Beijing understands video games better than most people think, despite an ongoing industry crackdown, according to the co-founder of the Chinese gaming powerhouse XD, which is seeking to upend mobile game distribution with its zero-commission digital...

The top Chinese envoy in South Korea expressed his condolences on Thursday over the death of former President Roh Tae-woo, praising his roles in opening up diplomatic ties between the two countries and calling him “an old friend” of China.Roh, So...

Local health authorities have increased the frequency of Covid-19 testing for fully vaccinated staff at a key infectious disease hospital as part of an intensifying drive to convince Beijing to reopen the border between mainland China and Hong Kong.O...

Hong Kong universities should play a bigger role in growing the Greater Bay Area with the economic hub in southern China already established as a crucial driver of national development, a Beijing official urged educators on Thursday.Jiang Jianxiang, ...

The World Health Organization said it was closely tracking a Delta subvariant to determine whether it was more transmissible than the original strain, as Covid-19 cases rise globally.It was also examining whether people were more resistant to the par...

China’s struggling small and medium-sized manufacturers will see their taxes deferred for three months from November to help them cope with the high price of raw materials and surging production costs, the State Council said on Wednesday.The smalle...

India has test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,000km (3,125 miles) from an island off its east coast in what local media called a “stern signal” to China as the two remain locked in a border dispute...

Dozens of police officers carried out a series of raids on Thursday to gather evidence against the now-disbanded umbrella group behind many of Hong Kong’s biggest protests following its failure to meet a deadline for handing over information on its...

After years of stable prices, magnesium costs have skyrocketed while a shortage of the metal is choking downstream users in its supply chain, especially the global automotive industry.And it appears that China’s power crisis and subsequent crackdow...

Senior Democratic and Republican US senators introduced legislation on Wednesday seeking Washington’s backing for Taiwan’s admission to the Inter-American Development Bank as a non-borrowing member.The bill is part of an ongoing effort in US Cong...

For the past two years, Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas oil company has continued developing a gas field in the disputed South China Sea, despite what a US-based think tank recently described as “daily harassment” from Chinese boats.The country...

Vegetable prices have soared in China in recent weeks, costing more than meat in some cases, and creating another headache for consumers already hit by power shortages and strict coronavirus curbs.Wholesale vegetable prices surged 28 per cent in the ...

A resident of a high-rise condominium in Thailand cut the support rope for two painters, apparently angry she was not told they would be doing work, and left them hanging above the 26th floor until a couple rescued them, police said on Wednesday.The ...

Democrats’ proposal for a tax on America’s billionaires assets to help finance US President Joe Biden’s economic agenda is already spurring questions about how the wealthiest – and their sophisticated advisers – can get around it.The plan a...

People living near the Chinese border with Myanmar are suffering from the dual hardships of coronavirus and armed conflict nearby, causing prolonged pandemic control measures and evacuations.A government source in the city of Ruili, China’s major g...

Following the military coup in Sudan, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has relieved six ambassadors – including the country's envoy to China – of their duties, according to reports.The Sudanese ambassadors to the European Union, United S...

Shanghai and Chongqing, two of China’s biggest urban centres, offer a hint of what a property tax would look like as the Chinese legislature gave its nod last week to kick off the tariff after a decade of stop-go measures to rein in runaway home pr...

A Malaysian gynaecologist has created what he says is the world’s first unisex condom that can be worn by females or males and is made from a medical grade material usually used as a dressing for injuries and wounds. Its inventor hopes the Wondale...

Netflix’s hit show Squid Game may centre on popular children’s games, but US school officials say the notorious pink and green jumpsuits have no place on the playground.At least three elementary schools in New York have banned Squid Game costumes...

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has urged the government to plug a long-decried loophole in the regulation of local property agents who sell overseas homes following a sharp rise in disputes and growing demand for the bricks-and-mortar investments.Th...

Chinese banks are likely to report profit growth of around 10 per cent for the third quarter, as strong income from fees and steady loan growth more than offset any exposure to the embattled property market.While the liquidity crunch at troubled deve...

A teenager, Red Cross volunteers and an academic are among the inspiring individuals recognised at this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards for their work in improving the emotional well-being of Hong Kong’s residents.The annual event, co-organised...

A government official in eastern China is under investigation for selling liquor products while on the job, which would violate Chinese laws that ban public employees from engaging in private business.The official, who was identified by his surname Z...

When DJ and producer Marmosets released his pounding techno track Krungthep Ratree (Bangkok nightlife) in June 2020, he had no idea how relevant his lament to the fading glory of Asia’s party city would be, and of the decimation ahead for bars and ...

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen said she believes that the United States would help to defend the island in the event of an attack by China, amid confusion about the US administration’s position on military intervention.Speaking to CNN in an inter...

The southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, known as the country’s answer to Silicon Valley, has drafted a plan to cultivate more “unicorn” companies and help them achieve public listings, as the city jostles with Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou ...

Singapore on Wednesday logged a record 5,324 new Covid-19 cases and 10 more deaths – the first time its daily tally has breached the 5,000 mark.The city state is looking into an “unusual surge” in infections, its health ministry said, as hos...

A man’s claim to be the great-grandson of Sitting Bull has been confirmed using DNA taken from the Native American leader’s scalp lock – billed as the first time genetic evidence has corroborated a family relationship between a historic figure ...

Duty-free shopping will play a more prominent role in plans to boost China’s economy with more domestic consumption, but various ongoing regulatory crackdowns could turn off international brands and restrict the development of proposed consumer cit...

Portugal’s parliament rejected the government’s budget on Wednesday for the first time since democracy was installed in the 1970s, pushing the country towards early elections.Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa lost the support of some smaller...

United States warships and planes carried out over 2,000 close spying operations aimed at China this year, according to a military analyst.The targets of these missions include Chinese controlled islands and reefs in the South China Sea, as well as t...

The United States has issued its first passport with an “X” gender designation, marking a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who do not identify as male or female, and expects to be able to offer the option more broadly next yea...

The EU’s top court on Wednesday ordered Poland to pay €1 million (US$1.16 million) a day for not suspending a controversial “disciplinary chamber” at the heart of a bitter feud between Warsaw and Brussels.The European Commission requested the...

India criticised China on Wednesday for passing a new land boundary law which it said could impact the two countries’ long-running border dispute.Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said India expects that China will avoid tak...

A .45-calibre Colt pistol used on the set of the film Rust was not thoroughly checked before being given to actor Alec Baldwin, who fired a live lead bullet in an accidental fatal shooting last week in New Mexico, according to officials and a new cou...

Young Hong Kong residents hoping to change society can do so from within the system, city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said, pointing to her own 41 years of public service and status as a former “student activist” as proof.The exhortatio...

Pakistan’s government on Wednesday said it would launch a crackdown against a banned Islamist group that has been agitating for the expulsion of the French ambassador and the release of its jailed leader.Following a Cabinet meeting, Information Min...

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday vowed to strengthen cooperation with Asean to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific region in response to China’s assertive territorial claims and military build-up.After attending a series of meeti...

Developed countries should offer more help to the developing world in coping with climate change, China said ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, set to begin on Sunday.“At previous summits, developing countries were di...

The turnover growth rate for China’s e-commerce sector over the next five years is expected to be only a third of the previous five years as the online market in the world’s second-largest economy matures, according to a national plan published o...

Bronze Age mummies found buried in a barren desert in Xinjiang in western China were descended from an ancient Asian population, not newcomers to the region as previously suggested, according to a new study.An international team of researchers found ...

Two US senators have urged President Joe Biden to waive sanctions against India over its purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defence system, saying such a punitive measure would endanger growing cooperation.India signed a US$5.5 billion deal with Russia...

Two Americans died and two became seriously ill from an obscure disease known as the “Vietnamese time bomb” after being infected with a bacterium linked to an India-manufactured aromatherapy spray sold in Walmart.The first infections of burkholde...

A window for public comment on the experts chosen to direct World Health Organization inquiries into the origins of Covid-19 closes on Wednesday, with the UN body expected to move forward with a confirmed list in the coming days.The 26 experts, annou...

US food safety officials have blocked a rising number of meat shipments from Australia since 2019 due to faecal contamination, straining trade relations between the two countries, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.Labour and food safety grou...

A land transport alliance representing tens of thousands of Hong Kong drivers has urged the government to regulate petrol prices and offer more subsidies to ease the burden of inflation on their livelihoods.The Hong Kong Land Transport Alliance, cons...

Everyone who has received two doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine should get a booster shot against Covid-19, experts advising Hong Kong’s government have recommended, with priority given to the elderly, those with weak immunity and workers with hig...

Athletes and support staff taking part in next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing have been warned they could be disqualified if they breach strict Covid-19 controls.Zhang Jiandong, a vice mayor of Beijing and deputy chairman of the Games organising...

A seven-year-old girl in Hong Kong has died a week after she choked on jelly candies.The girl from Chiu Sheung School Hong Kong on Pok Fu Lam Road was rush to hospital for treatment last Wednesday after she choked during recess time.A government spok...

The turnover rate for educators in Hong Kong primary schools over the last academic year was the highest among those teaching English, authorities have revealed, while maintaining the situation remains “steady” despite concerns of a possible exod...