Chinese day trippers and sightseers were out in force on Saturday at the start of the May Day holiday, as the country continues its economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.In Wuhan, the city at the centre of the initial Covid-19 outbreak, alm...

When Bollywood veteran Waheeda Rehman appeared in Indians’ Instagram feeds snorkelling with her daughter in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands recently, the 83-year-old actor turned wildlife photographer was roundly applauded for defying stereotypes a...

Hong Kong will experience “considerable growth” in its economy in the first quarter of the year, but the Covid-19 pandemic will still be a hurdle on the path to recovery, the city’s finance chief has warned.Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po a...

Four astronauts left the International Space Station on Saturday aboard a SpaceX vessel, after more than 160 days in space which will culminate in a splash landing off the Florida coast in the United States.The Crew Dragon capsule undocked from the I...

A top Philippine official has slammed Hong Kong’s push for mandatory vaccination for all domestic workers as a move that “smacks of discrimination”, arguing that the measure should apply to all foreign workers in the city.Foreign affairs secret...

In a court clash with potentially huge repercussions for the world of mobile tech, Fortnite maker Epic Games will on Monday take on Apple to break its grip on its online marketplace.The case opening in federal court comes with Apple feeling pressure ...

In the United States, Jaspreet Rai is desperately trying to do her part for the country she left more than 30 years ago: help its people breathe.Rai, 53, who moved from Punjab to New York, is the founder of Sanrai International, a provider of oxygen ...

It is the world’s biggest market for luxury goods – and their counterfeits – so an expert eye for telling a bona fide Chanel handbag from a bogus one is a skill set in hot demand across China.Enter the “luxury appraiser”, an eagle-eyed diff...

Japan’s leading luxury hotel operator is drawing on more than 100 years of experience in the domestic market as it exports the nation’s famed practice of omotenashi – or wholeheartedly looking after one’s guests – to new developments around...

Yukiko Okimura was just 11 years old when her mother, a single parent, was left paralysed by a traffic accident on her way to work in Kanagawa Prefecture, west of Tokyo, in 2001.A tragic upheaval already in the life of any primary school kid, what ma...

Tales of a supernatural shape-shifting boar demon that supposedly stole money and other valuables from villagers in West Java have set Indonesian social media abuzz recently, after a video showing the babi ngepet being beheaded went viral. Superstit...

Chinese scientists say they have identified a blend of marine bacteria that appears capable of breaking down polythene, one of the most ubiquitous plastics on the planet and source of much of the pollution in the world’s oceans.While the plastic-ea...

It is official: the United States’ Covid-19 immunisation campaign is stalling.While vaccination programmes are lagging badly in many countries – if they have begun at all – mass vaccine sites across the US are closing due to dwindling demand, l...

For the past 30 years, come rain or shine, Rohidas Sawant has been up at the crack of dawn six days a week to cycle through the lanes of Mumbai collecting stacks of steel lunchboxes, known as tiffin carriers or dabbas, packed with steaming hot cur...

When night falls in Beixiazhu, the 22-hectare e-commerce hub in eastern China jumps to life. The roads congest with auto rickshaws with open beds full of goods, forcing local authorities to intervene and direct traffic. Amid the sounds of vehicles ro...

This week, one figure has dominated Chinese social media discussions with her 160 million yuan payday. The payment of US$24.6 million to actress Zheng Shuang for one TV show, according to her former partner, has infuriated many.Stunned by the stark c...

When four Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong were arrested last month for breaching the conditions of their stay and offering dental services despite having no training, it caused a stir.The four had rented a room on their days off to offer tre...

The Ruins of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Macau’s most famous landmark, are filled with visitors and tour guides holding flags aloft in the run-up to China’s “golden week” holiday.It is a scene neighbouring Hong Kong has not experienced for more...

Several thousand Brazilians marched Saturday in support of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, ignoring a surging pandemic even as government opponents took their own protests online.There were rallies in Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with ...

Recent comments from US President Joe Biden and members of his administration show he is intent on maintaining a hostile policy towards North Korea that will require a corresponding response from Pyongyang, North Korean officials said on Sunday.The o...

Somali politicians voted unanimously on Saturday to cancel a two-year presidential term extension they had approved last month, after clashes in the capital Mogadishu between factions of the security forces, which are divided over the issue.In a spee...

China’s newly commissioned nuclear-powered submarine is armed with the country’s most powerful submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) capable of hitting the US mainland, according to a military source and analysts.The Type 094A, or Jin-class...

Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher’s mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck, has died. She was 89.Dukakis died Saturday morning in her home in New York City, accord...

At least 10 children and teenagers younger than 18 were among 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews killed in a stampede at a religious festival in northern Israel, according to a partial list of names published on Saturday as the identification of victims in Israe...

High-ranking diplomats from China, Germany, France, Russia and Britain made progress at talks on Saturday focused on bringing the United States back into their landmark nuclear deal with Iran, but said they need more work and time to bring about a fu...

Belgian police fired water cannon and tear gas as they moved in on Saturday to clear a crowd of several hundred gathered in a park to protest coronavirus lockdown rules.The defiant, mainly young crowd had assembled for the so-called “Boum 2” prot...

The European Union aims to cut its dependency on Chinese and other foreign suppliers in six strategic areas including raw materials, pharmaceutical ingredients and semiconductors, under an industrial action plan to be announced next week.A draft seen...

A policeman has become the latest victim of a suspected online romance scam after being duped out of about HK$200,000 by an online date who claimed she was stranded in Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic.The case came to light when the constabl...

Italian cruise line Costa Cruises will take the seas on Saturday for the first time in more than four months, buoying an industry capsized by the Covid-19 pandemic.The flagship Costa Smeralda will set off from the northwestern port of Savona at 6pm (...

Workers and union leaders dusted off loudhailers and flags that had stayed furled during coronavirus lockdowns for slimmed down but still boisterous May Day marches on Saturday, demanding more labour protections amid a pandemic that has turned econom...

With Hong Kong’s opposition political parties all consumed by the arrests of some of their members, an unexpected alliance against the controversial legal amendments on immigration control has emerged.Formed by about a dozen opposition labour union...

Hungary on Saturday loosened several Covid-19 restrictions for people with government-issued immunity cards, the latest in a series of reopening measures that have followed an ambitious vaccination campaign.As of Saturday, individuals with the plasti...

Automation of weapons systems? Check.Launch of cyber force to help spot targets? Check.Cutting-edge combat training for ground troops? Not yet.It has taken two decades for China’s People’s Liberation Army to fully automate its weapon systems, shi...

The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan spoke by telephone on Saturday hoping to maintain a fragile ceasefire after the worst border clashes between the ex-Soviet countries left at least 33 dead.The talks came after Kyrgyzstan accused Tajikistan ...

India could learn from China’s disease control playbook in fighting its Covid-19 surge, according to US presidential medical adviser Anthony Fauci.Fauci offered advice on how to tackle the “very difficult and desperate situation”, during an int...

The Philippines’ top diplomat in Hong Kong has urged the city’s government not to force domestic workers to get vaccinated, arguing that if the new rules apply for them, then all foreign workers should be made to get inoculated.Consul General Ral...

China is keen on using evolving blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies to help build its digital economy and quicken adoption of its sovereign digital currency, analysts say, while avoiding the risks that decentralised virtual networks...

The Maldives is still welcoming Bollywood stars and other rich Indians to its secluded beaches and crystal-clear lagoons even as countries ban flights because of a brutal Covid-19 surge.The Indian Ocean archipelago of more than a thousand islands reo...

Instant grocery services have become the newest growth market for popular delivery apps, as the coronavirus pandemic has made Hongkongers seek the convenience of shopping at their fingertips.Up to 73 per cent of consumers have used online platforms t...

The US and its allies are keen to develop an alternative to China’s global infrastructure development strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative but observers say they may struggle to bring it to fruition.US President Joe Biden said in March he...

China is sending rescue vessels to help retrieve the Indonesian submarine that sunk with the loss of all 53 crew members.Ren Guoqiang, a spokesman for the defence ministry, said late on Friday that the ships had been sent upon the invitation of Indon...

With plunging profits, Cambodia’s largest casino is set to slash 1,300 jobs and pay redundant staff a fraction of the severance money they are legally owed, the workers’ union and advocates said, as the Covid-19 pandemic threatens labour laws wor...

Buyers piled into Hong Kong’s biggest weekend property sales in seven months, snapping up new homes on offer at three locations across the city over the Labour Day holiday weekend, as they set aside concerns of a flare-up in coronavirus cases to pa...

The US embassy and consulates in China will resume visa appointments for students on Tuesday, but restrictions on those with a “hi-tech” background will remain in place, according to a senior official.William Bistransky, acting consul general at ...

The Singapore and world economies face better-than-anticipated prospects of revival this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a May Day speech given a day early on Friday.“Compared to a year ago, our outlook has brightened considerably,” ...

Pressure is mounting for world leaders to waive intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines in a bid to increase global production.On Friday the World Trade Organization debated a proposal that would temporarily waive protections on patent...

Chen Guojiang started his online network two years ago, speaking out about the precarious position of delivery workers in China.The delivery sector is one of the fastest growing in the country and Chen soon amassed more than 10,000 followers to his W...

The complete withdrawal of US and allied forces from Afghanistan later this year does not mean China will be able to establish its influence in the region or fill the security vacuum left by Washington, analysts have said. Instead, the withdrawal an...

Wading into an ongoing debate about the freedom of the press, a former Hong Kong privacy commissioner has argued that the lack of a system for verifying journalists’ qualifications makes it difficult for the government to release sensitive informat...

Police have arrested five secondary school students, including a 14-year-old, in connection with a robbery at a Tai Po jewellery store involving two gold pieces worth HK$56,000 (US$7,200).The five suspects are from four different schools, and two of ...