Asia

Hong Kong’s embattled leader said Tuesday more than 20,000 people have applied to take part in a dialogue session with her and “vent their anger” at the government after three months of huge pro-democracy protests. It is the government’s first attempt to reach out to the protestors since millions took to the streets in the […]

by Alastair HIMMER Set in 2019, cult 80s movie “Blade Runner” envisaged a neon-stained landscape of bionic “replicants” genetically engineered to look just like humans. So far that has failed to materialise, but at a secretive research institute in western Japan, wild-haired roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro is fine-tuning technology that could blur the line between man […]

Jambi in Indonesia fell into utter darkness as the sky turned red, giving an eerie look to towns and villages while panicked residents posted videos of the phenomenon on social media. The haze in Jambi, specifically in the District of Muarojambi, worsened this weekend with the surrounding views looking reddish and dark. “This is daytime condition after […]

Fear of being arrested over new laws outlawing sex before marriage has resulted in many Australians cancelling holidays to Bali. The new laws would make consensual sex between unmarried adults a crime in Indonesia, and it does not recognise same-sex marriage outlawing all LGBT liaisons but also unmarried couples living together. The Criminal Code revision bans insulting religion, the […]

South Korean K-Pop star HyunA has responded to the controversy after she lifted her dress during a college festival performance. A video of HyunA giving some very unexpected fan service at a festival at the Korea Aerospace University made its way around the Internet on 19 Sept. Around the 02:41 mark on the video, HyunA […]

Ahn Jae-hyun, a South Korean actor who just recently went through a divorce has decided to withdraw from the television series ‘Journey to the West 7’. Ever since his ‘good man’ image was affected and also his public ongoing marital problems with actress Goo Hye-sun, Ahn wanted to avoid the series from being affected by […]

Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai is offended that a headline decided to focus on her breasts. The Dancing Diva singer asked for the opinion of her fans on what kind of gender education they had gotten when the headline focused on her breast size, in a status update on her official Facebook page. The post was […]

B.I., the former leader of K-pop group iKON has allegedly admitted to some of the drug charges brought against him. Based on local news outlets in SBS News and The Korea Times, EOnline! reported that the police however have not revealed specific charges B.I. admitted to. B.I., 22 was questioned over a 2016 drug case […]

A number of media outlets recently reported that BTS member Jungkook is currently dating a tattooist Lee Mijoo who works at a store called “T” Tattoo Shop. Responding to the news, both Jungkook’s home label, Big Hit Entertainment as well as Mijoo herself came out with their own statements in order to shut down all […]

The Economist, in an article on the launch of the book in Britain, says the title of the book is a dry for something that is likely the heist of the century. The story depicts the battle to prevent the book from selling in the UK. The UK has strict libel laws that blocked the sale of […]

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday called for a delay in passing a new law that would outlaw gay and pre-marital sex after the controversial plan sparked a public outcry. The proposed criminal code overhaul should get a closer look given the backlash, Widodo said, as he asked that parliament scrap a planned vote on […]

Chinese experts arrived in Thailand to investigate the death of a beloved giant panda, zoo officials said Thursday, as millions of netizens in China questioned the cause of the male bear’s sudden demise. Chuang Chuang, a resident of Chiang Mai Zoo since October 2003, died Monday aged 19 after years of living in an air-conditioned […]

Millions of Indonesians risk jail if a new penal code criminalising consensual sex outside marriage gets passed. Rights groups criticised the initiative as an intrusive assault on basic freedoms if the criminal code is adopted next week following parliament and the government’s go-ahead on a final draft, Reuters reported. The Jakarta Post said among other things, the bill outlaws […]

by Yan ZHAO / Sean GLEESON As pro-democracy protests grind on for a fourth month, Hong Kong has been left counting the cost, with the city’s tourist industry battered and businesses forced to lay off staff as they struggle to stay afloat. Images beamed around the world of black-clad demonstrators battling police in full riot […]

The maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois beers has revived plans to list its Asia unit in Hong Kong, saying it wants to raise almost $5 billion in what would be the world’s second-biggest initial public offering this year. The decision by Belgium-listed Anheuser-Busch InBev to sell the stake will provide a much-needed boost to […]