The second Chinese-owned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier has transited the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to industry sources and vessel-tracking data, amid conflicting claims over access to the v...

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, encouraged his Iranian counterpart to pursue negotiations with the United States as conflict in the Middle East threatens to enter a second month. “Talking is better than fighting,” Wang told Abbas Araghchi by pho...

Two days before the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran, Washington asked Sri Lanka to let two armed warplanes use an airport on its southern coast. Colombo said no, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently revealed – ...

Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation will carry out overnight signalling upgrade works on Sunday as part of preparations for the partial opening of the Tung Chung line extension later this year. Representatives from the city’s sole rail operator also said...

A Chinese national accused of raping and strangling a woman during a violent home invasion appeared in a New Zealand court on Wednesday to face charges, seven months after he was extradited from Singapore. Zhang Xuesong reportedly fled to China follo...

Chinese toymaker Pop Mart reported strong annual growth in revenue and net profit for 2025, but not enough to alleviate investor fears that the company remains too reliant on the Labubu phenomenon. Annual revenue jumped 184.7 per cent from a year ear...

As war in the Middle East escalates, the financial fallout extends beyond energy price and supply-chain disruptions. Vulnerabilities in the US$3 trillion-plus global private-credit market are accelerating, driving investors to safe havens, while glob...

Hong Kong authorities are facing mounting pressure from lawmakers to roll out more measures to rein in surging fuel prices, including a requirement for firms to disclose pricing formulas when bidding for petrol stations – an idea the environment mi...

Shenzhen – southern China’s technology powerhouse – has launched an ambitious three-year action plan to build itself into a hub for intelligent computing clusters by advancing key areas such as semiconductors, storage and AI servers. The city a...

Singapore’s state coroner on Wednesday upheld the Police Coast Guard’s (PCG) finding that there was no foul play in the death of Indian singer Zubeen Garg and ruled the death an accidental drowning. Directly addressing a concern raised by Garg’...

A senior Japanese official and the country’s military have expressed regret after a serving officer was arrested on suspicion of trespassing at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. Tokyo police have identified the 23-year-old suspect as Kodai Murata, a se...

A global investigation involving Hong Kong authorities has found that more websites and mobile apps designed for children are collecting personal data – ranging from phone numbers to addresses – than they did about a decade ago. The 2025 Global P...

Across peninsular Malaysia, the heat is getting unbearable and posing health risks for many, and nowhere is this felt more sharply than in Kedah and Perlis, two northern states at the centre of Malaysia’s food-growing belt. Over the start of the Ei...

A Philippine prison was supposed to contain Park Wang-yeol. Instead, according to South Korean investigators, it became his office from which an alleged drug trafficking empire was run, complete with a “VIP” lifestyle, a Telegram alias and a girl...

A Hong Kong court has granted further leniency to a senior Immigration Department assistant, placing him on a one-year probation order after he was convicted of repeatedly choking his wife and young son during domestic disputes. Kowloon City Court he...

A man in China has dug up a yam that looks exactly like a human hand, shocking many people online. The man, who lives in Jieyang, in southern China’s Guangdong province, unearthed the oddly shaped vegetable on his farm. It looks so much like a hand...

The head of the Philippines’ flag carrier said the Southeast Asian country may need to resort to fuel rationing amid tight supplies due to the war in Iran. “We have countries saying, ‘we need to ration our fuel, we want people to tank fuel in a...

An Iranian military spokesperson mocked US attempts at a ceasefire deal on Wednesday, raising questions about whether a 15-point plan proposed by Washington has a chance to succeed. The comments from Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesper...

Hong Kong and Hainan should forge a strong partnership and explore new models of cooperation, the city’s leader has said, urging the business sector to capitalise on the mainland Chinese province’s free-trade port status by offering professional ...

The first boat of a flotilla carrying medical supplies, food and solar panels reached Cuba on Tuesday to aid the island as a US fuel blockade deepens its energy crisis. The Maguro shrimp fishing boat docked in Havana three days later than hoped after...

The disruption to shipping traffic along the Strait of Hormuz is starting to bite in China, where some manufacturers are reducing production due to soaring energy, raw material and freight costs. Zhao, who runs a bicycle factory in Guangzhou serving ...

Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has taken legal action against six contractors and 12 individuals over alleged corruption and anti-competitive conduct in building maintenance projects worth nearly HK$700 million, after the city’s graft-buster ch...

A father of seven is in jitters as loans taken from illegal moneylenders in Malaysia by his ex-wife led to loan sharks knowing details of his entire family. “What’s most concerning is that they have information on all my children, including my si...

Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, an area Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday described as a “security zone”, spelling out for the first time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a 10th of the cou...

China’s luxury hotel sector has unlocked new avenues for business growth, fuelled by a boom in inbound tourism and a growing number of foreign business travellers and holidaymakers who favour high-end accommodation. International tourists generally...

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Top Chinese nuclear, radar and missile experts vanish from en...

Nasa announced on Tuesday it ⁠has cancelled plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and ⁠would instead use components from the project to build a US$20 billion base on the moon’s surface, while also planning to send a nuclear-powered spa...

BTS member Jin’s absence from the credits of the group’s latest album has sparked a debate among fans after what has been seen as a tense moment during a live broadcast went viral. BTS held a full-group live stream last Friday to celebrate the re...

Turkey’s largest private bank plans to set up a Hong Kong office, according to sources familiar with the matter, in a move that underscores the city’s role as a gateway for lenders seeking to connect China and Asian markets with the Middle East. ...

A subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings has expanded international arbitration claims against Panama, alleging damages have “escalated beyond US$2 billion” in what it called an “illegal takeover” of ports and property. Th...

Taipei aims to leverage geopolitics by positioning itself as an Asia-Pacific drone hub built on a supply chain decoupled from mainland China, though challenges relating to scale, politics and timing threaten its ambitious industrial strategy. The pus...

Meltwater from snow-capped mountains is fostering an emerging trout-farming industry thousands of kilometres from the sea in western China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The region, famous for its cotton, is on track to become China’s top tr...

Major Chinese consumer stocks listed in Hong Kong rose sharply following strong full-year earnings, though analysts said the results did not point to a broad recovery in the consumer market but rather highlighted structural divergence and new growth ...

The sacred deer that have been a fixture of the ancient Japanese capital of Nara for centuries are beginning to wander far from the city’s famous park, where they have been fed and adored by millions of tourists and locals over the years. A male de...

For most of my career in developmental and educational psychology, I have been guided by a single question: what do children truly need to flourish in the world they are entering? I don’t mean the world their parents inherited or the one textbooks ...

Testing conducted by Chinese scientists has found that a solid rocket engine can ignite at 200 metres (656 feet) underwater – far deeper than submarine-launched missiles – suggesting new possibilities for deep-sea weapon systems. Ballistic missil...

Miniseries in China starring children have sparked controversy for their content becoming “adultified,” as critics say the trend will harm the psychological health of young actors. One of the controversial dramas depicts a five-year-old girl help...

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways’ extended suspension of its Middle Eastern flights is likely to have a limited financial impact on its passenger operations as its expanded European services should help offset losses, aviation experts ...

A state-sponsored forced labour programme which has escalated in recent years has generated up to US$500 million annually for North Korea, according to a report by a global rights group. It also warned that workers are trapped in “brutal” conditi...

Danish Prime Minister ⁠Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats were headed for their worst election outcome in ⁠over a century on Tuesday, as migration and welfare concerns obscured broad support for her defiant stance towards Washington over Gree...

Iran targeted countries across the Middle East with a fresh volley of missiles on Wednesday, hours after US President Donald Trump signalled tentative progress in diplomatic efforts to end the war. The conflict that began on February 28 with US-Israe...

There is little chance the US could bring China to the table on any nuclear arms control agreements in the short term, despite upcoming leaders’ meetings this year, experts said on Tuesday, as the Trump administration pushes for a trilateral deal i...

US officials on Tuesday played down speculation that distracted air traffic controllers might have contributed to a deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Two pilots were killed in the runway cr...

A New Mexico jury on Tuesday found social media giant Meta liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms and other dangers. The verdict came after roughly a day of deliberations following a six-week trial in ...

Welcome to Open Dialogue, a series from the South China Morning Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. In this edition, we invited a prominent industry player and economist t...

Washington’s China policy lacks strategy, coherence and a clear framework in US President Donald Trump’s second term, mirroring his first, according to a former senior official in the Joe Biden administration. Former Biden officials, speaking at ...

Gulf exporters are scrambling to bypass the Strait of Hormuz after Iran choked off most of the maritime traffic in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rushed to divert exports through overlan...

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared likely to rule in favour of President ⁠Donald Trump’s administration in its defence of the government’s authority to turn away asylum seekers when officials deem US-Mexico border crossings too overburden...

Minnesota sued ⁠the federal government on Tuesday, seeking ⁠access to evidence in the fatal shootings by federal officers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and a shooting that injured another man during an immigration enforcement surge in the state, ...

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Tuesday granted a request by former president Jair Bolsonaro to temporarily serve his sentence under house arrest after his discharge from a hospital for treatment of bronchopneumonia. “I authorise temporary hum...