China’s central government has invited dozens of scientific, technological and academic experts to its annual summer retreat, highlighting how the country is focusing on innovation and breaking through “chokepoints” amid fierce competition with...

Signs of recovery in Hong Kong’s real estate industry are becoming more apparent, so much so that key indicators in parts of the sector are experiencing some of the fastest growth rates in the Asia-Pacific. In the hotel market, average daily rates,...

A former procurement manager at Tse Sui Luen Jewellery in Hong Kong has pleaded guilty to stealing diamonds worth more than HK$11 million (US$1.4 million) from suppliers over six years by manipulating consignment records to fund his gambling habit. T...

More than 70 per cent of Hong Kong working professionals use artificial intelligence (AI) tools on a weekly basis, more than double the global average, but junior staff also harbour deeper anxiety over job security amid its growing adoption, a survey...

A Malaysian lawmaker is offering a 5,000 ringgit (US$1,200) bounty for the person responsible for an arson attack which left an elderly woman in critical condition in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. The 62-year-old counter staff suffered 50 per ce...

Indonesia’s top Islamic clerical body has warned men not to wear “women’s clothing” for Independence Day festivities despite a long-standing tradition of men in dresses playing football as part of the annual fun. Amid a rising tide of anti-LG...

The Hong Kong Bar Association has filed a judicial challenge against a disciplinary panel’s decision to clear barrister and former opposition lawmaker Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee of professional misconduct over her participation in an anti-government prot...

China’s rare earth producers have reported or anticipated hefty first-half profits, with Beijing’s use of the strategically critical minerals as leverage in trade relations with Japan and the United States not appearing to impede normal activity....

An Indonesian minister has called for better protection of students after nearly 1,000 weapons were found at a private school in South Jakarta. Police seized 995 airsoft guns and one live firearm from a school run by the Harapan Ibu Islamic School Fo...

A ⁠gunman was arrested after firing shots at a local government office on the outskirts of Thailand’s capital on Monday, officials said, ‌just days after a teenager’s killing rampage at a school in the same province reignited debate over gun ...

Hong Kong police have arrested eight people over an alleged compensated-dating scam syndicate that cheated victims, including teachers and healthcare workers, out of about HK$6.2 million (US$790,000) by telling them they had to pay a “legal fee” ...

Chinese researchers have found a safe way to shrink advanced tumours from an aggressive form of liver cancer, an advance that could see microbubbles used to enhance current treatments. The tiny gas-filled bubbles, typically a few micrometres in diame...

Two individuals in Beijing found themselves trapped in a mountain but refused rescue due to a superstition that responding to strangers brings bad luck. The police and firefighters in the Huairou district received a call on the evening of July 29, re...

Malaysia is seeking to elevate its economic partnership with South Korea beyond traditional manufacturing and trade by positioning itself as a long-term strategic partner in high-value industries, ranging from semiconductors and AI to electric vehicl...

A Hong Kong court has approved a final attempt by 11 jailed opposition politicians and activists to clear their names, following their convictions for conspiracy to commit subversion in a landmark national security trial. In a written judgment delive...

The haze is back in Malaysia – with at least two states registering unhealthy air readings on Monday as raging forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia send clouds of smoke northwards. Transboundary haze is a long-standing problem in Southeast Asia, ...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why Beijing struggles to win Indian hearts and mi...

Shanghai airports cancelled nearly 40 per cent of all flights on Monday as heavy rain continued after Typhoon Dolphin made landfall in eastern China on Sunday evening and continued to move north. According to a notice from the Shanghai government on ...

For people navigating rare diseases, which are mostly genetic in origin, the search for answers is a gruelling marathon often called the “diagnostic odyssey”. Patients can spend years visiting specialists and undergoing inconclusive tests, while ...

More frequent showers expected later this week should bring relief from Hong Kong’s extreme heat, the local forecaster has said, although scorching conditions will persist in the coming days, with temperatures in some areas forecast to reach at lea...

A fire in Indonesia’s ⁠Mount Bromo National Park ⁠in East Java ⁠that burnt 550 hectares (1,360 acres) has been extinguished, according to an official on Monday, but there are new hotspots near the caldera. Gatot Soebroto, head of the local di...

A man wielding a knife has been arrested in Hong Kong after allegedly injuring two people at a housing estate in Pok Fu Lam. The force received multiple reports at around 9.20am on Monday that a man in his 20s was attacking residents at Baguio Villa,...

With its first scheduled international route launching this month, the maiden flight of a high-altitude variant newly completed and a thumbs-up from European test pilots, China’s flagship C919 airliner is hitting new heights. China’s dream of a h...

For decades, Hong Kong has been a magnet for the rich. From wealthy Chinese setting up family trusts to millionaires migrating from across Southeast Asia, all of them have been sucked in by the city’s promise of free capital flows, a trustworthy le...

China is using an artificial intelligence-driven fish identification system to conduct round-the-clock tracking of species passing along a fishway on a dam on Tibet’s largest river. Monitoring the route once relied on labour-intensive manual counts...

Pakistan’s foreign minister said a new defence agreement his country signed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey was not directed against any country and remained open to other nations in the region. The landmark Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on...

Something unexpected happened at the town hall meeting held a week ago to gather public opinion on Hong Kong’s first five-year plan and the coming policy address. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu spoke about the need to upgrade the city�...

While many people have embraced the trend of hugging a giant winter melon to sleep as a means of cooling down during summer, some have shared their “painful” experiences, recounting instances where the fruit exploded, releasing a foul-smelling an...

Youth membership in Hong Kong’s uniformed groups has declined by 8 per cent over the past five years despite steady government funding, the South China Morning Post has found, a trend attributed to persistently low birth rates and a wider array of ...

Indonesia’s faster-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter has offered a ray of hope for a sustainable turnaround after months of negative news over the rupiah, investor confidence and global uncertainties. Analysts, however, urged caut...

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the US$400 million ballroom...

The Canadian federal government said on ⁠Sunday it would ⁠help British Columbia ⁠as raging wildfires forced thousands of people to evacuate by providing shelter and accommodation for residents displaced in regions around Summerland and Peachlan...

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to crack down on hard-to-cancel subscriptions and fake discounts as part of measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, Downing Street said on Sunday. The announcement came as the new Labour leader was ...

Professor Wang Gungwu is regarded internationally as an authority on Chinese history. The 95-year-old is best known for his explorations of Chinese history in the long view, and for his writings on the Chinese diaspora. He has been a professor at the...

As China seeks to reshape the global order, Malaysia’s political instability offers a cautionary tale about the challenges Beijing may face abroad. A recent Pew Research Centre survey found that global perceptions of China have improved relative to...

Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes overnight that killed civilians and injured many others on both sides, local authorities reported on Sunday. Large-scale Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities have become almost routine in recent weeks, with...

US President Donald Trump signalled on Sunday he is prepared to let economic pressure mount against Iran, apparently backing away from ordering more military strikes even as Tehran issues tough demands. “We are low-keying it,” Trump said, accordi...

Alleged Irish crime gang boss Daniel Kinahan was charged with directing a criminal organisation by prosecutors in Dublin on Sunday amid tight security at a special court sitting following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates. Kinahan, who wa...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery, ⁠they said on Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability from the US-Israeli war on Iran. Th...

A fast-moving wildfire was raging in southern France on Sunday, forcing evacuations as more than 200 firefighters raced to contain the blaze. The fire broke out around 12.45pm in the Lozere region, about 140km (85 miles) northwest of Montpellier, and...

Around 10,000 people gathered in Cologne on Sunday for a demonstration in support of the queer community following the Islamist attack at Berlin Pride. The organisers of Cologne’s own Pride celebrations called for the rally two weeks after the shoc...

The operator of a boat that capsized in New York Harbor, killing a mother and her infant daughter, is facing criminal charges and authorities are investigating whether the vessel was an illegal charter, the US Coast Guard said on Sunday. The 22-foot ...

The grand security bargain between the United States and Gulf countries is widely perceived to be fraying, creating what analysts see as an opening for Beijing to expand its presence in the region. For decades, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states reli...

Hong Kong authorities are under pressure to review the warning system for heat stress at work after the lowest-level alert remained in force on Sunday, despite the city sweltering through its hottest day on record. Labour unionists, joined by a leadi...

The Thai teen behind a deadly school shooting outside Bangkok had an air gun confiscated by a teacher last year and had watched violent content online, police said on Sunday, as the government ‌promised new safety protocols for schools. As investig...

India’s aviation ministry said Sunday that an Air India pilot whose flight plunged dramatically in turbulence, injuring 17 passengers and crew is undergoing a “confirmatory” psychoactive drug test. The Airbus A320, carrying 137 passengers and e...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a US-led Gaza plan endorsed by Hamas, putting distance between himself and President Donald Trump as he tries to shore up his base ahead of close elections. After more than a week of gradua...

Iran said on Sunday that a deal ⁠with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once the United States met other conditions. A US official said on Friday that...

Hong Kong’s rail operator confirmed on Sunday that a passenger’s hand was caught in a train door after he tried to retrieve something that had fallen onto the tracks, warning travellers not to attempt to pick up dropped items themselves. In a res...

The European Union’s traditional August break was supposed to provide officials with some respite ahead of a potentially bruising autumn when it will try to set its fiery trade relationship with China on a new course. Instead, a border crisis on it...