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News - South China Morning Post

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Circle K chain in Hong Kong suspends e-payments after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

The Circle K convenience chain store in Hong Kong has suspended accepting electronic payments after a suspected cyberattack. Circle K Hong Kong, which operates nearly 400 outlets across the city, said on Sunday evening that a network problem had affected its e-payment, email and loyalty programme systems. “Our stores remain open and operating, and customers may pay with cash or Octopus, though electronic payment transactions are temporarily unavailable,” it said in a statement shared on

Help given to residents in low-lying areas as Ragasa...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

Preparations have been made to evacuate villagers from Tai O, one of Hong Kong’s most flood-prone areas, starting on Monday, while prevention efforts continue in other locations severely affected by earlier storms as Super Typhoon Ragasa approaches the city. District councillors were also advised to remain prepared and assist residents in need as they prepared for Ragasa, which was forecast to approach Hong Kong on Wednesday. The city is on high alert as images of the two most destructive...

Hong Kong stocks slip after Trump-Xi call provides...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

Hong Kong stocks slid on Monday after a highly anticipated call on Friday between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping provided investors with little to whet their risk appetite. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.8 per cent to 26,344.14 at the close. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 0.6 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index advanced 0.5 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent. Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports Products dropped 2.2 per cent to...

How China’s GJ-11 UAV is poised for crucial roles in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

As China’s Victory Day parade got under way in Beijing on September 3, some of the world’s most advanced military hardware began to file through Tiananmen Square with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) – the GJ-11 “Sharp Sword” – leading the way. The drone, with the number 21 displayed on its fuselage, represented one of the most advanced uncrewed systems in service in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). A closer look at the aircraft’s wings showed visible folding hinges, a change from the

‘Erase bases from our land’: most Japanese oppose US...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

The vast majority of Japanese do not want to live close to an American military base, according to a new poll, with people expressing concern about worsening crime, pollution, noise and the risk of the facility being targeted in a potential conflict. Amid growing calls in Okinawa prefecture for some of the US facilities there to be relocated to other parts of Japan to ease the burden on the southern islands, the Asahi Shimbun published the results of its survey on September 13. In response to...

John Lee’s policy address leaves some big questions...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

It was good to hear Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu say in last week’s policy address that his “ultimate objective in governance is to improve people’s livelihood” and recognising that the government must prioritise the well-being of the people to improve the health of the economy. It’s good because we are finally recognising that people are behind the success of Hong Kong and those good stories he wants everyone to tell. Reactions to the latest policy address have been generally positive.

Israeli strikes kill over 40 in Gaza amid moves to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

Israeli strikes in Gaza City and at a refugee camp killed more than 40 people, including 19 women and children, health officials said on Sunday, as several European countries and leading US allies moved to recognise a Palestinian state. Health officials at Shifa Hospital, where most of the bodies were brought, said the dead included 14 people killed in a strike late on Saturday that hit a residential block on the southern side of the city. Health staff said a nurse who worked at the hospital

Self-taught China teen launches rocket to 400 metres...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

A Chinese teenage boy, dedicated to DIY rockets, has inspired many by gaining admission to a university’s aerospace engineering programme this year. Zhang Shijie, 18, hails from a village in central China’s Hunan province. His passion for rocket making ignited at 14, after watching a live broadcast of a rocket launch with his father. Recently, he joyfully announced that he has been accepted into the aerospace engineering major at Shenyang Aerospace University, one of China’s premier aerospace...

Hong Kong to axe about 700 flights, suspend all...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. About 700 flights will be cancelled from Tuesday evening as Super Typhoon Ragasa edges closer to Hong Kong, with authorities announcing a two-day suspension of all schools. The weather forecaster issued the No 1 typhoon signal at 12.20pm on Monday and said it would upgrade it to the No 3 warning at 9.40pm. It added that it would consider issuing the No 8...

Hong Kong business chamber spearheads local, mainland...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

One of Hong Kong’s largest business chambers is taking on a bigger role in leading trade delegations to help local and mainland Chinese firms reach new markets at home and abroad, with plans to visit Osaka this week and Hangzhou in December, according to its new chairman. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu highlighted in his policy address last week the Federation of Hong Kong Industries’ recent business trip to Vietnam as an example of how the city was pooling industry strengths to support...

Fed’s rate cut to fuel property investment globally,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

The resumption of a policy easing cycle following the US Federal Reserve’s quarter-point interest-rate reduction is likely to spur more investments into property globally, according to analysts. For mainland China and Hong Kong, however, the impact could be less significant owing to fundamental and geopolitical strains, they added. “Rarely do central banks do ‘one and done’,” said Pamela Ambler, head of capital markets research for Asia-Pacific at JLL. “This [Fed] cut is likely to kick off a...

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un open to US talks, has ‘fond...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he was open to future talks with the United States if Washington drops its demand that the country give up its nuclear weapons, state media said on Monday. Kim also said he had “fond memories” of US President Donald Trump, who he met three times for high-profile summits during Trump’s first term, before talks collapsed in Hanoi in 2019 over what concessions Pyongyang was prepared to make. “If the United States discards its delusional obsession with...

From Malaysia to Bangladesh, Asia’s dirty money finds...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/22

For decades, London’s property market has offered sanctuary to fortunes of murky origins, its red-brick mansions and gleaming office blocks standing as monuments to global impunity. Now, as anti-corruption watchdogs from Malaysia to Bangladesh demand justice, Britain is once again forced to reckon with its role as the world’s premier laundromat for kleptocrats. Malaysia’s investigators revealed earlier this month that they were investigating the alleged London-based assets of former prime...

HSBC opens first Middle East wealth hub in Dubai to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/21

HSBC has opened its first wealth management centre in the Middle East in the UAE – its biggest investment in two decades in its premier banking business – to tap the growing investment appetite of affluent investors globally, according to a top banker. The bank’s 24,000 sq ft wealth centre started operations in Dubai on Tuesday, where some 90 relationship managers will cater to the investment needs of high-net-worth individuals in the United Arab Emirates. The country is one of the world’s

Cancer machine donated by Li Ka-shing on Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/21

A cutting-edge machine donated by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, which can destroy cancerous cells with ultrasound waves, has been included in a government list of approved medical devices, paving the way for wider use of the technology in public hospitals. The Hospital Authority said in a response to the Post that it would also consider other factors, such as quality and safety standards, before using the machines in public health facilities. The histotripsy medical device, given to the

First Syrian president in nearly 60 years arrives in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/21

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in New York on Sunday to take part in the UN General Assembly, the first president of Syria to do so in nearly six decades. The last time a Syrian head of state attended the General Assembly was in 1967. That was before the 50-year rule of the Assad family dynasty, which came to an end in December when then-president Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgent offensive led by Sharaa. Assad’s fall also brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil...

Ukrainian, Russian attacks kill 3 civilians as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/21

Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Belgorod border region killed two civilians, while Russian shelling of eastern Ukraine left a man dead, officials said on Sunday. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that a woman was killed when shelling struck a private home in the border town of Shebekino, while a man died in a drone strike on the village of Rakitnoe. The Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has faced frequent cross-border attacks since Moscow...

Beijing could build research lab at Scarborough...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/21

China might build a science laboratory at the disputed Scarborough Shoal and invite international experts to conduct coral reef and fisheries research, a leading South China Sea analyst said. He also called for further measures like boarding inspections, penalties for illegal fishing and barring rival claimants from the area. Beijing announced on September 10 that it had approved the creation of a nature reserve spanning around 35 sq km (13.5 square miles) at the shoal, which Beijing calls...

Dong Yu on why ‘every chapter’ of China’s 5-year...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/21

Dong Yu has been executive vice-president of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University since 2019. Before joining academia, he held senior positions in several of China’s major economic decision-making bodies, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission. He has been part of the teams that drafted several of the country’s economic blueprint documents, including the 11th, 12th and 13th...

Government has failed LGBT Hongkongers over same-sex...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/09/21

The decision by a majority of legislative councillors to vote down the same-sex partnerships bill has been presented by officials as some kind of triumph for the system of government. In fact, it sets us on the road to a slow-burning loss of credibility about our commitment to the rule of law. A total of 71 members voted against the bill earlier this month, with just 14 in favour and one abstention. The outcome was widely reported in the overseas media, most directly highlighting that this was

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