Indonesia is trying to engineer a Ramadan spending boost, rolling out transport fare cuts and food handouts to shore up consumption during its busiest shopping season, but economists question how far the temporary support can go in lifting growth. Th...

In 1994, Richard Leiter, a South African entrepreneur, took a gamble on the then unknown Chinese commercial truck maker FAW with the introduction of the first Jiefang CA141 truck into the South African market. Two decades later, he had transitioned f...

Belgium summoned the US ambassador on Tuesday over a social media post where he accused the country of antisemitic persecution of Jewish Belgians, the kingdom’s foreign minister said. “Labelling Belgium as antisemitic is not just wrong, it’s da...

China’s Unitree Robotics plans to ship as many as 20,000 humanoid robots this year, up from about 5,500 in 2025, according to chief executive Wang Xingxing, after the company drew global attention with its appearance at Monday night’s Spring Fest...

An Indian court has issued death sentences against three men convicted of raping an Israeli tourist and another woman, and killing a man near a Unesco World Heritage site. The men had attacked a group of five people, which included the Israeli and an...

A Sydney man who tried to post native lizards, dragons and other reptiles out of Australia in bags of popcorn and biscuit tins has been sentenced to eight years in jail, authorities said on Tuesday. The eight-year term handed down on Friday was a rec...

Hong Kong has welcomed at least four new babies as it enters the Year of the Horse, including a girl whose father is a talent visa holder from mainland China and a boy who is the fifth child of a local couple. Four babies were born at midnight on Tue...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is unlikely to replace feng shui masters despite a growing trend of people turning to chatbots for fortune-telling, Hong Kong soothsayers have said, warning against blindly trusting such software as it may produce “dang...

If there is one big threat to maritime security in Southeast Asia, it is the growing wariness between the big players in the region. That was the assessment from Kao Kim Hourn, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), ...

Taiwan singer Kenji Wu has received official praise for his grass roots charitable activities in mainland China. Wu, better known as Wu Kequn in China, shot to fame more than two decades ago for his romantic songs. He has a large fan base across the ...

India’s environmental court has given the go-ahead to the strategically significant Great Nicobar infrastructure project despite widespread concerns of ecological damage to the island in the Andaman Sea. The National Green Tribunal on Monday dismis...

Local residents and tourists flocked to the wishing tree in Tai Po on the first day of the Lunar New Year to pray for good health, happiness and prosperity for Hong Kong. Despite intermittent showers and temperatures of around 18 degrees Celsius (64 ...

Hong Kong will welcome the Year of the Horse with a 23-minute Lunar New Year fireworks display on Wednesday, showcasing vibrant elements inspired by the energy and spirit of horses. Themed “Prosperity Gallops Across Hong Kong”, the fireworks show...

In the run-up to Lunar New Year, Chinese consumers were busy choosing gold jewellery, a traditional gift with deep cultural connotations, as strong market sentiment overshadowed sharp fluctuations in gold prices and assessments of the sector’s outl...

Anastasia Kucherova, a Russian living in Milan, voiced her opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine with a highly symbolic, if anonymous, act: carrying the Ukraine team placard during the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Kucher...

Crowds filled Hong Kong’s airport and a major cross-border rail terminal on the first day of the Lunar New Year, with many visitors saying they chose to spend the holiday in the city to enjoy its festive spirit, food and mild weather. According to ...

Can a dose of old-fashioned matchmaking sell a destination? Singapore’s tourism board is betting it might, inviting US-based singles to be paired by “aunties” for a chance to win a four-night trip in a campaign marketers see as an attempt to so...

An extremely rare Pokemon card owned by American YouTuber Logan Paul has sold for US$16,492,000, smashing the record for the most expensive trading card sold at an auction. The supposedly unique PSA 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator was originally bought...

US warehouse retailer Sam’s Club has gained traction among Chinese shoppers by strengthening localisation and launching more China-tailored products, continuing to expand even as many foreign retailers have scaled back their mainland operations or ...

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. How a major Bali bu...

A man was killed and two other people critically injured on Tuesday in a stabbing attack in Australia’s financial capital, police said. Emergency services were called to a suburb in Sydney’s west at about 10am after reports that a man had stabbed...

Not far from the fringe of the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in a remote valley to the north of the Karakoram mountain range, China’s road building programme has encountered another tough diplomatic posture from New Delhi. In ...

Garbage-choked streets, overloaded landfills and the fear of trash avalanches haunt Indonesia’s capital region, as the world’s most populous metropolis grapples with a waste crisis. Jakarta and its satellite cities, known collectively as Jabodeta...

Hong Kong airport’s second terminal will fully open on May 27, authorities have announced, with the redeveloped facility set to serve as the base for 15 airlines. The terminal, which will mostly handle regional flights, is part of the airport’s H...

Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has accused President Donald Trump of orchestrating a “cover-up” over files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to an interview with the BBC. “Get the files out. They are slow-walking ...

As China’s workforce heads into another year-end bonus season ahead of the Lunar New Year, the mood is colder than in previous cycles. Unlike a few years ago, when social media was flooded with posts flaunting outsized payouts, public talk of bonus...

The broad anti-base alliance that has shaped Okinawa’s politics for nearly a decade is reeling after a bruising election defeat, raising questions about the future of organised resistance to the US military presence on Japan’s southernmost island...

US ⁠President Donald Trump has said he will be “indirectly” involved in talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme set to begin on Tuesday in Geneva. “I’ll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they’ll be very i...

Hongkongers and world leaders should take a step back and be careful to avoid conflicts during the Year of the Horse, feng shui masters have warned, saying the zodiac sign contains excessive “fire energy” that could trigger aggressive action. Soo...

To welcome the arrival of spring, Chinese people across the nation observe a series of seasonal rituals such as Biting the Spring, Whipping the Spring and Speaking the Spring. The customs reflect people’s hopes for renewal, good fortune and a prosp...

North Korea appears to be recasting the human cost of its involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine as a carefully staged display of loyalty and leadership, with analysts pointing in particular to the unveiling of a new housing district in Pyongyang f...

Three people, including the suspect, were fatally shot during a Rhode Island youth hockey game on Monday, authorities said. Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that three other victims are hospitalised in critical condition. “We ha...

Nancy Guthrie’s family has been cleared as possible suspects in her abduction, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said on Monday, as the case involving the mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie entered its third week. Guthrie’s family, whi...

US President Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to South Africa has arrived in the country where he will seek to improve fraught ties between the two states. An embassy official told Reuters on Monday that ‌the envoy, conservative activist and wr...

China has been urged to build dual-use satellite application systems to increase the military use of commercial technology. The appeal by researchers from a university affiliated with the Central Military Commission – China’s highest command body...

Spain said on Monday it will use UN channels to send humanitarian aid to Cuba, which is suffering an acute economic crisis worsened by a de facto US fuel blockade. “Spain will provide humanitarian aid … to Cuba through the United Nations system i...

On February 12, Bangladesh held its first official general election since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. Compared with previous elections marred by violence and turmoil, this one was relatively calm. Although there were scattered allegatio...

Greece said on Monday it will seek to obtain a series of photos that appear to show the final moments of 200 Greeks who were executed by a Nazi firing squad in Athens during World War II, after the previously unknown pictures appeared on an online sa...

The Pentagon is close to cutting ties with Anthropic and may label the artificial intelligence company a supply chain risk after becoming frustrated with restrictions on how it can use the technology, Axios news website reported. Anthropic’s talks ...

The militant Palestinian organisation Hamas used emojis to signal to its fighters the start of the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli TV channel N12 reported on Monday. It cited the Israeli army as its source but a military spokeswoman ...

Robert Duvall, who played the smooth mafia lawyer in The Godfather and stole the show with his depiction of a surfing-crazed colonel in Apocalypse Now, has died at the age of 95. His death on Sunday was confirmed by his wife Luciana Duvall. “Yester...

US President Donald Trump denounced a clean ⁠energy agreement between ⁠the United Kingdom and ⁠California Governor Gavin Newsom hours after it was signed on Monday, Politico reported. In an interview with the news outlet, Trump said it was “i...

Austrian prosecutors ⁠have filed terrorism-related and ⁠other charges against a now 21-year-old suspect arrested just before a 2024 Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, who they said planned to carry out an Islamist militant attack. The Vienna prosecu...

Thousands of worshippers flocked to Hong Kong’s best-known Taoist temple on Monday for the annual ritual of the burning of the first incense sticks, marking the start of Lunar New Year with prayers for prosperity and health in the Year of the Horse...

Visitors have started filling campsites along the seashore in Sai Kung near Hong Kong’s famed MacLehose Trail for the Lunar New Year break, with officers patrolling to monitor and prevent littering following previous complaints. At Sai Wan Beach, a...

A defamation case by Malaysia’s telecoms regulator against an Australian resident in Thailand was formally withdrawn from a Thai court on Monday after mediation, the sued man and his lawyer said. The case has caused concern among free speech advoca...

A Hong Kong coach driver has been charged after his vehicle crashed on the Shenzhen Bay Bridge, leaving 17 passengers with minor injuries on Sunday. Hong Kong police said on Monday that the man, surnamed Lee, 63, had been charged with dangerous drivi...

Curry fishball plushies, novelty minibus signs and products inspired by Hong Kong iconography emerged as bestsellers at the city’s biggest Lunar New Year fair, with one vendor saying he made more than HK$100,000 (US$12,790) in daily sales. From fir...

America’s increasing use of MQ-9 drones near China poses a challenge to Beijing and makes it more urgent for the People’s Liberation Army to improve counter-reconnaissance, according to military experts. The MQ-9 Reaper can carry out both reconna...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump faces rare pushback within his party ...