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Rosmah Mansor has slapped Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander with a defamation lawsuit over a stand-up comedy routine that allegedly mocked and insulted her. Rosmah, the wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, filed the writ of summons at the High Court on June 9. According to her statement of claim, the alleged defamation occurred during Harith’s performance, titled “Harith Iskander:...
A Hong Kong couple has lodged a complaint with the United Nations over an alleged breach of human rights after Swedish authorities applied to permanently transfer the legal guardianship of their daughter to a local foster family. Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin said on Tuesday that they had filed the complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding Sweden’s handling of their four-year-old daug...
A Hong Kong couple have lodged a complaint with the United Nations for alleged breach of human rights after Swedish authorities applied to permanently transfer the legal guardianship of their daughter to a local foster family. Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin said on Tuesday that they had filed their complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding Sweden’s handling of their four-year-old daugh...
China’s tropical resort island of Hainan is solidifying its timeline to ban the sale of petrol-powered vehicles by 2030, heralding the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine technology as the province, China’s largest free-trade zone, aims to spearhead the nation’s decarbonisation efforts. Hainan’s move, the first of its kind among all localities in China, will force carmakers to ...
An associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has denied indecently assaulting a woman who reported him upon discovering he was a married man. Peng Peng, 38, appeared at Sha Tin Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault. The complainant, a fellow scholar, had been seeking academic job and relocation opportunities in Hong Kong. According ...
An associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is facing two indecent assault charges after a woman accused him of molesting her and reported him upon discovering he had allegedly hidden his marital status. Peng Peng, 38, appeared at Sha Tin Court on Tuesday, where he denied two counts of indecent assault. The complainant, a fellow scholar, had been seeking academic job and r...
China’s fourth-ranked official, Wang Huning, will head to North Korea this week, the latest in a flurry of high-level exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang. Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday reported that Wang would lead a Communist Party and government delegation on an “official goodwill visit” to the country from Wednesday to Friday. Wang is a member of the Politburo Standing Committ...
Many mainland Chinese businesses that joined a Hong Kong-led delegation to Central Asia last month are preparing to list in the city to raise capital for global expansion, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has revealed. At a summit on Tuesday, the city leader stressed that Hong Kong would continue to leverage its role as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” to support businesses expanding ove...
Many mainland Chinese businesses that joined a Hong Kong-led delegation to Central Asia last month are preparing to list in the city to raise capital for global expansion, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has revealed. At a summit on Tuesday, the city leader stressed that Hong Kong would continue to leverage its role as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” to support businesses expanding ove...
From franchising to diversification, Hong Kong’s heritage brands and long-running family businesses are looking for ways to navigate challenging times amid changing consumption patterns and soaring costs. Second- and third-generation stewards of three local brands – charcoal-roasted goose restaurant Yung Kee, toy manufacturer Kader Holdings and construction group Asia Allied Infrastructure – are u...
If you have been holding out for cheaper durians, you may not want to wait much longer. Just weeks after a bumper harvest sent durian prices tumbling across Singapore, sellers said the unusually abundant supply has begun easing since last week as Malaysian state Johor’s durian season winds down. They believe the days of heavily discounted durians and free giveaways have come to an end. “The supply...
In the fields of central Luzon, farmers who planted their rice in June are watching the sky with worry. Out over the Pacific, a familiar spectre is gathering strength – and with it, the threat of empty granaries and hungry households. The Philippines has a plan for this year’s “super” El Nino, on paper at least. But to the Filipinos out actually working the paddies, that plan is barely perceptible...
Photos and discussions about China’s recent use of heavy-duty drones to “airlift” villagers affected by flooding in Guangxi have gone viral but almost two decades ago, the disaster-prone country once relied on risky, low-tech means to fight natural calamities. China’s rapid tech advancement, represented by the development and deployment of drones, has helped it better handle emergencies, as shown ...
Photos and discussions about China’s recent use of heavy-duty drones to “airlift” villagers affected by flooding in Guangxi have gone viral but almost two decades ago, the disaster-prone country once relied on risky, low-tech means to fight natural calamities. China’s rapid tech advancement, represented by the development and deployment of drones, has helped it better handle emergencies, such as h...
Hong Kong’s new cash incentives of up to HK$45,000 (US$5,740) to encourage welfare recipients to take up jobs are expected to benefit many single-parent families, lawmakers have said, while urging more flexible eligibility rules and stronger employment support. Legislators made the remarks on Tuesday as the government unveiled a three-year pilot scheme, which is financed by the Community Care Fund...
Hong Kong’s new cash incentives of up to HK$45,000 (US$5,740) to encourage welfare recipients to take up jobs are expected to benefit many single-parent families, lawmakers have said, while urging more flexible eligibility rules and stronger employment support. Legislators made the remarks on Tuesday as the government unveiled a three-year pilot scheme, funded by the Community Care Fund, set to la...
A man suspected of repeatedly stalking a 22-year-old university student has been arrested in Malaysia after CCTV footage showing him sniffing her shoes outside her flat went viral on social media. The footage shows a man in a black T-shirt loitering in a corridor outside what is believed to be the victim’s home in Shah Alam, before reaching through a grille to grab her footwear and sniff it. The v...
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. Why South Korea is celebrating a Canada submarine deal it lost South Korea may have lost Canada’s multibillion-dollar submarine order, but analysts say its close-run conte...
Jeju’s renewed push to allow Chinese tourists to drive rental cars on the South Korean resort island is reigniting a decade-old debate over safety, insurance and legal loopholes. On July 2, the island’s Vice-Governor Park Cheon-su said allowing Chinese tourists to drive could boost visitor spending during a live-streamed meeting with senior provincial government officials. “A large portion of inde...
Mark Wahlberg shed the aura of a Hollywood star when he savoured street food and mingled with locals in Penang while filming Netflix’s The Big Fix. His trip delighted Malaysians and highlighted the country’s growing appeal to global productions. Videos of Wahlberg, who played a former Boston police detective in Spenser Confidential, filming around the Malaysian state went viral on social media ove...
Former Politburo member and Xinjiang Communist Party chief Ma Xingrui has been stripped of party membership and dismissed from public office following an anti-corruption investigation. Ma, 67, who once headed China’s new-generation carrier rocket programme, is the third member of the Politburo – the party’s elite political body – to come under investigation in the current term that began in 2022, ...
Former Politburo member and Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui has been removed from the party and dismissed from public office following an anti-corruption investigation, the state broadcaster said on Tuesday. Ma, 67, became the third member of the Politburo – the ruling party’s elite political body – to come under investigation in the current term that began in 2022, a situation unseen in decades. ...
Former Politburo member and Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui has been removed from the party and dismissed from public office following an anti-corruption investigation, the state broadcaster said on Tuesday. More to follow...
The Argentine national football team expressed solidarity with China’s flood-affected Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Tuesday, offering to donate supplies to victims of the disaster. In a statement online, the national team, beloved by Chinese fans, said it would contribute provisions such as water bottles, towels, clothing and backpacks to aid post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The te...
The Argentine national football team has expressed solidarity with China’s flood-affected Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and announced it will donate to victims of the disaster, according to a statement posted on Tuesday. The national team, beloved by Chinese fans, declared plans to donate from its supplies – including water bottles, towels, clothing and backpacks – to aid post-disaster recovery...
Typhoon Bavi is continuing to bring torrential downpours to northeast China, forcing the transport and economic hub of Shenyang to halt non-essential travel and shut down parts of its subway network. Emergency measures remain in place on Tuesday in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, where Bavi continues to lash the city, despite weakening into a tropical storm. Across the province, more tha...
The London Clearing House (LCH) has begun accepting offshore yuan-denominated Chinese government bonds as eligible non-cash collateral, marking a structural milestone in Beijing’s decade-long push to internationalise its currency and integrate its debt into global financial pipelines. The decision by LCH – a major derivatives clearing house owned by the London Stock Exchange Group – allows investo...
India’s nuclear energy ambitions hinge not only on reactors and reforms but also on an unresolved fuel question: where the uranium will come from. A deal finalised with Australia last week could provide part of the answer, giving New Delhi access to the world’s largest known uranium reserves after years of delay linked to concerns over nuclear safeguards. Analysts said the agreement would help Ind...
Yemen’s Houthi movement fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the Iran-aligned group. Saudi Arabia intercepted missiles “launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the southern region,” the spokesperson for a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on ...
