The United Nations has issued a grim warning about the costs of prolonged conflict in Iran for the Asia-Pacific region, forecasting job losses, crippling inflation and food insecurity, with the poorest nations brutally exposed to the oil shock and mi...

China and Spain should work closely to resist “the law of the jungle” and defend true multilateralism in a turbulent world caught in “a contest between justice and power”, Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedr...

Nepal’s tourism industry is scrambling to offset a sharp fall in Western visitors during the peak spring trekking season, with operators and officials turning their attention to Asia-Pacific markets as conflict-linked travel disruptions ripple thro...

Israel’s ambassador to Japan and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre have condemned a Japanese political commentator over remarks he made on a morning news programme that were widely criticised as suggesting Jared Kushner should not be involved in negotiat...

Hong Kong students sitting the citizenship and social development paper in university entrance exams on Tuesday were tested on the “One Country, Two Systems” governing principle, as well as contemporary topics such as e-commerce, online influence...

The world is undergoing a transformation of historic proportions. Geopolitical rivalry, economic restructuring and technological acceleration are converging to reshape the global order. These changes transcend the logic of any single nation, industry...

As China looks to central Asia for more energy supplies to offset shipping disruptions amid the Iran war, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang will travel to Turkmenistan to visit local gas fields and to attend a bilateral cooperation meeting. Ding, who is Chi...

Hong Kong’s insurance complaints body recorded a 32.7 per cent jump in new cases last year to 857, with medical and travel insurance accounting for most of the disputes. The Insurance Claims Complaints Panel under the Insurance Complaints Bureau on...

Malaysia is doubling down on renewables to secure its energy future, its deputy prime minister has said, as the government scrambles to mitigate the fallout from an escalating energy crisis triggered by the Iran war. Tehran all but shut access to the...

Melaka police are tracking a 36-year-old express bus driver after a video showing him driving with a woman seated on his lap near the Bemban Rest and Recreational area went viral in Malaysia. Jasin Superintendent Lee Robert said initial investigation...

Prediction markets are surging in popularity as cryptocurrency-based gambling platforms offering diverse gameplay and attractive odds, observers have said, warning against the risks of reneged payouts after the Hong Kong government halted plans for l...

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. Singapore’s refus...

China is gaining from America’s trillion-dollar artificial intelligence spending spree despite Washington’s efforts to curb Chinese technology ties, as the US data centre boom ripples through Asian technology supply chains, according to research ...

Hong Kong’s tram operator has launched a new mobile app that provides real-time arrival information while pledging not to raise fares this year. Hong Kong Tramways on Tuesday announced the new app which would use location data to inform commuters o...

With millions of Indonesians at risk of being pushed into poverty amid a deepening global energy crisis, President Prabowo Subianto arrived in Moscow this week seeking something straightforward but increasingly scarce: cheap oil. Prabowo’s trip, wh...

An AI computing centre capable of predicting weather patterns weeks in advance typically carries a price tag of US$100 million or more. Now, Chinese researchers say a small-scale quantum system can outperform such facilities at less than 1 per cent o...

A Chinese nurse working at a hospital in Japan has come under fire from both Chinese and Japanese netizens after allegedly routinely posting the personal and medical information of patients online. The Tokyo-based woman, identified as “Zhaozhaozzz�...

A Hong Kong barrister faces additional charges after a second person accused him of indecent assault, joining a former pupil who levelled similar accusations over events that took place nine years ago. Prosecutors on Tuesday told Eastern Court that a...

China Evergrande Group’s founder and former chairman Hui Ka-yan pleaded guilty to charges including embezzlement of corporate assets and corporate bribery, according to a statement issued by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. The trial was...

At least 26 South Korean tankers are thought to be stranded near the Strait of Hormuz. That fact alone may best explain why President Lee Jae Myung walked into a diplomatic firefight with Israel last week, analysts say. The row erupted on Friday when...

Hong Kong holds the unwanted distinction of being the most US-sanctioned territory in China, with more than 300 entities blacklisted by Washington in a bid to curb Beijing’s technological rise. But the government maintains that a backlash from Wash...

Unreasonably low prices offered by some mainland Chinese tourist groups visiting Hong Kong are a major factor behind coerced shopping, industry leaders have said, urging authorities to step up random inspections during the coming Labour Day “golden...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for an end to allegations of diesel being supplied to the Philippines, stating that the claim is untrue. Anwar said the recent shipment of diesel was not from national oil company Petronas but from a ...

J.D. Vance had two jobs last week: get an Iran deal and keep Hungary’s Viktor Orban in power. Neither happened for the US vice-president. The 41-year-old Vance looked exhausted as he left Pakistan on Sunday after 21 hours that failed to produce an ...

China is feeling the economic pain of Iran war shocks, with export growth softening and imports surging considerably in March as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz pushed up transport, commodity and energy costs. However, analysts said China was lik...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a parliamentary majority for his Liberal government on Monday, a win that he has said would help him deal more effectively with the trade war started by US President Donald Trump. It would also likely mean ...

US President Donald Trump on Monday defended his now deleted social media post that appeared to depict himself as Jesus Christ, contending that it was meant to portray him as “a doctor” after right-wing figures continued a recent trend of pushing...

Jet fuel shortages and surging prices are forcing flight cancellations across the Asia-Pacific, a squeeze that could intensify after the United States began controlling oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following failed peace talks with Iran...

As the new Communist Party chief of China’s southern manufacturing hub Shenzhen, Jin Lei is facing his first major test as the city prepares to host the Apec leaders’ summit in November. Beijing is seeking more cooperation with the bloc in areas ...

The bust of an illegal transfer of oil between tankers in Malaysian waters has returned the spotlight to the shadow fleet trade in fuel – much of it from sanctioned nations – in Southeast Asia, which continues despite the paralysis of legitimate ...

A leading European business association in China has urged Brussels to avoid becoming a “passive recipient” of US-China trade negotiations, as European firms scramble to navigate Beijing’s export controls. In a report released on Tuesday, the E...

A 32-year-old Chinese man who went to hospital suffering from stomach pain was shocked to discover that a mercury thermometer he had swallowed 20 years ago was still inside him. The man, surnamed Wang, from Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, southeastern ...

Pakistan is considering financing from both countries and banks as options to repay a US$3 billion loan from the United Arab Emirates and help maintain foreign exchange reserve levels amid soaring oil prices, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said....

Hong Kong taxpayers may have to shoulder nearly HK$28 billion (US$3.57 billion) in bad loans from a now-defunct, fully government-backed financing scheme designed to help smaller enterprises survive the Covid pandemic. Official data released to legis...

Japan’s effort to shield itself from President Donald Trump’s tariffs is facing a new backlash, with environmental groups warning that US projects tied to Tokyo’s investment pledge could generate greenhouse gases equal to around 20 per cent of ...

A Minnesota county is investigating the arrest of a Hmong-American man by federal officers that was captured on video as a potential case of kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment, officials said on Monday. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and S...

US congressman Eric Swalwell said on Monday he will resign from the House of Representatives, bowing to pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to leave Congress or face expulsion following sexual misconduct allegations that upended his campaign...

The Brazilian government has dismissed the head of its labour inspection authority, days after his office added Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD to a registry of employers found to have subjected workers to conditions analogous to slavery. Luiz Fel...

The US drive to reduce reliance on China for rare earths and critical minerals will take more than fixing resource and processing gaps, experts say, noting that the decisive factor would be talent. Eroding industrial know-how, a weak education pipeli...

Dozens of protesters were detained by ⁠police in New ⁠York City on Monday during demonstrations ⁠calling for the blocking of arms sales to Israel and an end to US military support for its ally. Demonstrators included anti-war group Jewish Voice...

In a world edging dangerously close to a wider war, where weeks of escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran have threatened to spiral into a catastrophic regional conflict, Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely but decisive diplomatic acto...

Former ⁠Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem ⁠has been detained by ICE in the ⁠United States, the agency reported on its website on Monday, after he fled Brazil in September following his conviction for plotting a coup with ex-preside...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, has been formally charged with corruption after a years-long criminal investigation, according to a court ruling published on Monday. The investigation is one of several corruption cases th...

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with its foe. Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and di...

A federal judge dismissed US President Donald Trump’s US$10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Monday over a story on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Florida wrote in ...

A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barrelling towards a group of remote US islands. Super Typhoon Sinlakua is expected to make landfall on Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and f...

The European Union on Monday launched ⁠the critical minerals ⁠section of its energy and materials ⁠procurement platform, which aims to give more power to regional buyers and cut dependence on dominant producer China by aggregating their purchas...

Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of having underage sex and conning teen girls out of more than HK$30,000 (US$3,830) in a compensated dating scam. The force said on Monday the 36-year-old unemployed local man told the girls they coul...

Hong Kong authorities have put a plan to launch basketball betting on hold amid the rapid growth of the prediction market, seven months after lawmakers passed a bill to legalise the activity. The Jockey Club, which had been expected to operate the ne...

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has hit out at the “delay” and “timidity” in helping Ukraine after travelling through the country unprotected during a 72-hour trip for a documentary. The former prime minister travelled beyond the ...