16 h. ago Thai ruling party courts voters by vowing to end Cambodia conflict, close scam hubs

Thailand’s ruling party, which is seeking to retain power in next month’s election, has vowed to resolve the country’s conflict with Cambodia and clean up its image as a transit hub for trafficked scam victims. The conservative Bhumjaithai Party, which took power in September, has cast itself as the most suitable defender of Thai sovereignty during the border dispute between the two Southeast Asian countries. Clashes erupted for five days last July and reignited in December before a...

Events

16 h. ago Scam and corruption cases spark debate in China over cryptocurrencies’ future

The seizure of enormous cryptocurrency caches in two high-profile criminal cases in China – a former head of the central bank’s digital currency research institute accused of corruption, and an alleged scam centre kingpin linked to about US$15 billion in bitcoin – have sparked questions in the country about the safety and future of virtual money. But analysts said the long-term trend for the assets, especially bitcoin, depended on institutional capital, interest rate expectations and the...

Politics

16 h. ago Scam, corruption cases spark Chinese debate about future of virtual money

Scam, corruption cases spark Chinese debate about future of virtual money  South China Morning Post

Politics

21 h. ago Malaysian reporter arrested for sedition after controversial question at Gaza lecture

Former Free Malaysia Today (FMT) journalist Rex Tan was arrested at about 12.45am on Saturday after being summoned to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The arrest was confirmed by his lawyer, Rajsurian Pillai, who said Tan was detained under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 505(c) of the Penal Code. It followed a sensitive question alleged to contain racial elements that was raised during a public lecture in Kuala Lumpur. At...

Events

32 h. ago Hong Kong passport ranks 15th globally, rising 3 places in visa

Hongkongers hold the world’s 15th most powerful passport, up three places from last year, according to an index measuring visa-free access. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport offers visa-free access to 171 destinations, according to this year’s Henley Passport Index released last week. Singapore retained the top ranking for the third consecutive year, granting its citizens visa-free entry to 192 destinations. However, data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department shows that...

Politics

37 h. ago How tiny Singapore ties China and Taiwan in training for war

How tiny Singapore ties China and Taiwan in training for war  Defense News

Events

37 h. ago Malaysia’s Umno chief denies he ‘sidelined’ Najib to secure his own legal freedom

The president of Malaysia’s Umno has denied abandoning disgraced ex-prime minister Najib Razak to save himself, as fissures emerge in the former ruling party over the mixed legal fortunes of two of its top leaders. Umno grass-roots members have urged President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to quit Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government in protest after the High Court blocked Najib’s bid to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest last month. It also handed the one-time party figurehead a...

Politics

37 h. ago HSBC reviews Singapore insurance unit amid focus on high growth in Hong Kong, mainland

HSBC Holdings’ exploration of options for its insurance business in Singapore may lead to a sale of the unit as the group reallocates resources to its insurance business in Hong Kong and mainland China, according to analysts. “It makes sense for HSBC to consider an exit from Singapore’s insurance market to focus on Hong Kong and mainland China, as so many mainlanders are coming to Hong Kong to buy insurance products here,” said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of...

Politics

37 h. ago HSBC reviews Singapore insurance unit amid high growth focus on Hong Kong, mainland China

HSBC Holdings’ exploration of options for its insurance business in Singapore may lead to a sale of the unit as the group reallocates resources to its insurance business in Hong Kong and mainland China, according to analysts. “It makes sense for HSBC to consider an exit from Singapore’s insurance market to focus on Hong Kong and mainland China, as so many mainlanders are coming to Hong Kong to buy insurance products here,” said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of...

Politics

38 h. ago Canada’s leader patches things up with China as rift with Trump upends old certainties

Canada’s leader patches things up with China as rift with Trump upends old certainties  Yahoo News Singapore

Politics

41 h. ago Malaysian man arrested for forcing son, 10, to shoplift regularly

A Malaysian man previously convicted of child abuse has been arrested again on suspicion of forcing his son, 10, to shoplift daily necessities. Police in Bahau, in Negeri Sembilan state’s Jempol district, were alerted to what initially appeared to be a simple case of theft on Wednesday, The Sun newspaper reported. Staff from a wholesale supermarket had caught the boy trying to steal a 200-gram pack of instant coffee. But officers soon uncovered a troubling pattern of child exploitation, Jempol...

Events

46 h. ago Horrified Malaysian mother disowns daughter after mutilation threats by ‘vile’ loan sharks

The constant threat of genital mutilation of her daughter and son-in-law by loan sharks was so harrowing that a woman in Malaysia has resorted to disowning her own flesh and blood. “The loan sharks are vile. They threatened to sever the private parts of my daughter and her husband,” said the 60-year-old housewife who only wanted to be known as Heng. “A loan shark also sent me gory photos of people with severed genitals, claiming he had carried out the acts himself. It was so upsetting that I...

Events

48 h. ago China Offers Leniency if Cronies of Accused Scam Boss Surrender

China Offers Leniency if Cronies of Accused Scam Boss Surrender  The China-Global South Project

Politics

55 h. ago Trump administration wins appeal to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a freed pro

A federal appeal panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist. A three-judge panel of the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeal in Philadelphia instructed the lower court to dismiss Khalil’s habeas petition, a court filing that secured his release. The panel ruled that the federal district court in New Jersey did not have jurisdiction over...

Politics

63 h. ago Singapore’s PM Lawrence Wong removes Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has stripped the Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh of his role as the city state’s first Leader of the Opposition following Singh’s conviction for lying under oath to a parliamentary committee. Singh assumed the official role in 2020 following the general election where his party secured a record 10 elected seats in parliament. Then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong announced during a press conference that Singh would be provided with staff and...

Politics

3 d. ago Cambodia says Chen Zhi’s extradition to China ‘not the end’ of scam centre crackdown

Cambodia’s arrest of alleged scam centre kingpin Chen Zhi and his extradition to China is “not the end” of the Southeast Asian nation’s battle to stamp out transborder crimes, its foreign minister said. Last week’s surprise arrest of Chinese-born Chen is a key step in an until now fragmented international campaign targeting sophisticated scam networks in Southeast Asia run by criminal gangs, swindling victims worldwide out of billions of dollars. The extradition of Chen, sanctioned by several...

Politics

3 d. ago Malaysian gets 12 years’ jail in Singapore for Caucasian ‘sugar daddy’ sextortion scam

A Singapore court has sentenced a 38-year-old Malaysian man to 12 years in prison and 15 strokes of the cane for posing online as a wealthy Caucasian “sugar daddy” and coercing women into sex while extorting money with threats to release explicit material. The man, Rajwant Singh Gill Narajan Singh, was convicted of two counts of cheating and one count each of extortion and attempted extortion involving two victims, identified in court documents as PW1 and PW2. “By his horrific and perverse...

Events

3 d. ago 73% of Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area firms speeding up expansion into Asean: survey

Nearly three-quarters of enterprises from Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area cities will speed up their expansion into the Asean market as a primary strategy to mitigate risks from international trade frictions and shifting global supply chains, according to a survey. The survey and research findings, co-published by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Singapore-based United Overseas Bank on Wednesday, also revealed that about 98 per cent of enterprises are planning to keep or expand their...

Politics

3 d. ago Singapore’s Pritam Singh debate: MPs trade barbs over bid to remove opposition leader

Singapore’s parliamentarians on Wednesday debated Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh’s suitability as Leader of the Opposition following his court conviction for lying to a committee, with his opponents questioning his integrity and leadership, while supporters suggested there was a political agenda against him. The discussion, which is ongoing and has extended into the evening, centred on Leader of the House Indranee Rajah’s motion calling on parliament to consider that Singh’s “conviction and...

Politics

3 d. ago Singapore’s MPs vote to remove Pritam Singh as opposition leader

Singapore’s parliamentarians on Wednesday voted Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh unsuitable as Leader of the Opposition following his court conviction for lying to a committee, with his opponents questioning his integrity and leadership, while supporters suggested there was a political agenda against him. The heated discussion in Singapore’s typically sterile parliament, which saw WP MPs repeatedly calling points of order, centred on Leader of the House Indranee Rajah’s motion calling on...

Politics