Hong Kong police arrested the alleged ringleader of a cross-border smuggling syndicate on Wednesday and seized five powerful speedboats hidden nearby at a remote spot on Lantau Island.Chief Inspector Yu Pok-hon, of the New Territories South anti-tria...

Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) has surpassed 700,000 transactions a day just over three years after its debut, showcasing one of the ways the city is seeking to innovate as a financial technology hub, according to Financial Secretary Paul ...

Crackdowns and tough controls have largely kept illegal wildlife trade off China’s e-commerce platforms, but a robust trade in fossilised woolly mammoth ivory could threaten the drive to stamp out demand for elephant products, according to an under...

Hong Kong will start administering third doses of Covid-19 vaccine to the elderly and vulnerable from November 11, with bookings to open this Friday.Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Wednesday announced next week’s launch of Hon...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that local government officials will be punished for falling behind their targets for Covid-19 vaccinations as the country seeks to open up the economy.The Philippines, which has one of Asia’s ...

Some supporters of the QAnon conspiracy gathered in Dallas this week as a theory circulated that John F. Kennedy Jnr, who has been dead for more than 20 years, would reappear and announce that former President Trump will be reinstated as president.Ke...

Indian trader Rakesh Sharma is thrilled that business has been booming for small vendors like him ahead of Diwali on Thursday.The business owner at Delhi’s Bhagirath Palace, the biggest market for electrical goods in Asia, said he had seen a footfa...

Two suspected burglars believed to be members of a notorious village gang in mainland China were arrested on Wednesday following a two-hour police search in an upmarket residential area of Hong Kong.Police were called to Celestial Garden in Repulse B...

The row between Australia and France over the collapse of a submarine deal reached an “unprecedented new low” when a text message from the French president to Australia’s leader was leaked, France’s ambassador to Canberra said on Wednesday.Em...

The People’s Bank of China said it will take the lead to curb the unauthorised and excessive collection of personal data by technology companies that provide financial services, as it steps up to the plate as an advocate of data privacy in the worl...

China’s ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday harshly criticised the United States over its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and its back-pedalling on climate policies after US President Joe Biden condemned Chinese and Russian leaders fo...

A well-known veteran money manager at China Asset Management, one of the country’s biggest mutual-fund firms, has died at the age of 41.Cai Xiangyang, who managed 10 funds with a combined US$7.8 billion in assets, died on Monday in Beijing, China A...

North Korea has been touting the health benefits of black swan meat, farming rabbits and raising catfish in rice paddies, as severe food shortages force officials to promote creative solutions to feed the population, according to state media.The Rodo...

The Republican candidate pulled off a stunning upset to win the governor’s mansion in the US state of Virginia on Wednesday, dealing a blow to President Joe Biden and Democrats’ hopes to keep control of Congress in next year’s elections.With al...

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push to achieve so-called common prosperity, aimed at reducing income gaps at home, has sparked concern among Japanese companies that the most populous country would become a less attractive market in the future.Since...

A student activist told a court on Wednesday he did not regret continuing his push for Hong Kong independence even after the national security law took effect as he pleaded guilty to secession and money-laundering offences.Tony Chung Hon-lam, 20, bec...

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden held their first in-person talks on Tuesday, agreeing to enhance the bilateral alliance and closely cooperate toward a free and open Indo-Pacific amid China’s growing assertiveness in...

Asian-Americans will serve as mayor in Boston and Cincinnati for the first time in both cities’ histories, signalling political progress for a population that has struggled for almost two years with a rise in anti-Asian hate.Boston voters tapped Ci...

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement will take effect at the start of January, according to the Australian government, with the deal to facilitate trade liberalisation and economic integration in Asia and the Pacific...

The United States can now start giving children aged 5-11 the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine, US health authorities said Tuesday in a move hailed by President Joe Biden as a “turning point” in the fight against the pandemic.Days after gaining auth...

China set another record on Wednesday in its latest wave of Covid-19 outbreaks, with 93 new symptomatic local cases reported from the day before.There were also 11 asymptomatic infections, according to the National Health Commission, which are not co...

A group of individuals who opposed the dictatorship of late Philippines strongman Ferdinand Marcos sought on Tuesday to block his son’s 2022 presidential bid, saying a two-decade-old conviction for tax evasion disqualified him from the race.In a 57...

Shenzhen has relaxed the conditions for taking part in land sales, one of the first among China’s local authorities to backtrack from the draconian measures that have sent the entire country’s real estate industry into a tailspin.According to the...

A spectacular new 42-floor pyramid-shaped skyscraper is set to be built in Paris after years of planning, a move the city’s Greens denounced as “catastrophic” and counter to climate pledges.The Triangle Tower (Tour Triangle), to be built in the...

Activity in China’s services sector expanded at a faster pace in October, buoyed by robust demand, although rising inflationary pressures weighed on business confidence for the year ahead, a private survey showed on Wednesday.The Caixin/Markit serv...

Democrat Eric Adams won New York City’s mayoral race on Tuesday on promises to boost public safety and give voice to working-class residents, drawing on his experience as a police captain and as a black man who experienced police brutality as a you...

A bicycle repair shop staffed entirely by women is up and running for the day and a Hong Kong mum named Min is getting her hands dirty.The 34-year-old, who declined to give her full name, is learning how to turn worn-out bikes into saleable products ...

The US Trade Representative said on Tuesday she supported updating American trade laws to combat circumvention of existing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties, including tools aimed at subsidised Chinese investment in steel production elsewhere in S...

The leader of the United States is used to crowds and curious onlookers wherever he goes – but probably not a naked Scotsman with a mobile phone.Reporters travelling with US President Joe Biden’s motorcade from Edinburgh to the UN climate change ...

A four-year-old Australian girl abducted from a campsite 18 days ago was discovered “alive and well” during a raid on a locked house Wednesday, telling her shocked and elated rescuers: “My name is Cleo.”Cleo Smith disappeared from her family�...

Hong Kong airport officials plan to segregate passengers on mainland China flights from other international travellers in an unprecedented move to prevent cross-infection and build a stronger case for reopening the city’s border with the rest of th...

A Thai cosmetics brand ended its relationship with two live-streamers and terminated the contract with their talent agency after the show received instant backlash for mocking a “sissy idol”.The incident highlights the tension between official rh...

An Indonesian worker who jumped from a Chinese fishing vessel into Somali waters to escape horrific working conditions in which crew members were beaten, starved and killed in accidents has said he hopes “no one else will experience” what he and ...

Scandal-hit Facebook is shutting down its long-criticised facial recognition system and deleting scan data on a billion people, it said Tuesday, in a shock response to privacy concerns.The announcement came as the tech giant battles one of its worst ...

Jurors heard starkly different portrayals of Kyle Rittenhouse – instigator or victim – in opening statements at his trial on Tuesday on charges of shooting three people on the streets of Kenosha during a turbulent protest against racial injustice...

Business travel will be given priority if the border between Hong Kong and mainland China reopens but strict quotas and conditions will be imposed, the city’s leader has revealed.Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday spelled out the...

This is the first part of a series on challenges in China’s battle against Covid-19. Here, Zhuang Pinghui looks at the road to herd immunity as more transmissible variants emerge and what that means for hopes of opening up. When Covid-19 vaccines ...

The lawyer for a Missouri man accused of killing his Chinese wife in 2019 said on Tuesday that the woman’s death was a “tragic accident” that was caused when she fell and hit her head during an argument with her husband.During opening statement...

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a “big mistake” and damaged Beijing’s international standing by not showing up to the COP26 climate summit, US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, as he sought to position Washington as a renewed leader of glo...

Has the FBI solved the mysterious case of the “jet pack man”?Multiple sightings of what some said looked like a man flying in a jet pack in the skies of Los Angeles prompted a federal investigation.This week authorities offered some details about...

Two US senators introduced bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to further restrict Chinese acquisition of American personal data, citing the threat to national security.The Protecting Sensitive Personal Data Act of 2021, sponsored by Marco Rubio, Repub...

The Netherlands is bringing back coronavirus measures including a requirement for face masks in many public spaces to combat a surge in cases, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday.He said the government was also reintroducing a 1.5-metre (five-f...

China’s top climate negotiator said on Tuesday a broad deal on carbon markets was possible at the UN COP26 climate talks despite the tensions between Beijing and Washington.Some delegates say the US-China relationship is crucial for meaningful prog...

More than 100 countries have joined an effort led by the United States and European Union to slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane 30 per cent by 2030 from 2020 levels, an initiative aimed at tackling one of the main causes of climate ...

China has had more space launches in the first 10 months of 2021 than in any previous whole year, and is narrowly ahead of the United States in the intensifying space race.There were 40 launches, with two failures, from Chinese rocket launch pads by ...

Beijing’s latest Covid-19 travel restrictions have prompted complaints from frustrated residents who say they have been unable to return to the city – and a rare apology from an official.Some residents say they have been stranded elsewhere in the...

Some aspiring candidates whose political ideals do not square entirely with Hong Kong’s pro-establishment camp are having a hard time securing nominations for the coming Legislative Council election, despite the success of four hopefuls so far.As t...

A notice from the Chinese government that urged households to stock up on daily necessities ahead of winter in case of emergencies and food shortages has sparked widespread concern online.The Ministry of Commerce told local authorities to stabilise f...

Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after forces from the northern region of Tigray said they were gaining territory and considering marching on the capital Addis Ababa.The announcement on state-affiliated media came two days after Prim...