Asia

The head of a major South Korean cosmetics firm resigned Sunday after facing heavy backlash for forcing his staff to watch a YouTube video praising Japan during a raging trade war between the two nations. The clip, played at a monthly meeting of some 700 employees of Kolmar Korea last week, slams President Moon Jae-in’s […]

by Miwa SUZUKI Must-have 80s gadget and one-time icon of Japan electronics cool, Sony’s Walkman turned 40 this year and like its now middle-aged fans, is clinging to its youth with high-tech updates. On July 1, 1979, as the global economy suffered through the second oil shock, Sony unleashed on the world a dark-blue brick […]

In conjunction with their third anniversary, BLACKPINK released a special video showing moments from their past three years and messages for fans. Watch the video with English subtitles below! The South Korean girl band BLACKPINK is now three years old! The four-member group debuted on 8 Aug 2016 with their single album, Square One. BLACKPINK’s […]

Washington on Thursday warned US citizens to “exercise increased caution” when travelling to Hong Kong, as protesters announced three days of new demonstrations at the city’s airport. The financial hub has been rocked by two months of unrest, initially triggered by opposition to a planned law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. The […]

China demanded Thursday that US diplomats based in Hong Kong “stop interfering” in the city’s affairs, after reports that they met with pro-democracy activists, prompting a furious response from Washington. China’s foreign ministry had expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with US authorities, citing local media reports that a US official from Hong Kong’s US consulate general had […]

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie’s eldest son is going to attend college in South Korea at the end of the month. Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, her adopted son who just turned 18 will be attending the prestigious Yonsei University in Seoul according to People. “He got accepted into other universities, but chose Yonsei,” the insider said. Maddox […]

South Korean actor Song Joong-ki is no longer a favourite for advertisers since his divorce from A-list actress Song Hye-Kyo. 33-year-old Joong-ki announced his break-up in June which was not well-received by many fans. He is now paying the price with Korean media noting that there has been a significant drop in demand for him […]

The US government has approved the sale of $800 million worth of helicopters to South Korea, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump said Seoul had agreed to pay more for the US military presence in the country. The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department had approved the sale of […]

Wedding proposals are usually memorable moments because they signify the beginning of a lifelong marriage (or at least we hope so). However, one man took it to a whole other level. On the Facebook group That’s It, I’m Ring Shaming: The Wreckoning a Singaporean woman posted about a farmer making known his marital intentions by putting a […]

A former Australian spy announced a surprise guilty plea Tuesday for exposing an alleged 2004 bugging operation against East Timor officials, after years of fighting the charges. Lawyers for the former agent, known only as “Witness K”, told a Canberra court he would plead guilty to blowing the whistle on the spying operation against the […]

Hong Kong police on Tuesday said 148 people were arrested during running battles with protesters the day before, the largest daily toll since huge pro-democracy protests kicked off two months ago. On Monday Hong Kong buckled under a general strike followed by the most widespread and sustained clashes so far with tear gas fired at […]

Cosmo Park, which sits on top of a shopping mall, is a busy place with people jogging, watering their plants or walking their dogs along neat asphalt roads. “Neighbourhood kids pedal their bikes under frangipani trees and peach-coloured bougainvillea to the pool and tennis court. Apartments, comfortable and modern, sit side by side, with barbecues […]

Singaporeans who have relocated to Hong Kong a few years back are now toying with the idea of going back to Singapore. This feeling is fuelled as tensions have aggravated in Hong Kong starting Monday (Aug 5). Police officers have tear gas and rubber bullets targeted at protesters, so much so many Singapore nationals residing in […]

by Douglas Gillison with Kelly Wang in Shanghai The United States on Monday formally accused China of manipulating its currency, marking the second major escalation in the two countries’ spiraling trade war in just 24 hours. Washington’s sudden move came the day China allowed the yuan to fall below 7 to the dollar for the […]

by Jalees ANDRABI The Indian government on Monday revoked Kashmir’s special status, stripping the significant autonomy it has enjoyed for seven decades in a move expected to further inflame tensions in the Muslim-majority region and infuriate rival Pakistan. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi Hindu-nationalist party rushed through a presidential decree to scrap the disputed region’s […]