46 h. ago Banks and brokerages’ growing demand for space buoys Hong Kong’s retail property sector

Hong Kong’s banking and finance sector is tipped to lead retail property leasing activity, with massive uptake by firms like Forthright Securities, Futu Holdings and HSBC providing support to landlords struggling through a multi-year real estate slump. Forthright Securities leased three storeys totalling 14,000 sq ft at Golden Centre in Sheung Wan for its first flagship branch in the city, according to CBRE, which facilitated the transaction. “This transaction not only demonstrates Forthright...

Politics

57 h. ago China targets wealthy influencers with audits, fines as fiscal pressures rise

China has ramped up audits involving online influencers and high-wage earners, as part of broader efforts to expand tax revenue and refine the taxation system. The State Taxation Administration on Wednesday spotlighted two fresh cases involving influencers in the centrally administered city of Chongqing and in Gansu province. In Chongqing, authorities ordered an influencer surnamed Peng – who has 30 million followers and works in online video production and commercial advertising – to pay 4.15...

Events

5 d. ago Zohran Mamdani joins New York City nurses on strike over labour dispute

Thousands of nurses at three major hospitals in New York City began to strike on Monday, amid a severe flu season and broader pressures on the US healthcare system. The walkout impacts roughly 15,000 nurses at hospitals including Mount Sinai Medical Centre and NewYork-Presbyterian in Manhattan as well as Montefiore Medical Centre in the Bronx. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined striking nurses on the picket line in Washington Heights. “All parties must return immediately to the...

Events

5 d. ago New York City Mayor Mamdani joins picket line as 15,000 nurses strike

Thousands of nurses at three major hospitals in New York City began to strike on Monday, amid a severe flu season and broader pressures on the US healthcare system. The walkout impacts roughly 15,000 nurses at hospitals including Mount Sinai Medical Centre and New York-Presbyterian in Manhattan as well as Montefiore Medical Centre in the Bronx. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined striking nurses on the picket line in Washington Heights. “All parties must return immediately to the...

Events

7 d. ago As new rallies rock Iran, son of ousted shah urges protesters to seize city centres

Major Iranian cities were gripped overnight by new mass rallies denouncing the Islamic republic, as the son of the ousted shah urged protesters on Saturday to plan to seize city centres. The two weeks of protests have posed one of the biggest challenges to the theocratic authorities who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, although supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed defiance and blamed the United States. Following the movement’s largest protests yet on Thursday,...

Events

7 d. ago Crackdown fears grow as Iran rocked by new rallies: ‘most blatant tools of repression’

Major Iranian cities were gripped overnight by new mass rallies denouncing the Islamic republic, as activists on Saturday expressed fear authorities were intensifying their suppression of the demonstrations under cover of an internet blackout. The two weeks of protests have posed one of the biggest challenges to the theocratic authorities who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, although supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed defiance and blamed the United...

Politics

1 week ago HKMA in talks with SFC, Insurance Authority to promote fintech over next 5 years

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) expects to work with other financial regulators to promote artificial intelligence adoption in various sectors over the next five years and further advance fintech development, according to the head of the city’s de facto central bank. Under the five-year plan called Fintech 2030 that starts this year, the HKMA would expand the scope of the city’s generative AI sandbox to include more industries as a step towards enhancing risk management, fraud detection...

Politics

1 week ago Hongkongers flock to say goodbye as landmark Sha Shui Po department store closes

Loyal customers and bargain hunters crowded a landmark department store in Hong Kong on Sunday as it closed its doors after three decades of operations. The closure of Sincere Department Store’s Sham Shui Po branch, a neighbourhood fixture for 30 years, leaves the chain with only two remaining outlets. Founded in 1900, Sincere was the first Chinese-owned department store in Hong Kong and remains one of the city’s oldest retail groups. Its branches in Mong Kok and Central continued to operate. On...

Politics

1 week ago Hongkongers flock to say goodbye as landmark Sham Shui Po department store closes

Loyal customers and bargain hunters crowded a landmark department store in Hong Kong on Sunday as it closed its doors after three decades of operations. The closure of Sincere Department Store’s Sham Shui Po branch, a neighbourhood fixture for 30 years, leaves the chain with only two remaining outlets. Founded in 1900, Sincere was the first Chinese-owned department store in Hong Kong and remains one of the city’s oldest retail groups. Its branches in Mong Kok and Central continued to operate. On...

Politics

2 w. ago Hongkongers urged to get flu vaccinations as city braces for winter virus wave

Hong Kong health authorities have urged the public to get the latest seasonal influenza vaccine ahead of the next virus wave, as temperatures in the city dropped to their lowest so far this winter. The Centre for Health Protection’s appeal on Saturday coincided with similar calls by an infectious disease specialist, who expressed concerns over the low vaccination rates in the population. The warnings came as the mercury at the Hong Kong Observatory dropped to as low as 11.4 degrees Celsius (52.5...

Science

2 w. ago Operation Santa Claus: elderly Hongkongers find new purpose on rooftop farms

On a sunny weekday, Hongkonger Lai Yee-man, 70, pulled weeds from a plot of leafy vegetables, shielding her face from the sun with a large white hat. But Lai was not on a typical farm; she was on the rooftop of a shopping centre in the middle of an urban neighbourhood in the city. “When Hong Kong people come here, they are surprised to see the vegetables. They say ‘Oh wow, that’s how eggplants are grown!’ Some kids have never seen these things being grown,” said Lai, pointing to bell peppers,...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong welcomes 6 babies into world in first hour of New Year’s Day

Three girls and three boys were born in Hong Kong’s public and private hospitals in the first hour of New Year’s Day. The CUHK Medical Centre, a private teaching hospital owned by Chinese University, delivered the city’s first baby of 2026 at 12am. The newborn is a boy and his family’s first child. Two minutes later, United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong delivered a baby girl, weighing 3.02kg (6.66lbs). Another baby, a boy, was born at Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei at 12.06am, weighing...

Politics

2 w. ago Iranian students join protests in Tehran over soaring cost of living

Iranian students staged street protests in Tehran on Tuesday, a day after the capital’s shopkeepers demonstrated against economic hardship and won a message of understanding from the president. According to ILNA, a news agency associated with Iran’s labour movement, protests erupted at 10 universities across the country, including seven in Tehran that are among the country’s most prestigious. Protests also broke out at the technology university in the central city of Isfahan and institutions in...

Events

2 w. ago Students join protests in Iran as economic hardship fuels discontent

Iranian students staged street protests in Tehran on Tuesday, a day after the capital’s shopkeepers demonstrated against economic hardship and won a message of understanding from the president. According to Ilna, a news agency associated with Iran’s labour movement, protests erupted at 10 universities across the country, including seven in Tehran that are among the country’s most prestigious. Protests also broke out at the technology university in the central city of Isfahan and institutions in...

Economics

3 w. ago China opens shopping centre on Woody Island in disputed Paracels in South China Sea

China has opened a new shopping centre on Woody Island in the disputed Paracel Islands, bolstering its civilian presence on the strategically vital South China Sea outpost. The Sansha City Commercial Centre opened to business on Thursday, according to the local government. The over 6,000 square metre (64,600 sq ft) complex is the latest addition to China’s civilian infrastructure on what it calls Yongxing Island, following its first hardware store last year and a hotpot restaurant in 2023. Woody...

Economics

3 w. ago Minister lashes out at public litterers: ‘don’t embarrass Malaysia’

A Malaysian minister has said it was unacceptable for public littering to remain a rampant issue as he expressed serious concerns over the state of urban cleanliness in the country. In a statement on Thursday, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming highlighted the ongoing issue of littering, particularly in city centres and public areas. “Please stop littering [and] don’t embarrass Malaysia. It is already the 21st century, there is no reason for anyone to simply throw rubbish in...

Politics

3 w. ago Christmas Eve crowds gather in Hong Kong but festive atmosphere ‘more subdued’

Hongkongers are out in droves to experience festive vibes on Christmas Eve, while more than 540,000 residents have left the city for the holidays. By Wednesday evening, a growing crowd had gathered at the open-air plaza at Harbour City shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui to admire special Disney-themed festive installations. Office worker Cecile Tang, 38, was there with her mother, her husband and their two children. The five viewed the Christmas decorations at Harbour City and took a stroll along...

Politics

3 w. ago Hongkongers urged to quickly sign up for eMPF platform as defence against scams

Cybersecurity experts have urged Hong Kong residents to prioritise the use of an official one-stop digital identity app to register their accounts on the city’s new centralised pension fund platform to prevent theft after scammers stole HK$1.8 million. Some also questioned why the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), which manages the eMPF platform, did not deploy the government’s “iAM Smart” app as a mandatory process for verifying the identity of users from the outset. They...

Politics

3 w. ago Gold takes centre stage as Hong Kong hosts first committee to build commodities ecosystem

Hong Kong is putting gold at the centre of its push to become a global commodities trading hub, with officials prioritising plans for an international gold trading centre alongside a broader strategy to expand the city’s role in physical trade, derivatives and logistics. The government’s newly formed Commodity Strategy Committee held its first meeting on Monday under Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, as Hong Kong looked to build out a commodities ecosystem that would generate new growth...

Politics

4 w. ago Turkish court rules man liking women’s posts could undermine marital trust, prompts debate

A court in Turkey has ruled that a husband repeatedly liking online posts made by women other than his wife could break marital trust, thereby serving as grounds for divorce. The landmark decision came from a case in the central city of Kayseri. According to a local media outlet, Haberler, a woman identified as HB accused her husband of constantly verbally humiliating her and failing to provide financial support. The woman also noted that her husband spent a lot of time on social media,...

Events