78 m. ago More than 60 UN members sign cybercrime treaty in Vietnam amid rights concerns

Countries signed their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi on Saturday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance. The new global legal framework aims to strengthen international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering. More than 60 countries were seen to sign the declaration on Saturday, which means it will go into force once ratified by those...

Events

1 hour ago Why China’s pause on stablecoins will not dampen Hong Kong’s digital asset hub push

Beijing’s recent moves to rein in mainland Chinese firms’ stablecoin and tokenisation initiatives in Hong Kong may have rattled the city’s crypto sector, but the Chinese government’s increased openness to digital assets overall had not changed amid competition with the US, experts said. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) recently summoned a number of mainland firms under its jurisdiction, asking them to wait for its instructions before moving forward with their stablecoin initiatives in Hong...

Politics

1 hour ago China wives use AI videos of homeless men breaking into homes to test husbands’ love

Chinese women are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) generated footage of vagabonds at their homes to test how much their partners love them. The unusual trend has sparked concerns over the abuse of AI-generated content. On mainland social media platforms, several women said that they asked AI to generate images and videos of homeless men inside their room and send the footage to their husband or boyfriend. Some also generated a set of images and made up a story of them seeing a...

Culture

2 h. ago Scam crackdown in Myanmar dismissed as ‘not serious’ ahead of Asean summit

A crackdown on a notorious Myanmar scam base is cosmetic and timed to appease world leaders meeting in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, a senior security source has told This Week in Asia, as links between politicians and fraud empires threaten to embarrass Asean with US President Donald Trump flying in for its summit. Scam factories from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos have raked in tens of billions of dollars since the pandemic, run mainly by Chinese syndicates defrauding victims around the world through...

Politics

2 h. ago German Firms Hand Over Secrets That China Could Use for Leverage

German Firms Hand Over Secrets That China Could Use for Leverage  Bloomberg.com

Politics

3 h. ago Hong Kong investigators recover ‘black boxes’ from crashed cargo plane

Hong Kong’s investigative authority has retrieved two “black boxes” from the crashed cargo plane that killed two security workers earlier this week, pledging to release a preliminary report within a month. The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA), which is responsible for investigating the accident, said on Saturday that it had managed to recover two flight data recorders, commonly known as “black boxes”, from the wreckage on Friday night after the Airport Authority had lifted the...

Events

3 h. ago US Sanctions, Chinese Strategy: Business Collaboration with Russia Explained

US Sanctions, Chinese Strategy: Business Collaboration with Russia Explained  Modern Diplomacy

Politics

3 h. ago Chinese sanctions will cost a South Korean shipbuilder but could boost US ties

China’s sanctions on Hanwha Ocean will drive up the firm’s costs in the medium term but may also end up boosting South Korean ties with the US over the long term as Washington seeks to expand naval shipbuilding capacity, analysts said. Last week, the Chinese commerce ministry announced it had imposed sanctions on five US-based affiliates of Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea’s largest shipbuilding companies. The ministry alleged that Hanwha had supported Washington’s investigation into Chinese...

Politics

4 h. ago China, US trade talks start in Kuala Lumpur ahead of possible Xi

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have started a new round of trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, paving the way for a possible meeting between the presidents of the world’s two largest economies. The two sides are expected to discuss issues crucial to China-US economic and trade relations, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed on Thursday. The meeting in the Malaysian capital marks the fifth face-to-face meeting between He and Bessent since US President Donald...

Politics

4 h. ago North Korea evades UN sanctions using crypto for weapons, raw materials: report

North Korea is circumventing UN sanctions by using cryptocurrency to trade raw materials and military weaponry, and by deploying large numbers of IT workers abroad to launder funds and generate income for Pyongyang, an international sanctions monitoring group has reported. Under leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang has ramped up cyber operations in recent years, turning hacking into a key source of foreign currency in the face of biting sanctions over its nuclear and weapons programmes. The...

Events

4 h. ago China, South Korea eye ‘symbolic restart’ for ties during Xi’s visit: experts

For the first time in more than a decade, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit South Korea next week, travelling to the historic city of Gyeongju for talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung as well as to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. While the trip carries limited expectations for immediate breakthroughs, it is seen as a carefully calibrated step towards resetting strained China-South Korea ties, according to experts. Xi’s last visit in 2014, at the...

Politics

7 h. ago Reflections | Like Trump’s Time photo, Chinese emperor’s portraits were often unflattering

Reflections | Like Trump’s Time photo, Chinese emperor’s portraits were often unflattering  South China Morning Post

Politics

7 h. ago How Wee Ee Cheong is planting the seeds for UOB’s next 90 years

Wee Ee Cheong leans back in his chair in the boardroom of UOB Plaza and behind him a deep green bonsai peeks into view from a shelf, poised like it is meant to be part of the conversation. Wee’s minders had told us not to be surprised if he talks about his beloved plants. It is his hobby, after all. A lush bonsai graces the cover of the bank’s annual report for its 90th anniversary, a nod to the enduring roots of Singapore’s only remaining family-controlled bank. But he shows little interest in...

Politics

8 h. ago Hong Kong charity expands public health efforts across belt and road countries

Hong Kong-based charity GX Foundation is broadening its public health initiatives in belt and road countries, as Chinese enterprises are increasingly expected to consider the “social dimension” of their operations beyond foreign investment pursuits, its chairman, former city leader Leung Chun-ying, has said. The foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with its business partners to launch a project on health risk prevention against dengue fever and other vector-borne diseases at...

Politics

9 h. ago China's State Council urges study, implementation of key Party plenum spirit

China's State Council urges study, implementation of key Party plenum spirit  China's State Council

Politics

9 h. ago US senators call on Trump to show support for Jimmy Lai in meeting with Xi

A bipartisan group of 38 US senators is urging President Donald Trump to use his expected summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week to secure the release of former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, the latest in the US Congress’s efforts to get human rights on the agenda of the high-stakes meeting. In a letter released on Friday, the lawmakers described Lai as a political prisoner and said the case for his release was “more dire than ever” due to his worsening...

Politics

9 h. ago Chinese drug kingpin Brother Wang arrested after escape plan to Russia

Chinese drug kingpin Brother Wang arrested after escape plan to Russia - officials  BBC

Events

9 h. ago Suspected Chinese drug kingpin captured after audacious escape

Suspected Chinese drug kingpin captured after audacious escape  BBC

Events

10 h. ago US sanctions Colombia president over drugs, amid escalating row with Trump

The United States on Friday announced sanctions on Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, who Washington has accused of failing to curb illicit drug trafficking, alongside his wife and eldest son. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement unveiling the move. “President [Donald] Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs...

Politics

10 h. ago Chinese honey trap spies target tech, military pros to steal U.S. secrets: report

Chinese honey trap spies target tech, military pros to steal U.S. secrets: report  The National Desk

Events