One of Japan’s most popular zoos has delayed its reopening after an employee reportedly told police he had burned his wife’s body in an incinerator on its grounds. Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido’s second-largest city of Asahikawa, which had been clo...

Hong Kong’s financial chief has revised the city’s fiscal surplus for the previous year to HK$11 billion (US$1.91 billion), nearly four times the original estimate, saying the ongoing Middle East conflict had a limited impact on the economy with ...

We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s EV and battery makers race...

Hong Kong expects about 980,000 mainland Chinese visitors over the Labour Day “golden week” holiday from May 1 to 5, a 7 per cent increase from last year. Instead of rushing through major attractions, many travellers are opting for slower, highly...

A South Korean appeal court increased the sentence of jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday to seven years for obstructing justice, up from five years. A lower court had handed Yoon the initial sentence in January after he was found to h...

Hong Kong will introduce a two-month subsidy for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used by taxis, minibuses and school buses from May, amid soaring fuel prices, while a previously announced diesel subsidy will take effect on Thursday. Financial Secretary...

A massive genomic study of indigenous peoples in the Americas has uncovered evidence of a previously unknown migration into South America that occurred as recently as 1,300 years ago – during China’s Tang dynasty. These new settlers carried genes...

A Hong Kong cook has been jailed for 18 years for persistently sexually abusing the daughter he shares with his mistress, with the presiding judge also criticising the victim’s mother for trying to keep her silent. The High Court on Wednesday said ...

Thailand is turning to live-streamers to clear a looming durian glut, slashing prices as weaker Chinese demand threatens its biggest export market. Top online seller Pimradaporn Benjawattanapat, or Pimrypie, led a high-energy live stream on Tuesday n...

Being a Malaysian Indian is apparently a good indication that you are unlikely to fall for a scam. Police have found that potential victims from the ethnic group are more than likely to frustrate scammers with a barrage of questions. Malaysians lost ...

Russia will mark victory over Nazi Germany next month with a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square, but with no military equipment displayed in view of the operational situation in the war in Ukraine, the ‌Defence Ministry said late on Tuesday. ...

A social media account in China with more than 11 million followers which targets juveniles has been banned for forcing young female live-streamers to stay in a tank with a crocodile. The permanent ban also came after the account was exposed of also ...

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), operator of Asia’s third-largest stock market, reported a record quarterly profit in the first three months of 2026, buoyed by more new listings and increased turnover. Net profit rose 27 per cent to HK$5.19...

Hong Kong authorities have pledged to intervene in landlord-tenant disputes that are preventing residents from retrieving belongings left at the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, as packing efforts enter their 10th day. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk...

China’s top market regulator is intensifying its crackdown on debt-laden “zombie companies” – rolling out a pilot programme in seven economic hubs to facilitate the forced exit of unprofitable firms often propped up by government subsidies or...

The leader of Mali’s military government, Assimi Goita, on ⁠Tuesday made his first public appearance since insurgents launched coordinated attacks over the weekend, vowing in a televised address to “neutralise” those responsible. West Africa�...

Thailand’s vision for a land bridge splits opinion: some see it as a crucial new Asian trade route for a global economy held hostage by geography, while others view it as an expensive and environmentally ruinous distraction for a kingdom with plent...

Singapore ground handler SATS has apologised after one of its employees was filmed tossing passengers’ luggage onto a conveyor belt at Changi Airport, in a video that drew scrutiny partly because Changi has long been ranked among the world’s best...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong’s weather forecaster issued an amber rainstorm warning on Wednesday calling on the public to seek...

Homeowners of the only block undamaged in the deadly Wang Fuk Court inferno who decline the government’s buy-back offer will face significant challenges in the management and maintenance of their properties in the long run, Hong Kong authorities ha...

India’s major airlines warned of a potential suspension in services unless the government lowered jet fuel prices. “The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations,” the Feder...

Israel’s reported deployment of its Iron Dome missile defence battery in the UAE signals a “watershed moment” in Middle Eastern security alignments, analysts say, as the war in Iran highlights the critical role of such air defence systems. Isra...

UK King Charles gave US President Donald Trump a taste of his own medicine at a White House state dinner on Tuesday when he joked that without the British, Americans would be speaking French. As the heads of state traded jokes during their dinner toa...

Asia’s oil import-dependent economies will benefit from the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) exit from Opec, though the ongoing closure of the arterial Strait of Hormuz may not offer any immediate relief from soaring prices, analysts say. Global oil p...

Plans to build a mosque in Fujisawa, a city southwest of Tokyo, have become the latest flashpoint for Muslim communities in Japan, as a growing need for places of worship meets resistance from some local residents. Muslim community leaders and schola...

Chinese scientists are moving technology that converts greenhouse gases into aviation fuel out of the laboratory and towards large-scale production. Global jet fuel prices surged to US$175 a barrel in March – a year-on-year leap of 94.4 per cent �...

When Lee Kun-hee, the patriarch behind Samsung Electronics, died in 2020, his dynasty soon dealt with a crisis on two fronts: first, a multibillion-dollar inheritance tax. The following year, his son Jay Y. Lee was jailed after being convicted of bri...

Shortly after completing a bachelor’s degree in 2023, Warren Neo considered doing what many business graduates in Singapore do: look for a corporate job. Instead, he became a full-time barista. “I considered going into human resources, since that...

There is a time and a place. Just because you have a right to do something doesn’t mean you should exercise it. The United States and its allies keep claiming they have the right of navigation in international waters by sending their navies through...

The economic divide between the United States and China is projected to widen to US$11 trillion by the end of the decade, yet escalating geopolitics – specifically the war in Iran and the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis – could inadvertently act ...

A 14-year-old Chinese boy who reportedly “handcrafted” turbo engines in his home living room has sparked a heated social media discussion about his background. Teenager Che Jingang, from southern China’s Hainan Island, came under the spotlight ...

A Hong Kong dancer left paralysed after being struck by a giant screen during a 2022 concert by popular boy band Mirror has clarified that neither he nor his family have attempted to raise funds after the death of his father. Reminding his supporters...

As the US-Israeli war on Iran enters a third month, there is no sign of a break in the deadlock between Washington and Tehran. These are the main takeaways from what happened overnight. What did Trump say? US President Donald Trump told his aides to ...

Twenty-two-year-old Hongkonger Elio* started smoking at the age of 16, when he was studying abroad in New Zealand. But what started as a way to kill time soon became a daily habit to relieve the stress of an uncertain future. Despite suffering from a...

Thousands of Japanese are defying rising prices at home and the pain of the feeble yen to have one final foreign holiday over “golden week” before airlines increase fuel surcharges. The operator of Narita International Airport anticipates that 1....

An image of Donald Trump will soon appear in some US passports, officials said on Tuesday, shattering another norm as the president aggressively puts his personal stamp on government institutions. There were few precedents anywhere in the world, let ...

A wave of demand from mainland Chinese buyers is restoring liquidity to Hong Kong’s trophy home market, enabling owners who have held onto pricey assets for many years to lock in gains. Among them, mainland property tycoon Zhao Zhijun sold two adjo...

The acting US ambassador ⁠to Kyiv Julie Davis will step down from her post and retire, a US official and the State Department said on Tuesday, amid a lull in US-brokered talks to achieve a ceasefire and end Russia’s invasion ‌of Ukraine. The Fi...

Over 70 Democrats on Tuesday urged US President Donald Trump to keep Chinese carmakers out of America, warning of “irreversible” consequences, just weeks ahead of his high-stakes trip to Beijing to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping. “We ...

As the US-Israel war in Iran drags into its third month, sulphuric acid – a chemical ingredient critical for fertiliser production and metal processing that has seldom grabbed global headlines – has become a keenly watched commodity. The military...

As the race with China over artificial intelligence intensifies, US lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a draft bill that would, for the first time, require the State Department to deliver a detailed assessment of Beijing’s artificial intelligence ambiti...

While the United States and Iran exchange peace proposals in Islamabad, the Middle East remains trapped in a cycle of escalation. Ships burn in the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon absorbs strikes by Israel and the nuclear gap remains unbridgeable. Calling ...

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said the US and Nato were faced with a “marriage crisis” as frustrations mount on both sides of the Atlantic, urging Washington to stand with its allies or risk America’s fall. Francken, speaking at a thin...

The US ⁠has placed specific conditions on releasing billions of dollars it owes to the United Nations, including further cost-cutting, and moves to counter China’s influence at the world body, a development news wire reported on Tuesday. The repo...

After a joke by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel drew calls from the White House for ABC to fire the comedian, the US Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ordered an early licence review of the network’s television stations. The stand-off betwe...

Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted for threatening the life of Donald Trump, officials said on Tuesday, five months after a previous case against the outspoken critic of the US president was thrown out. The indictment by a grand jury i...

Embattled UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday survived a bid by opposition politicians to subject him to a parliamentary probe over his controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as envoy to the US. Members of parliament voted against referri...

Britain’s King Charles told the US Congress on Tuesday that despite an ⁠age of uncertainty and conflict in Europe and the Middle East, the UK and the US would ⁠always be staunch allies united in defending democracy, at a time of deep divisions ...

Hong Kong singer Hins Cheung has pledged to be a companion rather than a mentor to youngsters arrested during the 2019 anti-government protests during an event organised as part of a youth rehabilitation programme. The sharing session, themed “New ...

Ukraine used interceptor systems to shoot down more than 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, a record monthly figure since Moscow launched its all-out invasion more than four years ago, Ukraine’s defence minister claimed. Ukraine has d...