Porn star Bonnie Blue faces deportation, blacklisting from Bali A controversial British adult film star faces deportation from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali for violating immigration laws after she was arrested on suspicion of making pornographic online content, police said on Thursday. Local police last week raided a studio in the popular tourist hub of Badung near the island’s capital, Denpasar, detaining Bonnie Blue, whose real name is Tia Billinger. Three men – two Britons and an Australian – were also detained after police received a tip-off from a...

South China Morning Post

Porn star Bonnie Blue faces deportation, blacklisting from Bali

The British woman, who was arrested on suspicion of making pornographic online content, will be ejected from the island for visa violations.

Hong Kong’s first Chinese medicine hospital opens as first-month quotas fully booked Hong Kong’s first Chinese medicine hospital has opened its doors to patients, with subsidised outpatient services for the first month fully booked, prompting the facility to add extra slots to meet demand. The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong is located in Tseung Kwan O. It aims to provide services for more complex cases under a model that features Chinese medicine as the leading approach while integrating Western medicine. “We hope to bring the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong...

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Hong Kong’s first Chinese medicine hospital opens to popular demand

Facility, which hopes to bring Chinese medicine development in Hong Kong to the world, adds extra quota slots to meet demand.

Trump calls media reports on his health ‘seditious, perhaps even treasonous’ US President Donald Trump has blasted media reports questioning his state of health as “seditious, perhaps even treasonous”, sparking pushback on Wednesday by one of the major outlets behind the stories. In a long, late-night social media post, the oldest elected president in US history raged about stories in The New York Times and elsewhere suggesting that at the age of 79 he is slowing down. “There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my...

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Trump calls media reports on his health ‘seditious, perhaps even treasonous’

Outburst is sparked by reports as the 79-year-old US president’s health and appearance come under greater scrutiny.

Balancing rights and responsibilities: child custody in Hong Kong demystified The classic legal drama Kramer vs Kramer tells a very sad story of a couple, played by Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, fighting over who gets to keep their young son upon the breakdown of their marriage. Those who watched the 1979 production, which clinched five Academy Awards, will no doubt remember the high level of hostility portrayed in the courtroom scenes. Fast forward more than four decades, divorcing couples bitterly fighting over custody of their children in courts of law remain...

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Legal Tales | Balancing rights and responsibilities: child custody in Hong Kong demystified

The true meaning of legal concepts such as custody and access is much misunderstood among laypeople in Hong Kong.

Australia’s social media ban offers a path between excess and inaction On December 10, Australia began enforcing the world’s strictest social media age rule: platforms must now verify that users are aged 16 or above, or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$33 million), a bold experiment in returning oversight of childhood from Silicon Valley to democratically elected institutions. The relevant law, passed by the Australian parliament last year, represents more than protectionism or moral panic. It is a deliberate experiment in rebalancing the roles of state,...

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Opinion | Australia’s social media ban offers a path between excess and inaction

For policymakers elsewhere, Canberra’s approach to children’s social media use isn’t a model to copy but one to learn from.

Homeowners, landlords affected by Hong Kong fire to get HK$100,000 Homeowners and landlords affected by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will each receive HK$100,000 (US$12,850) from authorities, a senior government official has said, while announcing the funds raised for survivors have reached HK$3.4 billion. Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing said on Wednesday that many owners had lost rental income when seven out of the eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court were ruined in the fire that killed at least 160 people. The new subsidy applied to flat owners,...

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Flat owners affected by Hong Kong fire to get HK$100,000 from authorities

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk reveals funds raised for survivors have reached HK$3.4 billion, with public donations accounting for much of am...

China’s post-materialist generation says no to liberal democracy, confounds West Chinese who came of age during the country’s economic boom are less supportive of liberal democratic values than older generations, contradicting the predictions of Western policymakers and academics. A study by scholars based in China and Britain found that Chinese people born after 1990 were “less likely to support democratic values than the older generation”, despite greater economic security and “a higher level of post-materialist values”. The paper, published online by the Journal of...

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China’s post-90s shun liberal democracy despite boom years, study finds

Study contradicts decades of assumptions that the economic boom and post-materialism would lead to more support for democratic values.

Tourists in disbelief as luggage drifts away during ferry ride in Thailand A viral video showing tourists enjoying the view on a ferry deck in Thailand, only to suddenly witness their luggage and personal belongings floating away, has caused widespread astonishment across social media platforms. The incident took place on November 23, as a group of foreign tourists travelled by ferry from Koh Tao to Koh Samui. While they were soaking in the scenic views, they were alarmed to see their suitcases beginning to drift one by one into the sea. Alice Zamparelli from...

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Tourists in disbelief as luggage drifts away during ferry ride in Thailand

Investigations reveal that crew had improperly secured luggage on upper deck, so when ferry hit rough seas, loose bags were tossed overboard.

‘They’ll go to jail’: Philippines to tear down ‘syndicate’ siphoning billions The Philippines will move to dismantle the “syndicate” that pilfered public funds while ramping up infrastructure spending early next year to revive the economy, according to a key cabinet official. The Department of Public Works and Highways will cleanse its ranks to ensure the corruption scandal it is currently embroiled in would not happen again, Secretary Vince Dizon said. “This syndicate has been here for so long,” Dizon said in an interview on Tuesday. “That’s why it’s very hard to destroy...

South China Morning Post

‘They’ll go to jail’: Philippines to tear down ‘syndicate’ siphoning billions

A cabinet official has pledged to reform the Department of Public Works and Highways by ‘injecting new blood, removing the bad eggs’.

Robert Ho, Hong Kong journalist, philanthropist and devout Buddhist, dies at 93 Robert Ho Hung-ngai, a celebrated Hong Kong journalist, philanthropist and avowed Buddhist, has died at the age of 93. A notice posted on the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation’s website said that Ho died peacefully on November 30 in Vancouver, Canada. A separate obituary in Canadian media reported that a private funeral would be held, with Buddhist prayer services scheduled for December 16. Born in Hong Kong in 1932 to one of the city’s pre-eminent “first-generation” merchant families, Ho was the...

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Robert Ho, Hong Kong journalist, philanthropist and devout Buddhist, dies at 93

Grandson of Robert Ho Tung died peacefully on November 30, notice on Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation’s website says.

China’s Fosun Pharma unit strikes US$2.1 billion obesity drug deal with Pfizer US pharmaceutical behemoth Pfizer has agreed to pay up to US$2.1 billion to Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma’s unit Yao Pharma for an experimental oral obesity drug, underscoring the growing trend of Chinese drug makers selling early-stage assets to global multinationals. Under the licensing agreement, Yao Pharma would grant Pfizer an exclusive worldwide licence for the development, use, manufacturing and commercialisation of oral small-molecule drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, including...

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China’s Fosun Pharma unit strikes US$2.1 billion obesity drug deal with Pfizer

Yao Pharma’s deal with the US pharmaceutical giant underscores China’s growing role in global biotech licensing.

Malaysian woman in skirt forced to buy trousers to enter police station A woman who wanted to lodge a report after a traffic accident was barred from entering the Jasin police headquarters in Malaysia’s Melaka state due to a dress code violation, according to police. Melaka police chief Deputy Commissioner Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said an internal inquiry was held after the matter was brought to light. “We confirm the incident involving a woman being not allowed to enter to make a report due to non-compliance with the dress code for government premises as per a government...

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Malaysian woman in skirt forced to buy trousers to enter police station

A minister has urged a review of guidelines on attire following the incident, saying ‘people don’t dress up in anticipation of crime’.

US says Indonesia backtracking on trade pledges as deal risks falling flat US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is set to speak with a top Indonesian official this week in hopes of salvaging a trade framework at risk of collapsing, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Greer will speak to Airlangga Hartarto, the Indonesian coordinating minister for economic affairs, in an effort to revive a deal struck in July that would see US tariffs on Indonesian goods reduced from a threatened 32 per cent to 19 per cent in exchange for a series of concessions. But US officials...

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US says Indonesia backtracking on trade pledges as deal risks falling flat

US official Jamieson Greer will hold talks with Indonesian minister Airlangga Hartarto to salvage the pact signed in July.

China’s Deep Robotics raises US$70 million as sector draws more investors Deep Robotics – one of the “Six Little Dragons” from Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Zhejiang province – on Tuesday said it had raised 500 million yuan (US$70 million) in fresh funding from a group of Chinese investors. According to the company’s statement, its latest round of financing was led by CMB International, China Asset Management and funds under state-owned telecommunications network operators China Telecom and China Unicom. Deep Robotics founder and CEO Zhu Qiuguo, who also serves as...

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China’s Deep Robotics raises US$70 million as sector draws more investors

Company founder Zhu Qiuguo says the new funding would be used for research and the recruitment of top robotics talent.

China public servants use face masks to bypass facial recognition machines, skip work Employees at a neighbourhood committee in China have resorted to printing out images of their colleagues’ faces and using them as masks to circumvent facial recognition clocking-in systems, shocking the online community. According to Wenzhou City Daily, a resident surnamed Li reported several members of staff at the committee in Wenzhou City, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, for using these face masks to skip work. Li said that the secretariat of the committee, also surnamed Li, led a group...

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China public servants use face masks to bypass facial recognition machines, skip work

Local level government staff make printouts of colleagues’ faces to circumvent clocking-in system, triggering backlash.

China reveals radio clip heard before mid-air standoff with Japan fighter jets China on Tuesday released more details about Saturday’s mid-air stand-off between Chinese and Japanese fighter jets, as the two sides traded barbs over the radar lock-on incident amid rising tensions. The Japanese Defence Ministry claimed the Chinese ship-based J-15 fighters from aircraft carrier Liaoning had locked fire-control radars on Japan’s F-15 jets in the international airspace near Okinawa. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated on Tuesday that it is “standard practice for...

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China ‘did tell Japan about air drills but not in enough detail to avoid danger’

Both sides have been trading barbs following a stand-off between fighters during Saturday’s training exercise involving the Liaoning carrier.

Trump ally Babis returns as Czech PM amid fraud trial and EU concerns Andrej Babis, a billionaire supporter of US President Donald Trump, returned to power as Czech prime minister on Tuesday, signalling a possible end to Ukraine aid and potentially rockier ties with the European Union. Babis’s ANO movement, which won the October parliamentary elections, teamed up with two Eurosceptic parties to form a coalition government. In its policy statement, the coalition said the EU had “its limits” and no right to impose decisions infringing on the sovereignty of member...

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Trump ally Babis returns as Czech PM amid fraud trial and EU concerns

His return raises concerns that his Eurosceptic coalition could restrict aid to Ukraine.

‘Miracle’ Africa peace deal, signed at Trump’s urging, already unravelling A just-signed agreement aimed at ending the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo looked to be unravelling on Monday with the Congolese leader and Burundi slamming neighbouring Rwanda after the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group attacked border areas. DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of “violating” the accord - signed only last Thursday in Washington at the urging of US President Donald Trump - as the M23 made a rapid advance to threaten the city of Uvira near the border with...

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‘Miracle’ Africa peace deal, signed at Trump’s urging, already unravelling

A US-backed agreement to end one of Africa’s longest wars is at risk as DR Congo and Burundi condemn Rwanda and M23 rebel advances.

Why is China’s Liaoning carrier on a unique route amid Beijing-Tokyo tensions? The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning has charted an unusual course towards Japan’s home islands following the mid-air stand-off between Chinese and Japanese fighter jets near Okinawa on the weekend, as tensions between Beijing and Tokyo continue to rise. The PLA Navy carrier and three guided missile destroyers travelled northeast from their position near the Miyako Strait where the stand-off occurred, heading towards waters off Kyushu and the eastern side of Japan that faces the west Pacific...

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Why is China piling on the pressure on Japan with increasing naval operations?

Japanese analysis indicates Chinese fighters locked onto jets from a distance of about 52km during first encounter and 148km during second.

Singaporean Chinese ‘least attractive’, Philippines cyclones: 7 Asia highlights 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. Thailand launches air strikes on Cambodia after soldier killed Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military positions on Monday after a Thai soldier was killed, pushing a shaky US-brokered truce to the brink of collapse as it vowed to cripple its neighbour’s...

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Singaporean Chinese ‘least attractive’, Philippines cyclones: 7 Asia highlights

From a viral image prompting a beauty debate to Chinese marriage brokers eyeing Nepal, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.