Live headlines from trusted global sources. Click any story to open it on the original website.
A court has convicted an Italian man of human trafficking by tricking a Singaporean woman into sex work in Dubai, after rejecting his defence arguments attacking the victim. Achraf Arjaouy, 31, had claimed trial to one count of recruiting a person by means of deception for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Dubai. The victim’s identity is protected by a gag order. The prosecution’s case was tha...
Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation has unveiled its first wheelset maintenance centre, set to open in the coming months, cutting the time for the labour-intensive process from more than three days to 10 hours. The rail giant said on Thursday that the new HK$300 million (US$38.3 million) Integrated Wheelset Maintenance Centre, located at the Ho Man Tin siding, would be capable of processing 1,500 wheelset...
Tencent Holdings has released a new flagship artificial intelligence model, the first since former OpenAI researcher Yao Shunyu joined the Chinese tech giant to lead its foundational AI development efforts. The Shenzhen-based company said on Thursday that the closed-source HY3-Preview was its most powerful model yet, on par with leading Chinese models, while still lagging top US models from the li...
For years, Nasa funded a dream called SpiderFab – a spider-like robot that would crawl through orbit, weaving solar power stations and giant antennas from spools of carbon fibre – creating structures too large for any rocket to carry whole. Although SpiderFab never ended up in space, scientists from the Shenyang Institute of Automation in northern China say they have built the key technologies to ...
A 74-year-old British grandmother who set off on a solo trip to China received an unexpected outpouring of support from Chinese netizens who took turns to guide her on her journey. The heartwarming story began with Xiao Yue, a senior university student from Hezhou in Guangxi Province, southern China, who first met the British grandmother while volunteering in Phuket. The woman, Gill, 74, has trave...
The number of Chinese tourists deciding to travel during the five-day Labour Day holiday at the start of next month could rival or exceed last year’s headcount despite higher global fuel prices, analysts said, adding travellers were likely to prefer shorter trips to save on transport costs. Domestic flight bookings were up about 8 per cent year on year and domestic package-tour reservations were a...
Malaysia’s king said he would select a new anti-corruption chief, the first official confirmation that current head Azam Baki’s term will not be renewed when it ends next month. “I will determine who is the best candidate to lead the MACC from now on,” Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor, the current monarch, said in a social media post on Thursday, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commissi...
Mainland Chinese investors have slowed their purchases of Hong Kong-listed shares this year after last year’s record inflows, as more artificial intelligence investment opportunities have emerged in mainland markets, according to BNP Paribas. Southbound inflows via the Stock Connect cross-border system have reached about US$30 billion so far this year, a slower pace than 2025, when they hit US$180...
The race to become the next leader of the United Nations moved into a higher gear with the four declared candidates facing hours of questions over two days. Top among them: can the UN be made effective again? Rafael Grossi, an Argentine diplomat who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, struck a downbeat note about the global body’s future during his interview replace Secretary General Ant...
Daniel Gros is the director of the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University. Previously, he served as an adviser to the European Parliament, collaborated with the European Commission as economic adviser to the Delors Committee, which developed plans for the euro, and worked at the International Monetary Fund. In this interview, Gros examines the structural tensions shaping EU-Chin...
As Southeast Asia’s tourism sector takes a hit from the Iran war, a pivot to serving as alternative flight hubs may save the industry. The region’s major airlines are seeing an increase in demand for European routes as travellers avoid Middle Eastern hubs amid disruptive drone and missile attacks, according to Reuters. Singapore Airlines (SIA) joins other major Asian carriers, such as Cathay Pacif...
For more than three years, the numbers on their screens told a convincing story. Steady gains, smooth withdrawals and returns of up to 5 per cent every fortnight. Encouraged by the early outcome, many doubled down, pumping in more of their hard-earned savings into a scheme they thought was the answer to luxury and a comfy retirement. Then, almost overnight, the kill switch was flicked and they los...
The death of US officials following an operation to dismantle a drug lab in northern Mexico is escalating tensions with Washington, as President Claudia Sheinbaum insists her government was unaware of their involvement. At a news conference, Sheinbaum said Mexican security officials involved in the operation were never told about the presence of foreigners, which she described as a clear breach of...
Alibaba Group Holding has struck its first external partnership for its flagship consumer artificial intelligence app, linking it with China Eastern Airlines in a move that pushes its agentic capabilities beyond the company’s own ecosystem and into real-world services. The company said the fresh collaboration allowed users of the Qwen app to manage the full flight booking process – from search and...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The role of Hong Kong’s fire service remained under the spotlight on the 18th day of evidential hearings held by an independent committee investigating the catastrophic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court. Three officers from the Fire Services Department testified...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The role of Hong Kong’s fire service remained under the spotlight on the 18th day of evidential hearings held by an independent committee investigating the catastrophic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court. Three officers from the Fire Services Department testified...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The role of Hong Kong’s fire service remains under the spotlight on the 18th day of evidential hearings held by an independent committee investigating the catastrophic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court. Three officers from the Fire Services Department are testif...
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The role of Hong Kong’s fire service remains under the spotlight on the 18th day of evidential hearings held by an independent committee investigating the catastrophic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court. Three officers from the Fire Services Department are testif...
A Hong Kong film adapted from the 2010 Manila hostage crisis, which led to the deaths of eight Hongkongers, has stirred online debate, with some questioning whether it could cause “secondary trauma” and others saying it offers lessons from the past. Titled Beyond Hostage Crisis, the film was released in Malaysia in April and is set to open in Hong Kong on May 28. Information about the 90-minute fi...
The US military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Washington has imposed a blockade on Iran’s trade by sea while Iran has fired on ships to prevent them sailing through the Strait of Hormuz waterway at the entrance to the Middl...
Emotional residents have returned to the most severely damaged block of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, holding back tears as they recount harrowing escapes and call for more time to revisit their homes. Some survivors managed to retrieve precious belongings from the reopened blocks on Thursday, including a framed wedding photo and cats’ ashes, as about 600 families from the ill-fated est...
Emotional residents have returned to the most severely damaged tower of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, holding back tears as they recount harrowing escapes and call for more time to revisit their homes. Some survivors managed to retrieve precious belongings from the reopened blocks on Thursday, including a framed wedding photo and their cats’ ashes, as about 600 families from the ill-fat...
About 600 families from Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have requested a second visit to their flats, authorities have said, as residents of the most severely damaged tower return to salvage their belongings. Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Cheuk Wing-hing said on Thursday that the government would provide additional support for residents of Wang Cheong House, the hardest-hit tow...
Shortly after the doors opened each day at the ongoing Canton Fair, every corner of the robotics and drone halls quickly filled to capacity, while the new energy pavilion remained densely packed with overseas buyers. Foreign buyers moved slowly between booths, live streaming their encounters with new tech products to social media, queuing to try out the latest devices and in some cases, purchasing...
The law of tort, from its Latin and Old French origin meaning “wrong”, saw a major development in Hong Kong at the beginning of this year. After years of debate in the lower courts, Hong Kong’s top court has made it clear that, with Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons Limited v Samantha Jane Bradley [2026] HKCFA 2, harassment is now a recognised tort under common law. While it is described as a development, ...
The numbers tell a revealing story. The city’s eight publicly funded universities, once primarily judged by academic output and global rankings, are now generating record income from knowledge transfer. Patents, licensing deals, industry partnerships. These are not side activities. They are becoming core business lines. Universities are no longer just custodians of knowledge. They are active marke...
At a beachfront resort on Koh Samui, photo-obsessed travellers can book private sessions, with a dedicated photographer guiding them to the resort’s most camera-ready spots during a 20-minute shoot. Elsewhere, at Centara Life properties, late-night noodle bowls cater to regional tastes. Across Centara Hotels & Resorts, such offerings are becoming more tailored. They reflect a shift towards Asian t...
China has reported a staggering amount of domestic artificial intelligence power, pointing to what some experts say could be a “dark pool” of compute thousands of times larger than its public reports suggest. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China has achieved 1,882 exaflops – short for exa floating-point operations per second – which translates to 1,882 qui...
Chinese teenagers dressed in camouflage uniforms express gratitude in front of cameras at a youth correction centre, but the off-camera reality tells a completely different story. According to a Chinese state media report they are beaten or sexually assaulted, leading to calls for better supervision and monitoring of such institutions. Such schools accept teenagers who are rebellious, weary of stu...
All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz as the world waits for a new round of US-Iran peace deal talks to ease the global energy crisis, while the extended ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump remains up in the air. These are the main takeaways from what happened overnight. Peace talks? It remains unclear when the two sides will return to the negotiating table. Trump on Wednesday said the...
