Resource-rich African nations are increasingly asserting control over critical minerals to maximise domestic returns, sending global prices soaring and exerting pressure on Chinese supply chains. Zimbabwe, Africas largest lithium producer, last month abruptly suspended exports of raw lithium minerals and concentrates, moving its 2027 deadline forward. ...

Twenty Thai crew members of a cargo ship attacked in the crucial Strait of Hormuz arrived in Thailand on Monday, with three of their colleagues still stranded on the vessel in the Gulf. The Thai-registered Mayuree Naree was hit by two projectiles on Wednesday while transiting through the Gulf waterway, after departing a port in the United Arab Emirates. ...

Young people in China are contributing to a fake account generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to lecture their parents about healthy and scientific life values. A social media account called Lao Zhao jiang dao li, or Mr Zhao talks sense, went viral recently, amassing over 200,000 followers in just two months. The man surnamed Zhao, based in ...

With his peroxide blond hair, dark moustache and luxuriant eyebrows, London-born curator and writer James Taylor-Foster is easy to pick out among the tourists and selfie-takers in the courtyard of Yick Cheong Building, also known as the Monster Building, in Hong Kongs Quarry Bay neighbourhood. The South China Morning Post is meeting the 33-year-old here ...

A Hong Kong couple whose five-year-old son was swept into the sea at a waterfront during Super Typhoon Ragasa last year have been charged with child neglect and are set to appear in court on Tuesday. Police revealed on Monday that the boys father, a 40-year-old man surnamed Yen, and mother, a 38-year-old woman surnamed Li, were arrested in Chai Wan on ...

Monthly fees at Hong Kongs 24-hour fitness centres vary widely and can more than double depending on additional charges, the Consumer Council has found, as it warned residents to be cautious when providing sensitive personal data, including facial images for recognition systems. The consumer watchdog revealed on Monday the results of a survey of 11 ...

Several Malaysian civil society groups on Monday accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahims government of using a harsh criminal law provision to intimidate critics after police questioned activists, academics and political researchers over an alleged plot to topple the government. The backlash follows an announcement in late February that police were ...

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. Top Chinese nuclear, radar and missile experts vanish from engineering body site 2. The US is shifting THAAD to the Middle East. What does that mean for ...

From Singapores hawker stalls to Thailands street markets and Vietnams noodle shops, Southeast Asia is home to some of the worlds most celebrated food cultures. Yet the region has produced relatively few restaurant chains with global brand recognition, even as Chinese food and beverage groups climb international rankings. Analysts say structural factors ...

World-leading Vietnamese mathematician Ngo Bao Chau has said his decision to leave the US was not just the result of the worsening academic environment there, but also a vision to transform Asia into the next global powerhouse for maths and science. Ngo, the first Vietnamese recipient of the prestigious Fields Medal, will join the University of Hong Kong in ...

Chinas largest courier, SF Express, will introduce temporary fuel surcharges for local document and parcel deliveries within Hong Kong and Macau, set at HK$1 (13 US cents) and MOP$1, respectively, starting Monday amid a surge in global oil prices. The Shenzhen-based company said on Sunday that the surcharge was introduced in response to the recent drastic ...

US fashion brand Guess has told customers it will close all its stores in mainland China by the end of March, pending a new business model at a time when a growing number of international fashion retailers retreat from the market amid what analysts believe are issues including weak localisation and slow decision-making. Other foreign brands that have ...

Malaysia cannot get involved in what is happening in the Middle East, especially not via military intervention, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said. He said that as a free country, Malaysia could voice its objections towards war and violence but not by sending in troops. Dialogue and engagement should be the means to resolve any form of disputes, he ...

Chinas economy got off to a strong start in 2026, as industrial output and retail sales stayed resilient in the first two months while fixed-asset investment registered a small expansion. The figures will offer a boost to Beijing as it strives to achieve an economic growth rate between 4.5 per cent and 5 per cent this year and ward off deflationary ...

As trade tensions and new US tariff investigations rattle global supply chains, Southeast Asian economies are looking to broaden their options, but analysts say the regions deep links with the US and China mean any shift will be gradual rather than a clean break. The disruption could actually work in Aseans favour, accelerating supply-chain diversification ...

After the annual two sessions in Beijing, its clear that Hong Kong policymakers have their work cut out for them. It has been made abundantly clear what is expected of Hong Kong: stop messing around and get on with the national programme. Hong Kong is part of the nations plans to move forward. The country knows exactly where the city fits into the big ...

The sole female senior officer aboard Chinas Liaoning aircraft carrier has urged women to put aside their gender and focus on professionalism and responsibility. On March 7, during the 14th National Peoples Congress (NPC) in Beijing, a poised and confident female military deputy in uniform captured nationwide attention. Zhu Yuemeng, 36, from a modest family ...

Hong Kongs Insurance Authority aims to increase transparency and the available range of medical insurance products to address rising costs, while also reviewing regulations with an eye towards attracting more international life-insurance buyers. We would like to see the insurance companies introduce more medical insurance products that are more accessible ...

Demand for some regional holiday destinations among Hong Kong travellers has jumped by as much as 30 per cent ahead of Easter, as locals seek to avoid long-haul trips amid rising airfares and disrupted routes caused by the ongoing war in Iran, according to industry players. Travel agencies said the number of inquiries for trips to Japan, South Korea, ...

Chinas push for semiconductor self-sufficiency is shifting from broad aspiration to a precision strike on chokepoint materials, with photoresist the light-sensitive chemical essential for etching microscopic circuits onto silicon wafers emerging as a new battlefield. The sector, which provides the key material for lithography, was expected to enter a ...

Zhao Tong is a senior fellow with the Nuclear Policy Programme at Washington-based think tank the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and its East Asia-based research centre on contemporary China, Carnegie China. His research focuses on strategic security issues, including nuclear weapons policy, deterrence, arms control, non-proliferation, missile ...

The 2020 Abraham Accords were heralded as a transformative diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East. The US-brokered agreements normalised relations between Israel and Arab states including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. They established full diplomatic relations, opening embassies, initiating direct commercial flights, expanding trade ties ...

An Afghan immigrant who previously worked with the US military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the United States died this weekend in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas, a US veteran-led advocacy group said on Sunday. Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, who was living in a Dallas suburb with ...