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Hong Kong, Macau central to China’s commercial space expansion, GalaxySpace says
SCMP

Hong Kong, Macau central to China’s commercial space expansion, GalaxySpace says

Hong Kong and Macau are integral to mainland China’s ambitions to build a globally competitive commercial space industry, according to executives at Beijing-based commercial space company GalaxySpace, as it bets on the two cities to help take its technologies and services overseas. “We have come to realise in recent years that Hong Kong and Macau hold irreplaceable strategic positions and industri...

Japanese city upends 30-year Muslim park prayer custom, straining multiculturalism
SCMP

Japanese city upends 30-year Muslim park prayer custom, straining multiculturalism

A decision by a city near Tokyo to bar a mosque from holding a long-standing outdoor prayer session in one of its parks has triggered debate over multicultural coexistence in Japan, with questions raised over whether officials had sufficient grounds for the move. The dispute began in May when a mosque in Ichikawa, Chiba prefecture, was denied permission to hold a group prayer in the public park, l...

Long March-10B: China’s net-capture rocket joins space race with edge on SpaceX
SCMP

Long March-10B: China’s net-capture rocket joins space race with edge on SpaceX

China succeeded in recovering part of its Long March-10B reusable rocket on its maiden launch on Friday, marking the country’s first controlled orbital-class booster recovery and making it only the second nation in the world to achieve the feat. Unlike the methods pioneered by Elon Musk’s US-based SpaceX, the Chinese rocket achieved the first-ever use of a unique sea-based net-capture system for a...

China recovers reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of Long March 10B
SCMP

China recovers reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of Long March 10B

China has succeeded in recovering the reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of the Long March 10B. The 70-metre (230-foot) tall, 5-metre wide medium-lift rocket lifted off from southern China’s Wenchang space launch site at 12.15pm. Soon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea-based net platform, according to state news agency Xinhua. More to...

China recovers Long March 10B reusable rocket on maiden launch

China recovers Long March 10B reusable rocket on maiden launch

SCMP

China has succeeded in recovering the Long March 10B reusable rocket on its maiden launch. The 70-metre (230-foot) tall, 5-metre wide medium-lift rocket lifted off from southern China’s Wenchang space launch site at 12.15pm. Soon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea platform, according to state news agency Xinhua. More to follow...

China sets July 4 precedent with US; Cathay plane triggers Nato alert: SCMP’s 7 highlights

China sets July 4 precedent with US; Cathay plane triggers Nato alert: SCMP’s 7 highlights

SCMP

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond 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. China’s Xi Jinping sets new precedent with July 4 message for Trump and US In a departure from convention, Chinese leader Xi Jinping s...

Why the Philippines is losing out in Southeast Asia’s investment boom

Why the Philippines is losing out in Southeast Asia’s investment boom

SCMP

The Philippines still lags behind its neighbours in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI) after its inflows remained stagnant in 2025, even as a financing influx swept the region. This has cast the spotlight on a corruption scandal that has roiled the country and dented investor confidence to some extent, on top of long-standing systemic issues, analysts say. Manila ranked sixth in Southeast...

Former top prosecutor in Hong Kong court over injuring man while drink-driving

Former top prosecutor in Hong Kong court over injuring man while drink-driving

SCMP

A Hong Kong prosecutor turned barrister is facing criminal charges over allegations that he seriously injured a man while driving under the influence of alcohol earlier this year. Franco Kuan Bak-on, 45, appeared in Sha Tin Court on Friday to face charges of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and driving a motor vehicle with alcohol concentration in breath above the prescribed limit. P...

Former top Hong Kong prosecutor in court over injuring man while drink-driving

Former top Hong Kong prosecutor in court over injuring man while drink-driving

SCMP

A Hong Kong prosecutor turned barrister is facing criminal charges over allegations that he seriously injured a man while driving under the influence of alcohol earlier this year. Franco Kuan Bak-on, 45, appeared in Sha Tin Court on Friday to face charges of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and driving a motor vehicle with alcohol concentration in breath above the prescribed limit. P...

Hong Kong set for ‘extremely hot’ weather over the weekend as Typhoon Bavi subsides

Hong Kong set for ‘extremely hot’ weather over the weekend as Typhoon Bavi subsides

SCMP

Hong Kong will be “extremely hot” and hit by occasional showers as Typhoon Bavi moves across the seas east of Taiwan towards Guangdong on the weekend, with unstable offshore weather already disrupting a number of flights. The Observatory said that as Bavi moved across Taiwan and then close to northern Fujian and southern Zhejiang, its outer airstream would subside, resulting in “mainly fine and ex...

‘Extremely hot’ weather in Hong Kong over the weekend as Typhoon Bavi subsides

‘Extremely hot’ weather in Hong Kong over the weekend as Typhoon Bavi subsides

SCMP

Hong Kong will be “extremely hot” and hit by occasional showers as Typhoon Bavi moves across the seas east of Taiwan towards Guangdong on the weekend, with unstable offshore weather already disrupting a number of flights. The city’s Observatory said that as Bavi moved across Taiwan and then towards the vicinity spanning northern Fujian and southern Zhejiang, its outer airstream would subside, resu...

US lawmakers urge justice agency to fully investigate Tiananmen display break-in

US lawmakers urge justice agency to fully investigate Tiananmen display break-in

SCMP

The heads of a US Congressional committee and a commission focused on China have called on the Justice Department to fully investigate a break-in and reported vandalism at a California museum commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown. “The Justice Department and FBI should investigate vandalism at the [June 4th Memorial Museum] to protect the inalienable rights of the Chinese diaspora seeking f...

Quake-hit Venezuela faces looming health threats as survivors crowd shelters

Quake-hit Venezuela faces looming health threats as survivors crowd shelters

SCMP

Disease outbreaks, poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, and disruptions to basic medical care could pose the greatest health risks to the tens of thousands of survivors of Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes, the Americas branch of the World Health Organization said on Thursday. Venezuela has opened more than 80 shelters for those whose homes were destroyed in twin quakes ‌on June 24, with t...

How a remark about Najib’s pardon just blew Malaysia’s Johor state election wide open

How a remark about Najib’s pardon just blew Malaysia’s Johor state election wide open

SCMP

Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN), the dominant political coalition in Johor, might have expected to cruise to an easy victory come Saturday when the southern state goes to the polls – until a single remark from the son of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak suddenly gave its rivals political ammunition. On July 3, Nazifuddin Najib, who heads BN in Langkawi, suggested that a strong showing by ...

AI, science and the risks in China’s reliance on imported precision equipment

AI, science and the risks in China’s reliance on imported precision equipment

SCMP

China’s reliance on imports for the most sophisticated scientific instruments could hold back the country’s use of AI in science, according to a leading Chinese researcher. Advanced equipment such as mass spectrometers was essential for generating the high-quality experimental data needed to develop, validate and improve advanced scientific models, Weinan E, a professor at Peking University’s math...

Typhoon Bavi loses eye but system expands to 1,263 times the size of Hong Kong

Typhoon Bavi loses eye but system expands to 1,263 times the size of Hong Kong

SCMP

Flights have been cancelled and airlines are offering refunds in at least 10 airports, as a weakened Typhoon Bavi nears China’s coast, where it is expected to land between Fuqing in Fujian province and Wenling in Zhejiang. Zhoushan airport said in a social media post that 14 flights to and from the island city in Zhejiang province, eastern China, were cancelled for Friday. In Wenzhou, 17 inbound f...

Flights disrupted as weakened Bavi still packs a punch on its way towards China

Flights disrupted as weakened Bavi still packs a punch on its way towards China

SCMP

Flights have been cancelled and airlines are offering refunds in at least 10 airports, as a weakened Typhoon Bavi nears China’s coast, where it is expected to land between Fuqing in Fujian province and Wenling in Zhejiang. Zhoushan airport said in a social media post that 14 flights to and from the island city in Zhejiang province, eastern China were cancelled for Friday. In Wenzhou, 17 inbound fl...

Flights disrupted as ex-Super Typhoon Bavi continues towards China’s coast

Flights disrupted as ex-Super Typhoon Bavi continues towards China’s coast

SCMP

Flights have been cancelled and airlines are offering refunds in at least 10 airports, as a weakened Typhoon Bavi nears China’s coast, where it is expected to land between Fuqing in Fujian province and Wenling in Zhejiang. Zhoushan airport said in a social media post that 14 flights to and from the island city in Zhejiang province, eastern China were cancelled for Friday. In Wenzhou, 17 inbound fl...

Flights disrupted as ex-Super Typhoon Bavi  continues towards China’s coast

Flights disrupted as ex-Super Typhoon Bavi continues towards China’s coast

SCMP

Flights have been cancelled and airlines are offering refunds in at least 10 airports, as a weakened Typhoon Bavi nears China’s coast, where it is expected to land between Fuqing in Fujian province and Wenling in Zhejiang. Zhoushan airport said in a social media post that 14 flights to and from the island city in Zhejiang province, eastern China were cancelled for Friday. In Wenzhou, 17 inbound fl...

Hong Kong exchange marks progress in luring more listings from abroad

Hong Kong exchange marks progress in luring more listings from abroad

SCMP

The Hong Kong stock exchange is drawing a growing number of foreign companies from across Asia and North America that are seeking international capital, as the bourse marks progress in its ambition to be a global magnet for fundraising. The latest firm seeking to join the cohort is Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the Central Asian nation’s railway operator and owner of the country’s largest fleet of locom...

In Malaysia’s Johor, Chinese voters prize affordability over politics

In Malaysia’s Johor, Chinese voters prize affordability over politics

SCMP

Koo can see Johor changing around him, even if the promised wealth has not reached his bank account. The 30-year-old service worker has lived for 25 years in Skudai, a busy Johor Bahru suburb anchored by universities, older housing estates and the kind of Chinese shoplot economy that helped make the Democratic Action Party (DAP) a force in Malaysia’s southern state. He sees cranes, rail works and ...

Northern Metropolis’ science and education focus key to Hong Kong’s future

Northern Metropolis’ science and education focus key to Hong Kong’s future

SCMP

China’s new development narrative places science and education at the centre of long-term competitiveness. This is a systemic project powered by technology, grounded in education and driven by talent as the country’s foremost resource. Hong Kong’s traditional identity as an international financial centre is no longer sufficient to sustain the city’s competitiveness. To remain relevant, Hong Kong m...

Chinese clinic extracts 12 teeth from man after he complains of ache in one tooth

Chinese clinic extracts 12 teeth from man after he complains of ache in one tooth

SCMP

A Chinese clinic has been punished by authorities after it extracted the 12 remaining teeth from a 63-year-old man with high blood pressure and heart disease, and withdrew all the money from his accounts. The man, surnamed Li, from Baoji, northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, went to the Datuanyuan Dental Clinic to have an aching tooth checked last September. Li recently told Chinese media outlet...

Low prices fail to deter thieves from stealing Malaysia’s premium durians

Low prices fail to deter thieves from stealing Malaysia’s premium durians

SCMP

Falling durian prices have done little to deter thieves in Malaysia, with a Penang trader losing baskets of prized Black Thorn variety in two break-ins just days apart. Wenny Ooi, 27, said thieves targeted her family’s stall twice on June 25 and June 29, marking the first break-ins since they started the business six years ago. In the first incident, two baskets of Black Thorn, also known as Or Ch...

Uniqlo defies sluggish China market with double-digit profit growth

Uniqlo defies sluggish China market with double-digit profit growth

SCMP

Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo posted higher revenue and double-digit profit growth in mainland China over the three-month period ending in May, defying sluggish domestic consumption and lingering bilateral tensions. Same-store sales rose, driven by enhanced marketing and “buoyant demand” for summer products in May, when temperatures started to rise. Easy pants, UV-protection items, T-shirts and...

The radar system that Taiwan says tracked the PLA’s ballistic missile launch

The radar system that Taiwan says tracked the PLA’s ballistic missile launch

SCMP

Taiwan gained critical information about Beijing’s ballistic missile launch this week thanks to the island’s long-range early-warning radar system and intelligence sharing with Washington. The island’s AN/FPS-115 Pave Paws long-range early-warning radar detected the missile soon after it was launched from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South China Sea, the Liberty Times reported on Wednesday, ...

Why did only 2 Hong Kong developers put up their hands for Northern Metropolis project?

Why did only 2 Hong Kong developers put up their hands for Northern Metropolis project?

SCMP

Stretches of green farmland and shimmering ponds, winding village roads and sprawling brownfield logistics yards all lend Hung Shui Kiu in the New Territories a patchwork look of rustic Hong Kong standing in stark contrast to its glistening skyscrapers. This rural landscape is slated for radical transformation under the government’s ambitious Northern Metropolis blueprint and is primed to be reinv...

Philippines looks to space for bird’s-eye view of South China Sea threats

Philippines looks to space for bird’s-eye view of South China Sea threats

SCMP

The Philippines is preparing to create a military space centre by 2028, a move that could help Manila strengthen surveillance, communications and command across its archipelago and in contested areas of the South China Sea. But analysts said the ambition would be constrained by the technical, financial and manpower hurdles of turning space assets into military capability. Armed Forces of the Phili...

How the RMB Business Facility will help consolidate Hong Kong’s financial role

How the RMB Business Facility will help consolidate Hong Kong’s financial role

SCMP

Hong Kong’s updated yuan financing tool for banks, featuring a quota 150 per cent larger than before, was launched on Friday, giving a significant boost to the use of the Chinese currency in daily global business. What is the RMB Business Facility? The RMB Business Facility is a funding window run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) that allows participating banks to borrow yuan at the rela...