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Hong Kong airport staff offered free measles jabs in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Health authorities will provide free measles vaccinations to Hong Kong airport workers from Friday, following the detection of three cases among aircraft maintenance staff. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) warned on Thursday of the “relatively high” risk of measles transmission at the aviation hub, citing the high volume of travellers passing through there and the sizeable proportion of non-local-born workers who might not have received measles jabs in childhood. “In order to prevent...

China’s Russia ties mean EU trade deal is off the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

China’s close ties with Russia should be a “disqualifying factor” in Beijing’s bid to launch talks on a free-trade agreement with the European Union, Finland’s foreign minister has said. In meetings with European leaders, Beijing has been floating the prospect of a trade or investment deal, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last month said a pact could be possible in the future. In an exclusive interview in Helsinki on Wednesday, however, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen poured cold water

Hong Kong set for intense thundery showers, gusts in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong is set for intense thundery showers and gusts on Thursday evening, the weather forecaster has warned, with local temperatures expected to dip to as low as 19 degrees Celsius (66.2 Fahrenheit) under a cold front. In two separate special alerts issued at 6pm, the Observatory said an area of intense thundery showers associated with upper-air...

Malaysia’s durian growers in ‘survival mode’ as early...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Malaysia’s durian growers say they are in “survival mode” as an early bumper harvest collides with a surge in fuel and freight costs, squeezing an export trade built around getting premium fruit into China fast. Hot weather has brought harvests forward, swelling supply just as exporters face higher packaging, energy and transport costs, with the Iran war disrupting fuel supplies and making cargo more expensive. The strain is exposing the vulnerability of Malaysia’s durian industry, which has...

South Korea’s air force apologises after audit blames...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

South Korea’s air force apologised on ⁠Thursday for a ⁠2021 mid-air collision involving two ⁠fighter jets, a day after auditors said pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologise to the public ‌for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman said in a press briefing, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary

Indonesia’s new food labels are ‘long overdue’, but...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Indonesia’s new front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme has been welcomed by health advocates as a long-overdue measure to tackle excessive sugar, salt and fat intake. But experts said the labels were only a first step and would do little on their own to slow Indonesia’s growing burden of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and other diet-related diseases. A decree issued by the health ministry on April 14 requires ready-to-eat food and drink products to carry nutrition labels and health

Henderson Land joint venture to operate Central...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

A Henderson Land Development joint venture has won a five-year contract to operate the Central Harbourfront Event Space in Hong Kong, with a clause requiring the government to be compensated if the number of events falls short of its commitment. The Development Bureau announced on Thursday that Central Grand Limited (CGL), a joint venture between the property developer and concert organiser YW Company, or “Yiu Wing”, beat five other bidders for the prime site, which hosts major events such as...

How fire safety failures worsened Hong Kong’s deadly...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Chinese military experts take stock of US munitions...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

The United States’ depleted stockpile of munitions from its war on Iran and limited production capacity will be a critical vulnerability against stronger adversaries, according to Chinese military observers. During the 39 days of war before the ceasefire, the US is estimated to have used about half of both its Patriot air defence missiles and the longer-range Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) interceptors. Stockpiles of Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6)...

Wealthy young Chinese gain popularity for founding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

China’s fuerdai, or “second-generation rich”, are shaking off their notorious image and have become the favourite boss of some young people. The term fuerdai was invented in the 2000s and refers to the children of people who accumulated wealth following China’s reform and opening up in 1978. It was considered a pejorative term, often associated with the spoiled character and overindulgent lifestyles of rich children. However, in contemporary China, fuerdai are dispensing with their

‘One country, two systems’ can serve as global model:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” principle can serve as a model around the world and represents the city’s biggest contribution to Beijing’s Global Governance Initiative, political heavyweight Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has said. Ip, the convenor of the government’s key decision-making Executive Council and a former lawmaker, made the remarks at a media briefing on Thursday ahead of the third edition of the annual Global Prosperity Summit, which is organised by her think tank – the Savantas...

Conservationists hail jailing of Vietnamese pangolin...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

The jailing of two Vietnamese men who brokered a sale of 900kg (2,000lbs) of pangolin scales from Africa destined for the Chinese market has returned the spotlight to the illicit trade in an animal that has been poached to the edge of extinction. Prized for its meat and scales, the pangolin has almost disappeared from forests and their hilly habitats of Africa and Asia. Conservationists estimate around 1 million have been trafficked over the last decade, triggered by demand for traditional...

Hong Kong’s Langham group among first to invest in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

A hotel operator’s planned entry into Xiongan New Area southwest of Beijing highlights a tentative but growing alignment between Hong Kong’s private sector and the state-backed development project, as leaders renew efforts to accelerate the zone’s transformation into a hi-tech growth hub. Hong Kong-based Langham Hospitality Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Eagle Holdings, said on Thursday that it had signed a management agreement with China Xiongan Group Public Service Management to...

Hong Kong jobless rate dips for second successive period

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 3.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year, marking a second consecutive decline across rolling three-month periods. The Census and Statistics Department said on Thursday the jobless rate stood at 3.7 per cent for January to March, down from 3.8 per cent in the preceding period from December to February. The underemployment rate also edged down by 0.1 percentage point, from 1.7 to 1.6 per cent over the same periods. The...

South Korean army removes poster depicting...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

A common hand gesture in a South Korean army recruitment poster has prompted scrutiny of a little-known cultural sensitivity in the country. In the poster, a female model in a combat uniform poses with her hand resting under her chin. All quite innocent – except her thumb and index finger form a shape that many South Koreans associate with man-hating, according to The Korea Herald. The finger pinching gesture is known as the “Megalian hand”, after the radical South Korean feminist group that...

China’s premium EVs mount tech-powered challenge to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

This year’s Auto China, the world’s largest car show, is likely to mark a watershed for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers as they push dozens of new premium models into the spotlight, challenging European manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Leading EV makers in mainland China, from BYD and Geely to Leapmotor and Nio, will showcase their latest models at the 10-day show, which starts in Beijing on Friday, having moved up the value chain through the rapid adoption of technological...

Turkey passes bill to restrict social media access...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Turkish lawmakers passed a bill late on Wednesday that includes restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, state media reported. The legislation is the latest in a global trend to protect young people from dangerous online activity. Its passage comes a week after a 14-year-old boy killed nine students and a teacher at a middle school in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, in a gun attack. Police are investigating the online activity of the perpetrator, who also died, in a...

Trains collide head-on in Denmark, causing multiple...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Two local trains collided head-on in Denmark on Thursday, injuring at least 17 people, four of whom were in a critical condition, the emergency service said.Public broadcaster DR showed images of two yellow and grey trains, both with visible damage to ⁠the front, facing each other in a wooded ‌area. The incident happened north of Copenhagen, on a train line linking ‌the towns of Hillerød and Kagerup, ⁠police ⁠said in a statement. “It is two local trains that ‌have collided head-on,” a...

Mainland China’s ultra-wealthy numbers rise as Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

Mainland China’s population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) – those with assets exceeding US$30 million – has grown by 23 per cent over the past five years to 121,677, and is projected to expand a further 18.8 per cent to 144,602 by 2031, according to Knight Frank. Despite that growth, China’s share of global UHNWIs edged down by one percentage point to 17 per cent this year and was expected to fall further to 15 per cent by 2031, as rapid wealth creation in the United States...

Lebanon to confront Israel over demolition of homes...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/23

In areas of southern Lebanon it has occupied since agreeing last week to a ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been destroying homes it says were used as outposts by the Iran-backed militant group. But the demolitions were happening on such a wide scale that residents, Lebanese officials and UN peacekeepers were increasingly worried that large numbers of people displaced by the latest war would have nowhere to return if the fragile truce holds. From a hill overlooking Beit Lif -

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