Latest

United States & Canada

ICE deports 2-year-old US citizen and mother of 1-year-old infant

The cases come amid a court battle over whether Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone too far at the expense of fundamental rights.

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A deportation officer with Enforcement and Removal Operations in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New York City field office conducts a brief before an early morning operation in New York in December. Photo: AP

Europe

Napoleon’s sword to be sold at auction in Paris

The sabre, which the French emperor kept throughout his reign, is expected to fetch up to US$1.1 million when it goes under the hammer.

This photograph taken in Paris on Friday shows details of the last sword that belonged to French Emperor Napoleon. Photo: AFP

United States & Canada

Van appears to drive into Just Stop Oil protesters at group’s final UK rally

The driver asked ‘what about my right to get home?’, as the activists – known for throwing soup on van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ – blocked roads.

A driver speaks to police officers after protesters from Just Stop Oil blocked the road in London on Saturday. Photo: PA Wire via dpa

Law and Crime

Man, 77, dies after being hit by car that mounts pavement in Hong Kong

Driver arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving causing death following incident in Sheung Shui.

The victim sustained serious head injuries and was taken unconscious to North District Hospital in Sheung Shui. He was certified dead at 8.31pm.Photo: Roy Issa

Politics

US tariff war ‘will not kill Hong Kong’, Trade Development Council says

City’s increasingly diversified exports helped businesses prepare, and they are aware of risks of relying on single market, body says.

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Only about half of Hong Kong’s exports to the US are subject to tariffs, accounting for only about 3 per cent of the city’s total exports. Photo: Eugene Lee
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Hong Kong

World bids farewell to ‘pope of the people’, with funeral featuring Mandarin

Live broadcast of service also watched by faithful gathered at cathedral in Hong Kong.

World leaders watch as the coffin of Pope Francis passes at his funeral at the Vatican on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Russia & Central Asia

One on one in corner: Trump, Zelensky talk on sidelines of pope’s funeral

An aide to Ukraine’s president described the meeting as ‘constructive’, while Trump soon after, on social media, hinted at further sanctions against Russia.

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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump on Saturday, prior to the funeral of Pope Francis. Photo: EPA-EFE

Racing

SCMP Best Bets: Prognosis looking positive for punters at Sha Tin

SCMP Best Bets: Prognosis looking positive for punters at Sha Tin

Politics

China expands initiative to stamp out Western bias in ethnic studies

Beijing approves 15 more universities to establish new academic programme as it works to consolidate national identity narrative.

China’s ethnic affairs policy emphasises the wholeness of the nation rather than ethnic differences. Photo: EPA-EFE

Middle East

5 die in Iran, over 700 injured in huge port explosion and fire

The massive blast occurred at a site purportedly linked to a shipment of a substance used to make missile propellant.

Smoke from a fatal explosion is seen at a port near Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Saturday. Photo: via AP
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Military

China’s critical minerals dominance threatens US military supply chain: report

Chinese players account for the bulk of world output of five essential elements used in 80,000 American weapons parts, researchers find.

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A tungsten mining factory in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in southern China. Tungsten is one of the minerals where China has a dominant role in the global supply chain. Photo: Reuters

Economics

Pakistan’s mining push: a chance to equal Indonesia’s nickel success?

A landmark deal unlocking vast copper and gold reserves has Pakistan eyeing a transformative economic shift.

Copper smelting at an underground copper mine. Pakistan’s Reko Diq project is expected to yield 13.1 million tonnes of copper over its 37-year lifespan. Photo: AFP

Science

China to harness nation’s resources to AI self-reliance ambitions

President Xi Jinping tells Politburo the country must redouble efforts to overcome bottlenecks in core technology.

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China is seeking to overtake the United States in AI to become a world leader in a field seen as critical to moving the country up the industrial value chain. Photo: CCTV

Opinion

Opinion | Trump world: the unravelling of American global leadership

With an isolationist US increasingly viewing commitments as burdens, a power vacuum emerges that China and others can fill.

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US President Donald Trump walks into the White House after arriving on Marine One on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Politics

Yemen prepares ‘biggest offensive ever’ against Houthi rebels with US support

Yemen is reportedly launching an offensive against Houthi rebels to reclaim key ports and diminish the influence of the Iranian-aligned group.

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Yemeni soldiers brandish their weapons as they take part in an offensive in the southern province of Shabwa in 2014. Photo: AFP
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Health & Environment

Hong Kong police recover stolen cat from Sham Shui Po store, arrest 2

Officers identified suspects, 46-year-old woman and 43-year-old man, after examining CCTV footage.

The cat was taken from a food retail and wholesale store in Lai Tsui shopping centre in Sham Shui Po. Photo: Hong Kong police

United States & Canada

‘Simple’ funeral for Pope Francis becomes way to see Trump

The attendance of the US president at the Vatican has turned the farewell service into a stage for international diplomacy at a time of major geopolitical turmoil.

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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meet while they attend the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Transport

43% jump in elderly taxi drivers involved in accidents in Hong Kong since 2022

Latest figures by Transport Department prompts some industry leaders to ask if tighter regulations needed to assess fitness of older cabbies.

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An elderly cabbie waits for customers at a taxi stand in Mong Kok. In the first two months of this year, 95 elderly taxi drivers were involved in traffic accidents. Photo: Elson Li

Military

Can US Golden Dome stop China’s missiles or is it just a ‘monster’ problem?

As China’s nuclear arsenal grows, the US is betting on a space-based defence programme that faces multiple complexities and soaring costs.

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Plans for Golden Dome were first announced a few days after the inauguration of the second Trump administration, followed by the Department of Defence establishing timelines for capabilities to be delivered. Photo: Lockheed Martin

United States & Canada

Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew’s accuser in Epstein scandal, dies at 41

Mother-of-three Giuffre, a key figure in Jeffrey Epstein’s downfall, took her own life at her farm in Australia ‘after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking’.

Virginia Giuffre, one of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers, has died aged 41. Photo: EPA-EFE
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Health & Wellness

Why sex therapy is not a last resort, and can be a turning point

Deciding to talk about a less-than-satisfactory sex life, to stop pretending everything’s fine, is a powerful step to fixing it, experts say.

To boost your sex life, flirt, touch without an agenda, and laugh. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Singapore election: do politicians ‘abandon’ residents when they switch wards?

The debate arose after Health Minister Ong Ye Kung accused SDP chief Chee Soon Juan of abandoning Bukit Batok to contest in Sembawang West.

Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan has been criticised by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung for “abandoning” Bukit Batok residents and contesting in another ward in the 2025 election. Photo: EPA-EFE

Design & Interiors

I started a sustainable furniture brand in Hong Kong. Here’s what I learned

In 2014, interior architect Caroline Olah founded her furniture brand with a commitment to responsible design. She recounts what happened when she saw the wood – not just the trees.

Caroline Olah, founder of Reddie, says her company’s goal is 100 per cent waste-based products. Photo: courtesy Reddie

Trending in China

Man quits top China university, declines US PhD offer to sell street snacks

Academic pressure makes 24-year-old from poor family veer off pathway to elite education into humble world of making mashed potatoes.

A man has quit a top university in China, and declined a PhD offer in the United States, to sell snacks from a street stall. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin

Health & Environment

Explainer | How the coming new anti-smoking measures in Hong Kong will affect you

Government reveals more details on eight of 10 tobacco control measures in amended bill, including coming ban on alternative smoking products.

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A woman smokes an e-cigarette in Mong Kok. Hong Kong is set to ban possession and smoking of e-cigarettes in public from April of next year. Photo: Eugene Lee
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Diplomacy

Again, no – China and the US are not in tariff talks, Chinese embassy says

Cycle of assertions and denials continues with Beijing dismissing speculation about discussions as ‘purely misleading’.

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The Chinese embassy in Washington says that assertions that talks have taken place are “purely misleading”. Photo: AFP

Basketball

China basketball teen Yang to enter 2025 NBA draft, ready ‘mentally, physically’

Yang Hansen calls decision most important of his life, says he’s ready to ‘showcase myself on a bigger stage’.

Yang Hansen (centre) is heading to the United States to enter the NBA draft in June. Photo: Xinhua

Racing

‘Amazing’ Goliath ready to rumble ahead of QE II Cup battle

French galloper bids to turn tables on Japanese in Sunday’s star-studded Sha Tin feature.

Goliath gallops on the Sha Tin all-weather track on Thursday. Photo: Kenneth Chan

Law and Crime

Nearly 100 Hongkongers lose HK$90 million in 1 week through investment scams

Fraudsters pose as investing gurus with insider knowledge on stocks and crypto, with one victim scammed out of HK$10 million, police say.

Police have said they received nearly 100 reports of online investment scams over the past week, with victims’ financial losses exceeding HK$90 million. Photo: Getty Images

Business

Investors pile into Hong Kong’s largest housing project since 1999

Sun Hung Kai Properties sold all 318 flats in the first batch of its Sierra Sea project in the New Territories.

Property sale the Sierra Sea project at the sales room of Sun Hung Kai Properties at ICC in West Kowloon on 26 April 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong