Wandering Eyes

China’s large industrial enterprises posted modest but accelerating growth in April, despite an unprecedented trade war with the United States that drove up tariffs on both sides and intensified economic uncertainty. Industrial profits among larger firms, with an annual income of 20 million yuan ($US2.78 million) or above generated from their main businesses, recorded a 3 per cent year-on-year increase last month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Tuesday, up from 2.6 per cent...View the full article

A nine-month-old girl has died after being found unconscious and trapped in the gap between a cot and a bed. Police said they received a report at around 7am on Tuesday that the baby was found unconscious at a flat in Fortress Hill. She was rushed to Ruttonjee Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 8.03am. The force added that the mother, 32, left the baby on the bed after feeding her on Monday night. She then found the unconscious girl in the gap the next morning. Dr Mike Kwan, a...View the full article

K-pop sensation Blackpink will hold two shows at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium in what appears to be the finale of their “Deadline” world tour in January next year. It will be the group’s first return to Hong Kong three years after it held three sold-out shows at AsiaWorld-Expo in 2023. According to details released by K-pop agency YG Entertainment on Tuesday, the world tour will commence in July in Goyang, South Korea and is set to conclude with two shows in Hong Kong on January 24 and 25 next...View the full article

Students who faced “discriminatory and unfair treatment” under the United States’ attempted ban on Harvard University’s international student enrolment are welcome to Hong Kong, the city leader has said, adding he would consider further raising the quota for non-local applicants if the need arose. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday said Hong Kong would welcome any student who had been “discriminated by US policy” to continue their studies here. “So I want this message to go out to any...View the full article

Malaysia’s home minister has been hit by a wave of public ridicule after his WhatsApp account was hacked, raising questions over the country’s digital protections when its top security official has been targeted by cyber criminals. Mobile phishing scams are rampant in Malaysia, with citizens frequently harassed by calls from fraudsters posing as police, banks or courts to extort money under the guise of criminal probes. The account of Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, head of the Home Ministry – which...View the full article

Hong Kong’s leader has slammed organisations that claim to be professional yet defend members under tax investigations, warning that such attempts to pressure authorities will only “expose their ugly nature”. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said that authorities would pursue legal responsibility in accordance with the law, as he responded to a question on whether the government’s recent tax reviews on members of Hong Kong Journalists Association were targeting independent media. Last week,...View the full article

Hong Kong is ramping up efforts to become an international data-trading hub by forging ties with mainland China and Southeast Asia, as cross-border data sharing is a new engine of an AI-driven economy that will benefit people and businesses, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po. “We are also committed to opening and sharing data that the private sector and academia can use,” Chan said on Tuesday at the inaugural International Data Industry Alliance (IDIA) Global Summit in Hong Kong. The...View the full article

Hong Kong’s leader has criticised the MTR Corporation’s “inadequacies” in emergency responses and contingency planning following several recent blunders, including a five-hour suspension in rail services on the Tseung Kwan O line last week. Speaking to the media before a meeting with the key decision-making Executive Council on Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also laid down for areas that the rail giant needed to improve on, following its third disruption in four months caused by...View the full article

Mainland Chinese authorities have accused a hacker group they allege is backed by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of orchestrating cyberattacks on up to 1,000 sensitive mainland networks, including military, energy and government systems. The claim was made public on May 20 by the Guangzhou city police, who said the group used “rudimentary and crude” methods to launch widespread attacks from overseas IP addresses, including from the United States, France and Japan. The city’s...View the full article

Blackpink, the popular South Korean girl group, will perform two shows in Singapore later this year as part of their Deadline world tour, concert organiser Live Nation announced on Tuesday. The quartet will take to the stage at Singapore’s National Stadium on November 29 and 30. Pre-sale registration for Weverse subscribers opens at noon on Tuesday, with the presale itself scheduled for June 10. Additional presales will follow: Visa cardholders can access tickets on June 11, while Changi Rewards...View the full article

Tuen Ng Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, is one of the biggest annual celebrations in Hong Kong. It takes place on May 31 this year. As well as dragon boat races, sticky rice dumplings, or zongzi, are a big feature of the festival. Sticky rice dumplings can be sweet or savoury and sprinkled with sugar or dipped in soy sauce. But either way, they are traditionally steamed. We asked chefs in Hong Kong, and one in Macau, for creative suggestions for other ways to prepare...View the full article

Malaysian businesses are eyeing more sales to Gulf nations, whose burgeoning Muslim populations need a bigger range of halal products – from pet food to cosmetics – and are willing to pay trusted sources for them. Majority-Muslim Malaysia is a global leader in halal products and has a rigorous certification regime recognised by scores of Muslim nations and bodies worldwide. Businesses selling to the six oil-rich nations of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain...View the full article

David Hayes has high hopes for Chateauneuf making barrier 11 look insignificant when he lines up in the Class Three Seine Handicap (1,200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The Fastnet Rock gelding snapped a losing run of nine races when he blazed home to win the Class Three Parislongchamp Handicap (1,200m) three weeks ago. From the inside draw, Luke Ferraris pinged him out into the box seat along the rail and angled out his mount as the field turned into the home straight. When asked,...View the full article

There’s a quiet fascination to high-end jewellery designs – a hypnotic beauty, where clean lines and sleek surfaces exude a serene elegance. Yet, it’s within these subtle details that true stories unfold. Hidden mechanisms, exquisitely constructed, invite interaction: a gold bracelet that unveils secret compartments and intricate scenes; a minimalist ring that unfurls into a decadent cascade of dazzling diamonds. These creations transcend mere adornment – they transform, engaging wearers in...View the full article

A couple in their village home in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, experienced a scare on Monday when they spotted a highly venomous king cobra snake on their computer desk. A snake catcher was called to safely collect the reptile, which measured about one metre (3.3 feet) in length. According to a police spokesman, the snake will be released back into the wild. The force said it received a report at 1.41am that the snake had entered the house on To Shek Street. The male resident of the flat shared what he...View the full article

Taiwan is vetting more than 747,000 civil servants, educators and military personnel for mainland ID and residency documents in a crackdown on Beijing’s growing political influence and espionage activities on the island. More than 370,000 personnel in sensitive and high-ranking posts were screened in the first phase of the wide-reaching investigation led by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC). A second phase, launched on Monday, “will include local government officials and public-school teachers...View the full article

Three-time grade 1 winner Carl Spackler is set to be an exciting addition to this year's Royal Ascot line-up after he was purchased by Yulong Investments and sent to be trained in Australia. View the full article

Hong Kong’s nine-month-old twin panda cubs, known as “Elder Sister” and “Younger Brother”, have been named Jia Jia and De De, respectively, which embody good virtue in Chinese culture. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui revealed on Tuesday the results of the panda naming contest, which received more than 35,700 entries from members of the public since submissions opened in February. “All suggestions reflected beautiful blessings for the giant pandas,” she said. Jia...View the full article

Lead cast: Park Bo-young, Park Jin-young Latest Nielsen rating: 5.05 per cent Looks can be deceiving, and Mi-ji and Mi-rae are counting on it. These are the twin sister protagonists of new Korean drama series Our Unwritten Seoul, both portrayed by Park Bo-young (Melo Movie). These twins are so identical that even their mother cannot tell them apart, but in many other respects they have grown into very different young women, each with their own problems and desires. When they were young, they...View the full article

Gold prices have surged this year as investors seek safe investments amid a spike in economic uncertainty unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. But economists say that there is another important factor driving the rally: purchases by central banks. In this explainer, we explore why central banks are increasingly turning to gold assets, how that is driving a long-term structural shift in demand for the metal, and what that means for gold prices going forward. Why are central...View the full article

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Broken bodies, shattered minds: lasting toll of Singapore Airlines turbulence 2. Anwar Ibrahim mints a dynasty – but Malaysia’s youth aren’t buying it 3. North Korean warship launch flops before Kim Jong-un, a blow to his ‘prestige’ 4. How India and Pakistan are...View the full article

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for deeper exchanges and trade cooperation with Malaysia, urging the two countries to safeguard free trade and the global trading system. In a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Li said China was willing to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication and enhance cultural cooperation with Malaysia. He also urged the two countries to continue expanding trade and investment cooperation, focusing on...View the full article

The excitement is building for the Group 1 $1 million Ladbrokes Queensland Derby (2400m) this Saturday at Eagle Farm, as a capacity field of promising three-year-old stayers assemble for Brisbane’s lucrative mile and a half feature. Heading the competitive betting markets is Emma-Lee & David Browne‘s classy grey, Statuario, holding narrow favouritism at $6 through […] The post Statuario Heads Ladbrokes Queensland Derby 2025 Field & Betting appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au. View the full article

Members of the North Korean community in Japan have accused Tokyo of systematically undermining ethnic Korean schools through funding cuts – echoing Pyongyang’s denunciation of the policy as a “violation of human rights” – in a long-running dispute shaped by Tokyo’s colonial rule and bitter divisions over identity and loyalty. Senior members of Chosen Soren – the pro-Pyongyang organisation representing North Korean residents of Japan – are “very angry and dissatisfied” and have urged Tokyo to...View the full article

Hong Kong stocks erased gains amid concerns that escalating competition among China’s leading carmakers and e-commerce operators will hurt margins and prompt investors to retreat. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 per cent to 23,241.23 at the local noon trading break on Tuesday, reversing an earlier gain of as much as 0.4 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 0.6 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index slipped 0.3 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.7 per cent. BYD tumbled...View the full article