A Hong Kong court has sentenced a 70-year-old gang member to a year in prison for forcing two Thai women into prostitution, after they fell for job scams claiming to be hiring massage therapists and were trafficked from Thailand to the city in 2023. The District Court heard on Monday that Chiu Hon-leung ordered other gang members to lock the two women in a ...

A cursory look at the ranking of the worlds largest shopping centres shows the scale of the decline in the US retail property market. The US has only one, the Mall of America near Minneapolis, Minnesota, among the top 20. This is not surprising given that virtually no shopping centres were built in the last two decades. A succession of shocks which ...

At first glance, the images looked like those of a happy family in Singapore. There were photos of the couple during their school days and on dates, the woman pregnant and the man holding their supposed newborn with a caption that read: My boys. Except the family did not exist the images were all AI-generated. The man in the photos did not even know about ...

Bangladeshs new leader has urged Malaysia to reopen its labour market to more Bangladeshi workers, even as migrant rights groups warned that both governments must first address years of recruitment abuse, debt and stranded-worker cases. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman made the request to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during talks in Putrajaya on ...

A court sentenced a former South Korean justice minister on Monday to 25 years in prison for his role in ex-president Yoon Suk-yeols brief and disastrous declaration of martial law in 2024. Park Sung-jae was found guilty of involvement in insurrection, the Yonhap news agency reported from the Seoul Central District Court. Yoons December 2024 martial law ...

Hong Kong police arrested 24 drivers and issued over 4,000 tickets during a two-week crackdown on distracted driving and jaywalking, after the number deaths in road accidents surged more than 40 per cent in the first five months of the year. During the two citywide operations from June 5 to 19, officers deployed unmarked traffic enforcement vehicles against ...

Scammers in China have traditionally preyed on young people looking for quick cash or older individuals seeking health and longevity. However, they have found a new target: academics. Liu Xia, a lecturer in economics and management at a private university in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province in central China, is still indignant when she recalls the ...

Chinas proactive role in stabilising global energy and fertiliser markets amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis shows the country is a defender of global supply chains, rather than a disruptive force as hyped by the West, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang said on Monday. The fact that Chinese manufacturing never falters or fails at critical moments fully proves that ...

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wongs trip to Russia as part of an Asean delegation to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the city states ongoing sanctions against Moscow was a pragmatic move, analysts said. They pointed to considerations such as the island republics role as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, on top ...

Mature Chinese women are renting themselves to younger counterparts to listen to their worries and share life experiences. This service, commonly known as sister commission, has gone viral on social media platforms after some women in their 30s and 40s advertised such services. According to the posts, they offer younger sisters a listening ear, advice drawn ...

While nine out of 10 Hongkongers aim to remain as self-sufficient as possible in their old age, they also expect 14 years of care dependency and 17 years of financial dependence, among the highest totals in Asia, according to survey results released on Monday. Based on the responses of 1,000 Hongkongers aged 18 and above, the Manulife Asia Care Survey 2026 ...

A recent meeting between the leaders of Myanmar and China has given the military junta an opening to persuade Asean to allow it to return to the blocs summits. Analysts also say, however, that Myanmars regime could feel emboldened to escalate action against resistance forces, revving up its military approach to deal with the countrys civil war. Last ...

A Hong Kong primary schools decision to invite pupils to watch one of the World Cup semi-final matches on campus overnight has triggered a wave of excitement on social media, with some internet users saying it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. According to a circular issued to parents by Chi Lin Buddist Primary School in Tseung Kwan O, the event, to ...

The two-month-old baby of a Hong Kong couple involved in custody battles for their two children has been hospitalised after falling ill and could be tested for meningitis, according to his parents, who earlier caused controversy for failing to register the infants birth in the city and were arrested for alleged child neglect. The father of two-month-old ...

Three people have died and five injured in a school shooting in Central Philippines, police said. One of the two alleged suspects a 15-year-old Grade 9 student of the school is now in police custody, the Inquirer reported. The shooting occurred at around 9am at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on Monday morning. Tacloban City police chief ...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. How lying flat went from a niche subculture to mainstream phenomenon 2. The hidden cost of Chinas electric car boom: a spiralling roadworks bill 3. Sin to ...

A black Ferrari caught fire near a light rail stop in Hong Kongs Tin Shui Wai on Monday morning. Police said the driver reported the fire at 10.41am after exiting the vehicle, which had no passengers on board, near Ginza Station. Photos and videos circulating online show firefighters extinguishing the blaze as traffic builds up behind the car, with smoke ...

Malaysian consumers and small business owners have welcomed the governments decision to introduce subsidised diesel at 2.10 ringgit (50 US cents) per litre (0.3 gallons) nationwide from July 1, although some are seeking greater clarity on fuel allocations under the MyKad-based scheme. Malaysian Tamilan Tow Truck Association president Mathevaanan Mohanaraja ...

An explosion tore through Qatars key natural gas export terminal Sunday night as workers tried to resume operations there after Iran bombed it during the war, causing a fire that hurt at least 54 people as another 18 were still missing hours later. The blast at the Ras Laffan industrial area could cause further chaos in global energy markets, particularly ...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMPs journalism by subscribing. A judge-led panel investigating Hong Kongs deadliest fire in decades has resumed its public inquiry after a six-week break to hear expert evidence on the cause of the blaze that killed 168 people last year. The ...

The market capitalisation of Hong Kong-listed artificial intelligence pioneer Zhipu AI surpassed HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion) on Monday, fuelled by investor optimism as the company goes head-to-head with its American rivals. Shares of Zhipu, which trades under the name Knowledge Atlas Technology, skyrocketed as much as 42 per cent on Monday morning to a ...

The US-Iran talks in Switzerland have led to the lifting of the blockade and the release of frozen assets for Iran, Tehran said, but the real test remains deconfliction in Lebanon. Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post on Monday. Oil ...

Last week, Xia Baolong, Beijings point man on Hong Kong and Macau affairs, made a two-day trip to the city to review the Hong Kong governments progress across many areas. Everything seems to have been orchestrated with precision. Ahead of Xias arrival, the government launched its two-month public consultation on the citys first five-year plan. The day after ...

Australian police seized a record 2.7 tonnes of cocaine hidden in plastic tubs buried underground on the outskirts of Sydney, detectives said on Monday. It was the largest cocaine haul in Australian history, a joint organised crime investigation force said in a statement. Police allege a Sydney-based organised crime group arranged for a foreign vessel to ...

A Chinese woman developed rashes and itching after applying extreme sun protection measures, including wearing a sunscreen product that covers her whole face. The woman from eastern Chinas Jiangsu province was recently reported to have developed red and itchy skin while travelling. She applied sun cream before wearing a hat and mask that covers her whole ...