Hong Kong police have charged a 70-year-old man with dangerous driving, after viral footage allegedly shows him going the wrong way on a highway in a black Mercedes-Benz before making a U-turn. Police said on Tuesday that officers noticed online foot...

The Strait of Hormuz blockage is being felt far and wide. While the world struggles with higher pump prices, key energy exporters such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar face severe economic setbacks. In Gulf states serving as air hubs, expa...

A Hong Kong coach operator’s failed attempt to reduce its services was only the “tip of the iceberg” of cuts in bus rides amid rising fuel costs, lawmakers have warned, as they urged the government to quickly address soaring oil prices. Legisla...

Air strikes across Iran killed at least 15 people on Tuesday, while Iran fired on Israel and Saudi Arabia, prompting the temporary closure of a major bridge. The attacks came as Iranian officials urged youths to form human chains around power plants ...

Most Southeast Asians would choose China as a strategic partner over the US if forced to pick, as analysts attribute the findings of an annual survey to recent geopolitical and trade uncertainties driven by Washington’s policies. But analysts warn ...

Filipino farmers like Romeo Wagayan have ⁠been left with little choice ⁠but to let their vegetables rot in the ⁠field rather than sell them at a loss, as rising oil prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East drive up the cost of harvestin...

A daughter of Malaysia’s late former finance minister Daim Zainuddin was charged in a Kuala Lumpur court on Tuesday over allegations that she failed to declare shareholdings to anti-corruption investigators, in the latest escalation of a long-runni...

Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun said she hoped to make the Taiwan Strait “safe” and not one of the world’s “most dangerous places” as she left for Shanghai on Tuesday. Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng is leading a 14-member delegation �...

Vietnam’s Communist Party boss To Lam was elected president by the National Assembly on Tuesday, capping his bid to centralise authority in a nation where senior cadres have traditionally governed collectively. In less than two years as party chief...

One of Australia’s most-decorated soldiers was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly murdering unarmed prisoners while serving in Afghanistan, police and local media said following a sweeping war crimes investigation. The Australian Federal Police said...

In an attempt to mimic cervical traction therapy used in hospitals, a new trend known as the “neck-hanging exercise” has emerged among young Chinese people. The exercise involves people hanging by their head from trees to relieve cervical spondyl...

Hong Kong’s home affairs chief has pledged to address concerns of Wang Fuk Court residents at a briefing to be held ahead of an owners’ meeting, saying there will be no clash with the ongoing Tai Po fire inquiry or with the period in which they w...

A world-class fencing hall and stand-alone swimming pool complex will be built in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis megaproject, authorities have revealed, with experts saying the facilities must be supported by good transport links and services for ...

A new cast of Castros is emerging in Cuba: a grandson and a great-nephew are moving up the corridors of power, while another is an eccentric Instagram influencer declaring that Cubans want capitalism. US President Donald Trump’s administration is p...

Hong Kong homebuyers flocked to the second round of new flat sales at the La Mirabelle I project in Tseung Kwan O, underscoring continuing demand for property amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. By 2.30pm, 150 of the 168 units had been sold,...

The latest indirect exchange of comments between North and South Korea has raised hopes of easing tensions on the Korean peninsula even as conflict roils other parts of the globe. Hours after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over...

Hongkongers made more than 2 million outbound passenger trips over the first four days of the Easter break, with an industry leader saying the outflow had greatly affected business in the local food and beverage sector. Immigration Department figures...

Hong Kong police have arrested a 31-year-old cabby who demanded a “highway toll” of about HK$85 (US$11) from officers posing as passengers during a crackdown on taxi violations. The force said on Tuesday that officers conducted an operation to cr...

Youth-led movements have swept the world in recent years – from protests that toppled governments in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bulgaria and Madagascar, to political rallies across the United States. They are often organised and amplified on social media p...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. UAE squeezes Irania...

A Filipino taxi driver who attempted to overcharge a member of K-pop group TXT has been suspended from operating, after the incident sparked backlash both in South Korea and the Philippines. According to a report aired on Monday on JTBC’s Chief Inv...

Iran has freed a Japanese national held since January, Tokyo said on Tuesday, with Kyodo News reporting, however, that the individual is not allowed to leave the Islamic Republic. The Japanese news agency also reported, citing unnamed sources within ...

China’s six largest state-owned banks are set to distribute more than 420 billion yuan (US$61 billion) in dividends for 2025, extending record-high payouts and strengthening their appeal as a source of stable income as investors rotate into defensi...

A defamation suit filed by Singapore cabinet ministers K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng against financial news outlet Bloomberg on Tuesday opened with heated exchanges over an article that mentioned their personal property transactions. According to stat...

A research team at a Chinese university has developed a new way to make high-end infrared chips that could slash their cost dramatically and improve the performance of smartphone cameras and self-driving cars. The key breakthrough was finding a way t...

Control of the seas has long defined power in the Asia-Pacific. From strategic chokepoints to contested fishing grounds, maritime space has shaped the region’s economic lifelines and geopolitical tensions. But a quieter contest is unfolding – les...

These articles were first published on April 8, 1966. Quiet day explodes into violence by SCMP reporter After a quiet but tense day, Kowloon and New Kowloon last night were again in the grip of riotous mobs, who roamed the streets of Mong Kok and Yau...

An online influencer in China known as Godmother of sexual intelligence, who was banned on social media earlier this year, has reappeared online to sell her controversial courses. Zhou Yuan, who lives in central Hunan province, teaches women to enhan...

Eight international school operators in Hong Kong, including the city’s largest group, failed to admit enough non-local students this academic year, breaching their pledge to the government. The English Schools Foundation (ESF) said it had been inc...

When Filipino motoring journalist James Deakin recently posted a photo of his fuel receipt – more than 4,000 pesos (US$67) after topping up on nearly 39 litres – his message to followers was blunt: “I’m seriously looking at an EV [or] hybrid ...

US dollar-denominated funds could face more hurdles when investing in Chinese tech and biotech companies as Beijing adopts a stricter approach to companies seeking listings via offshore incorporated vehicles. Indicative of Chinese regulators’ cauti...

Eight-year-old Aidan was terrified at the prospect of having to undergo an operation at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon Bay in 2024. But his fears eased once he put on a virtual reality (VR) headset. Guided by a panda character, the VR...

The British government was under growing pressure on Monday to bar American rapper Kanye West from entering the country after he was named as the headline act for the Wireless Festival of rap and hip-hop music set for July. West, now known as Ye, has...

France and Germany have ramped up diplomatic efforts to contain the fallout from an escalating Middle East oil crisis, seeking to project European autonomy and distance themselves from the US-Israeli war on Iran. But as the conflict entered its secon...

Much Western discourse on artificial intelligence has lately focused on establishing safeguards and installing guardrails against powerful new AI systems, algorithmic bias, the collusion of governments and tech oligarchs, and rising related environme...

The city of Minneapolis released a video on Monday showing a chase and scuffle that ended in a non-fatal shooting in January and the suspensions of two federal officers involved in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. The ...

Venezuela’s government and its political opposition are seeking to coordinate their legal defence of the oil-rich country’s United States assets, after Washington’s official recognition of ‌interim president Delcy Rodriguez raised questions a...

The US Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for Steve Bannon, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, to overturn his conviction in a case linked to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Bannon, a leading figure on the far-right, served four...

US President Donald Trump has claimed that ordinary Iranians were urging the US to keep bombing their own country in pursuit of “freedom”, as he renewed his warning of sweeping strikes on Iran’s critical infrastructure if negotiations fail ahea...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on ⁠Monday that he ⁠stood by a ⁠proposal made to Russia for a ceasefire contingent on Moscow halting all attacks on energy infrastructure. Zelensky said in his nightly video address that the proposal ...

Whether it wraps up quickly or drags on, the repercussions of the US-Israeli war on Iran will echo for years, reshaping warfare, geopolitics, energy security and global perceptions of American tactical and strategic power. In the first of a three-par...

Mainstream metrics may understate the role of China’s currency in global payments, as a growing share of transactions is now routed through Beijing’s own cross-border payment system and not fully reflected in conventional data sets, analysts say....

Nasa’s four Artemis astronauts swung behind the moon and were headed back to Earth, in a journey that shattered space travel distance records and brought people the closest they have been to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. “All of your f...

A daughter of Malaysia’s late finance minister Daim Zainuddin will be charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Tuesday. Lawyer Yu Ying Ying confirmed that Asnida Daim, who is in her 60s, will be charged under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Ant...

As US President Donald Trump’s Tuesday deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz approached, Pakistan put forward a fresh proposal for an immediate ceasefire on Monday, offering what one analyst described as “a critical opportunity” for talks...

A high-stakes visit to mainland China by the chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), during which she is expected to meet Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and promote cross-strait peace, is under scrutiny in Taipei. Cheng Li...

“We’ve had some very bad allies in Nato,” US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, warning Washington could walk away from the transatlantic alliance unless allies fall in line with his Iran policy. Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte plans t...

Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam has said he wished the United States had kept controversial blogger and child sex convict Amos Yee, warning that foreign media and rights advocates have mistaken a repeat offender, who was deported bac...

Hong Kong restaurants suffered a 6 to 7 per cent revenue drop over the Easter weekend, an industry source said, as gains from a 15 per cent rise in mainland Chinese tourists failed to offset business lost to 1.7 million departing locals. Industry lea...

Bangladesh has launched an emergency ⁠vaccination campaign ⁠targeting more than a ⁠million children as a fast-spreading measles outbreak sweeps across the country. Health ministry figures show there have been 17 confirmed deaths from measles so...