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News - South China Morning Post

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AI hyperscaler effect vaults China’s Zhongji...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

The artificial intelligence frenzy has made Zhongji Innolight, a supplier of optical modules to US hyperscalers, the biggest constituent of China’s stock benchmark, highlighting AI’s profound impact on the world’s second-largest equity market. The northern Shandong province-based company had a 5 per cent weighting on the CSI 300 Index on Friday, making it the largest of the 300 most valuable stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. The index’s weighting is based on the market...

Brunei picks helicopter-flying Prince Abdul Mateen as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has named one of his youngest sons as foreign minister in a major cabinet reshuffle – largely seen as a move to prepare for the next generation of leaders in the oil-rich kingdom. As the 10th child and fourth son of the sultan, Prince Abdul Mateen is down the line of succession, but his matinee idol looks have earned him more than 3 million followers on Instagram, providing a modern face to the royal family. Another younger son, Prince Abdul Malik, was also...

China woman dances with eye patch and mask after...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

A 24-year-old Chinese woman keeps managing to shine on stage despite wearing a patch and a mask after she lost an eye and her left upper jaw to cancer. Han Yifei, from eastern China’s Jiangsu province, has moved many people online and garnered over 7,000 followers on a social media platform with her beautiful ballroom dancing. In videos she uploaded, she always wears an eye patch and sometimes a mask. Han lost part of her jaw and the vision in her left eye to osteosarcoma, a type of bone...

Shadow of old dictatorship looms over Peru’s bitter...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Peru’s duelling presidential hopefuls have made a final pitch to voters, capping a bruising and razor-tight race dominated by anger over rising crime and political instability. Conservative Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sanchez staged rival events in Lima on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s vote, with ardent flag-waving supporters arguing their “communist” or “dictator” opponents would bring the country to ruin. “We cannot let them win with communism and terrorism,” said bandana-wearing...

China unveils world’s first superfast quantum memory,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Chinese scientists have created the world’s first superfast memory for quantum computers, solving a critical data-reading bottleneck and paving the way for big-data challenges such as drug discovery and detecting fraudulent financial activities. While quantum computers are expected to solve complex problems at speeds unattainable by traditional computers, they still need an efficient way to access classical data. Without a high-speed data interface, even the fastest quantum machine is slowed...

Auditors shine light on UK royal housing, disgraced...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

King Charles’ disgraced younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor held leases for 10 properties, three of which he sublet, while the monarch ⁠pays rent for the former prince’s daughters’ palace ⁠homes, a report by the UK’s spending watchdog said. In the most ⁠detailed review ever of royal property arrangements, the National Audit Office (NAO) report on Friday showed some leases were based on commercial valuations, while for others, senior figures paid no rent or negligible amounts for their...

ESF links kindergartens to primary schools, securing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Hong Kong’s biggest international school group has rolled out a “through-train” arrangement, linking all its kindergartens to its primary schools from September next year and guaranteeing pupils a place all the way to secondary graduation. The English Schools Foundation (ESF) said on Friday that starting next academic year, all its kindergartens would, for the first time, be directly linked to ESF primary schools. Families applying for a K1 place for the 2027-28 academic year this September

Trump urged Xi to help end Ukraine war; China’s tech...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump ‘personally called for China’s help’ to end Ukraine war in summit with Xi US President Donald Trump personally urged President Xi Jinping to help end the Ukraine war, seeking to leverage Beijing’s influence over Moscow to...

Hong Kong authorities prosecute butcher shop over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Hong Kong’s food hygiene authorities have prosecuted a popular butcher shop in Kwun Tong after a viral video and a subsequent inspection found rats running over pig carcasses, as well as cracked ceilings and stained floors. A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said staff were deployed to inspect a shop on Hip Wo Street after a clip circulated on social media showing rats roaming over the carcasses and feeding on the meat. The outlet is a branch of Qiandama, a mainland...

Rival confirms he will challenge Starmer to be UK...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed for the first time his intention to challenge Keir Starmer to be Britain’s prime minister, drawing immediate criticism from the premier who vowed not to walk away from the job. “If I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level and give this constituency maximum power and influence,” Burnham said in an episode of the BBC’s Question Time. He cited the ambitions of his top rival, former health secretary Wes...

Quarantine in Texas: US races to contain deadly...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Following the ⁠first confirmation of screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite, on a US farm in decades, federal and state officials have fanned out in South Texas, where a calf was found infested this week. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Thursday no other infestations of cattle or other animals have been detected around the confirmed case. The case in La Pryor, Texas, was a blow to US cattle ranchers who have been bracing for a domestic outbreak of New World screwworm as the fly...

Global Prosperity Summit 2026 showcases Hong Kong’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Hong Kong is embracing its growing role on the international stage in vital sectors driving global prosperity – a message highlighted at an annual gathering of international industry leaders, corporate executives and local policymakers who back the city’s upward momentum. The Global Prosperity Summit 2026 (GPS 2026) showcased high-stakes international dialogue over two days in Hong Kong last month for panel discussions on the city’s potential across several fast-evolving and globally

Fugitive Hong Kong charity director sued in US over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

A wanted director of a scandal-hit Hong Kong charity who fled the city is facing a sweeping 14-count civil lawsuit in the United States over an alleged multimillion-dollar property scheme that the plaintiff described as a “shell game”. In a complaint for damages and equitable relief seen by the South China Morning Post, developer Joseph Lee Daniell accused Jacob Lam Hay-sing, the founder and director of the now-defunct Hong Kong charity, Christian Zheng Sheng Association, of defrauding him of...

Nose down: Lufthansa investigating Boeing 787 landing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

German airline Lufthansa said it was investigating after the nose gear of a Boeing jet collapsed while the aircraft was parked at a gate at Frankfurt Airport, injuring several employees. Only crew members and ground staff were on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner when the front tip of the plane crashed to the ground ahead of passenger boarding for a scheduled flight to Los Angeles on Thursday. The flight was later cancelled. “Several employees were injured and are currently receiving medical...

Chinese leader Xi Jinping visit to North Korea...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next Monday and Tuesday in a show of the two countries’ strong ties. At the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Xi will pay a state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from June 8 to 9, Xinhua reported on Friday morning, citing a statement from the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The trip will be Xi’s second to North Korea. The Chinese president visited in 2019,

The real story of 11 Skies is not about a failed...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

Few things age faster than a business plan built for a world that no longer exists. That may be the most important lesson from the saga of 11 Skies, the vast retail, entertainment and commercial complex beside Hong Kong International Airport that now appears destined for a dramatic reset. Reports that the Airport Authority could take majority control of the project from its private developer have triggered debate over who should bear the cost and who made the wrong bets.The real story of 11...

South Koreans sweat over US$779,000 air conditioning...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice on Tuesday sought to defuse criticism over a 1.2 billion won (US$779,162) plan to install air conditioning in prisons, clarifying the equipment will cool corridors, not inmates’ cells. The ministry framed the installation as a minimal measure to protect vulnerable inmates and correctional officers from extreme heat, while online critics condemned the taxpayer-funded project as an unfair convenience for criminals. The ministry said the equipment will be

China proposes nuclear-powered floating island to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

A Chinese shipbuilder has unveiled a blueprint for a massive, nuclear-powered floating island that will serve as a container transfer terminal and a charging station for vessels. The floating terminal will be powered by advanced molten salt reactors that use liquefied salt as both a fuel and coolant. These reactors can store vast amounts of thermal energy and cool without the need for water. Jiangnan Shipyard, a subsidiary of state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation, said the complex...

China pancake seller in US plans to run for mayor,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

A Chinese pancake seller in the US has announced plans to run for mayor within three years, despite past controversy over an arrest. Tang, 31, was born to a rural family in Sichuan, southwestern China, and left school after secondary education. He is the son of a security guard and a cleaner. After working in sales and the car industry, he moved to the US in 2022, with little English, first taking a job at a used-car showroom. Two years later, he settled in Los Angeles and began selling

With fewer public spaces for Hong Kong’s helpers,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/06/05

On a recent stormy Sunday, domestic helpers on their weekly day off were seen hastily erecting tents and laying out plastic sheets under footbridges and inside transport hubs in Hong Kong’s Tsuen Wan district as they sought refuge from the downpour. Dozens of tents were pitched around the pillars of the footbridges, while other groups crowded onto narrow concrete platforms inside a bus terminus. Many leaned against metal railings or sat on the ground, laying down blankets and carving out

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