Hong Kong should not renew the HK$3 per litre diesel subsidy when it expires at the end of June. Instead, it should use the funds to launch a crash programme to accelerate electrification of public transport, starting with the minibus fleet. The crisis in the Middle East has had a serious impact on fuel prices. In response, a government task force has ...

Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation appeared before an Israeli court on Sunday, according to the rights group defending them. The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated ...

A robot in a high-visibility vest carrying a loud hailer while patrolling a park in Chinas northeastern Jilin province has caused much amusement online. We have sprayed pesticides in the park. It is highly poisonous, the robot was exclaiming through the loud hailer. The robot was also saying that when worms eat the pesticide it they instantly lie down and ...

As the energy shock unleashed by tensions in the Middle East rippled through Africa, a massive oil refinery in Nigerias biggest city of Lagos, owned by Africas wealthiest man, came to the rescue. Running at its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the worlds biggest single-train refinery supplied fuel to many African countries that usually relied on ...

A woman carrying a knife has been arrested after being tackled by the crowd during the Rain Rave Water Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night. In a viral video, a man can be seen attempting to disarm the woman. Several others from the crowd, along with security personnel, then joined in to restrain her until the police arrived. She was seen being ...

Astronomers in Japan have recently launched what they say is the countrys first organisation dedicated to the search for alien life, with radio observations planned in the summer next year. They must exist somewhere in the universe. Im excited to be putting this into action, said Shinya Narusawa, an astrophysical expert at the University of Hyogo and head ...

Hong Kong is set for its strongest quarterly growth in almost five years, the citys finance chief has said, citing a 17 per cent rise in visitor numbers and a 5.2 per cent increase in retail and catering activity. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his Sunday blog that 602,000 visitors entered Hong Kong in the first two days of mainland Chinas ...

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMPs journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory issued the amber rainstorm warning on Sunday afternoon, saying that violent gusts might affect the city. The signal was issued at 2.20pm, indicating heavy rain exceeding 30mm per hour had fallen ...

Singapore wealth-tech firms are increasingly using Hong Kong as their first major overseas expansion market, betting that the citys large pool of idle savings, deep wealth base and role as a regional financial hub will support the scaling of their retail investment platforms. The latest entrant, Chocolate Finance, launched in Hong Kong last month with a ...

Across Bangkok, aromas of garlic, chilli and grilled meat drift from roadside stalls and carts, but tighter controls on vendors threaten livelihoods and the street food culture that defines the Thai capital. Convenient, full of flavour and popular among locals and tourists alike, Bangkoks street food is one of the citys signatures, where sizzling woks and ...

Rising youth suicides in Manila, fuelled by emotional distress and digital triggers, have spurred calls to expand support for vulnerable Filipinos, as the deeply religious country begins to confront mental health more openly. In 2018, Macy Castaneda Lee, a 16-year-old Manila high school student, thought about ending it all after grappling with past trauma, ...

A new US drawdown of roughly 5,000 troops from Germany over the next year prompted strong questions from both Nato allies and Republicans in Congress. A Nato spokesperson said the defence alliance is looking for details on the US effort, which was announced on Friday, adding that Washingtons move underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in ...

Industry leaders from Hong Kongs property management sector have said a security staff shortfall of up to 25 per cent persists, as they defended a major housing estates recruitment of one-third of its guards from across the border. The owners corporation of Richland Gardens in Kowloon Bay has come under fire after announcing on social media last week that ...

Perched above the streets of Tai Hang, the 91-year-old Haw Par Mansion has stood as a watchman to Hong Kongs evolving history. The mansion and its front garden are the only remaining sections of what was once a sprawling estate and theme park built in the 1930s by the Aw family of Tiger Balm ointment fame. They are striking examples of the periods ...

In India, cuddly and colourful animals are paraded across Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels, where free advice is shared on how to raise a lemur or what to feed an iguana in congested megacities far from forest habitats. Cuteness has become a commodity in Asias social media world, with Thailands main airport emerging as a reluctant hub for wild ...

Chinas smartphone and electronics supply chain is adapting its expertise to support the countrys fledgling but fast-growing humanoid robotics industry, as component suppliers seek new growth beyond a slowing mobile market. The sector received a glimpse of that crossover after Honors humanoid robot D1, a dark-horse entrant from the smartphone maker, won ...

In December 2010, on the final day of his three-day India visit, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao offered a metaphorical vision for bilateral ties, suggesting that the dragon and the elephant should tango. The analogy dragon for China, elephant for India had already circulated in Western academic and media circles as a comparative frame. With Wens remark, it ...

The eight-year-old son of Guangzhou businessman Terry Fang recently arrived at a blunt conclusion: Chinese tech is cool. The boys impression was formed not in the classroom, or even online, but through repeated exposure to real-world industrial settings. Earlier this year, Fang took his children to a local low-altitude aviation company, where they watched ...

Middle Eastern governments are dusting off decades-old proposals for overland oil and gas pipelines, and urgently drawing up plans for new rail-sea transport corridors in a belated response to the wartime disruption of major maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. With the threats to these key shipping lanes and economic infrastructure ...

China has become one of the largest sources of investment in land parcels and other properties in Singapore, as the safe-haven status of Southeast Asias top financial hub continues to attract global capital, according to analysts. China-linked developers and business entities have become more active in the market, said Alan Cheong, executive director for ...

For decades, Hong Kongs tourism success rested on a clear formula: shopping, dining and urban experiences. That model is losing momentum. Overnight visitor spending has fallen from around HK$193 billion (US$24.6 billion) in 2015 to HK$128 billion last year. Shopping has declined sharply as spending shifts to sightseeing and experiences. Travellers are no ...

More than 40 years ago, he became the first person from his rural family to study at a university in China. Four decades on he was appointed chancellor of UC Riverside, a prestigious school in the United States. The story of S. Jack Hu, a Chinese-American who is the first individual with a bachelors education from mainland China to head a top US ...

Japan and China are Asian powerhouses that should collaborate responsibly for the peace and prosperity of the region. However, bilateral relations have experienced ups and downs since the start of the century and are now at their lowest point after normalisation in 1972. A major cause of this is the widening perception and information gap between the two ...

Members of unlicensed hiking tours were among the hundreds of visitors who packed into Hong Kongs Ham Tin Wan campsite on the second of mainland Chinas Labour Day golden week break. The sink at the scenic Sai Kung hotspots only public bathroom was left clogged by food scraps after some visitors opted for hotpot, among other options. On Saturday evening, a ...

When Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recently visited Seoul for a state visit, one of the most memorable moments was a photo that he took with a 19-year-old Indonesian K-pop idol. Nyoman Ayu Carmenita, better known as Carmen of the girl group Hearts2Hearts, symbolises Indonesias ascendancy in the K-pop universe: no longer just a vast market for the ...