As the Year of the Snake ends, more than 9 billion passenger journeys will unfold during China’s Spring Festival travel period, the greatest annual human migration on Earth. For some, these are the only few weeks in the year when families are toget...

At the Middle East’s largest defence exhibition, a Chinese state-owned shipbuilding giant is showcasing a new surface-to-subsurface delivery vehicle designed for frogman operations in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. China State Shipbuilding ...

A new Chinese dating reality show that features a group of single people aged about 50 has become a nationwide hit, sparking discussions about love and desire in the lives of the middle-aged and elderly. The show by tech giant Tencent’s WeTV, Forev...

Firefighters evacuated 30 people at the Hong Kong airport after a fire broke out in an electrical engineering device room near a boarding gate on Tuesday afternoon. The Fire Services Department said it received a report at 3.03pm about the emergency ...

Hong Kong’s lowest-paid workers are set to receive a pay rise of HK$1 per hour, from the current HK$42.10 (US$5.40) to HK$43.10, as recommended by the government’s top decision-making body, with the new rate expected to come into force as early a...

A six-year-old Indonesian girl killed in a traffic accident while visiting Singapore with her family has been laid to rest in her hometown of Jakarta. Sheyna Lashira Smaradiani and her family were visiting the popular tourist area of Chinatown late o...

A growing debate in France over raising tariffs on China heated up on Monday, with a senior minister calling for a targeted approach even as a government planning agency proposed a blanket 30 per cent duty on all Chinese imports entering the European...

When Drew Binsky stepped into a gosiwon in Seoul, the doorway alone offered a clue to the life inside. The entrance measured barely 61cm (24 inches) across – narrow enough to require a slight turn of the shoulders to pass through. Binsky, an Americ...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] In the past three years, the University Grants Committee (UGC) has been supporting public-funded universities to develop a more global learning environment for Hong Kong’s ...

A Hong Kong businessman and his company have been charged with providing surrogacy services overseas and advertising them in the city, where such arrangements are illegal. Harcourt director Alfred Siu Wing-fung appeared in Eastern Court on Monday to ...

Malaysian police recently engaged in a dramatic confrontation with a Singapore-registered car that was driving against the flow of traffic at the Johor Bahru land checkpoint, with an officer drawing his gun to stop the errant motorist from fleeing. D...

Chinese authorities say their investigation of a high-profile scandal in one of the country’s leading state-run museums has revealed there was systemic mismanagement and alleged corruption decades ago that allowed national treasures to be funnelled...

The Li Ka Shing Foundation and the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort are arranging free visits to the theme park for 5,000 domestic helpers under an expanded programme this year. The charitable foundation, established by tycoon Li Ka-shing, said on Tuesday...

More than a month after China’s central bank upgraded the digital yuan from a cash equivalent to “digital deposit money” – allowing it to accrue interest like a bank deposit – many residents and merchants in Beijing have yet to notice a maj...

Hong Kong housed nearly 3,400 single-family offices by the end of last year, a 25 per cent rise in two years – contributing HK$12.6 billion (US$1.6 billion) annually to the economy – as the affluent refocused on the city amid US trade tensions an...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] In the fiercely competitive global electric vehicle industry, premium EV brand smart has carved out a distinct strategic path. Building on robust global expansion in 2025 –...

Malaysia is moving to revamp its navy’s ageing strike capacity as it seeks to restore credible deterrence after years of procurement delays amid mounting pressures in the South China Sea. The modernisation push follows repeated Malaysian protests a...

The Chinese embassy in Britain has slammed London’s “malicious” plan to expand an immigration pathway for Hongkongers after the sentencing of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to 20 years in prison, accusing the UK of “manipulating” the...

Hong Kong investors are reviewing their stakes in Panama following a dispute over a concession held by a subsidiary of CK Hutchison to operate two ports in the country, the city’s leader has said, pledging to work with Beijing to push back. Chief E...

Some Chinese and foreign stars and celebrities have trended on mainland social media in anticipation of the Lunar New Year, as their names or their Chinese translations sound similar to the word “horse” in Mandarin. An unexpected sensation is Bri...

Hong Kong is stepping up its game as an international arbitration hub while pushing forward to help mainland Chinese companies go global with its professional services, the city’s deputy justice secretary has said. Deputy Secretary for Justice Hora...

A significant portion of flat owners at the fire-ravaged Tai Po estate are inclined to sell their properties to the government as part of a long-term rehousing plan, Hong Kong’s leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday also poin...

Criminals in Southeast Asia are harnessing inexpensive AI tools to target bigger pools of potential victims at high speed, keeping scam centres humming even as governments try to crack down, senior officials at Interpol say. Previously, some scams we...

Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there is not enough fuel for planes to refuel on the island, the latest step in its moves to ration energy as the Trump administration cuts the Caribbean nation off from its fuel resources. The gover...

Investors in mainland China raised their stakes in Hong Kong-listed drug makers through the cross-border trading link over the past week, as a wave of out-licensing deals between the country’s pharmaceutical firms and global partners rolls on. The ...

A former property agent who left urine-contaminated soft drinks in several Hong Kong supermarkets has been spared jail after a court accepted that he deserved a second chance in light of his remorse and personal circumstances. Kowloon City Court on T...

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. Japan’s ‘Iron L...

Nationalism, a deep network of local patronage and a promise to safeguard Thailand’s faltering economy catapulted Anutin Charnvirakul back into the prime minister’s office. By his own admission, the win exceeded expectations. His Bhumjaithai Part...

Cambodia continues to work with China, the United States and Britain on the case of Chen Zhi, the business tycoon accused of masterminding a vast network that scammed billions from victims around the world, according to a government minister in Phnom...

Stock exchanges in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing – the three major bourses in mainland China – announced a package of measures on Monday to fast-track fundraising for cutting-edge firms amid the country’s self-reliance push in tech. The three ...

Malaysian authorities are investigating a case involving a man dressed as Spider-Man who allegedly brought a seven-year-old girl from Terengganu state to solicit money from tourists in Melaka. Melaka women, family and com­munity development committe...

China’s first home-grown large cruise ship has now handled 1 million passengers since its commercial debut two years ago, a sign of progress as Beijing strives to boost household spending on services and cultivate new growth drivers. The operator o...

Beijing has issued a white paper on Hong Kong’s role in safeguarding national security under the “one country, two systems” principle, stressing that the city’s struggles on this front “have never stopped” and will remain an “ongoing pr...

China published a white paper about Hong Kong and national security a day after former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was jailed for 20 years under the city’s national security law. “The Chinese government is publishing this white paper to review...

As the Lunar New Year holiday approaches, the Chinese government has summoned Meituan, Alibaba Group Holding, Didi Chuxing, SF Express and other logistics firms to ensure the welfare of the tens of millions of gig workers who keep the country running...

Indonesia is ready to build on its “strong relationship” with China, its top economic minister has said, while Beijing is committed to upholding fairness and stability amid global uncertainty, according to Hong Kong’s former leader Leung Chun-y...

Taiwan has conducted a series of shallow-water submerged tests of its indigenous submarine prototype over the past two weeks, marking a key step towards potential navy delivery as early as June. The Hai Kun, or Narwhal, is part of the island’s Indi...

A man was arrested for masturbating in public at a lecture hall during a seminar for secondary school students in Malaysia. Cheras Assistant Commissioner Mohd Rosdi Daud said that a report of the matter was lodged on Saturday following the incident a...

A new “parenting” trend in China is seeing young women embrace “painless motherhood” by raising cotton dolls as their own children. The toy-caring fad even extends to celebrating their “children’s” birthdays at hotpot restaurants, buyin...

Advertisements for potentially illegal mainland Chinese cleaning services targeting Hong Kong households ahead of Lunar New Year remain available on social media platform RedNote despite recent arrests by the city’s immigration authorities, the Sou...

Contemporary Amperex Technology’s (CATL) new batteries are ready to be used in extreme cold areas like Antarctica, according to a top engineer, as the Chinese giant eyes untapped markets amid keen electric vehicle (EV) competition. CATL’s Naxtra ...

Before humanoid robots realise their longer-term potential as efficient industrial workers, a more immediate role is emerging in China: on-demand entertainment. For 999 yuan (US$145), customers can now rent a humanoid robot to dance, perform and pose...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has signalled that his country’s armed forces will play an even more “outstanding” role over the next five years – an indication that the coming party congress will map out a new defence build-up, including adv...

US military forces boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the ship from the Caribbean Sea as part of an oil quarantine meant to squeeze Venezuela, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday. Venezuela had faced US sancti...

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide election victory has dimmed hopes that ties between Tokyo and Beijing will significantly improve in the near term, analysts and businesspeople said, though some expect tensions to stabilise over time...

The Trump administration will ‌fund efforts to promote free speech within Western countries allied with Washington, a senior State Department official said ‍on Monday during a visit to Europe focused on pushing back against European regulations t...

The FBI is not aware of ongoing communication between Savannah Guthrie’s family and any suspected kidnappers more than a week after the Today show host’s mother went missing, the agency said on Monday. The FBI has also not identified any suspects...

China surpassed Argentina in January to become Brazil’s largest exporter of vehicles, solidifying Chinese brands’ dominance in the region’s biggest car market and undercutting a long-standing Argentine trade advantage within Mercosur. According...

The South China Sea continues to act as a lightning rod for competing claims among regional powers. In the first of a three-part series, Laura Zhou examines how a new conservation framework is being leveraged to advance territorial ambitions within t...

Transnational online crime is one of the most serious security challenges facing the global community. It drives human trafficking and forced labour, enables large-scale fraud, destabilises economies and erodes public trust in digital financial syste...