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‘We’ll be a museum’: EU heavyweights back industrial...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Major EU members offered qualified support for the bloc’s flagship industrial plans on Thursday in the first debate over a proposal that has deepened tensions with China. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland all accepted the broad parameters of the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), which would put strict conditions on investments into the union from China and other countries, even as they quibbled over red tape, timescales and how open the plan should be to non-EU...

Huawei and scientists build 2D parallel computing...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Chinese researchers, in collaboration with Huawei Technologies, have built the world’s first parallel processor using a two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor. As silicon devices approach their physical size limits, Moore’s Law – the observation that computing power doubles roughly every two years, while the cost of computers is cut in half – is hitting a wall. But two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide are naturally atom-thin, allowing electrons to move stably and efficiently and...

Why MuleRun could be the next craze: new Alibaba AI...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

A new Chinese artificial intelligence agent platform is looking to replicate the “lobster craze” sparked by AI agent tool OpenClaw earlier this year, while avoiding some of the privacy and security risks associated with the open-source software. MuleRun, developed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding, offers a one-stop service for users to access a range of different AI agents. The platform, showcased at the Alibaba Cloud summit on May 20, has been billed as an “always-on AI workforce”...

Solar, so good: Hong Kong’s new landfill-based plant...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Hong Kong has launched a new solar farm built on restored landfill in Tseung Kwan O that aims to cut carbon emissions by an amount equivalent to planting about 20,000 trees each year. Jointly developed by environmental services firm Veolia and developers Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) and Citic Pacific, with government support, the facility at the South East New Territories Landfill features about 1,850 solar panels spanning 140,000 square feet. Supported by the Environment and Ecology Bureau...

3 paths to stability in a conflict-ridden world

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

The reshaping of the global economic system we are witnessing has entered an acute phase. This raises several questions. When will the world return to a more stable condition? No less importantly, what places will key countries occupy in the new configuration? To answer these questions, it is useful to view current events through the prism of systemic interstate conflicts, which are among the main markers of such transformations. By systemic conflicts, however, one should understand not only...

Bangladesh seeks more ‘diplomatic room’ with Pakistan...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

For many years, India was a key training ground for many of Bangladesh’s senior officials, as well as a source of support and regional guidance. Now, some are being trained in Pakistan, a symbolic shift that has unsettled New Delhi and offered an early clue to how Dhaka’s new government wants to deal with its neighbours. A delegation of 12 senior Bangladeshi bureaucrats attended an executive training programme at the Civil Services Academy in Lahore from May 4 to May 21, a move analysts said...

Hong Kong principal who swore at Singapore security...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

A Hong Kong secondary school principal filmed swearing at security guards during a student trip to Singapore has resigned and apologised for his failure to “lead by example”. Lee Cheuk‑hing tendered his resignation on Thursday as principal of San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Tuen Mun, school manager Edmund Wong Chun‑sek confirmed. Wong, a former lawmaker, said the school’s board of directors would have to meet to decide whether to accept the resignation, given the many factors...

1 in 12 secondary students socially disengaged on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

One in 12 Hong Kong secondary school students is socially disengaged on campus, according to a survey by a social welfare organisation, which is calling for early identification and better support for these “invisible students” before they drop out. The Hong Kong Christian Service (HKCS) surveyed 1,958 Form One to Form Five students aged between 11 and 19 in February and March to identify those with “dropout tendencies” at an early stage. The study found that 8.4 per cent of respondents, or

3 wounded in blade attack at Swiss railway station

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

A man reportedly shouting “Allahu akbar!” injured three people with a bladed weapon at a railway station near Zurich on Thursday, before being arrested, Swiss police said. Witnesses described scenes of panic and confusion when the man, who police said was a 31-year-old Swiss national, suddenly began stabbing people at the main railway station in Winterthur – Switzerland’s sixth largest city – during the morning rush hour. “Shortly after 8.30am, a man injured three people with a bladed weapon”

China slams US commander’s ‘dagger’ label for South...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

China has criticised the commander of the US Forces Korea (USFK) after he described South Korea as a “dagger” and Japan as a “shield” in countering China’s growing regional influence. This comes as Washington seeks to expand the scope of its South Korea-based command for a greater presence across the Indo-Pacific in what Beijing views as an effort to contain it. During a podcast interview hosted by the US Army War College on May 22, USFK Commander Xavier Brunson said that when looking from

Germany, Netherlands to set up Nato command centre in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Germany and the Netherlands will set up a joint tactical headquarters in the Baltics this year to command forces on Nato’s eastern flank and help deter Russia, Berlin said on Thursday. The joint German-Dutch command centre known as 1GNC will “assume a command role on Nato’s eastern flank, specifically in the region of Estonia and Latvia” in coming months, the German defence ministry said in a statement. “The deployment of an additional tactical headquarters to the region strengthens the

Mainland Chinese patient first to be moved north...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

A mainland Chinese woman injured while travelling in Hong Kong has become the first patient transferred from the city to the mainland under the Hospital Authority’s cross-border ambulance pilot scheme. The patient, who requested to continue her treatment on the mainland, was transferred from Tuen Mun Hospital to Zhuhai People’s Hospital on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Hospital Authority on Thursday. Tuen Mun Hospital’s medical team assessed her condition and coordinated with Zhuhai...

Mainland Chinese react as Hong Kong tightens access...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

As news spread on Wednesday that Hong Kong banks were tightening scrutiny on mainland Chinese clients opening savings and investment accounts, Zhe Ye – an auctioneer based in the southwestern province of Yunnan – was stunned. The former asset appraiser had been planning a trip to Hong Kong to open an account, hoping to buy overseas assets ranging from the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to shares in newly listed companies such as SpaceX. “I really regret not opening a Hong Kong account earlier,” Zhe said,...

Alibaba, Tencent lead pivot from chatbots to embodied...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Chinese tech companies are racing to deploy artificial intelligence models into robots, shifting the battleground for generative AI from digital chatbots to physical autonomous systems. Alibaba Group Holding’s Qwen3.7-Max model, launched last week, features “tool-calling” capabilities that allow the AI model to act as a digital brain to trigger external software and hardware components. The company said the model could be used to control robots by orchestrating physical actions like

Hong Kong exports surge 43% in April, driven by...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Hong Kong’s exports rose by nearly 43 per cent year on year in April, driven by strong global demand for artificial intelligence-related electronics, although the government warned that the Middle East war could cloud the near-term outlook. Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Thursday showed that the total value of exports rose by 42.9 per cent in April to HK$620.9 billion (US$79.3 billion), following a 35.8 per cent increase in March. April’s surge

Search launched after Lantau hiker goes missing amid...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Hong Kong authorities launched a search on Thursday for a 52-year-old man who failed to return home after setting out on a hike on Lantau Island the previous day, when the city recorded its highest temperature of the year. The man left home on Wednesday morning, telling his family he planned to tackle section 8 of the Lantau Trail, which connects Shek Pik Reservoir with Kau Ling Chung on the southern part of the outlying island. But he did not return overnight, prompting his wife to call the...

Greater Bay Area firms ‘cautious’ about hiring but...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Over seven in 10 regional companies operating in the Greater Bay Area are maintaining a “cautious stance” on expansion, planning to hire no more than 30 new staff over the next three to five years, a survey has found. There is, however, strong demand in the market for hybrid professionals who can blend technology and management expertise, according to the study. The survey was conducted between April and December last year by local recruitment firm KOS International and Guangzhou-based Sun...

Is Sara Duterte’s lead for Philippines’ 2028...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of former leader Rodrigo Duterte, has long looked like the politician to beat in the Philippines’ 2028 presidential race, with one of the country’s most powerful political brands behind her, a loyal base in Mindanao and early polls showing her ahead of potential rivals. But two prominent pollsters say her lead is not impregnable. According to Dr Ranjit Rye, founding president of OCTA Research, and Ronnie Holmes, president of Pulse Asia Research...

University heat project cuts medical emergencies for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

A project designed to teach elderly residents how to protect themselves during extreme heat has improved their health and reduced medical emergencies, according to researchers. Results from the first two years of the three-year “Beat the Heat” project, released by the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Thursday, showed that tailored home interventions led to a 132 per cent increase in knowledge among older residents regarding heat-related health risks, alongside a 37 per cent reduction in...

France becomes first EU country to reimburse...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/28

France ⁠will reimburse the cost of weight-loss drugs prescribed to severely obese patients from mid-June in a first for a European Union country, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Thursday. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro medications have led a boom ‌in anti-obesity treatment, attracting interest from governments keen to address rising overweight levels worldwide. Rist estimated the annual cost to the state at around €100 million (US$116 million) at full roll-out. Patients

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