News - South China Morning Post

Hong Kong authorities have made “a series of preparations” to implement reforms and pursue accountability ahead of the Tai Po fire inquiry panel’s final report due later this month, the city’s leader said, pledging to act “as soon as possible”.

Turkmenistan has added the FK-2000 missile-and-gun system to its growing arsenal of Chinese-made air defences, highlighting Beijing’s expanding role in the Central Asian weapons market once dominated by Russia.

US F-35 stealth fighters have joined Indian warplanes for military exercises near the Pakistan border in recent days, marking the first time America’s most advanced multirole combat aircraft has taken part in joint drills in India.

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.

Hong Kong will strengthen its regulatory regime and impose stiffer penalties to ensure strong deterrence against building violations, the city leader has pledged, following a series of substandard construction scandals including the latest controversy inv…

The father of 16-year-old Irene Sofiya said he drew comfort from Malaysia’s Queen Raja Zarith Sofiah and her assurance that she would do what she can to help seek justice for his daughter.

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US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist who shot dead 13 people at a military base in 2009, the Pentagon said on Monday.

From a humble working-class family in northeast China to becoming a celebrated actress on the Hollywood stage, 53-year-old Li Bingbing’s ascent has never been a solo journey.

Bangkok is preparing for possible flooding as more than 15,000 delegates are due to arrive for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.

In 2019, President Xi Jinping became the first Chinese leader to publicly call for the exploration of detailed proposals for governing Taiwan after reunification.

Beijing’s push to accumulate gold serves a larger goal: yuan internationalisation.

Temperatures in Hong Kong dropped to about 23 degrees Celsius (73 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday morning, the lowest so far this autumn.

Hong Kong’s building authorities should consider inspecting the remaining properties in a luxury residential development and tightening work process documentation after one house was found to have used insufficient steel bars during construction, experts…

The alleged murder of an Okinawan woman by a US marine has put newly elected Governor Genta Koja under intense pressure, raising questions about whether the incident could deepen opposition against the American military presence just as Okinawa assumes gr…

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would pay for television advertisements himself or with money raised ‌from the Maga political committee after pushback over the use of taxpayer-funded television ads featuring him just before the November c…

Amid concerns over rising interest rates and a weak retail property market, a long-time investor has sold a portfolio of prime street shops in Tsim Sha Tsui – held for more than four decades – and locked in a profit of nearly HK$237 million (US$30.2 milli…

The US Justice Department (DOJ) is seeking to revoke the citizenship of a former Navy sailor convicted of spying for China and a Florida man convicted of conspiring to act as an agent of Beijing, it announced on Monday.

The United States has accused mainland China of hiring an American citizen of Chinese origin to surveil the family of Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te, days after President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a threat linked to Iran ⁠had prompted the removal of American B-1 bombers from a British airbase.

The hotly contested court battle over government plans to build 12,000 public flats on Hong Kong’s oldest golf course has played its final round.

Mainland Chinese prefer coercion over military force to settle the “reunification question” with Taiwan, and their opinion of the US remains low, although they favour engaging with Washington on trade and security.

Former British politician and writer Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86, his publisher said in a statement on Monday.

Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington in September was steeped in pageantry.

A former Ohio music pastor who once appeared on American Idol was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife while he was having an affair.

Bogota mayor Carlos Fernando Galan has called on the Chinese-led consortium building the city’s first metro line to send more workers to its stations, after the country’s top auditor warned that delays in several parts of the project could push back its o…

The International Criminal Court on Monday unsealed arrest warrants against four senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of the crime against humanity of gender persecution against women, girls and members of the LGBTQ community in Afghanistan since the Tal…

Quebec separatists eyed a return to power in Canada’s majority French-speaking province on Monday in an election that could test Prime Minister Mark Carney’s message of national unity to confront the United States.

Moscow on Monday downplayed reports that a laboratory technician had died of plague, stressing that postmortem tests had not detected the disease, while Washington said it was closely monitoring the situation.

The US Energy Department will announce US$150 million in new funding for power lines in Alaska on Monday as Vice-President J.D.

A school bus flipped over onto its roof during a multivehicle crash in central Florida on Monday morning, killing two people – including a 10th grade girl – and injuring several others, authorities said.

For more than eight decades, the remains of US fighter pilot Morton Sher lay unrecovered in China.

The owners of 14 subsidised sale flats have applied for a grace period to comply with Hong Kong’s new regulatory regime for subdivided homes, the housing minister has revealed, raising concerns that public resources were being abused.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza as he attended a memorial event marking three years since the militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack.

A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade as part of nationwide protests in France over classroom conditions that have disrupted lessons at hundreds of schools since last week.

In the strongest sign yet of a shifting European Union policy on China, the leaders of France and Germany have demanded a new trade weapon that would cut off access to the EU market when third countries cause severe distortions.

A Hong Kong fertility clinic that had most of its services suspended for mishandling embryo biopsy specimens from two patients has been cleared to fully resume all treatments after implementing improvement measures.

Hong Kong aviation authorities are investigating suspected illegal drone flying over Victoria Harbour during last week’s National Day fireworks display, after privately shot footage of the show went viral online.

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have secured effective control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani has said, though fighting continues with Houthi forces in the area.

Japan ⁠and Australia ⁠have agreed to establish an ⁠annual finance ministers’ dialogue aimed at deepening cooperation in financial and economic policy, as well as strengthening bilateral collaboration on economic security.

Mainland Chinese arrivals to Hong Kong surged at the start of the National Day “golden week” holiday before easing towards last year’s levels, with tourism sector representatives attributing the early rush partly to the city’s fireworks display and touris…

China’s US$1.2 trillion goods trade surplus last year has focused attention on electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and industrial overcapacity.

A 74-year-old retired Hong Kong police officer lost control of his paraglider in strong air currents and was fatally injured after crashing on Lantau Island, a probe into the 2024 accident has found.

Hong Kong’s first Chinese-owned department store, Sincere, will close its historic branch in the city’s central business district in December after 126 years of retail history.

Chryssa Ntalaka’s classroom has become an object lesson in subtraction.

Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, former heir apparent to Hong Kong’s New World Development (NWD), is expanding his K11 cultural retail business in mainland China, launching a venture of his own as his family’s property group grapples with heavy debt.

India has sold its Akash air-defence missile system to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, giving it a foothold in Central Asia as it seeks to become a major global arms exporter.

South Korea ⁠said on Monday that a ⁠recent border blast that seriously wounded two ⁠of its soldiers was caused by mines planted by North Korea.

Built to hunt tanks and support ground troops, the People’s Liberation Army’s main attack helicopter is increasingly being prepared for operations at sea.

An 86-year-old grandmother in China has become a social media sensation for operating a coffee shop for over a decade – a business she took over from her son in 2015, despite having no experience with coffee at the time.