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News - South China Morning Post

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New home prices in China’s biggest cities record...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Mainland China’s first-tier home prices edged up 0.2 per cent in March, rising after nine months of losses and no change in February, but it is too soon to declare the property market stable without sustained improvement in homebuying demand, according to analysts. Compared with a month earlier, March home prices were flat in Beijing, rose 0.3 per cent in Shanghai and Guangzhou, and gained 0.2 per cent in Shenzhen, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on...

China trims US Treasury holdings amid rising debt...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

China continued to diversify its foreign exchange reserves in February, trimming its US Treasury stockpile even as overall overseas holdings of sovereign American debt rose to a record high. China’s stockpile of United States Treasuries fell to US$693.3 billion in February, down from US$694.4 billion in January, according to US Treasury Department data released on Wednesday. Although China slightly increased its US Treasury holdings in January, the uptick did little to alter a broader

From auction block to loving home: China netizens...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

China’s first abandoned dog, Deng Deng, who was famously sold at judicial auction, recently died after spending five joyous years in his new home. He is fondly remembered on social media. The owner of the 13-year-old Shiba Inu, identified as Shu, announced Deng Deng’s death on April 7 via a heartfelt social media post. “The dog auctioned for 160,000 yuan (US$23,000) has peacefully returned to the doggy planet, surrounded by his loving family. I hope everyone remembers him with thoughts of...

Hong Kong police smash beautician-led syndicate...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Hong Kong police have broken up a syndicate led by a beautician that allegedly stole credit cards from patrons of a beauty salon in Mong Kok, causing losses of more than HK$410,000 (US$52,347). The force said on Thursday that four men and two women, aged between 39 and 52, had been arrested over the past two days. One suspect was allegedly found with stolen credit cards in their possession at the time. Between last December and April, police received reports from 19 residents who claimed

Greater Bay Airlines suspends Bangkok flights for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Greater Bay Airlines has suspended most of its flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok for more than four months amid surging fuel prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East. The airline’s website showed that as of 8pm on Thursday no flights were available between Hong Kong and Bangkok for most of the dates between May 12 and September 22. The carrier said it had adjusted its services due to rising fuel prices and apologised to affected travellers. “Due to the continued rise in fuel

Hong Kong reports 99% participation of young 2019...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Nearly 1,800 young Hongkongers convicted of protest and national security-related offences have taken part in a rehabilitation programme, authorities have said, including 99 per cent of those found guilty over the 2019 unrest, up from 63 per cent in 2021. Responding to a question from lawmaker Chan Hok-fung, the Security Bureau said that 1,768 inmates had taken part in Project PATH as of the end of February. “According to observations and assessments made by correctional officers, Project

Macau finance minister steps down for ‘personal reasons’

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Macau’s finance minister has resigned over “personal reasons,” prompting the city’s chief executive to temporarily assume his duties until a new candidate is appointed. The cabinet change took effect on Thursday after China’s State Council approved the removal of Tai Kin-ip from the post of secretary for economy and finance, in accordance with Macau’s Basic Law and the recommendation of Chief Executive Sam Hou-fai. Tai, 57, who only assumed the senior role in December 2024, said he had

China’s Wang Yi calls on Iran to ensure freedom and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi sought guarantees of freedom and safety of international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Wednesday. The call is Beijing’s latest diplomacy effort on the Iran war as a US naval blockade of Iranian ports intensifies global energy disruptions and adds uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway off Iran’s coast that Tehran effectively closed in response to US-Israeli strikes. “The...

Lebanon’s Aoun refuses talks with Israel’s Netanyahu...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Lebanon’s president will not speak to Israel’s prime minister in the near future, Lebanese officials said on Thursday, dealing a blow to US efforts to expand contacts between the enemy states as Pakistan said peace in Lebanon was vital to ending the Iran war. The US-Israeli war with Iran spilt into Lebanon on March 2, when Iran-backed Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major conflict. “Peace in Lebanon is

Would more drastic measures help Philippines bring...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

With fuel prices in the Philippines among the world’s hardest hit by the Iran war, consumer groups are urging the government to take bolder action, including tighter control over pump prices.Economists say the more realistic options are tax relief, targeted subsidies and transport support rather than direct price controls. Sharon Garin, secretary of the Philippines’ Department of Energy, said on a radio programme on Sunday that the country might no longer see diesel at 60 pesos (US$1) per

By voicing their needs, Chinese women are normalising...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

I heard an audible gasp in the audience, just as a gynaecologist on the movie screen tries to shove a speculum – a hollow cylinder used to open up a woman’s cervix – into the lower body of the protagonist. The film’s main character, a 25-year-old woman named Xu Ke, grimaces in pain. “Relax,” the gynaecologist says, but her tone and hand movements are anything but relaxing. After a sudden shove, Xu feels the pain, wriggles off the examination table and falls to the floor. The scene from the

BBC to slash 2,000 jobs in biggest redundancy drive...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

The BBC said on Wednesday that the British broadcasting corporation is set to cut up to 2,000 jobs amid a challenging media landscape. The BBC’s interim director general Rhodri Talfan Davies said in a statement to staff that “while we still have to work through the detail, we anticipate the overall number of jobs will fall by 1,800-2,000”. The BBC reported the cuts on Wednesday afternoon, saying they amount to “almost one in 10” jobs, since it has about 21,500 employees. The acting director...

Why China jobseekers use dating apps for work,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Chinese jobseekers are now turning to dating apps to search for work, while some recruitment platforms have become places to connect for dates instead. The youth unemployment rate in China among the 16 to 24 age group, excluding students, has remained above 16 per cent since last July. Many young people express their frustration over the increasing challenges of finding a job. Some report applying for hundreds of positions daily but receiving only a few responses. In this landscape, some...

The next frontier: China maps seabed resources as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

China has issued its first map pinpointing seabed chemical elements in the country’s eastern waters as Japan also races to tap undersea rare earth resources and deep-sea minerals. The Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources published the results of marine geological surveys over the past two decades for the seas, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday. The result was an atlas charting the location, concentration and distribution patterns of dozens of elements in seabed sediments, including...

Are special laws a quick fix for speeding up Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Travelling from Hong Kong’s commercial heart to the site of the San Tin Technopole, a planned innovation hub under the Northern Metropolis megaproject, is an exercise in endurance. The roughly two-hour trek from Causeway Bay requires taking trains on two lines, navigating two transit interchanges and catching a ride on a public minibus. Upon arrival, visitors are not greeted by gleaming skyscrapers or shopping centres, but by a quiet patchwork of fish ponds, villages, scattered squatter homes...

Canton Fair under Middle East cloud, but sets...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/16

Rising tensions in the Middle East cast a fresh shadow over the opening of China’s largest trade fair, at a time when the impact of geopolitical shocks is being reflected in the nation’s trade figures. In conversations across sprawling exhibition halls after the Canton Fair opened its doors on Wednesday in China’s manufacturing hub of Guangzhou, domestic exporters and foreign buyers sounded each other out, trying to gauge how far those shocks might ripple through global trade. The threat of

Futu Securities opens coffee shop in branch as it...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/15

Futu Securities is the latest non-food and beverage retailer to sell coffee and other drinks in one of its outlets in Hong Kong as the online stock brokerage adapts to its clients’ lifestyle, according to a spokesman. Futu Café was officially launched on Thursday at the Futu Store on Lee Garden Road, Causeway Bay, close to its flagship store on Russell Street. Cups of espresso, Americano and iced blue coconut water, among other drinks, are available between 7.30am and 7.30pm. The launch of

China threat used to convince Congress of need to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/15

US military leaders painted a picture of Chinese military threats, spanning Taiwan and space, as they briefed Congress on the military readiness for the financial year 2027 on Wednesday. The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) “invasion rehearsals and live-fire exercises near Taiwan and around the region” had illustrated “the need for combat-ready naval forces in the Indo-Pacific”, according to James Kilby, vice chief of Naval Operations. “[The US Navy therefore] remains committed to partnering

Ticketmaster owner Live Nation ran illegal monopoly,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/15

A US jury on Wednesday found that entertainment giant Live Nation wielded monopoly power at its Ticketmaster business, violating federal and state antitrust laws, according to California’s attorney general. A verdict that could have profound repercussions in the concert world came after four days of deliberations, and remedies could include breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The jury found Live Nation and Ticketmaster liable for anticompetitive conduct that harmed the music industry

China doubles ‘AI for science’ computing scale in 2...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/15

China’s largest artificial intelligence computing cluster for scientific research entered operation on Tuesday, doubling its number of domestically made AI accelerator chips in just two months, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The AI acceleration cards were produced by Chinese supercomputer developer Sugon, which is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and are running in the core node of the national supercomputing network in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The number of chips in

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