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Beijing’s recent investigation into three brokerages – Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers and Long Bridge – was partly driven by concerns over foreign exchange “leakage” and the need to protect mainland China’s vast base of retail investors, Hong Kong’s finance chief has said. At a closed-door C-Suite roundtable organised by the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) ...
Beijing’s recent investigation into three brokerages – Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers and Long Bridge – was partly driven by concerns over foreign exchange “leakage” and the need to protect mainland China’s vast base of retail investors, Hong Kong’s finance chief has said. At a closed-door C-suite round table organised by the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-...
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered an investigation into allegations of mass cheating in civil service exams to attain government jobs, after thousands of tests were allegedly tampered with to boost scores in exchange for fees of up to US$24,000 each time. The scandal erupted after police and anti-corruption officials raided a company address in Nonthaburi outside Bangkok on...
Hong Kong police have arrested a 15-year-old boy and his father in Wan Chai after officers intercepted the teenager behind the wheel at a late-night traffic checkpoint. Officers from the force’s Hong Kong Island traffic section set up a roadblock at the junction of Marsh Road and Hung Hing Road at around 10pm on Tuesday. During the routine traffic enforcement operation, police stopped a car and fo...
Hong Kong police have arrested a 15-year-old boy and his father in Wan Chai after officers intercepted the teenager behind the wheel at a late-night traffic checkpoint. Officers from the force’s Hong Kong Island traffic section set up a roadblock at the junction of Marsh Road and Hung Hing Road at around 10pm on Tuesday. During the routine traffic enforcement operation, police stopped a car and fo...
Chinese carmakers continued their rapid expansion in Europe last month according to industry data released on Tuesday, as Brussels reportedly weighs fresh tariffs aimed at slowing their advance. Geely Group was the highest-placed Chinese carmaker, ranking eighth among all manufacturer groups in May, according to the latest sales data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (A...
A Pentagon decision to strip “Indo” from the name of its largest unified military command eight years after it was initially added has raised questions about the United States’ continuing commitment to India. In a statement announcing the Indo-Pacific Command’s name change on June 16, US officials portrayed the move as a matter of “honour”, “pride” and respecting “historical roots”. But analysts t...
A camel was seen crying out continuously while carrying a tourist on its back at a major attraction in China, sparking public outrage. The camel drew significant attention online after a blogger released a video on June 15, showing that the skinny animal was forced to stand despite appearing exhausted while carrying a female tourist who was taking photos, as reported by the news portal The Cover. ...
Global confidence in US President Donald Trump’s leadership remains low around the world, while views of his country as a reliable partner continue to decline, a new survey from the Washington-based Pew Research Centre showed on Tuesday. The survey of 42,151 adults across 36 countries was conducted between February and May 2026, a period marked by geopolitical competition with China and the US-Isr...
Hong Kong will allow elderly welfare recipients retiring in Guangdong and Fujian to have cash assistance directly sent to their mainland Chinese bank accounts from July as part of a much-awaited arrangement, the city’s leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced the launch in a social media post on Wednesday during a visit to Fujian, where he met elderly Hong Kong residents living ...
Hong Kong will allow elderly welfare recipients retiring in Guangdong and Fujian to have cash assistance directly sent to their mainland Chinese bank accounts from July as part of a much-awaited arrangement, the city’s leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced the launch in a social media post on Wednesday during a visit to Fujian, where he met elderly Hong Kong residents living ...
Malaysia’s police chief has opened a disciplinary inquiry into a woman who appeared in viral videos mocking people in China as “smelly”, after the clips triggered anger in both countries and forced her into a public apology. Inspector-General of Police Mohd Khalid Ismail said on Tuesday authorities had begun an internal investigation into the personnel involved, identified by her lawyer as Nur Asy...
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was heckled at a World War II memorial event by protesters angry about Tokyo’s further shift away from its decades-long pacifist stance, television footage showed. Close US ally Japan in April loosened rules on lethal arms exports and Takaichi, long seen as a security hawk who last year riled mainland China with comments about Taiwan, has said she wants to re...
Three candidates endorsed by Zohran Mamdani swept to victory in Democratic congressional primaries on Tuesday, showing that the coalition which powered the New York City mayor to a surprising victory last year is gaining strength. Some of the city’s most established political figures were toppled in races that highlighted divisions within the party over ideology, Israel and immigration. Former New...
Both regulators and clients could motivate banks to adopt artificial intelligence for greater efficiency gains in the coming years, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) executive has predicted, adding the trend could intensify the global race to embrace the cutting-edge technology. Over the past few months, multinational banks have approached AWS about how to grow their business in innovative ways, said S...
A Hong Kong primary school that earlier suggested hosting an overnight World Cup viewing event has watered down the plan and moved the event to a weekend morning timeslot in response to feedback from parents. The school clarified that its initial circular, which slated the event for the very early hours of July 15, sought to gauge parental interest, while its shift to daytime aimed to allow for mo...
Europe braced for more of an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed records in many countries and sent air-conditioner sales zooming in a continent unused and ill-equipped to handle searing heat. The extreme weather was being driven by atmospheric and circulation patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days, causing the mercury to slowly rise, with these factors exacerbated by global warm...
Europe braced for more of an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed records in many countries and sent air-conditioner sales zooming in a continent unused and ill-equipped to handle searing heat. The extreme weather was being driven by atmospheric and circulation patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days, causing the mercury to slowly rise, with these factors exacerbated by global warm...
A popular K-pop star has found an unlikely place in the scientific record after researchers in China named a newly discovered fish species after her. Jennie Ruby Jane, from Blackpink, was “a constant source of inspiration” for the master’s student who discovered the tiny black-and-yellow fish – shorter than an average human fingernail – near southern China’s Pearl River estuary. The fish, named Br...
Hong Kong police have arrested a 41-year-old mainland Chinese man on suspicion of impersonating a registered ride-hailing driver and working in breach of his visa conditions. Officers from the force’s traffic New Territories North headquarters carried out the undercover operation on Tuesday afternoon, disguising themselves as passengers in Yuen Long before intercepting two private cars in Sheung S...
The US Senate backed legislation on Tuesday directing US President Donald Trump to halt US military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from an increasingly restive Congress. The Senate voted 50-48 in favour of the war powers resolution, which passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans about...
Airbus on Tuesday said it would inspect 16 A380 planes, five of them immediately, after cracks were found in a key wing component on aircraft used by the Emirates and Qantas airlines. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ordered urgent inspections requiring airlines to examine the wing-spar structure on the affected jets after inspectors found cracks during routine maintenance chec...
Just a short stroll from Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, auctioneer Clarence White struggles to drum up bids for an airy three-storey home that boasts five bedrooms and an alfresco lounge – price tag, A$5.2 million (US$3.64 million). “We know everyone’s cagey at the moment, but that’s OK … all power to those who are registered and those who take action,” the veteran auctioneer tells a small group o...
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said China surpassing the United States on artificial intelligence was the “biggest risk” of the technology – outweighing concerns over safety or job losses. “The biggest risk to AI is China getting ahead of us,” Bessent said at the Economic Club of New York, adding that China’s willingness to discuss AI underscored America’s technological lead. “I am...
India’s private defence companies are poised to expand their footprint in the sector, but analysts warn they still lack the technology and capabilities needed to produce cutting-edge weapons for the country’s military or export markets. In the 2025-26 financial year, the private sector accounted for 24 per cent of India’s defence output, or US$4.4 billion out of a record US$18.7 billion, according...
For anyone closely watching the semiconductor industry, the recent saga around ASML’s denial of possible EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography shipments to China, in an apparent response to US concern, may sound almost absurd at first. The machine at the centre of the discussion is not a laptop-sized piece of equipment that can be easily packed into a shipping carton. ASML’s EUV lithography system...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. As a judge-led panel continues its public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, experts are set to give evidence on factors that contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. Richard Yuen Kwok-kit, chair professor of architectural engineering at t...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. As a judge-led panel continues its public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, experts are set to give evidence on factors that contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. Richard Yuen Kwok-kit, chair professor of architectural engineering at t...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. As a judge-led panel continues its public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, experts are set to give evidence on factors that contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. Richard Yuen Kwok-kit, chair professor of architectural engineering at t...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. As a judge-led panel continues its public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, experts are set to give evidence on factors that contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. Richard Yuen Kwok-kit, chair professor of architectural engineering at t...
