61 m. ago Japan Post stops forcing delivery staff to ride bicycles as punishment

Japan Post has scrapped a controversial practice of forcing delivery workers involved in minor accidents to complete their rounds by bicycle – even in extreme heat – after admitting the measure “could be perceived” as workplace harassment. The decision followed an internal investigation into an incident involving a delivery worker who was instructed to continue his rounds by bicycle for two weeks during a summer heatwave, despite daytime temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees...

Politics

19 h. ago Evangelista’s wealth under fire, Singaporeans flock to Johor: 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. US call centre bill threatens Philippines’ US$30 billion outsourcing boom As dusk settles over Angeles City, Justin Cunanan prepares for another long night. While the rest of the Philippines sleeps, he joins millions of his compatriots powering a global industry that is...

Events

19 h. ago Hong Kong airport’s north runway reopens after cargo plane crash kills 2

Hong Kong airport’s north runway has reopened but will remain on standby to support week-long efforts to salvage a crashed cargo plane that veered off its path and killed two security workers when it struck their vehicle. Monday’s incident was the fourth in 15 years to involve Turkish company ACT Airlines, which was operating the cargo flight for Emirates, with more than 30 people killed in a previous accident in 2017. An aviation expert said on Tuesday that it was not uncommon for an airline...

Events

22 h. ago Hong Kong court gives ‘Mr Ho’ suspended jail sentence for insecticide attack

An elderly Hong Kong man, known on the internet as “Mr Ho” after a whirlwind romance with a much younger mainland Chinese woman, has received a suspended jail sentence for an insecticide attack on a passer-by who taunted him about controversies arising from his marriage. Tuen Mun Court on Tuesday suspended Ho Huen’s two-month jail sentence for two years after rejecting the defence’s suggestion to settle the case by imposing a fine. The court also ordered the 77-year-old retiree to pay the...

Events

25 h. ago Outrage in China as reports surface of human teeth found in sausages, dim sum

Multiple instances of diners discovering human teeth in food have reignited food safety concerns in China. On October 13, a woman reported finding a row of three artificial human teeth in a sausage she bought for her child in northeastern China’s Jilin province. She bought the grilled sausage from an outdoor stall. Initially, the vendor denied that the teeth were present when the sausage was sold but later apologised after local market supervision authorities became involved. On the same day,...

Politics

33 h. ago US to seek rival bids for Artemis 3 moon landing as SpaceX lags, Nasa chief says

Nasa’s top official on Monday said the US space agency was opening up the contract for its Artemis 3 astronaut moon landing to compete against billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the mission’s current contractor, which was running late. “I’m in the process of opening that contract up. I think we’ll see companies like Blue [Origin] get involved and maybe others,” Nasa administrator Sean Duffy, who also serves as US transport secretary, told Fox News’ Fox & Friends programme. Blue Origin is a SpaceX...

Technology

33 h. ago Nasa opens US moon landing contract to rival bidders as SpaceX lags

Nasa said on Monday it was opening the marquee US moon landing contract to other bidders because Elon Musk’s SpaceX has experienced mounting delays with its Starship lunar lander. The move paves the way for rivals such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to snatch a high-profile mission to land the first astronauts on the moon in half a century. “I’m in the process of opening that contract up. I think we’ll see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others,” the US space agency’s acting chief Sean...

Technology

36 h. ago Hong Kong woman, 81, loses HK$5 million to romance scammer posing as PLA officer

An 81-year-old woman in Hong Kong has lost more than HK$5 million after falling victim to an elaborate online romance scam involving a fraudster who posed as a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer from mainland China. In a post on its CyberDefender social media page on Monday, police said the woman received a WhatsApp message from a man who claimed to be a PLA officer and invited her to visit a military camp. They quickly built an online romantic relationship through frequent affectionate...

Economics

36 h. ago 3D printing trailblazer Chua Chee Kai relocates to China from Singapore hub

Singaporean 3D printing pioneer Chua Chee Kai has joined Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST) as a full-time distinguished professor, receiving his appointment in a ceremony on October 10, according to the university’s website. For decades, Chua led major 3D printing research initiatives in Singapore, helping to turn the country into a global hub for additive manufacturing technologies used in aerospace, biomedical and electronic applications. In his remarks at the ceremony, Chua...

Politics

40 h. ago What is ‘offering sacrifices to empty coffin’ ritual in Taiwan; why burn figurine

In a Taiwanese folk custom, when two family members die within the same year, straw figurines and duck blood are employed in a special ritual that involves burning an empty paper coffin, aimed at preventing a third death within the family. This traditional practice, known as “Sacrificing to an Empty Coffin”, or ji kong guan in Chinese, is usually conducted during the funeral of the second deceased. Grounded in the folk belief that “bad luck comes in threes,” the ritual seeks to ward off...

Events

40 h. ago Hong Kong officials involved in water procurement fiasco face disciplinary probe

Hong Kong authorities will launch a disciplinary investigation into officials involved in a bottled water procurement scandal after an initial probe by the audit watchdog found that human error may have been a factor in the case. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu on Monday also announced six recommendations to improve the government’s procurement process. The move came two months after the Government Logistics Department awarded a three-year HK$52.9...

Politics

43 h. ago Hong Kong education authorities demand probe into teacher misconduct allegation

Hong Kong’s education authorities have asked a girls’ secondary school to thoroughly investigate a case in which a graduate accused a male teacher of asking her to have sex in a hotel last year. St Paul’s School (Lam Tin) said on Monday that it would “definitely” follow up on the matter, as it awaited direct contact from the individual involved. The school pledged to provide support and help to safeguard her legitimate rights. “We take this matter very seriously and have immediately activated...

Politics

46 h. ago Chinese scientists discover secret to healthy ageing in naked mole

The remarkable longevity and disease resistance of naked mole rats are linked to a version of a protein involved in DNA repair that is also found in humans, Chinese scientists have discovered. The team led by researchers from Shanghai’s Tongji University found that introducing this modified protein in flies and mice reduced the genetic damage associated with ageing and helped to extend lifespan, according to results of their study published earlier this month. Their findings suggest that the...

Science

63 h. ago Chinese minister calls out US ‘protectionism’ in shipping industry

China’s Minister of Transport Liu Wei has called on shipping companies and port operators worldwide to promote free trade in a “concerted effort” to combat “protectionism” after the US administration slapped port fees on Chinese vessels. “All the companies dealing with shipping businesses should work together to promote a fair, just and open environment and safeguard the common interests of global economic and trade development,” he said at the North Bund Summit, a shipping industry ­conference,...

Politics

66 h. ago How China is pushing back the invading sand dunes and winning in arid Ningxia

“The wind blows all the year round, not a bird in the sky nor a leaf can be found.” This saying, once common in northwest China’s arid Ningxia Hui autonomous region, captures the suffering inflicted on its communities by the desert. Over the past 40 years, the Baijitan National Nature Reserve has served as a frontline fortification against the Mu Us Desert for Ningxia’s capital Yinchuan and its nearly 3 million people. By the 1950s, the desert had advanced to within 5km (3 miles) of the Yellow...

Events

68 h. ago Terminally ill Taiwan mum loses US$420,000 by selling home to ‘spiritual’ scammers

A terminally ill, cancer-stricken mother in Taiwan was coerced into a so-called spiritual growth cult, which eventually cost her family more than NT$13 million (US$420,000). The sick woman was subjected to various forms of public punishment, such as being forced to kneel by a roadside. She was even forced into a same-sex marriage. Her ordeal began in August 2013, when the mother, surnamed Wang, who was suffering from terminal cancer, joined a “spiritual growth course” run by two women surnamed...

Politics

3 d. ago Wake up Britain, your pressing problem is hardly Chinese espionage

The collapse of the so-called China spy case in the UK has sparked a storm of headlines. Accusations of “spying for China”, allegations of improper government involvement in the dropping of the case, White House anger – the story ticked every box for front-page drama. Criticism of the government’s handling of the case was amplified by opposition politicians and commentators who never miss an opportunity to cast suspicion on closer ties with Beijing. This is not the first time people have been...

Politics

3 d. ago Britain’s obsession with ‘Chinese spying’ says more about the UK than China

The collapse of the so-called China spy case in the UK has sparked a storm of headlines. Accusations of “spying for China”, allegations of improper government involvement in the dropping of the case, White House anger – the story ticked every box for front-page drama. Criticism of the government’s handling of the case was amplified by opposition politicians and commentators who never miss an opportunity to cast suspicion on closer ties with Beijing. This is not the first time people have been...

Politics

3 d. ago Why a US$70 day trip to Johor is now Singaporeans’ favourite leisure hack

Every month, Rachel Tan, a 53-year-old Singaporean tutor, boards a bus across the 1km (0.6 mile) causeway for a day trip to Malaysia’s Johor state, where she stocks up on groceries and treats herself to lunch and a film. Thanks to streamlined immigration procedures, she rarely needs to present her passport, using a QR code to pass the checkpoint before catching a complimentary shuttle bus that whisks her to R&F Mall. The entire day out, including shopping, typically costs her about 300 ringgit...

Politics

4 d. ago 64 South Korean ‘pig butchering’ suspects return home from Cambodia

Sixty-four South Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia for alleged involvement in cyberscam operations returned home Saturday. South Korea had sent a team to Cambodia on Wednesday to discuss cases of fake jobs and scam centres involved in kidnapping dozens of its nationals. “A total of 64 nationals just arrived at Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight,” a police official said. Seoul had said around 60 South Koreans had been detained by authorities in Cambodia over the alleged...

Politics