A possible meeting next week between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump offers a chance to reset ties following a year of strained relations over tariffs, Pakistan, and now, the Iran war. US forces this week attacked three Indian-crewed vessels in the Gulf of Oman region, killing at least three sailors and prompting protests from New Delhi. Modi and Trump would likely want to contain the latest tensions and avoid derailing efforts to get relations back on track...

Hong Kong has been hit by more heavy showers and thunderstorms as a trough of low pressure moved over the Pearl River Estuary. The downpours prompted the Hong Kong Observatory to issue an amber rainstorm warning – the lowest in a three-tier system – at 5am on Saturday, before cancelling it at 8.45am. More than 30mm of rainfall was recorded in many areas during the morning. Tsuen Wan was among the worst hit, recording 70mm of rain – a level comparable to the threshold for a top-tier black...

After seven years working in the shadows, He Tingbo stepped back into the limelight last month. The head of Huawei Technologies’ secretive semiconductor business – widely dubbed the company’s “chip queen” – had been out of the public view since 2019, when Washington severed the Chinese company’s global access to advanced technology, including semiconductors. Her retreat into the background became a symbol of Huawei’s battle for survival. That all changed last month on a global academic stage in...

President Donald Trump said late on Friday that a “swift and lethal kinetic” US strike has killed Tren de Aragua gang leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores. “At my direction, ‌the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Nino Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organisations on Planet,” Trump said in a post ⁠on Truth Social on Friday evening, referring to Guerrero Flores by his...

As Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi heads to the G7 meeting in France next week, she is expected to hear rumblings of discontent over Tokyo’s apparent diplomatic outreach to Moscow. With European Union member states and most Nato nations united in their resolve to push back on Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine and isolate Moscow, Japan’s very different approach to Vladimir Putin’s regime has not been overlooked. Senior officials from Japan’s foreign and trade ministries travelled...

Let me pick up where I left off in a previous column. On sabbatical in China, I was reeling from being pored over by parents at the Shanghai marriage market, and judged to be too old and overqualified. But if no vigilant parent would have me for their offspring, perhaps someone in my more permanent home of London would? So I began again. Although nine months away from British dating apps had not changed them, something in myself had changed. The algorithms may rely on Photoshop and well-meaning...

Hong Kong’s Development Bureau will test whether heavy-duty drones, weighing nearly 150kg (330.6lbs) each, can carry essential items across up to six sites over the next 12 months, the South China Morning Post has learned. In response to queries from the SCMP, the bureau revealed it was partnering with two companies to test whether the devices could carry heavy materials such as cement and manhole covers for construction work. Other potential applications include clearing drains and cleaning...