27 m. ago US singer marries sultan, Singaporean Chinese ‘least attractive’: 8 viral stories in 2025

Catch up on some of SCMP’s trendiest stories this year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. 79-year-old influencer lost 30kg and has bone density of a 20-year-old. How? Joan MacDonald is an unlikely influencer. At nearly 80 years of age, she has garnered 2 million followers on Instagram since she began posting on the platform almost a decade ago. During that time, she has transformed her life and her health. Now she helps others to embrace ageing with...

Politics

13 h. ago Malaysian cook’s toddler abuse at Singapore preschool covered up by staff who deleted CCTV

Three former members of a Singapore preschool’s senior management admitted on Friday to covering up the offences of a cook who molested toddlers at the preschool where they all worked. The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, had molested three toddlers during naptime over seven months in 2023. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than nine years’ jail last month. The three members of senior management were the 59-year-old executive director, 61-year-old principal and 49-year-old...

Events

13 h. ago China builds most advanced chipmaking machine, cracks EUV barrier

China builds most advanced chipmaking machine, cracks EUV barrier  Interesting Engineering

Politics

14 h. ago Alipay+ announces sponsorship deal with WNBA team New York Liberty amid global push

Ant International, the Singapore-based affiliate of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, on Friday announced a partnership with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team New York Liberty. The multi-year initiative would see the company’s Alipay+ fintech platform become an “official sponsor” and “innovation partner for sustainability” of the team, to “jointly support community programmes designed to advance community empowerment, environmental sustainability and youth development”...

Economics

15 h. ago Singapore cracks down on scammers with mandatory caning as fraud cases surge

Singapore’s government said on Friday that scammers will face mandatory caning of up to 24 strokes from December 30, under changes to criminal law to deter surging fraud cases. The changes, passed by parliament last month, strengthen penalties that already include imprisonment and fines. The Home Affairs Ministry said the enhanced punishment “ensure that our criminal laws remain effective, fair, and responsive to emerging challenges”. Under the changes, scammers, including recruiters and members...

Politics

17 h. ago Lululemon sees China business surge despite global profit decline

Lululemon sees China business surge despite global profit decline  Dao Insights

Economics

19 h. ago Hong Kong police arrest 5 over stealing HK$1.8 million from eMPF account holders

Hong Kong police have arrested five men on suspicion of posing as Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) account holders to withdraw HK$1.8 million (US$231,300) from the city’s newly created online pension fund platform. The scam also prompted the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which manages the pension scheme, to instantly suspend its digital paperless verification process, known as eKYC, for registering online platform users. It apologised for any inconvenience caused. Chief Inspector Lee...

Events

19 h. ago 5 arrested in Hong Kong over HK$1.8 million theft targeting MPF account holders

Hong Kong police have arrested five men on suspicion of posing as Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) account holders to withdraw HK$1.8 million (US$231,300) from the city’s new online pension fund platform. The scam also prompted the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which manages the pension scheme, to immediately suspend its paperless verification process, known as eKYC, for registering online platform users. It apologised for any inconvenience caused. Chief Inspector Lee Chun-man of the...

Economics

19 h. ago 5 arrested in Hong Kong over HK$1.8 million stolen from eMPF pension accounts

Hong Kong police have arrested five men on suspicion of posing as Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) account holders to withdraw HK$1.8 million (US$231,300) from the city’s new online pension fund platform. The scam also prompted the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which manages the pension scheme, to immediately suspend its paperless verification process, known as eKYC, for registering online platform users. It apologised for any inconvenience caused. Chief Inspector Lee Chun-man of the...

Economics

20 h. ago How China cracked the US ‘super code’ that controls most power grids in the world

China is no longer using American software to run its power grid. The Southern Regional Electricity Market (SREM) – the world’s largest unified power market – has switched fully to Tianquan, a solver developed by Chinese engineers with speeds 14 per cent faster than American products, according to a report by the official Science and Technology Daily. It follows recent reports that the State Grid, Huawei and many other leading Chinese companies have abandoned US solvers. If China no longer needs...

Politics

20 h. ago How China cracked US ‘super code’ that controls most power grids in the world

How China cracked US ‘super code’ that controls most power grids in the world  South China Morning Post

Politics

23 h. ago China A500 ETFs Inflows Surge to Record High Toward Year End

China A500 ETFs Inflows Surge to Record High Toward Year End  Bloomberg.com

Events

24 h. ago As global scrutiny grows, Chinese firms look to call Singapore home

As global scrutiny grows, Chinese firms look to call Singapore home  Reuters

Politics

25 h. ago Haute Heritage: Beijing Palace Museum Treasures Reimagined As Wearable Art

Haute Heritage: Beijing Palace Museum Treasures Reimagined As Wearable Art  Harper's Bazaar Singapore

Politics

28 h. ago Violence erupts in Bangladesh after shot leader of youth protest dies in Singapore hospital

Violence broke out in Bangladesh’s capital early on Friday after a youth leader of the country’s 2024 pro-democracy uprising who was injured in an assassination attempt died in a hospital in Singapore. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was announced, to demand that his killers be arrested. Several buildings in the capital, including those housing the country’s two leading newspapers, were set on fire, according to authorities, with...

Events

32 h. ago Bitcoin Mining Recovers Quickly After China Crackdown Claims, Network Metrics Stay Strong

Bitcoin Mining Recovers Quickly After China Crackdown Claims, Network Metrics Stay Strong  Yahoo Finance

Politics

34 h. ago China's power paradox: clean energy surge conflicts with coal safety net

China's power paradox: clean energy surge conflicts with coal safety net  RFI

Events

37 h. ago Discriminatory and egregious: China blasts EU’s subsidy crackdown

Discriminatory and egregious: China blasts EU’s subsidy crackdown  South China Morning Post

Events

40 h. ago French doctor Frederic Pechier jailed for life for poisoning 30 patients, 12 fatally

A French court on Thursday sentenced a doctor to life in jail for poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, reportedly in an attempt to discredit colleagues. Frederic Pechier, 53, worked as an anaesthetist in two clinics in the eastern city of Besancon, when patients went into cardiac arrest in suspicious circumstances between 2008 and 2017. Twelve could not be resuscitated. Pechier’s youngest victim, four-year-old Teddy, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil surgery...

Events

41 h. ago Manus hits US$100 million revenue milestone as global competition for AI agents heats up

Manus, the high-profile artificial intelligence agent launched by Chinese founders, has crossed US$100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) nine months after launch, the company said on Wednesday. The achievement makes it the “fastest growing start-up”, the former China-based team, now headquartered in Singapore, claimed in a blog post, with total revenue run rate now exceeding US$125 million. “We’ve been growing at more than 20 per cent month-over-month since the release of Manus 1.5, and...

Economics