Hong Kong’s government will launch a consultation exercise on the city’s first five-year plan next month. The plan is set to be released before the end of the year. It’s a monumental task. Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank and former head of the government’s now-defunct Central Policy Unit, has warned as much, saying: “It took years for local governments on the mainland to master the research and strategic thinking...

The Hong Kong Observatory received more than 10 reports of a locally felt tremor from a magnitude 5.2 earthquake that struck Guangxi early on Monday. According to the forecaster, the epicentre was located about 550km (342 miles) west-northwest of Hong Kong, with a focal depth of about 10km. “The Observatory received more than 10 locally felt reports of the tremor, which lasted a few seconds,” it said on Monday. “Initial estimates put the local intensity at II (two) on the Modified Mercalli...

A man in southern China suspected of poisoning an online celebrity dog which is famous for collecting plastic bottles in the street has been caught after its owner called the police. The French Bulldog nicknamed Xiaobai won the hearts of millions last year for diligently collecting plastic bottles for its owner. It has earned over 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) over the past five years as its owner, surnamed Zhang, sold the waste bottles. The social media account @gouxiaobai boasts half a million...

Complaints to Hong Kong’s equality watchdog about firings linked to suspected disability discrimination have more than doubled over the past five years, with concern groups attributing the rise to corporate restructuring and widespread lay-offs amid the economic downturn. The South China Morning Post obtained figures from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) showing that the watchdog received 490 complaints of alleged disability discrimination in the employment field last year, up 72 per...

The deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz was one of the key issues discussed during the summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping last week. As the impasse continues, here is where things stand. Iran prepares new transit mechanism Tehran is moving to formalise its control over the strait with a “professional mechanism” to regulate shipping. “The necessary fees will be collected for the specialised services provided under this mechanism,” Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s...

No country on Earth has adopted artificial intelligence faster than the United Arab Emirates – and the Middle Eastern cultural crossroad’s ambitions to become an AI bridge to the Global South just got another major leg up with the delivery of the latest, cutting-edge US-designed chips. But those ambitions are taking shape in a hostile environment. Amid the US-Israel war on Iran, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has repeatedly taken aim at major Emirati data centres, developed in...

US President Donald Trump and top cabinet officials addressed thousands of Americans at a mass prayer rally in Washington on Sunday – an event critics saw as an overt display of Christian nationalism undermining the separation of church and state. The gathering was organised by the White House as part of a programme of celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary and billed as an opportunity to revive the idea of a country founded on Christian principles. During the outdoor event on the National...