Fitness-friendly young Chinese travellers are turning to a new trend known as “sportcation” which blends physical health with leisure. Health conscious tourists are spending 20,000 yuan (US$2,800) not to relax, but to endure military-style tennis...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after he cemented his leadership at the latest congress of the country’s ruling party. Xi said Kim’s reselection as general secretary of the Workers Party of North Kor...

Chinese artificial intelligence glasses enjoyed a sales boom over the Spring Festival, fuelled by pent-up consumer demand and a new national subsidy. Huaqiangbei, a subdistrict in Shenzhen that is home to the world’s biggest electronics wholesale m...

A Hong Kong news commentator could face up to seven years in jail if convicted of allegedly posting seditious content online about the deadly Tai Po fire after prosecutors moved his case to the higher District Court. Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-ta...

A mermaid-themed sales gimmick has landed two drinks traders in hot water in Malaysia’s conservative east coast state of Kelantan, after religious authorities launched an investigation into a viral video that drew outrage during the holy fasting mo...

China called on the US to scrap tariffs after President Donald Trump imposed new levies to replace those struck down by the US Supreme Court. “China urges the United States to cancel its unilateral tariff measures on its trading partners,” the co...

A nationwide mural contest backed by Philippine government agencies has been launched in Manila, the latest in a string of cultural initiatives aimed at shaping public narratives around the South China Sea dispute. Organised by a Manila-based maritim...

Concerns about the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) abound. At the end of last year, uncertainty over the monetisation of AI was the dominant theme in stock markets. Many investors are worried about the mismatch between the vast sums...

China’s Harbour BioMed has struck a deal worth more than US$1.2 billion with a clinical-stage biotechnology company to develop and commercialise an antibody outside China, as the country’s novel drug makers increasingly secure not only upfront li...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already begun” World War III, in an interview with British broadcaster BBC. Speaking in Kyiv over the weekend ahead of the fourth annivers...

Hong Kong’s civil service chief has defended the decision to open up recruitment externally for the role of food and environmental hygiene director, saying the move aims to attract experts who can take the lead in using technology to enforce laws. ...

In a research greenhouse in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, the tomatoes looked ordinary, but they carried a surprisingly sweet scent – the aroma of buttered popcorn. It was not the result of accidental crossbreeding but a precise surgical edi...

China’s shop rents have slid back to 2018 levels as subdued consumer spending continues to weigh on the retail sector, with analysts expecting the pressure to persist for another one to two years. In the second half of 2025, average rents across 10...

A Chinese restaurant located in Mei Tin Commercial Complex in Hong Kong’s Sha Tin district has been burgled, with HK$800,000 (US$100,300) in cash stolen, according to police. The force received a report from a 54-year-old staff member at around 6.3...

Chinese travellers are outspending their Asian peers at the region’s airports in search of gifts, food and luxury purchases, a trade association has found. Passengers from China have led the recovery in Asia’s airport retail since the Covid-19 pa...

As feline companions, cats have woven themselves into the fabric of modern Chinese life, appearing in homes, cafes and even fashion shows. But what you might not know is that their appeal is rooted in ancient times. In fact, bringing a cat into the h...

A packed bus on its way to Nepal’s capital drove off a mountain highway in Nepal early on Monday, killing 19 people including Chinese and British nationals and leaving another 25 wounded. There were dozens of people on board the bus, which was head...

Hong Kong authorities will continue to provide an annual rental subsidy of HK$150,000 (US$19,193) to victims displaced by the deadly Tai Po blaze, even if they are only able to move into their new homes 2½ years later under the “flat-for-flat” r...

A Supreme Court ruling that gutted the legal foundation for much of US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime has left Asian trading partners scratching their heads about the future of trade deals struck with Washington over the past 12 months. Ame...

Twenty people were trapped inside a lift at Tokyo Skytree tower from Sunday night for more than five hours, the operator said, adding that the facility, which is Japan’s tallest broadcasting tower and a popular tourist spot, will be closed througho...

Some affected residents have continued to express reservations over a Hong Kong government plan to resettle residents affected by the Tai Po fire, saying they prefer in-situ development as they fear an “unfair” flat selection process will leave t...

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. Date set for US President Donald Trump’s trip t...

From a satellite ground station in Namibia to an Egyptian laboratory in orbit, China has been building the hi-tech backbone of Africa’s space ambitions. Earlier this month, Beijing handed over a new satellite data ground station near Windhoek, Nami...

Abraham Newman is an American political scientist and a professor in the School of Foreign Service and Department of Government at Georgetown University. His research focuses on the ways in which economic interdependence and globalisation have transf...

South Korea has protested to Russia after its embassy in Seoul unfurled a giant banner declaring “Victory will be ours”, an apparent reference to the anniversary of the Ukraine war. South Korea opposes Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine an...

China’s leading planemaker is redoubling its efforts to boost the international profile of its home-grown jets in 2026, injecting a sizeable amount of capital into a subsidiary carrier as it attempts to widen its planes’ coverage area and attract...

Chinese insurers underwriting electric vehicle (EV) policies have a better chance of turning a profit this year, supported by higher premiums, intelligent pricing mechanisms and improved claims-handling efficiency. A turnaround in mainland China’s ...

Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeals by 12 opposition activists seeking to overturn their convictions or have their sentences reduced, following the city’s largest national security trial to date. The appellate court on Monday al...

May Chan is looking for a home that she can call her own. The freelancer wants to buy a flat, but high mortgage rates as well as uncertainty in the property market kept her from taking the plunge. “I would like to buy a flat, if I can afford it,”...

This week, Hong Kong is honoured to play host to the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) Conference and Exhibition, one of the most significant gatherings in the global higher education arena. For us, this is not merely a con...

Hong Kong’s tech equity benchmark is struggling to balance the artificial intelligence frenzy and picking the right industry leaders, leading to its underperformance this year, according to analysts. The Hang Seng Tech Index, which comprises 30 tec...

Universities in China are shifting focus from traditional language degrees to country-specific and regional studies – a move analysts say reflects a broader strategy to craft a uniquely Chinese framework for understanding the world, independent of ...

A Chinese influencer with more than 12 million followers has sparked controversy after filming his wife’s 23-hour childbirth and posting the video online. The footage included her suffering severe post-partum bleeding and images of her exposed body...

With Hong Kong set to unveil its annual budget, economists have said the city should strengthen its role in pushing the internationalisation of the Chinese yuan as Beijing presses ahead with financial opening while keeping stability firmly in view. F...

Japan’s reputation as a nation where employees put in brutally long hours may have to be reassessed, according to recent official statistics showing that Japanese workers now clock fewer hours on average than Americans, Canadians and Italians. At f...

Iran agreed a ⁠secret €500 ⁠million (US$589 million) arms deal ⁠with Russia to acquire thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The agreement, signed in Moscow in December, commits Russia to deliv...

Politically charged thriller One Battle After Another took six prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards (Baftas) on Sunday, building momentum ahead of the Oscars next month. Blues-steeped vampire epic Sinners and gothic horr...

Abraham Newman is an American political scientist and a professor in the School of Foreign Service and Department of Government at Georgetown University. His research focuses on the ways in which economic interdependence and globalisation have transf...

Maybe it’s because we are riding on the euphoria of good fortune and luck that is associated with the celebration of the Lunar New Year that there hasn’t been much of the noise that we usually hear ahead of the annual budget speech. Typically, th...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday described a pair of explosions in Lviv as a “cynical and brutal terrorist act” that was “organised by Russia”. Two explosions rocked the western Ukrainian city in the early hours, killing a 23-...

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday ordered the shutdown of the city’s entire traffic network for all but emergency travel as a massive snowstorm began to hit the northeast United States. Tens of millions of Americans from the US capital Washin...

The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho”, on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel and thrusting swaths of the nation into chaos. Th...

France will summon US ambassador Charles Kushner to protest against comments by the Trump administration over the death of a far-right activist, the foreign affairs minister said. Jean-Noel Barrot was reacting to a statement by the State Department�...

London police officers assigned to King ⁠Charles’ younger brother ⁠Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were instructed to provide ⁠security for a dinner party at Jeffrey Epstein’s residence in New York in 2010, British media reported on Sunday. The ...

A dog suspected to have been poisoned was found dead in Hong Kong’s New Territories on Sunday, the fifth such case in the past week, according to police. The force on Sunday said that between February 16 and Saturday, it had received four reports i...

Hong Kong authorities are looking at implementing a booking system and charging fees for camping hotspots as part of a review of management strategies in response to public concerns about overcrowded beaches and litter during the Lunar New Year holid...

An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, US President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the US Secret Service. Although Trump often spend...

Hungary threatened to block a new package of European Union sanctions against Russia and to stall efforts to help Ukraine until Russian oil deliveries to Hungary resume. The EU’s foreign ministers are set to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss th...

China has launched its first next-generation Type 095 nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), according to satellite imagery analysed by defence experts. It marks a significant leap as Beijing ramps up the underwater arms race to challenge US naval d...

Hong Kong must more than double the number of secondary school pupils studying advanced maths to ensure a sufficient pipeline of students pursuing science and technology courses at university and careers in those sectors, according to the head of a c...