This year’s Auto China, the world’s largest car show, is likely to mark a watershed for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers as they push dozens of new premium models into the spotlight, challenging European manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes...

Turkish lawmakers passed a bill late on Wednesday that includes restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, state media reported. The legislation is the latest in a global trend to protect young people from dangerous online ac...

Hong Kong’s fire services declined to activate an emergency alert during the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns that it might have caused confusion among trapped residents, a public inquiry has heard. An independent committee in...

A data breach at Yau Yat Chuen Garden City Club has compromised the personal information of more than 9,000 people, Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has found, urging organisations to review security measures and update software to close loopholes. The...

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi complained she was not getting enough sleep, a veteran politician who met her on Thursday said. The remark came as Takaichi’s premiership recently reached the six-month mark. After winning her ruling party’s...

The Iran war has done in two months what years of climate policy could not: make green hydrogen look economically viable. Soaring oil and gas prices since February’s outbreak of hostilities have narrowed the cost gap between the zero-emission fuel ...

In March 2024, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time since 2007, lifting borrowing costs out of negative territory and calling time on decades of ultra-loose monetary policy as Japan emerged from a long period of entrenched defla...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had ⁠agreed not to ⁠execute eight women protesters in a ⁠sign of respect for him, while officials in Tehran denied the executions had been planned and accused the US president of spreading f...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for China and Cambodia to “stand in closer solidarity, now more than ever” in the first-ever 2+2 strategic dialogue aimed at deepening mutual political and security ties. Speaking during a meeting in Phnom ...

More than 80,000 people have signed a petition calling for a renewed investigation after a 19-year-old woman died by suicide in late February following a South Korean police decision to drop her sexual assault case. As of Thursday, the petition poste...

The ruler of one of Malaysia’s nine royal states said on Thursday that the government should continue to function “as usual”, using a speech to project calm after four powerful traditional chiefs claimed they had removed him in one of the count...

Hong Kong police have arrested nine people over their alleged involvement in a travel insurance fraud syndicate that staged overseas accidents to claim more than HK$1.7 million (US$217,053). The force said on Thursday it had received a report from th...

Two local trains collided head-on in Denmark on Thursday, injuring at least 17 people, four of whom were in a critical condition, the emergency service said. Public broadcaster DR showed images of two yellow and grey trains, both with visible damage ...

Mainland China’s population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) – those with assets exceeding US$30 million – has grown by 23 per cent over the past five years to 121,677, and is projected to expand a further 18.8 per cent to 144,602 b...

In areas of southern Lebanon it has occupied since agreeing last week to a ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been destroying homes it says were used as outposts by the Iran-backed militant group. But the demolitions were happening on suc...

A court has convicted an Italian man of human trafficking by tricking a Singaporean woman into sex work in Dubai, after rejecting his defence arguments attacking the victim. Achraf Arjaouy, 31, had claimed trial to one count of recruiting a person by...

Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation has unveiled its first wheelset maintenance centre, set to open in the coming months, cutting the time for the labour-intensive process from more than three days to 10 hours. The rail giant said on Thursday that the new ...

Tencent Holdings has released a new flagship artificial intelligence model, the first since former OpenAI researcher Yao Shunyu joined the Chinese tech giant to lead its foundational AI development efforts. The Shenzhen-based company said on Thursday...

For years, Nasa funded a project called SpiderFab – a spider-like robot that would crawl through orbit, weaving solar power stations and giant antennas from spools of carbon fibre – creating structures too large for any rocket to carry whole. Alt...

A 74-year-old British grandmother who set off on a solo trip to China received an unexpected outpouring of support from Chinese netizens who took turns to guide her on her journey. The heartwarming story began with Xiao Yue, a senior university stude...

The number of Chinese tourists deciding to travel during the five-day Labour Day holiday at the start of next month could rival or exceed last year’s headcount despite higher global fuel prices, analysts said, adding travellers were likely to prefe...

Malaysia’s king said he would select a new anti-corruption chief, the first official confirmation that current head Azam Baki’s term will not be renewed when it ends next month. “I will determine who is the best candidate to lead the MACC from ...

Mainland Chinese investors have slowed their purchases of Hong Kong-listed shares this year after last year’s record inflows, as more artificial intelligence investment opportunities have emerged in mainland markets, according to BNP Paribas. South...

The race to become the next leader of the United Nations moved into a higher gear with the four declared candidates facing hours of questions over two days. Top among them: can the UN be made effective again? Rafael Grossi, an Argentine diplomat who ...

Daniel Gros is the director of the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University. Previously, he served as an adviser to the European Parliament, collaborated with the European Commission as economic adviser to the Delors Committee, which...

As Southeast Asia’s tourism sector takes a hit from the Iran war, a pivot to serving as alternative flight hubs may help to save the industry. The region’s major airlines are seeing rising demand for European routes as travellers avoid Middle Eas...

For more than three years, the numbers on their screens told a convincing story. Steady gains, smooth withdrawals and returns of up to 5 per cent every fortnight. Encouraged by the early outcome, many doubled down, pumping in more of their hard-earne...

The death of US officials following an operation to dismantle a drug lab in northern Mexico is escalating tensions with Washington, as President Claudia Sheinbaum insists her government was unaware of their involvement. At a news conference, Sheinbau...

Alibaba Group Holding has struck its first external partnership for its flagship consumer artificial intelligence app, linking it with China Eastern Airlines in a move that pushes its agentic capabilities beyond the company’s own ecosystem and into...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The role of Hong Kong’s fire service remained under the spotlight on the 18th day of evidential hearings he...

A Hong Kong film adapted from the 2010 Manila hostage crisis, which led to the deaths of eight Hongkongers, has stirred online debate, with some questioning whether it could cause “secondary trauma” and others saying it offers lessons from the pa...

The US military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Washington has imposed a blo...

Emotional residents have returned to the most severely damaged block of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, holding back tears as they recount harrowing escapes and call for more time to revisit their homes. Some survivors managed to retrieve ...

Shortly after the doors opened each day at the ongoing Canton Fair, every corner of the robotics and drone halls quickly filled to capacity, while the new energy pavilion remained densely packed with overseas buyers. Foreign buyers moved slowly betwe...

The law of tort, from its Latin and Old French origin meaning “wrong”, saw a major development in Hong Kong at the beginning of this year. After years of debate in the lower courts, Hong Kong’s top court has made it clear that, with Sir Elly Ka...

The numbers tell a revealing story. The city’s eight publicly funded universities, once primarily judged by academic output and global rankings, are now generating record income from knowledge transfer. Patents, licensing deals, industry partnershi...

At a beachfront resort on Koh Samui, photo-obsessed travellers can book private sessions, with a dedicated photographer guiding them to the resort’s most camera-ready spots during a 20-minute shoot. Elsewhere, at Centara Life properties, late-night...

China has reported a staggering amount of domestic artificial intelligence power, pointing to what some experts say could be a “dark pool” of compute thousands of times larger than its public reports suggest. According to the Ministry of Industry...

Chinese teenagers dressed in camouflage uniforms express gratitude in front of cameras at a youth correction centre, but the off-camera reality tells a completely different story. According to a Chinese state media report they are beaten or sexually ...

All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz as the world waits for a new round of US-Iran peace deal talks to ease the global energy crisis, while the extended ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump remains up in the air. These are the main takeaw...

A long-awaited cross-border solo travel scheme will allow yachts from Macau and Hong Kong to easily sail to about six designated ports in the western waters off the Greater Bay Area, with the policy to be finalised as early as this summer, the South ...

Plastic bags stuffed with rotting chicken from a smugglers’ boat washed ashore in Thailand have hinted at shortages inside Cambodia, as formal trade between the neighbours has collapsed amid their border conflict and illicit cargo flows surge inste...

Entrepreneur Justin Sun filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing a Trump family-backed cryptocurrency platform of fraud and alleging he was blocked from withdrawing his assets. In a San Francisco federal court filing reviewed by Agence France-Presse, th...

The US visa system rolls out the “red carpet” for spies and aids China’s alleged efforts to steal American innovation, senators charged at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, as Washington and Beijing intensify competition for dominance in ar...

The most revealing fact about Hong Kong’s stablecoin launch is not that licences were issued. It is who got them, and who did not. By handing the first approvals to HSBC and the Standard Chartered-led joint venture Anchorpoint Financial, regulators...

US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is leaving his job, the Pentagon abruptly announced on Wednesday, the first head of a military service to depart during US President Donald Trump’s second term but just the latest top defence leader to step down...

A top envoy to ⁠US President Donald Trump has asked Fifa to replace Iran with Italy in the coming World Cup, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The plan is an effort to repair ‌ties between Trump and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Melon...

Few people have heard of Huangyan, a booming industrial district of Taizhou, a city in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Yet without it, many cars would likely be heavier, more expensive and less energy efficient, while everyday household goods wo...

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sought to quell fears in Senate testimony on Wednesday that American technology was aiding China’s military, but drew scepticism given the US president’s willingness to sell advanced semiconductors. Lutnick as...

The US does not get to dictate the terms of coming trade talks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday, following reports Washington wants an “entry fee” before agreeing to open negotiations. The United States and Canada are set to...