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Can Indonesia turn holiday island Bali into a global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Indonesia has unveiled a new vision to transform the holiday island of Bali into a global finance hub inspired by destinations such as Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, but the tourist hotspot faces a raft of systemic and infrastructural hurdles before it can attain the lofty goal. Indonesian Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto earlier this week said the government was finalising regulations to establish a financial hub in the Kura Kura Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Serangan island, 500...

Europe readies trade war weapon amid China export deluge

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

The European Commission is working on a new trade weapon as the continent struggles to contend with a flood of low-cost imports from China. The tool may be presented at a May 29 gathering of the European Union’s executive branch, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday. Plans for a China-focused meeting were delayed from last month after the US-Israeli war on Iran prompted a new agenda focused on energy prices. It’s not clear what form the instrument will take. Business groups have

EU cyber plan barring Chinese suppliers will cost...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

The European Union’s push to bar Chinese suppliers from its critical infrastructure under a proposed new Cybersecurity Act would cost the bloc a jaw-dropping €367.8 billion (US$431.4 billion) over the next five years, a new study has warned. The law’s vast price tag comes from the need to rip out and replace huge amounts of Chinese hardware – a task that alone could cost €146.2 billion – with other losses stemming from resource reallocation, service disruptions, employment adjustments and

Hong Kong retail sales jump 12.8% in March on back of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Hong Kong’s retail sales jumped by 12.8 per cent in March, bringing first-quarter growth to 9.8 per cent, driven by a spurt in sales of electric cars ahead of the withdrawal of tax breaks. Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Wednesday showed that retail sales reached HK$33.9 billion (US$4.32 billion) in March. The March increase was largely fuelled by car sales as buyers raced to make deals before the first registration tax concessions for electric cars

Is Rubio’s star rising in Trump world? Duel with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

It was the perfect split-screen for the race to succeed Donald Trump – so long as your name is Marco Rubio and not J.D. Vance. In a packed White House briefing room, journalists shouted over each other in a bid to get a question from the US secretary of state. At the same time Vice-President Vance – Rubio’s most likely rival for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination – was hundreds of kilometres away from the action at a political fundraiser in Oklahoma. “Guys, this is chaos,” said Rubio

Airport Authority reports ‘less than’ 5%...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Fewer than 5 per cent of Hong Kong flights have been cancelled for May and June combined, and about 1 per cent during the peak July travel period, the Airport Authority has said, despite a global fuel crisis triggered by the Middle East war, adding it would review charges to ease the industry’s burden. Responding to a lawmaker’s questions, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Wednesday that the figures were compiled by the authority, which operates Hong Kong International...

Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Asia’s next food crisis is under way. After the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed, sending shock waves across energy, fertiliser and food systems. Fuel, freight and fertiliser costs are rising sharply, amplified by skyrocketing insurance premiums – feeding directly into the price of every tonne of fertiliser that still reaches the market. The scale of disruption reflects the strait’s outsize role in global trade. It carries around one-third of

All 90 Hong Kong lawmakers to visit Beijing for first...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Hong Kong’s legislature is set to visit Beijing as a full body for the first time since the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, with all 90 lawmakers expected to join the delegation as it seeks better alignment with the national 15th five-year plan. Legislative Council president Starry Lee Wai-king announced on Wednesday that the trip would take place in July. Lawmakers were informed that the seven-day visit to the capital would run from July 19 to 25, during the legislature’s

Spain opens port to hantavirus-hit cruise ship as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

A ⁠luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly ⁠hantavirus outbreak and marooned for days off the coast ⁠of Cabo Verde with close to 150 people on board was due to head to Spain, while South Africa confirmed it identified among the victims a strain of the virus that can – in rare cases – spread among humans. And the Swiss government said a man who returned to Switzerland after being a passenger on the MV Hondius was infected with the hantavirus and was ‌being treated in Zurich. It said there was no...

China’s Wang Yi and Iranian FM back new regional...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi have voiced support for a new security framework in the Gulf as Beijing’s top diplomat urged a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Stating that countries in the Gulf and Middle East “should take their future into their own hands”, Wang in Beijing on Wednesday said China backed “the establishment of a regional peace and security framework led by regional countries”. “Regarding the strait issue, the international...

China builds world’s first ‘coal battery’, war on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China builds world’s first ‘coal battery’ with zero emission Chinese scientists have developed a way to generate electricity and achieve higher energy efficiency than conventional burning methods, while producing zero carbon dioxide emissions, by placing coal inside a “battery”. 2. China unveils ultra-cheap...

‘Gunpowder, sparks’: volunteer hurt at China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

A rescuer at the site of an explosion that killed 26 people and injured 61 in Hunan’s Liuyang city has described the dangerous and extremely difficult clean-up mission amid gunpowder and sparks after he and others were wounded by secondary blasts on Tuesday morning. An excavator operator surnamed Xiao said he volunteered to aid rescue work at the site of the initial fireworks plant blast which occurred at the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company on Monday. Xiao described...

Hong Kong school to seek feedback, review phone ban...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

A Hong Kong secondary school facing student backlash over newly tightened mobile phone rules has said it will seek further feedback from stakeholders and review the policy’s scope and implementation. A source also told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday that Kwun Tong Maryknoll College had planned to extend the policy to all pupils after launching a pilot scheme for Form Three and Four students. In a letter to parents on Tuesday, principal Caroline Sin Nga-lam said the school had noted...

China woman loses 21kg after friend’s idea that being...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

A woman in eastern China shed 21.5kg in just four months because her best friend told her she would look like the famous actress Yang Mi if she became thinner. The woman, who uses the alias taozichibubao, shared her slimming experience on social media, winning massive admiration from internet users, the Ningbo Evening News reported. Living in Zhejiang province, the woman previously weighed 64kg. Having lost 21.5kg last year, she remained at 42.5kg for several months. She is 156cm tall, the...

AI ecosystems in China and US grow apart amid tech war

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

China and the United States are taking divergent paths to developing artificial intelligence (AI), putting their technology ecosystems increasingly at odds. This divergence was on show on April 24 when start-up DeepSeek launched its next-generation V4 AI models that were optimised for use with the Ascend chips and associated software tools of tech giant Huawei Technologies. China has for years been pursuing technological self-reliance, a policy reiterated by the Communist Party’s Politburo at...

Hong Kong Legco issues warning to lawmaker Judy Chan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Hong Kong’s legislature has issued a written warning to lawmaker Judy Chan Kapui for driving on the wrong side of the road earlier this year, urging her to be mindful of her conduct and meet the public’s expectations. “I humbly accept the decision. I committed reckless driving out of convenience … I am deeply sorry for disappointing the public with my behaviour,” Chan told the press. The official warning was issued by the Legislative Council’s Supervisory Committee on Wednesday, four months...

Tai Po fire probe: Housing Bureau’s checking unit...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. All eyes were on the Hong Kong Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) on Wednesday, as one of its officers testified before a judge-led panel about its role in the Tai Po blaze. Senior maintenance surveyor Andy Ku Siu-ping was the only witness giving testimony in the first of three sessions of the fourth round of evidential hearings. The ICU,...

From Beijing to Berlin: Chinese EVs turn heads as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

For German consumer Erik Böhme, a first visit to the Beijing auto show was an eye-opener – the world’s largest car exhibition showcased a vast array of electric vehicle (EV) brands, many already gaining traction in Europe. “I think there will be more Chinese brands coming and being successful in Europe,” said Böhme, a freelance automotive consultant who spent two days at the event, which ran through May 3. Böhme was among 250 foreign media, clients and social media influencers invited by

‘May can give a false sense of safety,’ expert warns...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Hikers should not underestimate the risks of climbing in Japan during the volatile spring transition in May, a mountaineering expert has warned after two Hong Kong men became stranded in the country’s Northern Alps, one of whom later died. Veteran mountaineer Chung Kin-man said on Wednesday that climbers might develop a false sense of safety due to warmer weather in lowland areas in May, even as conditions in the mountains remained unstable, with risks of snowstorms, strong winds and freezing...

Russian attacks kill 27 in Ukraine before proposed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/06

Russian attacks throughout eastern Ukraine killed at least 27 people on Tuesday, including 12 in one of the worst strikes so far this year, hours before a midnight deadline ushering in an open-ended ceasefire proposed by Kyiv. Russia announced a ceasefire for May 8 to 9 to coincide with commemorations of the Soviet Union’s ‌victory over Nazi Germany in World War II and a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Ukraine, in response, announced a proposal for an open-ended ceasefire starting at...

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