A 100-year-old grandmother-turned food blogger in Shanghai has trended on social media thanks to her enthusiasm for eating a range of foods. The centenarian’s culinary likes include strong flavoured foods normally shunned by elderly people. The lif...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has urged Congress to fast track a long-delayed law banning political dynasties, but a bill filed by the speaker of the House and his eldest son is drawing sharp criticism for aiming to do the opposite. Days ...

About a quarter of face washes tested contain only some or none of their claimed active ingredients, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has revealed. It also urged users to try a small portion on their skin beforehand as a precaution when using cleanser...

A Sydney man said he had received death threats and was “terrified” to leave his home on Monday after his photo was widely shared online as the gunman responsible for the Bondi Beach shooting. A father and son duo opened fire on a Jewish festival...

Cambodia accused Thailand on Monday of striking deep inside its territory, bombing areas less than a two-hour drive from the country’s main tourist draw, the centuries-old Angkor temples, in a reignited border conflict. Dozens of people were killed...

Hong Kong recorded a 17 per cent rise in visitors in November to 4.2 million, compared with the same month last year, bringing total arrivals for the first 11 months close to the full-year forecast. The Hong Kong Tourism Board announced on Monday tha...

A 16-year-old boy has been sentenced to 3½ years in prison by a Hong Kong court for joining a Taiwan-based political group that promoted the city’s independence, in breach of the national security law. The boy, who earlier pleaded guilty to conspi...

Numbers do not always tell the whole story. But they are revealing nonetheless. In 2013, direct investment transaction volumes in India’s commercial property sector stood at around US$1.3 billion. By contrast, in China (excluding Hong Kong), invest...

Volkswagen is making a major bet in China, the largest and one of the most cutthroat auto markets in the world. The question is whether it will work. The German carmaker, which once dominated the market with a more than 50 per cent share, has investe...

When Indonesian domestic helper Darwati sent her husband a video from Hong Kong, he had no idea it would be the last time he heard her voice. Eli Cahyono, 39, picked up his phone in the small hamlet of Bendasari in Indonesia’s Cilacap Regency on No...

The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors has called on the government to introduce dedicated legislation and a new statutory body to fast-track the buy-back of Wang Fuk Court flats after the deadly fire, clearing the way for residents’ resettlement. Fo...

The electronic platform of the Mandatory Provident Fund (eMPF) is expected to reach its fee cut target five years ahead of schedule and could save the scheme’s 4.75 million members HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion) in less than 10 years, according to ...

Hong Kong has expanded the scope of an opt-in scheme that screens organisations for sex offenders to include volunteers, in a major step that will give greater protection to children and mentally incapacitated individuals. The expansion of the Sexual...

Malaysia is set to receive 12 pieces of fine art – including works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Henri Matisse – after discussions with US officials to repatriate assets tied to the global corruption scandal at 1MDB. The works are being held by...

In an attempt to solve the global fertility crisis, Chinese scientists have developed a balm for testicles they say can boost sperm activity. The lotion they developed for external application significantly enhanced sperm quality in both animal trial...

China’s currency appears poised to break through the psychological 7.0-per-dollar barrier next year, fuelled by US Federal Reserve rate cuts and thawing trade tensions, with some bulls betting that the yuan could strengthen to 6.8. Analysts and onl...

The Japanese government has spelled out its position on Taiwan – although only in part – based on the 1972 document that normalised diplomatic ties to ease tensions, but insists the Taiwan issue should be resolved “peacefully through dialogue�...

Malaysian religious authorities are investigating allegations that a 30-year-old woman from a deeply conservative northern state of Kelantan was also married to a second man in neighbouring Thailand, after her sister-in-law made the claims in a socia...

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has recorded 88 complaints related to matching services and dating apps so far this year, an increase of 46.7 per cent from the same period last year, including one case in which a woman spent HK$70,000 (US$9,000) but ...

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng plans to establish a production base in Malaysia targeting Southeast Asian customers, in its latest move to expand overseas to improve profitability. The Guangzhou-based company, 5 per cent owned by Volkswage...

A pet cat in China which became trapped in the drum of a running washing machine for several minutes has survived with minor injuries. A video posted on December 5, by his owner, who goes by the online handle @jiemodaxiaojie, went viral, amassing 217...

The man held as a “person of interest” in the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and nine injured will be released from custody, authorities said on Sunday night. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said earlier at a midday new...

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol began plotting to impose martial law barely a year after taking office, aiming to cling to power by provoking a military confrontation with North Korea, special investigators have found. Announcing the r...

Home prices in mainland China continued to decline at a rapid pace in November, posing challenges for policymakers who have vowed to stem a years-long downturn. New home prices fell 0.4 per cent month on month on average across 70 cities, according t...

CMOC Group, one of China’s biggest miners, extended its push into precious metals with a US$1 billion deal to buy the Brazilian operations of Equinox Gold. It will take full ownership of two Equinox entities – Leagold LatAm Holdings and Luna Gold...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Ex-NBA player with deadly brain cancer turns to S...

US President Donald Trump’s administration is facing a Friday deadline to release decades of government secrets on notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the latest milestone in the long-running effort to uncover the full extent of his network. Un...

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s supreme leader, has been spotted with what appears to be a Chinese-made foldable phone. Images released by state media on Sunday showed Kim holding the phone in her right hand during a trip to a hos...

South Korean police raided the headquarters of the cultlike Unification Church on Monday and named its leader as a suspect in the bribery of several high-profile politicians. The church, known for its mass weddings, is at the centre of a mounting sca...

Long-time Hollywood actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday in what police described as an apparent homicide. A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed the deaths on Sunday evening. “It is wit...

Japan’s sharp reduction in funding for a leading international body fighting infectious diseases risks damaging Tokyo’s credibility and long-held “peace diplomacy”, in a move analysts say could give China an opening to expand its influence ac...

A cluster of tremors off Japan’s northeastern coast has raised alarms among seismologists, as a new government study warns that up to 199,000 people could be killed if a magnitude 9 earthquake strikes. The most recent quake, a magnitude 4 offshore ...

Beijing has imposed sanctions on Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces, saying he had “colluded with separatist forces” in Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. It comes after Beijing lod...

China faces mounting pressure to ramp up stimulus as new data shows its growth engines sputtering, with retail sales growth slowing for six straight months and investment showing renewed signs of strain in November despite recent policy support. The ...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Three Hong Kong judges who presided ov...

The dust has settled and Hong Kong’s eighth Legislative Council is getting ready, with new lawmakers finding their way. There were quite a few surprises, looking at the results. With many new candidates and political groups vying for seats, the con...

China’s artificial intelligence still needs to improve in six aspects, from ecosystem to funding, but the emergence of DeepSeek has significantly boosted the sector’s confidence in overcoming US restrictions, according to a mainland venture capit...

The world has not slid into a simple US–China bipolar order but become “two superpowers and many strong powers”, veteran Peking University scholar Wang Jisi has warned, pointing to a relationship plagued by structural confrontation, deep misund...

A woman in China, who spent eight million yuan (US$1 million) on cosmetic surgery to make her look like the actress Fan Bingbing, has been forced to change her life after the star’s reputation collapsed. The woman even married a man who had surgery...

A bystander who rushed towards and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach attackers has won praise from leaders around the world. Extraordinary footage of the civilian’s actions began circulating on social media on Sunday, shortly after two men, later ide...

Christmas celebrations will be muted in Hong Kong following the city’s deadliest fire in seven decades, business leaders say, as they try to balance the need to generate revenue with public mourning for the 160 victims. After the inferno that tore ...

Geely Auto, mainland China’s second-largest carmaker by sales, has doubled down on its push to improve vehicle reliability by launching a 2 billion yuan (US$283.5 million) facility for safety tests, bucking the trend of price competition in the wor...

Chile elected its most right-wing president in 35 years of democracy on Sunday, with arch-conservative Jose Antonio Kast scoring a thumping victory over his leftist run-off rival. Kast won some 58 per cent of the vote and held an unassailable lead ov...

As the holiday season approaches in the United States, the rush for Christmas gifts is straining manufacturers thousands of kilometres away in Southeast Asia, where supply chain shocks triggered by US tariffs are hitting exports of everything from mi...

Taiwanese brand Nap Tea drew long lines when it opened its first Hong Kong store in Mong Kok in February. The chain has since expanded aggressively, opening its ninth outlet in the city this month. “What truly surprised us was our breakthrough in q...

Thailand’s military has said it is considering blocking fuel exports to Cambodia, as fighting between the two countries spread to coastal areas of a disputed border region two days after US President Donald Trump said the sides had agreed to a new ...

There has been no contact with Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi since her arrest in Iran at the end of last week, her supporters said on Sunday, urging the Islamic republic to release the campaigner and dozens of others arrested al...

Liu Cixin is the most influential contemporary science fiction writer in China. He is best known for his trilogy that starts with The Three-Body Problem, for which he won a Hugo Award for best novel in 2015. The trilogy earned international acclaim a...

World leaders voiced horror and revulsion at Sunday’s mass shooting in which 15 people were killed and dozens injured at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “shocking and distressing” attack, which Austra...

Farmers sprayed manure on government offices and kept up roadblocks in southern France on Sunday in protest against a mass cull of cows as officials urged Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to urgently intervene. Many farmers in southern and southwest ...