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News - South China Morning Post

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‘Forfeiture of rights’: Hong Kong villagers slam...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

When Law Yin-ping moved into a village house in Yick Yuen Tsuen in northwest Hong Kong’s Lam Tei more than a decade ago with her granddaughters, it never crossed her mind that they could one day be rendered homeless – and forcibly separated. The Tuen Mun village falls within the government’s planned Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, which is set to become a high-end professional services and logistics hub under the Northern Metropolis megaproject. Law, who is nearly 70, said on

Hong Kong Mother’s Day dining shifts from traditional...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Mother’s Day business at many traditional Chinese banquet restaurants in Hong Kong has been weaker than last year, with diners increasingly opting for lunch and afternoon tea celebrations or non-traditional meals such as hotpot, industry representatives have said. Busy areas such as Causeway Bay were bustling with families on Sunday, as residents flocked to restaurants and shopping malls to celebrate, some carrying flowers and cards. “I did not want to do a very big dinner this year because...

Pakistani Taliban splinter group claims suicide...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

The death toll from a suicide attack on a security post in northwest Pakistan rose to 14 police officers, authorities said early on Sunday. A self-proclaimed breakaway group of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed the attack. A suicide bomber and several gunmen detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, late on Saturday, senior police official Sajjad Khan said. The attack triggered an intense shoot-out, and some...

Alibaba brings chat-style shopping to Taobao and Qwen...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding is preparing an overhaul of how local consumers shop online, betting that the next trend will feel more like chatting with an artificial intelligence chatbot rather than typing keywords into a search bar, according to a source. Users of the company’s flagship AI assistant Qwen – one of the most popular in China – would soon be able to use natural language to “talk” with the chatbot app to find and buy items listed on Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall...

Spanish, Brazilian flotilla activists released after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Israel deported two activists on Sunday after being detained near Greece for slightly over a week for leading an aid flotilla attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The two, Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila, were among dozens of activists intercepted by the Israeli navy off the coast of Crete. Both are members of the Global Sumud Flotilla’s steering committee, whose mission is to break Israel’s naval...

Why Trump’s war on Iran may be ‘accelerating end of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

US President Donald Trump’s US$500 billion Stargate AI project is being undermined by the war with Iran, a conflict that is accelerating the decline of the United States, according to Chinese analysts. The project, designed to cement US dominance in the field of artificial intelligence, was announced in January last year, shortly after Trump’s return to power, and involves leading companies such as OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle. A critical component of this plan was building the world’s largest

Shenzhen nuclear power plant glitch posed no safety...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Hong Kong authorities have stressed that an operational glitch at a nuclear plant in neighbouring Shenzhen involving the closure of a cooling water isolation valve last week posed no risk to public health or the environment. The Security Bureau said on Sunday that Guangdong province’s Nuclear Emergency Committee Office had notified it of an operational event at the Ling Ao Nuclear Power Station that occurred last Thursday. The plant, about 50km (31 miles) north of urban Hong Kong, was

Wang Fuk Court residents flag registration issues...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Multiple residents of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have reported problems with registering for an online meeting hosted by the estate’s administrator, with the company saying it has stepped up arrangements to enhance cybersecurity. A resident received an SMS from Hop On Management on Sunday saying he had not completed registration for the May 20 update session for owners, just two days after the firm had confirmed a “successful registration”. “You have not completed the

Could Spain’s ‘compliment sandwich’ approach to China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s diplomatic balancing act during his visit to China last month marked a sharp contrast with a European Union grappling with geopolitical upheaval and economic stagnation. Sanchez pushed for closer ties with Beijing while raising concerns over a persistent bilateral trade deficit and the Ukraine war, an approach that analysts said could serve as a diplomatic template for Brussels amid its fraying relationship with Washington. According to Wang Hanyi, a...

EVs surge in Bolivia amid fuel shortages, ‘junk gas’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Tired of petrol shortages and skyrocketing prices, Simón Huanca took matters into his own hands. The 53-year-old Indigenous artisan imported a Chinese electric car to navigate El Alto, Bolivia’s highest city, using the vehicle to transport both his family and the alpaca wool for his weaving workshop. He also installed a dedicated charger in his own garage, mainly for convenience, but also because there are only three public charging stations serving the vast metropolitan area of El Alto and...

Can China engineer a price recovery that doesn’t make...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

China may finally have a chance to loosen the grip of deflation. Yet, the more important question is whether it can do so without making households feel poorer first. The latest producer price index (PPI), which measures the prices factories charge, brings that possibility back into serious debate. China’s March PPI rose by 0.5 per cent year on year, ending 41 months of decline; it was up 1 per cent from February. After years of weak prices, cautious household spending and squeezed corporate...

China’s Comac looking to upgrade C919 flying...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

China’s flagship civilian aircraft maker is planning to upgrade the cabin capacity of its C919 narrowbody airliner to improve passenger experience and boost the plane’s chances of challenging the Boeing-Airbus duopoly, a source with knowledge of the plans said. Bigger overhead luggage compartments and drip-proof air conditioning outlets are among the design upgrades being sketched out by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac). “Comac has realised it must make passengers as...

What was Qing dynasty’s imperial yellow jacket, what...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

In ancient China, ordinary people were not allowed to wear yellow as it symbolised the imperial power, apart from one exception: the emperor’s yellow jacket. Magua is a style of jacket worn by Manchu males during the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). It was worn over the long robe as protection while riding horses. Huang magua, or the imperial yellow jacket, has a special meaning due to its colour. In Qing dynasty, only the emperors, empresses and empress dowagers could wear yellow. Ordinary people...

Hong Kong woman arrested over smuggling 7 animals at...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Hong Kong customs has arrested a woman on suspicion of trying to smuggle seven animals worth about HK$4,300 (HK$549), including a sugar glider and a chinchilla, into the city. A Customs and Excise Department spokesman said on Sunday that officers intercepted the 46-year-old traveller at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line checkpoint the day before, seizing the animals from paper bags she carried. “Customs reminds the public that importing animals into Hong Kong without a valid permit is an offence,”

Malaysia tightens border screenings to prevent...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Malaysia has ramped up health screenings at all international entry points, particularly in the maritime sector, to prevent hantavirus from entering the country, according to Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad. Dzulkefly assured the public that as of Sunday, there have been zero hantavirus cases reported in Malaysia or involving Malaysians, noting that the six lab-confirmed cases recently highlighted were all reported abroad. However, he stressed that the country must remain vigilant against

Hong Kong records 17% jump in investment led by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Hong Kong recorded 17 per cent growth in investment in the first quarter of the year, driven mainly by machinery purchases and construction-related activities that reflected a steadily improving property market, the finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po noted on Sunday that while the city recorded its fastest quarterly expansion in nearly five years at 5.9 per cent, not all residents might immediately perceive the improvements in the economy. Nevertheless, he remained...

Shadow APIs: how Chinese developers bypass...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

In China, a grey market of API relay platforms is thriving, allowing local developers to bypass restrictions to access top-tier overseas AI models such as Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, which are not officially supported in China, despite an escalating crackdown by the foreign providers. Such relay stations, which route access to overseas AI models through proxy servers hosted outside mainland China, are becoming a go-to place for developers wanting to use US AI models for tasks such

Iran responds to US proposal, as Qatari tanker...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Iran has sent its response to a US proposal to begin peace talks to end the war, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, as two carriers were allowed to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. The response, sent to mediator Pakistan, focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, and on the safety of shipping through the strait, Iranian state television said, without indicating how or when the vital waterway might reopen. It followed a US proposal to end fighting before...

Vietnam joins rush for India’s battle-tested BrahMos...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

Vietnam has become the latest country to enter talks to buy India’s supersonic BrahMos missile – and at least 15 more are reportedly interested – as defence ministries across Asia and elsewhere increasingly look beyond Western-made systems. New Delhi and Hanoi are in advanced negotiations over a potential US$700 million deal, with talks progressing during Vietnamese President To Lam’s visit to India this week, where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other...

Diplomatic row over Hong Kong-linked spying...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/10

A diplomatic row has escalated over the conviction of two men linked to Hong Kong’s London trade office on spying charges, as Britain warned against attempts by foreign states to intimidate individuals on its soil and Beijing urged the country to stop “political manipulation” or risk “firm countermeasures”. The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Saturday it had summoned Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang the previous day following the court verdict in the...

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