Drones spotted near Zelensky’s flight path to Dublin spark security alert An Irish navy ship spotted up to five drones operating near the flight path of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s aircraft as he arrived for a state visit to Ireland on Monday, local media reported on Thursday. The sighting triggered a major security alert amid fears it was an attempt to interfere with the flight path, the Irish Times reported. It quoted unnamed sources as saying the aircraft, which arrived slightly early, was not in any danger. The Ukrainian delegation arrived late on...

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Drones spotted near Zelensky’s flight path to Dublin spark security alert

Report says enquiries are trying to determine whether the drones took off from land or an undetected ship.

Are Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image ignites debate A widely shared image on social media depicting colour sketches of men from different regions in China has ignited debate on the physical appearance of Singaporean Chinese based on their ancestry, with online users concluding they are the least attractive of the gene pool. But psychotherapists say perceptions of beauty might be warped by media and celebrity culture, warning against the normalisation of conversations centred on physical appearance. The discussion was prompted by drawings of male...

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Are Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image stirs debate

Social media users said Singapore had no Vivian Chow or Edison Chen, but experts warned against warped beauty standards shaped by media.

Emerging markets to outperform US stocks as dollar weakness continues: report Global investors should consider reducing their US equities exposure as emerging market stocks are on track to outperform those in developed nations for the first time in five years amid a weakening US dollar, according to global investment firm Cambridge Associates. The recommendation comes as the dollar has experienced significant weakness this year, falling by 10 per cent at one point after a decade-long bull run that started in 2011. However, the greenback still remains 29 per cent above its...

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Emerging markets to outperform US stocks as dollar weakness continues: report

Latin America, which has been an underappreciated market for many years, is the stand-out performer in emerging markets.

China motorcyclist fulfils woman’s wish by honouring dead son at Tibet’s sacred stone A young man in China who rode an electric motorcycle from his hometown in eastern China to Tibet has helped a woman realise her wish of bringing her deceased son’s photo to a stone renowned for being the closest place to heaven. Dou Jiaqi, who recently turned 18, completed his electric motorcycle journey from Xinyi, a small city in Jiangsu province, to Lhasa on November 24, as reported by the Xuzhou Daily. The 4,800-km journey took him 11 days, according to the report. About a week before Dou...

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China motorcyclist fulfils woman’s wish by honouring dead son at Tibet’s sacred stone

Stone of Rebirth, on sacred Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, gains popularity over past year, with many leaving photos of deceased loved ones.

China brothers shocked that rock stepping stones are 190-million-year-old dinosaur fossils Two brothers in southwestern China have been shocked to find that rocks they used as simple stepping stones for decades are 190-million-year-old dinosaur footprint fossils. On November 29, researchers completed a study into dinosaur tracks found decades ago in Wuli village, Sichuan province. The mainland media then revealed that the rocks have a fascinating backstory. According to Guangming Daily, while quarrying stone in 1998, the Ding brothers found rocks with “chicken claw prints” and used...

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China brothers shocked that rock stepping stones are 190-million-year-old dinosaur fossils

Scientists conduct study in ‘home of Chinese dinosaurs’, discover that flat rocks with ‘chicken claw’ prints are from Jurassic period.

Beijing confident of Hong Kong’s ability to handle Legco election, fire aftermath A Beijing official in Hong Kong has voiced confidence in the city’s ability to handle both the coming Legislative Council election and the aftermath of the deadly Tai Po fire, calling local authorities’ decision to proceed with the poll respectful of the constitutional order. Liu Guangyuan, deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said on Thursday that the local government had adopted the “most responsible attitude” by holding the election on Sunday as scheduled, even after last...

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Beijing confident of Hong Kong’s ability to handle Legco election, fire aftermath

Hong Kong ‘must be able to cultivate solidarity and strength to move forward from grief’, liaison office deputy director says.

The pope visits Hong Kong for 3 hours in 1970 – SCMP archive This article was first published on December 5, 1970 By Staff reporters A red letter day for Hong Kong Catholics The 73-year-old pontiff, looking fit in spite of his strenuous Asian tour, responded warmly. At times he stretched out his arms in a symbol of loving embrace, at others he blessed the crowds gathered to see him. He seemed especially pleased by the spontaneous gaiety of the greeting which 20,000 Catholic children gave him at the Happy Valley Racecourse to which he was taken by...

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On This Day | The pope visits Hong Kong for 3 hours in 1970 – SCMP archive

Fifty-five years ago on December 4, 1970, throngs of Hongkongers greeted Pope Paul VI during his historic three-hour trip.

Families ‘hope truth will come out’ when hunt for missing flight MH370 resumes Malaysia’s announcement that the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 will resume was welcome news for Jiang Hui, whose mother was a passenger on the plane. “I hope the truth will come out soon, the wait has been such a torment for the families,” he wrote in a social media post sharing the news. Malaysia’s transport ministry made the announcement on Wednesday, more than a decade after the Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in...

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Chinese families ‘hope truth will come out’ when search for flight MH370 resumes

Relatives still waiting for answers 11 years after plane disappeared welcome news that the search will continue later this month.

Escaped Malaysian reveals torture, rape inside Cambodia job scam centre A Malaysian businessman escaped from the clutches of a job scam syndicate in Cambodia after his wife lodged a police report and a 6,000 ringgit (US$1,456) ransom was paid, but some 700 others are still trapped there. Many are facing torture in captivity, said Muhammad Syafiq Pubalan Abdullah, 40. The victims aged between 17 and 35 were often beaten up, he said. He, too, was beaten up daily during his first week there. “They would beat the women with a belt. I heard a female victim was raped by...

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Escaped Malaysian reveals torture, rape inside Cambodia job scam centre

Muhammad Syafiq said hundreds of Malaysians are still trapped in the Phnom Penh site, where he was beaten up daily.

Hong Kong’s investment body posts US$300 million income in first year The Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) earned HK$2.34 billion (US$300.7 million) in investment income last year, as the city’s wholly owned investment vehicle made an impressive report after its first year of operation. HKIC posted HK$2.25 billion in operating income for the year that ended on December 31, on HK$64 billion in total assets, while deploying less than one-fifth of its initial capital of HK$62 billion, according to a report on Thursday. “HKIC is the patient capital investment...

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Hong Kong’s investment body posts US$300 million income in first year

Every dollar invested by the HKIC has attracted more than six in long-term market capital, Financial Secretary Paul Chan says.

Japan idol posts belly photo, asks fans to retouch for more flattering look, sparks debate A Japanese pop idol has gone viral after posting a photograph online showing her belly fat. The picture has attracted responses asking women to embrace their imperfect bodies. Shirasu Ayano, from the six-member idol group Melty BeaR, posted a photo of herself on stage on November 20. In the picture, she bends slightly to one side and the fat on her belly forms a small wrinkle. The 27-year-old from Kyoto reposted the image on the next day, inviting people to retouch it to beautify her tummy. The...

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Japan idol posts belly photo, asks fans to retouch for more flattering look, sparks debate

Fans of up-and-coming pop star who flaunted image of her ‘imperfect’ midriff on stage get creative in online posts ‘fixing’ wrinkle.

Indonesia’s cyclone tragedy exposes lethal cost of forest destruction Indonesia is facing renewed calls to curb deforestation and tighten oversight of forest concessions after a rare tropical cyclone tore across Sumatra, unleashing floods and landslides that have killed more than 700 people and left hundreds missing. The disaster has prompted a nationwide debate over whether the tragedy was driven primarily by climate change-fuelled extreme weather or by decades of ecological destruction in a region that has been transformed by plantations, mining and large-scale...

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Indonesia’s cyclone tragedy exposes lethal cost of forest destruction

Green groups say plantations and mines have degraded Sumatra’s land, amplifying a disaster that killed more than 700 and displaced thousands.

China wife of gay husband contests estate against his lover, parents after man’s death A gay man in northern China who married his boyfriend’s sister to secure relocation compensation died in a traffic accident, sparking a bitter dispute over his estate between his wife, his lover and his parents. Xu Tian, a 48-year-old Beijing native and senior executive at a state-owned company, had been in a 10-year relationship with his boyfriend, Xue Chong, a doctor two years his junior. Neighbours said the gay couple often posed as father and son in public. Both families knew about their...

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China wife of gay husband contests estate against his lover, parents after man’s death

Homosexuals posed as ‘father and son’ in public before older of the two was killed in road accident, sparking bitter legal dispute.

South Koreans deserve Nobel Peace Prize for stopping martial law, president says South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday praised the citizens who confronted martial law troops a year ago, saying their collective defence of democracy made them worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the attempt by impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol to impose military rule, Lee described the incident as an unprecedented test of South Korea’s democracy that the public overcame peacefully. “I am convinced that we, the people of the...

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South Koreans deserve Nobel Peace Prize for stopping martial law, president says

Marking the first anniversary of the crisis, Lee Jae-myung hailed those who faced down troops for ‘saving democracy’.

Search for Malaysia’s MH370 resumes in Indian Ocean after over a decade The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 will resume on December 30, Malaysia’s transport ministry said on Wednesday, more than a decade after the China-bound flight disappeared in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries. Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014. Multiple search operations for the plane have been conducted since then but all proved fruitless. The most recent search in the...

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Search for Malaysia’s MH370 resumes in Indian Ocean after more than a decade

US-based Ocean Infinity confirmed it would recommence intermittent seabed search operations for 55 days from December 30.

Chinese man hides 2 gold bars in chilli sauce jar, sends to ‘friend’ for investment A Chinese man has caused amusement online after he hid two gold bars inside a jar of chilli sauce and mailed them to another province as part of a scam to fund his stock trading account. The incident recently unfolded in the Jinnan District of Tianjin in northern China when police took down a fraud scheme involving an elderly man. Li Ruifang, a police officer from the Shuanglin Police Station, received an anti-fraud alert indicating that an elderly man, surnamed Zhao, might be in contact with...

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Chinese man hides 2 gold bars in chilli sauce jar, sends to ‘friend’ for investment

Patient questioning by woman police officer leads elderly man to reveal details of stock trading racket; victim finally gets his money back.

Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks ‘greatest challenge’ to ties, China’s UN envoy says A diplomatic clash between China and Japan over recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is heating up at the United Nations. Chinese ambassador Fu Cong has sent a second letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres, describing Takaichi’s comments over Taiwan as the “greatest challenge” to bilateral ties and urging Tokyo to retract them. Fu’s message was issued in response to his Japanese counterpart, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, who last week accused Beijing of “stifling” bilateral engagement and...

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Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks ‘greatest challenge’ to ties, China’s UN envoy says

Ambassador Fu Cong sends second letter to UN chief insisting Tokyo must retract comments or bear ‘all consequences’.

Groups warn against donation calls exploiting helpers who died in Hong Kong fire A worker’s rights organisation and other concern groups in Hong Kong have warned the public to be vigilant against fraudulent appeals for donations by those exploiting the deaths of foreign domestic helpers in the Tai Po fire. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Network, Beranda Migran and the Coordination of Returned Indonesian Migrants urged the public to refrain from donating directly to families of...

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Groups warn of bogus donation calls exploiting helpers’ deaths in Hong Kong fire

Workers’ rights organisation, three other concern groups urge public to refrain from donating directly to victims’ families, citing fraudulent ...

White House defends ‘double-tap’ US attack on alleged drug boat as lawful A US admiral acting under the authority of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a “double-tap” military operation that targeted survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat, the White House said on Monday. The legality of the Trump administration’s deadly strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific has already been questioned, and reports of the follow-up attack on survivors have triggered further accusations of a possible war crime. A total...

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White House defends ‘double-tap’ US attack on alleged drug boat as lawful

US military operation on September 2 killed 11 people, including those who survived the initial strike, raising accusations of a possible war crime.

Man arrested for arson, murder after woman found injured in Hong Kong flat dies A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and murder after a woman was found injured inside a Hong Kong flat and later died. Police said they received a report at 6.59am on Tuesday after security guards at Ting Fuk House of On Ting Estate in Tuen Mun spotted a fire in the flat. First responders arrived at the scene to find papers burning, along with a man and a woman, both believed to be about 50 years old. The unconscious woman, who had cut wounds on her body, was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital,...

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Hong Kong man facing murder charge after wife found with knife wounds, burns

Fire put out in Tuen Mun flat, with police arresting man, 51, on suspicion of murdering wife, 50.