China has doubled down on its de-risking campaign as the country’s economy faces strong headwinds, with “stability” being repeatedly stressed as the top priority in the nation’s economic policies.In a commentary piece published on the People�...

Former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointment as the new US ambassador to Japan has drawn mixed reactions in Tokyo, with commentators questioning if the brash political insider can execute diplomacy at the highest levels of government.The Japanes...

Police in India have released dozens of women detained for blocking a key highway in a protest against food poisoning at a Foxconn unit, the country’s second instance of unrest at an Apple Inc supplier factory in a year.However, some of the men det...

A supercentenarian from Xinjiang in Western China whom the Chinese government claims to be 135 years old, but was never internationally verified, died last week, state media has reported.Almihan Seyiti, who lived in a village in Shule county of Kashg...

The double danger of a Covid-19 outbreak and deadly haemorrhagic fever cases has prompted the northwestern Chinese city of Xian to suspend school and start citywide coronavirus tests.All students from kindergarten to high school were ordered to stay ...

Top US pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned of a bleak winter ahead as the Covid-19 Omicron variant spurs a new wave of infections globally, sparking restrictions and concerns over hospital capacity.“One thing that’s very clear … is ...

The first Legislative Council election in Hong Kong following Beijing’s “patriots-only” overhaul of the political system ended with a record-low turnout of only 30.2 per cent on Sunday.Despite central government officials’ repeated assurances...

Hong Kong prosecutors on Monday lost an appeal against a magistrate’s decision to clear media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying of intimidating a reporter from a rival newspaper four years ago.Lai, the 74-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily ne...

This is the first of a three-part series to mark the second anniversary of Covid-19. Here, Simone McCarthy looks at whether 2022 will be the year the coronavirus pandemic finally ends.If one top World Health Organization official is correct, 2022 cou...

Hong Kong police are searching for a delivery van driver who fled after the vehicle crashed into a stretch of roadside railings in Yau Ma Tei, leaving about HK$100,000 (US$12,820) behind.The van was travelling westbound along Waterloo Road shortly be...

The four-day party in the Saudi desert looked like any other rave until the music stopped for the Islamic call to prayer, leaving attendees in ripped skinny jeans and combat boots to stand in silence.Fifteen minutes later – religious duties complet...

Chinese microblogging platform Weibo has announced that it will no longer tolerate usernames containing “vulgar” language such as “idiot” or “sissy”, telling users to either change their handles or risk having their accounts suspended, a ...

Poles flocked to city centres across the country on Sunday to defend a US-owned television network that is being targeted by the country’s right-wing government and to protect media freedom in a European Union nation where democratic norms are erod...

New Zealand health authorities said they believe a man’s death may be linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.The 26-year-old man died within two weeks of his first dose of Pfizer and preliminary postmortem information suggests the probable cause was...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.The Hong Kong Observatory issued the No 1 typhoon signal on Monday morning with Tropical Storm Rai expected to...

Beijing has mounted a robust defence of its strategy of developing “democracy with Hong Kong characteristics” for the city, with “patriots” in charge of governance and the ultimate goal of electing its leader and legislature by universal suff...

South China Morning Post managing editor Brian Rhoads recently flew home to the United States to attend a memorial service for his late father. After he had already left, the Hong Kong government moved the US into a new high-risk category, meaning he...

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s appearance at a Shanghai event on Sunday has not satisfied the Women’s Tennis Association, which said its concerns about her well-being had not been addressed.Agencies reported that the WTA will continue to call f...

Both China and India say they want to resolve their military stand-off in the Himalayas. But 19 months after the first showdown, are Beijing and New Delhi digging in for what appears to be a permanent border confrontation?This is the question analyst...

SenseTime has resumed its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, offering to sell the same number of shares to investors – excluding Americans – as it turned around its fundraising plan from its sanctions listing by the United States.The art...

A Japanese billionaire returned to Earth on Monday after spending 12 days on the International Space Station, where he made videos about performing mundane tasks in space including brushing teeth and going to the bathroom.Online fashion tycoon Yusaku...

Staff at a Hong Kong private hospital have turned the culinary skills they acquired during months spent at home during the Covid-19 pandemic towards raising money for a good cause.The employees of the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Happy Valley s...

China cut its benchmark lending rate for the first time in almost two years on Monday providing support to an economy showing strain from a property slump and sporadic coronavirus virus outbreaks.The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) – on which most n...

The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has surged to 208, the national police said on Monday, making it one of the deadliest storms to slam the country in recent years.At least 239 people were injured and 52 were m...

When Mehreen Hassan first heard of a Christmas cracker, she imagined it was a biscuit.“I thought it was something to eat, but it’s not,” the 15-year-old Hongkonger of Pakistani descent recalled with a laugh.She not only found out about the Chri...

As part of SCMP’s commitment to provide our readers with comprehensive coverage of the election, we have made this live blog available for free. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Pro-establishment candidates have won ...

The streets of Santiago erupted in celebration after leftist millennial Gabriel Boric became Chile’s youngest-ever president-elect with an unexpectedly large victory over his far-right rival in a polarising race.Boric, 35, garnered nearly 56 per ce...

Coronavirus nucleic acid test kits already on the market should be able to detect the Omicron variant, but accuracy could vary with sampling and product quality, a senior officer with China’s top test kit maker said.BGI chief infectious disease sci...

Rotterdam police used water cannons and made 64 arrests after violent clashes between fans ahead of the behind-closed-doors Eredivisie game between Ajax and Feyenoord on Sunday.Most of those detained were charged with possession of smoke bombs.Police...

Britain’s Guardian newspaper on Sunday published a photograph of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and more than a dozen other people drinking wine in the garden of his Downing Street residence which it said was taken during a Covid-19 lockdown in May 2...

Israel on Monday added the United States to its “no-fly” list, citing concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.Under the edict, which goes into effect on Wednesday, Israelis would need special permission to fly to the United State...

Boris Johnson promoted UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to take over post-Brexit negotiations with the European Union. It adds to her hold over diplomacy, enduring influence over trade and strengthens her potential claim to succeed him as UK prime mini...

Germany’s health minister Karl Lauterbach ruled out a Christmas lockdown on Sunday but warned a fifth Covid-19 wave could no longer be stopped and backed mandatory vaccination as the only way to stop the pandemic.“There will not be a lockdown bef...

Hongkongers living in mainland China were pleased they could vote in Sunday’s Legislative Council election at polling stations set up at three land border checkpoints, although some critics said the special arrangement lacked public scrutiny.Some d...

Islamic countries pledged on Sunday to set up a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan as, with millions facing hunger and a harsh winter setting in, Pakistan’s prime minister warned of chaos if the worsening emergency was not urgently addressed.T...

Hours before polling stations across Hong Kong closed at 10.30pm on Sunday, it was a foregone conclusion that voter turnout for the Legislative Council election might sink to a record low since the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997.The overall tu...

Hong Kong’s first Legislative Council poll after an electoral overhaul ordered by Beijing closed on Sunday with a record low turnout even as crowds thronged the city to take full advantage of free train and bus rides meant to get out the vote.Count...

The United Arab Emirates announced on Sunday that it will no longer censor films released in cinemas, the country’s latest effort to boost its brand as a liberal hub attractive to foreigners.Instead of cutting sensitive scenes that could offend tra...

Gou gap, or emergency appeal in English, surprisingly emerged as the most frequently heard phrase in Hong Kong’s legislative race on Sunday as several pro-establishment candidates found themselves fighting an uphill battle for support even after Be...

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said on Sunday he cannot back his party’s signature US$2 trillion social and environment bill, dealing a potentially fatal blow to US President Joe Biden’s leading domestic initiative heading into an election year w...

A driver escaped serious injuries after his car was slammed into a roadside railing in a collision with a Light Rail train at a Tuen Mun junction on Sunday afternoon.A viral video taken by the dash cam of another vehicle shows the SUV making a right ...

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Sunday that Russia cannot “dictate” to Nato on regional security, as tensions soar between Moscow and Western capitals over the conflict in Ukraine.Lambrecht spoke during a visit to German troop...

China’s space flight technology may have advanced beyond that of the United States as it can now launch spaceplanes without rocket propulsion, according to a Chinese military magazine.It means the spaceplanes will not need launch sites and will be ...

Surging shipping costs in a year riddled with supply-chain disruptions are straining China’s small commodities exporters, and industry insiders are bracing for more challenges to come as they say high freight rates could stretch into 2023.Jiang Tia...

Hong Kong appeared to split into two “parallel universes” during the Legislative Council election on Sunday. In one universe were candidates and voters, mostly elderly, heading out early to drum up support or cast their ballots. In another, many ...

A man was beaten to death in India for allegedly trying to commit an act of sacrilege at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikh faith.Local media reported that the unidentified man jumped over a railing into the temple’s inner sanctum du...

England is “almost certain” to be suffering hundreds of thousands of Omicron variant cases a day, Britain’s top scientific advisers said as they urged the government to act within days to prevent hospitals being overrun.“The earlier intervent...

A landslide victory in a crucial state election for a coalition of parties allied to Malaysia’s federal government has strengthened Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s ruling alliance and exposed the opposition’s weaknesses, analysts said.Gabu...

Domestic workers showed off artworks and staged performances at an event in downtown Hong Kong on Sunday commemorating International Migrants Day, saying painting, crafting ceramics and writing helped them to feel connected with home and relieve anxi...