India’s capital has put the brakes on a contentious vehicle scrappage policy aimed at curbing deadly air pollution after fierce resistance from residents, highlighting the city’s struggle to balance environmental urgency with economic realities a...

Hong Kong must work harder to be as international as possible under the “one country, two systems” framework to combat a growing perception in Western capitals that it is no different from any other mainland Chinese city, business leaders have ur...

Hong Kong experienced the hottest Xiaoshu on Tuesday, with the mercury at the Observatory hitting 34.3 degrees Celsius (93.7 Fahrenheit). However, the hottest weather is still yet to come, it warned. The Post explains what Xiaoshu is and presents tra...

A mainland Chinese visitor has been remanded in custody pending trial in Hong Kong for allegedly offering ride-hailing services without the required permit. Ye Hai, 41, was escorted to Kowloon City Court on Wednesday to face three charges after polic...

The former mayor of Wuhan, whose handling of the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak was widely criticised, has been placed under investigation for corruption. On Tuesday, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country’s top anti-c...

Just ahead of the July 9 deadline to reach an agreement on tariffs, US President Donald Trump announced his decision on the tariffs levels for 14 countries – including a rate of 25 per cent on Japan and South Korea – effective August 1. Trump acc...

The United States has deployed its most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-35, to the Philippines for the first time, a move analysts say signals Washington’s intent to stress-test forward combat readiness in a region increasingly shaped by China’s...

China’s recent advances in the development of high-performance chips, including research published on the new Meteor-1 parallel optical computing integrated chip, could transform the artificial intelligence industry, say analysts. In recent months,...

Hong Kong developer Grand Ming Group warned investors that it has yet to repay a HK$4.8 billion (US$611.4 million) loan, with its gearing ratio surging past 200 per cent – another sign of the growing debt crisis among the city’s small and medium ...

Nearly 80 per cent of 4,800 Uber drivers polled in Hong Kong are worried that a strict quota or high licensing fees under coming new regulations for ride-hailing platforms will threaten their livelihoods. The results of the poll conducted by platform...

Former Malaysian first lady Rosmah Mansor has won 100,000 ringgit (US$23,600) in damages in a defamation case against a TikTokker who uploaded a video claiming that she had dabbled in black magic. The Kuala Lumpur High Court said on Tuesday that Rosm...

Hong Kong is an ideal place for investors to seek stability and move resources away from riskier parts of the world, according to Alpha Lau Hai-suen, the director general of InvestHK. Speaking at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference on T...

US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of 25 per cent tariffs on imports from key trade partners including South Korea and Japan has been viewed less as a final blow and more as a high-stakes bargaining tactic. The move highlights Trump�...

Hong Kong should ensure it acts as a “value partner” in addition to its role as a “superconnector” between mainland China and the rest of the world, rather than as a mere facilitator of connections, according to experts including the city’s...

Scam-related losses in Hong Kong have declined 25 per cent to HK$2.8 billion (US$357 million) in the first five months of this year, but the number of cases has increased amid an overall drop in crime. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming reveale...

A Starbucks branch perched at the edge of one of the world’s most heavily militarised borders has brewed up a remarkable success, drawing more than 120,000 customers in just seven months thanks in part to its singular offering: sweeping views into ...

Beijing’s recent export controls on rare earths have spurred a flurry of international efforts to diversify supply chains and reduce China’s long-standing dominance in critical minerals. In June, the Ministry of Commerce announced that it would a...

Climate change could disrupt a third of the world’s semiconductor supply by 2035, as severe drought threatens the mining of copper – a critical material used in chip production – according to a new report from PwC released on Tuesday. The extra...

Three Malaysian sisters have caused online hilarity after they married men from different countries, forcing their family to break the language barriers by using gestures and facial expressions. The women's father, Razali Yusof, 85, from Perak in nor...

Attending private tuition and relaxing by playing chess and listening to music were among the strategies used by Hong Kong’s Primary Six students to achieve good grades and be part of the record 74 per cent of pupils who got into their most preferr...

A bomb alert in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui has turned out to be a false alarm, after police confirmed the object found at a construction site was a cannon barrel. The British cannon barrel, which prompted the force to temporarily cordon off busy Gra...

Malaysia will press ahead with talks towards a “comprehensive” trade agreement with the United States, its trade ministry has said, as Kuala Lumpur races to soften the blow of a newly imposed 25 per cent tariff on its exports unveiled by US Presi...

Eric Trump, the second-born son of US President Donald Trump, will attend next month’s Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference in Hong Kong as a headline speaker, as the city strives to position itself as a leading hub for digital assets, competing with the U...

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. Malaysia’s new �...

The sole surviving member of a family of seven who drowned when their car plunged into a river in Kedah last week has recalled seeing her father in a dream, telling her not to be sad, in a tragedy that has gripped Malaysia. Putri Qisya Nur Izzat, 12,...

As East Timor edges closer to joining Asean, Myanmar’s military rulers are seeking to block its entry, in a warning to it – and governments everywhere – against engaging with the war-torn country’s opposition forces. Last week, sources cited ...

A restaurant known for serving dim sum from traditional trolleys will close at the end of September after the venue was acquired by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for HK$354.4 million (US$45 million), the Post has learned. Sources...

Miya Zheng once aimed to earn a master’s degree when she first arrived in the United States for her undergraduate studies. But now, three years later, the Chinese national has shifted her sights halfway across the world – to Singapore. “After s...

Hong Kong is a vital link that the world can rely on for security and development under the shifting geopolitical landscape as it connects the globe with China’s growth certainty and investible stability, the city leader has said. “Hong Kong is t...

Beijing’s sudden activation of another civilian air route near the Taiwan Strait’s unofficial median line has renewed alarm in Taipei, with defence experts and lawmakers warning the move could raise the risk of miscalculation in an already tense ...

A Chinese decoration company has sparked online controversy and amusement after it converted a drained swimming pool into a temporary office. Staff get down to business in the “deep end” before exiting the office using the original poolside ladde...

A proposal to tighten regulations covering Hong Kong’s notorious loan sharks is too narrowly focused and will not tackle the root of the problem of unruly debt collectors, according to lawmakers and legal experts. The legislators and specialists cr...

Panda diplomacy is back in play as Japan seeks to charm visiting Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng with hopes of securing one or two of the endangered bears on loan. The gesture could help soothe bilateral ties and signal regional unity amid growing une...

When his health supplement business struggled with cash-flow problems, Bobby Tan* turned to a so-called professional networking group in Hong Kong for help, borrowing HK$300,000 (US$38,220) from a licensed small lender in April last year. Over the ne...

HSBC, Manulife and BOC Life are among the financial firms courting retirees with new investment products that offer regular income streams amid a broader government-led initiative to capture opportunities in the so-called silver economy. The city’s...

It may seem far-fetched to suggest that China should consider implementing a universal basic income at this time, as authorities appear to be unenthusiastic about the idea. In the past, Chinese officials have rejected proposals to distribute cash to ...

US President Donald Trump, apparently impatient with the slow progress of negotiations, on Monday slapped 25 per cent unilateral tariffs on Japan and South Korea and equal or higher import taxes on several other nations ahead of a self-imposed Wednes...

Hong Kong’s retail industry will experience mixed fortunes in coming months, as rising unemployment threatens to dent consumer spending even as the economy and household incomes improve and tourist numbers surge, according to CBRE. “Right now, th...

The 2025 trade war launched by the United States is shaping up to become a watershed moment for Chinese policymakers. While the country’s economic resilience and role at the centre of global supply chains helped secure a 90-day truce with Washingto...

While the Ukraine war drags on and new conflicts rage in the Middle East, we cannot overlook the drumbeats of great power tension across the Pacific at levels unmatched since the Cold War. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, a known China hawk, frames...

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rebuked US President Donald Trump for his latest tariff threat against Brics nations on Monday, while the bloc as a whole offered no public response to what critics called an alarming act of economic int...

Hongkongers’ enthusiasm for visiting Japan is expected to rebound “explosively” in the coming days and months after fears of a “megaquake” predicted in a manga proved unfounded, an industry leader has said. Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, executive ...

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) plans to reduce the size of a development project by 15 per cent following a public backlash, leaving most of a Pok Fu Lam green belt untouched, the Post has learned. A source said on Monday that the university was c...

The new space race is heating up, with the United States warning that its major rival, China, is narrowing the gap as it makes rapid technological gains. While China says its ambitious plans remain peaceful and that it rejects the weaponisation of sp...

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump vows tariff boost for ‘anti-American’ policies as China urges Brics action US President Donald Tr...

China’s expansion of visa-free entry to nationals from dozens of countries appears to have yielded substantial results, with tourists arriving in droves from overseas and providing a much-needed boost to the country’s consumption in the first hal...

Around 4,200 transitional homes will be sufficient to meet the temporary housing needs of tenants displaced under new rules that could require 33,000 subpar subdivided flats to undergo major renovations, Hong Kong officials have said. Undersecretary ...

A family of six in Malaysia, including four children aged between six months and nine years, were found dead on Monday in a car submerged in a river. A couple aged 32 and 31 and their children were found in the back seat of the Proton Iswara car in S...

European Union envoys to China say they have low expectations of any substantial achievement at the coming EU-China summit, citing complex trade challenges and the ongoing Ukraine war. “I am sorry to be pessimistic – the next EU-China summit will...

Hong Kong legislators have called for facial recognition technology to be adopted at the upgraded Huanggang land crossing while giving an initial green light to a HK$1.75 billion (US$223 million) government proposal to site border clearance facilitie...