Hong Kong’s new renovation monitoring body will encourage legitimate consultants and contractors previously plagued by intimidation from bid-rigging syndicates to return to the market, industry representatives have said, potentially lowering costs for homeowners in the long run. Renovation and construction sector players said on Monday that the new Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, headed by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, would heighten scrutiny of the tendering process,...

Gateway Mining has four rigs drilling, with a fifth due, at its Yandal gold project, as drilling gets back on track to test its high-grade Cowza discovery and other key targets in WA.

The company’s boss, Changpeng Zhao, served time in jail over anti-money laundering failures. To get his users’ money back, he must hope the rest of the industry has learned a lesson.

A crying air force pilot accused of killing his wife told investigators in the hours after her death that she would not want to be autopsied.

The University of Pennsylvania won me over with socks. Australian universities, I’m asking you for something worth much more.

A motorbike rider and driver have been killed in crash in Melbourne as the Cup weekend death toll rises.

A Chinese aviation specialist has reported that some high-pressure turbine blades in US-made GE Aerospace engines powering Boeing 787 aircraft have suffered unexpectedly early damage, leaving airlines with a difficult choice: replace the engines or continue flying under strict inspection requirements. The findings raise questions about the reliability of American aerospace products amid growing scrutiny of US manufacturing quality. According to the study, cracks can develop in some blades within...

Accelerate Resources has secured $50,000 in CSIRO funding to study manganese core from its Woodie Woodie North project, aiming to fast-track a Pilbara processing pathway.

A judge has warned political staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer and a prosecutor against further delays as his rape trial was pencilled in for next year.

Hong Kong’s corruption watchdog has charged two former senior executives of a Hong Kong-listed cleaning company with allegedly accepting more than HK$75 million (US$9.6 million) in bribes linked to the procurement of cleaning vehicles and their maintenance services. William Fung Chi-wang, 54, former director of Johnson Cleaning Services Company and former chief executive of its parent firm, and Jimmy Lee Sai-leung, 57, the company’s ex-general manager, were charged last Friday with one count of...

This article is the official English translation of the original Chinese document released by Xinhua.

The billionaire remains embroiled in a separate, long-running legal stoush with the corporate watchdog.

Chinese researchers have mapped how energy from surface wind surges thousands of metres into the seabed, revealing massive underwater conduits they called “inertial chimneys”. The discovery, based on data collected by a US-funded ocean sensor array off the east coast of Japan, coupled with future long-term underwater monitoring, can provide underwater acoustic environmental support for marine detection and communication, the team said. The scientists from the Institute of Oceanology of the...

Aguia Resources has posted a more than threefold increase in quarterly revenue to $639,000, signalling a turnaround as its South American gold and phosphate projects begin to deliver cash flow.

Joshua Cooper Ramo is chairman and CEO of Sornay, an investment and advisory firm. Previously he was CEO of Kissinger Associates. Ramo is the author of the new book Darwin’s Lock: America, China and the Shared Future of Nations. His 2004 analysis of “the Beijing consensus” contrasted the Western and Chinese economic development models. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books and now lives in Shanghai with his family. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click...

A senior lecturer in animal ecology said that while crocs always posed a threat to humans, they would probably be less active during the Olympic Games.

The nation’s second-biggest lender expects interest rates to remain “elevated” and for property prices to continue tumbling.

Strong government-industry partnership and interdisciplinary education are what make a university town financially viable and successful, the head of a University of Cambridge college has said, sharing the UK’s experience as Hong Kong develops its Northern Metropolis plan. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Professor Girish Menon, president of Lucy Cavendish College, said Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan character made it “best placed” to place young people at the heart of its university...

Construction workers have been working late into the night in downtown Shenzhen as the city makes its final preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in two weeks’ time. On a weekday night, a South China Morning Post reporter saw at least 50 construction workers gathered at an intersection about 1km (just over half a mile) from the Apec venues in the central district of Futian, laying down pebbles and planting trees along the pavements. The main road that leads up to the...

The owner of surfwear staple Rip Curl and outdoor adventure brand Kathmandu is in talks about a possible deal, it revealed on Monday.

Western Australian Cameron Green’s struggles against spin in Cape Town are not a worry ahead of this summer’s tour of India, according to Australia coach Andrew McDonald.

Yerevan Pathway sets course for biodiversity action

In the end, it was Winnie Ho Wing-yin, housing secretary at the time of the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po, who took the rap. Her resignation came after weeks of talk within political circles suggesting that bureau chiefs would not have to bear responsibility for the tragedy that killed 168 people and displaced 1,984 families. These suggestions were met with shock. Some spoke out against such talk, including Andrew Fung Wai-kwong, former information coordinator for the Chief Executive’s Office,...

Soil sampling at King River Resources’ Mindoolah gold project in WA’s Murchison has returned a high-grade 231.8ppb gold result, with drilling now underway on the new targets.

The Nationals leader’s move sets up a heated fight between the Coalition and One Nation in Central Queensland.

The latest round of job cuts will take place within weeks with payouts worth far less than the millions paid to former executives who resigned following a scandal.

Find out how out how these new features make group chats easier to manage and help user keep up to date on conversations.

For years, Wall Street has been happy to write blank cheques for some of the biggest companies in the world. But investors are now starting to get nervous.

Top university research, cross-border data exchanges and access to mainland China’s large market have attracted Japanese firm Rohto Pharmaceutical to conduct clinical trials in Hong Kong, making it the first company from the country to partner with the city’s government under a flagship investment initiative. Rohto, known for its over-the-counter eye care and skincare products, is among the latest batch of 18 firms recruited by the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), a...

The case involving one of the city’s best-known venues has thrust the city’s nightlife back in the spotlight.