A war of words between Chinese diplomats and Philippine politicians over the disputed South China Sea has prompted calls in Manila to declare the Chinese ambassador persona non grata – the second such call in three years. While Philippine President...

A fashion influencer with three million followers says her personal assistant is a con artist who stole her online profiles and pretended to be a student at Harvard University. The influencer Chen Xin, who uses the handle @Daxin-kissis, accused her a...

Hong Kong’s U-turn on its seat belt rule for buses is a sobering reminder to lawmakers that they must meet higher standards even under the “executive-led” governance model recently underlined by Beijing, according to several policy experts. The...

Iran will never surrender the right to enrich uranium, even if war “is imposed on us”, its foreign minister said on Sunday, defying pressure from Washington. “Iran has paid a very heavy price for its peaceful nuclear programme and for uranium e...

Over 10 million students graduate from Chinese universities every year, straining an already crowded labour market. Yet the “micro drama” industry is emerging as a crucial lifeline for hundreds of thousands of young jobseekers: offering the chanc...

The rapid increase in data centres in Malaysia came under the microscope on Saturday, with the AI-driven build-out drawing its first public protest in the Southeast Asian country. More than 50 people gathered in front of a data centre construction si...

Western media and policymakers enjoy wagging their fingers at China’s industrial “overcapacity”, which in reality is simply the ability to produce solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, steel and other goods more cheaply and efficiently th...

The former British ambassador to the United States and former government minister Peter Mandelson is facing demands to hand back the payoff he received after being sacked as US envoy. The senior Labour Party figure was sacked over his relationship wi...

Controversial remarks in Bangladesh by a politician who questioned women’s ability to perform jobs because of their child-bearing role have caused an uproar ahead of the general election in a country where female workers form the spine of its mains...

China’s long-term growth trajectory will depend on the introduction of market reforms, and the country’s potential growth rate could fall to about 2.5 per cent in the coming years unless action is taken, a prominent Chinese economist has warned. ...

Under a cascade of flashing lights, a group of young girls dances to the beat as artificial rose petals gently fall. But who really controls the performance? Viewers. With just a few taps, they send virtual gifts or cast votes to decide which song to...

Hong Kong’s so-called headquarters economy, in which the city serves as a regional and global base for corporate headquarters, is spurring recovery in the commercial real estate sector as analysts forecast an improved investment environment this ye...

Eight people have been confirmed dead in a blast at a biotechnology factory in central China early on Saturday. The explosion ripped through a workshop in Shanyin county, Shanxi province, operated by Jiapeng Biotechnology, a company involved in bio-f...

Hong Kong will promote the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation through opportunities brought by the nation’s blueprint to drive economic growth, the financial secretary has pledged just weeks ahead of his budget address. Pau...

Chinese aviation start-up AutoFlight, backed by electric vehicle (EV) battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), is emblematic of mainland China’s ambitions in the flying car market, part of the country’s broader push to dominate the l...

The provisional administrator of the housing estate ravaged by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will attend hearings of an independent committee “as necessary” to represent the “common interests” of the owners’ corporation, the home ...

A woman was told to leave after turning up in a skirt and a low-cut top at the RXZ Forever Legend motorcycling gathering in Kota Baru, Malaysia’s Kelantan state. At the same time, another 30 women were given headscarves to wear after they were foun...

When Alex Barnes finally closed the two largest single-tenant office leasing deals Central has seen in more than a decade, the outcome was decisive – but the path there was anything but quick. Barnes, the co-CEO in Greater China and managing direct...

An orphan, trained as a cold-hearted assassin, learns what love truly means from a master thief. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, however, she kills her lover, granting him freedom as her final gift. Joyce, from Shenzhen in southern China, played this fe...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hongkongers can expect a warm Lunar New Year with maximum temperatures climbing to 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 F...

The faint outline of a hand in a cave in Indonesia’s Sulawesi has been recognised as the world’s oldest known rock art, shattering a long-held scientific theory that human artistic expression first flourished in Ice Age Europe. Dating back at lea...

In less than a week, China conducted a series of executions on a scale rarely seen in recent decades. In all, 16 core members of mafia-like crime syndicates were put to death for a range of crimes, from murder to fraud and human trafficking. While al...

In 1994, Deepmala Kharel Dhakal’s mother competed in the first Miss Nepal beauty pageant. Thirty-two years later, the Nepali-Hongkonger is preparing to follow in her footsteps. The 23-year-old was crowned Miss Nepal Hong Kong International on Thurs...

A 33-year-old worker was rushed to hospital in the early hours of Sunday after being scalded by hot oil at a biodiesel facility in Hong Kong’s Tseung Kwan O. The man, surnamed Tsang, was performing his duties at ASB Biodiesel at 22 Chun Wang Street...

As the Year of the Horse approaches, Chinese consumers are hunting online for mascots, dolls and charms themed after the zodiac animal – a pursuit industry observers say favours soft, round and playful designs over formal styles and places more wei...

Thais began voting on Sunday in an election pitting the reformist People’s Party against the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, with expectations of a tight race among a divided public craving an end to the country’s long economic drift and politica...

Hong Kong wildlife protection authorities have recorded 23 cases of smuggled orchids in the first month of the year, with the number expected to rise in the coming weeks as Lunar New Year approaches. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Depart...

A protein secreted by deadly tumour cells could be a powerful weapon against Alzheimer’s disease, Chinese researchers have found. While Alzheimer’s disease and cancer are common in ageing populations and are among the leading causes of death worl...

For those in China’s cross-border trade business, a sweeping tax crackdown is beginning to be felt. Heightened scrutiny of unreported overseas income is reshaping cost structures, squeezing margins and forcing exporters to rethink how they operate ...

At this time of year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s top priority is finalising the Hong Kong government’s budget for 2026-27, balancing requests for incentives and welfare against calls for a return to fiscal prudence. For decades, budget...

Japanese voters trudged through snow on Sunday to cast their ballots in an election predicted to hand Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a ‍resounding win, though record dumps in some parts of the country snarled traffic and could dent turnout. Local me...

Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison could find it hard to secure compensation from Panamanian authorities over their decision to nullify its port operations, legal experts have said, noting that the arbitral tribunal it engaged lacks enforcement power and the...

As the Lunar New Year approaches, families across East Asia and beyond prepare not only festive meals and red decorations but also follow a series of long-standing customs believed to ward off bad luck and invite prosperity. The SCMP highlights some ...

The tattoo on his arm reads “buc Lao” (Laos boy) but Kham Paneboun is not a Laotian citizen. In fact, he’s not really from anywhere. In February last year, US Homeland Security detained him for a felony committed as a teenager, revoked his work...

The Washington Post said on Saturday its CEO and publisher Will Lewis was leaving effective immediately, just days after the storied newspaper owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made drastic job cuts that angered readers. Though newspaper...

A noted archaeologist is challenging conventional wisdom on one of the world’s oldest cultures, arguing that Chinese civilisation has a recorded history stretching back 8,000 years – three millennia beyond the widely accepted benchmark. An articl...

Two French adventurers reached the end of an epic walk from their hometown to Shanghai on Saturday, after nearly a year and a half crossing 16 countries almost entirely on foot. Tired but delighted, Loic Voisot and Benjamin Humblot embraced as they s...

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says the US is proposing to finish all necessary negotiations to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in June. “The Americans are proposing that the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer,” Zele...

Syria and Saudi Arabia signed deals on Saturday that include a joint airline and a US$1 billion project to develop telecommunications, officials said, as Syria seeks to rebuild after years of war. Saudi Arabia has been a major backer of Syria’s Isl...

Spain and Portugal on Saturday braced for another storm heading for the Iberian Peninsula, just days after the floods caused by Storm Leonardo proved fatal in both countries. The latest depression, christened Storm Marta, has prompted the deployment ...

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of illegally importing 112 birds estimated to be worth about HK$15,000 (US$1,920) into Hong Kong. The government said on Saturday that the suspect, aged 26, was allegedly found with a trolley of cages holding mu...

A Hong Kong bus driver has earned public praise for making an urgent detour to take an ill child to hospital before resuming the route. Citybus said on Saturday that the route 79X bus was travelling along Tolo Highway at about 10pm the previous day w...

The US is converting Cold War-era helicopters into drones, a move defence experts say could play a “critical role” in any conflict with Beijing over the Taiwan Strait. The PLA has also been retrofitting outdated aircraft to act as uncrewed drones...

Beijing has denounced Norway’s latest security assessment labelling China as a threat, dismissing the report as “sheer speculation and imagination” while accusing Oslo of holding a “misguided” view that risked damage to ties. In an online s...

Social media-savvy young swing voters are emerging as a key demographic for political parties, and some digital platformers are trying to curb the adverse impact of disinformation and fake news on Generation Z by sharing tips ahead of Sunday’s gene...

The world’s fastest air-launched anti-ship cruise missile appears to be in service in the Chinese navy. A photo of a carrier-based J-15T fighter equipped with two YJ-15 missiles has surfaced online in what seems to be a highly operational configura...

China on Saturday launched the latest mission of its reusable experimental spacecraft – a potential rival to the US Space Force’s X-37B. It was China’s fourth launch of such a prototype spacecraft since 2020, all of them conducted at the Jiuqua...

Haiti entered political limbo on Saturday as the mandate of the Caribbean nation’s transitional governing council, a body intended to curb ‌a bloody gang conflict and bring about long-delayed elections, ended with no succession plan in ‍place. ...

Israel and China should avoid letting political disagreement hijack cooperation, an Israeli senior diplomat has said, amid growing signs that the two strategic partners are moving to repair ties following the Gaza war rift. “We do not let [ties] be...