China

Japan man scoops US$3.8 million lottery, hides win from wife, lives in secret luxury

An elderly man in Japan who won 600 million yen (US$3.8 million) in the lottery kept his windfall a secret from his penny-pinching wife so he could live a life of luxury. According to the Japanese media outlet, The Gold Online, the 66-year-old known as “S” is a retiree from a major manufacturing company. He and his wife live in Tokyo on a combined monthly pension of 300,000 yen (US$2,000). With high living costs in the city and the added expense of supporting their two children’s education,… Source link

China

‘Please stop’: Philippines nickel mining boom brings floods and failed crops

When the rains fall over Madrid, a quiet rural town in the southern Philippines, muddy brown torrents sweep through rice fields and homes. For Beth Samblado, the floodwater is a recurring reminder of a struggle she and her neighbours in Surigao del Sur province have waged, largely alone, against nickel mining. “We’re asking the government again to please stop the mining,” the 51-year-old told This Week in Asia in Filipino from her modest eatery in the town centre. Years ago, she and her fellow… Source link

China

Top honours for engineers spotlight China’s gains in military technology

Key scientists behind China’s latest stealth fighter and aircraft carrier have been promoted to one of the country’s top scientific academies in recognition of their contributions to advances in military technology. The honours also highlight the global lead Chinese military technology has taken in a number of areas. Wang Yongqing, the chief designer and expert of the J-35A stealth fighter; Huang Weina, the lead designer of the WS-19 engine for the J-35 series; and Lu Junyong, a key researcher… Source link

China

Chinese man wins ‘lying flat’ contest by resting on mattress for more than 33 hours

A 23-year-old man in China has won a “lying-flat competition” by resting on a mattress for 33 hours and 35 minutes. The contest, sponsored by a domestic mattress brand, kicked off at 10.18am on November 15 at a shopping centre in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, northern China, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported. Its title borrowed the popular slang term “lying flat”, known as tang ping in Chinese. This refers to a mindset which rejects hard work and chooses doing the bare minimum to get by which has… Source link

China

Singapore deepens probe into Chen Zhi’s alleged scam empire with fresh raid

Singapore authorities raided a car loan company that borrowed from a firm connected to Prince Holding Group, as the net widens on those linked to the alleged scam organisation and its chair, Chen Zhi. The premises of Singapore-registered SRS Auto Holdings were raided by police last week, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified disclosing sensitive information. The sole proprietor of SRS, Tan Yew Kiat, was arrested, they said. “The police are investigating… Source link

China

Indian airbase on China border is infrastructure upgrade, not a threat: analysts

India earlier this month inaugurated a high-altitude airbase near its disputed border with China, prompting analysts to suggest the development capped long-term efforts to upgrade infrastructure there rather than posing a threat to Beijing. According to reports from multiple media outlets, the base, named Mudh-Nyoma Air Force Station, is perched at a height of about 13,700 feet (4,176 metres) and only 30km (19 miles) from the Line of Actual Control, the de facto boundary separating the two… Source link

China

Hong Kong authorities launch probe into fatal industrial accident at sewage plant

Hong Kong labour authorities have launched an investigation into the death of a 49-year-old worker who was strangled by his clothing getting caught in a machine. The Labour Department’s statement on Sunday followed the man’s death at Tseung Kwan O Hospital on Saturday night, 10 hours after he collapsed in the basement of a sewage treatment plant in Wo Mei, Sai Kung. According to the department, the worker’s clothes became caught in the concrete core drilling machine he was operating on Saturday… Source link

China

Sellers hope superstition can sell homes in China’s depressed market

For homeowners in mainland China, selling a property has become so difficult that some are turning to xuanxue, a neo-Taoist philosophy that has morphed into internet slang for any superstitious ritual meant to enhance luck, from feng shui tweaks to cyber talismans. Praying in temples, buying ‘quick-sale’ talismans, or simply writing the word “sold” on a piece of red paper are just a few examples. When a homeowner in Shanghai recently claimed on social media that she found a buyer after praying… Source link

China

Toppling Maduro among options as Trump set to expand Venezuela operations

The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, according to four US officials, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Reuters was not able to establish the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor whether US President Donald Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid… Source link

China

Europe scrambles to sway Trump as Ukraine faces make-or-break moment

European leaders and other allies told the US that its peace plan for Ukraine needed “additional work”, in a rushed bid to try and slow walk a Trump administration determined to give concessions to Russia and impose terms by Thanksgiving. They issued a statement at a Group of 20 summit in South Africa that US President Donald Trump blew off but where many of them were headed to when the controversial details of the 28-point peace plan were leaked. The US set an ultimatum for Thursday. In… Source link

China

Compassion in conflict: Hong Kong medics brave Gaza war to deliver critical care

Hong Kong doctor Ben Ng Siu-bun still remembers the horrors of war in conflict-torn Gaza. The 52-year-old anaesthesiologist joined a humanitarian mission organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Gaza in March this year, providing medical services to those who were injured or ill. During his six-week stay at a field hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, Ng said about half of the patients sent there were suffering from gunshot or blast injuries. He recalled treating a 12-year-old… Source link

China

China overhauls civil service rules that kept out chronic disease carriers

China has loosened its civil service medical rules so that sufferers from three chronic diseases will no longer be barred, a move hailed by campaigners and legal groups as a landmark in the fight against unfair employment practices. The updated rules were issued on November 14 by the General Office of the Central Committee’s Organisation Department, which oversees the recruitment process, and the National Health Commission. Amid a tough job market in China, many qualified candidates for civil… Source link

China

South Korea’s US nuclear sub deal risks roiling East Asia’s waters

South Korea is set to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines with US approval and assistance, according to a joint fact sheet last week. That approval came following a meeting at the end of October between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump in Gyeongju. The agreement allows South Korea to build its first nuclear-powered attack submarines, which will be conventionally armed and powered by highly enriched uranium the United States will help source. It also… Source link

China

Ant Group’s vibe coding app hits 1 million downloads in just 4 days

Ant Group’s new “vibe coding” artificial intelligence app LingGuang has overwhelmed servers after user downloads surpassed 1 million in just four days, hitting the milestone faster than OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Sora, according to the Chinese fintech giant. The app’s innovative functionality of generating applications in response to users’ text prompts was temporarily suspended on Thursday evening, with the company attributing the issue to excessive usage in a post on Weibo. As of Saturday, LingGuang… Source link

China

‘I knew about Charles’ lover’: Princess Diana’s 1995 admission – SCMP archive

This article was first published on November 22, 1995 By David Wallen and other agencies New blow to monarchy as Diana admits adultery Princess Diana’s frank admission of adultery, her graphic description of a three-year battle with bulimia, and her certainty she will never be queen left Britons reeling and dealt a new blow to the monarchy. In an unprecedented hour-long interview watched by 20 million people, including Hong Kong subscribers to Cable TV, Diana spoke candidly about her failed… Source link

China

Apple of their eye: why South Korea’s Gen Z want American brands

When Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong took the stage at an Nvidia event in Seoul last month, his wry observation – “Why are there so many iPhones here?” – was met with knowing laughter from the assembled crowd. For a country that prides itself on the global success of home-grown brands like Samsung, South Korea is seeing an increasing number of its young people opt for American alternatives. A July poll by Gallup Korea found more than 60 per cent of respondents in their twenties used an… Source link

China

South Korea’s balancing act at risk as China-Japan tensions mount

South Korea is watching with mounting alarm as tensions between China and Japan escalate over the Taiwan Strait, a development that threatens to test Seoul’s pragmatic diplomacy and its balancing act between Beijing and Washington, observers warn. The dispute is unfolding just as Seoul has worked to stabilise long-strained relations with both regional powers, raising fears that renewed rivalry could force South Korea into unwelcome geopolitical crossfire, they add. Analysts say the flare-up is… Source link

China

Why Asia can’t wait for Europe to lead on deforestation-free timber

Europe is once again embroiled in a prolonged argument over how to keep deforestation-linked timber out of its markets. The European Union’s deforestation regulations, once promoted as a bold step forward, have instead become a symbol of hesitation and uneven political will. Some governments want delays and others push for exemptions, creating persistent uncertainty. For Asia, observing this from afar, the indecision carries more consequence than might initially be apparent because the region… Source link

China

China team simulates large-scale electronic warfare against Musk’s Starlink

When Russian forces rolled into Ukraine in early 2022, one of the first moves by Kyiv was sending a post to Elon Musk on X: Ukraine needs satellite internet. Within days, thousands of Starlink terminals arrived, restoring command and control across the battlefield despite Russia’s best efforts to black out communications. Moscow initially tried to jam the signals – and reportedly had some success. But when SpaceX quietly updated its software and reconfigured the constellation, many Russian… Source link

China

Trump unveils ‘president’s golf course’ revamp at Joint Base Andrews

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was enlisting the help of legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus to spruce up the courses at Joint Base Andrews – adding a site long known as the “president’s golf course” to his long list of construction projects. The president took an aerial tour of the Courses at Andrews aboard Marine One and promised, “We’re going to do some work” there, as well as to other parts of the base. “We’re doing some fix-up of the base, which it needs. We’re gonna try and… Source link

China

JFK’s granddaughter says she has terminal cancer, criticises cousin RFK Jnr

John F. Kennedy’s granddaughter disclosed on Saturday that she has terminal cancer, writing in an essay in The New Yorker that one of her doctors said she might live for about another year. Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and Edwin Schlossberg, wrote that she was diagnosed in May 2024 at 34. After the birth of her second child, her doctor noticed her white blood cell count was high. It turned out to be acute myeloid leukaemia with a rare mutation,… Source link

China

For Chinese in Japan, life goes on – but with an eye on public sentiment

For Gu Chuan and his wife, relocating from China to Japan appeared to be a logical choice. Last year, when China’s economy slowed and optimism about job prospects dimmed, the Beijing-based tech worker did not want his family to put all its eggs in one basket. The couple considered several options. Hong Kong was ruled out as too far from home, and so was the United States because of its myriad disputes with Beijing. They finally decided that Gu’s wife would go to Japan to study for an MBA and he… Source link

China

Japanese consumers fear curbs on eel delicacy ahead of global wildlife forum

At an eel restaurant near Tokyo, four friends sit down to eat a Japanese delicacy now the subject of a heated international debate as its numbers decline. The eel, hugely popular across Japan, is also endangered and will be discussed at a key global forum that regulates the trade of threatened wildlife, starting in Uzbekistan on Monday. “It’s a luxury dish that we eat to treat ourselves or to celebrate an occasion,” Yukiko Takahashi, a 52-year-old saleswoman, said as she tucked into her food at… Source link