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Trump arrives in China with tech titans and top aides...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

US President Donald Trump arrived in China – flanked by his top aides and American tech leaders – on Wednesday night as Beijing rolled out a lavish welcome ceremony at the airport. He was received by Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng at Beijing Capital International Airport. Trump’s entourage includes Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia and a last-minute addition to the trip, as well as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and Tim

10 Hong Kong students hurt as self-heating hotpot...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Ten students from an elite secondary school in Hong Kong were injured or experienced ringing in their ears after a self-heating hotpot pack exploded in a classroom on Wednesday. A police spokesman said officers received a report from St Paul’s Co-educational College in Mid-Levels at 3.29pm that a self-heating hotpot pack had exploded after being improperly heated. A source said a 15-year-old boy was preparing the hotpot pack at about 1pm when he poured hot water onto it, and it exploded. Six...

Owners push back as Wang Fuk Court administrator...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

The government-appointed administrator of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court has sought to delay an owners’ meeting, prompting calls from residents to hold it before the end of June to address concerns ahead of a decision on whether to sell their flats. The move by Hop On Management Company came after more than 240 owners, representing over 12 per cent of households at the estate in Tai Po, petitioned the administrator in late April to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), warning...

What does Pentagon chief Hegseth’s presence in China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s rare presence in President Donald Trump’s entourage to Beijing signals a willingness on both sides to strengthen military communications to de-escalate and avoid crises, and suggests US arms sales to Taiwan will feature in talks, analysts say. The Chinese experts expected Beijing to include Defence Minister Dong Jun in talks during the summit, with one source suggesting that Dong and Hegseth might also hold separate negotiations on the sidelines of the...

EU won’t ban LGBTQ ‘conversion therapy’ but will push...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

The European Union will not ban “conversion therapy” targeting LGBTQ people, but will push member states to take action against such practices, it said on Wednesday. So-called conversion “therapies” involve methods that seek to change the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of members of gay, lesbian, queer and trans people. The EU stopped short of heeding a call by over a million people, who signed a petition last May calling on the 27-country bloc to prohibit such...

Ex-HKUST professor admits taking HK$40,000 to secure...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

A Hong Kong court has remanded a former university professor in custody pending sentencing for accepting a HK$40,000 (US$5,109) bribe and offering red packets to two colleagues to help a student gain admission to a postgraduate programme last year. Kwun Tong Court heard on Wednesday that Liu Hongbin, 63, abused his authority as chair professor of the ocean science department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to help a mainland Chinese student majoring in automotive...

France locks down 1,700 on cruise ship after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

French authorities on Wednesday confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew on a British cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after an elderly passenger died, said officials, who played down any links to the hantavirus scare. Dozens also suffered from upset stomachs aboard the Ambition – most of whose 1,233 passengers are from Britain or Ireland – which arrived in the western port of Bordeaux on Tuesday, with 514 Indian crew members also on board. But health officials said there was no connection...

Netherlands protests US proposal to further bar chip...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

The Dutch government has objected to a proposed US law that would further restrict semiconductor equipment giant ASML from selling to China and servicing customers in the country. The Dutch company, the global market leader in the lithographic technology used to laser-print tiny circuits onto microchips, has seen its access to the Chinese market severely hampered by US sanctions. Now, as US lawmakers look to further choke the European outfit off from the Chinese market, The Hague has lodged

UK PM faces biggest challenge yet as resignation...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Keir Starmer faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reported to be readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his government’s agenda. As Starmer and his ministers stood in silence to hear King Charles read out their government’s agenda, the ceremony was overshadowed by what could be the most dangerous threat to the prime minister since lawmakers began urging him to resign

Hong Kong Airport Authority takes over 11 Skies...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

The authority managing Hong Kong International Airport has taken over the retail operations of 11 Skies from New World Development ahead of the opening of Terminal 2, the South China Morning Post has learned. Multiple sources said the Airport Authority had assumed control of key components of the 2.66 million sq ft retail and dining space, representing 70 per cent of the entire project. But it remains unclear whether the authority has also taken over the rest of 570,000 sq ft of experiential...

Donald Trump’s red-carpet welcome in Beijing before...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our Beijing and Washington bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. US President Donald Trump has arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The state visit is the first by an American president in almost nine years.

Are those flying ants or termites? How to protect...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

As the early summer season approaches after weeks of heavy rain, reports of “flying ants” have emerged across Hong Kong, sparking concerns that the insects could cause a nuisance and even damage homes. Social media users also shared photos of the insects circling street lights in the evening or of their carcasses scattered across toilet sinks, with some questioning whether they are in fact termites. The South China Morning Post looks into these flying insects and how to prevent termites from...

Marco Rubio dons ‘Maduro look’ as he heads to China,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

In the hours before Donald Trump’s arrival in Beijing to begin his state visit, an unexpected detail caught the internet’s attention: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s choice of travel attire. Instead of the tailored formalwear typically expected of a top diplomat, Rubio appeared in a grey Nike tracksuit on the Beijing-bound Air Force One – an ensemble social media users quickly recognised as the “Maduro arrest look”. White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a photo of the

Tesla lures budget-conscious Chinese buyers with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Tesla China has launched a new financing scheme to attract more budget-conscious buyers after its sales in the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market fell behind its domestic rivals. The US carmaker said on Wednesday that the down payment for a Shanghai-made Model 3 vehicle – priced at 235,500 yuan (US$34,672) – would be slashed to 55,900 yuan from 79,900 yuan if the buyer chose a five-year car loan offered by Tesla. “Our strong products, combined with attractive incentives for car...

Tencent misses first-quarter revenue estimates, bets...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Facing scrutiny and persistent questions over its track record in artificial intelligence, Tencent Holdings’ co-founder and CEO Pony Ma Huateng offered this candid assessment to shareholders on Wednesday: “A year ago we thought we were on the boat, then we found it was leaking.” Speaking at the firm’s annual general meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong, Ma signalled the beginnings of a turnaround, saying that the company had finally found its footing but was “not yet seated”,

HK Express cuts surcharge by 12.8% as fuel prices...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Budget carrier HK Express will cut its fuel surcharge on flights departing Hong Kong to overseas destinations by 12.8 per cent from May 16, reducing the fee by HK$50 (US$6.38) to HK$339 per leg, the airline has said. The reduction, revealed on its website on Wednesday, excludes mainland China routes, and follows lower fuel prices amid the Middle East war. The budget carrier of Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways also said the surcharge for inbound medium-haul journeys, such as those departing...

European firms in China rethink supply chains as Iran...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Some European companies operating in China are shifting more production to the country as part of broader supply chain adjustments in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to a new survey by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. The flash survey of European companies found that more than a quarter of firms had adjusted their supply chain strategies in China following the Middle East conflict, as higher energy and logistics costs weigh on operations. Six in 10 chemicals and

How US missile shortages after Iran war could...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Depleted US weapons stockpiles as a result of its war in Iran risk eroding Donald Trump’s bargaining power when he meets Xi Jinping in China this week. With Trump on the high-stakes trip is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking the first time a Pentagon chief has accompanied a president to Beijing in decades. The weapons shortages not only raise questions about US preparedness for war in the Indo-Pacific, but may give Beijing extra leverage because of its control of the supply of critical...

China emperors drank from mountain springs, melted...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

For most people, drinking water is an unremarkable daily habit. In ancient China, however, it carried far greater meaning. Water was bound up with social rank, health beliefs, ritual practice and etiquette. As early as the pre-Qin period (Paleolithic Period – 221 BC), Chinese thinkers were already classifying natural water. The ancient encyclopedic text Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals claimed that “heavy water”, rich in minerals, could cause swelling in the legs and feet, while “light...

Hong Kong labour chief rejects review of non-local...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/13

Hong Kong’s labour minister has dismissed calls to review the city’s immigration scheme for non-local graduates or tighten talent scheme requirements, despite a sharp decline in entry-level roles, arguing that the workforce is shrinking and the number of local degree holders is insufficient to meet demand. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han also said the Employees Retraining Board, which will be rebranded as “Upskill Hong Kong” later this year, could adopt a new focus to help...

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