Clear filters Clear Filters
Indefinite time in psychiatric ward for Hong Kong man who fatally stabbed 2 in mall
SCMP •

Indefinite time in psychiatric ward for Hong Kong man who fatally stabbed 2 in mall

A Hong Kong man with a mental disability has been sentenced to an indefinite period in a psychiatric hospital for stabbing two women to death in a frenzied knife attack at a shopping centre three years ago. The High Court on Tuesday ordered former warehouse worker Szeto Sing-kwong to receive mandatory psychiatric treatment and supervision at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre in Tuen Mun, noting that he c...

Who needs a degree? South Korea’s chip boom rewires university-obsessed culture
SCMP •

Who needs a degree? South Korea’s chip boom rewires university-obsessed culture

Inside a brightly lit cleanroom at Chungbuk Semiconductor High School in South Korea, a group of teenagers in head-to-toe protective suits carefully handled silicon wafers, learning the same production processes used in commercial chip plants. About half of the school’s graduates head straight to large companies such as Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix without ever setting foot in a university clas...

Cambodia hosts anti-scam summit as scepticism lingers
SCMP •

Cambodia hosts anti-scam summit as scepticism lingers

Cambodia is set to present the outcome of its crackdown on scams to global governments and security agencies gathering in Phnom Penh this week. Yet questions remain over where the missing billions have gone – as well as the role of the country’s elite, who for many years denied the problem existed at all on Cambodian soil. Scam compounds took over declining mega-casinos during the pandemic. As bor...

‘Do teachers not have families?’: kindergartens’ Mid-Autumn events draw backlash
SCMP •

‘Do teachers not have families?’: kindergartens’ Mid-Autumn events draw backlash

At least four Hong Kong kindergartens will hold Mid-Autumn Festival open days and parties on reunion night, sparking criticism that teachers are being forced to work overtime as schools compete for pupils amid falling enrolment. In response to the South China Morning Post, a spokesman for the Education Bureau said on Monday that preschools should maintain good communication with stakeholders, incl...

Man shot by ICE in Texas says bullet still inside him

Man shot by ICE in Texas says bullet still inside him

SCMP •

A Venezuelan national shot and wounded by a US immigration agent in Texas was jailed with the bullet still inside his body, his lawyer said Monday. Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, told reporters he was delivering an order for DoorDash on Sunday when his vehicle was rammed by an ICE agent and he was shot. “I’m in a lot of pain because the shot fractured my clavicle and at the hospital where they to...

China breaks ground on the world’s first supercritical CO2 and molten salt energy plant

China breaks ground on the world’s first supercritical CO2 and molten salt energy plant

SCMP •

China has broken ground on the world’s first utility-scale combined supercritical carbon dioxide power generation and molten salt energy storage project, which could help reduce energy waste and improve grid stability. On September 16, construction began on the Ruitan demonstration project at China Huaneng’s Bajiao power station in Yantai. The project in Shandong province, eastern China, is expect...

Singaporean fined US$3,920 for dumping urine, faeces outside neighbour’s flat

Singaporean fined US$3,920 for dumping urine, faeces outside neighbour’s flat

SCMP •

Believing that a lorry driver in the same neighbourhood had punctured his tyres, a private-hire driver twice left urine and faeces outside his neighbour’s flat in Singapore. Martin Chua Kim Soon, a 67-year-old Singaporean, was fined S$5,000 (US$3,920) by a court on Tuesday. He paid the fine in full after pleading guilty to two counts of insulting behaviour under the Protection from Harassment Act....

Search for stray dogs expanded as new CCTV cameras installed in Yuen Long

Search for stray dogs expanded as new CCTV cameras installed in Yuen Long

SCMP •

Hong Kong authorities have expanded their search radius to capture stray dogs and installed new surveillance cameras in the area where a suspected fatal canine attack took place, in a bid to “completely remove” safety risks in the neighbourhood. The heightened measures came three days after a 27-year-old woman was found dead on a cycling path in Yuen Long after being chased by three dogs. She suff...

Chinese doctor quits 20-year medical career to open steamed bun shop for mental health relief

Chinese doctor quits 20-year medical career to open steamed bun shop for mental health relief

SCMP •

A woman in China, who dedicated over two decades to her career as a doctor, made a surprising choice three years ago to leave her profession and open a steamed stuffed bun store. As time passed, her store not only survived but flourished in the competitive food industry, prompting her to launch a second outlet in July. “When I was a doctor, the thought of quitting often crossed my mind. Now, runni...

South Korean killer’s escape foiled, Singapore minister’s Mandarin speech: 7 Asia highlights

South Korean killer’s escape foiled, Singapore minister’s Mandarin speech: 7 Asia highlights

SCMP •

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. South Korean killer’s drone escape from Philippine prison foiled by test footage A South Korean crime lord convicted of murder in the Philippines reportedly planned to es...

How are China’s Type 052D destroyers shifting the balance in the western Pacific?

How are China’s Type 052D destroyers shifting the balance in the western Pacific?

SCMP •

When state television aired footage in July of a Type 052D destroyer launching a YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile it signalled a significant expansion of the Chinese navy’s long-range strike power. The missile had previously been associated with China’s larger Type 055 destroyers. Showing it fired from a Type 052D – a class the People’s Liberation Army has built in far greater numbers – suggests...

Rare earths friction threatens to stall trade truce extension ahead of Xi-Trump summit

Rare earths friction threatens to stall trade truce extension ahead of Xi-Trump summit

SCMP •

The US and China continue to wrangle over extending the 2025 Busan trade agreement just hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for a state visit, even as they report progress on implementing a narrow tariff-reduced trade mechanism. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday blamed China for creating “uncertainty” over the pact’s extension, saying Beijing was still ho...

Malaysian resort under investigation after intruder molests tourist

Malaysian resort under investigation after intruder molests tourist

SCMP •

Malaysia’s Sabah state has ordered a full investigation into the Semporna resort where a female tourist from China was allegedly molested and assaulted inside her room by an intruder early last Saturday. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Jafry Ariffin said he instructed tourism authorities and enforcement agencies to investigate the security lapses that led to the incident and the re...

Brazilian serial killer suspect nicknamed ‘Mosquito’ dressed as a woman

Brazilian serial killer suspect nicknamed ‘Mosquito’ dressed as a woman

SCMP •

A man accused of killing 16 people in a remote part of Brazil avoided capture by hiding in the woods, the police investigator responsible for his arrest said on Monday. Douglas Garcia, the investigator who led the two-day pursuit for 33-year-old Jorlan Lopes da Silva that ended on September 13, told Associated Press that the suspect used to hide in the thick bush in his own makeshift camps. The ki...

How Hong Kong can keep the talking going when US-China officials don’t

How Hong Kong can keep the talking going when US-China officials don’t

SCMP •

When Tung Chee-hwa died, the obituaries predictably described a Hong Kong shipping mogul who became the city’s first postcolonial chief executive. How his government navigated the Asian financial crisis and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic and its retreat from Article 23 were highlighted. There was less attention paid to the political hybrid he embodied. Tung sat as vice-chairman ...

Shadow of Xi summit hangs over Trump’s high-stakes talks with Japan’s Takaichi

Shadow of Xi summit hangs over Trump’s high-stakes talks with Japan’s Takaichi

SCMP •

When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets US President Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday, the leader casting the longest shadow over the meeting will not even be in the building. Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday – two days after Takaichi meets the US leader on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. It will be Xi’s first state visit to ...

Hong Kong animal groups call for tighter pet laws after suspected fatal mauling

Hong Kong animal groups call for tighter pet laws after suspected fatal mauling

SCMP •

Animal welfare groups in Hong Kong have called for closing a legal loophole in pet ownership laws to better protect public safety, as authorities pledged to review stray dog policies following Sunday’s suspected fatal mauling of a woman. The groups suggested that, based on their experience, the 27-year-old victim was likely attacked by former warehouse guard dogs rather than strays. But existing l...

Despite higher costs, Hong Kong’s student residences attract mainland Chinese renters

Despite higher costs, Hong Kong’s student residences attract mainland Chinese renters

SCMP •

Purpose-built student accommodation is drawing mainland Chinese university students away from Hong Kong’s traditional rental market, as professionally managed residences gain favour despite charging higher rents than many private flats. Some students said dedicated student housing offered greater convenience, stronger security, more predictable costs and a better living environment, helping offset...

Moscow’s asset seizures unnerve Japanese companies in Russia

Moscow’s asset seizures unnerve Japanese companies in Russia

SCMP •

More than 200 Japanese companies still operating in Russia face growing uncertainty following Moscow’s seizure of three Western firms’ assets, amid deteriorating diplomatic relations. The Kremlin announced on Friday that the assets of Swiss food giant Nestlé, French retailer Auchan and home improvement chain Lemana Pro had been transferred to Russian entity LEV Management under a decree signed a d...

Brigitte Bardot’s personal items sell out at Paris auction

Brigitte Bardot’s personal items sell out at Paris auction

SCMP •

Personal belongings of the late French film icon Brigitte Bardot fetched nearly €1 million at auction in Paris on Monday. More than 280 items from Bardot’s estate sold for a total of €953,531 (nearly US$1.1 million) including fees, auction house Millon said. Every item found a buyer. The auction at the Hotel Drouot lasted almost nine hours. Around 15,000 people had visited the auction house in the...

Brigitte Bardot’s belongings fetch nearly US$1.15 million at Paris auction

Brigitte Bardot’s belongings fetch nearly US$1.15 million at Paris auction

SCMP •

Personal belongings of the late French film icon Brigitte Bardot fetched nearly €1 million ($1.15 million) at auction in Paris on Monday. More than 280 items from Bardot’s estate sold for a total of €953,531 including fees, auction house Millon said. Every item found a buyer. The auction at the Hôtel Drouot lasted almost nine hours. Around 15,000 people had visited the auction house in the six day...

UK confirms Manchester to host G20 summit in 2027

UK confirms Manchester to host G20 summit in 2027

SCMP •

The leaders of the world’s biggest economies will descend on Manchester next year after the UK government confirmed the English city will host the Group of 20 (G20) summit. Prime Minister Andy Burnham will use his first trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to announce the city he led as mayor for almost a decade as the venue for the leaders summit, according to a statement on Mo...

UK confirms PM Burnham’s former fiefdom of Manchester to host G20 summit

UK confirms PM Burnham’s former fiefdom of Manchester to host G20 summit

SCMP •

The leaders of the world’s biggest economies will descend on Manchester next year after the UK government confirmed the English city will host the Group of 20 (G20) summit. Prime Minister Andy Burnham will use his first trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to announce the city he led as mayor for almost a decade as the venue for the leaders summit, according to a statement on Mo...

AI poses new national security threat, outgoing Hong Kong deputy police chief warns

AI poses new national security threat, outgoing Hong Kong deputy police chief warns

SCMP •

Retiring deputy police commissioner Andrew Kan Kai-yan has said artificial intelligence (AI) poses a new threat to national security in Hong Kong, with the force turning to the emerging technology to help combat the issue. Kan raised the alarm after state security minister Chen Yixin warned last week of rising national security risks posed by AI. The senior mainland Chinese official also called fo...

US, China need nuclear-style AI safeguards, congressman says before Xi-Trump summit

US, China need nuclear-style AI safeguards, congressman says before Xi-Trump summit

SCMP •

The US and China should agree on international regulatory standards for artificial intelligence (AI), akin to atomic-era guardrails, said Ro Khanna, the ranking member of the US House Select Committee on China, in New York on Monday ahead of the two countries’ high-stakes summit. The remarks come two days before Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Washington to meet with US President ...

The US-China tech war has evolved since the last Xi-Trump summit. Who has the edge now?

The US-China tech war has evolved since the last Xi-Trump summit. Who has the edge now?

SCMP •

When the presidents of the United States and China meet in Washington, the world will be watching to see whether their two countries can make good on their agreement to work towards “constructive strategic stability”. In the fourth part of this series, Sylvia Ma looks at the economic and technological levers available to both in their protracted rivalry. For years, Huawei Technologies has served a...

Canadian province sues OpenAI in US over school shooting

Canadian province sues OpenAI in US over school shooting

SCMP •

British Columbia filed a lawsuit on Monday against OpenAI in California over the company’s failure to report violent activity on its ChatGPT service by the person who committed a mass school shooting in the western Canadian province. British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma said in July that the province planned legal action against the US tech giant for its connection to the deadly February ...

Canada’s British Columbia sues OpenAI in US court over school shooting

Canada’s British Columbia sues OpenAI in US court over school shooting

SCMP •

British Columbia filed a lawsuit on Monday against OpenAI in California over the company’s failure to report violent activity on its ChatGPT service by the person who committed a mass school shooting in the western Canadian province. British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma said in July that the province planned legal action against the US tech giant for its connection to the deadly February ...