Israel deepens Somaliland ties with first ambassador, testing Horn of Africa balance

South China Morning Post - Nov 3, 2026

Last week, Somaliland, a breakaway region that declared independence from Somalia in 1991, welcomed its first ambassador from Israel. Diplomat Michael Lotem presented his credentials in Hargeisa, while officials laid the cornerstone for an Israeli embassy. The ceremony, announced by Israel’s foreign ministry on Sunday, formalised a relationship that began with mutual recognition in December. Somalia, the African Union, Arab states and China strongly oppose the move, reaffirming Somaliland as...

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Hong Kong records 15th straight quarter of growth as GDP rises 5.2%

Hong Kong records 15th straight quarter of growth as GDP rises 5.2%

Hong Kong’s economy grew by 5.2 per cent year on year in the third quarter, marking its 15th consecutive quarter of expansion, while retail sales rose by 6.4 per cent in September. For the first three quarters combined, the economy expanded by 5.1 per cent, its fastest growth for the period in five years, advance estimates released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed. This compared with increases of 4.2 per cent in the second quarter and 5.9 per cent in the first. On a...

How Hong Kong can turn 30,000 youth placements into lasting careers

How Hong Kong can turn 30,000 youth placements into lasting careers

Hong Kong will launch a 30,000-place youth employment and internship programme in the first quarter of 2027. Before applications open, the government should decide what it is buying: a temporary increase in headcount or a durable increase in professional capability. The distinction matters because the entry-level labour market is already changing. According to an annual survey by Baptist University, the starting-pay advantage of bachelor’s degree holders over sub-degree graduates narrowed by 17...

China’s historic first space docking in 2011 – SCMP archive

China’s historic first space docking in 2011 – SCMP archive

This article was first published on November 4, 2011. China a step closer to building its own space station by Stephen Chen Encouraged by yesterday (November 3, 2011) morning’s historic rendezvous and docking of the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft, Chinese authorities said construction of a space station will begin as soon as 2013. “We will do two more rendezvous and docking flights next year,” said Wu Ping (武平), spokeswoman for the manned space programme, at a press conference in Beijing yesterday....

Chinese drug iza-bren doubles lung cancer survival window in phase 3 trial

Chinese drug iza-bren doubles lung cancer survival window in phase 3 trial

An anticancer drug developed by Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical took centre stage in a late-breaking oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Madrid last week. Researchers said the drug, iza-bren, showed a significant advantage over platinum-based chemotherapy in a phase 3 randomised, double-blind clinical trial conducted at 73 hospitals in China and involving 432 patients with advanced lung cancer. The median progression-free survival (PFS) – the length of...

Vice-Premier He Lifeng vows support for Hong Kong as international financial centre

Vice-Premier He Lifeng vows support for Hong Kong as international financial centre

Beijing says it will introduce extra measures, as needed, to bolster Hong Kong as an international financial centre, with Vice-Premier He Lifeng pledging continued support in a speech on Tuesday. Delivering a keynote speech at the opening of the 2026 Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit in Hong Kong via video link, He said finance was the most important leg of the city’s “four centres and one highland” agenda and stressed that using the advantages of the “one country, two systems”...

Hong Kong launches single check-in scheme for select mainland China flights

Hong Kong launches single check-in scheme for select mainland China flights

Travellers flying from Hangzhou or Wuhan to overseas destinations via Hong Kong on different airlines can have their baggage checked through to the final destination under a newly launched service that aims to streamline connections between mainland Chinese cities and other countries. Under the new one-stop service that launched on Tuesday, travellers departing from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport or Wuhan Tianhe International Airport will not need to check in their baggage again when...

Transport authorities demand answers after 4-hour parking meter outage

Transport authorities demand answers after 4-hour parking meter outage

Hong Kong’s transport authorities have launched an investigation into a four-hour outage of the city’s parking meter system on Tuesday morning and ordered operator HKT to submit a report. The Transport Department said Hong Kong Telecommunications had notified it at about 8.20am that the system was out of service and urgent repairs were under way. Shortly after noon, the department said the system had resumed normal operation following repairs. “The Transport Department will continue to urge the...

2½ years’ jail for Hong Kong district councillor who had sex with 13-year-old girl in 2011

2½ years’ jail for Hong Kong district councillor who had sex with 13-year-old girl in 2011

A Hong Kong district councillor has been sentenced to two years and six months in jail for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl 15 years ago, with a judge noting he had shown no remorse towards a victim he claimed to have loved. District Court Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi on Tuesday noted that Sei Chun-hing, a 39-year-old Yuen Long District Council member, was aware of the “red line” of sex with a minor when they started dating in October 2010. At the time, she was 13 and Sei 23. Chan...

US strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island ahead of midterms as Trump says deal ‘could happen’

US strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island ahead of midterms as Trump says deal ‘could happen’

The United States has attacked an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest in a series of covert, limited strikes ahead of the US midterm elections, as President Donald Trump signalled progress in talks with Tehran and mediators continue pushing for dialogue. A Chinese analyst said Washington faced no urgency to negotiate with an anxious Tehran, with the outcome of the midterms and Trump’s strategy still undecided. Iran’s Qeshm Island was struck on Monday, The Wall Street Journal...

Beijing removes Hong Kong housing chief Winnie Ho after Tai Po fire resignation

Beijing removes Hong Kong housing chief Winnie Ho after Tai Po fire resignation

Beijing has formally removed Hong Kong’s housing chief, Winnie Ho Wing-yin, from her post, after she resigned last week to take political responsibility for the deadly Tai Po fire. According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the State Council removed Ho from office on Tuesday on the recommendation of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. The announcement gave no reason for the decision and did not name a successor. In a government statement, Lee said Ho had indicated she would “shoulder the...

Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker, October 2026

Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker, October 2026

Chinese President Xi Jinping met four foreign leaders in October – two each from Africa and Europe – with the month dominated by the Communist Party Central Committee’s fifth plenum. The pace will probably pick up in November. Xi has already met Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, and he will host an Apec summit on November 18–19. The Shenzhen event will probably feature talks with US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other regional leaders.

‘Speak last’: China’s fifth plenum moves to rein in Communist Party leaders

‘Speak last’: China’s fifth plenum moves to rein in Communist Party leaders

A key document endorsed by the Communist Party proposes stronger oversight of principal leaders below the central level, barring them from demanding personal allegiance from their leadership teams – a demand that is only for the top leaders. The proposal is part of a 17,000-word resolution approved at the fifth plenum of the 20th Central Committee, the full text of which was published by state news agency Xinhua on Sunday. The four-day plenum held last week emphasised internal governance,...

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