5 h. ago Fans, TV, perfume: Malaysian singer Eda Ezrin opens up about Thai prison life

Malaysian singer Eda Ezrin has opened up about her time at the Narathiwat Provincial Central Prison in Thailand, a month after her release on August 6. In a TikTok live stream last week, the 30-year-old said she shared a room with 50 other inmates. She added that detainees were allowed to buy food and personal items – including toiletries, toothbrushes, make-up and even perfumes – provided they had money in their bank account. Eda, whose real name is Wan Norsahidah Azlin Wan Ismail, said she...

Events

11 h. ago Together, we can build a future for Hong Kong where every life is valued

September 10 marks World Suicide Prevention Day, a vital global call to action that unites communities worldwide – including individuals, organisations and those with lived experience – to initiate crucial conversations and reaffirm our collective role in preventing suicide. This day is aligned with the 2024-2026 triennial theme, “Changing the Narrative on Suicide”, which urges us to challenge the stigma and misconceptions that too often silence those in need. Although this essential work...

Politics

12 h. ago Beyond Putin and Xi’s Bromance, Chinese Culture Creeps Into Daily Life in Russia

Beyond Putin and Xi’s Bromance, Chinese Culture Creeps Into Daily Life in Russia  The Moscow Times

Politics

19 h. ago Economy&Life | Venue of upcoming 2025 CIFTIS prepared in Beijing

Economy&Life | Venue of upcoming 2025 CIFTIS prepared in Beijing  Xinhua

Politics

23 h. ago China lover pays US$31,000 to boyfriend’s family over his suicide following fight

Prosecutors in China have ordered a woman to pay compensation of 218,000 yuan (US$31,000) to the family of her boyfriend who died after he jumped from the car she was driving during a row. Dashboard camera footage shows the man unexpectedly open the car door and jump out of the car after the woman taunted him about dying. The woman, known as Liu, was detained by police in Hejin, in the northern province of Shanxi, following her boyfriend’s death in April last year, the Legal Daily reported. Liu...

Economics

24 h. ago Tourists, locals, flock to Attack on Titan Japanese manga exhibition on Day 1

Mainland Chinese tourists and local residents have flocked to a Japanese manga exhibition in Hong Kong featuring a 6.2-metre-tall (20.3 feet) display, with fans splashing out on souvenirs exclusive to the city. The “Attack on Titan Exhibition FINAL ver. Hong Kong” opened at The Twins shopping centre in Kai Tak on Tuesday, featuring more than 200 artwork replicas, animations, and interview clips with creator Hajime Isayama. Attack on Titan has sold more than 140 million copies since it was first...

Events

26 h. ago ‘Prosperity for generations’: Malaysia urges Hong Kong to tap Asean ‘as a bloc’

Business leaders and governments should think of Asean as a bloc with nearly 700 million people and an emerging middle class instead of individual countries when considering the vast trade potential of the region, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Tuesday. While Hong Kong was essential to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as an international financial hub that promoted technological innovation with a well-regarded legal system, the bloc could also offer great...

Politics

26 h. ago Malaysia tightens security at Petronas’ Bintulu LNG hub to investigate ‘threat’

Malaysia’s National Security Council has ordered a temporary tightening of security at Petronas’ massive gas facility in Borneo and launched an immediate investigation into what it described as a “threat” to the critical energy infrastructure. The NSC on Monday said it was taking “proactive measures” in response to security threats targeting liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities nationwide, with a particular focus on the complex in Bintulu, a town in the Bornean state of Sarawak. “The Malaysian...

Events

29 h. ago Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra ordered to serve 1 year in jail by Supreme Court

Thailand’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in jail because his detention in the VIP wing of a hospital in lieu of prison was unlawful, in another major blow for a powerful family that has dominated Thai politics for two decades. The court would take the 76-year-old into custody, a reporter who attended the verdict said. On return from 15 years of self-imposed exile in 2023, Thaksin spent only a few hours in prison before being transferred to...

Events

29 h. ago Thaksin Shinawatra’s fall from grace ends in a Thai prison cell

Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire tycoon who once dominated Thai politics, will spend his first night behind bars on Tuesday after the Supreme Court sentenced him to a year in prison. The verdict was a stunning blow for the former prime minister, whose political dynasty has, for now, been pushed aside. Thailand’s top court found that Thaksin, 76, knowingly exaggerated illness in 2023 to secure a lengthy stay in a VIP ward of a police hospital rather than in a prison cell. Judges ruled that his...

Events

29 h. ago What the US should take away from China’s Victory Day parade

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, once suggested that childhood experiences cast long shadows over adult life. Nations, too, carry memories of their “childhoods”. For Beijing, two such...

Politics

45 h. ago UN human rights chief slams Israel’s ‘mass killing’ of Palestinians in Gaza

The United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel on Monday for its “mass killing” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and “hindering of sufficient life-saving aid”, saying the country had a case to answer before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stopped short of describing the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, as hundreds of UN staff had urged him to do. But in his opening address to...

Politics

51 h. ago Malaysian woman who tried to hug Perak’s sultan charged with assault

A 41-year-old woman has been charged with assault in Malaysia after she attempted to embrace the Sultan of Perak last month. The incident, which took place in front of the Ipoh Town Hall at 8.20am on August 31 during Independence Day celebrations, has prompted scrutiny of security arrangements surrounding Malaysia’s royalty. Nurhaswani Afni Mohamad Zorki from Kampung Manjoi appeared before Magistrate Mohd Harith Mohd Mazlan on Monday, where she was formally charged under Section 352 of the Penal...

Events

51 h. ago Thailand’s Thaksin in Singapore in preparation to return to Bangkok

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to return to Bangkok on Monday, days after his abrupt departure for Dubai stoked speculation about him fleeing the country ahead of a court ruling that could see him jailed. Thaksin, 76, arrived in Singapore in his private jet early on Monday and will travel to the Thai capital later in the day, according to a person familiar with his plans who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Several Thai media outlets...

Politics

56 h. ago China woman finds first love after 16 years at his shop: couple quickly get engaged

A Chinese woman ran into the first love of her life at a noodle shop 16 years after they last met, and the pair got engaged six days later. The woman was buying breakfast as usual at a rice noodle shop in Huizhou city, Guangdong province, southern China, on August 23, when she suddenly realised that the owner was her secondary school sweetheart and first love. She asked him if he really was who she thought he was and they began chatting before exchanging contact information. The owner of the...

Politics

56 h. ago Australia’s mushroom murderer sentenced to life in jail, no parole for 33 years

An Australian woman convicted of murdering three elderly relatives of her estranged husband with a meal containing poisonous mushrooms was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison on Monday. The presiding judge said Erin Patterson’s use of individual portions of beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms to poison her in-laws over lunch had a “devastating” impact on the relatives of the deceased. Patterson was found guilty in July of killing her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson,...

Events

2 d. ago China’s Xin Zhilei creates history with Venice Film Festival best actress gong

China’s Xin Zhilei has won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese woman to receive the honour in 14 years. The 39-year-old actress brought the Golden Lion trophy home on Saturday for her role in The Sun Rises on Us All, directed by Cai Shangjun. The film sees Xin play the harassed owner of a fashion retail business who is trying to reconcile with her former lover, who served time in prison for a crime she had committed. “I feel like I am dreaming,” Xin...

Culture

3 d. ago ‘Even if I was shot, I was fine with that’: a North Korean’s journey to freedom

A man whose early life in North Korea was so bleak that he was prepared to be shot in the back while making a break for freedom across the Chinese border has told his story after defecting to Japan in 2017. The man is one of many to have become involved with an Osaka-based charity that addresses North Korean human rights issues. The organisation provides speaking opportunities for North Korean defectors on podcasts and other platforms, allowing them to share information about the realities of...

Politics

3 d. ago Heavy rain, thunder do little to deter fans as Hong Kong racing season begins

The heavy rain and thunder brought by the approaching Tropical Storm Tapah did little to deter racing fans, as the Hong Kong season opened in Sha Tin on Sunday. Crowds started gathering at the racecourse from 8am, with punters eager to get a spot near the parade ring for the opening ceremony, which included a performance by singer MC Cheung Tin-fu. And the opening day was the first opportunity many experienced punters got to see the new facilities, with opinion divided on the latest phase of the...

Politics

3 d. ago Storm does little to deter race fans, HK$1.3 billion changes hands on opening day

The heavy rain and thunder brought by the approaching Tropical Storm Tapah did little to deter racing fans in Hong Kong on Sunday, as the season opened in lively fashion at Sha Tin. While the weather led to a dip in attendance and betting turnover, more than 43,000 fans passed through the gates at both of the city’s racecourses, and some HK$1.3 billion changed hands. And Hong Kong Jockey Club boss Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said he was “very proud” of his team for putting on an event with the...

Economics