A 16-year-old schoolboy was assaulted and bundled into a taxi by three masked men in Hong Kong on Monday night, after he met a 13-year-old girl he started chatting to online about a month ago.Police found the victim bloodied and bruised walking back ...

The fiery exchanges between US and Chinese top officials at last week’s Alaska summit have inspired a slew of patriotic T-shirts and other merchandise in China.Clothing carrying quotes from China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi including: “T...

Hong Kong’s judicial system is independent and stable, the city leader has declared in response to a British judge saying he will consider quitting if he can no longer serve its top court “in good conscience”.British Supreme Court president Rob...

Hong Kong’s leader has insisted that Beijing did not instruct her administration to focus on the city’s housing and poverty issues, saying they are matters for local officials to tackle even though they can look to the central government for supp...

Several South Korean provinces and cities have continued mandating coronavirus testing for foreign workers, despite a request from the national government that prompted Seoul to end its mandate amid international criticism.Last week the headquarters ...

It began with a single photograph – a sexualised image of a boy and the tattooed hand of his abuser – and ended in one of the biggest seizures of child pornography on record.By the time Thai police arrested Danudetch Saengkaew last month, they ha...

From a small office in Shanghai, marriage counsellor Zhu Shenyong live-streams advice over several phones simultaneously to an attentive audience keen to save their relationships.On his wall hangs the mantra: “Let there be no bad marriages under he...

Hong Kong’s leader has pledged to negotiate with overseas governments on lifting border restrictions and bringing back international travel for residents vaccinated against Covid-19.Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said her administration...

China has announced a nationwide crackdown on “illegal social organisations” in the run-up to the Communist Party’s centenary celebrations in July.On Monday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which supervises groups such as non-governmental organi...

Leaked videos of staff from Australia’s conservative government performing sex acts in parliament, including one man masturbating over a female MP’s desk, left Scott Morrison’s administration facing yet another major scandal on Tuesday.The prim...

This is the second in a series by the SCMP looking at how China’s legal system has changed over the decades and some of the challenges it faces today. Here, Jun Mai looks at how lenders vital to the booming private sector have been caught in ever-c...

Hong Kong recorded 12 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, while the civil service minister revealed authorities were looking at broadening the eligibility criteria for receiving a Covid-19 vaccination by lowering the age threshold to 16. Four of the la...

China’s economic growth this year could exceed a target of “above 6 per cent,” with the government seeking stable expansion and job creation, Premier Li Keqiang said Monday in a meeting with foreign business executives.“We need to seek a bala...

A shooting at a Colorado supermarket killed 10 people on Monday, including a police officer, and a suspect was in custody, authorities said.Boulder police chief Maris Herold announced the death toll at a news conference on Monday night, fighting back...

 China’s announcement that it will ease entry rules for foreign workers inoculated with a Chinese-manufactured vaccine has sparked uncertainty among those raring to return to their universities and jobs, especially in countries where no Chinese va...

China will encourage its universities to take the international lead in science and technology tie-ups and help the country gain a “winning” innovation edge for the next two or three decades, according to the Ministry of Education.In a document r...

A man in northern China who claims to be able to use mind control to enhance the size of women’s breasts may be in hot water after releasing a video of himself using his “powers” on 27 women simultaneously. The video clip that emerged on March...

New US Trade Representative Katherine Tai pledged to rebuild alliances and actively engage on international trade on Monday in her first calls as the top US trade negotiator with key partners and the World Trade Organization.Starting her first full w...

Hong Kong might need another 300 days before achieving herd immunity against Covid-19, government medical advisers and experts estimate, with the coronavirus vaccination rate remaining low.But experts also said that looking at the experience overseas...

Members of the Chinese military were on hand at the high-level talks in Alaska last week, playing a supporting advisory role as Beijing and Washington reached consensus on various security issues.A Chinese military source said this presence indicated...

A North Korean businessman accused by the United States of laundering money to circumvent US and UN sanctions intended to curb his country’s nuclear weapons programme appeared in a US court on Monday after extradition from Malaysia.The US Justice D...

A huge blaze that ripped through a sprawling Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh has forced at least 50,000 people to flee and left seven people feared dead, officials and aid workers said, in the biggest fire to hit the shanty settlement to date.Nea...

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet as an NFT for just over US$2.9 million dollars on Monday.The tweet is in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) – a kind of unique digital asset that has exploded in popularity so far in 2021.Each NFT h...

A top World Health Organization expert on the coronavirus pandemic said on Monday the weekly global count of deaths from Covid-19 is rising again, a “worrying sign” after about six weeks of declines.The news came as the UN health agency’s direc...

TikTok maker ByteDance announced on Monday its biggest video game acquisition to date with Moonton Technology, which is being bought for an undisclosed amount by the company’s Nuverse studio, netting the tech giant one of the biggest mobile games i...

France’s foreign ministry has summoned China’s ambassador over repeated insults and threats aimed at French lawmakers and a researcher and a decision by Beijing to sanction officials across the European Union.“The words of the Chinese embassy i...

While Washington under the new US administration struggles to communicate with Pyongyang, an isolated North Korea has pledged to strengthen its ties with neighbouring China into a relationship “envied by the world”.Ri Ryong-nam, North Korea’s n...

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will meet his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.Sullivan, speaking in an interview on MSNBC, did not give an exact date for the US-...

Meng Wanzhou’s lawyer on Monday condemned a former Canadian police officer for his “unprecedented” refusal to testify at the Huawei Technologies executive’s extradition hearing, saying the court should not believe the ex-officer’s affidavit...

Five people, including four children, died in a suspected stampede during a public viewing of the body of former Tanzanian President John Magufuli over the weekend, as regional leaders joined Tanzanians to pay their last respects to the controversial...

A GoFundMe page in memory of Hyun Jung Grant, one of eight people killed in the Georgia spa shootings last week, raised more than US$2.7 million for her two sons.The effort is one of several GoFundMe pages for families of the victims of the March 16 ...

Once known primarily for its anime offerings, Chinese streaming platform Bilibili might seem like an odd place for an exclusive interview with the head of the world’s most valuable technology company. But Apple CEO Tim Cook’s interview with 22-ye...

China’s central bank is trying to build trust in the data protection measures built into the nation’s sovereign digital currency, something analysts say is crucial for widespread adoption among its citizens.Mobile users in China are worried about...

Saudi Arabia announced a plan on Monday to offer Yemen’s Houthi rebels a ceasefire in the country’s years-long war and allow a major airport to reopen in its capital, the kingdom’s latest attempt to halt fighting that has sparked the world’s ...

Last month, China said it was considering permitting its residents to invest in foreign securities. If allowed, any of China’s more than 170 million retail traders could, for the first time, directly invest as much as US$50,000 a year in US stocks....

The apex body of the national Chinese legislature is set to endorse the drastic shake-up of Hong Kong’s electoral system in a two-day meeting starting next Monday.Announcing the timing of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee me...

The earliest Covid-19 cases in Hubei province might have emerged as early as October 2019 – weeks before the first known cases – according to new research.A study published in the journal Science last week said these cases would have been difficu...

Manila must keep protesting against Chinese incursions in the South China Sea, or be seen to have given up its territorial claims, experts said on Monday.The warning came as the Philippines issued a formal diplomatic protest to Beijing after revealin...

The Chinese government has issued new rules that define for the first time the “necessary” personal information that mobile apps can obtain from their users, as Beijing intensifies its campaign against unauthorised data collection by Big Tech to ...

A Hong Kong man on trial for allegedly murdering his five-year-old daughter has denied he intended to cause her grievous bodily harm when punishing her for what he said was lying and a refusal to listen. Making his first public remarks about the circ...

As the World Health Organization prepares to release a report from a mission investigating the origins of Covid-19, there are signs of concern in China about what it might say.Over the weekend, nationalist tabloid Global Times cited an unnamed Chines...

The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year has made its closest approach, posing no threat of a cataclysmic collision but giving astronomers a rare chance to study a rock formed during the beginning of our solar system.The asteroid was two milli...

Six men charged over a mob attack at Yuen Long MTR station in northern Hong Kong in 2019 have a case to answer, a court has ruled.The District Court held on Monday that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence in the first trial yet stemming fro...

The US, EU, UK and Canada banded together to sanction Chinese officials over suspected human rights abuses in Xinjiang on Monday, a dramatic escalation in tensions with Beijing and a clear sign that the new Joe Biden administration plans to wield its...

Vaccinated travellers will still face strict testing and centralised quarantine when they go to China despite global Covid-19 vaccination efforts gathering pace, according to a disease control official who cited concerns that vaccine limitations coul...

China’s embassy in France released a long screed defending its criticism of a French scholar for “anti-China provocations” and maintaining that its aggressive tactics were necessary to defend Beijing’s interests and international image.The ha...

South Korea’s budding military ties with China may hit a snag due to the rivalry between its ally the United States and an increasingly assertive Beijing, analysts say, at a time when Seoul needs Washington’s cooperation as it bids to resume the ...

A long white shawl on her head, Rani Khan gives daily Koran lessons at Pakistan’s first transgender-only madrasa, or Islamic religious school, which she set up herself using her life savings.The madrasa is an important milestone for the LGBT commun...

The job of the interpreter was one of the most interesting features of the recent talks between China and the US if the reaction from Chinese social media is any guide.Zhang Jing, a seasoned professional, was praised for her fluent translation of the...

The outgoing president of the Open University of Hong Kong has a message for students: be engaged and feel free to discuss current affairs, but don’t cross the line. Wong Yuk-shan, who is slated to retire at the end of the month, told reporters at ...