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Residents of historic Hong Kong village run out of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Tin Sam Tsuen in northern Hong Kong, marked by small houses built with bricks in a traditional colour and an ancestral hall with green and white walls, has been home to generations of residents for hundreds of years. From traditional rituals to celebrate newborns to flowing banquets during festive occasions, the village of about 50 households in far-flung Hung Shui Kiu holds many memories for its residents. Villagers would come together, moving in and out of the clan hall to share meals laid

Have Chinese defence firms broken the sniper rifle...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Cryptic statements from two Chinese defence companies suggest that a long-distance shooting record may have been broken yet again. The first hint came on April 28, when Chongqing Changjiang Electric Appliances Industries Group, one of China’s biggest ammunition manufacturers, announced that an unspecified product had “successfully refreshed the world record for similar products” during a “specialised test”. The next day, Hunan Huanan OptoElectronic Group – a military optics supplier – said in

Elderly man dies after falling on board bus in Hong Kong

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

An elderly man died after falling on board a bus in Hong Kong on Saturday. Police said they received a report at 8.50am that the man in his seventies had fallen while the bus was near 125 Chatham Road South in Tsim Sha Tsui. The KMB bus was operating on route 5 between Fu Shan Estate and Star Ferry. Emergency personnel arrived at the scene and took the passenger to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he was later certified dead. Police classified the case as a fatal traffic accident. A KMB

Czech police recover medieval saint’s 800-year-old...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Czech police have arrested a man suspected of stealing an almost 800-year-old religious relic from a Catholic church and encasing it in concrete. According to a police spokeswoman on Friday, the suspect admitted taking the skull, which is revered by believers as a relic of Saint Zdislava of Lemberk, from the Church of St Lawrence in the northern Czech town of Jablonne v Podjestedi on Tuesday. Investigators used special equipment to confirm the skull was hidden inside a solid concrete block...

Trump ‘not optimistic’ on Jimmy Lai’s release after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

US President Donald Trump has said he is not optimistic about the release of former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who was jailed for 20 years for violating the national security law, after raising the issue with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during their summit in Beijing. “[Xi] said Jimmy Lai is a tough one for him to do; he went through a lot, right or wrong, they went through a lot,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during his return flight to the United States. When

US ‘looksmaxxing’ influencer Clavicular given...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Clavicular, the “looksmaxxing” influencer and streamer whose real name is Braden Eric Peters, has reached a resolution in the misdemeanour case filed after a video posted online apparently showed him repeatedly shooting an alligator while on an airboat in the US Everglades. On March 26 in the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area, Peters was among a group of men on an airboat that had stopped near an alligator that did not appear to be moving, according to videos posted on...

Can AI-assisted unmanned vessels be Beijing’s answer...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Wave-powered unmanned surface vessels (USV) could be used for maritime rights and law enforcement, researchers said, as Beijing faces heightened tensions in contested waters including the South China Sea. Writing in the latest issue of Naval and Merchant Ships, owned by China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Chen Xin and Chen Ruimiao said the self-powered vessels could be “of great value” to the sustainable management of distant waters. By converting vertical wave motion into forward thrust

Hong Kong market regulator takes on ‘collection...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

On a warm Saturday in early May, the kind of day most would choose to spend on a hike or at the beach, hundreds of Hongkongers instead stood for hours in a queue at Edinburgh Tower in Central. But despite the loss of a pleasant weekend afternoon, none would be likely to consider it time wasted. They were there claim their fair share of HK$1.5 billion (US$191 million) owed to independent shareholders of Giordano International in the largest settlement on record by the city’s Securities and...

How to prevent Hong Kong from becoming just another...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Hong Kong’s tourism sectors have entered 2026 with renewed momentum. The broader economy has strengthened, expanding by 5.9 per cent in the first quarter, its fastest pace in nearly five years. Visitor arrivals also reached 14.3 million in the first quarter, up 17 per cent year on year. The recent Labour Day “golden week” holiday offered a further boost, with the city receiving more than 1 million mainland visitors. Across the border, travel volumes reached unprecedented levels, with an...

Google’s YouTube, Snap settle first-of-its-kind...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Google’s YouTube and Snap reached agreements to settle the first lawsuit headed to trial over claims that addiction to top social media platforms has disrupted learning and pushed public schools to spend massive sums fighting a mental health crisis, according to court filings. TikTok and Meta Platforms were also sued by the rural Kentucky school district that brought the case, which is set to go to trial on June 12 in federal court in Oakland, California. The trial will serve as a test case

Hong Kong to test first flying cars carrying heavy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

Trial flights for Hong Kong’s first unmanned two-tonne electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft could take place within the next six months, initially to transport heavy construction materials to remote sites in the New Territories. Infrastructure consultancy AECOM said once aviation safety for cargo logistics was proved, the potential next step was ecotourism, providing an alternative sustainable option for Victoria Harbour aerial sightseeing tours. The trial was part of a...

China couple make wedding memorable by hosting...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/16

A couple in southwestern China turned their wedding into a professional wrestling showdown, with the loser agreeing to do the housework for life. Unlike conventional competitive sports, professional wrestling is a choreographed combat performance. The groom, He Yinsheng, a professional wrestler from Zunyi in Guizhou province, staged the unusual celebration with his wife at a local hotel in early May. In place of a traditional wedding stage, the couple installed a wrestling ring, with a giant...

Trump leaves China after much pomp and pageantry, but...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

As US President Donald Trump landed back in Washington on Friday after his two-day summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a quick US assessment on one of the most consequential diplomatic visits of Trump’s presidency was: impressive optics, trademark flawless Chinese hosting, but disappointing concrete achievements, according to analysts, industry trade groups and former US officials. “The economic deliverables coming out of the Trump-Xi meeting are way below expectations. In

Trump and his CEOs want China’s business – but has...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest instalment of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we explore the massive upswing in capital expenditures across Asia that is driving a broad shift in economic power.When US President Donald Trump made his...

Travolta gets surprise Cannes prize: ‘beyond the Oscar’

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

Hollywood star John Travolta was given a surprise lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival Friday as he premiered the first movie he has ever directed. The man who became an icon overnight with Saturday Night Fever was visibly moved as he accepted the honorary Palme d’Or before the screening of Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which is based on a book about his first experience in an airliner. “I just can’t believe it. This is beyond the Oscar, really,” he said as he accepted the...

How to deal with this ‘very Chinese time’ in Western...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

What comes to mind when you think of China, Japan and South Korea? This was a question posed in a second-year sociology seminar during my time at Bristol, and it has stayed with me ever since. We were split into three groups and given 10 minutes to create posters capturing our immediate associations. Japan came first. Sketches of anime, sushi platters and temples appeared. My classmates spoke with enthusiasm, drawing on travel memories or aspirations to visit. A country that, less than a

Canada takes key step towards new oil pipeline to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

Prime Minister Mark Carney and the leader of Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province took a major step on Friday towards building an oil pipeline that could substantially increase crude exports to Asia. Expanding overseas energy exports has emerged as a key part of Carney’s strategy to reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the US, but plans for a new pipeline are facing stiff resistance over environmental concerns. Alberta’s conservative Premier Danielle Smith was a relentless critic of Carney’s...

Taiwan casts long shadow over Trump’s summit with Xi

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

Taiwan has emerged as the first test of Beijing and Washington’s new “strategic stability” formula, according to analysts. In the aftermath of the high-profile summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Beijing, subtle differences have emerged in how the two sides have characterised Taiwan, which Beijing defines as the most important issue in the bilateral relationship. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Friday that during Trump’s state visit to China

AI supremacy, ‘secret police station’, Taiwan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. 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 rivalry? Xi described Trump’s visit as “historical” and “a landmark”, adding that “important consensus was made on issues both sides are interested in”, according to the Chinese summary. Read the full story here. 2. US Senate

Xi-Trump summit: all you need to know from the final...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/15

We have put together stories from our coverage on the second day of Xi and Trump’s meeting in Beijing. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘We’ll be back’: the latest takeaways from the Xi-Trump talks Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump chat as they stroll through the grounds of Zhongnanhai, with Trump again dangling the idea of a “G2”. 2. Meet Zhou Qunfei: the woman seated between Cook and Musk at China state

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