Times Higher Education Releases Asia University Rankings: All Eight Publicly Funded Universities in Hong Kong Make the Top 100

The Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2026 have been released, with all eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong ranking in the top 100.

The Times Higher Education (THE), Photo source: screenshot of its official website

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) maintained its 6th place ranking, while the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) dropped to 10th. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) remained at 12th. The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and Lingnan University (LU) are new entrants to the top 100, ranking 37th and 84th, respectively.

This year's rankings cover 929 institutions across 36 countries and regions. Half of the top 10 universities are from the Chinese Mainland, including Tsinghua University and Peking University (ranked 1st and 2nd), as well as Fudan University (7th), Zhejiang University (8th), and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (9th). Two Singaporean universities — the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) — ranked 3rd and 4th, respectively. The University of Tokyo ranked 5th.

The name list of the top 10 universities, Photo source: screenshot of THE's official website

Besides HKU and CUHK ranking among the top 10, other Hong Kong universities also performed strongly. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) ranked 12th, City University of Hong Kong (CityU) ranked 14th, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) ranked 18th. Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) rose 10 places to rank 40th. With EdUHK and LU joining the list for the first time, all eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong are now in the top 100.

HKU, Photo by Bastille Post

CUHK, Photo source: reference image

The Education University of Hong Kong attributed its achievement to the hard work and dedication of its faculty and staff, adding that the result demonstrates the university's commitment to continuously promoting impactful research and creating a vibrant international learning environment.

Lingnan University said the results of its teaching and research strategies in recent years have gradually become apparent, including attracting top international scholars and strengthening student innovation and entrepreneurship training, which have helped consolidate its position as a comprehensive research university.

Hong Kong Baptist University stated that its rise from 50th to 40th place reflects its continued improvement in international rankings and affirms the university's commitment to enhancing its teaching and research performance. HKBU added that it will continue to refer to university rankings published by various global institutions as one of the indicators for improving its future teaching and research work.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States and Iran will hold their next round of nuclear talks Thursday in Geneva, a facilitator said Sunday, as the Islamic Republic faces both the threat of a U.S. military strike and new protests at home.

Oman's foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, confirmed the talks. Oman previously hosted the indirect talks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and facilitated the latest round in Geneva last week.

There was no immediate comment from the Trump administration, which has built up the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades as it pushes its longtime adversary for concessions on its nuclear program and more.

Shortly before Oman's announcement, Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, told CBS in an interview that he expected to meet U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva on Thursday, and said a “good chance” remained for a diplomatic solution on the nuclear issue.

Washington awaits a proposed deal that Araghchi has said would be ready to share within days, and the foreign minster told CBS that Iran was still working on the draft proposal.

The nuclear issue, he added, is the only matter being discussed — even though both the United States and Israel also want to address Iran's missile program and its support for armed proxies in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump warned on Friday that limited strikes against Iran are possible, and both Iran and the U.S. have signaled they are prepared for war if the talks on Tehran’s nuclear program fail.

Minutes after Oman’s confirmation of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on social media that negotiations had involved “the exchange of practical proposals and yielded encouraging signals,” but added that Tehran has "made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario.”

The U.S. has said Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them and that it cannot enrich uranium. Araghchi, however, told CBS that Iran has the right to enrich uranium.

On Friday, he said his U.S. counterparts had not asked for zero enrichment as part of the latest round of talks, which is not what U.S. officials have said publicly. He also said talks focused on how to ensure that Iran's nuclear program, including enrichment, "will remain peaceful forever." He said that in return, Iran will implement confidence-building measures in exchange for relief on economic sanctions.

Tehran has long insisted that any negotiations should only focus on its nuclear program, and has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups.

Although Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, the U.S. and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons. Iran says it hasn’t been enriching uranium since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.

At that time, Trump said the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites, but the exact damage is unknown because Tehran has barred international inspectors.

Meanwhile, Araghchi asserted to CBS that “we have a very good capability of missiles, and now we are even in a better situation" than before the strikes in June.

Nuclear talks had been deadlocked for years after Trump’s decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Confirmation of new talks came as new anti-government protests began in Iran, according to witnesses, as university students in Tehran and another city demonstrated around memorials for thousands of people killed in a crackdown on previous nationwide demonstrations about six weeks ago.

Iran’s state news agency said students protested at five universities in the capital, Tehran, and one in the city of Mashhad on Sunday. The scattered protests erupted Saturday at universities following 40-day memorials for people killed in January during anti-government rallies.

Videos posted on social media appeared to show confrontations at two universities between government supporters and anti-government protesters, with some chanting “Death to dictator.”

Iran’s government has not commented on the latest protests.

Many Iranians have held ceremonies marking the traditional 40-day mourning period in the past week. Most of the protesters are believed to have been killed around Jan. 8 and 9, according to activists tracking the situation.

Iranians across the country are still reeling with shock, grief and fear after the earlier protests were crushed by the deadliest crackdown ever seen under the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands are believed to have been arrested.

Although the crackdown tamped down the largest protests, smaller ones are still occurring, according to protesters and videos shared on social media.

During the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah and brought the Islamic Republic to power, 40-day memorials for slain protesters often turned into rallies that security forces tried to crush, causing new deaths. Those were then marked 40 days later, with new protests.

Posts on social media Saturday and Sunday have alleged that security forces tried to restrict people from attending some 40-day ceremonies.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,015 people were killed in the previous protests and crackdown, including 214 government forces. The group has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists there to verify deaths.

The death toll continues to rise as the group crosschecks information despite disrupted communication with those inside the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s government offered its only death toll from the previous protests on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Vehicles drive by the Azadi (Freedom) monument in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier with damaged fighter jets on its deck and a sign in Farsi and English reading, "If you sow the wind, you'll reap the whirlwind," at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)