As Taiwan reopens its borders, is it ready to live with Covid?
Tourists can travel to the island from Wednesday, but case numbers remain high and hospital workers say they have been overwhelmed in the latest surge. ⌘ Read more

WHO will share vaccines to stop monkeypox amid inequity fears
Agency chief says the initiative for ‘fair access’ to vaccines and treatments will be ready within weeks, but health experts say it’s a missed opportunity to control monkeypox in Africa where it has been for decades. ⌘ Read more

Indian forces in Kashmir kill militants suspected of targeted shooting, part of increased counter-insurgency effort
It’s believed they were Kashmir Freedom Fighters who claim responsibility for shooting a bank manager this month. At least 16 people – both Hindu and Muslims – have been killed in targeted attacks in Kashmir this year. ⌘ Read more

Migrant workers’ groups slam Hong Kong government for excluding domestic helpers in second batch of consumption vouchers
‘I think it’s a pattern that shows how the Hong Kong government treats domestic helpers,’ spokesman for Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body says. ⌘ Read more

Sweltering heat stifles a third of US population, severe storms leave thousands in the dark
Excessive heat warnings, watches and advisories were issued for more than 100 million people as temperatures surged 10 to 20 degrees above normal. Another heatwave is expected next week with temperatures above 100 degrees in places. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines to launch first scheduled commercial flight to Bangkok in July, fleet expansion plans on hold amid Covid border measures
Chief Algernon Yau tells Post carrier ‘cannot wait too long’ to get planes up in the sky. ⌘ Read more

Honeymoon years (1997-2002): Hong Kong’s early years under Chinese rule in 25 photos
The former British colony began a new chapter in its history as a newly returned Chinese city full of ambition and enthusiasm, its evolution scrutinised by the world. ⌘ Read more

Japan, Australia to expand defence ties for regional order amid growing fear of China’s presence
Defence ministers Richard Marles and Nobuo Kishi met amid growing fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may embolden China to increase its assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. ⌘ Read more

Singapore ramps up ‘Wolbachia’ mosquito breeding as dengue crisis escalates
Amid earlier-than-usual surge in cases, which can be fatal, nation will breed 5 million male Aedes mosquitoes a week instead of 2 million. Carrying Wolbachia bacteria, when they mate with female urban mosquitoes the eggs that are laid do not hatch. ⌘ Read more

Bar at centre of latest Beijing Covid cluster loses its licence as staff face criminal investigation
The authorities in the Chinese capital say the Heaven Supermarket Bar in the Sanlitun nightlife district did not enforce controls properly. ⌘ Read more

Ant Group’s payment services platform Alipay is most trusted brand in China, new survey by US firm finds
More than half, or 53 per cent, of consumers surveyed in China said they use Alipay daily, with the proportion higher among millennials and GenZ consumers, according to the Morning Consult study. ⌘ Read more

Why archaeologists are so excited by China’s Sanxingdui ruins
Ancient treasure trove reveals deep connections between the mysterious Shu kingdom and other early Chinese settlements. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong customs arrest 51-year-old woman on suspicion of laundering more than HK$350 million over three years
Senior customs investigator says the suspect had allegedly laundered illegal proceeds in a series of more than 1,500 transactions between November 2018 and October 2021. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong ranks 5th in list of world’s most competitive economies, climbing 2 spots over improved performance amid Covid
City climbs two places to reclaim fifth spot over improved economic performance. ⌘ Read more

Joe Biden gambles there’s more to gain by visiting ‘pariah’ Saudi Arabia
US President Joe Biden confirmed that he will visit Saudi Arabia next month for talks with its leaders, a dramatic change in his stance on the kingdom. ⌘ Read more

Taiwan-US security and military talks will discuss weapons and strategies to defend island against Beijing
Working-level talks between security and military officials this week precede high-level talks next week in Washington and Annapolis, Maryland. ⌘ Read more

In a bowl of hot soup: Chinese university student goes viral after dumping scalding soup onto another student over seating dispute
A video of a woman student pouring hot soup on the head of another student after a seating dispute went viral in China. ⌘ Read more

OnlyFans couple sought by police in Thailand for filming ‘unacceptable’ sex videos at Korat resort that were leaked online
Unnamed couple are wanted on charges of producing and distributing pornography after sexual videos they filmed at a Thai resort and posted to their subscription-based OnlyFans account were leaked online. ⌘ Read more

Ukraine war: Russia offers evacuations from Sievierodonetsk chemical plant, where 500 civilians are taking shelter
Ukraine says more than 500 civilians are trapped alongside soldiers inside the Azot chemical factory in Sievierodonetsk, where its forces have resisted weeks of Russian bombardment. ⌘ Read more

SCMP picks Catherine So as chief executive, tapping Hong Kong media and tech veteran to run one of Asia’s oldest English newspapers
Liu, who has led the newspaper for five and half years, fundamentally transformed one of Asia’s oldest newspapers into a 21st-century information product that reacted to news events and responded to readers’ preferences in real time. ⌘ Read more

Coronavirus: Hong Kong bar and club patrons cancel bookings over rapid-test proof rule, as industry leader slams ‘unclear guidelines’
‘What did our industry do wrong?’ sector representative Ben Leung says on radio show. ⌘ Read more

Who’s coming to Putin’s ‘Russian Davos’ in St Petersburg?
Russia’s annual economic forum in St Petersburg will see little of the global financial elite this year with Moscow isolated by sanctions over its actions in Ukraine. ⌘ Read more

Asia’s energy crunch turns from bad to worse after fire at US plant
Freeport plant in Texas that shut down last week made up nearly a fifth of US LNG output in May, and supplies to Europe, South Korea, Japan. A prolonged disruption will global affect supplies. ⌘ Read more

In Ukraine-Russia war, echoes of WWI with artillery duels, trenches and shell-blasted landscapes
Satellite images of shell-blasted, trench-marked landscapes show why some experts and leaders have drawn parallels with World War I. ⌘ Read more

Australia-China relations: Canberra’s foreign minister Penny Wong to travel to Solomon Islands amid China security pact concerns
Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US have voiced concerns Beijing could establish a military presence in the Pacific following the signing of a security pact with the Solomon Islands. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong legislators question transport bureau’s proposal for congestion levy to ease traffic jams at cross-harbour tunnels
Lawmaker Nelson Lam says he is not sure how levy will help reduce traffic as all tunnels are already overused, or approaching capacity during rush hour. ⌘ Read more

Deaf Indian boy trapped in well with snakes and scorpions is rescued after four days
Rahul Sahu was rushed to hospital after being rescued from a 24 metre well. The 10-year-old became trapped on Friday afternoon while playing in the backyard of his house in the central state of Chhattisgarh. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong slips one place to fourth most expensive city for luxury spending as hotel rates take a huge hit from pandemic, Julius Baer report finds
Hong Kong is the fourth most expensive city globally for luxury goods and services, a notch lower than last year, as a dearth of tourists crushed hotel room rates, Swiss private bank Julius Baer says. ⌘ Read more

Coronavirus: New Zealand to eliminate pre-departure Covid-19 tests for incoming passengers
Scrapping the requirement would bring New Zealand into line with a growing number of countries that have done away with Covid tests. ⌘ Read more

China’s economic slowdown moderates slightly as retail sales fall less than expected in May
Industrial production in China rose by 0.7 per cent in May from a year earlier, while retail sales dropped by 6.7 per cent last month, data released on Wednesday showed. ⌘ Read more

China refrains from policy rate cut, defying market expectations once again
Economists have said that benign inflation at home, along with the return of capital inflows last month, warranted an interest-rate cut to support economic growth. ⌘ Read more

How China’s belt and road diplomacy could end the Ukraine conflict for good
Ukraine’s integration into the ambitious rail network linking China with Europe, by providing alternative routes bypassing Russia, would be acceptable to the EU and US. And Russia, too, could be open to China taking a lead on brokering a sustainable ceasefire, especially if it means lifting some sanctions. ⌘ Read more

Veteran Chinese human rights lawyers expected to face trial soon
Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi were both arrested after attending a meeting to discuss the development of civil society and charged with subverting state power ⌘ Read more

China parenting: rock star Zheng Jun in child abuse scandal claims son’s 1,000 kowtow ‘punishment’ was ‘Buddhist ritual’
A Chinese rock star who punished his son by offering him the choice of sitting in an uncomfortable position for an hour or being physically beaten and then recorded the incident and posted it on social media is under fire for alleged child abuse. ⌘ Read more

India all but sinks WTO sustainable fishing deal; China among contributors to global overfishing
India is seeking broad exemptions for its fishing industry, including a 25-year phase-in period. Fish stocks have plunged as countries spend billions of dollars supporting their fishing fleets around the world – China spends the most according to a 2019 study. ⌘ Read more

Can Sri Lanka tourism recover from ‘triple whammy’ of terrorism, Covid-19 and economic crisis?
The Easter Sunday bombings and the pandemic lashed the sector from 2019-2021. Now, unrest arising from economic duress has further hurt tourism. ⌘ Read more

Netflix plans Squid Game reality show with US$4.5 million prize, no fatal consequences
Unlike in the fictional series, the worst fate for losers is not death, but missing out on what Netflix claims is the largest lump sum prize in reality TV history. ⌘ Read more

Why Hong Kong may need to discuss whether all its judges should be Chinese nationals ahead of 2047: city’s first chief justice Andrew Li
City needs to be prepared should fewer non-permanent, overseas judges be available to serve in next 10 years, he says. ⌘ Read more

Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg urges US businesses to stay engaged in China market
Evan Greenberg says a full-scale decoupling is ‘an economic impossibility’ that would undermine US global competitiveness. ⌘ Read more

Canada and Denmark settle decades-old ‘whiskey war’ over Arctic island
The two sides agreed to split Hans Island, a tiny uninhabited outcrop, effectively creating the first land border between Canada and Europe. ⌘ Read more

Backlash against Russians living abroad is all too familiar for anxious Chinese expats
The war in Ukraine has prompted a rejection of all things Russian in the US and Europe, with expats now primary targets. Such sentiment is sure to ring alarm bells among Chinese living overseas, for whom the racism endured during the pandemic remains a constant threat. ⌘ Read more

Climate Change: China’s firms lag behind Asia, North America, Europe in net-zero targets with only 4 per cent adherence, study finds
Net zero target disclosure rules have gained significance as global fund managers have started to vote with their US$68 trillion of assets to persuade companies to embrace the climate change agenda. ⌘ Read more

For China’s elite graduates, career dreams take a back seat to stability in coronavirus-hit job market
This year, a record 10.76 million college students are set to graduate, adding pressure to a job market economists are calling the most challenging yet for young Chinese. Many are setting aside career dreams for stability. ⌘ Read more

US drug supply chain alternative to China might run through Canada, Latin America
Centre for Strategic and International Studies panellists from Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia discuss speeding pharmaceutical production and trade with US. ⌘ Read more

UK migrant flight to Rwanda grounded at last minute as European Court steps in
Britain’s plan to deport asylum seekers to the East African nation was put on pause on human rights grounds. ⌘ Read more

Chinese students’ dream device defeats Japan’s most powerful supercomputer in world contest
DepGraph Supernode, started as a training project at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, was nearly twice as fast as nearest competitor. ⌘ Read more

Iran preparing for rocket launch, satellite images suggest amid nuclear tensions
A launch pad is visible at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport, the site of Tehran’s recent failed attempts to put a satellite into orbit. ⌘ Read more

Jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny abruptly moved to undisclosed location
The Russian opposition leader had recently cast the Kremlin chief as a madman who started a ‘stupid war’ in Ukraine. ⌘ Read more

Dozens of countries slam China at UN over Xinjiang abuse allegations
A joint statement from 47 nations also calls for the release of a long-delayed report by UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet. ⌘ Read more