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Hong Kong is broadening its equity markets, deepening its offshore yuan business and expanding further into gold trading under its first five-year plan for economic and social development, as the city seeks to defend its standing as Asia’s top financial centre and close the gap with London. Unveiled on Wednesday by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu alongside his 2026 policy address, the blueprint o...
A former police constable who was left paralysed and bedridden for 21 years after a knife attack during a stop-and-search has died, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source said Jacky Chu Chun-kwok died on Wednesday. He was in his fifties. Frankie Leung Chun-kit, chairman of the Junior Police Officers’ Association, said on Thursday that the force’s management supported burying Chu in Gal...
A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to 22 months behind bars for driving his Tesla car dangerously and causing a 19-year-old student’s death at a pedestrian crossing two years ago. The District Court on Thursday also disqualified Ernest Au Yeung Shiu-hong from driving for five years and criticised his “extremely dangerous and irresponsible” attitude that led to Lisa Pun’s death on November 7, 2024....
Russia is increasingly mobilising North Korean workers to build military drones for use against Ukraine in defiance of international sanctions, giving Pyongyang a key source of revenue to fund its unlawful weapons programmes, according to a report by the US and its allies. Up to 25,000 North Koreans were believed to be working in Russia’s drone industry, including at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarst...
Hong Kong aims to expand the number of global destinations connected to its airport from 220 to 240 by 2030, with authorities exploring the launch of routes to Uzbekistan. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled the goal in the city’s first five-year plan, stating authorities would explore aviation partnerships with 10 more countries each year between 2026 and 2030, with at least 40 per cent inv...
Hong Kong International Airport recorded a roughly 10 per cent increase in passenger traffic in the first eight months of the year, compared with the same period in 2025, while cargo volume declined for a second consecutive month in August amid weak exports. The airport said passenger numbers rose by 10.1 per cent to 44.3 million between January and August, year on year, while flight movements inc...
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) recorded a roughly 10 per cent increase in passenger traffic in the first eight months of the year, while cargo volume declined for a second consecutive month in August amid weak exports. The airport said passenger numbers rose 10.1 per cent year on year to 44.3 million between January and August, while flight movements increased 3.5 per cent to 269,900. Pass...
Hong Kong’s proposed “AI city brain” will cost HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) for the first phase and will connect to the police’s citywide security camera network, authorities have revealed, while stressing that the new system would not be used for crime detection or the surveillance of residents. Speaking at a Legislative Council question and answer session on Thursday following his annual pol...
Hong Kong’s new “AI city brain” will not involve personal data and poses no privacy concerns, the city leader has said, adding that the system will also help improve visitor management during “golden week” holidays. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also stressed on Thursday the importance of AI education and the need to nurture young people’s AI literacy, citing overseas examples of adolescents wh...
Two German state elections Sunday could deal a double blow to embattled Chancellor Friedrich Merz, two weeks after his party suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of the far-right AfD. Tight races for power – each with their own unique electoral dynamics – are expected in the city state of Berlin and the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The Alternative for Germany is expected...
Figures from some of China’s most prominent firms – including electric vehicle maker BYD and smart manufacturing giant Xiaomi – are likely to accompany President Xi Jinping on his trip to the US next week, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. The entourage would draw a parallel to the coterie of CEOs that US President Donald Trump brought to Beijing in May, and could signal great...
Intense public discussions surrounding the downsides of technology have been sparked by a Chinese man accusing a phone company’s lock screen feature of obstructing his father from calling an ambulance, which he claims contributed to his mother’s death. On September 10, a 19-year-old man named Zhang shared on social media that his mother suffered a heart attack around 4am on August 30. His father a...
A man believed to be millions of dollars in debt is suspected of murdering his wife in their flat after previous financial disputes, according to preliminary investigations by Hong Kong police. Superintendent Kwan Chun-ting, assistant district commander of Eastern district crime squad, said on Thursday that a 51-year-old man had turned himself in at Kowloon City Police Station at 7.30pm the previo...
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has called for stricter regulations and sanctions against those who use slash and burn methods to clear land, as the country struggles to contain wildfires that have been raging for weeks. Indonesia is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with “super El Nino” weather parching the country’s forests and fields. The islands of Borneo and Sumatra have...
Hong Kong’s leader has vowed to examine whether the government can better support women aged over 40 seeking assisted reproductive treatment, while acknowledging that financial incentives alone would not reverse the city’s falling birth rate. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made the pledge during a radio phone-in programme on Thursday, when residents described obstacles to having children, includ...
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has vowed to examine whether the government can better support women aged over 40 who are seeking assisted reproductive treatment, while acknowledging that financial incentives alone would not reverse the city’s falling birth rate. Lee made the pledge during a radio phone-in programme on Thursday, when residents described obstacles to having children, including jo...
Hong Kong aims to adjust listing rules to grab a share of initial public offerings (IPOs) by mainland China’s space companies as activity in the sector increases in line with Beijing’s priorities and heightened activity in the sector following the blockbuster June listing by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. That could lead to more head-to-head competition between the Hong Kong stock exchange and the Shanghai S...
We have put together stories from our coverage of John Lee’s 2026 policy address. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. 14 key takeaways from John Lee’s policy address, Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has placed deepening integration with mainland China and developing new economic engines centre stage as he unveile...
Electronic payment providers need to be more diligent in vetting companies that use their platforms to protect people from fraud, the Philippine central bank said. The requirement came after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas found thousands of illegal businesses on the payment platforms, including many online casinos masquerading as more ordinary companies like beauty salons and bakeries. “We want to pr...
The US House of Representatives held billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for defying subpoenas issued in its investigation into notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The resolution was adopted by unanimous consent, without a recorded vote, a day after the House Oversight Committee unanimously recommended the action. The matter will now be referred to the Justice ...
When transgender woman Kali Sidharth Medepalli began hormone replacement therapy in India, she expected to complete her medical transition and undergo surgery within a year. But just months after she began treatment earlier this year, India’s parliament amended the country’s transgender law, and the clinic where she was receiving care stopped her medicines. “Everything shut down,” the 23-year-old ...
Among the world’s most connected airports, Guangzhou’s hub has posted the fastest rise through the latest rankings, according to an annual list compiled by aviation data firm OAG. And overall, Chinese hubs stood out as carriers expanded their international networks with added flights. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in southern China jumped to 19th place, from 36th last year, in OAG’s Megah...
Okinawa has handed a landslide victory to a conservative who accepts Tokyo’s plans for relocating a controversial US airbase – delivering a blow to 12 years of anti-base politics in Japan’s southernmost prefecture. Genta Koja’s victory on Sunday over two-term governor Denny Tamaki raised a question cutting to the heart of Okinawa’s post-war politics: is it finally starting to move on from the US m...
Severe weather disruptions will amplify food security risks in Asia, potentially triggering civil unrest and political instability in vulnerable countries such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines, according to consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. The warning comes as the war in Iran has already disrupted fuel and fertiliser supplies, both of which are key agricultural inputs. Now, weather extremes l...
North Korea’s decision to send a record delegation to the 2026 Asian Games in Japan could serve as a calculated opening for limited diplomacy with Washington and Tokyo, even as major obstacles to formal talks remain. State media reported on Wednesday that a delegation led by Kim Il-guk, North Korea’s sports minister, had left for Japan to attend the Games. The 20th Asian Games are being held in Na...
In response to the August 27 case of a young man lifting up and carrying a young woman at a party, City University authorities have established a student discipline panel. The man was reportedly half-naked while the woman was clad in only shorts and a bra. Am I the only person to think that a mountain is being made out of a molehill here? We run the risk of using a sledgehammer to crack the prover...
A romantic marriage proposal at a concert in northern China attracted significant backlash after the couple blocked the view of other spectators, leading to numerous complaints. On September 12, Chinese folk singer Zhao Lei performed at Beijing’s National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest. As tens of thousands of fans sang along, a man in the front section of the audience stood up to propose to hi...
New Delhi and Islamabad summoned each other’s top diplomats to lodge strong protests after an Indian and a Pakistani naval vessel collided in international waters. India’s foreign ministry said that it had called in Pakistan’s senior envoy to formally register a strong objection over what it said was “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct” of Pakistani naval units that led to a collision with an...
Japan’s proposed port upgrades in Indonesia’s Natuna Islands reflect Tokyo’s push to bolster South China Sea security without building an overt military footprint. However, analysts stress that the move does not mean Jakarta is siding with Japan in its efforts to contain Beijing. Japan, which earlier this year eased its restrictions on lethal weapons exports, is ramping up security cooperation wit...
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Thursday that the country’s nuclear-armed status was “absolute”, calling those hoping for its denuclearisation “idiots”. North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state, with its leadership declaring the country’s nuclear arsenal permanent and irreversible. US President Donald Trump recently said Pyongyang posse...
