Critical infrastructure across the Gulf came under attack from Iran on Sunday with damage reported at civilian facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. Gulf countries have faced repeated drone and missile salvoes from Iran over pas...

When the American sitcom Growing Pains was first broadcast in China in the 1990s, it was the first window for many in the country into American middle-class life. In the series, a doctor father, a journalist mother and four children live in a spaciou...

A proposed cap on the ground rents paid by leasehold homeowners in England and Wales is seen as favouring foreign property investors, including those from Hong Kong and mainland China, but another measure tightening rules in setting rents is dampenin...

Hong Kong rescuers are searching for a man who has been missing since Saturday, with authorities discovering one of the 81-year-old man’s shoes nearly 20 hours into the operation. Police said on Sunday that the man, surnamed He, was hiking with his...

Three Indonesian peacekeepers killed in two separate explosions in southern Lebanon last week were laid to rest in their hometowns on Sunday. Peacekeeper Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, died when a projectile exploded on March 29 in southern Lebanon, where Is...

Chinese ride-hailing company CaoCao, backed by Geely, is betting on a heavy-asset strategy to emerge as a leading robotaxi operator, with plans to deploy 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2030 as competition intensifies and self-driving technology matur...

Thousands of Hongkongers braved thundery and rainy weather to sweep tombs during the Ching Ming Festival on Sunday, with some distraught Wang Fuk Court residents returning to the fire-ravaged housing estate to mourn. It was the first Ching Ming Festi...

The independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades concluded the first round of hearings last week. It is essential that we get to the bottom of the human and systemic errors that led to the Tai Po inferno. There were man...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed concern that a prolonged US-Israeli war on Iran could further erode America’s support for Ukraine as Washington’s global priorities shift and Kyiv braces for reduced deliveries of critically ne...

Once dubbed the world’s tallest abandoned skyscraper, Goldin Finance 117 in northern China appears to be in the homestretch of a marathon construction effort – after nearly a decade of dormancy and a year of resumed work – even as the nation’...

As Chinese cemeteries become increasingly expensive many people are buying flats to store the ashes of their loved ones, triggering a discussion which has divided public opinion. Chinese families have long placed great importance on burial practices,...

Hong Kong’s economy showed resilience in the first quarter of 2026 amid volatility in the equity and oil markets brought by war in the Middle East, the city’s finance chief has said. In a review of the city’s economic health in the first three ...

While the Iran war has sent shock waves through energy markets across Asia, one corner of the region has been hit especially hard. South Asia’s reliance on Middle Eastern fuel and Gulf remittances threatens to push some of its most exposed economie...

The Iranian military said Iraq is exempt from shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz that have strangled global energy flows for weeks. “Brotherly Iraq is exempt from any restrictions we have imposed on the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s mili...

Hong Kong traveller Mr Lau is among those turning to high-speed rail trips or flights to mainland China after being deterred from international air travel by rising costs, particularly fuel surcharges, within a month of the United States-Israel attac...

As Russia comes to India’s aid amid the global energy crisis, a familiar mantra has resurfaced among officials and political analysts – that Moscow is New Delhi’s “all weather-friend”. Such a stance is anchored by deep strategic interests, ...

The second crew member of a downed US F-15E fighter jet has been rescued, President Donald Trump said on Sunday. Trump posted on social media: “WE GOT HIM! … I am thrilled to let you know [he] is now SAFE and SOUND.” Earlier a US government off...

Beijing should shift its strategy and improve ways to attract and retain top Chinese AI professionals as America’s accelerating integration of artificial intelligence into military and national security systems puts such talent in a bind. As geopol...

Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts. On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again. The three Americans and one Cana...

Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel and Kuwait on Sunday, a day after US President Donald Trump said the Islamic republic had 48 hours to cut a deal or face “all Hell”. Kuwait and Israel said their air defences were responding to the late...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong issued an amber rainstorm warning on Sunday afternoon in response to intense thundery showers influ...

Among the stories Sarawak instrument craftsman Salomon Gau inherited from his elders is one that begins not with wood or strings but with spirits. He recalled being told how spirits first showed villagers how the earliest forms of the sape – a trad...

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan is expected to guide the city’s future development. Never before has the city attempted a comprehensive plan in the style of mainland China, signalling a major shift in how it approaches long‑term growth. The re...

The rising number of schools facing closure due to insufficient enrolment has raised concerns over the impact on students with special educational needs (SEN), with parents saying such at-risk institutions provided better care and instruction for the...

China’s unmanned submersibles now rank as the world’s largest, with last year’s military parade showcasing two models (HSU001 and AJX002) approaching 20 metres (66 feet) in length. Satellite imagery analysed by Western media also revealed a cla...

A pet-friendly hotel in southwestern China has drawn fierce online criticism after recommending dog meat restaurants to a traveller staying with their dog. On March 27, a social media user surnamed Chen described a disturbing stay at a hotel in Guizh...

A dawn gloom hangs over the pier in Bangsaray, eastern Thailand, as buyers arrive to wait for the first fishing boats to return. But like everyone else relying on the day’s catch they have already lost money to someone else’s war. Thailand’s mu...

The bomb placed outside a US Air Force Base visitors centre in Florida last month was built inside two 2-litre cherry Pepsi bottles, according to federal prosecutors. Alen Zheng, 20, of Land O’Lakes, is accused of planting the bomb and lighting the...

Before autonomous driving freed up the hands of Beijing’s middle class, thousands of workers some 1,500km (930 miles) away in China’s southwestern Guizhou province clicked away at computer screens to teach AI about navigating traffic. In the moun...

China’s investments in North Africa have intensified in 2026, building on long-standing Belt and Road Initiative frameworks while accelerating amid the US-Israeli war with Iran. With 40-50 per cent of China’s seaborne oil imports traditionally pa...

The next steps in the US military campaign against Iran will commit nearly its entire inventory of stealthy JASSM-ER cruise missiles, drawing them from stockpiles devoted to other regions. The order to pull the US$1.5 million weapon from Pacific stoc...

The Trump administration has revoked the green cards or US visas of at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government, including two who have been detained by immigration authorities and are to be deported. The lat...

A student who featured in a controversial Hong Kong documentary has said she did not give her consent to it being shown at an Italian film festival, reiterating her objection to it being screened publicly. Ah Ling, one of six students who featured in...

Russia and Ukraine traded deadly strikes overnight and on Saturday morning, killing 10 people and wounding several dozen more, officials on both sides said on Saturday. The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Istanbul ...

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Tehran had 48 hours left to cut a deal or face “all Hell”, as US and Iranian forces scrambled to find a downed American airman. Trump’s latest threat came after a strike near an Iranian nuclear po...

Across major African cities such as Nairobi, Lusaka, and Abuja, governments are using surveillance technologies and credit lines from China to monitor public spaces and curb crime, a new survey shows. The UK-based Institute of Development Studies (ID...

The Senegalese government has banned all but essential foreign trips for government ministers as part of cost-saving measures triggered by the energy crisis linked to the Iran war. Senegal, like many African countries, imports most of the petroleum p...

At least one person died and 60 others were injured in what seemed to be a crush of fans at a popular football team’s stadium in the Peruvian capital on Friday night, authorities reported. Police said officers rescued people trapped as a result of ...

Japan is considering plans to relax its rules on the sale of offensive weapons in a move that one Chinese analyst said may open the door to it exporting weapons to war zones and possibly to Taiwan. Currently, Japan can only export military equipment ...

An earthquake that struck Afghanistan overnight killed 12 people, including eight members of the same family, a government official and the Afghan Red Crescent Society said on Saturday. A neighbour who helped in rescue efforts said that the eight who...

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has promised to allow more children from low-income families to enjoy after-school care on campus by further expanding a government scheme following positive feedback from participants. Social workers and educators w...

Fans and cosplayers flooded an intellectual property (IP) festival that debuted in Hong Kong on Saturday, featuring pop culture exports such as the hit franchise Godzilla as well as local designs and trademarks. Long queues formed at Con-Con Hong Kon...

The ⁠International ⁠Atomic Energy Agency ⁠on Saturday said that it has been informed by Iran ‌about a projectile striking close to the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The IAEA said in ⁠an X post that one ‌of the site’s phys...

A new rule in Guangzhou requiring teahouses to declare whether their traditional dim sum is freshly handmade has sparked debate and calls for transparency over how similar meals are made in Hong Kong. Guangzhou authorities on Wednesday released new r...

Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) is showing signs of internal strain ahead of its leader’s planned visit to mainland China, with divisions over defence spending and ties with Washington and Beijing raising questions over the party’s st...

While most Chinese people’s surnames are only one character long, there are also millions of people who have compound surnames which are considered rare and precious. You might have come across some Chinese celebrities with surnames more than one c...

Iran has demanded explanations from two Gulf states equipped with Chinese-made Wing Loong II drones after one was reportedly shot down in the war with the United States and Israel. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are known to have the ...

Five European Union finance ministers are calling for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies in reaction to rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, according to a letter from ‌the ministers to the EU Commission seen by Reuters on Saturday. T...

One winning ticket took the HK$81.14 million (US$10.35 million) first prize in Hong Kong’s Mark Six Easter snowball draw on Saturday. According to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, four units each won HK$1.51 million for the second prize, while 225.5 unit...

Former Malaysian transport minister Ling Liong Sik died on Saturday. He was 82. Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Wee Ka Siong confirmed the news to Bernama when contacted on Saturday. “We received the sad news of Tun Dr Ling’s passin...