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AdvertisementChina exportsEconomyChina EconomyCuts to US ‘fentanyl tariffs’ help Chinese exporters close the gap on competitionAnalysts said the reduction in US tariffs creates space for Chinese producers to gain on Asian competitors – particularly in low-cost goods
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP1Alice LiandRalph JenningsPublished: 6:00am, 1 Nov 2025With the US cutting its tariffs on Chinese imports by 10 per cent – halving a duty initially imposed by Washington over allegations of complicity in the fentanyl trade – analysts said the reduction may further strengthen the competitiveness of Chinese exporters, particularly in mass-produced goods.
AdvertisementFollowing a meeting on Thursday between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in South Korea, the world’s two largest economies reached a consensus on the issue, with the US agreeing to remove half of its 20 per cent in fentanyl-related tariffs on China, effective immediately.
The 90-day pause on tariff inc..

The decision by King Charles III to strip his younger brother Prince Andrew of all royal titles and honours marks one of the most dramatic disciplinary moves in modern royal history. Once known as His Royal Highness The Duke of York, Andrew will now be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a private citizen with no formal royal privileges. But what exactly did he lose, and how much power does the monarch really have to take it all away?What were Prince Andrew’s titles?Before his fall from grace, Andrew held an array of prestigious royal titles bestowed over a lifetime of service and birthright. At his birth in 1960, he was styled “His Royal Highness Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward of York.” As the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, he automatically held the title of Prince and the style His Royal Highness (HRH).When he married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, the late Queen conferred upon him a traditional dukedom, naming him Duke of York, along with the subsidiary ..

In one of the most heartbreaking moments for Democrats, Kamala Harris recalled the time she realised her 2024 presidential campaign was over, and she had gone “into a state of shock” when told she was short of 200,000 votes and lost to the MAGA chief Donald Trump. “I got a call from my campaign manager saying we need 200,000 more votes that we can’t find,” Harris said on The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett. “I was in a state of shock, I was so inarticulate. I kept saying ‘My God, my God, my God’ over and over.” The former vice president also discussed her relationship with former President Joe Biden, under whom she had served. Harris took over as the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out of the race in July 2024, but ultimately lost to Trump in November. In her new memoir, 107 Days, Harris recounts concern over Biden’s ability to run for re-election. Speaking to Bartlett, she revealed she had sensed something was “a little off” with Biden months before the election. “H..

AdvertisementArtificial intelligenceTechTech TrendsAI models from China’s DeepSeek, Alibaba and the US flatter users too much, study findsResearch judges models from Alibaba and DeepSeek among the most sycophantic, an issue which could impact relationships and mental health
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP1Vincent ChowPublished: 7:00am, 31 Oct 2025Leading artificial intelligence models from the United States and China are “highly sycophantic”, and their excessive flattery may make users less likely to repair interpersonal conflicts, a new study has found.AdvertisementThe study by researchers at Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University published earlier this month tested how 11 large language models (LLMs) responded to user queries seeking advice on personal matters, including cases involving manipulation and deception.
In AI circles, sycophancy is the phenomenon of chatbots excessively agreeing with users. DeepSeek’s V3, released in December 2024, was found to be ..

AdvertisementIsrael-Gaza warWorldMiddle EastIsrael confirms identities of latest Gaza hostage bodies returned by HamasSahar Baruch was taken from kibbutz Beeri, and Amiram Kuper was kidnapped with his wife from their home in kibbutz Nir Oz
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 6:57am, 31 Oct 2025Israel said Thursday that it had identified the remains of hostages Amiram Kuper and Sahar Baruch, whose bodies were returned by Hamas earlier in the day.
AdvertisementA statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the families of the deceased men had been informed after “completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine”.
Militants took 251 people hostage during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.
Sahar Baruch was taken from kibbutz Beeri to Gaza and killed during a failed army rescue operation two months later. He was 25 when he died.
Amiram Kuper, 84 at the t..

Representative AI image Dubai’s Halloween scene has blossomed into a high-fashion spectacle where fantasy and luxury merge under desert skies. From rooftop catwalks and masquerade dinners to influencer-hosted beach parties, the emirate’s Halloween nights are now curated experiences driven by style, brand activations and social-media moments. These lavish events reflect Dubai’s rising status as a global influencer hub and show how Halloween has been reinvented beyond costumes or candy.The high-fashion Halloween evolution in DubaiOver recent years Dubai has transformed Halloween into more than a celebration of scares. Luxury venues are adopting theatrical themes ranging from “cursed circus” soirées to futuristic masquerade balls. Immersive indoor festivals and private yacht parties present Halloween as a glamour-led celebration designed for nightlife, fashion and photography. The emphasis is on exclusive access and Instagram-ready aesthetics.Influencers and content creators sit at the ce..

Image: Getty Images Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed a remarkably preserved 1,600-year-old Roman wine production site beneath the ruins of an ancient mountain castle. The discovery, made near the village of Oymakli in southeastern Turkey’s Kahta district, sheds light on the scale and sophistication of winemaking in the late Roman period. The site includes grape-crushing installations, cisterns, and grinding stones, all remarkably intact after more than a millennium. Experts believe the complex once operated as a large-scale industrial winery, serving both local residents and the nearby Kahta Castle, an important stronghold during the Kingdom of Commagene.Unearthing the ancient vineyardThe excavation, led by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, began after archaeologists discovered fragments of stone and pottery believed to be of historical value. The site spans nearly 37 acres and lies in a mountainous region overlooking the Euphrates River valley.Researchers found sever..

AdvertisementInterest ratesBusinessBanking & FinanceBreaking | Hong Kong follows US in quarter-point interest rate cut to reduce loans cost for borrowersHalf-point cut in six weeks further eases the funding costs for businesses and mortgage borrowers
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPEnoch YiuPublished: 7:00am, 30 Oct 2025Hong Kong’s de facto central bank cut the base interest rate for the second time in six weeks, further reducing the cost of funding to help reboot the city’s businesses and reduce the burden on mortgage borrowers.
AdvertisementThe Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) cut the base rate by a quarter point to 4.25 per cent on Thursday, hours after the US Federal Reserve pared its target rate by the same margin to a range of 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent during the seventh meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year. The new base rate is the lowest for Hong Kong since November 2022.Together with a quarter-point rate cut in September, central banks..

AdvertisementHong Kong healthcare and hospitalsHong KongHealth & EnvironmentApplications for Hong Kong’s expanded medical fee waiver to open on MondayPatients with appointments scheduled for January or February at public hospitals can submit required income and asset proofs from Monday
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPFiona SunPublished: 7:00am, 30 Oct 2025An expanded medical fee waiver mechanism under public healthcare reforms in Hong Kong will open for applications from patients on Monday, months before the new policy takes effect next year.
AdvertisementThe Hospital Authority said that patients with appointments scheduled for January or February at public hospitals could submit the required proof of income and assets to apply for the fee reduction starting from Monday.
Those eligible for the waiver would be issued a certificate before their appointment, it said.
Applications can be submitted to the medical social services units at public hospitals and clinics, and the int..

President Donald Trump claimed during a press briefing aboard Air Force One on October 27, 2025 that he had taken an “IQ test” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and achieved a perfect score, challenging Democratic Representatives Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez to take the same exam.In reality, the question test appears to have been the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)—a brief screening tool for early cognitive decline, not an intelligence (IQ) test, according to People. The discrepancy between what was claimed and what experts say the test measures raises questions about transparency, health communication, and political messaging. What Trump said and how he framed itTrump described the test as “very hard” and suggested it was akin to an aptitude or cognitive exam:“They have Jasmine Crockett, a low IQ person. AOC is low IQ… You give her an IQ test, have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed… I took- Those are very har..