Hong Kong parents should have their children vaccinated against respiratory infections as the city faces a triple threat from influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a medical expert has said. Dr Mike Kwan Yat-wah, an honorary clin...

The world might be dividing into rival camps and competing trade blocs, but international capital flows remain footloose and fancy free. In so doing, they pose a threat to what remains of stability in the real economy. A good example of this growing ...

Hong Kong should follow international peers in legislating to bar children under 16 from social media to combat cyberbullying and addiction, education experts and lawmakers have said, while stressing the need for broad social consensus. At a panel di...

An artificial intelligence (AI)-generated actress has amassed 400,000 followers on a leading social media platform in China within just two months, with a miniseries she stars in garnering an astonishing 250 million views. The success of the virtual ...

South Korea’s national football association apologised on Saturday ⁠after a media report ⁠alleged it had provided “sexual services” ⁠to foreign referees when they were in the country for international matches more than a decade ago. South...

Hong Kong’s commerce chief is set to lead a delegation of mainland Chinese and local firms to Malaysia next week, noting that about 200 enterprises from across the border have already set up offices in the city since last year, using it as a steppi...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighbourhoods in the city of Marib on Friday, killing two people and wounding 14, state news agency SABA reported, citing local authorities. ...

Temperatures exceeded 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in parts of Hong Kong on Saturday as the city’s forecaster warned that extremely hot weather would persist over the coming days. The Hong Kong Observatory said Severe Typhoon Dolphin was bri...

The president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has said “the path is open” for the revival of the institution’s main student union, so long as it registers with authorities in accordance with the law. Dennis Lo Yuk-ming also pushed...

Flights serving eastern China were disrupted on Saturday as Typhoon Dolphin approached the coast, with some services cancelled and airlines offering flexible rebooking and refund options for affected passengers. Most of the typhoon-related flight dis...

India’s first test of its Kusha long-range surface-to-air missile system is seen as a milestone that could pave the way for New Delhi to bolster its home-grown air defence network and meet the challenges of future conflicts. Developed by the state-...

Hong Kong police are investigating after a man with multiple knife wounds was found in a lift at a public housing block in Wong Tai Sin, seven minutes before another man was discovered to have fallen to his death at the same building. Police received...

The Hong Kong Bar Association has said it “broadly supports” a dedicated offence for persistent child sexual abuse, after concerns over evidential issues in such cases were resolved in other jurisdictions in the past two decades. Vice-chairman Ma...

In recent years, Thailand’s capital has discovered a surprising new attraction to add to its temples, shopping malls and street food: urban greenery. Unlike the others, which took decades to develop, Bangkok’s green credentials are a more recent ...

For centuries, the Yangtze River has been China’s vital lifeblood, yet its floods have claimed countless lives. To tame its waters, flood-control systems have evolved from ancient dykes to the engineering marvel of the Three Gorges Dam. But a new s...

Palestinian Christians call themselves “living stones” and say they have lived continuously in the Holy Land for the last 2,000 years. Maybe not for much longer, believes Reverend Mitri Raheb. “If the current conditions continue, there will not...

Sensing frustration among many Russians towards the Ukraine war, Russia’s liberal Yabloko party is hoping to use parliamentary elections this September to raise its profile, casting itself as the only opposition group in favour of a ceasefire. Elec...

China’s high-stakes race to build next-generation artificial intelligence models is entering a critical new phase, where a less visible yet far more existential threat is coming into view: a severe shortage of high-quality training data. While the ...

Thailand launched its Siam Silica framework last week, a national road map that stamps the Southeast Asian country’s stake in the semiconductor race by building a domestic ecosystem and positioning it as a key hub within an integrated supply chain ...

The leader of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has called for greater financial support to develop a proposed 300-hectare (741 acres) university town near the border with mainland China, including funding for local institutions to build cam...

A 111-year-old grandmother in eastern China has captured the attention of social media by attributing her remarkable longevity to simple habits, such as viewing housework as a form of daily exercise. Wang Gaiying lives in Rugao, Jiangsu province, whi...

Taiwan’s plan to dissolve the pro-Beijing Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) has sparked controversy over whether the independence-leaning authorities are using security concerns to suppress political dissent. The island’s interior minist...

Debate over the price of a burrito is causing indigestion for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which fears being punished for the high cost of living in November’s midterm elections. The Mexican speciality – rice, beans, meat and othe...

When Malaysian artist Darwisy Mustafani received a commission to paint the country’s king and queen, he did not reach for an ordinary canvas. Instead, the 25-year-old from the northeastern city of Kota Bharu transformed songket – the lustrous han...

Kim Ji-soo wrapped up a visit to the coastal city of Qingdao in northern China just last weekend, but she is already contemplating where she will go on her next visit. “It seemed affordable, nearby and I wanted to visit a new city,” said the 57-y...

The football that Diego Maradona used to score his infamous “Hand of God” goal during Argentina’s win over England in the 1986 World Cup is expected to sell for US$10 million at a US auction this month. Maradona’s goal in the quarter-final ma...

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella took office Friday, vowing to wage war on drug-running guerrillas and usher in a new era of close ties with the United States. The flamboyant former lawyer brings a lurch to the right for the Andean nation...

US President ⁠Donald Trump is renewing his effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, keeping alive his assault on the central bank’s independence even after the US Supreme Court in June dealt him a significant setback in his bid to remov...

A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Pentagon from designating Chinese biotechnology group WuXi AppTec as a “Chinese military company”, finding that defence officials repeatedly misread the evidence used to justify the decision. U...

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said on Friday he would back Todd Blanche for attorney general, clearing a path for Donald Trump’s nominee after weeks of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s independence from the White House. Cassidy emerged as...

The United States on Friday announced several critical minerals agreements with multiple mining companies, marking its latest push to curb China’s dominance over the production and processing of strategic materials. While attending a round table wi...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived on Friday for his first official visit to Serbia, one of the few European countries that have maintained friendly relations with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky confirmed the arrival on ...

China’s UnionPay International plans to connect Chinese payment apps to Pix, the Brazilian payment system at the centre of Washington’s trade case against Brasilia, allowing Chinese tourists to pay by scanning a code. Under the pilot, users of th...

A US federal appeal court ordered Donald Trump’s administration on Friday to stop construction on a US$400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, dealing the Republican leader a major setback in a case testing his...

A Hong Kong-based Belgian designer is taking fashion powerhouse Prada to court, claiming at least US$5 million in damages for the alleged repudiation of a partnership agreement to redesign a series of Rolls-Royce cars for exhibitions and events world...

It is financially strapped, structurally flawed, infamously bureaucratic, reputationally damaged and riven with infighting. So why would anyone want to take on the role of the next secretary general of the United Nations? “I really think there shou...

Hong Kong holidaymakers in Okinawa on Friday contended with depleted supermarket shelves, potential power cuts and violent weather as Typhoon Dolphin shut the Japanese island’s main airport and disrupted every direct flight home. Social media image...

The US economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July, government data showed, a blow to US President Donald Trump’s claims of leading an economic revival as his Republican Party gears up for crucial midterm elections.. The unemployment rate in the ...

An organised ring that helped people in the central Chinese province of Henan cheat their way to government-sponsored jobs has been exposed. An official investigation concluded that a province-wide exam held to fill the posts last month had been comp...

Graphite has long been a workhorse of industry – used in pencils since the 1500s, in steelmaking during the 1800s, and today in battery electrodes. Research from Peking University now suggests it could even play a role in next-generation quantum co...

With some US universities kicking off their academic year this month and Chinese students subject to increased scrutiny from Washington amid heated geopolitical rivalry, many institutions were concerned they would receive fewer applications from Chin...

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Cambricon Technologies reported a 108 per cent surge in first-half revenue on Friday, as the firm capitalises on a massive domestic push to replace foreign AI hardware. The chipmaker’s revenue for the...

“Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” This famous 11th thesis from Karl Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach is engraved on his tombstone in Highgate Cemetery in London. It was meant to be a...

In a sign of fraying ties amid the Middle East conflict, Israel’s consulate general in Chengdu has closed, with its consul general leaving his post, two years after a controversy stoked backlash among Chinese web users. Nevertheless, an analyst has...

A bus driver knocked an explosive-laden drone out of the air, potentially preventing an attack this week at a German airport that serves as a major Nato and cargo logistics hub, a senior lawmaker said ‌on Friday. The man spotted the drone flying lo...

The revelation that an alleged Malaysian scam kingpin was released after paying 10 million ringgit (US$2.4 million) fine has sparked public outrage over claims of preferential treatment for a man at the centre of a controversial photo-op with Prime M...

Once overshadowed by natural diamonds in consumer markets, lab-grown versions of the world’s strongest natural substance have become a bright spot for industrial applications, fuelled by the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom. As the world’...

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, wedding Sunni Muslim US allies alarmed at a regional conflagration that has rained missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters. Iran and its allies have been firing on Sa...

An independent inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has released further details about the final moments of fallen firefighter Ho Wai-ho, who died in the line of duty while responding to the blaze at Wang Fuk Court last November. An i...

China plans to expand production capacity of a mine in Bayan Obo in its Inner Mongolia region with an investment of over half a billion yuan (US$74 million). The expansion will raise the mine’s annual output by 50 per cent from 10 million to 15 mil...