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China teacher slams student’s complaint about lack of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

A Chinese student’s complaint about the lack of benches in a university smoking area has been strongly rejected by a teacher, reigniting discussions on smoking publicly in China. The student at the Xian International Studies University, in northwestern Shaanxi province, made the complaint in the school’s internal feedback channel. The complainant said the lack of benches made smoking too “exhausting” and asked the school to provide more. A university teacher responded with a lengthy letter...

Joint Nigeria-US strikes kill 175 Isis fighters

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

A joint operation by the United States and Nigeria against Islamic State fighters has killed 175 over the past few days, Nigeria’s military said on Tuesday, while the head of the US Africa Command said it showed the capabilities its forces could bring in Africa, home to the “epicentre of global terrorism”. The US sent troops to Nigeria in February in what was deemed a mostly advisory and training role, but the joint operation signals more active involvement. The US Africa Command, or AFRICOM,...

Bolivia’s capital under siege as protests and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz faces a deepening crisis as widespread protests and blockades leave the political capital under siege less than six months after he took office. Two weeks of road closures – spearheaded by the Bolivian Workers’ Central, COB, peasant unions and miners – have emptied markets in La Paz and depleted vital hospital oxygen reserves. The government reported that at least three people died after emergency vehicles were blocked from reaching medical centres. On Monday,...

Xi and Putin’s united front – from tigers to trade:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday. 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 powers. Here are the main takeaways from their talks on Wednesday. Unity amid turmoil Xi and Putin sought to present a united front to the rest of

China ‘outpacing the US’ in biotech race to find cure...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

Chinese researchers claim to be outpacing international competitors in the development of stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease, citing higher efficiency and a faster clinical trial timeline. Parkinson’s is often described as a movement disorder. Its symptoms are caused by the brain’s failure to produce sufficient dopamine, because of the death or dysfunction of the specialised neurons responsible for generating the chemical. In the search for a cure, researchers around the world are...

Trump reveals details of his bunker-like ballroom...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ⁠revealed previously undisclosed details ⁠about his new bunker-like White House ballroom, ⁠saying it would have a drone base on the roof and a military hospital as part of a six-storey subterranean complex. Amid the bang and clang of construction, Trump took a group of reporters on a tour of the project to try to bolster his argument ‌that the US Congress should allocate US$1 billion to pay for security enhancements to the building. Democrats and some...

Former Hong Kong top scorer Mung Chiang to lead...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/20

A former top scorer in Hong Kong’s public examinations has been named the 18th president of Northwestern University, becoming the first Asian-American to lead the prestigious US institution. Mung Chiang, who moved to Hong Kong from Tianjin in mainland China at the age of 11 and attended Queen’s College before pursuing higher education at Stanford University in the United States, will take the helm from Michael Schill at the Illinois-based institution on July 1. He achieved top scores in the

Unbeatable China? Beijing a global focal point as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

US President Donald Trump might now “more clearly” understand that the US “cannot defeat China” but that it must instead engage a stronger Beijing, according to a prominent Chinese political scientist.Zheng Yongnian, an adviser to the Chinese government, also noted that Beijing had taken a “central position” in trilateral ties between China, the United States and Russia. Beijing and Moscow both confirmed on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit China on Tuesday and...

Pope Leo, Anthropic to launch pontiff’s first AI...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

Pope Leo and the co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic will launch the pontiff’s first encyclical on May 25, a document on the care of human dignity in the era of AI, the Vatican said on Monday. An encyclical is an official letter from the pope to Roman Catholic bishops, usually to make a statement on official teachings. The presence of Anthropic’s Christopher Olah at the Vatican is significant, and suggests that the US pope’s position on AI will become a new flashpoint with...

Hong Kong’s dog-friendly restaurant scheme receives...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

A licensing scheme allowing dogs into Hong Kong restaurants has attracted strong initial interest, with 70 per cent of the 1,000-place quota filled on the first day, according to food hygiene authorities. In response to inquiries from the South China Morning Post, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said on Monday it had received about 700 applications by 6pm. The application window closes on June 8. The department expects the scheme to launch in July, with up to 1,000 restaurants...

WHO kicks off annual assembly amid Ebola, hantavirus,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

The World Health Organization opened a meeting of global health ministers on Monday amid concern over deadly hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks and uncertainty over announced US and Argentinian withdrawals. While the rare hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that has gripped global attention is not officially on the agenda, it is expected to feature prominently in discussions, alongside the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two outbreaks “are just the latest crises in...

Spared Wang Fuk Court block owners given mid-October...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

Owners at Wang Chi House, the only block spared in Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, have until October 15 to finalise the sale of homes under a government buyback scheme – provided more than 75 per cent of them indicate their intention to sell by the end of next month. However, the tight timeline has sparked widespread frustration among residents, who complain they are being pressured to make a decision without crucial details regarding insurance coverage and future maintenance...

Trump’s Taiwan independence comments: a blow to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

Donald Trump’s comment that he is “not looking to have somebody go independent” has sparked debate in Taiwan over whether it undermines the ruling party’s pro-independence platform. Trump made the remark after last week’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, where Taiwan emerged as one of the most sensitive issues in Sino-US relations. “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Friday, adding that the United States was

Shakira acquitted by Spanish court of tax fraud, over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

A Spanish court acquitted Shakira in a tax fraud case, ordering the government to return more than 55 million euros (US$64 million) in wrongly imposed fines, according to a court document. The decision follows years of tax troubles in Spain for the Colombian superstar. The ruling relates to a dispute over the 2011 tax year in which Spanish authorities failed to prove that the singer was a resident of Spain, the Madrid-based court said in its decision. For a person to be considered a tax

How fight for Philippine Senate presidency will shape...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

The Philippine Senate convened on Monday as an impeachment court for Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, even as a fresh battle for control of the chamber threatens to shape the direction of her trial and the fallout from the crimes-against-humanity case against her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, in The Hague. Duterte-Carpio was impeached by the House of Representatives last week on allegations including corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violations of the

China and Russia hold trade expo as Putin and Trump...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

China is stepping up economic engagement with Russia by hosting the 10th edition of a major bilateral expo ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected trip to Beijing this week – just days after his American counterpart, Donald Trump, visited there last week. The back-to-back visits to the Chinese capital by two of the world’s most influential leaders highlight an uptick in diplomatic activity as Beijing seeks to stabilise relations with Washington while deepening coordination with...

Birthright citizenship fight shows US identity debate...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

Birthright citizenship has long been considered a settled issue in the United States. It became the law of the land in 1868 with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed citizenship, due process and equal protection to anyone born in the US. Originally designed to ensure citizenship for slaves brought from Africa, its application was extended to Chinese and other groups in the aftermath of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. It was further solidified by the case that Wong Kim Ark...

Hong Kong police officer guilty of taking bribes...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

A Hong Kong police chief inspector has admitted accepting more than HK$1.1 million (US$140,463) in cash and gifts from a businessman in exchange for terminating a criminal investigation against him and divulging confidential information about two other cases. Tsuen Wan Court, which is now used to handle District Court cases, on Monday recorded a guilty plea from Ho Siu-tung, 40, on two counts each of accepting advantages as a public servant and misconduct in public office over his illicit...

‘Several thousand’ ride-hailing licences won’t cover...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

Issuing “several thousand” licences to ride-hailing vehicles under a proposed regulatory framework will be insufficient to meet demand, a Hong Kong government transport advisory body has said, calling for a quota that will not compromise existing services. Speaking after meeting government officials on Monday, Professor Wong Sze-chun, chairman of the Transport Advisory Committee, said members did not suggest specific numbers for ride-hailing platforms, vehicles or driver licences. “[A level

Unemployed man gets suspended jail term for reposting...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/18

An unemployed man has received a suspended jail sentence for reposting a social media post by a fugitive inciting the Hong Kong public to boycott the Legislative Council election last year. Before suspending the punishment for 24 months, West Kowloon Court on Monday handed down a two-month jail term to Lam Kin-sik, 67, after he admitted to violating the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance. During the election period between October and December 7, 2025, Lam shared a post from...

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