World News by Wild Rose

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. What Trump and Xi revealed in the body language with their wives 2. Australia just changed its visa rules. So what about its bespoke Hong Kong pathway? 3. Thailand has had enough of foreign tourists behaving badly 4. Why US chip controls took a back seat at the Xi-Trump summit 5. Chinese...

A government-hosted Mid-Autumn Festival light show at a nullah in Hong Kong has sparked widespread online criticism, with revellers complaining of foul smells and poor execution. Social media was awash with criticism on Saturday, just hours after the opening night of the two-day “Yuen Long Flood Barrier and Nullah Improvement Scheme – Mid-Autumn Light Show” organised by the Drainage Services Department. The event was billed as an inaugural initiative to transform the Yuen Long Nullah into a...

When Dyan Agonoy left the Philippines to work as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, she had to leave her family behind. “I’ve missed a lot of my kids’ milestones, our special occasions. I’m always the only one missing from the pictures,” she said. Agonoy left university, married young and started a family. Without the bachelor’s degree required for many jobs, she took up domestic work abroad. Gelanie Aguilario faced a similar plight. She twice tried to earn a bachelor’s degree – first in political...

Hong Kong’s health minister has rejected claims that authorities favour mainland nurses over local candidates, saying locally trained professionals have “very good chances” of finding work even as public hospitals struggle to recruit. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Friday that the Hospital Authority had hired 95 per cent of local applicants for nursing positions over the past year. The figure rose to 99 per cent among applicants with registered nurse qualifications. He said that more...

Former Hong Kong television actress Leila Tong Ning has been sued for allegedly breaching her management contract by abandoning her professional duties while suffering from depression and dyeing her hair without her agency’s consent. The High Court writ, filed by agency Tenjinmura Ongaku Limited, also accuses the 44-year-old former Television Broadcasts (TVB) artist of “coercive conduct” and accepting commercial engagements without the company’s approval after their relationship broke down in...

Hong Kong authorities have charged an animal welfare activist after a stray dog captured during an investigation into a suspected fatal canine attack on a cyclist in Yuen Long was found to have a microchip registered in his name. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and police have been conducting operations to capture stray dogs in the area following the suspected attack on Sunday. Police suspect a pack of dogs attacked a 27-year-old woman, who was found unconscious beside a...

Child abuse can impair victims’ development and increase their risk of long-term health problems such as obesity and heightened inflammatory responses, a Hong Kong NGO has said, calling for a tiered prevention strategy to strengthen protections. Against Child Abuse on Wednesday shared the results of an overview of local studies from recent years on the effects of abuse on children, while calling for more resources and enhanced measures to safeguard youngsters. One cited study, published in 2024,...

Hong Kong police have found no foreign or toxic substances in a brand of bottled drink linked to the illness of 16 students from a secondary school in Kwun Tong, saying the reported “pinholes” are likely to be perforated lines in the plastic wrapping. The update came a day after 16 students from Maryknoll Secondary School reported feeling unwell after drinking free bottles of “Scream” sports drink during lunch at Tuesday’s athletics meet at Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground in Wong Tai Sin. The...

The death of a cyclist in a suspected canine attack in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long on Saturday night has sparked fierce discussion on social media, with users sharing similar encounters and debating how to stay safe. The woman was discovered along Pok Wai South Road in the early hours of Sunday. She had suffered lacerations to her head, face, neck, arms and legs, with the wounds to her head and neck believed to have been fatal. Nearly a month earlier, a 33-year-old dog handler was found dead near her...

The professional body for Hong Kong barristers has dismissed as “premature and largely academic” calls by solicitors for legal changes so fellow lawyers can gain recognition as senior counsel and rights to represent clients in higher-level courts. The Law Society, the governing body for the city’s solicitors, is calling for the higher status for its members as lawmakers scrutinise the latest round of omnibus legislative updates in Hong Kong. But the Bar Association, the body for barristers,...

Hong Kong police suspect a dog attack may have caused the death of a woman who was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday, the South China Morning Post has learned. A force spokesman said the woman was found unconscious beside a bicycle on Pok Wai South Road at 12.42am. She was taken to Pok Oi Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2.09am. A source said that a preliminary review of surveillance footage appeared to show the woman being chased by multiple dogs while cycling...

This article was first published on September 18, 2006. Breezy launch is on the cards By Dennis Eng The Ngong Ping 360 cable car will open today in one of the windiest months of the year, according to the Hong Kong Observatory. Windy conditions with gusts reaching 90km/h occur on 5.5 days for a total of 52 hours in September on average, according to measurements taken at Ngong Ping between 2002 and last year. June, July and August are typically the windiest months. The Observatory’s forecast...

Hong Kong should overhaul its ecotourism planning and allow visitors to book ahead at more of its popular countryside attractions, a lawmaker has said, after a survey found most residents believed the city had strong potential for nature-focused experiences but lacked enough quality options. A poll of 651 residents commissioned by lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung’s office and think tank New Youth Forum found 71.8 per cent agreed Hong Kong’s countryside resources could be developed into high-quality...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Brics members find common ground on AI, trade and de-dollarisation push 2. China urges US to ‘stop all’ spying activities, slams ‘gangster logic’ 3. Police freeze HK$30 million in account of man who refused to share Mark Six prize 4. India-Pakistan water row deepens after Hague court ruling 5....

A lunch supplier will stop portioning meals in classrooms at a Hong Kong primary school following a suspected food poisoning outbreak that hit 39 pupils and staff members last week. Danny Catering Service said in a statement on Sunday to its school partners, parents and teachers that the incident was “isolated” and linked to the school’s portioning arrangement, and did not affect its services at other locations. “To ensure student food safety and avoid potential cross-contamination or...

Hong Kong police are investigating the deaths of a couple in their seventies after their bodies were discovered inside their home in Ma On Shan. Police said officers were alerted at around 8pm on Friday to a strange odour emanating from a flat in Heng Yat House at Heng On Estate. Firefighters forced entry to the flat, discovering a 72-year-old man and his 74-year-old wife lying in the living room, police said, adding the couple were pronounced dead at the scene. No suicide note was found, and...

Veteran Hong Kong actor and filmmaker Simon Loui Yu-yeung, better known to fans as the “King of Ghosts” for his prolific work in horror films, has died at the age of 62. Long-time friend and fellow actor Frankie Ng Chi-hung revealed the news to reporters on Friday. He said Loui’s wife, TV and radio personality Ma Li, had confirmed the filmmaker had died in a hospital in Guangzhou on Monday after losing his battle with gastric cancer. “The family hoped to stay low profile. There was no big...

This article was published on September 12, 2011. Veteran Ip wins best actress in Venice by Adrian Wan Veteran Hong Kong movie star Deanie Ip Tak-han was named best actress at the Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of an ageing domestic servant in Ann Hui On-wah’s film A Simple Life (Tao Jie). The award, a first for a Hongkonger, was a crowning achievement for the 63-year-old Ip, who returned to the big screen for the first time in a decade to take the film’s leading role. The movie also...

Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive who oversaw the city’s 1997 return to Chinese rule, has died. According to a statement from his office issued in the early hours on Wednesday, he died on Tuesday at the age of 89, surrounded by his loved ones. It is understood that he died at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital. Tung was also a vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. In this live blog, the South China Morning...

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cambodian education authorities to expand a computational training programme to cover early childhood learning in the Southeast Asian nation. The MOU, which builds on an earlier agreement signed last year to roll out the club’s CoolThink@JC programme in the country’s primary schools, was signed at the PBC (Philanthropy for Better Cities) Forum 2026 on Tuesday. The programme was launched in 2016 and...

Hong Kong authorities have reserved the right to seek compensation from contractors over faulty lift installation work that has delayed operations at Queen Mary Hospital’s new block, the development minister has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Tuesday that the main contractor, a Paul Y-Able joint venture, and lift subcontractor Anlev Elex Elevator would be required to bear all costs of remedial work, ensuring public expenditure on the project would not...

Up to 200 Hong Kong-bound domestic helpers remain stranded in Indonesia despite the reopening of several affected airports, as the city’s employment agencies association braces for possible further closures due to volcanic ash. The Indonesian transport ministry said Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport resumed operations on Tuesday after being shut for several days, following the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatoa on Saturday, which affected thousands of travellers. Among those stranded...

Hong Kong’s tourism watchdog has revoked the licences of two travel agencies and a guide after finding they failed to protect members of mainland Chinese tour groups from being subjected to “coerced shopping”. The Travel Industry Authority said on Monday that the licences of Go Go Ming Travel Services, Grandee Travel Company and guide Sun Kwun-ying had been revoked with immediate effect. “The authority adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards coerced shopping and any conduct that damages the...

Hong Kong police have arrested a man in connection with a scam in which at least 14 people were hired to “sell flags” for an animal concern group after they were spotted carrying fake donation bags and mixing with registered volunteers to collect money from passers-by. The rare street scam came to light during the group’s flag day on Saturday, a Social Welfare Department-approved fundraising initiative under which about 800 registered volunteers from the Hong Kong Saving Cat and Dog Association...

English Premier League football club Chelsea’s lucrative new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with a stablecoin issuer has left Hong Kong fans and retailers concerned about whether wearing or selling the top counts as illegal promotion under digital currency laws. Chelsea signed the deal with Circle to feature its USDC stablecoin brand on player jerseys for the 2026-27 season in late August, just three months after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned Premier League clubs about...

Hong Kong has always had a simple answer to what young people should do with their lives: study hard, get a job, work harder, buy a flat and eventually complain about the next generation. That formula is becoming harder to sell. A whole lexicon has grown up around Generation Z’s uneasy relationship with work. In mainland China, there are “full-time children”, young adults who stay home and receive an allowance from their parents in return for doing household chores and running errands....

Hundreds of Hong Kong residents and visitors braved the heat on Saturday morning to visit a popular Sai Kung trail overlooking hexagonal rock columns, as a trial reservation system requiring real-name registration came into force, with some calling for the restrictions to be eased. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department announced the arrangement last month, capping visitor numbers at 2,000 per designated day between 9am and 5pm for the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Geo...

An overhead electronic display was left dangling in the air at Hong Kong airport’s newly reopened Terminal 2, prompting authorities to pledge a detailed investigation. A spokesman said the incident occurred at about 8.30am on Saturday, when a suspended screen “experienced a technical fault”, triggering its fall-arrest safety system. “The Airport Authority takes the incident very seriously and will conduct a detailed investigation into the cause, with a view to further enhancing the stability of...

Anita Lee Yan-kwan grew up around a traditional business that supplied fish balls to Hong Kong’s street food stalls and eateries. But for decades, Kau Kee Food Factory’s signature product was known only among industry operators until Lee, a second-generation owner, opened the company’s first retail store late last year. Kau Kee has operated as a silent giant in the food industry for 66 years, supplying its fish balls to nearly 1,000 eateries and snack stalls across the city. But it finally...

Five former employees of Hong Kong supermarket chain ParknShop and its contractors have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud by falsifying workers’ attendance records to cheat the retail giant of HK$3.2 million (US$408,000). The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Friday said an investigation revealed that the former supermarket employees colluded with contractor staff over two years to deceive ParknShop by falsifying attendance records of 13 warehouse workers who...