The senior executive of China’s leading hotpot brand Haidilao, Yang Lijuan, has been hailed as “China’s most capable waitress” thanks to her legendary waitress-turned-CEO story. Yang, 47, started her career as an ordinary waitress at Haidilao...

German companies are turning towards investments in China as they lose confidence in the United States over President Donald Trump’s policies, but they still see obstacles in the world’s second-largest economy, according to an executive at a Germ...

Thailand’s rival parties hold final rallies later on Friday in a last-ditch push to win over undecided voters among a public craving change but still deeply split over the remedy for years of ulcerous political and economic decline. The reformist P...

A unit of Fosun Pharma has struck a US$1.55 billion deal to license its home-grown cancer drug to Japan’s Eisai, adding to a wave of out-licensing agreements that are channelling billions of dollars into Chinese novel drug development. The deal com...

Xiao Jie, a senior official in the Chinese province of Hainan who played a leading role in building reefs in disputed territories in the South China Sea, has been detained on suspicion of corruption. Xiao, 66, became the first Communist Party chief a...

Two people were injured when a cluster of gas-filled balloons intended for a birthday party exploded inside a lift in India. A 21-year-old student, Himani Tapriya, suffered burns to her arm, neck and stomach while the delivery man, 32-year-old Raju K...

Teachers in Hong Kong will be given a year to fulfil a proposed government requirement to obtain a practising certificate, in light of the large number of applications expected in the first 12 months of its implementation, the education minister has ...

If anyone anywhere this week spares a thought for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, it will almost certainly be linked to the Apec leaders’ meeting set for Shenzhen in November. But this is to miss the massive value and purpose of the 21...

A deputy chief of Russian military intelligence was shot and wounded in Moscow on Friday in an attack that follows a series of assassinations of senior military officers that Russia blamed on Ukraine. Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was shot se...

Asian investors should brace for more volatility in the gold and silver markets in the near term following a plunge in prices of the two metals after a record-breaking surge, with demand expected to rise again ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The...

In the deepening shadow of US-China rivalry, India’s back-to-back trade pacts with the United States and the European Union mark a major tilt towards stronger economic ties with the West. While critical details – especially the scope of any reduc...

Hong Kong authorities have repealed a law requiring bus passengers to wear seat belts after finding that it only applies to vehicles registered since late January, with officials saying they will review the legislation again and conduct a public cons...

The US government on Thursday announced an additional US$6 million in aid for Cuba as the island’s crisis deepens and tensions escalate between the two countries, with Cuba’s president accusing the US of an “energy blockade”. The aid was larg...

China’s state-backed SuperComputing Network (SCNet), a major computing resource provider, has deployed a new node for beta testing, powered by the country’s largest domestically made artificial intelligence computing cluster. The node, which bega...

It starts as a distant series of distorted notes, carried on the wind through Tokyo’s suburbs. Gradually, it comes closer and the noise builds. Eventually, the van rounds a corner and I am subjected to the full power of a sound system that would no...

Hong Kong authorities have said the first batch of licensed ride-hailing platforms is expected to commence operations by the fourth quarter of this year and have floated measures to improve taxi services as part of the government’s latest transport...

The whistle-blower behind a suspected cheating scandal involving an award-winning medical prescription app developed by a student has been arrested for doxxing, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source confirmed on Friday that Hailey Cheng ...

First, the jihadists sent a letter saying they were coming to the village to preach, said Nigerian chief Umar Bio Salihu. When no one attended, they went on a rampage, killing people and torching houses, he said. Salihu is the traditional chief of Wo...

A dispute over a familiar Arabic phrase has erupted in Malaysia’s parliament this week after an opposition MP challenged a Malaysian Chinese minister over his repeated use of “Alhamdulillah” (“praise be to God”) in a debate. The row flared ...

One of Australia’s most famous gangsters walked free on Friday after prosecutors said they would drop a planned retrial on drug trafficking charges. Sixty-year-old Tony Mokbel – a key figure in Melbourne’s years-long gangland war – was jailed...

For hundreds of years, paper horses have been a popular item used in Chinese folk life to communicate with the gods. The creations are a form of woodblock prints of folk gods on coloured paper which have been used for home worship or burned at ceremo...

A barge carrying recycled metal caught fire at Hong Kong’s New Yau Ma Tei Public Cargo Working Area early on Friday, marking the second such blaze at the site in less than a week and prompting renewed calls from a lawmaker for stronger safety measu...

Keir Starmer never met Jeffrey Epstein. But the British prime minister’s job is under threat because of the fallout from the late sex offender’s global web of relationships. Friendship with Epstein has already brought down a British royal – And...

Filipino actress and fashion influencer Heart Evangelista’s reappearance at Paris Fashion Week following scrutiny over her lavish lifestyle in previous months has drawn sharp criticism amid “unprecedented” public outrage linked to an unfolding ...

Australia and Indonesia’s leaders signed a security deal on Friday, one of a series of agreements that Canberra has secured with neighbouring countries to reinforce ties and limit China’s influence in the region. At a signing ceremony, President ...

The US military said on Thursday that it carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command said on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking r...

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...

Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa pushed back at Moody’s Ratings’ decision to lower the country’s outlook, saying that the nation’s improving growth and controlled deficit were unlikely to result in a credit rating downgrade. �...

The recent court ruling giving the United States a win in a tussle for control of the Panama Canal is expected to prove an important “test case” for how China responds to the challenge to its interests and influence across Latin America. Analysts...

About 400 passengers were evacuated from an MTR train on the Tuen Ma line on Friday morning after a portable power bank caught fire in a carriage, filling the compartments with thick smoke. Police said they received a report at about 8.35am that an e...

Japan’s hay fever sufferers have been warned to brace themselves for significantly higher levels of pollen this spring, with some already reporting having runny noses and itchy eyes for days. Hay fever season typically starts in Tokyo and eastern p...

A Hong Kong court will sentence former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and his associates on Monday for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in violation of the national security law. Three High Court judges who oversaw Lai’s high-profile trial...

Bangkok restaurateur Sorathep Steve said he was told off last Saturday by customers who had just flown in from the United States and ordered a bottle of wine, only to be told of Thailand’s election-linked ban on alcohol. “They were frustrated and...

Fears over the weakening of global momentum to rein in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have mounted with the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New Start) between the United States and Russia, with observers warning that an embo...

If the years 2020 to 2025 were defined by the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution – a period where algorithms helped create tech titans such as Nvidia, OpenAI and Oracle – then 2026 represents a far more exciting and expansive paradigm shift....

Chinese humanoid robotics companies are doubling down on developing intelligent models, as investors eye advances in robot “brains” as the next step towards real-world commercial use. Shenzhen-based Dobot said on Wednesday that it delivered its t...

In the days that followed Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi’s controversial remarks over Taiwan in November, Beijing convened a rare meeting with Southeast Asian envoys to rally regional support for its campaign against Japan – but that effort has s...

A farmer in southwestern China who used a drone to transport pigs to be slaughtered ended up with a porker stuck in mid-air and his village out of power for 10 hours. The calamity happened after the drone’s rope became entangled with an electricity...

Ricky Tam Wai-kit’s pet-friendly Uluru Cafe in Wan Chai was recently issued a grim ultimatum by Hong Kong food hygiene officers – a week-long closure if officers spotted one more dog in his restaurant, with another offence meaning losing his lice...

Combine three wary nations, deep historical mistrust, rapid technological change, the most destructive weapons ever developed and a US unwilling to extend Thursday’s last formal nuclear weapons guardrail, and you have the ingredients for much worse...

Relations between long-time allies South Korea and the United States have hit another unexpected flashpoint even as Seoul struggles to iron out tariff talks with Washington – the uproar over a data breach involving online giant Coupang, dubbed the ...

Iran’s state-run Press TV ‌said on Thursday that “one ‍of the country’s most advanced long-range ballistic missile Khorramshahr 4” ⁠has been deployed at one of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace underground missile cities. The Khorramsh...

China’s trade with some South American nations is accelerating after the opening of Peru’s Chancay port, underscoring Beijing's push to secure resources and bolster industrial supply chains under the Belt and Road Initiative, analysts said. The s...

A senior US official on Thursday defended Washington’s new critical minerals push, telling the South China Morning Post that supply chain diversification is a national security measure, not an attempt to form an exclusive bloc as Beijing has claime...

‌Greek defence authorities have arrested a member ‍of the Greek defence forces accused of leaking “secret information” to “third parties”, the Greek National Defence General Staff (GEETHA) said ⁠on Thursday. Two months ago, Greece’s i...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been sounding out multiple Chinese solar suppliers in recent weeks, industry insiders and companies confirmed, as the world’s richest man advances his vision for space-based data centres powered by constant solar energy –...

Investigators in Arizona presume the kidnapped elderly mother of popular US television news host Savannah Guthrie is “still out there” and alive four days after she was abducted from her home, though no suspect ‍has been identified, authorities...

Europe’s political and business elite arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year with nerves already frayed after a bruising first year of US President Donald Trump’s second term. That period was defined by the imposition of a protect...

Pizza Hut plans to close 250 US restaurants in the first half of this year as its parent company considers a sale of the chain. Yum! Brands said on Wednesday it is targeting underperforming Pizza Hut restaurants in its system. Pizza Hut has more than...

The last 89 Christians held captive since criminal gangs attacked three churches in northern Nigeria in mid-January were released on Thursday, following a spate of mass kidnappings in the country. The worshippers, dressed in yellow and including chil...