When Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced the interim deal this week to end the war with the United States, he declared his country the victor. To many Iranians, it does not feel that way. More than three months of US and Israeli air strikes, and a blockade of Iranian ports, have poured new misery on a people already toiling under years of ...

The US Navy has redeployed an amphibious strike group originally bound for the Middle East to the South China Sea, a move experts say may signal Washington shifting its focus back to the Pacific region after months of distractions from the Iran war. The United States began turning its military attention to the Middle East early this year, moving global ...

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that his countrys negotiations with Israel in Washington were independent of the US-Iran deal to bring an end to the Middle East conflict. Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and separate their conflict from ...

Officials from key US farm-belt states joined their Chinese provincial counterparts on Tuesday in a cooperation dialogue, the latest pivot towards closer engagement following President Donald Trumps visit to Beijing and ahead of the critical US midterm elections. The major subnational dialogue co-hosted by the Henan provincial government in central China ...

Government workers in different parts of Afghanistan have started switching off their smartphones, following an order imposed on Wednesday that they said came from Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. A letter announcing the ban on smartphones for all government employees started circulating on social media last week under the emblem of the Supreme Court, ...

Liu Ren, a central figure of a criminal group masterminded by Chinese tycoon Chen Zhi, has been extradited from Cambodia to China. Chinese police recently escorted Liu from Cambodia back to China, the criminal investigation department of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement said Chen who was extradited to ...

Sexual abuse cases against children under 17 jumped 20 per cent in 2025 from the previous year in Hong Kong, with the security minister vowing to tighten laws that will better protect victims by next June. Police figures presented to legislators on Wednesday showed that there were 797 cases of sexual offences against children last year, up from 663 cases in ...

In 1996, the bestselling China Can Say No, co-authored by a group of intellectuals, reflected a nascent rejection of worship of the West and a rise in Chinese nationalism. Thirty years on, China is not just saying no to the West, it possesses the strategic leverage to hit back, underpinned by its dominance in global supply chains, rare earth minerals and ...

Chinese lithography and integrated circuit manufacturer Circuit Fabology Microelectronics Equipment (CFMEE) is set to launch a Hong Kong listing next week, as China continues its drive for semiconductor self-sufficiency amid US sanctions. The company, based in Hefei, Anhui province, said on Wednesday that it would offer more than 12.8 million H shares ...

The fatal shooting in eastern Poland of a Russian artist known for his caricatures of Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely politically motivated, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday. All indications are that this is a political murder, Tusk said of the killing of Semyon Skrepetsky, whose real name is Robert Kuzovkov. If it was ...

When Singaporean Joel Tan stood before fellow Harvard Medical School PhD graduates recently, he recalled how the chance to study biology had once seemed unrealistic because he was told his grades were not good enough. I often think about how much of my life depended on someone, somewhere, deciding that my past performance did not have to define my future ...

Hong Kong police have arrested a 36yearold man on suspicion of forcing three men and a teenager to engage in sexual acts while recording the activity. The suspect is alleged to have committed non-consensual buggery against four victims, aged between 19 and 23, between May 2024 and this month. He has also been accused of offences including unlawful recording ...

Chinese authorities introduced draft regulations on Wednesday to crack down on the misuse of subsidies by food-delivery platforms, as Beijing seeks to rein in the sectors intense competition. The proposed rules, open for public comment until July 17, identify several practices that would be banned, including using subsidies to disrupt the market and selling ...

In a possible sign that Washingtons stance on Hong Kong is shifting, a senior US State Department official will meet a delegation of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham HK), the South China Morning Post has learned. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, sources familiar with the matter ...

A leadership stand-off in the Philippine Senate ended Wednesday with the removal of an ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte as leader of the chamber, which will soon start the impeachment trial of his daughter, incumbent Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio. With 13 of 24 senators backing him, Sherwin Gatchalian, an ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, ...

On Monday, thousands of Cabo Verdeans poured out onto the streets of their capital, Praia, to celebrate the national football teams shock draw against Spain at the World Cup, beating drums, blowing horns and dancing. For Cabo Verde, an archipelago country of 500,000 people located off the coast of West Africa, a stalemate with former World Cup champions is ...

The son of Sri Lankas former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was arrested on Wednesday on corruption charges, the anti-bribery commission said, the latest case to target the once all-powerful political clan. Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 38, is accused of tapping state funds for overseas training during his career as a naval officer. The Bribery Commission said he was ...

China has pitched itself as a champion of rule-making for new frontiers, including AI and outer space, calling for a more just and equitable world order as humanity navigates dangerous waters. In a policy document released on Wednesday, Beijing said it would continue to uphold the central role of the United Nations in the global governance of those emerging ...

Hong Kongs leader has vowed to expand its proposed university town near the border by tenfold to 1,000 hectares from its current size, after Beijings point man on local affairs endorsed the concept of linking education with industry, while recognising the citys economic and innovation and technology (I&T) development. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also ...

Fifa has extended an official invitation to a South Korean YouTuber to attend her countrys World Cup match against Mexico on Thursday after she was subjected to a racist gesture during a recent game. The football governing body said the match, which falls on the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, will be used to deliver a message of inclusion and ...

A retired military dog handler in China has become an online pet-saving sensation by curing cats and dogs in a spartan clinic with little medical equipment. Qian Yong, who opened the clinic in rural Tangshan, northern Hebei province, has earned the nickname Hua Tuo in the Vets Field, the China News Service reported. Hua Tuo was a Chinese doctor who lived ...

Indonesias rupiah rallied from a historic low this week, its stock market surged and a closely watched sovereign wealth fund bond offering was oversubscribed, offering Southeast Asias largest economy a reprieve after months of asset pressure. But economists have warned that the relief may come at a cost as the same forces helping stabilise the rupiah, ...

A retired military dog handler in China has become an online pet-saving sensation by curing cats and dogs in a spartan clinic with little medical equipment. Qian Yong, who opened the clinic in rural Tangshan, northern Hebei province, has earned the nickname Hua Tuo in the Vets Field, the China News Service reported. Hua Tuo was a Chinese doctor who lived ...

Over 1,100 foreign citizens received Russian visas last year for their declared commitment to traditional values, state media reported on Wednesday, a track opened as Moscow hardens its anti-liberal narrative amid the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has for years denounced anything that goes against what he calls traditional family values ...

The US Navy has launched its largest annual humanitarian mission in the Indo-Pacific with a renewed focus on Southeast Asia, in what analysts described as part of Washingtons effort to rebuild confidence and project soft power in a region central to its rivalry with China. Pacific Partnership 2026, the US Navys largest annual maritime humanitarian and civic ...