An elderly man has died in hospital after being found hanging in his Hong Kong flat, where his wife was discovered with her head covered and declared dead shortly afterwards.
The couple’s daughter visited their flat in Fung King House at Lai King Estate in Kwai Chung on Friday and found her 70-year-old stepfather hanging by several phone charging cables in the living room.
She found her 78-year-old mother on a bed with her head covered.
The couple were rushed to Princess Margaret Hospital in...

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An injured juvenile crocodile has been found in a Hong Kong residential building, prompting a rescue operation by an animal concern group.
At about 1pm on Wednesday, police alerted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) that a member of the public had reported spotting the reptile at a residential block on Tai Po Road in Sham Shui Po.
It was later confirmed to be a juvenile hybrid of a Siamese crocodile and a saltwater crocodile.
The SPCA said personnel equipped with rescue...

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The resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer has once again plunged British politics into uncertainty. Britain is now poised to welcome its seventh prime minister in a decade: after David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and now Starmer, yet another successor is waiting in the wings.
For a country that often presents itself as a model of political stability and democratic governance, such an extraordinary turnover of leadership raises questions about the...

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The international nuclear watchdog responsible for verifying Iran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium dismissed the conflicting signals from Tehran and Washington overnight and said it expects to resume full monitoring at some stage.
“There’s a war of words here,” said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, referring to White House statements about monitoring that were disputed by Iran.
In Washington on Tuesday, President Donald Trump threatened to halt...

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Beijing is sharpening the tools it uses to police rare earth and other strategic mineral exports, announcing fresh measures that will reward companies and individuals for reporting suspected violations.
The announcement came on Wednesday, the same day Tokyo confirmed that two of its nationals had been detained in China over alleged attempts to smuggle rare earth-related goods out of the country.
“Any organisation or individual has the right to report conduct suspected of violating relevant laws...

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China may be seen as a potential mediator in the Middle East but economic integration within the region is more likely to drive change there, according to observers at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.
The “Summer Davos” gathering in Liaoning province this week comes as Washington and Tehran try to reach agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The two countries have agreed to halt fighting “on all...

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Hong Kong police have arrested 29 people in a crackdown on a loan-sharking and money-laundering ring that charged victims annual interest rates as high as 3,000 per cent.
Police said on Wednesday that the syndicate had set up a secret call centre in Tsuen Wan and posed as licensed finance companies, randomly phoning people in an attempt to lure them into borrowing money.
In the process, they extracted personal information, including occupations, repayment ability and family background.
Small...

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As Singapore bets on becoming Asia’s leading wellness destination, tourism experts say the city state must prove that its attractions can draw international visitors in a region replete with spas, retreats and hot springs.
A S$1 billion (US$770 million) waterfront complex scheduled to open in 2030 is expected to be a major driver of the country’s wellness sector.
European developer Therme Group is slated to start work on the project in the third quarter, after being awarded the tender in...

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Requiring that only incombustible materials be used for large-scale renovations at housing estates is unrealistic and fails to take into account risks that arise after prolonged use, a public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades has heard.
The use of polyfoam boards to seal windows was among five key factors that led to the death toll of 168 people at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last year, experts said at the public inquiry session on Wednesday.
An expert appointed by the...

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A wave of power outages across Indonesia’s Java island has left millions of residents and business owners in the dark, igniting public fury and raising questions as to how the world’s largest coal exporter is failing to keep its own lights on.
The answer, analysts say, lies less in a coal shortage than in the rules and incentives governing who gets to buy it, at what price and when.
Hours-long blackouts since last week have disrupted the lives and businesses of millions of subscribers of...

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China’s telecoms giants are pushing for “air-space-ground-sea” networks amid Beijing’s push to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure, as SpaceX’s market debut has ignited the industry’s focus beyond the Earth.
At the opening of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai on Wednesday, telecommunications executives framed the next phase of infrastructure as one that needs to encompass both the skies and oceans to meet skyrocketing demand for AI computing.
Wang Tao, rotating chairman of...

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Ukrainian drones knocked out power in Sevastopol, the biggest city in Russian-held Crimea, on Wednesday and targeted facilities in central and southern Russia, local officials said, underscoring the reach of Kyiv’s attacks on energy infrastructure.
Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian oil refineries, depots and supply routes this year, pushing up petrol prices in Russia, where ‌authorities have limited sales in some regions.
Fuel shortages have been particularly acute on the Crimean...

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Morgan Stanley has again raised its forecast for China’s humanoid robot shipments this year, lifting its estimate to 50,000 units from 28,000 as commercial validation, policy support and supply-chain momentum accelerate adoption.
The investment bank had already doubled its projection to 28,000 units in January. In a report published on Tuesday, it said the latest upgrade reflected a growing number of Chinese companies, including electric-vehicle maker Xpeng, announcing plans for mass production...

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Senior Chinese defence industry official Bian Zhigang is under investigation for corruption, the latest high-profile target in Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on its military sector.
Bian, deputy head of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), was suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law”, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said on Wednesday, using its usual term for corruption and bribery.
The CCDI is China’s...

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Hong Kong education authorities have revealed that 91 students were suspected to have died by suicide between 2023 and 2025, with most cases involving secondary school students and boys.
The Education Bureau told lawmakers on Wednesday that the numbers of suspected fatal cases among primary and secondary students were 32 in 2023, 28 in 2024 and 31 in 2025.
An advocacy group said youth suicide was rarely caused by a single factor, but identified family issues as a leading underlying cause in Hong...

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China’s most renowned amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient, Cai Lei, has been battling the illness for seven years following his diagnosis. His wife, Duan Rui, has supported him in her own way, also becoming a pillar for other families affected by ALS.
After the former vice-president of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com received his ALS diagnosis in 2019, Cai, now 48, emerged as one of the world’s most determined advocates against the disease, investing over 100 million yuan (US$15 million)...

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Chinese-Filipino business groups have sent aid to earthquake-hit residents in the southern Philippines, continuing their tradition of providing disaster relief at a time when worsening Manila-Beijing ties have complicated public perceptions of people and organisations linked to China.
In General Santos City, among the areas hardest hit by the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on June 8, local officials and survivors said politics had little place in disaster recovery...

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After two teenagers opened fire at a Philippine high school this week, the first question lawmakers asked was not about gun control, but the internet.
Three pupils were killed and 20 injured at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte province, on Monday – the highest total casualty count of any Philippine school shooting.
It has renewed calls to restrict Filipino children’s access to social media and online games, coming months after police said they had disrupted a school shooting...

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Rare but intense rainfall in China’s biggest desert that triggered flooding – and damage – across parts of Xinjiang has underscored the growing risks posed by extreme weather in the country’s arid northwest.
According to China Weather Network, the public information platform of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), two major flood events have occurred along the margins of the Taklamakan Desert, a once-arid region, this month.
While warmer, wetter conditions in recent decades made...

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Eight companies and 12 individuals suspected of rigging bids for at least 11 building maintenance projects in Hong Kong, including at Wang Fuk Court where 168 people died in a fire last year, are expected to face a month-long trial no earlier than 2028.
The Competition Tribunal held its first hearing on Wednesday for the companies and individuals accused by the Competition Commission of acting as a bid-rigging syndicate for building maintenance projects worth nearly HK$700 million (US$89.4...

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Hong Kong doctors have performed the world’s first robotic living-donor liver transplant as part of a pioneering microsurgery programme, researchers have revealed.
Sharing the results of the clinical trial on Wednesday, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) team said surgeons at Queen Mary Hospital had completed 48 procedures since June 2025, with no long-term or post-operative complications.
Microsurgery, which requires surgeons to operate under high-powered magnification on structures as fine as...

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As European leaders convened at the European Council meeting in Brussels this month, the spectre of a full-blown trade war with China cast a long shadow over the proceedings. Amid ongoing anti-subsidy probes into Chinese green technology and the looming threat of retaliatory tariffs, the economic bedrock of the China-EU relationship appears increasingly fragile.
Yet, beneath the hawkish political rhetoric, recent high-level meetings between European officials and their Chinese counterparts...

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China has detained two Japanese nationals over alleged attempts to take rare earth-related products out of the country.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Wednesday that one of the two was detained by Chinese authorities on May 18 and the other a week later, accused of violating Chinese laws governing the import and export of restricted goods. Tokyo confirmed the detentions, without giving further details, citing privacy.
One of the detainees is an employee of a Japanese...

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We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. The hidden cost of China’s electric car boom: a spiralling roadworks bill
China’s rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has been widely hailed as an economic success story. But it is also creating a serious headache for the country’s local governments, which are tasked with...

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Upset with the way that her domestic worker had performed tasks such as hanging the laundry or cleaning bottles, a 67-year-old woman slapped, punched and scratched her, drawing blood.
The victim, who earned S$470 (about US$360) a month, told staff members from Singapore’s Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) during a routine call about the abuse, and a police report was made.
Hazel Phang Fong Yen, a 67-year-old Singaporean woman, was sentenced to four months’ jail on Wednesday.
She was also...

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Keiko Fujimori is poised to become Peru’s next president after running her fourth consecutive campaign, according to figures published late Tuesday by the elections regulator after weeks of adjudicating disputed ballots.
With 43,386 votes between Fujimori and leftist rival Roberto Sanchez, and no more than 39,300 votes in dispute, the conservative had enough of a margin to secure her lead. Fujimori had 50.1 per cent of the vote while Sanchez had 49.9 per cent with 99.8 per cent of ballots...

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Beijing’s recent investigation into three brokerages – Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers and Long Bridge – was partly driven by concerns over foreign exchange “leakage” and the need to protect mainland China’s vast base of retail investors, Hong Kong’s finance chief has said.
At a closed-door C-Suite roundtable organised by the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said Beijing was overall “supportive” of Hong...

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Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered an investigation into allegations of mass cheating in civil service exams to attain government jobs, after thousands of tests were allegedly tampered with to boost scores in exchange for fees of up to US$24,000 each time.
The scandal erupted after police and anti-corruption officials raided a company address in Nonthaburi outside Bangkok on Tuesday and found at least 10 officials on site tampering with computerised scores “to help...

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Hong Kong police have arrested a 15-year-old boy and his father in Wan Chai after officers intercepted the teenager behind the wheel at a late-night traffic checkpoint.
Officers from the force’s Hong Kong Island traffic section set up a roadblock at the junction of Marsh Road and Hung Hing Road at around 10pm on Tuesday.
During the routine traffic enforcement operation, police stopped a car and found the driver was a minor.
The 15-year-old non-Chinese boy was arrested on suspicion of driving...

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Chinese carmakers continued their rapid expansion in Europe last month according to industry data released on Tuesday, as Brussels reportedly weighs fresh tariffs aimed at slowing their advance.
Geely Group was the highest-placed Chinese carmaker, ranking eighth among all manufacturer groups in May, according to the latest sales data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), covering the European Union, the United Kingdom and the four European Free Trade Association...

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A Pentagon decision to strip “Indo” from the name of its largest unified military command eight years after it was initially added has raised questions about the United States’ continuing commitment to India.
In a statement announcing the Indo-Pacific Command’s name change on June 16, US officials portrayed the move as a matter of “honour”, “pride” and respecting “historical roots”.
But analysts told This Week in Asia that New Delhi would likely read the reversion to Pacific Command (PACOM) as...

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A camel was seen crying out continuously while carrying a tourist on its back at a major attraction in China, sparking public outrage.
The camel drew significant attention online after a blogger released a video on June 15, showing that the skinny animal was forced to stand despite appearing exhausted while carrying a female tourist who was taking photos, as reported by the news portal The Cover.
The incident occurred at Devil City on the Sea in Fuhai county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region,...

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Global confidence in US President Donald Trump’s leadership remains low around the world, while views of his country as a reliable partner continue to decline, a new survey from the Washington-based Pew Research Centre showed on Tuesday.
The survey of 42,151 adults across 36 countries was conducted between February and May 2026, a period marked by geopolitical competition with China and the US-Israeli military conflict with Iran that began in late February.
On average, just 23 per cent of adults...

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Hong Kong will allow elderly welfare recipients living in Guangdong and Fujian provinces to have cash assistance directly sent to their mainland Chinese bank accounts from July as part of a much-awaited arrangement, the city’s leader has said.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced the scheme in a social media post on Wednesday during a visit to Fujian, where he met elderly Hongkongers living in the province.
“I’m delighted to hear from elderly residents that the monthly cash allowances...

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Malaysia’s police chief has opened a disciplinary inquiry into a police officer who posted viral videos showing Malaysian tourists mocking people in China as “smelly” after the clips triggered anger in both countries and prompted a public apology.
Inspector General of Police Mohd Khalid Ismail said on Tuesday authorities had begun an internal investigation into the personnel involved, identified by her lawyer as Nur Asyiqin Mohd Dalil.
“I have received information on the matter and we have...

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was heckled at a World War II memorial event by protesters angry about Tokyo’s further shift away from its decades-long pacifist stance, television footage showed.
Close US ally Japan in April loosened rules on lethal arms exports and Takaichi, long seen as a security hawk who last year riled mainland China with comments about Taiwan, has said she wants to revise the constitution.
A small but vocal number of demonstrators shouted slogans throughout...

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Three candidates endorsed by Zohran Mamdani swept to victory in Democratic congressional primaries on Tuesday, showing that the coalition which powered the New York City mayor to a surprising victory last year is gaining strength.
Some of the city’s most established political figures were toppled in races that highlighted divisions within the party over ideology, Israel and immigration.
Former New York City comptroller Brad Lander defeated two-term Congressman Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th...

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Both regulators and clients could motivate banks to adopt artificial intelligence for greater efficiency gains in the coming years, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) executive has predicted, adding the trend could intensify the global race to embrace the cutting-edge technology.
Over the past few months, multinational banks have approached AWS about how to grow their business in innovative ways, said Shaown Nandi, vice-president of technology at the US cloud computing giant, in an interview with the...

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A Hong Kong primary school that earlier suggested hosting an overnight World Cup viewing event has instead opted to hold the gathering on a weekend morning in response to feedback from parents.
Chi Lin Buddhist Primary School in Tseung Kwan O clarified on Wednesday that its initial circular slating the event for the very early hours of July 15 sought only to gauge interest and holding the gathering in the day would allow more parents and pupils to watch the match together.
“After careful...

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Large parts of western Europe were baking on Wednesday as a so-called heat dome brought extreme conditions that many forecasters warned could present a risk to life.
A day after France recorded its hottest-ever day, Britain was on Wednesday set to see its highest ever June temperature, prompting the national weather forecaster to issue a “red heat health” alert for much of central and southern England, as well as Wales.
It was only the second such warning ever issued by UK authorities following...

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A popular K-pop star has found an unlikely place in the scientific record after researchers in China named a newly discovered fish species after her.
Jennie Ruby Jane, from Blackpink, was “a constant source of inspiration” for the master’s student who discovered the tiny black-and-yellow fish – shorter than an average human fingernail – near southern China’s Pearl River estuary.
The fish, named Brachygobius jennie, is the first bumblebee goby found in China and could provide a model for studying...

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Hong Kong police have arrested a 41-year-old mainland Chinese man on suspicion of impersonating a registered ride-hailing driver and working in breach of his visa conditions.
Officers from the force’s traffic New Territories North headquarters carried out the undercover operation on Tuesday afternoon, disguising themselves as passengers in Yuen Long before intercepting two private cars in Sheung Shui.
The force said the suspect and a 24-year-old local man were arrested for allegedly using motor...

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The US Senate backed legislation on Tuesday directing US President Donald Trump to halt US military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from an increasingly restive Congress.
The Senate voted 50–48 in favour of the war powers resolution, which passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched an attack on...

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Airbus on Tuesday said it would inspect 16 A380 planes, five of them immediately, after cracks were found in a key wing component on aircraft used by the Emirates and Qantas airlines.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ordered urgent inspections requiring airlines to examine the wing-spar structure on the affected jets after inspectors found cracks during routine maintenance checks.
The cracks appeared in a structural beam that runs along the wing and carries much of the...

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Just a short ⁠stroll from Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, auctioneer Clarence White struggles to drum up bids for an ⁠airy three-storey home that boasts five bedrooms and an alfresco lounge – price tag, A$5.2 million (US$3.64 million).
“We know everyone’s cagey at the moment, but that’s OK … all power to those who are registered and those who take action,” the veteran auctioneer tells a small group of prospective buyers and onlookers, none of whom bids.
Failed auctions like this were once the...

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said China surpassing the United States on artificial intelligence was the “biggest risk” of the technology – outweighing concerns over safety or job losses.
“The biggest risk to AI is China getting ahead of us,” Bessent said at the Economic Club of New York, adding that China’s willingness to discuss AI underscored America’s technological lead.
“I am one of the point people on our AI policy. I am the point person in terms of the economic...

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India’s private defence companies are poised to expand their footprint in the sector, but analysts warn they still lack the technology and capabilities needed to produce cutting-edge weapons for the country’s military or export markets.
In the 2025-26 financial year, the private sector accounted for 24 per cent of India’s defence output, or US$4.4 billion out of a record US$18.7 billion, according to a defence ministry statement released last week.
The figures reflect a gradual shift away from a...

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For anyone closely watching the semiconductor industry, the recent saga around ASML’s denial of possible EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography shipments to China, in an apparent response to US concern, may sound almost absurd at first.
The machine at the centre of the discussion is not a laptop-sized piece of equipment that can be easily packed into a shipping carton. ASML’s EUV lithography systems weigh about 180 tonnes, contain a vast number of precision components, are shipped to customers in...

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As a judge-led panel continues its public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, experts are set to give evidence on factors that contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze.
Richard Yuen Kwok-kit, chair professor of architectural engineering at the City University, will testify on Wednesday before the independent committee regarding the fire at...

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“Hong Kong is the only city in the world with five universities ranked among the global top 100.” This talking point has become one of the Hong Kong government’s favourite slogans. It has appeared in government press releases and official speeches, including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address last year.
Though pleasing to the ear, this distorts our education priorities. Hong Kong is also an outlier in attaching such political significance to university rankings.
Once the Hong Kong...

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