A burglar who climbed up the drainpipe of a 20-storey Hong Kong building stole HK$450,000 (US$57,900) in cash and valuables from the home of a senior executive at an American investment bank before shimmying back down the way he came, a police source...

Hong Kong’s wet markets are grappling with a health scare after an outbreak of a potentially dangerous bacterial infection in the city was linked to freshwater fish sold by some vendors.Medical experts have urged the public to avoid eating raw seaf...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should rethink its decades-long policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states, amid a worsening human rights crisis in Myanmar, Malaysia’s top diplomat said on Thursday.The 10-member b...

Indonesia is now overwhelmingly China’s biggest overseas supplier of coal, with shipments hitting a record last month after Beijing loosened curbs on imports to tackle its power crisis. Cargoes of coking, thermal and brown coal from the Southeast ...

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu will visit Slovakia next week on a rare trip to Europe that will also include a trip to the neighbouring Czech Republic and a virtual address to a forum in Rome, his ministry said on Thursday.Taiwan, claimed by Ch...

The Legislative Council has voted overwhelmingly to allow more overseas-trained doctors to practise in Hong Kong, with the controversial legislation clearing its last hurdle to becoming law after a five-hour meeting.The passage of the government’s ...

The World Health Organization said there was a 7 per cent rise in new coronavirus cases across Europe last week, the only region in the world where cases increased, and said uneven vaccine uptake posed a threat to the continent.In its weekly assessme...

The wedding of Japan’s Princess Mako has been blindsided by yet another crisis just days before she is controversially due to marry commoner Kei Komuro, with her maternal grandfather experiencing a medical emergency and admitted to a hospital in To...

Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 76 per cent in Los Angeles County last year, mirroring a disturbing trend in many other jurisdictions as physical and verbal attacks on Asian-Americans rose during the Covid-19 pandemic.Of the 44 anti-Asian hate cr...

Another 16 opposition district councillors were unseated by Hong Kong’s home affairs chief on Thursday, bringing the total number of municipal-level politicians ousted to 55.Among the latest to be disqualified over their oath-taking were seven Demo...

A US medical team has succeeded in temporarily attaching a pig’s kidney to a person, a transplant breakthrough hailed as a “potential miracle” by the surgeon who led the procedure.The surgery, carried out on September 25, involved a genetically...

Canadian pianist Bruce Xiaoyu Liu was awarded first prize in the Chopin piano competition in Warsaw on Thursday, clinching one of the world’s most prestigious music awards.“Being able to play Chopin in Warsaw is one of the best things you can ima...

Singapore’s “experiment” to live with the coronavirus – and its subsequent spike in infections – might not be a useful model for China as it considers whether to reopen its borders, a Chinese health researcher has said.“This safety net pr...

US ambassador to Japan nominee Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday vowed to enhance bilateral ties as China seeks to “conquer through division,” while welcoming a potential increase in Tokyo’s defence spending.Calling the bilateral partnership the “cor...

Former US president Donald Trump announced plans Wednesday to launch his own social networking platform called “TRUTH Social”, which is expected to begin its beta launch for “invited guests” next month.“TRUTH Social” will be owned by Trum...

Hong Kong is marking the first time a woman has risen through the ranks to head one of its disciplined services after Beijing unveiled Louise Ho Pui-shan as the city’s new customs chief.According to Xinhua, the State Council appointed the 53-year-o...

The death toll has risen to three, with at least 30 people injured, in the aftermath of an explosion which rocked the provincial capital of Liaoning, northeastern China on Thursday morning.Investigators from the Shenyang emergency department and gas ...

Millions in Melbourne are readying to come out of the world’s longest Covid-19 lockdown on Thursday night after Victoria state hit a key vaccination target, with pubs, restaurants and cafes racing to reopen their doors to fully vaccinated customers...

Imagine heading out for a snorkelling trip and coming upon a one-metre-long scorpion, tail extended over its head, pouncing on its preys and then lifting them with its large forearms to gobble them up.If you lived in China hundreds of millions of yea...

Decoding the demands of mainland Chinese authorities before the border with Hong Kong can reopen appears to have become a big guessing game for ordinary residents and bureaucrats alike.One key stumbling block has been the issue of the adoption of hea...

Is monetary policy tightening on the cards in Asia?That’s the big question in the market this week amid signals that central bankers in the West may scale back their ultra-easy monetary policies sooner than expected to calm anxieties over inflation...

Britain agreed to a trade deal with New Zealand on Wednesday, eliminating tariffs on a wide range of goods as the UK seeks to expand economic links around the world following its exit from the European Union.The deal was cemented in a conference call...

Hong Kong health authorities have confirmed an outbreak of a potentially dangerous bacterial infection after 40 per cent of nearly 80 cases detected over a five-week period were found to be linked to the same sources of freshwater fish.According to t...

A number of Chinese provinces and cities have started giving Covid-19 vaccine boosters to people who received their first two shots at least six months ago.The roll-out comes after close to 80 per cent of the population has been vaccinated, and as mo...

China’s internet watchdog has published a new list of government-approved news outlets, giving the nation’s internet platforms an exhaustive directory of sources they are allowed to republish, a move that comes as Beijing seeks to increase its co...

The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorised booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson, and said Americans can choose a different shot than their original inoculation as a booster.The decision paves ...

Shipping container prices have declined for the first time this year after skyrocketing to historic highs as China’s Christmas exporting season slows, creating a temporary respite for exporters.The average sale price of a 40-foot container in China...

The FBI found a trash bag of shredded documents, thousands of dollars in cash, latex gloves and a “go-bag” when they searched the home of a Maryland couple accused of trying to sell information about nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country,...

A prominent Malaysian transgender entrepreneur accused of insulting Islam in the Muslim majority country said on Wednesday she was “safe, happy and free” in Australia.Nur Sajat, a millionaire who runs a cosmetics business, said officials promised...

China was accused of a laundry list of trade felonies and economic bullying during a series of attacks by other nations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on Wednesday, laying bare growing geopolitical rifts and widening schisms in th...

China has agreed to three huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) deals with US exporter Venture Global LNG as the world’s second-biggest economy looks to secure long-term supplies amid soaring gas prices and domestic power shortages.According to document...

The United States provided details on Wednesday about its temporary “safe haven” programme that will allow Hongkongers to work in the country, soon after US lawmakers were told that those seeking protection were frustrated by their inability to g...

Partial human remains were found on Wednesday in a Florida wilderness area where authorities were searching for Brian Laundrie, the fiancé of Gabby Petito, a young woman who vanished on a road trip with Laundrie, the FBI said on Wednesday.The Saraso...

A London court on Wednesday sentenced a former English National Ballet star to nine years in jail for a series of sexual assaults on teenage dance students.Yat-Sen Chang, a Cuban national, served as a principal dancer in the London-based troupe from ...

US President Joe Biden’s nominee for ambassador to China took a tough line toward the Asian giant at a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, citing its “genocide in Xinjiang” and the need to better support Taiwan and countries such as Australia an...

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, decided on Wednesday to rest for the next few days on advice from doctors and cancelled a planned visit to Northern Ireland, Buckingham Palace said.The palace did not say why the qu...

A former student pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing 17 people in a shooting rampage at a high school in Parkland, Florida, and apologised in court to relatives of the victims.Nikolas Cruz, who was 19 at the time, took a legally purchased AR-15 as...

Russia increased pressure on the Taliban on Wednesday to create an inclusive government representing a broad spectrum of society, as it hosted Afghanistan’s new administration at a major conference for the first time since the group took power.Paki...

China Evergrande Group scrapped the sale of its property management unit to a rival, as its asset disposal plan was rebuffed for the second time in a week just before a 30-day grace period runs out for declaring the world’s most indebted developer ...

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding kicked off the promotion for its annual Singles’ Day shopping festival on Wednesday, focusing on sustainability and inclusiveness amid Beijing’s call for the country’s Big Tech companies to boost s...

China plans to expand national forest protection by an area roughly the size of Italy by 2035 as part of a series of environmental commitments for the next decade and a half.The plan was outlined in guidelines from the State Council and the Communist...

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has admitted that Hong Kong’s reputation has “undeniably” taken a hit since Beijing’s imposition of a national security law, but blamed the development on “foreign forces” and insisted her admini...

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was awarded the European Parliament’s annual human rights prize on Wednesday for his efforts to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.Navalny, 45, who was poisoned in August 2020 by what W...

Tencent Holdings, which runs the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue, plans to sharpen its focus on metaverse-like developments by assembling an international team for a new studio that will develop advanced games for the next stage of...

Local police prevented mainland Chinese law enforcement officers from towing a suspected smuggler’s speedboat out of Hong Kong waters following an incident on Monday in which that vessel and another belonging to Zhuhai authorities both ran aground ...

China’s relations with the US administration of George W. Bush got off to an ominous start on April 1, 2001, with a mid-air collision between an American spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet near Hainan and Beijing’s detention of the US crew.The c...

Chinese authorities say progress is being made in their efforts to clean up the financial irregularities created by privately run tech giants and other industrial capitalists, while doubling down on vows to ensure that funding is available to struggl...

A young Chinese tech vlogger, famed for his one-to-one dialogue with Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this year, said he has created a multi-device wireless charger inspired by the US company’s abandoned AirPower project, sending the shares of a Shenzhen...

Singapore officials said on Wednesday that tighter social gathering measures first put in place in late September would be extended for four weeks, as the country’s health-care system comes under strain from rising Covid-19 hospitalisations despite...

A volcano erupted in Japan on Wednesday, blasting ash several kilometres into the sky and prompting officials to warn against the threat of lava flows and falling rocks, but there were no reports of injuries or casualties.Mount Aso, a tourist destina...