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1. Ancient Chinese DNA shows gender bias in human sacrifice ritual 4,000 years ago

   Female sacrifice in China dates back thousands of years earlier than previously believed, a study of ancient DNA has revealed. Evidence from elite burials at a large Stone Age settlement in northwestern China also suggests the existence of an early hierarchical society, with gender preference relating to the type of sacrificial ritual, according to the Chinese archaeologists and anthropologists...

2. Hotels hit back as Tokyo plans to hike lodging tax with percentage-based system

   Tokyo’s hotel sector is fighting plans to replace the city’s long-standing flat-rate lodging tax with a percentage-based levy that could significantly increase costs for tourists and short-term visitors. Analysts and industry groups argue the proposed three per cent tax unfairly targets overnight guests and could dampen Japan’s domestic travel market at a time when locals are already squeezed by...

3. Congo and Rwanda presidents to meet in US to sign peace deal

   Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi will travel to the US next week to sign a final agreement with his Rwandan counterpart aimed at securing peace in eastern Congo, the Congolese government said on Friday, capping months-long diplomatic efforts spearheaded by US President Donald Trump. Congo’s government has often said its signing of the deal will be conditioned on Rwanda’s withdrawal of support...

4. US halts asylum cases after troop killing as Trump steps up migrant crackdown

   The United States is freezing all asylum decisions, officials said on Friday, as President Donald Trump hardens his anti-migrant stance after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members this week in Washington. Wednesday’s attack on the soldiers – one of whom died from her injuries – has ignited a fresh crackdown on foreigners in the United States, with Trump also pledging to...

5. Hongkongers mourn fire victims at citywide condolence points; toll at 128

   This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. What we know so far: 128 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead 79 injured, including 12 firefighters Status of 200 people unclear The eight residential blocks in the...

6. Difficult to say if fire-ravaged Hong Kong buildings can be fixed: experts

   The government should take the lead in assessing the structural safety of the estate engulfed by Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades before deciding whether it should be restored or redeveloped, experts have said, warning of liability problems and a long road ahead. The future of Wang Fuk Court, where a massive fire raged through seven of its eight blocks for more than 43 hours before largely...

7. Malaysia’s Sabah begins voting as Anwar faces test over coalition’s performance

   Voters in Sabah began casting their ballots on Saturday, in a state election seen as a referendum on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership midway into his first term. Anwar, who came to office in 2022 after pulling together a rag-tag coalition of former political rivals, depends on Sabah to prop up his parliamentary supermajority. His coalition has so far fended off the challenge...

8. Shanghai to shore up manufacturing while eyeing global financial status

   Shanghai, mainland China’s top finance and trade hub, is set to double down on efforts to prevent the “hollowing out” of its manufacturing sector even as it pursues global financial centre status. The city’s next five-year plan, which will cover the period from 2026 to 2030, is expected to contain measures designed to lift manufacturing’s share of gross domestic product to no less than 25 per...

9. Hong Kong reaps the fruits of fintech seeds sown nearly 10 years ago

   When Alvin Kwock, co-founder of digital insurer OneDegree, took part in the inaugural Hong Kong FinTech Week in November 2016, it was held at a venue suitable for only a few hundred people. “As it was the first ever fintech event in Hong Kong, only fintech start-ups were interested, no big financial institutions paid attention,” Kwock said. “People did not have a clear idea of fintech as it was...

10. Why Chinese women like me are done being quiet and ‘appropriate’

    In China, girls are taught early to be “appropriate” – to listen, not lead; to speak gently, not loudly. We grow up believing that quietness is likeability, and likeability is safety. But something is shifting. When Chinese writer Jiang Fangzhou said to me during a recent interview, “I can’t be waiting for some influential man to say, ‘I’ll give you an hour to talk about literature’. You can’t...