Asia

Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said she hoped “calm” will prevail after a massive weekend march passed without clashes between police and demonstrators, but again refused to give ground to protester demands. Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the heart of the city on Sunday in a show of peaceful protest […]

Twitter and Facebook have accused the Chinese government of backing a social media campaign to discredit Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and sow political discord in the city. The American tech giants announced Monday they had suspended nearly 1,000 active accounts linked to the campaign, while Twitter said it had shut down about 200,000 more before […]

Hollywood star and humanitarian Angelina Jolie was promoting her action movie Salt in Moscow, Russia in 2010 when a fan grabbed her on the red carpet. The petrified actress managed to break the woman’s hold with with the help of her security team. Because of this incident, her experience made her sympathise with the plight […]

It is unclear whether Malaysian singer Fish Leong has really divorced her Taiwan wine merchant-husband. It doesn’t help that the singer has kept quiet even as media outlets like Apple Daily have reported that their nine-year marriage is in hot water. Her husband Tony Chao also have not said anything about the issue. He told […]

Ku Hye Sun has just revealed a series of text messages that she exchanged with Ahn Jae Hyun which show that the couple has agreed to a divorce. In the morning of 18 August, Ku Hye Sun posted on Instagram to share a message about her marriage. In addition to a photo of the words […]

by Andrew BEATTY The United States no longer has military primacy in the Pacific and could struggle to defend allies against China, a top Australian think tank has warned. A hard-hitting report from the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney released on Monday said the US military is an “atrophying force” that […]

The Indonesian military academy enrolled a young Franco-Indonesian man with blond hair and a very French look. This created a major national stir a few days ago in Indonesia to the point where it needed an inquiry on whether the Tentera National Indonesia or TNI should allow him to join the academy. But the controversy is not only over his […]

Demonstrators backing the democracy activists in Hong Kong marched in London on Saturday, as counter-protesters staged a rival rally. More than a thousand people took part in the two demonstrations in the British capital. Protesters supporting the activists paraded banners reading “Will Britain hold China to its promise on Hong Kong’s freedom?”, “Power to the […]

Hong Kong actor Simon Yam appears to be just as fearless as the memorable roles he plays in gangster films. Although stabbed less than a month ago in Guangdong, the star returned to the Chinese province in a public appearance to promote his upcoming film, Little Q. The 64-year-old is best known for playing triad […]

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, in his address to the State Assembly, has asked for the people to approve of the creation of a new capital city for Indonesia. The President had earlier said he wanted to change the capital of the country to Kalimantan, adding this will spur economic development and enhance the country’s infrastructure. […]

Hong Kong – Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei is facing backlash for publicly voicing her support for Hong Kong police on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform. The actress, who will be playing as Mulan in the upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s Mulan in 2020, shared a post on Weibo on August 14 which showed […]

by Jerome TAYLOR / Elaine YU Cathay Pacific announced the shock resignation on Friday of its CEO Rupert Hogg, compounding a torrid week for the Hong Kong carrier after it was excoriated by Beijing because some staff supported pro-democracy protests. The 72-year-old airline has been left reeling after it became ensnared in the hardening of […]

Is there trouble in paradise for Hong Kong couple Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse? It’s a question that is often asked about the celebrity couple who had an on-off relationship since they began their high-profile romance in 2000. The good news is they have been going strong since they rekindled their romance in 2014. The […]

by Jerome TAYLOR Donald Trump has urged China to “humanely” resolve the violent stand-off with pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, on the back of growing concerns that Beijing is considering direct intervention in the crisis. Images taken by AFP on Thursday showed thousands of Chinese military personnel waving red flags and parading at a sports […]

by Daphne ROUSSEAU Watching the Hong Kong protests from afar, Chinese dissident-artist Ai Weiwei fears the worst, warning of a repeat of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing. “I don’t think any prediction is too big,” the 61-year-old told AFP in an interview in his Berlin studio. China “is a society which sacrifices anything […]