Beijing has defended its travel ban on more than a dozen Philippine municipal officials that Manila said could harm ties between the two countries, after a diplomatic spat took yet another retaliatory turn. Angelica Escalona, spokeswoman for the Phil...

Vietnam has kicked off the new tourism year by shattering records. According to the national tourism authority, VNAT, almost 2.5 million international visitors arrived in January – the highest number ever recorded in a single month and an 18.5 per ...

A delivery company in central China has sparked controversy by introducing a range of services including kneeling and kowtowing to replace in-person family visits during the Spring Festival. On February 9, UU Paotui, based in Henan province, launched...

A driver and his passenger were arrested after their car, which had an expired licence and allegedly contained small amounts of the drug etomidate, hit a police vehicle, a taxi and a bus while attempting to evade officers on a northern Hong Kong road...

The United States and China are set to extend October’s trade war truce by up to a year when US President Donald Trump visits Beijing, the South China Morning Post reported exclusively on Thursday. Trump would probably meet Chinese President Xi Jin...

The number of babies born in Hong Kong plunged to a record low of 31,100 in 2025, while the city’s provisional population estimate rose 0.1 per cent year on year to 7.51 million. The Census and Statistics Department on Thursday also revealed a net ...

Hong Kong police have arrested three men on suspicion of burglary after allegedly stealing HK$700,000 (US$89,549) worth of products – including fish maw and shark fin – from a dried seafood shop. Tsang Ka-chun, senior inspector of the Kowloon dis...

Chinese consumers placed over 120 million orders on Alibaba Cloud’s flagship artificial intelligence app Qwen within six days, signalling growing acceptance of AI-powered shopping as the company joined other mainland Chinese tech giants in a multib...

Major Chinese carmakers have cut their lengthy supplier payment cycles – previously used to offset costs and stay competitive in the country’s vast auto market – from nearly a year to less than 60 days, a government-backed industry consortium s...

Despite US President Donald Trump having congratulated Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on her recent election triumph, Tokyo is under pressure to deliver on colossal investments promised in the United States. Ahead of the possible announcemen...

Hong Kong’s retail banks posted 7.3 per cent pre-tax profit growth last year, as rising bad debts and a narrower net interest margin offset growing income from wealth-management services. The city’s 30 retail banks recorded lower growth in aggreg...

Singapore expects a surplus of S$15.1 billion (US$12 billion) or 1.9 per cent of gross domestic product for the 2025 financial year, more than double an initial projection of S$6.8 billion, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said as he unveils an aggre...

For many decades, Australia was known as the “lucky country”. Its long period of uninterrupted growth stretching back to the 1990s was a rarity among advanced economies. Yet even before the Covid-19 pandemic erupted, Australia’s luck was runnin...

A 16th-century Flemish castle is the setting on Thursday as European leaders try to resolve a set of economic tensions haunting Europe that are almost as old: the pull between free trade and protection, integration and sovereignty. On the agenda are ...

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has brushed aside calls to suspend or remove Malaysia’s anti-corruption chief, asking critics to “read his explanation”, after fresh reports about his shareholdings reignited public anger against the official. Citin...

Philippine Senator Robin Padilla has come under fire from the public and fellow politicians for calling Generation Z mentally “weak” and downplaying depression. “Many may be upset with me for saying this, but today’s children, sad to say, are...

We have selected five Trending in China stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. How much coffee to drink a day to get the most health benefits? ...

The son and former partner of fugitive Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung jointly sold a three-bedroom luxury home in the upscale neighbourhood of Mid-Levels for HK$100 million (US$12.8 million), clearing about HK$40 million after holding the prop...

With jets forming complex formations overhead and displays on the ground of the world’s most advanced fighters, manufacturers from the US, China, South Korea and Turkey gathered in Riyadh to pursue deals of financial and strategic weight. China exh...

China’s beloved “Diving Queen” Quan Hongchan has once again amazed her fans by being named Sports Person of the Year and making her magazine debut on the cover alongside other Chinese stars. On February 9, the country’s People magazine offici...

About 11.38 million residents and visitors are expected to travel in and out of Hong Kong over the Lunar New Year holiday, marking a projected 16 per cent increase from last year. The Immigration Department released the 10-day estimate following an i...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be taking steps to ‌consolidate his daughter’s position as successor, and there are signs she is providing input on policy matters, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday, citing a spy agency briefing. ...

A Netherlands court has upheld the suspension of Zhang Xuezheng, former CEO of Dutch chipmaker Nexperia, and ordered an investigation into the company’s governance – another setback for Chinese parent company Wingtech. “The Enterprise Chamber �...

Russia sustained around 9,000 more battlefield losses in Ukraine than it was able to replace last month, according to assessments from Western officials, signalling progress for Ukraine’s ambition to inflict heavier damage on the front line. Russia...

Officials from the Philippines-claimed Kalayaan group of islands within the disputed Spratly Islands archipelago plan to expand its civilian population amid a war of words with the Chinese embassy in the country. Local authorities in Kalayaan, which ...

A stricter control measure is being enforced on Chinese nationals to curb any abuse of the visa-free facility under the Malaysia-China mutual visa exemption agreement, according to Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. Saifuddin explained ...

A video of a live rodent in a sushi display chiller at a branch of the Japanese supermarket chain Don Don Donki in Hong Kong has sparked concerns over food safety and hygiene standards in the city. The footage, posted on social media on Thursday, cap...

The United States and Iran may be inching towards a renewed nuclear accord, following intensive behind-the-scenes diplomacy by Gulf monarchies and Turkey aimed at averting a new regional war. With US President Donald Trump indicating a clear preferen...

The US has established a new army foothold in the Philippines with a rotational deployment designed to sustain the Typhon missile system and contain China, according to military analysts. The US Army has commenced rotational deployments in the Philip...

Hong Kong’s rail operator has been urged to investigate whether human error was behind the recent 1½-hour partial shutdown of the Island line and to strengthen staff training to prevent similar incidents in the future. Ex-lawmaker Gary Zhang Xinyu...

Chinese tech giant Baidu launched a Wikipedia challenger this week, banking on artificial intelligence to bridge information gaps for local and worldwide audiences in a move analysts said was aimed at seizing global opportunities. BaiduWiki, a Wikipe...

In January, James Zimmerman returned to the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) as its chairman. He previously served in that role for four one-year terms in 2007, 2008, 2015 and 2016. A lawyer by training and a resident of China for...

For a few hours on Wednesday, the sleepy airport of El Paso, Texas, became a sudden flashpoint for confusion. Late Tuesday night, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a terse notice to pilots that airspace in the area would close - for an unpre...

Hong Kong’s “Queen of Votes” Christine Fong Kwok-shan ran one of the most cost-effective campaigns in the Legislative Council election, spending an average of just HK$20 per vote, the South China Morning Post has found. An SCMP review of the el...

The arrest of nearly 40 Indian nationals in Bali for allegedly running an online gambling operation has renewed concern about Indonesia’s tourist visa regime, which analysts warn is vulnerable to abuse by foreign criminal groups posing as traveller...

As the global financial landscape shifts and policy uncertainty grows in the United States, China is likely to emerge as an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investors seeking to diversify away from dollar-denominated assets, according ...

This article was first published on February 13, 2006. By Andy Cheng and Alvin Sallay Pollution takes its toll on marathon Twenty-two people were sent to hospital yesterday, two remaining in critical condition last night (February 12, 2006), after ta...

Some public and private sector employees need a change of attitude if Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) is to succeed, according to Tiong King Sing. The tourism, arts and culture minister said he has received numerous complaints from both foreign and dome...

One of the rewarding aspects about practice at the Hong Kong Bar is that one gets to learn many new things. Conducting litigation well involves delving deep into the relevant facts. We therefore get to learn about different industries and different t...

Hong Kong’s pressing demographic challenges demand tailored, well-considered civil service policies. However, the proposal put forward in recent Legislative Council debates on population policy to raise the retirement age for all civil servants to ...

After 30 years in the United States, world-leading computational biologist Bao Zhirong has taken up a full-time position at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen. Bao, who pioneered imaging technologies that allow sc...

A man in China, who spent 900,000 yuan (US$130,000) on losing lottery tickets in a single month, has sued the sales agent and the lottery management centre, demanding they return his wager with interest. The case has captivated mainland social media ...

Government social workers supporting survivors of Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po fire are struggling to manage their “indefinite” duties, with poor communication about new initiatives compounding the stress of their already heavy caseloads. Several ...

Japan’s fledgling opposition alliance is scrambling to regroup after a bruising election defeat that has left its future in doubt, raising broader questions about whether the country can sustain a credible parliamentary counterweight to the long-do...

James Van Der Beek, the star of 1990s ⁠teen drama Dawson’s Creek, died ⁠on Wednesday at the age of ⁠48 after a battle with cancer, his wife announced on social media. “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He ...

President Donald Trump faced noteworthy pushback over his signature tariff policy in the US Congress this week as his popularity slipped and more lawmakers in his party appeared willing to risk his wrath. While the pushback is unlikely to result in a...

China will support Cuba “in the best way possible” as the island grapples with an energy crisis following tougher measures imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday. Sp...

The suspect ⁠in a deadly school shooting in western Canada was an 18-year-old with mental health issues ⁠who killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school, police said on Wednesday, but investigators did not offer a motive ...

The South China Sea continues to act as a lightning rod for competing claims among regional powers. In the final of a three-part series, Fan Chen investigates how Beijing is responding to the wake-up call on what is needed to win the narrative battle...

China has confirmed that discussions were under way about US President Donald Trump’s planned visit in April, when sources said the two sides were expected to extend their current trade truce by up to one year. Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesma...