China’s latest electric vehicle (EV) innovations – from ultra-fast battery charging to headlights capable of projecting films – have drawn strong attention at Beijing’s Auto China show, underscoring how the country’s automotive technology i...

Thousands of visitors have flocked to Hong Kong’s East Dam to view its rare volcanic rock columns at the start of the five-day Labour Day “golden week” holiday, prompting a lawmaker to suggest charging an entrance fee to maintain the Unesco glo...

The world’s eyes have been fixed on the oil tankers clogging the Strait of Hormuz. But the US-Israel war on Iran has exposed a quieter vulnerability: the undersea cables that form the digital backbone of the Middle East. Last week, a media outlet a...

If the “China shock” of the early 2000s was about China catching up, then “China shock 2.0” is about the country redefining the boundaries of what is economically possible across manufacturing sectors, according to Columbia University profess...

A viral video of three elephants sent from Malaysia to a zoo in Japan has sparked public anger after online users said the animals appeared distressed when visitors called their names in Malay – which many viewers interpreted as a sign of homesickn...

Hundreds of protesters clashed with Australian emergency services workers in a remote town following the arrest of a man suspected of murdering a five-year-old indigenous girl, police said on Friday. Australia’s prime minister, the Northern Territo...

The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval. The statement furthers...

Hong Kong residents flocked to Shenzhen on Friday, drawn by ‘better service’ at restaurants and family-friendly attractions as the Labour Day “golden week” holiday began. Affordability has also lured droves of Hongkongers across the border, w...

The Pakistan Navy has received the first of its Chinese-built Hangor-class attack submarine fleet, as Beijing and Islamabad step up defence cooperation. A commissioning ceremony was held for the advanced submarine – named the PNS/M Hangor – in th...

Japanese police arrested a man for allegedly incinerating his dead wife at the zoo where he worked, officials and local media said on Friday, following the discovery of human remains. Police arrested Tatsuya Suzuki on Thursday evening on suspicion th...

Vigloo, a South Korean micro drama production company, has gone all-in on artificial intelligence this year, betting that automation can fundamentally reshape how content is made. The company has begun spending roughly 30 per cent of its budget on AI...

A Chinese actor who is well-known for playing dominant bosses in miniseries and has taken part in 200 such productions has become unemployed due to the impact of AI technology. In March, to make ends meet, Zhang Xiaolei, 28, began doing farm work in ...

Mainland Chinese tourists may have come for the tombolo on Sharp Island in Sai Kung but left with a deeper understanding of Hong Kong’s coral reefs and marine life after the government stepped up promotion and protection efforts. That was the view ...

Hong Kong recorded more than 76,000 trips by mainland Chinese visitors on the first morning of the five-day Labour Day “golden week”, with many heading to the countryside for scenic views and others opting for “city walks” to explore pictures...

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has sought to reassure workers amid concerns about the AI revolution, vowing that the city state will carve out fresh opportunities even as the new technology renders some jobs obsolete. In the annual May Day ra...

Gold bars, cruises, Dior beauty services and Rosewood Hong Kong vouchers are just some of the incentives Hong Kong’s major lenders are offering in hopes of capturing wealthy clients, as visitors from mainland China descend on the city during the go...

A government-backed water rave in Kuala Lumpur has earned the wrath of Malaysia’s culture war brigade, pitting religious objections against tourism goals, as critics decry the vulgar import amid growing conservatism. The uproar over the three-day R...

Severe abuse can leave lasting mental scars and behavioural problems in children, psychologists have warned after two toddlers in Hong Kong were allegedly confined in a dog cage, a case that sparked public outrage and renewed calls for earlier report...

Matt King, a 34-year-old graphic designer living in New York, has long grappled with his identity as the son of a Canadian-Chinese mother and white father. Despite being born in the US and raised in Los Angeles, he is aware that mainstream US society...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please conside...

Experts have warned that the HK$1 (13 US cents) increase in Hong Kong’s minimum wage, which takes effect on Labour Day, is unlikely to significantly boost low-paid workers’ incomes, but should help preserve purchasing power and ease labour tensio...

Hong Kong authorities have condemned attempts by anti-China forces and foreign media to sugarcoat the criminal acts of jailed former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, while defending the city’s press freedom after the release of a global index. Autho...

Elusive street artist Banksy on Thursday confirmed he was behind a new work drawing crowds in central London: a statue of a suited man striding into the void while holding a flag that blocks his view. The monument, which has Banksy’s name scrawled ...

Three Chinese nationals who travelled to Singapore to break into houses and steal expensive items after they saw multiple videos on social media about wealthy Singaporeans were sentenced to jail on Thursday. The three men, Yang Chao, Zhou Qifa and He...

The UN’s climate science body is pressing ahead with its work despite the US government’s withdrawal from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) earlier this year, the organisation’s top official has said. According to IPCC chair ...

Japan’s shrinking youth population is forcing a reckoning in higher education, with the finance ministry pushing for the closure or merger of hundreds of private universities as campuses struggle to fill classrooms. University insiders broadly agre...

After winning legislative backing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club to offer basketball betting – an initiative aimed at drawing punters away from illegal online bookmakers and capturing additional tax revenue – the government has now paused the roll...

A lonely cancer patient in southeastern China sparked a viral relay of love after ordering “companionship” through a food delivery platform. Little Li, a 24-year-old woman from Foshan, Guangdong province, is battling a rare blood cancer, accordin...

The US-Israeli war on Iran enters a third month and efforts for Washington and Tehran to resume talks remain stalled. These are major takeaways from the events overnight. What did Trump say? US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House...

Hong Kong’s catering sector and hoteliers are expecting a business boost during the Labour Day “golden week” holiday from May 1 to 5, with industry leaders hoping the growing trend of mainland Chinese visitors hiking and sailing yachts will bri...

More than 15 per cent of hospitals and long-term medical care facilities across Japan have recorded cases of sexual assault or abuse of patients, according to a new government report, as concerns mount that the actual figures may be higher. The Child...

US President Donald Trump and the head of the Secret Service said on Thursday the federal agent injured during the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner had not been hit by friendly fire, as authorities released a video of th...

Hong Kong public hospitals will extend visiting hours at all rehabilitation and palliative wards from five to nine hours a day by the end of July, with those in central Kowloon and New Territories West expected to roll out the arrangement this month....

China has built a state-driven campaign to harvest American data and weaponise it as a strategic asset that could prove critical in a conflict with the US, including over Taiwan, a key advisory committee to the US Congress heard. Experts told the US-...

China’s diplomatic strategy has undergone a conspicuous shift, with Beijing conducting far fewer overseas state visits, opting instead to welcome a steady stream of foreign leaders to the capital. According to data compiled by the South China Morni...

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by the UK’s King Charles and Queen Camilla. “The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was abl...

Brazil’s Congress on Thursday overturned President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s veto of a law dramatically reducing the prison sentence of his arch-rival Jair Bolsonaro, the second major defeat for Lula in as many days. Former president Bolsonaro,...

With Congress again failing to curb US President Donald Trump’s authority over Cuba, the centre of gravity in US policy towards the island is shifting decisively back to the White House – and to a narrower, more consequential question: what comes...

The US Congress on Thursday approved funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ending a record-breaking partial government shutdown that has disrupted critical agencies for more than two months. The House approved the measure, al...

The Federal Communications ⁠Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to advance a proposal to bar all Chinese labs from testing electronic devices such as smartphones, cameras and computers for use in the United States. The agency says about 75 per...

Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to house arrest, state media reported on Thursday, over five years after the country’s military ousted a civilian government led by the Nobel laureate and imprisoned her. Suu Kyi, 8...

The man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at a black-tie press gala in Washington agreed on Thursday to remain in custody while his case moves forward. The suspect, Cole Allen, 31, would ‌not immediately contest prosecutor...

The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela departed a bit early on Thursday on its way to the capital of the South American country, seven years after the US Homeland Security Department ordered an indefinite suspensio...

Beijing’s decision to block Meta Platforms’ proposed acquisition of artificial intelligence firm Manus should not be seen as a restriction on foreign investment, Chinese state media said, urging companies in the sector to “go global when ready�...

A Ugandan-American man was sentenced to death on Thursday over the murders of four young children he stabbed to death at a kindergarten in Uganda’s capital. Christopher Okello Onyum was arrested on April 2 as he tried to flee the day care centre in...

Artificial intelligence investments by US tech giants continue to soar, dwarfing those of Chinese AI firms, but China’s rising appetite for AI applications will compel its tech companies to increase their AI spending this year, according to analyst...

The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an ⁠investigation into ⁠a 15-year-old, suspected of having ⁠hacked the country’s ID agency and trying to sell the data of millions of French people on the dark web this month, it said on Thursday. Th...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described Taiwan as “the biggest risk factor in China-US relations” during a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Wang said that Beijing and Washingto...

The row between China and Japan has ratcheted up a notch, with Beijing issuing a strongly worded position paper warning that Tokyo would soon be able to produce nuclear weapons. In the document released on Thursday, China called on the United Nations...

The US economy accelerated at the start of 2026, expanding at a modest 2 per cent pace from January through March after recovering from last fall’s 43-day federal government shutdown. But the outlook is clouded by the Iran war. The Commerce Departm...