China’s People’s Liberation Army has shown off a “real steel” style military robot that mimicked a soldier’s combat moves in real time to defence representatives from 13 countries. Capturing every attack manoeuvre of a person wearing a ligh...

A middle-aged man who studied in Australia for 10 years before working as a house mover in northwestern China has been surprised to find many people contacting him online to learn English. The rush to learn came after people saw him speak fluent Engl...

Families of domestic workers who died in the Tai Po fire will each receive nearly HK$800,000 (US$102,718) in condolence and compensation payments, Hong Kong’s labour chief has said. As of 5pm on Tuesday, 10 domestic workers were among the 156 resid...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday vowed not to interfere in corruption investigations into his own political appointees, after a slew of allegations were levelled at close government aides. Last week, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, a sen...

German companies are accelerating efforts to partner with Chinese rivals, conceding in fresh survey results that the local competitors appear poised to seize the lead in global innovation. While business sentiment among surveyed German firms in China...

Chinese short video platform Kuaishou on Monday launched a new artificial intelligence video generation model to challenge OpenAI’s Sora and start-up Runway in the global market for AI content creation. Kuaishou, which competes with TikTok’s Chin...

The devastating fire in Tai Po is likely to hurt profitability at Hong Kong’s property insurers and could prompt them to review pricing strategies that have led to lower premiums amid fierce competition, according to S&P Global Ratings. “Claim lo...

Mahathir Mohamad has lodged a police report against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim regarding the Reciprocal Trade Agreement (ART) between Malaysia and the United States. According to Sinar Harian, the former prime minister claimed that Anwar’s action...

As New Delhi gears up for a long-range missile test in the Indian Ocean, the presence of Chinese survey vessels in the region signals Beijing’s intention to step up monitoring of its regional rival’s capabilities. Observers note that China could ...

A high-gloss travel video created by a Malaysian visual-effects specialist to promote Singapore has gone viral, prompting some in Malaysia to ask why their own tourism board has not tapped local talent as effectively. The one-minute film, produced in...

A diplomatic clash between China and Japan over recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is heating up at the United Nations. Chinese ambassador Fu Cong has sent a second letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres, describing Takaichi’s co...

South Korea’s president ordered on Tuesday swift action to penalise those responsible for a major data leak at e-commerce giant Coupang affecting more than 33 million customers. It was “astonishing that the company failed to recognise the breach ...

More than 1,900 flights from China to Japan scheduled for this month have now been cancelled, according to state media reports and travel experts, as a political dispute between the two nations over Taiwan grinds on. The figure represented more than ...

Hong Kong Investment Corp (HKIC), the government’s investment arm, on Tuesday appointed 10 asset managers spanning venture capital, private equity, private credit and hedge funds to oversee at least HK$3 billion (US$385 million) under its enhanced ...

Schools in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district that were not severely affected by the deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court should resume in-person classes and follow their original timetables, a head teachers’ representative has said, adding that this would he...

The Hong Kong government has exercised its power under the city’s domestic national security law for the first time to ban two organisations deemed subversive. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung on Tuesday prohibited the operation of the ...

Hong Kong’s leader has warned that authorities will not tolerate any attempts to sabotage relief efforts for residents affected by the city’s deadliest fire in decades, after national security police made arrests for alleged sedition related to t...

As China’s traditional spirits and premium wines grapple with declining consumption, a significant shift is under way across the beverage landscape. This three-part series examines the challenges faced by Maotai town as its once-coveted baijiu liqu...

AirAsia Aviation Group, one of Airbus’ largest customers of single-aisle jets, says testing protocols for aircraft software need to be re-examined in the wake of the weekend glitch that required an urgent update. Tony Fernandes, the founder of the ...

Global footballers’ union FIFPro says that seven players embroiled in a Malaysian national team eligibility scandal are themselves victims and their 12-month bans “grossly disproportionate”. Malaysia’s federation, FAM, has appealed to the Cou...

Chinese and Japanese coastguard vessels have been involved in a stand-off near the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. The two sides gave conflicting accounts of Tuesday’s incident, with the Chinese coastguard saying it had driven a Japa...

A unique wedding tradition exists within China’s Yugur ethnic group which requires the groom to shoot three arrows at the bride, striking her clothing without causing her any harm. This unique ethnic minority who primarily live in the Sunan Yugur A...

Suyitno first saw the news of a deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on social media last Wednesday afternoon. Yet, despite the harrowing footage of the estate engulfed in billowing smoke and leaping flames, Suyitno, who liv...

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. Accountability test...

A man was injured when a truck carrying pig carcasses crashed into a convenience store in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. Police said they received a report at 8.24am that a medium-sized truck had smashed into a shopfront on Gage Street in Central. The...

A boy sexually abused his sister, who was six years his junior, over 10 years from when she was seven. It was only in 2023 that the girl confided in her partner and her sisters and lodged a police report. The offender, a Singaporean now aged 31, was ...

A workers’ rights organisation and other concern groups in Hong Kong have warned the public to be vigilant against fraudulent appeals for donations by those exploiting the deaths of foreign domestic helpers in the Tai Po fire. In a joint statement ...

Dozens of oil tankers suspected of smuggling contraband crude for Russia and Iran have been using a beachside office in the tropical South Pacific to cover their tracks, an analysis of sanctions data has revealed. Nestled next to a pizza shop in the ...

A US admiral acting under the authority of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a “double-tap” military operation that targeted survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat, the White House said on Monday. The legality of...

A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and murder after the death of a woman found injured earlier inside a Hong Kong flat. Police said they received a report at 6.59am on Tuesday after security guards at On Ting Estate’s Ting Fuk House in T...

Artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has unveiled its most powerful model variant, DeepSeek-V3.2-Speciale, which is said to match Google DeepMind’s new Gemini 3 Pro model in certain tasks, despite the Chinese firm having limited access to adva...

Chinese drug maker 3SBio plans to raise HK$3.12 billion (US$401 million) by selling a 4.14 per cent stake in the company to fund clinical research in China and the US and expand the global reach of its drug portfolio. The Shenyang-based biopharmaceut...

When South Korea’s leader declared martial law a year ago, one young woman blocked a tank, a civil servant resigned in protest and a lawmaker switched sides to remove him from office. They are among the many South Koreans whose lives were transform...

A Brazilian teenager was mauled to death by a lioness in full view of zoo visitors after scaling a six-metre wall and safety fencing and shimmying down a tree into the enclosure, authorities said. Gerson de Melo Machado, 19, struggled with severe men...

Lebanon is bracing for intensified Israeli attacks in the new year, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration set a December 31 deadline for Hezbollah to disarm, following its assassination of the group’s military commander. Rather...

Northern regions across China are introducing “snow breaks” this winter as part of broader efforts to stimulate domestic tourism and spending amid deflationary pressures. Northeastern Jilin province is the latest to announce the initiative, with ...

The PLA’s new “drone carrier”, a key asset for potential amphibious operations against Taiwan, appears to have conducted its second sea trial, marking quick progress towards deployment amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over the...

Hong Kong will hold the Legislative Council election as scheduled on Sunday, the chief executive has announced, arguing that it is important to elect new lawmakers who will be his key partners in launching reforms as the city reels from the deadly fi...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. Residents from the sole unaffected res...

Victims of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades have called for a unified platform to access funds and resources, as some elderly people say they feel “exhausted” having to travel around and repeatedly provide their personal information to differe...

The United States may have played a “critical” role in shaping the situation that led to the brief but bloody border war between China and India in 1962, an academic study has argued. The Asian neighbours have been working to improve relations in...

Last month, the first university jointly established by Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU), celebrated its 20th birthday. When the mainland opened up its education sector in 2003 with its new Regula...

A menswear company in China has found itself in hot water over a laundry care tag which allegedly discriminates against women. “Please give it to your beloved woman, she knows everything,” reads the tag in both Chinese and English. It does not ca...

A global property management giant engaged to oversee the tender for fire safety and serve as the interface between residents and renovation contractors at Hong Kong’s ill-fated Wang Fuk Court estate broke its silence on Monday to offer condolences...

Some of China’s affluent middle class is unwinding bets on Japan, cashing out in real estate and shelving migration plans as a diplomatic stand-off invites a wait-and-see mood on the once-hot destination for capital and talent. The reversal follows...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missil...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he expected to discuss “key issues” with Donald Trump as the American-led push to end Russia’s war on Ukraine accelerated, with the US president’s envoy heading to Moscow. Ukraine’s nego...

At least three Chinese electric vehicle (EV) assemblers rewrote their monthly sales records in November, as consumers rushed to dealers before tax breaks and cash subsidies are phased out from January 1. Analysts and dealers, however, expect a sharp ...

Police in Britain will be able to require illegal migrants to remove their coats and allow mouth searches at British ports so officers can look for mobile phones or SIM cards and gather intelligence on their journey, the government said on Monday. Th...

A businessman who has US President Donald Trump’s backing for the presidency of Honduras was locked in a “technical tie” with a right-wing TV host after a preliminary vote count, the Central American country’s electoral body said on Monday. N...