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China has cleared the way for a landmark visit by the Dutch trade minister – signalled by Beijing’s quiet removal of long-held sanctions on the official – at a time when their bilateral relations need some attention, according to people familiar with the matter. Beijing has agreed to host Sjoerd Sjoerdsma for a visit and has removed him from the sanction list, a source said, speaking on condition ...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong is bracing for a sharp change in weather as a cold front and upper-air disturbances are set to bring heavy showers on Wednesday, followed by a sharp drop in temperature to as low as 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) on Thursday. The Observatory said ...
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort posted a 36 per cent drop in net profit to HK$536 million (US$68 million) last year, due to higher costs, increased outbound travel by residents and weather disruptions, although earnings were the second-highest on record and the theme park is now debt-free. The Lantau Island theme park on Tuesday reported its results for the financial year ending last September, with r...
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort posted a 36 per cent drop in net profit to HK$536 million (US$68 million) last year, due to higher costs, increased outbound travel by Hongkongers and weather disruptions. The Lantau Island theme park on Tuesday reported its results for the financial year ending last September, with revenue down 1.35 per cent year on year to HK$8.69 billion and visitor numbers falling 2...
A college student stranded in the mountains of Vietnam reportedly survived for 37 hours on just Orion Choco Pies. The South Korean snack, already beloved across Vietnam and often exchanged as a gift during the Lunar New Year, is now drawing attention as a survival essential in emergencies. According to Vietnamese news outlet VnExpress, Nguyen Tuan Anh, a 19-year-old student at Dai Nam University, ...
A Chinese man has miraculously survived after his heart stopped beating for 40 hours, sparking an online discussion about the latest life-saving medical techniques. The case came to light after emergency doctor Lu Xiao from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine posted it on his social media account, which has three million followers. Lu said the 40-year-old man h...
As impeachment looms, Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio and her spouse are firing back at allegations of ill-gotten wealth, with the couple’s combative responses seen as damage control over what critics say will be “smoking gun” evidence to be presented to the Senate. A handful of lawmakers are expecting the House of Representatives to submit Articles of Impeachment against Duterte-Car...
A university in Hong Kong that is establishing the city’s third medical school has broken ground for an interim teaching and research complex, which will be completed in mid-2028 to welcome the first batch of students. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) president Nancy Ip Yuk-yu also revealed on Tuesday that the institution had hired seven clinical professors for the new school...
Nearly 80 per cent of homeowners of the only block spared in the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze have expressed an initial willingness to sell their flats to the government, exceeding the three-quarters threshold set by authorities to extend a resettlement plan to them. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Tuesday that buying back the 248 flats at Wang Chi House would cost the gover...
Nearly 80 per cent of homeowners of the only block spared in the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze have expressed an initial willingness to sell their flats to the government, exceeding the three-quarters threshold set by authorities to extend a resettlement plan to them. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Tuesday that buying back the 248 flats at Wang Chi House would cost the gover...
About 77 per cent of the homeowners of the only block spared in the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze have expressed initial willingness to sell their flats to the Hong Kong government, exceeding the three-quarter threshold set by authorities to extend a resettlement plan to them. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Tuesday that buying back the 248 flats in Wang Chi House would cost ...
Homeowners of the only block spared in the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze in Tai Po will be included in the Hong Kong government’s resettlement plan after three-quarters indicated a preference to sell their flats to authorities, the South China Morning Post has learned. Wang Chi House, the only one of the estate’s eight blocks left unscathed by the November 26 fire that killed 168 people and displace...
China has vowed to take a holistic approach in responding to external shocks and safeguarding the country’s energy security, as fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran continues to spread across the global economy. The country’s top leadership also stressed the importance of boosting the nation’s technological self-reliance and control over its industrial supply chains. After a meeting of the count...
China has vowed to take a holistic approach in responding to external shocks and safeguarding the country’s energy security, as fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran continues to spread across the global economy. After a meeting of the country’s Politburo – a major decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party led by President Xi Jinping – that ended on Tuesday, the country’s top leadership ...
We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why Indonesia is ceding its role as Asean’s natural leader to Singapore 2. Why Japan’s earthquake has Bali on edge over magnitude 9 ‘megathrust’ risk 3. 3 killed in Japa...
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Mexico’s most powerful criminal enterprise, suffered another blow on Monday when the Mexican military captured one of its top leaders in the northwest of the country, two months after the cartel’s leader was killed. Audias Flores Silva, also known as “El Jardinero”, or The Gardener, was seen as a possible successor to the killed leader and the United States had a...
Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices rose to a 28-month high in March after prices jumped 1.4 per cent, according to the latest official data on Tuesday, with the property market remaining resilient despite uncertainties created by the US-Israel war on Iran. The widely watched index released by the Rating and Valuation Department (RVD) stood at 312.8 last month, the highest since 315.6 in November 202...
Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices rose 1.4 per cent in March, bringing the first-quarter increase to an accelerated pace of 4.4 per cent, according to the latest official data, indicating the property market’s resilience despite uncertainties brought about by the US-Israel war on Iran. The monthly increase was slower than February’s 1.8 per cent, but 2026’s first-quarter rise was faster than the 2....
Catalytic converter theft is rising across Malaysia amid strong demand for rare metals used in automotive emission systems. Most of these thefts were reported to have occurred in residential areas, public car parks and transit hubs. Vehicles left unattended, especially overnight, are among the most vulnerable. A senior manager at a car service centre said thieves were targeting catalytic converter...
Hong Kong authorities should turn a new HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) municipal waste incinerator in Tuen Mun into a tourist attraction and an education hub for eco-protection, lawmakers have said. Their remarks on Tuesday followed the government’s application to the Legislative Council for HK$29.2 billion to build the planned Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 2, or I·PARK2, with costs...
German biochemist and Nobel laureate Hartmut Michel has taken up a full-time position as a professor at Jilin University in Changchun, northeastern China, according to the university. The 77-year-old – who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for revealing how photosynthesis works at the molecular level – will join the university’s First Hospital as “a flagship hire under its talent recruitmen...
Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan state was pushed deeper into crisis after Barisan Nasional (BN), a key ally in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition government, declared it had secured a simple majority to form a new state administration with the opposition. The move turns an extraordinary palace dispute into the sharpest state-level test yet of Anwar’s fragile ruling alliance, ahead of a national p...
A heatwave sweeping across Southeast Asia is making offices even warmer, as workers continue to adjust to energy-saving measures put in place by governments due to the war in Iran. Many countries have imposed temperature controls at government workplaces since the war began, among other measures to conserve energy. As the prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz drains energy reserves, relief do...
Hong Kong police have arrested two tourists after an alleged violent fight in a serviced apartment that left both with facial injuries. A source said on Tuesday that the force was alerted to the incident at K11 Artus at 11.47pm the previous day, after an argument over “trivial matters” between the Malaysian man and mainland Chinese woman spiralled into a physical brawl. The pair were visiting Hong...
Last month, Hong Kong completed its first green methanol bunkering operation, a significant step in its efforts to support the decarbonisation of global shipping. As the maritime industry accelerates its transition towards cleaner fuels, this milestone signals Hong Kong’s intent to remain relevant. The global blue economy, defined as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth and e...
The Pentagon is considering outsourcing warship design and building to South Korea and Japan with a proposed US$1.85 billion feasibility study into the project, according to US media reports. The study – included in the 2027 budget – will look at the feasibility of adopting or co-producing advanced hulls such as Japan’s Mogami-class and South Korea’s Daegu-class frigates to supplement the US Navy’...
Once a neglected figure in ancient China’s folklore, literature and artefacts, the panda has become a national treasure and a defining symbol of the modern nation. How did this black-and-white creature, long overlooked, come to occupy such an iconic place in a country’s cultural imagination? Palaeontologists have discovered panda fossils across China, some dating back eight to nine million years. ...
Across Southeast Asia, governments are seeking Russian oil and gas to ease fuel shortages triggered by the continuing chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a crisis that has sent energy prices higher and forced import-dependent countries to look beyond their usual suppliers. But analysts say the scramble for Russian fuel also raises a bigger question for the region: whether Moscow can turn a short-te...
China’s population is projected to fall by about 60 million over the next decade, threatening economic activity in wealthier coastal provinces and putting growing pressure on the public pension system, according to recent analyst reports. Research firm Rhodium Group estimated that the world’s second-most populous country, after India, could lose the equivalent of nearly France’s entire population ...
The United States has “no defence against hypersonic weapons or cruise missiles”, a senior Pentagon official told Congress on Monday, as US President Donald Trump’s US$185 billion Golden Dome missile shield faces continued scepticism. “The Golden Dome will strengthen deterrence by denying adversaries the ability to achieve their objectives through coercion or aggression,” Marc Berkowitz, the assis...
