China is working on a powerful 50-megawatt gas turbine to propel its next generation of warships and key facilities, according to state media. The gas turbine – an advanced power generation unit – is being developed by state-owned China State Shi...

China’s national health authorities have announced a new policy in Beijing that allows retired people to be reimbursed the cost of a prenatal examination, sparking widespread mockery online. On January 12, the online topic “Beijing pensioners’ ...

Indonesia’s efforts to deepen trade with the United States while maintaining close economic ties with China are being tested after a report revealed Washington had linked lower tariffs to the purchase of US-made maritime surveillance drones for use...

Russia is watching with glee as US ‌President Donald Trump’s drive to acquire Greenland widens splits with Europe even though his moves could have serious security ramifications for Moscow, which covets its ‍own presence in the Arctic. The Krem...

A former Indonesian police officer from an elite paramilitary unit who deserted his post and later claimed he had joined a Russian mercenary force fighting in Ukraine has been stripped of his citizenship, according to authorities. Muhammad Rio, a for...

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.8 per cent over the past three months, with authorities expecting that stronger economic growth and local consumption will continue to support the labour market. Preliminary data released by the Census...

For the Korean American community, the first year of US President Donald Trump’s return to power has been defined by a sense of “pure fear”. According to Kim Dong-seok, head of the non-profit Korean American Grassroots Conference (KAGC), the in...

Former top Chinese intelligence official Gao Yichen has been expelled from the Communist Party for corruption after being accused of receiving bribes and interfering with judicial matters. Gao, 75, former vice-minister of the Ministry of State Securi...

Police in South Korea are hunting a person claiming to be a commercial pilot who threatened to carry out a “suicide flight” over Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport, voicing resentment over the merger between the country’s two largest airline...

A female porpoise found in Hong Kong waters is believed to have died while giving birth. Researchers from the University of Hong Kong’s Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS) said on Tuesday that the mammal was found in Mirs Bay and was believed...

Alice Leung Shuk-ling has spent more than a decade seeking the truth behind a ferry crash in 2012 that killed her younger brother and 38 others, and she expects a Coroner’s Court verdict due on Wednesday to be merely an ellipsis – not a full stop...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered an investigation into claims that the country’s military intelligence command supported a civilian accused of sending drones into North Korea. The civilian at the centre of the allegations, a ...

As China struggles to boost consumer spending, a professor at one of the country’s top universities has argued that authorities first need to overcome a psychological barrier: a deep-seated “luxury-phobia” that has taken hold among the Chinese ...

Hong Kong is striving to become a “fortress” that safeguards digital security, the city’s innovation and technology (I&T) minister has said, stressing that cyber warfare is not just a confrontation of technologies but a “full-spectrum contest...

US President Donald Trump threatened to hit French wines and champagnes with 200 per cent tariffs in an apparent effort to cajole French President Emmanuel ‍Macron into joining his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts. Trum...

A Chinese man who flaunted his cash savings online triggered envy in a former colleague who disguised himself as a woman, then broke into his home to steal the entire amount. The case recently drew public attention after the Huli District People’s ...

China’s Chang’e-7 mission this year will be the world’s first to attempt to sample and directly measure water on the moon, but just touching lunar ice could mean losing it, a team of scientists has warned in a new paper. The spacecraft is expec...

A man reached out to a 21-year-old woman who had declined a job offer from his employer and arranged to meet her for dinner in Singapore. After dinner, they went to a park where the man went into the woman’s toilet cubicle and sexually assaulted he...

As globalisation and technological advancements continue to reshape the way we live and work, educational institutions must also evolve to help equip students with the right mindset and skills to tackle the challenges in our rapidly changing world. A...

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. ‘No oil here’: ...

A “back to school”-themed Zumba session in Malaysia is being investigated by police and Islamic authorities after viral footage showing headscarf-wearing instructors dressed in revealing attire piqued conservatives’ anger. The aerobics session,...

While there may be hopes in Beijing that Washington’s attempt to acquire Greenland has strained transatlantic ties and might draw European countries closer to China, a veteran US diplomat said such a fundamental realignment was unlikely. The core t...

Hong Kong authorities will hold three officers from the logistics department accountable over their roles in a bottled water procurement scandal, while its former head had his Silver Bauhinia Star nomination rescinded despite being cleared of direct ...

Shares of Chinese toymaker Pop Mart rallied nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday morning before closing more than 9 per cent higher after the company announced its first share buy-back in nearly two years, following a decline from last year’s peak. Pop Ma...

Bangladesh’s student leaders, one of the main driving forces behind the mass protests that brought down former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, now face an uncertain political future. Despite their central role in the uprising, the youth movem...

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. Temperatures in Hong Kong are expected...

Shanghai has laid out a full spectrum of goals on finance for the next five years and beyond, following an unequivocal push by China’s central leadership to grow the city into an international financial centre. China’s largest city-level economy ...

The Coroner’s Court is expected to deliver a long-awaited verdict on Wednesday for an inquest into one of Hong Kong’s deadliest maritime disasters, in which 39 residents died after a collision between two ferries near Lamma Island in 2012. After ...

The biggest snowfall in 60 years ‌on Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula created ‍vast drifts several metres tall that blocked building entrances and buried cars, according to Reuters visuals and weather monitoring ⁠stations. In some are...

A charity founded in 1979 to support Vietnamese war refugee children in Hong Kong will launch a programme this year to train teenagers from ethnic minority groups as sports coaches for mainstream youngsters. Treats’ “EM-SPARK” project will trai...

When Singapore’s trade minister Gan Kim Yong revealed that locals owned nearly 90 per cent of registered retail businesses in the city state while Chinese nationals came in second at a distant 3 per cent, the figures drew mixed reactions from the p...

Two Chinese nationals working in Malaysia are facing income tax bills amounting to 748,073.84 ringgit (US$184,595) and 842,118.84 ringgit, respectively, after their employer allegedly used their identities to submit false salary information to the In...

China achieved its twin goals of tech advancement and macro stability in 2025. Its goals for 2026 remain the same. However, a rapidly deteriorating global security environment is likely to shift national priorities towards preparation for worst-case ...

Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, son of the British celebrity couple David and Victoria Beckham, said he did not want to reconcile with his parents after a family rift he described in a lengthy post on social media on Monday. The 26-year-old said that his par...

Taiwan’s military held a closed-door briefing on Monday to break an opposition blockade of a controversial NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.5 billion) special defence budget that has prompted accusations of “black box” decision-making from rival parties...

A highly unlikely set of nuptials has taken place in China with a pair of twin brothers marrying twin sisters. Not only that, both sides have a pair of twin uncles. A wedding photo featuring four sets of twins went viral online recently, racking up m...

Hong Kong professionals mandated to report suspected child abuse cases under a new law taking effect on Tuesday are largely ready, but some have said challenges remain in working with parents from different cultural backgrounds and detecting online c...

China has emerged as a credible challenger to the US in artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery, where advantage depends not only on computing prowess but also on the ability to effectively mine data, from genomes to clinical trial results, acc...

More than eight decades after her mother narrowly survived the sinking of the steamer Tsushima Maru, Tsugiko Taira says the wreck still speaks to her. She believes artefacts lying on the seabed could give new voice to one of the worst civilian mariti...

Italian officials ‍on Monday hailed the discovery of a more than 2,000-year-old public building attributed to Vitruvius, the ancient Roman architect and engineer known as the “father of architecture”. “It is a sensational finding … somethin...

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) supply chain vendors are adding another dimension to their go-global drive: designing batteries and lidar sensors for models by international marques that cater to overseas drivers. As leading players like BYD secure meg...

A day after a sweeping deal was announced between the Syrian government and the country’s main Kurdish-led force, the agreement appeared to be falling apart on Monday. After new outbreaks of clashes Monday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ...

Key allies reacted coolly on Monday to US President Donald Trump’s invite to pay US$1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” for resolving international conflicts, with analysts likening it to a pay-to-play version of the UN Secur...

For years, many of mainland China’s art students dreamed of working or studying in Europe. After hours spent poring over the works of the continent’s masters as part of their degree requirements, living where their pieces are preserved, displayed...

In 1900, most people lived without electricity, antibiotics or universal education. Today, life expectancy is decades longer, literacy and access to medicine are near universal in many regions, and hundreds of millions have entered the global middle ...

The death toll from a high-speed train collision in southern Spain rose to 40 on Monday as the government vowed a full investigation into its causes. The crash late on Sunday is Spain’s deadliest train accident since 2013, when 80 people died after...

Brazilian beef exports will remain stable ‌in 2026 compared with last year, beef lobby Abiec said on ‍Monday, projecting shipments between 3.3 million and 3.5 million tonnes this year. That compares with 3.5 million tonnes of beef exported in 202...

Valentino Garavani, the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns – often in his trademark shade of “Valentino red” – were fashion show staples for nearly half a century, has died at home in Rome, his foundation announced on Monday. H...

Canada is considering whether to send a ‌small contingent of troops to Greenland to ‍take part in Nato military exercises, a source directly familiar with the matter said on Monday. The news was first reported by CBC News and the Globe and Mail n...

Hong Kong authorities are “very concerned” about the tenants facing eviction from a Cheung Sha Wan building in March, as the landlords’ plans to upgrade the premises to comply with new rules left dozens living in subdivided flats in need of tem...