China’s Meituan snaps up Dingdong to deepen push into fresh grocery retail

China’s food delivery giant Meituan said on Thursday that it had agreed to acquire Dingdong, a leading on-demand commerce platform in China specialising in fresh groceries.
Meituan will purchase all issued shares of Dingdong Fresh Holding, which is wholly owned by New York-listed Dingdong (Cayman) Limited, for an initial consideration of US$717 million, subject to adjustments, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The deal is subject to conditions including antitrust clearance…

Hong Kong hiker rescued after falling from cliff, clinging to tree

Rescuers in Hong Kong have saved a man who clung to a tree after falling from a cliff while hiking in Tuen Mun.
At around 12.10pm on Thursday, the hiker reportedly slipped from the mountaintop and plunged down a cliff off Tsing Shan Monastery Path.
He managed to cling to a tree branch and cried out for help.
His companion, along with other hikers in the area, alerted authorities.
Police and firefighters rushed to the scene, while the Government Flying Service dispatched a helicopter to assist in…

Did Blackpink’s Jisoo splash out US$57 million on 2 Hong Kong trophy homes?

A company bearing the same name as Blackpink member Jisoo’s label has bought two homes in one of Hong Kong’s most exclusive enclaves for about HK$447.2 million (US$57.2 million), according to government filings.
Two units on Happy Valley’s Blue Pool Road were acquired by an entity called Blissoo Limited in a deal registered on Tuesday, Land Registry records showed.
The South Korean girl group Blackpink staged three sold-out concerts in Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium from January 24 to 26.
Blissoo…

Bali’s waste woes under scrutiny as Prabowo slams Indonesian officials’ ‘slow’ response

The waste woes of tourism hotspot Bali have come under intense scrutiny after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto shamed island authorities for what he said were improper steps to tackle the problem.
But even as Balinese officials scramble to clean up their beaches, experts point to structural problems endemic to the issue, such as overtourism, lack of enforcement and insufficient education among locals.
Prabowo publicly dressed down Bali’s governor, Wayan Koster, and his regents earlier this…

Indian teacher wins US$1 million prize for transforming slum education with murals

An Indian teacher and activist known for creating hundreds of learning centres and painting educational murals across the walls of slums won the US$1 million Global Teacher Prize on Thursday.
Rouble Nagi accepted the award at the World Governments Summit in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, an annual event that draws leaders from across the globe.
Her Rouble Nagi Art Foundation has established more than 800 learning centres across India. They aim to have children who never attended school begin…

From China’s chokehold to Trump’s stockpile, Europe looks for least bad rare earth bet

EU industry chief Stephane Sejourne was in Washington on Wednesday, with a mandate from the bloc’s 27 member states to work towards a memorandum on critical minerals with the United States.
With the sides keen to reduce their reliance on China, dramatically weaponised during last year’s US-China trade war, the French commissioner secured a “commitment” to work towards a memorandum within 30 days, to identify joint mining, refining, processing and recycling projects.
In a joint statement that…

Chinese boy, 10, bravely fights leukaemia for half his life, calls medicines ‘dessert’, dies

A 10-year-old Chinese boy has died after a lengthy and brave battle with leukaemia, breaking millions of hearts online.
The boy, known by his nickname Haohao, from southwestern China’s Guizhou province, died in Beijing on January 27, his parents announced on his social media account with 600,000 followers.
The video received 780,000 likes and 410,000 comments. Many mourned the death of the strong-minded boy.
Haohao was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at the age of four after his parents…

Murder suspect captured in Thailand set to be handed back to Hong Kong authorities

Thai police have helped Hong Kong authorities in arresting two fugitives, including a murder suspect who had been on the run for more than three decades, the city’s police chief has said.
Speaking upon his return from Thailand on Thursday, Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said the two local suspects were linked to two separate cases – a 37-year-old murder and a robbery.
“We had intelligence suggesting [the murder suspect] was hiding in Thailand, our colleagues handed over information to…

Xi holds Trump, Putin calls as Iran tensions mount

Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Iran in wide-ranging calls with both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as the US president steps up pressure on the Islamic Republic following the bloody quashing of anti-government protests.
The US president said on social media that the “excellent” phone call with Xi covered topics including Iran, the Chinese purchase of US oil and gas, and Taiwan. Earlier, Xi and Putin “checked their approaches” on Iran, Venezuela and Cuba among other…

China’s clean power energising economy, adding a Brazil’s worth of GDP: report

Clean energy technologies – led by solar power and electric vehicles – drove more than one-third of China’s economic growth last year and over 90 per cent of the rise in investment, according to a new study.
China’s clean energy industries generated a record 15.4 trillion yuan (US$2.1 trillion) in economic output in 2025, equivalent to 11.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found.
If they were a country, the Chinese…

Malaysia clarifies Trump trade deal: no exclusive rare earth rights for US

The new reciprocal trade agreement between Malaysia and the United States contains no provisions granting Washington exclusive access to Malaysia’s rare earth elements (REE), according to Arthur Joseph Kurup.
The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister assured the House of Representatives that the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade creates no binding supply obligations or market preferences. Malaysia, he confirmed, remains free to manage its strategic mineral exports without…

Ex-actor Ian Fang deported and barred from Singapore over underage sex offences

Former actor Ian Fang has been stripped of his Singaporean permanent resident status and will be deported when he finishes serving a 40-month jail term for having sex with a minor.
Shanghai-born Fang’s permanent residency was revoked on Thursday, Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told The Straits Times. Once released from jail, he will be deported and barred from re-entering the country.
Last May, the 35-year-old was sentenced to 40 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to…

In Malaysia, study on elected Kuala Lumpur mayor triggers another race debate

A government proposal to study whether Kuala Lumpur’s mayor should be elected rather than appointed has triggered what observers describe as a familiar “cultural war” over race, power and who gets to govern Malaysia’s capital.
The feasibility study announced by Hannah Yeoh – a minister from the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party (DAP) – has also drawn criticism that it is a political project pushed by her party.
Yeoh, a minister in the prime minister’s department, told local Chinese daily…

Hong Kong man jailed for laundering millions through scam-linked bank accounts

A Hong Kong man has been jailed for nearly four years after admitting to laundering millions of dollars in criminal proceeds through bank accounts linked to investment and romance scams.
The 38-year-old defendant was sentenced on Wednesday to 44 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to two counts of money laundering at the District Court in Wan Chai.
“To enhance deterrence against the use of bank accounts for money laundering, police applied to the court for a sentence enhancement at the…

China probes mental hospitals over reports patients are being locked up in insurance scam

China’s top medical watchdog has ordered a nationwide review of the country’s psychiatric institutes following media reports that multiple hospitals in central China had locked up patients – including people who were not suffering from mental illness – as part of an insurance scam.
The National Healthcare Security Administration said on Wednesday that its provincial bureaus should hold talks with directors of all psychiatric institutes in their area by Sunday.
They were also told to ensure that…

China’s CATL tests EVs – and lithium’s dominance – with pioneering sodium-ion battery

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has deployed the world’s first sodium-ion batteries in passenger cars, as it aims to stay ahead in China’s fiercely competitive electric vehicle (EV) market amid price volatility in traditional lithium-ion batteries.
The company’s new Naxtra battery will be installed in China Changan Automobile Group EVs this week for winter testing in the chilly Inner Mongolia autonomous region in the country’s north.
“The breakthroughs in sodium-ion technology bring…

Gaza’s violent reality: hundreds have been killed since October ceasefire

As the bodies of two dozen Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes arrived at hospitals in Gaza on Wednesday, the director of one asked a question that has echoed across the war-ravaged territory for months.
“Where is the ceasefire? Where are the mediators?” Shifa Hospital’s Mohamed Abu Selmiya wrote on Facebook.
At least 556 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a US-brokered truce came into effect in October, including 24 on Wednesday and 30 on Saturday, according to Gaza’s…

Hong Kong teachers withdrew HK$8.4 billion from pension funds in past school year

Hong Kong public school teachers withdrew HK$8.4 billion (US$1.1 billion) from two retirement fund schemes in 2024-25, down by 3.4 per cent from the year before, marking the third consecutive annual decline amid subsiding emigration.
Resignation, rather than retirement, remained the main reason for taking out the money as a growing number of young teachers left the profession, accounting for 32 to 35 per cent of all withdrawals from the two funds, the highest level since 2021.
The data was…

119 arrested over HK$20 million scheme selling fake ID cards for illegal work

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities have arrested 119 people linked to a HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) racket that sold fake identity cards and arranged accommodation for cross-border workers to obtain jobs illegally in the city – the largest sum recorded in such a case to date.
The city’s Immigration Department said on Thursday the operation, code-named “Sharpspear”, was carried out between last October and January this year in collaboration with Guangdong provincial and Zhuhai…

China first-generation celebrity known for photo of chubby face, scornful looks is unemployed

More than two decades ago, he was among China’s first generation of online celebrities.
A photograph of his large head went viral and his pudgy face was superimposed on a raft of well-known figures.
However, Qian Zhijun, who is better known as Xiao Pang, or “Little Fatty” in English on social media, and who disappeared from the spotlight, is back, Dawan News reported.

“My life is no different from that of any ordinary person. I have been married and have a child. I just live an ordinary life,”…