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News - South China Morning Post

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Appeals court overturns murder conviction of man who...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

A Hong Kong appellate court has quashed the murder conviction of a jobless man who allegedly beat his girlfriend to death and hid her body under a mattress seven years ago, ruling that the trial judge had not properly directed the jury to fully consider the alleged perpetrator’s violent personality traits. The Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled in favour of Law Wai-man, who was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Lau Lee-chi in 2019, overturning his conviction and ordering a retrial. Law,...

Hong Kong restaurants can apply from May 18 to become...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Hong Kong restaurants will be able to apply for licences from May 18 to allow dogs under a new scheme, with the first designated venues expected to admit pets from July. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said on Thursday that applications would open on May 18 and close on June 8. In the first phase, applications will be capped at 1,000 restaurants. If the number exceeds the quota, places will be allocated by ballot. Restaurants larger than 20 square metres (215 square feet) are...

Nations race to trace passengers of hantavirus-hit...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Countries worldwide scrambled on Thursday to trace people who had left the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak before it got marooned off the coast of Cabo Verde, to prevent further spread of the disease. Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius. Five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases have now been confirmed, according to the World Health Organization. The vessel’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said 29 passengers left the ship

Inspector failed to spot illegal alterations, Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

A Hong Kong building inspector mistook illegal alterations to emergency staircases at a housing estate ravaged in a deadly fire for protective measures on “broken” windows, because he based his assessment solely on documents and did not carry out a site visit, a public inquiry has heard. Senior maintenance surveyor Nick Yung Siu-lun, the head of the minor works team of the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit, said on Thursday that he thought the wooden boards used to cover the

Kimi developer Moonshot AI valued at US$20b as it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up Moonshot AI has raised about US$2 billion in a new funding round, boosting its valuation to more than US$20 billion as it navigates Beijing’s new listing rules for companies registered overseas. The funding was led by Long-Z Investments, Meituan’s venture arm, and involved China Mobile. Over the past six months, Moonshot had raised a total of US$3.9 billion, according to a statement by the deal’s financial adviser HF Capital on Thursday. The

Alleged Gundam figurine thief injured after jumping...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

A Hong Kong man who allegedly stole HK$50,000 (US$6,380) worth of Gundam models was injured while leaping from a building in To Kwa Wan after police came to arrest him on suspicion of burglary. Police said on Thursday that the man, aged 40, was linked to the burglary at a building on Mok Cheong Street two days earlier, which resulted in the theft of 10 boxes of Gundam models and three empty suitcases. The force said officers had discovered signs that the rear door of the premises had been

2 former Chinese defence ministers handed suspended...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Two former Chinese defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, have received suspended death sentences after being found guilty of corruption, according to Xinhua. A military court found Wei guilty of accepting bribes, while Li was found guilty of both accepting and offering bribes, according to a two-paragraph statement released by Xinhua late on Thursday afternoon. The statement did not specify the bribe amounts involved in the cases. Both men were sentenced to death with a two-year...

China tells close Trump ally its wish list ahead of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

China hoped to maintain “stable and predictable” trade ties with the United States, Premier Li Qiang told visiting US Senator Steve Daines on Thursday, a week ahead of a highly anticipated presidential summit between the two countries. Meeting Daines at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Li called for both sides to engage in more dialogue rather than confrontation, pursue more mutually beneficial cooperation rather than zero-sum games, and maintain stable economic and trade ties. “It...

China woman fired due to husband’s rival firm job...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

A Shanghai company has been ordered to pay a woman employee 690,000 yuan (US$101,000) for illegally firing her because her husband works for a rival firm. Xuhui District People’s Court made the ruling in Shanghai in late April, the Yangtze Evening News reported. The woman, surnamed Liu, started working at the company in 2006. The firm’s name was not disclosed in the report, only that it operates in the property management industry. At the end of 2023, Liu received a notice from her employer...

US-Iran peace optimism fuels Asian stock market gains

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

US President Donald Trump said conflict in the Middle East would be “over quickly”, as Iran considered a peace proposal that could lead to the reopening of the vital Strait of Hormuz. “We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, according to Reuters. The president has repeatedly played up the possibility of an agreement with Iran since the war began on February 28, without reaching an...

Hong Kong recalls Zwilling electric kettle over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Hong Kong authorities have urged the public to stop using a certain model of Zwilling electric kettle over concerns that the handle may detach, posing a risk of scalding. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department on Thursday issued a safety recall for the kettle (model 53005). Consumers should contact the supplier, Cheong Hing (1917) Company Limited, at 2687 5879 to arrange a refund. The supplier warned that, in a small number of cases, the kettle’s handle may loosen or break,...

Police investigate alleged indecent assault of boy,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Hong Kong police are investigating an allegation that a four-year-old boy was indecently assaulted at an international school in Stanley, with the institution saying its security footage showed “no evidence of any wrongdoing” on the day of the suspected incident. A source said on Wednesday that the International Montessori School kindergarten pupil complained to his family that his buttocks were sore on April 17 after his mother picked him up from school. His father, who suspected that the

TikTok makes record US$25b investment to expand...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

TikTok is investing US$25 billion in data infrastructure projects in Thailand, the company’s biggest investment announced to date in Southeast Asia, as China’s technology giants continue expanding their footprint in the region.The investment would be used to install additional servers and expand data storage and processing infrastructure across Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao provinces to support rising demand for digital services, according to an announcement by Thailand’s Board of...

Australia’s interest rate rise signals growing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

For an indication of how much the energy crisis is shaping the path of monetary policy, look no further than Australia. On May 5, the country’s central bank raised interest rates for the third consecutive time, unwinding last year’s monetary easing. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said “higher fuel prices are adding to inflation and there are indications that this is likely to have second-round effects on prices for goods and services more broadly”. The RBA’s decision to keep tightening...

Taiwan firm with mainland branches fires nephew of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

A Taiwanese company with mainland subsidiaries has fired the nephew of Taiwan’s interior minister, whom Beijing deems responsible for Taipei’s hostile policies towards the mainland. The mainland subsidiary of Taiwan’s Long Time Technology Co. Ltd in Shanggao county, Jiangxi province, issued a statement on Wednesday night saying Yen Wen-chun, the nephew of Liu Shyh-fang, was dismissed from all positions he held at Long Time Technology and its mainland subsidiaries from April 7. The statement

The Weeknd to return to Hong Kong after 8 years with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd will perform in Hong Kong for the first time in eight years as part of the final leg of his “After Hours Til Dawn Tour”, with sources telling the South China Morning Post that the concert is set to take place at Kai Tak Sports Park in October. Live Nation on Wednesday posted a cryptic teaser video across several regional social media accounts, including those for Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, with the caption: “A Foreshadowing Of The Final...

Australian lawyer fined for fleeing Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

An Australian lawyer has been fined HK$3,000 (US$383) by a Hong Kong court after he admitted to fleeing a restaurant and a massage parlour without paying bills totalling about HK$1,200. Samuel Anthony Monkivitch, 50, pleaded guilty at Eastern Court on Thursday to three charges, including two counts of making off without payment. In the first case, he failed to pay for a HK$639 meal at a Times Square Chinese restaurant in Causeway Bay on March 23. Two days later, he failed to pay a HK$586 bill...

Myanmar’s military rulers hire Trump ally for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

Myanmar’s appointment of a close confidant of US President Donald Trump to rebuild ties with Washington could offer the regime a sliver of hope to rebrand itself, even as a breakthrough on major issues, such as American investment in the country’s critical minerals sector, is likely to be limited. Naypyidaw’s Ministry of Information has hired veteran American political lobbyist Roger Stone to boost relations with the Trump administration, according to filings under the US Foreign Agents...

South Korea rejects Trump’s claim that ship was hit...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday rebutted US President Donald Trump’s assertion that a South Korean-operated vessel was attacked as it was acting on its own without US protection in the Strait of Hormuz – a focal point of the ongoing Iran war. “For several days before the fire broke out, the ship had been anchored in the relevant waters near the United Arab Emirates on the inner side of the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry said in a statement. The remarks followed an...

China-EU investment deal should stay in ‘deep...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/07

The EU’s outgoing top trade official used her departing appearance at the European Parliament to pour cold water on the prospect of an investment deal with China, hinting instead that new weapons for dealing with Chinese “macroeconomic imbalances” could be on the way. Sabine Weyand, who is leaving her role as the EU’s director general for trade after a seven-year tenure, said the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment – signed in the last days of 2020 but frozen soon after in a row over human...

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