https://www.scmp.com/rss/522715/feed The latest news and top stories on Benjamin Horton, Dean of the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong. He conducts research into sea-level change, developing quantitative models and leading international teams. Formerly Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, he has published over 270 peer-reviewed articles and received numerous accolades including the Plinius Medal. His expertise extends to climate change and its impacts, advocating for low-energy technologies... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Connor Mycroft,William Yiu Connor Mycroft,William Yiu The operations of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London will remain unaffected by a UK spying verdict, observers have said, arguing that the British government is unlikely to seek its closure so as to maintain relations with Beijing. A British court on Thursday found Bill Yuen Chung-biu, the London HKETO’s manager, and Peter Wai Chi-leung, a retired Hong Kong police superintendent, guilty of spying on activists from Hong Kong on behalf of Chinese authorities. The Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352937/why-uk-unlikely-shut-hong-kongs-london-trade-office-despite-spying-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352937/why-uk-unlikely-shut-hong-kongs-london-trade-office-despite-spying-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2026 12:04:42 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China is prioritising “strategic material security” under its new five-year plan, which elevates the supply and domestic stockpiling of critical resources to a matter of national security. Under its 15th five-year plan, Beijing has placed “key commodities” on the same strategic level as food and energy security, pledging a more proactive approach to bolstering “energy and resource supply security” by “preventing and mitigating major risks in systemically important areas”. To achieve this, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347132/china-stockpile-critical-resources-and-strengthen-energy-security-avoid-trade-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347132/china-stockpile-critical-resources-and-strengthen-energy-security-avoid-trade-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi Washington’s redeployment of elements of its missile defence systems from South Korea to the Middle East could be read by China as a short-term capability gap in the region, analysts said. They said the move also underlined US flexibility to move its assets across theatres of operation. A Washington Post report on Tuesday citing two unnamed US government officials said that the United States had been moving parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system stationed in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3346575/us-shifting-thaad-south-korea-mideast-what-does-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3346575/us-shifting-thaad-south-korea-mideast-what-does-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Extreme weather brought about by the El Nino phenomenon could cost Hong Kong as much as US$300 billion over the 21st century, according to a joint study by local and Singapore universities. The study also painted a bleak picture for public health, finding that Hongkongers born during the two strong El Nino events in 1982-83 and 1997-98 could have their life expectancy reduced by five to seven months. Led by Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University in collaboration with City University... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3339396/el-nino-could-cost-hong-kong-us300-billion-and-shorten-life-expectancy-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3339396/el-nino-could-cost-hong-kong-us300-billion-and-shorten-life-expectancy-study?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 14:48:23 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi The American public still wants the United States to be “engaged and take the lead” in international affairs, with support increasing for military intervention if Taiwan were to be attacked, according to a new survey. This view contrasts with US President Donald Trump’s isolationist bent and pivot towards homeland security, something analysts say could “complicate” decision making in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. According to an annual survey published on Thursday by the Ronald... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3335408/us-public-backs-active-role-global-affairs-including-taiwan-defence-poll-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3335408/us-public-backs-active-role-global-affairs-including-taiwan-defence-poll-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Dec 2025 10:00:09 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi By lifting its arms embargo on Cambodia, Washington has signalled that President Donald Trump aims to lure Phnom Penh away from Beijing – a move experts warn would be difficult to achieve. According to a notice from the US Federal Register, the State Department formally ended its arms embargo on Cambodia as of November 7, and any arms sales to the country will now be decided on a case-by-case basis. “Based on Cambodia’s diligent pursuit of peace and security, including through renewed engagement... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3332974/us-ends-arms-embargo-can-it-pry-cambodia-away-china-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3332974/us-ends-arms-embargo-can-it-pry-cambodia-away-china-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 11:00:11 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik China and the United States often find themselves sharply at odds on policy, but nowhere is the divide between the rival powers more striking than on climate change – as their leaders made clear at last month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York. Even as US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, used the moment to unveil Beijing’s latest strategies for addressing the issue. Xi said... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3329931/trump-xi-and-green-paradox-how-china-building-climate-proof-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3329931/trump-xi-and-green-paradox-how-china-building-climate-proof-future?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2025 22:00:09 +0000 Edith Lin,Vivian Au Edith Lin,Vivian Au A flooded hotel lobby and promenades engulfed by seas whipped up as Super Typhoon Ragasa bore down on Hong Kong provide timely lessons for urban planning in coastal and other low-lying areas, experts have said. They called for flood-resilient features and higher breakwaters on Wednesday after a storm surge and downpours associated with Ragasa battered the city’s coastline, inundating streets and promenades. Storm surges flooded restaurants, parks and even the lobby of the 425-room Fullerton... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3326742/lessons-ragasa-lashing-hong-kong-coastal-areas-must-be-learned-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3326742/lessons-ragasa-lashing-hong-kong-coastal-areas-must-be-learned-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:30:08 +0000 Holly Chik,Victoria Bela Holly Chik,Victoria Bela Super Typhoon Ragasa, which lashed Hong Kong and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Wednesday, has drawn warnings from scientists that climate change is making such storms more frequent. Benjamin Horton, dean of the school of energy and environment at City University of Hong Kong, said: “Climate scientists know better than anyone else that these events should not be happening at such regularity, so late in the season, of such intensity, of such high winds and of such big storm surges.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3326685/super-typhoon-ragasa-scientists-warn-climate-change-leads-more-and-stronger-storms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3326685/super-typhoon-ragasa-scientists-warn-climate-change-leads-more-and-stronger-storms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 09:31:24 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi In a break from past practice, the United States did not send an aircraft carrier to its military drill with treaty allies Japan and South Korea last week. Some analysts said this suggested that the US was playing down the exercise to boost its dealings with China and North Korea. Others highlighted the Trump administration’s insistence on greater contributions from Asian allies in its strategy to contain China within the strategically crucial first island chain. The trilateral multi-domain... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326285/us-held-major-military-drill-minus-aircraft-carrier-what-does-it-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326285/us-held-major-military-drill-minus-aircraft-carrier-what-does-it-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 12:00:11 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin A tsunami triggered by a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on Wednesday prompted warnings and evacuations in Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast. The Hong Kong Observatory also told the public on the same day that the tsunami would reach the city in the late afternoon. A “sea-level anomaly of around 7cm” (2.8 inches) was recorded by the forecaster later in the day. The Post explores why the impact of the tsunami was limited in Hong Kong and provides... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3320278/hong-kong-safe-tsunamis-after-waves-russian-quake-cause-anomaly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3320278/hong-kong-safe-tsunamis-after-waves-russian-quake-cause-anomaly?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Jul 2025 08:59:14 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification I refer to the article, “Tuition and music: how Hong Kong’s pupils got into their first-choice secondary schools” (July 8). I am happy for these children who got into their preferred schools, and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3318255/hong-kong-students-must-remember-grades-arent-everything?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3318255/hong-kong-students-must-remember-grades-arent-everything?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 03:30:08 +0000