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News - South China Morning Post

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China warns of food security risks as Iran war...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/17

China’s food supply could be vulnerable to global price spikes triggered by extreme weather or global conflict, as international bodies warn the US-Israel war on Iran is worsening food insecurity worldwide. The country has sufficient staple grain supplies, but Beijing said the nation’s food sector still faced structural challenges, including a weak processing industry and a lack of high-quality crop varieties in some areas. These weaknesses could pose problems for China if global food markets...

Manycore, one of Hangzhou’s ‘Six Little Dragons’,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/17

Manycore Tech, a design software developer hailed as one of Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons”, made its trading debut in Hong Kong on Friday, with shares rising 172 per cent at the open, as the company positions itself at the intersection of artificial intelligence and the physical world. The company’s shares opened at HK$20.70 (US$2.64), rising 172 per cent versus the offer price of HK$7.62. The firm raised HK$1.09 billion from its initial public offering (IPO). On the grey market on Thursday,...

With Art March, Hong Kong is firmly on the global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/17

March is a highlight of Hong Kong’s cultural calendar. Last month, as I welcomed delegates to the International Cultural Summit during Art Week, many told me they had come to network with local and international collaborators and explore Hong Kong’s museums, galleries and performance venues. Tens of thousands attended Art Basel, Art Central, gallery openings, performances and other events across the city. The month also buzzed with jazz, opera, classical concerts and other performances, with

Mastering the shadows: explore lives, extraordinary...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/17

Beneath the rigid honour codes of the criminal underworld, ancient Chinese thieves operated in a high-stakes gamble against the state. For those who broke the law and were captured, the cost of failure was inscribed on their skin or paid in blood through facial tattooing, brutal amputations, or the executioner’s blade. From mastering qinggong (light body technique) to extreme contortion, their skills offered insight into a shadowy realm characterised by cunning, strict discipline, and...

China’s AI firms scaled up on open-source models. The...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/17

In China’s hyper-competitive and lucrative tech industry, releasing cutting-edge artificial intelligence models for free may seem counter-intuitive – but it has become a core business strategy. At the University of Hong Kong last November, Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai was asked why the tech giant open-sourced its AI models. Addressing a room full of students, Tsai said he believed open-source AI would bring global benefits by lowering costs, making it a natural fit for talent- and...

How Shanghai reduces faecal bacteria presence in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/17

When it comes to hotel rooms, “luxury” does not necessarily mean clean and hygienic. A number of studies have shown that light switches and television remote controls are among the objects with the highest levels of bacterial contamination, while toilets and bathroom sinks also contain high levels of microbial organisms. A 2012 survey in the United States – which is still cited by the travel industry 14 years later – found that 81 per cent of US hotel samples tested positive for surface

Bars gearing up for bumper Hong Kong Sevens weekend

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/17

Bars and restaurants are gearing up for a bumper three days during the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, brushing off concerns that rising airfares because of the Middle East war might put off visitors, with some operators expecting a surge of up to 40 per cent compared with a regular weekend. Business magnate and Lan Kwai Fong Group chairman Allan Zeman told the South China Morning Post that the loyal following of the flagship tournament, which runs from Friday to Sunday at the 50,000-seat

IMF, World Bank say they are resuming dealings with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

The International Monetary Fund and ⁠the World Bank said on ⁠Thursday they had resumed dealings with Venezuela, which had been paused since 2019. The move paves the way for a full IMF assessment of Venezuela’s economy for the first time in some 20 years and could eventually unlock billions of dollars in ‌funding via frozen special drawing rights. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement that the Fund, guided by the views of a majority of its members, was now dealing with...

Why biggest threat to US’ global dollar dominance may...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

China has crafted markets, mechanisms and incentives as the world’s largest buyer of commodities in a bid to free itself from its dependence on the US dollar, but the biggest threat to Washington’s global dollar dominance may well be Washington itself, witnesses said in testimony on Thursday before a key advisory committee to the US Congress. Economic sanctions and access to US-led global banking systems are a powerful US tool that can be used to great effect, said experts before the US-China...

China willing to ‘buy’ or ‘steal’ US tech to get...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

At a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday, lawmakers and experts accused China of buying “what they can” and stealing “what they cannot” in the global artificial intelligence (AI) race, while warning the United States’ immigration and research policies could be hindering innovation necessary to stay ahead. “The pattern is clear. China is dependent on our tech stack to continue their AI development. China is willing to buy what they can, and steal what they cannot, to advance

Diamond coating nearly doubles Chinese AI data...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Chinese researchers have developed a new diamond-copper material that they say can improve the cooling efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) data centres by up to 80 per cent. The functional carbon materials team – from the Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) – said the composite material had already been deployed in an AI computing node in Zhengzhou in Henan province, China Science Daily reported. The global computing industry’s pursuit of

US will help Peru ‘take back’ Chancay port from...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

A senior US lawmaker called on Peru’s next government to reclaim the Chinese-controlled port of Chancay, describing the deepwater facility as a direct military threat to the western hemisphere. Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, said during a hearing on Thursday that Washington would help Peru wrest the megaport from Chinese hands. “The new Peruvian government, which will be elected next June, must take it back, that...

‘First of its kind’ flying taxi station completed in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Dubai has completed its first flying taxi station, with commercial operations expected to begin by the end of the year, authorities in the Gulf emirate announced on Thursday. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, crown prince of Dubai and United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister, visited Dubai’s “first purpose-built electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Air Taxi Station”, the emirate’s media office said in a statement. The facility, described by the emirate’s authorities as the “first of its...

US’ Greer pushes for funds to escalate Trump’s trade...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

In a defiant display of “America first” brinkmanship, Washington’s top trade negotiator on Thursday sought additional funding to support US President Donald Trump’s new trade wars, insisting the administration will not be held hostage by Beijing’s retaliatory tactics ahead of a high-stakes leaders’ summit next month. With Trump set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on May 14-15, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer used the agency’s budget hearing to draw a hard line: the US is doubling

Epstein scandal: UK foreign ministry chief out over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Britain’s top foreign ministry official will leave his post after Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him, a source said on Thursday, following a row over the security vetting of Peter Mandelson. The disclosure of the vetting failure has intensified pressure on Starmer over his appointment of Mandelson, Britain’s former US ‌ambassador, who is under police investigation for allegedly leaking government documents to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,...

Mind-blowing power and speed of black hole jets...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

For the first time, scientists have measured the instantaneous mind-blowing power of jets blasting from a black hole. The jet power from this relatively close black hole-star system is equivalent to 10,000 suns, an international research team reported on Thursday. They also tracked the jet speed: roughly 540 million km/h (355 million mph) – half the speed of light. Located 7,200 light-years away, Cygnus X-1 features not only a black hole – the first one ever identified more than a

Israel and Lebanon begin 10-day ceasefire as US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon appeared to be holding on Friday, a development that could provide critical relief to Washington’s strained temporary truce with Tehran. Announcing the ceasefire, which came into effect at 5pm EST Thursday, US President Donald Trump said it followed what he described as “excellent conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between...

Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs meets city’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has met the city’s No 2 official and finance chief in the capital to discuss alignment with the national 15th five-year plan, as the government prepares to draw up its own inaugural blueprint by the end of the year. The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) said its director, Xia Baolong, held talks with Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and the newly appointed Secretary for Constitutional and...

Hong Kong leader John Lee, EU officials meet to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has met European Union representatives to discuss opportunities for cooperation, with the chief executive saying both sides highlighted a shared belief in multilateralism amid increasing tensions and market turmoil. Ambassador Harvey Rouse, head of the EU Office in Hong Kong, called for both sides to work together, describing the 27-member bloc as a “very dependable partner in an increasingly volatile world”. Local officials attending the lunch meeting on...

Hong Kong government forks out two-thirds of HK$90...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

The revamp of Hong Kong’s HK$2 (26 US cents) transport fare concession scheme for the elderly and disabled carried a HK$90 million price tag, with the government paying two-thirds, a Legislative Council Finance Committee paper revealed on Wednesday. It also showed that about 220 beneficiaries averaged more than 240 trips a month – equivalent to over eight daily – with one taking as many as 20 a day in the first year of real-name registration. The government adjusted the scheme on April 3,...

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