China used cloud seeding to control rain and pollution in the capital ahead of a major political event in July, according to scientists at Tsinghua University.They said the government launched the large-scale operation – lacing clouds with chemical...

Switzerland’s flag carrier has suspended flights in and out of Hong Kong for at least a week, citing the city’s tightened coronavirus quarantine measures for aircrew.Four Zurich-to-Hong Kong flights will be cancelled, with the suspension set to b...

China will help leading futures companies to speed up their development and encourage qualified firms to be listed, the China Futures Association said in a statement, citing an official from the securities regulator.Authorities would support futures ...

Angry villagers burned army vehicles in protest after more than a dozen people were killed by soldiers who mistakenly believed some of them were militants in India’s remote northeast region along the border with Myanmar, officials said on Sunday.Na...

The northern Chinese border city of Manzhouli reported 30 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, down from 58 community cases a day earlier.The National Health Commission (NHC) said on Sunday that mainland China reported 42 new local transmitted cases overa...

Dances, bridge parties, races and high teas were once the order of the day in India’s fabled hill stations.Colonial era Brits built these settlements in the 19th century from Ootacamund and Kodaikanal in the south, to Darjeeling and Shimla in the n...

Asia’s fastest-ever sprinter Su Bingtian has revealed he was inspired to chase his dreams by two legendary Hongkongers, Paralympian William So Wa-wai and novelist Louis Cha “Jin Yong”.Hailed as “God Su” by fans, the first Asian-born athlete...

Five people were killed and at least 15 arrested after Myanmar security forces rammed a car into an anti-coup protest on Sunday morning in Yangon, local news portal Myanmar Now reported.Witnesses at the scene said dozens had been injured. Photos and ...

OMG Omicron. Covid-19 has done it again: upending plans carefully crafted around travel restrictions and quarantine hotel bookings. The season of Advent has barely begun and Omicron has borders closing one by one, giving us another “Covid non-Chris...

Taiwan’s navy is expected to take delivery of the island’s first locally built submarine in 2024 – a year ahead of schedule – after the first and the most important phase of construction was completed last month.Local constructor CSBC Shipbui...

Many candidates in this month’s Hong Kong Legislative Council elections apparently adhere to the words of the Confucian scholar who told an emperor 2,000 years ago: “Good government does not require a lot of talk.”In describing their election p...

On October 26, Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, a daughter of Indonesia’s founding president Sukarno, converted from Islam to Hinduism. It is rare enough for ordinary Indonesians to change the religion into which they were born. So when a member of the coun...

International schools in China are under increasing pressure to adopt state-approved curricula, forcing some to withdraw from the country altogether and stoking unease among middle-class families who want their children exposed to Western education.L...

The death toll following the eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java has risen to 13, with seven people still missing, officials said on Sunday as smouldering debris and thick mud hampered search efforts...

The parents of a US teen accused in a Michigan school shooting were given a combined US$1 million bond during their arraignments on Saturday amid the judge’s concerns about flight risk.The names of the four Oxford High School students killed on Tue...

On opposite sides of the world, two events were under way to boost the value of African exports to China.In Beijing, the Rwandan embassy signed a protocol with the Chinese government to export stevia, a natural sweetener widely used in the food and d...

Hong Kong needs to persuade mainland China to let it move forward by changing its zero-Covid strategy to living with the virus, according to Professor Keiji Fukuda, a leading epidemiologist and outgoing head of the city’s top public health school.H...

When 27-year-old Raye Chung from Hong Kong bought herself a non-fungible token (NFT) from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) project in July, she had little inkling that this portrait of a cartoon ape would become one of the world’s most sought-after ...

The stringent approach of many Asian cities to shutting out Covid-19 may have kept case numbers in check and taken some pressure off local economies. But it has done nothing for their global standing as tourism destinations.Asian cities are nowhere t...

Ryohei Shimazaki ploughed a hefty slice of his savings into his dream retirement business: a boutique cafe in Kamakura, about an hour south of Tokyo. With its temples, shrines, and Japan’s largest seated Buddha, the old capital oozes with the kind ...

With his signature slicked-back hair and well-tailored suits, Alvin Chau Cheok-wa looked more like a celebrity than a businessman as he basked in the limelight, often with his beautiful Malaysian-American mistress draped over his arm.Last weekend, Ch...

CNN fired veteran anchor and correspondent Chris Cuomo, the cable news channel said Saturday, amid an investigation into his involvement with helping defend brother Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, against sexual misconduct allegations.Chr...

Two months from the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, European leaders, under intense pressure from rights groups and hardliners, are tiptoeing round the idea of a diplomatic boycott.Scrutiny of the Games has ratcheted up in line with the global ...

The United States warned on Saturday it would not allow Iran to “slow walk” international negotiations over its nuclear programme while at the same time ramping up its atomic activities – but stopped short of slamming the door on talks.The warn...

Thai authorities intercepted nearly 900kg of crystal methamphetamine hidden in a cargo shipment at Bangkok’s Port Custom Office and bound for Taiwan where it could be sold for up to US$88 million, a customs official said on Saturday.The drug was se...

A treasure trove of emeralds, rubies and sapphires buried for decades on a glacier off France’s Mont Blanc has finally been shared between the climber who discovered them and local authorities, eight years after they were found.The mountaineer stum...

Britain will require all travellers to take a Covid-19 test within 48 hours before their flight regardless of their vaccine status, a surprise government move that prompted a swift and angry reaction from the airline industry.The measure, which takes...

Former US president Donald Trump’s new social media venture Trump Media & Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) said it has entered into subscription agreements to raise about US$1 billion from a group of investors.DWAC said it...

Britain’s opposition Labour Party has raised complaints to police about Christmas parties held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s staff in his office last year in breach of coronavirus restrictions.The reports surfaced as many in the UK and elsewh...

A total solar eclipse plunged Antarctica from summer into darkness early Saturday in a rare astronomical spectacle witnessed by a handful of scientists and thrill-seekers – and countless penguins.“The visibility was excellent,” said Raul Corder...

France and Saudi Arabia have committed to “fully engage” to resolve a diplomatic row between the Gulf kingdom and Lebanon, visiting French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday.His announcement came after a meeting in the Red Sea city of Jed...

Thousands of people marched through Vienna on Saturday to protest against restrictions on public life designed to curb the coronavirus pandemic.Faced with surging daily infections, the government last month made Austria the first country in western E...

An elderly Greek Orthodox priest shouted “Pope, you are a heretic” as Pope Francis was entering the Orthodox Archbishopric in Athens on Saturday and was taken away by police, a reminder of the lingering distrust between the two divided churches.V...

Up to 120 people have been arrested in Pakistan after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob who accused him of blasphemy, officials said on Saturday.The vigilante attack has caused outrage, with Prime Minister Imran...

Mainland Chinese Olympians cast aside their normally cool, focused exteriors to have some fun during a variety show that captivated almost 2,000 Hong Kong fans on Saturday evening.Residents had flocked to Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai eager to ...

The parents of a teen accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School were found hiding in a Detroit building early on Saturday, several hours after a prosecutor filed involuntary manslaughter charges against them, US officials s...

The new head of Hong Kong’s Catholic diocese has pledged to repair divisions in the community after the polarising events of recent years, urging the public to open themselves up to reconciliation.Stephen Chow Sau-yan, 62, was consecrated and insta...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday urged Germans to get vaccinated against Covid-19, speaking days ahead of leaving office in the final episode of more than 600 weekly video podcasts.“I once again emphatically ask you to take this tricky v...

China is expected to join a US-led tug of war with oil producers in a rare example of cooperation between the two countries.The political impact of rising energy costs and inflation has prompted US President Joe Biden to reach out to other countries ...

Beijing’s top representative in the city has warned that to disrespect the Communist Party’s leadership is to deny the constitutional basis of Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” governing principle.Speaking at a virtual seminar marking ...

China plans to host its own “democracy forum” this weekend as part of a broader effort to promote its system of governance as more representative and effective than the US model.The announcement on Saturday comes in the run-up to the US’ democr...

Chinese and American defence officials have held talks to discuss a Pentagon report highlighting China’s growing nuclear arsenal, in a sign that the two militaries are stepping up engagement.The working-level talks come amid preparations for a meet...

Indonesia’s Semeru volcano on Java island erupted on Saturday, killing one person and injuring 41 as it spewed out huge clouds of smoke and ash, officials said.Videos shared by emergency officials showed residents running as towering plumes of smok...

Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have concluded their first joint naval exercise, Indonesia’s navy said on Saturday, as the region faces rising tensions with China.The three-day exercise off the coast of Indonesia’s S...

Faisal Hisyam Muhammad had nothing but superlatives for China. He liked the culture. He always wanted to learn Mandarin. He loved how Shanghai developed into the megalopolis it is today.“I’ve been to China before, and I just fell in love with it,...

Last Thursday, Laos celebrated the completion of its first high-speed railway, a US$6 billion project backed by China. The inauguration came just a few weeks after Vietnam opened its first metro line in Hanoi, also built by China.These infrastructure...

Eight years ago, when businessman BK heard a couple at a shop in Adelaide speaking his native Indian language, he enthusiastically introduced himself to them.But the other man’s smile vanished after BK gave his surname, which signified he belonged ...

Mainland China reported 75 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Friday, including 61 new cases concentrated in Inner Mongolia, as the country continued to battle to keep the pandemic under control.The National Health Commission said in its daily...

The Internal Security Department (ISD) has released newly declassified details of terror plans by the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) organisation against about 80 targets in Singapore. These include previously unreleased statements by JI detainees and surveill...

Hong Kong’s elections chief has insisted the city is ready for this month’s Legislative Council poll a day after administrators acknowledged a misstep in which some electors were sent the wrong candidate information, while the agency policing the...