Hong Kong customers seeking refunds under a proposed seven-day cooling-off period for prepaid beauty and fitness contracts will be required to pay an administrative fee to curb potential abuse of the mechanism, the government has said. Authorities last week launched a two-month public consultation on three major policy proposals aimed at strengthening consumer protection amid persistent complaints about unfair trade practices and high-pressure sales tactics. “We’ve proposed in our suggestions...

China’s rare launch of a ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the deep Pacific sent a strategic signal to the United States and regional neighbours, particularly Japan, amid concerns about Beijing’s military expansion. Monday’s test is also likely to reinforce calls in Washington and among US allies for greater defence investment and closer security coordination as regional tensions continue to rise, according to analysts. What happened during China’s submarine-launched...

The launch of a marine war-risk pool by Hong Kong insurers is a prime example of how the city’s insurers can collaborate not just for the benefit of the local economy but for the entire nation, an industry veteran has said. At the South China Morning Post’s China Conference, themed “Intelligence at Scale: Hong Kong’s AI-Powered Future”, panel speakers considered how the insurance industry could bolster financial resilience across the Greater Bay Area. Speaking at the event, Selina Lau Pui-ling,...

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says he will quit as a lawmaker and seek re-election to clear his name over financial allegations linked to millions of dollars’ worth of donations. “I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money,” Farage, a prominent ally of US President Donald Trump, said in a broadcast statement that did not take questions. Farage faces a probe by parliament’s standards watchdog over a £5 million (US$6.7 million) gift from...

Hong Kong’s regulator for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has ordered a fertility clinic to partially halt operations after it mishandled embryo biopsy specimens from two patients and failed to report the incident to health authorities. The Council on Human Reproductive Technology said on Tuesday that it had suspended most operations at HEAL Fertility in Central after discovering that embryo biopsy specimens the clinic sent for pre-implantation genetic testing belonged to the wrong parents. The...

Prince Harry’s final lawsuit aimed at taming the British tabloids ended in defeat on Tuesday as a judge found he failed to prove his privacy invasion claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail. Justice Matthew Nicklin rejected the broad inferences the Duke of Sussex had relied on to try to show that Associated Newspapers had engaged in unlawful activities. The judge said there was a realistic possibility the news came from legitimate sources. The ruling scuttles the lawsuits filed by Harry...

Chinese researchers have developed a new-generation nuclear battery that far surpasses its predecessor and marks a major step in long-life power sources, according to the team. Northwest Normal University, in collaboration with Chinese tech firm Gansu Zhulong Technology, unveiled a carbon‑14 nuclear battery and silicon carbide (SiC) transducer on Monday, saying the equipment was developed without any foreign technology or parts. The Qianjiyuan Tianshu battery is a major upgrade from the team’s...