Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city home to US-sanctioned telecoms giant Huawei Technologies and drone maker DJI, has seen an influx of investors and business leaders amid rising global interest in Chinese artificial intelligence and robotics. On Tue...

The US threat of sanctions on China because of Beijing’s relationship with Iran isn’t credible. The artificial intelligence bubble and its own precarious bond market make the US more vulnerable to a shock than China. Even if the US risks massive ...

A Thai court has sentenced a 25-year-old activist to two years in prison for violating the country’s strict royal insult law, a rights group said, with her lawyer on Tuesday vowing to appeal. A criminal court convicted Tantawan Tuatulanon on Monday...

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. Why US visa pause c...

Malaysian police have crippled a cross-border drug syndicate with the seizure of 86.2kg of methamphetamine worth 4.31 million ringgit (US$1 million) in Penang and Selangor. The bust resulted from intelligence sharing between Malaysian and Thai police...

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation should take on a bigger global role in technology and security, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday, describing the Eurasian bloc as having vast potential. At the SCO’s summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, X...

Foreign investors are expected to keep adding to their China A-share holdings, though the pace of buying is likely to slow from the surge in the first half of the year, according to a UBS analyst. “We still expect net inflows in the second half, bu...

Two years ago, Narendra Modi skipped the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) summit in Astana entirely, sending his foreign minister instead. That absence was redressed first at last year’s summit in Tianjin and again this week in Kyrgyzsta...

Parts of eastern and southern China are bracing for heavy to torrential rain over the next three days, with authorities warning of floods, landslides and mudslides, as Typhoon Saudel re-forms over the South China Sea. Several airports could be affect...

Japan eased overtime regulation starting on Tuesday in a move meant to help spur economic growth but criticised as a relapse into the country’s ingrained workaholic culture. The move comes after the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi �...

US financial institutions Citigroup and Invesco have separately announced that they would continue to expand their presence in Asia, even as the financial industry faces geopolitical uncertainties and Beijing’s tightened control of overseas investm...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s party swept to victory in special elections on Monday, boosting the leader’s parliamentary majority as a trade war with the United States escalates. Carney’s Liberal Party secured three seats, taking the di...

A veteran mainland Chinese economic crime investigator and former police official has been appointed to lead the discipline inspection and supervision group at Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs. Hua Liebing, a former director of the...

Heavy rain and internet outages marred the launch day of Hong Kong’s first humanoid robot-operated convenience stores on Tuesday, but visitors still voiced their appreciation for the work of the new robots. Embodied-intelligence robotics company Ga...

Primary school pupils returned to class across Hong Kong on Tuesday with a mix of excitement and anxiety over the year ahead, as the education chief pledged to strengthen mental health support in schools. During a visit to the Hong Kong Taoist Associ...

As a sensor sounded, scientist Akiko Takii hurried to a bear trap deep in the forests of Nagano in Japan, where rising nationwide attacks have brought fear and resulted in the culling of thousands of the animals. “It’s a small bear, I think, abou...

Twelve people were killed and several more injured in Russian air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region on Tuesday, authorities said, in the sixth consecutive day of ‌strikes on the Ukrainian capital. Attacks both in Ukraine and Russia continu...

Private investors in Asia, including family offices operating in Hong Kong, are showing a growing appetite for advanced medical technologies such as brain-computer interfaces and surgical robotics, as healthcare deal activity picks up across the regi...

More than 33,000 people failed to submit completed tax returns because of unclear wording in Hong Kong’s eTAX system, the ombudsman has found, with nearly 5,200 receiving penalty notices and two prosecuted. Dr Luk Che-chung, a former chief executiv...

A couple who survived the deadly Tai Po blaze last year have been barred from leaving Hong Kong pending trial for allegedly obtaining more than HK$330,000 (US$42,000) in government-guaranteed loans by overstating the decline in revenue of their decor...

South Korea on Tuesday unveiled its most aggressive financial spending plan on record, setting total government expenditure for 2027 at 821 trillion won (US$600 billion) to strengthen the country’s technological edge amid the global AI race. In its...

Modern simplified Chinese characters form a tightly connected network from just 514 basic components that evolved through a process similar to natural selection, according to researchers who say their findings could change how Chinese writing is taug...

Australian home prices fell for a fifth month in August in the biggest downturn since the pandemic, and there is further pain ahead as stubborn inflation puts upward pressure on interest rates. Figures from property consultant Cotality released on Tu...

Chinese President Xi Jinping ended August in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, kick-starting a potential run of overseas trips after what has so far been a quiet year for foreign travel. Xi met the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia and Uzb...

South Korea’s chief presidential policy adviser has resigned, the presidential Blue House said on Tuesday, after President Lee Jae ‌Myung reshuffled his cabinet and senior aides amid a drop in his approval rating. Kim Yong-beom was a key adviser ...

After more than 250 days at sea, much of it fighting the war on Iran – and amid reports of dire conditions on board – the USS Abraham Lincoln is finally set to dock near Pattaya this week, giving more than 5,000 American sailors and Marines shore...

China’s leading brokerages are accelerating their push overseas, pouring billions of yuan into their international arms as cross-border deals expand and profits from overseas operations grow, according to their latest interim reports. Citic Securit...

Hong Kong’s mega-event economy is thriving. In a blog post last month, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po noted that in the first half of 2026, the city hosted more than 130 mega-events, drawing 1.75 million visitors and injecting roughly HK$5.8 b...

An almost year-long legal dispute involving a prestigious Hong Kong international school and its US-based co-founder, a Lutheran church, has been resolved out of court, with the school making a substantial payment and ending its association with the ...

Rajendra Dawadi was inside his classroom when a colleague rushed in with a warning: floodwaters were racing through Nepal’s Trishuli Valley, tearing apart homes, bridges and entire villages. Then a teacher received another warning by phone. Moments...

A prominent American university has agreed to pay a US$2.1 million settlement to resolve allegations that it failed to disclose employees’ ties to China when applying for federal grant funding, the Department of Justice announced on Monday. Ohio St...

A false espionage alarm about a Taipei subway user has fuelled concerns that growing fears of Beijing are breeding unhealthy suspicion on the island and eroding public trust. The controversy erupted after a social media user posted a photograph of a ...

Two schools in northwestern China have ignited controversy by enforcing a strict hairstyle policy on students, who may be stopped at the school gate or even turned away if they fail to comply with the requirements. August 23 marked the first day of t...

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Monday she ‌met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and agreed that orderly yen movement is critical for global market stability. The ⁠two countries also confirmed that ‌continued, cooperative ...

Shein Global Holdings plunged as much as 10 per cent in its Hong Kong trading debut on Tuesday after raising HK$13.6 billion (US$1.7 billion), further shaking market confidence in the company’s valuation. The shares opened flat at the offer price o...

Yokohama’s mayor has become the latest local official in Japan to be forced from office by scandal, as analysts say voters are no longer willing to look the other way. Takeharu Yamanaka reportedly called his staff “human trash” and told a senio...

Some elite schools in Hong Kong have been criticised for failing to provide sufficient learning opportunities or challenging tasks to stretch top performers, with reviewers urging teachers to design questions and tasks with greater depth. The remarks...

A woman randomly stabbed two people in New York City’s Times Square on Monday, killing one woman, and then was fatally shot by police, according to officials. The shooting happened just before 4.30pm next to a New York Police Department substation,...

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, the White House said Monday, in the latest departure of a top military leader during the Trump administration. No reason was given for the departure of Driscoll, who is a fri...

US President Donald Trump praised China on Monday for remaining on the sidelines during the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, just weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Washington. “Even with the Strait of Hormuz, ...

The US Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to continue construction of his White House ballroom, granting him a major victory as he works to leave a permanent mark on Washington. The conservative-dominated court ruled 5-4 to lift a...

As India prepares for the Brics summit less than two weeks away, relations with China are warming up. On July 22, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during the East Asia Summit; five days late...

China’s biggest box-office surprise this year – a Teochew-language family drama that became a hit in Southeast Asia – is finally coming to North American cinemas on September 4. Dear You, whose Chinese title translates as “Love Letters for Gr...

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial on Monday spent a third day deliberating without reaching a verdict on whether the former labour and delivery nurse is criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023 – a case that has drawn attentio...

A Chilean court on Monday fined a Chinese man caught with cocaine inside a Santiago prison, where he is being held on charges of homicide, kidnapping and drug trafficking. It was the second such ruling in five involving a Chinese inmate in five month...

A man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House, killing one of them, can be fed against his will under a judge’s emergency order. US District Judge Amit Mehta agreed on Saturday to order �...

Top fashion designer John Galliano announced on Monday he is cancelling an exhibition of his work that was to kick off New York’s Met Gala next spring, following criticism from donors and political leaders over his past antisemitic remarks. “Afte...

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda said he has been briefed by the US on the content of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s talks in Moscow, describing the visit as aimed at reducing regional tensions. “I can say at this stage that the meeting ach...

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday targeted China’s global trade surplus, raising concerns over “excessive imbalances,” weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to arrive in Washington for a bilateral summit with US Pres...

An ex-street gang leader accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting death of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur three decades ago in Las Vegas was convicted of murder on Monday for his role in a long-unsolved crime that silenced one of rap music’s most ...