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Hong Kong police have arrested 125 people in a crackdown on a triad group that monopolised lunchbox supply businesses at construction sites by intimidating and extorting other vendors, while also running multiple illegal gambling dens. The force said on Monday that it had cracked down on a syndicate that had gained a monopoly over lunchbox catering at private and public housing building sites in E...
A Hong Kong doctor fraudulently issued more than 3,700 Covid-19 vaccination exemption certificates over seven months during the pandemic, allowing some residents to avoid inoculation on the grounds of skin allergies, chest pain and other conditions, a court has heard. Dr Tai Kong-shing, 80, stood trial at the District Court on Monday over allegations that he generated the certificates en masse for...
Indonesia and Singapore vowed on Monday that the Strait of Malacca, a critical oil transit chokepoint in the region, will remain “accessible” even as Iran imposes fees on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto discussed the matter with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Jakarta as Southeast Asia reels from the effects of oil prices pushed sky-high by ...
Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara and Singapore’s Keppel Electric, Sembcorp Industries and Singapore Energy Interconnections have signed a memorandum of understanding for a cross-border electricity project, Singapore’s prime minister said on Monday. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was speaking at a press conference following a meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto...
Singapore’s decision to open more labour channels to workers from East Timor could give the city state an “early-mover” edge in an emerging Asean market, though the economic gains are expected to take years. Analysts also say both countries, whose leaders met last week in the capital of Asean’s newest member, are looking at a “win-win” situation, with the deal set to ease Singapore’s structural ma...
Clashes in a Sri Lankan jail have killed at least 23 people, including four guards, and wounded more than 100 in the worst prison riot in more than five years, officials said on Monday. The wounded were rushed to the Negombo hospital, north of the capital Colombo, following overnight clashes between inmates from two drug gangs, police said. Hospital director Pushpa Gamlath said 23 bodies were brou...
The Chinese social media was shaken by a Good Samaritan deed that ended in tragedy when an elderly farmer died in a car crash shortly after receiving kind help from an influencer. The influencer, who has dedicated himself to helping farmers in central China’s Henan province and has 84,000 followers, posted a video of himself assisting an 81-year-old farmer on June 25. The influencer, surnamed Zhan...
A spate of seizures of Thai cannabis in the United Kingdom, Germany, Indonesia and Hong Kong has cast a shadow over the Southeast Asian nation’s decriminalisation of the plant. Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, promising a lucrative new cash crop for a market intended strictly for medicinal use. But four years on, with lawmakers still wrangling over cannabi...
A spate of seizures of Thai cannabis in the UK, Germany, Indonesia and Hong Kong has cast a shadow over the Southeast Asian nation’s decriminalisation of the plant. Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, promising a lucrative new cash crop for a market intended strictly for medicinal use. But four years on, with lawmakers still wrangling over cannabis control le...
Cantopop star Sammi Cheng Sau-man’s highly anticipated concerts in Hong Kong this weekend have been postponed after the organiser said a stage glitch forced a delay to the event. The three-day concert, scheduled for Friday to Sunday, is the final stop of Cheng’s Asia Tour. It will be watered down into free appreciation shows, with ticket holders given the choice to opt for a refund or retain their...
Global institutional investors are pivoting away from basic market entry to scaling up their yuan operations, with offshore hubs such as Hong Kong emerging as the central infrastructure for that shift, a new survey showed. The survey, conducted by HSBC and polling more than 120 institutional investors collectively managing over US$32 trillion in assets across 12 Asia-Pacific markets, found that 63...
Hong Kong’s medical watchdog’s guilty verdict against a paediatrician over a case that left a boy permanently disabled more than 16 years ago has shown that its earlier argument for ending the long-delayed probe on fairness grounds was unfounded, observers have said. Medical sector lawmaker David Lam Tzit-yuen on Monday said it was “clearly extremely unsatisfactory” that the case had taken 16 year...
Floodwater breached a reservoir in southern China and threatened others, as heavy rain pounded the region, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people in the area. Chinese authorities urged caution and ordered rescue and evacuation operations, with Typhoon Maysak expected to bring more bad weather. On Monday, breaches and flooding were spotted at multiple reservoirs in the city of Hengzhou and Bi...
Floodwater breached a reservoir in southern China and threatened others, as heavy rain pounded the region, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of people in the area. Chinese authorities urged caution and called for rescue and evacuation, with bad weather predicted to continue under the influence of Typhoon Maysak. On Monday, breaches and flooding were spotted at multiple reservoirs in the city o...
Indonesia has deported 92 Chinese suspected scammers and barred them from the country for life in one of the biggest mass exercises in recent years. The Chinese nationals had been arrested in May in connection with an alleged online gaming and investment fraud syndicate operating from a flat complex in the holiday island of Batam, the Jakarta Globe reported. Others arrested came from Vietnam and M...
Seventy-four per cent of Primary Six pupils in Hong Kong were allocated their first-choice secondary school through the central allocation system, matching last year’s record – a result a school council representative attributed to parents making more informed choices. The Education Bureau said on Monday that 48,545 students joined the Secondary School Place Allocation System, an increase of 534 p...
Seventy-four per cent of Primary Six pupils in Hong Kong were allocated their first-choice secondary school through the central allocation system, matching last year’s record – a result a school council representative attributed to parents making more informed choices. The Education Bureau on Monday said that 48,545 students joined the Secondary School Place Allocation System, an increase of 534 p...
This article was first published on July 6, 1998. Roger, over and out, Kai Tak by Rachel Clarke The lights were turned out at Kai Tak at 1.16 this morning, marking the end of the airport’s 73-year history. “Goodbye Kai Tak and thank you,” said Director of Civil Aviation Richard Siegel, before throwing the switch. As the lights went out, hundreds of people worked through the night in a hectic 13-h...
Six people including five children were killed when a building collapsed in Mumbai, officials said on Monday, as monsoon rains pounded India’s financial capital, flooding roads and leading to school closures. A dilapidated residential building collapsed on Sunday in the megacity’s east, trapping residents under the debris, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde said in a statement. The deaths came as heavy rainf...
China’s electric vehicle (EV) deliveries in June failed to match their year-on-year numbers for the sixth month in a row, even as carmakers offered promotions to attract budget-conscious consumers, exacerbating worries about Chinese EV firms’ profitability. A total of 1.04 million pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars were handed to customers in mainland China last month, down 7 per cent from the ...
China’s campaign against corruption, which the country’s leaders have linked to the Communist Party’s ability to stay in power, has been President Xi Jinping’s signature policy since he rose to power in 2012. More than a decade on, it continues apace. The South China Morning Post takes a multimedia deep dive into the cases of top officials, known as “tigers”, brought down between 2013 and 2025 to ...
China’s technical schools offer hope to desperate university graduates who cannot find a job – but for many, the reality falls short of the promise. As China’s university graduates face mounting pressure in the job market, a growing number are turning to an unconventional lifeline: vocational training schools. The phenomenon, known as “returning to the furnace”, involves degree-holders enrolling i...
China’s technical schools offer hope to desperate university graduates who cannot find a job – but for many, the reality falls short of the promise. As China’s university graduates face mounting job market pressures, a growing number are turning to an unconventional lifeline: vocational training schools. The phenomenon, colloquially known as “returning to the furnace”, sees degree-holders enrollin...
Vast crowds gathered for the funeral procession of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Monday, with authorities estimating millions were on the streets in numbers that could rival those of his predecessor’s farewell nearly four decades ago. Authorities have yet to give an official turnout figure but huge numbers stretched along major boulevards in the Iranian capital. The ceremon...
The funeral procession for Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei began in Tehran on Monday, state television reported, as authorities prepared for crowds that could rival those that turned out for his predecessor nearly four decades ago. The ceremonies offer Iran an opportunity to project resilience after war with the United States and Israel, while attention remains focused on Khamenei’s succes...
A 15-year-old student was stabbed multiple times at a secondary school in Malaysia on Monday, in an attack that sent students fleeing and prompted a police investigation. The victim was stabbed in the back and shoulder and is being treated in hospital. Police said the alleged attacker, also 15, had been absent from the school in Banting for several months while undergoing medical treatment. Kuala ...
At least five people have been injured in a collision between a bus and a luggage trailer at Hong Kong International Airport. A police spokesman said officers received a report at 8.56am on Monday that a passenger vehicle and a trailer had collided on the airport’s south apron, injuring five people on the bus. “All five were mildly injured and remained conscious. They have been sent to North Lanta...
A late childless couple in China donated five million yuan (US$735,000) to help 455 children with congenital heart disease, despite living an extremely frugal life themselves. The couple’s story was revealed at a charity exhibition late last month in Shanghai, according to the news website The Paper. Du Yingrong passed away in 2018 at the age of 81, while his wife, Lu Suying, died last year at the...
An upper-deck window of a Hong Kong bus was shattered after hitting a tree branch on Monday, leaving one passenger with minor injuries. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said on Monday night that the tree was under its purview and would be removed following the incident. Police said they received a report at around 8am that a KMB route 277E bus hit an overhanging tree while travelling i...
An upper-deck window of a Hong Kong bus was shattered after hitting a tree branch on Monday, leaving one passenger with minor injuries. Police said they received a report at around 8am on Monday that a KMB route 277E bus hit an overhanging tree while travelling in the left lane of Ching Hiu Road in Sheung Shui, outside the Glorious Peak residential development. According to the bus company, one pa...
