The recent bumper growth in Hong Kong exports spilled into May, expanding by 40.8 per cent year on year, as artificial intelligence-related products continued to fuel already robust demand overseas. Provisional figures released by the Census and Stat...

In July 2024, India’s weight in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, a leading gauge of stocks in developing economies, hit a record high of 19.99 per cent. At the time, this was less than three percentage points below China’s weight, which at one po...

China opened a top-level optical computing laboratory in Shanghai in June after a string of breakthroughs in the field that could help get around US curbs on its development of artificial intelligence (AI). A decade after optical computing and next-g...

Japan and South Korea should build a stronger security alliance to anchor regional stability as US commitment to East Asia becomes less certain, former Japanese foreign and defence minister Taro Kono said on Wednesday. “I think it is indispensable ...

New Zealand has seen a surge in Chinese tourists since it began testing an easier pathway for visitors via Australia. The government began a 12-month trial in November that exempted Chinese and Pacific people from visa requirements if they were trave...

Philippine authorities successfully foiled another possible school attack in Leyte province just two days after Monday’s deadly shooting in Tacloban City, thanks to a timely tip from Senator Bam Aquino. The senator, nephew of former president Coraz...

Hong Kong police have arrested a woman after the discovery of a 1.5-metre-long (4.9 feet) crocodile on her balcony led to authorities finding about 100 more reptiles in her home, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source said police officers...

A financially strained, unemployed man in China who ordered a set of fried rice on a food delivery platform not only received a larger portion of rice but also an apprenticeship offer from the restaurant. The young man, surnamed Wan, shared his exper...

A man in Singapore posed as his ex-girlfriend and shared her nude photos in a sex chat group with a religious theme, but was exposed when the victim caught wind of it and went undercover to investigate. The victim, who was a teenager when she shared ...

The number of China-Japan flights scheduled by airlines for the coming summer travel period – the peak months of July and August – has dropped by 57 per cent versus a year ago following a political flap and a price hike in Japanese visas, accordi...

Robin Zeng Yuqun, head of the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, has played down expectations for the much-hyped solid-state battery technology, predicting an inflection point would not take place until 2030. The founder and chair...

At a Gaza peace summit in Egypt in October, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto leaned towards his US counterpart Donald Trump and asked, “Can I meet Eric?” Prabowo was referring to the American president’s son. Trump responded warmly in the ...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it may never be known who was at fault for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran on February 28, the first day of the Iran war, that killed scores of children. Reuters first reported in March that an...

Hong Kong’s leader has announced that a public consultation for the final policy address of the current term will begin on Monday, with the exercise also set to gauge views on the city’s first five-year plan. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said...

As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead. Protesters arrested during H...

A Malaysian paediatrician based in Perth has been remanded on 33 charges of child sexual offences and possession of child exploitation material, widening a case that Australian prosecutors say involves multiple children. The case adds to a list of ch...

A major legal database affiliated with Peking University has launched a large language model tool it says can accurately retrieve statutes and automatically generate contracts, sending ripples through the legal profession in China. AI-powered legal t...

With the formal handover of its new Hong Kong premises already complete and plans well under way to start moving all local staff there in the fourth quarter of this year, UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, is showing long-term confidence in t...

US President Donald Trump was dismissive of Andy Burnham, who is set to become the next UK prime minister, saying he was unfamiliar with him and has only heard that he is “extremely liberal”. The US president was asked by a reporter on Wednesday ...

Hong Kong social welfare authorities have classified baby Danny as a “high-risk” child and recommended he remain in protective care, while Sweden has moved to permanently transfer custody of his elder sister Lily to a foster family, according to ...

US President Donald Trump opened 16 days of celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary Wednesday with a rally-style speech – turning a national commemoration into a highly politicised showcase for his second-term agenda. The address, on Washing...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee has wrapped up hearing testimony from experts on the factors behind Hong Kong’s de...

Every booking inquiry that lands in dive operator Richard Swann’s inbox these days carries the same undertow of anxiety. Before his clients commit to a dive trip off Kota Kinabalu, they want reassurance: are Sabah’s reefs still worth the journey?...

As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead. Resuming extradition agreeme...

Hundreds of China’s top military officials have spent weeks at an unprecedented ideology training camp – studying President Xi Jinping’s speeches, reading corrupt cadres’ confessions and marching in formation – as the anti-corruption drive ...

Southbound Stock Connect flows, through which mainland Chinese investors buy Hong Kong listed shares, hit a record high in the past year, reflecting strong confidence in the city’s market on the back of a booming pipeline of initial public offering...

A Form Two male student died after collapsing during a rugby training session at a secondary school in Telok Mas, Malaysia’s Melaka state. The 14-year-old is believed to have lost consciousness at about 6pm on Wednesday shortly after a break while ...

The recent enactment of the Safeguarding National Security (Procedural Matters) Regulation has generated significant interest and commentary on Hong Kong’s legal landscape. It is recognised that maintaining national security is of paramount importa...

The market realignment over the past week starkly captures the self-defeating logic of America’s technology containment strategy. The momentum began on June 15, when the shares of Chinese artificial intelligence pioneer Zhipu AI, which trade in Hon...

A boy in southern China accidentally ignited dozens of mobile phones while playing at home, but his father’s remarkably calm reaction has garnered praise online. The father, surnamed Peng, operates a mobile phone shop in Shenzhen and utilises part ...

As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead. Authorities will arrest and ...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] For five years in a row the Hong Kong Science Fair has worked to build up the talent pipeline that will support scientific discovery and innovation in Hong Kong and across th...

Hong Kong’s overall prime office vacancy rate fell to a seven-month low in May, driven by spillover demand from Central, where premium offices were close to full occupancy, according to JLL. With Central’s grade A office vacancy rate holding stea...

⁠Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday, killing at least 32 people and injuring 700 after dozens of ⁠buildings collapsed into piles of shattered concrete and steel in and around the capital Caracas. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit...

The US Army’s commander of its forces in Europe and Africa – who was famously the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021 – is unexpectedly stepping down from his post after just 18 months in the job, the Army confirmed late on Tuesd...

Right-wing ⁠candidate Keiko Fujimori said on ⁠Wednesday she would seek to ⁠unite a Peru “split in two” if she takes office, after razor-thin election results gave her enough votes to secure what appears to be an insurmountable lead in the p...

Hong Kong authorities intend to reform the city’s medical watchdog by raising the proportion of lay members to more than a third and requiring the time frames set for handling complaints to be made public, the South China Morning Post has learned. ...

The United States did not send high-level officials to an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) tourism ministerial meeting in Macau, citing China’s restrictions on American diplomats’ ability to provide emergency consular help. Washington did...

Nearly a decade ago, one of China’s largest textile exporters concocted a plan to hedge against trade barriers championed by US President Donald Trump during his first term. Its owners were convinced that moving their primary production base from C...

The war in Iran is effectively over. Although the dust has yet to settle, some lessons are already visible. First, US President Donald Trump has waged a personal war at the world’s expense. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu warned that arms are ill-omene...

What is the secret ⁠to a long life? Three ⁠Brazilian sisters with a combined age ⁠of 316, who were named by Guinness this month as the oldest living trio of siblings in the world, may help researchers find out. The DNA Longevo Project, a study ...

On a sunny day in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighbourhood, punters piled into the fifth floor of Time Out Market to Portugal House – part food court, part bar, full-blown World Cup party. The room was awash with Portuguese team jerseys, filled with fans s...

Brazil’s federal police detained a Spanish citizen in Sao Paulo’s international Guarulhos airport for racism on Wednesday, the latest in a series of high-profile arrests of foreign tourists on similar grounds. Brazil has some of the strictest ant...

A US federal judge asked on Wednesday for an explanation for why a tarpaulin continues to cover the facade of the Kennedy Centre where President Donald Trump’s name was recently removed. District Judge Christopher Cooper gave the board of trustees ...

Pakistan police said on Wednesday that they had rescued a French woman and her five children after she told authorities she had been held captive by her husband for more than a decade and subjected to years of domestic abuse in the country’s northw...

Hong Kong national security police have arrested the owners of an independent bookshop for alleged sedition and money laundering. Officers searched Hunter Bookstore in Sham Shui Po on Wednesday and arrested the owners, former district councillor of t...

President Donald Trump cancelled his plan to sign a bipartisan affordable housing bill on Wednesday in an effort to pressure his fellow Republicans to pass a long-stalled package of US national voting restrictions that has aggravated party fissures a...

A positive case of Ebola virus has been identified in France in a doctor travelling back from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the French Ministry of Health said Wednesday. The individual, who has not been identified, returned from a humanitarian mi...

The People’s Liberation Army’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian Type 003, transited the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, a day after Taipei launched a combat readiness exercise. Song Zhongping, a military commentator and former PLA instructor,...

A key road named after US President Donald Trump in India’s opposition-ruled tech hub of Hyderabad has drawn criticism from ‌Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, which dismissed the move as “hypocrisy”. US-India ties have deteriorat...