A summit between Russia and Asean next week promises to ease Southeast Asia’s energy crisis and Moscow’s diplomatic isolation – but not all of the bloc’s leaders are expected to show up. Analysts are also divided on whether Philippine Preside...

China is moving to leverage data as a core strategic asset, aiming to build industry-specific data sets to power its next-generation artificial intelligence models, as developers worldwide grapple with a looming data drought. On Monday, the country�...

Beyond the diplomatic choreography of last month’s Xi-Trump summit, what are the structural implications of a less confrontational US-China relationship for the Asia-Pacific? The subsequent visits by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to India and U...

Southeast Asia’s extensive supply chains could be disrupted if it faces planned US tariffs over Washington’s accusations of forced labour in 60 economies, as analysts say the proposal is just a way for President Donald Trump to resurrect his trad...

Inside a metal shell being hurled from a standstill to a speed many times faster than sound, the pressure could be as high as an elephant standing on every square inch of a human body. To make matters worse, an invisible, violent magnetic storm is ra...

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasised the shared sacrifices and deep historical ties between China and North Korea during a visit to a historic mountainside in Pyongyang on Tuesday. Xi and first lady Peng Liyuan paid tribute at the Sino-Korean Frie...

A government investigation into an alleged indecent assault of a four-year-old kindergarten pupil at an international school in Hong Kong’s Stanley has concluded that the claim of child maltreatment was “not established”, drawing the weeks-long...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. At least 35 dead, 2...

Rescuers searched the rubble on Tuesday of a collapsed building in the southern Philippine city of General Santos, the worst hit by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds, to reach two people still believed to b...

Israel’s latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things. Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut ...

A Hong Kong court has sentenced veteran film producer and actor Raymond Wong Pak-ming to five months in prison for sharing insider information with his sister to trade shares in an entertainment company he chaired in 2017. However, the 80-year-old wi...

Malaysia’s newest “rebel party” has issued a rare public call for election candidates, as former economy minister Rafizi Ramli races to turn his breakaway Bersama outfit into a serious force before a string of state polls. The move comes after ...

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption chief has said trust is the real currency of finance, with an official from mainland China’s watchdog pledging to continue fostering a clean business environment and deepen regional cooperation. At an Asia-Pacific Econ...

A long-suffering domestic violence victim in China who struggled to cover the 7,000 yuan (US$1,000) cost of treating her injuries has discovered that her husband had hidden 14 million yuan (US$2 million) from her. The 53-year-old woman’s story, rep...

A Chinese team has transplanted a pig’s kidneys and liver into a patient who had suffered brain death, a world first that could pave the way for multi-organ animal-to-human transplants. After the operation, the organs functioned within the 53-year-...

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said his government will focus on making life better for families and rely less on incentives to encourage citizens to have more babies, as the city state grapples with a record-low fertility rate. Wong ...

Hong Kong’s top decision-making body has approved to propose a flat 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants this year, citing the need for a prudent approach to managing public finances amid a volatile geopolitical environment. The raise will bring ...

A US Army helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, and President Donald Trump said the two crew members aboard were not injured in the incident near the strategic waterway that Iran has effectively closed during the war. What caused the crash re...

A Hong Kong school that instantly dismissed its principal after he was filmed swearing at security guards in Singapore has published an advertisement to recruit a new head, requiring applicants to have “excellent character”. The advertisement was...

About 3,000 residents at a Tsuen Wan housing estate have been left without water and with disrupted lift services for more than 24 hours after a power outage, with electricity only gradually restored around noon on Tuesday. The outage struck Phase 1 ...

Hong Kong’s leader has pledged to exercise prudence and seriousness when defining national security offences under newly proposed legislation, dismissing concerns about a centralisation of power and stressing that the process often involves “stat...

Thai shrimp farmers have warned they face being driven out of business after Malaysia banned imports of five shrimp species over apparent safety concerns, as the industry also grapples with disease outbreaks, rising competition and renewed US tariff ...

At an undisclosed test site, a helicopter takes off, towing a kite-like array of massive coils. The system, called Airborne Transient Electromagnetic (Atem) detection, works by firing a powerful pulse of electricity through a giant transmitter coil. ...

Hong Kong will launch a two-month public consultation on Monday on its first five-year blueprint to align the city’s development with the national plan, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has announced. Lee said on Tuesday the consultation would begi...

Gale-force winds and rough seas battered New Zealand’s capital ⁠of Wellington on ⁠Tuesday, forcing ferry and flight ⁠cancellations and road closures as authorities urged hundreds of residents along the city’s south coast to evacuate. A ligh...

Malaysia’s most powerful Islamist party has cut ties with a former electoral ally, blowing open a bitter feud within the country’s main opposition bloc as several key elections loom. Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) President Abdul Hadi Awang an...

China and North Korea have pledged to strengthen strategic cooperation and defend each other’s sovereignty, according to a North Korean state media report covering Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Pyongyang. The two leaders vowed t...

A veteran Hong Kong basketball coach has been arrested on suspicion of common assault after he was seen in a video slapping a young player, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source told the SCMP that Yung Kam-wah was arrested on Monday and ...

As the war in Iran disrupts global oil and chemical supplies, China’s coal-heavy energy sector is seizing an unprecedented opportunity. Dannie Peng visited Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to witness the operations of one of China’s four major ba...

US President Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Trump was shown for several seconds giving a military sal...

Deep underneath Singapore’s northeastern district of Punggol, a 5km (three-mile) network of metal pipes roars as it pumps chilled water to cool offices and classrooms overhead. The 140-year-old concept known as district cooling uses less electricit...

A historically strong earthquake ⁠struck off Cuba’s northwest ⁠coast on Monday, according to official ⁠reports, shaking parts of Cuba, Mexico and Florida that are typically not prone to quakes. The US Geological Survey (USGS) measured the qua...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has returned to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan State Guest House, the highly secluded counterpart to Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House. Xi began a two-day state visit to North Korea on Monday. He was welcomed at the airport...

In the face of increasing market saturation, China’s ride-sharing and taxi drivers are competing for passengers by offering extra, sometimes quirky, services, from selling snacks to giving haircuts. In China, ride-sharing driver, delivery rider and...

In my travels around the world, I’m often asked if the best days of Hong Kong are behind us. My answer is always an emphatic “no” – and this is not merely a pep talk. When you step back and take a broad macroeconomic view, it becomes clear th...

A Hong Kong school that summarily dismissed its principal after he was filmed swearing at security guards in Singapore could face a high legal threshold to justify the move if the dispute goes to court, a lawmaker has stated, likening the decision to...

When Chinese artificial intelligence developers Zhipu AI and MiniMax made their debuts on the Hong Kong stock exchange in January, investors initially saw one as a better bet than the other. Beijing-based Zhipu closed its first trading day on January...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ruled out expanding military ties with Japan any time soon, insisting that historical grievances must be resolved first. The two countries have come under growing pressure to strengthen defence ties as North K...

The International Criminal Court’s ‌chief prosecutor Karim Khan has been suspended pending a vote by member states on his fate, the court’s governing body said on Monday, following a probe into accusations of sexual harassment made against him....

Enhancing national security has always been an ongoing priority rather than a completed task for Hong Kong following the introduction of the statute in 2020. This has been made clear by Beijing when the authorities take stock of their work on this fr...

A new US$4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is on track to open in the coming ‌weeks, a bridge authority said on Monday, despite a threat by US President Donald Trump in February to block its opening. A formal ribbon-cuttin...

Hong Kong has taken a monumental step forward in expanding its global economic footprint. Last week, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, leading a high-level business delegation, wrapped up a successful five-day mission to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Th...

US President Donald Trump has nominated Todd Blanche, acting US attorney general, to fill the position on a permanent basis, rewarding a loyal ally whose controversial actions ensure an uphill Senate confirmation fight. The White House announced on M...

A Norway court on Monday ordered the release of ailing Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg Hoiby, who faces a multitude of charges including rape and abuse, citing her health crisis. Prosecutors quickly appealed the decision, so Hoiby will...

Israel and Iran warned that they each stood ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked, even as both nations appeared to back away from further strikes on Monday, hours after trading fire for the first time since the US agreed to a ceasefire wit...

The Trump administration is stepping up efforts to revoke the citizenship of naturalised Americans, with the US Justice Department on Monday filing lawsuits against 17 people accused of obtaining citizenship through fraud or concealing serious crimes...

The United States has placed travel bans on more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and their family members as part of a broader campaign to punish the current government for human rights abuses. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Mond...

A federal ⁠judge on Monday ⁠struck down a US$100,000 fee that ⁠US President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorised. US District Ju...

The Pentagon signalled on Monday that it was adding Alibaba, BYD, Baidu and dozens of other Chinese companies to its list of entities it says are linked to China’s military, widening a blacklist that increasingly targets sectors at the heart of US-...