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News - South China Morning Post

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Sex assault claims against California governor...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

The Manhattan ⁠district attorney’s office confirmed ⁠on Saturday that it ⁠is investigating sexual assault allegations against US congressman Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat and a leading candidate for governor of the state. The San Francisco Chronicle on Friday reported ‌that a woman who previously worked in Swalwell’s district office accused him of two nonconsensual sexual encounters, one while she was employed by him in 2019 and another in 2024 after she had left his staff. She told

French police find naked boy, 9, locked in father’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

A nine-year-old boy has been rescued after living locked in his father’s utility van in eastern France since 2024, according to the local prosecutor. The child has been hospitalised, and his father detained. Police were alerted by a neighbour to the “sounds of a child” coming from a van on Monday in the village of Hagenbach, near the borders with Switzerland and Germany, according to a statement on Saturday from prosecutor Nicolas Heitz. After forcing the van open, officers found the child...

Medical intern suspended after complaint over patient...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Hong Kong’s public hospital operator has suspended a medical intern and launched an investigation following a complaint that patient information had been exposed on social media, just days after another doctor was dismissed in a separate but similar privacy controversy that triggered citywide concern. The Hospital Authority said on Saturday that the case involved an intern at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung, who had since been temporarily taken off clinical duties. “As a provider of...

Chinese crystal ‘paves way’ for GPS-free thorium...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Scientists in Xinjiang have created the world’s first crystal that can produce the ultraviolet light needed for future thorium nuclear clocks, which could one day guide submarines and deep-space probes without GPS.The fluorinated borate compound could push laser light to a record 145.2 nanometres (nm) – a wavelength short enough to meet a key requirement for these ultra-precise, portable clocks being developed in the United States, China and elsewhere, the team reported in Advanced Materials

Russia and Ukraine begin 32-hour ceasefire for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

A temporary truce between Russia and Ukraine entered into force on Saturday, with Kyiv warning it would respond “immediately” if Russia violated it. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the ceasefire on Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Easter, more than a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first made the proposal. Both sides have agreed to observe it. The ceasefire is due to last for 32 hours, from 4.00pm on Saturday until the end of the day on Sunday, according to the...

Israeli spy firm Black Cube involved in Cyprus...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

A private spy firm founded by former members ⁠of Israeli intelligence ⁠has confirmed its involvement in ⁠a sting operation targeting state officials and private interests in Cyprus, saying it wanted to expose corruption. A senior aide to President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides resigned in January after a video posted online showed ‌him discussing investment projects in Cyprus. It also featured a businessman who suggested he had direct access to Christodoulides, and a former minister

Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs wraps up...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Beijing’s top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs has concluded his second visit to the Greater Bay Area in three weeks, a trip that analysts view as a push from the central government to speed up the city’s integration with national development. Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, was in Guangdong province earlier this week, visiting Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou. State-run media said his four-day “research tour” focused on supporting Hong Kong...

‘A big deal’: the military drills showing Tokyo’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Japan’s participation in annual US-Philippine military exercises is a “big deal”, because it shows how Tokyo is taking a bigger role in regional groupings that could face off with China, according to analysts. More than 7,000 soldiers from the United States and Philippine armies are taking part in this year’s Salaknib drill, a joint annual exercise that started on the north of Luzon island on Monday. The exercise aims to “enhance combat readiness and interoperability between the two armies,...

Gucci shoes worth HK$11,000 stolen from shopping...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Hong Kong police are investigating after a pair of Gucci shoes worth HK$11,000 (US$1,404) were stolen from a restroom at Times Square in Causeway Bay, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source said on Saturday that the victim, 48, had bought the shoes from the Gucci store on the second floor of the shopping centre before heading to the restroom on the third floor. She left the shoes behind, and when she returned, she found the shoebox, but the footwear was missing, the source...

China targets middlemen in renewed crackdown on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

China’s top judicial bodies have detailed ways that the country’s criminal law can be applied to corrupt middlemen, refining the criteria for tackling “new and hidden forms of corruption”. The guidance was part of a judicial interpretation released jointly by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Friday. In it, the bodies highlight the need to enforce the law against all participants in the corruption chain, for the direct bribe-givers and recipients to...

Does this Kenyan rail project provide a model for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Western governments and financiers increasingly avoid infrastructure projects that involve a Chinese presence as their geopolitical and economic rivalries intensify. Yet the Nairobi Railway City project stands as a rare exception. It combines British financing with Chinese construction and labour to build a major new public transport hub in the Kenyan capital. At the heart of the project is the proposed new Central station and a 172-hectare (425-acre) district that includes new businesses,

Unearthing peace: ancient China gravesite reveals...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

“War is hell,” as the saying goes, and it is often those most intimately acquainted with conflict who are the most eager to leave it behind. This yearning for peace was underscored by a newly uncovered archaeological site from the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC) in Shaanxi province, northwest China, revealed in 2022. Researchers announced their discoveries in mid-March. Among the findings was a gravesite featuring the remains of individuals interred with broken weapons, a custom rooted in

Turtle found dead after apparent fall in Hong Kong’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

A 10cm-long (4-inch) turtle has died after apparently falling in Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin. Police said on Saturday that they were alerted at 2.09pm by a security guard about a turtle suspected of having fallen from a height at No 185 Hammer Hill Road. Online footage and images showed the turtle lying motionless on a playground mat. In Hong Kong, animal cruelty is punishable by up to three years in jail and a fine of HK$200,000 (US$25,530) upon conviction.

Landlords of 5,557 subdivided homes seek 3-year grace...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Landlords of more than 5,500 subdivided homes in Hong Kong have applied for a three-year grace period to meet size, safety and hygiene requirements following a new law on basic housing standards taking effect six weeks ago. Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said on Saturday that the government had received applications for 5,557 subdivided units in 1,370 flats. That accounted for around 5 per cent of all subdivided units in Hong Kong, mostly located in Yau Tsim Mong district, followed

Trump critique pauses UK handover of Chagos Islands...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Britain’s government said on Saturday it had ⁠put on hold ⁠its deal to cede sovereignty ⁠of the Chagos Islands – home to the US-British Diego Garcia airbase – which has been criticised by US President Donald Trump. British media reported that planned legislation underpinning the deal to cede the ‌islands to Mauritius, which needs the backing of Washington, would not be included in the government’s next parliamentary agenda. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said London would try to

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific and HK Express cut some...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways will cancel a small proportion of passenger flights between mid-May and the end of June, as surging jet fuel prices driven by the war in the Middle East continue to weigh on airlines globally. The airline said on Saturday that about 2 per cent of its total flight frequencies would be cut between May 16 and June 30, mainly on regional routes, as well as a small number of services to Australia, South Asia and South Africa. Cathay Pacific’s budget

Hong Kong regulator urged to expand stablecoin rules...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is being urged to go further in loosening restrictions on stablecoins, after granting the city’s first two licences to banks to issue the digital currency. Bankers, venture capitalists and analysts said the long-awaited approvals – awarded to HSBC and a joint venture led by Standard Chartered – fell short of market expectations, underscoring the regulator’s cautious stance amid lingering risk concerns. “It came as a surprise that only two licences were...

Hins Cheung to lead arrested 2019 Hong Kong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Cantopop singer Hins Cheung, who previously expressed support for social movements in Hong Kong, will lead young people arrested during the 2019 anti-government protests on visits to mainland China to witness the country’s prosperity and serve as a mentor for a “special rehabilitation project” under the Security Bureau. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung also revealed on Saturday that the project, which had been running over the past two years, was aimed at helping about 7,000

Can World Bank and IMF leaders rescue a global...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Can the collective wisdom or clout of the almost 200 countries that make up the membership of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) prevail against the United States and Israel, whose rash actions of declaring war on Iran have effectively declared economic war on the whole world? We may get the answers to this critical question when the two so-called Bretton Woods institutions begin their annual meetings in Washington on April 13. The week-long gatherings provide an opportunity...

Hong Kong proposes mandatory renovation briefings to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/11

Hong Kong authorities have proposed a legal amendment requiring property owners to attend a mandatory briefing on major renovation projects before voting on procurement resolutions, in a move aimed at curbing bid-rigging following the deadly blaze in Tai Po. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said on Saturday that the proposed amendment to the Building Management Ordinance, which covers five areas, sought to enhance homeowners’ participation and fill existing legal...

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