The United States has told the G20 foreign ministers that “effective and accountable” international institutions are needed as Beijing pointedly warned against empty calls for multilateralism and “vaccine hoarding” by richer countries.Fresh o...

Hong Kong customs officers have arrested two men after seizing an estimated HK$130 million (US$16.7 million) worth of cocaine in the city’s largest airfreight bust of the drug in 20 years.Officials needed firefighters to help them extract the 110kg...

Traffic has been shut down in parts of Beijing and security is tight as the Chinese capital gets ready to host centenary celebrations for the ruling Communist Party on Thursday.Vehicles and pedestrians have been banned from the Tiananmen Square area ...

Japan is considering an extension of its coronavirus prevention measures in Tokyo and other areas by two weeks to a month, Japanese media said, with less than a month to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are set to open.The Japanese capital and o...

Hongkongers aged 60 or above will be able to turn up for Covid-19 vaccinations without an appointment under a proposal to boost uptake among one of the city’s highest-risk groups.But it remains unclear when the walk-in service at community vaccinat...

Chinese students living in Australia have faced surveillance and intimidation by Beijing for advocating for democracy, with universities failing to uphold their academic freedom, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Wednesday.An “atmosph...

Travelling on Hong Kong’s public transport will get considerably cheaper for more than 600,000 of the city’s residents from early next year, after the welfare minister said a subsidy scheme would be extended to include people aged 60 to 64.On Tue...

China was more than 30 per cent short of its 2021 commitments under the phase-one trade deal with the United States during the first five months of the year, according to new analysis of trade data between the world’s two largest economies.The US a...

At least 3.01 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered around the world, according to the latest data from Bloomberg, as the pace of the global roll-out continues to accelerate.Of the about 43 million doses now being administered ever...

Airlines follow a pretty simple formula for success – fill as many seats and fly as many hours as possible, and keep a young fleet. One Indian budget carrier is going another way to drum up income – not flying.SpiceJet hasn’t flown any of its B...

Taiwan and the US have resumed their long-stalled trade talks, with the supply of semiconductors and Covid-19 vaccines among the issues expected to be discussed by video link on Wednesday.The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks were last h...

Seah Hui Li rises before dawn every morning to make 400 traditional steamed buns filled with creamy red bean paste to sell in one of Singapore’s famed hawker markets. But as Covid-19 restrictions kept diners away, the 63-year-old stallholder strugg...

The environment minister has defended Hong Kong’s new clean air blueprint against accusations it lacks ambition, telling critics the plan is realistic for such a densely built city that also serves as a global shipping hub.Secretary for the Environ...

The US military appears just days away from completing its withdrawal from Afghanistan, well ahead of the September 11 deadline set by US President Joe Biden to end America’s longest war, US officials said.The withdrawal of troops and equipment fro...

Pro-democracy activists in eSwatini, the southern African kingdom previously known as Swaziland, have vowed to intensify demonstrations against the monarchy until it makes democratic reforms and lifts its ban on all opposition parties.The small mount...

China’s rapid progress in developing a digital yuan poses a key risk in preserving the euro’s international role, said European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau.The Bank of France Governor urged policymakers...

China has welcomed the ceasefire in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region, eight months into a civil war that has killed thousands and displaced more than 2 million but has also left the UN Security Council divided over the issue.China’s foreign ...

Thailand’s most-popular resort island of Phuket is set to reopen on Thursday to vaccinated foreign tourists with no quarantine requirements. But with a surge in Covid-19 cases in the capital Bangkok, concerns are brewing that the entry of foreigner...

[Sponsored Article] According to the Census and Statistics Department of the HKSAR Government, it is estimated that by 2040 around one-third of Hong Kong’s population will be over the age of 65. Therefore, it is vital to prepare now for the change...

Xpeng, which has ambitions to rival Tesla, has priced its shares at HK$165 each, helping the Guangzhou-based start-up raise HK$14 billion (US$1.8 billion), making it the biggest dual-primary listing by a US-listed Chinese company.The price represe...

The Netherlands on Tuesday accused Russian fighter jets of “aggressive” behaviour and conducting mock attacks in an encounter with a Dutch warship in the Black SeaThe incident last Thursday involved the frigate HNMLS Evertsen, part of a carrier s...

Scores of deaths in Canada’s Vancouver area are likely linked to a gruelling heatwave, authorities said Tuesday, as the country recorded its highest ever temperature amid scorching conditions that extended to the US Pacific northwest.At least 134 p...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un replaced several senior officials after a “grave incident” in the country’s efforts to defend itself against the Covid-19 pandemic, state media reported on Wednesday.Pyongyang closed its borders in January last y...

This is the 13th in the South China Morning Post’s series of explainers about the Communist Party of China in the lead-up to the party’s centenary in July. Here, Jane Cai explains why the anniversary is celebrated on July 1, even though the first...

Sam Ngan Shu-sum decided to quit smoking the moment he stood on a rostrum to receive a prize at a sports event.After taking the bronze at the Duathlon Series in Hong Kong in September 2017, the then 15-year-old – who had already been a smoker for t...

Activity in China’s services sector grew at a slower pace in June, official data showed on Wednesday, as coronavirus curbs from a resurgence in cases in Southern China restrained a rebound in consumption.The official non-manufacturing purchasing ma...

From Australia to Hong Kong, the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is exposing the vulnerability of zero-Covid economies with low vaccination rates.While many Asia-Pacific economies have controlled the pandemic with strict border control...

A 55-year-old woman who is a Lolita dress lover has found fame after she helped adjust shoes for disabled people with legs of different lengths so that they could walk “in an equal way”.So far Xie Chuanqin, a Shanghai resident, has altered nearly...

This is the final of a four-part series on the impact of the national security law, one year after it was imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing on June 30, 2020. Lilian Cheng and Denise Tsang speak to Hongkongers making plans to leave the city even as busi...

In the final instalment of a three-part series produced with support from the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, Forkast.News looks at the geopolitical implications of China’s technological lead in blockchain and digital currency. P...

England beat Germany 2-0 in the last 16 of Euro 2020 on Tuesday to end 55 years of agony against their old foes, and the tenure of German coach Joachim Loew as well.Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling scored in the 75th and captain Harry Kane fina...

Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Global Inc raised US$4 billion in its US initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday, pricing it at the top of its indicated range, according to people familiar with the matter.Didi will sell 288 million American Depository...

Sustainability, technology and innovation are key to building a smart city. While these buzzwords appeared in Hong Kong’s latest policy address, the new initiatives were mostly concentrated in a limited number of areas, such as fintech, biotech and...

Another bipartisan attempt to give Hong Kong dissidents special refugee status in the United States has been proposed by US lawmakers, reviving a bid that failed last year in the Senate when Ted Cruz blocked the effort.Representatives Tom Malinowski,...

Beijing and Moscow have stepped up their rhetoric against Washington and its allies, vowing to strengthen their quasi-alliance and promote a “more just and democratic international order” to counterbalance the United States and its ideologically ...

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Doug Palmer on politico.com on June 29, 2021.Nearly four decades of United States trade agreements have had only a “small, positive effect” on US econom...

New Zealand researchers have created a weight-loss device that uses magnets to clamp a patient’s jaw together – hailing it as a new tool against obesity despite critics likening it to an instrument of medieval torture.The “world-first” innova...

The plague has ravaged humanity for thousands of years, wiping out as much as half of Europe’s population in the Black Death, and scientists have long puzzled over its origins and evolutionary history.Researchers said on Tuesday they had found its ...

A trove of HSBC material consisting of more than 300 pages of emails and internal bank documents shows the US made selective, misleading and “outright false” claims to Meng Wanzhou’s Canadian extradition hearing, the Huawei executive’s lawyer...

France’s lower house of parliament is set to approve a law that will allow single women and lesbians access to medically assisted reproduction for the first time.The final vote on the wide-ranging bioethics law, presented by French President Emmanu...

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Betsy Woodruff Swan on politico.com on June 28, 2021.Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has indicated he does not currently plan to charge the Trump Organ...

At least six people died and several more are missing after a passenger ferry sank off the coast of Bali, Indonesian authorities said on Tuesday, in the latest maritime accident to hit the archipelago.The KMP Yunicee had 53 passengers and crew aboard...

A Ford Escort that was once owned by Diana, Princess of Wales has been sold at auction to a museum in South America for £52,640 (US$72,855).Lady Diana Spencer was given the silver 1.6L Ghia saloon by the Prince of Wales as an engagement present in M...

US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Surfside, Florida on Thursday to visit the families of victims of the collapsed Miami-area condominium tower, the White House said.Biden has offered federal help and extended his concern...

The United States continued shipping more coal to China in May – supporting an upward trend seen in recent months and filling the gap left by Australian coal banned by Chinese authorities, newly released trade data and reports show.About 720,000 to...

Some of the largest infrastructure projects under construction in China have started using robots.The projects include the world’s most challenging water diversion project, its tallest dam, a new futuristic city, and part of an expressway that the ...

Eleven Myanmar diplomats in the United States and Switzerland are creating a united front as they seek to remain in their host countries in protest against the country’s military junta, refusing to return home, the country’s ambassador to the Uni...

More than two dozen Communist Party “foot soldiers” were awarded a July 1 Medal on Tuesday – the first time they were handed out – sending a message that it must stay close to the grass roots and away from corruption to remain in power, analy...

Hong Kong’s coming ban on arrivals from Britain due to Covid-19 fears has triggered a wave of flight and hotel cancellations, but some travellers still intend to make the trip by first flying to lower-risk countries for a short stay.Monday’s anno...

To deter intruders in its maritime territory, the Philippines is pinning its hopes on a new secret weapon – a woman’s voice.Coastguard officials are hoping that a new unit of 81 specially trained female radio operators – dubbed the “Angels of...