A rural Chinese woman has gone viral online for her creativity, transforming farmland into a dazzling catwalk by designing dresses from natural materials such as peanut shells, corn leaves, red beans, sweet potatoes, and corn kernels. The blogger, kn...

Xiaomi, one of Tesla’s biggest challengers in mainland China over the past year, pledged to focus on the safety and reliability of its cars after its factory reached another milestone. Founder and CEO Lei Jun said on Thursday that Xiaomi had raised...

The president of mainland China’s premier science institution will host a seminar in Hong Kong next week to “study and implement” the spirit of the fourth plenum, which sets the tone for the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee’s poli...

The English competency level of Hong Kong’s Primary Three pupils has reached a record high in a citywide assessment by the authorities, marking a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Results for this year’s Territory-wide System Assessment, relea...

A family in Malaysia was alerted to a massive snake when they discovered a broken ceiling in their bathroom on November 12, 2025. They later spotted the five-metre (16ft) python, weighing 60kg (132lbs), after zooming in on the hole with a phone camer...

US chipmaker Nvidia said it is “disappointed” about current restrictions locking it out of China’s artificial intelligence market, but the company reported record revenues for the third quarter despite shrinking sales in the world’s second-la...

China’s shipments of rare earth permanent magnets to the US surged to a nine-month high in October as the two countries engaged in a roller-coaster round of manoeuvring over export controls that led to an easing of trade tensions late last month. D...

Hong Kong businesses are increasingly turning to Saudi Arabia as their top choice for supply chain diversification amid changing trade conditions, according to an HSBC survey. Nearly a fifth of Hong Kong businesses identified Saudi Arabia as their pr...

The Quad nations have completed a major round of naval drills, pressing ahead with their defence cooperation even as political tensions test the cohesion of the regional security bloc. The decision to continue joint exercises reflects a “growing co...

Footage of a Japanese diplomat appearing to bow to his Chinese counterpart following their talks in Beijing on Tuesday has prompted a complaint from Tokyo that it was not informed about media filming after the meeting. It comes amid a diplomatic feud...

China has urged Tokyo to “behave with restraint” after it called for talks amid the diplomatic freeze over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan. Asked about a possible meeting between Premier Li Qiang and Takaichi on the sideli...

Hong Kong authorities will take the lead by setting up a company to drive the development of a new innovation hub near the border, with the base focusing on prototyping, pilot production and small-scale manufacturing as strategic bets for the future....

A company associated with Vincent Gao Leyi, the founder of Hong Kong-based hedge fund CoreView Capital, has bought a luxury home in the city’s Southern district for about HK$579 million (US$74.3 million), according to official records. Matrix Prope...

Oscar-winning Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh melted hearts on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon after sharing that she has more than 100 Labubu dolls, a secret number fans never saw coming. Yeoh revealed that she has over 100 of them tucked awa...

China should prepare for stricter US and EU regulations on global rules of origin – as signalled in the recent trade deal between the Western economic powers – with the changes potentially weighing on its export sector by redefining global trade ...

China has accused the United States of trying to undermine its relations with Greece after US ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle urged Athens to sell the Chinese-operated port of Piraeus. Guilfoyle called the presence of China’s state-owned shipping gia...

The beloved penguin mascot of a transport card in Japan, regarded by many as the most popular penguin in the country, is expected to retire in 2027, according to its issuer. The affable Suica Penguin will be hanging up its flippers at the end of the ...

A Cambodian beauty queen has stirred controversy in Thailand after giving a political speech accusing Bangkok of provoking conflict during a pageant segment in Phnom Penh, with social media users accusing her of using an international dispute to grab...

A two-year-old Russian boy has died from complications after being stung by a box jellyfish at Chenang Beach in Langkawi, Malaysia’s Kedah state, following five days of fighting for his life. Sinar Harian reported that Vladimir Lakubanets died on W...

Hong Kong’s construction and catering sectors remain pessimistic about their recovery, despite a decline in unemployment rates, citing a lack of new private development projects and unattractive wages for junior positions in the food and beverage i...

China Evergrande Group’s famous log-cabin hotel in Quebec, Canada, has been placed in receivership after the defaulted real estate developer failed to make payments on its debt. Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello, which has hosted luminaries including ...

Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong has pledged to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach in safeguarding next month’s Legislative Council election, as the city’s anti-corruption agency charged three people for allegedly inciting others...

South African police and army units held a parade on Wednesday involving helicopters, K-9 dog units and officers on motorcycles in a show of force ahead of expected protests around this weekend’s Group of 20 world leaders summit in Johannesburg. So...

Dozens of senior officials and diplomats from across Asia, Africa and the Pacific will touch down in Brussels on Thursday, as the European Union tries to convince them it is a more reliable partner than the United States and China. More than 70 deleg...

A South Korean ferry ran aground after the helmsman became distracted by his mobile phone, a member of the coastguard said on Thursday. All 267 passengers and crew were safely brought to a nearby port after the ferry crashed on an uninhabited island ...

A 14-year-old boy was rescued on Thursday after heavy smoke filled a public housing block in Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung, prompting more than 50 residents to evacuate the building. Police said they had received multiple reports since 7.41am of a suspect...

Nasa released fresh images on Wednesday of the interstellar object called 3I/ATLAS that astronomers have determined is a comet probably even older than our solar system, as US space agency officials dismissed speculation that it was actually an alien...

There have again been calls in Chinese state media for more research into “historical justice” and legal claims around Ryukyu, as a diplomatic row over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan drags on. On Wednesday, state-ru...

More than a third of Hong Kong employers plan to hire more staff in 2026, according to a survey by a leading recruitment consultancy firm, which attributes the “cautious optimism” to the city’s improving macroeconomic environment. The latest ed...

A Philippine court found a former mayor guilty of qualified human trafficking and sentenced her to life imprisonment over her role in setting up a scam centre, as Southeast Asian governments vow to fight transnational criminal syndicates. “Alice wa...

Malaysia’s border control agency clarified on Thursday that about 43 kilograms of cannabis buds were found in the suitcases of three Japanese men detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport two days ago, correcting an earlier statement that said...

In Hong Kong and elsewhere, digital currencies, cryptocurrencies (including stablecoins) and virtual assets are gaining in popularity and are rapidly becoming a mainstream asset class, with retail investors increasingly buying into them. Here in the ...

The release of Google DeepMind’s latest artificial intelligence model has sparked debate about the future of US-China competition in AI and the ability of Chinese developers to keep up. Gemini 3 Pro, released on Tuesday, overtook OpenAI’s GPT-5.1...

A Chinese teenager who bravely battled a rare disease, even sketching trains to symbolise his university journey for self-encouragement during chemotherapy, died shortly after receiving his admission letter. The student, 18-year-old Zhan from Anqing ...

China’s airlines are stuck in a difficult paradox, according to a new industry report: while their passenger numbers have risen, they are struggling to secure profits as competition intensifies on the most common routes and a world-leading high-spe...

Turkey will host next year’s UN climate summit while Australia will lead the conference’s negotiations among governments under a compromise deal taking shape in talks in Brazil, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday. The ann...

An elite Hong Kong government school has warned that some books donated by alumni may contain material potentially breaching national security legislation, pledging to adopt a new policy rejecting publications with political propaganda or illegal con...

Fans of Japanese singer-songwriter Kokia were disappointed on Wednesday night when a “last-minute technical issue” forced the cancellation of a concert in Beijing. The organiser of the event apologised on Thursday for one of a series of Japanese ...

Indonesia has launched emergency vaccination drives after measles outbreaks killed more than 20 children in two provinces, stoking fears of a wider epidemic amid a global resurgence of the virus. The scale and speed of the outbreaks have alarmed heal...

US President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to end Sudan’s grinding civil war at the request of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, condemning “tremendous atrocities” in a conflict he has previously overlooked. Trump admitted that the devastating war ...

At least 25 Palestinians were killed in four Israeli air strikes on Wednesday in a part of Gaza under Hamas control since a shaky ceasefire took effect in October, health authorities said. The Israeli military said its forces struck Hamas targets acr...

China’s growing pipeline of novel drug candidates is expected to draw increased attention from global pharmaceutical companies and investors scouting for licensing opportunities, as the country’s clinical trial capacity has expanded to match thos...

US lawmakers on Wednesday called for a change in Washington’s strategy to evade China’s chokehold on rare earth mineral supplies, arguing that new approaches are needed in parallel with President Donald Trump’s efforts to speed up domestic prod...

Kim Sung-ho, 38, an office worker, said he is increasingly open to the idea of raising the retirement age in South Korea. “A few years ago, I opposed extending the retirement age,” he said. “But now, living costs and housing prices are getting ...

Soybeans are more than just a crop – they have become a litmus test of Beijing’s evolving food security strategy and sit at the heart of the US-China trade war. As a crucial source of animal feed and cooking oil, soybeans have remained a flashpoi...

A US judge on Wednesday repeatedly questioned the validity of the grand jury indictment of former FBI director James Comey secured by a prosecutor closely aligned with US President Donald Trump in the latest signal that the charges may be dismissed b...

Toronto-Dominion Bank was sued by a group of former employees who claim they were improperly fired from their jobs amid disclosure of widespread criminal money laundering through bank branches. Five Chinese and Chinese-American former employees sued ...

US President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts. Trump could...

Britain said on Wednesday that it would ban the resale of tickets to concerts, sport and other live events for profit, disrupting ticket touts and the platforms that benefit from their activities. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said touts were ripping ...

Former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers abruptly went on leave on Wednesday from teaching at Harvard University, where he once served as president, over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, S...