Over three months after it went into effect, China’s newly instated cooling-off period for divorces remains unpopular among large swathes of society, as proven by the fierce backlash a local newspaper received for trying to defend the measure. In ...

Taiwan worked with other democracies to help its diplomatic ally Paraguay get Covid-19 vaccines after Beijing put pressure on the South American country to ditch Taipei in exchange for shots, and India stepped in to help, Taiwan’s foreign minister ...

Myanmar troops fired at anti-coup protesters on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding several, media said, as activists defied a bloody crackdown and internet blockade by the ruling junta.Myanmar has been in chaos since a February 1 co...

Activist Andy Li Yu-hin made his first appearance in a local court on Wednesday, two weeks after he was returned to Hong Kong from mainland China after serving a jail term there for illegally crossing the border while attempting to flee the city for ...

Beijing called for progress on sanction relief for Iran and for the United States to return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as the deal signatories met in Vienna to seek a breakthrough on the deal. Wang Qun, China’s representative in the discussions ...

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been served with a bankruptcy notice for failing to pay more than US$400 million in unpaid taxes, a move that the ex-premier described as an attempt to destroy his political career.Najib, who lost th...

Computer simulations of an attack on Taiwan from the mainland will form the first phase of the island’s annual Han Kuang war games later this month. The announcement by the Taiwanese defence ministry on Wednesday came days after Beijing said an air...

South Korea has hinted that it might consider curbing exports of locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine doses amid global supply shortages, as health experts warned the move would hurt the country’s reputation as a contract manufacturer.This came as ...

He leads one of the world’s smallest nations, but Surangel Whipps says Palau will not be bullied by anyone into deciding its future – least of all by China.Whipps, 52, became Palau’s president last year after defeating an opponent who favoured ...

Red paint was splashed on the entrance to the home of the CEO of one of Hong Kong’s largest restaurant chains on Wednesday morning, with police investigating whether the vandalism was the result of a monetary dispute.Workers on Wednesday could be s...

When Li Ruigang met Hong Kong’s media in October 2016, the Chinese mogul had high hopes for the city’s dominant free-to-air broadcast network Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). The half-century old network, which Li ultimately controls, has bee...

China and Japan have decades of experience in managing their regular diplomatic crises, but escalating tensions over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the East China Sea are creating a new test for Asia’s most powerful giants.Last month’s agreem...

Hong Kong should consider halting its order for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shots and focus instead on securing supplies of second-generation jabs that protect against mutated virus strains, according to a government adviser on vaccines.With global regu...

A US Air Force bomber tried and failed to launch a test missile for a new hypersonic weapon during a long-awaited first flight test.The US Air Force said in a statement that it suffered “a setback in demonstrating its progress in hypersonic weapons...

Japan’s western region of Osaka cancelled on Wednesday Olympic torch events scheduled across the prefecture, as record coronavirus infections prompted its government to declare a medical emergency.Health authorities fear a virus variant is unleashi...

President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Nato to lay out a path for Ukraine to join the Western military alliance, after days in which Russia has massed troops near the conflict-hit Donbass region.Zelenskiy’s comments on Tuesday drew an immediate reb...

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and two former lawmakers have admitted joining an illegal anti-government protest in 2019.Lai, 73, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the District Court to knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly on Au...

Some Hong Kong emigrants are taking advantage of the price difference between their homes in the city and cheaper real estate overseas, as they rush for the exit in increasing numbers.Ireland and Portugal, among the most popular destinations for Hong...

The world’s largest vaccine maker, based in India, will be able to restart exports of AstraZeneca doses by June if new coronavirus infections subside in the country, its chief executive said on Tuesday.But a continued surge could result in more del...

Americans may soon have to forgo ketchup on their fries and burgers, with manufacturers struggling to keep up with demand for single-use packets as restaurants heavily turn to takeaway service during the pandemic.Heinz, whose iconic tomato condiment ...

Former US president Donald Trump dropped 298 spots in Forbes’ billionaires list, which was released on Tuesday.Trump sat at the No. 1,001 spot in 2020 and now holds the 1,299th place in the publication’s annual list, which ranks the world’s bil...

A man who was publicly shamed online after he posted a dating advertisement stirred a debate with an article he penned that claims ordinary Chinese men cannot meet society’s expectations for finding love.Zhang Kunwei, a 28-year-old Tsinghua Univers...

With more than half its 9.25 million population fully vaccinated against Covid-19, Israel is right at the top of the global inoculation drive, turning around what had been a “severe situation” for a country that saw some 10,000 daily cases logged...

This is the second of a two-part special examining the debate around the flagship of the Kowloon arts hub and what it means for Hong Kong. The first report can be found here.From its initial conception, M+ suffered from confusion over what it is supp...

Since the end of January, holders of British National (Overseas) passports have been eligible to apply for settlement in the UK as a pathway to British citizenship. An estimated 600,000 Hongkongers could emigrate to Britain in the next two years, acc...

Li Ruigang, arguably China’s most powerful media mogul, is aiming to list some of his businesses in Hong Kong and the US to compete with industry powerhouses, putting more than US$10 billion of assets under the spotlight amid fissures in US-China r...

Over 15.6 million people in the poorest parts of China, including the areas with the highest concentrations of ethnic minorities, have been lifted out of poverty in the past five years, according to a new government white paper.The report celebrating...

Amnesty International remains committed to speaking out about human rights in Hong Kong despite “shrinking space for dissent” in the city, the organisation’s new head has said. In her first interview with regional media since taking up the role...

US President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he’s bumping up his deadline by two weeks for states to make all adults in the US eligible for coronavirus vaccines. But even as he expressed optimism about the pace of vaccinations, he warned Americans...

The Biden administration said on Tuesday that it was considering a joint boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, amid calls from lawmakers and advocacy groups to back away from the Games because of alleged human rights violations in China. A boy...

The China CDC says Covid-19 vaccines are safe for those with a history of allergies, including to medications like antibiotics, as health authorities try to encourage more people to get the jab.“Some people are allergic to pollen, some have rhiniti...

Decomposed remains found in a Missouri park have been positively identified as those of a Chinese woman who had been missing from Columbia, Missouri, since 2019, authorities said on Tuesday.Columbia Mayor Brian Treece said forensic experts used denta...

Coking coal exports from the United States has filled some of the void created in China by its unofficial ban on Australian exports of the commodity over the past five months as trade manipulation creates “winners and losers”, economists said. Ch...

Two New York flat building workers have been fired for failing to help an Asian-American woman as she was being violently attacked on the pavement outside, the building’s management company said Tuesday.Surveillance video of the March 29 attack nea...

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday urged China to further address its high corporate debt levels that have resulted from the easy monetary policy put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. The IMF, while applauding the Chinese government�...

Turkey on Tuesday summoned China’s ambassador after his office took to social media to denounce two top Turkish politicians over their criticism of Beijing’s crackdown on Uygurs in Xinjiang.The Chinese embassy said it “strongly” condemned Goo...

Iran, Russia and the United States reacted positively to the opening exchanges in a first day of talks in Vienna aimed at rescuing an international agreement on Tehran’s nuclear programme.US President Joe Biden has said he was ready to reverse the ...

A British trial of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on children has been paused, Oxford University said Tuesday, as global regulators rush to assess its possible link to rare blood clots in adults.The university, which helped develop the embattled...

What should China do about Myanmar amid media reports of Myanmese resistance to the dramatic February 1 coup? In theory, Myanmar being a neighbour means its domestic developments are more consequential to China than many other major countries’ and ...

A breakthrough could be in the offing as China lends support to an Asean-led initiative to de-escalate the situation in Myanmar and bring warring parties to a dialogue. Last week, foreign ministers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippi...

Beijing has 15 major active fault lines, more than double the previous count, according to a new geological survey commissioned by the government. A third were “strongly active”, suggesting a high earthquake risk, but when the next big jolt may h...

The driver in Taiwan’s deadliest train accident had less than seven seconds to respond before his train smashed into a runaway truck last week, killing him and at least 49 others, and injuring 211 people, investigators said on Tuesday. They also sa...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday ruled out a military alliance with China, saying such a discussion was not on the table even as he described Moscow-Beijing bilateral ties as being “the highest in history at the summit level”.Lav...

China has published a white paper promoting its success in alleviating poverty and says it can offer lessons for the rest of the world.Beijing released a 30,000-word document on Tuesday called Poverty Alleviation: China’s Experience and Contributio...

Hong Kong police have arrested a man and woman who allegedly forced their way into a Kowloon East flat where a 12-year-old girl was home alone, robbing and molesting her while filming their actions.Revealing the case on Tuesday, the force said the pa...

Britain hasn’t given up on resuming international travel on May 17, but needs to be cautious given rising Covid-19 infections in Europe, its prime minister said on Tuesday, amid pressure from hard-hit airlines to give the green light for foreign ho...

Chinese sports brands Li-Ning and Anta are experiencing a surge in popularity and price on the secondary market as international footwear brands find themselves facing boycotts from many Chinese consumers over statements expressing concern about alle...

Hong Kong’s opposition parties say they are in dire financial straits, being unable to raise donations from their go-to sources at protests and annual dinners which are not allowed because of anti-pandemic restrictions, and also reeling from a crac...

With an editorial overhaul raging at Hong Kong’s public broadcaster, many staff members have been left baffled by red lines being drawn by the new management amid a wave of resignations and last-minute cancellation of programmes, according to sourc...

China’s economic growth rate for this year has been raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which believes a way out of the unprecedented coronavirus crisis is becoming “increasingly visible” around the world. The Washington-based orga...