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China flicks the switch on world-first thermal power...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/09

China has switched on a world-first solar thermal power station in the Gobi Desert that is said to be a cheaper and more efficient use of the technology with potential to be scaled up. Built by the China Three Gorges Corporation, the plant in Guazhou county in northwestern Gansu province uses two towers feeding a single turbine system – the first time this has been done. Nearly 27,000 mirrors have been installed to focus sunlight onto the 200-metre (656 feet) towers, which are about 1km (0.62...

Chinese nursing home under fire for using ‘suggestive...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/09

A nursing home in northern China has provoked public outrage after posting a video of a senior staff member performing a provocative dance in a miniskirt in front of elderly residents, allegedly to encourage them to take their medicine. On September 24, a verified social media account for a nursing home in Anyang, Henan province, shared a clip featuring a woman in a short miniskirt dancing suggestively in front of a seated elderly man. The caption read: “Our director is doing whatever it

How Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Bank has evolved over the...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/09

Hang Seng Bank, one of the biggest banks in Hong Kong, on Thursday received a proposal from its parent HSBC to take it private. The bank’s impairments tied to the city’s property sector, which is suffering from a multi-year downturn, have weighed on its bottom line. Non-performing loans rose to 6.69 per cent at the end of June, from 6.12 per cent at the end of last year, according to its interim report. The bank’s total assets stood at HK$1.82 trillion (US$233.9 billion) in the first half, an...

Has Philippines lost world’s trust over flood-control...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/09

As the Philippines grapples with a corruption scandal over flood control projects that sparked protests across the country last month, the ramifications of the saga are being felt from as far away as Norway. After a Filipino television personality and broadcaster shared on social media that a family member in Norway was turned away at an airport foreign exchange over concerns her country had “money-laundering issues”, many others claimed to have had similar experiences. Analysts, meanwhile,

Will new accountability system be fair to Hong Kong’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

Alarm and despondency could spread through Hong Kong’s civil service in the coming weeks as the significance of last month’s policy address begins to sink in. The proposal to introduce a heads of department accountability system and make other changes to performance assessment methodology is a real game changer.Despite ritual praise of our 170,000 officials as “an outstanding team”, it is clear Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu feels there is considerable scope for improvement in management,

Hong Kong adds additional private residential plot in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

An additional private residential plot will be added to a land parcel in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis to attract developers to invest in the economic hub near the border with mainland China, the city’s development chief has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Sunday that under a new set of laws tailored for the megaproject, construction hours might be extended to speed up work. Linn said in a televised interview that an area spanning more than 10 hectares (25

Tarot with your merlot? Why China’s consumers are...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

In China's biggest cities, many of the trendiest nightlife spots aren’t known for their craft cocktails or stunning views, but for an unusual feature: fortune-telling. Sip of Oracle, a self-styled “spiritual bar” in central Shanghai, encapsulates this trend with its whimsical slogan, “Explore the unknown in a tipsy haze.” Kate Li, a Shanghai bank employee reeling from a recent pay cut, stumbled upon the establishment with friends one weekend. “We were venting about work and curious about our...

China ethnic minority youth prank on elders during...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

A peculiar custom to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in southern China involves young people actively seeking verbal reprimands from the elders, believing that the more they are scolded, the longer they will live. This tradition, known as “Mid-Autumn cursing” or ma zhongqiu in Chinese, is primarily practised by the Zhuang ethnic minority in Xilin county, Baise, Guangxi province. The Zhuang, estimated to number around 19 million, are the largest minority group in China. They predominantly

More than HK$210,000 in jewellery and cash stolen...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

A luxury villa in Hong Kong’s Sha Tin district has been targeted in a pre-dawn burglary, with thieves making off with more than HK$210,000 (US$26,985) in valuables. A 53-year-old man reported to police at 6am on Sunday that his standalone house at Greenland Villas on Ma Yeung Path in Kau To Shan had been broken into. Officers found a damaged window and signs of ransacking. The resident said jewellery worth about HK$45,000 and HK$170,000 in cash were missing from the premises. The case is

8 people injured as private car veers onto pedestrian...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

At least eight people have been injured in a traffic accident involving three cars and two buses near Hong Kong’s Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei. A private car veered onto a pedestrian island near the junction of Jordan Road and Shanghai Street at around 2pm on Sunday, according to police. Among the injured were two pedestrians, who were knocked down, with one seen lying on the ground bleeding. The injured people were conscious when taken to hospital for treatment. Police are investigating the...

‘It’s so easy’: how AI is reshaping home design in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

With a few taps on her phone, Riana J. Saman moved pieces of furniture around her master bedroom, then pinched the screen to shrink a bedside table so it would fit snugly between her bed and wardrobe. The 35-year-old dance instructor was not using a tape measure or design manual – she was relying entirely on Planner 5D, an artificial intelligence-powered interior design app, to decorate her family’s new four-room, 93 square metre (1,001 sq ft) flat in Singapore. “It’s so easy, I wish more

Legacy preserved: collector’s Chinese textile passion...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

Chris Hall, a 73-year-old renowned Chinese textile collector, often jokingly called himself the “youngest thing in this flat,” as he lived surrounded by antiques and vintage art from around the world in his residence on The Peak in Hong Kong. However, the accountant by profession has decided to donate his entire collection of 3,000 Chinese textiles and his home to the Hong Kong Palace Museum over a 10-year period ending in 2034, at the West Kowloon Cultural Arts Hub, citing his bachelor

Beijing targets Gen Z, Millennials in new strategy to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

China is betting on a new generation of digital influencers and content creators to reshape its image in Africa, which observers have said is a major shift as Beijing looks to refine its “soft power” campaigns. This new strategy aims to reshape China’s public image by connecting directly with younger audiences through cultural exchange and tourism, showcasing a side of the country rarely seen in traditional news reports. For the second consecutive year, the Chinese embassy in Kenya is

China dog risks life to save owner from snake, gets...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

A pet dog in China almost sacrificed its own life after it was bitten by a viper while saving its owner. The owner, Meng, and her family moved to a village in northern China’s Hebei province in June. They made the move so that her two pet Shiba Inu dogs, two-year-old Hetao and one-year-old Duoduo, had more space to play. On the morning of August 29, Meng heard Duoduo barking in the front garden. She thought he was barking at a stranger, but when she and Hetao went out, she saw a snake. Meng...

China’s southern provinces brace for Typhoon Matmo as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

China’s southern provinces are bracing for Typhoon Matmo, as Guangdong authorities relocated more than 150,000 residents and Hainan has suspended rail services across the island. The National Meteorological Centre on Sunday said Matmo, the 21st typhoon of the year, had strengthened into a severe typhoon that morning and was expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to areas across Hainan province, Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. On Sunday, Matmo made landfall...

Netanyahu hopes to announce release of all hostages...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza “in the coming days”, as Israel and Hamas prepare for indirect talks in Egypt on Monday on a new US plan to end the war. In a brief statement on Saturday, Netanyahu said he had sent a delegation to Egypt “to finalise technical details,” adding that “our goal is to contain these negotiations to a time frame of a few days”. But Netanyahu signalled there would not be a full Israeli...

23 Malaysian ‘heroes’ held by Israel in Gaza aid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

Malaysian activists detained by Israel while on a humanitarian aid mission to Gaza have been released and deported to Turkey. “All 23 of our heroes have safely arrived in Istanbul, Turkey,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a social media post on Saturday, after days of efforts to secure their release. Malaysia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations. The prime minister said that the released individuals, who were detained last week, would undergo health assessments before...

Can China, Israel work around Gaza rift with trade,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

Two years ago, the war in Gaza triggered a chill in diplomatic ties between China and Israel, once described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “a marriage made in heaven”. But Beijing and Tel Aviv appear now to have restored some balance in the relationship, driven by a shared interest in maintaining trade and technological links. However, observers warn that the fallout from the Gaza crisis, combined with a growing rivalry between China and the US – Israel’s closest ally –

Hong Kong urged to regulate private schools in line...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

Hong Kong’s education authorities are being urged to implement regulations for private and international schools that align with those governing their subsidised counterparts, following the city leader’s plans to enhance oversight of these institutions. While stricter regulations would help prevent irregularities in private schools, lawmakers also emphasised the importance of proactive monitoring and timely intervention should problems arise. In his policy address, Chief Executive John Lee...

Indonesia’s grand capital plan gets a downgrade as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/10/05

Six years after Nusantara was unveiled as Indonesia’s future capital and a symbol of national transformation, President Prabowo Subianto has redefined its purpose, prompting debate over the fate of the megaproject and the legacy of his predecessor. Under a presidential regulation Prabowo signed in late June, but made public only in September, Nusantara has been reclassified as Indonesia’s “political capital” – a phrase absent from existing legislation. The regulation, which outlines

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