seizing an unprecedented opportunity. In the first of a two-part series, Dannie Peng visits the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang – one of the country’s four major bases for large-scale, modern coal-chemical production – to see first-hand how a vast industrial ecosystem is rapidly taking shape. A four-hour drive northeast of Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, leads to a

How Trump’s revenge tour against Republicans could...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

Sixteen months into his second presidency, Donald Trump may ⁠be as unpopular as he has ever been among the American electorate – but his grip on his ⁠core base of Maga voters remains unshaken. That power was on full display over the last two weeks, as Trump ousted a string of fellow Republicans he considered apostates for not showing him enough personal fealty. The president’s revenge tour continued on Tuesday, when a hand-picked loyalist defeated US congressman Thomas Massie, a frequent

Chinese national charged in alleged scheme to smuggle...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

In a sign of growing cooperation between the US and China in the wake of last week’s summit in Beijing, the US Justice Department announced on Wednesday the arrest in China of an alleged drug smuggler wanted by the US in connection with a sizeable shipment of illegal drugs into the US state of Georgia. As outlined in court records, Wei Gong, also known as David Gong, allegedly imported more than 10 kilograms of various potent stimulant drugs, which he allegedly sold to an undercover agent and...

China’s Chery predicts over 1 million EVs sold abroad...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

Chery Automobile, China’s largest car exporter by deliveries, expects its overseas sales of electric vehicles (EVs) to jump as much as 27 per cent this year, as a global energy crisis spurs demand for battery-powered vehicles. Zhang Guibing, the president of Chery International, said on Wednesday that pure electric and plug-in hybrid models were projected to represent as much as 70 per cent of the carmaker’s total deliveries outside the mainland in 2026. That would equate to roughly 1.05

Hong Kong’s Central Asia pivot to boost belt and road...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

Hong Kong’s push into Central Asia aims to strengthen links between mainland China and the region while reinforcing the city’s role as a professional services hub for belt and road countries, although economic gains may take time, analysts have said. They added that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, given their strategic positions, were logical destinations for Hong Kong to pursue business opportunities amid geopolitical uncertainty and the war in the Middle East. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu...

Will US defence strategy architect Colby pave the way...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

The Pentagon is planning to send a high-level delegation to Beijing within weeks to lay the groundwork for a potential visit by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the South China Morning Post has learned.Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said the delegation was expected to be led by Elbridge Colby, defence undersecretary for policy and a key architect of the 2026 National Defence Strategy. According to the sources, the trip was

Trump says Iran talks are nearing an end but warns of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

US President Donald Trump said his administration’s negotiations with Iran were “in the final stages” on Wednesday, while simultaneously warning of further attacks, as a fragile ceasefire concluded its sixth week with no sign of an end to the war. The US launched “Operation Epic Fury” close to three months ago, in a war that began with strikes inside Iran alongside key ally Israel, which has since spread across the wider Middle East region, killing thousands and disrupting global supply...

US needs to ‘put its footprint back on Greenland’,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

The US special envoy to Greenland, the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, said on Wednesday that Washington needs to rebuild its presence in the Danish autonomous territory. At the height of the Cold War, Washington had 17 military facilities in Greenland, but closed them over the years and currently has just one – the Pituffik base in the north of the island. Trump has repeatedly argued the US needs to control Greenland because of national security concerns, claiming that if it...

Hong Kong’s tourism rebound needs new measures of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

When it comes to tourism, Hong Kong is recovering footfall faster than spending and officials need to realise that the two are not the same. The city’s economy grew by 5.9 per cent year on year in the first three months, its strongest quarterly performance in almost five years, according to the Census and Statistics Department’s advance estimate. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po pointed to a 17 per cent rise in first-quarter visitor numbers and 5.2 per cent increase in retail and catering...

Xi-Putin meeting: everything you need to know from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

We have put together stories from our coverage of Xi and Putin’s meeting in Beijing. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Xi and Putin’s united front – from tigers to trade: the summit takeaways Putin’s trip to Beijing came only days after US President Donald Trump’s closely watched visit to the Chinese capital, the back-to-back summits highlighting the strong trust between Beijing and Moscow and China’s ability to manage ties with the two major...

Ex-US prosecutor charged for sending herself Trump...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

A former federal prosecutor in Florida sent to her personal email account a special counsel report from the investigation into US President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents despite a judge’s order that it remain sealed, according to an indictment made public on Wednesday. Carmen Lineberger, who worked in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and managed its Fort Pierce branch, faces charges including theft of government property and concealment of...

UK radio station mistakenly reports death of King...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

A former British pirate radio station on Wednesday apologised “for any distress caused” after accidentally announcing the death of King Charles. The erroneous announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon due to a computer error at its main studio in Maldon in eastern Essex, Radio Caroline said in a post on social media. The error had triggered the so-called death of a monarch procedure “which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require”, station manager Peter Moore

US charges Raul Castro as Trump administration...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

The United States announced on Wednesday criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro, 94, over his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, an incident that killed four people. The indictment, unsealed by Acting US Attorney Todd Blanche in Miami, includes charges of conspiracy to kill US nationals, destruction of an aircraft and four individual counts of murder against Castro and five other...

Harvard to cap number of A-grades, despite heavy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

More than two-thirds of Harvard University faculty voted to cap the proportion of A-grades in undergraduate courses, instituting one of the strongest policies against grade inflation in US higher education in decades. Starting in the fall of 2027, no more than 20 per cent of a class, plus four additional students, can receive an A. Just under 70 per cent of the votes were in favour of the policy in a week-long electronic vote that concluded on Tuesday. The vote represents a “large mandate for...

HKIC at the helm of Hong Kong’s construction...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Hong Kong’s construction sector stands at a decisive inflection point. A wave of public investment—anchored by the Northern Metropolis, major transport, healthcare and education projects and flagship initiatives such as Skytopia—has sustained demand even as skilled labour shortages and rising input costs squeeze schedules and margins. Those pressures are accelerating a structural shift toward sector specific...

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