A wanted director of a scandal-hit Hong Kong charity who fled the city is facing a sweeping 14-count civil lawsuit in the United States over an alleged multimillion-dollar property scheme that the plaintiff described as a “shell game”. In a complaint for damages and equitable relief seen by the South China Morning Post, developer Joseph Lee Daniell accused Jacob Lam Hay-sing, the founder and director of the now-defunct Hong Kong charity, Christian Zheng Sheng Association, of

A Hong Kong court has fined a now-defunct bakery chain HK$251,800 (US$32,127) over unpaid wages and other entitlements exceeding HK$1.3 million. A liquidator for Taipan Bread & Cakes, Taipan Restaurant and their parent company, Vast Luck, pleaded guilty at Kowloon City Court on Monday to 96 charges under the Employment Ordinance, after the group failed to pay 47 employees following the closure of all outlets on June 24 last year. Asked when the parent company could settle the

A woman in China with no formal training in the arts has used 60kg of chocolate to make a 3D miniature copy of the famous painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival. A video showing the chocolate version of ancient Bianjing city released by the blogger, who uses the alias Fan Sumu, in late May has garnered about one million likes, Jimu News reported. The masterpiece was painted by Zhang Zeduan of Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), is among the best known artworks in

Hong Kong authorities should offer more timely and flexible urgent accommodation for residents uprooted by a new regulation aimed at eliminating the city’s notorious subdivided flats, lawmakers have urged. Their comments were made on Tuesday after the Housing Bureau briefed lawmakers on plans to reserve up to 180 transitional flats in urban and extended urban areas to tenants evicted on short notice. Scott Leung Man-kwong, deputy chairman of the Legislative Council’s housing

Hong Kong’s retail sales rose by 8.6 per cent year on year in April, extending the sector’s recovery for a 12th consecutive month, supported by continued growth in visitor arrivals and holiday spending. Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed retail sales reached HK$31.4 billion (US$4 billion) in April, compared with HK$28.9 billion a year earlier. Retail sales for the first four months of 2026 rose 11.3 per cent from the same pe

Amid rapid change, artist Hong Jian has ensured Shanghai’s distinct architecture and hidden stories are not forgotten.

Portugal and Austria defeated Germany for seats on the powerful but deeply divided UN Security Council on Wednesday in a hotly contested race after intense campaigning. The 10 rotating seats on the 15-member Security Council are earmarked for different regions of the world. The assembly elects five countries by secret ballot every year to serve two-year terms alongside the council’s five permanent veto-wielding members – the US, Russia, China, Britain and France. In the other

Contractors should take “all reasonable steps”, such as installing CCTV cameras and setting up temporary cigarette storage points, to comply with a coming smoking ban on construction sites, Hong Kong labour authorities have said. They should also ask individuals to stop using e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, even though they do not require lighting, the Labour Department said on Thursday, six months after the deadly Tai Po fire that was suspected to have been caused

Chinese dreamcore plays on millennial nostalgia. Why is it so effective?

For 15 years, Chinese farmer Cheng Yunfu had sold cheap hand-pulled noodles at a local fair — then a trending video sent his life spinning out of control.

Oil prices have eased sharply on hopes that the US and Iran will agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but analysts say Asian economies are unlikely to quickly shake off the effects of the energy shock even if the key waterway returns to normal. Benchmark Brent crude oil fell 11.15 per cent to US$92.13 per barrel on Friday, from its level a week earlier, its steepest weekly drop since early April. Prices edged up again on Monday, trading at about US$93 per barrel during Asian

With an aging population and large percentage of adults who grew up as only children, families are finding themselves at a loss for how to choose adequate nursing homes. Enter senior care managers.

A Tokyo bar run by Buddhist monks has become an online sensation for its unusual blend of cocktails, chanting and death-themed rituals. At the Vowz Bar in the city’s Shinjuku district, patrons can sip drinks inspired by heaven and hell, seek life advice from the monk staff and listen to sutras performed in a modern musical style. According to a Chinese visitor @kaolababyy, the menu features cocktails such as “Nirvana in the Pure Land”, “Never Ending Suffering in Hell” and “Lo

Places well-endowed with natural resources don’t usually become great powers or world-conquering empires. If anything, many suffer from the “resource curse”, which corrupts the domestic elite and invites foreign intervention, exploitation or outright colonisation. Like people, communities or nations that have fought to overcome adversity and disadvantages often become the most successful. Challenges – whether natural, geographical, social or military – make them fighters and

Three men have been arrested after they allegedly robbed a woman and locked her and her child on a balcony at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore. The police said on Tuesday that they were alerted at about 7pm the day before to a case of robbery with hurt along Bayfront Avenue. According to preliminary investigations, a 45-year-old woman visited the area after agreeing to exchange S$50,000 (US$39,000) worth of cash for foreign currency with someone she spoke to on a messaging

The Hong Kong Tourism Board will launch a 13-day summer campaign featuring citywide discounts and events to mark the 50th anniversary of the international dragon boat races at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, in a bid to attract more overnight visitors. To welcome the summer travel season, the board announced on Tuesday that its “Hong Kong Summer Fun” campaign would open with the Sun Life Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races, running from June 19 to July 1. The board’s chai

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally received the country’s AFC Women’s Champions League winners in Pyongyang earlier this week, embracing the players and posing for photographs with them as they wept with joy and leapt in celebration. Naegohyang Women’s FC clinched Asia’s top club title with a 1-0 defeat of Tokyo Verdy Beleza of Japan in the final in Suwon on May 23, becoming the first North Korean side to win the AFC Women’s Champions League. Kim congratulated the pla

Britain’s Sikh community has rejected calls to strip them of the rights to carry a ceremonial knife – known as the kirpan – as outrage snowballs over the murder of an 18-year-old student by a Sikh man. Vickrum Singh Digwa, 23, was handed a life sentence by a judge on Tuesday for stabbing to death Henry Nowak, an accountancy student, in Southampton in December 2025. The murder case has reopened a debate over race, religion and identity in the UK. Far-right figureheads, populis

A Nepali climbing guide who went missing on Mount Everest for six days and was feared dead has been found alive after crawling back to Base Camp, officials said on Thursday. The experienced Hillary Dawa Sherpa vanished on the upper reaches of the world’s highest mountain early on May 30. He was found on Thursday morning close to Base Camp by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a Nepali team that helps set routes on Everest and clean up waste left behind. “He wa