Author: Verified News Online

AdvertisementE-commerceTechPolicyChina slaps US$3.7 million fine on Kuaishou over live-streaming e-commerce violationThe penalty reflects a broader regulatory crackdown on content and operations deemed undesirable or harmful on Chinese online platforms
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPBen Jiangin BeijingPublished: 3:39pm, 31 Jan 2026Chinese regulators have slapped a 26 million yuan (US$3.7 million) fine on a unit of Kuaishou Technology, operator of the country’s No 2 short video platform, over multiple violations and misconduct in its live-streaming e-commerce operations, signalling tighter oversight of this market segment.Chengdu Kuaigou Technology, a unit of Beijing-based Kuaishou, was found to have committed seven breaches including failure to disclose information in accordance with the law, charging unreasonable fees on merchants and inadequate consumer protection, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) in its WeChat post on Friday.That ruling..

AdvertisementSingaporeAsiaSoutheast AsiaSingaporean convict returns to jail voluntarily 4 days after being freed by accidentA paperwork error saw the man, who had been convicted for assaulting a police officer, released 12 weeks early
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPCNAPublished: 3:35pm, 31 Jan 2026A man who was sentenced to jail in Singapore over an altercation with the police was released on the same day he was sentenced due to an error in calculating the jail term.Muhammad Fathurrahman Mohd Adzlan was contacted and returned to jail four days later to complete his sentence.
In a statement on Friday, a judiciary spokeswoman said Muhammad was sentenced to 32 weeks’ jail on October 27, last year. However, this was erroneously reflected as 20 weeks.
AdvertisementAccording to court papers, Muhammad, then 31, had made an emergency call saying: “If committing suicide is an offence … Singaporeans behave like Isis how? … Police can’t do anything … You will be receiving more calls ..

Is Sydney Sweeney Really 'MAGA Barbie'? Hollywood Star Speaks Out on Political Label Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney has become the centre of an unexpected political conversation after addressing recurring online speculation about her views and identity, a discussion that she says she never asked to be a part of. Known for roles in Euphoria, The Housemaid and The White Lotus, the 28-year-old actor recently spoke out about being dubbed as “MAGA Barbie” on social media, insisting that the label and its political baggage are something that others have attached to her but not something that she embraces.In a wide-circulated interview with Cosmopolitan magazine, Sweeney said, “I’ve never been here to talk about politics. I’ve always been here to make art, so this is just not a conversation I want to be at the forefront of. And I think because of that, people want to take it even further and use me as their own pawn. But it’s somebody else assigning something to me, and I can’t contr..

A lavish premiere of Melania, a big-budget documentary centred on US First Lady Melania Trump, brought together senior members of the Trump administration, global celebrities and business leaders at Washington’s Kennedy Center on Thursday, even as domestic and foreign policy tensions loomed large for the White House .The film, financed at a reported $75 million by Amazon MGM Studios, chronicles the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration and the family’s return to the White House. Melania Trump is among the producers.Melania Trump’s $40 Million Documentary Struggles Before Premiere: Insider | WATCHAmazon MGM paid $40 million to license the film and an accompanying docuseries, with another $35 million spent on promotion and international distribution, according to a person familiar with the matter .Trump and Melania were seen leaving the White House together for the premiere. The couple also interated with media at the event. The premiere was attended by several..

AdvertisementBanking & financeBusinessBanking & FinanceBreaking | HSBC suffers system shutdown, stopping services in Hong KongBoth the bank’s mobile app and in-person services at several branches were made unavailable by the outage Friday afternoon
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPEnoch YiuPublished: 3:13pm, 30 Jan 2026HSBC, Hong Kong’s biggest bank with a customer base of 6.2 million, saw a system breakdown on Friday afternoon.
The bank’s mobile banking app could not be accessed, instead showing a message stating the system was under maintenance and would be available at a later time.
A staff member at the bank’s Mong Kok branch said HSBC’s computer network across the city had failed, but did not know the reason for the stoppage.
AdvertisementAn official with the bank also confirmed there had been a breakdown, but the system began resuming service around 3pm.
Official comments from HSBC or the Hong Kong Monetary Authority were not immediately available.
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