Hong Kong has recorded its highest monthly number of visitors since the Covid-19 pandemic, provisional official figures show, with authorities attributing August’s total to a series of international conferences and mega-events. The Hong Kong Tourism Board said on Tuesday that the city received 5.46 million visitors across the month, up 6 per cent from a year earlier and the highest monthly total since the pandemic. Tourist numbers in the first eight months of the year also rose 11 per cent year...

Purbaya ⁠Yudhi Sadewa, who was sacked as Indonesia’s finance minister this week, said on Tuesday he was upset to be removed from his job, but was half expecting the decision. President Prabowo Subianto abruptly removed Purbaya as finance minister on Monday and named his deputy, Suahasil Nazara, to the top finance job, in a move that surprised markets but was ‌also seen as an attempt to restore trust in financial policies. After a terse handover ceremony at the finance ministry, Purbaya told...

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. ‘Not for sale’: Thais take to streets in rare protest against Israel Hundreds of Thais, led by a veteran political activist, rallied outside the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok in a rare public protest against a group of foreign nationals. 2. Singapore ministers set for pay...

Hong Kong employers’ hiring sentiment rebounded sharply for the fourth quarter, with far fewer companies expecting to cut jobs as confidence improved alongside stronger economic growth, according to a ManpowerGroup survey. The international human resources company said the city’s seasonally adjusted net employment outlook rose to 14 per cent, up 23 percentage points from minus 9 per cent in the previous quarter of this year. The outlook is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers...

A Chinese woman’s quest to reconnect with a former foreign teacher who profoundly influenced her outlook on life has sparked a collective online effort to locate him. Wang Yu, a community worker in Shanghai, graduated from East China Normal University in 2005 with a degree in tourism management. Wang informed the SCMP that the teacher, known only as Evans, was an American who taught her an elective English course during her university years. For three years, he selflessly supported her academic...

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is widely considered a contender for the 2028 presidential election, will not enter the race if former US vice-president Kamala Harris runs again, he told CNN in a clip shared on Monday. Newsom made the comment in an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, during which the two men are standing knee-deep in a body of water while fishing. “I wouldn’t run if she ran,” Newsom said. He explained that both campaigning would split Democratic votes, which...

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