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Hezbollah’s cheap drones pose challenge for Israel –...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Hezbollah’s cheap fibre-optic drones are creating new challenges for Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, forcing the military to adapt its tactics against an increasingly lethal threat.The Israeli military – considered one of the most advanced in the world – has confirmed two soldiers and one civilian contractor killed in explosive drone attacks in under a week, with several others wounded despite a ceasefire in place since mid-April. The devices are small, cheap and readily available, like...

Government ‘confident’ that 75% of Wang Chi House...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

The Hong Kong government is confident that at least three-quarters of homeowners of Wang Chi House – the only block unscathed in the Wang Fuk Court fire – will accept its buy-back package by the end of June. Speaking on Saturday, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said few owners were likely to change their minds about the government’s offer for the 248 flats, which were initially excluded from the resettlement plan. Wang Chi House was the only one of the estate’s eight towers

Counting gains from Beijing, Taiwanese opposition...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun is preparing to visit the United States in June, aiming to leverage the political momentum from last month’s meeting with Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Cheng, who heads the main opposition party Kuomintang, will also test her message on the Taiwan Strait in Washington. In recent media interviews Cheng has outlined an agenda that goes beyond traditional party outreach, promoting what she calls “a new road map” for cross-strait stability

Why India’s logistics pact with Russia signals its...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

A pact between India and Russia on reciprocal access to military facilities is expected to boost Moscow’s influence in the Indian Ocean and increase New Delhi’s presence in the Arctic. However, it does not mean the two countries’ bases will be opened to each other’s armed forces as they step up defence cooperation, according to analysts. India and Russia signed the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) covering military exercises, training and humanitarian missions in Moscow in...

4 fixed penalty notices issued in first 2 days of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Hong Kong authorities have issued four HK$3,000 (US$383) fines in the first two days of an expanded ban on alternative smoking products, while assuring the public that inspectors will not conduct arbitrary body searches to enforce the law. Manny Lam Man-chung, head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, said authorities stepped up enforcement and public education efforts in commercial districts since the ban on alternative smoking products – including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products...

45% of fire safety shutdowns run past new 2-month cap...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Almost half of notices filed to deactivate fire-fighting systems over the past two years for maintenance involved renovation projects that lasted longer than the maximum two months allowed under new rules introduced after the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire, official data has shown. A spokesman for the Fire Services Department told the South China Morning Post that the new rules would also apply to ongoing projects which had their notices to shut down the fire-fighting system before the recent...

A year after corporal punishment ban, Thailand needs...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

An old Thai proverb says, “If you love your cow, tie it up; if you love your child, beat them”. It is meant to convey that a loving and responsible guardian should discipline their child and that corporal punishment is an act of care as sensible as tethering one’s cattle so that it does not wander off. For many generations, this proverb and traditional practices have normalised corporal punishment. This attitude is also displayed by teachers in schools. One year after Thailand legally banned...

Japan’s Takaichi to hold talks in Vietnam on economic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Japan and Vietnam are set to agree to boost their partnership in economic security in leaders’ talks on Saturday, as Japan seeks to strengthen supply chains for critical resources amid its diplomatic spat with China and the Middle East crisis. As Tokyo looks to deepen ties with Southeast Asian nations with an eye to China’s increasing economic engagement with the region, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will also give a speech on Japan’s updated vision for its free and open Indo-Pacific policy...

Durian Express? New Southeast Asia rail service cuts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Southeast Asian growers can now ship durians to China faster than before using a new cold-storage rail service linking Thailand, Laos and southwest China’s Yunnan province, slashing prices for the pungent fruit. The first goods train laden with durians from Thailand – China’s biggest source of the fruit – began winding its way north through Laos to China over the weekend, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday. More than 90 per cent of the world’s durian exports – worth about US$7.5

US Pentagon signs AI deals with Google, Nvidia and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Eight technology companies, including Google, Nvidia and SpaceX, have struck deals with the Pentagon to help the US military gain an edge on the battlefield. “These agreements accelerate the transformation towards establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters’ ability to maintain decision superiority across all domains of warfare,” the Department of Defence said on Friday. The companies will deploy their AI technology on the...

Rapidly ageing Japan’s ‘macho carers’ lend muscles to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

With his broad smile, Tatsumi Hokuto helps an elderly woman in a Japanese care home almost effortlessly to her feet and makes sure she is steady. At first glance, Hokuto cuts an unlikely figure for a carer role: a powerfully built 27-year-old in tight leggings and a black singlet, with the physique of a dedicated bodybuilder. But for Nagoya-based Visionary, a company that operates nursing and care facilities across Japan, that contrast is precisely the point. Visionary’s “macho carers” like...

In China at a time of geopolitical flux, I feel right...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

“You could do with some international exposure. China, maybe,” a law firm partner said as we stood over the water cooler. His offhand comment was so blasé. I wasn’t sure what unsettled me more – the comment or my reaction to it. Was it xenophobia or the inertia of assumption? He was perfectly pleasant, encouraging even, but beneath the civility was an implication I couldn’t ignore. I had never set foot in Asia, yet suddenly, it felt as though my credibility required a pilgrimage. I wrestled

What to leave behind? Returning Wang Fuk Court...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

Residents of Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court have been wrestling with a fresh sense of loss after returning to homes ravaged in last November’s fire, as they were forced to choose what to save under practical constraints and within a three-hour window. Cecilia* is one such Hongkonger. She considers herself fortunate to have discovered that her upper-floor flat was largely undamaged by the blaze. But now she faces losing family treasures, precious metals and antique furniture if she cannot find a

China trend of AI replicas of exes sparks debates...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

A growing trend in China allows young people dealing with break-ups to create digital replicas of their ex-partners using artificial intelligence. These AI-powered “exes” can mimic their former partner’s tone, catchphrases and even subtle linguistic nuances, reviving long-lost relationships in a virtual format. While this presents a novel approach to emotional healing, it has also sparked a broader debate on privacy, emotional dependency and the limits of technology in relationships. To create

From Malaysia’s book bans to Iran war, Anwar’s reform...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/02

When Malaysia’s government announced a ban on two books in mid-April, the move raised eyebrows, with some questioning the intent of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration and his reformist credentials. The home affairs ministry on April 16 declared that the books – one of which was a memoir of the grandmother to an ally of Anwar – were a danger to national security for containing communist elements and ideologies. The decision triggered immediate pushback, predictably from civil

US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, fulfilling...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/01

The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany in the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, fulfilling President Donald Trump’s threat as he clashes with the German leader over the US war with Iran. Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the Nato ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington’s lack of strategy in the war. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in

Why Beijing now wants its spies executed in Taiwan to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/01

Fujian province, the closest mainland Chinese province to Taiwan, is an important site for Beijing’s messaging towards the island. In the first of a two-part series, Xinlu Liang examines how Beijing is framing the executions of Communist Party spies in Taiwan within a reunification narrative.A courtyard house in an old quarter of Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, has become the unlikeliest of national pilgrimage sites. For decades, the residence at No 1...

Hong Kong’s population policy is still trapped in a...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/01

Hong Kong is increasingly being urged to develop a comprehensive population policy. Academics, policymakers and business leaders warn that rapid ageing, low fertility and a shrinking labour force threaten the city’s competitiveness, and call for more decisive government intervention. Most such calls converge around two familiar strategies: encouraging Hong Kong women to have more children and attracting more immigrants. Both approaches assume Hong Kong must resolve its demographic challenges...

China’s UN envoy blasts US ‘bullying’ as sanctions...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/01

China’s top UN diplomat slammed the US on Friday over its coercive behaviour, sanctioning of Chinese vessels and firms and for starting the Iran war along with Israel as Beijing assumed the rotating one-month presidency of the UN Security Council. The verbal blast came as Washington heaped more pressure on China on Friday by sanctioning a China-based petroleum terminal operator, the latest in a string of recent US moves to cut off Chinese funding to Iran under what the White House has dubbed...

Trump expands Cuba sanctions with global reach,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/01

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order expanding sanctions on Cuba, authorising penalties not only against Cuban officials but also on foreign companies and financial institutions that do business with the island. The order significantly broadens Washington’s ability to exert economic pressure, allowing US authorities to target third-country actors deemed to support the Cuban government, in a move that could have implications for global firms, including those in China

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