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Hong Kong’s financial chief has revised the city’s fiscal surplus for the previous year to HK$11 billion (US$1.91 billion), nearly four times the original estimate, saying the ongoing Middle East conflict had a limited impact on the economy with gross domestic product (GDP) growth remaining strong in the first quarter. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also dismissed concerns that increased bond...
We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s EV and battery makers race to cut charging times to under 10 minutes Battery makers and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers have seized on the Beijing Auto Show to showcase techn...
Hong Kong expects about 980,000 mainland Chinese visitors over the Labour Day “golden week” holiday from May 1 to 5, a 7 per cent increase from last year. Instead of rushing through major attractions, many travellers are opting for slower, highly curated itineraries centred on exhibitions, neighbourhood walks and carefully timed photo spots – trends driven by popular social media platforms such as...
South Korea’s jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol had his prison sentence increased on Wednesday in a separate case linked to his failed martial law decree, in what analysts said could be a “bellwether” for the trials still unfolding from the crisis. The Seoul High Court raised Yoon’s sentence from five years to seven for obstruction of justice and other offences after finding that he used presi...
A South Korean appeal court increased the sentence of jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday to seven years for obstructing justice, up from five years. “The court sentences the defendant to seven years in prison,” a judge at the Seoul High Court said, calling Yoon’s actions “highly reprehensible”. The court delivered the ruling in a televised hearing, the first decision by a spec...
Hong Kong will introduce a two-month subsidy for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used by taxis, minibuses and school buses from May, amid soaring fuel prices, while a previously announced diesel subsidy will take effect on Thursday. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday that the interdepartmental task force monitoring fuel price movements had proposed a 50 HK cents per litre subsidy ...
Hong Kong will introduce a two-month subsidy for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used by taxis, minibuses and school buses from May, amid soaring fuel prices, while a previously announced diesel subsidy will take effect on Thursday. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday that the interdepartmental task force monitoring fuel price movements had proposed a 50 HK cents per litre subsidy ...
A massive genomic study of Indigenous peoples in the Americas has uncovered evidence of a previously unknown migration into South America that occurred as recently as 1,300 years ago – during China’s Tang dynasty. These new settlers carried genes remarkably similar to Indigenous populations in what is now Australia and the Pacific Islands, according to the study published online by the journal Nat...
A Hong Kong cook has been jailed for 18 years for persistently sexually abusing the daughter he shares with his mistress, with the presiding judge also criticising the victim’s mother for trying to keep her silent. The High Court on Wednesday said a deterrent sentence was necessary for the 61-year-old to reflect society’s abhorrence of the “evil” crimes he committed against the girl when she was a...
A Hong Kong cook has been jailed for 18 years for persistently sexually abusing the daughter he shares with his mistress, also slammed by the judge for trying to keep the victim silent about the defendant’s crimes. The High Court on Wednesday said a deterrent sentence was necessary for the 61-year-old to reflect society’s abhorrence of the “evil” crimes he committed against the girl when she was a...
Thailand is turning to live-streamers to clear a looming durian glut, slashing prices as weaker Chinese demand threatens its biggest export market. Top online seller Pimradaporn Benjawattanapat, or Pimrypie, led a high-energy live stream on Tuesday night, pitching to her combined 31 million TikTok and Facebook followers. Known for selling everything from her own-brand fish sauce to luxury perfumes...
Being a Malaysian Indian is apparently a good indication that you are unlikely to fall for a scam. Police have found that potential victims from the ethnic group are more than likely to frustrate scammers with a barrage of questions. Malaysians lost an estimated 2.7 billion ringgit (US$684 million) to online scams last year alone, according to data from cybersecurity firm Fortinet Malaysia – a 76 ...
Russia will mark victory over Nazi Germany next month with a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square, but with no military equipment displayed in view of the operational situation in the war in Ukraine, the Defence Ministry said late on Tuesday. The parade, traditionally held on May 9, the day the Soviet Union signed Germany’s surrender, would this year mark the 81st anniversary of victory in what...
Russia will mark victory over Nazi Germany next month with a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square, but with no military equipment displayed in view of the operational situation in the war in Ukraine, the Defence Ministry said late on Tuesday. The parade, traditionally held on May 9, the day the Soviet Union signed Germany’s surrender, would this year mark the 81st anniversary of victory in what...
A social media account in China with more than 11 million followers which targets juveniles has been banned for forcing young female live-streamers to stay in a tank with a crocodile. The permanent ban also came after the account was exposed of also having made the women hold their breath under water. The account with the handle @Yebali, which means Night Paris in English, had been in operation on...
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), operator of Asia’s third-largest stock market, reported a record quarterly profit in the first three months of 2026, buoyed by more new listings and increased turnover. Net profit rose 27 per cent to HK$5.19 billion (US$662 million) – or HK$4.10 per share – from a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday. The result beat the HK$4.6 billion consensus amon...
Residents of two blocks, including one of the worst hit, returned to their fire-ravaged homes at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court on Wednesday hoping to collect belongings, with some vowing to begin a new journey after bidding a final farewell to their flats. While some looked towards a fresh start, others grappled with the loss of cherished belongings and the condition of their homes. Two sisters surna...
Hong Kong authorities have pledged to intervene in landlord-tenant disputes preventing residents from retrieving belongings from the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, as packing efforts enter their 10th day. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said on Wednesday that while the government expected agreement on limited entry quotas, authorities were prepared to make “alternative arrangements” to...
China’s top market regulator is intensifying its crackdown on debt-laden “zombie companies” – rolling out a pilot programme in seven economic hubs to facilitate the forced exit of unprofitable firms often propped up by government subsidies or bank loans. The move signals a broadening of Beijing’s campaign against local protectionism and the low-quality vicious competition that officials say result...
The leader of Mali’s military government, Assimi Goita, on Tuesday made his first public appearance since insurgents launched coordinated attacks over the weekend, vowing in a televised address to “neutralise” those responsible. West Africa’s al-Qaeda affiliate and a Tuareg-dominated separatist group hit Mali’s main army base and the area near Bamako’s airport in the attacks on Saturday, while al...
Thailand’s vision for a land bridge splits opinion: some see it as a crucial new Asian trade route for a global economy held hostage by geography, while others view it as an expensive and environmentally ruinous distraction for a kingdom with plenty already on its plate. But to its backers, the proposed road and rail corridor, bookended by ports on the Gulf of Thailand and another 90km (56 miles) ...
Ground-handling company SATS has apologised over a video circulating online showing a service crew member throwing luggage onto a baggage belt at Singapore’s Changi Airport. “The behaviour seen in the video does not reflect our service standards or the care with which we expect baggage to be handled,” SATS said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are sorry that this occurred.” In a social media video p...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong’s weather forecaster issued an amber rainstorm warning on Wednesday calling on the public to seek safe shelter as thunderstorms and intense gusts might hit the city. The Hong Kong Observatory raised the signal at 11.35am and said areas of intense thun...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong’s weather forecaster has issued an amber rainstorm warning, calling on the public to seek safe shelter as thunderstorms and intense gusts are set to hit the city. The Hong Kong Observatory raised the signal at 11.35am on Wednesday, saying areas of int...
Homeowners of the only block undamaged in the deadly Wang Fuk Court inferno who decline the government’s buy-back offer will face significant challenges in the management and maintenance of their properties in the long run, Hong Kong authorities have warned. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Wednesday that while the government respected homeowners’ decisions, the possibility ...
India’s major airlines warned of a potential suspension in services unless the government lowered jet fuel prices. “The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations,” the Federation of Indian Airlines, representing carriers including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, said in a letter to India’s Civil Aviation Ministry, seen by Bloom...
Israel’s reported deployment of its Iron Dome missile defence battery in the UAE signals a “watershed moment” in Middle Eastern security alignments, analysts say, as the war in Iran highlights the critical role of such air defence systems. Israel sent an Iron Dome air-defence system along with troops to the United Arab Emirates “early in the war with Iran”, Axios said in a report this week citing ...
UK King Charles gave US President Donald Trump a taste of his own medicine at a White House state dinner on Tuesday when he joked that without the British, Americans would be speaking French. As the heads of state traded jokes during their dinner toasts, Charles referenced previous comments by Trump aimed at European allies he accuses of freeloading on defence since World War II. “You recently com...
Asia’s oil import-dependent economies will benefit from the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) exit from Opec, though the ongoing closure of the arterial Strait of Hormuz may not offer any immediate relief from soaring prices, analysts say. Global oil prices continued to surge on Wednesday, with benchmark Brent crude oil prices hitting US$111 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) approaching US$1...
Plans to build a mosque in Fujisawa, a city southwest of Tokyo, have become the latest flashpoint for Muslim communities in Japan, as a growing need for places of worship meets resistance from some local residents. Muslim community leaders and scholars said the opposition in Fujisawa reflected a broader pattern in Japan, where resistance to mosques has increasingly been shaped by negative overseas...
