At war with Iran, US President Donald Trump is cycling through an increasingly desperate list of options as he searches for a solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He has jumped from calls to secure the waterway through diplomatic means to ...

A Hong Kong barrister turned activist on trial for allegedly inciting subversion has accused Beijing of undermining the nation’s constitutional order by entrenching one-party rule, describing the move as a regression. Chow Hang-tung told West Kowlo...

Last week, the energy shock caused by the war in Iran showed signs of becoming a full-blown financial and economic crisis. The attacks on energy infrastructure across the Middle East, coupled with soaring prices of crucial refined petroleum products ...

Regal Hotels International Holdings and its units have sold the 494-room Regal Kowloon Hotel for about HK$1.52 billion (US$194 million) to the real estate investment arm of Centaline Group, which operates one of Hong Kong’s largest property agency ...

The ripples of the war against Iran by the US and Israel are exerting inflationary pressures across Africa through higher energy and fertiliser prices, threatening an already fragile economic recovery. Most of Africa’s 54 countries depend on fuel i...

Washington and its allies are drawing up plans to establish an ammunition production facility in the Philippines, a move critics warn would turn the Southeast Asian nation into a logistics arm of US “warmongering”. The proposal emerged last week ...

China has cut exports of two metals used in military technology to Japan while increasing shipments of rare earth magnets, in what could signal a muted warning after geopolitical tensions between the two Asian economies flared last year. Exports of g...

Indonesia’s president, under fire at home for signing up to US counterpart Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, has insisted his country will not pay the US$1 billion joining fee for permanent membership. Jakarta had only committed peacekeeping t...

Hong Kong police have charged two men with a fresh terrorism offence under the national security law over an alleged bomb plot dating back three years. Prosecutors on Monday applied to the Eastern Court to amend the charges against Ng Tsz-kit, 36, an...

A former assistant principal in a Hong Kong secondary school has avoided a criminal conviction for stealing over HK$3,000 (US$380) worth of food and drinks from a supermarket last year, and given a bind-over order instead. Eastern Court Principal Mag...

Most overseas galleries were able to attend Hong Kong’s two annual art fairs, part of the much-anticipated Art March celebration, despite the conflict in the Middle East, though questions remain over how participants and artworks will leave the cit...

Hong Kong authorities could punish those who refuse to provide passwords for electronic devices during national security investigations under new rules. The government on Monday gazetted amendments it made to the implementation rules of the national ...

Chinese scientists have discovered a way to turn cheap coal into valuable ingredients for medicine. This was once a long and difficult process, but now they have found a surprising short cut. In a study published on March 16 in the journal Nature, Ji...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. What are the real reasons behind the change of da...

Zijin Mining, China’s largest gold producer, has expanded its buying spree by acquiring controlling shares in China-based Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining for 18.26 billion yuan (US$2.64 billion), the company said. The acquisition came only two months af...

A man has been injured by two fighting cows while hiking near a Hong Kong reservoir. The 67-year-old reported the incident to police at about 7.30am on Monday after seeing two animals fighting on the MacLehose Trail, near the main dam of Shing Mun Re...

In a heart-wrenching display of devotion, an elderly man from eastern China spent 12 hours every day for 105 days travelling to visit his wife in hospital. Chen Achong, 82, a farmer from Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, and his wife, Xue, have been mar...

Most Japanese people oppose sending warships to the Middle East in response to the war on Iran, according to two polls conducted over the weekend amid continued US pressure on allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. In a Yomiuri newspaper survey,...

The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet were killed after it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport late on ‌Sunday, in an incident that closed the airport, authorities and US media said. NBC...

South Korea builds fast. It always has. The pali-pali (hurry, hurry) spirit turned a war-ravaged nation into an industrial titan in a single generation. It also has a habit of killing factory workers, safety experts say. Those deadly consequences wer...

The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025, with the consequences of such warming feared to last for thousands of years, the UN warned on Monday. The 11 hottest years ever recorded were all between 2015 and 2025, the United...

Hong Kong will raise its postage rates next month amid surging oil prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, with the cost of posting local letters increasing by 9 per cent to HK$2.40 (31 US cents). Hongkong Post on Monday said that the ne...

Hong Kong will implement the revised HK$2 (26 US cents) transport fare scheme next Friday, under which elderly and disabled residents will only enjoy the flat rate for journeys costing HK$10 or less – a move estimated to slash government spending b...

Chinese researchers have developed a surgical robot that can perform complex brain imaging nearly 30 per cent faster than traditional manual methods, according to a study published earlier this year. The feat marks a milestone for the world’s first...

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words The government’s Transport St...

Shares in BTS’ agency have plunged as much as 15 per cent after a heavily promoted comeback concert by the K-pop megastars in South Korea drew a smaller crowd than authorities initially expected. Hybe’s stock later recorded its biggest intraday d...

More than 60 new brands, mostly luxury labels, will move into K11 Musea as part of a revamp to boost the shopping centre’s offerings, but an analyst has warned of a complicated external environment weighing on the retail sector’s prospects. These...

Steps to narrow the gender gap in Malaysia and Indonesia appear to be falling short, after a major global study found that most people surveyed in both nations remain tethered to traditional views on the roles of women. The study by research firm Ips...

Chinese engineers have designed the country’s first tourist submersible equipped to venture as deep as 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) below the ocean surface, giving eventual new momentum to the luxury travel industry. Engineers at the China Ship Scient...

Malaysia’s fuel subsidy bill has surged more than fourfold in under a week due to the sharp spike in global oil prices triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. The national monthly RON95 petrol and diesel subsidies have risen from 700 million ringgi...

The power of arts and culture should not be underestimated. They educate, inform, inspire and bring joy. They open doors to discovery, unite communities and break down barriers between cultures and people. In a broader context, the arts help to defin...

Iran on Monday faced a deadline by US President Donald Trump to open up the crucial Strait of Hormuz or be hit by a major US assault on power plants, as Israel warned of weeks more of war. Israel also gave the clearest signs yet it intends a ground c...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong is set for a hot and damp week ahead, with the city’s forecaster predicting relative humidity to ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was reappointed as president of ‌state affairs, state media reported on Monday, after the isolated nation convened the first session of its Supreme People’s Assembly a day earlier. North Korea’s constitution expl...

An online influencer in China with three million followers who projects a filial piety persona has deleted her social media account in the wake of a pricing controversy. The deletion came in the wake of a media report that she sold two bottles of fac...

Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties is betting big on arts and commercial projects at the West Kowloon Cultural District, banking on the city’s designated role as a cross-border asset and wealth management hub – even as the office rental ...

JPMorgan Chase plans to expand its corporate banking team by about 10 per cent across Asia-Pacific this year, as its plans in the region will not be slowed down by uncertainties arising from the US-Israel war on Iran, according to a senior executive....

Indonesia’s president is heading to Tokyo – and Japan has eight stealth frigates, a mineral deal and a seat at the emperor’s lunch table waiting for him. Prabowo Subianto is due to arrive on March 29 for a three-day state visit, his first trip ...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency meeting ⁠on the economic fallout from the ⁠war in Iran on Monday, with Finance Minister Rachel ⁠Reeves and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, the government said. Investors a...

Tuen Mun Hospital has, for the first time in Hong Kong, used a non-invasive, MRI-guided ultrasound procedure to treat a Parkinson’s disease patient suffering from uncontrollable tremors, offering an alternative option for those affected by the cond...

Hongkonger Katie Chan was hoping to buy a flat to live in, and although the 37-year-old accountant was in no rush, the potential longer pause in interest rate cuts could delay her decision. For Chan, the ideal mortgage would be if the one-month Hong ...

Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire won the Paris race Sunday, succeeding fellow party member Anne Hidalgo as the French capital’s mayor, as results of the final round of municipal elections showed clear gains for the traditional left and right, ...

Absences among transportation security ⁠workers this weekend reached their highest since a partial US government shutdown began five weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security said on Sunday, while immigration enforcement agents prepared to fil...

William Klein worked for more than two decades as a US diplomat, including in several senior roles at the United States’ embassy in Beijing from 2016 to 2021. He worked at the American Institute in Taiwan and on the US State Department’s China de...

With the conclusion of China’s parliamentary “two sessions”, the approval of the 2026 government work report and 15th five-year plan – together with the foreign minister’s press conference – has sent a clear signal of China pursuing stead...

Ukrainian and US delegations concluded a second day of talks in Florida on finding ways to end the four-year war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. Russian representatives were not present at the talks, which opened in Florida ...

US President Donald Trump shared a video on his Truth Social network on Sunday of a television comedy skit portraying a terrified British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hoping to dodge a phone call with the American leader. The skit, broadcast on the pr...

Cuba is ⁠prepared for the unlikely ⁠possibility of a ⁠military engagement with the United States, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said over the weekend in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats to take over �...

The Netherlands’ new prime minister, Rob Jetten, will take part in a dinner with the Dutch king and queen hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington next month, his aides said on Sunday. Jetten’s presence was confirmed despite criticisms t...

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Berlin on Sunday to protest against online sexual violence and express solidarity with victims, amid heightened attention after a German celebrity came forward with allegations against a former partner. A newly ...