Philippine rescuers were racing against time on Monday in a search for possible signs of life more than 24 hours after the collapse of a building under construction in the city of Angeles, with crews carefully removing rocks and surrounding debris by hand.
The painstaking manual operation around 80 …
The manager of a Hong Kong secondary school whose principal swore at security guards during a student trip to Singapore has said the incident will be investigated, but it is too early to decide whether any disciplinary action will be taken.
Edmund Wong Chun-sek, a former lawmaker and school manager …
The founder of a fast-rising Chinese tech firm has become known as China’s “crazy boss” after a string of online stunts.
Yu Hao, 39, from Jiangsu province in eastern China, is the founder and CEO of Dreame Technology, a smart home appliance maker best known for high-end robot vacuum cleaners.
Founde…
European automotive suppliers are set to benefit from an influx of Chinese carmakers, thanks to growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and persistent local protectionism, according to Vulcan Energy Resources, a lithium and renewable energy producer in Germany.
Chinese EV makers – from BYD to Xpe…
Pope Leo called for the “disarming” of artificial intelligence in his long-awaited manifesto on the rapidly developing technology on Monday, and warned of “new forms of slavery” behind its rise.
The “just war” theory – espoused recently by the Trump administration – was “outdated”, Pope Leo XIV wrot…
A new US immigration policy could force many green card applicants to leave the country and apply from abroad, disrupting families, careers and long-term settlement plans for Asian workers already facing years-long backlogs for visas.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services said on May 22 that it wo…
Leaving her family behind is the toughest part for Hong Kong’s first astronaut as she blasted off on Sunday for her six-month mission, according to her elder sister.
Lai Ka-man recalled that when her sister, 43-year-old Hong Kong police superintendent Lai Ka-ying, was selected as a payload specialis…
In a bustling Hong Kong commercial district, some internet cafes are shifting beyond serving as gaming hubs for young people looking to spend a few hours hunched over a computer playing video games.
Inside one such venue in Mong Kok, gamers can rent one of two private booths for about HK$200 (US$25.…
Taiwan’s defence minister said on Monday he remained “cautiously optimistic” about US approval of an arms package for the island, even as a senior Pentagon official said Washington would put the sale on hold.
The reassurance by Wellington Koo Li-hsiung came after acting US Navy chief Hung Cao said W…
China has praised Pakistan’s role as a mediator in the US-Iran conflict and pledged continuing support for its efforts amid signs that Washington and Tehran are moving towards a peace deal.
Chinese President Xi Jinping thanked visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the country’s “proac…
On the first leg of his four-day China visit, Pakistan’s prime minister – famed for “Sharif speed”, a term describing his swift execution of development projects – met his match in a leading AI tool.
Shehbaz Sharif, keen on accelerating his nation’s digital economy with the help of Chinese firms, is…
A suspected tear gas incident at Tokyo’s Ginza Six luxury shopping centre left 26 people feeling unwell on Monday, prompting a large emergency response in one of Japan’s most famous commercial districts.
The incident took place around noon at the mall in Tokyo’s Chuo ward after police received an em…
A gas explosion that killed at least 82 people in central China – the country’s worst mining disaster in more than a decade – was the result of systemic safety failures across multiple parts of the production chain, according to miners and industry insiders.
The Friday blast at the Liushenyu Coal Mi…
India’s ruling Hindu-nationalist party has ordered detention centres for undocumented Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in West Bengal state, sparking fear among minorities that it could lead to arbitrary expulsions.
The directive comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party …
Jardine Matheson, an investment company headquartered in Hong Kong, announced on Monday the A$3.4 billion (US$2.4 billion) acquisition of the entire stake of an Australian diagnostic and teleradiology group.
The acquisition of I-MED Radiology Network, which spans 215 diagnostic imaging clinics acros…
A Chinese chip pioneer who made his name in Japan – sweeping its top awards and developing the core components of the world’s most advanced production line – has returned to China, along with his team of researchers.
Da Bo, a semiconductor prodigy whose research underpins TSMC’s 3-nanometre chip pro…
Inside the cluttered, silent flat at Wang Fuk Court, time seems to have stood still. On the bathroom door, a calendar remains on the page for November 2025 – the month a deadly fire broke out at the Tai Po estate in Hong Kong.
On what was believed to be their final visit to the undamaged flat, resid…
Israel’s two far-right ministers on Monday called for an escalation of military operations in Lebanon, with one advocating strikes on Beirut in response to Hezbollah’s drone attacks.
“It is time for the prime minister to take a firm stand with Donald Trump and tell him that Israel is returning to wa…
High on the list of deliverables agreed following the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump was the establishment of a board of trade, albeit with little detail on its mission, responsibilities or operations. The White House expects the board “to manage bilateral …
A major diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran could signal sanctions relief for Iran, a development analysts say bodes well for China, the primary buyer of Iranian oil.
Negotiations have advanced on a proposed 60-day ceasefire extension, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the …
African leaders and financiers gathered for the African Development Bank’s annual meeting on Monday as the continent faces shrinking aid flows, with this week’s event in Congo Republic overshadowed by an Ebola outbreak across the border.
Overseas development aid from the world’s richest nations to p…
The era when the three joint communiques set the terms of US-China relations may have “completely come to an end”, a prominent Chinese analyst has warned.
Zhu Feng, dean of Nanjing University’s School of International Studies, also said that it might be “unrealistic” to expect Beijing and Washington…
Hong Kong should harness the excitement sparked by the city’s first astronaut to set up a dedicated office to foster local aerospace technology and development, experts and a top government adviser have said.
Professor Zhang Peng, programme leader for aerospace engineering at City University, urged …
Films generated by ByteDance’s AI technology made headlines at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, as the TikTok owner accelerates efforts to commercialise its flagship Seedance 2.0 model.
Two short films, The Golden Tomb Seeker and Series Tower, created by Chinese platform Chushou AI using Seedance 2…
China and Serbia agreed to deepen security and economic cooperation, with the leaders of the two nations hailing the “ironclad friendship” and strategic bonds between their countries during Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s first state visit to Beijing.
In a comprehensive joint statement issued o…
Twenty-six US semiconductor firms, from Qualcomm to Nvidia, saw their China revenue climb by an average of 20 per cent last year, despite trade tensions, according to a new analysis.
The data, featured in the latest “Hurun Top 100 US Enterprises in China 2026” report released by the Hurun Research I…
Cambodia’s acting head of state, former prime minister Hun Sen, pardoned opposition leader Kem Sokha on Monday from a sentence of almost three decades for treason.
Kem Sokha, who was convicted of trying to topple the former long-ruling leader’s government and sentenced to 27 years, “is pardoned”, Hu…
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At Yew Chung International School of Hong Kong (YCIS HK), a university offer is not a finish line but the first step in a life of service. The Class of 2026 demonstrates this belief: as of mid-April, graduates have secured p…
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that any agreement with Iran should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered agreements aimed at normalising relations with Israel that were forged during Trump’s f…
The estranged husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling more than £400,000 (US$540,000) from the Scottish National Party to fund a lavish lifestyle when he was its chief executive.
Peter Murrell, 61, who was remanded into custody in the High Court in Ed…
Security was tightened in South Africa’s Kruger National Park nature reserve after two tourists were found killed there, authorities said on Sunday.
The two South African victims, a 71-year-old man and a woman whose age was not disclosed, failed to return to their lodge on Wednesday evening, prompti…
Turkish riot police fired tear gas and forced their way into the main opposition party’s headquarters to evict its ousted leadership on Sunday, fuelling a crisis at the heart of Turkey’s democracy.
Clouds of tear gas billowed within the Republican People’s Party (CHP) building while those inside sho…
A shipment of 15,000 tonnes of rice donated by the Chinese government to Cuba has arrived at the port of Havana, the island’s president said on Sunday.
The shipment is the first batch of a promised 60,000 tonnes that China says it will donate to Cuba, which is grappling with dire shortages.
“That no…
The US Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the January 6, 2021, riot, calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda”.
The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions and senten…
Experts trying to prevent a tank holding a highly toxic and flammable chemical from exploding in Southern California found a “potential crack” in the container that might be reducing the pressure, a fire official said on Sunday.
Since Friday, officials have warned that the tank, which contains methy…
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China last week saw the signing of some 40 documents and a joint statement on strengthening the Beijing-Moscow partnership. The visit, just days after US President Donald Trump’s Beijing trip, is more than a diplomatic coincidence. It is a vivid reminder t…
Dr Evan Medeiros is the Penner family chair in Asia studies and the Cling family distinguished fellow in US-China studies at Georgetown University. He has served as the National Security Council’s director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, and later as special assistant to the president and senior dir…
Geopolitical tensions and a funding crisis are jeopardising peacekeeping missions, particularly those under the auspices of the United Nations, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warned on Monday.
Just under 79,000 international staff were deployed in international peacekee…
Oil dropped as the US and Iran edged towards a deal, although US President Donald Trump said that Washington’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would remain until an agreement was completed.
Global crude benchmark Brent fell as much as 5.7 per cent to US$97.64 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate…
Southeast Asia has been planning a unified electricity grid since 1997. Now, nearly 30 years later, its leaders are giving renewed impetus to the push to get energy flowing seamlessly across borders and seabeds.
In Cebu earlier this month, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations put th…
A photographer shooting the final day of the World Surf League (WSL) in New Zealand was injured by what organisers suspect was a sea lion or shark bite on Monday, forcing the event to be put on hold for several hours.
The New Zealand Pro semi-final between Brazilian world champions Yago Dora and It…
A mother in central China has captivated mainland social media with an unconventional homework hack that has her restless son pedalling an old sewing machine while studying.
According to Dazhong Daily, a primary school boy from Anyang, Henan province, struggled to stay focused during homework.
He wo…
Xiaomi is betting on artificial intelligence to future-proof its sprawling hardware empire, pouring massive resources into open-source models to ensure its next generation of smartphones and electric vehicles (EVs) does not get left behind in an AI-driven market.
The Beijing-based firm’s latest AI m…
A single drop of blood could soon be used to screen for early-stage cancer, according to Wen Liaoyong of Westlake University in Hangzhou.
Wen’s team has compressed what was once a refrigerator-sized detection system into something that fits in your hand – and boosted accuracy to about 10,000 times t…
Hong Kong’s airport is set for a shift in volume this summer after airlines quietly swapped jet sizes and reduced scheduled flights to manage costs amid a global fuel crisis and following a jump in economy passenger fares to Europe.
Some airlines told the South China Morning Post they would operate …
XCMG Group, mainland China’s largest construction machinery maker, aims to achieve annual overseas sales of 100 billion yuan (US$14.7 billion), luring more international clients by turning its excavators, cranes and specialised vehicles greener and more automated.
Yang Dongsheng, chairman of the sta…
Singapore’s economy expanded faster than expected in the first quarter as the global artificial-intelligence boom lifted the nation’s manufacturing and services, offsetting the drag from higher crude prices.
Gross domestic product grew a seasonally adjusted 1 per cent in the three months through Mar…
In the global shift towards carbon-neutral mobility, a striking role reversal is taking shape on the pavements of the world’s most populous cities. While geopolitical analysts focus on the high-altitude rhetoric of the Xi-Trump summit in Beijing, a more profound urban reality is unfolding at eye lev…
Each morning, people in Thailand wake up to the latest viral videos on social media of drunken punch-ups, thefts, scams or acts of public indecency committed by some foreign tourists.
After months of warnings, Thailand on May 19 announced the cancellation of its 60-day visa-free entry rules for 93 c…
For decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has preached a mantra of peace and stability in the Middle East through the destruction of Iran’s Islamic Republic.
The obliteration of the ayatollahs, he prophesied, would lead to the normalisation of relations between Israel and the wider Arab…
Three people were killed and one was injured in an accident during lifeboat maintenance work at a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel operated by Malaysian state energy firm Petronas on Sunday, the firm said.
Petronas, or Petroliam Nasional Berhad, said in a statement on Monday the inci…
Hong Kong’s note-issuing banks are replacing burnt cash for Wang Fuk Court residents, following emergency measures introduced by the city’s Monetary Authority and lenders to support those affected by last November’s devastating fire at the Tai Po estate.
The extent of the residents’ financial losses…
A coalition of major EU member states is pushing Brussels towards a much tougher trade regime aimed at combating Chinese-style industrial overcapacity, including faster emergency tariffs, broader safeguards and new anti-circumvention powers.
A paper signed by Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France an…
Singapore train operator SMRT will be stepping up pest control measures at its stations and depots after a video circulating online showed a rat on one of its trains.
In the video posted on social media on Saturday, a rat is seen scurrying around the cabin of a train as two people attempt to corner …
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1. 82 killed in China’s worst coal mine accident for more than a decade
2. Why Bangladesh could raise…
A high-profile alleged sexual abuse case within a wealthy Thai beer brewing family has prompted a wave of painful accounts from survivors of unconnected abuse in the conservative country.
Siranudh Scott, a fourth-generation member of the billionaire Thai family that founded the ubiquitous Singha bee…
The annual haj pilgrimage, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, officially began on Monday.
More than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the country, Saleh bin Saad Al-Murabba, commander of the haj passport forces, said on Friday. The faithful have been pouring into the coun…
A viral video of a blind woman on a tactile pavement being hit by an electric bike, which turned out to be staged, has sparked a wave of public anger in China.
The video has been viewed more than 100 million times online.
It has also raised questions about similar scams involving the visually impair…
Hong Kong police have launched an investigation after a Hung Hom shop cat was found with its tail nearly severed and its lips turning purple before dying at a veterinary clinic on Sunday afternoon.
A 39-year-old woman, who operates a funeral services shop on Lo Lung Hang Street, reported to police a…
The PLA Navy’s aircraft carrier base in Hainan could prove vital to the fleet’s survivability and crucial in countering US containment along the first island chain in wartime, according to a prominent mainland Chinese magazine.
Such a posture could also support efforts to impose a maritime blockade …
US President Donald Trump’s upcoming medical examination is intensifying health-related scrutiny that has surrounded him ever since his first campaign for the nation’s highest office more than a decade ago.
Trump on Tuesday is heading to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre for his fourth pu…
An electric atmosphere swept from the edge of the Gobi Desert all the way back to Hong Kong on Sunday night, as thrilled residents erupted into cheers to celebrate the historic launch of the Shenzhou-23 space mission featuring the city’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying.
Lai, a police superintendent and…
China’s latest space mission, which includes Hong Kong’s first astronaut, lifted off on Sunday night.
The Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China’s Gansu province at 11.08pm local time on Sunday, according to…
With no food aid, 65-year-old Saeedah Mohammed heads out with a plastic bag to pick tree leaves near her displacement camp in southern Yemen, before serving them to her grandchildren to stave off hunger.
Behind the camp wooded hills stretch under a clear sky, while on the ground, yellowed and stony …
As the race to send humans back to the moon heats up, China has been fine-tuning its plans.
On Saturday – the day after the US company SpaceX successfully launched its largest and most powerful Starship – the China Manned Space Agency unveiled further details about its plans to integrate its crewed …
An Israeli air strike on a flat in a refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday left three people dead, including a six-month-old child, health officials said.
Medical workers named the three who died in the Nuseirat refugee camp as Mohammad Abu Mallouh, the infant’s father, Alaa Zaqlan, the mother, an…
Ukraine is calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and a gathering of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) following massive Russian air strikes, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Sunday.
In a statement published on social media, Sybiha a…
Thailand’s navy has to watch two seas at once.
To the east lies the Gulf of Thailand, with its busy shipping lanes, offshore energy interests and long coastal frontier with Cambodia. To the west is the Andaman Sea, a gateway to the Indian Ocean with its own trade routes, chokepoints and strategic pr…
A boy in central China dreamed of making his own silk quilt, prompting his parents to buy 10,000 silkworm eggs to nurture his curiosity.
In May, a mother surnamed Ruan from Wuhan, Hubei province, revealed online that her family was raising silkworms to help realise her six-year-old son’s unusual dre…
For the first time in a decade, a Hong Kong government task force did not conduct any publicity campaign covering gender identity and sexual orientation in the latest financial year, triggering concerns that authorities are taking a lukewarm attitude towards the local LGBTQ community.
Figures from t…
A US plan to build an “AI-native” industrial hub in the Philippines has highlighted the political sensitivities around Washington’s push to secure critical technology supply chains, after Manila rejected proposals for the zone to be governed by US laws or covered by diplomatic protections.
Philippin…
Rescuers clawed through the wreckage of a collapsed Philippines building on Sunday which left 23 people missing, with authorities saying that screams were heard from under the rubble.
Two of those feared trapped were communicating with rescuers on Sunday, said an official in Angeles City, about 80km…
Hong Kong’s technology infrastructure is undergoing a major transformation as local government and businesses replace Western products with domestic alternatives, driven by closer integration with mainland China and rising geopolitical risks, according to tech experts.
US tech giants like Microsoft …
As I return to China, I do so with an abiding sense of respect for a nation that has become one of Serbia’s most indispensable partners and a defining force of our century. In Europe, discussions about China are too often clouded by suspicion and strategic anxiety. I understand that every major poli…
Hong Kong is likely to attract more mainland Chinese retail brands, but unlike the previous wave, non food and beverage (F&B) retailers are the ones ramping up their presence, according to analysts.
The change in profile of mainland brands coming to Hong Kong is helping the city’s landlords fill vac…
Population ageing is fast becoming a global phenomenon. Even regions currently enjoying youthful demographics will eventually undergo demographic transition – and this is increasingly relevant for developing countries too.
Some Southeast Asian economies, Thailand and Vietnam among them, have already…
Ken Mak’s greatest wish before leaving his village in Hong Kong this month is to save the fruit trees planted by his grandfather before the bulldozers arrive.
To give the trees in Yick Yuen Tsuen in Tuen Mun a second chance, he hit on an idea: tree adoption.
Within a week, Mak had recorded the speci…
The owners of a Chinese coal mine where at least 82 people were killed have been accused of “serious violations of the law” by the local government.
As search and rescue operations continued through the night, Chen Xiangyang, the deputy Communist Party secretary of Changzhi in Shanxi province, said …
The leader of Hong Kong offered his praise and blessings to the first local astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, in a video call ahead of the launch of the Shenzhou-23 mission on Sunday, calling her participation a reflection of the country’s support for the city.
In response, payload specialist Lai recalled her…
Russia pounded Kyiv with a massive missile and drone attack that killed four people early on Sunday, authorities said, after President Vladimir Putin threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
Multiple rounds of explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital throughout t…
As the US-Israel war on Iran stretches past its 80th day and continues to upend global naval shipping, a growing number of Chinese investors in Iran are turning to railway and overland transport routes to keep their businesses afloat.
While disruptions to ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz show li…
Chinese robovans could generate twice as much revenue in Southeast Asia and the Middle East than in the domestic market, making overseas expansion a must for profitability, according to autonomous driving leader Zelos Technology.
The company claims to have built the world’s largest robovan fleet sin…
Firefighters warned on Saturday that a tank of toxic chemicals in California is heating up, adding to fears of a catastrophic explosion that has already forced tens of thousands of Californians to evacuate.
About 40,000 residents were ordered to leave their homes in the Garden Grove area of Orange c…
Japan’s immigration authorities plan to crack down on visa overstayers and illegal foreign workers by monitoring social media and other platforms for information or leads.
The initiative is part of the country’s efforts to reduce the number of overstayers at a time when Japan is taking in more forei…
Zimbabwe is betting that its move into lithium processing will finally break the cycle of digging and shipping ore that has defined its mining sector for decades.
This follows the export of the continent’s first consignment of lithium sulphate by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of China’s Zh…
Hong Kong’s Cheung Chau Bun Festival had drawn more than 18,000 visitors by 5pm on Sunday, including tourists who had travelled specifically to watch the parade featuring “floating” children dressed this year as Middle Eastern oil moguls and judges.
Visitors to the outlying island also splurged on f…
Archaeologists in central China have directly challenged the long-held belief that humanity’s earliest ancestors reached their creative peak during warm and hospitable climates.
For more than a decade, a team of researchers in Henan province has studied a 146,000-year-old animal-butchering site once…
Last year, China’s outward direct investment climbed 7 per cent to US$174 billion while overseas mergers and acquisitions rebounded to over US$43 billion, up nearly 40 per cent, according to EY data. Clearly, China’s appetite for global deal-making has returned.
But the approach has changed. A decad…
The expanded second passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport is set to open its doors to travellers on Wednesday, offering 25 new shopping and dining options.
While travellers must still take an autonomous people mover to Terminal 1 for departures after checking in at Terminal 2, the re…
Hong Kong’s finance chief has called for deeper cooperation and greater dialogue with Europe despite disagreements on some issues, saying engagement is crucial amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.
Writing in his weekly blog on Sunday after a five-day trip to France, Belgium and Switzerland, Financ…
Scientists in Brazil are working on a lab-grown donkey collagen that might save the animals from being wiped out worldwide.
Their goal is to meet the Chinese middle class’ insatiable demand for ejiao – a traditional Chinese medicine with purported anti-ageing benefits that is derived from donkey ski…
Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) updated the death toll from the Ebola outbreak to 204 late on Saturday, hours after the Red Cross said three volunteers had died there and Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases.
A health ministry statement said 204 deaths had been recorded in thre…
A blast targeting a train carrying military personnel killed at least 24 people on Sunday in Pakistan’s turbulent southwestern province of Balochistan, a senior official said.
Army servicemen and their relatives were among the victims of the attack in the provincial capital Quetta, with over 50 peop…
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Hongkongers are set for a scorching week ahead, with the forecaster predicting temperatures will climb as high as 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit) on four da…
Hong Kong’s education authorities have demanded a written report from a secondary school after a video went viral that apparently shows its principal swearing at security guards during a school trip to Singapore.
The Education Bureau expressed its concerns over the case on Sunday, saying it had appr…
Images of sparse meals aboard naval vessels deployed in the United States’ war on Iran are a reminder that keeping military forces supplied with adequate food has been a problem for thousands of years.
The photos came to light after a crew member from the USS Abraham Lincoln shared them with family …
Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek’s latest flagship model has been ranked as one of the world’s best on an intelligence-per-dollar basis, far exceeding those from US heavyweights OpenAI and Anthropic in cost-efficiency after a 75 per cent promotional price cut was made permanent.
The…
Hong Kong’s first astronaut will operate a locally developed observatory that monitors key sources of greenhouse gas emissions on Earth during her time aboard the Tiangong space station, the research team behind the project has said.
The imaging equipment could pinpoint the location and intensity of…
New Zealand intends to spend about NZ$1.6 billion (US$936 million) on drones, ship maintenance and naval upgrades to bolster the island nation’s maritime security at a time of increasing concern about supply routes.
Defence Minister Chris Penk said on Saturday that the government would invest in two…
China appears to be close to launching the world’s largest naval support ship.
On Thursday, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation released a picture of one of its shipyards on social media as part of a message marking a new Chinese solar term, which showed a massive hull in a dry dock in the back…
India’s state-run refiners raised retail prices again of diesel and petrol on Saturday to help processors cut losses on discounted sales and to control a spike in demand.
Prices of both fuels rose by nearly one per cent, or less than 1 rupee, with petrol now sold at 99.51 rupees (US$1.0399) and dies…
An early glimpse of the battle to succeed US President Donald Trump atop the Republican ticket played out last week in classic Trumpian fashion when Vice-President J.D. Vance was temporarily demoted to play press secretary.
His hour-long spell fielding questions from the White House “lion’s den” pre…
France has decided to ban Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from French territory, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, adding that this reflected growing anger among governments around the world over the treatment of an activist flotilla heading to Gaza.
“As from t…
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States and Iran are “getting a lot closer” to an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.
But Trump also warned in the phone interview with CBS that if the US and Iran do not come to an agreement, “we’re going to have a situation where n…
Lai Ka-ying suffers from motion sickness, cannot stand hot weather, was not a top student and did not speak Mandarin – all of which made the 43-year-old mother of three an unlikely pick as Hong Kong’s first astronaut.
But the Hong Kong-born payload specialist on China’s Shenzhou-23 mission, which is…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday called India a natural partner and invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, turning the page at least rhetorically on friction despite new-found US warmth towards China.
One week after joining US President Donald Trump on a state visit to Beij…
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has twice in recent weeks urged the country’s armed forces to defend its sovereignty, in a carefully calibrated attempt to sound more assertive on the South China Sea issue without directly challenging Beijing, according to analysts.
While Duterte-Carpio…
A fatal fire at a subdivided flat on Thursday has highlighted the need to eradicate substandard housing in Hong Kong, the housing minister has said, noting that affected residents had a living space of just five square metres (54 sq ft) on average.
Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin was referr…
War is now a possibility in Norway, by the prime minister’s own admission. The country, which borders Russia, has gone into “total defence” mode, preparing its population for the worst in light of the fighting in Ukraine.
Dug beneath a peaceful park, the St. Hanshaugen air raid shelter, one of Oslo’…
In ancient China, women were largely denied formal education and confined to the roles of dutiful wives and mothers.
Against this restrictive social order, two women pushed beyond the limits and left notable marks on medicine, astronomy and mathematics.
About 1,500 years ago, during the Southern dyn…
A group of Hongkongers have started the city’s first corpse restoration team, aiming to provide affordable reconstruction services for badly disfigured bodies so the dead can be buried with dignity and their families can find some comfort.
The six-member team, under local funeral information sharing…
China’s decision to ease residency restrictions on social insurance applicants will help unleash positive, long-term economic growth, according to analysts.
The new measures announced on Friday by the State Council are part of China’s broader push to create a unified national market by removing barr…
A US and Philippine-led military drill seen as targeting China grew this year into the largest yet, prompting Chinese experts to warn that the annual event will exacerbate regional instability amid heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
The decades-old drill called Balikatan, which means shoulder …
An association representing native English-speaking teachers (NETs) in Hong Kong has warned that less-attractive pay offered under a new hiring scheme risks lowering the quality of recruits and standards, with the contracts of some experienced educators not being renewed.
Most public primary and sec…
Pope Leo on Saturday called out companies who seek “dizzying” profits at the cost of environmental pollution, on a visit to an area in Italy known as a hotbed for illegal dumping of toxic waste.
On a visit to Acerra, about 220 km (137 miles) south of Rome, the first US pope urged the world to “reje…
Nearly 10,000 Hongkongers have been granted permanent residence in the UK under a bespoke British immigration pathway launched in January 2021, making them eligible to apply for citizenship next year.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the British National (Overseas) visa pathway, which allows…
Hong Kong’s justice department has rejected online accusations involving the newly promoted public prosecutions director and a colleague, labelling the allegations “despicable behaviour” and an attempt to “defame public officers”.
In a statement on Saturday, the department said it had referred the c…
China is turning coal waste into a source of critical metals including lithium, gallium and germanium, leveraging its advantages in extraction technology and industrial infrastructure.
Coal mining and burning produce large amounts of waste, including coal gangue, the rock embedded in coal seams, and…
Ebola is spreading faster than responders can track it in eastern Congo, where health workers managed to follow up with barely one in five identified contacts in a single day.
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported 83 confirmed infections, 746 suspected cases and 1,603 identi…
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is visiting China as the country seeks support for its efforts to mediate in the conflict between Iran and the United States.
The visit also coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between the two countries, which are…
Foreigners applying for permanent residency in the US will now have to go back to their home countries to seek green cards.
“From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” Zach Kahler, a sp…
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not attend the wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jnr, to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, because he has to stay in Washington for government business.
“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the …
In an era when technology seems to defy all limits, one age-old barrier has managed to endure: geography.
As geopolitical turbulence continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping artery, especially for energy – the search for other fuel sources, and other means of tran…
Chinese President Xi Jinping viewed the Thucydides Trap as the “best diagnosis” of the challenge Beijing faces with Washington when he raised the concept with US leader Donald Trump this month, signalling an awareness that their current path risked conflict, an eminent American political scientist s…
A US federal judge dismissed a criminal case on Friday filed against a Salvadorean man at the centre of a row over US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on migrants.
US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that the indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia by the Trump administration’s Justice Department …
SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.
The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he was taking the company public. It blasted off from …
In a swanky penthouse office outside Kuala Lumpur, tech firm Zetrix AI is putting a grand plan into motion to get 1 million people across Southeast Asia using its artificial intelligence agent, Avatar, by the end of the year.
Designed as an autonomous alter ego, Avatar is adept at dealing with tasks…
Graduates of Hong Kong’s largest vocational training institution have largely avoided the negative effects of AI and could reap more internship opportunities from a coming megaproject, the body’s new leader has said.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, newly appointed Vocational Train…
Ancient China dreamed of future technology long before the modern age, conjuring visions of magic mirrors, ingenious machines and even lifelike wooden puppets.
In the Tang dynasty (618–907) text Duyang Miscellaneous Records, a mysterious stone called the “immortal mirror” appears as a precursor to t…
In 1957, the Soviet Union kicked off the Cold War’s space race, shocking the world by sending Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, into orbit.
Four years later, it did the same to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human in space. In 1969, the US provided another image that def…
Hong Kong will send its first astronaut to the Tiangong space station, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Saturday.
Lai Ka-ying, a police superintendent and tech expert with a doctorate in computer science, will join the Shenzhou-23 mission as a payload specialist. She will become the fourth…
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing in a much weaker position than he did more than four years ago, when he launched his invasion of Ukraine shortly after his last visit.
US President Donald Trump left Beijing after much fanfare. However, he was criticised back at home for failing to…
Seated in a wheelchair, an elderly woman bends silently as her wrinkled fingers move with surprising speed to fold pieces of coloured origami paper into intricate shapes.
Beside her, another woman does the same, both adding their finished pieces to a pile on the table without looking up or exchangin…
Twenty-seven countries have moved since the Iran war started to put in place crisis instruments that could quickly access funding from existing World Bank programmes, according to an internal document viewed by Reuters.
The World Bank document did not name the countries or the total amount of funds…
Scientists in Shanghai have used stem cells to create the world’s first laboratory-grown sinoatrial node – the tiny structure that acts as the heart’s natural pacemaker.
Capable of beating autonomously, the organoid is a breakthrough that researchers say could transform cardiac disease research and …
A four-week United Nations conference reviewing the treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons ended on Friday without agreement as the United States and Iran sparred over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Vietnam’s UN Ambassador Do Hung Viet, who chaired the conference, announced that there was no con…
If you are working on a space station orbiting hundreds of kilometres above the Earth, the woman set to become Hong Kong’s first astronaut when the mission launches this weekend is exactly the type of person you want by your side, according to the professor who supervised her postgraduate studies.
L…
Embattled Chinese developers have turned to a new strategy to resuscitate their ailing businesses: diversifying into semiconductor production.
Certain listed property companies have seen their shares skyrocket – some by hundreds of per cent – after announcing investments in “chipmaking”. Such strate…
A mock political party erupted across Indian social media this week, becoming a symbol of Gen Z disillusionment with the country’s political establishment and anger over a worsening jobs crisis in the world’s most populous nation.
The Cockroach Janta Party, as the satirical movement is known, has al…
When Xi Jinping and Donald Trump concluded their Beijing summit, the most consequential outcome – for China at least – may prove not material, but conceptual: the adoption of “constructive strategic stability” (CSS) as the guiding framework for managing their intensifying competition.
For Southeast …
The unprecedented participation of a Hong Kong researcher in the nation’s space flight mission is testament to the country’s high regard for the city’s innovation and technology talent and accomplishments, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said.
Lee congratulated payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, w…
A rare albino buffalo with flowing blond hair has become an unlikely celebrity in Bangladesh ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, drawing crowds of curious visitors who say the animal bears a striking resemblance to US President Donald Trump.
The nearly 700kg (1,540lbs) buffalo, raised at a farm in…
Donald Trump’s blunt warning that he was not looking to have “somebody go independent” after his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping has reignited debate in Taiwan over whether Washington is hardening its message on the island.
For many in Taipei, the US president’s remarks evoked memories of the …
For Hongkonger Annyee Chan, the decision to stop breastfeeding her son at eight months was a pragmatic response to a city that often feels at odds with the needs of nursing mothers.
Returning to work just one month after childbirth, the self-employed wealth management professional faced a gruelling …
Ten passengers and crew members were injured when a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Brisbane to Hong Kong encountered turbulence early on Saturday morning, with one traveller describing the terrifying experience as similar to “free-falling from a drop tower”.
Cathay Pacific confirmed on Saturday …
At least 82 people have been killed in a blast at a coal mine in the central Chinese province of Shanxi.
State news agency Xinhua reported that the gas explosion happened in Qinyuan county, about 520km (320 miles) southwest of Beijing, on Friday after the mine issued a carbon monoxide alert late on …
For months, the United Arab Emirates had denied Iran’s accusations that it was in league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or hosting his country’s military personnel.
Then, US ambassador to Israel Mick Huckabee handed Tehran a propaganda gift and Abu Dhabi a diplomatic headache all in …
For many Indonesians who have built careers abroad, Nadiem Makarim once represented a particular kind of homecoming success story.
The Brown and Harvard University-educated co-founder of Gojek had walked away from the start-up world to serve in government, bringing with him the aura of Indonesia’s t…
Hong Kong authorities will consider requiring operators to display the odds of winning on claw machines, while remaining open to increasing the prize value and maximum payout per game under a proposed regulatory regime, the home affairs minister has said.
“The most important thing is to protect play…
France has committed €23 billion (US$26.7 billion) to Africa’s private sector in a bid to counter Chinese dominance and rebuild its influence on the continent.
Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron pitched the investment as a “jolt” to reset r…