The official newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army has slammed Japan’s deployment of stand-off weapons, including upgraded Type-12 missiles, as forming a “kill network” capable of targeting coastal and inland areas of neighbouring countri...

US President Donald Trump has initiated an international trade war in which American consumers and businesses are bearing most of the immediate costs, and now he has started a war on global energy where people worldwide are paying the price. While Ir...

Danes were voting ⁠on Tuesday in an election that may hand Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen a third term thanks to her staunch line against US President Donald Trump over Greenland even though cost-of-living worries have hurt her leftist credential...

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has further extended its suspension of all flights to and from the Middle East until the end of May, amid a regional conflict that shows little sign of abating. But the airline will increase flights to Eu...

Singapore authorities warned on Tuesday that involvement in organisations linked to the Israeli military, such as Sar-El, would not be acceptable under current conditions and could attract action under the law. In a joint media release, the Ministry ...

A Japanese person who claimed to be an active officer of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces illegally and forcibly entered the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, Beijing said. “China is deeply shocked by this incident and has lodged a strong protest with Japan,�...

US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences agreed to buy Ouro Medicines, which is developing an antibody-based medicine for autoimmune diseases licensed from China’s Keymed Biosciences, in a deal worth up to US$2.18 billion. Gilead Sciences is am...

In a trip to Xiongan New Area, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the area to be transformed into an innovation hub to spark high-quality development in a project intended to take pressure off China’s capital, Beijing. It was the president...

Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), the government’s investment arm, has teamed up with venture capital firm Gobi Partners and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to launch a fund on Tuesday to invest in technology start-ups spun off from the un...

A missile slammed into a street in central Tel Aviv as Iran kept up its barrages targeting Israel and Gulf Arab states on Tuesday, even as US President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war. Trump a...

He accused the United States of “state terror”. He vowed North Korea would never surrender its nuclear weapons. And yet Kim Jong-un’s address to the Supreme People’s Assembly contained one notable omission: any direct attack on Donald Trump. ...

Iran has not updated its official death toll figures for weeks, while human rights groups outside the country are struggling with chronic communication problems, meaning the number of people killed during the war remains largely unknown. The last tim...

A Japanese food company has transformed tofu with a “manly” twist, attracting younger consumers and generating over 6 billion yen (US$38 million) in annual revenue. Tofu, introduced to Japan from China during the Tang dynasty (618–907), boasts ...

The Philippines says grounding planes due to a shortage of jet fuel brought on by the war in Iran is a “distinct possibility”, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. “Several countries have already told our airlines they cannot fuel their...

The deepening Strait of Hormuz crisis amid the war in the Middle East is choking the critical flow of not just oil but also fertilisers and perishable goods, and the Global South may face worsening food scarcity, warned the chief of a leading interna...

Hong Kong’s largest international school group plans to raise tuition fees by an average of 4.1 per cent for most of its primary and secondary divisions next academic year – or roughly HK$600 and HK$720 (US$77 and US$92) more per month, respectiv...

As electric vehicle (EV) use surges globally, scientists have raised concerns about the performance of such batteries in high temperatures, including the possible impact of climate change on their usable lifespan. But a study published this month by ...

The electronic platform of the Mandatory Provident Fund (eMPF) will cut administration fees for 378 investment funds by more than 21 per cent from April 1, the pension regulator said on Tuesday, adding that this will achieve its cost-saving target of...

Iran’s veteran supreme leader and a host of other top figures and Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in US-Israeli strikes but the ruling system has maintained its ability to strategise and operate ⁠in the war that began on February...

Hong Kong authorities will launch advertisements and a transport guide to help elderly residents adapt to the revised HK$2 (26 US cents) transport fare scheme coming into effect next Friday, according to the city’s welfare chief. Secretary for Labo...

Two years ago, Vina Arazas found her dog’s lifeless body in a sack. The man responsible for beating her golden retriever Killua to death was made to pay a fine of just 1,000 pesos (US$17) – despite his crime being caught on camera and widely shar...

Malaysia has vowed to crack down on fuel subsidy abuse after a viral video showed a woman illicitly buying 71 litres (18 gallons) of RON95 petrol in a single transaction, as regional supply concerns persist amid US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The financ...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why Philippines str...

How long will the Iran war last and what are the US goals? President Donald Trump has issued a dizzying number of conflicting answers to these questions since launching the conflict three weeks ago. The stakes have risen as Iran has retaliated with d...

A flight attendant still strapped in her seat survived being thrown from an Air Canada plane that collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, her daughter said on Monday. It’s a “total miracle,” Sarah Lepine told Canadian news...

Contractors could face fines of up to HK$400,000 (US$51,068) for failing to prevent smoking at construction sites in Hong Kong under a government proposal to improve safety following the deadly Tai Po fire last November. The proposals, outlined in a ...

As leading Chinese chip executives predict that autonomous AI agents will trigger an unprecedented explosion in computing demand, Hong Kong is accelerating efforts to expand its artificial intelligence computing capacity. Calling token consumption in...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating a fire that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate is holding...

The man and woman who allegedly engaged in an indecent act at a Malaysian cemetery in Penang have been arrested and remanded for three days until Thursday. Penang police chief Commissioner Azizee Ismail said the couple, in their 30s and 50s, were pic...

As China and the United States race to develop artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitical barriers are shaping how research, talent and capital flow across borders – or not – and how collaboration might emerge amid rising competition. Speaking in...

In New Zealand, Keisha Constantino likes to start her morning at a leisurely pace. She wakes up at 7am and takes time to get ready, reading a book or making matcha before heading to work as a teaching assistant and doctoral researcher at the Universi...

Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s press conference at the annual “two sessions” on March 8 was the Chinese government’s most authoritative statement on the war on Iran since strikes began on February 28. Wang called the war one that “should not ha...

Private equity investment in the Asia-Pacific region is increasingly flowing into advanced manufacturing and healthcare, as global uncertainties push investors towards businesses with more predictable cash flow, according to Bain & Co research. The m...

Surging oil prices driven by the US-Israel war on Iran could accelerate the global adoption of electric vehicles – a sector that helped China overtake Japan to become the world’s largest seller of automobiles last year. “The closure of the Stra...

A Chinese man who was spotted riding a modified electric bicycle powered by his pet dog has faced online allegations of animal abuse. A video clip that went viral online shows the man from eastern China’s Jiangsu province riding on the modified bik...

Changes to Hong Kong’s implementation rules for the national security law will improve operational efficiency amid heightened geopolitical risks, experts have said. A legal expert and a former security minister said the amendments aimed to clearly ...

In earthquake-prone Japan, 20 seconds could make a difference in minimising loss of life among train passengers who experience traumatic shaking during a major seismic event. The operator of the Shinkansen line between Osaka and Fukuoka in southern J...

Three Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers have raised prices for some models in response to rising supply chain costs, but analysts say the increases are unlikely to be sustained given weakening domestic demand. Xiaomi became the latest manufacturer...

A series of strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday and early Tuesday, the first attack on the Hezbollah stronghold in days, as Israel’s military said it captured two members of the Iran-backed group in southern Lebanon. An earlier Israel...

China’s strategy of promoting open artificial intelligence (AI) models and leveraging manufacturing dominance is “mutually reinforcing”, forming a feedback loop that could challenge US dominance in AI, according to a new report by a US congress...

As China undergoes a sweeping economic transition, its regions are also in the process of embracing change. The powerhouses of yesteryear must adapt or risk falling behind, as traditional industries become less reliable growth drivers and new sectors...

The United States will face a “critical shortage” of China expertise within a decade that threatens to leave policymakers struggling to manage Washington’s most consequential strategic relationship, a report said on Monday. As China experts ret...

A federal judge on Monday blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing a new policy that would subject thousands of refugees to arrest and detention if after a year in the United States they had yet to obtain green ‌cards. US...

When the late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe gave his landmark speech in the Indian parliament in August 2007 referring to the “confluence of the two seas”, he gave birth to the concept of the Indo-Pacific as a strategic space connecting East...

US President Donald Trump’s focus on short-term deliverables and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bid for bilateral stability is likely to see an exceptionally amicable summit when they finally sit down, despite “unusual” circumstances brought ...

A civil jury in California found Monday that Bill Cosby was liable for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 1972 and awarded her US$59.25 million. After a nearly two-week trial in Santa Monica, jurors found Cosby, 88, liable for the sexual bat...

Less than 48 hours before the US-Israeli strike on Iran began, Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu spoke by phone to US President Donald Trump about the reasons for launching the kind of complex, far-off war the American leader once had campaigned a...

A Colombian military plane crashed in a take-off disaster on Monday, killing 66 people as rescuers shuttled dozens of survivors to nearby hospitals and searched for four who were still missing, according to a top official. The Lockheed Martin-built H...

Leonid Radvinsky, the reclusive billionaire who acquired adult content platform OnlyFans and transformed it into a multibillion-dollar empire, has died of cancer aged 43, the company announced on Monday. “We are deeply saddened to announce the deat...

Britain is sending short-range air defence systems to the Gulf to help counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. “We’re deploying short-range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed,” Starmer told a parliament...