DeepSeek’s founder and CEO, Liang Wenfeng, has been listed among the top 10 “people who shaped science in 2025” by the British journal Nature, which hailed the 40-year-old entrepreneur as a “Chinese finance whizz” whose breakthrough artific...

A man in southwestern China who broke a bone in his girlfriend’s chest during a prank staged a car accident and used her injuries to claim an insurance payout. The couple was recently arrested, bringing the case to light. According to mainland medi...

New Zealand’s largest naval vessel was followed by seven Chinese warships in a deployment to East Asia last month, including a rare transit through the Taiwan Strait, according to the Pacific nation’s military. HMNZS Aotearoa, a Polar-class reple...

The death toll from Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades has risen to 160 after another resident of inferno-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po was confirmed as having perished, the city’s police chief has said. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming...

A last-minute medical intervention halted the deportation of a Filipino man from the United States after advocates warned that his deteriorating condition and months of alleged neglect in immigration custody had put his life at risk. Greggy Valerio S...

Hong Kong boasts the strongest institutional environment of any major financial hub but lags in growth and future readiness, according to a new index launched by New York University Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The inaugural Financial Centres Competitivenes...

A recent seizure of more than S$30,000 (US$23,000) worth of Pokemon cards from a Singaporean at Changi Airport has led Malaysian authorities to caution that returning citizens would face the same issue. Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Autho...

A fire broke out at a seven-storey building in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Tuesday, an official said on Tuesday, with 20 people confirmed dead. The fire has been extinguished and efforts to find more possible victims inside the building continue...

An arrest warrant is being prepared for Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya, the businesswoman once dubbed the Philippines’ “queen of flood control”, after prosecutors accused her of pocketing millions from a government project that was paid for but ne...

Eighty-four pets remain missing after a deadly blaze in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood that claimed 160 lives, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which has called on authorities to place food, water and trap...

A paraglider has died after crashing into a hillside in southern Hong Kong. Police said they received a report at about 2.20pm on Tuesday that a man had been involved in an accident while paragliding at Dragon’s Back in Shek O. The 68‑year‑old ...

A dedicated “Study in Hong Kong” week will be held in February to showcase the city’s strengths as an international education hub, a minister has said. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin was speaking on Tuesday at the fourth annual ...

The Philippines’ top diplomat in the city has promised that his country and Hong Kong will repatriate the remains of the sole Filipino who died in the Tai Po fire and pay for the arrangements, amid growing anger in the community about Manila’s sl...

Whereas then US president Joe Biden initially missed the group photo at the annual Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last year, requiring a reshoot, his successor did not even bother showing up for this year’s meeting in Johannesburg. US Preside...

Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed this year worldwide, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza. In its annual report, the Paris-based media freedom group ...

Bi Jingquan, China’s former top food and drug regulator who received an international accolade for promoting innovation, has been expelled from the Communist Party and removed from public office on corruption charges. An investigation found that Bi...

Nepal’s anti-corruption watchdog has filed criminal charges against ex-ministers, senior bureaucrats and a Chinese state-owned construction giant accused of inflating costs and manipulating contracts at a multimillion-dollar infrastructure project....

A seamless airspace is essential for developing Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy and will depend on a collaborative ecosystem, the transport chief has said, citing the city’s strengths in high-value-added services and regulatory expertise, alongs...

The owners of an Indian nightclub in the tourist hotspot of Goa fled the country hours after a deadly fire at their business killed 25 people at the weekend, police have said. Most of the victims of the tragedy that struck a club in Arpora in the nor...

Hong Kong reached aviation agreements with at least seven countries, mostly in Latin America, over the past two months to expand its global network and tap into extra capacity from the airport’s three-runway system, according to a senior official. ...

Three days after the US government codified its contempt for EU institutions in a startling new national security policy, the bloc’s leaders finally broke their silence on Monday, with European Council President Antonio Costa lambasting Washington�...

Home appliance maker Midea Group has developed MIRO U, a six-armed industrial humanoid robot scheduled to be deployed at its Wuxi washing machine plant by the end of this month. Speaking at the launch event last week, Midea’s chief technology offic...

A Hong Kong court has remanded a news commentator in custody for allegedly violating the domestic national security law over seditious content posted on social media, including remarks about last month’s deadly Tai Po fire. Wong Kwok-ngon, better k...

A short-lived coup in Benin left “casualties on both sides” of the government forces and the mutinous soldiers, authorities said on Monday, as security forces intensified the search for the coup leader who was on the run. The military takeover at...

Newly elected and outgoing Hong Kong lawmakers have jointly met the media for the first time and pledged to work closely with the government in the aftermath of the deadly Tai Po fire, with the Legislative Council president calling on veteran and new...

One month after the Taiwan contingency remarks that set off the diplomatic firestorm with China, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan would “closely monitor” the situation and respond appropriately. Takaichi delivered these remarks d...

Kim, a 31-year-old office worker in Seoul, said she recently moved into a goshiwon near her workplace because she could not keep up with rising studio flat rents. Goshiwon are dormitory-style accommodation often used by students or low-wage workers w...

A 66-year-old Chinese restaurant owner in Japan has been arrested for stealing 30kg of fish bone waste worth 210 yen (US$1.4). On November 28, Japanese police charged the woman on suspicion of theft and trespass, while publishing the arrest footage s...

A just-signed agreement aimed at ending the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo looked to be unravelling on Monday with the Congolese leader and Burundi slamming neighbouring Rwanda after the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group attacked border are...

Chinese naval vessels have ramped up pass-through operations as tensions between Beijing and Tokyo continue to rise. On Monday, a Chinese naval Type 054 destroyer sailed southeastward between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island, heading towards the Paci...

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. Thailand launches a...

A 24-year-old fighter from Myanmar’s pro-democracy People’s Defence Force has said many of those who fight alongside him have switched sides at times in the long-running civil war, with a lack of financial compensation forcing them to temporarily...

A powerful wave dragged a group of swimmers out to sea while they were in a popular seawater pool along the rocky, western coastline of the Spanish island of Tenerife, leaving four died and one missing, Spanish authorities said Monday. Crews recovere...

At least eight people have been killed in renewed fighting on the Thai-Cambodian border, officials said on Tuesday, as Bangkok accused Phnom Penh of launching cross-border rocket attacks despite a White House warning to end the bloodshed. The latest ...

China has tested a rail system that links multiple freight trains through a wireless system rather than physical coupling. On Monday, a test conducted on the Baoshen Railway in Inner Mongolia saw seven freight trains with a combined cargo capacity of...

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has launched its first equity index tracking Hong Kong-listed technology companies, underscoring the city’s ongoing shift from a market long dominated by property and finance towards innovation-driven growth....

Hong Kong police have expanded their investigation into allegedly fake scaffolding net safety certificates to four more estates, following the earlier discovery of such documents at two housing sites that prompted a citywide removal of mesh netting. ...

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has warned that Europe must be “extremely cautious” about slapping tariffs on China, as it could prompt Beijing to take countermeasures that could turn into a “spiral”. The remarks came after French Pre...

Singapore’s approach to curbing foreign interference and cybercrime is being tested by the sheer speed and borderless nature of online threats, according to analysts who say the city state’s legal powers provide important safeguards but are unlik...

Imagine waking up one day and suddenly being unable to use your legs. That was what happened to Rain Shiu Tin-yung in Hong Kong when he was six. “He got up that morning, but his knees hurt so much that he couldn’t walk. He was in so much pain,”...

The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) turns 25 years old this month, with most of its pension funds delivering solid returns that have enabled all but the most conservative members to outpace both inflation and bank deposits, according to data from the ...

The fate of the “panda on the scooter” is hanging in the balance. The artwork, modified by a Chinese artist at Chew Jetty in Malaysia’s Penang state, has yet to be legalised although an application was made a month ago. The Chinese tourist, kno...

A career-ending revelation about an actor’s teenage crimes has plunged South Korea into a soul-searching debate over justice, redemption and the ethics of public shaming in the digital age. Cho Jin-woong, 49, long celebrated for his commanding on-s...

For decades, New York and London have defined the flow of global capital. But while markets still chase short-term returns in US equities, the next great wave of productive investment is taking shape in East Asia, led by China’s financing, manufact...

Taiwan’s ban on mainland Chinese social media app RedNote has sparked fierce pushback on the island, making the platform a top download as users rush to access it through workarounds. The island’s interior ministry announced on Thursday it had or...

A Chinese woman who began vomiting blood shortly after taking a so-called weight loss shot has stunned social media. Over a month ago, the 28-year-old surnamed Chen from Suzhou, Jiangsu province in southeastern China, saw an advertisement for a “we...

Having all seats contested in Sunday’s Legislative Council election and the resulting strong performance by independent candidates signal emerging political diversity within Hong Kong’s reformed electoral system, political analysts have said. How...

McDonald’s sold a property in Kowloon for HK$72.4 million (US$9.3 million), as the Chicago-based fast-food giant reached HK$333 million in proceeds at the halfway point in a campaign to dispose of eight Hong Kong retail properties. A company called...

A former spokesman for Rodrigo Duterte has claimed that the International Criminal Court is preparing to arrest two of the ex-Philippine leader’s closest allies over his administration’s bloody war on drugs. Harry Roque told This Week in Asia tha...

Ukraine’s European allies put on a show of support for President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday as they expressed scepticism about parts of the US proposal to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion. Zelensky first held a meeting in London with the ...