China, US confirm Seoul trade talks days before Trump-Xi summit in Beijing
Industry

China, US confirm Seoul trade talks days before Trump-Xi summit in Beijing

Meeting follows Paris round in March and a video call in April as both sides prepare for Trump’s state visit Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng will travel to South Korea this week for trade talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, both sides confirmed on Sunday, in the final round of negotiations before a summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Beijing. The meeting is scheduled for May 12 and 13 in Seoul and comes days before Trump’s state visit to China on May 14 and 15. China’s Ministry of Commerce said He would lead a delegation to hold economic and trade consultations with the US side. A White House spokeswoman said that Trump plans to host Xi for a reciprocal visit later in 2026. The talks would be “guided by the important consensus” reached between the two heads of state at their meeting in Busan and in previous phone calls and would address “economic and trade issues of mutual concern”, a ministry spokesperson said in response to a reporter’s question.

May 10, 2026
Small grocers’ neighbourhood links can help them beat price war, experts say
Business

Small grocers’ neighbourhood links can help them beat price war, experts say

Latest price war erupted ahead of Mother’s Day with ParknShop, Wellcome offering 12 per cent off for shoppers who met minimum spending threshold Hong Kong’s smaller grocers are bracing for pressure amid a fresh wave of price cuts by supermarkets and big retail chains, but some economists say their “neighbourhood connection” could help them stay afloat. A lawmaker also said it was unlikely the big local chains would monopolise the market citing strong competition from online shopping platforms. The latest price war erupted ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday, with CK Hutchison-backed ParknShop and Jardine Matheson’s Wellcome each offering 12 per cent off everything in their stores for shoppers who met a minimum spending threshold on Saturday. HKTVmall, the city’s popular online shopping platform, vowed to stay competitive and rolled out a year-long campaign, allowing customers to enjoy a 15 per cent discount. Yata, a popular Japanese-style department store and supermarket chain, launched a “shopping campaign” on Friday that runs until May 17, with discounts of up to 80 per cent on selected items.

May 10, 2026
321 foreigners arrested in Indonesia online gambling crackdown
Business

321 foreigners arrested in Indonesia online gambling crackdown

The foreigners, mainly from Vietnam, were arrested near Jakarta’s Chinatown section that investigators described as a hub for more than 70 online gambling websites More than 300 foreign nationals were arrested in a raid on an alleged online gambling operation in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, police said on Saturday, in one of the country’s largest crackdowns on illegal digital betting networks. The 321 foreigners, mainly from Vietnam, were arrested at a commercial building near the city’s Chinatown section that investigators described as a hub for more than 70 online gambling websites, targeting players outside Indonesia, based on marketing records and digital evidence collected during the raid. Those arrested include 228 Vietnamese, 57 Chinese and the rest came from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, Wira Satya Triputra said, the director of general crimes with the Indonesian National Police. He said investigators were still tracing the organisers and financial backers behind the network. “We arrested the suspects in the act while they were carrying out activities related to online gambling,” Triputra told a news conference on Saturday.

May 10, 2026
Could military AI use be on the agenda when Chinese and US leaders meet?
Business

Could military AI use be on the agenda when Chinese and US leaders meet?

US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest instalment of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, Amber Wang looks at the prospects for joint progress on military use of AI. China and the United States are facing calls to discuss the safe military use of...

May 10, 2026
Hong Kong man dies after chasing thief and falling off industrial building
Business

Hong Kong man dies after chasing thief and falling off industrial building

Police received report at around 5.15pm on Sunday about victim who found someone stealing cables at Kimball Industrial Building in Kwun Tong A man has died after chasing a suspected thief and falling from an industrial building in Hong Kong, according to police. The force received a report around 5.15pm on Sunday about a man who had found someone stealing cables at the Kimball Industrial Building in Kwun Tong and chased the suspect. The victim, who works in the premises, was later found to have fallen from the building, on to the air-conditioning pipes on the facade of the third floor. He was certified dead after being rushed to United Christian Hospital.

May 10, 2026
AI app to detect drunk drivers through Cantonese speech analysis in the works
Business

AI app to detect drunk drivers through Cantonese speech analysis in the works

Hong Kong Metropolitan University to develop app that allows users to assess alcohol’s effects in real time to determine whether they are fit to drive Hong Kong researchers say they are developing what would be the world’s first AI app that detects intoxication through real-time Cantonese voice analysis, helping users decide whether they are fit to drive after drinking. A team from the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) said on Sunday that the self-assessment tool could not only help safeguard road safety but also potentially monitor language abnormalities linked to medication or fatigue. Funded by a HK$3.4 million (US$434,251) grant from the Smart Traffic Fund, the researchers will collect more than 1,000 minutes of Cantonese speech samples from around 100 participants aged 18 to 60 to establish a post-drinking speech database. The database will train a multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) language model that comprehensively analyses speech rate, intonation stability, speech pauses, and deviations in grammatical structure. This will allow comparison of participants’ performance before and after alcohol consumption to assess how drinking affects their cognitive and linguistic abilities.

May 10, 2026
Buoyed by rare earths, China approaches Trump summit with fresh confidence
Business

Buoyed by rare earths, China approaches Trump summit with fresh confidence

Sources say Beijing believes it has the ability to retaliate if Washington steps up the trade pressure The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said Chinese officials believed Beijing had the ability to retaliate strongly and to withstand the pressure if Washington escalated. That confidence could offer some clues as to how Beijing will approach the summit between President Xi Jinping and Trump. In October, the two countries agreed to a trade truce that involved Washington easing certain tariffs and China resuming soybean imports and suspending some rare earth export curbs.

May 10, 2026
Hong Kong police arrest 2 drivers over alleged truck racing viral video
Business

Hong Kong police arrest 2 drivers over alleged truck racing viral video

Dashcam footage shows two trucks cutting lanes amid incessant honking in tunnel believed to be Central Kowloon Bypass Hong Kong police have arrested two drivers linked to a viral video depicting two trucks cutting lanes and allegedly racing each other, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to the SCMP on Sunday that two drivers had been arrested for suspected dangerous driving after the footage was widely circulated on social media over the weekend. The compilation of dashcam footage was recorded last Friday at around 5.20pm. It showed the interior of a tunnel believed to be the Central Kowloon Bypass, where continuous honking could be heard. Two trucks were seen driving at high speed in the footage. A car camera footage from the rear side then showed a tractor unit truck cutting lanes inside the tunnel to follow the other one. There was incessant honking throughout the video. The video then switched back to the frontside camera of a car, which showed the tractor unit honking again and then switching lanes to drive right behind the other truck. The tractor unit then switched to a lane on its right, before the other truck followed suit quickly to overtake it.

May 10, 2026 · 2 dk okuma
China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot
Business

China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot

As fractures within the US’ network of alliances deepen, China’s strategic window opens a little wider, with some key caveats Reports of a “European Nato” backup framework, gaining momentum after Berlin abandoned its long-standing opposition, are no longer fringe. European defence spending is projected to nearly double by 2030 to roughly US$750 billion. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s warning that the greatest threat to Nato is internal disintegration rather than external attack captures a mood widely shared among European elites. The structural constraint behind Trump’s leverage is real, and Chinese analysts are studying it carefully. A Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analysis of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran estimates that US forces expended roughly half their Patriot interceptors, between 53 and about 80 per cent of the THAAD inventory, and around 45 per cent of its Precision Strike Missiles. Replenishment will take one to four years.

May 10, 2026
Rental yields, redevelopment gains drive home sales in Hong Kong’s To Kwa Wan
Markets

Rental yields, redevelopment gains drive home sales in Hong Kong’s To Kwa Wan

Demand for 2 projects fuels busiest sales weekend in 19 months as developers market the district as part of a wider redevelopment corridor The renewed interest helped push Hong Kong’s weekend primary home transactions to around 500 units, the strongest level in 19 months, according to Midland Realty. On Sunday, all 130 units released in the first round of sales for the third phase of One Victoria Cove on 1 Bailey Street were sold, according to lead developer Henderson Land Development. Prices started at HK$6.98 million, or HK$20,383 per square foot. The batch included 101 two-bedroom units and 29 three-bedroom flats ranging from 338 sq ft to 708 sq ft. One Hong Kong investor spent more than HK$110 million to purchase 16 units, the developer said. Investment demand was a major driver behind the strong sales. Midland Realty said investors accounted for about 40 per cent of its buyers at One Victoria Cove, with some purchasing multiple units for leasing purposes.

May 10, 2026
Underwater anti-mine technology and robot dogs take centre stage at Chinese defence show
Business

Underwater anti-mine technology and robot dogs take centre stage at Chinese defence show

The Chengdu Defence Technology Industry Expo showcases advanced equipment, including submarine-launched drones China unveiled some of its most advanced military technology, including robot dogs and an AI-enabled underwater system that can neutralise mines, at a defence expo. Autonomous underwater vehicles designed to be launched by submarine were one of the most noteworthy products that featured at the 2026 Chengdu Defence Technology Industry Expo in mid-April. The vessels, which can be launched from 260mm or 533mm torpedo tubes, are mainly designed to conduct high-precision deep-ocean surveys and seabed mapping, and the larger variant can travel to depths of up to 3,000 metres (9,800 feet). They can also be fitted with specialised modules to detect and neutralise underwater targets, according to state broadcaster CCTV. “It is essentially an autonomous underwater robot with its own ‘brain’, which does not need any external software support or human escorts … a smart underwater scout at the disposal of its mother submarine,” the report said. Its design also allows operators to add extra battery power for long-range patrols or advanced sensors for deep-sea reconnaissance.

May 10, 2026
‘Forfeiture of rights’: Hong Kong villagers slam Northern Metropolis evictions
Business

‘Forfeiture of rights’: Hong Kong villagers slam Northern Metropolis evictions

One elderly villager says she fears her family may be separated due to rehousing arrangements When Law Yin-ping moved into a village house in Yick Yuen Tsuen in northwest Hong Kong’s Lam Tei more than a decade ago with her granddaughters, it never crossed her mind that they could one day be rendered homeless – and forcibly separated. The Tuen Mun village falls within the government’s planned Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, which is set to become a high-end professional services and logistics hub under the Northern Metropolis megaproject. Law, who is nearly 70, said on Sunday that it was not until Friday that she was ordered by the Lands Department to move out by the end of the month. “The department said we could only go to temporary shelters, which are for the homeless. Why should the Lands Department’s land acquisition render us homeless?” she said. “I also sought help from the Social Welfare Department, and they said my younger granddaughter, who is under 18, should go to a care home. At that moment, I was shocked and helpless.” When Law rented the house in 2014, she was told that it was a registered squatter dwelling, and she noted there was a registration number assigned by authorities on its wall.

May 10, 2026 · 2 dk okuma