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How Pakistan outmanoeuvred India in Iran war...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

After more than 20 hours of high-level negotiations in Islamabad, US Vice-President J.D. Vance confirmed that Washington and Tehran were walking away without a deal. Iran reportedly refused to accept US terms on its nuclear programme, laying bare the deep strategic divides that continue to stall diplomatic solutions to the conflict. However, the venue tells a larger story. India has long been seen as South Asia’s most globally networked actor and has maintained ties with Washington, Tel Aviv,...

Harvey Weinstein rape retrial begins in New York

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

The retrial of disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein on a rape charge on which a jury was previously deadlocked started on Tuesday, although he will remain imprisoned for other offences regardless of the verdict. Weinstein is accused of the third-degree rape of Jessica Mann, who starred in the 2015 romantic comedy This Isn’t Funny. The judge declared a mistrial last June after the jury foreman refused to return to deliberate the case amid a jury-room feud. Weinstein is being retried on that...

Top Russian and Chinese envoys meet in Beijing to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Russia and China’s top envoys met in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss the Iran war, Ukraine and Taiwan as Beijing stepped up its Iran war diplomacy and tensions with Washington increased. In a jab at Washington and US President Donald Trump that did not mention either by name, a Chinese readout of the meeting between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov noted that the world is increasingly marked by turmoil and instability. The two top diplomats also discussed plans...

Stunned Frenchman wins US$1 million Picasso with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

A Parisian man could not believe his luck on Tuesday when he found out he had won a Pablo Picasso painting worth US$1 million with a US$117 raffle ticket. “How do I check that it’s not a hoax?” said Ari Hodara, 58, after organisers called him following the draw at Christie’s auction house in the French capital. Hodara described himself as an art amateur fond of Picasso and said he bought his ticket over the weekend after finding out about the charity raffle by chance during a meal in a...

Men with higher IQs are less conservative, study finds

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

New research suggests that gifted men are less conservative in their political views than men of average cognitive ability. A study conducted in Germany found that men with higher IQs are less inclined to traditional values, but the lead author, psychologist and intelligence researcher Maximilian Krolo of Saarland University said the researchers did not find these differences among women. The study was based on the Marburg Giftedness Project, for which more than 7,000 children in primary

Trump’s son Eric to join father’s state visit to China

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

US President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump and his wife, Lara, will accompany the president on his trip next month to China, a spokeswoman for the family organisation said on Tuesday. Two sources earlier said members of Trump’s family, including Eric, were ‌considering joining Trump on his highly anticipated May 14-15 visit, potentially to contribute to US-China business relations. The spokeswoman said that Eric, who manages his father’s business empire, would go in a personal capacity. “Eric...

Brazil demands rare earths be processed at home as US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Brazil will require foreign partners to process rare earth minerals domestically as a condition for access to its reserves, a senior government official said this week, setting terms that could reshape how Chinese and Western firms compete for resources the country has long exported raw. “Our doors of Brazil to foreign investment are open, but our position has matured,” Leonardo Durans, a senior official at Brazil’s industry ministry, said at a press conference with international media on...

‘Truly monstrous’: Germany jails Chinese student in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

A German court on Tuesday sentenced a 28-year-old Chinese student to 11 years and three months in jail for repeatedly drugging and raping his girlfriend and filming the abuse. In a case reminiscent of that of France’s Gisele Pelicot, the Munich court said the defendant, named only as Zhongyi J., had assaulted his girlfriend while she was unconscious at least seven times. Zhongyi J. filmed the abuse each time and stored the videos on a hard drive, the court said. In one case, the assault

Israel, Lebanon agree to launch direct talks after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare face-to-face talks, facilitated by Washington, on Tuesday, with all sides agreeing to launch “direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue”. “Israel expressed its commitment to engage in direct negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues and achieve a durable peace that will strengthen security, stability and prosperity in the region,” as per a readout issued by the US State Department. The statement said that Lebanon called for a...

Trump-Xi summit shaped by uncertainty, not strategy:...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

As US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping prepare to sit down in the coming weeks, negotiations on deliverables and scheduling have accelerated, including a possible visit to Beijing’s Temple of Heaven and a military parade, according to several people familiar with the planning process. The lead-up for such a consequential summit has been compressed and rather disjointed given the Middle East war and Trump’s preference for making last-minute decisions based on his

‘I’m shocked by her’: Trump turns on Italy’s Meloni...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni lacks courage and has let Washington down, US President Donald Trump told an Italian newspaper on Tuesday, delivering a blunt public rebuke to one of his closest European allies. Meloni had been a vociferous supporter of Trump, but she distanced herself from him after he went to war with Iran ‌in February, and on Monday she openly criticised him for lashing out at Pope Leo, saying his verbal assault was “unacceptable”. Trump responded in an interview with...

Hong Kong landlords face HK$17,000 inspection bill...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Hong Kong landlords who fail to fix water seepage affecting flats below face a minimum inspection bill of HK$17,000 (US$2,170) if they take no action within 28 days of notification under a pilot scheme designed to fast-track such cases. The plan, launched by a joint office under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and Buildings Department, shifts the responsibility of shouldering inspection costs from the government to flat owners who fail to address water seepage...

Xi Jinping’s meeting with Abu Dhabi crown prince...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Chinese President Xi Jinping ‌called for a more robust, resilient and dynamic ‌strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, as Beijing intensified what observers have described as its “quiet but pragmatic” diplomacy during the Iran crisis. In a meeting with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu ‌Dhabi, Xi unveiled a four-point proposal to safeguard Middle East stability, stressing the importance of national sovereignty, the international

Wang Fuk Court resident reports suspected theft from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

A resident of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po has said that a drawer in her flat had been rummaged through, prompting a police investigation and rekindling burglary fears in the sealed residential complex. Police launched the probe after a resident surnamed Lee raised concerns about a possible burglary early on Tuesday. A government social worker had sent her a photograph of her flat in Wang Cheong House the day before, which showed drawers and boxes that...

Why energy firm Sigenergy’s IPO ignited market frenzy...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Chinese energy storage firm Sigenergy has ignited a market frenzy with its initial public offering (IPO) plan in Hong Kong, drawing an oversubscription of over 1,000 times, while its listed peer Guoxia Technology enjoyed a rally, as the duo capitalise on the artificial intelligence boom. Shanghai-based Sigenergy, which aims to raise HK$4.4 billion (US$561.6 million) in its IPO, is expected to be 1,414 times oversubscribed, as retail investors borrowed HK$358.6 billion from 17 brokerages,...

Philippines rejects China’s claim it ‘staged’ cyanide...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

The Philippine military on Tuesday rejected Beijing’s claim that Manila had staged a “cyanide stunt” near a contested reef in the South China Sea, after Filipino officials accused Chinese fishermen of using cyanide around a grounded warship that serves as a military outpost. “We reject any statement that this is fabricated news,” said Navy Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. At the centre of the dispute is the BRP Sierra Madre, a derelict

Discovery Bay developer eyes longer taxi trial amid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

The developer of Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay is considering extending its trial period and limiting operating hours for cabbies to gain full access to the resort-style seaside community amid opposition from some residents. The Islands District Council’s Traffic and Transport Committee held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the paper presented by Hong Kong Resort Company in the presence of more than 20 residents who held differing views on the plan. Before the meeting, supporters and opponents of

Shanghai Gigafactory has potential to construct...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, its largest production base, has the potential to build humanoid robots in future, the company’s China president says, with its manufacturing efficiency and innovative capability seen as potential drivers of CEO Elon Musk’s hopes of commercialising the technology swiftly. Allan Wang Hao said in a media briefing on Tuesday that the Shanghai Gigafactory could provide a “golden key” to the mass production of robots designed to resemble and move like humans. “Like

Will the next round of US-Iran talks bring peace or...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

Negotiating teams from America and Iran could return to Islamabad as early as the end of this week, days after 21 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital ended without a deal, Reuters reported. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that “we’ve been called by the other side” and “they want to work a deal”. A limited or temporary settlement remained possible as the two sides were cautiously approaching a de-escalation despite a total deficit of trust, according to analysts. But they warned

IMF cuts China’s GDP growth forecast to 4.4% as Iran...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/14

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its global economic growth forecast, including for China, citing shocks from the US-Israeli war in Iran. In its flagship World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday, the IMF projected worldwide gross domestic product growth at 3.1 per cent this year, down 0.2 percentage points from its January estimate. China – the world’s second-largest economy – is now expected to expand by 4.4 per cent this year. That would miss the IMF’s January estimate

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