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News - South China Morning Post

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‘Worth the wait’: hundreds queue for Fortnum &...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Hundreds of eager shoppers flocked to Fortnum & Mason’s Hong Kong outlet on Saturday for discounted products before the store closed, with staff cutting off the queue two hours after opening. By 2pm, the Post observed a queue of about 100 people stretching along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Staff began turning customers away from 1pm, advising them to check the shop’s social media platforms for updates. Fortnum & Mason, known as the “king’s grocer” in Britain, announced on Friday that it

Hong Kong school near fire-hit estate to take over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

A Hong Kong primary school opposite the scene of the deadly Tai Po fire is expected to take over another campus by the end of June, its principal has said, with pupils set to begin classes for the coming academic year at the new premises. Parents of pupils at Tai Po Baptist Public School told the Post on Saturday that they supported the move, adding that their children were excited to start learning at the new site. Education authorities earlier announced that the school would use the old...

Venezuela’s furious streets forces are angry, armed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

When explosions boomed in the night and US warplanes roared in the sky over Caracas, Jorge Suarez and his companions rushed fearfully for their guns. For these members of the colectivos – armed loyalists of the leftist leadership – the US raid that ousted Nicolas Maduro as their president was the most dramatic challenge yet. “We’re not used to it – it was like a bestseller, like something out of a film,” said Suarez, in black sunglasses and a cap bearing the slogan: “Doubt is treason.” “We

China actor rejects US$2,800 fee to be...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

A Chinese actor who once went viral for offering paid companionship services to people evening hiking on Mount Tai for 799 yuan (US$115) has revealed that the charge was inflated to 19,999 yuan (US$2,800). He now plans to launch a paid swimming companionship service in 2026. In June, 35-year-old Shi Yuanting, a native of Shenyang in northeastern China’s Liaoning province, went viral after posting a video of himself accompanying a client on a hike up Mount Tai. He charged 699 yuan during the

Hong Kong’s finance chief confirms early surplus,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Hong Kong’s finance chief has confirmed the city will achieve an early operating account surplus thanks to strong financial market performance and increased stock trading stamp duty revenue, as he addressed calls for more welfare measures for the elderly at the first public forum for the coming budget. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po vowed on Saturday to make the “utmost” efforts to address elderly residents’ concerns over high living costs, while highlighting that authorities had not...

Hong Kong’s SHKP set to continue sell-out streak with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Hong Kong’s largest developer, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), appears on track to post another sell-out this weekend for the latest units on sale at its massive Sierra Sea residential project, as improving market sentiment continued to boost homebuyers’ confidence. Homebuyers snapped up more than 70 of the 262 new flats on offer at Sierra Sea’s Phase 2A as of 12.30pm on Saturday, according to agents. “I believe they will be all sold out by the end of the day,” said Louis Chan Wing-kit,...

How China’s global investment model is changing – and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been a crucial pillar of China’s economy since it opened up, drawing in trillions and helping fuel its rise as the “world’s factory”. But outbound direct investment (ODI) has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, transforming the country into a major exporter of capital. Today, China’s outbound investments exceed inflows, and the country has consistently ranked among the top three global investors in recent years. In this explainer, the Post examines

Self-taught China pupil impresses peers with TCM...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

A secondary school pupil in China who provides volunteer traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) consultations for his classmates has gone viral online and won admiration from internet users. Zhao Tianyu, a grade three pupil at Kailu No 1 Middle School in Tongliao in the northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region. He attracted attention thanks to a video clip released on December 29 by his teacher, surnamed Liu, which amassed 120,000 likes on a leading social media platform alone, the China Youth...

More than a game: rugby helps Hong Kong charity...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Passing, tackling and scrums – all part of the sport of rugby. But in some Hong Kong schools, they take on a deeper meaning – helping to bridge divides between students of different backgrounds. Since 2013, the charity Rugby For Good has been introducing the game to school campuses, using sport as a tool to bring together young people from diverse ethnicities and communities. This year, the NGO is one of 13 charities selected by the annual fundraising campaign Operation Santa Claus (OSC) to...

Rebuilding fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court ‘not...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Hong Kong authorities estimate that acquiring all homes in the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court will cost around HK$6 billion (US$770 million), with officials saying that rebuilding on the same site was “not really very practical”. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Saturday that the site was expected to be repurposed for community facilities rather than housing, citing overseas examples where sites of similar tragedies were rarely redeveloped for residential use. He stressed...

Iran protests: a day-by-day guide to the unfolding...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Demonstrations broke out in Iran on December 28 and have spread nationwide as protesters vent their increasing discontent over the Islamic Republic’s faltering economy and the collapse of its currency. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands arrested as the daily protests have grown and the government seeks to contain them. While the initial focus had been on issues like spikes in the prices of food staples and the country’s staggering annual inflation rate, protesters have now begun...

Protest fury pushes Iran to the edge of ‘social...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Expectations of change at the top of Iran’s Islamic Republic are growing as nationwide protests over surging living costs unite an unusually broad swathe of society – from pro-regime merchants and the conservative rural poor to the cosmopolitan urban middle class – for the first time since the 1979 revolution. Fuelled by the rial’s dramatic collapse following Iran’s 12-day conflict with Israel and the United States in June, the unrest has become a lightning rod for public anger at corruption,...

Chinese smart eyewear makers shine at CES with focus...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Dozens of Chinese makers of smart glasses dazzled the exhibition floor at the recent CES trade show in Las Vegas, where they showed lightweight, artificial intelligence-powered eyewear aimed at a category that has been largely defined by Meta Platforms’ Ray-Ban Display. At the four-day annual trade show, which concluded on Friday, Chinese brands made up most of the roughly 60 smart eyewear exhibitors. Their products ranged from audio-first frames designed for all-day wear to augmented reality...

‘We do not want to be Americans’ Greenland parliament...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Greenland’s political parties on Friday expressed unity in response to US President Donald Trump’s claims to the Danish territory. “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” said a joint statement signed by the five parties in the Greenlandic parliament, Inatsisartut. The parties called on the United States to end its “disdain for our country” and emphasised that “the future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people.” Trump had...

China-led team replicates human embryo ‘invasion’ of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

A China-led team has built the world’s first mini-womb on a chip that can fully replicate the “invasion” of human embryos in the uterus during early pregnancy. Their 3D model on a microfluidic chip can be used to uncover the mysteries behind human embryo implantation and lead to personalised treatments for women struggling to get pregnant. The team led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Zoology said that while achieving a better understanding of human

Hong Kong housing estate flat owners drop contractor...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Owners of a private housing estate in Tuen Mun have voted overwhelmingly to terminate their renovation contract with Prestige Construction and Engineering Company – the same contractor responsible for works at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. At a general meeting held on Friday night at Elegance Gardens, 96.45 per cent of 1,655 effective undivided shares held by flat owners voted to terminate the contract. Several owners who spoke to the Post said they no longer...

What does HSBC’s buyout of Hang Seng Bank mean for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Following the January 8 shareholder vote that overwhelmingly approved the largest privatisation deal in Hong Kong’s history, many questions remain about the future of Hang Seng Bank, its stakeholders and the broader financial landscape. For Hang Seng Bank’s shareholders, the immediate question is what to do with the HK$106.16 billion (US$13.6 billion) windfall from HSBC Holdings for acquiring the remaining 37 per cent it does not own. “I invested in Hang Seng Bank for the long term because of...

Will X be banned in the UK? Elon Musk hits back at...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

Critics of X “want any excuse for censorship”, Elon Musk has claimed, as his website faces the threat of being shut down in Britain over deepfake pornography and child abuse images. The billionaire appeared defiant on Friday night despite the outcry over reports X’s AI chatbot Grok was creating sexualised images of people, including children, at users’ request. Pointing to claims other AI programmes created non-sexualised images of women in bikinis, he posted on X: “They want any excuse for...

Where do lonely hearts in China go now? Late-night...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/01/10

For two weeks recently, most of my evenings were spent in Douyin’s live-stream section. On Douyin, TikTok’s sibling platform in China, shopping, entertainment and conversation blur into an endlessly scrollable feed. The most prominent virtual rooms here are for shopping: live-streaming hosts talking at high speed, shouting out discounts. Then come the talent rooms, where people sing, dance, play the guitar or do anything that might keep you there for a few seconds longer. As I watched, more...

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