GLOBEALERT
Sign in
The wire

Feed

Open sources, classified and cross-checked. 1,441+ stories.

AllConflictMilitaryPoliticsBusinessSci & TechCyberDisasterHealthWorld
24h3 days7 days30 daysAll·All regionsNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWestern EuropeEastern EuropeBalticsMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaSouth AsiaEast AsiaOceania
PoliticsJul 26Journal to review university paper citing Hong Kong map without Victoria HarbourAn international journal has said it is looking into concerns raised over a map featured in a paper by an Education University of Hong Kong (EdU) researcher, in which Victoria Harbour was omitted and Kowloon Peninsula was merged with Hong Kong Island. A spokesman for the Humanities and Social Sciences Communications journal said on Wednesday that its “assessment is ongoing”. Meanwhile, EdU defended the map, saying it was neither a distortion nor an error but a cartographic characteristic based...South China Morning Post
DisasterJul 26Noul, third closest typhoon to Hong Kong since 2000, causes minor damage to cityTyphoon Noul, which triggered a No 9 signal on Sunday, made the third-closest approach to Hong Kong by a major storm this century, but it caused relatively minor damage in the city despite violent winds rattling buildings throughout the night. It was the first No 9 signal issued since Super Typhoon Ragasa last September, which came within 100km (62 miles) of the city. Noul came within 80km, making it the third closest after Saola at 40km in 2023, and both Hato and Wipha at 60km in 2017 and 2025,...South China Morning Post
Sci & TechJul 26Feature : Winged dwellers in concrete jungle : Critically endangered parrots make Hong Kong homeCritically endangered parrots have found a habitat in Hong Kong's urban environment, described as a 'concrete jungle.' This highlights a unique instance of urban wildlife conservation challenges.bignewsnetwork.com · United States
DisasterJul 262,000 passengers stranded overnight at Hong Kong airport due to Typhoon NoulAbout 2,000 passengers were stranded overnight at Hong Kong International Airport as Typhoon Noul battered the city, with some dismayed by their disrupted journeys while others complained about hotel room rates that had risen to HK$2,000 (US$255) to HK$3,000 per night. In the airport’s departure hall, almost all the chairs were occupied on Sunday morning, with some passengers sitting on luggage trolleys. Many slept on benches, while others anxiously checked the status of flights on their...South China Morning Post
WorldJul 26Hong Kong expands after-school care but some families say they still lack accessHong Kong’s after-school care scheme has expanded rapidly since the government removed its quota cap this school year, with some operators saying they have sufficient capacity to meet demand, while others are already recruiting more staff to keep pace. While some mothers said the programme had freed them up to return to work after years of full-time caregiving, manpower constraints at some centres meant not all eligible families were able to access the scheme. The School-based After School Care...South China Morning Post
PoliticsJul 264 ways Hong Kong can shape its future – and the world’sNearly three decades after its return to Chinese sovereignty, Hong Kong is once again at an important crossroads. The recent decision by the United States not to renew “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” has once again focused international attention on the city’s future. For some, it represents another chapter in the geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing. For Hong Kong, however, it should also serve as a reminder that its future cannot be defined...South China Morning Post
BusinessJul 26How Xinjiang offers Hong Kong a bridge to Central Asia — and what the risks areHong Kong businesses can leverage Xinjiang’s connectivity with Central Asia to expand into new markets while the city’s financial, trade and professional services can help businesses in the region enter Southeast Asia, according to political analysts. But an economist and a textile industry veteran have warned of potential risks for Hong Kong businesses building ties with Xinjiang in northwestern China. Western countries have imposed sanctions on officials and entities tied to the Xinjiang Uygur...South China Morning Post
PoliticsJul 25Lawmakers return from historic Beijing trip with insights on Hong Kong’s 5-year planHong Kong lawmakers have said they gained new insights on how best to assist the government in creating the city’s first five-year plan following an unprecedented study trip to Beijing that wrapped up on Saturday. Upon returning to Hong Kong, Legislative Council president Starry Lee Wai-king shared key takeaways from the week-long trip, highlighting a delegation meeting with Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, at the Great Hall of the People. She added that lawmakers...South China Morning Post
PoliticsJul 25Hong Kong mandates fire escape hoods in hotels and guest houses to boost safetyHong Kong hotels and guest houses are required to provide fire escape hoods to ensure customer safety, the city’s home affairs minister has said, with authorities giving the sector a one-year grace period. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen also said on Saturday that the government would discuss implementation arrangements with the sector soon, after some representatives flagged that they had not been consulted before the requirement was introduced. “We have heard different...South China Morning Post
WorldJul 25Hong Kong issues 21 tickets to workers for smoking in first 6 days of site banHong Kong authorities issued 21 fixed-penalty notices in the first six days of a citywide ban on smoking on construction sites, the labour commissioner has revealed, describing the situation as not ideal. Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui Chark-shum said on Saturday that about 530 construction sites had been inspected during the first six days of the ban, which took effect on July 17. Apart from the 21 fixed-penalty tickets, authorities also issued five improvement notices to contractors, with one...South China Morning Post
WorldJul 25Nearly 170 mainland Chinese motorists expected in Hong Kong under expanded schemeClose to 170 mainland Chinese motorists are expected to arrive in Hong Kong on Saturday under an expanded cross-border travel scheme, with hotels rolling out accommodation, dining, shopping and parking packages to attract the new visitors. The Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme was extended to cover five more cities – Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing – from Saturday, with the daily quota of urban trips doubling to 200. A total of nine mainland cities in the Greater...South China Morning Post
Sci & TechJul 25Beneath the waters of Hong Kong’s Lamma Island, a silent super plant is at workOn a sunny July afternoon along the shores of Hong Kong’s Lamma Island, the receding tide reveals an unassuming patch of greenery that scientists describe as the “ultimate underwater superheroes” for boosting marine biodiversity. Seagrass – an easily overlooked marine plant – can lock away climate-warming carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. But levels of this vital vegetation in local waters have plummeted by 60 per cent over the past two decades, while sightings of local green...South China Morning Post
PoliticsJul 24Xia Baolong urges lawmakers to ‘assume a greater role’ in helping Hong Kong leaderBeijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has called on lawmakers to better support the city’s leader, enhance governance, inject new momentum into local development and address residents’ needs. Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, made the call as he met 88 legislators on Friday at a seminar during their unprecedented week-long national affairs study tour to the capital. Meeting the group in the Hong Kong Room of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xia affirmed...South China Morning Post
PoliticsJul 24Hong Kong can act as ‘super converter’ for mainland China, Paul Chan saysHong Kong can take on a new role as a “super converter” for technical standards, legal norms and innovations exchanged between mainland China and the wider world, the city’s finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stressed that Hong Kong’s reputation for quality had established the city as a “brand name” that was trusted by the international community. Citing the Middle East as an example, he said: “In general they will automatically give the go-ahead to those products that...South China Morning Post
BusinessJul 24Salary growth for Hong Kong degree graduates slows to 5-year lowSalary growth for Hong Kong degree graduates slowed to a five-year low in 2025, with average annual earnings rising by just 2 per cent and sitting at HK$28,000 (US$3,570) a month as underemployment hit a record high. The University Grants Committee (UGC) released the graduate employment figures for last year on its website on Friday. According to the data, the average annual salary of degree graduates stood at HK$336,000. The figure represented an average of HK$28,000 per month and a 2 per cent...South China Morning Post
BusinessJul 24Hong Kong’s TDC to open Egypt office as it eyes African, Nordic marketsHong Kong’s trade promotion body will set up a new office in Egypt within the next nine months to expand its footprint in Africa, while recalibrating resources for Nordic countries through its European bases as traditional markets face slower growth. Hong Kong Trade Development Council chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang said on Friday that the organisation had revamped its corporate structure to better help companies in six new industry clusters develop promotional strategies. Ma, a former commerce...South China Morning Post
BusinessJul 24Hong Kong exchange’s biggest reform in 8 years opens gates to more IPOsStock exchange operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) will allow all listing applications to remain confidential and will reduce market-capitalisation requirements for listings by start-ups and international firms immediately, it announced on Friday. Confirming a report by the South China Morning Post, HKEX will proceed with confidential filing as it proposed in March in its biggest set of listing reforms since 2018. The exchange will also reduce the market-cap requirements for...South China Morning Post
DisasterJul 24Woman arrested over power theft after Hong Kong flat fire kills 5 petsA Hong Kong woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing electricity after a fire broke out in her Mong Kok flat, killing three cats and two dogs. Investigators said on Friday that the 56-year-old, surnamed Chan, had left her Tung Choi Street flat at about 6pm the previous day with the air conditioner running. The flat was believed to have caught fire due to a short circuit. She was apprehended after checks by power supplier CLP revealed irregularities in the flat’s electricity supply. Police...South China Morning Post
WorldJul 24Thousands of fans throng 5-day animation, comics and games fair in Hong KongThousands of visitors have flocked to an animation, comics and games fair in Hong Kong, drawn to Hello Kitty plush toys, Spider-Man figurines and spinning top contests, among other collectibles and interactive activities. The five-day Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong fair opened on Friday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, with many attendees seeking to buy limited-edition merchandise arriving early in the morning before opening hours. The first visitor to enter this year’s...South China Morning Post
WorldJul 24Monkeying around disrupts Hong Kong MTR services for second day in rowA monkey caused fresh disruption to Hong Kong’s rail services on Friday morning after it was spotted on the tracks in Tsuen Wan station, a day after a similar incident during peak hours. At 10.03am, the MTR Corporation said services on the Tsuen Wan line had to be adjusted after a monkey entered the track area, advising passengers to allow extra time for their journeys. A photo released by the railway operator showed the monkey sitting on the tracks, facing dozens of passengers on the...South China Morning Post
DisasterBreakingJul 24Typhoon Noul to come closest to Hong Kong late Saturday into SundaySouth China Morning Post
PoliticsJul 24Hong Kong must wake up to the cold hard geopolitics of AIOfficials talking about artificial intelligence (AI) often speak in terms of the next industrial revolution or existential risks. Such rhetoric ultimately does little to capture how AI filters into the ordinary workings of a city like Hong Kong. The geopolitics of AI are no longer abstract. They are beginning to shape who can use which tools – and on what terms. Over the past few months, two major international banks in the city have reportedly felt the impact. Anthropic’s Claude, a generative...South China Morning Post
WorldJul 24Chinese nationals plead guilty to illegally shipping turtles from US to Hong KongTwo Chinese nationals pleaded guilty to shipping more than 500 turtles to Hong Kong in violation of American wildlife law, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday. Kin Keung Ho pleaded guilty on Thursday while Lihua Owen Ma pleaded guilty to a similar charge on July 1. Both are residents of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. “During the plea hearing, the government proffered that Ho shipped approximately 99 packages containing 578 turtles,” the agency said. “Ho...South China Morning Post
WorldJul 23How scholar Ackbar Abbas changed the way people thought about Hong KongAckbar Abbas, a Hong Kong-born scholar whose influence extended beyond academia to shape artists, filmmakers, writers and many others, died on July 13 at the age of 84 after a brief battle with cancer. Over decades of teaching at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Abbas did not simply analyse Hong Kong – he altered the way Hong Kong could be described. His 1997 book Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance was particularly influential....South China Morning Post
← NewerOlder →