China's local symptomatic coronavirus cases crept up again, with most new infections reported in the northwestern city of Xian as it entered a fifth day of a lockdown. Xian's case load — 150 local symptomatic cases on Sunday (Dec 26) versus 155 a day earlier — remains tiny compared with many clusters overseas, but it has...
Japanese and US armed forces have drawn up a draft plan for a joint operation for a possible Taiwan emergency, Japan's Kyodo news agency said on Thursday (Dec 23), citing unnamed Japanese government sources, amid increased tensions between the island and China. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own "sacred" territory and in the past...
The Straits Times file Students who sat for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in 2021 received their Secondary 1 school posting results on Wednesday (Dec 22). This batch of students is the first to take the PSLE under the new scoring system that replaced the T-score system. This year, students were given an Achievement Level (AL) score ranging from 1 to...
China will scrutinise online platforms such as social media networks and video-sharing sites to clamp down on fake accounts and information as part of its drive to "clean up" the internet, the country's cyber regulator said on Thursday (Dec 23). The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it would launch a two-month special operation to target...
A handout photo. Karry Wang ended his relationship with Intel when the chipmaking giant banned suppliers from operating in Xinjiang.South China Morning Post One of China's most famous young pop singers announced on Wednesday (Dec 23) he would terminate his brand ambassadorship with US chip maker Intel over the corporation's boycott of products made in Xinjiang...
Thai authorities have seized crystal methamphetamine with a street value of almost US$30 million (S$40 million) stuffed inside boxing punch bags bound for Australia, officials said on Thursday (Dec 23). Customs officers inspected the shipment after growing suspicious of the Thai-made training equipment which is not in high demand in Australia, Thai and Australian officials investigating...
Suddenly realising you have no cash on hand can be quite unsettling, especially when you're hungry. On Wednesday (Dec 22), Pamela Loh, who is heavily pregnant, was on the hunt for some Pepper Lunch, which brought her to the VivoCity Kopitiam foodcourt. She had her credit card and handphone, but without any cash, she realised getting a meal wouldn't be...
Chinese provincial authorities have ordered celebrities and livestreamers to report tax-related crimes before 2022, just days after China's "queen of livestreaming" Viya was fined 1.34 billion yuan ($286 million) for tax evasion. Top e-commerce livestreamer Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, was fined on Monday (Dec 20) by the tax bureau in Hangzhou, a city in southern...
The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant intends to build an underwater tunnel to release water from the plant into the sea, it said on Tuesday, as part of a project to treat and dispose of contaminated water. A decade after a massive earthquake and tsunami ravaged the northeastern coast, disabling the plant and...
US President Joe Biden dispensed unvarnished advice on Tuesday (Dec 21) to the one in four American adults who have yet to be vaccinated for the coronavirus vaccine: The new Omicron variant can make you very sick or even kill you. A Democrat, Biden took office in January pledging to get the coronavirus under control after...
