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Death of Chinese scientist Li Xinying, 48, in Egypt...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

The sudden death of prominent Chinese genetic psychologist Li Xinying while travelling in Egypt has sparked growing concern and speculation in China, as official explanations about the cause remain vague and medically inconclusive. Li, 48, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ (CAS) Institute of Psychology, died on February 23 at 10pm Beijing time, according to an online obituary. The stated cause of death was “non-specific respiratory failure”, an obituary...

Chinese man posts a big note on mother-in-law’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

More than a million people online have been touched by a Chinese man who posted a huge note on his illiterate mother-in-law’s suitcase to help in case she needed help during her first solo flight. On February 28, the man from Xian city, northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, posted that his mother-in-law would be flying on the same evening to Dalian, in northeastern China’s Liaoning province. He said that the woman, who is in her 60s, is illiterate and does not speak Mandarin. The flight also...

Is Bali’s Kuta Beach disappearing? Coastal erosion...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Powerful waves have chewed away large sections of Bali’s iconic Kuta Beach, raising fresh concern about the future of the Indonesian island’s most famous stretch of sand. Officials say the latest damage, driven by recent rough seas, has intensified a long-running problem of coastal erosion that experts warn is being worsened by extreme weather and decades of coastal development on the resort island. Abrasion along Kuta’s shoreline is not new, but officials say this year’s extreme weather has...

In a first for China, Neuracle’s implantable...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

In a landmark development, Neuracle Medical Technology has secured the country’s first-ever approval for an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) system designed to restore hand motor function in patients with spinal cord injuries, in a regulatory milestone that underscores China’s accelerating push in neurotechnology. China’s BCI start-ups, seen as potential rivals to Elon Musk’s Neuralink, are gaining momentum as regulatory support and fresh capital fuel growth. Shares of BCI companies...

China announces AI boost to radar as drone swarms...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

China is using AI to help its radars better detect low-altitude drones, according to a top Chinese military scientist who said drone swarm tactics – as used in the US’ ongoing attack on Iran – were an emerging challenge for radar systems. Xu Jin, a leading air-defence radar expert and a member of China’s top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, revealed the AI initiative in an interview with the South China Morning Post on...

Trade talks, ‘raising lobsters’, tech earnings

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

United States and Chinese trade negotiators will meet in Paris on Sunday and Monday, seeking to ready a deal ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing at the end of the month. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, according to US and Chinese government statements. Neither side gave specific details about the discussions. The sixth round of Bessent-He trade talks comes amid volatility in oil markets due to...

How an iceberg’s ‘final dance’ tells a story about...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Spare a thought for the iceberg A23a which, after an extraordinary 40-year life voyaging around the southern Atlantic Ocean, is this month expected to die unnoticed close to the island of South Georgia, a mess of “brash ice, small icebergs and bergy bits”. A23a was one of the largest “megabergs” to be spawned in our lifetimes. When it broke away from the Filchner Ice Shelf into the Weddell Sea in Western Antarctica in 1986, it covered an area of around 4,000 sq km – about the size of Hong

What’s important about Antelope Reef in the South...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

In January, the US-based magazine Newsweek reported that China had started dredging sand on an obscure feature in the Paracel Islands, the disputed archipelago known as Xisha by the Chinese and Hoang Sa in Vietnam. More recent satellite images suggest that China has significantly expanded its reclamation, with the once-submerged Antelope Reef appearing to have a substantially larger surface area. The reef, one of more than 30 islands that make up the Paracels in the South China Sea, is

2 anti-China activists have case to answer in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Two former leaders of a now-disbanded alliance behind Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil have a case to answer in a high-profile trial after judges ruled the evidence supported prosecutors’ allegations that the activists incited others to overthrow the Communist Party of China leadership. Three High Court judges on Friday found that the evidence appeared to suggest Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung committed a subversion offence as leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of

Apple reduces App Store commissions in China in move...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Apple announced a reduction in the App Store commissions it charges developers in China ahead of the annual World Consumer Rights Day, drawing approval from the country’s biggest gaming companies Tencent Holdings and NetEase. The US tech company said it would reduce the commission for standard in-app purchases and paid app transactions on iPhone and iPad to 25 per cent, from the current 30 per cent, according to a statement on its website on Thursday. Meanwhile, the commission rate for...

Donald Liao, the architect who shaped Hong Kong’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Donald Liao Poon-huai, one of Hong Kong’s most influential government architects and public housing visionaries who became the first Chinese official under British rule to serve as secretary for district administration, has died at the age of 96. His family confirmed his death to the South China Morning Post on Friday, with one member saying he died peacefully on Thursday morning at home. Liao was surrounded by family and friends on his last evening. “He lived a long, meaningful life and made...

How Middle East conflict and soaring oil prices will...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

As conflict in the Middle East pushes oil beyond US$100 per barrel, Angola and other African producers are in line to be among the main beneficiaries. On Thursday, following renewed tanker attacks, Brent crude oil prices surged back past US$100 a barrel, having reached a peak of US$119.50 on Monday, the highest level since 2022. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime chokepoint through which about 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products flow daily, has crippled energy...

China girl goes viral after confronting riding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

A young girl from central China earned widespread praise online after fearlessly confronting riding instructors over why they assigned her friends vicious horses. Nine-year-old Langlang from Huangshi in Hubei province has been travelling the world with her parents since she was a baby. While travelling in Egypt with her parents on March 4, she was taking a riding lesson with two friends at a local equestrian club. Although the pair were beginners, the coaches assigned them two ill-tempered...

Jump in illegal refuelling complaints as Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Hong Kong authorities have received 221 complaints about illegal petrol stations in the first two months of the year, averaging about 111 per month – 42 per cent higher than the monthly average in 2025 – as drivers continue to grapple with rising fuel prices caused by the US-Israel war with Iran. The Fire Services Department said on Friday that prosecutions in January and February had risen even more sharply, increasing 85 per cent over last year’s monthly average, with illegal operators...

HKEX opens door for diverse innovative firms to list...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has unveiled its biggest listing reforms since 2018, broadening its special listing regime for innovative companies and opening the door for smaller and more diverse firms to list in the city, the bourse operator said on Friday. HKEX proposed lowering the minimum threshold for companies to list under the weighted voting rights (WVR) regime to a minimum valuation of HK$20 billion (US$2.6 billion), half the current requirement of at least HK$40

Nasa clears Artemis moon rocket for an April launch...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Nasa cleared its moon rocket on Thursday for an April launch with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs. The 98-metre (322-foot) rocket will roll out of the hangar and back to the pad next week at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, leading to a launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity’s first trip to the moon in more than 50 years. The timing is interesting. From the end of March, US President Donald Trump is slated to visit China and meet with President

‘Two sessions’ webinar

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

This year’s ‘two sessions’, China’s biggest annual political gathering, featured the announcement of the lowest GDP growth target in decades and official approval for the 15th five-year plan. SCMP Plus hosted a webinar to discuss these developments with three experts from the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. Other topics included the upcoming US-China presidential summit, President Xi Jinping’s purge of the military and efforts to reshape the economy. The panel...

Greater Bay Airlines to raise fuel surcharges,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Greater Bay Airlines will more than double its fuel surcharge on certain routes starting next week, becoming the last Hong Kong passenger carrier to raise prices amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The airline announced on Friday that it would raise prices due to “surging fuel costs”, with the new surcharges taking effect from March 18. The charge on the carrier’s flights to Hong Kong from all destinations except mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, the Maldives and the Philippines will

Cambricon, China’s ‘little Nvidia’, to pay maiden...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

Cambricon Technologies, a Chinese semiconductor designer seen as a potential alternative to US giant Nvidia, will pay its maiden dividend after posting its first full-year profit since listing in 2020. Cambricon, dubbed “little Nvidia”, planned to distribute a cash dividend of 15 yuan (US$2.2) for every 10 shares held, totalling more than 632 million yuan, according to its filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday. Another 20 million yuan would be allocated for share buy-backs, taking...

China’s arms imports plummet, Hong Kong couple’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/03/13

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why have China’s arms imports plummeted 72% over the past 5 years? Beijing’s arms imports have nose-dived by nearly three-quarters over the past five years, as it has replaced overseas weapons purchases with domestic technology,...

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