2 h. ago Thai woman stays on rooftop with pets during floods, refusing rescue without them

A Thai woman declined rescue and chose to remain stranded on a rooftop amid severe floods to stay with her pet dog and cat, garnering online praise. The woman, known as Jazz, appealed for help on social media on November 22. She reported being trapped on the roof with the water level rising dangerously close to her. In her post, she also provided her location and requested authorities to cut power in her neighbourhood to prevent electrocution. In a video included with her post, she was seen at a...

Events

5 h. ago Why China may be better placed than US in tussle for rare earths

During his Southeast Asia trip in October, US President Donald Trump sealed deals with Malaysia and Thailand on the same day – both aimed at securing and diversifying America’s supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths. Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim agreed to step up cooperation on building and expanding critical minerals supply chains, according to a White House statement. They also agreed to strengthen the security of critical minerals and rare earths supplies in...

Politics

26 h. ago Emerging markets to outperform US stocks as dollar weakness continues: report

Global investors should consider reducing their US equities exposure as emerging market stocks are on track to outperform those in developed nations for the first time in five years amid a weakening US dollar, according to global investment firm Cambridge Associates. The recommendation comes as the dollar has experienced significant weakness this year, falling by 10 per cent at one point after a decade-long bull run that started in 2011. However, the greenback still remains 29 per cent above its...

Politics

34 h. ago Growth, FX stability and potential holiday reforms: 3 calls for China

Growth, FX stability and potential holiday reforms: 3 calls for China  ING Think

Politics

40 h. ago ‘Complete mayhem’: chaos after India’s largest airline cancels 1,200 flights

Chaos gripped Indian airports on Thursday after the country’s largest airline IndiGo cancelled more than 1,200 flights, stranding thousands of passengers. The company blamed the disruption on “unforeseen operational challenges” including technical glitches, adverse weather and new rules for workers. India’s aviation watchdog ordered an investigation and demanded that IndiGo respond with plans to ease the interruptions, which have persisted since Monday. Passengers vented their anger online, with...

Events

41 h. ago Malaysian man stranded by Thai floods with ‘colleagues’ exposed holidaying with lover

A Malaysian man who informed his wife that he was on a business trip with colleagues was discovered to be stranded with his mistress amid severe floods in Thailand. Heavy flooding, triggered by torrential rains, has struck southern Thailand, claiming over 80 lives and affecting three million people across 12 provinces, including Hat Yai, the largest city in southern Thailand. On November 24, a Malaysian woman, who had been sharing rescue updates in Hat Yai, posted that a distressed Malaysian...

Events

49 h. ago Oxford slammed for not naming Indonesian researchers in rare flower find

A recent rediscovery of the extremely rare Rafflesia hasseltii, a giant parasitic red flower, in a forest in Indonesia’s West Sumatra has sparked backlash following an initial social media post by Oxford University that left out local researchers involved in the search and credited only its scientist. The uproar has exposed the perceived lack of equal recognition for Western researchers and their Global South counterparts when they collaborate, and the lingering legacy of colonialism in...

Politics

66 h. ago Asia’s floods kill over 1,000, lay bare human cost of climate inaction

More than 1,400 people have been killed across South and Southeast Asia in a week of catastrophic floods, exposing how rising global temperatures are amplifying extreme weather, even as international negotiations to phase out fossil fuels stall. Successive storms, cyclones and relentless rains have triggered catastrophic flash floods and landslides in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, overwhelming local authorities already operating at the limits of their capacity. While...

Events

66 h. ago High drama in Hong Kong as tilting gondola traps 2 workers on luxury tower

Firefighters rescued two workers who were trapped mid-air for over an hour after a gondola suspended from the top of a Hong Kong high-rise luxury tower malfunctioned and tilted sideways. Police said they received a report at 2.50pm from a security guard at The Belcher’s, a residential development near the University of Hong Kong, that two workers were stranded on a gondola attached to Tower 8 of the development. The Belcher’s is a large residential complex on Pok Fu Lam Road with six high-rise...

Events

68 h. ago Thais in good spirits after government lifts ban on afternoon alcohol sales

Thailand on Wednesday relaxed decades-old alcohol sales restrictions, allowing consumers to buy wine, beer and spirits during previously prohibited afternoon hours in a six-month trial. The predominantly Buddhist country still maintains strict alcohol laws, limiting sales to specific hours and banning them on religious holidays. Liquor stores, bars and other purveyors were banned from selling alcohol from 2pm to 5pm, but the eased rules permit sales from 11am to midnight during the trial while a...

Politics

69 h. ago Indonesia’s cyclone tragedy exposes lethal cost of forest destruction

Indonesia is facing renewed calls to curb deforestation and tighten oversight of forest concessions after a rare tropical cyclone tore across Sumatra, unleashing floods and landslides that have killed more than 700 people and left hundreds missing. The disaster has prompted a nationwide debate over whether the tragedy was driven primarily by climate change-fuelled extreme weather or by decades of ecological destruction in a region that has been transformed by plantations, mining and large-scale...

Politics

69 h. ago Hong Kong travel agency probed for announcing closure only a day before it folds

A Hong Kong travel agency has allegedly broken the law by announcing its plan to fold only a day before its closure, affecting 1,500 customers and involving around HK$1.7 million (US$218,400), according to a watchdog. The Travel Industry Authority on Wednesday vowed to investigate M&F Lucky Holiday Limited over its alleged rule violation after the company announced its intention to cease operations on Tuesday, a day before it shut down. “It constitutes a breach of the ordinance,” the watchdog...

Politics

69 h. ago Hong Kong travel agency probed for revealing closure day before it folded

A Hong Kong travel agency has allegedly broken the law by announcing its plan to fold only a day before its closure, affecting 1,500 customers and involving about HK$1.7 million (US$218,400), according to a watchdog. The Travel Industry Authority on Wednesday vowed to investigate M&F Lucky Holiday after the company announced on Monday its intention to cease operations the following day. “It constitutes a breach of the ordinance,” the watchdog said, referring to the Travel Industry Ordinance,...

Politics

69 h. ago China wife of gay husband contests estate against his lover, parents after man’s death

A gay man in northern China who married his boyfriend’s sister to secure relocation compensation died in a traffic accident, sparking a bitter dispute over his estate between his wife, his lover and his parents. Xu Tian, a 48-year-old Beijing native and senior executive at a state-owned company, had been in a 10-year relationship with his boyfriend, Xue Chong, a doctor two years his junior. Neighbours said the gay couple often posed as father and son in public. Both families knew about their...

Events

2 d. ago China shows solidarity with Thailand, donating 30 million baht for flood recovery efforts

China shows solidarity with Thailand, donating 30 million baht for flood recovery efforts  Nation Thailand

Events

3 d. ago ‘Market is rotten’: Hong Kong fire exposes greedy building renovation business

Hong Kong’s worst blaze in seven decades has exposed an ugly open secret of a murky and rapacious building renovation business that is plagued by bid-rigging and skyrocketing costs even as it staves off feeble official efforts to tackle collusive conduct. Experts and former insiders offered this grim assessment, pointing to the city as a gold mine for such syndicates given its ageing stock of high-rise properties ripe for renovation. They made a collective call for an overhaul of the industry as...

Economics

3 d. ago THE SCOOP: Holiday Ladies Night Out comes to The Oaks, China Max opens in Clute

THE SCOOP: Holiday Ladies Night Out comes to The Oaks, China Max opens in Clute  The Facts

Events

3 d. ago Made In China, Rejected At Home: Why Is Beijing Flooding Global Markets With Unsold Cars?

Made In China, Rejected At Home: Why Is Beijing Flooding Global Markets With Unsold Cars?  Times Now

Events

3 d. ago China Flooding the World With Gasoline Cars, Far More Than EVs

China Flooding the World With Gasoline Cars, Far More Than EVs  Asia Financial

Events

3 d. ago How a husband’s secret life between Singapore and Malaysia was exposed

A man who had been married for 15 years secretly wed again in Sarawak, Malaysia, and fathered two more children, all the while keeping this second family from his wife and two kids in Singapore. Ng Teong Min’s deception lasted 30 years from 1995 until August this year, when a whistle-blower exposed his double life in an email to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. The 67-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence of bigamy and was sentenced to one year and five months’ jail on Tuesday. Ng,...

Politics