World

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed America’s embassies and consulates worldwide to stop scheduling student visa interviews as US President Donald Trump’s administration considers more expansive vetting of the social media profiles of applicants.The order, laid out in a diplomatic cable on Tuesday, is the latest effort by the administration to restrict international students’ entry to the US over claims that they might promote antisemitism or otherwise threaten national security.“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued … in the coming days,” some media outlets have cited...

The Trump administration’s top officials have urged a US court to uphold the president’s sweeping tariff powers, warning that a legal setback could upend an “asymmetric” trade truce with China, embarrass Washington and reignite conflict between India and Pakistan.The officials claimed that Trump used his tariff power to broker a ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad earlier this month and bring about a fragile peace. They further cautioned that trade negotiations with dozens of countries remained in a “delicate state,” with a July 7 deadline to finalise deals fast approaching.Trump’s use of tariffs as a policy tool has elicited criticism from his opponents over unclear goals, inconsistent messaging in a vaguely defined push to restore American manufacturing.Commerce Secretary Howard Lu...

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. China invested in a lagging Darwin port. Now profitable, Australia wants it backChina’s ambassador to Australia has described the Australian government’s plan to end a Chinese firm’s control of the strategically located Darwin Port as “questionable”, saying the company should not be punished.2. China should mull 4% GDP target, support jobs, for next 5 years: former officialA former senior economic planner has called for China’s annual growth target to be lowered for the next five years, factoring in the likelihood of a protracted rivalry with the United States and the need to solve deep-rooted structural problems in China.3. China’s mega bridges: build...

Japan has offered to support US efforts to rebuild its civilian and military shipbuilding industries – a strategic gesture analysts say could help counter China’s growing dominance in the sector and ease the impact of looming American tariffs on Japanese imports.Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced Japan’s desire to help the United States during a speech in Kyoto on Sunday, emphasising Japanese shipbuilders’ skills and the country’s long seafaring history.“The government wants to cooperate in the shipbuilding sector,” Ishiba said. “Japan has a substantial advantage in terms of icebreakers. Icebreakers are one key area of cooperation,” he added, referring to specialised ships designed to navigate through ice-covered waters, often used for polar research and Arctic or Antarctic operations...

After a meteoric rise in the US and Southeast Asia, Pop Mart International’s latest iteration of its hit Labubu character is winning deep-pocketed fans in the Middle East, a fresh sign that the Beijing-based toymaker’s ambition to become a “truly global company” is gaining momentum.Google trend data shows that interest in the character surged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the April 25 launch of the latest Big Into Energy series. Among the largest emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah showed the strongest interest.Previously little known in the region, Labubu is also trending in the Middle East’s largest economy, Saudi Arabia, where Google search interest peaked during the week of May 18 before seeing a slight dip this week. The toy is most popular in Riyadh province, followed by...

Malaysian businesses are eyeing more sales to Gulf nations, whose burgeoning Muslim populations need a wider range of halal products – from pet food to cosmetics – and are willing to pay trusted sources for them.Majority-Muslim Malaysia is a global leader in halal products and has a rigorous certification regime recognised by scores of Muslim nations and bodies worldwide.Businesses selling to the six oil-rich nations of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain who make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – a bloc seeking a trade alliance with Southeast Asia – are looking for deeper market access to the Gulf as the US strangles access to its giant consumer base.Edwin Suhairi, who imports and exports cosmetic products between Malaysia and the Middle East, sai...

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. China’s industrial profits grow in April despite US trade warChina’s large industrial enterprises posted modest but accelerating growth in April, despite an unprecedented trade war with the United States that drove up tariffs on both sides and intensified economic uncertainty.2. China’s Xinjiang woos foreigners for 1 trillion yuan tourism haul amid sanctionsChina’s Xinjiang – an ethnically diverse region that still faces Western sanctions over a slew of human-rights issues – plans to open up to more foreign visitors, as the local government strives to boost tourism and diversify the regional economy.3. Top sleep scientist Dan Yang leaves US for China r...

The Oval Office, traditionally a bastion of decorum and a revered setting for international diplomacy, has seen a fundamental reshaping during US President Donald Trump’s second term. Invitations to the president’s office, once highly sought after to forge alliances and tackle global challenges, have become a perilous trap, a Hunger Games of world politics where foreign dignitaries risk public humiliation and the undermining of their nations’ interests.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the latest leader to be ambushed during a routine diplomatic meeting. In an astonishing display, Trump played a video and presented newspaper clippings, propagating the unfounded conspiracy theory of “white genocide” and land confiscation in South Africa. He further claimed that many South Africans...

The rapidly arrived at pause in the US trade war with China debunked the myth that international trade benefits mainly exporters. Any voluntary trade has to be advantageous for both buyer and seller.While it is doubtful US President Donald Trump can clinch his long-coveted Nobel Peace Prize, if he allows a full-scale trade war with China to drag on until the end of the year, he should have a fair shot at the Nobel Prize in economics for launching a bold experiment in global commerce and proving empirically (by contradiction) key principles in international trade theory.While we may not have the benefit of witnessing empty store shelves across America this Christmas, it would be revealing to conduct a thought experiment on what a definitive US trade war “win” would look like.Imagine an effe...

Southeast Asian economies have signalled their readiness to allow more investments from the Gulf region in sectors such as technology, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, as they look to diversify growth and shield themselves from the impact of US tariffs.In return, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is seeking partners beyond the Middle East to tap its oil wealth as part of its efforts to play a greater role in global growth.Southeast Asia’s economies have been reeling since April, when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs to be imposed on Washington’s global trade partners. With their exports to the world’s largest economy expected to slow, Asean members have been lobbying Washington for relief from tariffs of up to 49 per cent, ahead of ...