A theatre actor and four students have been convicted of rioting and resisting police on National Day during Hong Kong’s anti-government protests two years ago.The District Court verdict on Friday was in line with the legal principles set down by t...

Hong Kong’s notoriously tiny flats are likely to endure and withstand the minimum size ordered by the city authorities, as affordability remains the biggest challenge for many first-home buyers struggling to get on the first rung of the property la...

Homes and buildings were damaged and trees were blown down as a line of intense thunderstorms rolled across several Southern states, authorities said, as more intense weather was expected in the region on Friday and Saturday. There were no immediate ...

Two doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine boosted with one shot of Pfizer will induce higher levels of protective antibodies than two Pfizer doses, but this combination is not sufficient to stop Omicron infection, according to a preprint study.The fi...

Cities across China are cancelling New Year’s Eve celebrations to try to minimise Covid-19 infection risks, and people are being discouraged from travelling for the Lunar New Year break in the first week of February.Happy Valley Beijing, an amuseme...

An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping centre have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fuelled wildfires outside Denver, officials said.At least one first responder and six others were injured, though Boulder County ...

Ubon Chansoi has lived in a modest wooden home in rural Thailand for about 60 years, farming and rearing fish for a living that is now threatened by an ambitious plan to turn agricultural land in her village in Chachoengsao province into an industria...

Bilal Ahmad Dar was just 14 when he was featured in a 2014 documentary by a local filmmaker titled Saving the Saviour on the conservation of Wular Lake at the foothills of the Himalayas in India’s restive region of Kashmir.The short film, released ...

From sizzling temperatures to Messi and Ronaldo and pensioners in space, here are some of the most significant records struck in 2021.The giant container ship Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal in March, bringing a halt to shipping for six days in one...

Hong Kong’s justice chief has lashed out at foreign critics of a recent national security police operation that prompted the closure of an online news platform, accusing them of making “baseless allegations” regarding the state of press freedom...

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has urged officials in Xian to improve testing and quarantine measures as the northwestern city battles China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak this year.She made the remarks on Wednesday during her second visit to the city since t...

Hong Kong’s tram operator has applied to increase fares by 11.5 per cent as the firm struggles to cope with a substantial drop in ridership and declining revenue amid the coronavirus pandemic.In a statement released on Friday, Hong Kong Tramways sa...

Chinese scientists have had a fruitful year, with a series of breakthroughs that range from the technology of the future to archaeological discoveries that could rewrite ancient Chinese history.As we head towards the end of the year, we reflect on so...

Good riddance to 2021. Let 2022 bring fresh hope. That was a common sentiment Friday as people around the world got ready to welcome in the new year.In many places, plans for New Year’s Eve celebrations were muted or cancelled for the second straig...

Getting wine, chocolate, and coffee into China could get even harder from Saturday, with new import restrictions adding fresh hurdles for foreign companies bringing products into the world’s largest market for food and drink.Chinese consumers bough...

A Hong Kong police sergeant has been jailed for nearly two years for buying smartphones and McDonald’s meals using two credit cards he admitted to stealing from his colleague to “relieve stress”.Sentencing Johnny Lau Chun-ning at the District C...

A man in the US state of Ohio fatally shot his 16-year-old daughter after mistaking her for an intruder breaking into the family home, local police said.The death of Janae Hairston added to the long list of gun violence victims in the United States t...

Lithuanian companies affected by the Baltic country’s dispute with China could get government help, with Vilnius considering a €130 million (US$147 million) support package.An initial €6 million has been allocated to companies from the European...

China’s ultra-high voltage power grid has created a “sink” in the Earth’s magnetic field which could stretch from the country’s southwest to the Indian Ocean, according to a study by Chinese scientists.The particle sink – generated by a r...

Chinese firm CanSino Biologics has stressed that its contract to supply Covid-19 vaccines to Mexico remains valid and said deliveries will resume next year, following a report the Mexican government had cut its order because of missed delivery target...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.Procrastinating Hongkongers will be required to finally get inoculated against Covid-19 if they hope to attend...

Juwita* thought she had met “the one” when she encountered Tio* on Facebook’s Messenger app in 2019.Then aged 16 and a secondary school student in Denpasar, the capital of Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, Juwita spent much of her time onlin...

The Indo-Pacific geostrategic landscape continues to evolve, most notably with the recent consolidation of the Aukus alliance. India now appears to be more inclined to join various Indo-Pacific security activities, particularly the Quad, while Europe...

Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) chief Ricky Chu Man-kin admits he is surprised that the watchdog has been kept so busy during the Covid-19 pandemic.Several issues kept turning up over the past two years, from residents who did not ...

From grooming future leaders to providing students with a positive learning environment, a Hong Kong charity has made plans to equip its beneficiaries with lifelong skills and training opportunities.Back in September, non-profit Wofoo Foundation was ...

Huawei Technologies Co expects a 28.9 per cent decline in total revenue to 634 billion yuan (US$99.4 billion) for 2021, with two years of US trade sanctions wreaking havoc with the Shenzhen-based tech giant’s lucrative smartphone business.Huawei’...

Recent moves by Japan in the name of ensuring its own security could run the risk of escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.This is because they are likely to have fed into China’s anxieties that any attempts by Beijing – though unlikely for no...

China’s factory activity unexpectedly accelerated again in December, but the slender margin of growth highlights the headwinds that the economy is set to face at the start of the new year, with policymakers under pressure to offer more support meas...

Beijing police announced on Wednesday that three people had been detained for allegedly spreading a rumour that famous Chinese actress Tong Liya, 38, and a senior mainland official had recently married.The rumour, which started weeks ago in a post se...

Good morning and thanks for reading our last China update of 2021.I’m Jack Lau, a China reporter with the South China Morning Post. I focus mainly on politics, policy and diplomacy, and you can reach me on Twitter @lauycjack.A story that caught my ...

Hong Kong saw the record for per square foot prices of luxury homes being set a couple of times in 2021.Most of these transactions were concentrated in two areas: Mount Nicholson on The Peak and 21 Borrett Road in Mid-Levels.Nan Fung Development and ...

From China’s warning shot for Australia over iron ore, to Singapore supermarket tycoon Lim Hock Leng’s secret to success, and a Philippine politician’s controversial marriage to a beauty queen half his age, here are the stories that drew the mo...

Hong Kong’s equality watchdog is pressing on with proposals to plug loopholes in the city’s sexual harassment law, with its head shrugging off talk that recent political changes have affected its efforts to increase protections for the vulnerable...

US President Joe Biden urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine or else face “serious costs” during a phone call on Thursday, as the US and allies seek to coordinate their response to Moscow’s military build-up o...

South Africa has lifted a midnight to 4am curfew on people’s movement with immediate effect, believing the country has passed the peak of its fourth Covid-19 wave driven by the Omicron variant, a government statement said on Thursday.The country ma...

As this challenging year draws to a close, I would like to reflect on what characterised 2021. One word that stands out is “hybrid”.Before the pandemic, the word “hybrid”, defined as a mixture of two different things, was most commonly associ...

A US schoolteacher travelling over the holidays voluntarily isolated in an aeroplane’s tiny bathroom for five hours after testing positive for Covid-19 mid-flight.Marisa Fotieo was on a flight to Reykjavik, Iceland from Chicago on December 20 when ...

Chinese students in the United States are struggling to get flights back to China, as US airlines cancel services because of staffing issues caused by a surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant and bad weather.The clock is ticking to get bac...

China is doubling down on the critical role that the world’s largest trade pact will play in helping it buffer the impact of the coronavirus while promoting growth in the face of “unprecedented” trade challenges during the coming year.The Regio...

He’s running again – and democracy is on the line, according to Hillary Clinton.The former secretary of state says she thinks former US president Donald Trump is planning for a presidential bid in 2024 and warned that a second term would make his...

China will encourage domestic exploration of iron ore and use more scrap metals to reduce reliance on imports from countries like Australia, while streamlining production quotas for rare earth and tungsten, according to the government.In the 2021-25 ...

Russia on Thursday designated a member of the Pussy Riot punk band, a prominent art collector and a well-known satirist as “foreign agents”, the latest in a series of moves critics say are designed to stifle dissent.Capping a year of crackdowns o...

With the change of perspective that comes with time, Post columnists look back on their work and share what stood out to them in a memorable year.Cliff BuddleI have followed Hong Kong’s democratic hopes and dreams for 27 years and sought in this co...

It has been a year of overwhelming change for China, and the fundamental shift in the relationship among the country’s government, businesses and citizens is a long way from complete.President Xi Jinping’s push for so-called common prosperity –...

The conviction of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking is a further blow for her embattled royal former friend Prince Andrew, British media said Thursday.The Duke of York, the second son of Queen Elizabeth and ninth in line to the ...

Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities said, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth’s orbit.It was not clear when the launch happened or what devices the carrier brought wi...

Afghanistan’s former president said he had no choice but to abruptly leave Kabul as the Taliban closed in and denied an agreement was in the works for a peaceful takeover, disputing the accounts of former Afghan and US officials.Ashraf Ghani said i...

Cathay Pacific is suspending all long-haul cargo and cargo-only passenger flights with immediate effect for seven days in another blow to an already strained global supply chain.The move follows Hong Kong authorities tightening Covid-19 quarantine re...

The Chinese and American militaries resumed maritime safety talks earlier this month, during which China urged the US to stop sending ships and aircraft to the South China Sea, a Chinese military spokesman said on Thursday.Representatives from the Pe...

China’s largest policy bank has pledged additional funding support to upgrade a key railway link to Europe at a time when both sea and air transport links are struggling from various coronavirus-related pressures.China Development Bank will support...