China told the European Union that it is willing to increase purchases of EU goods to help pare a massive trade gap, potentially easing the risk of a trade war. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao suggested that China is open to purchase agreements coverin...

Average training hours per employee in Hong Kong hit a 14-year high as local companies pushed for technology adoption and workforce upskilling, a new survey released on Friday showed. According to the 2025-26 survey on workforce development needs con...

Johor’s caretaker chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi has criticised Malaysia’s federal government for delays in the launch of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) master plan, arguing that it is needed to sustain the initiative’s mome...

Hong Kong’s top ministers and other political appointees have received a 1.3 per cent pay rise, authorities have confirmed, after the government announced in June that civil servants would get a 2 per cent salary bump. In a reply to the South China...

Experts agree that humans can only comfortably survive in the thermoneutral zone, a surprisingly narrow Goldilocks range between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius. This gives us a problem as climate change pushes up summer temperatures alarmingly, resulting ...

Groups of Hong Kong students on Friday had a lesson aboard two PLA Navy warships moored at Stonecutters Island’s Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks on Friday. They toured guided-missile destroyer Nanning and guided-missile frigate Hengyang, which arrived fo...

Chinese tea chain Molly Tea has been ordered to pay Louis Vuitton 10.3 million yuan (US$1.5 million) in damages for the unauthorised use of a logo similar to the French luxury brand’s four-petalled floral monogram. The Suzhou Intermediate People’...

The body of Iran’s supreme leader, killed in US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Friday ahead of his funeral, state media reported. Millions of people and a coterie of foreign dignitaries we...

Unitree Robotics has secured approval from China’s securities regulator for a Shanghai initial public offering that is poised to set a valuation benchmark for China’s sizzling embodied AI sector. The nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commi...

A corruption investigation into Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme has widened after prosecutors named an active police brigadier general as a suspect and referred a case involving a military officer to the countr...

Germany’s ruling coalition has pledged to take a tougher line on defending trade at the continental level, signalling a potential shift by a country long seen as the European Union’s main brake on stronger action against China. The pledge formed ...

Following a surge in bear attacks in Japan, people are arming themselves with sprays while authorities have started installing cameras in mountainous areas in the north to monitor the animals. However, a recent effort to stay safe backfired, resultin...

Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday rejected allegations that her government reacted ⁠too slowly to destruction caused by two earthquakes which killed more than 2,000 people, after days of widespread criticism of the officia...

Two Hong Kong men convicted of violating the Beijing-decreed national security law have said they joined a pro-independence group either to obtain asylum in Canada or “out of curiosity”. Courier Chan Tai-sum, 27, and waiter Ng Chi-tung, 25, plead...

China has issued a legal warning to Japan and the Philippines over their planned maritime border talks, calling the move “internationally wrongful” and saying it had the right to hold both nations accountable. It is the latest protest from Beijin...

A superstitious man in central China suffered a retinal detachment after repeatedly slapping his twitching right eyelid, fearing it was an omen of misfortune. The belief stems from a popular Chinese saying: “A twitching left eye brings wealth, whil...

Maria believed she was romancing a prince from Dubai, captivated by his flirtatious smile and declarations of affection he showered on her during live video calls. But the suitor was an AI deepfake, making her yet another victim of an online romance ...

Like plenty of local boys before him, Neil has come home to the stretch of Australian coast where he was born. Unlike most of them, he trails fame, fans and property damage in his wake. He is also a 1,000 kg (2,200lb) elephant seal. In June, the bell...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please conside...

Indonesia has intensified supervision of digital nomads, lifestyle influencers and travel content creators on the resort island of Bali, warning that even unpaid barter deals with local businesses would be classified as illegal work if they visit the...

A demonstration wheat plot in China’s vast Taklamakan Desert has produced a harvest nearly double the national average yield recorded in 2025, according to a project announcement. The wheat, known as Jingmai 189, was developed by the Beijing Academ...

Singapore would be opening selected sectors and occupations to workers from East Timor next year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Friday. “This will create new opportunities for Timorese while strengthening our business and people-to-peop...

An “unforgettable” tribute to America, or a health hazard that will terrorise animals and pollute the environment? That is the question as Washington prepares to break the record for the world’s largest fireworks display on the United States’...

Chinese short video giant Kuaishou said on Thursday evening that its artificial intelligence video arm, Kling AI, was seeking to raise around US$3 billion in its first external fundraising round, according to a filing to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clear...

This article was first published on July 3, 2006. Workers more efficient over five days: civil service chief by Ng Kang-chung Civil servants can work more efficiently and serve citizens better by not having to work on Saturdays, the city’s 6.9 mill...

Hong Kong lawmaker William Wong Kam-fai has resigned from the Legislative Council and issued a fresh apology after his arrest over alleged drink-driving and a hit-and-run. His announcement on Friday came hours after the Chinese University of Hong Kon...

Singapore is banking on lavish beachfronts, canopy walks, a transformed port and even water taxis to upgrade its holiday island, Sentosa, into a major tourism draw over the next two decades – but observers say the challenge will be making it distin...

Australia forecasts a A$38 billion (US$26 billion) lift in its export income as commodity and energy prices rise because of the war in Iran. The nation’s resources exports are set to rise almost 3 per cent to A$416 billion in the financial year thr...

When the ground shook off Iwate prefecture at 9pm on Wednesday, the magnitude 6.0 jolt – the latest in a series of sizeable tremors – barely registered in a country still mopping up after two powerful typhoons and bracing for a fresh bout of torr...

The latest child suicide figures from the Education Bureau make for grim reading. For three academic years in a row, suspected suicide cases among primary and secondary school students have remained stubbornly high – 32 in 2023, 28 in 2024, and 31 ...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory has cancelled the amber rainstorm warning after two hours, and has said the chances...

A man in China has been refunded by a gym which asked him not to use the premises any more and even offered him a three-month membership card at another gym because management had received too many complaints about his strong body odour. The man, ide...

Two Chinese generals were seated for the first time alongside top People’s Liberation Army officers in a high-profile ceremony this week – a clear sign that they have emerged as front-runners for the leadership of the world’s largest standing a...

Hong Kong authorities’ proposed overhaul of the city’s sexual offence laws has gone further than suggestions made by a law reform body, but some advocates remain concerned over a legal defence loophole. Advocacy groups have welcomed authorities�...

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in India this week seeking a deeper economic and security partnership, but analysts say the bigger question is how far New Delhi is prepared to align with Tokyo’s China-focused Indo-Pacific strategy. ...

The Nato summit beginning on Tuesday in Turkey is expected to be low-key as European members track their progress towards increased defence spending goals and Beijing watches intently from afar. Low-key, that is, with one major caveat. Will the get-a...

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to ...

Hong Kong is trapped in a structural economic paradox that threatens both its long-term competitiveness and social stability. Organisations are paralysed by the urgent need for artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, complaining day in and day o...

The first act of pop sensation Taylor Swift’s wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce kicked off Thursday, with a rehearsal dinner for 100 guests ahead of a star-studded extravaganza at the famed Madison Square Garden. The billionaire singer and three-tim...

A growing number of US lawmakers see the tax code as a way to shift corporate America’s reliance on Chinese technology, framing economic ties as a national security risk, seen most recently in a congressman’s comments on Thursday. Representative ...

A former Olympian was indicted on Thursday on a felony charge in what US President Donald Trump has called vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where a renovation project he launched has been riddled with problems. David Hearn, a former...

Two British teenagers convicted of rape must serve time in custody, an appeal judge ruled on Thursday, after a public outcry over a judge’s decision to spare them detention. Lower court judge Nicholas Rowland in May sentenced the two 15-year-old bo...

China told the European Union that it is open to exploring ways to cut its massive trade surplus with the bloc during talks in Brussels this week, according to multiple people briefed on the discussion. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao signalled...

A bomb blast rocked a cafe in Syria’s capital Damascus on Thursday, killing nine people and wounding 20, authorities said, in the latest challenge for the country’s Islamist leaders as they seek stability after more than a decade of war. The bomb...

The World Health Organization on Thursday declared an end to the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship which sparked international alarm, after the last person left quarantine. There were 12 confirmed and one probable case stemming from the MV ...

Hundreds of rescuers in Venezuela cheered and embraced Thursday after pulling a 43-year-old man alive from the ruins of a collapsed building eight days after deadly twin earthquakes. The official death toll has risen to nearly 2,600 and huge numbers ...

A cyberattack on leading Hong Kong appliance distributor Shun Hing Group has compromised the personal information of more than 1 million people, according to the city’s privacy watchdog. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said...

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has said he is deeply saddened by the death of Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who publicly recounted being abducted and detained by mainland Chinese authorities in 2015. Lam died at the age of 70 after a year...

The United States posted weaker-than-expected job growth in June as new data showed the labour market is facing headwinds ahead of the testing midterm election for President Donald Trump’s Republicans. Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 57,00...

Fresh footage has offered the first look at China’s truck-mounted electromagnetic catapult launching a drone, with its developer unveiling details of this large family of containerised weapon systems. The footage shows three eight-wheeled flat-top ...