Xi projects confidence for China’s Communist Party at home and on world stage

On the 105th anniversary of the ruling party’s founding, Xi Jinping also warns members to stay vigilant and prepare for challenges

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Chinese President Xi Jinping is applauded at a ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Alcott Wei in Beijing and Amber Wang in Beijing

A year ahead of a major leadership reshuffle, President Xi Jinping has projected strong confidence in the Communist Party ’s governance at home and abroad,

Vietnam offers cash for babies but potential parents are not biting

Hanoi is subsidising prenatal and newborn screenings and giving cash bonuses of up to US$228 – two-thirds of the monthly average salary

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A pregnant woman walks past a billboard of a happy family in Hanoi on Monday. Photo: AFP

One year after lifting its long-standing two-child limit, Vietnam is offering incentives for people to have more babies as the communist country risks getting old before it gets rich.

A new population law and regulations coming into effect on Wednesday extend maternity leave from six


A US missile killed Iranian schoolchildren 4 months ago. Still, no one accepts blame

It was the deadliest reported strike in the US-Israeli war against Iran, and most of the victims were children. Yet over four months since a US missile struck an Iranian primary school, there is no final accounting of what happened.

The Trump administration has not directly accepted the blame, though the military possessed evidence almost immediately that the site had been struck, a US official with knowledge of the situation told Associated Press.

Drawing from interviews with US officials, human rights workers and Iranians in direct contact with rescuers and


Chinese PhD graduate invites favourite eatery owners to graduation via delivery order

A Chinese doctoral graduate, right, invited the owners of a restaurant he frequented for seven years to take graduation photos with him via a delivery order. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

A Chinese PhD graduate invited his favourite eatery’s owners to his graduation ceremony via a delivery order, receiving enthusiastic response from his invitees.

Recently, an eatery owner in southern China’s Guangdong province posted a delivery order she received.

In the comment of the order, the customer, surnamed Xiong, invites her and her husband to take graduation photos with him.

He wrote: “I have been fed by you for seven years from bachelor

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Communist Party a ‘fundamental safeguard’ of Hong Kong’s prosperity: John Lee

City leader notes administration’s achievements and sets priorities for final year of his tenure during handover and party anniversary celebrations

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A man holds a national flag at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule. Photo: Jelly Tse
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Hong Kong enters ‘new era’ as city returns to Chinese rule in 1997 – SCMP archive

This article was first published on July 1, 1997

Tung and his team sworn in as Patten bids tearful farewell

by Chris Yeung

Hong Kong entered its new era at the stroke of midnight, launching a historic experiment with the strongest pledge yet of non-interference from President Jiang Zemin.

As June 30 moved into July 1, the flags of Britain and Hong Kong were lowered, and those of China and the SAR raised in the Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The return to China after 156 years

A fireworks display for the British farewell at Victoria Harbour on June 30, 1997. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong to issue No 1 typhoon signal on Thursday as tropical depression nears

Hong Kong will issue the No 1 typhoon signal on Thursday. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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Raid to relief as US military aids Venezuela after twin earthquakes

The US military has established a robust footprint of US forces in and around Venezuela to support relief operations, with more than 900 personnel inside the country and another roughly 800 in Caribbean hubs Puerto Rico and Curacao, according to the top US general for Latin America.

General Francis Donovan, the commander of US Southern Command, said US forces had participated in search-and-rescue operations, helped get the airport up and running and mobilised air and naval assets to ‌allow for the arrival of humanitarian relief


Oman Air targets Singapore with new nonstop flight as Gulf carriers ramp up services

Flights to Gulf hub airports, which were closed at the start of the Iran war, returned to around 90 per cent of normal levels by mid-June

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A Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Oman Air sits on the tarmac at Muscat International Airport on March 13. Photo: Reuters

Oman Air is looking to capitalise ⁠on the Gulf ⁠state’s appeal as a largely ⁠untapped tourism destination as it launches flights from Muscat to Singapore on Thursday and considers an expansion to North Asia over the next year.

The new nonstop Singapore

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China’s Wang Yi reaffirms support for Mideast talks in meeting with top Saudi diplomat

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) meets his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Carol Yang in Beijing and Fan Chen in Hong Kong

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday met his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud in Beijing, reaffirming China’s strong support for negotiations in the Middle East and calling for sustained dialogue despite a fragile ceasefire.

“Talking is better than fighting, and dialogue is better than confrontation,” Wang said, according to a statement released by China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday night

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